“Seung Ho, I heard from your cousin, So Min, that you are dating this young actress, what’s her name, So Hun?” Aunt Dok Ma suddenly asked from across the table. Everyone at the table, stopped eating and chatting and turned towards Seung Ho. They were at the table in his parents’ garden celebrating his father’s birthday and his father’s siblings and some of their children had been invited.

Stunned, he tried to swallow the food he was chewing with the help of some water. “I think So Min has been reading too many gossip magazines,” Seung Ho’s sister responded instead. “Seung Ho is too young to be dating,” she continued. Seung Ho smiled at his sister for her attempt at saving him. Looking around at his aunt and the rest of his relatives, “We acted together, as a couple, twice in the last few years. It is natural for there to be rumours sparked by fans who enjoyed our chemistry on screen. In fact, I think there is always a rumour of me dating my co-leads in all my drama even when they are older than me. So, don’t pay too much attention to them,” Seung Ho said kindly. Everyone at the table nodded, Seung Ho had always been a quiet child who was serious about his acting. He was not the type that fooled around.

Nosy Aunt Dok Ma was not done however. “Well, I don’t agree with your sister that you are too young to date. Some of your cousins are married at your age. And that girl, So Min showed me her photos and I also remembered her from the drama, is very pretty. She looks like the dutiful type too. She can be a good daughter-in-law for your mother,” she nodded enthusiastically. Seung Ho’s mom smiled at her sister-in-law. “Unnie, you must show me the picture of this girl later. I’m so curious after hearing about her. But we have to be careful with what we say, we do not want such a nice girl to be in a scandal because of loose talk. Anyway, Seung Ho would surely let me know when he is ready to settle down. You know, most actors only get married in their late thirties or forties. This cheeky boy ever told me he doesn’t want to marry until he was in his forties,” she laughed softly. “Come, come, lets enjoy the meal,” she continued. Diverted, Seung Ho tried to avoid his aunt the rest of dinner.

After the guests left, Seung Ho sat in front of the TV after helping to clear up. His sister sat down beside him and told him, “Rumours between you and Sohyun are getting too frequent. It will die down for a bit and then come up again. So Min probably suspected something because usually your rumours died down very fast. But not with Sohyun. Is she ok with it all?” Seung Ho twirled the remote control in his hands as he thought of the situation. His parents joined them. “So far, we are ok. We’ve never been discovered by Dispatch or other reporters, but that’s because we don’t go anywhere together. All speculations on us is based on our interactions in public, where we have openly said that we are close,” as he turned off the tv.

Omma put her hands on his, “I read that her mom was at the promotion event. Does she always accompany Sohyun at these events?” she asked gently. Seung Ho shook his head. “She attended these recent events to prevent any scandals,” he admitted forlornly. “So, her mom knows about the two of you. Does she approve of your relationship?” her voice showed her concern.

Seung Ho did not know how to respond. He wasn’t certain himself and wanted to mention his own worry but he didn’t want to trouble his family. He just gave them a wan smile. “Seung Ho, we are your family. Omma and Appa love Sohyun-ssi. Talk to us if you have any worry,” his father nodded encouragingly. Seung Ho blushed.

“Her mom does know about us. Honestly, I am just unsure if she approved of it though. Sometimes she seems to acknowledge me but at times, she seems to want to put a distance between us. I do think that happens when she is being pressured by Sohyun’s CEO though,” he explained. His parents and sister nodded. “But at Tokyo two days ago, she told me that she would like me to have dinner at their home to meet Sohyun’s halmeoni.” Everyone looked at him in surprise and then with smiles. “That must mean she does like you,” Seung Ho’s sister exclaimed. He was happy to see how that news seem to light up his family. They did love Sohyun and wanted their relationship to work out. “I hope so, Noona. I truly hope so,” Seung Ho sighed. His mom patted his hand reassuringly. “Omma, Appa, I do truly love Sohyunnie,” he said it softly as he leaned his head against his mom’s shoulder and his mom embraced him, patting his back gently.

Seung Ho was at home, playing games on his playstation when the door to his home opened. Sohyun stood in the living room, grinning at him. He didn’t expect to see Sohyun as he thought she was only flying in that night. He quickly put down the controller and walked to her. He cupped her face, slanted his head and kissed her hard. When he finally pulled back from the kiss, he questioned her, “When did you get in? I thought it would be tonight?”

“We were at the airport early and they put us on the earlier flight. I went home, showered and decided to pay my boyfriend a surprise visit. But I can see that he is busy with his game. I’ll come back later,” she commented teasingly and pretended to turn back towards the door. “Don’t you dare,” Seung Ho quickly said as he grabbed and pulled her into his arms. “I missed you. Though I just saw you three days ago, but I haven’t hold you for weeks!” He started to kiss her again, this time with even more passion and hunger. Sohyun kissed him back ardently. Without breaking the kiss, he carried her to the bedroom.

Later, they sat at his kitchen counter as Seung Ho cooked ramyeon. “I’m sorry sweetheart. I just got back from Omma’s place today and I didn’t feel like doing grocery shopping. We can only eat instant noodle with some banchan that I brought home today,” he was apologetic since he didn’t even have eggs or spring onion to add to the ramyeon. Sohyun was happy to have the simple meal with him nevertheless.

After he slurped a forkful of noodles, he asked Sohyun about her stay at the mountain. “It was a very private and small ryokan, we barely see anyone. We went to the onsen, twice a day, and had massages daily too. I think I overate from the sheer amount of food being served at each meal at the ryokan,” Sohyun explained. Scrolling to the photos on her phone, she showed Seung Ho the kaiseki meals she had had at the ryokan. “Waa.. the food looks really good. The vacation sounds relaxing. Shall we go there