The dogs did greet them with their barking the second Jiyong pulled his truck onto the long driveway up to his mother’s house. When he lived here, the dogs were a lot better behaved, but Mom had added a few more since then, one an excitable Australian shepherd, and the other an energetic chocolate Labrador retriever.

He whistled to them as he put the truck in park and held the collars of the new ones after getting out. “Gaho, down.”

Dara slid out and gripped her cake container to her chest. “I’m okay, I swear.”

“I know. But they’ve obviously rolled in the puddles, and I’d hate for them to get your nice jeans all muddy. Just walk ahead, and I’ll let them go after you’re inside.”

She shrugged. “These jeans aren’t that nice.”

“Just trust me on this.” He was feeling a little cranky with the dogs reaching back to his hands to death and their big paws rendering his jeans a muddy mess.

Dara’s eyes widened at him, but taking in his struggle, she gave a quick salute in response and walked briskly toward the house, dodging the mud puddles created from worn in tire tracks. Jiyong followed, keeping a tight hold on the dogs.

Gaho, the lab, stretched forward to try and sniff the new guest as they walked, but Jiyong pulled him back. “Don’t even think about it, buddy.”

Dara glanced back at Jiyong with a raised eyebrow, her eyes asking if it was him or the dog checking her out from behind. The dog, absolutely. Jiyong… okay, maybe a little bit. Those jeans looked absolutely amazing on her. Everything about her was amazing. She was so out of his league, and too nice to ever insinuate it.

Dara was almost to the porch when the front door flew open and Mom burst out, rubbing her nervous hands together. “Is this Dara? I’m Giran, and I’m so happy you’re here.” The last part came out a little sing-songy.

She and Dara hugged before she shook a finger at Jiyong. “I can’t believe you only gave me a few hours’ notice that you were bringing a girl. First Hanbin and now you.”

It was all bluster, but he apologized anyway.

He reached the porch, and the dogs jumped forward to greet their favourite person in the world. Jiyong let go of their collars, brushed off his jeans, and hurried in with Dara, leaving Mom to love on her babies for a few minutes.

The familiar smell of home and delicious food took over his senses, flooding his mind with memories of many Thanksgivings here. He led Dara into the kitchen to drop off her cake, and that was as far as they got before Dami and Soohyuk descended on them.

Dami put a hand to her hip. “My, my, my. Jiyong brings home a girl. I thought I’d never see the day.”

Soohyuk cut her a look. “Have a little class, Dami. Maybe she’s just a friend who can’t fly home for Thanksgiving.”

They both turned to look at Jiyong expectantly. Right. Introductions. “This is Dara, my … girlfriend. Dara, this is my sister, Dami, and my brother, Soohyuk.”

Dara gave both their hands a good shake. “Nice to meet you both.”

“How long have you two been dating? You haven’t said a word about her.” Dami ignored the elbow in her ribs from Soohyuk. Curiosity came before tact with her. Always. But that was just Dami. And Mom.

Dara gave Jiyong a quick I’ve-got-this look and launched into a detailed story about how they’d met in their apartment gym, and how she had to drop hints for weeks before he asked her out. The closeness to the truth had him pulling at his collar, wondering for a moment if she had been dropping hints and he was too dense to pick up on them. This was still a temporary ruse, last he’d checked.

Dami tugged at Dara, eager to take her off for a look at baby pictures of Jiyong, what else, and Soohyuk sidled up next to him.

“Relax, man. She’ll still like you after today. Sixty-percent sure of it.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“Way hotter than your last girlfriend.”

“Still not helping.”

+++

Wedged on the leather couch between Dami and Jiyong’s mom, Dara flipped another page of the old family photo album and studied a picture of Jiyong at age three. His solemn, earnest face said he didn’t believe in mischief, even back then.

“Did he ever get into trouble?” Dara asked.

“Oh, no. Not my Jiyong. One time, he even went back to the house he and his friends had toilet-papered and cleaned it up, because he realized they’d be leaving on vacation the next day. He’s always been such a thoughtful boy.”

Dami wrinkled her nose. “It’s true. He’s a total square.”

It didn’t take a lot of analysis to figure Dami was the type who liked bad boys. She looked like Jiyong, with the dark hair and green eyes, but her smile held all sorts of mysterious trouble, and she couldn’t sit still to save her life. After bouncing her knees, she got up and paced. “You wanna go for a walk?” she asked.

A walk would have helped Dara’s nerves too, but she was here on a mission which involved staying near Jiyong’s mom. “Oh, I don’t know. Giran, would you like to go on a walk with us?”

Giran looked up from the scrapbook. “Not me. I should stay near the house. Hanbin and his girlfriend will be here any minute, and I have things in the oven.”

Dara gave Dami an apologetic look. “Maybe after we eat would be better. I’ll just go see what Jiyong’s up to.” She escaped to the kitchen and went to stand next to Jiyong at the sink. The house looked like it had been built in the seventies, but everything inside had been remodeled recently. Dara couldn’t help admiring the travertine countertops and the gigantic flush-mount sink.

Jiyong was tackling the dishes whi