Joohyun was nervous.

Her palms were sweaty, there’re perspiration on her forehead and her eyes were unfocused. As she looked at her own figure in the mirror, she muttered a curse and quickly went to fix her make-up. She was never one to use heavy make-up so it only took her a few seconds to make her look less haggard. Joohyun took a deep breath to calm herself and stared at her reflection once more.

She was wearing a simple sleeveless one-piece dress and wore her hair lose, letting it fall off her shoulder down to her chest. She eyed the fading pink tips of her hair and tilted her hair, pressing her lips together as a thought crossed her mind.

I should dye my hair again.

Her phone vibrated on the dressing table and she quickly picked it up to read the message. I’m downstairs. Joohyun unconsciously smiled as she read Sehun’s message before she went to get her purse and checked her appearance one last time before leaving her room. Just as she bounded down the stairs, she found her mother standing by the front door and with her was Joohyun’s fiancé, Oh Sehun. Her breath got caught in when she saw the way he was dressed; a button down black shirt with little white spots, a dark blazer, jeans and black loafers. She almost blushed when she realized that they somewhat had matched their outfits by accident, but then she was reminded of her mother’s presence and carefully eyed the woman who was also watching her as Sehun was.

“Mother,” she greeted her curtly, threw a short glance at Sehun, and then back at the woman. “I’m going to be joining the Ohs for dinner tonight.” She informed her, keeping a close eye on her mother’s reaction.

The woman hardly blinked and merely gave her a curt nod before turning to Sehun. “I look forward to having you dine with us soon as well,” she said.

Sehun smiled politely at her. “Of course, Mrs. Bae. I look forward to that day as well.” Possibly noticing the tension in the room, Sehun cleared his throat and held a hand out to Joohyun; a rather bold move so to say as her mother was right there but the man seemed to be completely relaxed. “Shall we get going? My parents should be waiting for us now.” He said with a small smile.

Joohyun nodded her head and placed her hand in his, and Sehun smiled wider before bowing to her mother and politely asking to be excused. Mrs. Bae nodded with a tight smile, and Joohyun narrowed her eyes at her mother before falling into steps with Sehun as he led her to his car parked at the front. Like all the times she’d ride with him in his vehicle, he opened the door for her and allowed her to settle in her seat before climbing behind the wheel, and they were out of the gates in a breath.

Joohyun unconsciously let out a loud sigh of relief once they were on the road.

“Joo, is everything alright?” Sehun asked, surprising her. She turned to him and gave him a confused look. “Your mother… she doesn’t seem happy to know that you’re going to have dinner with my family.”

She sighed at that. “I don’t know what’s up with her, to be honest. It’s not like you’re a stranger anyway; we’re going to get married soon so it’s right for me to come meet your family like this.”

“True,” he nodded as he drove. “If you don’t mind me asking, but is your relationship with your mother always like this?”

She hesitated, but was reminded of a promise she made to him on one of their first few dates and relented. “It turned sour around five years ago.” She revealed. “I told you I have a sister remember?” Sehun nodded again. “My sister… she refused to follow the family tradition and eloped with her boyfriend instead. She’s never been allowed home since.”

Sehun glanced at her in surprise, taken aback by the revelation. Seeing the contorted look on Joohyun’s face, Sehun decided that it was not the proper time to get her to talk about their family history, but she continued before he could stop her.

“My mother knew about her boyfriend, and although she didn’t like our family tradition as well, she never did anything about it. She didn’t stop my father when he wanted Jae-in to marry someone he’s chosen nor did she stop him from throwing her out of the house. She did nothing.” Joohyun’s bottom lip trembled as memories of that day flashed in her mind, and she let out an audible gasp when she felt something warm covering her hand on her lap, and only then did she realized that she was trembling and that Sehun was holding her hand.

“You don’t have to say more,” he said gently and smiled at her. “We can continue this story another day… when you’re ready.”

She swallowed, nodding her head and Sehun smiled at her one last time before giving the road his undivided attention. Still, his hand remained enclosed around Joohyun’s fist, and after a while, he carefully opened her palm and clasped their hands – all the while keeping his eyes on the road. Joohyun stared at their hands on her lap blankly for a moment, feeling her face growing hotter. She was definitely distracted from the thoughts of her sister now, and with the utmost gratefulness in her heart, she gently tightened the grip of her hold of Sehun’s hand before throwing her gaze out the window.

Sehun couldn’t stop himself from smiling as he drove.

*

*

*

The Oh’s place was a double storey house that was mostly painted in white, but through the windows, the bright lights from inside the house made the house glow and looked more homey compared to her own. The Bae’s mansion was huge but empty, and as Joohyun walked through the front doors, she could already feel the homey and loving vibe that seemed to surround this home, making her heart sing. She looked around at the cream coloured walls in the foyer, eyes taking in the various photos hung on the walls, the beautiful staircase leading up to the second floor and even the polished wooden floor beneath her feet. Everything screamed… home. A home.

Somewhere she felt belonged.

“It’s… it’s beautiful.” She breathed out when she felt Sehun’s presence from behind her. Sehun had been watching her intently as she explored the foyer before turning to Sehun. “You have a beautiful home.”

If her breath was taken away by the interior of the house, his breath was knocked out of his chest at the pure awe and wonder on her face. Somehow, his heart ached for her, and not wanting to let his emotion get to him, Sehun gently took her hand in his which successfully kept her gaze off of the pictures on the walls and onto him instead. He smiled at her and felt his heart leap at the smile he got in return.

“Welcome to my home, Joohyun.” Gently tugging her to the left room, Sehun got her to enter their living room and again, she was swept away by the simple yet breath taking interior de