"My parents want to have dinner." I play with Hyukkie's fingers, leaning against him on the couch in my apartment. "Can I polish your nails?"

        He tucks his legs underneath him. "When? And sure!"

        "They haven't said. And they want to see you."

        "Me?" He sounds very surprised.

        "You're the only Lee Hyuksoo I know," I laugh.

        "Oh." He tucks his lips between his teeth. "I'm dumb."

        "No, not at all!" I hold out his hand. "I think black or multicolor red, blue, and orange."

         "I want polka dots, Rinnie," he pouts. His hand closes around mine and our fingers intertwine. I look back at him and he lifts the corners of his mouth in a small smile. He rests his head on mine and pulls me closer.

         "I can do polka dots," I whisper.

        "When do they want to meet?" he asks.

        "Soon. They told me to ask you when was convenient."

        "I have a kinda busy schedule. I would-- What?"

        I'm glaring at him.

        "What?"

        "What schedule?" I'm biting back a laugh.

        "I do too have a schedule!" He feigns offense, throwing his hands up.

        I smack him, smushing his cheek and rubbing it around his face. I chuckle, pulling at his pale skin, making it flush with blood.

        "Having fun there?" he manages to get out.

        I nod happily, still playing with his face.

        "Like I was . . . Stop that!" He pushes my hand away. "Like I was saying, I would love to spend some time with you and your parents."

        "We need a babysitter."

       "I'm sure Dara noona is getting a bit annoyed with how many favors we ask her."

        "You kidding? She lives for these kinds of things! I'll still ask her."

        "Wow, you have a great unnie," he grins.

        "The best!" I hold up an 'ok' hand sign.

        I shut and lock my apartment door after me, trying not to close my dress in the frame. I drop my keys into my purse and turn around. Hyukkie leans against the wall beside the door with hIs back to me. He's wearing a dark gray suit and black dress shoes.

        "You're hot," I say, wrapping my arms around his waist.

        He turns around. "I was going to say the same thing to you," he breathes.

        I feel the start of a blush spreading into my cheeks. "Thank you," I say. "Do you like my hair? I've never done it like this before." I had put my hair in a ponytail and curled it into ringlets.

        "It's beautiful, dear!" He lifts his hand and cups my cheek. We stare at each other for a minute. He's so stunning! Could he be thinking the same about me?

        His dark eyes are still on mine, his lips slightly parted.

        Those same beautiful eyes dart away quickly and nervously. "Should we go?" he asks quietly.

        "Right! I clean forgot," I chuckle.

        He nods, holding out his arm. I slip my hand into the crook of his elbow and we hear out to the car. He opens the door for me and hops into the driver's seat. I fasten my seatbelt and fold my hands in my lap, nervously clicking my nails together. He grabs my hand and squeezes it before pulling out of the parking spot. He winks and flashes me a reassuring smile.

         "I don't know why I'm so nervous," I say. Gosh, my voice is really shaking. So much for trying to be cool.

         "Well, I am, too, if that makes you feel better."

        "No, because you've grown nerves of steel. Why can't that rub off on me?"

        "I don't have nerves of steel, darling. And you'll be ok. I'm just hoping that they like me."

        "They'll be in love with you before you even greet them. Just like I was."

        He looks over, a faint blush creeping into his cheeks.

        "What?" I ask.

         "You make me feel special." The light changes to green.

        "That's because you are special to me. You're so very dear to my heart."

        "Ah, stop it, Rinnie. I'm going to have a wreck." He laughs, a mix of embarrassment and happiness.

        "Don't crash, oppa!"

        "Stop complimenting me, then."

        "Never. We're here."

        "Have they said anything?"

        "No, not yet." I check my texts and missed calls again just to be sure. "Maybe they're inside already. Let's go in."

        He opens the door for me and holds out his hand to make sure I don't fall, because that's just me to do something like that.

        "Should we hold hands or something?" he asks, putting his keys in his pocket.

        "I think we should walk in together and stay close. It sounds . . . safe. Oh, I don't know!" I laugh and wave my hands.

        He kisses my cheek and his hand rests on the small of my back. We walk inside and ask the maître d'hôtel for my parents. She nods and leads us to the table. I can see the back of my mother's head and the concentrated frown of my father looking over the menu.

        "Mom! Dad!" I wave, flashing the prettiest smile I can muster for my nervousness.

        Mom stands up quickly, rushing over to hug me. "Oh, my little girl looks so beautiful today! How are you, Honey Cheeks? Oh!" She stops right in the middle of reaching for me and looks over my shoulder at Hyukkie.

        She holds her arms out and waggles her fingers. "Come here, baby," she says, just staring at him with a lopsided grin.

        Hyukkie starts to bow to her, but he straightens up as she pulls him into her strong arms. He looks surprised, but hugs her back anyway. She pulls back and looks up at him brightly.

        "Gosh, you're beautiful," she breathes. She reaches out to his cheek but quickly drops her hand. "Yours, Honey Cheeks. Look, but don't touch, Eomma."

        I laugh, albeit a bit loudly. 

        Hyukkie smiles, relaxing a bit. My dad stands and wordlessly grabs him in a tight hug. My dad releases him, his hands firmly on Hyukkie's forearms.

        "I like him," Appa smiles mischievously. He pushes up his glasses and chuckles and we all sit down.

        "How are you, Lee Hyuksoo?" Eomma asks, resting her elbows on the table.

        "I am doing well, ma'am," Hyukkie says.

        "Eomoni," my mom says, patting his hand. "And this is your Abeoji."

        Hyukkie's face lights up and he is relaxing some more now.

        "You don't have to be nervous," Appa says. "We're all family here."

        "Do you really like me that much?"

        "Our Chaerin tells us a lot about you. And I can feel a good presence surrounding you. You have a kindred spirit, and you're very polite. And not to mention very, very handsome." Appa winks at him slyly and takes a drink of water. "Let's order, shall we?"

        Hyukkie fumbles around to pick up the menu. I put my hand on his and pick it up for him. His face starts to go red in the dim lighting. He tilts his face down into the text. He looks absolutely exquisite right now with the soft gold light highlighting the sharp features of his face. I look over and see that Eomma Is doing the same. She holds up her menu to cover her face and mouths, "I really like this one. Where did you get him?"

        "He's a Godsend," I mouth back, winking at her.

        "Those are the best." She gives me an approving thumbs-up and a little eyebrow wiggle.

        I giggle, much louder than I anticipated. Hyukkie looks up. "What?" I can read into  his eyes.

        I shake my head. Nothing.

        "How's your little boy?" Appa asks. Thank God for the shift in conversation!

        But Hyukkie jumps with the question. "Excuse me?" he asks.

       "You do have a little boy named Hyukshin, don't you?"

       "Yes, Abeonim . . . Abeoji." Hyukkie chuckles with my dad. "He's doing all right."

        "That's good! Do you have any pictures of him? I want to see what he looks like."

       "Ah, Rinnie didn't send you any pictures of Shin?"

        "No," Eomma frowns. "He sounds like a little sweetie pie, like his dad."

        "Ah, Eomoni." Hyukkie pulls his phone out of his pocket and unlocks it.

        "May I see your phone? There's one picture I really like on here," I say. He hands me the phone and I scroll through the camera roll. I find the one I'm looking for right away. It's a beautiful picture of Shin on the beach with his face turned slightly away from the camera and the sun in his dark eyes, making them look almost golden. His hair was still a bit long, and the wind had blown it across his small face. He has a strong profile much like his dad's. The boy is really very photogenic, something I wasn't able when I was his age. I was just cute back then and that was all.

        My parents' breath catches and they both lean in to the phone to get a closer look. "He's beautiful, Hyukshin-ah!" they exclaim.

       "Thank you," he smiles proudly.

        "He looks a little bit like you, Honey Cheeks," Eomma grins. "I'm not sure what I see that is so similar, but there is something."

        "Eomma," I laugh. "If you say so!"

        Hyukkie holds my hand under the table through the rest of dinner when we've all finished eating. My parents have absolutely fallen in love with him, just like I said they would. By the end of the evening, they all laugh like old friends and even exchange phone numbers.

        "I could not have asked for a better man to be my little girl's first boyfriend," Eomma sighs, taking another sip of her wine.

        "Yeobo!" Appa almost chokes on his drink. "Don't embarrass her."

        "Oh, nonsense! It's the truth."

        "You haven't had much wine, but all the same I think you should put it down."

        "Fine."

        Hyukkie laughs, a bit embarrassed. I want to crawl under the table.

        We walk back to the car after saying goodnight to my parents. The night is pleasantly chilly, but I brought a long-sleeved bolero jacket with me just in case. Hyukkie the back of my hand with his thumb.

        "So, Honey Cheeks, huh?" he asks with a smile.

        "My mom is really something else. You gotta love her. But that's her thing, all right?"

        "So would you be upset if I called you that?"

        "Extremely. Please never do it."

        He stops walking.

        I laugh, some kind of unattractive cross between a snort and guffaw. "I'm not that serious about it," I say, smacking his shoulder. "But really; that's hers."

        "What should I call you, then?"

        I tap my chin. "Goddess Divine. No? Ok."

        He laughs this time. "Maybe later I could, if you want."

        "Make sure to do it at least once. I like how that sounds."

        "You're adorable."

        "Thank you, but I knew that already."

        "Dork." He pretends to swing at my head.

       "Cutie." I shove him lightly.

        "Lovely." He wraps his arms around my neck and kisses the top of my head.

        "Amazing." I hug him tightly around his waist and we stand there for a few moments in the evening air, holding each other and breathing each other in.

A/N: To be honest with you all, I am dreading the next few chapters. If there's anyone still out there reading this, what would you like to see, as you are the ones reading TTOAA. Would you like to suggest something? I don't want to give up on this fic, too. I've had too much fun and I have not gotten to the big scene yet.