13 months in the making and the day was finally here. The day where Seulgi and her idol were going to host an art exhibition together.

To be fair, it was more of Hamgrok’s exhibition but they were going to show off the paintings they had worked on together and he had given Seulgi a part of the exhibition all to herself to display her art pieces. She had some surprises in store for some people.

“I hope all goes well,” Seulgi scrunched up her face as Joohyun pulled the final knot on her tie a little too tight. A small apology was muttered before the tie was slightly loosened.

“After this we need to go on a proper trip. I haven’t seen you much in the past 13 months,” Seulgi whispered against the crown of Joohyun’s head as she backhugged her. Her beautiful girlfriend was in a simple yet beautiful blue gradient maxi dress which contrasted against her pale skin and brought out the colour of her eyes. As they gazed at each other in the mirror, it was hard not to see the love they had for each other.

“Your studio is here so technically you’ve been seeing me almost everyday. I live here remember,” Joohyun sighed contently as she leaned further into Seulgi’s embrance.

“Yes, but you know, almost is never enough~” Seulgi hummed as she tightened her hold on the little entity in front of her. This woman was her life. Her soulmate. And most importantly, hers.

“You ready?”

“Always.”

“Seulgi! We have not seen you in ages! How does it feel to be back?” A reporter his mike in front of Seulgi’s face as the couple walked down the red carpet. “Also, would you like to comment on your date for today?”

“Yes well, I have been out of the scene for a while since the incident but I’m back and hopefully for a long long time,” Seulgi chuckled. “I believe my date is someone whom you guys have covered in your papers so I don’t think any comments need to be made.”

With that, the couple made their way up the steps, past all the reporters – and their never ending questions – towards the art gallery. It seemed like this was going to be a long day.

“This is the one?” Joohyun asked as Seulgi and her stood in front of a rather darked-themed art piece.

“Yep.”

“You sure about this?”

“No turning back now. It’s already been painted and is on display here,” Seulgi gave a shrug of her shoulders as she turned around, eyes curving into crescents as she saw her mentor walking her way.

“Seulgi! Nice to see you here!” Hamgrok smiled as he approached the pair, tipping his hat in Joohyun’s direction.

“Nice to see you too! Thanks for letting me display my work here,” Seulgi smiled as the two embraced.

“You brought a pretty dark one this time. I hope the introduction for the piece goes well later,” Hamgrok glanced up at Seulgi’s painting. “I have your back so don’t worry too much about anything.

Joohyun noted that Seulgi was getting more and more nervous as 9pm approached. Squeezing her hand as a sign of reassurance, she and Seulgi headed up to their private room before the introduction of Seulgi’s art pieces to the world.

“It’s gonna be alright you know,” Joohyun nudged Seulgi from her reverie, resting her head in the crook of Seulgi’s neck.

“I know I’m just nervous about a lot of things,” Seulgi replied, taking in a whiff of Joohyun’s hair.

“Let’s see, we have about another half hour till you need to head down,” Joohyun noted as she glanced at the clock on the wall. “I think this will help relieve some nerves.”

With that, Joohyun leaned in and started kissing Seulgi on the lips, readjusting her position to drape herself in front of her lover. Seulgi’s hands immediately went to Joohyun’s waist, holding her in position as the kiss deepened and hands began to roam.

What can one say? A make out session could cure any nerves.

“The second last piece I would like to introduce is this.” The spotlight shone on the painting in the far left corner. It was a dark piece. Black paint had been thrown on the canvas, giving it a look of chaos and grief. At the top left corner, it was evident that the canvas had been angrily torn and red paint seeped out of it, as though it was blood from a gaping wound. But on the right side, there was a sudden divide and the colours came in – orange, blue, yellow, colours that depicted happiness.

“I drew this painting based off my childhood,” Seulgi began, not beating around the bush. Turning back to the crowd, she spotted her mentor, Joohyun and the most important person she had wanted at that event.

Her mother.

“I started learning art from a young age. To me, it was more than a hobby. It was a passion. I loved it so very much. But so did my mother --- and for all the wrong reasons. From young she kept me in my room, practising and mastering techniques. I could only watch through my bedroom window as my friends all played at the playgrounds near my house.

“As I grew up, she forced me to sit at the studio for 19 hours each day, drawing and painting non-stop. If I ever left my seat, she would drag me back to the studio and hit me till I bled. Meanwhile, she took all my work and bribed some of the most influential art collectors in South Korea to buy them and display them for others to see. Eventually, my piece ‘The Calling of Stars”, became a huge hit and that was there I got my breakthrough.

“However, all the money I earned from selling that piece went into my mother’s pocket and I was left without a cent. But finally making it to the national stage, I managed to bargain for my freedom and, blinded by the money, my mother said yes.

“But for all these years she has had me under her finger. Forcing me to give her money from my art pieces otherwise she would rat me out as a lesbian. Please understand that in my country, homouality is poorly condoned and it would have been very tough for me to climb back up if she had done that. Hence, I always gave in.

“But now, thanks to my mentor, Peter,” Seulgi looked over and flashed him a smile, “I don’t think I will hide this anymore. I am sick and tired of living under this woman’s oppression. Yes, I am a lesbian. But it doesn’t make me any less of an artist. I think you can see that in the quality of works I produce. What I would like everyone to know is that my mother,” She pointed at the woman dressed in Burberry from head to toe, “has been abusing me since I was a child, both mentally and psychologically and I have had enough of it!”

A collective gasp rang through the crowd and all eyes turned to Mrs Kang, who was now completely flustered.

“KANG SEULGI! WHAT IS THE MEANING-“

“And the last piece,” Seulgi raised her voice to quieten the crowd, “is this.”

The spotlight moved to a different piece. It was a picture of a girl carrying boxes that were obviously taller than herself.

Joohyun gasped.

It was her.

“I don’t think I can elaborate too much about this piece,” Seulgi commented before looking directly into Joohyun’s eyes. “This was the moment when I realised that I loved this woman. She has brought sunlight into my days, and has stuck with me though thick and thin.

“And I have a very important question to ask her today.”

The knock of Seulgi’s shoes against the floor was the only sound that could be heard in the exhibition hall as she walked towards Joohyun. It was an understatement to say that Joohyun’s heart was going into overdrive – she felt like she was going to get a heart attack with every passing second that Seulgi was walking towards her. All eyes were trained on the two figures as Seulgi reached into her pocket, pulling out a small box.

“Bae Joohyun,” Seulgi breathed, going down on one knee but keeping her eyes level with her girlfriend’s. Her hands shaking, she opened the small box to reveal a simple yet beautiful diamond ring.

“They say falling in love is not a spontaneous thing. It happens over a period of time and the time I have spent with you has made me realise that everyday, I’m still falling for you more and more. You gave me the courage to come out, to do this exhibition and honestly, to get through life. With you by my side, there is nothing I can’t do.

“A wise man once told me ‘Don’t marry someone you can live with; marry someone you can’t live without.’. To me Joohyun, that’s you and it will always be you.”

It was getting hard for Joohyun to breathe and her vision was starting to be blurred by tears. Even so, she could see Seulgi’s eyes shining with tears as well. This was the moment. The moment that all couples dreamt of.

“Bae Joohyun, will you marry me?”  

_______

Ok so I got Seulgi's mom out of the way and oh my a proposal whoo!

I'll probably end this fic after the next chaper. I don't think I can live with myself if I give this up halfway again. It's rather unhealthy lol.

Rest well readers. I hope this chapter was even satisfying to read idk.