A/N:My computer messed this chapter up so it's going to be a bit different from what you probably read earlier. Now I learned my lesson. Never try to update on my phone again. Or don't leave the chapter open on a spare tab on your computer. Grrr...this just....I really liked what I uploaded earlier. Now I don't know if this will be better.

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The next day. The day before Christmas.

Jira woke up early. It's Christmas eve. Santa is supposed to drop off presents tonight. Will I get what I want for Christmas tomorrow?

Silently she got up from her bed and tiptoed toward her mom's room. 

"Eomma..." she whispers.

She opens the door and sees her mom still asleep. She tries to wait for her mom to wake up.

Meanwhile, Dara heard her door open and was just pretending to be asleep. She wanted to see what her daughter was up to. Peeking through her closed eyelids, she saw her daughter struggle to wait patiently, Patience was never really Jiyong's strongest point either. Apparently her daughter inherited the same trait. After seeing her daughter start to pout, Dara couldn't contain herself any more and she burst out laughing. 

Hearing her mom's outburst, Jira was caught off guard and jumped from where she was sitting. Then seeing her mom laughing made her cross her arms and pout more.

"Eomma!!! You scared me!" Jira whines.

Dara tries to stifle her giggles and tries to pull her daughter close. Jira moves away. Dara tries to pull Jira again and Jira lets her reluctantly. Dara hugs Jira while her daughter continues to pout.

"Mianhe. Eomma is sorry."

"Hmmph..."

"You were just too cute! I couldn't help it. You looked so much like your appa."

"My appa?"

"Yeah." Dara decides this is the right time to gauge how her daughter might react to her and Jiyong.

"Jira, baby? Remember when you asked about your appa when we first got here?"

"Yes?"

"Do you still want to meet him?"

Jira thought for a moment. Is Ji appa my real dad? I hope so. But if not, I think I would want to have Ji appa as my dad. 

"I don't know."

"You don't know?" Oh no. What if she changed her mind about meeting Jiyong? "You don't want to meet your appa?"

"Well...I don't want to meet him if he's gonna make you cry."

"Make me cry?"

"Yes. Last year I saw you cry and I heard you say appa's name."

Dara is shocked to hear her daughter witnessing her moment of weakness. She remembers that moment she's talking about. Jiyong's birthday. One of the few times, she let herself thing of him and let herself throw a pity party. She hugs her daughter close.

"I'm sorry you had to see eomma like that."

"If he's gonna make you cry like that again then I don't want to get to know him at all." Jira crosses her arm and pouts.

"What if he promises not to make me cry, would you meet him?"

"I guess I can."

The alarm by the bedside table beeps, letting the mother and daughter know that it's eight o'clock.

"Omo..." Dara shuts the alarm and proceeds to get up from the bed. "It's eight! We should get ready. We'll be late."

"Ehh? Late for what?"

"Eomma has some late Christmas shopping to do. And your Auntie Chaerin asked to me yesterday if she can take you shopping today."

"Chincha? Shopping with Auntie Chaerin? Cool!"

"And also, the lady we met at E-mart the other day. Your Ji appa's sister."

"You mean Aunt Dami?"

"Neh."

"What about her?"

"Well...  your Ji appa asked me last night if it was ok for her to join you and your Aunt Chaerin today shopping."

"What about you eomma?"

"Uhm... like I said, eomma has some stuff to do today. Ummm...I need to shop for your Auntie Chaerin so you have to keep it a secret."

Jira raises her eyebrow and looks at her mom skeptically.

Her mom doesn't normally have trouble talking. She's hiding something. Eh...She must have a reason why. I get to spend the day with Auntie Chaerin. She's really nice. Aunt Dami looks like a nice lady too. 

After a few minutes, both mother and daughter are ready to go.

 

The doorbell rings. Dara looks through the security cam outside her front door and saw Chaerin standing outside. She opens the door and welcomes Chaerin with a hug.

"Chaerinnie! You're just in time."

"Unnie! Is she ready?" 

"Yes, she is."

Chaerin then moves in closer to ask in a whisper. "What about you? Are you ready? What time is oppa picking you up?"

"Shhh... Jira might hear you."

"You mean, she doesn't know you're meeting him? She doesn't know he's her..."

"Shhh... no! I was gonna try and tell her but it seems like she's not ready to hear it yet."

Jira picks that moment to enter the living room. She smiles wide when she sees Chaerin.

"Auntie Chaerinnnnnn! You're here!" Jira runs to hug Chaerin's legs.

"Hello Jira! Are you ready to spend the day with me and your Aunt Dami?"

"Yes!"

"Well, let's go shopping. Your Aunt Dami is going to meet us at the mall."

"Yay! Eomma, are you sure you don't want to come?"

Dara kneels down in front of Jira and straightens her daughter's clothes and tucks her daughter's hair behind her ears.

"You know I have some stuff I need to do. But you enjoy yourself, ok? I'll see you tonight, Now give me a kiss and a hug."

Jira gives her mom a big hug and a kiss. 

"Ok. eomma. Annyeong!" Jira pulls Chaerin towards the door.

"I love you!"

"I love you too, eomma!" 

"Take care of my baby, Chaerin."

"Of course, unnie."

Chaerin and Jira both walk away. Dara stays at the door until the two enter the elevator, Jira waves back to her mom as the elevator door closes. And then she goes back to the apartment to wait for Jiyong.

Dara paces back and forth while waiting for Jiyong to arrive. Finally, the doorbell rings. Jiyong's gummy smile greets her when she peers at the security cam. 

Dara takes a deep breath and opens the door. 

"Good morning, Dee!"

Omo! His smile never fails to make me melt. Dara blushes at his exuberant greeting.

"Good morning!" 

"Are you ready for today?"

Dara looks down and fidgets. "Maybe we should re-schedule?"

"Wae?"

Dara looks up and sees Jiyong's brows frowning.

"It's just...maybe it's too soon. What if they don't like me?"

"My parents are going to love you."

"What did you tell them exactly?"

"I told them about us and how I'm never going to let you go again." 

"What did they say?"

"They can't wait to meet you."

Even after hearing the words from Jiyong, Dara was still nervous about meeting his parents. 

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Inside Kwon Manor, Jiyong's mom is pacing and looking out the window every few minutes. Jiyong's dad is seen sitting on one of the armchairs in the living room with the newspaper in his hands. 

After another moment of pacing, Jiyong's dad puts the paper down and looks at his wife. "Yeobo...what are you doing? Can you sit down? You're making me dizzy with your pacing."

Jiyong's mom looks out the window for the nth time, then turns to look at her husband.

"I'm just wondering when they'll get here. I wanna see what kind of woman this Park Sandara is. This is the first time Jiyong has brought someone to meet us."

"She's probably an exceptional lady if she was able to tame the dragon in a short amount of time." 

"Tame the dragon?" 

"Well, yeobo, since you're not regularly at the office, you probably haven't heard what your son is called at work."

"What? They're calling my son names? And why are they still working there? Who are they? How dare they."

"Easy, yeobo. First, they're still working for us because they are good workers. Second, your son actually is a dragon at work. Since you normally don't come to the office, you only the sad Jiyong. He sort of developed a temper these last few years. He's a good leader but he's also strict with his rules. Yesterday was the first day in a long while that I've seen a smile reach his eyes."

Jiyong's mom thought about the same thing. "You're right."

"So, whatever happens today, please make sure to meet her with an open mind. She's brought the life back to our son."

Jiyong's mom scoffs. She returns to the window to wait for Jiyong and his girl. 

The car arrives momentarily and Jiyong's mom sees her son park the car. But he doesn't get out right away. When he finally does, he goes to the passenger side to assist a youthful looking girl out of the car. She sees him be tender to the younger woman. It looks like she's nervous too. But she can see the love in the young woman's eyes that's meant for her son. And she's content to see her son's smile at the young woman. She moves away from the window to sit next to her husband and wait for the young couple.

Meanwhile, just outside Jiyong's childhood home, Jiyong assists Dara off the car. 

Dara nervously checks her clothes to make sure it's ok. Jiyong watches his fiancee fidgeting. He can't help but think how cute she is at everything she does. He shakes his head and 

"Dee...we're here, are you ready?"

"No? I don't know if I can do this, Maybe we'll try it another time." Dara asks hopefully. My baby girl is too cute. Jiyong chuckles.

"No. I'm done with waiting. I want them to meet the woman I love."

"Are you sure you love me? Maybe it's too soon. Maybe you need more time." Jiyong tips Dara's chin up so she can look into his eyes.

"Look into my eyes and listen to what I'm going to tell you... I love you. Only you. I've loved you since I've first met you. And I will love you for the rest of my life. Are we clear, Mrs. Kwon-to-be?"

Dara smiles and melts as she sees the truth in his gaze. Jiyong leans down to capture her lips in his. They hold each other close and Dara remembers where they are. She blushes at the thought of someone seeing them in a heated kiss. Jiyong smiles again at the sight of Dara blushing. He pulls her closer then moves them toward the door.

"Come on Mrs. Kwon-to-be. Let's meet my parents and get this show on the road. We kinda have a full agenda today."

"Full agenda?"

"We have to shop for Christmas presents for Jira." 

"Oh yeah."

"Come on. They don't bite."

The two enter the Kwon mansion. 

"Eomoni? Abeoji?"

"We're in here Jiyong."

They see his dad sitting in an armchair and his mom sitting on the arm.

"Eomoni, abeoji, I'd like you to meet my fiancee, Dara."

Dara bows shyly. "Anyeong haseyo Mr. Kwon, Mrs. Kwon, Sandara Park imnida."

Dara tries to move a bit closer to Jiyong. She's unsure of what Jiyong's parents are going to say. She can't tell what's on their mind. Their facial reactions doesn't say much.

Jiyong's mom's eyebrow lifts. "Mrs Kwon?"

Uh oh...is she mad? Did she not like that I called her Mrs. Kwon. Eottokhe? 

Dara squeezes Jiyong's hand, She looks down, afraid to see the rejection in Jiyong's mom's eyes.

She looks like a sweet girl. I can see why my son loves her.

Jiyong's mom sees Dara tremble and she tried to keep a straight face. She moves closer to Dara and stops right in front of her. 

Dara looks up and Jiyong's mom repeats herself one more time. "Mrs. Kwon?"

Babo Dara. Why did you have to call her that! Now she's mad and...

Dara was surprised when she suddenly felt arms gathering her into an embrace.

Then she hears Jiyong's mom say, "Mrs. Kwon is for strangers. You.... are going to be family. Call me eomonim."

Dara relaxes into the hug after hearing the acceptance in her tone. Her eyes get misty as she hugs the older lady in return. 

Jiyong's mom tells her softly, "Thank you for bringing life back into my son. You made him smile again, when I thought I won't ever see it anymore."

The older lady releases her and pulls her towards the couch. 

"Come dear, tell me how you met this naughty son of mine. I can't believe he kept you hidden from us all this time."

Dara looks at Jiyong, as if asking him what to do. Jiyong just shrugs and smiles at her. His dad eventually asked him to go with him in the home office to talk about the business leaving the ladies talk amongst themselves.