After eating breakfast (and Yena’s lips of course), Yuri went back to the bedroom and opened one of her carry-on bags. She peeked out the bedroom door one more time to check if there was a chance Yena was going to enter the room in the next couple of minutes. Seeing that Yena was watching game playthrough videos at the living room, she closed the door and took out an orange folder with a cutesy label that said:

The Ring <3

Yuri first thought about proposing to Yena six months ago while she was in Japan. During that time, a single call from Yena was all she needed to get through a busy day of TV appearances and road shows. This was when she realized that Yena is an essential part of her being, and she would do anything to be with the older girl forever. Thankfully, Yuri’s small circle of Korean friends in Japan supported the idea of her getting married. One of them was Kim Chaewon, who was already engaged to a Japanese woman when Yuri met her. Chaewon offered to help Yuri plan the proposal and manage the logistics while the singer was busy during promotions, an offer which Yuri happily accepted.

Inside the folder was a receipt for the engagement ring she purchased from one of the renowned jewelry companies in Korea. While looking at their catalogue, Yuri fell in love with a diamond studded ring that was worth 10 million won. Yuri was hesitant to spend that much money on an engagement ring, but Chaewon convinced her that all that money will be worth it when she sees the ring on Yena’s finger. Chaewon tried to help her friend out and used her connections in the jewelry company to get a discount. To Yuri’s surprise, a branch manager at one of the stores was willing to sell the ring to her at 8 million won with free engraving service included. Yuri grabbed the opportunity and, with the help of Chaewon, bought her dream engagement ring. Chaewon had given her the receipt for the ring shortly before her flight to Korea. She told Yuri that the ring was arranged to be picked up at the store’s locations in Gangnam, with the receipt serving as a claim stub.

Today, she planned to pick up the ring she bought with her close friend Gyuri. Gyuri has been Yuri’s friend since they were trainees. Shortly after Yuri debuted as a solo artist, Gyuri debuted in a girl group called Fromis_9. The girl group proceeded to break records in album and digital sales, cementing their place as one of the best KPOP girl groups right now. Gyuri was as excited as Yuri when Yuri told her about the proposal and offered to accompany her soon-to-be-engaged friend in this special day.

Yuri texted Gyuri the address of the jewelry store and was about to head out the door when she noticed the pile of papers on the floor that were originally on the table. She picked the pile up and looked at some of the other pages.

P48 Holdings?

Who’s Choi Chae Ri?

Maybe Yena’s looking for a place for us. Funny how they have the same family name.

She smiled at her last thought and then carefully put the papers back where they were originally on the table and headed out to meet Gyuri.

She’s late.

Yuri thought as she waited in the milk tea place beside the jewelry store. Since Yuri and Gyuri were well-known celebrities, it might be a bad idea for them to walk to a store that specialized in engagement/wedding rings on their own. It would be easier to avoid rumors and malicious articles if they went in together, since the public already knows that they are close friends.

After 15 minutes, Gyuri walked into the milk tea shop and waved to Yuri who was seated at the farthest corner of the shop. Gyuri had a mask on and was dressed in a pink Nike hoodie and black sweats, which reminded Yuri of their trainee days. The only thing that changed was that both of them can afford authentic Nike merchandise.

“Yo Yuri, sorry I was late. I overslept today because our concert tour just ended yesterday. I didn’t even have time to put makeup on,” said Gyuri.

She hasn’t changed one bit, Yuri thought. “Are you serious? What if Dispatch caught you right now? The agency wouldn’t like your bare face circulating in the intern