The doorbell rings tirelessly in Infinite’s dorm.

“Can somebody stop being such a lazyass and open the damn door?! I can’t move, I’m putting on a facial mask.” Sungjong screams from his room.

Myungsoo, who happens to be closest to the door, gets up from his seat to open the door, mumbling incoherent curses at the maknae.

“Who’s there?” He asks as he peeps through the peephole.

“It’s me!” A woman replies from outside.

… That’s not very helpful, Myungsoo thinks, but he opens the door anyway.

Myungsoo gasps when the visitor envelops him in a tight embrace.

“Omonim?!” The guest turns out to be Hoya’s mother.

“Aigoo, our Myungsoo is getting more handsome by the day, oh? Look at you, all tall and spiffy.” She praises and lightly taps the young boy on the .

She lets herself in. Myungsoo could only stare at her.

“Where’s my boy?” Hoya’s mother asks as she looks around all the rooms.

“Hyung lives upstairs with Sunggyu hyung and Dongwoo hyung.” He replies.

Hoya’s mother stops in her footsteps and stares at Myungsoo with an unreadable look.

“Silly boy, why didn’t you say so earlier?” She exclaims and gets ready to leave the dorm. “Alright I’ll get going now. Continue to grow more handsome okay? Aigoo, our Myungsoo is so good-looking.” She praises and pinches his cheeks.

Hoya’s mother lets herself out of the door just like how she came in, and even helps to close the door tightly. Myungsoo could only stare at the closed door, wondering what just happened.

Well, he shrugs, back to his comics.

On the other hand, Hoya’s mother finally reaches the correct dorm. She rings the doorbell profusely just like how she did before.

The sound of a door slam is heard, followed by some angry footsteps that belongs to Hoya. He flings open the door, raging in a loud voice.

“Lee Sungyeol, what do you want now- Omma?!”

“My son!” She almost screams it out and hugs Hoya even more tightly than she did with Myungsoo. “I miss you soooooo much!”

“I miss you too, umma.” He replies and gives her a loving hug. “I’ll get you some tea.”

She pulls away from her son and starts to roam around his dorm.

“This new dorm is not too shabby.” She muses to herself and takes a seat on the couch.

Hoya comes out of the kitchen with two cups of tea in hand and sits opposite his mother. He asks, “Umma, what brings you here to Seoul?”

“I miss my son.” She says matter-of-factly. “And you haven’t been calling me recently, so I got worried.”

Hoya rubs his nape awkwardly. “Sorry umma, we’ve been practicing really hard for our comeback these days. I barely get 4 hours of sleep a day.”

“Aigoo, my poor son.” Hoya’s mother says and gives Hoya yet another bone-crushing hug. “Are you having proper meals?”

Hoya wants to lie to his mother but he can’t bring himself to, because he’s a mummy’s boy.

“Uh… Maybe?”

Hoya’s mother slams the table with her palms and stands up. Hoya swears she can be such a drama queen at times.

“This cannot do!” She declares as she grabs Hoya by the arm and pulls him to the door. “Wear your shoes, son, we are going out."

"Uh, where?"

"Don't play 20 questions with me, young man. Just slip on some slippers."

"Uh... Okay." Hoya nods and follows his mother obediently.

The mother and son duo take the lift, and to Howon's surprise, the lift travels upwards instead of downwards.

"Umma."

"Hmm?"

"Where are we going?"

"..."

"Umma!"

"Aigoo, you're so loud and whiny, Hoaegi." Hoya's mother complains.

"Umma, answer me!" Hoya whines.

"Patience, young one." Hoya's mother pats him on the head and drags him out of the lift.

Hoya recognizes the floor he is on. It is all too familiar.

Apink lives on this floor.

"Noooooo Ummaaaaa-"

"Shush! Be quiet, son." She hushes. "If there's one person I can trust to take care of your cute little , it's Eunji."

"Umma!" Hoya groans and blushes deeply at the mention of his and 'Eunji' in the same sentence. "How did you even find out that Apink lives here?"

"I know how to surf the net, you know. I saw it online."

"Oh."

"Yes, now walk faster. You're a grown man, but you walk slower than an old lady like me. Shame on you!" Hoya's mother chides him and pulls him all the way to Apink's dorm.

She rings the doorbell for the third time that morning. "Eunji dear!"

A series of hurried footsteps are heard and the door swings open.

"Omonim!" Eunji exclaims and gives Hoya's mother a warm hug. "What brings you here today?"

Hoya's mother hits Eunji on the arm playfully. "How many times must I tell you to just call me umma?"

Hoya stands at the side and blushes at his mother's comment. He feels like a lovesick puppy, as his mind starts to wander off, because you only call another man's mother 'umma' when you're going to marry that man...

"Yah, Lee Howon, why are you standing there like an idiot? Where are your manners? Say hi to Eunji!" His mother scolds.

"O-Oh." Hoya stutters and greets Eunji with at least a distance of an arms' length, and Eunji returns the greeting.

Hoya's mother tuts disapprovingly at their lack of interaction but does nothing. She turns to Eunji.

"Dear, are you busy these days?"

Eunji thinks for a while, with her hand on her chin. Hoya thinks she looks beautiful even when she's doing such normal gestures. He avoids looking at her, his eyes darting around as he tries to wish away his nervousness.

"I think I'm free for about a month or so. Our promotions just ended, and my drama filming won't start till a month later... Yeah, I'm free to accompany you anywhere this month!"

"Such a sweetheart. You'll make such a good daughter in-law." Hoya's mother praises and pats Eunji's cheek lovingly.

Daughter in-law?!?! Hoya gulps at his mother's words. He is quite sure his cheeks are turning scarlet. Hoya peeks at Eunji, who is much more composed than he is.

Why isn't she flustered?!

Girls. He can never understand them.

"Thank you for the offer, sweetie, but I actually have something else on my mind. I want to ask if you can help me take care of Howonnie."

"What's wrong with Howon?" Eunji asks, her voice laced with concern.

Hoya really likes how his real name rolls off Eunji's tongue so smoothly and effortlessly. He could listen to her say his name all day long.

"Infinite is having a comeback soon, and he's not eating well." Hoya's mother explains. "So I was wondering if you could cook him some Busan food from time to time when you're free."

"Oh." Eunji replies.

Hoya feels a bit disappointed in her lack of response because he is honestly looking forward to her food, even though he wasn't part of the plan initially.

He gets a pleasant shock when Eunji turns to him with that perfect eye-smile of hers.

"I'd love to cook for Howon."

[A/N:] Hello fellow pinkspirits! Thank you for subscribing and thank you for the comments!

I can't emphasise enough on how much I appreciate them, so please keep them coming!

A short update on my favourite Busan couple before I go on a one month break bc of exams ): please be patient w me ~ Hope you enjoy it!