“I feel like I've made a mistake by asking him to come with me,” Jaeha sighed loudly as she checked her reflection for the nth time in the mirror of her bathroom while she also had her phone in one hand, talking to her boyfriend.

“Why would it be? Youngjae is nice.”

“It's just that... well... you know, I thought about it last night and he and I have never been alone just the two of us together for more than twenty minutes. It's going to be awfully awkward if we don't manage to find something to talk about.”

“You can just drag him to your teachers so that they can talk among each other and you're done.”

“But... that's not even the problem in fact,” the girl mumbled, contradicted herself. Obviously she was lost and even her thoughts were all messed up so what she was saying wasn't completely making any sense, but Yugyeom understood a bit, at least enough to try to comfort her by telling that everything would be alright and that her and Youngjae would just spend a fine afternoon together.

“What's the problem then?” he sighed.

“What if it's too boring for him? What if he just wastes an afternoon of his life with me? He could just stay home but instead he is going to come with me at that useless forum. It's going to be tiring, and I'm not sure I want him to get too tired because of me.”

“Hum... excuse me, miss, but who are you and what have you done of my girlfriend?” Yugyeom scoffed sarcastically.

“Ah, ah, very funny Kim Yugyeom,” she rolled her eyes.

“Listen, everything is going to be alright it won't be boring and maybe you'll end up having fun and it will be a great time for you two to bond a bit, you know? The worst case scenario could be Youngjae meeting your sciences teacher and finding out you haven't been to any of his classes since the beginning of the semester. But honestly, what could go wrong, huh?”

Yugyeom was right, she knew it and it annoyed her even more. She knew how excited her dad's boyfriend was about going with her to the forum, for nearly a week now she had heard him speaking about it and he had even told his parents when he had them over the phone on Tuesday. And she was fine with it too, she really was (after all, she had been the one asking him if he wanted to come), but it was just that she felt like a bother. She wasn't his daughter, he had no obligation toward her and she felt like she was annoying him with her boring school related stuff (Jaeha was the most concerned one in this situation and she was herself pissed at the whole thing, how could Youngjae be even a little bit interested? It was impossible, he couldn't be).

“Just act natural, don't try to play pretend Youngjae hyung will know it and that will really make things awkward, just be yourself,” was Yugyeom's last advice.

“I'll try,” she said, not really convinced though.

They only hung up after he had made her promised to call him back once she would be back home to tell him in detail how her afternoon would have went, and so Jaeha left her home where she had came back for lunch break and she drove to the high school where Youngjae was teaching, situated in the downtown not too far from their house.

They had told each other to meet at two pm at the teachers' parking lot and she wasn't surprised to find out he was already waiting for her when she arrived. When he saw her, his smile grew wild and he quickly sat at the passenger seat of her car, carelessly throwing his bag at the back.

“Are you alright?” he asked her as soon as she started driving again, “did you eat well? Was there enough kimchi left? I should have gone to the mall to buy some but I didn't have time so I was planning on going after the forum, maybe we could go on the way if you don't mind spending a few hours more with me,” he chuckled but Jaeha knew he was only trying to hide his nervousness. She could see him tapping his fingers on denim jeans and he couldn't stopped but looking at everything going on outside. And maybe it was weird to say and it didn't really make any sense, but it somehow made her feel better to know she wasn't the only one nervous about the thing about to happen. Just like minus plus minus were making plus in math, maybe a nervous one plus a nervous one would make a not nervous one in the end (or at least she hoped so).

“We can go to the mall after, I won't mind,” she finally said.

“Great,” he said.

The ride to the uni which Jaeha had pictured being long and boring turned out to be just right since Youngjae never really stopped talking. He asked her about her morning, about what she had done so far at the forum and if there were things to do there, and he then talked about his own morning in classes which he had spent trying to teach his students beautiful poems which he personally loved and knew by heart, but his students apparently weren't as enthusiastic as him about the subject. “It's crazy what you can do with simple and short words, in just two lines you can have already describe and share in the most beautiful and romantic way your true feelings. I just don't understand why there are some people who don't like that,” he said to her and she completely agreed with him since she herself loved poetry or just reading in general but there weren't a lot of people in her course loving it, “but it's so stupid right?” she chuckled, “I mean we're studying Korean language, is there any better way than to read a lot to understand how it works and its evolution?”, “I know right?” Youngjae answered with a cute giggle.

Finally, when she parked her car among the hundred of other ones, they walked side by side to the main entrance of the campus, Youngjae looking around with wide eyes as he entered the gates of Ewha Womans University for the first time ever.

“You really never went there before?” Jaeha asked him, surprised.

“Nope, never.”

“And so, how does it feel?”

“I know what I'm going to say is kind of weird,” he mumbled for her only to hear, “but when I was in high school or even studying at the university it was every boys' dream to come and visit Ewha Womans University campus.”

“Why that?” she asked, really curious.

“Well, a campus full of beautiful and clever girls was like heaven for us.”

“Oh... that,” she laughed when she remembered Yugyeom and Bambam telling her the same thing one day, “and now that you're here, what do you think?”

“I feel like one of my dream is coming true. The girls here are really pretty,” he answered with a little sly smirk as he took a glance at the surroundings.

“I'll tell dad about it,” she playfully said.

“Go ahead,” he joked back and elbowed her side.

They entered the building in which Jaeha was spending most of her days and they didn't bother asking for a guide who happened to be another student to look around, Youngjae himself told her it would be better if they were just on their own first while she was explaining herself what classes she had in which rooms and he also added he'd like to hear about the places she was hanging at when she didn't have no classes, where was the cafeteria or things like that for example. So together, looking strangely more complicit than ever, they did a long tour of the whole campus, bought ice-creams at the temporary snacks shop held by members of the Student Council and acquittance of Jaeha, and they wandered in small paths leading to secluded but silent places which were according to the girl perfect to read or work in peace, far from the library for example to where all the first years were going to use the computers to play games.

“That's really a great university,” Youngjae said while they were sitting on a bench to eat, “now I really understand why everyone wants their daughter to come here to study. I feel better now that I know a bit better the environment in which you study and I'm sure Jaebum hyung will feel better when I tell him about it too.”

“Why?” she asked with a raised brow.

“Well as parents it's our responsibility to send our kids to a good university to offer them the best education as possible, and even if there was no doubt EWU was one of the best, we couldn't help but be worried and to apprehend a bit. And it has nothing to do with the fact that your dad spends his time worrying anyway, I swear,” he chuckled, “no but seriously, we really need to tell your dad to stop being worry as much as he is, he has a lot more wrinkles and white hair than he had three years ago when I met him.”

“He has always been like that,” Jaeha shrugged off, “who could change him?”

“We should really come up with something, let's think about it one day, but anyway! Let's get back to serious business, your university is really a good one and the lessons they offered here also look really good, even me I'd like to attend to some of them at time.”

“You can go in my behalf if you want to!” Jaeha offered him with a serious tone but a funny kidding face, “I won't mind at all! Anytime you want you tell me and I'll lend you my student card!”

“Oh you know! There's this thing adults tend to say a lot about going back to school and everything but I'm a teacher, I spend my days in school and believe me, I don't want to come back!”

“Well even if as a student I don't want to go, I can totally imagine what you're feeling.”

They both laughed and kept talking and joking about random things. And the busier they got talking and lost track of time, the more Jaeha started realizing their conversation had nothing from a typical dad-daughter one, or a child-adult one either. In fact, she felt like Youngjae was treating her as his equal and he was talking to her like he was doing with his friends even more than with her dad. It was like two young adults talking and enjoying a moment together, but never at any moment she felt like he was part of her family (well, was her dad's boyfriend at least) and it made things even more significant. He wasn't there as an authority figure, but instead, she felt like he was there as a slightly older friend or as a benevolent relative.

And even if it was hard and odd to admit for her at least, she liked this Youngjae. She didn't want him as a step-father and would always hate him if one day he was pretending to be. She would also always hate him if he was trying to act like a dad with her and would try to act all severe and authoritative; her dad and even her father could shout and be mad at her for any kind of reasons, but Youngjae couldn't, she wouldn't accept it. But she was fine with him being at ease with her and treating her as a younger friend. She was feeling way more at ease like this and in the end, all her nervousness vanished.

Before going back home, they stopped at the nearest mall and though they were originally planning on buying only kimchi and fresh vegetables, they ended up buying a lot of snacks and unhealthy food they knew Jaebum wouldn't have agreed to buy if he had been there. “You know sometimes when I see your dad and his diet I just want to stuff his mouth with burgers or fried chicken and tell him to shut up. He spends hours exercising, he can eat a piece of chocolate from time to time!”, “Plus he spends a lot of time eating at restaurants with people he meets for his job”, “Exactly my point!”.

Back at home, Jaebum was already there, sitting in the sofa with his tablet in his hands and as soon as they both appeared, he started his interrogation and none of them was actually able to escape from it. Not even when Jaeha tried to go to the bathroom he prevented her from leaving his sight. He showered them with questions, asking if they had had a good time or not and if it was interesting, if he should contact Jaeha's teachers or not, and Youngjae just shut him with a laugh and a peck on the cheek.

“We're both tired and my legs are hurting like hell so please just let us go and take a shower, alright? And I'm also starving, so I need to quickly cook.”

“I... I can take care of the food.”

“Then just do,” Jaeha rolled her eyes at him.

She heard Youngjae muttered a “hurry up” and right when she was about to enter her bedroom, he walked passed by her and she called out for him.

“Hey, Youngjae, how can you still possibly be hungry after all the snacks and food we ate in the afternoon?”

“Just... you know,” he shrugged off, “it happens sometimes.”

He quickly locked himself in his and her dad's room, leaving her alone and flabbergasted. Indeed, if she was feeling more at peace with him, it didn't mean she had completely accepted him and she probably wouldn't when he still had secrets for her. Called her dumb, but Jaeha knew when something was off.

Hello! Quick update, part two of the 18th chapter and it's a Youngjae and Jaeha's moment! I hope you like this chapter, that it actually makes sense because it wasn't easy to write Jaeha's feelings and to express it exactly how i wanted it to be, but I hope I made a good job. Did I? Please tell me in the comments :)

And I also would like to thank you for subscribing to this story, you're more than 120 subs which is absolutly crazy to me, I'm so impressed and surprised you like this story, thank you for your support and I hope you'll like what comes next.

And special thanks to ElkyW88 for upvoting! Thank you very much :)

And PS, I have a request. If you'd like to leave me some prompts or scenarios you'd like to see the characters in, please tell me in the comments :) I'll try and see if I can write them and include them in the story :) (Yes I'm still asking and will be for a few chapters more in case you guys have more ideas ^^)

xx

Mae