"marry me?"

standing in front of her, stood the love of her life, holding a bunch of sunflowers in one hand and another holding out a red velvet box. situated in the middle of it is a simple diamond ring - just the way seohyun likes it. kris was not even kneeling in front of her, reciting long messages of why he loves her. neither did he bother to put on a suit and tie to look formal for the proposal nor use roses instead of sunflowers. but it did not matter to seohyun because that is what makes kris, kris. he is one to always go against the norm.

ever since their great escape, kris knew that seohyun is the one for him - not that he did not know before, he was just much more certain after that. for the past four years, they have been through ups and downs but they never gave up. he knows that they are still young - he is twenty-three, she is twenty-two. but he is willing to take the chance, because she was willing to take the chance a few years back when she decided to take a step forward and be in a relationship with him.

"yes."

"are you out of your mind?"

that is the first question that left mrs seo's mouth after seohyun told her parents about her decision and kris tries not to cringe at it. he is not surprised by the question though, because he knows that her parents are going to be one of the many obstacles they have to face if the both of them makes the decision to tie the knot.

"mum, don't say that. shouldn't you be happy for me?" seohyun says softly, trying not to show her disappointment. but then again, what did she expect? that her parents would readily accept their proposal? obviously not.

"happy? why should i be happy when you're going to be married to this," she stops halfway, looking at kris in distaste before continuing, "boy."

kris could not help but mutter a response, "i'm a man."

however, mrs seo has suprisingly great hearing and scoffs at that, "a man, you say? when you've not even been to the army."

"mum! he will go to the army after we get married. can't you, for once, just be happy for me!" seohyun exclaims.

"but you promised us that we will take care of you until-" mrs seo's words were cut off by seohyun.

"promises are meant to be broken. plus, i'm old enough to make my own decisions. you wanted me to be happy, i'm at my happiest. please, accept my decision," seohyun says, indignantly.

mrs seo shares a look with mr seo before beginning to say, "we only want what's best for you."

all seohyun says to that was, "then accept my decision."

kris and seohyun held a simple wedding at a small church in one of the towns they visited during their great escape. surprisingly enough, seohyun's parents eventually accepted her decision and seohyun could not have been happier. only their parents and close friends were invited. it may not have been the wedding of the year, but to seohyun and kris, it was one of the best days of their lives.

they managed to buy a small apartment with the money that seohyun's parents loaned them. kris could not have been more grateful for that and promised to pay back the loan one day. 

"our home," seohyun says, looking at their finally well-furnished small apartment.

their apartment is a two bedroom apartment - a humble abode. but it is everything seohyun ever dreamt of because it is situated near the park where the both of them first met.

kris turns to look at her and smiles brightly, "yes, our home. the place where we will fulfill our promises of forever."

however, too soon, the couple had to be separated because kris had to finally serve in the military forces for two whole years. seohyun knows that as much as she does not want that, she has to accept it.

"i'm going to miss you," seohyun mumbles against kris' chest as they lay in bed on the night before he enters the military forces.

kris runs his fingers through seohyun's soft hair and seohyun tries her best not to fall asleep. it always soothes her when he does that and she is definitely going to miss him doing that when he leaves the very next day. kris leans forward and gives her forehead a chaste kiss. he says, and seohyun can feel his lips moving against her forehead, "don't count the days until i return, because that will only make time pass by slower. do your own things, be happy always, and before you know it, i'll be back."

seohyun wants to say that it is not as easy as he thinks but she just says, "okay."

"you know, i have a song dedicated to you," kris says after a while, his voice only slightly above a whisper, as though telling her a secret.

seohyun's ears perks up at that and she lifts up her head from kris' chest. "really?"

"mmhmm, it's called 'you are my sunshine'," kris says with a small smile on his face and seohyun does not know whether to take him seriously. she narrows her eyes at him and asks, "are you being serious?"

"yes of course!" kris says, a little insulted that seohyun would think that he was not being serious. kris continues and seohyun's eyes softens as he says, "that song suits you well. i mean you are my sunshine. my only sunshine."

"sing for me, then. before we go to sleep," seohyun says determinedly, a slight smirk on her face, and kris' eyes widens at that, before he stubbornly shakes his head, "no. you know i can't sing."

she guessed right in thinking that kris would straight-up reject her suggestion. seohyun's lips turns into an automatic pout and her eyes immediately widens, "please. this is my last request before you leave me."

"hey! i'm not leaving you. i'll only be away for two years," kris replies while patting seohyun's nose with his index finger and seohyun crinkles her nose at that before mumbling, "two years, too long."

kris really does not want to sing. singing has never been his forte. if there had been an award for being the worst singer, he would probably win first place. he scrunches his eyes shut, knowing that he is about to give in. only seohyun is able to do that to him - not that he minds because he would do just about anything for her. no wonder his close friends call him 'whipped'. he sighs and says, "fine."

he takes a deep breath before looking straight into seohyun's eyes and begins,

"you are my sunshine,

my only sunshine,

you make me happy,

when the skies are grey,"

seohyun's eyes starts prickling with tears and she thinks about how she is definitely going to miss kris. she had promised herself that she would not break down on the day kris leaves her for two whole years. she had wanted to be strong and she did not want kris to worry about her. but since it is the night before. she decides that it is only fair for her to shed a tear or two.

"you never know dear,

how much i love you,

please don't take,

my sunshine away."

seohyun does not realise that tears had fallen from her eyes until she feels kris' thumbs wiping them away. she immediately puts on a smile on her face, willing herself not to cry again and mutters, "i love you", before giving him a soft kiss.

ever since kris left for the army, things had not been easy for seohyun. she struggles in juggling between her studies - she is taking a degree in medical science at the seoul university - and paying for the bills. there were times whereby she wants to give up, but then she remembers the nights where kris is able to give her a call during his breaks and their conversations. when that happens, she only works harder for her future with kris.

like what people always say - when there is happiness, there is sadness too. things took a turn for the worst during the last year of kris' military services. it started off as a small cough and seohyun just brushes it off as just her catching the flu bug. but as weeks become months, the cough does not go away. instead, it becomes worse and seohyun notices how she is growing weaker. as much as she does not want to visit the doctor, she decides that it is best she finds out what is wrong with her.

the day she visited the doctor, was probably one of the worst days of her life. she should have known, she was afterall studying medical science. the symptoms were all there, but she chose to ignore them. when the doctor utters the two words - lung cancer - seohyun knows that forever with kris is never going to happen. when the doctor broke the news to her, she felt as if someone had kicked her in the chest but still, she did not cry and she did not scream. all she did was continue living her life. she knows she should tell kris, but she made the decision not to. burdening kris with the news was the last thing on her mind.

"seohyun, i've missed you," that is the first thing kris says as soon as seohyun answers her phone. it has become a norm for them to start the conversation that way each time kris gets the chance to use the telephone.

seohyun replies a soft, "me too."

"so, how was your day?" kris continues.

"fine," utters his wife.

kris frowns at that. usually, seohyun is one to talk a lot during their telephone conversations. she is always going on and on about what she had done during the day and what she intends to do the very next day. she is always detailed when it comes to their conversations. however, this time, all she gives are short responses.

"sunshine, are you-"

seohyun knows what he is about to ask and her mind screams for her to tell him but what left was, "sing for me."

"w-what?" kris replies, a little taken aback. seohyun has never asked him to sing for her during their telephone conversations.

"sing for me, please," seohyun repeats herself.

"erm, alright," kris responds, still slightly confused at her sudden request. as usual, he takes a deep breath before singing, "you are my sunshine...."

just like that, a tear