"Umm--"

"I asked you a question, Sang Hee. Who is that?"

Himchan stayed frozen while Sang Hee looked at the man and woman who were sitting across from her.

Sang Hee's hand started to tremble as she looked between Himchan and the two people, "Mom, Dad, this is Kim Himchan. Remember him?"

Himchan felt the blood drain from his face, "Your m-mom a-and dad?"

The two adults looked him up and down before her mother's eyes widened in recognition, "Oh my--The Kim Himchan? The detective?"

"Wait, this is the man that you've been talking about non-stop for the last 4 years. right? The senior detective." Her father said while tapping his lip.

Himchan's eyebrows rose in interest as he looked over at Sang Hee, "4 years, huh?"

Sang Hee's face burned red as she waved her hands, "No, I mean, yes, but I--"

"My daughter has been your biggest fan for as long as I can remember. Everything she said was Himchan this and Himchan that. Although I always imagined you to be older." Her mother said while clapping her hands.

Himchan's lips curled into a bright smile as he tilted his head as Sang Hee, goading her, "Really, now?"

"Tha-That's a bit of an over exaggeration." Sang Hee said defensively.  "I wouldn't call myself a fan."

Sang Hee's father eyes dimmed while his lips turned down to a frown, "But what why would you partner be in your apartment? How did he get in?"

Sang Hee's eyes flitted across the room before she stood up and ran over to Himchan, "He was just checking in on me. I lent him a spare key for emergencies."

"You gave me a spare key." Himchan repeated slowly, his gaze burning straight through her.

"Y-Yes." She stuttered while shrinking under his gaze.

Himchan's face hardened as he glared at her, "Because this is your place."

Sang Hee nodded with a shaky smile before looking back at her parents, "See, so it's totally understandable. I just forgot he was supposed to drop by."

Sang Hee's mother squealed, "Oh my, you never mentioned how handsome your new partner was. You were expected a greying old man but he's so much better."

Himchan smiled bashfully, making Sang Hee's face fall in an unimpressed look. Her mother had got to be kidding her.

Himchan wasn't that good looking.

She's met better looking people before; he was nothing special.

Her mother was acting like she'd never seen a young man before.

"You could be an actor." She gushed.

Himchan scoffed and waved her  off, "And you could be Sang Hee's younger and prettier sister."

Sang Hee's jaw dropped while her mother blushed. How did he manage to compliment her mother and insult her daughter at the same time?

Himchan sent her a sly look  that made her want to bash his head into the wall.

"Alright son, back off, this one's taken." Her father said jokingly while scooting closer to his wife.

Sang Hee was losing her mind. Now her dad was joking around too?!

Her father was one of the scariest men she had ever known. He was a sweetheart to his family, but when it came to outsiders, especially men Sang Hee's age, he was like a dragon waiting to kill.

But here he was, tossing jokes back and forth with Himchan.

Had the world gone insane?

"I'm so happy you're her partner. You two make such a cute pair." Her mother said with clasping her hands together.

"But why does this apartment have two bedrooms?" Her father asked while pointed to the locked door beside Sang Hee's room. "I thought you were moving into a single room apartment."

Himchan's smile turned into a smirk when he saw the panic in Sang Hee's eyes.

"I don't think we should lie to your parents, tiger." Himchan said in a sing a song voice.

Sang Hee's eye twitched when he moved closer to her. "What are you talking about?"

He slowly slid his arm around her hips before pulling her into his chest. He kissed the side of her head and squeezed her tightly before meeting her parent's shocked faces.

"I'm her boyfriend."

-----

"What the is wrong with you?!" Sang Hee hissed while slapping Himchan's arm repeatedly.

Her parents were still reeling in shock when Sang Hee excused herself and dragged Himchan into the bathroom and locked them in.

Himchan winced, "What is your problem? I didn't do anything wrong."

"You didn’t do an--Oh my god, you're the worst. Why would you tell my parents we're dating? Do you know how many problems that's going to cause? Jesus, do you even think before you open that big mouth of yours?" She growled while wrapping her fingers around his bicep and dug her nails in.

Himchan smirked and leaned close to her, "My mouth can do amazing things, trust me."

fell open, her heart speeding up,  before her eyes narrowed, "Stop joking around. This is serious."

"You're mad, but honestly, this is the best scenario. It would only be a matter of time before they wanted a tour and then what would you do when they ask you about my bedroom?" He said with a sigh.

Sang Hee scanned his face before her shoulders fell and her lip jutted out in a pout, "I don't want to date yooouuuuu." She whined while stomping her feet.

He took a step closer to her, making her back away until her back slammed into the door, "I disagree, I'm probably the best boyfriend you'll ever have."

"Yeah right." She deadpanned while crossing her arms.

His smirk grew as he tilted his head, bringing their faces together, "You be surprised at how good I am at pleasing a woman."  

Sang Hee gulped as she stared into his eyes. She held his gaze for a second before scoffing and looking away, "Bull, you're just trying to make my life difficult."

"Well I needed to get something out of this charade too." He said while leaning away from her.

She huffed nervously, "I don't want to lie to my parents."

Himchan looked bored, "Then go out there and tell them that without me, you'd be homeless."

Sang Hee looked defeated, "So this is it, huh? We actually have to go through with this."

"Unless you want to tell your parents the truth." He said simply.

She couldn't do that.

Her parents would force her to accept their money and move into a new place.

And she didn't want them to do that.

She was 30 years old. She didn't need her parents paying for her things.

"Look, I'm actually saving your right now." He retorted.

Sang Hee ran her fingers through her hair nervously, "They're going to kill me."

"Your choice." He said with a shrug.

Sang Hee chewed on her lip with knit brows while trying to come up with any possible excuse, but after Himchan's little show out there, she didn't have many options.

"Fine." She barked angrily, "But for the love of god, let me do all the talking."

"Well, I need to make a good impression with my future in-laws." He said with a grin.

Sang Hee shot him look before unlocking the door, "Don't even joke about that."

He gave her an antagonizing smile before patting her on the head and walked out into the living room.

"Date me well, tiger."

-----

"So…how long has this been going on?" Her father asked seriously while Sang Hee set down glasses of water.

Himchan opened his mouth to answer, but Sang Hee jumped in, "A week ago."

Her parents looked bewildered, "You met him a week ago and you're already dating and moved in together?"

Sang Hee froze when she couldn't think of a reply. She looked at Himchan but the male just raised his eyebrows in amusement, waiting to see her lie.

"Well…I…we've spoken before, on the phone, before I transferred. So I guess we kind of knew each other for a bit longer." She said while taking a seat beside Himchan, making sure to leave a large gap between them.

"She was very clingy. The obsessive type." Himchan added, ignoring her look.

Her father frowned, "Isn't it inappropriate for two partners to be dating and living together? That must be against the rules."

"Nope." Himchan said quickly with a bright smile. Sang Hee sneered while looking at him from the side of her eye.

"In fact, our Chief gave us his blessing."

Sang Hee ran her teeth along her lip and slowly closed her eyes in aggravation.

"I just can't wrap my head around this." Her mother said. "You have been single for years."

"Mom…"

"No, I mean years. I feel like you haven't gone out on a date since you were in the academy."

"Okay mom, we get it." She muttered when she felt Himchan nudge her shoulder.

He was eating this up.

"Sweetheart, I'm so happy that you're dating, but isn't this all a bit…fast? You just moved down here and you only recently started at the new precinct. Shouldn't you be focusing on work and getting settled in? Is now really a good time to be dating?" Her mother asked apprehensively.

Sang Hee looked at her parents tiredly, "Don't worry, mom. I know what I'm doing. "

"We don't sleep together or anything." Himchan blurted out.

Her father looked at him in surprise. "Really?"

"We have different rooms, we just thought that since this apartment is closer to the precinct and that with rent costs being so high downtown, that this was a cheap idea. We're taking it slow."

"So this is a money thing? We can give you more money, sweetheart."

"No, no. It's not a money thing. I-I," She sighed, "I love him and want to be with him."

Himchan had to hold back the snort that was building. She sounded like someone was cutting her fingers off one at a time.

He was enjoying her pain.

"I'm happy with…him. So don't worry about me, okay?"

Her parents fell silent and Himchan could tell that they were reluctantly giving into the idea of their daughter living with some man.

Suddenly her mother's eye lit up, "Oh, I've been meaning to ask, did y