Hae-Jun:

We had been 3 days into our trip, and so far it had been awesome. We'd gone on picnics, treks, late-evening bonfires at the beach, etc. Something that got compromised due to this though, was our sleep. 

To me, my sleep was very important. I hated getting up early in the morning, and would keep snoozing the alarm...but not that trip. Each night, I fell asleep thinking about what Hae-ri and I would do with our friends the next day. I had turned over a new leaf.

I sat on the double-bed in our glamping tent which was shared by Sam, a couple of our friends and I, while I fumbled with the keyboard on my phone, trying to reach out to Eomma. I hadn't been able to speak to her during the past couple of days because of our busy schedules, and now that we had got some free time, I was determined to talk to her, to be reassured that she was okay.

𝘙𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨, the line rung twice, and she picked up on the third.

"Eomma...annyeonghaseyo," I said. (Mum...hello)

"Hae-Jun Ah, Annyeong! Jal jinesseo?" Eomma asked with her usual loving tone. (Hae-Jun, hi! Have you been doing well?)

"Nae, Eomma. Bogoshipeosso. Eomma otteokhae jineyo?" I immediately asked. (Yes, mum. I miss you. How have you been?)

"Eomma jal jineyo, gokjonghajima Hae-Jun Ah," she assured. (I'm doing well, don't worry Hae-Jun)

As she talked, my worries grew lighter. I was extremely pleased that she had been doing well. Now, I was finally going to tell her what I had been procrastinating for a while.

"Eomma, jungyohan hal mal-i isseo..." I cleared my throat, struggling to hide the nervousness that laced my voice.

At the other side of the room, Sam shot me a wide grin of encouragement, and I gave a short nod. 

"Mm, mulroniji. Meodeunji malhaebwa," Eomma said. (Mm, of course. Tell me anything.)

I took a deep breath, and looked around the room as I tried to figure out how I would tell her. I had practiced this conversation multiple times in the mirror, but at that moment I had seemed to have blanked out. My mind averted to the chandelier that hung from the ceiling, and then to the white carpets that had been laid across the floor. I decided to stop overthinking, and to get over with it. I stepped down from the bed, and quickly got out of the room, wanting to get some private space.

"Eomma... Park Hae-Ri al-ji? Jeo-rang byeongwon-e gajigo wa-seo mannareo on geu yeoja-aiyo?" I spoke, shutting the door behind me. (Eomma, you know Park Hae-ri right? The girl who accompanied me to the hospital to meet you?)

"Alji, wae?" Eomma asked, as if she didn't know where this was going, but I could already hear the smile in her voice. (I do, why do you ask?)

I giggled to myself, and looked up at the sky. It had rained the previous couple of days, and there were still a few grey clouds looming in the sky's vault.

"Eomma, sasir Hae-ri-wa sa-gwigo isseoyo. Myeot dal doeeossgo, i sasireul malsseumdeuril joheun timing-eul gidarigo isseosseoyo," I carefully spoke, waiting to hear what she would say. (Mum, actually, I'm dating Hae-ri. It's been a few months, and I was waiting for the right time to tell you.)

"Jeongmal? Wa, adeul-a, neomu gippeuda! Geunyeoneun jeongmal meotjigo baeryeo gipeun sonyeo gat-assgo, aleumdabgido hae. Neoga neomu jalangseureowo, Hae-Jun-a!" Eomma expressed her delight. (Really? Wow, I'm so happy for you, my son! She seemed like such a wonderful and thoughtful girl, beautiful too. I'm very proud of you Hae-Jun!)

The emptiness that my anxiety had created in my stomach was now filled with relief and satisfaction. 

Eomma and I spoke for a while, as she battered me with questions about how we'd got together, who confessed first, when we had our first kiss and all those other questions that people - typically my Eomma - would be curious about. She made me promise to her that I would bring Hae-ri round to ur house to meet her, and honestly, I was looking forward to it and I was sure that Hae-ri would like that, too.

(Continuation of Hae-jun's POV in the next chapter)