Fran was busy setting up the dining table when he heard the doorbell rang. He looked at the time on his wristwatch and a smile formed on his lips. Ten minutes before the appointed time, huh? What a good way to have a decent first impression.
Fran fixed his clothes before walking out of the front door. He opened the gate with a smile. Too much excitement was evident in his eyes. However, Fran’s smile had suddenly faded and the spark of excitement immediately escaped from his eyes when he saw who rang the doorbell. It was not the person Fran was expecting. It was his neighbor Carlie.
“Hi, Fran!” greeted by the lady. Carlie stared at him from head to foot, and then her gaze went back to his face. “You look stunning, Fran! What’s the occasion?”
Fran heaved a sigh. “We’re expecting an important guest.”
“Really?” Carlie’s eyes were full of curiosity. “Who is this guest and why is that person important?”
Fran ignored Carlie’s question. “Do you need anything from my mom, Carlie?”
“Yes!” she answered immediately.
“Hmm, my mom’s busy at the moment. Can you just go back tomorrow?”
Carlie shook her head. “I need to talk to Auntie Anna. It’ll be quick, promise.”
“Carlie, we’re expecting a guest—”
“Please, Fran!” Carlie begged him.
Fran sighed. “Okay. Just be quick.”
“Yay! Thanks!”
Carlie went inside. Fran was about to follow her when he heard a car stopped in front of the house. A familiar figure got out from the driver’s seat of the car. It was the person Fran was expecting. The person he was waiting.
“Noah!” Fran shouted out his boyfriend’s name.
Noah’s gaze immediately turned towards Fran. He immediately crossed the distance between them. They hugged tenderly.
“You sounded too excited calling out my name, huh? Did you miss your boyfriend that much?” Noah said in a teasing manner.
“Yes, I’ve missed you.” Fran answered truthfully. “Do you feel nervous meeting my mom for the first time?” Fran could feel Noah’s rapid heartbeat.
Noah sighed. “Yes, very much. Do you think I’ll do okay?”
Fran tapped Noah’s back softly. “There you go again. I already told my mom about you. She’s a sweet woman.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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A couple of minutes later, Fran and Noah went inside the house while holding hands. They saw Fran’s mom talking to Carlie in the living room.
“Good afternoon…” Noah greeted using his deep racy voice.
Unsurprisingly, it caught the attention of Fran’s mom and Carlie. The two looked at Noah’s direction.
“Hi, Noah!” Fran mom greeted him with a warm smile. “We’ve finally met.”
“I’m happy to finally meet you, Auntie.”
Carlie couldn’t help but interrupt the conversation. “I know you! You’re the guy from the restaurant. The one who looks like a celebrity!” Carlie’s gaze shifted to Fran. “You said you don’t know him…and why are you two holding hands?”
Fran maintained the smile on his face despite what Carlie had said. He looked at his mother. “Mom, I want you to meet Noah—my boyfriend.”
“What????” blurted Carlie. “Your what?”
Fran’s patience ran out. “Noah is my boyfriend. Is there any problem with that, Carlie?”
The girl looked like she was about to cry.
“Carlie…” Fran’s mom spoke to the girl. “You are a bright child. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, okay? Go home for now.”
“I..I’m sorry…” said Carlie. Then, she ran out of the house.
Fran’s mom walked towards Noah’s direction and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I appreciate that you made time to come and meet me today. You are very much welcome here, Noah.”
“Thank you, Auntie…”
“I think you should call me ‘mom’ instead of ‘auntie’…” Fran’s mom looked at Noah with a tender expression on her face. “Is that all right with you, Noah? Or is it too sudden—”
“No, I’d love to call you mom!”
Fran saw how Noah’s face brightened up. He felt his heart melt upon seeing his mom and boyfriend getting along with each other. Fran knew Noah was longing for a mother’s love. It was a great thing that Fran’s mother was willing to accept his boyfriend as his own son. Fran’s heart was happy.
“Fran told me about your favorite food, so I’ve cooked them for you, Noah. Let’s eat before the food turns cold.”
“Thanks, mom…” Noah was grinning from ear to ear. “By the way, I brought you a cake.”
“Thank you, son.” Fran’s mother said. Then, the three of them went to the dining room.
Fran’s mother’s home cooked meals tasted superb. Not only because it was prepared by a fantastic cook, but also the interaction among the three while they were eating made each meal taste delightful. They were talking, laughing, and teasing each other.
Fran found himself looking at Noah who was sitting beside him. Noah was laughing hysterically at his mom’s joke. Seeing Noah’s happy face, Fran couldn’t help but be mesmerized by Noah’s appearance. Yes, he was handsome—but, it was more than that. There was something different about the Noah he was looking at the moment than the Noah he knew before. Ah, maybe the look of genuine happiness?
While looking at his boyfriend intently, Fran realized something: he was looking at the man he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. This man right here, his boyfriend, his person, his soulmate. His present and future all belonged to Noah. Fran was fortunate enough to meet his fated person.
“Noah, thank you for bringing back the smile and laughter on Fran’s face.” said his mom. “I know it’s going to be a difficult road for the both of you because of some narrow-minded people. But please always remember that you will always have my support.”
“Thanks, mom…” Fran and Noah said in unison.
Fran felt Noah’s hand held his and squeezed it under the table.
Today was a great day.
*****
Fran was in the middle of an important lecture when he received an email from Sean. The message was to inform him that Mister Jin’s condition had become stable the past few days. There was also a recent picture of his old friend—although, he became thin and weak, Mister Jin still managed to show his smile on the picture.
Fran was happy to receive news from his friends. Ever since they flew to A country, Fran was communicating with Sean through email about Mister Jin’s condition. However, those email exchanges stopped because Mister Jin was admitted to the hospital. Sean was too busy taking good care of Mister Jin than to answer emails from Fran.
After the lecture, Fran remained inside the empty classroom. He replied to Sean’s email and asked the latter if he could FaceTime Mister Jin (it was the only app Fran was using because it was easy for him to video call Noah all the time). Sean immediately replied and said it was okay.
Not a moment later, Mister Jin’s face was on the screen. Fran had an overwhelming feeling upon seeing his friend. He had so many things to tell Mister Jin.
“How are you feeling?” Fran asked.
Mister Jin softly laughed. “I feel fine. Sean is taking really good care of me. I think I can survive this.”
“That’s great.” Fran replied. “Always listen to your doctors, okay? And don’t give Sean a hard time by being stubborn.”
“So, he’s not only reporting about my health conditions to you, but my tantrums as well, through your email exchanges?” Mister Jin laughed. “My husband is really one of a kind.”
“Did you two get married while in A country?”
“Yes.” Mister Jin answered. “Just this morning.”
“What? How did you do it?” Fran was really curious.
Mister Jin smiled. “The ceremony took place right here, on my hospital bed. We didn’t inform you about our plans because we thought you’re going to fly here in an instant just to attend the ceremony.”
Fran realized that he had the tendency to do something like that for his friends. “Yeah, you’re right about that. Who would want to miss his friends’ wedding, right?”
“Wait for us to come back. We will have another wedding ceremony for you to attend.”
“I’ll be waiting…”
“How about you, Fran? How are you? Well, this video call is not of high quality, but I think you look different from before. You seem happy? Tell me!”
Fran smile grew wider. “I’m in love…”
“Oh?”
“I have a boyfriend now.”
“I am so happy for you, Fran! I want to meet your boyfriend. Can you introduce him to me and Sean?”
“Of course, I will do that! Noah is in class right now.”
“Noah? Your boyfriend’s name is N-Noah?” asked Mister Jin.
“Yes.”
“What a lovely name…” Mister Jin said. “Ah, I want to talk to you longer, but my doctor is here now. I’ll talk to you later, Fran. I miss you. Be happy always.”
“I’ll wait for your return…”
Fran was really hoping for Mister Jin to overcome his illness. However, not everything we were hoping for was bound to happen. It was the first and last video call Fran had with Mister Jin. His communication with the couple went back to email exchange.
But that was a story for another time.
Fran would go on living his best life without knowing what kind of future awaited him and Noah.
just the name is enough for him to think it is his son? Or is it because the name reminds him of his son and he doesn’t wanna hear it?
either way, I hope Noah and his sister can reunite with Mr Jin and Sean and have that parental bond they so sorely need.
thanks for the chapter <3
Wooooo~~i wonder what will happen now..
Thanks for the chapter 🥰
Did he realize something?
Thank you for the chapter <3
Carlie learned a hard lesson, luckily while she’s still young. And I’m not surprised Fran’s mom took to Noah right away. She’s just the right amount of loving without being fake or inappropriate (I might struggle with that one if it was me).
I see I am the last one to board the “get a clue” train and connect the plot dots 😆
I didn’t put together 1+1 until I read all of your comments 😳