Haru sat on the porch swing, waiting for her boyfriend to arrive. With her black hair blowing slightly in the gentle breeze, she looked down at her phone to check the time, her glasses sliding a tad bit as she did so. Pushing her glasses back up, she read the time. 4:34 p.m. He was late, but that was to be expected. His job kept him busy and sometimes his schedules ran later than expected. Listening to the rustle of the fall leaves tumbling and falling admist the tree branches waving gently in the breeze, she felt her lips curl into a small smile at the thought of seeing him again. She had not seen him much over the past few weeks during the start of the group's World Tour.

She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath of the fresh outside, thinking about just how much she adored being with her "Minnie". 

Feeling a presence in front of her, she opened her eyes and immediately jumped back seeing him just centimeters from her face. Her sudden movement caused the porch swing to move back and forth. "Eeeek! Oppa, don't do that! You scared me!"

Grinning from ear to ear, Sungmin tossed his duffel bag onto the porch and bounded onto the empty spot next to her on the swing. Puckering his lower lip out into a pout, he said in a cutesy voice, "I'm sowwwy."

Giggling softly, Haru took a look at her boyfriend, who was dressed in dark wash jeans, a white belt, and a light pink V-neck. His blond hair fell softly in front of his forehead as the breeze tossed it gently. "Well, I guess I can forgive you," she replied in a cutesy voice, imitating his facial expression. 

"Good," he replied still using a cutesy voice as he bent his head toward her, pecking her forehead gently. Bringing his tone back to normal, he whispered, "I missed you." Wrapping an arm around her, he settled his back against the porch swing cushions, pulling Haru closer to him as he did so.

Resting her head over his chest, she replied, "I missed you, too." Listening to the steady rhythm of his heart beating, she smiled, thinking about how nice it was going to be during the next few days of his stay. Pulling her head off of his shoulder, she said,"You must be tired. Do you want to go inside and rest?"

Sungmin shook his head slightly. "Nope. This is just fine out here. I get to look at some of the most beautiful sights: the fall leaves blowing in the wind and you." He scrunched up his face in a cutesy smile.

Blushing at his compliment, she tried to take the attention away from herself, asking, "Well, are you hungry or thirsty? I can run in and get you something." 

He shook his head. "Nope. I'm perfectly fine right here." He grinned, looking at her coloured cheeks and admiring her beauty. "Just sit down and relax for awhile and just enjoy the view around us."

She settled back into the swing cushion, resting her head on his shoulder. 

He pushed his feet off the ground, causing the porch swing to rock gently back and forth. The calm, rhythmic motion of the swing and the warm touch of her boyfriend next to her, sent a warm and cozy feeling through her, relaxing her.

However, the same could not be said of him. The motion of the swing and the warmth of her leaning on him sent butterflies to his stomach, making him uneasy. Swallowing softly the saliva building up in his mouth, he hoped and prayed that she would not notice and that he could get through this alright. He felt his heart pounding hard and fast beneath his rib cage. He was sure that she could hear it, since it sounded like a blacksmith pounding on horseshoes with a large mallot in his own ears. As the breeze swirled around them, he felt his palms become sweaty. He felt as if there was a hole burning through his right jean pocket, where a small, black, velvet box lay hiding. 

At a loss for words, he wracked his mind, trying to recall the words that he had rehearsed so many times in his mind. Why was this so hard? He was even more nervous than when he was waiting with his fellow members backstage at SBS nine years ago for their debut performance.

Haru tilted her head to face him, sensing that something was bothering him. "Is everything alright, oppa?" she asked quietly, adjusting her eyeglasses slightly.

Quickly masking his nervousness with a warm smile, he suggested, "Why don't we go for a little walk? It seems like a waste to not be a part of this beautiful scenery around us." He smiled cutely at her, covering up his nervousness.

"Sure, oppa." Her eyes smiled as did her lips. "That sounds like fun." 

Sungmin leaned over the edge of the porch swing to snatch his duffel bag off the ground. Opening it up, he pulled out a cap to sort of hide himself behind in case he needed to do so. Putting it on his head, he got off the porch swing, letting out a nervous breath as he picked his duffel bag up. 

"Here, oppa," said Haru, motioning with her head to the front door. "You can set your stuff inside. I have to grab something from the house anyway." She walked toward the door and opened it. Sungmin hurried over, taking it from her to let her enter first.

As she walked inside, Sungmin followed her with his eyes, wondering how he was going to do it. Closing the door behind him, he hurried to the guest room, which had since become his own room for whenever he came to visit .

Setting the duffel bag on the bed, he took a deep breath, trying to strike up his nerves for what was to come. He stood there, staring at a picture of them on the night stand bureau. A smile tugged at his lips as he looked at the picture that Ryeowook had taken of them when Sungmin had sneaked in a surprise kiss on the cheek, causing Haru to look but surprised and happy at the same time. 

How would she react to...

She entered his room, wrapping a pink scarf around her neck. She stopped in her tracks, sensing a strange vibe from her boyfriend as he seemed to be "zoned out", just staring at the photo on the night stand. 

"Oppa, are you sure you're alright?" she asked, walking over to feel his forehead, worried that he might have caught something from working so hard lately. Pressing her soft hand against his forehead and cheeks, she found nothing that would indicate that was sick.

"I'm fine," he replied with a smile.

Her eyes searched his face, trying to discern if there was something else bothering him. "Are you sure?"

He nodded. "I'm fine." His eyes lit up as if remembering something. "Oh! I almost forgot!" Opening up his duffel bag, he pulled out a pink plushie bear. "This is for you! I bought it when we were in Japan for the concert." He handed the cute and soft plushie over to her, causing her eyes to light up in excitement. 

"Thank you, oppa!" she smiled, her eyes crinkling up slightly as she did so. Flinging her arms around him, she gave him a hug in gratitude for his thoughtfulness.

He wrapped his arms around her gently, letting out a quiet breath from between his slightly parted lips. If only just asking what he wanted to ask her was that easy. 

Being so close to him with her head on his chest, Haru felt his heart pounding hard.

"Ready to go?" he asked, hoping that she could not hear his heart beating even though he was almost sure she was doing that very thing.

She pulled away with a smile. "Yes."

****

The warm, Autumn leaves blew around them, painting the sidewalks and yards with reds, oranges, golds, and yellows. The soft crackle of leaves underfoot only added to the beauty around them as they walked through the park, arms and hearts intertwined.

Nearing a park bench, they stopped to take a break, sitting down on the wooden seat. 

Sungmin glanced at the woman next to him and his heart beat faster in his chest. Now was his chance. Now was the time to just say it.

Her hair danced gently in the breeze and he felt his breath catch. "You're so beautiful," he whispered, barely realizing that he said that out loud.

Colour tinged her cheeks pink, as she lowered her head slightly, gently tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Thank you, oppa." She glanced up at him and saw an unusual emotion behind his eyes. Was it nervousness?

The strange look in his eyes disappeared in a flash. Looking around at the trees around them, he took a deep breath of the fresh air. Seemingly calm on the outside, his insides burned with a mixture of anticipation, nervousness, and passion, none of which seemed to be the right combination for saying the thing that he was dying to say to her. With his whole speech completely wiped from his memory, he was at a loss as to how to begin. 

Why was this so hard? It was just a question; a question made up of four little words. That was it! Just four little words! Will-you-marry-me... Will you marry me. Will you marry me? What's so hard about that? It was only natural that he should ask this question. He had been in love with her for years and they had a solid relationship of friendship, trust, and respect. They had reached a point in the relationship where it was only natural to want more, to take the next step. All he had to do was say four little words in the form of a question.

Bracing himself up, he took a deep breath to steady his ever pounding heart and quickening nerves. "Haru," he began, his voice gentle yet with a hint of gravity.

Haru turned her head to face him, her gentle eyes gazing at him, wondering why he seemed so out of sorts this evening. 

As she gazed at him softly from behind her glasses, her black hair waving gently in the breeze, he felt his heart beat faster as a million and one reasons of why he loved her flooded into his mind all at once. A smile tugged on the corners of his lips as he recalled all the beautiful memories they had shared and suddenly all his nervousness vanished. He no longer wanted to say just four little words, but about four million extravagent words to describe the way he felt about her. 

He felt a strange sensation come over him and he knew exactly what to say.

"Haru," she heard him whisper in an almost inaudible tone, his eyes gazing softly at her.

"Yes, oppa?" she asked, getting a little worried that something may be wrong and he was afraid to tell her. 

His smile beamed at her, setting her heart at ease. "I have something to tell-- er-- ask you."

Her eyes widened slightly and her heart began to pump faster as she wondered if--

His warm hands wrapped around hers as he began to sing softly, "Until the day your black hair turns grey, I promise to love you forever..."

She felt her breath catch in her chest as she realized what song he was singing.

"I want to tell you every single day that 'I love you'," he continued to sing, his voice strong and full of feeling, tenderness and love dripping from his tongue. "Would you marry me?" He got up from the bench as he continued to sing. "I want to live loving you and cherishing you." He pulled out the little, black, velvet box from his right pocket. "I want to put you to sleep in my arms every night." Opening up the box in his hands, as he lowered himself to one knee, he spoke in a soft voice, "Would you marry me? Will you give me this permission?"

Haru covered both in surprise and happiness, small tears of joy filling her eyes as she looked down at him on one knee with his hands outstretched as he held the ring. With her cheeks blushing a beautiful, dusty pink and her eyes sparkling with a certain happiness that only few truly experience, she nodded, whispering four little words of her own, "I will, Sungmin oppa."

With the utterance of those simple words, the two found their hands and hearts laced together as their lips met in a silent promise of love as the Autumn leaves danced around them happily, bidding them a most beautiful life together.

█ ▌*Song was "Marry U" by Super Junior (Eng translation)