It takes exactly 10 minutes for Jinyoung to realise that dragging this fight out is an unnecessary heartache. So he abandons dinner plans and goes upstairs to look for Jaebeom, starting with the one obvious room Jaebeom would be in.

As expected, Jaebeom is in his studio. He appears to be tidying up when Jinyoung walks in. Jinyoung doesn’t say a single word; he quietly comes up behind Jaebeom and wraps his arms around him.

At first Jaebeom stills and tenses up in surprise, but he is quick to relax, putting his palm over his racing heart. “You startled me.” he mutters. “I should put a bell on you.”

Jinyoung smiles, despite the tension between them. He presses a soft kiss to Jaebeom’s shoulder before resting his chin upon it. “I’m sorry. I’m all logic and strategy in everything I do, but that’s no reason for me to be mean and insensitive you.”

Putting his paint brushes down, Jaebeom reaches for Jinyoung’s wrists and tugs on them to loosen Jinyoung’s hold so that he can turn around to face him.

The moment Jinyoung comes face-to-face with Jaebeom’s downtrodden facial expression, he rushes to add. “I really don’t want this issue to turn into a big fight. That’s why I’m here to talk it out and try to fix it.”

Jaebeom feels the same way. Fighting and staying mad at someone takes up so much energy. He is so not interested in that right now. “I don’t want to fight either.”

“Good.” Jinyoung’s relief is obvious in his tone of voice.

Jaebeom slides his arms around Jinyoung and tightly hugs his waist. Maybe it’s because they are fighting or maybe it’s just Jaebeom being his usual sappy self but he feels a deep yearning for Jinyoung, like he’s missed him. Their disagreement has lasted a few minutes and here Jaebeom is feeling like a love starved idiot. He could just roll his eyes at how ridiculous he tends to be where Jinyoung is concerned.

Jinyoung props his forearms up on Jaebeom’s shoulders and links his hands behind Jaebeom’s neck. They stand in the middle of the room doing nothing apart from just stare into each other’s eyes.

“You just want your parents to like me. I get it.” Jaebeom breaks the silence after a while.

Hope flickers in Jinyoung’s eyes when he hears that. “Yes. Exactly. I don’t mean to insult you. I’m not asking you pretend to be something you are not. All I’m saying is that it’s in our best interest to observe their dinner table rules. Wearing an outfit they like will improve their first impression of you at least. Apart from when we have meals with my parents, you can dress any way you want. I doubt they’ll mind that.”

“Sounds reasonable.”

“Thank you.” Jinyoung feels the heavy weight lift of his chest. “And for the record, your sense of style isn’t bad. It’s just different from mine.”

Jaebeom laughs- part relieved, part nervous- “I hope so.”

It’s obvious that Jaebeom is still weary so Jinyoung holds Jaebeom’s face between the palms of his hands, rubbing his thumbs soothingly over Jaebeom’s cheeks.  “I mean it.”

Jaebeom breathes deep and tries to relax. “I trust you.”

“And I love you.” Jinyoung smiles sweetly and Jaebeom kisses him.

Their lips touch softly, unhurried as they slide their tongues together and deepen the kiss. Jaebeom’s hands glide down along Jinyoung’s back all the way to his hips, lightly squeezing there before moving on to cup Jinyoung’s bum and bring him closer.

Jinyoung pulls away but their faces stay relatively close. “Are we okay now?” he asks, gently sliding his nose against Jaebeom’s.

“Yeah.” Jaebeom presses one last quick kiss against Jinyoung’s lips.

“Can we please go and have some dinner now?” Jinyoung mutters after they pull away.

“I’m hungry.”

“Me too. let’s go.” Jinyoung turns on his heel and holds out a hand for Jaebeom to hold which he does.

********

In the days leading up to the visit to his parents’ house, Jinyoung tells himself he has no reason to be nervous because he knows that even though his parents are difficult to please, they’ll like Jaebeom. Everyone likes Jaebeom. Jinyoung himself has a very funny story about how he fell for Jaebeom at first sight when they met at an art gallery years ago.

On a Friday afternoon, just a day before Jaebeom and Jinyoung are supposed to leave for Jinyoung’s parents’ house, Jinyoung’s mother calls him and the conversation sort of shakes Jinyoung’s confidence.

“Are you and your friend still arriving this evening?” She asks, sounding a little stern. Jinyoung has never felt like his mother is a scary or a bad person. She just comes off that way because she is a no nonsense person who has a knack for pointing out other people’s flaws and making them look bad. Not even her family is spared from this side of her.

Over the years since he was a child, Jinyoung had to muster a way to stay on her good side no matter what while also living life the way he wants. It’s not an easy thing to achieve and Jinyoung feels burdened a lot but he figures it’s more important to keep the peace.

“Yes, we’ll be arriving this evening, mum. Have you been well?”

“I’m alright. Are you taking good care of yourself?”

“Yes.”

“Have you taken up the diet I suggested?”

“I started but then Jaebeom hyung kept cooking comfort food for me until I gave up entirely.” Jinyoung chortles but his mother doesn’t sound like she appreciates his humour if the snort Jinyoung hears on the phone is an indication.

“Doesn’t your boyfriend want the best for you?”

“Of course he does. The food he cooks isn’t very unhealthy or anything.”

“The two of you have been together for a long time. I assume your relationship is serious?” there is a subtle doubtful undertone lacing her voice, and Jinyoung wonders why that is.

“It is. we care a lot about each other.”

“So why haven’t you brought him to meet us until now?”

His mum has him there, Jinyoung realises as he flounders for an answer. “I didn’t want to introduce him until I was sure he is the one.”

“And you are sure now?”

“Very.”

“I hope this Im Jaebeom is not someone you are wasting your time and feelings on. I hold him in high esteem since he’s someone you see as fitting to meet your parents. I hope I won’t be disappointed.”

“You won’t.”

“Good. Now, does Jaebeom have any food allergies?”

*********

I hold him in high esteem since he’s someone you see as fitting to meet your parents. I hope I won’t be disappointed, those words replay over and over in Jinyoung’s mind as he heads home in the late afternoon. He just knows for a fact that his mother will be disappointed in Jinyoung’s choice of boyfriend no matter what because he has a lot of qualities she doesn’t appreciate in people, for example, the piercings on Jaebeom’s face, his hair and simply the fact that he is an artist.

Until he talked to his mother earlier today, Jinyoung dared to toy with the idea that maybe his parents will like Jaebeom, but now after hearing his mother’s tone of voice as she talked about her high hopes for Jinyoung’s boyfriend- Jinyoung’s sureness is shaken and he’s left full of uncertainty and dread. What if his parents say something mean to Jaebeom or shun him completely? It’s a possibility.

Jaebeom isn’t home when Jinyoung gets there, so Jinyoung decides it’s a good time to pack so that they leave by 6pm hopefully.

A little over 20 minutes later, Jinyoung tosses the last shirt into his bag and after careful inspection of what he’s packed so far, he decides it’s time to give it a rest and sits down beside his weekend bag on the bed with a sigh.

Packing stres