June 3, 2012.

Byun Baekhyun walked into the twelfth jewelry store that week. He ran a hand through his slightly messy hair and peered at the beautiful rings in the transparent glass case display, leaning his elbows on the counter. He bit his lip thoughtfully, searching for the right one. A ring in particular caught his eye. His gaze fixed on it immediately; his eyes sparkling in curiosity and wonder. “Excuse me,” he called to an available worker. 

The worker turned around. She was an older woman, most likely in her late fifties. She blinked at him, “Yes?”

Baekhyun pointed to the ring, “Can I take a look at this?”

She nodded, “Certainly.” Carefully, the worker pulled the ring out of the glass display and carefully set it on the counter along with the velvet box case.

Baekhyun softly smiled. ‘Jungmi would like it a lot,’ he thought. 

The worker saw the tenderness in Baekhyun’s eyes. “She’s beautiful, isn’t she?” she asked quietly.

Baekhyun looked up to meet eyes with the woman. “Excuse me?” he asked with a surprised tone.

The worker smiled gently. “I’ve been working here for many years, and I’ve seen that look many times. I can recognize it anywhere. You’re in love. I’m guessing that you’re looking for an engagement ring to give to your beautiful girlfriend, yes?”

He nodded. “Jungmi is the best thing that happened to me. I love her a lot. So yes, I’m looking for an engagement ring,” he murmured quietly.

The woman also nodded with an understanding gaze. “Well, it seems you’ve found it. If your girlfriend likes simple things, this ring is perfect for her.”

Baekhyun straightened up. “I’ll take it.”

The worker gave him another smile. “Great.”

Baekhyun paid for the ring with his credit card and signed the receipt. 

The woman gave him a bow and placed the velvet case in his hand. “I hope all things will go well with you and your girlfriend. I wish you good luck.”

He bowed also. “Thank you.” With the ring in his coat pocket, he left the jewelry store and checked his watch. “5:45,” it read. ‘By the time I reach the park, it’ll be about 6:30. Perfect,’ he thought. He reached into his other pocket and pulled out his phone. He sent a text to Jungmi, “Meet me where we first met at 6:30 sharp. I have to tell you something imporant,” he typed. With a final click of the send button, he smiled and put his phone back into his pocket.

-----

[Jungmi’s POV]

I was at my apartment sitting on my bed, watching my old television set. I stuffed more popcorn in my mouth and munched on it quietly, my eyes fixed on the screen. My phone suddenly vibrated next to me. I glanced at it. “1 new text message from Byun Baekhyun,” it read. 

I quickly pressed the alert and anxiously read the message. “Meet me where we first met at 6:30 sharp. I have to tell you something important.” I blinked at my screen. This was the first time I’ve heard of my longtime boyfriend in days. He’d been busy doing something “important”, and whenever I brought up the subject, he stubbornly refused to tell me any details.

I sighed and got ready. After brushing my teeth and combing my tangled hair, I put on a white hoodie, blue jeans and black flip-flops. I grabbed my house keys and cell phone, and headed out the door. 

I put my hands in my pockets and put my headphones on. Girls’ Generation’s sub-group, TaeTiSeo’s “Baby Steps” filled my ears. I setted the song on the repeat setting and started to walk to the park. That’s where we first met. 

What did Baekhyun have to tell me? If what he’d been doing these past few days has been so “important”, he would’ve told me, right?

One thing is for sure, I don’t like secrets at all. I can’t keep a secret, and I can’t stand it when people, especially ones who are close to me, hide things from me. I would get anxious, scared and started to doubt things. Basically, when there were secrets involved, it was hard for me to tell the difference between reality and my imagination.

I still remember how we first met. I was taking a random stroll through the Hansang Park without a care in the world. My eyes were distant, as I was daydreaming about random things. My brain obviously wasn’t functioning correctly with my body, because while I was thinking, I was walking in no particular direction.

A bump of my left shoulder finally snapped me out of my daze. I whirled around to tell the person off, but then...I saw him.

The soft, brown eyes. The perfect lips and nose. The flawless hair that was an ideal shade of brown. My eyes swept through every feature of this beautiful boy. I admit it, I was checking him out. But who could blame me? This boy was hot.

He walked over with an innocent expression. “I’m sorry,” he spoke. His voice was smooth like velvet, and sounded like every beautiful voice blended together to form his. Gently, he reached out and brushed some invisible dirt off my t-shirt. 

My cheeks flamed up. “Uh, n-n-no, i-it was my fault anyway. I mean I never watch where I’m going and I’m always really clumsy, so it was totally my fault,” I rambled. I wanted to slap myself. I must have sounded like a complete idiot. My face reddened even more, if possible.

Surprisingly, he chuckled and showed me a smile. That beautiful, million-dollar smile. Call me cheesy, but it really did capture my heart. I couldn’t help it. He cleared his throat, “I’m Byun Baekhyun.”

My hand twitched by my side, but I ignored it. I nodded, “Ahn Jungmi.”

He nodded also. I couldn’t help but feel disappointed. My skin longed to touch his, for some...weird reason. “Cute name,” he told me.

I couldn’t help but blink at him. How was I supposed to respond to that? I somehow managed to come up with the unintelligent response, “Er, thanks.”

“So....” he tilted his head slightly. “Do you want to take a walk with me? Or are you going in the other direction....?” I couldn’t help but feel giddy when I heard the faint disappointment in his voice. I couldn’t believe how I was reacting. I was acting like a little five-year-old with a crush on her classmate. 

I shrugged, trying to act indifferent. “Actually, I have nowhere to go at the moment, so sure.” 

We walked for a while and got to know each other. When it got later in the day, the next thing I knew, we were exchanging numbers and promising to meet with each other again.

Please Subscribe to read the full chapter