Smile - B1A4

Narrator's POV

Breathe in. Breathe out. His relaxing exercises did nothing to calm his furiously beating heart. "Man up," Eunhyuk patted him on the shoulder. He sat reversely on the chair with his chest resting on the backrest and his legs on either side. He had been repeating the same words of encouragement to Donghae, who had been sweating bullets in nervousness.

"What if she says no?" Donghae fidgeted with his fingers anxiously. It had taken him sleepless nights just organizing his thoughts and deciding on what he's about to say. He would pace around his room, practicing his words and sighing in disappointment as they come out emotionless and flat. And he knew very well that Min Yu deserves more than that.

Sungmin, who was sitting across him, rolled his eyes. "Here you go again! You haven't even asked her yet. How did you predict she's about to say no?" he retorted almost satirically. "There's a 50% possibility that she'll say no," butted Kyuhyun from the kitchen. "Ya, don't talk while preparing her coffee!" Donghae scolded in agitation. "I don't want your saliva with her drink."

"Do you want me to place poison here, Lee Donghae?!" the maknae mumbled to himself mockingly. "WHAT DID YOU SAY?" Donghae cocked his head to the side. Seeing how he was threateningly flexing his muscles, Kyuhyun flashed an innocent smile. "Nothing, Donghae hyung~" he answered before advancing back to the kitchen.

Turning back to the others, Donghae slammed his forehead against the table's edge. "I. Don't. Know. What. To. Do." He uttered desperately and glanced at his wrist watch. "See? It's almost ten and she's not even here yet," he whined in complaint. Donghae threw his head back and stomped his feet in defeat. "Why did our ancestors begin the tradition that men should propose?! It's brain-wrecking!"

"AAAAAAAHHHH~~~" Leeteuk shrieked as he pushed open the glass doors to enter Donghae's restaurant. Being the owner, he had especially closed it for the day just for his important plan. "Where is she? Did she say yes? How did you do it? I'm excited to walk her down the aisle! WHEN WILL YOU GET MARRIED?!" the leader babbled all at once, adding more pressure to the already-bothered lad.

Donghae fanned himself using his clammy hands. "I think I'm going to be sick," he stood up and rushed to the nearest restroom. "Wha-- did Min Yu reject him or what?" Leeteuk retraced Donghae's footsteps with his gaze as he motioned for Sungmin to make space for him to sit on. "Aish, hyung," Eunhyuk facepalmed himself. "He hasn't even proposed yet!"

"Sorry," Leeteuk yanked the hem of his shirt down to his knees in total embarrassment. "Just an excited father here," he nodded curtly. "Why is there a need to be excited? Is Min Jae pregnant again?" Min Yu barged in out of nowhere. Eunhyuk shuffled awkwardly in his seat before running off to the restroom. "What's with that guy?" she pointed to where Eunhyuk had run off.

Min Yu turned to Sungmin for answers. "N-ne, Heechul hyung! I will help you by mopping the floor!" he lied terribly before he scurried off to some unknown corner and Min Yu wondered if Heechul was really there. Leeteuk nearly cursed himself for having such weak-hearted members, but the woman already shifted her focus towards him.

"Dallang~ dallang~ dallang~" he badly impersonated his ringtone before fishing it out of his pocket. "Park Leeteuk. Yes, I'll be there right now," he stormed out of the restaurant, clearly not knowing how to explain. Looking around and finally realizing she was standing in the middle of a deserted restaurant, Min Yu sank down on a seat previously occupied by Sungmin and waited.

Eunhyuk had blood drained from his face as his feet skidded to a halt in front of the restroom. "Donghae!" His fist pounded on the door noisily and Sungmin, having heard his give-off noise, hit him on the with the mop. "She'll hear!" he hissed through gritted teeth. Super Junior's dancing machine rubbed his throbbing behind and glared back at his Lee brother. "And the door's not locked, babo!" declared Sungmin before scurrying off.

"AIGOO~" Eunhyuk clutched his chest in shock at the sight that welcomed him as he opened the door. Donghae was sprawled over the floor while staring blankly at his fellow member. "Hyukjae, can I just stall this for another day?" he muttered faintly while toying with the fragile velvet box in his hand. Eunhyuk knelt on one knee to level with the other's face. "You can't back out when she's already here."

With his friend almost tumbling over, Donghae stood upright with a sudden change of heart and his face bearing such confidence as if he wasn't nervous and nearly going insane a few seconds ago. He dusted his pants and patted his collar in place before helping Eunhyuk to stand up. "Aish, if only you weren't my best friend..." Hyukjae muttered almost bitterly. But his frown quickly shifted to a smile as he pulled Donghae in for a hug. "Good luck."

"Confidence...and not passing out," the man mumbled quietly to himself like a mantra while he made his way back to the booth. "Ya, why is everyone acting so weird today?" Min Yu greeted him with a complaint. She had her knees up on the chair and hugged close to her chest. Then, slowly, a wide grin crept up her face. "But do you think I'll have another sibling?"

The man reached out and her hair gently. "Why would you think that?" he asked curiously. "Well, when I came in, Leeteuk was ranting about how he was just being an excited father, so I figured maybe my mother was pregnant again," she replied softly, her voice as pure as an innocent child's. He heaved an apologetic sigh. "I don't think so."

"Okay." She exhaled with a frown.

"Coffee?"

"Yes, please." At her response, Donghae smiled sweetly before calling for the maknae in a loud voice. "KYUHYUN-AH!"

The younger gracefully twirled out of the kitchen, holding a steaming cup of coffee atop a saucer in one hand. Apparently, he was slowly getting used to the waiter thing. "Coffee coffee coffee love~ coffee coffee I love you~" Kyuhyun worked the magic in his feet towards the couple's booth. "Coffee coffee coffee love~" He set the mug down gently on the table as he leaned on his forearm, on the posture of about-to kiss-somebody-else's-girlfriend. "Our coffee lo--" "Thank you," Donghae smiled tightly at him before shoving his face away.

"SEE?! I don't even get what that's about." The girl motioned towards Kyuhyun, who was merrily skipping back to the counter -- even though there was no other customer inside the restaurant. After her complaint, though, Min Yu nonchalantly sipped on her coffee. "Just...don't mind them, okay?" comforted Donghae as Sungmin sent meaningful glances towards him. It only made him more nervous.

Min Yu gulped another mouthful, and she slouched back on her seat, her tailbone hitting the edge of the chair as she savored the taste lingering in . "Can this coffee be, like, a person so I could marry it?" She traced the lining of the mug with her forefinger. Why don't you marry me instead? Donghae wanted to blurt out, but he was feeling cowardly at the moment, so he kept his mouth shut.

"What do you want to do afterwards?" he asked instead, trying to keep his screaming insides together to say at least one intelligent sentence. "Let's watch a movie." Min Yu rested her palms down soundly on the table after finishing her coffee. The man across her, however, gripped the hems of his shirt as he watched her reaction carefully.

Sungmin and Kyuhyun, pretending to go about their own businesses while mopping and washing the dishes -- respectively -- observed the fingernail-gnawing situation from afar. This is it, Donghae thought. She's going to see it and I'll be giving her the ring and it'll be just like what I had seen in the movies. Was it Titanic? No, they didn't get married there, babo. Or was it The Notebook? Maybe it wa--

"Come on." Min Yu tugged at his wrists. Having been so enveloped with his own thoughts, Donghae hadn't notice that she had already stood up and was now forcing him out of his seat. It was obvious she hadn't taken another look at the mug. He threw a helpless glance at the other members, who had the same look of confusion on their faces.

Donghae gave one last apologetic look at the message inscribed at the bottom of the ceramic before he followed after his girlfriend. Out they went into the streets, her eyes just searching for the familiar white car usually parked along the curb. He found it first, however, and he tried quickening his pace while trying not to stomp his feet in frustration

"What's wrong? You weren't in on Leeteuk's, Sungmin's, Kyuhyun's and Eunhyuk's joke?" Min Yu let out a laugh as he lifted Donghae's arm and wound it around her shoulders. The man eased up, his grip around her tightening. "Well, what movie do you want to watch?" he tried steering the conversation away from his awkwardly nervous self, but she just shrugged.

Having made their way to his car, Donghae instinctively opened the passenger door open for Min Yu. She settled in comfortably, and he was happy knowing they were nearing the used-to-be -- the situation when everything was still perfectly fine. The man jogged around the car to the driver seat, feeling the velvet box in his pocket grow heavier and heavier as minutes tick by.

"Hae, do you know that feeling when almost every girl hates you?" the sound of Eunhyuk's voice filled the atmosphere inside the vehicle even before the driver could start the engine. "Yeah~ I think maybe *hiccup* we should just be a couple, you know?" Min Yu stared down at Donghae's pocket, where the sound was coming from. "Sorry," he shrugged. "Eunhyuk was drunk when I recorded that so..."

The Super Junior member, with a sly grin, pressed the phone against his ear. "HYUNG!" Kyuhyun's voice almost shattered his ear drum. He cringed away from the receiver and put the call on loudspeaker instead. Min Yu's round of crazy laughing still hasn't come to an end as Eunhyuk's slurred, drunk voice replayed over and over again in her mind.

"Who is that laughing?!" Sungmin asked from the other line. "Is that Donghae?" Hyukjae's voice erupted faintly and grew louder as he inched nearer. "Ya, DONGHAE! Have you told her already?!" he practically screamed from where they were. At his question, Min Yu's fit ceased to a curious -- and doubting -- expression. "What haven't you told me yet?" she interrogated softly.

From the restaurant, Kyuhyun shoved Eunhyuk away, with Sungmin's shocked reaction to match. It was a dangerous slip of the tongue and now it was an additional burden to Donghae, who didn't know how to explain. "I w-was ab-about to t-tell you t-that I c-can watch scary movies already," he stammered like a fool. Min Yu just nodded her head, looking unconvinced.

"I'll talk to you later. Bye." Donghae exhaled sharply through his mouth, his nervousness tentatively replaced with a hint of anger. He glanced over to the girl sitting shotgun, and was almost discouraged by set on a grim line as she looked out the window. The car humming to life under his feet, Donghae watched her carefully over his shoulder. "Are you mad?"

She shook her head no with an I-must-keep-up-an-act smile painted across her lips. He held the clutch in one hand, maneuvering the car out of the curb and into the highway. The sunlight danced delicately along her pale knuckles, the bones making light bumps on her flesh -- except when they would pass under the shade of oaks, shielding the rays like the error in dreams.

Yet the girl was breathing, living, feeding in his mind like an informal settler he could never bring himself to send away -- like a closed cottage with the latches as his bones on a skeleton trap door he had once let open. It had been the death of him -- that carelessness -- but the epilogue was a long way to go. And the trap door was still closed and forever will be.

Min Yu paid no attention to the sighs he was heaving. She isn't even the slightest bit mad despite the existence of the ghost of a doubt in the back of her mind. It was a reminder of how things turned out to be -- in the past, of course. But she had that certain oddness he could never quite find somewhere else. And soon she will find the right words and they will be simple.

Donghae's POV

I lifted the armrest up and let her scoot closer to me. Lately, I've been having this sick need to touch her, just calm the goosebumps rising on her arm from the cold atmosphere inside the theater. And I wasn't dead yet. Not exactly. The pressure in my veins must have peaked at an abnormal rate but I still haven't asked her yet. Not yet.

Min Yu. I want to live with you in a house where no walls have peeling paintjobs. I want to bite your cheeks until you wake up from the pain. I want to impress you with the food I can cook. I want to make you irritated with my childish jokes then make you laugh in annoyance. I want to be the reason you're late for work, because by then, you'll be the reason I'm late, too.

I want to kiss you like we're never going to see each other again. I want to think of you until I go home. I want to take home something you like to eat. I want you to get beautifully irritated at me over the phone. I want to hear the smile in your voice while you scold me. I want to take you out for dinner instead. We'll play rock-paper-scissors on who gets to pay the bills, but even if you lose, I'll want to pay for it anyway.

Then I want to drive aimlessly through streets and watch your hair fly out the open window of my car. As we arrive in our home decorated with pictures of us, I want to watch illegally downloaded movies with you even if we can afford to go watch on cinemas. I want to hear you tell me how your day went and I'll gladly tell you mine if you ask.

I want to hear you voice out your honest feelings about my friends and I want you to insult them in front of me and I want to laugh at how stupid we'll sound like. And I want to carry you to the bed, kiss you goodnight and watch you fall asleep. I want to want that until our children join in our two-person gang. So, what? Will you marry me?

Blech. Of course I wouldn't want to say that. I make myself want to vomit with those words. It sounds awkward and scripted. It sounds like all the statements came from Eunhyuk -- the way he would go smooth around women he has set his eyes upon. But this was an altogether different situation. Much more complicated than making a good impression on a first date.

Her phone rang almost out of the blue, startling not only the two of us but also earning saliva-splattering shushes from the other spectators of the gruesome movie. Well, maybe this was her perspective of a date. Min Yu fumbled for her phone and accepted the call to silence the gadget. "Park Min Yu." Her tone was indignant and strong, her sharp tongue still working its charm.

"WHAT?" Her eyeballs almost popped out of their sockets as her eyes widened. "Disdain everything, then. There's nothing you can really do about it now. Not like the people will even want their money back, AS IF we'll give it back." I lost quite a grip around her, letting her freely move beside me. Yet all I can do is watch and stare. It was lovely, how I adored her, slowly, then gaining momentum -- all at once.

"B-but-- Yes, that's really all there is to it. Please listen to me." She paused for a while, sending me a glance briefly. I shrugged, and she rolled her eyes at me. Aish, this girl... "Fine. Do what you want. It's not even my fault those errors occurred. It got through all those filtering, why don't you check on those-- Yes, you're really disturbing me now."

I bit my lip and stifled a laugh, to which she lightly punched me on the shoulder. "I'll get back to you later." She bid and hung up. "What was that about?" The concerned man in me asked while running a hand up and down her back. Instead of a coherent answer, she buried her face in her hands and groaned. "Why are people so...SO DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND?! ARGH!"

Her burst of complaint earned another angered shush from behind the dark movie house. "Why don't we just go for a walk outside?" I offered, looking back at the people aiming greasy popcorn to their mouths or busy kissing the life out of their dates. It was those kinds of affection that make me grateful I have something different. Someone different.

She bobbed her head quickly, and I clasped her hand as I led the way out of the narrow passage leading to the exit. "Yeah, I told you! I saw Lee Donghae walk in here a while a-- DONGHAE OPPA!" There were voices. Lots of them, getting clearer as our feet shuffled soundlessly across the carpeted hallway and out the heavy doors. Min Yu's grip on my hand loosened. "It's okay," I whispered softly.

The fans made an almost ear-shuddering, inhuman noise that sparked up tension in the girl whose hand I was holding. I walked swiftly, turning sharply at corners and making sure Min Yu was still whole and intact. Finally thinning out the crowd to much more controllable handfuls, I retraced the way to the parking lot and into my car.

"Where are we going?" She tapped away on her phone's screen without bothering to put her seatbelt on. I reached up and pulled the belt around her, careful not to breach her invisible personal space I highly respected. "Off to the park~" It was hard to mask the growing agitation with forced composure. I won't let apprehension get the best of me, though. I hope.

Narrator's POV

"Are you still anxious about that thing...?”

"What thing?" She tucked an escaping tendril of her hair back behind her ear. It was a breezy midday. She will be the death of him and he was standing at her grave. It was a struggle between now and then, perhaps soon, but never later. If he waits until he's ready, then he will die alone -- the suspense lasting a lifetime, like the paint peeling off a wall.

He shrugged. "You know," Donghae watched the ripples on the water as leaves fall on the surface of the river. It reflected the clear, blue sky heavenly. Transparent, it may seem, but not likely. "Your work thing." It was the ratio he was calculating, more than the circumference of each ripple as it gets wider and bigger -- the area increasing proportionately. The clock was ticking and he was searching for the right timing.

She tapped anxiously on her phone, minimizing damages and trying her best to make a flexible correction until there was still time. Often, there wasn't enough, and Min Yu was almost tripping on her own feet trying to create minimal mistakes -- to lessen the faults she already made. She was running out of time, however, and she filled her cheeks with air and blew, the vapor 1% air and 99% worries.

"Let me entertain you, then." Donghae spoke, his voice faintly heard over the gust of brisk wind.

She smiled, finally finding a reason to lock her phone and rest her cheek on her knee, just watching his lips as he talked. "I won't mind if you do."

The man, hearing the confidence in his own voice, had the strength to shove his hand down his pocket, fumbling for the box with his clammy fingers. "Knock knock."

"Who's there?" she replied almost dreamily, holding his gaze down. Her free hand grabbed her knee fervently like she might fall a great depth anytime.

He took a deep breath, filling his lungs with delicious oxygen, just bracing himself for whatever she would have to say. "Marry."

Min Yu scrunched her nose in utter amusement. "Who's Mary?"

"Just go along with it, Min Yu." He sounded offended.

"Mary who, then?"

He closed his fingers around the velvet and slowly fished it out. The girl looked rather surprised, though he didn't know it for sure. Of course she had long asked for this, but who would have known it would happen now? "Marry me?" he asked, sounding just the right blend of firmness and certainty. Donghae liked how his voice sounded.

Waiting for her answer, he saw the doubt in her eyes as she looked down and pretended not to hear anything -- pretended he didn't just ask her to marry him. She scratched her head dubiously and stared out into the vast horizon spreading out infinitely. His eyes grew glossier by the second, perhaps blinded by the glimmering of the silver ring. It appealed to his mind the most.

Silence ensued, with his agonizing sniffles that occasionally called for her attention. There they sat, atop the green grass that always dipped low to accommodate its guests. Min Yu turned to watch him intently, her eyes tracing a perfect picture along the contours of his face and he stared back, almost pleading. "Why not?" he asked, sounding almost pained. She reached out and caressed his face gently.

"I'm scared," Min Yu confessed, her lips twitching lightly. Her eyes were dry unlike his that leaked a river. "I can't have you leave me anytime you want." She shifted her gaze back to nowhere. "It's...Isn't it obvious already? It's like I'm a walking ball of mess. My hair looks like fallen, dried leaves. I talk in my sleep. I drink. I curse. I have nasty scars all over. I trip on flat ground. I'm..." she revealed truthfully. "I'm not as great as you think I am."

"Marry me?" He toyed with the box in his hands, not bothering to wipe away his tear-stricken face. "Please?"

In response, she smiled knowingly without saying a word. With her phone in her hand, she dialed for a number, and Donghae looked almost disappointed seeing how she prioritized her job first even before she could answer his proposal. But he looked quite taken aback when it was his phone beginning to ring. "Hae, do you know that feeling when almost every girl hates you?" Eunhyuk's slurred voice was cut off after he accepted the call.

"Ne?" His voice was thick from his crying. She wanted to laugh at how funny he looked, but she knew better than to go with her instincts. "Chingu-ya, are you crying?" Her tone was almost mocking.

"Yes." Donghae shifted uncomfortably in his spot, adjusting a bit so that he wasn't fully facing her.

"Maybe you want to hear my jokes." There was a hint of a smile behind her voice. "It's funnier than yours, I promise."

"Let me hear it, then." He challenged. "If that doesn't make me smile..."

"Oh it will," she stifled a giggle. "Knock knock."

Donghae rode along. "Who's there?"

"Min Yu~" she answered cutely.

"Min Yu wh--" he was about to speak, but she cut him off. "Ani, ani. I take that back. That was supposed to be Lee Min Yu or something..." She cocked her head to the side and watched the life resuscitate in his eyes. He tossed his phone to the side and pushed her to lie flat on the grass. Before she could stand up, however, he had already laid down beside her, pinning her down against his body. And now she couldn't hold back her laughter.

He buried his face on the back of her neck, his arms still encircled around her. "Ya, people will think you're me," Min Yu lightly swatted him away. Donghae whined and groaned like the kid he was and sat upright, his body still dented against hers. "I don't know why you're acting like that but my joke actually means I want to get married to Eunhyuk," she teased some more. "I'll object. I won't allow it," he mumbled against her shoulder as he hugged her from behind.

~Sorry for the confusing notification of a new story update a few days ago ^^ I posted the not-yet-done version of this chapter and forgot to hide it. I'm so sorry. But anyway, this is it :) Leave comments!