They were at the tender age of ten when they first met; a fateful meeting between two innocents. It was spring; streets were vibrant with blossoming flowers. A beautiful sight anywhere the feet bring but the boy didn’t care. The initial excitement that thundered inside his chest came crashing down into a pit of discontentment, scowl marring his face the moment words escaped the principal’s lips.

 

“I know you are all excited to go home and enjoy your spring break but what’s more fun than to spend your last day of school with friends from other country?”

 

And the moment a myriad of students stepped foot on their classroom, Sehun’s lips pursed into a thin line. And it was in that moment that he had no idea how many English words he had learnt in class. Hello? Thank you? It was a nightmare. They were a little older looking and a little taller than most of the people in his class. A nudge on his side had him turning his head to the person next to him.

 

“That girl looks like a Korean,” Jongin told him in a whisper, jutting his lips in the direction where a girl was standing in silence, a shy smile gracing her lips as her eyes roamed around the room. Her tiny figure and raven black shoulder length hair stood out among the massive jumbled of blond and brunette mops.

 

Sehun turned to look and their eyes met right then. A little spark had ignited in the brief of a moment before the girl looked away. His eyes glued on the small figure a little too long then, snapping out only when a loud clap boomed throughout the room.

 

“They’ll be joining your language class,” the teacher said and the myriads of students scattered around the room, having been told to partner up with the Koreans and she, who Sehun assumed to be Korean, decided to place her chair in the space between Sehun and Jongin. Sehun groaned inwardly. Why did she have to sit beside him of all places? Well, at least he didn’t have to speak in English.

 

They conversed in their mother tongue language and Sehun had been grateful but then they turned to each other slowly and he decided that it was awkward, gulping a lump in his throat out of nervousness. The girl bowed her head, greeting him formally in Korean and Sehun did the same, his voice sounding more awkward than how he intended it to be. It was followed by silence, long and uncomfortable.

 

The girl bowed again then, out of nowhere, effectively breaking the lingering silence, and she introduced her name in her little shy voice. “My name is Choi Jinri.”

 

“My name is Oh Sehun,” Sehun replied in instinct, eyes not quite looking at the girl as he spoke. “Where do you live?” was the question that followed after, just out of politeness.

 

“New York,” the girl named Jinri replied and Sehun was amazed with her slight American accent then though he quickly and smartly covered such amazement with his signature stoic face.

 

Her question was followed by another silence, again, for lacking a better question to ask, before it was interrupted by a frustrated groan that came from the other side of the girl. “No! No! Wrong!” Jongin exclaimed in English, his heavy accent was too obvious to be missed and the two innocents met eyes, which was followed by a chuckle not a second later.

 

They held a mini cooking class after a good hour of learning Korean language and that was the time Sehun found out she was a closet sass with a demeanour of the typical shy girl. They were asked to form a group of four and Sehun took Jongin’s arm instantaneously, leaving Jinri and another girl that was Jongin’s partner to be in the same group as them.

 

“You’re supposed to put that inside the gimbap, not eat them,” Jinri sassed in an alien language and Sehun stared at the girl, long and hard with his mouth tightly shut as he thought hard of what the spoken words meant but he couldn’t make out anything except for the words gimbap and eat. “Oh, I’m sorry,” the girl immediately apologized after in their native language, a sheepish smile playing around her face. “I said, you’re supposed to put that inside the gimbap, not eat them,” she repeated in Korean and his cheeks were coloured with embarrassed red then.

 

“We’re going to eat them anyway,” he retorted, playing it cool as he put another egg into his mouth while he had his eyes on the girl just to annoy her.

 

>>> <<<

 

They were in the blissful year of twenty-four when they met again. Sehun had felt puzzled when he walked out of the glass door of the arrival area, surprised with being greeted by a new face instead of a familiar one. On top of that it was a lady, an unusual choice, dressed in a peach blazer (a black tank top on the inside) with black and white striped pencil skirt, and her figure stood out among many, whose demeanour screamed nothing but prosperous. The expression on her face had been a mixed of bored and displeased as she held a placard that has Sehun’s name on it. Sehun’s brow rose questioningly in amusement as he walked to where the lady was.

 

“Didn’t know my father hired a lady to be my chauffer,” he commented jokingly and the lady replied him with, “Well, you’re welcome, Mister Oh.” Sehun was sure that the sarcasm was intentional.

 

“My father asked me to pick you up so I did,” she said while placing the placard on top of Sehun’s luggage and Sehun raised his brow in surprise.

 

“Your father? Mister Choi?”

 

“Yes,” she answered then before the lady took a hold of Sehun’s trolley and pushed it out the exit while saying, “Now can we please get out of here?  I don’t want to get stuck in traffic.” His brow perched up yet again but decided not to question her behaviour, instead trailed behind her.

 

“Are we being arranged or something?” And the way the lady looked at him with a raised of her brow told him that she was not surprised at the very least by his question. He had been forced to sit at the front passenger seat since the lady had adamantly refused to let him drive her car.

 

“Why? You want us to be?” the lady questioned back instantaneously and he was a little taken aback by her bluntness then. He thought he was seeing himself in a mirror. “I’m Choi Jinri by the way, in case you’re wondering.”

 

“But I don’t,” jested Sehun and the lady simply shrugged it off before she looked at him. “Do you want to meet my father right away or go to the hotel?” she asked but then, “No, forget I asked. Let’s have lunch. I’m hungry.”

 

Rolling his eyes, Sehun questioned, “Why did you even bother asking in the first place?”

 

“Just because.” In other words, out of politeness, he muttered silently.

 

“You’re either broke or you’re just ungenerous.”

 

“Why bother eating at expensive restaurant when you can eat delicious foods at McD?” she sassed back before the lady left him standing outside while she entered the fast food restaurant. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a stomach to feed.”

 

“I can file a complaint about this poor service you’re giving me you know,” Sehun told her once they were seated at the corner of the restaurant, a serious expression on his face.

 

“Go ahead. But it doesn’t change the fact that you don’t remember me,” she muttered in response that had Sehun looking at her with a confusion written all over his face.

 

“Have we met before?” he asked but the lady didn’t answer, opting to give him a shrug of a shoulder instead before she took a bite of her burger.

 

He tried to recall any memory of meeting her but nothing came to his mind.

 

“Elementary school,” supplied Jinri nonchalantly after a few beats but his mind was a blank slate. “A visit from American students,” she added then. She looked seemingly annoyed at the sight of his blank face. “Black long hair… The only Korean…”

 

Sehun snapped his finger then as something suddenly clicked in his mind. “Ah! That small girl! That was you?”

 

“Who are you saying small? I was in a higher grade than you were, in case you forgot,” she grumbled, glaring at him.

 

“But,” he paused for a moment, feigning disbelief as he gestured to her vaguely. “From that to this? Unbelievable.”

 

“You’re one to talk, awkward boy,” came a retort and she received a look of incredulous in return.

 

“I wasn’t awkward!” Sehun defended a little too quickly, his lips twisting in a defiant manner. “I just didn’t like talking with stranger.”

 

His words had Jinri rolling her eyes in a mock manner. “Right.”

 

“Well, I can see that you have upgraded your sassiness too,” Sehun commented easily after and Jinri threw a fry at him. “When did you know it was me?”

 

“I remember your name. And your face hasn’t change too.”

 

Sehun quirked a brow. “Really?” and there was proudness written all over Sehun’s face, hands in either side of his cheeks as he looked at the lady cutely. He received a fry square in the face then.

 

“Eww, you’re embarrassing.”

 

***

 

The first time Sehun had stepped foot into the Choi’s building; he was surprised, at the way Jinri had turned to a new person, a complete opposite to how she behaved around him. She would offer a smile to anyone she came across with, a friendly gesture that Sehun hadn’t expected her to do. He had bit his lip along the way until they reached the highest floor.

 

“Is president inside?” Jinri smiled to the secretary when the question rolled out of her lips.

 

Sehun on the other hand tried his best to hide his smile behind his curled up hand. “Didn’t know you can smile,” he whispered that had the lady jabbing him on the ribs.

 

“Shut up, Oh,” the lady muttered under her breath before opening the door to her father’s office. “President. I brought Oh Sehun like you asked me to.”

 

“Just dad, Jinri.”

 

“We’re in the office,” she replied flatly, taking a seat on the black leather sofa with crossed legs, a little too comfortable that had Sehun throwing a pillow at her lightly. The lady rolled her eyes at him but went to cover the bare skin below her skirt.

 

“Nice to finally meet you, Oh Sehun,” Sehun was offered a hand and he gladly shook it.

 

“Likewise, Mister Choi.” And there was a smile gracing his lips.

 

“I heard a lot of wonderful things about you, future president of Oh Corporation,” the president complimented and Jinri snorted at the old man’s words, who retorted with a glare that went blatantly ignored. Sehun tried keeping a straight face but failed miserably.

 

“How’s your father?”

 

“Just go to my office if you’re done. Now, if you’ll excuse me,” Jinri interrupted before Sehun could answer, standing up before she disappeared out the door.

 

There was a sigh coming from beside him. “I apologize for my daughter’s behaviour. Jinri can be a little— unpleasant.”

 

Sehun laughed at that. “I think she’s interesting.”

 

“Oh sorry, I’ll just—“  Sehun apologized right after he opened the door to Jinri’s office with a slow and careful movement. A lady with a pile of files in her hands turned her head upon hearing the sound of his voice, but Jinri was quick to waved Sehun over.

 

”No. Just come in. I’ll be done in a few.”

 

So Sehun entered the office and made himself comfortable on one of the sofa, eyes training on the two figures. Jinri had her work façade on, face plastered with seriousness in its glory as she spoke. She was in the midst of signing yet another document when her voice sounded out of nowhere, “Your eyes are going to fall off if you keep on glancing at Mister Oh right there.”

 

Her secretary who had been chancing a glance at Sehun not less than once turned beet red at Jinri’s blunt words and instantly covered her face with the file she was holding. Sehun suppressed a laugh, shaking his head as he leaned his back against the sofa.

 

***

 

“Thank you for sending me, and for your company too in the past few days, though, I still want to file a complaint about your extreme hunger.”

 

“I’m pleased to hear that, Mister Oh. I hope not to meet you again in the future. Have a nice day,” she bowed in extreme displeasure and he flicked her forehead before running away.

 

>>> <<<

 

The year that followed after had welcomed him in the form of déjà vu upon walking out of the sliding door. He was greeted by yet the same lady, this time dressed in a black laced three-quarter sleeve sheath, her signature boring look on her face as she looked at her watch. A placard with his name written on it was in her hand, looking almost crumpled. The dress did justice at accentuating her curve perfectly but Sehun draped his jacket around her petite body instead (because there were too many scrutinizing eyes boring into her flesh).

 

“What makes you think you can just call me and ask me to pick you up?” The lady asked in a flat tone but she took a hold of Sehun’s luggage out of habit, pushing it out the double doors of the airport as if it was an obligation. Sehun rolled his eyes at her words.

 

“Well, you’re here so what’s the problem?” he asked back and received a glare in return.

 

“I have work in case you forgot.”

 

“We’re going to the same place anyway,” the guy replied back easily then draped his arm casually around the lady’s shoulders, who in return jabbed him on the ribs using her pointed elbow.

 

>>> <<<

 

“Who is it this time?” Sehun asked. That had been the hundredth time she had asked him for a favour, the same one, and he puffed out his cheeks out of habit as he waited for her to speak in her never-ending exasperated voice.

 

“I don’t know!” came her whisper-shouted answer and Sehun let out a sigh at that. He could already picture the lady scrunching her face in annoyance. “I’ll text you the place. Come fast, Oh!” and the line went dead.

 

He let out a sigh yet again.

 

…Save me, Oh!!!  He received along with the restaurant’s address and Sehun drove as fast as he could, probably reaching over the speed limit just for the sake of saving her off some blind date.

 

He walked to where she was, with stoic face on he asked, “Jinri ah, what are you doing here? Who’s this guy?” Sehun inwardly cringed at his bad acting but the man across the lady didn’t seem to notice that.

 

“O-oppa,” stuttered Jinri who tried her best to appear surprised and panic. They both cringed at her failed effort.

 

“Are you cheating on me, baby?”

 

“This—it’s not what you think—“ Jinri bit her lip and Sehun tried his best not to roll his eyes.

 

Sehun turned to the guy then, saying, “I apologize for the inconvenience but she’s taken. Now if you’ll excuse us.” Taking a hold of Jinri’s arm, he discreetly pulled her out of the restaurant. He immediately crossed his arms over his chest upon exiting the restaurant. “You owe me two servings of samgyupsal, babe.”

 

“Don’t you babe me, Oh Sehun.” Jinri sassed with a roll of her eyes. “Where do you want to eat?”

 

>>> <<<

 

His proposal had been rather casual, the words slipping in their conversation rather easily two years into their friendship. It hadn’t been planned out (and that was actually a lie since he had been thinking about doing it for such a long time but just didn’t know how to lay out the question). He had entered the lady’s apartment in a casual manner, sauntering straight to where he was sure where Jinri was and was instantly greeted by the smell of fried food. His lips had curved up then. “You’re making omelette rice for breakfast?”

 

Jinri had shrieked upon hearing his voice, instantaneously went through her daily outburst. “What on earth are you doing barging into someone’s apartment this early morning?” the lady exclaimed in her second language.

 

“You’re a giraffe though,” Sehun replied easily and there was a grin on his face. Jinri glared. “Besides, what’s the point of telling me your password if I can’t go in whenever I want?”

 

“You forced me to tell you remember?” the lady reminded harshly, mixing the batter furiously and Sehun gave her a sheepish grin in return.

 

“Anyway, thank you for the food,” the guy bowed in mock formal, immediately changing the topic that had Jinri rolling her eyes but she went to serve the guy a plate of omelette rice.

 

Sehun took a bite and it was instantly followed by a contented sigh, “Bliss.”

 

“That’s my precious plate, Oh, just so you know,” Taking her seat, she reminded as she looked at the way Sehun devoured the food like a hungry animal. Sehun ignored her words blatantly.

 

“I have a question,” Sehun suddenly said in between bites.

 

“Fire away.”

 

Sehun was silent for a moment, chomping on his food that had Jinri grimacing and giving him a look of disgust and gulped it down before he asked, “Do you want to be my girlfriend?” his voice came out nonchalant but inside his heart was racing.

 

“What if I don’t want to?” she plainly questioned back, looking at Sehun straight in the eyes with her signature bored look plastered on her face. “Just kid—“

 

“Are you sure you’re not the devil’s daughter or something?” Sehun frowned, his eyebrows meeting in furrow.

 

“I was going to say I was just kidding but I take back my words,” she deadpanned.

 

Sehun let out a strangled groan, hitting his head on the table in exasperation and Jinri laughed.

 

 

>>> <<<

It had taken Sehun three years to muster up his courage to make a proposal, not for a temporary place in her heart but a permanent one. It had been a rather planned out proposal (courtesy of his best friend) that instantly went down the drain out of nervousness. The second most nerve-wrecking moment of his life, Sehun described.

 

“How do I look?” Sehun asked the couple in front of him for the umpteenth time. Jongin rolled his eyes, also for the umpteenth time.

 

“You look fine, Sehun. Now stop asking or I’ll shut your mouth with a duct tape!” Jongin groused, annoyed. Beside him, Soojung laughed while her daughter, Jieun, giggled at the way Sehun had his lips in a pout at Jongin’s words.

 

There was a moment of silence, Sehun cleaning the invisible dirt off of his shirt before he looked up, a panic look on his face. “I can’t do this.”

 

“Are you serious?” Jongin deadpanned and there was an annoyed look on his face, clearly not amused with the continuous nonsense his friend was spouting.

 

“What if she refused?”

 

“Why did she accept you three years ago in the first place?” Jongin questioned back. He looked like he was a second away to strangle the other guy so Soojung stepped in.

 

“You’re going to be fine, Sehun. She’s going to accept you. Trust us, okay?” Soojung assured, giving him a reassuring smile. “Now take a deep breath,” the lady commanded then and Sehun obeyed but then his voice sounded again, sounding despair.

 

“What if she noticed right away?”

 

Jongin let out a noise, a mixture of strangled moan and groan and he breathed out through his nose. Soojung patted his shoulder as he said, “That’s why you have to calm down and just do what you usually did.”

 

“Okay,” Sehun breathed out.

 

Jongin then looked down at his watch. “Now, she’s going to be here any minute now.” Ignoring the look of horror on his friend’s face, he picked up his daughter and turned to Sehun. “Don’t mess this up!” he warned.

 

“Fighting, uncle Oh!” Jieun exclaimed in her dad’s arms. She gave Sehun a peck on the cheek before they went to hide but not before Jongin gave him his final warning.

 

“Don’t mess this up, Oh Sehun!”

 

The guy muttered incoherent words under his breath before he was greeted by a peck on the cheek. “Hey.” And he replied her with an equally bright smile.

 

“Busy day at the office?” had been his question and he inwardly winced.

 

“Something came up but it’s all good,” Jinri shrugged before giving him a sceptic look that had him groaning quietly. “Why are you asking about work anyway? Oh Sehun never likes talking about work.”

 

“Just curious.”

 

Jinri hummed then, not looking at him. “Hmm did something happen?” she asked.

 

“No!” he answered quickly, his voice unconsciously raising an octave higher.

 

“Really?” The scrutinizing eyes that bored into his had him shivered in his seat. “So why are we eating here? Are we celebrating something?”

 

“Yeah…”

 

“Oh?” she mouthed in surprise. “Celebrating what?”

 

“Something…”

 

“Something, what?” Jinri prompted and Sehun tried his best to remain calm and collected. “Are you hiding something from me, Oh Sehun?” and again the sceptic look was thrown to him.

 

“I’m not.”

 

“You’re hiding something from me, aren’t you?”

 

“I’m not!”

 

Jinri hummed again then, deciding to drop the subject. “Okay then, if you say so.”

 

Sehun had breathed out in extreme relief at that and he turned his head slightly, eyes landing on Jongin who gave him a deadly glare. A vibration from his pocket had him taking out his phone. Stop looking like a criminal in hiding! “Easy for you to say,” he muttered under his breath.

 

Jinri looked up from her food. “Did you say something?”

 

“Huh?” his mouth formed an O shape out of surprise before he regained his composure. “No.” He then took a red velvet box from his back pocket, clutching it tightly before he stood up and mumbled, “I can’t do this anymore.”

 

“What—“

 

And the lights went off. Through the darkness, Sehun shut his eyes and stretched out his hand before loudly asking, “Choi Jinri, will you marry me?”

 

Silence answered him, lingering until the lights were up again and he opened his eyes. He received a hit on the shoulder instead. “This is embarrassing!” Jinri told him but before he could say a word, however, his lips were met with that of Jinri’s. “But thank you, Oh.” And there was a smile as she took the box and slipped the ring to her fourth finger herself.

 

“Uncle Oh did it!” a cute voice exclaimed out of nowhere and Jinri snapped her head in the direction of the voice and her brows rose in surprise.

 

“What—“ She noticed Jongin and Soojung then, and the red love shaped balloon that was hung on one side of the piano with the question ‘will you marry me?’ written on it. “Oh, I get it now,” she chuckled.

 

“You stupid—“

 

“Jongin, word,” Soojung interrupted and Jongin shut his mouth for a second before it opened again.

 

“You screwed everything up, Oh Sehun!” Jongin exclaimed.

 

Sehun balked. “Wha—“

 

“You serious?” Jinri questioned, turning to look at Sehun before she said, “Good thing you didn’t do as he said. I would have to kill you if you did.” The guy looked at her in horror. “Never ask for a relationship advice from him,” she warned with a menacing voice but her eyes playful and Sehun faintly nodded his head. “No offense, Soojung, but he ,” she stated then, not even the slightest bit apologetic as she looked at the said woman.

 

“None taken,” Soojung shrugged which resulted in Jongin furrowing his brows in displeasure.

 

“Hey!”

 

>>> <<<

The fateful day had been a little over nine months after his proposal. It had been rather extravagant, being held at a five star hotel (of which it was neither theirs) with white as the wedding’s theme. Everything was planned out meticulously by the bride herself, from the flowers to the foods. Sehun on the other hand just agreed to everything, nodding most of the time and throwing his opinion once in a while (when Jinri forced him to). Know nothing about wedding, he had reasoned once.

 

“Little Sehun has grown up,” Jongin cried with a rather dramatic gesture of wiping an invisible tear off his eyes.

 

Sehun rolled his eyes. “Can you not,” he deadpanned. “I’m trying to calm down here and you’re not helping one bit.”

 

“Aww! Is Oh Sehun nervous?” Jongin teased and Sehun glared. Then, “Why do I feel like I’m sending my child off to marry?”

 

“I’m not going to repeat myself again, Kim Jongin,” the groom warned but Jongin just laughed at him.

 

Sehun then stood in front of the full-length mirror, straightening his crooked bowtie before a huff escaped his lips. “I don’t think I can do this.”

 

His words had Jongin looked up from reading a magazine. “What.”

 

Sehun turned to look at Jongin, a nervous mess. “No, this is wrong. I don’t think I can marry her, Jongin.”

 

“What.”

 

Sehun glared then. “Don’t you have anything else to say other than what?” he asked in exasperation.

 

“Wha—“

 

“One more what, I’m kicking you out from this room,” Sehun yelled in frustration but Jongin had countered back easily.

 

“One more nonsense, I’m kicking you out from this building.”

 

“Hey! This is my wedding!” he retaliated.

 

“Exactly,” the other replied with a smile. Jongin then stood up, leaving the magazine opened as it lay on the sofa.

 

Sehun paused for a moment as realization dawned on him but then he huffed. “But,” he furrowed his eyebrows. “Why do I feel like I don’t deserve her at all? Why does my stomach feels like it’s going to burst? What if I’m making a wrong decision by marrying her?”

 

”What exactly made you think that way?” Jongin asked, smiling.

 

“I don’t know. It’s just—we’re in an entirely different level. She can handle things easily while I do—“

 

“You helped her get out of her blind dates.”

 

“She always puts others before herself—“

 

“You weren’t happy when she brought you to McDonalds.”

 

“She knows how to cook.”

 

“That, I have to agree. When can I taste her chicken stew again?”

 

Sehun glared daggers at his friend at that. “Not in a million years if you don’t stop being a douchebag.”

 

Jongin laughed then before he shrugged, “What? You’re just having pre-wedding jitters, that’s normal. I had that too back then.”

 

“Did you? I don’t remember you looking anxious at all. You’re all smiley face and all that sunshine ,” he stated rather harshly.

 

“That’s because I was going to marry the love of my life. Why wouldn’t I be happy?”

 

“But—“

 

“And,” Jongin interrupted, raising his voice and it successfully shutting Sehun’s mouth. “I was anxious too, I just didn’t show it,” he admitted, smiling sheepishly.

 

Sehun raised his brow, as if questioning the validity of his friend’s statement. Jongin continued then, “It’s normal, really. You feel all sorts of things. You start to ask yourself ridiculous questions like, do I deserve her? Am I up for this? Am I ready to live with her for the rest of my life? Are we compatible enough to last for a lifetime? Am I making the right decision? What if she’ll leave me one day?  Am I good enough? Will I be a good husband? Will I be a good father?” he listed, seemingly lost in his own thoughts before he looked at the groom. “That’s normal. I had thousand questions running in my mind when I was in your position too but you know what? Every uncertainty that I had disappeared right away the moment she walked through that door. And every step she took walking down the aisle with a smile on her face, glowing, I knew right then that she was the one for me. And the moment I held her hand, I knew right away that I want to spend the rest of my life with her.”

 

Sehun could see the radiant smile playing around his friend’s lips.

 

“Ofcourse, there’ll be misunderstandings, fights too, problems will arise once you’re married but no one’s perfect. You both have flaws but who doesn’t right?” Jongin shrugged and Sehun groaned.

 

“I hate it when you’re making sense.”

 

Jongin grinned. “But seriously, you completed each other, trust me, I can see it clearly. Who can’t anyway? Two annoying people who can stand each other’s existence, what’s more perfect than that?”

 

Sehun rolled his eyes. “I’m just going to take that as a compliment for now.”

 

“Well, you’re welcome,” Jongin replied. “Now go make a vow and lots and lots of babies!”

 

“I’m going to kill you for real if you don’t shut up.”

 

>>> <<<

 

“Is it too late to run away?” Jinri asked as she turned around to face the room’s other occupant.

 

“What?”

 

“Do you have car keys with you? I don’t think I can do this, Soojung,” she asked.

 

“What?”

 

Soojung’s blank look had her glaring daggers. “I swear, one more what from you and I’m going to strangle you.”

 

“So stop saying nonsense,” Soojung told her easily.

 

Jinri huffed then, puffing out her cheeks. “I’m worried, Soojung.”

 

“About?” the said name inquired calmly.

 

“What if he’s not the right person for me? What if we end up regretting our decision?”

 

“Did you think twice when you accepted his proposal?”

 

“No.”

 

“Do you always wonder what it feels like to live with him? What it feels like to spend the rest of your life together? Waking up to the face of Oh Sehun? Closing your eyes knowing that he’s beside you? To grow old together?”

 

“Yes, yes, yes, yes, and no.” Soojung raised a brow. “Wrinkles are the last thing in my mind,” Jinri supplied, giving her a serious look.

 

Soojung chuckled at that. “But seriously though, I don’t see the problem here. I mean, you love him, he loves you, except, maybe he loves you too much.”

 

Jinri gave her a sideway look at her words. “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

 

“Both?” Soojung chuckled, then, “He’s a good person, Jinri. Chances are if you’re letting him slip away this time, you won’t find someone as good as him again the next time.”

 

Jinri pursed her lips. Soojung continued then, “It’s okay to have doubts; I had doubts too on my wedding day because, well, I was insecure of myself. I was not confident that I can make Jongin happy but then he proved me wrong. The moment I stepped into the room and locked eyes with him, he smiled and that was enough reason to let me believe that he indeed chose me to be his wife.”

 

There was a smile on her face and Jinri was sure that her friend fell in love with her husband all over again just at the thought of him. “You know Sehun for how many years now? Five? And I can assure you that you know him well enough to know him more than he knows himself. You understand each other, care for each other, you love each other, so aren’t that enough reasons to make you believe that you’re meant for each other? I’m not going to be cheesy since that’s Jongin’s job, but really though, I don’t see why you have to question yourself about all this.”

 

“Still worried,” she murmured helplessly.

 

Soojung then flashed her a mischievous grin, “You know what? If Sehun decides to run away later, I’ll have Jongin kill him right away, okay?” And that had Jinri grinning, equally mischievous, the initial anxiety she had disappeared out the window in an instant.

 

“You better,” she said.

 

Soojung chuckled in response. “I will. Now, off you go!”

 

>>> <<<

 

She took a deep breath and the moment the door was pushed open, taking a step into the room, her breath hitched, and that was the very moment she was sure about her decision. He was shining, so brightly it was almost blinding. There was no other person in the room that she could see, only him and his glowing self. Not even his friend who was whispering something to him that went unheard, not even her friend who was giving her a meaningful encouraging smile. And in that moment the only thing in her mind was, I want to spend the rest of my life with him.

                                                                                                                                    

He was a second away to flee, to get out of the place along with his thumping heart, his hearing already shutting out Jongin’s threatening words, but the moment she appeared before his eyes, stunning, like a goddess in disguise, he was frozen and awestruck, his heart stopped. Their eyes met and his heart went back alive, beating, before his lips curled up to form a radiant smile. And right at that moment, he was sure of one thing, I want to spend the rest of my life with her.