“Oh my God your new place is AWESOME!” key exclaimed as soon as he stepped into the kitchen.  This was the main reason Anna wanted to take the house.  The kitchen was huge and spacious, which she had fallen in love with, since she was a great cook.

Anna laughed. “Isn’t it great?” she was standing close to Jonghyun oppa but then walked to key and they started going on and on about  things like food and keeping a kitchen clean.

I laughed at them and heard Jonghyun oppa sigh.  “Jeez, there they go again!” he said and walked back to the living room, where the others were having a foot match.

“Want a match again?” Minho Oppa asked as I sat in between Taeminnie and his manager.  Minho oppa looked at me with a smirk.

I smiled at him and nodded.  “Nuh uh” Taeminnie took my hand and forced me up.  “She’s showing me around” he said and dragged me out of there.  We could still hear Minho oppa and manager oppa laugh on the stairs.

“What’s wrong with you?” I asked Taemin as soon as we walked to the terrace.  He had this goofy smile again.

“I wanted to congratulate you on the movie and the new house” he said.  I looked around us.  “You had to congratulate me here?” I asked.  I totally liked Taemin but being alone was still a little bit awkward.

His smile widened and he looked down the terrace.  When I did the same, I saw a bright new car there, with a big bow on it.

“Are you kidding me?” I asked him, already excited.

He smirked “You got me a car?” I shrieked with excitement. 

As I glanced at my car again, I saw a girl running towards it and hugging a guy.

“Happy Birthday baby” the guy said and my face fell.  I could feel Taemin shift beside me.  He walked behind me and placed his hands on the railing, trapping me between it and his body.  He came near my ear and whispered.

“You did not think I was gifting you a car, did you?” he said in my ear and I wanted to turn around and frown but I was imprisoned in his back embrace.

I was about to elbow him in the stomach when he held my hand firmly.  Less than a second ago, a taxi came into the compound and two middle aged women walked out.

“Omma!!!!!!!!!!!!!” I shouted and with Taemin breaking the embrace, I rushed down to greet them, not noticing the startled look on their faces when they saw Taemin hugging me from behind. 

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Taemin’s POV

She was still smiling like a little kid.  We were seated in the kitchen, with key hyung immediately bonding with her mother.  She looked at me and beamed.

“It’s a great house” my mom told her, “But we are more happy about you two” she said, smiling at me.

“What them? They are still very much awkward with each other” key hyung said without thinking again.  I sighed.

We had decided to let our mothers think that we were comfortable with each other.  Ji Ara’s mum had come all the way here from the hospital for exactly this.

“What do you mean?” she asked, looking frail and pale.

“Oh come on Omma, we are a new couple, you cannot expect us to be all lovey dovey” Ji Ara said and she sighed.

“I always knew allowing her tomboy ways would have its drawback” she said to my mum who laughed.

“At least she is not a ninny! She’s strong and confident, just like how I wanted my daughter in law to be.” My mother said and I suddenly felt very proud of Ji Ara.

“Of course you will say that, you will take her side from now on” Ji Ara’s mum said and I chuckled at that.  However, she seemed paler than usual.

“Come on Omma, I’ll show you to your room” I said and walked them both away.  Before going Ji Ara smiled at me and mouthed ‘thanks’.

“Wait up chubby, more surprises to come” I wanted to tell her.

That night, Taemin decided to stay with his mum at Ji Ara’s.  They had an early schedule tomorrow, but he had not seen his mother in a while and the manager hyung had agreed.  Jonghyun and Minho shared knowing looks.  Taemin had just shaken his head at them.

“Don’t try anything erted” key had whispered to him when saying goodbye.

“Hope you score tonight” was what Jonghyun had whispered to him.  He chuckled.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Ji Ara’s POV

“What’s up?” I asked as soon as I walked into the living room. 

“Having some wine.” Ajumma said, looking proudly at her son.  She did not stop smiling the whole day.

“Do join us, my new daughter” she said and I blushed.  I walked over and sat next to her. 
 

“Oh rubbish! You guys are dating, you should sit next to him” she chided.  She forced me to get up and sat me down next to Taemin.

As soon as she sat down, she smiled.  “That’s more like it” she commented and took a sip of her wine.

 

“Is she asleep yet?” she asked in a more serious tone.  I nodded.  “She gets tired really quickly now” I said.

“It’s a good surprise you guys gave her.  She had been waiting for that moment for a very long time” Taemin’s mum said happily.

“How could you possibly know when we did not know it ourselves?” Taemin asked the question I was thinking.

She smiled.  “We are mothers.  We know everything about our kids.” She had that serene smile. 

I took a sip and Taemin eyed me.  “Oh I can drink” I said and we chatted for like an hour.  Ajumma could take alcohol surprisingly well.  It was almost 1 am when she decided she was sleepy.

As soon as she walked to her room, I glanced at the bottle. That was when I realized we had almost finished the bottle.

Taemin just took the glass from my hand and placed it down on the table.

“What are you doing?” I asked, was he being protective again?  “I told you I can drink!” I said a bit too loudly than I wanted to.

He shushed me.  “You want to wake up your mum or what?” he asked and motioned to me that we should go upstairs.  I nodded.  Once there, I sat on the recliner chair while Taemin say on the swing beside me.

“You shouldn’t drink that much” he whispered. 

“I am not drunk” I said, looking at the night sky.

“You are”

“Am not!” I protested.

“You are red, not from blushing but from the wine.  I can tell because your ears are red too. And you usually talk softly, but when you are drunk your voice goes an octave higher” he said and I closed my eyes.

When did Taemin become so mature as to notice all those things?  I seriously have to stop thinking of him as the little kid I knew back then.
 

“You aren’t dozing off, are you?” he asked when I said nothing.  I shook my head.  “Shouldn’t you be the one to sleep?  You have an early show tomorrow” I said, suddenly remembering that he had a schedule.
 

“If I sleep now I might not wake up in three hours.” He said and I felt sorry I did not ask him to sleep earlier.

A cold gust of wind blew and it was refreshing, a welcomed thing between the silences that settled between us. 

“You want to sit here?” I asked, knowing he was cold on the swing.  Even though it was dark, I could feel him smile.  He walked over to me and we lounged back and watched the night sky.
 

“Did you drink that much in the states?” he asked.

“Are you asking if I have a drinking problem?”

“Can’t you answer my questions without always asking a question again?”

I sighed.  We could go on for hours.  I shifted.  It was weird having him next to me.  One side of me was cold, but the other side was warm, warm from Taemin’s body heat, even though we were not lying close.
 

“I did not drink that much.  There was never time to drink” I said, relenting.

“Good” he said and I frowned again.  I did not want a father figure prohibiting me to do anything.

“It’s not that I mind at all, I just don’t want other men to take advantage of you while you are tipsy” he said and I sigh.

“Don’t worry, men won’t.  At least the man I want to make a move on me isn’t doing anything” Whoa! Where did that come from?  I was dead quiet.  Maybe I was drunk.  When was I so forward.  I could feel him stiffen.
 

However, he completely took me by surprise when he neared me and put his arm under my head.  In a minute I was in his arms, both gazing skywards, cheeks flaming.
 

“Were you this forward?” he asked and yet, I could feel his goofy smile.  I shook my head.  “You make me say things I never said before” I said, my heart was in some kind of a race, beating this fast, it had to be.
 

He turned to me then, and I rigidly kept staring at the sky.  I could not meet his eyes.  “I love you Ji Ara” he whispered.  I smiled and drifted to sleep in his warm arms.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

So sorry for not updating for a long time guys.  I was very busy with assignments. 

Hopefully now I can update soon :)