You immediately jump apart. It is as if the air is stilled, and you can only focus on your thrumming heartbeat. The intensity from before is cut off by Minseok with his wondrous timing. You do not know whether to be thankful or annoyed for the interruption.

You take the initiative to speak when the silence is too much for you. “I think we should get going, I mean, they’re already home, so… yeah.”

Junmyeon looks distracted as he answers, “Oh, um, yeah. Sure.”

The both of you exit the study room. You immediately head over to greet his father and brother who are situated in the living room.

“Good evening, Mr Kim,” you say, bowing. “Hello, Minseok oppa.”

Minseok gives you a knowing smile, seeing the two of you coming out of the same room looking a little out of sorts, while Junmyeon mumbles a greeting of his own. His father gets up on his feet when he sees you.

“Hello Jaera, how are you?” he says warmly. “How were your exams?”

“They were alright, uncle,” you answer. “Today was the last day so all I really want to do is to catch up on sleep and get some ample rest.”

“Junmyeonnie told me that you were working very hard for this exam,” Mrs Kim announces from the kitchen. “You should really get some rest, dear. Oh, and good food is always a good treat.”

“I’m looking very forward to dinner,” you say with a laugh.

Mrs Kim busies herself with setting the table with the help of Minseok, and soon enough all of you are seated at the dining table. You dig in, helping yourself to the delicious meal that Mrs Kim has prepared. The food tastes as what you would imagine, by experienced hands with a taste of home.

Like your family, this one does not keep quiet at the dinner table. Everyone speaks (mostly Mrs Kim), sharing stories about how their days went. Even Junmyeon adds something in from time to time. You, on the other hand, are a little out of place, so you choose to just listen and add in some ‘oohs and ahs’ whenever necessary.

Suddenly, there is a chicken leg on your plate. Junmyeon gestures towards the drumstick with an unreadable expression. “Mum makes the best ginseng chicken. You should try it.”

You nod, unable to stop a blush from forming at your cheeks. Taking a bite of the meat, you almost let out a moan at how tasty it is.

He seems almost amused at your reaction. Without missing a beat, he ladles some of the broth onto your chicken. “Try it with the broth. It tastes heavenly.”

You cannot help but wonder if his actions are just for show, since the both of you are a couple to his family. But that almost-kiss at the piano… Could it have been just a part of your imagination? Was he, Kim Junmyeon, really about to kiss you?

Before you can dwell on it any longer, Mrs Kim directs the conversation to you. “So Jaera, thank you so much again for helping our Junmyeon so much! Auntie Soojung, you might know her as your math teacher, told me that Junmyeon was doing so much better in class.”

From the corner of your eye, you notice Junmyeon training his eyes onto the bowl in front of him. You manage a smile at his mother. “It’s no trouble at all. Nothing a little studying can’t help.”

“Of course, she’s mentioned what an excellent student you are, Jaera! Oh, if only she knew that you two were together!”

You almost choke on your food. “She is our Math teacher, so I don’t really think it’s a good idea to-”

Mrs Kim lets out a tinkling laugh. “It’s alright, dear. I didn’t tell her! Well, not yet, anyway.”

You smile, which comes out more like a grimace and quickly reach for your glass of water. What would happen if Ms Jung knew? Other than the mortification the two of you would face, it would definitely spread to the other teachers in school. You knew how chatty they could get in the staffroom. Plus, it does not help that the tutoring sessions would come to an end.

So, you make up your mind to settle things once and for all as soon as possible. That should take care of it.

But a glance at the person in question makes your resolve crumble. He, who has made you question your own eyes, who now looks completely different to when you first knew him. He reminds yourself of a hero in a book who has undergone some serious character development. It doesn’t help that the way he treats you makes your heart flutter, added with the fact that he has a great sense of humour and a very handsome face.

Mr Kim clears his throat. “So Jaera, has my son been treating you well?”

Junmyeon coughs, but no one seems to pay any mind to him. You take in a deep breath before answering. “He treats me very well.”

You cannot deny that he was by your side during the small accident in the lab or that he always carries your things for you. He even paid for your drink on your first ‘study date’.

“Of course, I have,” Junmyeon finally says, after taking a sip of water.

Minseok snorts and you immediately defend yourself. “He has,” you assure everyone. “He’s been very pleasant and I appreciate it.”

Mrs Kim looks like she has hearts in her eyes when she looks at you despite your awkward way of describing him. Who even describes their own boyfriend as ‘pleasant’?

“This is the first time someone has described him that way!” she coos.

You promptly avoid eye contact with everyone at the table and focus on finishing up your food. Mrs Kim praises you again, this time for eating so heartily. You can only smile.

After a few more moments of chatter, the sky is already dark, a clear indicator that it is time to go home. Mr Kim seems to notice too, and quickly wraps things up. You hurriedly offer to help clear the table, but they all shoot you down almost simultaneously.

You send your mother a quick text to pick you up, refusing the Kims’ offer to fetch you home. It was enough trouble to have you over for dinner.

“Go walk her down,” Mr Kim tells Junmyeon. “Minseok is on dish duty anyway.”

You stifle a chuckle as he does as he is told, slipping his shoes on beside you. The both of you walk in silence to wait in the lobby. While the both of you are there, you do not know how to start a conversation without feeling awkward and he seems to notice.

“What’s wrong?” he asks, looking more worried than he should be. “Were you uncomfortable today?”

Uncomfortable about what? About how you are supposed to play the happy couple? About the almost-kiss at the piano? You shake your head. “No, it’s not that. I had a lovely time today.”

“Then what’s the matter?”

You decide to settle things. “Do you think we should stop?”

“Stop what?”

“This. Everything. I think we’re getting too comfortable for our own liking. I mean,” you say softly, keeping your gaze on the ground. “Your studies are already going fine now. Do you still need me? I mean, do we still need to do this? We even spend most of the time talking instead of studying, do you know that?”

“What do you mean?” He looks absolutely clueless.

You sigh. “Miss Jung told me that you would be able to end the tutoring sessions after midterms, because your results were improving steadily already.”

“And what if I don’t want to stop the tutoring?”

“Wha- I thought you’d stop the tutoring as soon as you got the chance. No offence, but you didn’t exactly give off the impression that you actually enjoyed them.” Now it is your turn to be clueless.

“What do you want?”

“I want-” You stop short, unable to give him a proper answer. His gaze locks on yours with a fierce intensity that makes you gulp. “I want you to be straight with me.”

Junmyeon looks frustrated and confused all at once. And yet, just like you, he can’t seem to give you a proper answer either. T