[Wonu 😽]
I have something to tell you
This is so hard
I'm sorry cause I know it that I chose to tell you like this
When I'm halfway across the country
But I guess there's no way round it
Received 5.35 am

Woozi hasn't been the best at reading his messages on a regular basis, and he is even worse at replying them. But he almost never chooses to ignore his boyriend's messages. 

He was still up watching Baby Driver by the time he got the message, and he thanked all the Gods in the world for allowing Whatsapp content to be viewed on his lock screen.

Because how else could he pretend he did not read the messages, when he actually has been staring at the same messages over and over again for the past 10 minutes. And with each passing minute, he grows more anxious and he can feel his stomach twisting and bile threatening to come up where it's not to supposed to. His mind running 100 miles per hour, going through each and every scenario that could lead to this moment.

He throws his phone on the bed and walks out of his shared room with the message sender. The movie long-forgotten, he stomps to the kitchen to find something to calm himself down. He contemplates on making tea, but to hell with it. He grabs a can of Coke and chugs it down.

He's confused. Wonwoo was behaving normally before he left for the conference. Woozi had driven him to the airport, and nothing was out of norm. They talked, but only about normal stuff. Sure, Wonwoo had not been talking or responding that much since he started working on the presentation for the conference, but it's not unlike the normal Wonwoo. Wonwoo will be gone for 3 days, but it's not like this is the first time they have been apart in the 5 years they have been dating. They have been living together since the start of senior year, and Woozi is not going to pretend that everything is rainbow and sunshine and he's more than willing to admit that they have their fair share of fighting and arguments. Normal coupley and roommate-y stuff, though. Like who should control the thermostat, who should be cooking and cleaning and doing the laundry, who should choose which movie. Sometimes the fights get serious especially when it comes to Wonwoo's gaming habit or Woozi's inability to have regular sleep. But they find a way to talk it out and it's a work in progress for them to adapt to cohabitation.

6.17 am.

He's so tired. He has been staying up to see if Wonwoo has landed and made it safely to his accommodation. He had even calculated the estimated time of his arrival just to send a quick text to Wonwoo, even though he never really expected the other man to reply. He had just picked up his phone from the side table when he heard the familiar ding sound. He had expected a short I'm here, gonna sleep message from his boyfriend, but what he saw totally threw him off.

Breathing deeply, he makes his way back to his bedroom. Their bedroom. He sees his phone lying innocently on his bed, their bed, and he's torn between throwing it up the wall or throwing it out the window. That way, he can pretend he didn't read the messages and just wait till Wonwoo's home to have the talk.

But in the end he just picks it up. No use throwing a good thing for nothing.

He dreads the moment he needs to turn it on, in fear of more messages from his boyfriend. But there are no new messages, so he assumes the other man is already sleeping.

He knows sleep is a lost cause, so he changes his clothes and steps outside for a run. It is cold and kind of burns his nose and face, but he needs to get out of the house before he faces the man on the other side.

It's still dark, but he can already see people going around minding their businesses. He's not really into running, and definitely not when it's this cold, but he reckons this is much better than stressing himself on his bed mulling over something that he doesn't understand.

By the time he gets back, it's already 7.36 am. He jumps into the shower and since it's the weekend with no plans, he just dons an old t-shirt and sweatpants. Making himself comfortable in bed, he finally drifts off to sleep.

It can't be more than 2 hours later when he jolts awake to the sound of his phone ringing. It's his alarm. Crap, how could he forget to turn off his alarm. He doesn't even know what he set the alarm for.

Too annoyed to go back to sleep, he turns on his back and stretches his limbs as far as he can. It's nice to have all that space for himself, but he still misses the warmth of someone snuggling into his sides.

Wonwoo.

He drags his right hand over his face and decides it's time to face the reality. Feeling around his pillow for his phone, he grabs it before unlocking the phone and immediately navigates to the messages. Time to bite the bullet.

[Uji 😼]
Sorry I just woke up
Sent 10.08 am

He barely manages to type the next message before his phone starts ringing, and Wonwoo's poker face comes into view. He lets it ring a few times before picking it up.

"Wonu?"

"Uji... Did you have a good sleep?"

He doesn't like to lie in general, especially not to Wonwoo, but who's going to know anyway.

"Yeah, I did." He takes a deep breath. "How about you? How was your flight?"

A deep chuckle. Jihoon really loves that sound. "I slept all the way. This one old lady was sweet enough to wake me up when we landed. I didn't even know how I got to the hotel. It was all a blur."

"Sometimes I fear for your life. You could've been abducted by aliens, and you'd think it's a legit vacation." He closes his eyes because he really believes his boyfriend can do that, if opportunity arises. "So, what is it you want to talk about? I mean, we can talk now or whenever you're free." No use beating around the bush. Wonwoo is used to his bluntness, anyway.

"Oh, about that. Sure we can talk now, my slot is in the afternoon so now I'm just walking around talking to people." He pauses. "You remember how I told you about how important this conference is and how I prepared for it for weeks before this. Almost lost my mind trying to perfect this presentation."

Of course Woozi remembers. He was the one who had to see Wonwoo hunching over their make office desk all night. Woozi has always had sleeping problems, but even he got more sleep than Wonwoo did for the past few weeks. He initially made 1 cup of coffee for Wonwoo before he retired to bed, but eventually he just made the entire pot of coffee for the other man. It's not healthy, but he would do his best to support his lover. He can count on one hand how many times Wonwoo actually managed to drag himself to bed. It was more common to find him sleeping at the desk, or on the couch in the living room.

Wonwoo continues when he doesn't hear any replies. "It was torture for me to not sleep behind you, and every night I made it my goal to finish my work early, or as early as I could, so that I can go to bed with you. And every time I realized it was too late. I know how hard it is for you to get to sleep, so I didn't want to bother you because I know you'll wake up if I slipped into our bed. You look so peaceful, and there's nothing I wanted more than take you into my arms and cuddle you."

O...kay.

"And when I got here last night, I was so ready to sleep and I saw the big bed and it just looked so cold and there's no you in it and I just realized how much I really missed you. And when I was getting my stuff ready for this morning and I couldn't find even a single boxer on my luggage and I almost cried because I could remember you mentioning the boxers were in the drawer and I did get to the drawers but instead I grabbed the one thing I didn't actually need but by instinct that's the first thing I took and put in my bag and I just... Woozi, I need you in my life more than anything I ever had, and I just want us to be together, even though we are apart like this."

Wonwoo rarely rambles, but Woozi knows he must have had a long thought about this.

But, wait.

"... You didn't bring any boxers? You are staying there for another 2 days and you have, what I assume, the only pair of boxers that you wore from yesterday?"

A deafening silence.

"I was literally pouring my heart out over here, and that's what you choose to focus on?"

Okay, yes it was all heartfelt and all but how can he missed something so basic?

"Jeon Wonwoo, did you or did you not bring your boxers?"

Another pause, and a sigh follows. "No, I didn't. But that's not what's important right now. You are totally missing the point."

"What's more important than bringing enough boxers? I saw you at the drawers and you looked so focused and I saw you grabbed something from there and packed it in your bag. This is why I offered to pack your things for you, Wonu. Seriously. And were you about to tell me about your boxers when you sent those messages?"

"No, of course not. Why would I make a big deal over boxers? I can just grab some here. Woozi, you are not listening to me. I told you that's not what I really want to say."

"Then what exactly do you want to say, Wonwoo? I thought you want to break up or you found someone over there or you want to stop being together and you just used this conference as an excuse to get away from me and I've been a nervous wreck since this morning and I barely got any sleep and even forced myself to run when it's freaking cold and now you're saying things like you miss me and you can't live without me, but you made it sound like you're never coming back and you don't even bother telling me straight to my face. Forgive me for focusing on your lack of boxers because that's the only thing I can think of right now." He's not sure where this is coming from, may be from the lack of sleep or the pent up anxiety. "Tell me, Wonwoo. Tell me what you really mean."

He's pretty sure the line isn't cut off because he can still hear the noises from the conference in the background, but he still hears nothing from the man on the other line.

"I want us to get married."

What.

"I want us to get married. The thing that I took from the drawers is actually the ring, well rings for both you and I. I got them a few months ago, just after getting word about this conference. I thought I'll propose after this whole thing settles down, and we can go somewhere on a little vacation and I can finally pop the question. I love you, Woozi. And there is nobody else for me. I know this is like the worst way to propose to someone ever, but I can't hold it anymore. The only things that get me through all those nights are you, and the thought of putting this ring on your finger. And now I cannot even do that because you are there and I am here and I'm not coming back for another 2 days and I don't even know for sure now if you'll marry me."

Oh. Oh.

"You are still there, Uji? Babe?"

Oh.

"How dare you."

"Uji..."

"How dare you propose to me over the phone when you can just ask me to come with you to the conference and propose to me then. And now you expect me to say yes?!"

Woozi can totally imagine the cat-in-headlights look on his boyfriend's, or is it almost-fiance's, face.

"Wait, are you actually saying no? Or yes?"

" you, Jeon Wonwoo. I won't say yes over the phone. I have dignity and standards."

It takes Wonwoo a few seconds to process that. "But if I were to do it properly, will you say yes?"

"Of course I will. Was there ever any doubt?"