WARNING! UNEDITED!

Breathtaking, adj.

-thrillingly beautiful, remarkable, astonishing, exciting, or the like

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It was now Naeun’s birthday, two years after they had gotten back together. Like the early stages of their dating, they had kept their relationship secret, and then got caught on a date by Dispatch news. They revealed their status as boyfriend and girlfriend once more and loyal fans rejoiced, those who said “I told you so” got told an “I told you so”, and some reverted back to their old ways of disliking the couple. This time, their relationship had progressed more smoothly, and they transitioned into a new phase that allowed them to be comfortable within their relationship even though they were apart. They still experienced extended periods of time without seeing each other, but now, they weren’t so worried anymore because they trusted their hearts and the other person completely, that they did not waver every time they could not talk or see each other.

Taemin had learnt to share Naeun with the other important people in her life, as Naeun learnt to share Taemin with his. They had spent the first few months of getting back together to completely catch up on the times they had missed over that past year, spending days and weeks together no matter what schedule they had, but after a while, they slowed to a steady pace that fit for them and their relationship. They no longer acted like love struck teenagers, but now, they were more open to communication instead of just going out on romantic dates all the time, and this was evident when it came time for Naeun’s birthday party. Taemin insisted that on her actual birthday she have a girl’s day and spend it with her members and her family, and that they could spend the day after together. Naeun pouted at first, but she accepted because she hadn’t spent time with her family in a long time.

“Naeun-ah, spend your birthday with your family and your sisters…”

“Ahrasso, Oppa…I’ll miss you though…”

“Hmmm…I’ll miss you too…but we can spend the whole day afterwards together…”

“Okay…”

“Thank you…”

For what?”

“For being understanding…and not selfish with me…and being good to my friends and family…”

“You’re welcome. Besdies, they’re my friends and family now too…”

“That’s true…they all love you…”

“I’ll drop you off at your parent’s house and then I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Love you…”

“Love you too…”

Taemin then let Naeun finish getting ready and then he drove her to her parent’s house where her sisters and family were already waiting. He quickly greeted them with a bow, gave Naeun a quick kiss to which everyone collectively gave an “awww” and then left. Truthfully, he wanted to be at her party, but he was still getting his gift for Naeun ready. As soon as he left their house, he drove off to another location somewhere in Seoul.

Meanwhile, with Naeun, she was having a really good time at her party. She missed Taemin, but she knew that she would see him again the next day. Her mother and father, went through a few more embarrassing stories, even her younger sister added a few of her own, and Naeun just tried to hide herself behind Namjoo becauseshe was absolutely dying of embarrassment. They played a few games, and of course, ate a lot of delicious food. Her father had brought out a karaoke machine complete with tambourines and four wireless microphones, and even poured out some beer and soju. As the night had gotten deeper, and the people a little bit more tipsy, the attention turned to Naeun and her relationship with Taemin.

“Naeun-ah…why is your boyfriend not here?”

“He said that I should spend time with you and have a girl’s bonding day. I’ll see him tomorrow anyway…”

“Don’t you miss him?”

“I miss him, but, I’ll see him tomorrow…”

“Has he given you a birthday gift yet?”

“He probably gave her a big kiss on the lips as a present…”

“Yah! Let’s keep this G-rated. There are parents around…”

“No, but I don’t need a gift from him. I’m happy if we just spend time together…”

“Aigoo…Naeun-ah, that boy isn’t here because he is planning something for you…”

“Omma, do you know what it is?”

“I do. He asked for some help from me and your father…”

“Uri do. He asked for help from us too…”

“He even told us to hold this party for you so that you can be distracted while he is preparing your gift…”

“You’ll like it…”

“But he said that he wanted me to spend time with you…”

“He said that because once you get the gift you won’t come and see us anymore…”

That’s not true…I’ll miss you guys…of course, I’ll have to come and see you…”

“Ahrasso. Just remember that when you get the gift, you’ll invite us and spend some time with us still…”

“Don’t stay there all the time…”

Just then, the doorbell rang. Hayoung was made to go and answer the door.

“Naeun Unnie! There’s another present for you...”

Hayoung walked back into the living room before making a dramatic gesture with her arms.

“Presenting…”

Taemin walked into the room carrying a large box.

“Annyeonghaseyo!”

Naeun went over to retrieve the box in his hands and set it down on the floor.

“What is it?”

“It’s a cake…”

“Lee Seobang…I thought you weren’t coming…”

“I had finished my errands and decided to join the party. Ommonim, you know I can’t be away from your daughter too long…”

Eunji came back in with a knife and handed it to Naeun. They all sang her the happy birthday song and then Naeun sliced the cake and handed it out to everyone. After another hour and a half of mingling, Naeun’s father broke up the party.

“Alright, you two can leave now?”

“Ne, abeoji?”

“The boy is anxiously looking at the clock. I know he wants to spend some time with you before midnight, so both of you can go if you want…”

“Choisonghaeyo, abeonim.”

“Gwaenchanha…”

“Ahhh…Naeun’ah…Let’s go?”

Naeun took Taemin’s outstretched hand and then walked with him to the door. They bid everyone goodbye with a bow and then got into Taemin’s car and drove off.

“Oppa, where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise…”

“Is it my present?”

“Maybe…”

They only drove for twenty minutes before Taemin entered an underground carpark. He parked his car, ran outside and then opened the door for Naeun. She wordlessly, followed him into the building until they stopped at a door.

“Open it…”

“I don’t know the passcode, Oppa. Besides, isn’t this trespassing?”

“Not if we own it…”

The corridor was dark but when she looked into his eyes, they were bright.

“Here, I’ll show you…”

Taemin slid the cover to reveal the keypad. He then took Naeun’s right hand and pressed the digits of her birthday into the keypad. They heard a ring to signal the right code and they opened the door together.

Inside, the first thing that Naeun saw was a large banner that read “Happy Birthday, Naeun-ah” on it, but what was more astonishing was that the apartment was fully furnished. The hallway opened up to big glass doors that opened to a balcony, with a picturesque night view. You could almost see Seoul spanning out before your eyes.

“Maeumedeuro?”

“I love it…and I love you…”

“It’s beautiful right?”

“It’s amazing…”

“Not as amazing as you…have I told you how beautiful you are?”

“Not recently…”

“You are absolutely gorgeous…”

Taemin punctuated each word with a kiss.

“Happy Birthday, baby…”

“Is this your gift?”

“Yes. I always wanted to buy this place as soon as I saw it. It’s close to your family, and it’s a private area. I had some help from your members and parents to help decorate.”

“But…why?”

“It’s your safe haven. Well…our safe haven...you can come here anytime you want…and we can go on dates here so that we don’t interrupt your members and my members...when we have free time, we can start crossing off number 83 and 84 on our list.”

Naeun just stared at everything in awe, then she jumped in Taemin’s arms and started to kiss him. When they broke the kiss they just stared at each other. The apartment already felt like home to Naeun. There were personal pictures of them and their families on the walls. The drawings that they had made for each other at the start of their virtual marriage were there too. Their couple bear dolls were there on the leather couch and even their Toy Story and Michael Jackson figurines were there. The apartment was filled with all the little things that had made Taemin and Naeun.

“Let’s explore?”

“Yeah…”

Taemin led her into the master bedroom. Taemin had their sticker booth photographs framed and it hung beside their bed and on the opposite wall to the bed was a whiteboard that Taemin had meticulously written down their list on. They had already had a few crossed out but there were still many more to fulfil. He took her to the study where all her books were neatly stacked away on the shelves. Her diaries were all there…even her new one. However, it was sticking out of the shelf. She picked it up and it was bookmarked on that’s day’s page but was already filled in. It read:

“Naeun-ah…I hope that you remember this day well. Buying a home together is something very important and it is one step closer to checking off number 85 on our list. I’ve been working on this for over a year and I thought a lot about what to get you. This seems like the right step in our relationship. This is our home now. We may not be able to spend a lot of time here right now…but in the future we will. You can see that there are already a lot of memories that we have made together and I made sure to include all of them when designing the layout of the rooms to remind us that we still have a lot more memories to be made and to cheer us up whenever we are feeling down. When we are apart, come here, because you’ll be safe here. This house will be like my arms that wrap around you. Sleep on the bed because I made sure that I sprayed my cologne on it…kekeke. Anyway, I hope that we can fill all the walls and ceilings with photographs that we will look back on when we are old. I love you so much…always remember that…”

After she had finished reading it, she turned around and launched straight into a hug with Taemin. He tilted her chin and saw that her eyes were watery. He used the pad of his thumb to wipe them away then picked her up and took her to the balcony. It was now well past midnight.

“Did you have a good birthday?”

“The best… and all thanks to you…”

“You’re always welcome, baby.”

Taemin then turned her around, placed a kiss on top of her head and then wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, where they both admired the night view.

That night, a new Polaroid appeared on the wall. The caption said: “Our first night in our new home…”