“You told your mother WHAT?!” Krystal’s voice was shrill as she gaped at Michael in aggravated horror.

Michael had his hands raised defensively and his feet shuffled in reverse cautiously. “It’s not a huge deal!” there was a desperate tone to his placating that brought an evil smile to your face. Jae was next to you watching in awe. The two of you were kneeling on the couch cushions peeking at the scene over the back of the couch.

Michael forced a laugh. “It’s kind of funny if you think about it.”

“It’s not funny! Why would you tell her I was your girlfriend?!” her face had grown red now.

The terrified man felt the cool off the wall against his back. The cold contrasting with the heat in his face and the warmth from the sunlight filtering through the windows. Krystal stopped walking to raise a pointed finger.

“Tell her the truth.”

Michael was terrified of Krystal yet still he shook his head fervently. “I can’t! She’s on her way.”

Krystal took another step. Her finger, now shaking in anger, right in his face.

“Tell her!”

Michael slowly raised his hands to softly grasp the angry woman’s fingers before pleading again. “Krystal, please! She’s always nagging at me so I told her we were dating so she would leave me alone. She’s never mentioned coming here before today! Just pretend for one day? I’ll never eat your food again.”

Krystal cut her eyes at him and didn’t speak for a moment. Seemingly mulling the idea over in her head.

Jae leaned over to whisper in your ear. “I hope she’s not buying that crap.”

You laughed for a second before Krystal and Michael both narrowed their eyes at you. Jae and you both lowered your heads to hide deeper in the couch. Raising them again shamelessly once Krystal started to speak.

“How long is she staying?”

Michael’s eyes widened at the sudden glimpse of hope. “Like a day-maybe two– I’m not positive but no more than two!”

Krystal nodded her head slightly before taking a step back.

Michael let out a big breath and lowered his hands.

“If you ever touch my food without asking again I’m going to call her! I swear!”

Michael bobbed his head repeatedly. “Sure! That’s fine…”

Krystal groaned and ran a hand through her hair. Already regretting this decision.

Michael smiled now. Clasping his hands together he smirked at Krystal. “So, while she’s here… we should set up some boundaries for our little tryst.”

The exasperated girl raised her head to glare at him.

“Hand holding is expected. My family is a very affectionate bunch. If she doesn’t see some form of PDA she’ll never believe it. So, prepare yourself for that.”

“I will kill you.” her voice was low and calm. Michael simply ignored her threat.

“Pet names are nice too. I’ll call you babe. You can call me baby if you want.”

Krystal started to protest but Michael cut her off again.

“And the last and most important rule…” he leaned close and tapped her nose with his pointer finger.

“Don’t fall in love with me~”

The two spectators burst out laughing. Krystal stood completely still for a moment. You swear you saw a flush of pink just before she let out another shriek. Michael ran off to avoid the screaming woman’s hands that were grasping at him. He managing to continue his foolish jabbering as he scurried out of reach. “I mean or do! That’s fine too! I didn’t know you felt so strongly about me!!”

You and Jae were still laughing when Michael locked himself into his room.

You were wiping at the tears on your cheeks when Krystal stomped back into the room. She fell into the couch next to you and laid her head on your lap. She buried her face into your stomach and let out another groan.

Jae was holding his stomach and snickering. When you made eye contact he started laughing again. “‘Don’t fall in love with me’" he spoke in a mocking voice between cackles. “Oh God. That was so awful.”

You snickered along with him as you thought about the moment again. Krystal raised her head to glare at the two of you. “Stop laughing!”

It was then that you noticed how red her ears still were. And her cheeks…

“Krystal. Are you…blushing?”

The snickering died out as she stared back at you with wide eyes.

Jae gawked at her then turned to you, mouth agape. “THAT WORKED?”

Krystal scowled and started rambling. “Shu- I-It’s not like- oh fuc- You just shut the hell up.”

You brought a hand up to pat her head. “It’s okay. The cute idiots have a tendency to worm their way in no matter what. Like termites.”

Krystal stood up off the couch. Her head hung low and her steps were heavy. Until she took a deep breath and raised her head sporting a manic smile that sent a shiver down your spine. “This is fine. Temporary lapse in judgement. That’s all. And we will never speak of it again. I’m going to go wallow in despair for a few minutes then I need you to come help me get ready.” With that she her heel and stomped to her room.

At your side Jae was shaking his head. “I cannot believe that that got to her. You guys call her the Ice Queen for crying out loud. Yet one cheesy line and a tap of the nose and she’s a blushing mess.”

“I thought it was pretty cute. Funny. And horribly cheesy. But cute.”

He studied you for a moment before speaking. “For future reference… was it the cheesy line or the nose tap that you thought was cute?”

You narrowed your eyes to peer at him sideways. “Why?”

“I gotta know what my girl likes~“ Jae titled his head as he spoke and gave you a big smile. Immediately you felt warmth blossom across your cheeks.

“Stop that.”

He noted the definite reaction to the cheesy line before continuing. “What? This is important information. Then I know what to do if we fight about anything.” he reached out to grab your hand. Running his thumb along the side, up and down.

You squeezed his hand in yours lightly, giving him a playful glare. “Why? You planning on starting a fight? If we do fight and you tap my nose I’m going to want to hit you.”

Jae nodded his head, grinning. “Duly noted.”

You watched him stare at your entwined fingers and saw his smile falter. His eyes shifted to look at the floor as his thumb stopped moving. His grip on your hand tightened momentarily before he let go completely. Jae cleared his throat before he looked at you again with a faint smile. “You should go help Krystal. Her mother-in-law is coming soon.” he finished with a dry laugh.

You chuckled back but stayed seated. There was something off about his smile. “Are you okay?” your voice was laced with concern.

Jae’s smile grew but there was no light to it. “I’m okay. Just don’t feel great. I think I’m going to go lay down before Michael’s mom gets here. She wants to meet us all, right? I can’t just ditch the dinner?”

“And leave me to face her alone? With the happy couple? No, you can’t.” you smiled.

“That’s fair.” he responded. “Call me down when she gets here.”

Jae walked past you to head up the stairs without another word. Turning towards Krystal’s room you did your best to shake off the concern and worry that you were feeling. He was probably just getting a cold.

—————————————

40 minutes into the dinner with Michael’s mom and you’d counted 5 cheek kisses. Michael was really taking advantage of the situation he’s lucked into. Krystal had looked angry the first time but you and Jae were having a good time watching the Ice Queen grow more and more accustomed to the kisses. She didn’t even look angry the last time.

Michael’s mother was a friendly woman. She’d asked Krystal all about her family and the things she liked to do. Time passed pretty quickly and soon it was time to do the dishes. Krystal immediately stood and volunteered, likely looking for an escape, only to be forced back into her chair by Michael. He grabbed her hand and pulled her back down. “Babe, I bet my mom still has more questions for you! Y/N, would you mind doing the dishes?” You quickly nodded your head and started gathering the dishes. Eager for an escape yourself. You weren’t sure how much longer you could hold in the laughter.

“Thank you, dear. Now, Krystal. I have another question. I’m a real romantic and I know this is personal but would you mind telling me about the moment you fell for my Michael?” Just as you twisted away and prayed to all the good in the world that she couldn’t see the look on your face there was a loud cacophony back at the table. When you back turned around you saw Jae choking on his water; likely from trying not to laugh. Michael was glaring at him from across the table.

Jae cleared his throat and stood. “Maybe I’ll help you, Y/N.” He was still trying to hold in his laughter when he grabbed your hand and led you into the kitchen.

You emptied the dishes into the sink and he grabbed a rag off the shelf to dry. “That was amazing. Some spy level discreteness. Very smooth, Jae.”

“Oh so we’re pretending that everyone at the table, INCLUDING the guy choking to death, didn’t see the look of utter disgust you tried hiding? Because that’s the only possible way you could be giving me any .”

You side eyed the grinning man and flicked some water at him. “A look that I tried to hide is a lot more discrete than that noisy spectacle you made of yourself.”

“My apologies. Next time I start choking I’ll try not to make such a scene.”

“Please do.” you grinned back at him.

He gave your shoulder a light push in response. Laughing again you reached into the sink and splashed some more water his way. Just as he was grabbing for the sink spraying hose the two of you paused when you heard a voice.

“Ah, young love.”

You both turned towards the voice and saw Michael’s mother standing in the door of the kitchen. Her son and Krystal were nowhere to be seen but you were pretty sure you could hear harsh whispering coming from the room down the hall.

Jae set the rag down before walking towards her. “Is dinner finished? Let me get your dishes.”

She handed over her plate and glass. Jae was on his way back to you when she asked, “May I ask how long the two of you have been together? You look so sweet together.”

For the second time that night you watched as his smile fell. His face darkened and his eyes held none of their usual mirth for a few seconds. His eyes shifted to you for a moment before he passed you to drop the dishes in the sink. When he faced the older lady again that dim smile from earlier was there on his face. “Where did the lovebirds run off to? Leaving you here alone.”

She seemed to understand that he was changing the subject. You certainly had. “They ran off to bicker in the room.” She studied the two of you. Narrowing her eyes slightly.

“I know my son thinks he’s clever but I do hope that you two don’t think me so naive as to believe that those two are dating.”

Jae’s mouth clamped shut and all you could do was stare at the lady in the doorway. She smiled at the looks on your faces. “Don’t worry. It wasn’t anything you did. My son is a horrible liar. Always has been. I’m going to keep pretending though.”

Jae shifted slightly in his spot. “May I ask why? If you already know why not just tell him?”

The older woman shook her head and grinned. “Why would I? My boy clearly likes that girl. And judging by the times she’s blushed I would bet she’s starting to like him. I don’t mind playing wingman for one night. I really like her.” she finished with a wink.

The two of were laughing as Krystal and Michael walked back into the dining room. The farce continued on until Michael’s mother finally decided it was time to go home. The moment her car pulled out of the driveway Michael was busy chasing Krystal around the house trying to lessen her anger. Jae announced that he was going upstairs shortly after they started. You tried to settle the two squabbling adults for a few moments before you gave up and headed up the stairs as well. As you stood in front of the door to your bedroom you thought back to Jae’s odd behavior. A part of you kept trying to brush it off. Like you didn’t want to think about it. Another part kept replaying the moment he avoided the question about the two of you being together. It wasn’t like an embarrassed dismissal. It occurred to you now that the two of you had never talked about what was going on between you. Before you had even consciously decided to, you were knocking on his door. Something telling you that this was more than just a cold.

Within a few moments Jae was standing in front of you with a lazy grin. “What’s up?”

You hesitated for a moment. Maybe you were just looking into things too much? You started rubbing your arm nervously and cleared your throat. “I just wanted to ask you about something. You seemed a little… weird today. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Are you homesick or something?” The moment in the kitchen kept replaying in your head. Over and over you saw his eyes darken. He wasn’t embarrassed by the question. What was he feeling in that moment to look that way?

Jae simply watched you fidget for a moment before took a deep breath and shook his head. “No, it’s nothing like that. I just…It’s nothing.”

“Why did you look like that when Michael’s mother asked about us?” you blurted out.

Jae froze.

Your heart sped as you watched him look away from you. You started rambling, regret flooding your body. “I know we haven’t talked about it or anything and I was okay with that but the way you reacted was really odd. You looked…sad. Or something. And you did it earlier too. When we were sitting on the couch.”

Jae didn’t speak for a while. Then he opened the door wider and stepped back. “Here. Come in.”

You walked passed him to the bed and sat down. He followed behind and sat next to you. You watched him get his thoughts together. He took another deep breath.

“Okay. This is going to sound really bad. But before any of that I need you to understand that I care about you. I think you’re funny, and beautiful, and awesome.” He grabbed one of your hands and wrapped both of his around it. His kind words brought no smile to your face; only dread to your heart. “I wasn’t planning on getting into anything like this when I got here.”

You couldn’t handle his placating anymore. “Just get to the point, Jae.”

He watched your face. His eyes pleading and hesitant. “I…can’t be your boyfriend.”

At first all you felt was confusion. “I haven’t asked you to…?”

His grip on your hands tightened as he let out a deep sigh. “I don’t mean right now. I mean…ever. I can’t be in a defined relationship with you.”

You tried to understand his words. “So…what then? You’re ending this?”

His eyes bore into yours with a sad hope. “We don’t have to…” his voice carried like a question. His intonation rang as a hesitant plead. You felt the sadness churn into something else. “As long as you understand that, we can still be together like we have been.”

You tried to pull your hand out of his grasp but he held on tightly. The look in his eyes turning into something frantic and afraid. The anger inside you was nearly equal with the sadness. “So what are you saying? You refuse to be my boyfriend, before I even ask you to be, but we can still mess around? Is that what you want? Did you seriously think that I would be okay with that?”

Jae slid closer to you and pulled your hand into his lap. He spoke fast, trying to make you understand. “No! No, that’s not what I mean! I told you this was going to sound bad. I know it sounds awful.” He scrambled for the right words. “I don’t want to lose what we have right now. I care about you!”

You ripped your hand out of his grasp. “You don’t want to lose what we have…but you want to make sure I know that it’s all we can ever have? Don’t want me to get carried away in fantasies right?”

Jae looked horrified. “No! Y/N, you’re not listening!”

“Tell me this. If you were staying longer…” you felt a little hope swell in your chest. Momentarily overpowering the anger and hurt wrestling in your heart. “Could we be more then?”

His eyes scanned your face desperately. He reached out for your hand hesitantly  and flinched when you snatched it away. His shoulders fell before he answered you. “No.”

You stood up off of his bed. Glowering down at him you felt your eyes start to prickle. “I never should’ve asked you about this. Why did you let it get this far? Why did you ask me out?”

“Because I liked you. I like you.” was his only response. His eyes were tired now.

“Yeah. I like you too.” You wiped at a lone tear. “But I’m not sure what you want here. I feel like you just want something to play with while you’re bored.”

Jae started to protest but you weren’t finished. “I know you’re not that kind of person but that is how this situation makes me feel.” You took another deep breath. You had to get out of here. “I need some time. Just leave me alone for a while.”

You turned around and left the room. Jae listened to your door slam and fell back onto his mattress. He hooked his hands together and rested them across his eyes. His company made him promise to keep his job a secret but in that moment he wanted to tell you more than anything. Maybe then you would understand. He wanted to be more to you but he didn’t have a choice. 

Mwa ha ha! The dating ban is here to  up!! Welcome to our first bump in the road. Lemme know your thoughts! For real. Even the bad ones! I just like to hear feedback.