“Are you two really that busy?” asked Mom when they finally settled in the empty table at the famous western-style Japanese sushi bar around Itaewon road. Eunji and her mom frequently visit that place whenever mom and dad in Seoul, it was their favorite place after Maple Tree House, a Korean barbeque restaurant. 

“It’s no joke mom...” Eunji replied to her while side-eyeing Sunggyu, he was one of the reasons why she hasn’t been able to call mom all week long. He noticed her not-so-furtive glare but he chose to ignore it and smile apologetically at Mom.  

“Yeah, there’s something unexpected come up, so we have to work twice harder to get the work done...” She almost snorted at his nonchalant tone, but she managed to stop herself by coughing and cleared defiantly.

“Well, that sounds really bad...” She heard mom muttered a response, staring at Sunggyu with a concerned expression. This was the first times, she thought. Mom must be like Kim Sunggyu a lot. Her stomach lurched as a guilty conscience washed over her again. She should have sorted this thing sooner. 

She took a deep sigh and glanced back at Sunggyu. He was in the middle of explaining their work obstacle to her mom. “...We almost lose the most important deal this week...” Sunggyu continued. “Thank God I have your beautiful daughter here to help me and we manage to sort things up before it worsens...” Sunggyu’s lips curled up into a very grateful smile as he mentioned her deed then proceed to ruffle her hair, leaving her dumbfounded for a split second before his words completely sank into her head.  

The moment the words sank in she pulled off Sunggyu’s arms from on top of her head then turned toward him with a fake sweet smile. “Of course I’ll always support you oppa...” mused Eunji as she was trying so hard not to roll her eyes. “How could I let you handle everything alone?” she squeezed his hand hard, feeling enraged. He was literally working her like a mule the whole week and he had the audacity to talk about the whole thing to her mom as if he was treating her like a precious queen. Sunggyu didn’t turn to look at her but he squeezed her hand back,  trying to deliver a silent warning to her. She bit her lips annoyed at his response, but as she decides to look away from Sunggyu, she found her mom goggling at them with a dreamy expression while both of her hands clasped in front of her chest.

“Wh-what with that look?” Eunji stuttered as she tried to pull her hand from Sunggyu’s grasp, which is failed. For several moments mom didn’t say anything but she kept on staring at them with a suspicious imploring look. It made her stomach lurch again. This is bad, she mentally groaned at the complicated situation she put herself into.

“It just...how to say it?” Mom pondered for several seconds before continue again with a bright smile. “It feels like a dream...” she paused again as Eunji succeed to peel her hand off Sunggyu’s. “I still can’t believe that my stubborn daughter got us a perfect and lovely son-in-law like you, Gyu...” mom mused to Sunggyu instead of her. “We used to scold her every month for skipping her blind dates...” she said with a light chuckle. Eunji scowled. “I still can’t get used to this...” she said again. Yeah, too good to be true, Eunji mentally added her remarks. 

“Omoni, you think so highly of me...” Sunggyu chuckled at her compliment. “Thank you, I’m so honored...” Eunji glanced at him, almost immediately. He looked so genuine with his words or maybe he was just that good at role-playing as her perfect boyfriend. Yeah, the latter sound more plausible. He was really good at acting sincere, for a split second, she almost thought it was real. Maybe she was reading too much into this. Besides, he has a freaking girlfriend, what are you even thinking about Jung Eunji? She mentally scolded herself. 

“Ahem...” Eunji cleared rather loudly to catch their attention as they started talking about her blind dates. Sunggyu laughed as mom continue to reveal her bad experiences. How did he m