“Where is he?” I said, sighing loudly as I sat alone at the dinner table.

Kai was already an hour late for dinner and the food I made was sitting cold on the table. I was about to go upstairs and grab my book instead of wasting my time wondering where he was when I heard the front door open.

I could hear the sound of his shoes being kicked off and his footsteps walking towards the dining room.

“Where have you—“

“Jagiya, sorry I was late. I got caught up at the studio because a student’s parents were asking about private lessons and they just asked way too many questions, and then Eunji was asking me about some computer stuff, and then there was a lot of traffic on the way back, and it started raining so I had to wait for it to stop…” Kai explained quickly but all I heard were excuses.

 “The food is cold…” I started to say, a little disappointed that he didn’t have the decency at least text me to let me know.

“Ah, I know. Mianhae sweetheart. We can just heat it up again,” he said with a smile, not understanding my feelings.

“Sure,” I said with indifference as I walked upstairs, leaving him to do all the work. ‘There was no rain today?’ I thought to myself. What is Kai talking about??

 

 

“Tia!” Kai called from downstairs a few moments later.

“I’m coming!” I yelled back. I didn’t know why I was frustrated at him lately.

Maybe it was because he was hardly ever home. Maybe it’s because we were both so busy. Maybe it’s because we haven’t actually had a date in months. Maybe it was because all he talked about lately was his new assistant.

I sat down at our small dinner table across from Kai. “How was work?”  I asked blankly, already knowing what he was going to say.

“Eunji helped out so much today. I mean, I really don’t know what I would do without her. She helped the younger girls so much; you know I’m not very good when it comes to teaching little kids. And all the little girls were like ‘Eunji sonsaengnim, you’re so pretty, I want to be just like you when I grow up,’ it was the cutest thing.”

I gulped. ‘Is he cheating on me?’ I thought to myself. Why would he talk about her so much if he weren’t interested? Granted, I’ve never met her but the guys say she’s hot and that scares me.

“Mm, that’s great honey,” I replied robotically and continued to eat my dinner.

“How was your day?” he asked me in response after my awkward reply.

“It was fine,” I replied, “cold, though.”

“Mm, yeah it was really chilly today. You need to stay warm so you don’t get sick,” he said with a loving smile.

Awkward silence.

“Tia sweety, are you okay?” Kai asked.

“Huh?” I was distracted. “Oh, uh, yeah I’m fine Kai,” I responded.

 

Was I okay? I asked myself. Kai and I had been dating for 3 years now and nothing happened. Everything was wonderful when we first met and our relationship moved really quickly in the beginning. Chen introduced me to him and it was love at first sight. But after moving in together a year and a half ago, I thought our relationship would have gone somewhere. But it didn’t. It seemed to come to a standstill as soon as we unpacked our things in our small, but cozy, condo.

 

I was lost in my thoughts once again when I was interrupted by Kai’s voice.

“I’m going to go take a shower,” Kai said, standing up from the table. He walked to my side of the table and kissed my forehead before going upstairs.

“Mm,” was all I replied as I played with the mostly untouched food on my plate.

Thankfully after work I’m spending the afternoon with Chen tomorrow. Maybe I can get to the bottom of this.

************************************************************************************************************************

 

 

 

“Chen, can you please stop looking at yourself in the mirror and help me out here? I have a serious problem,” I said to him.

“But I can’t,” he whined. “I’m just too good looking,” he said as he winked at himself in the mirror and laughed loudly.

“Oh God,” I said, rolling my eyes.

“Come on Tia, you have nothing to worry about. Kai wouldn’t do something like that,” Chen said as he filed through the jackets on the rack. He stopped at one he liked and pulled it out. “What do you think about this one?” he asked me.

“Really Chen?” I asked him, questioning his choice of a hot pink leather jacket.

“That’s a no then,” he said, putting it back on the rack. “Why are you stressing about this?” he asked and he walked over to the shelves of beanies.

“What if he’s cheating on me?” I asked, my voice small from the deep insecurity that I had.

“Who would he cheat with?? It’s not like he’s going to date one of those little teeny ballerinas at the studio,” Chen said sarcastically.

“Eunji?” I said, reminding him about the hot, new assistant Chen liked so much.

“Oh…”

“Yeah, exactly. What do I do, Chen?” I asked again, trying not to let my feelings of anxiety show in my voice.

“I’m sure you’re fine…it’s nothing to worry about,” Chen said and shrugged it off like it was nothing. But it wasn’t nothing. Something was definitely wrong here.

After dropping Chen off after shopping, I made my way home and pulled into the parking spot of our condo. I turned off the car and just sat in silence for a while.

Honestly, I was afraid. Could it really be true? Is he cheating on me? I spent three whole years with Kai. In those three years I could have done so many things. I could have gone to see the world. I could have done something significant with my life. Did that mean nothing to him?

But the logical side of myself came out and convinced me that I was jumping to conclusions. I never actually had any proof that he was cheating on me. There hadn’t really been any signs that he’s been cheating so I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. I stepped out of the car relieved and refreshed and made my way towards into the condo.

I opened the door and saw Kai’s shoes on the floor, which was odd. He usually wasn’t home before I was.

“Surprise!” Kai said as he walked out with a single red rose in his hand.

I was definitely surprised. He led me to the dining room where a candlelight dinner sat waiting for me. Pink and white rose petals were strewn around the floor and on the table and everything seemed so romantic.

“What’s this?” I asked, skeptical.

“I thought I would surprise you with a romantic dinner to apologize for being late yesterday,” Kai shrugged as he pulled out my seat for me.

For the night, I completely forgot about my cheating suspicions. Thankfully, tomorrow is Friday, my day off, and I wont have to worry about anything. After dinner, Kai and I watched a movie on the couch with a bucket of strawberry ice cream for dessert. We cuddled and eventually fell asleep in each other’s arms and everything was wonderful and dandy.

I woke up at 2 AM to use the restroom when I saw his cell phone light up on the coffee table. Out of curiousity, I quietly crept over to the table and took a peek at the recent activity that caused his phone to light up.

 

          --New Text Message From: Eunji--

          “Can’t wait to see you tomorrow night. Meet me in room 712 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel at 6:30 PM.”

 

I walked into the bathroom as calmly as possible and flicked on the light before sinking to the floor.

‘He’s actually cheating on me. I guess it is true. How could he do this to me? Why would he do such a thing?? I thought he was a good person,’ I whispered to myself quietly. I reached for my phone from my pocket and was about to call Mina, but I realized that it was too early in the morning to be bothering her. But I really needed to talk to her.

I walked to our shared bedroom and locked the door behind me. I decided I would sleep in our bed by myself and he could just stay on the couch by himself.

I changed into pajamas and settled into the bed, trying to fall asleep. It seemed that hours had passed while I tossed and turned around in the bed, not sleeping. Is that why he cooked me such a nice dinner? To make up for cheating on me? “That doesn’t make up for anything you !” I said aloud quietly to myself as if I were talking to him in front of me.

But suddenly, a plan popped into my mind. If he’s going to cheat on me, then I’m going to catch him in the act. Tomorrow I’m going to show up at the hotel at 6:32 PM and catch him with her and kick him until he cries. My black belt in tae kwon do will finally come in handy. I grinned at my new plan.

************************************************************************************************************************

 

 

 

By the time I woke up it was already past noon and the sun was streaming into my eyes through the blinds. Cursing myself for not closing the curtains before bed, I rolled over to face the opposite direction and found myself looking at an empty pillow.

I had forgotten that I locked him out last night. I reluctantly got out of bed and brushed my teeth quickly before going to check and see if Kai was still on the couch.

I walked out of the bedroom and into the living room and saw that Kai was already gone.

Since it was morning now, I called Mina.

“Yeoboseyo?” Mina answered.

“Kai’s cheating on me.” I said flatly.

“W-What?? How do you know that?” Mina asked, incredulous.

“I came home last night and he made me a romantic, candlelight dinner and everything was great but I woke up in the middle of the night and saw a text on his phone,” I said. My heart was heavy. Thinking about it made me sad.

“What time did you see the text?” Mina asked.

“Two in the morning,” I replied.

“You should have called me!” she sounded like she was yelling but  her voice was just naturally loud. “Baek and I were still awake…”

“Oh God, ew, I don’t need to know what you guys do at night.”

“Calm down, Tia, it wasn’t anything gross, geez. But anyways, what are you gonna do? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine…” I replied. I tried to convince myself that the more I said it, the more I would actually believe it. “But I have a plan.”

I explained the plan to her and she agreed to go with me tonight. We were going to meet up after everything happened. She told me to make sure I looked especially nice so I could show that jerk what he was missing.

After hanging up, I started cleaning up the dishes from last night and swept up all the rose petals. They disgusted me.

I finished up the household chores, did some reading, watched an episode of the latest drama, and before I knew it, it was already 5:00PM.

I started to get ready for the night. I put on my favorite dark jeans, the ones that make me feel y, and a nice, tight blouse. I applied my makeup especially dark and sultry and wore my sharp stilettos. I wanted to show him what he was giving up on. I wanted it to hurt him badly when I kicked him.

I grabbed a coat from the closet downstairs and headed out the door by 6PM.

Twenty minutes later, I pulled into the entrance of the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Seoul and dropped my car off in the front for them to park it.

‘How sleazy,’ I thought, ‘coming to a hotel to hook up.’

I was a little earlier than expected so I waited in the lobby until it got a little closer to 6:30. At 6:30, I made my way up to room 712, expecting the worst. All I could see in my mind was a beautiful girl wrapped around my Kai. I could picture her screaming out his name as he did things he only did with me.

I walked down the long hallway and finally found the room.

712.

This is it. This is the room.

I mentally prepared myself for what I was about to see. I had already prepared a ton of ice cream and chocolate at home because I knew I was going to have a rough couple days ahead of me.

Please be open, I hoped. I slowly and quietly tried turning the doorknob.

Yes! Unlocked! But who in their right mind would keep the door open if they were planning on having ?

I opened the door slowly and braced myself for what I thought was about to happen.

The door creaked and I silently cursed the maintenance people at the hotel for not keeping the hotel in tip-top shape.

I opened the door completely and was greeted by the sight of rose petals on the bed and by the scent of fresh roses in the air. But other than that, the room was empty.

I looked around the room, confused at what had happened.

“Kai?” I called out in the empty room. No answer.

I suddenly heard a familiar tune coming from outside. My favorite song.

“You’re my everything” he sang as he walked towards me in a classic black suit and the bow tie I bought him for Christmas last year.

Your beauty blinds me

My bride, my present from the heavens above

Are you happy? There’s tears flowing from your eyes

Until the day your black hair turns grey, I promise to love you forever

I could feel the tears start flowing from my eyes. How did he know? How did he know this was my favorite song?

I want to tell you every single day that I love you

Would you marry me?

As soon as the words left his mouth, I couldn’t control myself anymore. I broke down onto the floor and couldn’t stop crying.

“Tia, are you okay?” Kai asked, his voice filled with concern.

I couldn’t answer. I was crying too hard.

“What’s going on here?” I managed to ask after my tears had subsided and I had calmed down significantly.

“I-uh…” Kai started.

I looked up and noticed that the room was suddenly full of people. I didn’t even hear them come in, but

 “Guys?” I was confused. “Why are you here?” I asked as I wiped the tears from my face.

“Tia, we want you to meet Eunji,” Mina said, walking in the room.

As soon as I heard her name, I felt panic. I didn’t want to meet her. The other woman.

I shook my head and looked down at the ground. Kai stepped behind me.

“It’s okay jagi, I promise,” Kai said as he wrapped his arms around me from behind. I just shook my hand in response.

“Hello Tia, I’m Eunji.”

I looked up to see the face of the voice I just heard. She was….old. And not Kai’s type at all.

“Um hello” I replied respectfully, still remembering my manners.

“I’m Kai’s grandmother,” she said with a smile.

Now that she said it, I saw the resemblance. They had the same eyes and tanned skin.

“Wait. What’s going on here?” I was still confused.

“He just proposed, you idiot,” Chen called out from the side.

“This was the plan the whole time,” Kai started to explain. “I convinced the guys to make it seem like I was cheating on you, so I told them to mention how hot Eunji was—“

“Yah! I AM HOT!” his grandmother interjected.

I couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

“—okay, okay, yes you are grandmother.” She nodded her head in a ‘that’s more like it’ fashion.

“Anyways, I told them to keep mentioning it to you, and I tried to talk about her all the time to make it seem like there was actually the possibility that I was cheating on you. All those days I was late, I tried to make it seem like it was her fault too, but actually I was meeting up with Kyungsoo and Lay to help plan the proposal and then I called Mina and told her about the whole plan and she told me that I should sing to you to propose so I prepared all of this to surprise you,” he said, looking satisfied with himself.

"So everyone was in on it? Chen? Mina?"

"Yep!" he said proudly.

“But why would you do it like this?” I said, my voice small. Everyone seemed to feel the tension in the room and started to make their way out to give us some time alone. Before leaving, I heard Kai’s grandmother whisper to him, “I approve,” and she gave him a kiss on the cheek before closing the door behind her.

“Tia, please don’t cry again,” he said, embracing me in a big bear hug. “I only wanted to surprise you.” I could hear the anxiety in his voice.

I remained silent.

“I’m sorry Tia. I didn’t want to ruin the surprise. You somehow always figure out my surprises and I wanted to make this one special,” he said as he held me tightly in his arms.

“Babo…” was all I could manage to whisper.

“I know,” he said smiling. “But I’m your babo.”

I nodded.

“My babo….” I trailed off.  “And yes, I will marry you,” I said, finally realizing that I never answered his question.

“Great! Kyungsoo made cake to celebrate and everyone is downstairs waiting for us.” He laced his fingers between mine and led me towards the elevator.

The elevator doors closed and I rested my head on his shoulder, exhausted from the excitement of the day.

“Babo…” I whispered again, my voice echoing in the elevator.

“Your babo,” Kai said with a smile as he leaned down to embrace me in a soft and tender kiss.

I smiled back at him. My heart was finally at ease.

“Exactly,” I said smiling.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A/N: The song Kai sang in my story was Super Junior's "Marry U"

Listen here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1bM9Ws6sIU