Author's Note:

Hope you guys enjoy this chapter :))

On the morning of Wonyoung’s 5th birthday, Chaewon came early to her sister’s house to help the engaged couple set up the party. She brought her girlfriend of 3 years, Honda Hitomi with her, just in case they needed all hands on deck. The couple were the most doting aunts that has ever lived, so much so that they brought 5 separate gifts for their niece. They walked into the house as Eunbi opened the door for them, but stopped in their tracks when they saw Chaeyeon standing a few steps behind Eunbi.

“Ah, the famous Chaewon, finally we meet” Chaeyeon greeted the woman she has seen many times for parent-teacher meetings but never once talked to.

“It’s nice to finally be acquainted with my sister’s fiancée,” Chaewon says with a knowing grin. She then motions to the woman beside her, “This is my girlfriend, Hitomi”

Hitomi smiles with her cute chubby cheeks, “Nice to meet you”

“Ditto” replies Chaeyeon while shaking their hands.

The four started getting to work immediately. After all, there were still lots of balloons to blow and ‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY’ banners to hang. Surprisingly, the women worked in perfect sync. Eunbi was making a last minute call to the catering company, Chaewon and Hitomi were setting up the bouncy castle in the backyard, and Chaeyeon was standing on a stool hanging banners and balloons.

By the time the clock struck 12, decorations had been hung, the food set on the table, caterers were ready to wait, and guests were starting to fill the room. Wonyoung’s friends who just arrived were playing in the backyard, waiting to surprise their friend.

Many parents of Wonyoung’s friends that were present knew Chaeyeon, and were starting to wonder why she was there. Chaeyeon gave out polite smiles, but didn’t mind them any more than the bare minimum. She had other things occupying her thoughts, like how scared she was of the impending meeting with Eunbi’s parents and ex-wife. Not to mention it would be the first time Eunbi would be announcing the fact that Chaeyeon is her fiancée to them.

Chaeyeon was biting her lips, too lost in her head to notice that someone had came up and stood next to her. She only came back to reality when a voice came from beside her.

“Nervous?” Eunbi asked.

“Huh? What gave you that impression? I'm not nervous at all” says the teacher, who was being obviously in denial.

Eunbi didn’t believe her one bit, “Don’t be. We just have to stick to the story we came up with last night”

“Right." But Chaeyeon had other worries in mind, "Yeah, but––what do engaged couples even do?”

Eunbi chuckled, using her index finger she booped Chaeyeon teasingly on the nose, “Oh, my sweet summer child”

“What––I’ve never been engaged before!” Chaeyeon was offended by Eunbi’s patronizing tone.

“Well, with all these nosy people arriving, they’d want to see a lot of affection between us” the singer says with noticeable annoyance.

That wasn’t as helpful as Eunbi thought it was. Chaeyeon didn’t really know how much affection Eunbi meant, “Should we make out in a corner of the room?”

“I said affection, not scar my daughter!” Eunbi smacked Chaeyeon’s arm.

It was starting to become a habit between them. Chaeyeon would say something dumb, and Eunbi would hit her one way or another with the intention to scold her. Even as they spoke during dinner yesterday, Chaeyeon managed to get hit at least ten times, not that she minded much. They both knew Eunbi did it in jest more than anything.

“Hey––it was a suggestion”

“A bad one!” Eunbi immediately retorted.

“You know what,” Chaeyeon crosses her arms in front of her chest, “You were nicer before we got engaged.”

“Yeah I’m beginning to regret that too” Eunbi scoffs jokingly.

Chaeyeon was thankful for the playful banter they were having. She felt slightly better about having to meet the people in Eunbi’s life. Chaeyeon was about to make a snappy comeback, but was stopped by her fiancée, “Hey––”

“––SHH!” Eunbi shushed Chaeyeon, telling her to shut up as she saw two figures coming over to them from her peripheral. She took a step closer to place herself in front of Chaeyeon, “My parents. Your 9 o’clock”

Chaeyeon didn’t react well to that information.

“Stop doing that!” Eunbi ordered in a whisper.

“Doing what?”

Eunbi grabbed both of Chaeyeon’s hands to stop her from flailing, “Fidgeting!”

The younger woman felt out of sorts, “What do I do then?”

“Be affectionate”

The older pair came over to them with curious looking faces. Probably for the reason that they’re seeing their daughter holding hands with someone they’ve never seen before. Before they could comment on it, Eunbi released Chaeyeon’s hands to stand next to her and face her parents.

“Hey, I’m so glad you guys came” Eunbi hugged both her parents.

“We wouldn’t miss Wonyoung’s birthday for the world” says Eunbi’s mother. The older woman glanced at Chaeyeon then back at her daughter, “Who’s this, dear?”

“Mom, dad, this is Lee Chaeyeon. My fiancée,” Both of Eunbi’s parents were quite obviously surprised with the news, by the looks of their widened eyes and the looks exchanged with each other. But thankfully made no comments about it. Eunbi was relieved by that and continued to introduce them, “Chae, these are my parents”

Chaeyeon boldly placed her left arm around Eunbi’s waist––to which the singer flinched at the touch, but not noticeable enough to garner the attention of her parents. Chaeyeon offers them the most charming smile she could muster. One that she had perfected so many times back when she still lived with her parents and had obligations to attend all of their parties to meet socialites and the likes.

The teacher shook hands with her soon-to-be in-laws, “It’s such a pleasure to meet you both, Mr. and Mrs. Kwon. I heard so much about you both from Eunbi, I was telling her how I couldn’t wait to meet the people responsible for this angel”

To say that Eunbi was surprised by Chaeyeon’s acting would be an understatement. She didn’t even know where the sweet-talking came from. Even more, where was this Chaeyeon when they were sweating in front of an immigration officer? But at least she was using her acting skills now. To both of their lucks, Eunbi’s parents ate it up without question, clearly charmed by either Chaeyeon’s flattery or radiant smile. Maybe even both.

“It’s nice to meet you too, Chaeyeon.” says Eunbi’s father. While her mother added, “You must forgive us, dear, but Eunbi hasn’t told us anything about you”

Eunbi was the one who replied, “Sorry, mom. But I didn’t want to announce anything until we were completely sure about the relationship. I had to make sure we don’t confuse Wonnie”

“Oh, of course. After Sakura, I’m glad you’re being cautious” says Eunbi’s mother bluntly.

The singer wanted to grimace but only nodded in response. Bless her father’s soul for sensing the awkward turn their conversation went, “Well, we’re going to look for Chaewon now. We can talk some more later. Again, it was nice meeting you, Chaeyeon.” he then dragged his wife to leave the engaged couple to their own devices.

“Huh... that went better than expected." Chaeyeon remarked.

Eunbi nodded back in agreement, her mind still on her mother’s comment.

Noticing the other woman's distracted look, Chaeyeon thought to help lighten the mood. “Though,” Chaeyeon started, rubbing her hand that was still settled on Eunbi’s waist, “You need to