Yoo Youngjae scores ten points out of ten points for thoughtfulness, ten out of ten for his humor, ten out of ten for the way his eyes lights up when my amazed expression couldn’t be hidden. When he ushered me into his pickup truck and offered me a ride home, I agreed, of course. When he took a wrong turn and said, “Oops,” I forgave him. When he didn’t turn back and hit the freeway, though, I was on the verge of beating him up. Goddammit, my mother was going to nag again.

“Baby,” I started to say but he cuts me off.

“Just wait. I have a surprise for you.” Youngjae shoots me a quick side glance. He chuckles. “Stop frowning like that. You’re too pretty to frown,” he says, and like magic, my eyebrows unknits themselves and the corner of my lips slants up.

“Eyes on the road, Youngjae,” I scold but the embarrassment in my tone is as vibrant as the blush on my cheeks.

He swerves to the side of the highway when the sunlight turns crisp and golden at a vast field, untouched by humanity and dotted with white pollen on wild greens. The sight steals my breath away. There’s nothing quite like nature in its most natural form.

Without hesitation, I exit the truck, stepped out onto the pollen field and bend down to pluck one from the stem. “Make a wish,” I murmur to Youngjae, the thoughtful quiet of the landscape too precious for me to shatter.

His eyes are distant. He stares past the lone tree in the distance, past the dotted white landscape, past the low hanging sun. He stares at the world as if he was finally seeing it for the first time and not merely just looking.

Then he snaps out of his stupor and wraps both arms around me and I feel my heart do a somersault. My arms naturally encircle his neck. The plucked pollen dances in my fingers.

“I really love you, you know that?”

I frown despite the sweet tone and an uncomfortable weight settles in my chest. “O-Of course.”

He squeezes tighter. “I’ve been thinking about how love ends,” he says and I nearly choke but Youngjae doesn’t notice. He continues after a deep breath, “I’ve been thinking about how love ends in either a breakup or death.” Youngjae releases me and plucks the pollen from my fingertips.

“I’ve been thinking about how beautiful your eyes are in the sun, the way you tuck your hair behind your ear when you’re annoyed, the way your nose wrinkles when you’re concentrating. Baby,” he whispers, “I’ve been thinking.” He looks hard at me and I feel like he’s somehow managed to peer down my soul. It’s not a uncomfortable feeling. My unease melts like a distant memory.

“I’ve been thinking that I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” The pollen is brought up to his lips and he blows.

It scatters downwards. Then, the wind picks up just before the grass can catch it and the white is lifted up into the now indigo sky, dancing its way towards infinity.

The realization that I’m crying doesn’t hit me until Youngjae brushes his thumb lovingly across my cheeks and kisses away my tears. “Don’t cry.” He smiles. “You’re too beautiful when you cry.”

I bite my trembling lips to cease the tears but they leak out even harder when I catch sight of the ring he pulls from the pocket of his pants. Youngjae slips it onto my ring finger while I try to gather the lost fragments of my composure.

“I—love you,” I say at last between uncontrollable sobs.

“And I love you too,” he says.

We grin and he pulls my left hand up, towards the emerging stars.

The ring gleams in the evening sky and Youngjae's warm gaze slides back to meet mine.

And even after all these years, I still find myself lost in the galaxy of his brown irises.

"Do you see that?" He chuckles softly and squeezes my other hand. "We've captured infinity."