For the Weekend

Do-yun went home soon after. Alex couldn't make it. He was never really interested in their outings and only went there because Do-yun was his best friend. In-hye had been extremely happy to see Do-yun back that early. He usually came home later.

"Oh! You're home early. Did everything go well today?" In-hye asked, while trying to hide her excitement. Do-yun just smiled and shook his head. "Everything ended early enough today" he said. He had tried not to look disappointed, but he really had been hoping to spend some time with Alex as well.

In-hye noticed the fake smile on his face and the attempt to hide his disappointment. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked.

Do-yun looked at In-hye and smiled. "I'm okay, really. It's just been a long day. I just want to eat some dinner and relax," he said. He walked over to the kitchen and opened the fridge. In-hye followed him. "Do you want me to make you something?" she asked.

Do-yun turned to In-hye with a grateful smile. "You don't have to. I can make something for myself. You go relax and watch your show," he said. He knew that In-hye loved to watch her favorite soap opera after work. He also knew that she was always offering to cook for him, but he didn't want her to have to do that all the time. He wanted her to be able to relax as well.

In-hye hesitated for a moment, but then she nodded. "Okay, I'll go watch my show. But I'll leave some snacks out for you in case you get hungry," she said. Do-yun smiled. "Thank you, In-hye," he said. He watched her leave the kitchen and then turned his attention back to the food in the fridge. He took out some leftovers and started heating them up.

The smell of food filled the kitchen, and soon Do-yun was sitting at the table, eating his dinner. The food was simple, but it was delicious. It was something In-hye had made in the morning, but he hadn't eaten it then because he had a client scheduled for eight am.

"Hun?"

Do-yun lifted his head to meet In-hye's eyes, his brows raised. She grinned a toothy grin, her eyes bright like she was hiding a secret behind them. He waited for her to speak for a while, but she just kept on smiling.

"What's up?" He prodded, his mouth half-filled with food. He swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing. In-hye did a sultry walk to the kitchen island where her husband sat.

"I have good news"

Her smile already gave that away. In-hye had no way of hiding her emotions or what was on her mind.

"What good news?" He had put down his chopsticks and was staring at her with an equally mischievous grin.

"Make a guess"

Do-yun rolled his eyes. He had never made right guesses before and In-hye knew that. She just suggested that so he'd be frustrated. He already was.

"I can't make a guess" He even added air quotes for extra effect.

"Just try for once, Yunnie" she whined.

Do-yun mentally rolled his eyes. Why was she making it hard for him. She should just go ahead and say what's on her mind he found himself thinking.

"You..." he trailed off, hoping she would complete the sentence for him. When she didn't, he decided to say any random thing that came to his head.

"...bought a new sports car?"

He knew very well that In-hye wasn't into cars as much as he was. He wasn't even that into cars either. When In-hye let out a long-suffering sigh, he couldn't help chuckling.

"Keep on guessing" she urged him on.

"Okay okay okay. You got a promotion at work?"

"You're wrong"

"Are you pregnant?" His eyes lit up in excitement at the prospect of being a father. He really loved kids, and although they agreed to wait a few years and In-hye was on the pill, he had a little hope that she would be.

"Guess again" she urged him on. Do-yun appeared to be thoughtful for a while, his gaze travelling to the ceiling which was clean and shiny without any traces of spiderwebs. In off A cold breeze blew past him and he shivered slightly. A hooting sound accompanied the cold air.

"I'm done guessing. My brain is literally foggy. I doubt I could even tell you what colour of shirt I have on right now"

"You're no fun, Hun. Oooh, I just rhymed!" She did a little jump accompanied by a fist pump. "I should've gone ahead to become a rapper, or an idol"

"Well then, you'd be the prettiest idol there is"

In-hye replied with a roll of the eyes. "I already know that. But just take another guess"

Do-yun appeared to be thoughtful once more, but he couldn't figure out what the surprise could be. Their life was usually the same, so he had to think of something out of the ordinary. In-hye was slowly losing her patience anyway, and Do-yun knew it was a matter of seconds before she would go ahead and tell him. All he needed to do was pretend he was in deep thought for a while.

"You're horrible at guessing games. You should be ashamed of yourself."

She shook her head with a playful frown. Despite what she said, Do-yun knew he had won. She was going to tell him.

"Mum and dad are buying a house in Incheon" Her eyes were still bright because that was not everything. She wanted to give him the good news bit by bit.

"Oh," he was a bit disappointed "that's good for them"

He had no idea why she would make a big deal out of it. People bought houses in different places and it wasn't that special.

"That's not all," she continued. "Since Incheon and Seoul are really close, I invited them to come over to the house and spend the weekend with us"

Do-yun, who had been eating his food with a lot of enthusiasm, lost all good appetite. How on earth was that good news? He let go of the chopsticks and they dropped into the bowl with a splash.

"What? You're not excited about it?" In-hye prodded.

"Actually, I am very excited" He faked a smile, but the smile wouldn't have fooled anyone, and definitely did not fool In-hye. The smile didn't even last more than a second.

He picked up his bowl of short rib soup and made his way to the pristine white refrigerator. Opening it, he put the bowl inside and shut it.

"You're not happy?" Her face fell. He didn't reply. He just walked to the living room and changed the TV channel to another station. A true crime documentary was on at the time and he decided to watch it. In-hye followed him. While he sat on the three-seater sofa, she propped herself on the arm of one of the other sofas.

"If you don't like the idea, I can just call them up now and tell them not to come" she suggested.

Do-yun sighed. What a great idea that would be. Just go ahead and tell your parents that your husband doesn't want them to come over. He tilted his head to face her, this time with a more realistic smile than the previous one that actually fooled In-hye.

"It's not that I don't like the idea. I just feel it would've been better if we had talked about this first, before inviting them over"

In-hye frowned at his words. "I didn't think it would be an issue. We always have people over for dinner. We've had the Kangs, your friends from college, and your colleagues. Why is it so different if my parents come over?"

"That was for dinner, not to spend the entire weekend with us" Do-yun and In-hye's parents never really got along.

"Anyway, don't bother calling them. They can come over. And I'm not mad. It's just that your parents don't really like me" he added when In-hye had been quiet for a while.

"They do like you. It's just the way older people are. They seem generally unfriendly to us young people" she explained.

Do-yun was sure her parents' attitude had nothing to do with their age, but he didn't want to argue. Instead, he said, "Alright, they can come. I'll try to make it work. It's just a bit of a surprise, that's all."

In-hye smiled, relieved that Do-yun was willing to give it a chance. "Thank you, babe. I promise, it'll be a great weekend. We'll all get along just fine."

As Do-yun turned his attention back to the true crime documentary on TV, he couldn't help but feel a sense of dread mixed with curiosity about the upcoming weekend.