Without any surprises, a high-pitched female voice awakened the small town that was already in a resting state.
Not long after, Bae Juhyun found herself accepting several big red envelopes from her future mother-in-law, unable to help but laugh.
Bae Juhyun had already received greeting gift envelopes the first time she came.
And she had also received the envelopes after changing how she addressed them.
This third set of red envelopes...
She initially didn't want to accept them, but unfortunately, Park Jinsuk and Liu Zhengjiang insisted, and the man she could normally rely on was sitting there, pretending it had nothing to do with him, while looking for pig's head meat to eat...
Left with no option, Bae Juhyun could only sweetly thank them and accept, while stealthily giving Liu Xin'an a hard kick under the table.
Don't be fooled by her usual gentle demeanor; when she uses force, it's quite significant.
Luckily, Liu Xin'an has a strong tolerance, remaining calm and continuing to eat his meat, before slowly saying, "This year, for the New Year, Juhyun and I don't plan to come back. We're spending it in Daegu."
Initially, upon hearing they wouldn't come back, Park Jinsuk was a bit puzzled.
But when she heard the name Daegu, she suddenly understood and quickly nodded.
"Yes, yes, yes, don't come back this year. Such a big event... Have you told your parents?"
Bae Juhyun shook her head, without feeling much pressure, and replied with a smile, "I'm planning to tell my parents when I go back this time."
"Alright, alright..."
The elderly couple couldn't stop smiling, clearly thrilled by the news.
———
Of course, for as composed as he was at his own house, at Bae Juhyun's house, Liu Xin'an was that much more restless.
The New Year in 2023 was at the end of January.
To Liu Xin'an, this day was something he both anticipated and approached with trepidation.
He looked forward to the upcoming release of a new installment in the Fire Emblem series after many years.
As for the alarming aspect... naturally, he was nervous about informing his future mother-in-law and father-in-law about his proposal to Bae Juhyun this year.
However, something interesting happened...
"Bro-in-law, what's up?"
Bae Jinhee stared at Liu Xin'an, who was sitting upright, with a perplexed look.
She knew about Liu Xin'an and Bae Juhyun's engagement, but was unaware that they had decided to reveal it to their parents today.
So she was utterly confused by Liu Xin'an's current odd behavior.
"Cough, don't call me that!"
Liu Xin'an lowered his voice and glanced at Park Jinsuk, simultaneously sneaking a look towards the kitchen.
Juhyun's mom had returned and was currently busy in the kitchen with Bae Juhyun.
Even though Bae Juhyun was a glamorous big star outside, at home... she was just a busy eldest daughter who got scolded every day.
Bae's father hadn't returned yet.
Technically, he shouldn't be working today, but when Liu Xin'an and Bae Juhyun arrived in the afternoon, this elder hadn't returned yet either, no one knowing where he went...
Going for a walk?
Does Daegu have this kind of tradition? Liu Xin'an's thoughts began to wander.
"Hmm?"
Bae Jinhee squinted her beautiful eyes, seemingly sensing something interesting.
This unusually evasive Liu Xin'an...
"Did you do something to let my sister down?"
As it turns out, Liu Xin'an's mind was the only one wandering.
Soap opera plots had already taken over Bae Jinhee's brain, so she naturally applied soap opera logic to her sister and brother-in-law.
"?"
Liu Xin'an responded to Bae Jinhee's shock with a facial expression.
Does this woman have a problem in her head, to make such outrageous assumptions?
If he had really done something to let Bae Juhyun down, why would he be coming with her to her house now?
Looking for death?
"Then you..."
"Cough, cough, cough!"
Liu Xin'an interrupted Bae Jinhee's questioning with a cough, the reason being quite simple, since Bae's father, who hadn't come back, finally opened the door.
Bae's father was well aware that his daughter and future son-in-law were visiting today.
And his late return was for a simple reason...
"Dad, did you go buy some alcohol?"
Seeing the items in his future father-in-law's hands, Liu Xin'an quickly went forward to take them.
"Shh!"
"Alcohol? What alcohol?"
Liu Xin'an swore he just wanted to be considerate, but didn't anticipate his flattery going awry, backfiring instead.
As soon as the words were out, Juhyun's mom came rushing out from the frying pan with a spatula, delivering a round of scolding.
Afterwards, Liu Xin'an followed Bae's father anxiously, placed the alcohol he bought in the right spot, and awkwardly sat on the sofa, his gaze falling on the laughing, sofa-pounding Bae Jinhee.
Silence descended, contrasting with the lively chatting of the mother-daughter pair in the kitchen.
Returning home after not seeing her parents for a while excited Bae Juhyun.
At the moment, she was pulling her mother along, incessantly talking about the interesting things that happened recently.
However, when her mother casually mentioned her and Liu Xin'an's future, Bae Juhyun suddenly became much quieter, with a somewhat evasive expression.
At Liu Xin'an's home, it was Liu Xin'an who shared their good news with Park Jinsuk and Liu Zhengjiang.
And before coming over today, she and Liu Xin'an had agreed that she would inform her parents about accepting his proposal.
But when the situation became real, Bae Juhyun, unsurprisingly... got cold feet.
She felt intimidated too!!
Such a significant matter, even though it's good news, is hard for the person involved to bring up.
Mom didn't pay much attention to Bae Juhyun's silence, since every time Juhyun tried to play dumb, she acted like this; mom just assumed her daughter was acting foolishly again and started lecturing.
It wasn't until the whole family sat at the table that Liu Xin'an glanced at Bae's father, then at mom, finally settling his incredulous gaze on Bae Juhyun, prompting her to muster the courage to look at her parents.
"Dad, Mom..."
As soon as she began speaking, the courage she had gathered was immediately overshadowed by her parents' united gaze.
Bae Juhyun steeled herself and pointed at her boyfriend beside her.
"Xin'an has something to say to you!"
And then, she picked up her bowl and dashed into the kitchen, not forgetting to justify her actions: "I'm going to get some soup!"
Well, Liu Xin'an was dumbfounded, while the parents looked at him with puzzlement.
Only then did Bae Jinhee understand what the two were being coy about.
With a mischievous expression, she propped her chin on her palm and teasingly revealed the explosive news.
"You two haven't told Dad and Mom about your plans to get married?"
Liu Xin'an froze for a moment. But then, an exaggerated male voice rang through the room.
"What?!?!"
Yes, at Liu Xin'an's house, it was Park Jinsuk who was shocked.
But at Bae Juhyun's house...
Liu Xin'an broke out in cold sweat, as he clearly felt Bae's father lock his intensely terrifying gaze on him.
This time... he really intended to take their precious daughter away.
