Eunhyuk took a big gulp of water as he rested his hands on the kitchen counter. He stared absentmindedly towards the sink as his mind travelled to the event the occured just the night before.

Ahreum didn’t give any kind of response regarding his statement which was broadcasted by the national TV. She didn’t call. She didn’t even text back. What is so hard about writing down some nice words just to give my mind a little bit of peace?

Eunhyuk didn’t even know what came over him last night, to be truthfully honest. Was it because they just shared a kiss the day before? What was it that made him blurted out those kind of words? Did he want to make Ahreum happy? Did he want to confirm his feelings towards Ahreum? It shouldn’t matter to him how she thought about his feelings towards her, really. But somehow, it bugged him. Alot.

“Waaah!” Suddenly someone screamed and jumped onto his back, clinging their arms around his neck and their feet around his waist.

Eunhyuk was startled and almost choked on his spit as he was took completely by surprise. “What the- Ahreum!” he took a peek through his shoulder and was met with a grinning Ahreum.

“Hi,” was all she said.

Eunhyuk couldn’t help but smiled back at her childish attempt to scare him off. He felt kind of relieved too, considering her, being in his dorm right now meant that she wasn’t angry or mad about his statement on TV the day before.

“Hi,” he took a hold of her thighs, stabilizing her so she wouldn’t get tired from clinging off of his back like a monkey. “You didn’t tell me you were coming.” It was still early in the afternoon. He guessed her class ended early.

“I only had one class this morning. So I just take a wild guess and hope you don’t have any schedules today.” She smiled while playing with the hair on his nape.

“Aren’t you going to get off?” Eunhyuk asked, faking his annoyance.

Instead of getting off, Ahreum rested her chin on his shoulder and closed her eyes lazily. “Nah, it’s comfy here.”

“Yeah?” Before Ahreum could answer back, Eunhyuk held on her thighs tightly and spun her so fast so now she wasn’t on his back anymore, she was facing his front instead. Eunhyuk smirked in victory seeing the surprised look on her face and sat her down on the kitchen counter.

He opened her thighs slightly and stood in between with his arms circling her waist. He leaned in closer and stared straight into her eyes with a mischievous smiled planted on his face. “I asked you nicely, but you wouldn’t listen.” He chuckled, seeing her pretty face decorated in faint blush.

Ahreum tried to maintain a poker face, beside the obvious blush on her cheeks. “I wasn’t rea-“

Eunhyuk cut her off, “I have a schedule in one hour.”

This time, Ahreum couldn’t hide the disappointment on her face. “Yeah?” She almost pouted. But then she realized, she didn’t want to be one of those over demanding girlfriends, or fake girldfriends to be exact. “It’s okay. We can still go out tonight, right?” there was a hint of hope in her voice.

Eunhyuk tried to stifle his laughter at his girlfriend cuteness. “Yeah, we better be. I already promised them I’ll bring you along.” He planted loving kisses on her left cheek.

Ahreum brows knitted in confusion as she turned her head to the left to meet his eyes. The gesture startled the both of them as they were now face to face with only an inch of space in between their lips. Eunhyuk didn’t even think twice as he sealed their lips together in a soft kiss. Ahreum hands found their way to the back of Eunhyuk’s neck and rested there. Their lips locking and re-locking in a slow movement.

Ahreum managed to asked in between their kisses. “Promised to who?”

Eunhyuk didn’t answer right away as he still wasn’t quite finished kissing her. But Ahreum backed away first, sensing he wasn’t going to answer her if she didn’t do so.

Eunhyuk chuckled and stole one more kiss from her. And then he backed away and traced her lower lip with his finger and then cupped her cheek with his big warm hand.

He tilted his head slightly with a teasing smile on his face, because he knew the next words that was going to come out of his mouth was going to scare the hell out of the sweet girl sitting in front of him.

“My family.”

“Relax, you look fine. Stop playing with your hair.” Eunhyuk playfully scolded her as he parked his car right outside of his house.

Ahreum didn’t seem to hear what he just said. “No, no, I should’ve done something with my hair. Should I put it up?” She finally tore her gaze away from the front seat mirror and sent a helpless look towards him.

“What? It’s fine the way it is. Now come-“

“Ugh, my lips seem even redder than they usually are. It’s your fault! You kept on kissing me on our way here. Ugh!” She pointed out another of her non-existing flaw. Under normal circumstances, she would have been so embarassed for blurting out those kind of words out loud. But her mind seemed to be not functioning properly at the moment.

“How is it my fault? I don’t recall you trying to stop-“

“The dress! Am I showing a bit too much skin?”

“What- No-“

“Oh God, I am, aren’t I? Why didn’t I pick the pants?”

“Those pants will only-“

“I’m too pale. Sould’ve worn more make-up. I knew it. Gosh, why am I born with this kind of skin?”

“Ahreum, stop. Listen to-“

“No, they’ll think I’m sick. Do we have time to-“

Eunhyuk could sense that she was going to have a panic attack any moment now. Before she could rambled on even more non-sense, he shut her up with a hard kiss on the mouth. Ahreum was left stunned for a moment before she could register what was actually happening.

Then she slowly closed her eyes and let Eunhyuk took away her anxiety with every little soft kisses.

He pulled away fom the kiss moments later, leaving both of them breathless. He rested his forehead against hers and smiled before letting out what was on his mind.

“I love it when you put your hair down. I love seeing it flowing down your shoulder. I love how your lips are y even without you’re trying so hard. I love seeing you in a dress. I love how your pale skin makes your lips pop out even more. Oh, and have I mentioned it already? I love your lips. So yeah, you look great. Stop worrying.”

And I love you.  How she wished Eunhyuk would end his speech with those words.

But she wasn’t a dreamer. So instead of mopping around for those words that he would never say, she chose to smile and let out a chuckle. It was more than enough to hear him saying the things he loved about herself. For now.

“You could just tell me. No need to shove your mouth-“

 “I was just trying to shut you up, psycho.” Eunhyuk put his palm across her face and pushed her away playfully.

They walked side by side towards the front door and stopped momentarilly, giving Ahreum a chance to take a deep breath.

Eunhyuk opened the door with his key and took a look at her before he opened the door all the way. “Ready?”

She just offered a nervous smile in return.

Eunhyuk smiled, calming her before he gently pushed her through the door. He locked the door behind him again before shouted, “I’m home!”

Ahreum heard a series of running footsteps before two little boys came in view, running down the hallway towards them in full speed.

“Uncle is here! Uncle is here!” They both shouted before tackling down Eunhyuk in a bear hug.

Eunhyuk fell down on the floor with the little boys on top of him, laughing heartily.

Ahreum laughed along seeing her boyfriend laughing in defeat as the two boys, who she guessed no more than five yeras old, crushed him down on the floor.

“You’re here?”

Ahreum whipped her head quickly as she heard a woman’s voice joining them. She tensed up the moment she realized it was Eunhyuk’s mother standing in front of her.

“Ah, hello. I’m Lee Ahreum. Nice meeting you, er- Mrs. Lee.” She ended her sentence awkwardly as she didn’t know how to properly address her. She continued with a series of 90° bows.

Eunhyuk got up from the floor and stopped her from taking another bow or else she was going to break her back. “Hi, mom.” Eunhyuk grinned and enveloped his mom in a tight hug.

His mom returned the hug even tighter and kissed her only son’s cheek before returning her attention back towards Ahreum who stood behind Eunhyuk awkwardly, not knowing what to do.

Mrs. Lee smiled and took Ahreum’s hand in hers and squeezed it gently. “Hello, Ahreum. Thank you for coming, I was afraid my son here was going to make up another lie just to avoid coming to the family gathering.”

Eunhyuk just sheepishly smiled and put his hand at Ahreum’s back. “Mom, you’ve met Ahreum. She’s my friend.”

“Friend my .”

Eunhyuk knitted his brow , ready to scold whoever it was. But then he just smiled in defeat seeing the culprit. “Noona, you and your dirty mouth.”

Sora, Eunhyuk’s big sister just scowled and went pass through Eunhyuk. Instead, she gave Ahreum a warm hug, shocking the hell out of her. “Welcome. Don’t worry, Eunhyuk had already told mom that you’re his girlfriend.” She grinned and winked playfully at Ahreum.

Ahreum blushed and let out a small laugh seeing Eunhyuk’s big sister beeing so playful.

“I didn’t exactly said girlfriend-“

“I’m hungry. Aren’t you hungry, Ahreum?” Ahreum just nodded at the sudden question. “Let’s go eat then, dinner is ready.” Sora linked her arm with Ahreum’s and walked her through the dining room.

Eunhyuk couldn’t help but chuckled seeing Ahreum giving him an S.O.S. stare over her shoulder.

“You’ve got alot to tell me, son.” His mom looked up at her son who couldn’t take his eyes away from the retreating back of his girlfriend.

Eunhyuk tore his eyes away as Ahreum had finally disappeared from the hallway. He let out a sigh as he smiled and put his arm around his mom’s shoulder. “I know. Save the interview for later, okay? I’m hungry.”

Dinner went well. Ahreum ate everything that Eunhyuk put on her plate. She wasn’t a big eater, but she tried to tell herself to it up, seeing Eunhyuk’s mom had made a feast.

She met Eunhyuk’s dad at the dinner table. She repeated her introduction plus the non-stop bowing. Thank God Eunhyuk came just in time to save her from a broken back. Eunhyuk’s dad is a charming middle aged man with the same sense of humor as his son.

There were also those two little boys sitting next to Ahreum. They were Eunhyuk’s nephew, the sons of his cousin who needed to go travel in a sudden business trip with his wife. So he had no choice but to trusted his little boys under Eunhyuk’s mom’s care.

They were really cute and talkative. Ahreum wasn’t a big fan of little kids, since all they ever did was running around places and annoyed the hell out of people. But she just couldn’t resist the charm of the cute little boys. She even helped to feed the boys and played jokes with them.

Eunhyuk was seated right across his girlfriend, and he couldn’t hide the smile as he saw the way she interacted with his annoyingly adorable nephews.

After dinner was done, Eunhyuk, his dad, and his nephews settled down in the living room to watch some TV show. Sora went over bringing them some fruits for dessert.

Ahreum had offered to do the dishes, so she was now at the kitchen, with a stack of dirty plates and glasses.

She was humming to one of Super Junior’s song when suddenly Eunhyuk’s mom appeared right next to her. She was slightly taken aback and nodded politely with her head. “Hello, Mrs. Lee.”

Eunhyuk’s mom tried to contain her laughter seeing Ahreum so tense and formal. Eunhyuk had already warned her before about Ahreum seeming to be a cold person at the first impression.

“I’ll help you dry them.” She wore the pink rubber gloves and started to dry the plates and glasses that had already been cleanly washed by Ahreum.

“No, please don’t. I’ll do it myself.” Ahreum panicked and tried to stop her.

But Eunhyuk’s mom just smiled and continued drying them. “It’s okay. I feel useless if I don’t do this kind of chores. It’s a habit, I guess.”

Ahreum smiled weakly and finally let Eunhyuk’s mom helped her.

It was a moment of awkward silent until Eunhyuk’s mom decided to break it. “So, how long have you been dating my son?” she casually asked and kept her eyes fixed on the plate.

“A little bit more than two weeks, Mrs. Lee.” Ahreum answered in a small voice.

Eunhyuk’s mom let out an amused chuckle. “Ah, so that’s why...”

Ahreum knitted her brows together. She dared herself to take a peek at Eunhyuk’s mom and asked. “What is it, Mrs. Lee?”

Eunhyuk’s mom put down the plate on the sink and smiled affectionately at her. “He’s been alot happier these past two weeks. He wouldn’t tell me why, but I think I know now.” And she smiled even more. Her smile reminded Ahreum of Eunhyuk’s.  It was a heart-warming sight to see.

“I don’t think that’s the case,” a small smile planted itself on Ahreum’s face as she was back on washing the dishes.

Suddenly, Ahreum felt a gentle squeeze on her hand. She turned her attention back towards Eunhyuk’s mom, completely forgetting about her chores.

Eunhyuk’s mom smiled gently as she kept her hand on Ahreum’s. “My son grew up too fast. He entered the industry at such young age and becoming the backbone of our little family.” She paused for a moment as her eyes starting to get wet. “Our family is pretty well-off now, and he already made his dream came true.” She stared at Ahreum for a moment longer. “He is so busy taking care of everbody around him.”

Ahreum smiled and nodded absentmindedly. “He is. He’s really kind to everyone.”

“I just wish he has someone to take care of him in return. To share things he’s not able to share with his family.” She gave Ahreum a meaningful look and her grip on Ahreum’s hand got a bit tighter.

Ahreum felt so so so mad at herself all of a sudden. There she was. Standing in the same room with the mother of the person she had loved for the past five years. She couldn’t lie to her. She just couldn’t. In exactly two weeks, she would never ever see her face ever again. Agreeing to her wish was just too cruel. She couldn’t do it.

Ahreum swallowed the imaginary lump on and answered in a slightly shaky voice. “No, Mrs. Lee, I can’t-“

“You’re not the first girl that he ever introduced to us.”

Ahreum’s word got stuck on . She bit her lower lip subtly, trying to contain the disappointment from showing through her face. Of course I’m not. Of course there were a bunch of other-

“But you are the very first one he has ever brought home to meet us.”

Ahreum’s train of thoughts got interrupted as Eunhyuk’s mom’s words took her by surprise. She looked up to find her smiling softly at her.

“So you must be pretty special. Don’t you ever doubt it.”

A soft smile decorated Eunhyuk’s handsome face as he watched Ahreum struggling to keep up with two of his overly energetic nephews. He let out a small laughter after the younger of the two managed to climbed up on Ahreum’s back and now clinging like a monkey.

“She’s really nice.” His mom said as she sipped her jasmine tea. Eunhyuk and his mom sat at the dinner table, enjoying a cup of tea while Ahreum was busy playing with the boys.

Eunhyuk momentarily loooked at his mother before focusing back on Ahreum with a smile still attached on his face. “Yeah, she is.”

“Are you taking the relationship seriously?”

Eunhyuk’s mom noticed her son tensed up at the question and refused to look at her while he answered. “I don’t know. It’s still too early to tell.”

“You should bring her over for Christmas, your uncles and aunts will be delighted to see her!” She let out a chuckle.

Eunhyuk stayed quiet and slowly the smile on his face started to disappear.

“Is there something you’re not telling me?” She reached for her son’s hand that was lying on the table.

Eunhyuk kept his gaze on his mom’s hand. “... No.”

Eunhyuk’s mom released a quiet sigh. She knew there was something that he was hiding from her, but she wasn’t going to push any further for now. It would just scared her son away. So she chose to change the subject instead.

“I can tell she means alot to you. And I do hope she’s meant to be for you.” She stared at Ahreum who was now laughing along with the boys who clapped excitedly at something that Ahreum said.

Eunhyuk got up from his seat abruptly, unable to take any more non-sense from his mom. He knew, his mom was always right. There was nothing in this world that he could hide away from his mom. But not this time. Ahreum meant nothing to him. And she was not the one who was meant to be for him. She was wrong.

She is wrong. She couldn't be anymore wrong. He repeated angrily in his head.

He felt his heart squeezed tightly at his mom’s words. He got angry for unknown reason. So he just sent her a tight smile before he went through Ahreum’s purse and took her camera out.

Eunhyuk’s mom watched as he walked towards Ahreum and the boys with a worried feeling. Eunhyuk did smiled at her, but it was a forced one. She could always tell when her son is sad and hiding things away from her.

He sat beside Ahreum on the living room’s floor and grabbed a hold of her shoulder, taking her by surprise.

“Boys, come over here!” He held up the camera high as the boys trying to squeeze in between them to get in the frame and held out a peace sign. “Aaaand smile!”

Ahreum laughed heartily as they saw the result of the polaroid. The four of them were squeezed together and smiled happily at the camera.

Eunhyuk stared at her laughing self and found himself thinking, God, she’s so beautiful.

So he planted a surprise kiss on Ahreum’s cheek and snapped the camera once again.

“So how was it? Meeting my family and all,” Eunhyuk asked as he took Ahreum’s hand in his and made sure his car was properly locked.

They walked slowly towards her apartment, wanting to spend more time together. “You’ve got yourself a really nice family. It’s been a long time since I’ve had dinner with the whole family.” She said with a wistful smile on her face.

Eunhyuk was taken by surprise at her answer. “Hey, look at me. Look at me. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-“

Ahreum squeezed his hand which was wrapped around hers gently. “No, it’s okay. You’re very lucky, that’s all I’m trying to say.” She smiled lovingly at him, not a trace of anger on her face.

Eunhyuk just stared back at her before he finally took her hand which he was holding and kissed the back of it. Trying to tell her that somehow, she was not alone.

They stopped in front of her room and stood there for a few minutes, not saying anything to each other. He played with her fingers before he decided to blurt out what was on his mind.

“My mom asked you to come by again on Christmas.”

Ahreum stared absentmindedly at him, not quite meeting his gaze. “Christmas... Yeah sure.” She dragged out her answer, not knowing what to say.

Who were they kidding? By Christmas, their relationship would have already been over for a long time.

But Ahreum didn’t want to think about the future now. It was too scary. All they had left was the fourteen days. She didn’t want to taint it with sad memories.

“I’ll adopt a puppy for those two monkeys. They told me they’ve been wanting to raise a pet. And I told them that they’ll have it for Christmas if they behave nicely for the rest of the year.” She chuckled and leaned in closer to play with the fringe on his forehead.

Eunhyuk tried hard to ignore the sudden aching pain on his chest. Watching her tried to stay happy and talking about their non-existent future together made the pain even stronger. It just hurt.

Eunhyuk smiled and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “Yeah, after that we can sneak out from my loud family and grab a cup of hot chocolate.”

Ahreum giggled and rested her hands on the back of his neck. “And then we can just sit at that old swing at your backyard and share a scarf.”

“Just cuddled there.”

“And do nothing.”

“That sounds nice.” He stared at her warm eyes and smiled longingly.

“It does,” she tried to hide the sadness in her voice and covered it up with a smile instead. But she failed miserably as he could see through all of it.

He just wanted to take away her pain and ended these lies. But at the same time, he didn’t want to. He wished time would just stop.

He kissed her without a warning. With a litte more force this time and a hint of desperation. Why was fate so cruel? How come they ended up this way?

Ahreum stood on her tiptoe and pulled him even closer by his nape. She just wanted to feel him. To know that at that moment, she was his, and he was hers. She fought back her tears. No, no tears. No regrets.

Eunhyuk was the one who finally broke away from their kiss and rested his forehead against hers. He closed his eyes and traced her cheeks softly with his thumbs.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

I don’t want to leave.

“Okay.”

Please stay with me.

Aaaand that was day 16. They sure kissed alot. What do you expect? They only got two more weeks together :(

The last part on italic are what was exactly on their mind. The first one was Eunhyuk's and the second one was Ahreum's. I'm just clearing it out incase anyone of you got confuse.

Writing that last part just broke my heart :'(

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