- - CHAPTER 12

My eyes had widened to extraordinary proportions.

"It's you that I'm madly in love with."

It had to be a lie.

He couldn't be serious.

... Could he?

"Song Victoria," Nichkhun said calmly to the confusion on my face, "Should I repeat what I just said?" he asked as he gently clasped my hands in his own.

I nodded my head and a tender smile graced his defined lips.

"It's," he leaned in closer, "You that I," he leaned in even closer, his nose almost touching mine, "Am," his lips were now only mere millimetres from mine, "Madly in love with."

And then he connected our lips.

At first, I did nothing but feel.

I felt the gentle, loving pressure of his lips atop of mine, that simple pressure causing a pleasing tingle to prick my skin. I felt the way my heart rate slowly began to increase and I felt the way my body longed to respond to the kiss.

And so, I gave into its wishes.

I tentatively began to move my lips against his, without deepening the intimate connection much. I could feel him smile against my lips and my heart leaped at his happiness.

This kiss was something I'd always wanted to experience.

Something I'd dreamed about.

A kiss of... love.

I couldn't hold back the giggles that bubbled from my throat and escaped my lips. Nichkhun pulled back slightly from the disturbance. Instead of once again capturing my lips, he simply stared deep into my hazel eyes.

I felt my own smile widening before I bravely reached upwards and gingerly placed my palm on his cheek. His skin was smooth and soft to touch. He then leaned into my touch, eyes closing slightly as he exhaled deeply.

"I'll let you in on a secret too Nichkhun," I breathed out, feeling my heart begin to race at the weight of my nearing confession. His eyes began to gleam hopefully and I bit my lip, hoping these were the words he wanted to hear.

"I..." I paused for a moment, gathering my courage. If he could sincerely confess, then I could too. As best friends, we would do everything together.

I inhaled deeply and composed myself, allowing a sweet smile to settle upon my lips.

"I'm madly in love with you too."

The smile that lit up his world was enough to reassure me for a lifetime.

"I think you're more excited than what I am at me being discharged," I joked with Nichkhun as he eagerly dragged me out of my hospital room. I was pleased to note that he immediately intertwined our fingers.

An hour ago, the doctor had come to tell me that since I'd woken up and because there was nothing fatally wrong with me, I could leave. Nichkhun had quickly rushed back to the apartment in order to get me clothes and as soon as he'd come back, he'd nearly dressed me himself.

We stopped at reception quickly to fill in a few forms and for Nichkhun to partly disguise himself in a hat and sunglasses. Although, if you looked close enough, you could easily tell that it was Nichkhun beneath the disguise.

"I brought the car. There's somewhere I need to take you," he said to me with a smile.

"Really? Where?" I asked him with a slight whine to my voice. I'd often heard Korean girls add this to their sentence when they wanted to be cute with their boyfriends.

Nichkhun chuckled, "You've been watching too much Korean TV," he shook his head as we arrived at the car. Like the gentleman he'd always been, he opened the door for me and waited for me to slide into the passenger seat before gently closing the door.

I smiled at the behaviour. It was something I'd always wanted my boyfriend to do for me.

"So you really aren't going to tell me where we're going?" I asked again once he got into the car.

He smirked, "Nope. I'm not giving hints either."

I pouted and glared before turning my head to look out the window.

I really wanted to know now.

As in, really, really.

"That isn't going to work you know."

I huffed, not giving even him a glance. I knew he'd give in eventually. He seemed to forget that I had known him for over ten years after all. When I had ignored him in our youth, he had hated it and had only gone for about five minutes before begging me to talk to him again and telling me whatever he'd been trying to hide.

And thus, silence ensued.

However, it wasn't awkward, nor was it uncomfortable and I used the time to reflect on everything that'd happened in the past 24 hours. I almost wanted to pinch myself. Almost, but I wouldn't because if this was somewhere a dream, I wanted to last.

In the last 24 hours I'd gone from a crying, emotionally wrecked mess to the most joyful woman on the entire planet. I'd gone from throwing the contents of my stomach to waking up in a hospital fully healed - in more ways than one.

But most importantly, Nichkhun had confessed to me.

I snuck a glance at him, admiring his defined side profile. My heart melted. He really was perfection in a human form. From the sculpted jaw line to the well shaped nose and the doe eyes.

And this perfection loved me.

Me of all people in the world, of all the fan girls that he could choose from.

It was a special feeling, one I wouldn't want to give up for the world.

I found myself smiling to the passing world outside of the window and somehow, everything, despite the cold weather, seemed a little brighter.

I wanted to giggle at myself and my thinking.

"What are you thinking about Song Victoria?" Nichkhun asked and I could hear the amusement in his voice. His voice taunted me to look in his direction, but I smirked - I wouldn't give in.

"Why do you keep repeating my surname?" I simply asked him, not responding to his question or his taunt. I could imagine him rolling those doe eyes of his before focusing his attention back into the road.

We were now in a quieter part of the city and as usual, I had no idea where we were. When we got back to the apartment I was going to make a concerted effort to learn the districts of Seoul and what was in them. I didn't like not knowing where we were and why we were there.

I noted that this district seemed more affluent than the rest of Seoul. Boutiques lined the streets and women with Gucci and Prada handbags paraded the streets in heels of all styles. Why had Nichkhun brought me here?

We rounded a corner and I was surprised at the amount of fancy Mercedes and BMW's that passed us and that were parked in the streets.

I sincerely hoped Nichkhun hadn't decided to buy another apartment here of all places. I'd tell him to sell it as soon as we stepped into it. I didn't want to live in this district as it simply reeked of jealously and pride.

However, the car soon stopped beside a small street that didn't have too much attention on it.

"Let's go," Nichkhun spoke as he got out of the car. But, instead of following suite, I stayed in the car.

I was waiting for him to open the door for me.

I know that it was selfish, but I'd always wanted a man with manners.

And luckily, Nichkhun knew that.

"Come on Miss Song," he said when he opened my door and held his hand out for me. I grasped it, briefly wondering why he'd insisted on using my surname once again.

"Thank you," I mumbled once I'd exited the car. The Thai male closed the door and I was surprised to find that he'd taken off his hoodie and his sunglasses. I raised an eyebrow in confusion - wasn't he worried about being seen.

The brown haired boy smiled at my expression, "I don't need to hide around here. In this district, idols aren't really the hottest gossip," he answered my mental question and I wasn't sure whether to feel surprised at the fact that he'd just read my mind.

My heart still leapt when he grabbed my hand and before I could help myself, our fingers were interlocked. I said nothing as we began to walk but I carefully tried to match our steps. It was a childish thing to do, but I'd always been a fan of childish things when it came to romance.

As it was when we drove into the street, it was quiet with only a few people passing by us. They barely even gave Nichkhun's handsome face the time of day either. I was surprised by the lack of attention.

And then we'd entered a shop and due to my thoughts, I hadn't paid attention to the shop's name.

A warm feeling embraced me as soon as we entered the shop and a smile graced my lips. This type of atmosphere was a happy one... an atmosphere that granted happiness to others.

It was a jewellery shop with elegant wooden display cases and a plush red carpet.

All around me, encased by glass, were items of gold and silver all in various shapes and designs. I was entranced by their glow and I blinked at the precious stones that adorned them.

I then gaped at the sheer size of the stones that were atop the elegant designs. I'd never thought I'd ever see diamonds that big before and I wondered how you even wore something of that size on your finger.

Nichkhun's amused chuckle reached me, "Stop staring Victoria," he joked, "We'll just be a minute. I need to pick something up that I ordered a few weeks back." I nodded, not really paying attention to his words as I continued to stare in awe.

I found it unfair that he'd brought me here.

I shook my head and turned my head to find him. He stood at the counter where a petite girl with short, styled locks and thick eyeliner was helping him. From where I stood I couldn't quite hear what they were talking about, but I became curious when the girl shot me a knowing glance.

A frown etched itself in my brow when she walked into a storeroom of some sort and returned quickly with a small, red box. Then, she showed the box to Nichkhun and unfortunately, from my vantage point, I couldn't see what was in it.

"Victoria, can you come here for a moment to tell me what you think?"

I nodded and shuffled over to where they stood.

My eyes bulged.

In that small red box was a ring.

A golden ring with a beautifully cut, brilliantly gleaming diamond in its centre.

I blinked, eyes moving from the ring to Nichkhun and then to the girl behind the counter (Whose name was Son Gain).

"Do you like it?" Nichkhun asked.

I nodded in slow motion, mind still not comprehending the masterpiece.

But, why was he showing me the ring?

Wait, wasn't his mother's birthday coming up soon? Was this his-

My thoughts were interrupted as Nichkhun tenderly grabbed my left hand and slid the ring onto my finger.

My ring finger.

Like a physical blow, all the air had been knocked from my system and I could do nothing but stare and gape at the ring and at Nichkhun.

What was the meaning of this?

I seemed to have somehow voiced my question out loud as Nichkhun shook his head.

"I thought you were more perceptive than that Vic," he teased me as he leaned in closer. I felt my breath hitch.

It couldn't be-

"This ring means that..." he halted as he connected his eyes with mine, "That I want you to be my wife."

The tears sprung to my eyes before I could even attempt to stop them.

Then, without warning, I launched myself into his arms and soaked his shirt with my tears.

When, after a few seconds, I'd managed to compose myself, I tilted my head upwards and gazed up at him.

The answer left my lips with the utmost ease-

"Yes."

- - and there's what everyone has been waiting for right? =D I hope it was good! I really wasn't sure how to make this proposal and yes Nichkhun is supposed to be all romantic but I suppose this could be romantic right? XD Well, from here on, we deal with wedding planning and the idol life ^^ Please look forward to it =D

I love you all, seriously.