"Hello!" My Aunt Christie beamed when we walked up to her front porch. She smiled brightly at us, Graciella balanced on her hip as she opened the door. "Come in, come in! You guys are the first to get here."

"The place looks gorgeous, as always." Mom smiled at my Aunt. "Where do you want me to put everything?" She had brought a bowl of fruit salad, as well as our chocolate fountain we had had at me and Vinny's high school graduation.

"I'll show you." Aunt Christie told my mom before looking at me, my brother, and Madeline. "How are you guys? You know, we all sit in the TV room every Wednesday night to watch that YG TV show you guys are on."

"We're good." I smiled. I nodded to TOP next to me. "This is-"

"T-O-P, I know." Aunt Christie smiled at TOP. "It's really nice to finally meet you," She looked at CL. "And you must be CL. We're so happy to meet you both."

"This is our manager, Kevin, and our bodyguard, Big Will." Vinny continued. "And the camera crew. Sorry about that..."

"No no no! It's perfectly fine! The more the merrier." Aunt Christie gave us another bright smile. "Now, come on in. Are you guys hungry?"

Vinny, CL, and the other s followed our aunt, but TOP grabbed my arm. I looked at him. "Yeah?"

"Why doesn't she look Italian?" TOP asked me quietly.

I laughed. "Because she's not. She's from America." My Aunt Christie was quite different from the Italian side. She was short (about 5'2"), and had dark blonde hair. Since my Uncle Massimo, her husband, was 6'2", their kids aren't too short, and they're still growing.

"So who is she married to?" TOP asked next. He was trying to get everyone straight.

"My Aunt Christie is married to my Uncle Massimo, my dad's youngest brother. They have four kids: Isabella, who is 15, Elisabetta, who's 8, Antonio, who's 5, and Graciella, who just turned two. She was the one my aunt was holding."

TOP nodded and let go of my arm. "Okay, I'm ready."

We walked into the kitchen, which was a big open area, the kitchen, dining room, and sitting room being all in one huge place, tile and wood separating them. On the farthest wall, along the kitchen, dining room, and sitting room were just panels of windows showing the backyard, the door to the back patio being in the dining room. The house was really bright and modern, and we loved having family things here.

"Natty!" I heard Elisabetta say. I saw her in the kitchen, and she ran over to me. Today the little fashionista had opted for a red-white-and-blue romper and a matching headband to push back her light brown hair.

"Hi, Lizzy!" I smiled, picking her up when she was close enough. "How have you been?"

"Good!" Lizzy beamed. "We watch you and Vinny and Madi every Wednesday."

"I heard." I laughed. "Do you wanna say hi to my boyfriend, Seunghyun?"

Lizzy looked at TOP next to me. She smiled. "Hi, Suh- Sae-" She couldn't pronounce his name.

TOP chuckled. "You can call me Top. It's nice to meet you in person, Lizzy. Natalia has shown me pictures of you." This was true. I had plenty of selcas of me and Lizzy on my phone, because Lizzy loved selfies.

Elisabetta smiled brightly, and I set her down.

I saw my cousin Antonio next. Like always, he was shy around us at first. I held open my arms. "Tony! Come give me a hug!"

Antonio smiled a little and jokingly rolled his eyes, but walked over. He hugged my legs, and I bent over to hug him. "Now, how have you been?"

"Good." Tony said simply.

"This is Top. Can you say hi?"

"Hi." Tony looked at TOP, still hugging my legs.

TOP chuckled. "Hi, Tony."

Antonio let go of me and walked away, but was scooped up and hung upside-down by my brother.

I laughed to myself and shook my head. I walked into the tiled kitchen and smiled at my uncle. "Hey, Uncle Massimo."

"Hey, Nat." Uncle Massimo smiled as he poured some Italian dressing into a large bowl. He started placing steaks in the bowl. "Been working hard?"

"Every day," I smiled. "This is Seunghyun, by the way."

"Thanks for allowing us to come into your home." TOP smiled politely. "It really is a lovely house."

Uncle Massimo smiled at him. "I'd shake your hand, but mine are covered in raw meat. It's great to meet you, Seunghyun. We love having people over. Be sure to make yourself at home."

I looked at my mom and aunt. "Do I need to help with anything?"

My Aunt Christie began to take out supplies for food later today. "Yeah, Natalia, if you and Top don't mind. Why don't you two go ahead and finish making the fruit pizza? The sugar cookie dough is almost done being cooled. You just have to cut the fruit and make the frosting."

My family loved cooking and finding new things to make. One of our usuals was our "fruit pizza", which was basically a giant sugar cookie crust topped with a mixture of cream cheese and powdered sugar as the "sauce", and strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and bananas as the toppings.

I grabbed a knife from one of the drawers, and handed it to TOP. "Here. You start cutting the fruit. I'll make the topping."

I began to put supplies together as TOP began to cut fruit. While we were working, there was a knock at the door, then we heard it open. "Hello!"

"And there's my family." Madeline said happily and ran to the foyer.

"Madeline's parents?" TOP asked me softly.

I nodded. "Her mom Lucille is my mom's big sister. Her dad Stephano is my dad's big brother. Madeline is the only daughter, the youngest, and has three older brothers: Brett, who is me and VInny's age, Kyle, who is twenty-two, and Trevor, who's twenty-five." I smirked. "Also, if you thought Madeline, me, and Vinny were tall, look out for them. The shortest guy is Brett and he's an inch taller than my brother. Kyle is six-foot-five and Trevor is six-foot-six."

"Wow." TOP scoffed. "You have a tall family."

"That's because we feed them well." My dad chuckled as he put ice in a cooler.

"Hi!" My Aunt Lucille said happily as they walked into the area we were all in. She was as tall as my mom (my height) and had short brown hair like her, too. She was carrying two dishes covered in saran wrap. "I brought things for the chocolate fountain."

"Awesome." My mom nodded.

"Where's Shorty?" Brett came in next, smirking like an idiot as he looked around for me. It was remarkable to how similar Brett and Vinny looked, like how me and Madeline looked similar.

His eyes landed on me, and I rolled my own. "Hey, Brett."

"Natty. What's up?" Brett walked over to TOP and I and grabbed a blueberry. He nodded to TOP as he popped the fruit into his mouth. "What up, Top? I'm Brett, Natty's' cousin." He held out his hand. "No offense, but you are a lot taller than I thought you were gonna be. You even got a few inches on Natty."

"Thanks?" TOP chuckled uncomfortably. "It's nice to meet you." TOP shook his hand, but couldn't help but shake his head and laugh a little. "I'm sorry, it's just you look a lot llike Vincent."

"We get that all the time." Vinny said as he and CL walked over Antonio sitting on Vinny's foot so the little boy could be dragged around. "How's it going, cuz?"

They bro-hugged. "Not too bad. Obviously not having as much fun as you two and my little sister are." Brett smiled at CL. "And you're CL right? I'm Brett, Madeline's older, most handsome brother."

I scoffed, and CL giggled and nodded. "It's nice to meet you."

Kyle and Trevor came in next. Kyle was the most skinny of that family, but was still muscular. He also had very curly Nick-Jonas-like hair. Trevor was the most built out of the brothers, and unlike the rest of them having dark brown hair, his was a lot lighter.

"Who are we waiting on?" My Uncle Steve asked as he helped my dad load the cooler with beer and winecoolers.

"Mom and Dad, Angelina, and Daniella." Dad explained.

I finished spreading the cream cheese on the dough, so TOP and I began to put the fruit on it. "So who is your Aunt Daniella?" He asked me.

"My dad's oldest sister. She's married to my Uncle Marcus, and they have two sons, the oldest grandson, Joseph, who's twenty-seven, and then Jarrod, who's twenty-five."

"Can I ask something?" CL asked as she walked into the kitchen.

I nodded. "Go ahead."

"Why do you and your brother and sister have Italian names, but everyone else's names seem to be so... American?"

"Because we, mi bella coreano, like to stick to tradition!" My dad answered proudly. "All of the others wanted to sound more Americanized, but Juliana and I wanted to stick to our native land." My dad patted my head. "Beautiful names for my beautiful children."

"Hey, I'm pretty damn beautiful." Brett joked.

"Language." My mom and Aunt Lucille both said and pointed their cutting knives at Brett at the same time.

Pretty soon, everyone had arrived. Just like it should be, the whole house became loud with laughter and talking.

TOP mostly stuck by either me or Vincent, the same with CL. I helped around in the kitchen, still, preparing things for the big meal today.

My Uncle Steve looked at TOP. "So, Top, when did you get into the music industry?"

TOP cleared his throat. "My band debuted in 2006, but I had been a trainee for our entertainment agency for a few years prior."

"A trainee like Natalia and Vincent?" Trevor asked next.

TOP nodded, so Trevor looked at me. "So you and Vinny could be just trainees for years?"

I nodded. "It looks like that could happen."

"I don't think that's the case, though." Kevin added, accepting a can of soda from my dad. "Nat and Vin got some true talent that not many people can have. YG has never scouted a duo like these two in the way he scouted them."

"We aren't that great, Kevin." Vinny chuckled shyly and shook his head.

"Aren't that great? Look at you both!" Kevin scoffed. "You have everything! The looks, the talent, the personalities! And there's a guy version and girl version! You both can sing, rap, and dance. Vincent, you can play the accoustic guitar! You guys are the perfect combination of YG Entertainment."

"You're our manager, Kevin. You have to say that." I sighed, taking Kyoki from his father so Kenji could help the guys get food ready for the grill.

"Well what do you both think?" Jason asked TOP and CL. "You both have been in the industry for years. What do you think of Natty and Vinny?"

CL thought for a moment. "I really do think they have a greater advantage than most trainees. They don't really have to work on their body image, because they're in top shape. Vincent already knows how to play guitar. They can both dance. Their singing is pretty good, too. It's just technique, I think."

"And what about what you wear now, Natty?" Brett walked by me and poked the bared skin from my muscle shirt. "You never clothes that exposed this much skin. What changed?"

I sighed. "I changed. I had to. This is how YG wants me to dress, because I guess it fits my personality and my image at YG. Lola and I had to go shopping for a whole new wardrobe and everything."

"I had to go with," Vinny sighed, too. "I think I own more tank tops and v-neck t shirts than I've ever owned. And my flat-bill hat collection has probably tripled."

"Well I think it's a good change." My Aunt Daniella smiled. "You and Vincent were both so shy before and hated showing off what you guys have worked so hard for."

"Natalia shy?" TOP smirked. "I don't think I've ever seen that side of her."

"Oh, yeah. Natty was really shy." Kyle piped up. "She didn't get a boyfriend until high school and didn't have her first kiss until her sophomore year."

"Kyle!" I snapped, my face going bright red. TOP didn't need to know that!

"It's because la mia splendida vergine angela doesn't settle for just any man!" My grandpa smiled proudly.

I gasped because of what he had just called me, and eveyone laughed. Thank God TOP didn't know Italian, or he'd probably think the "vergine angela" was true.

It so wasn't.

"Okay, we're embarrassing Natalia." Mom sighed, pulling me over to her as I buried my head gently against Kyoki. Mom looked at my dad. "Take the men out and get started on grilling. I'm hungry."

"Yes, my queen." My dad bowed galantly, then looked at TOP. He gave him a pat on the back. "Come, Seunghyun-ah. The men go out and grill."

"Go and have fun." I told TOP. I looked at CL. "You can help us make side dishes."

--

Third Person POV

"Ahh, the great outdoors. Where the men are meant to be." Roberto sighed contently as he and Massimo laid steaks and foil-wrapped potatoes on the grill.

"Except for the fact that it's, like, ninety degrees outside." Vinny grumbled.

"Oh, calm down, Hollywood." Kyle scoffed.

"What, you need your bodyguard to shield you with an umbrella and fan you by hand?" Brett snickered.

Vinny scoffed. "The bodyguard is for Nat. I'm still me."

"Says the kid wearing a tank top and snapback." Trevor teased next and grabbed the flat-bill off of Vinny's head. He put it on his own head. "Do I look like a tool yet?"

"Hey!" Vinny frowned, snatching the hat back.

Jarrod looked at TOP. "You don't wear hats like that or tank tops, do you, Top? I can't have a tool dating Natty."

"Oh please, it's rare for him to even show his arms." Vinny said, nodding to TOP. "Like me and Nat, Top had some weight issues, too."

TOP nodded. "Mine was a little more extreme then Vincent and Natalia."

"But they don't make you take off your shirt or change how you dress?" Jason asked.

TOP shook his head. "This is my image."

Roberto opened the cooler and started passing out beers. He offered one to TOP. "You're the first boyfriend of Natalia's I can have a drink with. I've been looking forward to that."

TOP took the brown bottle from him and nodded. "Thank you."

Roberto took out one last beer and thought for a moment. He held it out to Vinny. "You turn twenty-one in a few days. Here."

Vinny's eyes widened. He looked at his father. "You sure?"

Mr. Marcs nodded. "I am."

Vinny took the beer from his father and hesitantly took a sip. It wasn't that he had never had beer before; he had. It was the fact of drinking in front of his dad made him nervous.

The men stood around the grill chatting, making sure to include TOP.

After about ten minutes into casual conversation, Mr. Marcs tilted his bottle to TOP. "How do you feel about being here, Seunghyun-ah?"

"It's... a lot better than I thought it was going to be." TOP admitted, chuckling. "With how Vincent spoke to me when I asked about how to take Natalia out on our first date, I thought you all would be so much more threatening."

"Why's that?" Roberto chuckled.

TOP let out another laugh. "He said since you were Italian you were connected to the mafia. So, he said that if I had bad motives then the mafia would be involved."

Everyone laughed. Stephano shook his head. "We really don't have family connected to the mafia. We have family friends that may or may not be connected, but no direct link."

"Good to hear." TOP nodded and took a drink of his beer.

"So, I finally have to ask." Roberto sighed, setting down the grill tongs and shutting the lid on the grill. "How do you feel about my daughter?"

TOP immediately started talking. "She's a great person. She's determined and goal-oriented. She's beautiful. She has such a positive personality. She has a big heart. I'm crazy about her. I love her. She's-"

TOP even stopped as soon as those words escaped from his lips. All of the Marcs men stared, too, as soon as those three words slipped.

He didn't know he was going to say them. He was just speaking his mind.

"Does she know?" Mr. Marcs finally asked.

"No," Vinny answered for TOP. "She would have told me. She would have told everyone." He looked at TOP. "You haven't told her that, have you?"

"I haven't even told myself that..." TOP muttered. He looked through the sliding glass door off the porch and saw Natalia inside with Antonio and Kyoki, helping Antonio skewer a pattern of Rice Crispie Treats, marshmallow, and strawberries on a stick for the chocolate fountain with one hand, balancing Kyoki on her hip with the other. Just the sight of her with her younger cousins reassured what he had just said.

"So, do you?" Brett asked.

"Yes, Seunghyun. Do you love Natalia?" Roberto asked.

Without even hesitating, it was like the answer was natural. "Yes."