Friday came a lot sooner than what Sulli anticipated. The past week leading up to it has already been stressful as it it as they’re about to launch a new product. Along with the launch, there’s the high rising of anxiety of making sure everything going as planned. Amongst all while this is happening, Sulli’s stress and anxiety rocketed through the roof as she thinks about the how  whole meeting the parents ordeal will turn out.

Needless to say, at this point, Sulli feels like a mental breakdown is about to happen and all she really wants is to get this over with. For the past week or so, her mind has been plagued with anxiety and thoughts which is almost eating her away and depriving her from a good night’s rest. It has affected her work ethic just as much as she would unintentionally snap at people with really no cause to why.

So when Friday rolls around, Sulli is half thanking and half dreading the day. The work might have already ended but at night, she knows that her anxiety will only skyrocket again instead of resting. Sulli doesn’t really know what to expect from the dinner and how everything will play out because though she may have met some of her ex boyfriend’s parents before, this is different. Completely different.

How does one act in front of their fake boyfriend’s parent without looking suspicious?

“You’re awfully quiet today. What’s wrong?” says Minho as he takes his eyes off the road and looks at Sulli briefly. They’re currently in Minho’s car, on the way to his parents house, after stopping by the mall and picking up a gift basket, when Minho really notices how off Sulli seemed. He thought she would be a little more hyped up as they were picking out the basket but Sulli seemed out of it and occasionally zoning off.

Sulli shook her head, saying nothing else and that worried Minho just a bit, making his brows furrow in the middle. Fortunately, the stop light was still red so Minho adjusted himself and looked carefully at Sulli. He tried to examine her features to see if anything was physically wrong but to him, nothing looked out of place.

“You’re not telling me something. What is it? You know you can tell me.” insists Minho, his voice a little bit more gentle and soft. Worry is still quite evident on his face and all he really wanted to know what could be bothering with Sulli right now. Minho figured that she could be tired from a long day at the company but something urges him that it’s more than that.

Sulli lets out a shaky breath as her eyes start to waver. Sulli suddenly feels suffocated, her breath hitching as her chest started to feel constricted and her heart racing fast  all at the same time. She knew what was happening and she can’t believe that it’s happening in the most awkwardest situations possible. She was starting to have a panic attack and all she wanted to was to get out of the car and not have Minho see her like this. Sulli feels embarrassed, mentally cursing herself at why this has to be happening at the most inconvenient time.

The light turned green and Minho started to drive again but as he did that, the more anxious Sulli feels and the stronger her panic attack is coming. Sulli tried to take in more deep breaths, opening the window to let the air in despite having the AC on but none of that seemed to help and seeing Minho growing more worried at the corner of her eye didn’t help one bit.

“Minho, can you pull over? Please?” It didn’t take Minho less than a second to pull the car over and as the engine stopped, Sulli immediately got out of the car and made may to the back. Crouching down to the ground, having her knees folded, Sulli put her head onto her knees and the bottled emotions and anxiety inside her, washed over her and she began to cry.

It took Minho quite the surprise to see Sulli getting out of the car quickly and moving to the back of the car, not really knowing what just happened and what he should do. Though, he thought it would be the best idea to just go after and check what’s wrong. Just as Minho gets out of the car himself and the closer he gets to the back, Sulli’s muffled cries became louder. Hearing this, Minho quickly rushed over to where Sulli is at as his heart began to feel heavy the closer he got to her. Crouching just the same as Sulli, Minho immediately wrapped his arms around Sulli’s shoulders, pulling her into his embrace.

As Minho wraps his arms around her, the harder Sulli’s cries became. Minho could only do so much to give her comfort and so he gently rubs her arms up down while softly whispering comforting things to ease it away, making his hold on her tighter each time. Sulli then moves closer to Minho, shyly burying her face onto his neck as he continued to hold her tight. Sulli felt a sense of protection and warmth, making her heart slow down and her breathing even.

“I’m not going to make you to meet my parents when you’re like this. I can cancel the dinner and tell them you’re not feeling good. I’m sure they’ll understand.” Minho says softly, still holding her just as tight even though Sulli’s crying has gone down with her breathing being even again. As much as Minho wanted Sulli to meet his parents, he can’t do this under this circumstance. Especially not when probably one of the reasons or maybe the main reason to she had this panic attack was because of the anxiety of meeting them. Minho can’t do that Sulli, he chooses  not to. It’ll be hard on Sulli and all he wants for her to feel safe.

“What? You are not going do that, Minho. We’re still doing it.” says Sulli firmly, slightly removing herself from Minho, only to look at him in the eye and show how serious she is. Minho tries to interject but Sulli was quicker, shutting him like a lighting bolt.

“If we cancel and not go, just think of how bad that will look.”

“But my main concern now is making sure you feel better. I’m not going to impose you on something that you don’t want to do.”

“You’re not imposing me to do anything. I chose to do this and I want to do this, Minho. I might had a small breakdown but that’s not going to stop me. Don’t you see how its my choice? We’re going and that’s it. Don’t argue back with me.”

Minho looked conflicted and wanted to say something back but the fire in Sulli’s eyes told him otherwise. Minho’s mouth turned into a line and he felt defeated. It’s true though, he didn’t want to force something on Sulli when he knows that it won’t be for the best but Sulli looked persistent to getting what she wants. The worry on his face has never left and he was just as concerned as he was when they were still inside the car.

Sulli leaned closer and pecked Minho’s cheek softly, caughting him off guard by the sudden touch. Though she leaned back and smiled gently back at him, reaching out to cup his cheeks softly to which he leaned into, “Thank you for concern, I appreciate it, I really do but I’m fine now. You don’t have to worry that much now, Minho. I’m okay now.”

Minho took the hand that was cupping his cheek and held it ever so softly within his, removing it away from his face. Minho let out a small shaky breath and his brows began to furrow again. He held her hand while gazing at it, “I just don’t want to see like this again. I don’t want to make you cry. I’m obligated to protect you now and that’s a personal choice. I want to keep you safe.”

Sulli sighs, softly touching his chin, allowing her to make eye contact with him. Sulli saw the guilt in his eyes and her heart began to sank once more. She doesn’t like it when she sees the pain on other’s eyes because of her, it makes her feel like she could have done better but she failed to do it.

“You will keep me safe, I know you wilI. I have trust in you. So trust me when I say I’m fine.” Sulli didn’t know if it was her own guilt to see Minho be fretting over or maybe it’s just a genuine feeling in her but the thing she does was gently press a kiss on Minho’s forehead. Underneath her, she felt him visibly relax and she thinks that’s a good sign.

“Okay.  Let’s get you fixed up and we’ll go.” Minho says shortly after. Still holding onto her hand, he pulls themselves up from the ground. Sulli gives him a small smile in return and that to Minho felt like all was well again. It was all well again, he thinks as Sulli initiated to entwined her fingers with his as they head back to the car.

The rest of the car ride to Minho’s house was quiet as soft music was playing in the background  but this time around, it felt better, it seemed a lot better than what it previously was. Sulli seemed a lot more chipper and that eased Minho. Maybe it was also the fact that they still have their hands entwined with each others over the console but Minho feels much better like this as he for sure now knows that Sulli is feeling a lot better.

As Minho pulls closer to his parents house, the tighter the squeeze on his hands had become. Minho took notice of fidgety Sulli was becoming and he squeezed just as tight back to her that he’s here and he won’t let go of her. After the gates were opened for them and Minho’s takes a vacant spot to park, Sulli looks out the window and gazes at the surroundings.

The sun may have gone down by now but she can still tell just how immaculate and pristine everything is. Sulli always knew that Minho’s family is very well put off and wealthy but she hasn’t really taken note of just how much that truly means. It leaves her a bit flabbergasted and speechless.

“You should close your mouth.A fly might go in.” Minho teases, chuckling a bit. Leaving her trance, Sulli does indeed close and looks at him quite incredulously. Letting out a small huff, Minho’s chuckles blown out to quiet laughter.

“Sorry if I was left amazed at how gorgeous your parents house is, you .”

“You act as if your own parents own something similar. We’re roughly about the same, babe”

This gains Minho a small slap on his arm to which he acted like it hurt when it truly didn’t. He just did it to have Sulli smile and thankfully, it worked. Though it might be true that her parents might have something similar and even if they are roughly in the same wealth, it still leaves Sulli a bit speechless. You can’t really blame her for still being so fascinated, can you?

“I remember you saying that this is a dinner with your parents but why does it look like there’s more people present?” asks Sulli as she looked outside again and really took notice of the other cars present. Sulli figured it might just be cars owned by his parents but it looked different and it somehow gave a her different vibe. This time, Minho also looked out his window and indeed there were more cars out there besides his. Looking closely, Minho notices that some of these cars are actually owned by a few of his other relatives. This makes Minho groan in a bit of annoyance as he finally realizes what exactly is happening.

It’s more than just a dinner with his parents, it’s a whole function with his whole family. Minho groans even more, this can’t be seriously happening. His mother really told everyone in the family that he’ll be bringing over his ‘girlfriend’ and of course, those who liked hearing good gossip had to just come along and see for themselves.

“It looks my ever so loving mother decided that instead of having an intimate dinner between the four of us, she invited extra company. I’m really sorry. Are you still sure you want to go ahead and do this?” Minho says, sighing. Sulli had his mouth form into a small ‘o’ as she concluded that this is basically meeting the whole family prior to their ‘engagement’. Minho looked at her almost pleadingly and Sulli tried not to coo at how cute he is looking

“Kill two birds with one stone, right? I’m sure, it won’t go bad. Have a little faith in your family, yeah?” Sulli says quite teasingly, smiling a bit. Minho runs a hand through his face, groaning more. Now knowing that most likely his whole entire family might be there, Minho kind of wants to bury himself in a ditch

Minho is not going to lie and say he doesn’t like his family, he loves them to bits but sometimes they can be a little too dramatic and maybe a little too judgy and he doesn’t want to put Sulli through that. However, if Sulli still wants to continue this, he doesn’t have the heart to say no to her.

“Okay. Fine. Let’s get through this then.”

a/n: TWO updates in ONE day??? /gasp/ what is this??? Hope you guys enjoyed!!!