Catalina fixed her dress and hair before she turned to Jae. "Are you sure I look okay?" Her hair was back to being brown and was now falling to below her collar in soft waves. It was May and somehow Jae had managed to convince her to have dinner with his sister and their parents. Now that she was in Canada to settle in before starting university with them that fall. Catalina was nervous by this point, she was praying she wasn't sweating or shaking.

   "Kitty Cat, for the millionth time, you don't look okay, you look gorgeous. Now, take a deep breath and calm down." Jae massaged the back of her hand.

   "But what if Eun-Byul doesn't like me?"

   "Why are you so worried?" He tilted his head.

   "Because..." she sighed, "I want her to like me."

   Jae shook her hair and pulled her into a hug. "She will. My sister will like you because I am head over heels for you."

   "Jae," Catalina groaned as she reached up towards her head, pulling away from him. "You ruined my hair! And what if she thinks I'm stealing you away or something?"

   "She won't." Jae laughed and patted her head a little before he pulled away. "You look fine, now, let's go before we're late." He pulled her towards the restaurant.

   Catalina took a few deep breaths and held unto Jae's arm tighter as they made it through the birch doors.

   Catalina and Jae arrived at the table where his sister and his parents were already seated waiting for them.

   "Oppa!"

   Catalina recognized Eun-Byul as she stood from her seat and waved at her brother. She was so pretty, her black hair fell to her shoulders, a red ribbon decorating it while her t-shirt dress was styled so fashionably and effortlessly. Her make-up was also so pristine and pretty. The girl was basically an angel.

   Jae led Catalina towards her as everyone greeted them.

   "I saved you a seat," Eun-Byul smiled before she turned to Catalina. "Nice to finally meet you. I like your dress, it's so pretty, where'd you get it?"

   Catalina smiled. "Um, online. I'll send you the link, they have a bunch of pretty dresses."

   "Yes please!" Eun-Byul smiled as they all sat down at the table. The first few minutes were slightly awkward and tension driven. It was the first time Catalina had seen his parents since they'd left the previous year.

   "How was your school year, Catalina?" Cecilia asked, her head tilting. "Jae tells me your staying for another year?"

   Catalina shyly nodded. "Yes, I still need to finish up my minor...but my school year went well. I got good marks all around which I'm very proud of."

   Eun-Byul leaned closer to Catalina. "Jae says you work, what do you do?"

   "Oh, I just work part-time at a restaurant."

   "Really? Is it fun?"

   "Yes, I guess so. But rush hour is hectic."

   Eun-Byul nodded and went back to ordering her food.

   "Are you planning on applying to graduate school afterwards?" Jae's father asked, setting his menu aside after having made up his mind.

   Catalina looked back up from her menu. "I think I'll be going straight into the workforce after. I'm not really sure what I'd be focusing on if I were to take graduate studies."

   Without much conversation, they ordered their food and ate their meal. In fact, Catalina had thought it much more awkward than when they'd first met. Maybe it was because they thought that they'd actually broken up and gotten back together. Catalina found it wrong that Jae didn't come clean with his parents, but Jae had convinced her it was for the best.

   "If you'll excuse me," Catalina set her napkin down, "I have to go to the washroom."

   "I'll go with you!" Eun-Byul stood from the table as well and followed Catalina. Once they were well away from the table, she sighed. "Sorry about my parents, they can be so...ugh."

   Catalina turned to her. "Oh, it's completely okay. I mean, I understand where they're coming from."

   Eun-Byul rolled her eyes. "That doesn't mean they have to be so cold. Anyway, I hope you don't think we're all like that."

   "Oh no, of course not. By the way, your English is spectacular."

   "Thank you! I'm top of my class. But enough about me," she pushed the bathroom door open, "is Jae treating you well?"

   "Yes, of course, he is."

   "Well, you just tell me when he slips up and I'll," she clenched her fist, "set him straight."

   Catalina giggled. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind. So, you're starting school here in the fall, right?"

   "Yup. I'm excited. From what Jae has told me, it'll be fun."

   "Don't get too excited," Catalina smiled, "you still have to study hard and be on top of your schoolwork."

   "I will!" Eun-Byul pushed her long black hair over her shoulder. "You know Cat, you're pretty cool. I like you."

   "Really?"

   "Well, you make my brother happy, and that makes me happy. Plus, he told me about the time you stood up to one of your customers, that was cool!"

   "That wasn't much," Catalina chuckled, "the man was being bratty."

   Eun-Byul hooked her arm around Catalina's as they exited the bathroom. "Jae told me you like dogs? Do you know we have one back in Korea? I think we're going to bring her over because my parents aren't really fond of dogs. I hope you get to meet her."

   Catalina smiled. "I'd love to!"

   "Eomma! Cat, Jae and I are going to the lake with his friends now, so we'll see you at home?" Eun-Byul sat down at the table. "We're going to play minigolf!"

   "We are?" Catalina tilted her head, glancing at Jae.

   Jae simply smiled.

   "Well, please be home at a reasonable hour, remember." Cecilia offered a somewhat forced smile. "Don't be too late."

   "We won't!" Eun-byul grabbed her coat from her seat and pulled at her brother's sleeve. "We'll see you later!"

   "It was an honour to see you both again. Thank you for the dinner, I had a wonderful time." Catalina bowed and they all bid a quick farewell before Eun-byul pulled her and Jae towards the exit of the restaurant.

   Catalina glanced at Jae. "Why didn't you tell me we were going mini-golfing?" She asked, tilting her head.

   "It was a surprise." He nudged her. "C'mon now, Drea, Danny and Maddie are waiting for us."

~~~

   "Cat!" Madeline ran towards her, practically tackling her in a hug. "We're forming teams! Now that there an even number of us, I want to be your partner!"

   Eun-byul whined. "Can I be Cat's partner?"

   Catalina smiled. "Of course you can!"

   Madeline pouted and pulled away from Catalina. "Fine, then I'm teaming up with Jae!"

   "Nope! Jae and I are already partners," Andrea spoke up.

   "Awnnn..." Madeline frowned.

   "What?" Daniel lifted a brow as they all walked to the cashier. "You don't want to be my partner?"

   "It's not that... you're just not the best at mini-golf." She pouted.

   "Hey." Eun-byul wrapped her arm around Catalina's. "Do you mind if I call you eonni?"

   "Um, sure, what does it mean?"

   "Big sister, you know, I've always wanted to have an older sister; not that Jae isn't fun or anything." She shrugged. "It's just that I always thought it would be nice if there was someone to do my hair, or help me with boy troubles, or just talk to about...well, girl things!"

   "I'd love to! But I'm not so good with doing braids or anything," Catalina giggled. "Sorry."

   "It's cool! I can teach you!" The younger of the two chirped. "I can't wait to spend more time with you!"

   Catalina smiled.

   "We have to make sure we win!" Eun-byul grinned. "That way we can rub it in Jae's face."

   "Of course we'll win."

   This was the happiest Catalina had been in months. It was nice that her friends had all gotten along and that they were so welcoming of Eun-byul. Whatever fear or anxiety she had had about Eun-byul dissipated when they met. Catalina couldn't wait to grow more as a friend, a person, and most importantly; as Jae's girlfriend. Since she was his first girlfriend, she vowed to be the best damn girlfriend he'd ever have and his parents would ever meet. She wanted to show him how much fun it would be to come out of his shell and also work on himself.

   Catalina looked back at Jae and watched as he laughed at some joke Danny had said. She felt warmth wash over her. She couldn't be anymore happier.

~~~

author's note

thank you for all your support guys!
I hope you are all staying safe in these troubling times
and everything is going well for you!
please take good care of yourselves guys!
love you all to bits!

thank you for supporting my story up to this point!
i really wasn't sure if people would even like it or
read it but I'm so glad you all enjoyed it and followed
it up to it's last breath! Thank you sooooo much!
Your support really meant so much to me. Thank you!

I pray you will all be well! Take good care and be very careful!

sincerely,

-aleja.x