It's been well over a year since you've been back here. You couldn't spare the money in the past year to make the trip until now. Your back aches from the long plane ride and you loudly yawn to chase the sleep away. You look around the airport. It's mid-summer and you're near sweltering in your sweater and jeans (the plane had been cold). You look over at that corner, that corner where you had first met him. It all comes back to you.

"I was right over there, yeah?" A man says, and points to the very corner you were looking at. He looks at you with a cute smirk. His coal black eyes see into your soul, his several ear piercings shine in the light, his tall stature was still the same, though you're gaining height on him. He's the same as ever. "You're back." He says, almost sounding relieved.

"Yeah." You smile back at Huang Zi Tao, the man you've loved since the very first moment you saw him. It seems like forever since you saw him, though you had skyped him just two days ago. "What are you doing here?" You ask. You had been expecting relatives to pick you up, not your boyfriend.

"Your grandparents said I should be the one to come see you first." You scowl. Had everyone seen right through you last year? Were you really that obvious? He grins at you, then laughs. You smile at the sound of his laugh, something you haven't seen in person for a very long time. "Let's go." 

He takes your hand and you two walk away.

He drives you back to the same apartment building complex. You greet your smiling grandparents happily. They give you hugs and kisses and wipe away happy tears. They really missed you. Your grandmother thanks Tao, says a quick goodbye, then shoos you two out.

"Wait, why--"

He gives you that smirk again, then pulls you away from the apartment while waving back at your grandparents. It seems that they've gotten along well while you were away. "I'm taking you out today." You giggle lightly at that. 

Tao starts walking along a very familiar road, and you already know where you're headed before you even arrive. You walk into May's cafe slowly, expecting her to run up and hug you. But no one is inside except for an older woman typing away on a laptop and another girl, not May, behind the cash register. 

"Where...is she?" You say, feeling distressed and sad. Tao looks at you with a sad smile.

"She went to college."

"What? But she never told me!" College? You had emailed May multiple times and she never mentioned anything about college.

"She's pursuing a dream of hers she's had for a while."

"How do you...? What's the dream?"

He looks at the small cafe menu. Without even glancing at you, he smiles secretively and says, "Singing." And then he raises his eyes to catch yours. You smile at him happily. Singing! You already know that she's going to be wonderful at it. You can tell.

"She left you something."

"She did?!" You say excitedly. He hands you a small box that fits in the palm of your hands. It's plain brown cardboard, and you open it slowly. It's a little necklace that has a charm that says "BEST" on it. You immediately realize that she must have the other half. "FRIENDS" is what her half must say. You smile.

"Wait, there's more." He says to you. He sounds so cheery, it's adorable. Tao hands you a gift back filled with little cute objects inside it. There's too much to go over now, so you hold on to it to look at later. "They're from the other members." You smile at this. 

"I miss them too." Tao tells you that they're really sorry they couldn't come see you today, but you quickly forgive them in your mind. It's enough that you'll get to see them tomorrow.

After a cup of coffee and a slice of cake (or two), he takes your hand again. Your heart flutters at the contact. You start walking again and once again, without asking, you know where you two are headed.

You arrive at the park.

The sun is setting and the sky is a brilliant canvas of blue, orange, reds and pinks. It's utterly beautiful and you feel speechless in Tao's presence at this time of day. You can't help but glance at him.

He stops walking and you know exactly where you are. It's the place where he first kissed you. He puts his hands on your shoulders to stop you, and gets down on one knee.

"Oh my..." He pulls out a small velvet box and slowly, but delicately, lifts up the top. You gasp quietly. Inside, there lies a single ring with a fragile-looking gold band and a gorgeous diamond in the middle.

His voice is smooth, not nervous at all, as if he's rehearsed these words over and over. It's hardly louder than a whisper, but it's also so much more. "Are you willing to spend the rest of your life with someone like me?" He says with a half grin. 

You think of all the memories with him. The park, the cafe, the amusement park, meeting the other members, eating dinner with him, him coming over and sleeping in the guest room, and your very first kiss. You can only think of one answer.

Whispering just one word in reply, you have the happiest smile a girl could ever have. "Yes."

                                 ~END~