We didn’t have a lot, but we had each other and that was all we needed. Jooheon had been trying to get his name out there in the underground scene for a couple years now. The first time we met each other was during one of his performances. I was standing in the front and couldn’t help but be mesmerized by his charisma on stage. I could tell he was passionate about music and that he truly enjoyed performing in front of crowds.

When his eyes locked onto mine, I was sold. I never believed in love at first sight, but he was the only exception. The way he looked at me simply took my breath away. For the remainder of the performance, he kept throwing glances my way with a sneaky little wink now and then. He was mischievous and flirty on stage, but when he approached me at the end of the night, his personality seemed to have done a complete 180. He scratched the back of his head as he tried to avoid eye contact with me. A slight blush adorned his cheeks. He stuttered a couple broken words before he asked me the one question that was the start of everything: ‘Can I have your number?’

The journey was tough. We ended up moving in together after a year. Neither of us made a lot of money, so we barely managed to keep our heads above the water, but despite all of that I still loved him. It didn’t matter if he had to take me on dates in a broke down car. I didn’t care about going on fancy dates or receiving expensive gifts. It was alright that he couldn’t buy me a huge bouquet of roses. I loved it whenever he showed up with a single rose in his hands.

We didn’t have to go anywhere special. I loved it whenever we watched the sunset together or whenever he took me out in the middle of the night to go stargazing. We’d lie next to each other on a huge grass field with our hands entwined. The enormous starry sky always made us feel so small, yet we felt invincible at the same time. We were invincible because we had each other.

Tonight was different. We were sitting on the hood of his car. Jooheon had been relatively quiet the entire night. I glanced at him when he heaved another sigh for the hundredth time. ‘Jooheon? Is everything okay?’ I asked as I cautiously took his hand in mine.

He stayed silent for a couple seconds before giving my hand a soft squeeze. ‘Y/N, are you happy?’ he wondered out loud. I was definitely taken aback by this question. I looked at him incredulously. ‘What are you talking about? Of course I’m happy,’ I said in disbelief.

‘It’s just that–’ he cut off his own sentence and ran his hand through his hair in slight frustration. He bit his lip while he looked at me. ‘Sometimes I wonder why you’re with me. You could be dating some rich handsome guy who could give you everything in this entire world right now,’ he said as he shook his head.

‘Don’t be ridiculous. You know I don’t care about materialistic things like that. You’re the only one who makes me feel this way, Jooheon. Don’t even doubt that,’ I reassured with a small smile. ‘I know and I do trust you, but sometimes I can’t help but feel like you deserve better,’ he sighed.

‘I couldn’t have asked for someone better than you, Jooheon. You’re the only one I want,’ I said confidently. ‘Do you mean that?’ he asked softly. I nodded my head firmly. ‘Without a doubt,’ I confirmed. He smiled and the cute dimples on his cheeks appeared. ‘I’m happy to hear that, because there’s something I’ve been wanting to talk to you about,’ he said. I raised an eyebrow. ‘What is it?’ I questioned.

‘I’ve been thinking about this for a while now and I think I’m finally ready to make this decision. I know a lot of things will change for us, but I hope you will stick with me through all of this,’ he starts. ‘Is it something bad?’ I asked slightly worried. He didn’t shake nor nod his head. ‘It’s not necessarily a bad thing…’ he answered hesitantly. ‘Tell me,’ I demanded.

‘A company has been showing interest in me for a while now and they offered me a chance to debut as a rapper in a boy group. I think I should take this chance and go for it, Y/N. I was really hoping that you would support my decision,’ he said as he gave my hand a soft squeeze.

I looked at him in shock for a couple seconds until his words finally dawned on me. ‘Jooheon… that’s amazing! I’m so happy for you,’ I gasped. A smile broke across his face. ‘Really? You think I should do it?’ he asked. I nodded my head. ‘Of course! You’ve been waiting for this chance for years now. You really deserve this,’ I replied as I pulled him into a hug.

‘Are you sure?’ he asked. His smile faltered. ‘I won’t be able to spend as much time with you anymore,’ he sighed. I nodded with a sad smile on my face. ‘I know. I’m going to miss you a lot, but I know this is what makes you happy. This is what you’ve been working for. I would never want to take this away from you,’ I said genuinely.

He heaved a sigh of relief. ‘I was so nervous. I thought you wouldn’t be happy about it.’ So that’s why he had been silent this entire night. ‘And… besides wanting to chase my own dreams, I also want to do this for another reason,’ he continued. I tilted my head in confusion and curiosity. ‘What’s that?’ I asked. He hopped off the hood of his car and stood in front of me. Not once did he let go of my hand. He looked me in the eye as he said the following:

‘We’ve been together for a while now and I don’t think I will ever be able to fully express how grateful I am towards you. You’ve always been there for you and loved me when I least deserved it. I promise you that one day I will give you everything you deserve. One day I will treat you like a queen and you won’t have to worry about anything anymore. I’ll take care of you. Just wait for me and believe in me, please.’

He reached for his pocket with his other hand and pulled out a small velvet box. ‘Jooheon…’ I gasped. ‘Don’t panic, it’s not a proposal. Not yet at least,’ he said and winked at me. He opened the box to reveal a pretty silver ring. ‘It’s a promise ring. It has our initials carved on the inside. This way you’ll always have me with you, even if I can’t be there physically,’ he explained. He took the ring from the box and lifted my hand to carefully place the ring around my finger. I looked back and forth between the ring and Jooheon in astonishment. ‘I love it. I love you,’ I said as I failed to keep my tears at bay. He wiped the tears from my face with his other hand before he bent down and cupped my face to place a soft kiss on my lips. ‘I love you too,’ he whispered against my lips.

A shiver ran down my spine at the sound of his deep voice. Jooheon noticed. ‘Are you cold? It’s getting late. I guess we should go home for tonight,’ he said as he took off his jacket and placed it around my shoulders. I chuckled softly because he was unaware of the effect he had on me. I decided to simply nod my head as I pulled his jacket closer to my body. I hopped off the hood of his car with his help.

Once we were inside the car, he immediately grabbed my hand. He always liked to hold it while driving. He looked at my hand and played with the ring. He smiled and slowly lifted my hand towards his lips to place a kiss on top of my ring finger.

The ride home was quiet, but no words were needed to see how happy we were.