You sat at a table with your close friends, near the stage in which held an open mic that night; hosted by your best friend Kim Jongin in the restaurant owned by another, Park Chanyeol.  You came in support for Jongin since he had recently opened an Arts program for anyone interested; surprisingly many teens and young adults had joined in two months and to celebrate the success an open mic was held.

               The smile on your face widens each time a new performer came to read, sing, or act out their written art. Before you know it, a couple hours had passed and it had hit you that your boyfriend had not shown up yet. Worried, you texted him immediately in hopes that he would reply his whereabouts. Seconds turns into minutes as you waited for a reply; once the 20 minutes point, you decide to call his phone, only to get to its voicemail.

               “Up next is our special guest poet, D.O! Please give him a round of applause everyone!” announced Jongin. He winks at his best friend, and nods in your direction

               Too concentrated on your phone and not recognizing the nick name, you didn’t notice who was on stage until he spoke into the mic. His voice… You can tell apart his voice in a crowded room.

The feelings I have when I’m with you

Are the ones I’ll never be able to explain

The words “I Love You” will never express what I truly mean.

              You look up after the beginning of the poem, your eyes making complete contact with his big ones. His eyes… 

I’ve been asked many times

How do you know when you are truly in love?

I think of you

Your smile, the glow in your eyes, the never ending sparks in our kiss

               At that moment, it was as if you two were the only ones there. Your full attention was given to the love of your life on stage. His eyes moving back to his paper for a split second, stopping with the gorgeous smile of his, he looks back at you. His smile… He takes the paper and swiftly tears up the written words, throwing them up in the air.

               Confused gasps and conversations started, he continues to look at you with the little smile. He clears his throat after a moment to capture the audience’s attention once again. The room suddenly quiets down once again and he continues. His lovely voice as he spoke from the heart, his gaze set on you and only you.

You know you’re in love with someone when you notice the itty bitty things about them

The way they look when they are concentrated or thinking of something

The way their faces light up when they talk about the things they absolutely love and adore

The way they interact with others with the facial expressions and hand gestures

Just looking at them makes your body tremble in love

Their smile, their laugh

The beautiful glow in their eyes when you lean in to kiss them

The way your fingers tangle to a perfect fit in between theirs

And oh, those goose bumps and skipping heart beats they continuously give you

Anytime, anywhere

When you pull them into a hug, you feel their muscles soon relax

With yours doing the same

Because in that moment, everything is purely perfect.

And when you catch yourself staring at them, you wonder what they’re thinking.

You are not only in love with them or their personality

You’re in love with their soul and every fiber of their being

Just their existence amazes your mind

Fascination orbits your brain

And all you want is to know every little thing about them

               He finally releases his attention towards you and he looks around the audience and suddenly closes his eyes.

Now explain to me, if this isn’t love… then

What is love?

               He stays silent as if he was waiting for a reply. After a moment or two, his eyes open and his smiles return as he makes his way down the stage over to you. Tears developed in your eyes due to his well written words; the skillful chef had another talent, poetry writing.  

              “I guess my meaning of love is correct since no one’s answering...” He chuckles lightly and bends down to your sitting height, his hand placed on your cheek. “This is the girl I’ve fallen deeply in love for, Lee Kyoung Mi, my childhood best friend, my high school sweetheart…” his thumb carefully caresses your cheek to wipe away the tears. “The only thing I want you to be is…” sighing he takes his free hand and digs into his pocket. Getting properly onto his knee, he softly smiles at you and holds a ring box. Once opened, a simple 12 karat diamond ring appears in sight.  You cover your mouth in shock as more tears rush from your eyes. “…my wife, the mother of my children, my future. Lee Kyoung Mi, will you marry me?”

              His eyes meet yours as he waits for the answer he had been longing to hear. Laughing softly through your tears, you nod immediately, “Yes, there’s nothing that can make me happier than to be your wife. Yes!”

              At an instant he slides the ring onto your left hand’s ring finger and stands up, pulling you onto your feet. At the clapping and cheering he leans to whisper softly to you, “I love you, my soon to be Mrs. Do Kyungsoo, forever and always.” His lips swiftly molds against yours for a tender lingering kiss. He pulls away for a bow to the great applause before he hands the mic back to Jongin. Your friends quickly congratulate you both before settling down for the next performer, Jongin giving you both a wink on stage. “Finally he found the guts! If he wasn’t going to do it soon, I would’ve married Kyoung Mi myself.” He chuckles lightly at his joke, earning a glare from Kyungsoo.

              Moving a chair closer to yours, he sits and places an arm around you. Your head leans onto his shoulder as little bits of tears escapes your eyes once you look at the ring on your finger. Not paying complete attention to the next performer, your eyes move to look at your new fiancé. “I love you too, forever and always, baby,” you whisper ever so sweetly against his ear, causing him to grin wider.

              He leans and kisses your tears away before restating, “Forever and always.”