#steve lim

~~~

You and Steve finally landed in LA, and as soon as the both of you collected your luggage Steve immediately ordered an Uber to his house.

You couldn't help but feel excited as you glanced outside the car window, a smile creeping up as you saw the palm trees and buildings passing by. However, you can’t ignore the uneasy feeling in your stomach as you got closer to your destination. 

Suddenly you feel a light squeeze on your hand, you turn to look at Steve whose hand is grabbing yours. “It’ll be alright, they already love you y/n. You don’t need to be so worried.” Steve says as if he read your mind.

“I know that… It’s just that this is the first time I’ve been invited to meet someone's parents, yaknow.” You sigh as you look down at your hands.

Steve lets you a little chuckle, “So, are you just going to forget that Woono’s parents invited you to their house for dinner?”

“Hey! That’s different, he's my best friend! This… this is different—”

“We’re here!” Steve cuts you off as he unbuckles his seat belt and immediately gets out of the car. You let out a quick sigh before you psych yourself up to get out of the car. You can do it, y/n, it's just his parents and sisters, you’ve already spoken to them before. You got this!

~~~

To your relief, Steve’s parents welcomed you with warm smiles and hugs, and even better, a home-cooked meal. Not to mention his younger sisters, who immediately took you in, dragging you onto the couch.

“Did you watch Study Group?” His youngest sister asks excitedly. “Sehyun and Hewon are so cute! I hope they end up together.”

You laugh at her enthusiasm. “I do watch it! I agree with you, they need to be together!”

“I swear if they don’t get together, I’ll throw a fit! She huffs, crossing her arms in front of her.

Soon after, his two other sisters join in on the conversation, and you spend the majority of the evening gushing about the latest dramas you’ve watched as well as listening to the girls rave over their drama crushes.

But just as the conversation was getting juicy, Steve walked over and told the girls that it was getting late and that you needed time to unpack. “Aww, Steve, no fair!!” His second-oldest sister whines. “Yeah! We were just getting comfy with y/n” The oldest pouts. “You’ll have plenty of time to bother y/n over these 7 days. It’s time for ya’ll to sleep.” With that, Steve gathers the girls and drags them to their rooms, even though they were begging to stay up a bit longer.

“Looks like they have a new favourite person now,” Steve says as he plops down on the couch next to you. 

“What, no way.” You reply sarcastically.

“Oh yeah, just saying…” Steve trails off, rubbing the back of his neck, “You’ll be sleeping in my room.”

You quickly turn your head to face him. “What?!”

“Yeah…” He replies sheepishly. “So, uhh… mom just told me that the guest room pull-out couch thing. It—it broke when they were testing it before we came. And she just assumed since we were close, we’d be fine sleeping together.” He turns away as he says that last part, and you could swear you saw a faint blush on his cheeks.

“I mean, she isn’t wrong, we are really close!”

Steve’s eyebrows shot up. “But! I don’t think you're supposed to share a bed with a girl you just brought home,” You say, half-laughing and half-panicking.

"Don't worry, she knows we're just friends anyway," Steve replies, trying to help calm you down.

"Right. Just Friends... Imma go unpack." You say with a hint of disappointment in your voice, before getting up and heading towards his room.

Steve's eyes linger as he watches you get up to go to his room, before face-palming. Really Steve? Just friends?

~~~

It was now the third day, and you had completely settled into this new normal, even getting more comfortable being around Steve's family.

It was just after dinner, you were helping bring the empty plates to the sink when Steve pulled you into the hallway. "Hey, let's sneak out tonight. There's somewhere I wanna bring you."

Your stomach churns at these words. "Sneak out? What do you mean, sneak out?"

"Like, we wait for everyone to be asleep, then we—"

You cut Steve off, placing your hand over his mouth and looking around to make sure no one heard. "I know what sneaking out is stupid, I mean, what if we get caught? I do not want to get on your parents' bad side."

He takes your hand off his mouth, holding it slightly while he flashes you a smile. "Don't be a buzz kill y/n, they'll be asleep. Plus, if something happens, my sisters know and they'll cover. It'll be totally worth it once we're there, I promise."

You finally agree, after hesitating and a lot of back and forth between you and Steve. You had no clue where he was taking you, but all you knew was that you trusted him, and who knows, maybe it'll be fun.

~~~

After what seemed like a 30-minute drive, you found yourself in a dimly lit parking lot near the beach. "If this is your way of murdering Steve, this isn't funny," You say sarcastically as you watch Steve get out of the driver's side before making his way to you.

Steve laughs to himself before opening the passenger side door and ushering you out of the car. "I know what it looks like, but just trust me. Oh, and put this blindfold on.

Your eyes widen after hearing that last part. "Steve..."

"Just trust me."

Taking a deep breath, you nod hesitantly, before turning around back facing him as he blindfolds you. Interlocking his fingers with yours before he slowly leads you to the final destination.

~~~

"How much longer?" You question; it felt like you were walking forever. "Just a little longer."

"I swear to God, Steve, if you kidnap me, I'll kill—"

Before you could finish your sentence, you felt him let go of your hand. And before you could process it, your blindfold was off, and your senses were suddenly sent into overload.

You were faced with bright neon lights, and the smell of popcorn and cotton candy filled your nose. While carnival rides and games decorate the pier. Was this real? Were you actually at?

"Santa Monica Pier! Surprise!!" Steve yells with his hands up in the air.

Santa Monica Pier, the place you've dreamed of visiting.

You were speechless, to put it lightly. "I knew you would love it," Steve says, snapping you out of your trance.

"How'd you know?" You reply, taking in the view.

"I mean, it's not like you talk about it whenever we talk about LA. And what? It's like your ideal date spot." He teases, slinging his arm around your shoulders.

Your cheeks turn a bright shade of red at his words. Sure, you mentioned it once or twice in passing, but you never thought he was paying attention.

"What are you waiting for, y/n? Let's go!" Steve says as he pulls you through the crowd. And you follow him through the pier, stopping at each attraction, the roller coasters, Ferris wheel, spinning tops, bumper cars, you name it, the two of you rode them.

After the rides, both of you decided to get funnel cake (your favourite) and found a table to sit at to eat. When suddenly Steve excuses himself to the restroom.

You were slowly eating the funnel cake as you recalled the moments that just happened, and you couldn't help but smile. Steve was amazing, and you couldn't help but fall for him even more after tonight's events. Just when you were lost in your thoughts, you felt a slight tap on your shoulder.

When you turn, you come face to face with a giant cream coloured stuffed bear, waving at you.

"I thought you went to the washroom?" You say, as Steve appears from behind the bear. "I saw it on the way back and thought of you. Since yaknow, you would always go on about how you wanted someone to win you a gigantic stuffed animal at the fair or whatever.".

You couldn't help but smile from ear to ear as you pushed the cute plushie aside to give him a big hug. "Best night ever, thank you, Steve." You whisper into his ear.

~~~

It was day six in LA, you were chilling in the living room on the couch, when Steve's sister busted in out of nowhere, insisting on giving you a makeover. Before you could even answer, you were already out the door, at the nail salon, hair salon and finally a dress shop, trying on dresses the girls picked out for you. But that wasn't even the most shocking part; you were informed that Steve was "taking care" of everything.

You made a mental note to yourself to yell at Steve the next time you saw him.

The final stop was a boba shop, and this time, you fought the girls insisting on paying— you just couldn't bear to add to the guilt, knowing how high Steve's credit card bill was about to be.

The four of you were walking back to the house when his youngest sister said something that nearly made you choke on your drink. "Yaknow, Steve sucks at hiding his feelings for you"

"Right!" his middle sister chimes in, "He's basically in love with you at this point, I mean, who randomly pays for someones makeover?"

You took a moment to collect yourself, trying to keep the heat from rushing to your cheeks before responding. "You girls have an overactive imagination; your brother and I are just really good friends."

"And pigs fly." The oldest adds dryly from behind, making the other two burst into laughter. You rolled your eyes, trying—and failing— to hide the growing blush on your face.

~~~

It's Steve and your final day, when his family told you that as a family, yes, that includes you, you were going out for a fancy dinner. No wonder Steve practically forced you to get a makeover, you thought to yourself.

Dinner was at this fancy restaurant that looked over the seashore, and it was just a little bit after sunset when Steve pulled you aside, asking to talk to you privately. Saying that it was important, or something. The secrecy is making you nervous all over again.

"If this is your second attempt at trying to kidnap me, Steve, it's not going to—"

"Just trust me," He said as both of you excused yourselves from dinner, his sisters giving you looks and giggling to themselves before trying to be serious as Steve guided you to his car. The car ride was silent, both of you lost in thought. When suddenly the car stops, and he quickly gets out and escorts you out of the passenger seat.

In front of you, a breathtaking view of the LA valley, to say you were speechless was an understatement. It was gorgeous; words could not describe the way the building lights twinkled like stars against the dark sky.

"It's beautiful," You whisper, the words caught in your throat.

Suddenly, you felt Steve grab you by the arm, gently spinning you towards him, grabbing both your hands in his. His expression was serious yet soft at the same time. "So..." He begins, nervously fidgeting with your hands. "This whole week, I've been trying to find the perfect words and timing to tell you. But honestly, I just wasn't sure how to."

Your heart began to race, hearing his words. "The truth is, I like you... a lot."

"I like you too, Steve," You admit almost instantly, the words slipping out before you even had the chance to think.

He smiles warmly, "So will you finally be my girlfriend?"