It was 8:30 PM on a Friday night. Hongbin was home alone in his darkroom, developing photos from a recent magazine shoot he did the day before. The windows were heavily tinted and the curtains were drawn so that not even the street lights outside were allowed to come in. Working in the dark was comfortable for him as he could see in complete darkness. “One of the perks of being a vampire.” He would say to his college friends whenever they would come over to visit.

He whistled a tune as he placed a roll of film into a small tank filled with developer and water cooled at room temperature. He set a timer down on the countertop and waited. As he was waiting, his phone rang almost immediately. He dashed out of the room as quickly as possible and shut the door behind him, not wanting the light from his phone to affect the light sensitive film.

He looked down at the caller ID with a smile. ‘Sujeong’. He looked forward to her calls now that she wasn’t at home much due to her filming schedule. Yes, you heard right. Sujeong was finally casted for a drama and would usually come home in the early mornings and spent her nights sleeping in a van at the filming site; sometimes she doesn’t come home at all for days if there are shoots in different cities.

His smile grew even wider when her melodic voice called out to him.

“Hongbin-ah~” Sujeong called out cheerfully. He loved how she could still sound so cheerful even if she was tired.

“Yes, babe?” He replied.

“Good news~ I’m coming home early today!” She exclaimed. It was already 9PM, yes. But to them, Sujeong coming home on the same day she leaves is considered early. Haha.

“What? Seriously?” He asked, sounding a little surprised.

“Yeah! I’m on my way home now!” She answered with a giggle, loving his reaction.

“If that’s the case then I shall cook dinner. What do you want babe?” He asked.

“I want kimchi fried rice ― No, make it sweet and sour pork!” She answered. He could imagine , watering already at the thought of his cooking.

“Sweet and sour pork it is…” He agreed, just then he remembered that the film he was developing was still soaking in solution. “―Sorry babe, I need to go. My film! It’s still in the tub!” And with that he hung up, tossing the smartphone unto the sofa before rushing in to save his film. ‘How did I not notice the timer ringing???’

-

Hongbin had just placed the steaming plate of sweet and sour pork on the table when he heard the familiar, light footsteps echoing in the hallway outside. He quickly set the table before the door to the condo was unlocked. Beep. Boop. Beep. Beep. Boop. The door opened and a very excited looking Sujeong, entered the condo with a smile on her face. “Oppa~ I’m home!” She shouted as she took off her shoes and walked into the living room, where Hongbin stood with arms stretched wide to welcome her home.

“I missed you…” Hongbin mumbled into her hair as they hugged.

“What?” She asked. He shook his head, “Nothing…” he answered. He held her hand and led her to the dining table and made her sit before seating himself in front of her.

As they ate, they talked about their wedding, their days spent without the other and thoughts of the future. Hongbin’s eyes sparkled when the topic of their future together after marriage came up. He put down his chopsticks and grabbed Sujeong’s free hand and held it with both hands.  

“Our future~” He spoke in a sing-song way.

“Yes?” She asked as she looked at him with an eyebrow raised. “What’s got you so excited?”

“Our future~” He repeated. “I was just wondering―No, I’ve always wanted to ask you this ever since I proposed to you in the winter.” He began. This time his voice took on a serious tone. He stood up and they both went to sit on the sofa.

Sujeong, waited patiently as he thought of his question. They were both sitting crossed legged, facing each other, their knees touching with their hands in their laps. When he was ready, he looked her in the eye and he said, “Would you like to start a family with me?” His cheeks turned pink as he waited for her answer. She stared at him wide eyed and speechless for a moment before bursting in a fit of chuckles and snorts

“Are you kidding me Hongbin?” She asked in between snorts. His cheeks turned a shade darker as he shook his head. “I’m not joking Sujeong! This is serious!” He answered. Honest he didn’t get why she was laughing and just took it as her saying “No” or that she thought that this was a joke to her. She stopped laughing when she felt that he was hurt by her and hugged him. “I’m not laughing because I thought you were stupid for asking a question like this, I’m just laughing because your voice got so serious then you acted so embarrassed about it!” She explained.

“My answer would be yes. Yes, I would like to start a family with you―But…” She spoke. “But what?” He asked. “I don’t want to start a family right away…” She answered. He felt a little disappointed but at least he knew that she was open to the idea of having kids. ‘My little beans~’ He thought. ‘I wonder if my first child would be as handsome as me’

“So is that all you wanted to ask?” Sujeong asked as she got off the sofa. He nodded his head with a satisfied grin. “I’ll go take a shower…” She yawned as she shuffled towards the bedroom to get a fresh pair of clothes to sleep in afterwards. “Can I join?” Hongbin asked with a mischievous grin as she was about to close the door to the bathroom. She pecked him on the lips, mouthing a quick “No” before shutting door in his face. He let out a groan as he trudged into the kitchen, pouting as he washed the dishes.

“Can she not see how much I’m holding back right now?” He grumbled.

-

Author's Note: OMG  150+ subscribers! You guys are all awesome <3 I hope you like this chapter~ The next chapter will be about the wedding so you better stay tuned! ^^ And about the sequel, I've decided to make one about their life after the wedding and maybe a scene and a surprise? ;)