Ch.147Season of Pure Love (1)

“Phew…”

“Are you nervous, Miso noona?”

“Of course I am. How could I not be nervous?”

“I should be the one who’s nervous. I caused a huge commotion with our families right after being discharged.”

“C-commotion…! It was my mistake too! B-but my family is fine with it. Since we live in the countryside, they’ve been pestering me about when I’m getting married anyway.”

On Sunday, the day after the party celebrating Sol-young’s discharge from the military and Si-young’s victory at the world kendo championship, Teacher Miso came to visit the Ban family home to formally greet the parents.

Instead of her usual soft brown dress that she frequently wore, she was dressed in a more mature-looking outfit with gray and white tones that gave off a formal impression.

“Don’t worry, noona. My parents aren’t scary or stubborn people.”

“Y-yeah. I know. I’ve spoken with your father before about Do-young’s studies. He was extremely kind and gentle.”

“That’s good. Both Mom and Dad already have a good impression of you because you didn’t let Do-young give up on studying, so go in with confidence.”

“Right… there’s nothing to be nervous about. If anything, I can just think of it as a home visit for student Do-young. Phew…”

Teacher Miso’s nervous face reflected in the metal front door. Usually, when visiting a student’s home in such formal attire, it should be the student who wears such an expression.

“S-Sol-young, do I look okay in this outfit? I don’t look too young or anything, right?”

This was her third time turning around in front of the doorbell. Teacher Miso, lacking courage without her forehead exposed, turned toward Sol-young to recheck her current state.

“You look pretty. No matter what you wear.”

“No, I’m not asking if I look pretty, I’m asking if this is appropriate attire for meeting parents. If I look too young, they might worry.”

Teacher Miso spread her arms wide as she spoke to Sol-young.

“Check one more time. How does this outfit look on me? Is it okay?”

“Hmm… I actually prefer what you usually wear. Teacher Miso’s everyday slightly loose clothes make you look like you’d bear children well. Doesn’t that outfit squeeze your baby-carrying belly too much?”

“B-but I can’t exactly wear maternity clothes before marriage as if I’m proudly announcing a pregnancy. Not only in front of your parents but also with my students’ eyes… Eeeek! D-Do-young!”

*Thud!*

Teacher Miso backed away toward the front door. Judging by her expression, she seemed genuinely surprised.

“Oh, impressive boldness. Are you knocking on our front door with your back instead of your hands? Well, hitting it with your belly would be dangerous.”

“D-Do-young, you startled me! How long have you been standing behind us?”

“This is my house, you know.”

Naturally, I was also present at the scene on Sunday, having no special plans to go out. I probably wouldn’t have made any plans even if I had some.

I couldn’t miss witnessing this delightful spectacle firsthand.

If possible, I would have liked to invite Do-ha-min to observe and prepare for his own future scenario, but unfortunately, final exams were starting on Tuesday, just two days later, so I couldn’t bring myself to disturb him while he was studying.

It absolutely wasn’t because I was excited about spending all seven days of the week with Do-ha-min. I encouraged him to be the top student in school, so I couldn’t bother him all weekend.

“I went out to buy some snacks for our guest.”

“You went instead of Si-young? That’s unusual. I thought you’d immediately order the youngest to do it when she arrived.”

“These snacks are for our homeroom teacher, so of course I should buy them myself.”

I pulled out a box of snacks from the reusable bags filled with various treats, one that I had specifically bought with Teacher Miso in mind.

“Ta-da! I bought egg crackers that babies can eat too. The baby in your belly would like these too, right?”

“D-Do-young…”

Teacher Miso’s eyes moistened as she saw the yellow box of egg crackers with pictures of a baby and mother on it, witnessing Ban Do-young’s remarkable thoughtfulness.

“Especially these long, dignified stick shapes that mothers would like. Don’t you prefer these to egg-shaped crackers, Teacher?”

“D-Do-young…!”

“…You’re really something else.”

“Bwahaha, your nervousness is completely gone now, isn’t it?”

*Ding-dong*

I pressed the doorbell in place of Teacher Miso, who had been too afraid to do so. While a trembling Teacher Miso had her own cute charm, I didn’t particularly want my family to be the source of her fear.

“Let’s go in, Teacher Miso. Ah, from beyond this point, should I call you sister-in-law?”

“Not sister-in-law, but sister. You’re not a man.”

“Um…”

While I had somehow gotten used to calling him “oppa,” it seemed it would take more time for me to get used to the term “unni.”

“E-excuse me! Mother, Father!”

Teacher Miso’s slightly off-pitch first greeting filled the entryway. Shortly after, Mom and Dad came to the entrance to welcome our esteemed guest.

“Ah, welcome, Teacher. This is our first time meeting in person. I’m Ban Do-che, Do-young’s father… no, today I’m Sol-young’s father.”

“I’ve heard a lot about you, from both Do-young and Sol-young. I’m Cheok Jun-sook, Sol-young’s mother.”

“Hello. I’m Ban Si-young, Sol-young oppa’s younger sister.”

“Oh, you’re not introducing yourself as Scarlet?”

“Shut up, Ban-thief unni.”

“H-hello! I’m Yeo Mi-so! Nice to meet you… Mother, Father… oh.”

Teacher Miso slightly raised her head, searching for the faces of my parents that weren’t immediately in her field of vision. After tilting her head back considerably, she finally managed to meet the eyes of the two people in front of her.

“S-Sol-young. Is your family’s height…?”

“Ah, well… Dad is 195cm, Mom is 179cm. I think I measured 196cm in the military. Hey, how tall are you two?”

“…I’m 170cm.”

“Your name is Ban Do-young, 174cm. For reference, H-cup.”

“Just answer what was asked.”

“I-I see… So that’s why you and Do-young are… There was a reason after all.”

The Ban Do-young family with an average height of 182.8cm. And in the middle, Teacher Miso, barely over 150cm, stood alone.

Since she hadn’t even taken off her shoes at the entrance yet, the lower ground level contributed to the height difference, but this only exacerbated the already significant gap between their heights.

“Please come inside first. Do-young and Si-young, bring chairs and sit together too. We need to have an important conversation now.”

“Okay.”

“W-will Do-young and her sister be joining us too?”

“Of course. The conversation we’re about to have is important for our entire family. Would you prefer coffee or tea?”

“Y-yes…! I’ll drink whatever you serve.”

“Then I’ll bring out jujube tea. It’s good for pregnant women.”

“Th-thank you!”

Teacher Miso answered with a raised voice like a military trainee, overwhelmed by the intimidation emanating from beyond the pink apron.

“Mom, I want zero lime soda.”

“I said we’re having a serious conversation. If you’re confident you won’t make a single burp during our talk, go ahead and drink it.”

“Ah, no… I’ll have jujube tea too. As a rehearsal.”

Of course, I was equally intimidated by Mom’s pressure.

…

“Is the tea and snacks to your liking, Teacher?”

“Ah, yes. They’re perfect.”

*Clatter*

The sound of the trembling teacup being set down echoed throughout the kitchen. So this is what the threat of being looked down upon feels like.

Teacher Miso, surrounded by Ban Do-young’s family, looked like a one-year-old candle on top of a birthday cake for a 51-year-old. It also strangely reminded me of Do-ha-min’s first visit to our house.

“It might be a bit early, but let’s get straight to the point.”

“D-Do-young’s mom? Wouldn’t it be better to help ease the tension with some small talk first…?”

“You know we don’t have time. We can’t delay any further.”

Surprisingly, Mom was the most impatient person in Ban Do-young’s household.

“You know why we invited you today, right?”

“…Yes.”

“I was really shocked at first. It was such an absurd story coming from a child who had just been discharged from the military. Honestly, I’m still surprised. Our Sol-young hasn’t even graduated from school yet, and frankly, I think it’s too early for these kinds of discussions.”

“…Does that mean…”

*Slide*

Mom carefully extended a white envelope toward Teacher Miso’s seat. The moment she saw the envelope, I noticed Teacher Miso’s gaze waver slightly.

A white envelope received from the mother at the first meeting with a lover’s parents. Wasn’t this a scene often depicted in dramas or movies, especially in makjang dramas that deal with seemingly impossible, heart-wrenching love?

“M-Mother… this envelope…”

“Open it. We prepared it in a hurry so it’s not fully filled, but we organized and put in what we could.”

“N-no. I didn’t come here to receive something like this. I came here because I truly like Sol-young… that’s why I gathered my courage to come here…”

“Just open it. Your thoughts might change once you see what’s inside.”

“…”

Pressured by Mom’s intimidation, Teacher Miso opened the envelope with trembling hands.

“…Huh?”

Teacher Miso opened the envelope and took out the white paper inside.

[Ban Mi-young]

[Ban Pa-young]

[Ban Ra-young]

[Ban So-mi]

[Ban Sol-mi]

[Ban Leon]

…

“M-Mother. What is this?”

The paper in the envelope was densely filled with names that seemed to have been written by hand with a pen. There appeared to be at least 10, no, more than 20 names.

“These are baby name candidates that our family thought of together.”

“B-baby names?”

“We wanted to think more deeply about it, but time is too short, so this is all we could write down. We wanted to find names that both of you might like, even a little.”

“B-but you just said that Sol-young is still young and it seems too early for such decisions…”

“Yes, that’s why we need to prepare even faster. Time is quite limited, isn’t it? Babies are born surprisingly quickly, you know.”

“Ah, hahaha…”

*Plop*

Teacher Miso, seemingly relieved, plopped down in her chair.

“See? Our family isn’t as scary as you thought, right, noona?”

“Y-yeah… You’re right. But I was really surprised…”

Only after realizing that the envelope wasn’t what she had feared, Teacher Miso wiped her moist eyes and began to look through the name candidates we had written.

“This one is a name my mom thought of. Ban Sol-mi. Isn’t it pretty?”

“It really is… so pretty!”

“Hehe, thank you.”

“And what about Ban Leon…?”

“Ah, that’s our youngest’s creation.”

“Why not? We have ‘Do,’ ‘Si,’ and ‘Sol,’ so ‘Re’ would be nice too!”

“Thank goodness you weren’t born as Ban Si-young’s child. If you were a daughter, your name would have been Ban Lerina or something.”

“Ahaha… B-but I think it’s a cool name. If it’s a boy, I might consider it…”

“See?”

While happily reading through the candidates, Teacher Miso’s gaze stopped at the last line.

“…Oh? There’s also a list of names not to use?”

“Those were written by noona’s student.”

“Ah, Do-young… Let’s see. Ban Ha-young… Ban Do-min… Ban Ra-im… They all seem like pretty names, so why shouldn’t they be used?”

“Oh, that. Those are baby name candidates for children born between Ban Do-young and Do-ha-min.”

“…Eh?”

Even if they have different surnames, it would be troublesome if cousins had the same names.

Rare nicknames needed to be claimed early.