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Heejae sipped on her lemon ginger tea slowly, the smell and taste of it soothing her queasy stomach. Her spine was rigid straight as she sat in a cafe, Yoongi beside her looking more anxious that she had ever seen him. She shared his anxiety and made her sip her tea thirstily.

She had been in presence of big celebrities before, intimidating businesspeople who could tear apart the weak without remorse. And yet, she had never felt this kind of anxiety sitting infront the aged couple, Yoongi's parents.

Mrs. Min's gaze was unemotional and scrutinizing as she looked over at Heejae. Mr. Min on the other hand didn't look that opposed or repulsed by the news their son had just delivered. Mrs. Min truly scared her and made Heejae wish the woman would say something.

As if hearing her inner thoughts, the lady opened her mouth. "What did you see in my son?"

Heejae's jaw dropped at the unexpected question and from the corner of her eye, she saw Yoongi covering his face with his hand. With her heart pounding in her chest, she wiped her sweaty hands against her jeans and smiled a little uncertainly. "I'm not sure what you mean by that, Mrs. Min."

The woman sighed. "I mean exactly what I said. You look like a good, hardworking girl. Why would you go for this brat instead of someone better?"

Heejae's hand flew to her mouth, her shoulders sagging in relief strangely. The older woman's word made her want to laugh out loud but she stopped herself by biting down on the pad of her forefinger. Yoongi on the other hand groaned loudly, slamming his hand down on the table.

"What do you mean by brat? Haven't I been a good son to you?" he asked, annoyed while his mother scrunched her face at him. "Good son my foot. Which good son doesn't call his parents for months and when he does he drops the news that he made a woman pregnant? You could have at least introduced her to us before thinking about marriage and kids."

"It wasn't planned, mom, I told you that. We weren't even in a relationship."

"He's right, Mrs. Min," Heejae hurried to support Yoongi. "We had broken up and we really didn't expect something like this to happen. It might be a mistake but we don't want to treat this as one. We just want your support and blessings."

The woman shared a glance with her husband seemingly communicating through eyes. The man leaned forward and opened his mouth for the first time since they dropped the news. "What about your band?" he asked looking at his son. "You kids have worked hard for where you are today. This is going to affect them, isn't it?"

"It won't," Heejae answered on Yoongi's behalf. "We've decided to keep it a secret. Yoongi will be part of our life but to the outer world, he'll look like a friend helping another friend. No harm done."

"What do you mean by friend?" Mrs. Min asked with narrowed eyes. "How can you keep your marriage hidden?"

Heejae had to grit her teeth hearing that word again and if it wasn't for the firm grip of Yoongi's hand on her thigh, she might have lost her cool. But she stayed steady as she answered, "We are not getting married, Mrs. Min. We are parenting this child but we won't be together."

"But why?" Yoongi's father asked, "Didn't you say you two were in a relationship before?"

"We were, sir but with all due respect, I don't want to be stuck in a loveless marriage. Yoongi will have all rights as a father but we won't be tied down to each other. This way, we have a chance at finding love and being happy."

"You agree with this?" the father asked and Yoongi could only nod. His mother scoffed, crossing her arms as she looked at the young to be parents. "This is unbelievable! Do you really think things can work out so easily? Who would be even willing to marry you knowing you had a child out of wedlock? Yoongi will have no problem finding someone else but this world isn't merciful to women."

"I know that very well, Mrs. Min," Heejae replied with a bitter smile, her voice strong. "And it is my choice to do this. I know what I am doing and if a man rejects me because of this, it's his loss. I don't need a man to support me financially anyway."

Silence fell over the table once again, the sounds of the outside world a dull beat in the background as the four people contemplated things over. Heejae understood if his parents decided to disregard her completely and didn't want to keep any connection with her. Who was she to expect anything from them anyway?

Mrs. Min finally sighed, breaking the silence. "I like your conviction and you are an adult to take your own decisions. We won't force you to do anything you don't want to but we would like to be involved as grandparents too."

Heejae's eyes widened, seeking Yoongi's as they smiled at each other, their hands tightening around each other's. "Thank you, mom and dad. Really, thank you." The elderly couple smiled at their son, feeling a relief to see him smiling the way he was.

"No need to thank us when you should be apologizing for being so careless. You too," the mother said, looking over at Heejae who bowed slightly. "Guess we'll have to start making frequent trips to Seoul now."

"I don't mind it," Mr. Min said looking strangely happy as he looked at his wife and said, "You can take the train to come and go. It's easier that way." This time Heejae couldn't stop her giggle as she watched the woman glaring at her husband who seemed to gulp nervously avoiding looking at her.

In an attempt to change the subject, Mr. Min looked at the young woman asked, "What about your family? Have you informed them yet?" Heejae's smile fell as she looked down. "Not yet. My parents said they didn't have time till next weekend, so we will be going there next week."

"Not to bad mouth them or anything," Mrs. Min said with a sad face, "but they should take out some time if their daughter is asking to meet them." Heejae could only laugh it off not wanting to make it any awkward. Thankfully Yoongi interjected just then, reminding her of a meeting she had to attend today with his company staff. She quickly bid her farewell, promising his mother that she'd call her if anything happened.

Yoongi watched Heejae walk away with a small smile he didn't even realise he had on his lips but his parents noticed. They also noticed how gentle he behaved with her. Maybe it was because she was pregnant but they could sense that their son's feelings ran deeper for that woman.

"You like her, don't you?" Yoongi's father asked as soon as Heejae was gone. Yoongi choked on his coffee and coughed a little too much to hide his true reactions.

"I don't," he replied after a moment, still not meeting his father's eyes. The old man chuckled, sharing a glance with his wife. "Don't lie, Yoongi. At least not to yourself. Try making her feel the same for you too and she might just agree to marrying you in the future. We like her."

Yoongi shook his head, his face feeling too warm as he grumbled something under his breath and left his parents to their devices under the pretence of going back to work. Even if he did admit his feelings, he knew how stubborn Heejae could be. Negotiating with her was truly hard and he wasn't a businessman to know how to negotiate. He was just a man, still finding it hard to believe he was going to be a father and wanted do his best for everyone.

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