Jiyeon’s POV:

I waited for him outside.

My phone says it was 7:24. The sky was already dark. It was spring, in the middle of May, so I didn’t feel really cold out.

A minute later, the lights came on in the patio providing enough illumination from where I was seated, which was facing opposite from the door. Hongki emerged from the house with the wine bottle and two wine glasses. With a smile, he sauntered to the couch. He offered me a glass as he sat down.

His smile was unwavering as he filled mine and then proceeded to fill his.

“Cheers?” he said holding up his glass to mine. “Cheers,” I smiled clicking our glasswares together.

I twirled the wine glass a few times before taking a sip. It tasted sweet and smooth against my tongue with a hint of bitterness and alcohol.

I didn’t know my eyes were closed as I savored the balanced flavors, until I heard Hongki say in a low y drawl (in my opinion), “Are you tempting me?” When my eyes flew open, I wasn’t quite sure if he was being serious or not. The tiny smirk on his lips hinted the playfulness yet his eyes were saying otherwise. And then I realized, he was too close and his hand was resting on top of my backrest.

I blushed looking away. Why are we so close? And why do I feel a romantic air between us? Wine… alone… under the night sky? Are we really dating? I mean, girlfriend-boyfriend dating?

He snickered, “I’m just kidding. Oh hey, look, the sky’s quiet clear tonight.”

It was true, it was so clear. Dark blanket had covered the entire sky and was sprinkled with varied sizes of stars. I could even make out a faint confirmation of the milky way. And just like that, I felt less nervous again.

“Hmmmm,” I took a deep breath and exhaled smiling as I stared up the sky. “It’s beautiful.”

“You’re beautiful,” I heard him whisper. Blood rushed to my cheeks and ears at once, I take back not being nervous again. When did he become so bold? Well, he’s always been bold but not this kind of bold. Oh my god, I think I can’t breathe. Breath Jiyeon, breathe. Inhale…exhale…inhale…exhale.

I didn’t know how to respond to a compliment like that especially when it came from Hongki so I continued looking up and busied myself on spotting constellations. In my luck, I spotted two of them, not my favorites, but I’ve always loved the story behind them.

“Hey do you see the milky way?” I asked him.

“Yeah, that white thing that looked like hazy clouds and shaped like a large caterpillar,” I could feel his head bob up and down against my shoulder. I exhaled trying to ignore the fact that he was too close and that it’s making me feel as if butterflies have inhabited my stomach.

“Yeah, do you see those two brightest stars?” I said pointing at the stars lying on either side of the milky way.

“Oh, yeah I think so,” he nodded. I exhaled.

“The one place northward is called Vega. It’s the brightest star in the constellation Lyra. Can you see it? It’s shaped like a fish,” I traced the constellation with my fingers.

“Oh, yeah I think so,” he repeated.

“Did you really see it? Or you’re just messing with me?” I turned my head sharply to face him. He was too closed that our noses brushed against each other. He smiled that boyish smile of him that I love, as he moved away. “Sorry, but I think I really saw it.”

“O—okay then,” I stuttered turning back my attention to the sky. “Okay so the one below the milky way is called Altair, the brightest star in the Aquila.”

“Oh yes, the eagle, that one. The one shaped like a kite,” Hongki said tracing his fingers on the sky. I glanced at him impressed. So he does know a little of constellation.

“Yes that one,” I smiled. “Did you hear the story behind the stars Vega and Altair?”

He puckered his lips to one side thinking, “No, I don’t think I’ve heard of it before.”

“What? How come? Don’t you have Chinese literature?”

“No, because I’m Korean.”

I shoved his arm playfully, laughing. I leaned on the backrest even though his arm was still there, letting myself be comfortable. Actually, I like being close to him, being wrapped around his warmth, more than I should be. He must have noticed, because he snuggled even closer. “So what’s the story?”

“Well it’s a story about a weaver girl, I guess she’s a fairy or deity from heaven who weaved clouds and rainbows, and an orphaned cowherd, a mortal. When the Heavenly Empress or her grandmother separated them, the weaver girl was forced to move to the star Vega and the cowherd moved to the star Altair,” I paused. “So the story started with the cowherd boy being chased out from his brother’s house with only an ox to keep him company. He didn’t have a slight idea that the ox was some sort of creature from heaven, or what they call the Golden Ox Star. One day the ox spoke to him telling him to go to this lake—I forgot what it’s called—where he will find some fairies bathing. He told him to take the red dress among the dresses he will find by the rocks and the fairy who owns it will become his wife.”

“Oh, naughty,” Hongki commented grinning. “I remembered that one time I stole your uniform in our junior year in high school when you were showering in the locker room,” he laughed.

“Yeah, you’re an . Good thing I had extra clothes,” I pouted. He laughed even harder, “I’m sorry. Don’t worry I’ll do that again sometime.”

I rolled my eyes, “You’re an idiot.”

“And you’re cute,” he pinched my cheeks. I flushed. “Okay, continue the story,” he snickered.

Shaking my head a little I continued, “So after the other fairies flew back to heaven, the cowherd walked forward and asked the weaver girl to be his wife in exchange for her dress. She accepted his proposal of course and became his wife.”

“Well that’s some kind of a proposal.”

“There’s a history why she accepted it without hesitation you know, but let’s not go to that, there are too many versions of this story I can’t explain all of it to you. I’m trying to summarize it, okay?”

“Okay.”

“So after two years, they had two children. But their happiness didn’t last for when the Heavenly Empress found out about it, because love is forbidden between an immortal and mere mortal, she stormed down to earth in range. She took the weaving girl and flew back to heaven, but while doing so, the cowherd boy followed suit with his dead ox’s fleece—“

“Wait the ox died?? D:”

“Yes.”

“Awww, that .”

“Yeah.”

“So what happened next?”

“Well when the empress saw that the boy was close to them, she waved her hairpin creating a galaxy between them, an impenetrable barrier, which is what we call the Milky Way.”

“Ohhhh,” Hongki nodded like a kindergarten learning a new thing from his teacher. He’s so cute.

“And so, after that, magpies were moved by the couple’s true love and many of them gathered and formed a bridge for the two to meet in the evening of the 7th day of the 7th lunar month, which is now the Chinese Valentine’s Day.”

“Oh, so the ox died?” he asked after a while, as if it was the most important thing that ever happened in the story.

“Ya!” I lightly slapped his chest.

He snickered, “Okay, okay, I’m sorry. But seriously, wasn’t he like resurrected or something?”

I gave him a cold stare, which only made him laugh even more. And in my surprise, he pulled be closer enveloping my body with his arms and rested his chin on my shoulder.

My heart skipped a beat. My hands were sweating and I felt like my knees had just turned to jellies. I have never been so relieved in my life that I’m sitting right now.

“So what did you like about the story?” he asked, his warm breath tickling the skin on my neck. I shivered.

I gulped hoping my voice won’t sound shaky, “Well, I like the fact that it gave me hope. It’s like even if you’re faced with a great barrier, there’s still a way to get through it no matter what, even if it was only a small opening. And thinking about that moment when the thing you most hoped for standing in front of you, gives you a thing or two to look forward to and get you through all the pain, hardship and life.”

I could feel him smile against my skin. “Tell me again how I fall in love with you?”

My eyes went wide and I felt my heart stopped. Am I dying? Did I just hear him say he fell in love with me for real?

“I know I should’ve said this sooner, I know I’ve been a coward,” he gently entangled himself from my body and held me by my hands. I almost pulled back because I knew my hands were perspiring like hell but he held onto them tight. “I love… I love… I love you. And I never wish to be parted from you from this day on. So, Kwon Jiyeon, will you be my girlfriend?”

I blinked at him rapidly. I think it’s been quite a while I’ve been staring at him because his face slowly contorted into an awkward smile. “Aren’t you going to say something?” he asked.

“Are you stupid?” Wait, did I just say that?

“What?” Hongki blinked at me twice, probably surprised, but of course he was.

“I said are you stupid? Of course I want to be your girlfriend I’ve been waiting for you to ask me that ever since you kissed my last night. And I’m—I’m in love with you too. I always have and I will always be,” that came out from my mouth so rapidly I think I just run out of oxygen. I took a deep breath and stare at his light brown eyes, which looked dark right now, but still lovely as ever.

Slowly, a smile crept on his face. “Are you always this nervous when you’re around me?”

“Yes,” I blurted out.

“Are your hands always this sweaty? If so holding hands then is off limits,” he teased easing up the tension almost immediately.

“You’re an idiot,” I can’t help but smile.

“I love you too,” he whispered lovingly I thought an angel had just descended from heaven and whispered those words in my ear, before leaning in into my lips. When our lips touched, I feel like time has stopped. Nothing matters anymore. It was just him and me in our world. I didn’t want the moment to end. Right now, I felt like I had the glimpse of what might the weaving girl and cowherd boy had felt whenever they cross the galaxy to meet with each other. Right now, we were them, finally conquering our own barrier of doubts and cowardice as we meet half way on the bridge our friends helped us to build. And right now, unlike the myth, we’re staying here in our own galaxy, never to return to the place where we wait for each other in vain. And even if varied forces will keep us apart in the future, even if it’ll be hard and painful, I hope we could still find our way here, in our bridge, in our own galaxy, in this moment.

I didn’t know I knew how to kiss, but I was kissing him back with much passion as he is. And as the kiss deepened, I found my body being led down on the couch. My hands were all over his silver hair. We were panting heavily and god, it was hot, so freaking hot. It’s as if the temperature had just raised up to a hundred degrees—and we were outdoors.

I shivered feeling the heat of his palm traveled from my knee, up to my tight and to my covered stomach. He devoured my lips hungrily as his hand work its way inside my shirt. He was caressing one side of my hips while his thumb traced circles on my stomach. And when he bit my lower lip, I heard myself moan.

I’m lost. Oh I am so lost…lost in his touch and kisses. I think I won’t be able to find my way out. I hope I don’t find my way out.

“Hey Hongki! Jiyeon! We—“

The familiar voice of the woman woke me up from the moment. I gasped.

Hongki and I simultaneously rose up, our heads peeking behind the couch’s backrest. Yoona stood on the backdoor with a box of cake on one hand gapping at us. Jaejin stood behind her, at first shocked but eventually recovering, and was now smiling meaningfully at us.

“Hey are they he—“ Jonghun emerged behind Jaejin and when he saw us, he smirked.

“Are they mffff!” Jonghun didn’t even let Seunghyun finish his sentence when he and Minhwan appeared behind him. Even before the two younger boys rest their eyes upon our sinful disposition, Jonghun was pushing them back into the house.

After a while, Yoona started clapping, “Okay, before anything else, we tried to call you but you weren’t answering so we just came ourselves. We were sorry about that, really sorry. Sooooo… now you two birds shower up or change clothes or something, we’re celebrating Jaejin’s first musical appearance in ten minutes.”

Sorry if none of you was amused by the ing ^^v love ya guys  :D chu~

Also, if anyone is interested about the chinese tale (which I seriously researched and tried to make some connections with the love story of Hongki and Jiyeon, in which I think I miserably failed) click here. And this is what the constellations looks like btw:

(if you google them separately, some pictures will show you Lyra looking like a fish and Aquila, a kite…just saying… keke)