Previously on It's Just Another Love Story: The whole football team looked up. Jong-in looked up at them, embarrassed, but smiled. He saw Jamie getting along well with Sehun and D.O. very well. “Ey, Jong-in!” Luhan said, laughing, “You have fans! Even the new girl is your fan!” He ruffled Jong-in’s hair. Jong-in just smiled shyly. “Okay, let’s go back to the game!” Byung-hee said. Everyone diverted their eyes away from the noisy trio and returned to the game. Jong-in looked at them one last time. He waved and smiled at them. Jamie smiled widely and waved back.

***

Chapter 14: Parents' Dinner

It was already Saturday. Jong-in woke up, still and as always, tired. “Mom?” he muttered. He found his mother entering the room with a mug of warm milk. “Good morning my big boy!” she cooed. He slowly sat up. She gave him the mug as he slowly grabbed it and took a small sip. “I heard from Taeyang, Mr. Dong, that you were doing well in football. Good job!” she said, softly ruffling her son’s hair. He smiled at her with content.

It was the day when his parents’ friends were going to have dinner at their place. This meant that he would see almost all his teachers, his coach, Bom, Minho, Byung-hee and Key’s parents as well as the two boys. The fact that his parents, teachers and schoolmates were all connected in a way made Jong-in dizzy. Bom was his coach, Mr. Dong’s, daughter; Minho was his Math teacher, Mr. Choi’s, son; Byung-hee and Key were his father’s best friend, Kris’, and his mother’s school friend, Stephanie’s, children.

After the milk drink, he laid himself back down and thought how it was possible for something like this to happen. “Get up, Jong-in,” his mother said, “There’s a lot to get done.” He got up again and nodded. It was going to be a long day.

The dinner was just in an hour. Jong-in went to his room to get ready. He grabbed the remote and his stereo to play I wish by Ft. Island. He opened his wardrobe of clothes and stared at it. He needed to dress comfortably for the evening. He took out the clothes from the wardrobe, placed it on his bed and headed to shower. When he was done, he looked at himself at mirror.

He headed downstairs to see his mother fixing his father’s collar. “Tao, really now. You’re acting like a little kid. Even your collar is messy!” she said softly. Tao simply kissed her forehead and smiled. “That’s why you’re here for, right?” he playfully said, “To put this little kid in his place.” His mother just laughed and gave his father a small peck on the lips. Jong-in couldn’t help but smile. No matter how corny it sounded, Jong-in wanted love like his parents.

His mother’s instincts suddenly kicked in and she turned to see Jong-in standing by the door. “Oh! Look at my handsome boy!” she cooed, walking towards him. She ruffled his hair a bit to fix it. Jong-in gave her a child-like, innocent smile. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and a hug. “Oh” she said with a laugh, holding her son in her arms, “Why this all of a sudden?” He just shook his head.

Ding Dong. “They’re here” Tao said, walking to the door. As he opened it, he sees a tall man beside a woman. It was Mr. and Mrs. Wu, and behind them stood Byunghee and Key. “Kris!” Jong-in’s father greeted. They all greeted one another. Key looked at Jong-in and just gave him a nod. Jong-in returned a nod and faced Byunghee, who was giving him a warm smile.

The evening proceeded with his parents’ guests arriving and having their little re-union.  Jong-in walked outside the house and took a breather. Every time the Wu family came over, it was always about Key this and Key that. Jong-in had enough of Key at school, not to mention seeing his teachers, who are his parents close friends, every day at school. He decided to get some fresh air and walked outside to sit on the porch staircase and looking up the starry autumn sky.

“Jong-in!” a voice shouted, “You really do live close by!” Jong-in looked away from the sky to see Jamie walking towards him. “Jamie? What are you doing here?” he asked. She sat beside him and took a deep breath before answering. “I was just walking around the neighborhood,” she said, looking at him with a smile. He smiled back shyly. “And to drop by D.O.’s place, we’re playing this new game.”

For some reason, Jong-in felt his heart drop. “He didn’t even invite me?” he asked. She laughed and replied, “He said you had some family friend dinner thing.” “He invited only you?” Jong-in asked suspiciously. She shook her head and said, “No, Sehun too but Sehun had errands to run.” “Ahh…” Jong-in managed to say. They sat there in silence, staring at the starry sky. She suddenly stood up. “Well, I better go, D.O.’s waiting,” she said, walking off, “Bye Jong-in!” He waved at her with a big smile and watched her walk away. When she was visibly gone, he took a deep breath.

“Girlfriend?” a voice behind him said. Jong-in didn’t have to turn around. “No, Key,” he said with a sigh, “She’s not my girlfriend.” “Whatever” Key muttered, sitting beside Jong-in. He didn’t know why but he did not like Jong-in all that much. He always pointed out Jong-in’s mistakes, big or small and would harshly about little things.

“Key, what are you doing out here with this boy?” Minho shouted from the door. Key turned around and replied, “Having fresh air, I’ll go back inside in a while.” Minho returned inside. Key took a few deep breaths and entered the house leaving Jong-in outside.