The meal stretched into soft chatter and light bursts of laughter. Hana answered A-ri's questions with practiced calm, though every polite smile masked the restless flutter of her nerves. Kai, on the other hand, barely touched his plate—fork dragging across porcelain, his short replies betraying the storm still simmering inside him.
By the time dessert arrived, the air had softened. A-ri dabbed her lips with a linen napkin, her gaze sharp yet inviting as it landed on Hana.
"So, Hana… tell me about yourself."
Hana straightened, fingers lacing neatly in her lap. "Well… I grew up in Damyang-gun. I went to middle and high school there before moving to Seoul for college. My mom thought it would be good for me to… change environments."
"And your mother now?" A-ri asked.
"She's in the Netherlands. My sister-in-law is pregnant, and she likes my mom close whenever she's expecting. So my mother traveled over to help."
A-ri's lips curved knowingly. "How sweet. She must love your mother very dearly."
"She does," Hana replied softly, her smile trembling but sincere.
A-ri leaned back, eyes glinting. "I hope we get along just as well. Especially when you're pregnant—"
Kai nearly spat his dessert across the table. He choked, coughing so violently. Kangsoo nearly dropped his fork in shared shock.
"Are you alright?" A-ri asked, brow lifting, though amusement flickered beneath her calm tone.
Kai grabbed his water, gulping desperately. On one hand, I'm still scrubbing Kang's nonsense from my brain. On the other, my own mother is planting new ones.
"What's the matter?" A-ri pressed, feigning innocence. "You don't plan on giving me a grandchild?"
Kai sputtered again, voice breaking. "C-Can we not talk about that? You're making Hana uncomfortable." His glance darted toward Hana—only to find her crimson, lips parted in a stunned silence. He mistook it for embarrassment. What he didn't see was the truth—her chest tightening, her pulse racing, her blush too deep to hide.
A-ri clucked her tongue. "No, no, no. You two must learn to speak of such things. You're married—what's there to be shy about?"
Kangsoo cleared his throat to shift the spotlight, but A-ri's sharp gaze speared him next. "And you, Kang. Old enough to wed—yet you bring no one home?"
Kangsoo gave a sheepish laugh. "Not anytime soon. I'm not ready."
"You boys will be the death of me," A-ri muttered, shaking her head. Her eyes slid back to Hana, whose fingers trembled against the hem of her dress. "Come, dear. Let's find you something more fitting. The wedding planners are here already."
"Yes, Mother," Hana whispered, the word slipping out so naturally it startled even her.
A-ri's smile deepened, approval shimmering in her eyes as she rose. Hana stood as well, following quickly.
"I'll come too," Kai said, pushing his chair back with a scrape. "I want to show Hana around."
"I'll accompany Mother then," Kangsoo added.
But Kai was already moving. His hand closed firmly around Hana's, steady, unyielding.
"Let's go," he murmured, his tone low, threaded with finality.
And before permission could be granted, he pulled her away—down the mansion's gleaming corridors, away from prying eyes and the suffocating weight of expectation. His stride was fast, his grip protective. Hana's heart thundered, not from fear this time, but from the intensity of the boy beside her—the one who, for the first time today, made her feel like she wasn't fighting this alone.