Lisa knows exactly what she's doing, she's not as oblivious as people would like to believe. Sure, the first few times it happened she was a little confused, but the fifth time Jennie randomly brings up wedding planning, Lisa gets it.

 

Jennie isn't concerned about Jisoo's upcoming nuptials. She's concerned about theirs.

 

As in Lisa and Jennie's .

 

Jennie Kim, the famous korean singer, rapper and dancer, the Jennie Kim that everyone admire and the smartest, most beautiful woman in the world; wants to marry Lisa.

 

And the thought is terrifying. So much so that when it hits Lisa she stutters out that Jisoo already has a venue picked out and then mumbles something about a photoshoot before shooting out on the door so fast that she almost breaks the doorknob. She makes it to the outer edges of the atmosphere before she slows down, heart pounding in her ears and hands shaking.

 

The window shopping for engagement rings.

 

Those pictures of wedding bouquet flowers Jennie had shown her.

 

The color swatches for bridesmaid's dresses.

 

The bridal magazines left on the bedside table.

 

The odd looks when Lisa met every suggestion with -

 

'Jisoo and Joehyen already have rings';

 

'But Jisoo's favorite flowers are Lily of the valley';

 

'I would look horrible in that color, as Maid of Honor I highly object';

 

'Thanks for picking these up for Jisoo, I'm sure she'll love them'.

 

-

 

Jennie Kim wants to marry her.

 

Her, Lalisa Pranpriya Manoban - the thai noodle, an old name, an old main model of Nonagon. 

 

Not that they hadn't talked about marriage before, but still - telling someone that one day you'd be okay with getting married and actively hinting to the other person that you want them to propose are two different things entirely. She knows that Jennie loves her, knows it beyond the shadow of a doubt, but the thought that Jennie actually sat around and thought up ways to casually bring up marriage with the hope that Lisa would get the idea to propose . . .

 

Once she makes it back to her apartment, she spends the rest of the night thinking of a plan. Because now that she knows Jennie wants her to propose, she can't just drop down on one knee; it has to be a surprise. And how, exactly, is she supposed to surprise someone who is literally begging to be proposed to?

 

She's searching the internet for the answer when her phone rings.

 

"Hey, Jisoo-unnie, what's up?"

 

"Please tell me you aren't as clueless as your girlfriend thinks you are."

 

"What?"

 

"Jendeuki is going to lose her if you don't take a hint and propose soon."

 

"Ohhh."

 

"Oh? So you know then? Are you going to propose then?"

 

"Well," Lisa hedges, cradling the phone on her shoulder as she opens the fridge. "I kind of just figured it out this morning?"

 

"Lisa!"

 

"I just thought she was being really helpful with your wedding!"

 

"Lalisa, she's one of my best friends, you don't think that if she wanted to help me with my wedding she'd, I dunno, call me?"

 

"Hey! I can't help it that sometimes things go over my head!" She grabs a piece of donut and heads to the couch. "But now that I do know, what am I going to do about it?"

 

There's a moment of silence on the other end of the line and Lisa can tell that Jisoo is thinking about her next words.

 

"Do you not want to marry her? I mean you talk about her all the time, and I just assumed -"

 

"What?! God, no! I mean of course I want to marry her! I've wanted to marry her for a while! And now that I know how badly she wants it, it's all I can think about! I just - I don't know how."

 

There's another pause before Jisoo speaks again.

 

"I know that thai marriage ceremonies were way different than koreans - but I thought you'd watched enough romantic comedies to get the concept. If you need help I can come over and watch a few videos with you, I think -"

 

"No, no, no I get . . . what to do, I just don't know how I want to do it. I mean I want it to be at least a little bit of a surprise, and if she's shoving bridal magazines at me every five seconds, how is that supposed to work?"

 

"Oh. Ohhhh. I see. Yeah, I can see how that would be a problem."

 

"Not so easy is it?"

 

Jisoo's deep sigh filters across the line.

 

"I'll come over and help you figure this out, give me ten minutes."

 

"Ooh, can you bring takeout?"

 

"I can hear you eating right now!"

 

"Jichuuu you know I'm a stress eater."

 

"Fine, I'll bring Chinese."

 

- - -

 

It takes three movies, two cartons of lo mein, and one giant tub of Ben & Jerry's ice cream before it hits her.

 

The perfect proposal.

 

"What if I just . . . don't propose?"

 

Jisoo drops her spoon back into the ice cream and pauses the movie with a sigh.

 

"I thought you wanted this? Are you having second thoughts?"

 

"No, no, just - what if I still pretend to be oblivious? What if I just let her drop hints until she just can't take it anymore?"

 

"Then what?"

 

"I will ask her to marry me!"

 

Jisoo's eyes narrow.

 

"Lalisa Manoban, that is a genius plan, I am proud to call you my best friend."

 

- - - - - - -

 

Jennie is known for being a straightforward woman. Her personal life, however, is a different story.

 

She's just a little . . .

 

Well . . .

 

Afraid of rejection.

 

Okay, a lot afraid.

 

Which is how she finds herself dropping hints to Lisa about marriage, hoping the other woman will propose instead of just doing it herself. It's not that she's afraid Lisa will say no . . .She's just terrified Lisa will say no. And even if Lisa says yes, there would be a chance she's just saying it to be nice. So the only surefire way to know that Lisa actually wants to marry her, if Lisa proposes.

 

It's all very simple, really.

 

Only Lisa hasn't proposed.

 

Even though Jennie has been dropping hints for over a month, her girlfriend is deflecting like a pro - she finds a way to turn even the most obvious hints into a wedding planning session for Jisoo.

 

Jennie loves Jisoo, she's spent hours with her friend, pouring over wedding options; but for once it would be nice if the sound of wedding bells made Lisa think about their relationship instead of her friend's. But still, Jennie is anything but a quitter, and there's some part of her brain that's convinced hinting around until Lisa takes initiative is somehow a good idea.

 

That's exactly how she finds herself with there are  different wedding cake samples scattered around her kitchen counter, waiting on Lisa to show up for their lunch date.

 

This is it, this is her final stand. They say a way to a person's heart is through their stomach, and she thinks that's especially true of Lisa; so if anything will coax a proposal out of her girlfriend, surely this will be it.

 

Surely.

 

Lisa arrives promptly at noon, and Jennie can't help but notice the way her eyes light up as she sees the cakes.

 

"Are we having cake for lunch?" Lisa's bag drops off her shoulder as she stares open mouthed at the pastries.

 

"Well, good afternoon to you too." Jennie grins, rising on her tiptoes to peck a kiss to Lisa's cheek.

 

"Sorry, it's just - wow! I mean that's a lot of cake. Is there a special occasion?"

 

"Just thought you might want to taste test some wedding cakes!"

 

Lisa's brow crinkles as she picks up the wedding cake topper sitting on Jennie's counter top, (a blonde and a brunette, of course - just for added affect).

 

"Jisoo and Joehyen already have their cake picked out, it's some weird vegan chocolate thing. It tastes pretty good though."

 

Jennie can feel her face fall, and Lisa rushes to backtrack.

 

"I'm always down for cake tasting though!"

 

She just looks so . . . happy. 

 

On one hand, Jennie feels an overwhelming surge of love - there's no doubt in her mind that she wants to spend the rest of her life with this woman; who gets so excited over cake samples. On the other, she feels utterly defeated - if Lisa hasn't caught the hint by now . . . well, she's obviously never going to get it. She turns with a sigh to look out the window and weigh her options. She can either get up the guts and pop the question herself, or she can give up her ruse and wait for Lisa to propose on her own time.

 

Well, Jennie Kim has never been a quitter.

 

"Lisa, I know I've gone about this completely backwards, and I never should have tried to manipulate you into proposing. I'm just - I just - It's so hard for me to grasp that you would ever want us to get married, because you're so amazing and I'm only . . . well, me. But I suppose if I want -" She turns to see Lisa kneeling behind her, small box extended in both hands.

 

"What - what are you doing?"

 

"Jennie Kim, I may be oblivious about a lot of things, but one thing I'm not oblivious to is how much I love you. And I do, I love you so much. And I hope that you still love me, even though I've been playing dumb for the past few weeks. The truth is, there is nothing I would rather spend my time doing than planning a wedding with you; and honestly I'm really hoping that red velvet cake over in the corner with the rainbow frosting tastes as good as it looks, because it looks amazing."

 

Jennie can't help but giggle, even through the tears streaming down her face. One of Lisa's hands moves from the ring box and extends towards Jennie.

 

"Oh, Nini, don't cry, come here."

 

When she takes the hand, Lisa pulls her forward and places a kiss on the inside of her wrist.

 

"I love you so much." Lisa repeats fiercely. "And I've been carrying this ring around for three weeks, waiting on you to just get so fed up over trying to get me to take a hint that you would be surprised when I actually proposed. Looking back, that sounds a bit ridiculous, because right know I can't imagine waiting another second to hear you say you'll be my wife. So, will you marry me?"

 

She doesn't waste any time before launching herself into Lisa's arms, sending them tilting dangerously backwards as their lips crash together in a searing kiss.

 

"Is that a yes?" Lisa whispers breathlessly when they finally break apart.

 

"Yes, yes, yes! I can't believe you waited so long to ask me."

 

"Says the girl with the house full of wedding cake samples."

 

"Point taken."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fin.