The drive to the house of Jongkook’s aunt and uncle was the most interesting drive Jihyo has experienced in his life. Liwon insisted that Jihyo sit beside her and her brother at the back, while Jongkook drove with Jongmyeong in the passenger’s seat. The entire drive, Liwon kept calling onto her uncle, asking him all sorts of questions - from what’s going to happen next in Runningman to whether he’ll be having a concert again to how she can also have the chance to design the game for Runningman like Dream was able to do. 

But one question had Jihyo choking on her water, and the rest of the family laughing. “Samchon! Samchon! Samchon! Is Jihyo-imo joining us next year too?” Liwon innocently asked.

There was a loud oooooohhhh from the rest of Jongkook’s family, and Jongkook laughed. His niece really had a way of shaking up a room. He spared a glance at Jihyo from the rearview mirror, expecting her to divert her attention elsewhere, but surprisingly, Jihyo was looking at him, obviously waiting for his response. So Jongkook threw the question back, “Ah well, Liwon-ah, I think you’ll have to ask your Jihyo-imo about that?”

Liwon faced Jihyo, her eyebrows raised in a question. “Um… well… if your samchon asks me to join you again, then sure,” she timidly answered. Jongkook’s smile was big upon hearing her, and Jongkook’s parents spared a knowing glance at each other. 

Liwon still wasn’t satisfied by the uncertainty, so she verified with Jongkook again, “So will you ask Jihyo-imo to join us again next year?”

Jongkook didn’t even spare a beat before answering, “Dangyeonhaji!”

Liwon cheered at Jongkook’s response before hugging her imo, one that was happily reciprocated by Jihyo.

They eventually reached their destination, and Jongkook’s aunt and uncle were immediately taken by Jihyo. Jongkook’s aunt kept telling him that he had picked a woman really well, and Jihyo repeatedly bowed in gratitude for all the kind words that came her way. For his part, Jongkook couldn’t help but kid around with his nagging uncle. “I told you I’d bring someone next year, jageunabeoji!”

“I told you to get married, Jongkook-ah,” his uncle simply said.

“Ne, I’m working on it,” Jongkook just said with a smirk. 

Later on, the women of the family took Jihyo with them in preparation for the dinner, and she enjoyed the domesticity of it all. It was much like being at home, and the stories Hyeoseon and Jongkook’s aunts shared were all amusing to the ears as they went through the task of preparing the ingredients. Jongkook’s aunt thanked Jihyo for bringing in some of Pohang’s best delicacies, and allowed her to cook these to be part of their meal. Hyoseon was specially appreciative of Jihyo’s cooking, and Jihyo’s heart warmed up from the compliments, considering how well she knew Jongkook’s mother was at cooking.

Over New Year’s Eve dinner, the Kims were huddled together in one long table. Liwon sat between her imo and samchon, and the two took turns in assisting her with her food, whenever she needed help. Thankfully, the family didn’t prod Jihyo and Jongkook about getting married, but there was obviously a sense of gratitude that Jongkook seemed to be more at ease and well-cared for. For her part, Jihyo didn’t feel any sense of awkwardness with the rest of the family, and she heartily laughed at all the jokes and teasing thrown among the elders. 

Given the limited space in the house, the elders were the only ones who had rooms, while the rest of them settled in the living room with their own sleeping mats. Liwon was still glued to Jihyo’s side, with endless questions about her work and her upcoming projects.

“So you’re a witch that grants wishes for a price? What price do you ask for?” Liwon asked Jihyo.

“Well, the price is different for each character I meet in the story. But I won’t spoil that for you, Liwon-ah. You’ll just have to wait for the series to come out,” Jihyo said, tapping the tip of Liwon’s nose playfully.

“Ey imo, pretty please?” Liwon tried to bargain her way through by pleading with big, googly eyes - or at least, her attempt to make her eyes bigger and more doe-like. Jihyo laughed and almost relented, but thankfully, Jongkook approached both of them.

“Liwon-ah, may I borrow your Jihyo-imo for a moment?” Jongkook asked.

“Shiro, samchon,” Liwon said, clinging onto Jihyo’s arms and shaking her head. “You always get to be with imo anyway. I only get to be with her this New Year!”

Jongkook thought for a moment, before saying, “Hm… will you reconsider if I tell you something?” Jihyo looked at Jongkook with questioning eyes, but he simply nodded his head subtly as if pleading with her to trust him. Liwon eventually agreed and went to her samchon.

Jongkook set them aside from Jihyo, and whispered carefully in Liwon’s ear. After his words, Liwon visibly lit up, and ran back to Jihyo, saying, “I’ll just stay here, imo! I’ll see you when you get back with samchon. Happy new year!” Then she kissed Jihyo’s cheek.

Before Jihyo could ask Liwon what changed her mind, Jongkook already offered his hand out to Jihyo, which she accepted. She let him lead her outside through the backdoor from the kitchen.

It was dark out, but, surprisingly, even in the dead of winter, the weather in Anyang was clear enough to present a beautiful array of stars, sprinkled across the sky. The grounds were frosted with snow, and Jihyo and Jongkook waded their way through to get to a path that led them to the edge of a cliff, from which they can view the city skyline. 

“Not to be cliche, but it’s beautiful out here,” Jihyo told Jongkook. She tried to stop her voice from shaking but the cold was getting too much for her.

“Aigoo, I told you to make sure you have your scarf. It’s January already!” Jongkook said as he removed his own scarf, made Jihyo face her, a