Indebted...

Part-8

Jungkook's pov

Sunday afternoon, I blew out a breath when Sam pulled up in front of my foster parents' house. He and Taehyung had picked me up on the way to the barbecue. A few cars were parked nearby, including papa's, Jin hyung's, and-ugh-Hiah's.

I looked at Taehyung, whose thumbs were tapping away on his phone. He seemed utterly relaxed. But then, of course he was. He wouldn't be feeling the standard "meeting the parents" pressure. It wouldn't matter to him if my family liked him or not. He didn't need it to matter. He only needed them to buy that we were a happy couple.

"We're here," I told him.

He briefly looked up, but his thumbs didn't still. "So I see." A few moments later, he finally pocketed his phone. "You ready?"

"Yes. Are you? Because they're going to quiz you and study you and watch every move you make. And considering you plan to marry me in a few days"-cue stomach roll- "you're going to need to convince these people that you care for me so that the elopement isn't too much of a shock for them."

"You're not telling me anything I don't already know. Now come on, let's go."

"Wait, one more thing. You should know that eomma and appa's daughter, Hiah, is going to flirt with you. Like a lot."

He frowned. "Why, when she believes I'm with you?"

"Being a bitch is kind of her thing. If you show the slightest bit of interest in her, they'll write you off as no good for me."

"Understood."

We both exited the car. By the time he'd joined me on my side of the vehicle, his demeanor had changed. Gone was the cool, curt, indifferent male I worked for. In his place was a guy who looked open and easygoing, and I was confident that he'd fool every person waiting to meet him. And that made me feel like utter shit. I was going to let him play these people-most of whom I cared for. Hell, I would be playing them as well

"Did you ever take acting classes?" I asked him quietly.

He threw me a slight frown. "No." Slipping into another person's skin apparently just came naturally to him, then.

Into the backyard, Music played, but it wasn't too loud to override the sounds of chatter, laughter, and the grill spluttering. The warm air was laced with the scents of smoke, beer, charred meat, and the various foods on the patio table.

Papa, appa, and Joon hyung stood near the grill, deep in conversation. Jun was playing tug of war with Ranger-both were gripping an old frisbee tight. Soaking up a drink spill on the table with a clump of napkins, eomma talked with her elderly neighbor, Nancy-who often invited herself to her neighbor's get-togethers. Jin hyung lounged on a chair, sipping soda, nodding along to whatever eomma was saying. Hiah stood off to one side with her friend, Ha-Jun, who was just as much of a bitch as Hiah. Well, like often called to like.

Ma-ri spotted us first."There you two are." She crossed to us, pulled me into a hug, and then eyed Taehyung with a smile. "You're taller than I expected. And just as hot as Jinnie told me you were."

I sighed. "Taehyung-sshi, this is my eomma Ma-ri. She'll remember her manners in a few minutes."

Taehyung's mouth curved. "I'd like to say Jungkook talks about you all the time, but it's more like I have to sneakily coax stories out of him."

Eomma nodded. "Our Kookie's not one to entertain people with life stories, but I have plenty about him that I think you'll find fascinating."

I groaned. "You promised me you wouldn't do this."