There’s a shop down the street

Where they sell plastic rings for a quarter a piece, I swear it

Yeah I know that it’s cheap, not like gold in your dreams

But I hope that you’ll still wear it

Yeah, the ink may stain my skin and my jeans may all be ripped

I’m not perfect but I swear I’m perfect for you

And there’s no guarantee that this will be easy

It’s not a miracle you need, believe me.

I’m no angel, I’m just me but I will love you endlessly.

Kwon Jiyong loves Kim Taeyeon. A lot. With his heart, his whole body, his everything. They’ve been dating for almost five years now. No one believed that they could last that long, considering Jiyong’s condition

 You see, Jiyong’s family isn’t rich but they are not that poor either. They only have enough money for their daily needs and that’s about it. No luxury cars, no expensive clothes, no expensive watches, well, you get it now. Jiyong got the chance to finish his Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering at Seoul’s National University thanks to the scholarship he earned.

Kim Taeyeon isn’t a rich businessman’s daughter or anything. Her father is running an optic shop in her hometown, Jeonju, together with her mother and older brother. Taeyeon herself is only a singing coach at one of the most famous entertainment agency in South Korea, SM Entertainment. Taeyeon has always been very understanding of Jiyong’s economic condition but she never uttered a complaint, not even once. Jiyong was grateful for that but couldn’t help but to wander why she would even stay with him for five years. Her friends and family dislikes him for many reasons; he has tattoo all over his body, he smokes (though it has lessened ever since they dated), he never wear proper clothes and et cetera.

Jiyong has been busy looking for a job whilst doing different part-time jobs to earn money for the past weeks ever since he got fired. He wasn’t able to see Taeyeon on Christmas Day or accompany her on New Year’s Eve and he missed her badly. They exchanged texts and he would call her once in a while. Today, Jiyong was given a day off by his boss at the coffee shop so he decided to give Taeyeon a surprise.

He got her a bouquet of flowers and walked towards her workplace. On the way there, he saw a small shop which sells cute accessories. A small ring caught his eyes and then it hit him. He didn’t get Taeyeon anything for Christmas and this small ring is the only thing he could afford at the moment. Though doubtful, he quickly went into the shop and purchased the ring.

He waited for her at the front door of the company. He was giddy and couldn’t wait to see her face again. Taeyeon walked out a few minutes later. She was walking with her friends, Tiffany and Sooyoung, before noticing Jiyong leaning on the wall. She bade her two friends goodbye before running towards Jiyong.

“Jiyong!” she exclaimed as she ran into his embrace.

“Hi!” Jiyong greeted back as he hugged the girl tightly