“Youngbae!  “Yun uttered uncertainly ….

 “Just a second “Taeyang responded as he skimmed the fence for an opening.

“Are we trespassing now! “  She asked, she meant for her words to be playful, teasing of his anxious search as he inspected the iron boards one by one, but her rising restlessness seeped through, her earnest desire to just be with him no longer withheld by her curiosity.

At her oh too obvious tune he turned his head. that boyish, dreamy smile greeted her again … grabbing hold of her heart just as real as his hand grabbed hers “Yun, I seem to keep asking you to be patient with me these days but I promise at least with this it will be worth it “he let go of her hand and stepped back to the border holding God knows what then added “if only I can find that stupid loose board, I’m sure it’s on this side “.

She raised an eyebrow “you sure what we’re doing is legal? should I stand watch in case anyone pass by “ she added , looking down at her heels sinking in the mud as they carelessly stepped into it but this time her words sounded like she meant it to and Taeyang chuckled lightly .

“Don’t worry, I know the owner , We’re … let’s justgo with pretty close “

Yun sighted, for seemingly the hundredth time and waited till he finally let out a victories yelp and said “found it “.

She tried to take a sneak peak from behind him, her anticipation of the big reveal at its peak. a romantic picnic would be most likely she thought , the sun was almost down and with his continuous worrying of “ missing it “ watching the sunset seemed to be what he had in mind , there surly wouldn’t be any one in there … dramas luxurious events with violins , chefs and the likes wasn’t her thing and it’s wasn’t his either .

“It must be the sunset “she whispered to herself or was it that she only thought it. a blanket  , some homemade sandwiches and the two of them , how comforting , lovely and just perfect that would be and  she kept repeating it in her mind  , that will be it  and nothing else .

But the anxiousness of that other possibility threatened to overwhelm her and the expression Youngbae held as he turned to face her spoke of how much more he held …. No, she finally thought, it wouldn’t be just a sunset.

``````````````````````````````````

“Go on “Youngbae uttered in his glories voice, sending shivers down her spine as she took that final step and walked into the clearing.

Yun eyes tried to take everything in all at once and her mind struggled to understand it, she walked forward and then with faster steps till she got to the very edge of it. The utter beauty unfolding before her took her off guard and she laughed in contentment as she beholds the scene before her.

“Youngbae …. It’s beautiful “breathlessly she said, tearing her eyes from the blast of colors in the sky and the stretch of green land spreading before her, she looked back  ... just now realizing how far her absent minded steps has taking her and toward Youngbae , who was still standing by the makeshift  door “ it’s incredibly beautiful “ she repeated louder  .

“It is “he called back, his eyes intimately looking into hers even through the distance and as he stepped closer she nervously turned to the view, fully aware of every stride he made till he was by her side. Youngbae cleared his throat as he stood staring forward but otherwise stayed quite  , leaving her with the ringing thought of ‘ what’s next !! ‘.

Yun again looked over the large block of land they stood on with the fence they came through marking the very edge of it and with the the other side overlooking a valley   … she understood why he made her go through there even though there was a decent road leading up to it, he wanted her to be wowed by that first glance of the stretch of land and she knew she didn’t disappoint.

Youngbae just stood there... calm, colectived and determined, everything she wasn’t at the moment. her mind went a mile a minute trying to see through his next move , trying to stop what was about to happen … then he looked at her , his eyes held a confidant that was alien to her yet felt so right , they told her to trust him and she instantly did .

“Yun … “he finally spoke up, his voice gentle but unwavering “this is somewhat overdue but I finally brought you back to my house “ 

“House!? “She questioned, almost sure that she have heard him wrong.

“Yeah “he answered, running a hand through his now notexisteing hair “it’s kind of still … well not there ….”

“ you think ! “ she exclaimed interrupting him  , then with a softer voice went on to say “ I’m sorry , I just don’t get what … “ she trailed off at a total loss of words , the land held nothing but a couple of scattered trees and some ruins of what might have once been a front entrance stairs and a porch …. And that gorgeous view.

“I know “he went on with a smile “and I will explain it all, I just need you to listen  ... all the way to the end of the story “.

And she nodded desperate for an explanation.

“Urgh  ... I would never have guessed that the most important story I will ever tell you would start with  --once in a verity show- but it does  “ he chuckled then went on .

“a couple of years back when both Jiyoung and Daesung were away from the public eyes I was talked into appearing on a volunteer work TV show to try and restore our image at the time, the episodes I appeared in were about rebuilding school facilities in old neighborhoods… anyway we had to stay in the area for a couple of days till it was done and the crew reserved an old inn not too far away from the site for the staff and participants “

“ everything was going great during the first day recording and by sundown we rubbed up filming and the crew headed back to the inn “  Yun couldn’t  see how the story could related to … well anything , but she kept on being quiet  as promised .

“ everyone was exhausted and pretty much headed straight to bed after dinner but I stayed out ,  I always found it hard falling asleep in a foreign place let alone when I shared a room with a bunch of strangers  … I just wanted to postpone that as much as I could and so I found a spot in the yard and just sat there half the night … or at least that’s what I planned to do “ Taeyang took a deep breath and his eyes left her face to wonder off in the distance ,  yet he continued with his story  .

“ about an hour after I sat there , I heard the front entrance open and an old man walked in , I knew we weren’t the only people renting out rooms there so I didn’t question who he was , but I was quite surprised when he walked up to where I was and sat on the bench only a few feet away from me , I didn’t think he saw me since it was so dark and I actually froze there for a second , afraid that I might startle him if I moved but that I might seem creepy if I just stayed there “ a small smile appeared on his lips as he recalled the situation , simple commenting with “ it was an unbelievable awkward five minutes “

“Who was he? “She asked, curiosity finally getting the better of her.

“ that’s what I wanted to know … especially when he turned his head and stared directly at me , I mean I just sat there franticly wondering  whether I should say something , just pretend I wasn’t there or get up and scramble to my room “

Yun smiled , imagining the awkward state he must have been at “ but I didn’t have to ponder for long  , he turned his head away , staring back at the front entrance but broke the silence by saying that it was getting colder , that in a couple of weeks we can expect it to start snowing “  Youngbae  fell silent again and his eyes landed back at Yun , the emotions in them spoke of love and bliss but with an odd sense of heaviness   … and she instantly knew that the part that mattered in the story was coming next .

“We struck up some casual conversation after that, talked some more about the weather  ... and even thought I can’t recall  if I even told him my name , I remember clearly his experisson when I asked him what he was doing in the inn . He was a really old man and I casually asked him why wasn’t he staying with his family, I mean he must’ve had someone, right? “His expression turned bitter and Yun instantly knew that he thought it was distasteful of him to have asked such a question.

“It was stupid of me to ask that, I mean it’s not like he didn’t think of it and just needed a stranger to remind him that he didn’t really need to stay by himself. I honestly didn’t expect him to answer, he turned tense and suddenly looked weary, and just as I was about to apologize for it he answered “

“ he said that he had a son , one that begged him constantly to live with him and his family but he just couldn’t , that he wasn’t ready yet to let go “

“ let go of what ? “ she wondered  out loud when he fell silent again and his eyes turned tender as he looked at her , his hands tucked a strain of her hair gently behind her ear as he whispered “ the love of his life”.

“  he made a promise and even thought the person he made it to was no longer there to hold him up to it , he intended to carry on with it to the very end “ Taeyang  placed his hand on her shoulders turning her around and then pointed to a post near the middle , Yun struggled to make sense of what it was he mentioned her to ,she recognized the remaining of a porch and what might have once been an entry way but Youngbae was only pointing to the pole with the single light bulb on top of it .

“ his wife would switch the light on that post every single day at exactly 7 o colock , just as he would be cliaming the path down there from his store  , to help guide him home  … she done that for over 20 years   “ Yun looked behind her left shoulder at Youngbae only to find him staring right back at her , his expression solemn .

“when she got sick and had to stay in the hospital for a while he couldn’t bear the thought of coming back home … not when he knew she wouldn’t be there waiting for him, he would spend his day after work by her side and when the doctors would force him out of her room he would find somewhere to spend the night. she couldn’t stand seeing him like that for long and she asked the doctors to move her to a room on the other side of the building , a room facing this side of the town “

“ he said that after work when he went to visit her like every other day , she mentioned him to her bed beside the window and told him to look and just before the sun has completely set that night , when there’s just enough light to be able to make out the outline of this hill from  the distance but not quite enough to obscure other light sources , they could see the light from that post light up … and that was when she made him promise , that every day  just before sun down he would light up that lamp … to guide Her home “

“Bae … “Yun uttered, unaware that she was holding her breath as he told her that old man story “… that’s what he was doing right? I mean the night you met him! “

“Yes, he kept that promise for 11 month, rushing between home and the hospital and even in the good days when she got to stay at home, he would be the one that switch it on  ... he never missed a day , excapt the day she passed away “ .

She could see his grim face and she held out her hand to caress his face , in a useless hope to shed away some of his concerns , knowing all too well that he was seeing in his mind that man face as he reached that same part of the story  .

“You don’t have to go on  ... “she tried, not seeing any possible way for the story to go on.

Youngbae smiled sadly at her before shaking his head , disregarding her offer to stop “ for one day he stopped but he made a promise and intended to keep it , the day I met him would have marked over 7 years of keeping that promise , can you imagine ?! “

He didn’t give her a chance to answer and went on “can you imagine holding on to that for 7 years  ... he wrapped his whole life around that promise, even when he couldn’t care for the house any longer and had to move away, he refused to move into his son home and chose to stay behind, being in that inn allowed him a close enough distance to reach it in time every day .. Can you imagine loving someone that much? “ .

Yun closed her eyes, feeling her self trumbling... her hearts thudding penifully in her chest as she listened on to Youngbae words, his voice rising in desperation “because I didn’t  ... I couldn’t being to comprehinse that , why ? I mean why did this man who desperately loved his wife had to lose her like that and I started thinking , fearing that if I ever find something even close I would end up like that , I was so desperate for love at that time yet sickened by the possibilities of the pain it would bring , I felt paralyzed and I actually blamed that man for it , like how dare he break me in that way … wasn’t I even allowed to have my idealistic view of love anymore and I actually walked away from him that night thinking what a fool  “

“And then I met you …” he whispered, edging closer to her , making her heart speed up in a whole different rhythm   “… and you were YOU, nothing I expected but everything I needed. and I begin to understand , 7 years of aimless wondering without the love of my life felt like nothing if that meant I would get 20 years of getting to be with you before it “

She felt his fingers intertwine with hers and her eyes fell open as he lifted their linked hands to his chest , he didn’t say a thing but she was deafened by the pounding of their hearts , Yun felt and heard his as loudly as her own .. “The day I decided I wanted to spend my life with you I came back here  ... don’t know why I just felt it and the next thing I knew I was back in the inn asking about the old man “

“Did you find him? “She wondered softly, her voice hardly louder than a breath.

“no “he answered but without the regret he held deeply before “he was gone, they said I could call his son to ask about him and I did, apparently not long after I left he got too weak to keep at it and his son made him stay with him, he asked me if I liked to visit his dad but I said that I just wanted to check on him … and then I asked him about the house “

Understanding finally downed on her as he concluded “they were selling this place; they actually ran down the house because the son thought they had a better chance in selling it as farming land …. What are the odds I thought, I wanted to build a life with you and just like that they offered me the place to do it in “he cracked a sheepish smile at her bewildered gaze.

“Why would they sell the house? “  She stuttered out, shaking her head in denial while her heart thumped loudly in her chest.

“ It wasn’t an easy choice for them but when they did make it they set a condition … which I was happy to comply with “ again he directed her attention to the light post and she stepped closer toward it ,  suddenly seeing it under a different light  , Yun became all too aware of the time and the setting sun behind them .  

“Would you do the honor? “ Youngbae tenderly asked and she looked at him, certain that all the longing, fear, love … and the dozen other emotions she held inside were all over her face, and he met her gaze with a reassurance that instantly made it all alright.

Yun held her hand toward the string that would seemingly switched the light on and as she pulled it down she noticed the odd weight at the end of it. The light flickered on just as her eyes came to recognize the round shape at the end for what it was …..

The sight of the diamond and emerald green studded ring engulfed her with a sense of bliss that felt foreign, she closed her eyes taking in the meaning of it all and the wonderers feeling it brought to her, she thought to herself … yes, this feels right. 

“Yun … I know I made you a promise, no spare of the moment discussion and I’m keeping that. the thought of settling down with you , of  waking up each and every day with you in my arms , that decision was made a long time ago , that ring I bought after leaving your house one day , I can’t even remember thinking about it , I was driving and the next thing I knew I was in a jewelry store choosing that because I know how much you would like the emerald stone … the same with this place , at these moments I didn’t think I just knew that I wanted to go home … to you “

She opened her eyes and turned around to him as he continued “the reason I told you this story now and not before because I always thought of it bitterly, how sad and unfair it was for that man  ... I always got stuck at the end , at that loneliness he held and I was afraid of it …. What I only recently came to realize is that I’m willing to live that way , to live in the aftermath if it meant I could be with you for even the briefest of time “

  He took hold of her hand , intertwining it with his “ I guess I’m selfishly hoping that your heart will be  the same forever  , that you will always want to meet me with a smile and with your words of comfort  ,  in return I will try my best every day for you ,  and I promise  to love you with the same sincerity I held the first day I confessed to you  “

Her reply, the words she came up with fell short of expressing the fortune she felt … she let go of his hand only to engulf herself in his embrace, holding him as if her existent depended on it and in a way it did, she only parted away far enough to look at his cherished face as she uttered “I love you Youngbae, now and always “

“So yes ..? “He questioned seemingly still uncertain and she stepped up to kiss him in confirmation, his heated lips overwhelmed hers and as they both pulled away breathless she whispered “yes “.

Youngbae reached behind her for the ring and untied it from the string, he held it to her and she offered her hand without hesitation, her previous worries and utter objection of a proposal seemed ridicules … her whole life had lead up to that moment and she embraced it, for that one instant in time forgetting all that had gone wrong in the past, all the worries that laid ahead, all she knew is that they were together and that all that mattered.

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This Awful Author Note: So in celebration of the amazing " Rise " i have decided to finally post the chapter i have written and rewritten of an over a dozen times, I’m so sorry for everyone who's been keeping up with and waiting for an update and thank you for liking the story, it's kind of unbelievable when i think that i started it 4 years ago when Take it slow came out.... and for now i will leave you all with this happy giddy ending and hope that both you and i will come to find a love that wants to live on as my fictional Youngbae and Yun love did .

Just a small note that i hope i don't get hated for ,  this is not the very end i thought of ...  and maybe i will get around to writing that as sequel or something , but for now i will mark it as complete for every reader deserve a complete story and a possibility of it going on :) .