note: Random inspiration. I needed to reward myself with something I can write for myself and not class. xD Plus, it's probably because I'm having Zico withdrawals. :P Enjoy! Feedback is lovely~ ;D

_ meeting

“Holy ...”

You adjusted your scarf with a smile, shaking your head. The noise of the carpet underneath shuffling feet filled the room.

“Holy ... Holy ... Holy-”

You swung around with a roll of your eyes. “Jiho, I swear, if you don't stop it...!”

He stopped his incessant pacing, pinning you with those intense eyes that were wide as saucers. You couldn't hold back the giggle that bubbled up from your throat, despite the obvious panic on his normally confident features. “What?”

You stared at him in disbelief, torn between wanting to laugh and groan from frustration. “I need you to breathe, baby.”

His face pulled into a taut scowl, and you heard the soft intake of breath. “I am breathing.” He shifted to go back into the pacing, but you grabbed his shoulders firmly before he could get back to wearing a groove into the floor.

“Jiho!” you nearly shrieked. “Calm down. What's wrong? I've never seen you this nervous, even when you met my mom.”

He stared down at you, that same straight pull to his mouth. “That was different. She likes me.”

You pursed your lips. “You haven't even met him yet. What makes you think he won't like you?”

The look in his eyes darkened, almost making you a little wary. “Jiho, you're being unreasonable. My dad is not that bad. He's easy to get along with. Trust me, he'll love you.” You smoothed the collar of his jacket before wrapping your arms around his neck. “I promise.”

He shook his head resolutely. “Daughters never understand the fact that it's probably the most momentous thing for the dad and boyfriend to meet,” he said almost automatically, like the line had been drilled into his head.

At that, you rolled your eyes. “Yes, just like men will never understand the pressure girlfriends feel when meeting their mothers.” You reached around and ran your fingers gently through the hair on the back of his head. “Who's been telling you these things?”

He shrugged. “My horrible members,” he admitted, a bit sheepishly. “And I thought it was stupid, until about five minutes ago... when I realized that I'm meeting my girlfriend's father. And he's probably gonna hate me. Oh, God. He's gonna hate me, and then tell you to leave me!”

You couldn't help the smile that split your lips. “You're letting those dummies talk you into something so ridiculous, leader-sshi?” you said tenderly, planting a soft kiss to his jaw.

“I know!” He pulled away from you slightly to fix the lapels of his jacket, that charismatic move that seemed like habit onstage. “I'm Block B's leader and producer, Zico! I'm Woo Jiho! Why the hell am I scared?!”

Moving to nod your agreement, you were stopped when he tipped forward stiffly without warning. His head landed squarely on your shoulder, his arms winding around your waist for support. “J-Jiho!”

“...” he groaned. “He's gonna see me and think I'm a hooligan who's not good enough for his beautiful, perfect daughter. He's gonna hate me on sight. He's gonna come after me with one of those American handguns.”

You could feel your face contort in confusion. Wow, were his emotions everywhere today. It wasn't like him at all, and you weren't exactly sure how to comfort him considering it was an extremely rare occasion. “Jiho,” you whispered, wrapping your arms around him in a tight embrace. “I don't understand. I told you, it'll be fine. I've never seen you this worried in your life.”

He lifted his head from your shoulder with a scoff, moving to touch his forehead to yours with a gentle thump. Quietly, his mouth parted on a sigh. “I ing love you, crazy girl...” The utter reverence and sincerity in his raspy voice made your knees go weak instantly. “Of course I'm worried.”

Your heart must have skipped at least a few beats before you felt it kick violently again, making your pulse hammer wildly under your skin. “Jiho...” His mouth dropped a soft kiss to your open mouth.

“I hope he's at least a little bit like your mom,” he muttered with a frown. “She likes me.”

You nodded with a slow smile. “Of course he is. That's why they're married, you know.”

“Pssh~” His scoff of dismissal made you chuckle. “It could easily be that 'opposites attract' business, and you wouldn't even tell me. I swear, you're setting me up for failure.” He made a face at you, touching your noses together. “You're doing this on purpose, aren't you? To try and get rid of me?”

You raised an eyebrow. “If I wanted to do that, I would've been rid of you a long time ago, oppa~” you drawled teasingly.

Another scowl crossed his features. “I'm stubborn, actually. I'm hard to get rid of.”

You just smiled, moving loose strands of his hair into place. “Good. Then I'm sure my dad can't do anything to scare you away, stubborn man.”

“Hmm...” His eyebrows knitted together, in that slow, deliberate way that told you he was thinking of something mischievous. “So... Do you think he'll let me marry you then?”

Your eyes bulged, and you jerked back with a breathy gasp. “Wh-what?”

His smirk was instant. Grabbing you around the waist, he yanked you forward for a tight embrace. “C'mon, let's go.” He dropped a light kiss on your parted lips before hurrying out the door in an awkward little shuffle.

It took you a good minute to react, your jaw still slack from the seemingly nonchalant question that dropped on your head (and your heart) like a freight train. “J-Jiho!” you rushed out of the door and followed him out with a frustrated shriek.

---

“, , ...” Jiho rubbed his hands together several times, and you spared him a glance from the corner of your eye.

“Stop it, Jiho,” you whispered, leaning into him and looping an arm around his. “Breathe. Channel the Zico-sshi that you are onstage with your members, babe.” You'd pushed the awkward situation he'd thrown at you before leaving to the very back of your mind. Otherwise, this could never go well.

“Yeah, you're right. I'm muh-ing Woo Jiho,” he whispered with fierce conviction, turning to face you and kissing you firmly. “Let's do this.”

Chuckling at his antics, you nodded and walked through the doors of the restaurant, arm-in-arm. “Dad!” You released Jiho's arm as soon as your eyes met with the same hue that matched yours, jumping into your dad's open arms. “I've missed you!” You accepted the gentle kiss planted on your cheek with a soft giggle.

“I've missed you too, sweetie.” The rumble of your dad's voice washed through you like a warm blanket. How could Jiho ever worry about this? 'Oh! Jiho!' You whipped around to find your mom retreating from a hug with your boyfriend, stretching the smile on your face tenfold. With exulted laughter, you hopped over to place a hand casually on Jiho's back, leaning into him with a bright smile. “Dad, I'd like you to meet my boyfriend, Woo Jiho.” You turned a beaming face up to Jiho, who'd tensed as soon as the word 'dad' left your mouth. “Jiho, this is my dad.”

And the magical moment, the one Jiho had been working himself into a fit about, kind of melted into place. The two men stepped close to each other in some kind of secret synchronization. Jiho held out his arm, just as he'd practiced excessively with you. Your dad, being the traditionally stubborn man he was, pushed his glasses up on his nose and stared at the offered hand for a second, as if considering it. And when you saw that spark light in his eyes and the smirk that wormed its way into his mouth, you couldn't help but sag against your mom in relief.

Your dad took hold of Jiho's hand firmly, tugging him forward to clap him on the back. “Ah! Jiho-goon.” He laughed. “Or should we be calling you Zico?”

The relief on Jiho's face, the surprise in his slanted eyes, the easing in his conspicuously tense shoulders, gave you some relief as well. “Oh my~ He likes him, doesn't he?” your mom whispered to you with a soft, motherly laugh.

You stood up straight, wrapping an arm around your mom's shoulders with a sigh. Jiho turned back to look at you with uncertainty when your dad swung an arm around him and began leading him to a table. You flashed him what felt like an obnoxiously wide smile. 'He likes you,' you mouthed discreetly, regarding the flash of surprise on his face with some amusement.

'How do you-' His silent question was interrupted when your dad patted him firmly on the back again in a typical manly gesture of attention.

“So, Jiho... What are your plans for the future with my daughter?”

Your eyes popped wide. “D-dad!”

Jiho just let loose a nervous chuckle. “Actually, sir, we were just talking about that before we got here...” He glanced at you, the confident simper of his screaming trouble. He couldn't be serious, could he? “Maybe we can talk about it over dinner, sir?”

You heard your mom laugh from beside you as she began pushing you to the table as well. “They definitely like each other.”

A groan was your only response.

---

end note: I've shown a picture of Zico to my mom and told her to meet her future son-in-law. What, that's normal, right? …....Right? XD Thanks for reading!