“Would you like to stay for dinner, dear?” Junmyeon’s mum piped up, emerging from the kitchen. “We have plenty of room for you.”

She wanted to scream out a giant yes!! but her mind reminded her to stay calm. She also didn’t want to intrude, seeing as it was her first time in his house and he was of the opposite gender.

Sensing her hesitance, Mrs Kim spoke. “It’s alright, I’ll ring your mum for you and ask her myself. What’s her number?”

After getting the number from Hyejin, she left to make the call in the kitchen, insisting that mothers could talk for a long time and she didn’t want to bother them in the living room. Junmyeon had his eyes trained on his book, as if he didn’t want to make eye contact with her.

“Sorry for forcing this on you,” he said rather awkwardly, looking up at her. “If it’s too much, I’ll just tell my mum and-”

“I’m sure my parents will be fine with it,” she answered, melting back into her chair. “It’s no big deal, really.”

There was a sound of loud laughter coming from the kitchen. Junmyeon smiled. “I take it as a yes, then.”

She smiled back, realising that he was only avoiding eye contact at first because he was afraid that she was being forced. She also took it as a small sign that he possibly liked her. Her heart fluttered at the thought.

-

“So how are you feeling, dear?” Mrs Kim made some light conversation as she served the food. “I hope you aren’t too shaken up by the accident a few days ago.”

“I’m fine,” Hyejin answered politely. “Junmyeon got me out in time. It was like he could sense that it was going to happen.”

“Junmyeon really hates fires, you know?” his father piped up. “He loves the water.”

Her mind flashed to the freaky moment when she thought she saw the water moving. “Oh, really? You mean like swimming?”

“Oh yes,” he replied. “It’s like he has a special ability, or something. He’s connected to the water.”

Junmyeon groaned. “I’m not a merman.”

“I never said you were, son.” Mr Kim cheekily answered.

“So when did you two get together?” Mrs Kim asked as she finally settled into her seat. “I can’t ever trust Junmyeon to tell me about his love life. You’re absolutely adorable.”

“We’re not dating!” Junmyeon protested, flustered. His eyes darted to where Hyejin was sitting.

She, too was taken aback. “Y-yeah, we’re not.”

“Oh, nonsense! You don’t have to hide it from me. Mothers do know best, after all.”

“Eomma!”

“Hush now,” she waved her son off, focusing on the nervous girl in front of her. “Isn’t that right, Hyejin? I mean, your mother seemed to agree too.”

Hyejin felt her face heating up, making a mental note to interrogate her mother as well. “N-no, we’re not together. We’ve been spending a lot of time together because of the project.”

“Leave it, darling,” Mr Kim laughed, digging into his food which signalled the start of the meal. “I’m sure they’ll admit it themselves. Either that, or they really aren’t together yet because Junmyeon is too shy.”

“Thank you for the food.” She quickly spoke, in case anyone else would have more to say. Sure, it was nice to hear approval from your crush’s parents, but it was definitely embarrassing, especially if he was there at the same time.

The meal went on with more chatter, mostly teasing pushes at the youngest of the table. More often than not, Hyejin could swear that the water in the glasses moved in sync with Junmyeon’s hands as they moved to reach for more food.

After they finished the meal, Mr Kim offered to drive her home as it was beginning to get dark. The sky was at a dark orange, a sign of the sunset.

She promptly refused, not wanting to be a bother. She had already stayed over and eaten dinner with them. It would be too much if she were to have Junmyeon’s dad drive her home.

“Are you