“I have nothing to wear.” Jihyo moans, exiting her room with her sweatpants and oversized shirt. She’s starting to show, which was good considering how the announcement was coming out this Friday.

“I think it’s time to go shopping.” Jongkook teases, chuckling lightly as he pulls on her ponytail. She’s been looking very cute lately, with the baby bump coming along. “When should we get you some pretty maternity dresses? Wait. Is this a ploy for you to take more money from me?”

“Yah, are you asking for a beating?”

“Okay, okay!” He holds up his arms in surrender. “You don’t have to wear fancy. This will do.” 

“This?” She looks down at her overflowing shirt and scowls. “We’re going to meet your family!”

“They won’t notice. My mom already loves you.” 

“I know.” She smiles smugly, and he allows himself to smile back. “But your dad hasn’t met me and I’ve only met your brother during filming!”

“So? He said you’re pretty. Remember?” Jongkook teases, reaching over to play with her ponytail again. 

Jihyo pulls back just in time, swatting his hands away from her hair. “I’m still going back to change into something more presentable. We’re only doing this so we don’t give them a heart attack on Friday, oppa. I can’t go there all wild like this.”

As she returns to her room, he can’t help but think about her words. Their agencies are going to release the joint statement about the pregnancy on Friday, and then the public will finally know. It’s a little scary to think about it too — everyone would expect them to be dating, or even secretly engaged. In fact, that’s what they wanted their own families to think!

Jongkook sighs, glancing over longingly at the door. Jihyo’s driving him crazy. Now that she knows about his feelings for her, could she tell him where he stood so he could plan his next move? He just knows that she‘s falling for him. Or he hopes so. It was all one frustrating, confusing mess for him when he couldn’t read her mind. 

They pretend to be wildly in love when they meet their parents for dinner separately over the next few days. At least, there’s no need for pretence for him whatsoever — he knows where his feelings for her stand, and it never once wavered. 

But Jongkook’s right that his family loves her. It feels so natural to be holding Jihyo’s hand as his mother hugs her, coupled with the burst of happiness inside him when his father congratulates him with a pat on his back. His brother looked surprised at the news, but he doesn't question either of them.

Jihyo feels very much at ease at his house partly because of his mother’s cooking, and also because she knows his family was an extension of him — and Jongkook was as thoughtful and welcoming as anyone else. All in all, she feels very welcomed, and it’s not just because she’s carrying his baby and it’s finally the time for Jongkook to have a child (after much pestering from his mother). 

But Jihyo’s parents are a little scarier for Jongkook. Her brother looks him up and down, never mind that he’s younger, and shakes his hand a little too firmly when they meet at the door. Her father’s a little less intimidating as her mother once put, but Jongkook still tries his best to be polite and good mannered, just in case he berated him for knocking his daughter up.

The only slip up was when Seongmoon got suspicious and started questioning him while they cleaned up in the kitchen, away from her parents. “Hyung, you didn’t tell me anything when we were at the gym the other day. Come to think of it, I always see you there..."

Jihyo scoffs, scolding her younger brother. “That means you are always there too!”

“But I’m not the one with a pregnant girlfriend waiting for me all alone at home...”

Jongkook tenses, slightly sheepish. “I’m sorry, I try to make it up to her when I come home with good food.”

“I can’t control his gym schedule, and it’s fine since I don’t wake up that early anyway.” Jihyo shrugs. “Yah, what’s with all the hostility to Jongkook oppa?”

“It’s just...” Seongmoon eyes them both, uncertain. “You never told me you were dating him? And last week when we met, you said you were busy. Why couldn’t you just tell me that you were pregnant?”

Jongkook looks down, embarrassed. “That night have been my fault. I told her that she should keep it a secret before we told the press.”

“Don’t lie to him, oppa. I’m the one who decided to keep mum about it first.” Jihyo sighs, knocking her fist on Seongmoon’s forehead lightly. “What’s with all the suspicion? Can’t you be happy for noona for once?”

“Of course!” Seongmoon winces; only Jihyo was allowed to knock his skull like that. “I’m happy for you too, hyung. Just... treat her right, okay? I’m on to you.”

“I will.” Jongkook promises sincerely, and Jihyo only rolls her eyes, her cheeks turning warm. “But... can you help me with something? She doesn’t want to marry me, can you tell her to say yes?”

“No.” Jihyo scowls, watching Seongmoon laugh.

“Hyung, that can only be done by you.” Her brother grins mischievously, even as her fist threatens to make another reappearance, this time to his shoulder. 

“I’ll get it right one day.” Jongkook says lightly, and she saves those words to her memory for the day he does. 

With the reveal coming out on Friday, it’s understandable that Jihyo can’t seem to sleep the night before, tossing and turning in her bed. She gives up eventually, deciding to head outside to watch some TV. Late night TV consisted of old dramas and movies anyway; maybe watching them would give her a good distraction to catch up on shows. 

Halfway through channel surfing, Jongkook comes out of his own room, dressed in his gym wear. “I thought I heard the TV on.”

“Oppa?” Jihyo scans his attire, sitting upright on the couch. “Are you going to the gym?”

He nods, settling on the couch beside her. “Can’t sleep?”

“Yeah.”

“Me too.” 

They both know what’s happening tomorrow. He’s a little nervous about the response. What if people get mad? Or they call them out? Will their careers be over? What about the show? 

He shakes his head, trying to get rid of the negativity. This was exactly why he decided to change and head down to the gym to do some weights, until he saw Jihyo mindlessly scrolling through channels on the couch. She’s probably trying to find something to do to take her mind off tomorrow, just like him.

“Excited for tomorrow?” Jongkook asks, watching her grimace. 

“No.” Jihyo sighs, settling on some documentary playing in the background. “I’m really nervous.”

“Hey, it’s going to be fine.” He assures her gently, but maybe he’s also trying to reassure himself. He glances over to the TV, then back to her, and decides that maybe he doesn’t want to go to the gym after all. Not when she’s feeling the same way he is. “Scoot over, you can’t seriously be watching this.”

“Why not? Aren’t you going to the gym?”

“I can’t leave you to watch this alone.” Jongkook laughs, scrolling through the list himself. “You’ll just fall asleep.”

Jihyo scowls, punching him right smack on his chest as he grins. “I don’t always do that.”

“Yes you do.” He retorts, settling on an English animated film — Zootopia. That would do. It’s light and fun, perfect for them right now.

“Yah, English? That means I have to concentrate on the subtitles!”

“Good, then you won’t fall asleep.”

Jihyo pretends to ignore him on that, watching the screen as something catches her eyes. “Hey, that tiger kinda looks a little like you.”

Now it’s Jongkook’s turn to scoff. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Look at its muscles! The shirt showing off his bulky arms? That’s totally you.”

It doesn’t help that he’s wearing a tight fitting shirt too, because he glances down as his chest and back at the TV screen, only to notice she’s doing the same. She’s been doing that a lot lately, ogling him. Not that he minds... He just wants her to admit that she might have feelings for him too, instead of keeping her eyes on him and lingering for far too long to be just “looking”.

“You’re turning a kid’s film inappropriate.” Jongkook chuckles, resisting the urge to flex his arms just to see her eyes widen. “How will we show our daughter this, huh?”

“Why not? It’s good that daddy looks like a tiger.” Jihyo smirks. “Roar.”

“Oh?” His heart swells just thinking about their daughter calling him daddy. “I don’t want to be scary like a tiger. At least, not to our daughter.”

“Please, you’re a cuddly bear. Super soft. Your arms are huge, but they feel like pillows when you lie on them.”

“Is that why you used me the other night we watched Miracle in Cell No 7? So that I could be your pillow?”

She laughs, whacking him on the shoulder. “Don’t flatter yourself.”

Jongkook chuckles, eyes focusing on the screen again. Will they really watch children movies with their daughter? He thinks of cuddling up with their little one on this same sofa, laughing at the same silly moments and jokes. “I can’t wait to do this with our baby girl.” He admits softly.

“Me too.” Jihyo replies, looking down at her growing bump. She still feels it, every time he talked about their daughter like that. 

But all this has brought back the nagging worry on tomorrow’s reveal. What if the public hate the announcement? What if it destroys their careers so badly, their little girl won’t be able to live comfortably? She’s going to be born out of wedlock, and if anyone found out about the surprise pregnancy, it would get worse. They’ve seen other celebrities lost their status over unwanted pregnancies in the past. Was Korea forward enough to accept this like they have?

It’s not just the fear of their image, but also their privacy. She’s worried about a lot of things she can’t control. Most of all, she’s worried that he won’t think it would be worth it to do this with her.

“What if tomorrow we wake up, and we become two of the most hated people in Korea?” She asks anxiously, startling him. 

“That’s not going to happen.” He promises gently. “Not over a pregnancy.”

“How do you know? We’re literally bringing a baby girl into this world unprepared. Everyone’s going to be so suspicious of us — we haven’t been dating for years like we claimed.” Jihyo worries, her eyes widening as she unravels her can of worms. “What if we get called out for being irrational? Or someone finds out we ed once and got into this predicament? Or—“

“Shh, shh...” Jongkook interrupts, one finger on her quivering lips. Then he takes her hands, holding them firmly to calm her down. “Don’t think so much, everything’s going to be just fine. Do you want to know how I‘m so sure?”

She looks up at him, nodding as she waits for him to continue.

“Because no matter what happens, we’ll always be there for each other. And that’s all there is to it, isn’t it? Just you, me,” He points to her abdomen, grinning. “And our baby girl. That’s all we need.”

Jihyo squeezes his hands back as she meets his gaze, returning the smile. He always knew what to say. “You’re right, I’m just stressing out. Who cares what other people think?”

“Exactly. And I did promised to always take care of you, didn’t I? That means you shouldn’t have to worry about all this. We just need to take care of baby girl, and the rest will follow suit.” 

Something inside her snaps while she hears his promise, eyes focused on him. Never mind the fact that he’s now merely inches away from her face, he only leans in closer as she tries not to finch under their locked gaze.  

“Who cares if we haven’t been dating for years like normal parents? Even though we don’t have a conventional relationship, I’m not afraid to admit that I’ve already fallen head over heels for you.” Jongkook adds gently, and he’s just so near to her face. “I’ve always known that it’s going to be you.”

Jihyo literally holds her breath as she struggles to maintain her focus. When he smiles back at her, she knows she’s a goner. She already knows he’s in love with her. He’s made it abundantly clear several times. She just loses herself in the moment, staring at his lips as she wonders how it would be like to just lean closer...

“Can I... can I kiss you?” Jongkook whispers, like he’s reading her mind.

“You’ve already done way worse things to me.” Jihyo teases, her heart pounding. Was it bad if she desperately wanted to kiss him too? Regardless, she nods in response, afraid to say anything.

Before she can hear his re