Chris was tapping her foot against the concrete as she waited for Hoseok. Nervous was an understatement when she thought about how she felt for that evening.

She wanted to make a good first impression, especially with Hoseok's parents as she'd really grown to value their friendship, meaning she valued their opinion of her all the more.

She continued to play with the frills of her cream dress as it danced in the wind. She'd strung on earrings holding flowers and a jewelled hair clip to match. Smacking her lips together after applying the hundredth layer of lipstick, she looked up to see just the man she was expecting.

A loose printed shirt tucked into faded blue jeans; he was the epitome of a fashion icon. She was quite late to realise how elite his style actually was. Not once had she ever seen him dressed in anything short of trendy.

"Hey!"

When he heard her, his eyes widened, "Chris?"

"Hello," she tilted her head as they closed the gap between them.

"You look-" he pursed his lips as he tried to hold her gaze, and Chris wondered why he had such trouble, "You look amazing."

"Oh," she sent him a smile, "Really?"

"Mhm," nodding, he slipped his hands into his pockets and took the spot next to her, looking away.

"I mean, I wanted to impress your parents. The parents of one of my closest friends," the grin never faded.

And this made him smile too, "Closest friends?"

"I mean, you already know the people back home didn't really consider me their friend, so yes."

"Honoured," he faked a bow as they continued to walk back to his place, "But you have nothing to worry about, they'll love you."

"Ah, okay," she scratched behind her ear, "I hope so."

"Are you feeling better, by the way?" he asked and she raised an eyebrow.

"Feeling better?"

"Earlier, you weren't really okay."

"Oh right," she nodded, looking down, "I'm okay, I guess. I just needed some time to let things sink in."

"Right."

"So, this morning," she decided to tell him, "I broke up with my boyfriend."

"What?"

"Yeah, I finally did it."

"I thought—"

"I lied when I said everything was okay between us—or I didn't realise how hurt I actually was, I don't know. All I know is I didn't feel okay with the way he was treating me despite how much I pretended I was."

"I'm sorry, Chris," he whispered and she shook her head at him.

"Why would you apologise? You didn't do anything wrong."

"I know, but I saw that you weren't okay in that relationship. I said nothing, and I'm sorry for that."

"Hoseok," she stopped him, sending him a reassuring smile, "You did pick up on it before, and I didn't listen to you. I'm the one who didn't realise and I regret it too much. I'm not letting you take on that burden, you've done nothing wrong."

"Okay," he didn't seem to want to end their conversation there but Chris wasn't budging, so he faced forward again, "Well I'm glad you mustered up the courage to do it then."

"Yeah."

"Must have been hard, I'm proud of you."

"Thank you, Hoseok, I really needed to hear that today."

"Well," he turned to her again, a grin splitting his face as it pushed his dimples into view and Chris obliviously giggled, "That's what I'm here for."

--

"Mom! We're home!" Hoseok's voice boomed through the house and Chris listened to the way it ricochet through the space, bouncing off the wooden boards and wafted through the drapes.

Hoseok slipped his shoes off at the entrance and motioned for her to do the same before putting on the beige house slippers next to the mat.

She noticed the gorgeous mahogany lining the walls and the floor, the open space of the living room allowing for them to walk freely into it. The large white curtains bellowed in the wind spilling through the windows on top of the small ledges on the two sides of the lounge. The wide glass granted for immense light to stream in and this only made the house look twice as big.

Hoseok draped his jacket on the kitchen chair and asked Chris if she wanted anything to eat.

She shook her head with a smile and continued to observe the room.

The place was just so cozy and she wanted to take it all in.

A loud gasp erupted from her when her eyes rested on a couple frames pressed against the wall.

"Is this you?"

"Huh?" Hoseok was immediately in front of her, covering her view. "No, let's move to the couch, shall we?"

"Hoseok you're adorable!" she rested her hand on his shoulder and pushed him aside, "You're so cute!"

"Okay, but isn't that obvious? I mean, look at me now."

"The little suspenders!" she continued to gush at the little version of the man beside her, "And your button up top, I'm going to combust."

"Please don't," he grabbed her hand and pulled her away, "We need you to be in one piece to talk to my parents, and then you can combust."

"Okay, promise me you'll show me more baby Hoseok then."

"You know I only make promises I can keep."

"Exactly," Chris stuck her pinkie finger up, "Promise me."

Just at that moment, however, a thud came from behind her and Hoseok looked up as his face brightened.

"Mom!"

Rolling her eyes with a grin, Chris turned to meet her.

And she was just as much a vision as her son. Her maroon hair must have been the only noticeable difference in their appearance, for her high cheekbones and dazzling eyes were a carbon copy.

"Hi Chris!" when she beamed as she did then, Chris definitely understood where Hoseok got his warm ambience from.

For she immediately felt like she belonged there, in that room, talking to this family, accepting their kind words.

"Hi Mrs—"

"Please call me Aejeong," she'd told her before leaning in for a hug. She was definitely surprised at the gesture but didn't show it as she wrapped her arms around the older woman, "We've heard so many lovely things about you, I'm so glad we get to finally meet!"

"I've been looking forward to meeting you too," Chris tried to match her tone, "The people who've raised such a kind son."

"He is quite the best, isn't he?" Hoseok's mother cupped her son's cheek before they all heard another sound from the end of the hall. Turning to it, Chris watched another older man stroll toward them.

He, too, emitted the same grace and radiance that Hoseok and his mother did. However, as she took it all in, she couldn't help feel a pull at her heart. It was too difficult for her to look at him without remembering his situation.

"Welcome!" he interrupted her thoughts, "The first woman Hoseok's ever brought home!"

"Dad!" Hoseok snapped while Aejeong chuckled.

"That's not true," she told her husband.

"Yeah!" Chris could imagine the pout sitting on her friend's lips as he said this.

"He brought his niece over a couple times, remember?"

"Mom!"

--

The evening passed in a gentle wave, Hoseok's parents proving her worries were for nothing. They discussed his mother's work; she was one of the only doctors in the town, and so had to deal with a whole variety of patients each day. But Chris loved how much joy Aejeong spoke with—she loved her job.

Hoseok's father was a writer, he'd written five novels prior to the current manuscript he was aiming to publish this year. Chris was in awe of how he spoke with such poise and professionalism when it came to his job in comparison to their casual banter at the dinner table. After promising to read up on his works, and him promising her a copy of each novel, Chris and Hoseok's father were already on their way to becoming best friends. And while Hoseok said he was jealous, he couldn't have been happier.

She had already been beginning to love Alchemilla, however, learning about Hoseok's family only made her love it so much more.

"Thank you for tonight," Chris's hands were in the pockets of her dress, eyes fixed to the ground in front of her.

Hoseok's mom and dad had waved the pair off as they walked down the cobble driveway on the path back to the hotel.

Each step they took seemed a little lighter than the last. Both of them found solace in the other's presence.

Chris's worries about letting go of the two years she'd never get back. Her thoughts of having to tell her father the news, especially when she remembered he loved her boyfriend more than he did her. The fears that everything he had said during their last call was right, that she was truly difficult to love, difficult to handle.

It all seemed to flutter away when she was beside him.

Hoseok, on the other hand, seemed to find his own concerns settle within him. The raging they caused when he thought about his situation, his future, his loved ones, was getting to be all too much. He knew he'd never show it, but he was having a hard time keeping the smile on his face. But spending the evening with his family and Chris had alleviated it all a little.

"Your dad," Chris started to speak again, "He's so sweet."

"He is," Hoseok sighed, "It's weird, there are times when I'm with him that I keep forgetting, but then there are also times where it's just there staring me right in the face, you know?"

"And you talked to them about the treatment? They really aren't going to go through with it?"

"Yeah," he nodded, "I don't know what your situation is like Chris, but with us, we don't often have a stable income. Mom's job is all we can really rely on to feed us and pay our bills and that's not always enough. Dad's novels are a hit or miss, he doesn't always sell out and we end up going through periods of wealth and then periods of drought. Affording something like chemo is really too much of a luxury for us, and my father is much too adamant about it, saying he'd rather we kept the money for something else."

"Hoseok," she whispered his name when she heard the whimper in his tone, the hiccup attached to his last sentence, the sniffles he tried to hide.

"It's alright," he replied in an equally quiet tone and she stopped walking then, turning to observe his expression.

Peering in closer to see his face amidst the dark of the night, she caught sight of his damp eyelashes and it only caused her heart to lurch in her chest.

She didn't know how she would hold up seeing the man who carried the sun in his eyes, cry.

"Remember," she told him, "You don't have to pretend to be okay with me, hmm?"

Ashamed to be caught, he slowly raised his gaze.

"Honestly, I can't even fathom what's going on inside of you right now, you don't have to put up an act in front of me."

"Yeah," he nodded, and Chris watched him start to smile sadly, "It's really hard."

He was biting back a string of emotions and the glaring vulnerability reached inside her, continuing to twist at her heart.

And before she knew it, his face crumbled.

"It's really hard."

hey angels! i hope you liked that update uwu

i hope ur looking after urself!! i love you xx

(also i have a little surprise for you guys and it will be coming out in a few days? idk, it depends on when i hit a certain milestone uwu so be on the lookout!! i hope you guys end up liking it xx)