“Okay, do we have everything?” 

 

“Yes, Yeonnie, we have everything. And more of it than we might need.” Sana laughs good heartedly.

 

“But Jihyo will be here soon, and you even added my parents an-” Nayeon starts to panic a little.

 

“Calm down, sweetie.” Sana hugs her and sits both of them down.

 

“But my parents are coming too.”

 

“I know, and I’m really happy they are, because then I can properly ask for their blessing.”

 

“What?”

 

“You thought I wasn’t serious when I said I’m putting a ring on it?”

 

“Except, you never said you were going to.”

 

“Now you know.” Sana giggles and gets up. “Now, choose something to watch and play with Zaki.”

 

The shiba runs to them and jumps his owner, Nayeon can’t do much but comply and begins patting the dog with a huff. Sana is satisfied and goes back to the kitchen, she was finishing dinner when the older woman started panicking again, you see, her hobby was fine cuisine, and she held quite a bit of certifications in the area, all very impressive, including, but not exclusive to, the certification to handle fugu. She had called Chaeyoung, asking to talk to Jihyo and suggesting mr and mrs Park to attend as well. The parents were delighted to know their eldest had finally found somebody and canceled everything just to attend, not that they would ever let their kids know, and not that it would make any difference for Nayeon, she still was weary about them.

 

They lost track of time, and were truly surprised when the doorbell rang, Jihyo preferred to ring when their parents were present, she knew Nayeon didn’t feel comfortable in letting them know her code, they had a history of not understanding limits very well. Sana called for the older woman to answer the door, as she was finishing plating the roasted potatoes and didn't want to stop right then. Nayeon got up grumbling and went anyway, Snowball and Zaki following behind her, it was rare for the bunny to follow her to the door, but she wasn’t about to complain.

 

“Nayeon, it’s lovely to see you.” Mrs Park says as the door opens.

 

“Mother.” Nayeon greets, always too formal. “Father. Please, come in.”

 

“It’s nice to see you are well, Nayeon.” Mr Park adds, as they go in.

 

“You alright, there?” Jihyo asks, hugging her sister tight. 

 

“I’m fine, Hyo. Let’s just get this over with.” The eldest sighs. “You came in separate cars, right?!”

 

“We did. They should be going back right after dinner.” Chaeyoung is the one to answer.

 

“Great.” Nayeon is as unenthusiastic as she could be.

 

They all get to the living room, with the animals running in front of them, the parents look amused, but say nothing, until mr Park speaks up again.

 

“Nayeon, where is the young lady we are supposed to meet today?”

 

“Sana is finishing dinner. She should be here soon.”

 

“I thought you would be the one making dinner.” Mrs Park wonders.

 

Nayeon is also a skilled chef, but not as skilled as Sana, apparently. The japanese woman got to make dinner after a heated discussion and a lot of flaunting their skills to each other, and Nayeon is still a bit salty about it.

 

“I’ll go get her.” Jihyo offered and left before anyone could say anything.

 

True to Nayeon’s word, Sana was found in the kitchen, breaking the salt around the fish she pulled out of the oven not long ago.

 

“You baked a whole block of salt? Own, I’m touched.” Jihyo mocks.

 

“Sure, grab me that platter, Ji.” Sana motions to the table beside Jihyo without really stopping what she was doing.

 

“Seriously, what’s that?” Jihyo places the platter on the counter and kisses the japanese cheek.

 

“Herring baked in a salt crust. I just have to break it out and plate it.”

 

“Fancy. And here I thought Nayeon was the one with the snobby taste.”

 

“Oh, she is. This is just some quick cooking that sounds fancy but is really simple. Hope you all enjoy fish, though.”

 

“We’ll love anything you make, but mom loves herring.”

 

“I know, Nayeon mentioned it after we decided to invite them too.”

 

“Thought so. I volunteered to come and grab you, though.”

 

“I’ll let you take me as soon as I finish with this.”

 

Sana proceeds to cover the platter with some caramelized lemon slices, places the fish on top of it and then garnishes everything accordingly. Once she places the final dish on the table, Jihyo notices the whole meal looks like those pictures on high society magazines where they were showing off some palace’s dining room, mr and mrs Park would love it. The couple lived for these fancy looking and slightly tacky displays, grouped with the fact that Sana cooked it herself, this woman was about to be the most respected member of the Park household.

 

“I’m ready, stop ogling dinner and take me.” Sana laughed with a wink.

 

“Alright, let’s go.” Jihyo agrees, laces their arms and heads to the living room. “But be warned, you are about to have them eating in the palm of your hand with that presentation.”

 

“That’s what I’m aiming for.”

 

Dinner goes perfectly, the only way it could have gone better was if Nayeon had listened and left the pets outside, Zaki decided he was invited to eat with them too and bothered everyone. The japanese merely offered ‘it’s your dog’ when begged for help, which earned her a higher placing with the family, the eldest daughter had a history of making a mess and dragging everyone around with her. Mr and mrs Park couldn’t be more pleased with the woman their eldest daughter had found, and demanded to meet Sana’s parents sometime soon, even telling the girl they could all go to Japan instead of having them have to drop everything to come to them.

 

After dinner, Sana made a video-call to her parents, telling them Nayeon’s family wanted to meet them, the japanese family was pleasantly surprised by the Parks’ fluency in their native language, even Chaeyoung managed to keep up rather well. Without Sana being able to explain how they got there, there was a trip to Osaka already agreed upon for the next extended holiday, in two weeks time. She was happy that she would be seeing her parents after so long, but this was just madness, she guessed that’s where Jihyo got her personality from, being authoritative, impulsive and hard to dissuade. Nayeon was really the black sheep in this family, but that just made her that much more lovely.

 

After the call, another bottle of wine and more questions from the parents, about Sana, the woman asked for their daughter’s hand and they were delighted to accept, claiming they wanted her parents' numbers so they could arrange their trip properly and left, the moment the door closed behind them was the moment Nayeon truly relaxed, she had been pacing herself carefully and it brought her a lot of stress. Jihyo was holding her sister’s hand as their parents were saying their goodbyes, Sana had gone to get some more wine as the others make their way to the living room, they would need more alcohol if anyone wanted Nayeon to calm down in time for bed.

 

“So, have you two decided who is moving?” Jihyo brought the topic up one they all settled.

 

“Who is doing what, now?” Nayeon seems confused.

 

“I mean, you two practically live together already, and you are surely getting officially engaged by our parents in two weeks when we get to Osaka. The next step is figuring out where you are going to live.” The younger Park continues.

 

“That is a great topic indeed.” Sana agrees.

 

“We haven’t really talked about it, but I think we should either move to Sana’s or get a plot and build something to our needs.” Nayeon is thoughtful.

 

“I think building our own house would be lovely. We could move to mine and then build something here?” Sana offers.

 

“Why isn’t moving here an option?” Chaeyoung asks curiously.

 

“Sana needs her workshop and there is no room to bring it here.” Nayeon explains, already purring a little because of her hair being .

 

“Workshop?” Jihyo, and her fiance, is very interested now.

 

“Oh, I’m an artisan.” The japanese offer bubbly. “I make custom gear, lots of leather, lots of rope and lots of metal accents. My workshop takes up all my garage and backyard, here definitely doesn’t have the room for it as it is.”

 

“And moving there and then rebuilding here, or just adjusting everything to fit her workshop would be the best course of action.” The older Park concludes.

 

“Okay, you saying you are in the business too?” Chaeyoung, the always tactless one.

 

“I’m having you both over before your honeymoon, so I’m sending you the time for your appointment tomorrow.”

 

Chaeyoung chuckles and Jihyo raises an eyebrow, unbelieving.

 

“I never agreed to any of this.” The younger sister feels like she had to complain.

 

“I’m not asking.” Sana says with finality.

 

Nayeon just laughs and Chaeyoung does her best to control herself, she knew she would be sleeping on the couch if she said anything. The group keeps talking, at some point, Snowball, who was curled in Nayeon’s belly, hops off the couch, wakes Zaki and they make their way to their bed in the corner by the fireplace. Jihyo and Chaeyoung had never seen that, so they were smitten at how well behaved and cute the pets were. It was a good evening, despite the dinner part.