He had begun planning this date on Monday morning, after the night they had spent together watching Titanic in bed. When he had left her apartment early that morning, just after he had signed his name with a heart on the letter he had written for her, he had called Gap Jin to tell him to reserve this particular location for that Wednesday evening, which is where he now stood, waiting for the American to arrive.

He had also called Min Ji Na that Monday and had her arrange for a dress for the American to wear. Ji Na had asked what he had in mind, but he didn’t know. In a way, he wanted to be surprised, and so he had only told her to make sure that it was special. He had dressed formally, in a black suit with a white dress shirt, the collar ed. And as he waited, he brushed his sleeves and breathed in deeply, feeling anxious.

It was a beautiful place, a rooftop garden in the middle of Seoul, full of roses, with lights like pillars forming a semicircle around the patio area. As requested, Gap Jin had reserved the entire patio, and even had the staff remove the other tables so that only one white table and two chairs sat in the center. Jong Kook sat at that table, standing up every now and then to watch the elevator doors, waiting for them to open.

And then they did.

He could see the long light pink chiffon dress she was wearing flutter around her as she stepped out of the elevator, the silvery beaded straps sparkling along her shoulders. Her hair was down and flowing in waves around her face, and as she walked toward him, looking at the roses surrounding them, he saw her wipe tears from her eyes.

He held his arm