Jennie woke up shivering, hand instinctively reaching out to the space beside her. Her brows furrowed when she realized it was empty, devoid of her own personal heater that’s her girlfriend.

She picked up her phone and squinted at the blaring numbers – it was only 3:30 am. Where is Chaeyoung?

Begrudgingly, Jennie wrapped herself in a blanket and dragged her feet to the living room. She quickly spotted the blonde on the couch, back facing her. Jennie was about to demand more snuggle time when she noticed that Chaeyoung was in a call.

“Lisa, wake up! I’m serious about this. I love Jennie…”

Jennie’s heart squeezed at the pure adoration spilling from Chaeyoung’s voice. They have been together for years now, but hearing Chaeyoung say it still sends butterflies to her stomach.

“…and I want to marry her. I’m going to propose soon.”

Jennie froze at the sudden revelation. This was clearly a private conversation she wasn’t meant to hear. Thankful that Chaeyoung hasn’t noticed her presence yet, Jennie gingerly backpedaled to their bedroom.

Back on the bed and alone, Jennie processed the information – Chaeyoung wants to marry her. Grinning from ear to ear, she fought the urge to squeal in the pillow like a schoolgirl with a crush.

---------------------------------

“I’m marrying Rosie!”

Jennie blurted out as soon as Chaeyoung went to the restroom. The Blackpink members were currently in an exclusive café.

Jisoo gaped at Jennie with open, while Lisa choked on her water.

“Wait – what?” Lisa coughed, looking down immediately. “Uh, says who? Whoever did so must be lying! Chae never mentioned that to me, nor has she told me to keep it a secret.”

Jennie raised an unimpressed brow at the blatant lie. “Lisa, you can’t fool me. I literally heard your talk with Chaeyoung last night.”

“Ugh, you caught me” Lisa slumped on her seat, admitting defeat. “But pretend you didn’t hear anything and keep this a secret, okay?”

“What – why? I’m actually planning to talk about it openly with Rosie” Jennie scrunched her face. “Skip all the formalities so we can start planning the wedding soon.”

“No, please don’t.” Lisa intertwined her hands, begging. “Chae is practically buzzing with excitement on how she’s gonna surprise you with a proposal!”

“Huh? But I don’t need a surprise proposal, I’ll marry Rosie in a heartbeat anyway” Jennie argued. She meant it – the cat’s out of the bag, so might as well say yes to Chaeyoung already.

“It’s different!” Lisa insisted.

Jennie glanced at Jisoo for support, but the girl merely shrugged. “Jen, I regret to say that Lisa is right for once in her life.”

“Thank you, Jisoo!” Lisa cheered. After a pause, she narrowed her eyes. “Wait, I think there’s an insult hidden somewhere.”

Jisoo waved off Lisa and continued. “As much as you don’t care about grand gestures like proposals, Chaeyoung is a hopeless romantic. She’ll be inconsolable if she finds out she ruined her own surprise.”

“But…” Jennie was about to retort when Chaeyoung returned to their table.

“What did I miss?” Chaeyoung asked.

Lisa shot Jennie a pleading look, while Jisoo gave a smirk that spells trouble.

“Chae, do you remember Jennie’s birthday last year?” Jisoo mentioned in a faux innocent tone.

“Of course” Chaeyoung nodded like an overeager bobblehead toy. “I threw Jen a surprise party then, her reaction was the best!”

Jennie cooed at the adorable sunshine that is her girlfriend. Only a monster would attempt to dampen her. Unfortunately, Jisoo is a monster.

“Well, actually Jen knew about that party weeks before. She just pretended to be shocked for your sake.”

“What?!” Chaeyoung shrieked. “That’s impossible, my cover was perfect!”

“No, it’s not” Jisoo deadpanned. “You were so obvious, Chae.”

Chaeyoung gazed at Jennie with utter devastation, light in her eyes long gone. “Is that true? You only went along with it?”

It’s true, Chaeyoung was a terrible liar. She spent the whole month avoiding Jennie’s eyes – staring at the ceiling whenever the topic of her birthday came about. Anyone would have guessed that something was up.

Jennie looked at Chaeyoung, who’s resembling more like a kicked puppy with every passing second.

“No. Jisoo was only messing with you, Rosie.” Jennie lied through her teeth. “Your cover was so good that I never suspected anything, let alone a surprise birthday party.”

“Ha! I knew it!” Chaeyoung puffed her chest out, face beaming with undeserved pride.

Jisoo gave a smug smile at proving a point, and Jennie inwardly groaned. This settles it – Jennie will pretend to be clueless about her own surprise proposal.

---------------------------------

There are many adjectives to describe Chaeyoung. Devoted, caring, and gorgeous? Absolutely. But subtlety? Chaeyoung is a blonde unicorn skipping on rainbows. Meaning she at it, like a lot.

And now, the said girl is staring intently at Jennie’s left hand while they watch a movie at home. Her focus was also solely on Jennie’s ring finger, as if committing the ring size in her non-existent photographic memory. Knowing Chaeyoung, Jennie made a mental note to tell Lisa her exact ring size instead.

Chaeyoung proceeded to hold Jennie’s hand. With the way she’s sighing dreamily, Jennie has no doubt that Chaeyoung will sell both of her kidneys to buy any diamond Jennie wants. Okay, another mental note for Lisa to stop that from happening. A simple wedding ring would be perfect.

A wedding ring – just the thought of wearing it makes Jennie giddy. But then, she suddenly remembered that their relationship is still a secret. Which means she would most likely have to remove and hide her ring every day. Jennie’s heart breaks a little.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Chaeyoung asked, sensing Jennie’s sudden sour mood.

“Rosie, what if we announced our relationship to the public?”

It was originally Jennie’s idea to hide their relationship. As a celebrity, she has witnessed first-hand how detrimental dating in the public eye is. Kai and she did so, and their relationship quickly fell apart under scrutiny.

So with Chaeyoung, she wanted to do everything right – that’s why they lied to the public for years. But now, Jennie doesn’t want to keep Chaeyoung a secret anymore.

“Is that okay?” Jennie added hesitantly. “But I’ll understand if you prefer not to, especially with all the baggage and hate that comes with me.”

“Jen, I’m not scared of that” Chaeyoung gave a warm smile. “I have always wanted to tell the world you’re mine.”

“Me too.” Jennie felt the tears pricked in her eyes.

“Then let’s do it.” Chaeyoung affirmed. “But not right away, maybe when the timing is right?”

Jennie nodded. Relieved at Chaeyoung’s answer, she joked. “To be fair, it’s a miracle we kept it for this long.”

“Huh? What do you mean?"

"Well, you're not exactly the best at being subtle" Jennie teased.

"Hey!" Chaeyoung pouted. "I am subtle."

“No, you’re not.” Jennie shot down playfully.

“Wait til I prove it to you then” Chaeyoung huffed. “The surprise I’m preparing for you shall vindicate me!”

“Yeah? What surprise?”

“Duh, my surprise to propos —” Chaeyoung shoved a palm to to stop her slip up. “Uh, nothing!”

Jennie stifled a laugh at the comical scene. Her girlfriend is an idiot.

Checklist For Jennie’s “Surprise” Proposal

Ring - ✓

 

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"Rosie, can I borrow your laptop? I just need to check a document!"

Jennie plopped on their bed and called out to Chaeyoung, who's now washing the dishes in the kitchen.

"Sure, go ahead! It's on my bedside table” Chaeyoung yelled back.

Jennie found the laptop and opened it. She was about to access her files when she paused.

On the laptop’s screen were multiple google tabs with titles from “where to propose to your girlfriend” to “best venues for proposal” hazardously opened. With how easily Chaeyoung lent her laptop away, she must have forgotten about these.

"The least she could do is use incognito mode" Jennie grumbled to herself. Judging by the bazillion tabs opened, her girlfriend clearly hasn't found the venue to propose yet. Jennie would have to intervene again at this rate.

"At least she has decided on the date. That’s an improvement." Jennie mumbled, staring at the encircled date on the calendar – their anniversary to be exact.

"Did you find my laptop?" Chaeyoung poked out from the bedroom door, looking blissfully unaware of her own mistake. She had a sponge in her gloved hands, and a smudge of bubble on her left cheek.

"No, I didn’t really need to check the documents anymore." Jennie gave her best gummy smile as she hides the laptop. She got up and wiped Chaeyoung's cheek with her thumb.

"By the way, Rosie…"

"Yeah?"

"For our anniversary, what if we celebrate it in the Korean restaurant near our old dorm?" Jennie suggested. “We can ask Ahjumma to reserve the upper floor for privacy. I'm sure she's mo