"What are you doing here?" Heeyoung asks, walking towards him,

"Your chauffeur awaits, Madam." Chanyeol states, opening the door for her.

Heeyoung chuckles at the dramatics as Chanyeol shuts the door and rounds the car.

"How did you know I was still here?" She asks, seeing as she usually gets off work around 5pm.

"Minhyuk stopped by and told me you were working late. Some of the guys are already at your place, so I texted them and they said you weren't home. So, here I am." Chanyeol explains, subtly glancing at the rear-view mirror before pulling into the traffic.

"You didn't have to come all the way over. I was going to get a cab." She says,

"It's no big deal." Chanyeol brushes it off, looking behind to see a black car following them. Though he keeps calm, not wanting to alert Heeyoung.

"You said the others were at the house?" Heeyoung asks,

"As you know, we're all leaving for the bachelor trip tomorrow after your pre-wedding shoot. We thought it would be better to gather at your place." Chanyeol informs her,

"The wedding is in two days." Heeyoung huffs, staring out the window.

Chanyeol manages to shake off the unfamiliar car, by the time they get to the apartment.

Someone's following her. ~ P.C.Yeol. 8:31pm.

"Heeyoung." Baekhyun greets, surprising her with a hug when she walks in with Chanyeol.

"What's going on here?" She asks, as Baekhyun hangs off her,

"He's a lightweight." Jongdae shakes his head at the older male,

"How much did he drink?" Heeyoung asks, as Baekhyun keeps squeezing her,

"2 cans." Minseok deadpans, pointing at the empty cans, rolling his eyes as he looks over his own pile of cans,

"Here, let me get him off." Yixing offers,

In the chaos, they don't hear the rest of their friends walking in with takeout bags, majority of them from Kyungsoo's restaurant.

"What's going on?" Junmyeon asks, watching Yixing attempt to pull Baekhyun away from Heeyoung, but the drunk male is loudly crying about his baby sister being taken away.

"Baekhyun's drunk," Jongdae tells them, smirking as Baekhyun mistakenly smacks Yixing across the face, Heeyoung tries to help the dancer up.

"Baek, I'm still here. I'm not going anywhere." Heeyoung tries to placate her brother, but the male refuses to let her go.

"My little sister. I'm sorry for being a bad brother, I promise to protect you from now on. If your husband hurts you, I'll kill him." Baekhyun declares, though the threat means nothing to Jongin, knowing he can easily take on Baekhyun.

Heeyoung gives Baekhyun an unsure look, "I think you're the one who'll get hurt if you try to go against him." She mumbles, trying to shimmy out of Baekhyun's hold.

"You're right. I'm not as strong as Jonggie, but Chanyeol is, don't worry." Baekhyun slurs, looking in Chanyeol's direction, Chanyeol nods his agreement. That does scare Jongin.

"Got it. Can you let me go now?" Heeyoung softly asks,

"Stop being distant from me. Promise you'll treat me like a real brother." Baekhyun complains. Heeyoung sighs, nodding her head. Baekhyun beams, leaving a wet kiss on her cheek before letting her go.

"I'll get the plates, if you don't mind setting up the food." Heeyoung says, walking into the kitchen.

Jongin is headed to get changed when he pauses hearing Heeyoung yell, "Park, can you help me?"

He frowns, turning to see Chanyeol walk into the kitchen where Heeyoung is having trouble getting the dishes from the top shelf. Chanyeol whispers something into Heeyoung's ears, causing her to turn red and glare at him, before taking the dishes from him and walking out of the kitchen.

Jongin isn't the only one to notice the close relationship between Heeyoung and Chanyeol, but no one comments on it.

"Sister-in-law." Jongdae calls as she walks back into the living room after changing out of her work clothes. He leans close to her, "Where did my brother and you get your tracksuits from? I want to get a pair to match with my Seungwan." Jongdae innocently smiles, flustering Heeyoung as she notices the similarities between her fiancee and her outfits.

"They were gifts from your mother." Heeyoung informs him, causing Jongdae to whine about the unfair treatment from his mother, while Heeyoung sneaks a look at her fiance.

"Don't worry, the beanpole won't notice until someone points it out." Jongdae assures her. "He's fu*king oblivious."

"Ddeokbooki and kimbap for Hope Park." Chanyeol sets two plates in front of her, 

"Thank you." Heeyoung grins, grateful before she frowns at the overpowering smell from the meat dishes. 

"This should help with the smell." He lightly nudges her, passing her a scent sachet.

"Channie Oppa." She pouts at Chanyeol. The male nods his head, patting her head as he hands her a pair of chopsticks.

"Is it good?" Chanyeol asks her,

"The best." She gives him a thumbs up,

"What are you two whispering about?" Sehun asks, looking between Chanyeol and Heeyoung,

"Nothing important." Chanyeol says. Sehun wants to ask more, but Kyungsoo gives him a look to drop the matter.

~

Chanyeol steps in as a protector for her as he not only redirects certain questions, but also intercepts every time Baekhyun tries to feed her. Her brother has slightly sobered up, seeing as he did only drink 2 cans of beer, but he was cut from drinking any further.

"I'm gonna miss your cooking when you're on your honeymoon." Sehun whines to Heeyoung,

"Anyone want water?" Chanyeol asks, heading to the kitchen,

"Speaking of, How come I've never been invited for dinner considering I'm actually your brother-in-law?" Jongdae jumps in, ignoring Sehun's glare, while the others turn to Heeyoung,

"You don't really need an invitation to drop by, just let either CEO Kim or I know beforehand and you'll have a place at the table. Right, Sehun?" Heeyoung smiles at the lawyer, who quickly nods his head.

"Heeyoung marry me!" Sehun states, winking at her before grabbing her hand.

"Oh Sehun." Baekhyun frowns,

"Beautiful, intelligent and kind. You're also an amazing cook and so thoughtful and you help me with work." Sehun lists, glancing over at his best friend who's frowning at the table,

"Thanks for the compliment?" She says, looking at the ring on her finger, "Unfortunately, I already have a ring." She frowns, waving her finger,

Sehun internally scoffs at the subtle smile on Jongin's face, "Throw it away. I'm sure Jongin wouldn't mind." Sehun teases, attempting to remove the ring,

"Stay away, you flirt." Baekhyun steps in and saves Sehun from a certain someone's anger.

"We're just playing around, Baek." Heeyoung assures Baekhyun as the latter was a little rude towards Sehun.

Over the past few days, Sehun and Heeyoung have gotten close as they both are outgoing and have a bright personality once you overlook their RBFs. Unlike what Sehun assumed about Heeyoung being weak and somewhat a pushover, she proved him wrong. Because of their similar personalities and quirks, the two have a tom-jerry like relationship, where most of the time they're simply annoying each other to get a reaction.

Seeing his soon-to-be wife and best friend get along well, Jongin is relieved. The CEO knows he's not the easiest person to get along with, since he's not outgoin nor is he kind with his words, choosing to be straightforward. However, seeing the closeness between them, Jongin can't help but feel slightly envious because of Sehun's ability to get close to Heeyoung while he's still stuck at awkward interactions. And most of the time, he ends up feeling like a third wheel with them. 

As they're wrapping up with dinner, Heeyoung feels someone staring at her, looking to see Jongin staring down at her. The intense gaze makes it difficult for her to look away from him.

Everyone notices but they don't voice their thoughts out as they're aware of the awkward situation the couple is in. Unable to handle the staring any longer, Sehun loudly coughs, breaking the couple's moment. 

Heeyoung is finishing up her food, when she feels something sticky on her face. Wiping it, her finger turns red, matching the color of the tteokbokki sauce. She looks towards Chanyeol as he's the one beside her, but the giant has a sneaky smile while talking to Baekhyun and Yixing. Heeyoung runs two fingers through the plate before bringing them close to Chanyeol's cheek. 

"Chan." She calls. The sauce smears across his face when he turns towards her.

"Oops." She chuckles at the sight of Chanyeol glaring at her, "An Eye for an Eye, Oppa." She pokes her tongue out at him.

"Hope Park," Chanyeol moves forward, but Heeyoung shifts back trying to avoid him. She keeps moving back when a tight grip on her waist stops her,

"Careful." Jongin groans, squeezing her waist when she tries to wiggle away. Understanding his issue, she freezes, staring at him wide-eyed.

The two are snapped out of their thoughts by camera sounds. Heeyoung runs into the kitchen while Jongin excuses himself to his room.

In the kitchen, Heeyoung hurries over to the freezer to get an ice bag. Placing it on her cheek, she recalls the incident that started her feeling weird around Jongin.

A week before the wedding,

Heeyoung has just returned from grocery shopping and is working on putting it up when Jongin walks in and informs her Sehun won't be joining them for dinner. They both feel too lazy to cook and order pizza. They spend the afternoon working in the living room, while Heeyoung helps herself to some wine, Jongin goes through beer cans. The silence between them is filled by the background sound of a random movie Jongin chose, since he's still nervous about starting conversations with his fiancee.

"I'm sorry." Heeyoung barely manages to hear the whisper,

"I'm sorry for what I said that night. I was upset and vented my anger on you." He apologizes,

"I'm glad you realize you were an as*hole." She teases, smiling at him before looking at her screen. Jongin finds himself gulping as the smile lingers on her face.

"You weren't exactly nice either." He jokes,

"CEO Kim, I believe in retaliation. If you hadn't been rude, I wouldn't have felt the need to respond back." She says,

"Yeah?" Jongin asks,

"Of course. I want us to be on friendly terms since we will be married."

"Friendly terms?" 

"Of course. Though it's for business, I will respect our marriage." She tells him,

"What makes you think I wouldn't?" He asks,

"I've seen the tabloids, CEO Kim." She gives him an amused look,

"I've always known I would be getting married to the person my parents choose for me. It's not because of traditions or anything, simply because I trust my parents and their choice. Everyone who's tried to get close to me has always had ulterior motives, so I've never been in a relationship, moving from one person to another. You'll be my first relationship and it scares me."

"And your past scares me." Heeyoung reveals, Jongin gives her a look to explain, 

"I'm scared that if things progress between us, I will end up being someone you move on from, while I'm left behind."

"I understand you have issues because of your parents' relationship, but you don't even know me, Byun Heeyoung." Jongin states, surprising her as she wasn't aware he knew about her parents.

"My parents' relationship. What do you know about it?"

"Baekhyun and you have different mothers and you're the heir, not Baekhyun or Baekhee."

Heeyoung gulps the contents of her glass, "My mother and Mr. Byun met abroad, fell in love and got married and within months welcomed my brother and four years later, me. Their relationship on the surface looked good, Mr. Byun played the role of a loving husband. The fantasy was shattered on my 6th birthday when Mom, Oppa and I went to an amusement park and we saw Mr. Byun with his other family." She exhales, blinking back unshed tears, "My mother kept silent, so oppa and I could have an amazing day. However, that night, she confronted Mr. Byun, who confessed to his extramarital affair. Going as far as faking a marriage and even having children. Mr. Byun cheated on my mother for almost the entirety of their marriage. A week later, they were divorced and we were moving away. Not once did that man fight for us. He didn't apologize to Oppa and I for neglecting us or betraying us.That pathetic loser." She scoffs,

Jongin wraps an arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer, noticing her terrifying blank expression, he finds himself hurting for her. Heeyoung snaps out of the past memories when she feels a hand running through her hair. She tries to push him away, but Jongin pulls her to his chest.

"I. My little sister, Jongmi, was born when Dae and I were 5. She was the cutest thing in the world and the light of our life. Dad was busy running the company at that time, but he still tried his best to make up his absence. We lived a relatively normal life until, a few months after Mimi's third birthday, we lost her. Jongdae and I didn't understand why we couldn't see our Mimi again and mom, she went into depression and had it not been for the love and support of my father, I'm scared my mother wouldn't be the same. Seeing the bond between my parents, I promised myself to create a loving, caring and supportive relationship like theirs with my spouse. After our engagement was confirmed, I stopped playing around. I will absolutely respect our marriage and you. You can trust me on that." Jongin assures her,

"Trust?" Heeyoung mumbles, "Fine. Let's trust each other." Heeyoung nods, pushing away from his chest to see tears rolling down his face,

Heeyoung cups his cheek, gently wiping his tears away with Jongin staring at her,

"Can I?" Jongin asks, his eyes on her lips. Heeyoung nods and Jongin slots their lips together, pushing Heeyoung on her back.

The morning after they wake up with their limbs tangled and lips swollen, however they were both thankful that they hadn't gone further than making out as neither of them are ready to deal with the aftermath of a much more awkward situation. 

While Heeyoung is calming down, the men are looking through the pictures they snapped of the couple earlier.

"Since when did Heeyoung and you get so close?" Sehun asks Chanyeol,

"She's a regular at the cafe." Chanyeol answers,

"Is that all?" The lawyer interrogates,

"Of course, since she's Baekhyun's sister and Jongin's fiancee, I want her to feel comfortable with us." Chanyeol tells him,

"Uh huh." Sehun still looks suspicious, but Kyungsoo smacks his arm,

"This isn't a case, stop being an idiot." Kyungsoo warns, putting an end to that.

"Look at Jongin blushing." Jongdae teases,

"Look at Heeyoung." Sehun points,

"Jongin, I don't think I've ever seen you blush." Chanyeol teases when he walks back into the room.

Jongin frowns, seeing a picture of him holding Heeyoung in his lap.

"Delete it." Jongin demands, but his friends only laugh at him.

Junmyeon takes pity on him, "Help me get the ice cream."

Heading over to the kitchen, the cousins are surprised to see Heeyoung dazing off while holding an ice pack to her cheeks, he would laugh at the adorable scene but he's more worried about how long she's kept the pack on her skin.

"Heeyoung." Jongin calls, but she doesn't respond,

"Is she okay?" Junmyeon asks, getting the ice cream.

"Heeyoung." Jongin shakes her, snapping her out of her thoughts as the ice pack slips out her hands.

"Are you okay?" Junmyeon asks, while Jongin bends to get the ice pack.

"I'm perfect." Heeyoung beams, staring at Junmyeon. Jongin stands up blocking her view, but she steps over to the side to stare at the man with his head in the freezer.

Jongin frowns at his fiance and cousin, stepping closer to his cousin with an excuse of helping him with the ice cream.

"Can you get the napkins?" Jongin asks her, Heeyoung nods, picking up a stack of napkins,

"Got it." Junmyeon beams, passing half the treats over to Jongin.

"So many flavors?" Heeyoung notes, 

"I like chocolate raspberry and this is the only variety pack that has it." Junmyeon informs her,

"Chocolate Raspberry." Heeyoung makes a mental note,

Jongin rolls his eyes, pushing Junmyeon to walk faster.

Setting the treats on the table, Junmyeon snags his flavor first, along with Heeyoung, who had her eyes on the Oreo flavored treat. However, the rest of the men stand still. Heeyoung frowns at the tense atmosphere, glancing between the treats and the men.

Loudly exhaling, she picks up a specific flavor, "Matcha for you." She hands it over to Chanyeol, who chuckles at her playful disgusted look.

"Chocolate for Hunnie and strawberry for you." She passes the treats to Sehun and Baekhyun. 

"What about Jong's?" The devil works hard, but Oh Sehun works harder. Heeyoung snarls at Sehun, before handing Jongin a strawberry flavored treat.

The rest of the men hurry to get a treat, missing Chanyeol leaning close to Heeyoung,

"Is it because I always have matcha, I'm craving something different today?" Chanyeol teases, Heeyoung quickly takes a bite of her ice cream before shaking her head at Chanyeol.

"Too bad." She mumbles,

Both of them, oblivious to the glare directed at them,

"Are you trying to burn a hole through them?" Sehun teases his frowning best friend.

~

After they're done with their ice cream, they separate into different groups to help with cleaning up. As the hosts, Jongin and Heeyoung are designated to wash dishes, while the rest help clean up the living area.

Because they got take out, there weren't many dishes explaining how Jongin and Heeyoung are the first to complete their task while Baekhyun is still vacuuming the living room, Chanyeol sweeping the dining table, Sehun, Kyungsoo and Minseok calmly seated on a couch while the others are washing their hands after taking the trash out.

Once Baekhyun is done vacuuming, the men head to move the furniture back, but are stopped by Heeyoung. 

"What? What's wrong?" Baekhyun worries,

"I'm fine. I'm going to need you guys to move the coffee table." She asks, dragging Chanyeol with her down the hallway leading to the bedrooms.

"What's going on?" Yixing wonders, helping Junmyeon and Minseok lift the table,

"Who knows?" Kyungsoo shrugs, while Jongdae 'supervises' the trio moving the table.

Before they can ask more questions, Chanyeol and Heeyoung walk back with mattresses,

"Last time, you slept on the floor without any blankets or a mattress and it's not really good for you. Chanyeol mentioned you usually end up sleeping over most of the time, so we made an investment." She explains, dropping the mattress on the floor, before turning back to get more.

"I like her." Minseok comments, looking over at his younger cousin,

"Me too. She seems kind." Jongdae chimes in, their other friends nod in agreement,

"She's too good for Jongin." Sehun teases, though Jongin can't really refuse as she seems like someone out of his reach.

Jongin shakes out of his thoughts, to see his friends staring at him,

"Go help her, you idiot." Jongdae nags, pushing him towards the hallway.

~

"Thank you." Heeyoung freezes, feeling a warm body close to her. She turns her head to see Jongin smirking as he reaches over to grab the pillows.

Feeling brave after seeing her blush, he leaves a quick peck on her cheek, quickly walking away. Jongin pauses, seeing Sehun smirk while leaning against the wall, but he ignores the lawyer, though hearing his next words, he's not sure whether to be embarrassed for himself or for Sehun. Hopefully, the idiot won't add to his embarrassment, but you can never predict with Oh Sehun.

"If you're flustered over a peck on the cheek, will you die from blushing after ?" Sehun teases, earning a glare from Heeyoung.

"Oh Sehun."

"Seriously, Younggie. The guy's known to be a beast in bed." Sehun casually states, as if he's talking about something mundane.

"I hate you." She screeches, smacking him a couple times with a pillow, before running away.

"I'm kidding, Heeyoung." Sehun cackles after her.

~

After setting everything, they settle down for a movie. They're not through the introduction and Heeyoung finds it difficult to keep her eyes open, dropping her head on Chanyeol's shoulder. The latter crouches so she's comfortable while patting her head to lull her to sleep. Once she's sleeping, Chanyeol gets Jongin's attention.

"Can you?" Chanyeol asks, signaling between the sleeping lady and the direction of her bedroom.

Jongin doesn't need to be asked again, carefully carrying his fiancee to her bed. He sneaks a peck on her forehead before joining his friends.