Yongguk had this bad habit of springing up notices on her unannounced. He simply popped in his head early in the morning as she was brushing her teeth. “Oh yeah, I’m going to go to the airport to pick up my family. My parents and my siblings are coming.”

            Roffy dropped her toothbrush into the sink and stared at him with toothpaste foam all over . He pointed at her. “You might want to rinse first before you speak,” he reminded her kindly, smiling boyishly because he knew he was about to get in trouble.

            Roffy the faucet and rinsed , swishing the water around furiously as she continued to glare at him. Yongguk gulped and waved. “I gotta go.”

            She spat out the water. She shouted at the top of her lungs because she knows he could hear her.  “After they leave, I swear, I’m not going to let you into the house!”

            It wasn’t that his family was scary. They have met before, before the wedding and his mother had loved her. His sister was also really cool, and his twin brother was a less gummy version of Yongguk, but just as sweet. The problem was she was not prepared and she knew she should have a meal ready for when they came.

            Roffy contemplated chickening out and blaming Yongguk for the short notice but knew that the impression left would be a poor one. And so she called as many of her friends over to help her. However, the only one available was Jill. The two of them stared at one another and Roffy seethed.

            “He stresses me out so much sometimes,” she was complaining as her friend flipped through a Korean recipe book.

            “What do you think of making dukbokki?”

            “No, that’s too common. She’ll think I put no effort into it. What do you normally make for Daehyun?”

            At this question, Jill shot her a look. “Do not mention cooking and Daehyun in the same sentence. It makes me want to strangle him. He eats everything, and he eats a lot. So cooking for him is like cooking for a family of four.”

            Roffy giggled and took the book. “How about we make a meat dish and then some pancakes? That should be good, right?”

            Her friend lifted a bag and placed it on the table. “My mom also made kimchi so we can pretend that it’s yours.”

            Together, the two of them started to make a meat and noodle dish. Roffy glanced at the clock. “I don’t know when Yongguk will be home.” They had been working for an hour.

            “The pancakes are almost done,” came Jill’s voice as she flipped them over and placed them onto a plate. She took out a small bowl and poured the sauce for them in. Roffy wiped the sweat off her face and quickly placed all the food on the table, using saran wrap to keep them warm.

            “I’m going to go shower quickly and look presentable.”

            Roffy finished just in time. As she came downstairs, hurriedly running a brush through her hair, she heard Yongguk, or was that Yongnam’s, voice. “Something smells delicious.” It was definitely Yongnam. The voice was slightly deeper and she could see Yongguk still in the car struggling with the luggage.

            Roffy stepped out and greeted her mother-in-law. Yongguk’s mother forwent all pretenses and kissed her on the cheek, hugging her. “Did you make food?”

            She nodded and the older woman beamed. “Of course our son made a good choice.” Her English was a little broken but not enough that Roffy couldn’t understand her. Natasha and Yongnam also said their greetings and Yongguk finally came in, huffing as he brought the suitcase in.

            “My mom is only staying today. They’re all going to stay with my uncle in Los Angeles, so they just decided to drop by today.”

            Roffy smiled tightly. Good. She could kill Yongguk tomorrow then. She turned her annoyance into a gracious laugh as she brought them into the kitchen. As Roffy went to get another set of plates, Yongguk sidled up to her.

            “You are a miracle worker,” he whispered to her.

            She purposely stepped on his foot. “And a murderer.”

            He blinked innocently at her and his mother walked in on them and smiled slyly. “Oh is there baby news on the way?” And to emphasize her point, she made a cradle with her arms and continued to grin almost evilly at them as the two of them instantly became unified in their embarrassment.