“What do you think of marriage?”

Sana raised an eyebrow and sat up in the bed she was sharing with one Kim Dahyun. She’d been dating the girl for a little over ten months now, and they’d been good together, but marriage? That was a little much for Sana.

“What do you mean?” she tried to keep her voice casual, but worry creeped its way in regardless.

Dahyun smiled that wonderful smile. Those teeth were brighter than the sun. If Sana was being honest with herself, that smile was the main reason she’d fallen for the younger girl. Ha, girl, as if they weren’t both practically still kids.

“I mean, what do you think of marriage as an idea?”

Sana pouted and looked up at the ceiling. “Well, I think marriage is a waste of time. If you love someone, you’ll stay with them till the end. If not, you leave to find your one. You try again and again until you find the person you’ll stay for. A piece of paper and a ring only gets in the way.”

Dahyun’s smile faded. Sana’s heart froze in her chest. That was the wrong answer, apparently. Dahyun scooted up on the bed until she was eye to eye with Sana. “I think marriage is a way to show your dedication to the one you love. It’s a way to say, I’m going to be with you to the end. It’s a promise and it’s beautiful. Don’t you want to get married, someday?”

Sana shifted uneasily. This is the conversation she didn’t want to have. Not with any of her partners. Dahyun had been the longest lasting relationship of her life, and she still didn’t want to have this conversation. She loved Dahyun, she knew enough to say that proudly, but marriage was a contract, a prison cell. Sana loved her freedom.

“Maybe. To the right person.”

Dahyun pressed her eyebrows together. “Haven’t you found her yet?”

Sana smiled and brushed the tips of her fingers across Dahyun’s cheek. “I love you.”

There it was. The smile to outshine the sun had made a comeback. She pulled her girlfriend in for a kiss and all was well.

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Sana turned the ring around and around between her fingers. Was she really doing this? She’d told Dahyun marriage was stupid and useless and yet here she was, rehearsing her proposal in her head over and over again. Yah, you’re such a hypocrite, Minatozaki Sana. It still felt good in her hands, though. She kept imagining the look on Dahyun’s face when she finally popped the question. She’d be so surprised.

Dahyun had called her over for a dinner date at the local italian restaurant. Actually, this was where they’d had their first date. It was as appropriate a place for the proposal as anywhere. Sana had to admit that she was a little worried, though. Dahyun had texted her in a hurry, using ‘u’ and ‘r’ instead of ‘you’ and ‘are’, which she never did. Dahyun had always been a stickler for proper grammar and spelling. She said they needed to talk. Maybe she wanted to propose too. Wouldn’t that be funny? It’d be like something out of a movie.

Sana was sitting at a table near the front, sipping from a glass of water and waiting on her soon-to-be fiancee. The girl in question popped into the restaurant in a hurry. Her hair was a wild mess, and she looked like she’d been running for a week. Sana furrowed her brow. Dahyun sat down next to her and pulled off her beanie.

“What’s wrong, honey?”

Dahyun just shook her head and looked at the red and white checkered tiles of the floor. “I don’t know. Did you order already?”

Sana nodded eagerly. “Yep. Extra cheese pizza, just the way you like it.”

Dahyun didn’t smile. She looked over her shoulder at the door, as if she was expecting someone to burst in at any moment. She shrugged and then turned back to Sana. “Sana, I-I’ve got something to tell you.”

Sana held up one finger and smiled. “Well, I’ve got something to tell you too!” Dahyun’s eyes widened as Sana pulled the box that held the ring out of her pocket. She pointed at it. “I-is that what I think it is?”

Sana smile widened. She knew it wasn’t as bright as Dahyun’s, could never be as bright as Dahyun’s, but she bet it at least compared. Sana had never loved anyone as much as she loved Dahyun. She wanted to show her. To prove it to her.

“Kim Dahyun, will you marry me?” Sana beamed at her girlfriend. Her heart skipped a beat when she realized she wasn’t smiling. Dahyun hadn’t even looked up from the table. If anything, her frown had only deepened. She shook her head. “I’m sorry, Sana, but no.”

Sana dropped the ring onto the floor as if shocked. She couldn’t believe it. She loved Dahyun so much and...what was this? It wasn’t right. Sana actually clutched her chest-- there was a tightening there, an indescribable pain that radiated outwards and touched every inch of her being. “B-but Dahyun…”

Dahyun shook her head. “No, I won’t marry you. And I can’t do this anymore. I can’t keep dating you and pretending like it’s a normal thing.” Her voice dropped to a dull monotone. “Like liking girls is a natural thing. It’s unnatural. So...you should go. Go and forget about me.”

Sana wanted to scream. She wanted to throw her ring at Dahyun, to rage at her, to curse her for being so cruel. But she loved her too much. So instead, she just sobbed and ran out of the restaurant. She didn’t turn around.

She didn’t see the tears that fell from Dahyun’s eyes.

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A week had passed without Sana leaving her apartment. She slept on the floor because the bed reminded her of Dahyun and the couch reminded her of Dahyun and so did pretty much everywhere else in the apartment except for the floor.

That was where she found herself when her phone started ringing. Sana raised the phone to her face listlessly. Yoo Jeongyeon. Her friend. She’d almost forgotten she had them in all of this. She’d wanted to be alone after Dahyun broke up with her. Jeongyeon was a good friend, so she answered the phone with some promptness.

“Hello?”

Jeongyeon’s answer was immediate and hurried. “Sana? It’s about Dahyun. You know how she broke up with you? Well, she just told me that her parents forced her to do it when they found out she was dating you. Apparently they’re super homophobic and….it’s not right, Sana! They kicked her out anyway! They said they’re not going to pay for her college anymore. Dahyun told me she’s getting on a bus out of the city...Sana, you can’t let her go. You have to show her that it’s not over.”

Sana was on her feet before Jeongyeon was finished talking. She got dressed quickly. “How much time do I have, Jeongyeon?”

“She told me her bus leaves at 6:30, so about half an hour? You better hurry, the bus station’s pretty far from your building.”

Sana bit her lip. Why hadn’t she bought a car? It would have made things so much easier. Now she’d have to run.

“Okay, got it. I’m gonna stop her, Jeongyeon. I’m gonna make things right.”

“Call me after, okay?”

“Sure thing.” Sana hung up the phone and ran out the door. She was running as fast as she possibly could, her chest heaving with the effort. She had three sets of stairs to race down and at least three times as many city blocks to run through. She got about halfway done before realizing there was no chance she was going to make it in time without a miracle.

Still sprinting, she pulled her phone out and dialed the first number in her contacts. Dahyun. The phone rang once. Twice. Three times. Sana’s heart beat out a crazy, senseless rhythm. Would she pick up? Maybe she was angry at Sana for running off that night.

Sana sighed in relief when she heard Dahyun’s voice at the other end of the line. “Sana?”

“Yeah, it’s me.” Sana grinned. It was so good to hear her again. To get a chance to make things right.

“So I guess you heard about my parents, huh?”

“Jeongyeon told me. I’m so sorry that this is happening to you, Dahyun.”

Sana could hear Dahyun sob over the phone. “I’m the one who should be apologizing to you, Sana. I was a jerk...I was...so wrong to do that to you. But they put so much pressure on me...I just couldn’t take it.”

Sana took a brief glance at the cars racing through the intersection before stopping for a break. “Dahyun, just stay where you are. Don’t get on the bus. Wait for me, okay? I love you.”

Sana couldn’t see it, but she could almost hear Dahyun’s sunny smile over the phone. That beautiful, sky-splitting smile.

“I love you, too, Sana. So much. I’ll wait for you. I’ll always wait for you. “

The cars slowed down as the light turned red. Sana began her mad dash through the intersection. She didn’t look for incoming traffic. Her one and only priority was the beautiful Kim Dahyun. So beautiful.

“Hey, what about that question I asked you?”

Dahyun giggled. “Oh, and what question would that be?” she teased.

“Will you marry me?”

Sana never saw the truck that hit her. She was too focused on Dahyun’s answer, an answer she would never hear. She felt it, though. She felt herself fly into the air, every bone in her body shattered into a million, billion tiny pieces. The world spun in mid-air, like some bizarre tilt-o-whirl. Her phone flew out of her grasp and hit the pavement with a plastic clatter. Sana was dead before she could do the same. The last thing that flashed through her head wasn't a thought, but an image. An image of Dahyun's face, lit up with a smile to outshine the sun. That beautiful smile...

Dahyun’s voice spoke to a world devoid of the only person she had ever loved.. “The answer’s yes, Sana. Sana? What was that? Are you okay? Sana, answer me! Sana! Oh my god, Sana!”