“Join us for dinner Daniel dear? I’ve made extra food,” Your mother offered while stirring a pot of kimchi stew that was starting to bubble, adding a handful of bean sprouts to finish off the dish. She was staring expectantly at the young man, silently wishing that he would give some kind of approval to her invitation with a wide smile that seemed to be permanently glued to her face ever since she had invited him into their household. Mrs. Lee was pleasantly surprised to find Daniel at the entrance to her apartment building when she came back from grocery shopping that afternoon. She wouldn’t have noticed him if he hadn’t approach her first, lending a helping hand with the heavy bags of meat and vegetables. Daniel warmed her heart with his politeness and helpfulness, and she instantly grew fond of the boy during their five minutes trip from the entrance to the front door of your apartment.

“Mom, please,” You entered the kitchen after changing into a long-sleeved t-shirt and a pair of sweat pants. The scent of mouthwatering kimchi stew lured you over to the stove as you took the spatula from your mother and sampled some of the piping hot dish, humming in delight at the perfect balance between savory and sweet taste. She lightly slapped your forearm and reminded you to mind your manners in the presence of a guest, as you sighed knowing that you would never win a fight with your mother. “Fine if he’s staying, he has to help out,” you spoke, directing your words mainly to Daniel who immediately stood up, eyes following your every move and waiting for instructions.

You opened the lower cabinet and took out the rice and soup bowls, feeling the difference in weight from the additional dish for your unexpected guest. Daniel eased you off the burden seconds later as he swiftly took the bowls into his hands, your fingers brushing ever so slightly at the contact and sending sparks of electricity up your arm. You fished out chopsticks and spoons from a drawer while silently watching him set up the bowls for four people, smiling internally at the unusual yet heartwarming side of homey Daniel. “Sweetie, can you get me the jug on the upper cabinet?” your mother pointed to the upper cabinet on your left.

You gently kicked the kitchen stool in front of the said cabinet and stepped on it, stretching your arms to open the small door and reach for the jug. You squeaked in fright as you almost slipped off the stool once you had retrieved the jug, and at the realization that Daniel’s hand was at the small of your back, catching your fall. “I’ll take this,” he quipped, smiling as he held the jug in one hand while the other assisted you off the stool safely. The familiar tune coming from the rice cooker, Daehwi’s hurried footsteps along with his repeated chanting of ‘food!’, broke you out of your reverie as you promptly assisted your mother to serve dinner.

Never in your wildest dreams would you imagine that you’d arrive home that evening, having your usual family dinner with the presence of an uninvited guest, especially not when that person is Kang Daniel. Daehwi and your mother were perfectly aware of the awkward tension between you and Daniel as you quietly munched on your food, paying no heed to the puppy-eyed looks that he was giving you throughout dinnertime. Being the eldest present in room as well as the person responsible for letting this young man into their house, you mother took initiative to shake off the tensed air that was starting to fill the room by nudging your elbow, “Sweetie, can you add more meat into Daniel’s bowl? He seems to run out of it,” she coaxed in the most motherly tone possible.

You stood up at once, walked over to Daniel’s side, grabbed his soup bowl and went straight to the pot of warm kimchi stew as you refilled the meat in the bowl, all the while keeping eye contact at anything else besides Daniel. While waiting, your mother continued talking, “I haven’t seen you for a while dear. Do you guys stopped going on dates now?” You could hear Daniel’s chewing sounds had stopped, but there was no answer from him as he probably still had his mouth full with rice and kimchi stew. Genuinely curious, you waited for his answer as you bit your lower lip and your right hand kept scooping more meat. “Omo, are you two already in a relationship now? That’s why you came to visit me to ask for my blessing?” Your mother speculated, clapping excitedly.

“Aack! Hot! Hot!” you cried out, accidentally pouring some of the hot stew onto your thumb. You automatically recoiled from the stove, hissing in pain with your thumb buried inside the palm of your left hand. A few screeching sounds of chairs and exclamations later, two hands gently grasped onto yours as you looked up and met eyes with Daniel. You felt self-conscious under his worried eyes as he carefully examined your fingers, checking your reaction every few seconds. He found the source of pain when you flinched as he pressed softly on your thumb, noticing that the skin around the area had started to turn a soft shade of red –matching the colour on your cheeks. You let Daniel pull you to the sink as he the tap and let your thumb cool down under the running water.

“I’ll go get the first aid kit!” Daehwi volunteered.

“I’ll go get a towel!” Your mother announced as they both disappeared out of the kitchen.

“Does it still hurt Jooyeon?” Daniel eventually spoke, concern clearly expressed in his voice and body language as he still supported your right hand under the running water. Your brain was overwhelmed with the multisensory input received from his fixed gaze that pierced into your soul, to his husky yet gentle voice, to contact with his warm hands that sent low-voltage charges into your system. You gulped, noticing that you were incapable of producing any response for the question by the gorgeous boy next to you. “The stew wasn’t boiling hot so it shouldn’t be too bad,” he turned the tap off and inspected your thumb again.

Daniel adjusted his gaze back to staring into your eyes as you murmured softly, “Don’t look at me like that… w-with those eyes,” Were the first things you said in an attempt to divert your attention away from the rapidly increasing heartbeat and temperature of your face. You now realized that you could no longer resist or stop yourself from reacting to anything regarding the heartthrob, because any buttons that he pushes leads straight to your heart.

The sudden accusation earned you a perplexed look from Daniel as he blinked in confusion, “What?”

“Don’t try to charm me with your eyes,” you repeated, this time more specifically. If you couldn’t stop your internal reactions, you might as well try to stop the external stimulus originating from the broad-shouldered, puppy-eyed boy beside you.

Daniel snickered at your unexpected yet adorable instinctive response and chose to humour you by teasing your further. “I’m not. I was simply looking at you, like this,” He denied the claim, inching closer until his shoulder bumped into yours. It was as if Daniel casted some kind of spell on you, rendering you speechless at his honey-dipped gentle baritone and warm gaze, “I swear Jooyeon, I’m just sincerely worried,”

Both of you opened your mouths at the same time to speak, but were interrupted by Daehwi and your mother rushing back to the kitchen with the first aid kit and a towel (they did purposely delay their arrival by a few minutes to give the couple some time together, by courtesy of your mother of course). Daehwi passed a cream he dug from the first aid kit as Daniel dried your right hand with the towel from your mother. He blew cool air to your thumb before applying the cream around the affected area, “Feel better?” he asked, his thumb gently caressing the back of your hand.

You nodded, withdrew your hand and coughed out, “Let’s get back to our food. It’s getting cold.” For the rest of dinnertime, you tried to focus on anything else other than how Daniel’s caring acts had affected you, both physically and emotionally.

******************************************

Daniel’s presence by your side was as calming as it was nerve-wrecking. You were convinced that he wanted to discuss an important matter, but fifteen minutes had passed since you both sat on the swing of the playground (disregarding the age limit allowed for the ride), and he had said nothing as he gazed at the starry night sky. Thankfully it was past sunset, and the playground that was usually filled with laughter and cries of kindergarteners occupying all the rides on a late Monday afternoon were absent, letting both of you to have the area all to yourselves. After a long silence, Daniel cleared his throat, “Were you… avoiding me?”

You let out a cynical chuckle, giving a little push with your feet as the swing started to move back and forth slowly, “I should be asking you that question too,” you turned to look at him, his eyes were still fixed skyward, keeping you from reading his facial expression. “I didn’t hear from you for a week,” you dragged on, biting your lower lip as you wondered whether his sudden visit was due to your hasty getaway from the boxing gym that afternoon. Did he notice your watery eyes and shaky voice before you left?

“I was busy with some things… and I thought you were too with the magazine deadline and everything,” Daniel’s answer was unclear and supplied you with nothing that you hadn’t already know. You were beginning to feel disappointed until his next words made you stopped swinging, “I want to get closer to you but it’s hard because you always seem to run away from me,” he disclosed.

“Is there any particular reason you want to get closer to me?” you asked, feeling your heart starting to swell in anticipation for his subsequent reply.

“Because… I think we’re fated? By chance, I’m always there when you need help or in trouble,” Daniel said, and quickly regretted his answer a second later, grimacing as he realized how cheesy it might have sounded in your ears. He was also worried that you might misinterpret his true intentions and think that he was just simply flirting with you.

“Have you ever thought the other way around as in ill-fated instead? Maybe I only get into all those troubles because you’re near me? Surprisingly, I never got into any incidents when you’re not in my surrounding,” you argued, stating out your point of view that contradicted with his claim. Daniel finally tore his eyes away from the stars and briefly glanced at you and your injured thumb earlier, letting you catch a glimpse of his droopy eyes and small pout before choosing his feet as the next thing to fix his gaze on. Every single occasion where you were in trouble and he came to your aid flashed by his eyes as he sighed heavily. “Maybe instead of getting closer to you, I should get further away to avoid anymore unfortunate incidents?” you proposed, rubbing your right thumb that was still slightly sore as you got off the swing and walked towards the slides.

Daniel silently followed with his hands in his hoodie pockets, stubbornly refusing to acknowledge your earlier statement to keep your distance as you sat on the metal steps leading up to the slides. “Besides it didn’t look like you are single,” you said, looking up to meet his eyes.

He rested his right shoulder against the handle of the steps and asked, “You mean?” A curious smirk suddenly played on his lips.

After fighting an internal battle on whether you should bring the truth that had been hidden away for a week to light and simultaneously risk exposing your true feelings about him, you chose to be frank, “I saw you… with a girl the other day after I finished interviewing Woojin at the gym. She was there today too. You guys look… close,” you uttered.

Despite the very soft and almost-whisper tone of your voice, Daniel was able to take note of the gist in your statement. Ailee was right after all about you suspecting his relationship with her. He made a mental note to thank his sister later as his smirk grew wider, “You think I’m dating her?” he questioned further.

“I don’t know, you tell me Mr. Heartthrob. I don’t really know much about you rather than the fact that you’re a huge flirt,” You retaliated, standing up and crossing your arms together as you frowned at him. Daniel took a step back, slightly intimidated yet positively intrigued at your next course of action. He had to suppress the urge to ruffle your hair, pinch your cheeks or call you with sweet endearments because he found you more lovable than threatening, and he wasn’t going to let you be aware of that fact for now. “To be honest, you’re confusing me. You treat me very nicely almost like a girlfriend, but I saw you act the same way or maybe more towards another girl,” you pointed out what has been bothering you all these while, slightly upset at the unreadable meaning behind the smirk playing on his lips.

“You know what? Maybe I don’t even deserve an explanation. I mean, who am I to ask those things from you. It’s not like we’re dating or anything,” you sighed, not knowing how long you could wait for him to give you some kind of response as your chest became tighter by the second. “Forget I even asked that,” you shrugged off your confession earlier and pushed your way through Daniel, stifling the tears pooling in your eyes.

You brushed past him on your way down the steps, but all of a sudden felt immobilized as Daniel had a secure grip on your wrist, preventing you from leaving. He turned around so that you were face to face and sighed, tired of your constant avoiding acts. “What should I do then? Should I apologise or… should I confess?” he asked, providing you with the right to choose between two options. Although it was only a question, but it was enough to make you grow weak in the knees and relieve the tightness in your chest as your heart started to beat rapidly. You were positive that he could feel the increase in your pulse from his hand that were still firmly wrapped around your wrist.

You fell silent at his sudden and bold request, not knowing whether you could accept the answer to either one of the selection. Do you get him to apologise for making you fall for his caring and protective acts? Or do you get him to confess his feelings towards you, be it romantic or platonic? “I… I don’t know,” was what your brain managed to come up with as you evaded his eyes.

Daniel gently pulled you towards him, letting you feel the strangely pleasant warmth radiating from him and hear his calming breathings, “Then I’ll do both,” he made the decision for you as you looked up to meet his gaze. “I’m sorry for confusing you and for making you think that I’m not serious with you. Also, I’m sorry for not telling you about my sister sooner,” he apologized and told you the truth.

You understood what he said well, but your ears perked up at the mention of his family member, “Your sister?” you prompted. Daniel reached into his jeans pocket using his free hand and pulled out his phone. He unlocked his phone and scrolled through his picture gallery before showing you what was on the screen. It was a selfie of him and a girl you quickly identified as the same person that you had seen twice at the gym with him.

“The girl you saw me with is my sister, Ailee. She just came back from the States a week ago,” Daniel explained as you studied the picture in detail. You noted the similarities the siblings had from their charming smiles, to their beautifully shaped eyes, to their puppy-like faces as realization hit you in the face that you had wrongly guessed the identity of his sister. He slipped his phone back into his pocket and looked at you in the eyes, “I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong idea,” he apologized again.

You unconsciously stepped closer to him, in a desperate attempt to apologise for your silly mistake and bumped into his broad chest, “I’m s-sorry for misunderstanding. I thought t-that s-she… c-cause you…” you spilled out what comes to your mind, half of them muffled into his hoodie. Daniel snickered at your frantic apology as he gently pushed you back by the shoulder and gave you a smile, indicating that he has forgiven you and wasn’t offended in any way. “So you’re not dating anyone?” you asked timidly, a blush spread across your face as the embarrassment of mistaking his sister as his alleged girlfriend flooded your thoughts.

“No, I’m not,” Daniel shook his head as he let go of both your shoulder and wrist at the same time. “I’m actually planning to ask someone out but I haven’t got the chance,” he stated further.

“Oh,” you breathed, the swelling of your heart suddenly stopped. “W-who is she?” you asked, not really wanting to know the answer.

“She’s also from SNU and I think you know her too,” Daniel grinned inwardly as he played along, amused at your reaction. He rubbed his chin and pondered over the question before turning to look at you with a wide smile, “She’s attractive both inside and out. She’s very hardworking and smart. She’s fun to hang around with and I love it when I can make her smile,” he added.

You were crestfallen at the description of his perfect future girlfriend and it made you feel small about yourself as you felt that your were nothing compared to the girl he just described. “Wow, she sounds amazing…” you pointed out while rubbing the side of your arm, feeling self-conscious and embarrassed once more.

“She is,” Daniel gently took hold of your hand and pulled you closer, “And I’m looking at her right now,” he said, in the most earnest way possible. The information processing part of your brain suddenly stopped functioning as you blinked continuously in his direction, totally baffled at his declaration. You had a strong feeling that he is interested in you in some way, but never imagined that he meant something more than just flirting.

“Jooyeon I like you, I really like you,” Daniel simplified what he felt in a manner easier for your currently jammed brain to process, and you couldn’t be more thankful. His voice never sounded as melodious and heart-fluttering as it did right now, as it successfully melted you into a puddle of sweet confections and turn you a few shades red. “At first, I was attracted to how you act indifferent with me despite knowing how popular I am, and it’s really easy to talk to you. I like the fact that we can hold a decent, casual chat without you fawning over me. Makes me want to get to know you better. And when I did, I started to like you, a lot.” He confessed further, rubbing the back of his neck bashfully.

After a few moments of awkward silence, you somewhat managed to get your brain to work again, much to your relief. “W-well maybe because I treat you like a friend? You can hold a decent conversation with a friend too,” you stuttered, miserably failing at your attempt in playing hard to get.

Daniel noticed your intention as he shook his head, not planning to entertain the push and pull game any longer, “No, I prefer you as my girlfriend. Will you?” he asked.

You looked up to meet his gaze and blushed redder (if that was even possible), but at this point your physical reactions were the least of your concerns. “Sorry, I don’t think I caught that,” you replied with a witty remark, leaning your ears closer so that you can hear him better.

Daniel gripped your hand tighter, looking for some kind of courage as he cleared his throat and prepared himself before uttering these next words, “Will you be my girlfriend Jooyeon?” he proposed.

At that moment his face were just inches away from yours as you whispered not breaking off eye contact, “What took you so long?” The question thrown at him, made Daniel raised his eyebrows with a puzzled look clearly written on his face. “It’s a yes silly,” you rephrased again and giggled nervously. Relief washed over him to hear your answer as Daniel smiled in return (though he was almost one-hundred percent sure you’d say yes), his free hand reaching up to the side of your head and tousled your hair lightheartedly. You returned the gesture with a broad smile of your own as he mumbled a soft ‘cute’ and laced your fingers with his.

You anticipated his next move as he slightly tilted your chin upwards. You didn’t flinch, but slowly closed your eyes and waited. You felt him coming closer from the loud sound of his heart thumping in his chest that mirrored yours, but a deep sigh from him a few seconds later made you open your eyes. “Gosh, I’m so nervous,” you were disappointed when he pulled away and rubbed the back of his ears.

You raised an eyebrow and cocked your head to the side, “Seriously? Where did the flirty Kang Daniel go?” you scoffed incredulously.

“I’ve wanted to kiss you since the night I saved you from the gang. But I knew you would never let me,” he said.

You had to admit, feeling quite amused at the out-of-character Daniel that you were unfamiliar with. Was this the same Daniel who boldly declared that he had always wanted to kiss you? “How would you know if you never tried? I might actually do it for my knight in shining armour,” you replied, tugging softly at the string of his hoodie.

“Really?”

“Just kiss me already,” you groaned, pulling him down and meeting your lips with his. You could sense Daniel smiling through the kiss as he wrapped his arms around you and pulled you closer. You slid your arms around his neck as he deepens the kiss, and you can taste the sweetness of his lips as you melted in his arms. You both broke apart a minute later then he gently pressed his forehead against yours, his arms resting around your waist and your body pressed lightly against his.

“You actually owe me more than one kiss,” he said, his voice sounded more attractive and dreamy at this proximity and you bit your lower lip, looking forward to another kiss. Daehwi was right about Daniel being dangerous, dangerously unhealthy for your heart that is. But you didn’t mind catching a sickness at all, especially not when it’s Kang Daniel syndrome because you have just the antidote in front of you with an adorable smile on his face.

Daniel leaned again for another kiss, but suddenly paused when a voice was heard from a near distance. “You have mom’s blessing sweetie!” Great, your mother’s timing was impeccable. You wondered where she was hiding and how long had she been watching you both.

“Gosh, this is so embarrassing!” you buried your face in his warm chest in embarrassment as Daniel chuckled and your hair gently, not even slightly affected by your mother’s sudden intrusion but rather greatly amused at your family’s antics.

“I guess that means I should head back,” As much as he was reluctant to break off the embrace, Daniel pulled away and lightly pecked you on the lips, “I’ll see you tomorrow Jooyeon.”

“Auntie, I’ll be heading home now. Thanks for the dinner,” Daniel called out in no particular direction, expecting that your mother was still watching.

“Good night Daniel!” Your mother popped out of a nearby bush without warning and you cursed to yourself to see your younger brother standing next to her. Daniel waved and bowed to her with a smile before jogging away as your mother enthusiastically responded with a frantic wave of her own, “See you again son-in-law!”

“Mom!”

This is probably the most anticipated chapter ever and I hope you are satisfied because I tried hard to make the paragraphs longer and more detailed with 4000+ words.But you might've noticed the ending paragraphs started to decrease in length, lol I apologise. When I first started this three-part oneshot, I never expected the story to evolve and progress this far. I've also attached a lyric video of Winner's Really Really because the song fits the whole feel of this chapter very well.

I always welcome comments from my readers, it makes me smile to read what you think of my chapters and whether you enjoyed it. Don't be shy to tell me what you think and have a nice day~!