Outside in the busy upscale shopping area, there were countless of stores.  From brand names like Louis Vuitton to boutiques, anything could be found.  This was every man’s nightmare.  However, it was a dream for women.  It was not an uncommon sight to see groups of friends of all ages shopping together, chatting and laughing.  Then there were women who would run to different store windows and gaze at the heavenly items, while their boyfriends would be many steps behind struggling to carry the numerous shopping bags.  Eventually though, running around would deplete one’s energy, which made the little outdoors café at the corner of the street ideal for a place to relax.

            The café was gathering for all types of people.  Many were just individuals looking for a place to take a break from shopping.  There were the options of sitting indoors or outdoors.  From there, people could order delicious drinks, snacks, and meals and use the time to their pleasure.  That day it was a early Saturday afternoon, so it was common that the place was full, despite the hot sun.  Outside, people were trying to hide underneath the large table umbrellas and drink ice cold drinks.  For a group of four girls sitting at the table next to the fence, they did not worry much.  Most of them wore large hats and sunglasses, while drinking cool fruit ice teas.  Suddenly one of their phones rang, and the blonde girl checked hers.

            “He just left the store and is on his way soon,” Gyuri let her friends know after reading her text.  Later on, she was going on a date with her boyfriend, Taecyeon, after enjoying a full day of shopping.

            “Does he always tell you where he is?” Hara asked while she sipped on her strawberry black tea.

            “Now that I think about it… I guess so,” Gyuri replied after she thought about it for a few moments.  It had been almost two months since she and Taecyeon reunited.  Even though they got back together so easily after Nicole’s intervention, they still put as much effort into their relationship.  For Taecyoen, he did all that he could think of to earn his girlfriend’s trust.

            Every morning Taecyeon would call or message her to see if she needed a ride.  Then every hour or two, he would update her about what he was doing.  If not, he would text her whenever he left or arrived somewhere.  Then at lunch, they would try to eat out together.  If not, Taecyeon would bring her mouthwatering and delectable meals.  Once he brought tonkatsu with fresh veggie sticks and the next time he delivered her favorite seafood jun from the restaurant near her place.  Another common thing was dropping her off and picking her up from work.  These opportunities allowed them to grab drinks together or have casual conversations.  Taecyeon hoped that this would bring them abck to their flow. 

            Gyuri appreciated his efforts and thought he was adorable.  Almost like when a couple first starts dating.  The nervous guy would usually be stumbling and trying his best to impress the girl.  It definitely worked with them. One thing that she liked the most was his bucket lists idea.  Each one individually made twelve items on their list.  After they listed them, they gave each other a copy.  So far, they were able to finish two goals from each list.  The first one accomplished was Taecyeon’s.  They went to the N Seoul Tower, where they saw various lock pads on fences placed by locals and tourists.  Apparently they symbolized promise, commitment, and love.  A vow to never separate.  Gyuri thought it was incredibly romantic for Taecyeon to bring her here.  He even wanted to hang one himself, but that it was incredibly crowded.  One day they could try it.

            Another task successfully done was during an interesting weekend.  In fact, they were able to scratch off a couple of other ones that same weekend.  Gyuri always wanted to volunteer on a larger scale, so she and Taecyeon went to a small southern fishing village during a long holiday.  Over there, they helped build a house for a family in need.  Despite the hard physical labor and sweltering sun, they had a great time and met new people.  Some of their new friends included Han Sunhwa, Kim Taeyeon, and Jung Yonghwa who all lived in the southern region.  They were very welcoming and happy to hang out with the couple at popular spots in the area.  On their first free day, they all finished Taecyeon’s wish to go diving.  That day they captured fresh oysters and octopus.  They were even daring enough to eat them all seconds after catching, since it tasted better the fresher. 

            Later that night, everyone went to a bar with a mechanical bull.  Coincidentally on Gyuri’s list, she wished to ride the rowdy machine.  With much determination and surprising strength, she lasted on the machine for two minutes and three seconds.  This landed her a picture on the bar’s Hall of Fame, much to her embarrassment.  However, she mentioned that she was one of the most beautiful on the wall’s sea of muscular men and frizzy hair women who all succeeded too.  After a memorable weekend, the couple felt grateful for their good deed and could not wait to welcome their new friends, who were possibly moving to Seoul.

            Today was a mystery to Gyuri.  Even though Taecyeon was quite informative these days, he would not reveal much.  The only thing she knew was that they were going to check off something from their lists.  That was not the greatest hint, considering they had twenty more to go through.  However, that did not matter what he selected to try today.  Gyuri had fun no matter what.

            A large pair of hands covered Gyuri’s eyes and mischievously asked, “Guess who?”  

            Hearing that voice brought a smile to Gyuri’s face, “Hmmm… you are handsome, correct?”

            The voice chuckled, “Definitely.  You’re getting closer to the answer.”

            Hara, Nicole, and Eunjung giggled when watching this scene unfold.  Since their best friend got back together with her boyfriend, everything went back to how it should be.  To them Gyuri without Taecyeon or Taecyeon without Gyuri was like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich without the jelly.  It could be compared to a spicy ramen without cheese and Tabasco, which was in Nicole’s case anyways.  Meanwhile Taecyeon and Gyuri were continuing their playful guessing game.

            “The blond beauty rwitched her lips and raised her finger in exclamation, “You’re my favorite rapper TOP aren’t you.  How did you know I’m into rappers?”

            Taecyeon jokingly pouted at her tease, “I guess someone won’t find out their surprise.”

            “Okay I’m just kidding my cute little beast,” Gyuri laughed.

            “Well who’s the cute little beast?”

            “My incredible boyfriend Ok Taecyeon of course,” Gyuri chimed as she peeled his hands off her face.

            “Bingo,” Taecyeon toothily grinned as he pulled his girlfriend out of her seat.  Then she wrapped her arms around his neck and tippy toed to give a kiss.  The tall man enjoyed this as he deepened the kiss.  This continued for a few seconds until they heard a little boy telling them to get a room. 

            Eunjung friend and jokingly wiped her forehead, “Phew thank goodness somebody stopped them.  I forgot how much PDA you have.”

            Everyone laughed about this, leaving Taecyeon and Gyuri blushing with their arms still around one another.  For a brief second, the blonde beauty giggled and tickled her boyfriend’s chest with her nose causing the entire group to pick at the, according to her, “nonexistent” aegyo.  Since this date was told to be time consuming, Gyuri started to pack her things.  Before she left, she and her friends scheduled another weekly lunch/coffee date.  Taecyeon also thank her friends for reminding her to eat more since she had a long day ahead of her.

            “How did you know what we ate?” Hara asked with wide eyes in curiosity.  Meanwhile a waitress passed by to inform them that the tall gentleman in front of them already paid for their bill.

            Nicole leaned back in her chair and nodded her head, while rubbing her belly, “I knew I liked you for a reason.”

            The girls laughed at this, as Hara flicked the food lover’s head.  In her defense, a man who would pay for four slices of cake, four teas, three soups, two sandwiches, one large pizza, one pasta, and one cheeseburger was a good man.  Especially since food was the way to one’s heart, or in Nicole’s case, her good side.  All the girls thanked Taecyeon for his kindness, as the couple left the café.  This left everyone else back to their shopping adventures.

            Before Gyuri could see Taecyeon’s car, she was advised to stand still.  Then Taecyeon wrapped a soft navy fabric around her head, blinding her again.  At first she was confused, but felt a large, now uncasted, arm hook through hers.  The other free hand held onto her.  Just by the touch alone she knew it was Taecyeon, so she trusted him.  He told her that he had a surprise for her, so she needed to be patient.  Seeing the effort he was putting into this, Gyuri did not protest.  Besides, she was excited to see what he had in store.

            Once they stopped, she heard a car sound, indicating that it was unlocked.  It was a new sound, so she thought it was someone else’s car.  However, Taecyeon helped into the car by carrying her bridal style.  He even carefully buckled in her seatbelt, making sure nothing was uncomfortable.  Then she heard the other door open, and knew it was him.  The door lightly slammed shut and a soft engine purred.  This car was definitely different from what Gyuri was used to, but she remained calm. 

            Even though it was a short distance ride, it seemed like a long journey.  Since she was banned from taking off her blindfold, she had to be patient.  This was difficult thought because she desired to know what the fuss was about.  At times she would lean her head against what felt like the window.  Despite not being able to see, Gyuri would imagine the scenery.  One vision she had was that they were driving through the mountains that was slightly chilly, but filled with green and little ponds.  Another idea that she had was that maybe Taecyeon was taking her back to the southern region to see their new friends.  However, he did mention that they were going to complete another task on the bucket lists.  Being patient never seemed so arduous for her, so she ended up banging her head against the window.  Taecyeon would check up on her every few minutes and chuckled watching her squirm.  Eventually he put on some music, hoping it would calm her down.  Minutes later, she fell into a nap.  Probably because she was too tired trying to figure out the day’s events.

             Finally after what seemed like forever, the car stopped.  Gyuri did not stir at first, so Taecyeon got out of the car first.  Then he woke her up and helped out of the car.  Carrying her bridal style again.  Once her feet were firm on the ground, she felt Taecyeon untie the blind.  Her eyes flickered at first.  When her eyes adjusted to the brightness, she saw a grand four story mansion in front of her.  Then she looked around and saw that she was in a fancy neighborhood.  Then first thought to her was that she was going to see Taecyeon’s parents.  As much as she loved Taecyeon, this idea was something she dreaded.

            Taecyeon spooked her when he whispered into her ear, “Don’t worry this isn’t my parents’ place.”

            “Then why are we here?” Gyuri was trying to figure out the reason.

            “This is actually my place,” Taecyeon smiled as his girlfriend turned around in confusion.

            “I thought you live in your grandpa’s hotel.”

            His hands were behind his back, as he was about to explain, “I do…but this is actually my real place.  My own place.  I just don’t live here though.”

            “Why don’t you?  It’s a really nice.”

            “I know, but I only go here for special occasions,” Taecyeon was being sneaky.

            Gyuri then groaned again, “Don’t tell me your parents are inside.”

            “No just wait and see,” the mysterious guy kept grinning as he took his girlfriend’s hand and walked her to the front door. 

            After opening the door, Gyuri stepped inside and was clearly amazed.  It was barely furnished, showing how little Taecyeon stayed in the house.  The first thing that she noticed when stepping inside was the grand staircase.  Then a few feet above and away from her was a huge crystal chandelier that was brought from France.  Gyuri could not help but to explore the first floor.

             The large kitchen was perfect for the home, where there were marble counter tops and state of the art kitchenware.  It was the type of place her roommate would go crazy for if the chance arises.  Next to it was the dining room that could had come from a movie.  In the center was another chandelier, but underneath it was a long dark wooden table that could seat twenty people.  The chairs had plump red striped cushions, so diners could lap up in luxury while eating away.  Surrounding the room were few framed pictures from famous photographers, ranging from fashion to nature.   Before Gyuri could see other rooms, Taecyeon pulled her away.  At first she protested, but he insisted.

            Once she was outside, Gyuri was awe struck.  The back yard was huge.  It could have been one acre.  That was not including all the other amenities.     There was large patio that had many lounge chairs and outdoors couches with umbrellas decorating it.  Then to the corner was a fireplace area with perfectly craved stone benches circling it.  At night, it provided warmth and a great place to tell stories or eat burnt marshmallows.  One would had thought that would be the end of it, but there was also a barbeque grill with an outdoor dining area.  Also farther ahead was the large pool that was perfect for exercise or cooling down on hot summer days.  If the pool was too tiring for one to use, he or she could also dip in the Jacuzzi or relax in the sauna.  Then there was the open space of exceptionally mowed grass.

            As Gyuri’s eyes travelled across this luxury of a backyard, she noticed there was a large cardboard box.  Seeing that his girlfriend found the right item, Taecyeon nodded to it.  Both walked to the box, where Gyuri saw that the labels were covered with black tape.  She knew he really wanted to keep this day a surprise.

            “Today I want to help you fulfill your 5^th wish: To build a swing,” Taecyeon announced as he revealed the swing set kit.

            Hearing this excited Gyuri.  Without a second thought, she ran into her boyfriend’s arms.  She knew that they were going to try and finish the list.  However, she never thought he would build her not just a swing, but an entire set.  Trying to save their energy for the day, Taecyeon placed back on the ground and commenced the construction.

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            The sun was almost down with the sky painted with brilliant shades of orange, red, and purple.  Just to see it was beautiful.  However, the sight was even more breathtaking from where Gyuri and Taecyeon were sitting on the swing set.  Both were lightly rocking back and forth in their seats as they watched the sun’s descent.  It was a great breather from a busy afternoon. 

            “Taecyeon?” Gyuri blurted.

            “Yeah chagiya?” Taecyeon turned his head to her.

            “How come you don’t live here?”

            “It was given to me by my grandpa Joon, but it can get lonely when living here by myself,” Taecyeon sheepishly answered.  “Maybe we can move in… when we start a family”

            Gyuri raised her eyebrow, “We?”

            The brave man walked over to his girlfriend’s side and pushed her swing, “Don’t act shocked.  We’ve talked about it before.”

            “That’s true.”

            “I still want two boys and two girls running around us in this house,” Taecyeon chuckled as he tried to give a hint.

            “We’ll see about that…”