“No, Sehun, we are not buying Chanyeol a Porsche so that he can ride up to Baekhyun and say ‘hop in if you want a ride to a new husband.’ That is god awful and it makes me want to slam you over the head with a chair just thinking about it.”

   “Why so violent, Kyungsoo hyung,” says Sehun exasperatedly, crossing out Porsche on the sheet of paper. “What about a movie theater proposal?”

   “Unoriginal, expensive.” Minseok shakes his head. “It won’t do.”

   “Why don’t you just propose the old fashioned way, down on one knee with a ring and a ‘will you marry me?’”

   “What about down on two knees with a ball gag and handcuffs?”

   “Jongdae, please control yourself.”

   “Look, we have to find an idea fast.” Chanyeol pounds the table for emphasis and the ten others roll their eyes. “Our seventh anniversary is in a week and I want it to be that day.”

   “You can’t urge the creative process to meet your time constraints,” says Yifan. “Ask an artist.”

   “Yifan, please stop.”

  “Alright,” says Luhan, leaning forward. “Imagine. We rent a bounce house—”

   “NO,” says a pained Kyungsoo. “NO BOUNCE HOUSE, LUHAN.”

   “But bounce houses are cool.”

   “It’s not about you, it’s about Chanyeol proposing to the man of his life.” Kyungsoo puts his head in his hands. “This is a serious matter.”

   “What about like at a soccer game or something?” Yixing asks. “He likes soccer, doesn’t he?”

   “There’s the risk he’ll say no,” says Jongin cheekily. “Nothing too public or things could go wrong.”

   “You think he’ll say no?” Chanyeol’s voice rises in panic. “Really?”

   “He won’t say no, Chanyeol.” Joonmyun pats him on the back. “Don’t worry.”

   “But what if he says n—“

   “He won’t say no. You two have dated for seven years.”

   “WHAT IF HE BREAKS UP WITH ME ON OUR ANNIVERSARY?”

   “Look what you’ve done now,” groans Kyungsoo to Jongin.  “He’s paranoid.”

   “Let’s continue the meeting tomorrow when he is less worked up.”

__

   It is one day before Chanyeol and Baekhyun’s anniversary and Chanyeol is practically having heart palpitations from worry. He paces the length of the room countless times, trying to come up with a better idea because he literally has no other option than to go with Joonmyun’s classic proposal. He pauses for a moment, watching the lump in the sheets where Baekhyun lays, fast asleep. Illuminated in moonlight, he is perfect, Chanyeol thinks.

   He gets so absorbed in Baekhyun’s beauty that after he comes back to himself, he realizes Baekhyun is staring at him with a raised eyebrow. “Hey, babe, are you okay? You’ve been there for quite some time.”

    “Um yeah, I’m fine, totally, sorry, I’ll sleep now.”

   Baekhyun laughs softly, pulling down the covers and beckoning. “Good, I’m cold here without you.”

   Chanyeol practically melts into a big puddle and slinks into bed, Baekhyun’s smooth arms and legs wrapping around his body. Chanyeol is on the verge of crying out of frustration for a good proposal, but eventually he falls into fitful sleep.

__

   He wakes up and realizes Baekhyun is gone from his side and totally loses his . When he sees him making toast in the kitchen he practically cries “DON’T BREAK UP WITH ME PLEASE” and Baekhyun nearly spills the water he’s pouring. “Why would I break up with you? Not on our anniversary, that’s just plain cruel.”

   “Thank god,” says Chanyeol, collapsing on the floor at Baekhyun’s feet. He’s so tall he basically takes up the entire hallway and Baekhyun gingerly tiptoes over his arms and between his legs to get to the dining room table. “WAIT, DOES THAT MEAN YOU’LL BREAK UP WITH ME TOMORROW?”

   “Chill the out Chanyeol, I’m not breaking up with you anytime soon.”

   “DOES THAT MEAN YOU’RE BREAKING UP WITH ME NEXT MONTH?”

   Baekhyun blows his bangs up with a sigh, stomping over and yanking Chanyeol to standing and shoving him against the wall. “I am not breaking up with you at all. Okay? I love you, stupid er. If I didn’t, why would I be making you breakfast?”

   Chanyeol, eyes wide, follows Baekhyun back to the kitchen.

   “Let’s go to the college campus today,” says Baekhyun at breakfast, in between mouthfuls of toast. “I heard the cherry trees are in bloom. I also have an appointment with someone, so you can’t really say no.”

    “How long will it take?”

   “Like…” Baekhyun furrows his eyebrows. “Ten minutes to walk there, three to meet the person, ten to get back. So twenty three minutes. There’s nothing important you could accomplish with twenty three minutes.”

  Maybe I could think of an idea of how to PROPOSE TO YOU, god damn it, Chanyeol thinks, shoving a piece of toast in his mouth. “Yeah, sure. Who are you meeting?”

   “An old friend of mine. He had something urgent to give me.”

   Chanyeol narrows his eyes in suspicion, and Baekhyun groans. “Do you doubt my loyalty to you?”

   “No, of course not.” Chanyeol stands. “Well, do you wanna go now?”

   “Now?” Baekhyun’s eyes widen. “If you’re up for it. Let me go get dressed though.” He walks out of the room, nabbing his phone off the kitchen counter. “You too.”

   Chanyeol finishes his toast and walks into the room with Baekhyun. He looks nice, Chanyeol notices, but different. Baekhyun’s always been more of a sweater and suit guy, but he’s dressed in basketball shorts and a jersey with a light white hoodie over, converse on his feet. Baekhyun used to wear this style in college. Baekhyun motions to him. “Do you want to go in your pajamas?”

   Chanyeol hurriedly throws a sweater over his wifebeater but keeps the plaid pants. “See, it’s hipster.” Baekhyun facepalms. “Whatever. Let’s go.”

__

   The flowers are in bloom, he notices, just like Baekhyun said. The petals are raining down, anime style, and they walk through the familiar streets of their past.

   “Where’s your friend supposed to meet you?” Chanyeol observes a handful of boys playing five on five basketball on the court near a cluster of the cherry trees. Baekhyun scans. “Oh, over there. I’ll be a moment.” He darts off before Chanyeol can turn around.

   The boys playing basketball look familiar, and Chanyeol’s about to head forward when he hears a large crash in the tree nearest him.

   Baekhyun is in the tree, arm reaching out and pretty fingers groping through the pretty petals. “Hey, can you help me get this? I accidentally threw it in the tree and I’m not tall enough to grab it.”

   “What?”

   “Come on, give me a hand.” Baekhyun beckons. Chanyeol squints through the pink, but he can’t see anything. “Um, okay? What is it? And why did you throw it in the tree? Weren’t you just meeting your friend?”

   “You ask too many questions. Baekhyun beckons more ferociously. “Just come up here, please?”

   Chanyeol sighs, shaking his head, and grabs onto one of the branches.

   Suddenly he gets this abrupt flash of déjà vu, like he’s done this exact thing before. He remembers—college, year two, he’d been in this exact spot and something had landed in the cherry tree behind him. Chanyeol climbs further up towards Baekhyun, the memories getting clearer with each step.

   He’d furrowed his brows and turned, spying someone in basketball uniform halfway up the tree reaching out for a basketball caught in the branches. “Hey, can you help me get this? I accidentally threw it in the tree and I’m not tall enough to grab it.”

   Chanyeol reaches the top of the tree, where Baekhyun sits on the branch, and he looks around, expecting a basketball, but he sees nothing and Baekhyun has this ridiculous grin on his face.

   Chanyeol had come up this tree seven years ago and seen the most beautiful boy in the entire world. Baekhyun had smiled, and Chanyeol had quite nearly fallen out of the tree.

   There’s no basketball now, but instead, nestled in a crevice in between two branches lies a black velvet box.

   “Can you grab that?”

   Chanyeol reaches out, fingers easily curling around the box. “Baekhyun, what is thi—”

   “Open it.” Baekhyun’s voice is shaky.

   Chanyeol does.

   Inside lies the most beautiful diamond ring Chanyeol has ever seen, and Chanyeol’s mouth falls open, eyes nearly popping out of his head and he looks up at Baekhyun, whose eyes are quickly tearing as the cherry blossoms fall perfectly on cue to dust his shoulders. Baekhyun blinks, and the tears roll down shivering cheeks.

  Hey, by the way—when is break over?

  “Hey, by the way—will you marry me?”