“Aigoo, Aigoo… really, I really apologize, Jiyong-ssi,” Dara’s mom kept on apologizing while Jiyong walked with his hand on his waist. With her mom’s outburst at the market, she momentarily left her post in the market, grabbed a knife, and chased after him. To save his life, he quickly ran away causing him to slip on some ice and fall on his .

 

“Neh, it’s alright. It’s fine, Mrs. Park,” he said, faking a smile. But it wasn’t fine. His was really throbbing in pain.

 

“Please… just call me Omo-nim,” she said.

 

“Omma!” Dara complained, feeling embarrassed.

 

“Yes, Omo-nim,” Jiyong said, making Mrs. Park really happy hearing about that.

 

“YAH! GD!” Dara complained, slapping him on his arm.

 

“Why do you keep calling him ’GD’?” her mom wondered.

 

“Because that’s his sta—“

 

She was cut off when Jiyong covered with his hand. “It’s my nickname,” he said, laughing awkwardly.

 

“Ah, arasso… I will call you Jiyong instead, is that alright?”

 

“Yes, Omo-nim,” he answered, bowing slightly.

 

They were walking down that would lead them to their house. Jiyong was complaining inside his head about another trip by foot even after slipping and hurting himself. But he didn’t want to tell it in front of Dara’s mother because he didn’t want to be disrespectful.

 

“I can’t believe you bought all the fish I was selling, Jiyong,” her mother said. “Where do you get all those money? Are you a businessman, young boy?”

 

“Ah, no, Omo-nim,” he said.

 

“Ah, whatever. But really, thank you! And, what is your relationship with my daughter again?” she asked.

 

“Classmate!”

 

“Best friend!”

 

Dara and Jiyong said at the same time. Jiyong nudged her. “We’re best friends,” he said, putting his arm over her shoulder and pulling her towards him. “We’re really close, right, Dor—I mean, Dara?”

 

Dara looked up at him and smile awkwardly. “Yes, really close.”

 

When her mother looked like she was satisfied and turned around to walk ahead of them once more, Dara shook his hand off her shoulder.

 

“Why did you tell my mom we’re best friends?!” she asked in a very hushed but angry voice.

 

“When you say I’m just your classmate, she will ask more questions. It’s already enough that I’m a guy. She already got the wrong idea upon laying her eyes on me. Do you want it to get worse?” he asked in a hushed tone as well.

 

Dara glared at him. “Stop calling my mom ‘Omo-nim’!”

 

“What? She’s the one who wants to be called as such,” he said, a little bit louder.

 

“Why? Is my daughter bothering you?” Mrs. Park said, turning around to them. She raised her fist and was about to hit her daughter but Dara just hid behind Jiyong. “I want him to call me ‘Omo-nim’, don’t be so rude to him. He’s the first guy you ever brought home anyway.”

 

“Aish, Omma! I told you it’s not like that.”

 

“What’s wrong with wishing a young man like Jiyong here as my son-in-law anyway?” she asked, giggling to herself, making Jiyong uncomfortable with her words as he scratched his head.

 

“He’s not my type and I have my standards. That’s what’s wrong,” she said, walking ahead of them. “If you want, date him then.”

 

“Isn’t my daughter cute?” she whispered to Jiyong, who just chuckled.

 

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

 

They arrived at their home. Their house leaned more into those traditional-styled houses that a lot of Busan people have in their neighborhood.

 

“Here, Jiyong… this is Dara’s bedroom. You can rest while we prepare lunch,” she said, ushering Jiyong to Dara’s room.

 

“Ah, Omo-nim, let me help,” he insisted.

 

“Eh, it’s alright. You’re the guest here. Just give me those foods you prepared so kindly for us,” Mrs. Park said.

 

Even though it was against Dara, she didn’t have a choice but let Jiyong inside her room. She just went outside, preparing the vegetables and ingredients they needed to cook.

 

“Oh, here are Dara’s childhood pictures,” Mrs. Park whispered. “You can look through them while Dara’s busy,” she said, giggling to herself. She then went to the door and stepped out of the room. “We’ll call you when the food is ready. I’m sure son-in-law is really tired so we’ll make the food especially scrumptious for you,” she said and then retreated, closing the door.

 

Jiyong laughed lightly as he started scanning through Dara’s photo album. For a while, he found himself wondering why he wasn’t annoyed at being called ‘son-in-law’ by the mother of someone he used to not get along really well. In fact, he was amused by it and even liked the sound of it.

 

“Ah, I think I really need to get married soon,” he mumbled to himself. “Waa, is this Dara?!” he gasped as he saw one of Dara’s childhood photo. He then laughed at how adorable and funny she looked.

 

Meanwhile…

 

“Did you already get the vegetables from the compartment at the bottom of the refrigerator? Then wash them properly while I cut the meat. Be sure to wash properly. We don’t want Jiyong son-in-law to be disappointed, do we?” Mrs. Park ordered around like she usually did with her before Dara left.

 

However, Dara just stood on her spot, following her busy mother with her gaze.

 

“What are you doing just stan—“ Mrs. Park cut herself off when she saw her daughter in tears as she turned around.

 

“Omma…” Dara cried, her voice small like a child’s as she ran towards her mother and wrapped her in a tight embrace. “I missed you, Omma.” She kept it for so long after the awkward accusations against Jiyong a while ago. Besides, she didn’t want to embarrass herself more in front of him.

 

“If you will miss me this much, you shouldn’t have left in the first place, you babo,” her mother said hitting her head lightly. They both leaned away from each other, smiling through the tears. Dara nursed her aching head as her mother helped her wipe her tears away from her cheeks.

 

“I’m sorry, Omma,” Dara said after a while when her mother turned around. She knew why her mother turned around. It was because she didn’t want her to be seen crying. She could already tell by the way she tried to distract herself by starting to work but Dara could hear her sniffing.

 

“Don’t worry. I am not blaming you anymore. I am already forgiving you, arasso? So, don’t worry. In fact, I’m proud of you that you did this and sacrificed being with us to chase your dreams and to help our family get up again after being slumped for years.”

 

“Omma…”

 

“Sanghyun and Durami are doing well in high school with the money you sent us every month, plus the income I earn from the market and your siblings’ income from their part-time jobs. So, you don’t have to worry, alright?”

 

“Omma,” she approached her mother again and hugged her from the back. “Stop crying, Omma. I’m sorry I had to do this. I promise I will visit you as often as I can.”

 

Her mother sighed, quickly wiped away her tears, and faced her. Dara smiled at her mother, glad that she had forgiven her. She was about to hug her once again when her mother asked:

 

“Are you sure Jiyong isn’t your boyfriend?”

 

“OMMA!”

 

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

 

As the table was being set, the weather was becoming colder and colder. Dara and her mother transferred their wooden table inside as they ditched the idea of an outdoor lunch like what they were used to. The weather was too cold to stay outdoors for too long.

 

“Dara, quickly call for Jiyong son-in-law. I bet he’s hungry now,” her mother said.

 

“Omma, quit calling him your son-in-law,” Dara said, complaining, as she made her way to her room.

 

She heard her mother said, “Aish, can’t a mother dream?”

 

As she entered her room, she found Jiyong sprawled on her bed, his mouth slightly opened, while the photo album of her childhood photos was on his lap. She laughed lightly and thought of a good idea. Quietly, she walked towards him. She grabbed on the pillow he was laying on and in the count of three, she roughly pulled it off from under him, causing his head to almost fall over the edge of her bed.

 

Instantly, Jiyong woke up, sat up, and looked around him, as alertly as he could. He was even almost going to stand up and position himself in a fighting stance when he realized what happened as Dara’s laughter entered his ears.

 

“DORA!”

 

“What?!” Dara asked innocently and then she looked down at the pillow she was holding and hid it behind her.

 

“Don’t try to act innocent on me, Dora,” he warned.

 

“Okay, okay,” she said and laughed more. “But you have to admit that it was funny.”

 

“It wasn’t!”

 

“You want to reenact it?” Dara offered.

 

“What? Are you crazy! I almost fell!”

 

“HAHAHAHAHA! Now you know exactly how I feel when you wake me up like that,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

 

“But that’s just because it was my bed you were sleeping on!” he reasoned out.

 

“Good point, Mr. Dragon. But let me tell you a fact you seem to have not realized. The bed you were sleeping on was my bed,” she said as she threw the pillow straight on his face.

 

“YAH!”

 

“Hurry up and come out already. The foods are getting cold,” she said.

 

As soon as they got out of the room, Mrs. Park immediately asked in a serious tone:

 

“What were you two doing alone in your room?”

 

“Omma!”

 

But before the argument and teasing could get worse, the front door opened and two sweating and panting teenagers appeared.

 

“NOONA!”

 

“UNNIE!”

 

“Sanghyun! Durami!” Dara squealed as well as she ran towards them and hugged them both tightly to herself.

 

“We passed by the market to fetch Omma for lunch but the ahjummas there told us that you were home,” Durami explained excitedly.

 

“You’re staying for good, right? You’re not leaving us again, right?” Sanghyun asked, as excited as Durami, as he bounced happily with his wide eyes.

 

“Aigoo, these kids, don’t pressure your sister. She just came home to visit. She won’t be home until she graduates, right, Dara?” Mrs. Park said.

 

Dara gulped, feeling guilty that she kept one teeny bit of information from her mother that she wouldn’t be among the graduating students this year because she dropped out of school and that she was working as a maid of a celebrity so that she could go back to study once again.

 

“Oh, by the way, meet your sister’s friend who helped her to come here,” Mrs. Park said.

 

Jiyong stood up and bowed politely in greeting. When he straightened up and his face came into view, Durami squealed in delight as her eyes widened as well. She immediately ran towards him and grabbed his hand.

 

“OMG! OMG! OMG! TELL ME I’M DREAMING! NO, TELL ME I’M NOT DREAMING! JIYONG OPPA IS IN MY HOUSE! OPPA IS REALLY IN MY HOUSE RIGHT? OMG. THIS CAN’T BE REAL. OPPA IS REEEEALLY IN MY HOUSE? RIGHT HERE IN MY HOUSE? WHY WOULD YOU EVEN STEP INTO SUCH A DANDY AND DIRTY PLACE LIKE OUR HOUSE? OMG, YOU ARE REAL RIGHT?” as she asked that, she pinched his cheek and then her cheeks and then she squealed again. “OPPA IS REAL! HE’S REALLY IN FRONT OF ME AND I’M HOLDING HIS HAND! OMG, I CAN’T BELIEVE I CAN SEE THIS DAY COMING! WHY DOES SOMETHING AS GOOD AS THIS HAPPEN TO ME?” then she looked up to the skies. “GOD, THANK YOU SO MUCH, OMG! YOU DON’T KNOW HOW MUCH THANKFUL I AM!” she then went to her knees, holding tight into his hand. “OPPA! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH. I LOVE YOU MORE THAN I LOVE OMMA, SANGHYUN, AND MOST ESPECIALLY DARA-UNNIE WHO ALWAYS BULLIES ME. MARRY ME, PLEASE?”

 

Dara was dumbfounded at the scene that was in front of her. Sanghyun was laughing hysterically at the side while Mrs. Park had this big question mark on her forehead.

 

“What’s going on?” was the only sentence she managed to whisper to herself.

 

Dara immediately ran towards them as she pulled Durami off Jiyong covered and tried to stop her flailing limbs. She hit her head repeatedly but it seemed that she wasn’t even aware of it as her eyes were only focused on Jiyong who was as dumbfounded as Dara a while ago.

 

“What’s going on?” Mrs. Park asked, louder this time.

 

“Ah, nothing, Omma. Duramidiot thought GD is some kind of a celebrity,” she reasoned. “I’m sure she’s mistaken. He’s too ugly to be a celebrity.”

 

“YAH! I can’t be mistaken. Jiyong oppa is the love of my life. How can I mistake the love of my life to be someone else? And di you just call him ugly? He’s the most gorgeous creature in this planet,” Durami mumbled as she managed to free from Dara’s grips.

 

“What’s going on?” Mrs. Park demanded.

 

Jiyong sighed. “I’m sorry, Omo-nim. I have to hide my identity from you but since I’m found out, my name is Kwon Jiyong, stage name G-Dragon, the leader of the boy group BIGBANG. I apologize again, Omo-nim,” he said, bowing.

 

Durami once again was able to get free from Dara’s hands and squealed:

 

“DID HE JUST CALL MY MOTHER OMO-NIM?! DOES THAT MEAN YOU’RE ACCEPTING ME AS YOUR WIFE, OPPA?!”

 

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

 

The night had fallen after a few hours, marking the end of the day with her family. Although regretful, Dara was satisfied at the day she spent with her family. Her siblings chose to ditch the school day (much to Dara’s dismay) and just stayed home. Her mother didn’t go to the shore to buy fish from fishermen. They stayed home for the most part as they couldn’t get out because Jiyong’s identity might get revealed. They also couldn’t just leave him all alone at home even though he insisted on staying.

 

“Thank you for everything, Omo-nim,” Jiyong bowed.

 

“We have to go, Omma,” Dara said.

 

“Aigoo, my daughter is leaving us again,” Mrs. Park said, fighting the urge to cry. “Be sure to come back soon, arasso? And be sure to bring Jiyong son-in-law back again,” she said and then leaned in to his ear to whisper: “Next time you come back, you should bring some engagement news.”

 

As Jiyong leaned away, his cheeks were heating but because it was already dark, no one could see. He couldn’t do and say anything as he just awkwardly chuckled and scratched on the back of his neck.

 

“What did she say?” Dara asked him.

 

Jiyong turned to Mrs. Park who winked at him and motioned for him to keep quiet.

 

“Err, that’s between me and Omo-nim,” he said.

 

“Ugh, oppa. You keep on calling my mother Omo-nim. Tell me, you’re accepting me as your wife already, right?” Durami asked.

 

Almost immediately, Dara hit her head, earning another string of mumbled complaints coming from the younger girl. “He doesn’t mean you, Duramidiot.”

 

“Stop fighting, you two. Ugh, you’re giving me migraine,” Sanghyun complained.

 

“Anyway, Omma, we’re going now. GD still has scheduled tours so he needs all the rest he could get. He might faint or something on stage,” she explained.

 

“Aww, how sweet my daughter is, totally being concerned of her future husband,” Mrs. Park said.

 

“Omma!!!” Dara and Durami said together with Durami adding, “Oppa will be mine, arasso? Aish, really. I thought he was calling you Omo-nim for me but it was for Dara-unnie,” causing laughter among them.

 

“Arasso, I was kidding, dear,” she said, switching her teasing tone into an endearing one. She pulled her daughter into a hug once again to which Dara returned with a tight and loving one, also pulling her younger siblings who she would miss truly.

 

“I will be back soon,” she whispered to her family. “Sanghyun, don’t play video games, alright? And take care of your clumsy sister. Durami, don’t waste your time on KPOP. It’s worthless.”

 

“YAH!” Durami and Jiyong said at the same time.

 

Dara laughed and said, “I’ll call when I get home safely,” she said as both her and Jiyong walked away while waving their hands. They couldn’t send them off to the subway station because they would know they would take a long time to say their goodbyes. And the longer they stay to say their farewells, the higher the chance that people around would see and recognize Jiyong.

 

As they fought the coldness of winter, they spent the rest of their time silently waiting for the bus that would take them to the subway.

 

After a while, the bus arrived.

 

“Are you cold?” Jiyong was the one to break the silence the moment they picked a seat on the bus.

 

“A little,” Dara said. But truthfully, she was really feeling cold. After spending another suffocating and awkward silence, they arrived at the subway. They got off and walked through the station. This time, unlike this morning, there were lesser people so Jiyong was safe.

 

As they were now settled on their seats (which was on the very back to avoid curious gazes), Dara sat quietly, thinking of her left family back in her home. If she could, she wouldn’t leave.

 

After a while of silence, Dara felt a warm hand wrapping her hand. She looked down at her fingers which were intertwined with Jiyong’s, who pulled their hands and put them inside her coat pocket.

 

“It’s cold,” he just said briefly.

 

She was surprised so she wasn’t able to say anything. She let him be and just stared outside of the window.

 

“I enjoyed today. Your family is really funny,” he said.

 

“I enjoyed today as well. I already miss them.”

 

“Your…” he paused for a second, catching Dara’s attention who looked back at him in confusion. “Your sister is quite cute.”

 

After a few seconds of blinking rapidly in confusion, Dara pulled her hand away. “Do you like my sister?”

 

Jiyong laughed. He grabbed her hand again but she pulled away. “Look who’s jealous.”

 

She was taken aback but it took her time to answer. “I am not jealous. I am being a… a… being a protective older sister.”

 

“Protective older sister,” he repeated and scoffed. “Don’t worry. You misunderstood me. I find her fangirling on me so cute. Her love confession was cute. Her possessiveness was cute. Her calling me Jiyong oppa was cute.”

 

Dara clicked her tongue and looked away. “You got a gazillion fans who do that.”

 

“I know but she’s cute,” he said.

 

Dara’s head whipped to him. “Stop it.”

 

Jiyong chuckled once again. “I was kidding. You’re right. She’s just like one of my gazillion fans,” he said. He grabbed her hand once again and intertwined their fingers. This time Dara didn’t pull away.

 

Dara just clicked her tongue.

 

“Ha! Being a protective older sister, my . You were all over her, bullying and abusing her. To be honest, I just said those to make you jealous,” he confessed. “I seem successful, don’t you think?”

 

Dara’s eyes narrowed on him. She pulled her hand away again but his grip on it was tighter this time. Feeling her cheeks getting flushed, she looked away, leaving Jiyong chuckling by himself.

 

After a while, she faced him again. “Your face is almost showing,” she said, fixing his scarf over his face. “People will recognize you.”

 

“That’s right. Take care of me as well,” he said. “You have been forgetting about me since a while ago. You only had eyes for your family. I was jealous.”

 

She blinked at him. Feeling her cheeks flushed again and now, she knew he saw it because he was stifling his laughter, she looked away again.

 

“But I was glad you told Omo-nim your concerns about me and my scheduled tour. Especially that time you corrected your sister that Omo-nim was referring to you and me every time I call her Omo-nim,” he continued.

 

“Ugh, stop it with your teasing,” she said, almost screaming.

 

“But I like to see that red tint on your face,” he reasoned.

 

“It’s cold that’s why I’m red,” she reasoned as well.

 

“Arasso, arasso. I’ll believe that just this time,” he said. “Oh, by the way, do you want to know what Omo-nim told me?” he asked, earning her attention once again. “She told me that the next time we come back, we should bring our baby with us.”

 

Dara’s eyes widened and she just wanted to pull out her hair in frustration but she stopped herself because she didn’t want to gain attention from the other passengers. She just sat there, fuming in anger. Jiyong could almost swear that he could see smoke fuming out of her ears and nostrils.

 

“I was kidding,” he said, laughing. With his free hand, he pulled her head to lean on his shoulder and removed part of his scarf off his face to share it with her. “By the way, I have a wish.”

 

“What is it this time?” she asked, while he was still fixing the scarf over both of them.

 

He chuckled. “Don’t worry. I am serious. I’m not teasing,” he said as he leaned back, already done with fixing the scarf. “I wish you could call me by name as well, just like your family does to me.”

 

Hearing that, she slightly looked up and saw his calm face a few inches from her. His eyes were closed that gave her access to secretly stare at him. She was starting to feel strange with all of his actions but she didn’t want to think too much of them… well, maybe later after her heartbeat slows down. Seriously, what is with my heart tonight, she thought.