Jinyoung had never intended to reveal his uality to his parents. As soon as he had gotten over the terrifying period of realizing his uality and the world he now lives in, he had resolved himself to do what was best for his family and marry a girl and raise children to carry on the family business. It was a sacrifice he was willing to make for both his family and his family’s reputation. Besides, he had been introduced to the girl he was going to marry when they were very young, and they were really good friends. While she wasn’t in love with him, per se, he still didn’t want to disappoint either her or her family. So he was prepared to marry her.

If he did have any intention of coming out to his parents, having them come home early from a business trip and burst into his room while he was clearly watching gay was probably the last--and worst--way for them to find out.

“Um...” Jinyoung’s face was hot enough to fry enough food to feed several carnivals’ visitors all at once. “I...”

His mother didn’t say a single word, wide open. In the midst of his absolute shock and the silence, a loud, , masculine moan echoed from his computer, making him scramble to pause the video.

His father, who had been trying to find a way to formulate words, finally had a reaction. He let out a loud laugh, startling both Jinyoung and his mother. “Don’t worry, Jinyoung-ah. We’ll leave you in peace. Please do come down for dinner, though.” He grabbed his wife’s arm gently, and led her from the room.

Jinyoung’s heart was pounding. This was not what he wanted to happen. They were never supposed to know. Could he play this off as just experimenting? Curiosity? His parents weren’t explicitly homophobic, but he did know that they never really interacted with gay people often. He had met many businessmen who were very conservative and would rather die than admit they have a gay son. His parents weren’t as bad, but he didn’t want to affect their business by having an publicly gay son. It was better for everyone if he just got married to Yena. Speaking of which...

Jinyoung raced for his phone, quickly dialing a familiar number.

She answered quickly. “Jinyoung-oppa?”

“Yena-ya,” he greeted rather uneasily. “I have something to tell you.”

“Okay,” she hummed. The sound of clanging metal sounded in the background. “Don’t mind me, I’m just making dinner.”

“What are you making?” Jinyoung was always interested in whatever Yena was making. She always cooked excellent meals, preferring to stay in than go out. She also liked to experiment with different cultural cuisines.

“French onion grilled cheese,” she replied. “I figured it would be a good combination. Besides, I can use the leftover onions for actual soup. Maybe the next time you come over, you can try it.”

Jinyoung, despite his stress, anxiety and fear, smiled, albeit slightly. Yena was... an interesting person. She was like a breath of fresh air in the stifling world of chaebols. She was a chaebol of an unusual hybrid: her father was the owner of several different chains of five-star restaurants in Seoul, ranging in price and cuisine, while her mother was a well known brain surgeon in the vastly large city. Thankfully, she also had a twin brother, which made their family situation much easier. Her brother was officially the medical chaebol, while she was the cooking chaebol. However, the two of them knew a good deal about the other profession, in case one had to take over for the other.

“Jinyoung?” Yena’s soft voice broke him out of his reverie. “There was something you wanted to talk to me about?”

“Yeah,” Jinyoung sighed into the receiver, his tentative happy mood slipping away. “Yena-ya, I know we’re supposed to get married, but... I’m not sure it will be happening.”

“What? Why?” As he had expected, Yena wasn’t devastated nor shocked, but confused. “Our parents have been planning this ever since we were born! They almost never stopped talking about it. What would make them change their mind?”

“Yena-ya... please keep an open mind,” he pleaded, voice shaking just a bit as he pushes his rising emotions down so he can choke out, “I’m gay.”

There was a long silence on his fiancé’s side, and with every passing second, Jinyoung’s suppressed panic threatened to rise to the surface, making him struggle to keep his cool, though his face completely contradicted his facade.

Finally, she responded. “Okay. That’s fine.”

At first, he couldn’t believe it. “Are you sure, Yena? I mean...”

“Jinyoung-oppa,” his fiancée’s smooth voice calmed him down. “I don’t care. You and I know we aren’t compatible romantically. We were never going to fall in love, no matter how much our parents tried to make us. As for you being gay, I don’t mind either. It’s just another reason why we can’t be together properly. You are free to love whoever you want. I was just surprised, that’s all. But what does that have to do...” Before Jinyoung could explain, Yena let out a little gasp. “Oh no... did your parents...”

“Find out? Yeah, they did,” Jinyoung breathed out. “They, um, came in when I was watching something... off-putting.”

“Oh... Oh,” Yena sighed in realization. “That’s... certainly not the best way to find out. When was this?”

“Right before I called you,” he replies. “Appa didn’t seem all too mad, but oemma...”

“It can’t be that bad,” she said reassuringly. “For chaebol society, your parents are pretty nice. They do seem to care about you. I’m sure it will be fine.”

“What about you?” Jinyoung couldn’t help but ask. “Will your parents try to find a marriage for you?”

She laughed softly, the gentle tenor of her voice barely audible over the phone. “It’s very kind of you to ask, Jinyoung-oppa, but I think I’ll be fine. I don’t know why they made the match in the first place, but they won’t try to match me with someone else unless they were desperat