There was a knock on the door and she looked up. The door opened and Daehyun walked in carrying boxes of things in his arms. She grinned. “Did you clean out the garage like you said you would?”

            Daehyun smiled mysteriously and pulled her up the stairs and into their room. “Sit, and let me tell you a story.” She cocked her head to the side and waited. He reached into one of the boxes and took out a glass bottle. She peered in and saw that the bottle was filled with sand and sparkling water. Hearts floated on the water and there was a beach ball.

            “Once upon a time, a boy went to the beach with his friends. He went there to get over a terrible breakup and at the time, he had never wanted to see another girl in life. He was walking along the beach when suddenly an object came flying at him out of nowhere.

            He looked up when one of his friends yelled for him to look out. But it was too late. He was knocked flat on his back. For a dizzying moment, he was unable to compute his surroundings. But when he opened his eyes, he was looking straight into the face of a girl. His first thought was disgust. Why was this girl touching him? But she was apologizing and sniffling, calling herself a terrible klutz.”

            He pressed the bottle into her hand and she saw the beach ball bounce a bit among the hearts. She smiled shyly, knowing what came next. “He sat up and was a total jerk to her. He didn’t mean to, but he was so angry at his ex and she cried, thinking he was mad at her. In order to make it up to her, his hyung offered to treat her and her friends to dinner. All through dinner, the boy tried to talk to her, to apologize, but she only talked to his best friend.”

            Daehyun paused a bit and shifted. “When they went home, the boy was filled with regret. He hadn’t succeeded in getting her to talk to him. He felt like a jerk. Luckily, his best friend took down her number and he watched the two of them get closer. Once, when she came over, the best friend had forgotten and left. It was only the boy who was home.

            She was shocked and had wanted to leave but by then he was convinced she was one of the most beautiful girl in the world. He wanted her to stay and so he asked her to go to the park with him. She agreed reluctantly.”

            He reached into the bag and brought out a Hello Kitty on swings. She took the plushie from him and swung it from her fingers. “He discovered what a little kid she was. She had been shy, asking him to push her because her legs were slightly hurt and she couldn’t kick as high. He fell in love with her when he saw how happy she was, doing something so simple.”

            Daehyun shifted closer and together, they watched the stuffed animal swing itself. Then he moved away and brought out a box. When she took it, she grinned. “Can I tell this part of the story?” she asked. He nodded.

            “The boy was an idiot. It took him forever to finally grow some guts and confess to the girl. His best friend told her later of the trouble he went through to find the perfect confession gift. He went to a homemade chocolate factory and knew she liked mint dark chocolate. It must have taken him forever but he barged in unceremoniously when she was working. She was surprised to see him. They had become friends, but not enough for unexpected visits.

            He requested that she talked to him and she did. He shoved the chocolates in front of her and placed his hands in his pockets. She opened them and when he saw what was inside, his eyes grew large in horror. He was about to have a mental breakdown, it was cute to watch.” She stopped to laugh and opened the box Daehyun had given her. As expected, it was the same thing.

            “’Those are supposed to be mint dark chocolates!’ he was freaking out until she pointed out to him that in this company, the mint was on the outside and the dark chocolate was inside. It took him a bit to recover but before he left, he clumsily dropped a kiss on her cheek and whispered, ‘I like you, be my girlfriend?’  How could she have said no? He went through so much effort for her and her coworkers were watching.”

            Daehyun’s mouth dropped and he took a chocolate, his eyes narrowing. “Psh, that’s a horrible reason. Okay.” He reached in and took out a giant stuffed panda. She squealed and hugged it to her. “On their first date, she insisted that they went shopping. Lame, right?” he ducked as a pillow flew at him. “She said that she had to get Christmas shopping done, and this was a one shot kill all. So they went. She was debating between a penguin and a panda. When she finally chose the panda, her face turned into one of a small child’s. ‘But, I sorta want the panda,’ she had said. How could the boy not have bought it for her? He decided that the penguin would be for her friend and the panda for his girlfriend. But the penguin was lost on the way home, and the panda was given away.”

            She ducked her head into the panda’s fur and mumbled, “Daehyunnie, I’m going to start crying soon.”

            He moved to sit behind her and pulled her against his chest. His hands went up to her cheek. “The story’s almost done. Shh. They went through many ups and downs and finally, decided it was time they moved in together. They found a house and everything seems to be going fine. Today is her birthday and what she doesn’t know is that she’s already received the largest present the boy can give her.” Daehyun turned her around and placed her hand over his chest, where she could feel the hammering of his heart.

            “Happy birthday,” he whispered. 

Thank you to everyone who is here and supporting me!

In the new year, I promise to be better and more mature :P (as if) XD

I guess I'm really legal now LOL 

It was so hard writing this for myself ;;