"You finally arrived, oppa!" She greeted him with a wide smile on her face. Never mind her tired eyes and aching body, she still then heated up the food so Jong Kook could have a proper dinner even though the time had shown that it was almost midnight already.

"You should just sleep, Ji Hyo-yah. Don't wait for me until this late anymore." He said—or more than scolded her while tasting the warm kimchi jjigae.

"Ah, don't worry about it, oppa. How can I be asleep when I know my husband is still out there tiredly hustling for our family?"

Well, she was not wrong about her husband hustling day and night for the family. Although they were not as tight of money as years ago, and he had achieved a higher position, Jong Kook still worked twice as hard as back then. It was simply to make his little family's dream to be true, which was moving to an apartment with a Han River view that of course, cost more than a fortune.

"I'll prepare a warm bath for you, oppa." She kissed his cheek tenderly before disappearing to the bathroom. He could not help but smile at the warm gesture from his beloved wife. They had married for almost ten years and were blessed with two adorable children that resembled both of them well.

And honestly, Jong Kook could not ask for a better life than this. He felt so content—their little abode filled with love, their marriage was always blissful, and everything was perfect.

Soon after spending 30 minutes drowning his body in a warm bath, he found Ji Hyo curled herself back on the sofa while watching a midnight comedy show. As usual as how they always spent their night, Jong Kook wrapped his hand around her body, bringing her close as now he could smell the fruity sensation from her long hair. She chuckled in tickled when he sniffed her neck and planted a kiss.

"How can you smell so good all the time? I think I'm intoxicated." Jong Kook sunk his head into Ji Hyo's neck curves.

"You and your sweet mouth." Again, with such a warm and motherly gesture, Ji Hyo her husband's curly hair. Since Jong Kook happened to be the last child of his family, even with his strong and well-built body, he still craved to be spoiled. Gladly, Ji Hyo was born as the first child of her family, and she was used to babying two of her younger siblings. Not that Jong Kook was babied all the time, but apparently, Ji Hyo too, loved spoiling Jong Kook with touches as it was how she expressed her love language.

"My sweet mouth makes you fall in love with me, so bear with it." She smiled again.

A silence then grew for a minute before Ji Hyo then called his name in a soft and calming voice.

"Oppa."

"Hmm?"

"I wanna ask you something, but promise me you won't get mad with yourself or anyone else, okay? You know, me, Ryu Jin, and Chae Yeon love you so much, and we know you're fighting for us."

Straightening his body, Jong Kook then faced Ji Hyo with a more serious expression. She never hesitated to ask him something, and when she stated that she wanted to ask something, it must be a very serious thing to discuss.

"Of course. What is it, yeobo?"

"Do you remember you promised Ryu Jin and Chae Yeon that we're going to celebrate our wedding anniversary in your parent's house?"

. He completely got no idea that today was actually their tenth wedding anniversary. It was literally today. Not only did he not say anything to her after all this time she pampered him with love, but he also did not even freaking remember it. How bad of a husband was he?

". Ji Hyo, I really am sorry. Oh God, I should've bought you flowers and gifts. Instead, you're the one who spoiled me right from the start when I got back home. I'm sorry. I'm truly sorry."

As if a thousand sorries could fix everything. He sighed before pulling Ji Hyo's body closer to him now and hugging her tightly. He expected her to be mad at him, to punch him in the head so he could get his full consciousness back, but far from it, she rubbed his back as a form of calming him.

"It's okay, oppa. I love you, okay? It's just... the kids are practically disappointed because you kinda snapped out this morning when Chae Yeon asked you about our plan for tonight, so I dropped them off at your parent's house after they got back from school since they want to spend the weekend there."

Jong Kook had never been this distracted, but the fact that things were going harder at the company nowadays had taken all of his attention. Until the feeling of guilty caught him, realizing that he was distancing himself from his little family until he even got mad with his daughter—the princess of the house, and forgot about their own wedding anniversary.

There was no answer from Jong Kook for some seconds, and then Ji Hyo could hear him sobbing as his shoulder shook. It was not that she had never seen him cry before, but the pain her heart every time she saw it. Jong Kook was actually the purest person she had known, and to see him breaking down like this meant it was completely devastating for him.

"Oppa, I told you it's okay. I know things have been hard lately for you at the company, and I'm still trying to make the kids understand it too, but sometimes they just want you to be here, playing with them and laughing together. They—we miss you, oppa."

"I'm sorry, Ji Hyo-yah. I'm such a bad husband, am I not? I guess the kids even hate me now." He laughed dryly, then took her hands on his after getting his tears wiped by her.

"You're actually the best husband anyone could have, oppa. You work really hard for our family. It's okay. It's all gonna be fine later. I know the kids will eventually understand your situation now, and they will always love you, too, no matter what."

He nodded. He might have a sweet mouth, as Ji Hyo said, but Ji Hyo was actually the one with the powerful words that could easily calm him in just split seconds.

"The day hasn't changed yet. How about we go for a walk now? You know, just the two of us, like we used to do back then."

Smiling widely, Ji Hyo nodded. "I'd love to."

One of the perks of marrying during the Autumn season is the scenery would always be pretty during the wedding anniversary. The air was actually cold, and they even fussed themselves to put on some layers to keep their bodies warm, but it all paid off when they saw the brownish-orange trees all around the street. They walked hand-in-hand with each other while Jong Kook hummed some love songs to make the atmosphere between them more lively, although the street was almost empty.

"You know, we used to have a date just walking around the neighborhood with no destination." A smile formed on both of their faces as Jong Kook reminisced about their happy times.

"Think about it again, it's actually tiring to walk around like this. Why did I even agree to do that ten years ago?"

"Well, I guess age is catching up with you, Song Ji Hyo-ssi." He said with a teasing tone. He knew Ji Hyo was always so sensitive about her age and the fact that she was in her 40s right now.

"Excuse me? You're the one who forgets about the wedding anniversary! Now, who's becoming older, huh?" Folding her arms, she walked faster than Jong Kook, resulting in him just laughing at her childishly sulking.

The only thing that could calm Ji Hyo's anger was ice cream, and as if the universe was on his side, they then stopped right in front of a minimarket.

"Yah, yeobo, you want ice cream?"

"Ice cream?" He could easily see that her eyes were gleaming with excitement. "Why would I decline such a tempting offer? Let's go, oppa!"

Upon that, he realized that Ji Hyo in her 40s was still the same Ji Hyo in her 30s that he fell in love with. Well, seeing her enjoying her ice cream as if she rarely eats it—although she had it almost every week with the kids—made Jong Kook remember how young she looked when he saw her for the first time when she was in her 20s when he fell for her for the very first time.

And he somehow was always falling in love with her, again and again, every single day.

Walking in the same rhythms hand-in-hand, as if both of them were actually meant always to be right next to each other, their feet then took them to the nearest hill in their neighborhood. The neighborhood where they had their house might not be a luxurious one like Cheongdam or Gangnam, but it was actually perfect for raising their little family, with all its beauty and comforts. Never mind the cold air messing his hair up; he loved this current moment with just the two of them sightseeing their twinkling neighborhood from above at night.

"Oppa, look!" She excitedly pointed at some orange leaves that fell around due to the wind. "Remember that time before we got married when I said we don't have to book for a decoration vendor? That's because of this. What in the world would defeat the beauty of autumn?"

"You." He immediately answered and made her laugh. "Yah, I'm serious here. Nothing can defeat your beauty, not even a blooming spring tree, a falling autumn tree, or even the whitest winter."

She tried to hide it the best that she could since she actually hated all kinds of sweet words, but love indeed made you do some strange things against yourself. And apparently, her lips were betraying her by forming a smile on her face as she punched Jong Kook's shoulder playfully. "Sometimes I wonder what kind of book you read to make you have such a lot of sweet nothings like that."

Just when she thought Jong Kook would sulk because of what she said, since he always insisted that it was initially from him—although she did not quite believe it, she was caught off guard when Jong Kook took her into his embrace. The hug lasted longer than they thought, perhaps because they rarely got some time alone for just the two of them now with the kids always around and the current situation of his work, but it was always good to linger for the touch, to hear each other's heartbeats, and to feel the love that had been growing strong for more than a decade.

Looking deeply into her eyes—he would probably lose in it in no time, he held both of her hands tightly.

"Ji Hyo-yah, I might still be far away from being a perfect husband for you or a perfect father for our two amazing children. Sometimes I nag you about unnecessary things, sometimes I get jealous for nothing, sometimes I annoy you and won't stop until you get mad, and sometimes I can't be there for you and the kids. I still can't promise you anything. But, even after ten years of our marriage, I want you to know that I still am falling in love with you so many times, as many as the autumn leaves fall to the ground, and my love will always be blooming for you as pretty as the blooming spring tree. I want to always walk along with you ten years from now, 20 years from now, and even 50 years from now when your hair will be all white, and you have a lot of wrinkles, you will still always look the prettiest in my eyes. I love you, Ji Hyo-yah."

He could see the tears were threatening to leave her eyelids, but nonetheless, she still smiled sweetly at him. "Yah, oppa, why are you doing this to me? I think I've reached the maximum capacity to hear more of your sweet words. I love you too, okay? You're a perfect husband and father for us, so stop with the sweet words already!"

"I might just shout to the whole world that I love you."

"Aish, don't do it! It's embarrassing!"

"I love you, Song Ji Hyo! I love my wife, Song Ji Hyo!" Her eyes widened when Jong Kook really did shout to the whole neighborhood.

"Yah! Oppa! Are you crazy? Do you know what time it is right now?" She tried to cover his mouth, but it did nothing to him as he could easily hold both two of her hands together to stop her from stopping him.

"Today is our 10th wedding anniversary! I love my wife! I love Song Ji Hyo!"

She could not be sure how long she could hold her act of not liking it because, in fact, she liked his current stupid act, and she felt her heart almost jumping outside from being too happy.

"Happy anniversary, lovebirds!" A faint congratulate shout made the both of them laugh heartily. They then fell to the ground, lips touching each other, and both whispered the same thing to each other.

"To more decades of walking along together."

She pecked his lips before telling him the same. "To more decades of walking along together."