Her mother stared at her blankly, surprised to see the daughter she hadn't acknowledged for 2 years standing right in front of her. For the 2 years, ___ had never received text messages from them on her birthdays, christmas, or any other holidays. She had often texted them though, remembering their birthdays and their wedding anniversaries. However, she had never once, gotten a reply from them for the 2 years she spent away.

"Mom..." ___ called out, momentarily frozen at the sight of her mother she missed dearly. Her mother however, seemed to be looking right at her, still unable to react before she darted her eyes away from her own daughter to the male celebrity right beside her.

"Honey who's at the door at this hour...?" A male's voice called out from the house. Then, shortly after, her father was too, at the door, shocked at the sudden return of his own daughter.

"Dad.." she whispered.

However, her mother had quickly removed the door stopper, attempting to close to door right at ___'s face before Donghae's hand reached out to keep the door open. 

"Do not bother us at this hour of the night and leave. And you, young lady," her father said, looking sternly at ___, "have brought nothing back, neither a degree nor a certificate but utter embarrassment to this family."

She couldn't believe her ears. Wouldn't her parents have missed her dearly ? Why were they still as hard hearted as before, holding grudges about her going against their will.

"She's brought tickets back, for you to see her dance," Donghae spoke up in an accent, seeing that ___ was still unable to digest the situation. He bowed, not forgetting his manners during his first awkward meeting with his girlfriend's parents, "I'm Lee Donghae, ___'s boyfriend."

Her father looked directly at him, "I do not know if you even understand me but the both of you have brought disgrace to this family." He then continued, "You went against us, claiming that you'd wanted to pursue your dream of dancing, but what are you doing here ? It's been 2 years, ___. 2 years. What have you become ? Nothing. Nothing at all. Are you an artiste ? A dancer ? A lawyer ? No. Only a celebrity boyfriend who made it to tabloids and gossip news with you and bring shame to this family. Did you know how your Mom and I had to hide our faces from the media ? Do you ?!" He couldn't help but raise his voice by now.

___ shivered, as she tried to hold back her sobs, both hurt and angered. Donghae was know looking at her, hand placed on her back as he was unable to say comprehend anything due to the language barrier. 

"Do you know how much effort I had to put in for the past 2 years to be given a chance to go on stage ? Do you know who was the one encouraging me all along ? It's not the both of you, but my friends. Why are you so unsupportive of me ? Have you guys ever imagined how much I still think and care for you guys ? But do you ever reply my messages ?! The both of you had just ignored me !! Ignored me like I never existed !" she exploded.

Luckily for them, they had a private lift to their home which kept neighbours from over hearing their argument. If the neighbours knew, so would the media and the frenzy would start all over again.

"Then do you know, how much money we have invested into you for you to earn all those scholarships ?! Have you ever thought about your duty as your only child to the family to continue to serve the family ? We pinned our hopes on you, ___, hoping that you would become successful like us and live a comfortable life. But you've chosen the harder way, and we are not going to support you just like that, after all that we've put in." Her mother defended.

"Fine. Then I'm not asking for your money, or any of your property, but I just want and hope the both of you will attend the concert tomorrow. To watch me dance." ___ said, plucking up all her courage and holding out the concert tickets to them.

"Concert ? You kidding ?" Her mother said, taking the tickets and throwing them aside. "When we have better things to do ? Why the hell should we ?! To see you get embarrassed on stage ?"

She had never felt so hurt inside, so crumbled and she couldn't help but break into uncontrollable sobs. Donghae, helpless at the current situation, was too, stunned at what he saw before him. He couldn't imagine, how it was possible for such a warm and cheerful person like ___ to have gotten through so much just to work towards her dream without any support. 

She felt her fists clenching into fists, her knuckles turning white. It wasn't like she was planning to hit them or anything, she was just mad. Mad at the words they said. How could a parent bear to say that to their children ? She looked straight into her mother's eyes, full of determination, wanting to prove her wrong.

"Because if you watch me, I promise. I'll apply for a university and study law." She said, before grabbing Donghae's hand and walking away into the lift, taking their leave.

Donghae was at a loss of what to do. Though they had conversed in English, a foreign language which he did not really know, he more or less understood the situation. He didn't say anything though, just gave her time to calm down, letting her grab his hand a little longer till they made their way to the car where their manager was waiting.

"...A-are you alright...?" Donghae asked once they stepped into the car. He knew it was a dumb question to ask at a situation like this, especially after seeing how ___ was holding onto his hand so tightly. But what else could he do ? He hadn't seen her like that before, and it just made him worried, yet afraid at the same time.

She didn't say anything for a moment, but just broke down in Donghae's arms, crying hard into his chest. He knew she didn't want to talk about it, but just let it go, let it out of her. Seeing her at her state, he couldn't help but sympathise with her and teared up.

"It's okay...just let it all out..." he whispered as he was starting to choke up, signalling the manager that they were good to go before embracing her and patting her back. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to speak up for you.."

After about 30 minutes drive, they finally arrived at the carpark of the hotel. The hotel management had ensured that high and personalised security were given to Donghae and ___ as they were a large number of fans to attack them, or ___ at least, especially in her home country. Seeing how pitiful his girlfriend looked in his arms, he couldn't bear to wake her up from her sleep after all that crying and thus, carried her on his back and made his way up to their hotel rooms together with his manager.

He carried her to the room which she was supposed to share together with another female dancer. Though he very much wanted to be in the same room as her to take care of her and made sure she was alright, everything was already planned and to request for a change of room would only cause more trouble for his manager which he didn't want, especially after how much he's done to ensure ___'s safety in her home country. 

The fellow female dancer opened the door to allow Donghae into the room, where he laid ___ on the bed. He then took a warm towel and wiped her face and arms, before kissing her on her forehead and tucking her into bed.

"Noona, if ___ wakes up, please tell her she can come look for me if she needs to. I'm at room 715." He said, sounding tired.

"Ne Donghae-sshi, I'll tell her that," she replied.

"Will it be okay if I come in in the morning tomorrow to check on her ?" he asked. After all, he didn't want to come into a female's room without their permission though he would be able to get the master key from his manager. 

"Sure, I understand," she reassured him with a smile. "I'll take care of her, don't worry. You should get some rest too. There's still another night tomorrow.."

With that, he left the room, full of worries.

-------------------------------------------

The next morning, ___ woke up to see Donghae packing up her belongings for her. After all, they were checking out today. She squinted as she tried to get used to the sunlight that was entering. Upon hearing movement from the bed, he turned and saw that ___ was now awake, as her roommate was currently taking a shower.

"Good morning hun," he said with a smile and went to sit beside her. "Slept well ?"

"Mmm.." she nodded. Her eyes were red and swollen from all the crying, which made his heart ached for a bit. "You don't have to help me pack, you should have woken up later.."

"It's okay, Leeteuk hyung was being noisy I woke up," he explained. "And since I'm here so, well then."

She smiled. It wasn't like she had forgotten everything that has happened the night before. She just didn't want to be reminded of it. After all, she had a rehearsal and a performance later on, and she didn't want that to affect her mood. Donghae, on the other hand, seeing that ___ looked slightly before and made an effort to change her mood for the better, decided not to bring up the topic.

The two then packed their belongings before taking a shower in their respective rooms and headed to the lobby to meet with the rest of the members and make their way to the concert venue. 

It had been a long time since ___ had rehearsed on stage, so it took a while for her to get comfortable but under Donghae's guidance, she was able to complete the rehearsal smoothly. It was now an hour before the fans were allowed to come in and the concert would commence. They were all ready, only left with final touches for their make up. 

Seeing that his girlfriend was sitting in corner quietly, he made his way towards her after his hair was done. "You nervous ?" He asked.

"A bit.." She let out a small smile and sighed slightly.

"You'll be fine, like you always do !" He said and placed his hand round her, pulling her body closer to him.

"Oppa.. Why don't..unnie perform instead of me ? I mean..I doubt they'll come anyway," she said, obviously worried.

He looked at her for a moment. "What do you mean ? Of course they'll come ! Even though they may seem cold in front of you, somewhere deep down inside, I bet they'll feel proud of you when you perform later on. They will turn up, trust me."

However, she hung her head low, not replying him. As much as she wanted to trust his words, she couldn't help but have her doubts. After all, they were her parents, and she understood them.

"Look at me," he said. And she did like she was told. "Today, is going to be great night. And we're all going to enjoy ourselves."

The both of them then looked into the eyes of each other, before Donghae pulled her closer to him gently and gave her a soft kiss on the lips. ___ felt herself getting teary once again, but she held it in, not wanting to ruin the make up. 

"Why don't the both of you just get a room ?" Heechul said, staring at the kissing couple in front of him, which made Donghae step hard on his feet and ___ blush.

"YAA LEE DONGHAE, I'M YOUR HYUNG !" He exclaimed, being the loud person he is.

"It was a serious conversation, hyung." Donghae said, looking at him sternly.

The members had always stopped whenever Donghae showed that look on his face. It was just a sign that he was about to blow up. 

"___-ah, it's going to be fine ! We oppas are here for you right ?" Heechul said, trying to get rid of the threatening atmosphere Donghae (or maybe himself), had set.

She then smiled and nodded, and the rest of the members, together with the dancers gathered together, putting their hands together.

"1, 2, 3 !" Leeteuk exclaimed. 

"GA EUN FIGHTING !!" 

------------------------------------------

The concert started shortly after and as the guys were performing on stage, ___ stared at the monitor. She wasn't exactly watching their performance, but more like looking out for the seats Leeteuk had bought for her parents. 

It was still empty.

A/N: Okay here's a update ! There's less than a week left till my exams start so I'm really sorry for the lack of updates and taking longer than I usually do. I'll make it up to you guys when my exams are over okay okay !! It's currently close to 11pm and I have to wake up at 5am tomorrow for a cross country run can you believe it T^T And I can't sleep 'cos I'm home alone until tomorrow and it's dark and scary. Ohwell, hope the storyline has been reasonable so far !! Comments are very much appreciated and thank you for reading ! :B