Jong Kook was so nervous when he stepped from his car and found that he was standing in front of Ji Hyo’s parents’ house. His hands were cold despite he was wearing gloves. He tried to compose himself before he followed his girlfriend inside. Be confident, Jong Kook –ah, just be yourself.

“Mom, Dad, I’m home!” Ji Hyo shouted.

“Ji Hyo –yah, what’s taking you so long? I need your help!” Her mother, a middle aged woman in an apron came to the front door to meet her daughter and her eyes met with Jong Kook’s, “Omo!”

“Mom, this is Kim Jong Kook.” Ji Hyo introduced her boyfriend proudly.

Jong Kook bowed politely, “Hello! I’m Kim Jong Kook.” He became more timid when he looked that her mother’s eyes were still at him, “Umm… This is for you, Mrs. Song. I hope you like it.” He gave her a bouquet of red rose, a classic choice of flower guaranteed to impress.

“Such beautiful roses, how did you find rose so fresh and lovely at this kind of weather? Thank you so much, Jong Kook –ah. I’ll put this in the pot. Oh, come in!” She then disappeared to the kitchen again with the flowers.

“You gave flowers to my mother but not to me?” She .

“I thought you once said you don’t like flower. Let me quote you, it’s too cheesy.” He retorted.

“Well, it is. Wait here, oppa. I’m going to look for my father and introduce you to him.” She brought him to the living room and Jong Kook sat on the couch.

Jong Kook looked around the living room, it’s simple, clean with white walls, white curtains and although it wasn’t as large as his at his apartment but it was warm. He noticed there’s a lot of framed photos’ hanging on one side of the walls and took his time to look at it one by one. He found Ji Hyo’s photos when she was a child and teenager but one photo got his interest, a photo of a girl with very short haircut in red checkered shirt smiling at him. Jong Kook unconsciously smiled too as she looked so sweet and innocent. Her beauty didn’t change and she became more beautiful as time passed by.

“She was 14 when we took that photo.” A deep bass voice startled Jong Kook which made he nearly jumped. He turned back and found an older man standing at the door.

“Hello, sir! I’m Kim Jong Kook. It’s nice to meet you.” He bowed politely and his mind told him that he must be Ji Hyo’s father. “Here’s a gift for you, sir, I hope it suits your taste.”

He nodded at his greeting and smiled warmly, “It’s so nice of you, that you came far from Seoul. You must be tired.” He looked at his gift, “A bottle of wine of 2009 Sequoia Grove Cambium, wonderful choice. Thank you so much, Jong Kook –ah.”

“It’s alright, sir. It’s a pleasure for me to meet Ji Hyo’s parent finally.”

“You’re the first one she brought home to introduce her boyfriend to us properly. Come, I think lunch will be served in a minute.”

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The lunch went well, better than he expected. Jong Kook didn’t feel like he was interrogated by her parents but it was like a usual family lunch with proper chat.  He remembered that it’s been such a long time he had a lunch or dinner like this with his own family, one that didn’t end in a disastrous note.

Her mother was so happy and insisted Jong Kook for second serving when he praised the dishes was delicious. Ji Hyo smiled at the moment, she could guess that her boyfriend was making his smart brain busy by counting how many calories he had to burn at the gym later.

“You should learn how to cook, Ji Hyo –yah, so you can cook for Jong Kook, and not feeding him your