As lavish as the Yong house looked from the outside, it was even more luxurious on the inside. The front door opened to a great foyer with a high ceiling, grand staircase in the back led upstairs to the second floor. A middle-aged, well-dressed woman, beautiful even for her age, descended from the stairs and immediately brightened when she saw Jun Hyung and Jae Kyung.

"Jun Hyung, is this the girl?" she asked, approaching Jae Kyung and taking both her hands in hers. "She's even more beautiful in person!" she complimented her with a smile.

"Th-thank you, Ahjumma," Jae Kyung awkwardly responded, bowing her head to her.

"Please, you'll soon be my daughter-in-law. Call me Eomeonim," Mrs. Yong gently urged.

Mrs. Yong looked down at Jae Kyung's left hand in hers and smiled, seeing her mother's ring glistening in the light on Jae Kyung's ring finger. She averted her gaze back to Jae Kyung and beamed. "What is your name?"

"Song Jae Kyung…Eomeonim," Jae Kyung timidly answered.

"Then Jae Kyung, why don't we go to the living room and chat while we wait for Jun Hyung's father?" Mrs. Yong suggested, taking hold of her arm and guiding her towards a lavish sitting area with a regal fireplace and various pieces of paintings decorating on the walls.

Mrs. Yong seated Jae Kyung on one of the sofas and took a seat on the couch across from her. Jun Hyung took a seat next to Jae Kyung, looking slightly harried.

"When is father coming?" he asked his mother.

"Your father is on his way," she answered him.

"And…Hyung?" he asked hesitantly.

"Your brother won't be able to make it," she answered softly. "He had too much work."

Jun Hyung looked down to hide his disappointment. Of course, he shouldn't have held any expectations for his older brother, even for something like meeting his future sister-in-law.

"So tell me Jae Kyung," Mrs. Yong started, turning her attention back to her. "How did you two meet? Forgive me for not knowing, but Jun Hyung has never mentioned you before."

Jae Kyung looked to Jun Hyung for help. However, instead of jumping in to answer, Jun Hyung continued to stare at the space in front of him with a hard expression, gripping the knees of his pants tightly. Jae Kyung nervously turned back to Mrs. Yong and forced a smile while she tried to remember the story that they had concocted earlier that morning.

"Well…Jun Hyung-ssi and I met at a bar. Actually, we didn't really hit it off well at first. I thought he was slightly arrogant, cocky, rude, stubborn-"

Jae Kyung stopped talking when she realized what she was saying. She looked up to see Mrs. Yong looking surprised and Jun Hyung glaring at her.

"Haha," Jae Kyung awkwardly laughed. "But that's just what I thought at first," she quickly explained. "Once I got to really know him, I found that…"

Jae Kyung paused as she tried to formulate what she would say. She turned to look at Jun Hyung next to her and gulped hard when she saw the challenging look he was giving her, as if trying to say, "I dare you to say one wrong word". Jae Kyung quickly averted her gaze back to Mrs. Yong.

"Uh…but I found that he was actually…sweet, caring, romantic, and still kind of a child at heart." Under the pressure, Jae Kyung pulled out random, generic adjectives from her head.

Mrs. Yong chuckled. "Jun Hyung, she was able to describe you perfectly. Why have you kept your relationship about her a secret? If I had known you already had someone special, I wouldn't have set you up with all those other girls."

Jun Hyung stared at Jae Kyung for a while before turning his attention to his mother and answering her question. "Well, Jae Kyung isn't anything like the girls you've set me up with. So I was a bit hesitant on introducing her to you and father."

"Nonsense, you know I will support you in whatever decision you make regarding the girl you choose," Mrs. Yong quickly assured. "And it seems you're quite taken with her seeing how you proposed to her so quickly, and in public too," she .

Jun Hyung's ears turned slightly red and he looked away. That was one of his most embarrassing moments. In fact, another was when Jae Kyung rejected him in front of his friends at the bar. He was beginning to foresee quite a few challenges with being "married" to her.

"How old are you Jae Kyung?" Mrs. Yong asked.

"21," she answered.

"Really? Jun Hyung is 23. Why don't you call him Oppa?" Mrs. Yong curiously asked her.

"Uh…" Jae Kyung blanked at how to respond to her question.

Jun Hyung jumped in to answer for her, "Jae Kyung actually calls me Oppa when it's just us two." He turned and gave her a fake smile. "She's just shy about calling me that in front of you."

"Omo is that so? You don't have to be shy around me Jae Kyung."

Jae Kyung's eye slightly twitched as she gave an equally fake smile. "Yes, Eomeonim."

"See Jagiya, I told you my mom wouldn't mind," Jun Hyung said with his fake smile while resting his hand on her knee.

[Jagiya: Sweetie, Honey, Darling; a way to affectionately address your significant other]

Jae Kyung glared at his hand on her and strategically placed her hand on his to pull it off her. She smiled at him while her eyes shot daggers at him, placing his hand back on his own knee. "You're right, Jun Hyung Oppa," she said through her smile. Mrs. Yong clapped her hands together in delight at seeing them behave so affectionately towards one another.

They heard the front door open and heels tapping the hardwood floor before an attractive, tall woman appeared in the living room.

"Oh Da Hae, I'm glad you were able to make it," Mrs. Yong greeted the young woman.

"Yes, Eomeonim. Of course I would be here to meet Jun Hyung's fiancé," Da Hae politely answered. She took a seat next to Mrs. Yong and turned to look at Jae Kyung with a smile. "Hello, I'm Jun Hyung's Hyeongsu, Lee Da Hae," she introduced herself.

"Hello," Jae Kyung responded with a bow of her head. "My name is Song Jae Kyung."

"So tell me Jae Kyung, what do you do for a living?" Da Hae asked her.

"Uh, actually, I just graduated from college," Jae Kyung answered.

"Really? What major?" Da Hae further questioned.

"Communications," she timidly replied.

Da Hae hid a smile behind her hand. Everyone knew Communications was the major students who failed in other areas chose. "I see. What do you plan to do with that in the future?"

"Well, I haven't exactly figured it out yet," Jae Kyung honestly answered. Jun Hyung gave her a stern look, silently telling her that what she was saying was "stupid". Jae Kyung got the message and quickly tried to amend the situation. "But I am thinking about an internship at a publishing company." I guess I'll be taking up Tae Hee Hyeongsu's offer from graduation, Jae Kyung thought to herself.

"That's wonderful," Mrs. Yong complimented. Da Hae, on the other hand, looked unimpressed.

The front door opened again. This time a strict-looking, middle aged man with wizened hair entered the living room. Jae Kyung quickly straightened up in her seat at the sight of him. He exuded a presence of reverie and intimidation, making Jae Kyung wish she was invisible to his scrutiny.

"Father," Jun Hyung politely greeted him with a bow of his head.

"Yeobo, you're here," Mrs. Yong warmly greeted.

"Abeonim," Da Hae smiled at him.

"Yes," Mr. Yong simply answered, his piercing eyes on Jae Kyung. "And you must be…her," he pointedly said to Jae Kyung.

Jae Kyung did not like the way he had said "her", as if she was some low-life girl. "Y-yes," she managed to stutter, not daring to make eye contact with him. "My name is Song Jae Kyung. It's nice to meet you…A-Abeonim," she hesitantly called him with a bow.

"Is lunch ready?" Mr. Yong asked his wife. "I only have an hour for this." Jae Kyung slightly frowned at his dismissal of her.

"Yes, I'll go tell the maids to set the table and start serving," Mrs. Yong answered, getting up and leaving.

Mr. Yong left as well, making his way to the dining table, and Da Hae stood up to follow after him.

Jun Hyung turned to Jae Kyung next to her on the couch. "The difficult part begins now. We can't risk you saying something wrong, so let me do all the talking," he sternly ordered her before getting up and following after his father and Da Hae.

Jae Kyung made a face; she could see where Jun Hyung got his condescending attitude from. She sighed and got up to follow after him into the dining room.

Mr. Yong sat at the head, Da Hae took a seat on his right, a space in between them that was probably for Mrs. Yong. Jun Hyung sat to Mr. Yong's left and after he motioned for Jae Kyung to sit next to him with his eyes, she walked over and sat down as well, across from Da Hae. Luckily Mrs. Yong came in and joined them, lifting up the serious and awkward atmosphere. Servers entered and started placing the first course in front of everyone.

"So…Miss Jae Kyung," Mr. Yong began, "what do your parents do?"

"Jae Kyung's father is the owner of JK Toys," Jun Hyung answered for her.

"Is that so?" Mr. Yong asked, looking at Jae Kyung for confirmation.

Jae Kyung gulped under his gaze. "Y-yes. But he was a former wrestler before that." Jun Hyung shot her a glare through the corner of his eye for including the unnecessary extra information.

"A former wrestler?" Mr. Yong asked with a hint of incredulity. "How did he suddenly change his occupation from…glorified fighting to entrepreneurship?"

"W-well, my dad has kind of always had a thing for toys. And after retiring from wrestling, he decided to pursue his lifelong dream…to be a kid," she tried to joke with an awkward laugh. However, looking around at the table, Mr. Yong remained emotionless, Da Hae rolled her eyes, and Jun Hyung sighed in embarrassment. Only Mrs. Yong seemed to show any positive response to Jae Kyung's attempt at livening the atmosphere as she hid a chuckle behind her hand.

"And your mother?" Mr. Yong continued.

Jae Kyung's cheeks were slightly tinted red from the humiliation of her unsuccessful joke. "My mother was a former trot singer. Now she's a vocal teacher," she answered timidly.

"Trot singer?" Mrs. Yong questioned with interest. "What is her name?"

"Kim Mi Sook."

"Omo, your mother is Kim Mi Sook?" Mrs. Yong asked in awe. "She was famous back in the day! I have all her CDs. Do you think she would sign them for me?"

Jae Kyung blinked at her request. It was strange, yet somewhat adorable, seeing Mrs. Yong fan girl over her mother and she bit her lip to hold back a laugh while Mr. Yong cleared his throat loudly to indicate to his wife that her behavior was inappropriate.

Mrs. Yong got the hint but smiled at Jae Kyung. "Well, I'm sure I can ask her when we officially meet them," she light-heartedly said.

"And what is it that you do, Miss Jae Kyung?" Mr. Yong asked.

"Jae Kyung recently graduated from college and will be interning at a publishing company," Jun Hyung again answered for her.

"So you're an English major?" Mr. Yong deduced.

"Uh, no. Communications major," she clarified.

"I see," Mr. Yong answered, obviously unimpressed. Da Hae couldn't help but smile at Jae Kyung's failure to win over her father-in-law.

"Jae Kyung, do you have any siblings?" Mrs. Yong asked warmly. "Jun Hyung's older brother, Da Hae's husband, is a lawyer."

"Yes, I actually have three older siblings. My oldest brother is also a lawyer. My older sister is a doctor, and my second older brother is a video game designer."

"Those are very respectable and successful careers. Can we expect the same from you?" Da Hae haughtily asked.

Jae Kyung flushed pink at her question. She hated being compared to her siblings and she hated it even more when people held the same expectations for her after hearing about their success. "Well…I'm still a bit unsure of what I really want to do."

Jun Hyung kicked her foot and she jerked her head to look at him with slight irritation on her face. He simply gave her a quick, hard glance before continuing to eat.

"Jae Kyung is still young. She still has time to figure out what she wants to do," Mrs. Yong answered encouragingly for her.

Da Hae frowned at her mother-in-law's affection towards Jae Kyung. She didn't like how much she adored her so much already, especially when she herself had to work so hard at Mrs. Yong's art gallery to receive her praises.

Jae Kyung gave Mrs. Yong a small smile and continued eating, hoping that any other questions asked could be answered by Jun Hyung. They really hadn't planned this out well, going into this lunch without really knowing much about each other.

"So tell me Jae Kyung, since you have such a big family, do you want a lot of children too?"

Jae Kyung happened to be drinking her water when Mrs. Yong asked her question so she suddenly choked, spitting water onto the lap of her dress and onto the side of Jun Hyung's pants as well. Jun Hyung had obvious humiliation written on his face at Jae Kyung's embarrassing reaction. Da Hae hid a smile of satisfaction by taking a sip of her own water.

"Omo, are you okay?" Mrs. Yong asked in concern.

"Uh, y-yes," Jae Kyung feebly answered. "But, do you mind if I use the bathroom?" she asked, standing up from her seat.

"Of course!" Mrs. Yong answered.

"Uh, I'll show her where it is," Jun Hyung said as he stood up. He led Jae Kyung down the hall and when he knew they were out of sight and out of earshot, he quickly pushed Jae Kyung up against the wall. "Yah!" he angrily whispered. "What the heck is up with spitting water? And onto my pants too?!" he asked pointing to the dark spot on his trousers.

"I'm sorry!" she answered in a loud whisper. "Your mother's question caught me off guard. Plus, it's just water. It'll dry soon."

"And what the heck was up with your lame attempt at a joke?"

"I was trying to lighten up the mood," she pouted. "I felt like I was suffocating under your father's interrogation. And your Hyeongsu, I really think she's out to get me, though I don't understand why. We don't even know each other. Only your mother seems to not dislike me."

"This is why I told you not to say anything stupid," he retorted.

"Okay, I got it. Jeez!"

She pushed Jun Hyung's hands off her shoulders and headed into the bathroom, making sure to give him a look of disdain before closing the door in his face. Jun Hyung ran his fingers through his hair and exhaled in frustration.

"What was I thinking when I chose her?" he asked himself before heading back to the dinner table and taking his seat.

"About Jae Kyung," Mr. Yong began.

"I'm sorry, father. She's just nervous about meeting you and mother," Jun Hyung quickly tried to explain.

"She is a bit…unorthodox in her manner and the way she carries herself," Mr. Yong continued. "And with your public proposal, you've made it a little difficult for us to reject the marriage," he said with a disapproving look. "But her family does seem to have power and status, so I believe your marriage with her will really help the company's image after your accident from two weeks ago. I suggest setting the wedding for a few weeks from now. There's no reason to drag it out. Schedule a meeting with her parents so we can discuss the details," he finished.

Jun Hyung should have been relieved that his father had accepted Jae Kyung, and he was, but hearing that his marriage was only accepted because it would help the company disappointed him. Of course that was the whole purpose of it in the first place, but he thought, just maybe, his father might have shown some interest in something other than the company's wellbeing.

Mr. Yong abruptly stood up and placed his napkin on the table. "I have to get back to the office," he informed his family before leaving the dining room.

Jae Kyung returned from the bathroom. She noticed that Mr. Yong was absent and sighed in defeat as she resumed seat at the table, thinking that he disapproved of her.

"I'm sorry about earlier," she timidly apologized.

"You don't have to apologize about that," Mrs. Yong assured her. "I'm sorry that my husband had to leave so soon. He's a busy man," she explained. "But when do you think we will be able to meet your parents? We were hoping to have the wedding as soon as possible."

"W-what?" Jae Kyung asked in surprise. Did this mean they approved of their marriage?

"We still have to break the news to them," Jun Hyung answered for her. "But we'll set up a meeting soon."

"Oh, perfect. I can't wait to meet them!" Mrs. Yong exclaimed.

Outside Jun Hyung's house, Jae Kyung let out a big sigh of relief. "Oh my god, I can't believe I survived that!"

"I can't either," Jun Hyung muttered as he got into the car.

Jae Kyung entered on the passenger side and took out her phone from her purse that she accidentally left in his car. Her jaw fell open at the multiple text messages and missed calls from all of her family members, including her in-laws. Reading through the text messages, she understood what they were all about. Hyo Joo was the first to find out about her public proposal, being the most connected with celebrity gossip news since she was a model. And after failing to get a hold of Jae Kyung, she had informed her other family members one by one, trying to find out if they knew of the news and Jae Kyung's whereabouts. She started panicking at the multiple missed calls from her parents. Her mother especially would not be pleased about her sudden engagement since she hadn't even mentioned that she was dating anyone, let alone considering marriage. When her phone suddenly started vibrating again with a call from her mother, Jae Kyung shrieked and dropped the phone at her feet.

"What's wrong with you?" Jun Hyung asked her with a strange look.

"My mom," she answered with a shaky voice. "She's calling me."

"So?"

Jae Kyung turned to look at him with terror in her eyes. "If this lunch with your parents was nerve-wrecking, meeting my family is a whole 'nother story."

"I'm sure you're just exaggerating," he scoffed. "But you should probably pick up before you make things worse," he suggested.

Jae Kyung took a big gulp before bending down to pick up her phone at her feet and with a shaky hand, sliding the green button on the touch screen to answer the call.

"H-hello?" she answered nervously.

"SONG JAE KYUNG!" her mother hollered on the other end, making Jae Kyung pull the phone away from her ear out of reflex before reluctantly bringing it back, her face scrunched up in anticipation for the chastising that was sure to come. "COME HOME THIS INSTANT!" Mrs. Song ordered her.

"Y-yes, Mom," Jae Kyung squeaked in response. The call ended like that and Jae Kyung stared at the black screen of her phone with a lifeless expression. "I'm so dead," she mumbled.

"Well I guess this as good a time as any to meet your parents," Jun Hyung shrugged, starting the engine of his car. "Where do you live?"

As Jae Kyung guided him towards her house, on the edge of Seoul, Jun Hyung was getting irritated by the long drive. "Yah, why do you live so far away?!"

Jae Kyung ignored his complaint. Her thoughts were preoccupied with ideas for what she would say to explain her sudden engagement with someone that she had only met two weeks ago.

They finally arrived at Jae Kyung's house after more than half an hour of driving. Getting out of the car, Jae Kyung panicked at the three extra cars parked along the driveway.

"Oh no, the whole family is here," she muttered with a worried expression.

"The whole family?" Jun Hyung questioned, taking off his jacket that he had on the whole day as a result of the mid-afternoon sun blaring down on him, leaving him in only his printed t-shirt. Jae Kyung sighed before turning to look at him.

"Yah!" she suddenly exclaimed with wide eyes as she pointed at the words inked on his right forearm. "What is that? Is that a tattoo?!"

Jun Hyung looked down at his arm. "Yeah," he nonchalantly answered.

"Put your jacket back on! Quickly!" Jae Kyung ordered him. "I already have enough to deal with, you're tattoo is only going to make things worse," she frantically explained.

Jun Hyung scoffed at her command but gave in, not wanting to add fuel to what Jae Kyung was making out to seem like a bonfire.

"So this is your place," he remarked, looking around at the property.

It was located in a secluded area surrounded by a large yard. Her house was a respectable size comparable to his own, but it was very different from his. While Jun Hyung's home exuded wealth and luxury, Jae Kyung's gave off a feeling of warmth and hominess.

Jae Kyung ignored his statement and took a deep breath before putting her hand on the door knob. After a long pause, she finally turned it and opened the door to face the wrath of the Song family.

Author's Note

So regarding the Communications major, I'm sorry if this offended anyone. This is a stereotype that my sister who goes to college told me. I had to use it to show how Jae Kyung is kind of lacking as a suitable partner for Jun Hyung. Again I'm sorry for making this generalization :(

And as you can see, Lee Da Hae's character is somewhat of an antagonist. However, this does not reflect my personal views of her. I actually love her as an actress! It's just that the last drama I saw her in, Miss Ripley, made me pick her for the person I imagine as Jun Hyung's Hyeongsu. But again, I adore Lee Da Hae, especially in her drama My Girl! ^_^

10/9/12 5:18 PM