Myungsoo pulls his scarf up further, checking his watch again—he should’ve known it was a bad idea to come here so early when the temperature’s practically in the negative outside, but truthfully he just hadn’t been able to stop himself. He’s been looking forward to this for too long and Woohyun’s been acting so mysterious that it’s somewhere between ridiculous and endearing (though possibly closer to the latter). Either way, it’s the reason for why he’s been standing here for almost half an hour, waiting on their agreed street corner and trying to save his nose from freezing off his face before Woohyun turns up.

“Myungsoo-yah! You’re here already? Have you waited long?”

Well, that’s not so bad, Myungsoo thinks to himself, pulling down his scarf again so he can greet Woohyun with a smile. He’s fifteen minutes early. He laughs when Woohyun practically tackles him, but the feeling of his warmth encircling him is the most comforting thing he’s felt all day. Woohyun doesn’t mind either when he buries his face in his neck, though he knows his nose is cold. He just laughs, reaching up to ruffle Myungsoo’s hair affectionately.

“You’re really cold. Sorry I kept you waiting.”

“No, it’s fine,” Myungsoo replies. His voice sounds somewhat muffled, but Woohyun seems to understand him fine. “I got here too early. So now will you tell me where we’re going today?”

“Well, no. What’s the point in ruining the surprise when you’re so close to seeing the real thing?” Woohyun gently pries Myungsoo away from his neck, though he compensates by immediately leaning down to press a quick kiss to his lips. He’s cupping Myungsoo’s cheek with his hand, and it seems somehow natural to just nuzzle into the touch, though the faint brush of the fur lining at the edge of Woohyun’s glove feels a little ticklish. “But I’ll give you a hint. We’re going to have to do a bit of walking.”

“In this weather? Really?” Myungsoo’s trying to sound annoyed, but he’s pretty sure he fails if Woohyun’s grin is anything to go by. Woohyun’s arm is still wrapped around his waist, and Myungsoo reaches down to lace his fingers with Woohyun’s where his hand’s resting on his hip.

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep you warm.” Woohyun gently tugs Myungsoo forward, and with an exaggerated sigh that leaves a puff of cold mist behind, Myungsoo just follows.

The walk’s not unpleasant, of course. Myungsoo does make token complaints about the cold, even while Woohyun shoots back retorts about how warm Myungsoo feels already—“are you a walking furnace or something?”—which Myungsoo has to point out doesn’t apply to his nose, or ears, or fingers. But Woohyun’s bright smile is warming in and of itself, so he has to admit he really doesn’t mind, not even when Woohyun pinches his nose in an attempt to ‘warm it up’.

Before he even realises, they’ve left the city behind, Woohyun leading him up and along a sloping path he didn’t even know existed until then. He hadn’t been able to pass up the chance to tease Woohyun about that either, asking him why he chose now of all times to trek up a hill just so they can be even colder at the top. Woohyun didn’t answer that with anything but yet another mysterious smile, but Myungsoo thinks he might have an inkling of the reason now.

The day’s faded into evening, something he barely notices until Woohyun points it out to him. Woohyun lets him rest his head on his shoulder while they gaze at the sun hovering just above the horizon, brilliant rays of gold and purple illuminating the snow around them. “You know,” he starts, feeling more than seeing Woohyun turn towards him, “I still think you’re weird for wanting to climb a hill in the middle of winter when there’s snow everywhere, but I guess it really isn’t so bad.”

“I have my reasons. And you like it, I can tell, don’t pretend you don’t.” Woohyun sounds faintly amused, and Myungsoo would retort if Woohyun didn’t cut him off with a kiss. When he pulls away, though, all he says is, “Come on, we’re not there yet and the sun’s already going down. Let’s go.”

“No, seriously, where are we going?” Myungsoo asks, but Woohyun just smiles again and kisses him on the cheek before pulling him up.

“You’ll see soon. We’re almost there.”

-

They’re going a little slower now, though the path is unexpectedly well-lit—even when the last of the sunlight disappears, it’s never a hard journey. Woohyun’s hand is tightly interlocked with his, and even through the gloves Myungsoo can feel the rub of Woohyun’s thumb against the back of his hand. Their conversation has tapered off into comfortable silence, and Myungsoo finds he likes that too; now that they’re far away from the city it feels like it’s just him and Woohyun in the entire world, in the middle of the serene quiescence that’s settled over them.

“We’re here,” Woohyun finally announces, and Myungsoo blinks in surprise, momentarily disoriented. He’s noticed that the incline has slowly smoothed out, but now he sees that they’ve reached the top after all. He wants to ask questions—like what they’re doing here, and what Woohyun’s brought him here for and why here specifically—but Woohyun just gives him another quick smile before leading him forward, still holding his hand.

“Look.”

Woohyun’s pointing upwards, and without really thinking, Myungsoo just looks up—and gasps. He didn’t notice it on the way up, but the sky today is clearer than it’s been in seemingly forever. And now that night has fallen, he’s looking up at an endless field of stars, thousands of bright diamonds set in a velvet sky. He doesn’t realise his hand’s tightened around Woohyun’s until he feels him squeeze it tightly in answer, and he finally takes his eyes off the sight so he can look at Woohyun.

“Woohyun.” He’s not sure what to say, what words should be said—but Woohyun seems to understand him anyway, gently pulling him in for a kiss. It’s deep and slow, the way Myungsoo likes best, giving him ample opportunity to show Woohyun just how much he appreciates him without saying a word. Woohyun’s rubbing the back of his neck, a slight but soothing motion that he instinctively responds to; when they finally part from the kiss, he leans into the touch, unwilling to look away from Woohyun’s eyes for a moment. Woohyun smiles, leaning over to kiss Myungsoo’s forehead.

“That’s not all, you know.” Woohyun nudges him forward again, closer to the railing, and Myungsoo walks forward curiously. He’s only just taken a couple of steps when he realises what Woohyun wants to show him, though. He stops, mesmerised by the sight all over again, the bright lights of the city spread out like a map below him. He walks closer to the rail at Woohyun’s urging, until he’s eventually at the edge, leaning over it as he stares at the gold-orange sea of stars.

Stars above him, and stars below him. So this is why Woohyun wanted to bring him here.

“Do you like it?” Woohyun’s voice is soft, but in the silence surrounding them Myungsoo hears every word clearly. He breathes in, and even though the air’s colder than ever he finds that he doesn’t mind anymore. It makes him feel alive—like what he’s seeing is real.

“Yes.”

He doesn’t need to look over to know that Woohyun’s smiling. Feeling an arm gently wrap around his waist, Myungsoo leans in, resting his head on Woohyun’s shoulder again. “Thank you,” he says softly, and Woohyun’s arm tightens around him in response. “How did you even think of this?”

“Well, I wanted to do something special for you, and I know you love the stars.” Myungsoo turns away then, glancing up so he can see Woohyun’s smile. “So I wanted to find some way to give them to you.”

Myungsoo’s breath catches in his throat then, but before he can figure out an answer, Woohyun’s pulling away—not far, but enough that when Myungsoo turns around, he’s looking straight into his eyes. “And I can’t give you all of them, but I thought that maybe I could give you just one.”

He reaches into his coat, and Myungsoo’s almost trembling when he sees what Woohyun takes out. When Woohyun opens the tiny box, there’s a bright diamond set to a circle of gold, nestled right there in a bed of dark blue velvet.

“Kim Myungsoo, will you marry me?”

It’s the most beautiful star Myungsoo has ever seen.

He’s frozen for a moment, almost too overwhelmed to do anything—to move or cry or even say a word. But when he lifts his head slightly and finds himself staring straight into Woohyun’s earnest eyes, he’s finally broken out of his trance. He’s surging forward before he can think of it, and Woohyun yelps when they’re suddenly both in the snow and Myungsoo’s face is buried in his neck all over again while he tries to blink away his tears.

“Myungsoo! What—”

“Yes,” he chokes out, and Woohyun stills beneath him. “Yes. I will. God, Woohyun, I didn’t expect… I-I love you so much.” He’s crying after all, unable to stop the tears from falling, but he tries for a shaky smile anyway. His vision is blurred, but he thinks that Woohyun’s holding back his own tears as well; his eyes look a little too bright. Just like stars, he finds himself thinking, even as he feels Woohyun’s fingers gently rubbing over his cheeks and brushing his tears away.

“I love you too,” Woohyun whispers, and Myungsoo can tell from his voice that he’s just as overcome. “I love you so much. Thank you.” He reaches over to press a light kiss to Myungsoo’s lips, smiling up at him. Myungsoo’s sure that he looks terrible right now, his nose redder than ever and his cheeks tear-stained, but Woohyun doesn’t seem to care at all. He’s trembling a little when Woohyun helps him up, kissing him softly again before retrieving the box. They’re surrounded by stars, but once again Myungsoo can’t help feeling that this one shines brighter than the rest. “Can I…?”

“Yes.” Myungsoo tries to take deep breaths, calm himself down a little, though his heart’s beating so fast now he doesn’t think he can manage to. But Woohyun just smiles again, carefully taking off Myungsoo’s glove and smoothing his thumb over the back, just as he always does. The ring’s a perfect fit when Woohyun slides it on, and he takes a moment to admire the way the diamond almost seems to glow in the starlight.

“A star,” Woohyun repeats softly. “Just for you.” He leans in, and Myungsoo responds immediately, kissing him back like his life depends on it.

When they finally bring themselves to part, Myungsoo spends a long moment just looking into Woohyun’s eyes, feeling like he never wants to look away. “You didn’t really have to buy a diamond ring, you know,” he finally says, his lips quirking upwards slightly at the corners. Woohyun pouts at that, and Myungsoo laughs when he kisses his nose again. But before Woohyun can answer him, he speaks again, his voice softer this time.

“Because the brightest stars are right here.”

He hears Woohyun draw in a quick breath when he leans in closer, his eyes fluttering shut when Myungsoo brushes a whisper of a kiss across his eyelid. There’s just a hint of wetness at the corner of his eyes when Myungsoo does it again, and he reaches up to wipe the tears away.

“I love you,” he repeats, and he means it more than ever this time.

“I do, too.” Woohyun’s voice is shaky, but there’s a hint of teasing in his tone when he says, “And here I thought I came up with some really good lines, but you one-upped me.”

Myungsoo laughs at that, and his heart warms when Woohyun joins him. The stars are shining down and smiling up at them at the same time, and when Woohyun draws him in for another kiss, Myungsoo knows right then that he’s the luckiest person in the world.

“So should we head back down now?” Woohyun nuzzles into his cheek, arms still wrapped tightly around him. “You’re probably cold, I know. We can go back home, get under the blankets…”

Myungsoo sighs softly at the thought. “Yeah. That sounds nice.”

Woohyun’s smile is almost blinding, and once again he reaches down to take Myungsoo’s hand, holding it tightly. Myungsoo hasn’t put his glove back on, but with Woohyun’s hand warm around his, he’s sure he won’t need it. He takes a last look at the stars before they start on the journey back, but despite their beauty he doesn’t feel any regret at walking away.

The stars that he’s leaving behind can’t compare to the ones he’s lucky enough to have, after all.