Sungjong could feel the nervousness building inside him as he stepped inside the Lee family’s residence with Howon. It was a kind of house that Sungjong had only ever seen in dramas with those chaebols and such.

The couple immediately made their way to Howon’s house after they arrived at Busan. Myungeun on the other hand had been picked off by her own family’s driver at the airport.

As if the house did not surprise him enough, there were a few maids and butlers that welcomed him and Howon, greeting their ‘master’ as they continued walking inside the house. It took quite long for them until they reached the living room, at least that’s what Sungjong felt.

Seeming to sense the omega’s nervousness, Howon took his mate’s hand in his, hoping his action would diminish the uneasiness inside Sungjong. As they stepped inside the room, Sungjong saw a girl--- who seemed to be around the same age as him, stood up from the spot where she was seating as soon as she spotted the couple.

“Ah!” the girl, who was no other than Mijoo, squealed before scooting closer to the Howon and Sungjong. “You must be Lee Sungjong!” Mijoo grinned as she studied Sungjong from head to toe. “Woaaah, you are just like in the photo, so pretty!”

Sungjong was dumbfounded by Mijoo’s excitement, the omega then nodded his head to confirm Mijoo’s words.

“Hello, I am Lee Sungjong, it’s nice to meet you” being the polite person he was, he introduced himself first even though he was still puzzled by the female’s action.

“Mijoo-ya” a woman, who was no other than Howon and Mijoo’s mother approached the three of them, arms crossed over her chest as she gave her daughter a stern look. Sungjong thought the woman looked graceful even when she did that. “Where is your manner? You should have introduced yourself first.”

Mijoo pouted as her mother scolded her. “Sorry, Umma….” Even though it’s not as bad as their late father, their mother was also quite strict when it comes to about manner and such. Mijoo then turned her head to Sungjong again, showing a toothy grin at her brother’s mate.

“Hello Sungjong, my name is Lee Mijoo, Howon oppa’s sister. I have heard a lot about you from Howon oppa, and it’s really nice to finally meet you in person” She ended her introduction with a bow before offering Sungjong a handshake, which the male gladly accepted. Sungjong then told her it’s a pleasure to meet her as well before turning his attention to Howon’s mother, whom the alpha was hugging right now.

The omega saw the woman turned her gaze at him after she let go of the hug, which made Sungjong immediately flash a small yet still polite smile before stepping closer towards her to introduce himself to Howon and Mijoo’s mother.

“Hello ma’am, my name is Lee Sungjong. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Sungjong ended his introduction with a polite bow.

“Hello Sungjong-ssi, as you may have known already, I am Howon’s mother. And I assume that you’re my son’s mate?” a smile was formed on her lips as she uttered the word ‘mate’, her action was enough to cease all the nervousness Sungjong was feeling.

Sungjong glanced at Howon for a moment before answering her question, “Yes ma’am, I am Howon hyung’s mate.” He felt Howon draped an arm around his shoulder protectively after he stated it.

The woman kept the smile on her face as she nodded in acknowledgement, saying that it’s such a pleasure to finally meet his son’s mate. After she told the couple to have a seat, Howon and Sungjong were seated next to each other while Mijoo and their mother were sitting on their opposite, facing the couple.

The conversation between the four of them actually went smoothly, with Howon’s Mother mostly asking about Sungjong’s background and how did he met Howon, while Mijoo brightened the situation by occasionally teasing Howon about how the alpha had missed the omega during those time when Howon was apart from Sungjong.

At first, Sungjong was scared that Howon’s mother would come to look down on him, and might have even disapproved his son’s relationship with the omega. Sungjong, after all, came off far from being wealthy, not to mention that his mother had been abusive and he used to have a step-father who’s far from being a respectful person.

But Howon’s mother overlooked those facts and instead praised him continuously when she found out that he had attended high school and was now attending college through scholarship, not to mention that Sungjong had always been one of the best students in both school and university.

As they ended the introduction and all, Mijoo excused herself to go to bed first since she had a dance class to attend tomorrow morning. Dancing had always been something Mijoo wanted to do instead of studying business, which was what their late father wanted both Howon and her to do. Now that she had more freedom compared to how she was in the past, she used the opportunity to do almost everything she had always dreamt to do.

It was pretty late when the remaining three also decided to go to bed. Before going to the bedroom, Howon had something he needed to check in his working room, which left Sungjong with Howon’s mother alone as the two waited for Howon together in the living room.

“Sungjong-ssi” Howon’s mother called the omega all of a sudden, breaking the silence that had been there for a few minutes.

Sungjong immediately looked up as he heard his name being called “Yes, ma’am?”

“Do you love our Howon?”, the woman asked just out of the blue. Sungjong could not help but feel worried because he found no smile on her face as she asked so. He thought it must be something serious for her to ask the question so suddenly.

The omega nodded his head firmly as he looked into her eyes. “I love him. I have always loved him, and only him.” Sungjong noticed a smile was formed on the woman’s lips after he told her his answer, and once again, it managed to make the omega relaxed.

“At first, I was hesitant to let him study in Seoul.” she started speaking again in response to Sungjong’s answer. “I knew he only wanted to go there to have a little bit of freedom, to stay away from his father. And I knew he had neglected you before. I am truly sorry because my son had given you a hard time, Sungjong-ssi. Even though he has done something that was hard to be forgiven, I knew that deep inside, our Howon only loved you.” The woman then fixed her gaze on Sungjong. “I am very glad you are willing to take him back despite what happened.”

Sungjong widened his eyes at Howon’s mother’s statement before quickly shaking his head. “No! Not at all, ma’am…. Howon hyung, after all, had also given me so many things that I could only dreamt of before, and he also protected me so many times… if anything, I should be the one saying thank you. And thank you, ma’am, for allowing me to be with him”

The woman nodded while still smiling at him. “It’s not something to be thanked about, it’s only natural for two people who love each other to be together, right?” she paused for a moment before she continued speaking. “But if you insist to thank me, Sungjong-ssi, maybe you and Howon can do it by giving me a grandchild soon? Or is it too fast?” her smile turned into a playful one, causing Sungjong to blush. Now the omega knew where did Howon and Mijoo’s playful trait came from.

**********

It was sungjong’s third day since he came to Busan, and he was gradually adapting to the life in Lee family’s residence.

Unfortunately, Howon had been busy catching up with a lot of work after being away for two weeks, causing him not being able to spend a lot of time with Sungjong. The only time Howon could be with Sungjong during these three days was in the morning before he went to work and at evening after he came home.

Howon, who felt bad for his mate because he was not able to accompany him after dragging him all the way to his hometown, wanted to just skip work and stay with Sungjong for a few days. But the omega told his mate to be responsible as the heir of his family, and Howon had no other choice but to comply the omega.

With Howon being busy, Mijoo became a loyal companion for Sungjong. The two got closer as they continued to spend their time together. Sungjong had also got introduced to Mijoo’s fiancée, Woohyun.

It was in the morning of his third day in Busan when Sungjong started sensing that unfamiliar feeling of nausea. It happened when the four of them were having breakfast together. Sungjong politely excused himself to the bathroom as he felt the nausea building inside him, after only managing to take a sip of tea for breakfast.

Sungjong’s action caused Howon to worry, that the alpha went after his mate to the bathroom, only to find Sungjong throwing up his stomach content to the toilet bowl.

“Jongie, are you alright?” Howon approached his mate as soon as he finished--- at least that’s what Howon thought- vomiting, rubbing his back gently in attempt to comfort the omega.

Sungjong glanced over his shoulder to look at Howon. “I am okay, hyung, you should not be here---“ before the omega could finish his words, he had started throwing up again, causing Howon to worry even more. Howon kept moving his hand up and down his mate’s back, trying to comfort him as Sungjong continued throwing up. Later, he also asked for one of the maids to bring a glass of water and some medicine, but Sungjong refused the medicine and only drank the water. The omega thought that the sickness was simply caused by last night’s dinner, some French food which Sungjong was not really fond of, but he still ate it out of respect.

“I will just stay at home today.” Howon sighed as he escorted Sungjong back to his room, wrapping his arm around the omega protectively.

Sungjong frowned a