Six months later

Song Jihyo ssi, please come to my restaurant.

It's been six months since she promised Jongkook to be with him for the rest of their lives. And what a crazy period it has been. From picking their wedding venue to trying out their wedding outfits, right down to deciding what colour they want for their paper napkins, Jihyo learnt that getting married to someone isn't merely about being in love and wanting to be together with each other.

She twirls the silver band on her finger, watching as the pretty gem catches the sunlight. 

It's a little more than that, she learnt. It's also about learning how to become a part of another family. 

Yes Eomonim, it will take me about an hour to get there. I hope that's okay. 

The colour of the skies told her that it's going to be rainy day. She hops into her car, deciding against telling Jongkook for now as he's at a company retreat for the weekend.  

Ever since she was reintroduced to his family, the contact between both parties has been infrequent. The couple actually spent more time with her family than his. This is completely unintentional, and was because she still lives with her parents whilst he has his own place. 

And if Jihyo was honest, she was really relieved. This minimal contact really helped to lay off the pressure a bit. 

Her mind quietens into a blank state as she pulls up into the carpark of the restaurant. Her only memory of the place was... unpleasant. Like before, the sign outside the restaurant indicates that it is closed for the day. She steels herself and steps into the front door. 

Inside, Jihyo found his mother at the kitchen. There was no one at the restaurant other than the elderly woman, who is chopping up ingredients at the metal kitchen counter.

"Eo, you're here?" Mrs Kim calls out.

Jihyo bows deeply before greeting her. There are blue and green plates of prepared ingredients in front of her - from chopped garlic to descaled fish. "Eomonim, did you prepare everything?" 

"Yes, and I'm going to teach you to use them properly, Jihyo-ssi." Jihyo smiles and feels a warmth start at the pit of her tummy - even if this entire cooking lesson was really meant for Jongkook. The fact that the elderly woman spent the entire morning just preparing the ingredients for them told Jihyo that his mother liked her enough to be thoughful about the entire experience. 

"Call me Jihyo, Eomonim!" she chirps. 

Mrs Kim raises an eyebrow, slightly amused by Jihyo's sudden enthusiasm. "Don't be mistaken, Jihyo. I'm doing all these to make sure Jongkook gets proper meals in the future. Kwangsoo told me that your cooking skills are subpar."

That tattletale. 

Jihyo has to resist the urge to roll her eyes, tucking that information about her betraying dongsaeng at the back of her mind. "Of course, Eomonim. Jongkook always tells me about how awesome your cooking is and to be honest, I never thought that I'll ever reach your standard." The elderly lady flushes with pride at the sudden praise and coughs to hide how pleased she felt.

"Well then, I'll begin." she says as she passes Jihyo a checkered apron. 

Mrs Kim observes Jihyo for the entire afternoon. And in her honest opinion, the entire session was a disaster. 

Jihyo had somehow managed to burn the mackerel that she was grilling, spill all of the glutinous rice she had prepared and smash the tofu that was meant to be served whole. At first, she was annoyed and had clucked her tongue at several points. But from her observations, it just didn't seem like Jihyo was doing it on purpose. The young woman was (at least, trying very hard to be) focused on what she was doing and seemed to be functioning at the best possible level. She just had very weak kitchen sense. And with every accident, Mrs Kim spied Jihyo's fingers getting a little shakier and her face a little paler as she got more anxious and discouraged, her earlier enthusiasm long gone. 

Well, not everyone is as talented as I am. And that's just how it is. Mrs Kim said to herself. 

The only silver lining is that Mrs Kim found Jihyo's talent (if she squints a little) in soupy dishes, where she made a successful kimchi stew with no issues (hallelujah!).

Well, probably because she just needed to throw all the prepared ingredients in a predictated sequence.

Maybe it's always in her Jongkookkie's destiny to live on a healthy diet. Mrs Kim feels a little resigned and packs up the kimchi stew as Jihyo loads the dishwasher.

"Leave the rest to me, Jihyo. And come over here." She blinks her pretty almond eyes, bewilderment flashes across her face. "Neh? Eomonim, let me help you with the dishes." 

"Now that we're done, the burn on your finger needs attention, Jihyo-ya. Follow me to the office and I'll apply some dressing for you. The dishes can wait."

"Ah, it's okay Eomonim. I'll just apply some cream when I go back." 

"Are you going against my wishes for this too?" Mrs Kim said, her tiger-mum face on. 

"Ah, n-no Eomonim. That's not what I mean." Jihyo stutters. 

"Good. Follow me then." Mrs Kim says before turning on her heel and walking briskly to her office. She grabs the transparent first aid box off the shelf and gestures for the young lady to sit down on the couch. Said young lady was looking around the office, much like how she did the first time. And like the first time, her face is pale with apprehenson in her eyes. Mrs Kim sighs. 

"Sit down and put the finger on my lap." she says as she picks up the tube of burn cream and a large plaster. Jihyo follows her instructions before raising her tentative eyes to meet hers, "Kwangsoo is right, Jihyo-ya. You need more practice with your cooking." Jihyo nods obediently. "I'll try my best Eomonim. 

"Good." Mrs Kim nods and dabs on the wound, keeping the contact on the burn featherlight when Jihyo winces. "Instead of giving up easily, you should keep trying at it. Same with marriage." 

"Eomonim... " Is Jongkook's mother.... giving her approval? "I will. With Jongkook Oppa, I promise." 

"I was angry with you back then, because I thought you gave Jongkook up too quickly, too lightly." Like my Jongkookkie was nothing. A flash of protectiveness rose within Mrs Kim again.

"You better keep your promise."

"I'm sorry, Eomonim. I thought what I did was best for him... " 

"And that was very presumptuous of you. Look how that turned out." She catches the flinch in Jihyo's eyes and sighs.  She sighs, "Maybe it's good that you went out to see the world a bit. You were very young Jihyo-ya, and these decisions are never easy to make." says Mrs Kim as she wraps the wound with the plaster. "But now that you're older, and have decided to commit to Jongkook, I hope you remember that what you think is best for him may not necessarily be what he needs." 

"Y-yes, Eomonim. I will. I'll try my best." 

"That's all I need to hear." 

2 years later 

Something's up.

Jihyo sighs as she pushes her chair away from the dinner table. The intricate Praguean grandfather clock that they bought when they went on their honeymoon had just struck ten, and Jongkook's still not back yet.

For some reason, he has been staying out late in the evenings. 

She heaves her body up with a groan.

Pregnancy does not suit her well. Every part of her body is sore and her movements are slow and sluggish. You know what people say about pregnancy glow? It's a lie. She's about as attractive as a walrus. Maybe that's why Jong kook has been coming home so late, she barely has time to kiss him before she falls asleep - she's tired all the time now, and when she's awake he's already prepared her breakfast and raring to go to work. 

She really misses their cuddles in bed. Her eyes burned as she imagines his face reeling in disgust at her body and a tear threatens to fall. Mayb