red string | jay

forty three

it was another weekend and the plan was to have dinner at ina's place, jay's parents had driven directly to the house after work while jay was going to come over later.

as he drove to her place, he didn't know what he was feeling but it was a mix of nervousness and excitement.

they'd been dating for three days and now he had to pretend in front of his parents and hers that they tolerated each other.

he sighed and looked at the fresh fruit cake on the passenger seat, the one his mom had insisted for him to bring.

he parked the car and walked to the door with the cake in his hand, he rang the doorbell and waited for someone to open the door.

after a few seconds the door opened revealing ina dressed in her usual silk pyjamas, she smiled before looking back to see if anyone was there

she quickly pecked his lips as his eyes widened, "we're taking the bold approach i see" he smirked as she chuckled and let him in.

"that was to give both of us strength to pretend to hate each other tonight" she said as they walked side to side into the living room

"did i just hear the kim ina admit that she doesn't hate me" jay smirked as she rolled her eyes

"you're really dumb" she muttered as he chuckled and greeted the parents before placing the cake on the dining table

the dinner went amazing, everyone was joking and chatting with each other like usual, the dads discussing gardening techniques while the moms talked about how their businesses were going meanwhile jay and ina were working hard to keep their act alive.

after they were done with the dinner, ina stood up "i'll bring the cake"

"i'll help, just in case you drop it or something" he smirked as she scoffed, "i'll drop it on you"

they walked in the kitchen and ina took out the cake, starting to make slices.

"this is so boring i thought we were gonna have a hot makeout session in here" jay said leaned over the counter as she gave him an amused look.

"over my dead body are we having a makeout session in my kitchen, the parents are literally right there" ina said as jay sighed dramatically.

"what's a boyfriend gotta do to get a kiss from his girlfriend around here" he declares as ina shook her head with a smile.

seeing her not budge at all, jay placed a kiss on her forehead in one swift motion

she widened her eyes, "you are gonna get us caught" she whispered as he shrugged with a smile.

ten minutes later, with the cake cut neatly in slices, they walked out to see their parents sitting at the dining table with their arms folded and a serious expression on their faces.

jay and ina hesistated and gave each other a look

ina let out a nervous chuckle, "what's up guys? why are you so serious all of a sudden?"

"take a seat, both of you" ina's dad gestured them to sit and they quietly followed his words.

ina placed the cake in front of her and took a seat, jay doing the same, they didn't look at each other once.

jay's dad's eyes flickered from ina to jay before he asked, "do yoh have anything to tell us?"

jay gulped, "no?" it came out more as a question

his father's eyes flickered to ina as she shook her head without a word.

"well we know" it was jay's mother who spoke up this time, giving the two a sharp look.

their heads whipped up in sync, "know what?" jay asked as ina nervously waited to hear a reply.

"we know about you two, how long has this been going on?" ina's dad asked as he looked between ina ans jay

ina gulped, "how did-"

"i saw you two, in the kitchen" jay's dad said as ina's head dropped, jay slapped his hand on his forehead.

"i told you we'd get caught" she muttered to him as he just shook his head.

"how long?" ina's dad arched an eyebrow.

"three days, uncle i swear we were gonna-"

"but you didn't, did you? do you both have any idea how much this is gonna complicate things?" ina's mother asked as the two kept their heads down.

before their thoughts could spiral any more, they heard laughter and shot their heads up to look at all four of their parents laughing.

"you should've seen your faces" jay's mom wheezed as they all laughed

"who does that?" ina shrieked as jay laughed throwing his head back.

"we do" jay's dad shrugged as ina glared at the four but she was beyond relieved.

"we're happy for you, just don't traumatize us with the kitchen thing again please" ina's mother shot them a warm smile as jay and ina looked at each other with relief.

jay smiled and leaned forward on the table "wait so are we like getting the official blessings?"

"of course, we've been waiting for this since you both started middle school" jay's mother beamed at them as the husbands chuckled.

"oh yes, your moms have been planning your wedding ever since the first day of middle school pretty much" ina's dad said as everyone laughed.

and so the evening continued with a lot of teasing and a lot of reminiscing

and in the midst of it all jay held ina's hand and traced small circles on her palm while ina tried not to smile like a fucking idiot.