Fridays are always great since classes end earlier. Instead of 4pm, Jiwon could go home at 2:30! It was something she would look forward to every week since she could catch up on her dramas during the afternoon. Unfortunately, Jiwon has to postpone catching up on her dramas, as exam season is here.

 

“I feel like dying,” Nichkhun said as he buried his head in the pillow.

 

Both of them were currently studying for their last day of exams. They’ve completed the written and oral tests on Monday through Friday, and the only one left was the clinical exam. Professors would observe them from a camera as they handle patients throughout the whole day. Their skill to diagnose and their attitude towards the patients will be marked. Out of all the exams, it was the hardest to do because one mistake can cause your grades to go down. Students have to redo the clinical exams during their Christmas/New Year break if they don’t pass.

 

“I hate exams… I want to stab whoever created exams,” Jiwon muttered as she pushed her notes away.

 

She’s been studying since she got home and her head can’t take any more information before it explodes. She wasn’t worried about how she’s going to act during the exam, but she’s nervous about her diagnosing skills. She might give someone an incorrect diagnosis or a ‘brain fart’ might occur in the middle of diagnosing her patients. Countless terrible scenarios kept running through her mind.

 

She decided to calm her nerves down by making herself a nice big cup of coffee. As she went out of the bedroom and into the kitchen, the doorbell rang. She sighed before heading towards the door and opening it, revealing a man and a woman.

 

“Hi there! You must be Khunnie’s girlfriend!” the woman greeted, giving Jiwon an unexpected hug.

 

Jiwon was clearly taken aback as she froze in her spot.

 

“I’m Nichkhun’s mother! Where is h- Oh there you are!” she exclaimed as she pointed at her son who was walking out of the bedroom.

 

“E-Eomma?” He said, surprised by her appearance.

 

“I missed you my sweet little angel!” She replied as she stepped inside the apartment to give her son a big giant hug.

 

Nichkhun’s dad shook Jiwon’s hand and smiled at her.

 

“I didn’t know my son could get someone as pretty as you,” he complimented.

 

Jiwon was still a bit dazed and didn’t know how to react. Nichkhun noticed her confusion and pulled her towards him.

 

“Jagiya, are you okay? You look unwell,” Nichkhun said in a loving voice.

Jagiya? Me? What??... oh right, I’m the ‘girlfriend,’ Jiwon thought.

 

“It’s nice to finally meet you,” Jiwon said before bowing.

 

“It’s nice to finally meet you too, Jiwonnie,” Mrs. Choi replied with a big smile.

 

“Can you excuse us for a moment? I have to talk to Khunnie about something. You both can sit down first,” Jiwon said before dragging Khun to the bedroom.

 

“Why didn’t you tell me your parents were coming?!” Jiwon exclaimed as she closed the door behind her.

 

“I didn’t know they were coming! They didn’t tell my anything,” Khun replied.

 

“Can’t you tell them the truth about us? I mean, it’s weird you know…” Jiwon said, scratching her neck.

 

“I can, but what’s the fun in that? This is my chance to do whatever I want with you,” Nichkhun replied with a smirk.

 

Jiwon looked disgusted and threw a pillow at him.

 

“I thought you hate liars. Didn’t know you were such a hypocrite,” she said, slowly massaging her temples. 

 

“That’s why you should just be my girlfriend. That way, I wouldn’t be lying anymore,” he replied as his smirk got bigger.

 

“I’m serious!” she said, evidently frustrated.

 

“I’m serious too!” he replied in the same tone.

 

Jiwon rolled her eyes and sighed. There was no way she could make him change his mind, so she opened the door and stepped outside her room. She saw that Khun’s parents were chatting happily amongst themselves and didn’t want to make things awkward.

 

“Would you like to drink anything?” Jiwon asked as she headed towards the kitchen.

 

“Actually, we were thinking of asking both of you to have dinner with us!” Mrs. Choi exclaimed happily as she followed Jiwon.

 

Jiwon’s eyes widened and shook her head in reflex.

 

“We have a clinical exam on Monday Mrs. Choi. I don’t think we have time to spare,” Jiwon replied, hoping it would be canceled.

 

“Oh just call me eomma! But please make some time for us~” Mrs. Choi pleaded.

 

Nichkhun came into the kitchen and mouthed  ‘just do it. She won’t change her mind.’

Like mother, like son. Jiwon thought before hesitantly giving in to Mrs. Choi’s offer.

---

Jiwon kept fiddling with her skirt as they walked inside a fancy restaurant in central Seoul. She cursed at Nichkhun for picking such an uncomfortable piece of clothing. She was wearing a simple navy sleeveless dress with a thin black belt and some black heels (courtesy of Khun). She rarely wore heels so she had to walk slowly since it was hard for her. Khun noticed her struggling to walk so he held her arms to help her. She didn’t mind since she needed the help anyways. Nichkhun on the other hand wore a simple white t-shirt with a navy blazer. The restaurant was quiet and had many chandeliers hanging around. Jiwon hated these kinds of places, but didn’t want to upset a cheerful Mrs. Choi.

 

When they got inside the private room Mr. Choi booked, Jiwon almost fainted at the sight before her. Both her mother and father were sitting there, anxiously waiting for their daughter. Nichkhun was also shocked and gave her a worried glance.

 

“Hi sweetie~” Jiwon’s mom greeted, giving her daughter a small smirk.

 

Jiwon noticed it and felt unease. She had never thought this day would come and wanted run away really bad. Before she could sit down, she excused herself to the toilet. Nichkhun knew what she was up to and couldn’t help but keep his eyes on her. Mrs. Choi noticed his son’s worried face and excused herself as well.

 

Jiwon slammed the bathroom door open and leaned against the bathroom wall. She was clearly hyperventilating and couldn’t find the strength to go back to them.

 

“Is my Jiwonnie okay?” Mrs. Choi said as she put her hand on her shoulder.

 

Jiwon was surprised to see her, but couldn’t form an answer. felt dry and her voice frozen.

 

“You’re not in good terms with your parents are you..” Mrs. Choi added, feeling guilty for what she had done.

 

Jiwon could sense the guilt in her voice and chuckled.

 

“It’s fine Mrs. Choi… I’ll be fine,” Jiwon finally spoke.

 

“You won’t be fine..” Mrs. Choi replied.

 

She was right; Jiwon won’t be fine. She couldn’t it up and go back because she knew exactly what was going to happen. Her parents would start talking about the past and make it seem like they were the victims, then they’ll talk about money, money, and more money. It’s all they can ever think about.

 

“I actually know your mother from a friend of mine. No offense, but I kind of despise her,” Mrs. Choi continued with a silly smile.

 

“None taken,” Jiwon replied.

 

“What did she do to you to make you hate her so much that you couldn’t even bear to look at her?” Mrs. Choi asked in a more serious tone.

 

Jiwon contemplated on what to say. She wasn’t sure if she should tell her the truth or just brush it off.

 

“Well, let’s just say she wasn’t all that bad when I was younger. She just got addicted to alcohol and things went downhill from there…” Jiwon answered.

 

She continued to explain to Mrs. Choi as they both sat down on the bathroom floor.

 

Meanwhile, Mr. Choi was listening to Jiwon’s parents rambling about their daughter and how she was so cruel to leave them. Nichkhun felt disgusted as they kept talking about Jiwon. He knew the truth and wanted to speak up so badly; but he had to be polite.

 

“Nichkhun-shi, I’m sure Jiwon has told you a lot about us,” Mrs. Song said.

 

“Yeah, but it’s the complete opposite of what you just said,” Nichkhun replied, earning a confused look from his father.

 

“Do tell us what she said,” Mr. Song said, curious and worried of what her daughter had said to him.

 

“You treated her like… trash. Forcing her to get married at such a young age without her consent. All you care about is money. That’s why she ran away; and I’m glad she did,” Nichkhun said, relieved that he finally said it.

 

Jiwon’s parents broke into a fit of laughter, confusing both Nichkhun and his father.

 

“Do you really believe that? You should know that our daughter is a compulsive liar-

 

“No, she isn’t. The fact that she had to excuse herself to the toilet just to get away from you both tells me that she was truly frightened. And I know what a compulsive liar looks like, and it isn’t Jiwon,” Mr. Choi said, interrupting Jiwon’s mom.

 

Dad..? Nichkhun was surprised at his father. Never in his life has he seen him defend someone he barely met.

 

“What makes you so sure Jiwon’s not a liar? I mean, she can pretend-

 

“Because my dad’s a trained psychologist. Now if you excuse us, we’re done here,” Nichkhun interrupted as he stood up and dragged his dad with him leaving Jiwon’s parents shocked.

 

“Khun, that wasn’t polite to leave them there,” his father said as they fetched for their car.

 

“We can go back if you like,” Nichkhun replied, earning a big ‘no’ from his dad.

 

“Where is your mom and Jiwon anyways?” Mr. Choi asked, checking his phone in case his wife texted him.

 

Nichkhun was about to call Jiwon when he received a text from his mother.

 

Khunnie~ I kidnapped Jiwon so don’t come looking for us! Love you <3, - mom

 

Nichkhun smiled as he read the text.

 

“Dad, want to get takeout?”

---

“We’ll have a large potato stew, a set of kimchi dumplings, 2 bowls of rice, one portion of blood sausages, and 2 bottles of soju,” Mrs. Choi said to the waiter.

 

Jiwon chuckled at the amount of food they ordered. Both of them decided to ditch and went to a small potato soup restaurant. It was a little further away from the previous restaurant and so they took a taxi. Jiwon didn’t know someone like Mrs. Choi liked shady places like this.

 

“This is actually where my husband took me for our first date,” she suddenly said, smiling at the nostalgia that hit her.

 

“Really?”

 

“Yeah, he said this was his favorite restaurant and apologized for bringing me to such a shady restaurant, but I fell in love with him because of that.”

 

Both of them continued to share stories as food and drinks arrived. Jiwon took a couple shots while Mrs. Choi, to her surprise, drank most of their soju. She was evidently drunk by the time they finished dinner.

 

Jiwon paid for the food as she helped Mrs. Choi walk to a taxi. She had to take of her heels since she couldn’t walk in them. It was already 10pm and so she decided to bring Khun’s mom back to her apartment since she didn’t know exactly where she lived. Mrs. Choi kept slurring on her words and most of them didn’t even make sense. When they arrived, she paid the taxi driver and helped Mrs. Choi up the stairs and into her room.

 

“Nami!” Mr. Choi exclaimed as he helped Jiwon get his wife off of her.

 

“Mom…” Nichkhun said, disappointed at his mom for getting so drunk.

 

“Namjoonnie? Khunnie? My darlings~~~” Mrs. Choi said as she wrapped her arms around both of them.

 

 Jiwon chuckled at the small family reunion before walking to the kitchen and opening a bottle of milk. Nichkhun followed her and handed her a cup.

 

“Old habits die hard,” he said, earning a scowl from Jiwon.

 

He noticed she wasn’t wearing any footwear and asked what happened.

 

“I took of my heels so that I could help your mom walk,” she answered.

 

“Why didn’t you just call me?” Nichkhun asked after taking her cup and putting it in the sink.

 

“I was too full to think. You should’ve seen the amount of food your mom ordered; it was enough to feed a family of 6!” Jiwon exclaimed, earning a chuckle from him.

 

“Khun-ah! Jiwon-ah! We’re heading out, bye!” Mr. Choi said before bringing his wife with him out the door.

 

Nichkhun pushed Jiwon out from the kitchen to her bedroom and told her to get ready for bed. She got into the bathroom and changed from her uncomfortable dress to a warm set of pajama pants and an oversized shirt. She ran out of the bathroom and jumped on her bed.

 

“Yah, move over. There’s no space for me,” Nichkhun said as he scooted Jiwon to the other side.

 

Jiwon rolled over and grabbed her body pillow to put in between. Nichkhun frowned at the sight of their ‘border’ as he pulled the covers over him.

 

“What’s the use of a body pillow when you have me?” Nichkhun said, earning a scoff from Jiwon.

 

“I need something huggable,” Jiwon replied as she hugged her body pillow.

 

“I’m huggable!”

 

“But you move and breathe and talk”

 

“I can stay still and hold my breath and not utter a single voice if you want.”

 

Jiwon rolled her eyes and turned to the other side. This was their 4^th time arguing about this. It was better for her to just ignore him.

 

Nichkhun sighed and turned the other way too. He knew that in the morning, she’ll be all over him anyways.