Zuri sat at the dining room table, her emotions a whirlwind of disbelief and apprehension. She still couldn't quite grasp the reality that she had agreed to pretend to be a stranger's girlfriend. Suho, the 'Train man', was now a part of her life in a way she had never anticipated. She mechanically took a bite of her breakfast, her mind miles away.

Jordan, her younger brother, was the antithesis of subtlety. Known for his blunt humor and lack of a filter, he eyed Zuri with a teasing glint. "What's with the face, Zee? You look like you just swallowed a lemon." he quipped, his voice muffled by a mouthful of toast.

Esha, at the head of the table, was the image of grace and beauty, her presence always a mixture of warmth and authority. Zuri often felt she didn't quite measure up to her mother's elegance, considering herself more akin to her dad's side of the family, known for their robust physiques and, unfortunately, their ability to grow facial hair faster than Jason Mamoa himself.

Deciding to keep the full truth of her arrangement with Suho under wraps, Zuri ventured a half-truth. "I've started seeing someone," she said, her voice carrying a note of uncertainty. Her conscience went off in her mind: LIES. LIES. LIES.

Esha's spoon paused mid-air, her eyes widening in a mixture of shock and delight. "You're seeing someone? A boyfriend?" she gasped, the news igniting a spark of maternal excitement.

"Yeah, kinda." Zuri said wiping her mouth with a napkin. "LIAR!" her conscience went.

Jordan choked on his juice, spluttering it across the table. After a fit of coughing, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, his expression one of incredulous amusement. "What, like a human boyfriend? I thought you were sworn off dating since the 'Pizza Guy' incident," he said, referencing a past dating disaster. "What, did you order him off Amazon? Since when do you do 'sort of' boyfriends?" His tone was teasing but with an undercurrent of skepticism.

Zuri forced a smile, feeling the weight of their gazes. "Yeah, he's different," she managed to say, her mind screaming at the absurdity of the situation.

"Good for you, Zuri. It's nice to see you putting yourself out there again," Esha said, her tone soft yet encouraging. "Everyone needs a bit of distraction now and then, especially with everything that's been going on."

Zuri nodded, feeling a mixture of gratitude and unease. This 'distraction' with Suho was certainly going to be an interesting chapter in her life. But her gratitude for her mother's support mingled with a gnawing sense of unease about the web of pretense she was weaving.

Jordan leaned back, a sly smile on his face. "So, when do we get to meet Mr. Wonderful? I need to make sure he's up to our family standards," he joked. "I gotta make sure he's not some serial killer or worse... a vegan," he joked, though there was a protective edge to his humor.

"I'll introduce you when the time is right," Zuri replied, deflecting the question. She wasn't sure how to navigate this fictional relationship, let alone introduce Suho to her family.

As breakfast wound down, the conversation drifted to other topics, but Zuri's thoughts remained fixated on the charade she had committed to with Suho. She was stepping into uncharted territory, and only time would tell if this decision would help her navigate the rough waters of her current life or plunge her deeper into chaos.