“We?” I say hesitantly, taking a seat next to him. “You want me to meet your family?”

“Of course!” he says, still focused on logging in. Then his fingers pause over the keyboard and he turns to look at me. “But you don’t have to if you don’t feel comfortable. I understand.”

I smile and give Alex a kiss on the cheek. “If you trust them, I do too.”

The butterflies kick in as Alex logs on to his family video call. I’ve never met the family of the guy I’m dating before, except for that one time in Canada when I wound up having dinner with Jason’s three exuberant aunts, but that wasn’t really anything official. I tuck my hair behind my ears and smooth out my white T-shirt, stained with tomato paste, wishing I had time to put together a more proper “meet the family” outfit. Alex’s grandma, parents, and brothers pop up on the screen.

Along with what appear to be a dozen of his aunts and uncles and cousins.

I freeze. When he said he had a video call with his family, I didn’t realize he meant his whole family. I do trust Alex, and I want to trust his family, but my K-pop survival instincts are ringing all kinds of alarms. What if someone takes a screengrab and sells it to Reveal? What if someone posts a group shot on Insta, and the netizens find it? What if? What if? What if?

“Halmoni!” Alex says. “Happy birthday!”

Alex’s grandma has the exact same smile as Alex, her eyes crinkling and dimple flashing as she waves joyfully at the camera. “Alex! Good to see you!” I spot two of her three cats weaving their way across her lap. Judging by the size of the gray one, I’m guessing that’s Fats Domino.

“Sorry I’m late,” Alex says. He clears his throat and grins, glancing at me. “Everyone, this is my girlfriend, Rachel.”

Girlfriend?

The room suddenly feels too hot, like I’m still standing in front of Alex’s gas range, steam from the pot blasting into my face. He’s never used that word to describe me before. At least not in my presence. As close as we’ve become over the last few months, and as strong as my feelings are for him, putting such a definitive label on our relationship seems like a step too far, too fast. Like I’m going from doing something I probably shouldn’t do, to something I definitely shouldn’t do. K-pop idols can’t be girlfriends.

I feel Alex’s eyes on me and realize everyone is waiting for me to respond.