People were streaming out of the arrival gates and curled into a smile at the anticipation of seeing three of her favourite people.

Her eyes darted around, scanning each faces that passed through. But she still didn’t see a face that she recognized.

Where are they?

Just as she thought that, the stream of people ended and she finally saw three familiar faces. She waved her hands enthusiastically to catch their attention; she even jumped and shook her body to make sure they see her.

In a matter of seconds, strong arms embraced her.

“I missed you, angel.”

She returned the embrace and breathed in the familiar scent. “I missed you too, Byulie,” she whispered.

“Yah, why are you two acting like you haven’t seen each other in years? Didn’t Byulie-unnie came to visit you two months ago, Wheein-ah?”

Wheein chuckled and peered over Byul’s shoulder at her best friend. “Hello to you too, Hyejinie,” she said, grinning.

“Sorry, Wheein-ah,” the oldest of the four said as she mercilessly slapped the back of her girlfriend’s head and ignored the glare thrown her way. “She’s been grumpy even before we got on the plane.”

“Hello, Yongsun-unnie,” Wheein said as she stepped out of Byul’s embrace. “Thank you for dragging her grumpy along.”

“I’m only grumpy because you two decided this behind my back,” Hyejin muttered, crossing her arms tightly. “Why do you even want to go there? I already have a bad feeling the moment you told me about this trip.”

Wheein recalled Hyejin’s knack for saying things that actually comes true. “Hyejin-ah, you know how sometimes things that you say comes true?”

“Yeah…?”

“So stop saying things like that or they will actually come true!”

Hyejin just pouted in response. Yongsun quietly wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close, whispering soothing words in her girlfriend’s ear until she visibly relaxed.

“So, what now?” Byul asked, dragging Wheein’s attention away from the couple. “Need some help packing?”

Wheein shook her head. “I only need to pack my clothes. Since we’re going for a trip anyway, I’ll just bring them along.”

She glanced at Hyejin who had her face buried in Yongsun’s neck; she looked visibly tired as she clung onto her girlfriend. Wheein decided that it was time to go.

“I guess everyone’s tired, so let’s go back to my place,” Wheein said as she grabbed Byul’s hand and led the way out of the airport. “Welcome to Romania, ladies.”

They spent the first day resting and helping Wheein pack the clothes she won’t need into one giant suitcase. Hyejin’s mood improved a little by the second day and they started sight-seeing around Bucharest.

The morning of their third day, Wheein found Byul missing from their bed.

“Byulie?” Wheein called out sleepily as she sat up in bed. “Where are you?”

She slowly slid out of bed and shuffled out of the room. Her steps halted when she felt something tickled the underside of her feet. She lifted her feet and gasped – she had stepped on a rose petal.

She looked around and realized that there was a row of neatly-arranged rose petals leading from her bedroom towards the living room. With her heart beating wildly against her chest, Wheein followed the trail.

“Surprise!”

Wheein let out a little squeal. Three of the most important people in her life was beaming at her with a small cake sitting on the coffee table in front of them.

“Congratulations on finishing your internship, Wheein-ah!” Yongsun exclaimed and ran over to Wheein to embrace her.

“Th-thank you, unnie,” Wheein gasped, struggling not to get crushed by Yongsun’s strong arms.

“Congrats, Wheeinie,” Hyejin said, prying her girlfriend off of Wheein before hugging the smaller girl herself. “I’m so proud of you.”

“Thanks, Hyejinie.”

Hyejin released her and dragged Yongsun away, leaving Wheein and Byul alone.

Wheein looked at Byul expectantly, but frowned when she saw Byul acting unusually nervous. Byul noticed and gave her reassuring smile.

“Congratulations, angel,” she said softly as she made her way towards Wheein, both hands clasped tightly behind her back. “I have a present for you.”

Wheein’s face lit up at the mention of “present”. Byul chuckled at her reaction and kissed her forehead. Then, she took a deep breath before pulling out a small velvety box from behind her.

“Jung Wheein,” she said in a shaky voice as she looked at a stunned Wheein with loving eyes. “Will you spend the rest of your life with me as my wife?”

Wheein choked on her own tears as she leaned up to cup Byul’s face with both hands and peppered kisses on , muttering “Yes” all the while.

“She said ‘Yes’!”

Byul and Wheein were startled by the sudden screaming and turned to see the other couple doing a wild celebratory dance in the kitchen; they decided to ignore them.

Byul slid on the diamond ring onto Wheein’s third finger and smiled at her fiancée. “I love you, Jung Wheein,” she whispered.

Wheein looped her hands around Byul’s neck. “I love you more, Moon Byulyi,” she murmured before pulling her fiancée in for a longer kiss.

After dinner, and after finishing half of the celebratory cake, the two couples lounged in the living room – Yongsun and Hyejin cuddled at one end of the couch while Byul and Wheein sat on the other end.

“Did my parents know about this?” Wheein asked, wiggling her ring finger in Byul’s face.

“Yes,” Byul chuckled as she grabbed Wheein’s hand and kissed it. “I asked for their blessing when I handed Kkomo over to them.”

“I bet you’re sweating bullets when you asked my father for my hand,” Wheein teased.

“I nearly peed my pants, actually,” Byulyi replied with a straight face. “Your father had on such a serious face, I nearly had a heart attack when he suddenly laughed and gave me the green light.”

Wheein giggled and pecked Byulyi’s cheek, quietly apologizing for her father’s need to scare her future daughter-in-law. Then, she turned to the other couple. “Are you two planning to get married?” she asked.

Yongsun’s smile was grim as she pondered on her answer. As if sensing her girlfriend’s hesitation, Hyejin snuggled closer to her and wrapped her arms tightly around her waist while burying her face in her neck.

“Not anytime soon,” Yongsun finally answered, her voice quiet and somber. “We…still have things to consider before taking that step.”

Silence fell over the two couples. Suddenly, Byul spoke.

“Why did you choose Transylvania, Wheeinie?” she asked her fiancée. “Are you planning on visiting Dracula’s castle?”

“Maybe…”

“You’re not scared?”

Wheein scoffed. “Of course not. Dracula is just fiction, after all.”

“That’s true, but old castles are usually haunted,” Hyejin mused. “Are you sure you still want to go there?”

Wheein gulped; she didn’t like the sound of “haunted castle”.

“Uh, maybe not the castle then,” she said, laughing nervously. “I heard Braşov, the city, is interesting enough, so let’s just stay there…where it’s safe and definitely not haunted.”

As if they had rehearsed it, the other three burst out into laughter.

Wheein let out a whining sound of displeasure before hiding her red face in Byul’s neck and mercilessly pounding on her laughing fiancée’s stomach.

After finishing the rest of the cake, they retired for the night. Tomorrow, they had a long journey ahead of them and they need all the rest they could get.