[fic] Minho/Key – SHINee –High Maintenance Extras 4/?

[rabenhorst]

Title: High Maintenance Extras 4/?
Author: fonulyn
Rating: PG
Pairing: Minho/girl!Key (Minho/Gwiboon)
Other characters: OCs, brief mentions
Warnings: --
Wordcount: 2580
Disclaimer: I own no one, only my dirty imagination.
Summary: Things are so messed up between Gwiboon and her parents. She really shouldn’t hope for anything to change.
Comments: Another High Maintenance ficlet! meiachii asked me to write something where Gwiboon meets her mother again after some time, so here you go! :D I hope you’ll like it!
(It’s written in one go, pretty much just flow of consciousness, and hasn’t been betaed yet so please forgive typos, or point them out so I can fix them!)

As much as Gwiboon loves her children, she would rather not go out to buy groceries with all three of them. It’s always such a hassle, keeping an eye on all of them and making sure they’re not running off or doing something else they’re not supposed to. Soojin is thankfully such an obedient little girl she sticks to her mother and helps out picking the groceries, but her siblings make up for that with their sheer energy. It’s a huge relief when Gwiboon finally gets to steer the trio towards the car, coevally trying to manoeuvre the shopping cart without causing an accident. Hyoyoung is already trying to run off with her popsicle, obviously having spotted something incredibly interesting in the gutter on the side of the parking lot. Thankfully her little chubby legs make sure she’s not very fast yet, and Gwiboon easily catches her before any damage is done. “You’re not supposed to cause mom grey hair like that,” Gwiboon says as she supports the little girl on her hip, bringing her back to the car and straight into her car seat. “What have we told you about running off without telling mom or dad?” “Not to do it,” the little girl informs dutifully, offering Gwiboon a happy blue smile. It’s going to be hell getting those blue stains off her shirt, too, but Gwiboon still can’t bring herself to regret buying the popsicles. Especially since now all the kids seem to have calmed down to enjoy their treats. Gwiboon buckles Hyoyoung up, and already crouches down to lift Seungwon up next when someone calls out for her. She startles, instantly recognizing the voice, even though it’s the last one she ever expected to hear. Slowly she turns around, straightening as she comes face to face with her mother. Mrs Kim looks impeccable as ever in her classy summer dress, one that probably cost more than everything Gwiboon and the children are wearing put together. It’s like time slows down, and Gwiboon has never been more grateful for the children for being silent and obedient instead of causing a horrible ruckus. Finally Mrs Kim breaks the silence, smiling awkwardly. “It’s been a while.” She’s radiating discomfort but makes no move to leave. Gwiboon steels herself for an uncomfortable discussion, her shoulder tensing on instinct. “Yes, it has.” She doesn’t need a reminder of that. It’s almost been a decade since she was shut out by her parents and never contacted again. Not when she got married, not even when she gave birth to the triplets, not once. All she’s ever heard has been via Jinki, but that source of information died as well when he finally came out to the whole family two years back. Then it’s been absolutely nothing, as if she didn’t exist to her parents and vice versa. She had to even hear of her father’s passing six months ago through a family lawyer, who informed her she’s not going to get anything. She wasn’t invited to the funeral. Gwiboon doesn’t know what to make of the conflicting emotions inside of her. Mrs Kim spends a long moment looking at the children, one by one, and there is something strange in her expression. Gwiboon tries to decide if it’s hatred, as it’s no secret what her mother thinks of her husband still and at least Soojin looks like a tiny female duplicate of Minho. The other two children have a lot of their father in them as well. Then again Mrs Kim seems to be mostly contemplative, maybe something like longing mixed into it. Finally Mrs Kim breaks the silence, again offering one of those horrible plastic smiles that she pastes on without even feeling them. “Aren’t you going to introduce us?” She’s perfectly polite, as if she’s meeting the children of one of her business advocates instead of her own grandchildren. Yet Gwiboon knows, from experience, that no matter what runs beneath the icy exterior of her mother is never shown openly. “I…” Gwiboon hesitates. A part of her wants to say no, no you gave up the right to be in the lives of these children when you abandoned your own daughter. She doesn’t have the heart to. In the end the kids do deserve to know their grandmother. At least they deserve a chance. So with a sigh, Gwiboon collects all the calmness she can manage right now and gently twines a little girl’s pigtail around her fingers. “Here’s Soojin. She’s the big sister. She’s been such a great help today.” Immediately Soojin perks up proudly, standing as tall as she can. Even if it’s really not a lot, not even if she tries to secretly tiptoe a little bit. Politely Soojin greets this strange lady, earning the most genuine smile from Mrs Kim up until now. Next Gwiboon places her hand on the little boy’s shoulder. “This is Seungwon. He’s quite a mechanic already.” True to his shy nature, Seungwon is bashful and hides his face in his mother’s knee. He has never really liked talking to new people, only comfortable with the familiar adults he’s already gotten to know. Gwiboon pats his head encouragingly, nodding towards the little girl sitting in the car. “And here’s Hyoyoung. She’s our little princess.” The girl waves cheerily from her car seat, already launching into an explanation on how amazing her blue popsicle was and isn’t blue the best colour in the world or what? When she smiles she looks exactly like Gwiboon does in all of those old photographs that used to sit on the mantelpiece in the Kim manor. Distantly Gwiboon wonders if the pictures are still there, or if her existence is wiped clean from the house. “Is she our grandma?” Seungwon asks curiously, tugging insistently on Gwiboon’s skirt as he looks up at her. “Like the grandma that comes over and makes us cookies?” The expression on his face is so hopeful that Gwiboon’s heart breaks in her chest. She swallows, instead of laughing at the ridiculous thought of her mother baking cookies, or baking absolutely anything at all. “She is your grandma,” she begins carefully, “but she isn’t a cookie baking grandma.” She hopes dearly that it’s enough of an explanation right now, as she doesn’t really want to get further into it right in front of Mrs Kim. “Oh.” Disappointment is clear in the little boy’s voice, but curiosity wins over soon and he tries to look at the new grandma as subtly as he can. Which isn’t very subtly at all. To break the moo, Gwiboon heaves Seungwon up and tickles him, smiling as he shrieks with laughter. “C’mon let’s get you in your seat, okay.” She takes her time strapping the boy into the car seat, and when she turns back Soojin is already waiting for her turn obediently. Gwiboon lifts her into the car as well, making sure they’re all secured properly. As she’s done and the children can amuse themselves with the various stuffed toys on the backseat of the car, Gwiboon straightens and her mother gives her a long, evaluating look. Gwiboon arches an eyebrow questioningly, but the following words manage to take her by surprise even though she really knows to expect a myriad of awkward questions. “You do know you’re not supposed to lift things when you’re pregnant? Even your children.” It’s unexpectedly easy to just huff at that. “Since when are you an expert in anything that has to do with children? When you had me you couldn’t wait to hand me over to the nanny.” Mrs Kim ignores the jab. “I never thought you’d be the type to have a large family. You’re like me, and I certainly had enough with one child already.” At that, Gwiboon flushes, cursing her tendency to blush when she’s feeling uncomfortable. She would never in a million years admit to her mother that technically they weren’t planning on any more children after the triplets, she was indeed determined that enough was enough. But even if the second time around was an accident, surprisingly she doesn’t really mind. “Are you still trying to pretend that you know me?” She asks instead of explaining herself, crossing her arms as if to shield herself from whatever her mother still has to say. Mrs Kim only sighs, her voice losing the steely edge as it even holds a tiny hint of pleading. “Gwiboon. You can still come back home. Even if Jinki is… not available. We can still find you a suitable marriage.” “A suitable marriage!?” Gwiboon laughs, unable to keep the hint of bitterness out of her voice. “Mother, look at me. I’m the mother of triplets, expecting again, and you think any of your business advocates would jump at the chance of marrying me?” She shakes her head, the smile still stuck on her lips. “Besides, I am married. To the father of my children. The love of my life. And you need to learn to accept that.” For a second, Mrs Kim looks like she’ll get angry but she obviously manages to hold it back as she only levelly goes on. “Gwiboon, I–” She’s cut off by a shriek from inside the car and Gwiboon spins around, only to find Seungwon crying and Hyoyoung vehemently explaining how it wasn’t really her fault. Great. As quickly and with an inhuman amount of patience Gwiboon sorts the situation out, and when she finally has Hyoyoung apologizing and all three children playing together again, she’s certain her mother has already left long ago. To her surprise, though, Mrs Kim still stands there, shock still like she has no hurry in this world. She seems like she has a lot to say, but Gwiboon can’t handle it, not right now. So instead of listening to whatever it is she launches into a rant of her own. “You’re right in that I wasn’t planning all of this. This might not be how I imagined my life turning out, when I still thought that your business is the most important thing in the world.” She inhales sharply, looking her mother straight in the eye. “I might not have planned this, but I’m happy. Minho makes me happy. So do my kids. The garage business has really taken off, and we earn more than we ever hoped to. There’s literally nothing you could ever offer me that would even stand a chance. Nothing.” Mrs Kim’s expression hardens. “Your father would–” “My father is dead,” Gwiboon interrupts. “And he has been dead to me for years before that. Stop hiding behind him.” Shock is evident on Mrs Kim’s face, even though she doesn’t say a word. Gwiboon can’t take the silence forever. “Look. You know how to reach me. If you want to learn to know your grandchildren, I’m not going to stop you. But you’re not allowed to bring any of that toxic attitude into my house. So call me. But not before you learn to accept that I’ve made my choice.” She turns to her groceries, determinedly ignoring her mother until she leaves. At first Gwiboon didn’t even realize how exhausting seeing her mother was on a mental level. The talk doesn’t leave her for the entire day, though, and when she’s finally sitting on the couch after what feels like an eternity, her legs lifted up on the coffee table, she lets her mind wander back to that meeting and how it felt to see her mother for the first time in eight years. She can hear the faint sounds of Minho chatting with the children in the next room as he’s putting them to bed, reading them a story and making sure they’re ready for the night. It makes her smile, as she’s so unbelievably happy with her life. Yet she hopes, against all odds, that her mother would really come to her senses at some point before it’s too late. Having Minho’s parents around is wonderful, Gwiboon has grown closer to them than she ever was to her own parents but… her mother is still her mother. She doesn’t even notice how her mind is drifting randomly before Minho sits down next to her, slinging an arm around her shoulders. Gratefully she snuggles close, pressing her nose into his armpit. “What’s going on?” He asks, sounding somewhat alarmed. “Is something wrong?” “Why would you ask that?” Gwiboon asks Minho’s armpit. He squirms. “Because you’ve been getting lost in thought all day,” he explains finally, swatting at her to make her stop tickling him. “You almost gave your coffee to Soojin when she asked for juice. If you’re willingly surrendering your coffee it must be bad,” he adds jokingly. Gwiboon smiles, appreciating the effort. She contemplates for a second, but there’s really no reason she couldn’t talk it through with him. “I met mom.” Immediately Minho tenses slightly. “What happened?” “Same old,” Gwiboon huffs, pulling back a little to be able to look at him properly. She rests her chin on his shoulder, pursing her lips into a disapproving frown. “She told me to come back home and let her help find me a suitable marriage.” Minho snorts. He never stops stroking Gwiboon’s back soothingly, though, knowing how much of a sore spot her parents are to her. “Can you imagine she thinks I’m still good merchandise?” Gwiboon laughs, the words accompanied by an eyeroll. It’s so typical for her that Minho can’t help but grin as he reaches brush his fingers over her frown, to smooth her expression again. “You are,” he says, honesty evident in his voice. “You’re more beautiful than ever.” The words make warmth splash in Gwiboon’s chest and although she tries not to let it show she’s pretty damn certain that Minho knows that anyway. “And you are biased,” she points out, punching his chest lightly. It can barely even be called a punch but she splays her fingers over the spot anyway, stroking the soft fabric of the shirt with her thumb. “Maybe,” Minho agrees with a smile so bright Gwiboon falls in love a little once again. “Just shut up and take the compliment.” They fall in comfortable silence, and it lasts so long that Gwiboon is almost drifting off before Minho’s voice startles her awake again. “Seriously, are you alright?” “Yeah,” she answers automatically. She has to pause for a second, but she finds that she really means it. She’s a lot calmer than she thought she would be. “I told her that she’s welcome into our lives if she gets her head out of her ass first.” Minho doesn’t comment the wording, only hums in acknowledgement and scoops her legs into his lap. They shift a little until they’re both comfortable. “Do you think it’ll happen?” “No.” Gwiboon admits. “But hey, it’s not like I know everything. Maybe she’ll prove me wrong.” “You know what?” Minho asks, a hint of determination on his face. “I think she will.” Gwiboon laughs at that, rewarding him with a kiss. She definitely appreciates his will to see the positive outcomes in everything. Yet she knows that even with the sheer force of his will, with all the determination and stubbornness he has, he doesn’t really have any power over what’ll happen, what Mrs Kim will decide. Gwiboon tells herself not to wish for the best. Yet she can’t help but allow herself to be the tiniest bit hopeful anyway.

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