They joined the family on the patio, where the long table was set beautifully for the barbecue dinner. Jisoo naturally took the seat next to Sehun. Across the table, Minseok sat beside Yixing.

Once everyone was settled, Minseok clapped slightly to make a formal introduction, his expression professional yet warm.

"Everyone, tonight, we have a special guest, my good friend from my studies in the US, Zhang Yixing," Minseok announced, turning to Yixing. "Yixing here is the partner-in-crime who kept me sane through those insane years."

Yixing gave a small, graceful nod.

Minseok then gestured toward Jisoo. "And meet my sister, Yixing, Kim Jisoo. I believe you two have met before."

Jisoo offered a subtle smile as she picked up a piece of vegetable with her chopsticks, her eyes meeting Yixing’s. Yixing nodded in greeting, his expression knowing.

"We have met, indeed," Jisoo commented, her tone dry but sharp. "It's rather hard to forget someone who makes such controversial statements about democracy in front of an entire faculty."

Yixing chuckled, his sweet dimple appearing on his cheek. "And it's equally hard to forget someone who throws out such a sharp question about a nation's confidence. I guess neither of us has the talent for forgetting uncomfortable truths."

Jisoo met his gaze with a faint, playful smile. "Well, Sir," she retorted, "for me, dealing with uncomfortable truths is just Tuesday. It’s literally in my job description."

Minseok, who had been chatting with their grandfather, instantly perked up, leaning forward with genuine interest. "Wait up. I heard about Yixing attending your talk session, but what about these 'controversial statements' and 'uncomfortable truths'?" He looked between them, intrigued. "Seriously, what did I miss?"

Jisoo briefly summarized the context of the conference Q&A, focusing on the debate about Western democracy versus the perceived lack of freedom in China. "I was just making this academic point that studying abroad doesn’t automatically make you buy into Western ideals. And that’s when he jumped in with this brutally vivid argument about how the West totally screws up its own promises."

She glanced at Yixing. "He used his own experience living there as proof, talking about how the pervasive microaggressions and racial discrimination basically trash the whole lived experience of 'freedom.'" Jisoo recounted the experience of feeling like a perpetual outsider, concluding the anecdote with a shrug. "It was quite the compelling, massive complaint, actually."

Minseok burst out laughing, shaking his head. "You? You have no right to talk like that," Minseok teased, his voice full of mock outrage. "You lived like a prince there, pampered and spoiled. If anyone was miserable, it was me!"

Yixing let out a soft laugh, admitting the truth immediately. "He's right, it wasn't my story. I just borrowed his traumatic anecdote for argumentative evidence."

Everyone around the table erupted in laughter.

Jisoo, genuinely surprised, looked back at Yixing. "I knew it," she commented, tapping her chopsticks lightly on the table. "Honestly, I seriously doubted that whole 'quietly enduring' part. It didn't sound like you at all."

Yixing pressed his lips together, trying to stifle his laughter, and gave a rapid, sheepish nod. "Okay, fine. I probably wouldn't have kept quiet."

The witty exchange immediately cut through the initial awkwardness.

The lighthearted revelation seriously smoothed out the atmosphere, turning what could have been an awkward first meeting into a chill, memorable gathering. Minseok and Yixing then steered the conversation toward Minseok's grandparents, who were totally eager to hear all the gossip about their friendship and also talked about his parents who were now posted in Canada. Jisoo refocused on her dinner, but she could definitely feel Yixing's eyes occasionally lingering on her during the meal.

To kill the rest of the lingering awkwardness, Jisoo smiled and reached over with her tongs to dump a freshly grilled piece of marinated beef onto Yixing's plate—a move she and Sehun always used to make sure everyone ate enough.

While she listened to the comfortable buzz of conversation around the table, Jisoo couldn't stop checking out Yixing. He was rocking a simple but super sharp sky-blue button-up shirt and black dress pants. His rolled-up sleeves showed off his muscular forearms, and his perfectly neat hair was pushed back, revealing his forehead. This half-casual style made him look way younger than she'd assumed—she’d pegged him around Minseok's age, early thirties. She had to admit the relaxed look suited him so much.

The conversation naturally cycled through work, global politics, and Minseok’s career, until her aunt, Sehun’s mother, redirected the focus squarely onto Yixing.

"Yixing, dear, you're so accomplished," her aunt began, her voice charmingly persistent. "Tell me, do you have a girlfriend? Someone special?"

Yixing smiled politely. "I'm currently single, Auntie."

The aunt gasped in mock dismay. "Single? A successful man like you, running a massive conglomerate, and you're single? How can that be?"

Minseok chuckled, taking a sip of his beer. "Easy, Auntie. Yixing is just hopelessly unromantic. He's a workaholic. This guy treats his company like a demanding mistress."

"It takes up most of my time, unfortunately," Yixing confirmed with a resigned shrug.

Then came the inevitable transition. Her aunt’s eyes gleamed as she turned to Jisoo. "Well, that's perfect! Because our Jisoo is single too. Isn't that right, dear?" She then turned back to Yixing, completely oblivious to Jisoo’s internal groan. "So, Yixing, what do you think of our Jisoo?"

Yixing, mid-chew, nearly choked. The question was so sudden and brazenly direct that he started coughing lightly. Sehun, meanwhile, was hysterically giggling. He quickly shoved a glass of water across the table toward Yixing, doing zero to hide how hilarious he found the whole thing.

Before he could compose himself, Jisoo, sighing dramatically, cut in. She threw her hands up in an exaggerated gesture of surrender. "Oh, for heaven's sake, Auntie, don't sacrifice the only available single guy at the table!" she practically begged, looking around at the adults. "I'm perfectly happy being single. Let's not put him on blast like this. My dating life is not a communal project, thank you very much."

Yixing managed to clear his throat and recovered quickly, his dimple appearing again. He looked at Jisoo, then back at the table, choosing his words carefully. "Jisoo is… highly intelligent, obviously," he began, his voice warm. "She's also very attractive. Anyone would naturally be interested in a woman with her wit and charisma." He paused, looking directly at Jisoo with a passive-aggressive sincerity that promised everything and nothing. "I mean, who wouldn't be interested?"

Jisoo instantly froze, hitting him with 'The Look'—that sharp, wide-eyed stare that totally screamed, 'Don't you dare humor them and give them ideas!' Her expression clearly conveyed that his vague, complimentary answer was exactly the kind of fuel their relatives needed. She pressed her lips together, silently begging him to stop talking, but the damage was already done.

Her aunt beamed. "See? I knew it!"

Yixing, totally getting Jisoo's silent threat, just smiled faintly and went back to his food, successfully dodging the pressure while keeping all his options, and his secret intentions, perfectly ambiguous.

However, their grandmother intervened with a gentle, knowing smile. She reached across the table, patting Jisoo's hand lightly and then giving Yixing a warm, motherly look. "Aigoo, now, now. That's enough pressure for one evening," she commented kindly. "Let these two young, brilliant people enjoy their food and their own conversation. Young people are different now; they need space to figure things out for themselves." Her voice held a soft authority. She then gestured toward Yixing's plate. "Eat up, Yixing, dear. If something is meant to be," she added, looking briefly at both of them with twinkling eyes, "it will find a way. You two just focus on eating." This effectively, and gracefully, shut down the matchmaking discussion.

The topic mercifully faded. Beside Jisoo, Sehun was shaking slightly, trying hard to hold back his laughter. He couldn't help but be thoroughly amused by the whole conversation; this was exactly the kind of mess they had joked about earlier in the library. He knew, despite her dramatic protests, that Jisoo could never fully escape these family maneuvers.

He leaned in, his voice barely audible. "See? Go find a boyfriend already. It’s the only way out," he whispered mischievously.

Jisoo shot him a frustrated glance, but the corner of her mouth twitched. She had to admit, as irritating as it was, at least this Chuseok was proving to be anything but boring.