He sighs, relieved, and I force myself to swallow my bitter revelation. He returns to his sandwich with gusto, but I find that I am hardly hungry anymore. 

I stand, returning the contents of my plate to the kitchen. Away from Jeonguk's sight, I nearly break down. I fight the sobs that threaten to overwhelm me as I push my sandwich into the trashcan, but by the time I've stored away my unopened bag of chips, I am in control. 

One of the most useful skills I've ever had to learn, I'd argue, is one that I was taught when my mother was diagnosed with cancer. 

Be strong. 

When everyone else was falling to pieces, I remained stoic, and unchanging. If anything, I'd developed an even brighter smile, shining as clearly as possible for my father, and my brother. I'd taken the role of mother then too, and it was then that I'd learned to shed my tears in silence. My brother needed a shoulder to cry on, and my father was barely strong enough to keep himself together.

I'd had to be strong.

I can do that now too.

"Hey noona!" He exclaims, voicing finding it's way to my kitchen before his body does. 

By the time he arrives, I'm already smiling again.

"What's up?" I query.

"I got a message from Jin-hyung, I've gotta go check in at home, " he explains sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly as he looks in any direction but mine.

"Oh, " I murmur softly, "you should go then."

He gives me a questioning look for a moment, but it is gone just as quickly as it'd arrived. 

"Thing is, " he mutters miserably, "Jin-hyung wants you to come too. He wants to 'properly thank you' for taking care of me."

"If it makes you uncomfortable, I can just decline, " I say, watching as Jeonguk visibly shivers in response.

"No, Jin will kill me, " he shudders, "I'd really prefer it if you would just come along quietly."

He cracks a toothy grin, mood suddenly shifting to something playful.

I grab my bag as Jeonguk gathers his things. Once we have put our shoes on once more, we exit the house. Jeonguk waits patiently for me to lock my front door, and then, we amble down the stairs.

Our timing is impeccable.

Just as we arrive at the bus stop, the bus itself pulls in, and we hop of quickly.  As we sit huddled together, Jeonguk explains the route to his house to me, pointing all of the stops out on the little map located on the back of the bus's pamphlets.

The journey requires only three bus changes, though he lives a little further way from the city than I am used to traversing. Half-way through the final bus's route, the city buildings give way to trees, and fanciful homes.

The further in we go, however, the older many of the houses seem to be. 

Jeonguk merely stares out of the window in silence, at least until his eyes flash with the recognition of our surroundings, and he realizes that we are near our final stop.

His nerves seem to increase tenfold, causing me to feel jittery as well.

What if they don't like me?

I shake my head, ridiculing myself internally. That's not even why I'm here, so it doesn't matter. And point of fact, Jeonguk seemed to be totally against me meeting his family only a short while ago.

As we exit the bus, I take in my surroundings. 

Many of the homes here are beautiful, and breath-takingly intricate. But they are also incredibly old. Old money, that's what Dad would have called it.

You'd have to be incredibly rich to live in a place like this, but also, probably incredibly stubborn.

I follow Jeonguk just down the road, to one of the largest homes in the area. There is a high wall of shrubbery around the estate, and Jeonguk swallows nervously, and opens the white, metal gate. He holds it open for me to proceed, and I am shocked to discover what lies inside.

From beyond the fence, I'd only been able to see the ivy covered pinnacle of the elaborate roof, and a couple columns, replete with flowered, climbing plants.

But now I see that this place, while enormous in size, feels incredibly homey as well. 

Jeonguk leads me from the yard to the front door, and I marvel at the thing's size. It's nearly twice as tall as him or I, and carved out of such beautifully dark wood. I wonder for a moment whether it might take two people to open this door, but Jeonguk opens it as easily as if it weighed nothing at all. 

He ushers me inside first, and then scurries inside himself. After removing our shoes at the door, he leads me into the hallway and down two doors. Once there, he places a nervous hand on the door to the left, and turns to face me.

"Look, " he says anxiously, "my family can be a little weird sometimes and I-"

I cut him off.

"Didn't you say that I'm part of your family now? Surely that means I must be a little weird myself."

I smile, hoping that if I show myself to be at ease, he will too. But, in truth, I am anything but.

He does smile, however, and reaches forward with his free hand to grasp my smaller one, folding it into his own.

Without another word, he opens the door, and we match inside.

I take in the fancy stove, and the gleaming silver fridge, and realize that I have stepped into a kitchen. Before the sink stands a man easily as tall as Jeonguk, maybe even slightly taller, with the broadest shoulders I have ever seen. His dark hair shines under the kitchen's lighting as he scours a loud of dishes enthusiastically. 

It would seem that the dining room and kitchen are somewhat attached, because the island on which the sink is located is actually a part of what looks to be a small bar. Stools are placed in a line against the side opposite the man washing the dishes, and upon them rests a handful of strangers.

I'm suddenly not quite sure I can maintain my own nervousness anymore.

One of the strangers, dark eyed and straight-faced, spots me and scowls softly. He gestures for the dishwasher to turn around, and I feel my heart drop into my stomach as he does just that.

The man is gorgeous. And honestly, that might be a vast understatement.

"Hey!" He greets cheerfully, drying his hands off with his apron before pushing one forward for me to shake. "You remember me right? I'm Jin."

I motion to take his proffered hand with my own free one, but Jeonguk begins squeezing my other so tightly that I give pause.

Jin seems to notice our interlocked hands, and whereas before I hadn't even thought about it, I am now utterly mortified. I blush brightly, and attempt to remove my hand from Jeonguk's. I look up to find that he is regarding his brother strangely, as if he weren't holding anyone's hand, or doing anything particularly noteworthy. 

To the contrary though, my hand is truly beginning to hurt.

Jin drops his hand in understanding, and flashes a knowing smile.

"I invited you over because I wanted to thank you, " he tells me, genuine gratitude gleaming in his eyes. "You barely know my little brother, and had no reason to put him up for a night, but you did anyway. I hear you even fed him well, you have my gratitude. I know how much the brat can eat!"

Jin laughs jovially, even as Jeonguk mutters indignantly. 

And then, the lightness of the mood drains slowly from the air around us, only to be replaced by something a little more somber. Jin regards Jeonguk seriously, and I eye the three men behind the bar whispering animated amongst themselves.

"I need you to go talk to your brother, " Jin demands. "I know that he stepped out of line, no one is denying that. But he is your brother, and damn it, he loves you."

Jeonguk nods reluctantly, jaw clenched right as he releases my fingers. I watch him walk away, wondering if I'm supposed to follow him, or stay where I am. 

"I've never seen Jeonguk so taken with anyone outside of the family, " Jin reveals softly.

I turn to face him, only to discover that the group of men are gone, and it is now only Jin and I. 

"It's incredible, and I hope that maybe it's some real progress for him, but I think there's some things you should know." He continues gravely. "Our parents died when Jeonguk was very little, and he barely remembers the tragedy that caused it, though he was actually there the night of the accident. He was the lone survivor. Eomma might have survived, but she shielded Jeonguk from the worst of blast, and died as a result."

I can find no words to express my sympathies, no voice to portray my sorrow properly. 

Instead, I follow Jin as he leads me to another room. The door that is opened this times reveals a cozy living room with a crackling fire in the fireplace, and a handful of bookshelves.

"Namjoon likes to read, " he offers by way of explanation, gesturing to the books scattered about as we sit upon the couch.

I nod awkwardly, and Jin continues.

"Jeonguk hasn't been able to speak to a woman without freaking out for a long time, as long as we can remember. I'm absolutely amazed that you have managed to get around that. But, I think you should know that it's probable Jeonguk sees you as a mother figure."

I nod quietly, and then leave my head down, hoping to hide the tears that I can't seem to stop from gathering in the corners of my eyes.