“This is all your fault,” Jihyo told Jongkook as they walked towards the next location after the opening. 

“I don’t know if the penalty is meant for you, or for me, considering I’m the one getting the brunt of your anger,” Jongkook said, with a tinge of amusement in his voice. Jihyo just gave him the side-eye.  “Mianhae, Jihyo-yah,” Jongkook tried to make it up to her as he put his shoulder around her arms. 

Having lost the karaoke match after the SBS Entertainment Awards, Jihyo had to accept being called Laura at the show’s opening that day. Somin started early, immediately calling Jihyo Laura the moment she entered the room, not minding that the cameras were already recording. The members pounced on the opportunity to tease Jihyo, of course, not only calling her Laura, but also actually singing the song. There was a lot that Bopil had to edit out, but even the PD was amused at the teasing as it warmed everyone up well for the day. Jihyo kept a smile all throughout, but occasionally shot piercing glances at Jongkook, who’d been doubly attacked not only by the teasing towards Jihyo, but also the teasing he’d gotten because he had just won the Daesang. 

“Cheer up Jihyo-yah! After this shoot, we’ll be off to Pohang,” Jongkook reminded her. “Are you all packed?”

Jihyo nodded. She had been looking forward to being home for Christmas, after so long. Pohang had always been a welcome retreat, save for the nagging from her mother to marry. But that reservation was going out the window since Jongkook was tagging along. Her mother would definitely shower him with comments about getting married.

“How about you, Oppa? Ready to meet my family?” Jihyo cheekily asked. 

“Of course,” Jongkook confidently answered.

However, despite his answer, Jongkook was actually a flurry of emotions. On one hand, he was immensely excited to spend time with Jihyo after a grueling month work-wise, and he was also happy to finally be meeting her family as her boyfriend. He had met them a couple of times in the past, and spent some time with them over a quick lunch with Donghoon and Jihyo during a show in Pohang. He was also good friends with Seungmoon, often sniggering about the various ways they would tease Jihyo or talking about their latest gym escapades. 

However, meeting them as Jihyo’s man was an entirely different matter altogether. He knew he was up for scrutiny, even though her father and brother already knew him. He also knew that there would be talks of his intentions and his plans to marry Jihyo. Truthfully, that was not an issue for him — he knew where he stood on the matter (in fact, he knew it too well too early and almost broke up with her for this reason). He decided then that, should the question of marriage arise, he will look to Jihyo for an answer to make sure she would be comfortable. 

Jihyo saw Jongkook’s eyes squint the way they do when he was deep in thought, so she put her arm around his shoulder. “Quit worrying. You’ve already met them before, and my mom is surely just happy I already met someone,” Jihyo tried to reassure him. 

“Yah Jihyo-yah, that doesn’t sound reassuring,” Jongkook answered. 

“You know what I mean. It’s not like you’re a bad catch,” Jihyo tried to explain, as Jongkook raised his eyebrow at her. “Ah Oppa, are you fishing for compliments?”

“Of course not. Geunyang, to be honest, I just don’t know what your family would think of me as your boyfriend. I mean, I’ve met them before but that was when I was just your colleague. I’m not sure if they’d like me for you,” he whispered, a bit embarrassed at how much of a coward he probably sounded like. 

“They’ll love you. I mean it. My mom’s been bugging me for years now about us, specially when the rumors came out before,” Jihyo revealed. 

“Jinjja?” Jongkook said in disbelief. 

“Remember when I went to My Little Old Boy? When Dongyup-ssi asked my mom which of the members she thought would make a good son-in-law, I was scared she’d say your name. Thankfully, Seungmoon had told my parents about how miffed I was over the rumors about us, so she knew better. But if that wasn’t the case. I’m sure she’d have said Kim Jong Kook without batting an eyelash.”

“Dahaengida,” Jongkook was finally relieved. “Although for what it’s worth, my mom was miffed that neither you nor your mom picked me.”

“But eomonim agreed that we could put you out of the choices. If you were included, of course, I would’ve picked you!” Jihyo practically exclaimed. 

“Really?”

She glanced around, and seeing that no one was in the vicinity, she stood in front of Jongkook, covered his ears with both her hands, and said, “Dangyeonhaji.” Then, she stole a quick kiss from Jongkook’s lips, making him widen his eyes in surprise. 

“We’re at work Jihyo-yah!” Jongkook cried in a hushed voice.

Jihyo just shrugged, with a sheepish grin on her face, her fingers still lingering on her lips. She may have initiated the kiss, but she cannot deny that having his lips on hers still sends her heart fluttering. “Gaja, Oppa. They’re probably looking for us by now,” Jihyo nonchalantly said, as she struggled to get ahold of herself, grabbing Jongkook’s hand and practically pulling him to where the cast and crew were preparing to continue that day’s shoot.

Jihyo’s parents told her that she and Jongkook were welcome to stay at their house for the duration of their stay, and Jongkook, wanting to make a good impression on her parents, was inclined to agree. But Jihyo had a different opinion. She knew Jongkook would opt to sleep in the guest room (or worse, on the couch) so she told him that they should stay in a hotel instead. Jongkook didn’t agree, saying that Jihyo’s family obviously wanted her in the house given how important Christmas was to her family. 

“But you won’t share a room with me,” the words slipped out of Jihyo’s mouth in her exasperation. 

Jongkook’s face broke into a grin. “Now that’s just cute.” Jihyo blushed a deep shade of red, prompting him to continue, “Fine, I won’t tease you. But we have to go with what your parents want, Sooyeon-ah. It’s my first visit as your man; I can’t afford to have them think that I’m avoiding them.”

Jihyo sighed exasperatedly; she knew it was an impossible battle to win and Jongkook made a really good point. It still didn’t mean she wasn’t annoyed about losing out on a chance to spend as much time as she could with Jongkoo