Jiyoon frowned to see Changjo playing with her accessories which she put on the desk when she stepped out of the bathroom after having her morning bath. “What are you doing?” she asked as she approached him.

Changjo shrugged. “I was tidying a few things here and this just caught my attention. I think I haven’t seen you wear this before,” he explained, referring to a thin golden ring he’d been examining. “Are you by any chance married to someone?”

“That’s my mom’s wedding ring, babo,” she laughed. “I never wear it since I’m afraid I might lose it. So I just ended up bringing it everywhere I go. It's my lucky charm.”

Changjo stupidly tried it into his fingers as he listened to her words. “Does this fit in you?” he struggled to take out the ring from his finger and passed it to her.

“It was quite loose back then, that’s why I’m afraid I might drop it anywhere. I haven’t worn it for a while so let’s just see.” Jiyoon took the ring and put it into her ring finger. “Holy , it fits! I must have gained a lot,” she mumbled.

“Well, no matter what, it’s classic and beautiful, isn’t it?” she asked Changjo as she stared at the ring which perfectly fitted her finger. “Just ignore my fat finger.”

“It’s beautiful as the one whom wearing it.” That teasing smirk of him appeared on his face again before he kissed her cheek in a flash.

Jiyoon rolled her eyes as she slapped his arm. “Ya, hurry take a shower! We have a tight schedule today.”

“What is it, manager-nim?” he raised his eyebrow.

“Accompany me shopping.” She grinned, twining her arm around his waist. Changjo grunted in protest hearing her answer. Jiyoon kissed him back on the cheek before releasing him from her hug and pushed him towards the bathroom. “Hurry!”

******

“Jiyoon-ah.” Changjo called her who was busy scanning through the clothing rack. “Is it okay if I go out for a while?”

“You must be bored, right?” Jiyoon regretfully asked. “I’m gonna finish this faster, I promise.”

“No, it’s not that! When we walked here there’s a jacket which caught my attention inside a store next block. Probably we could save much time if I go there now while you’re here. Just shop around leisurely, okay?” he spluttered. “Don’t go too far from here. I’ll meet you back here later, okay? Okay? Is that okay?”

“You talk too much, Sir. Just go. Don’t worry about me.” She rolled her eyes. “I hope the jacket is still there for you,” she giggled.

Changjo kissed her forehead before ruffling her hair. “I’ll go now. See ya!” by that he dashed out from the store they’re in.

Changjo couldn’t stop glancing back at the store, somehow worried if Jiyoon followed him. He hurriedly turned at a junction. His gaze scanned a row of stores’ signs right away. He found the store he’d been searching after three minutes glancing to his right and left.

But it’s not actually a clothing store like what he told Jiyoon before. It’s a jewelry store. With a satisfied smirk, he walked into the store.

“Good afternoon, Sir. Can I help you?” a professional looking woman staff greeted him brightly.

“Uh…” Changjo looked around since he didn’t have any clear ideas of what he was actually looking for. “I… Well, I need a ring to propose my girlfriend. Can you help me with that?”

The staff smiled as she nodded at him. “Sure. This way, Sir.” She led the way to another side of the room where the rings were displayed. “What kind of ring do you want?” she asked from behind the counter, ready to get anything Changjo wanted from the display.

“A classic golden ring will be good,” he said while scanning the display.

“Ah.” The pro staff got what he meant right away. She then took two rings from the display and put it on the counter for Changjo to look. “We have these. Simple and classic for a proposal,” told her.

Changjo was examining the two rings closely when the staff showed him another ring. “Or maybe you would consider this one as well. This is a golden ring with a small colorless diamond on it. It’s classy, but still could maintain its modesty,” she explained. “This is one of our special types so it’s a bit higher at price.”

The latest ring caught his attention. He put the previous ring back on the counter and started examining the one with diamond on it. He was about to ask for its price when he realized the tag was hanging on its holder. He smirked in satisfaction. It’s just perfect.

“I think I’m just gonna take this one.” He gave the diamond ring to the staff.

The staff responded with a nod and a smile. “Which size do you want to take?” she asked.

“I don’t know what her ring size is, but her ring fits into my finger until here. Probably you can try a few rings on me to see which size perfectly fits here,” he said while pointing at his ring finger’s middle knuckle.

The staff took out a box of sample rings to determine the size. It didn’t take long for them to find the right size. Then, Changjo was waiting for the payment process to be done when his phone rang. He smiled to himself before picking it up.

“어? You’re done?” he clamped his phone using his shoulder when the staff asked for his sign on the receipt.

“I’m done already. Where are you? If you haven’t finished, I’ll just go to your place instead,” replied Jiyoon from the line across.

Changjo passed the receipt back to the staff to verify the payment for the last time before getting back on talking to Jiyoon. “I’m done in a bit. Are you still in the same store?” he spoke while putting his card into his wallet. “Just wait there. I’ll be going now. Don’t go anywhere, I said. Ya!” he ended the call—which was being hung up by Jiyoon first—and shoved his phone into his pocket while cursing.

“Here’s the ring, Sir. Its documents are inside also. Can I help you with anything else?” the staff passed him a small bag.

“I think that’s all,” told him as he put it into his backpack. “Thank you.”

The staff walked him to the store entrance to open the door for him. “Thank you for shopping.” She bowed. Changjo nodded and smiled back at the staff before pacing back to Jiyoon’s place.

Changjo glanced around in front of the store she’s at, but she didn’t seem to be there. Cursing again, he picked his phone and dialed her number. “Ya, Jiyoon-ah, seriously where are-“ his nag was cut off by the girl.

“Shut up,” she answered as she hugged him from the back. “I was waiting here, but then my sharp eyes caught something,” she explained right away before he got to nag again. “I got you a nice shirt.” She widely grinned at him.

Changjo’s expression changed. He was then blushing, touched by the gift which actually was nothing compared to the one he had prepared for her. “Thank you.” He hugged Jiyoon as he ruffled her hair. “Where do you want to go now?” asked him when they started walking.

“You choose. I’m done with these.” She showed him the paper bags in her hand. “Did you get the jacket?” she just remembered the reason of him dashing off alone before.

Changjo chuckled, “Nope, they don’t have my size.”

“What took you so long then?” she frowned, trying not to get suspicious on what he did.

“I went around, looking for another model, but I didn’t find anything as good as the one I wanted.” He shrugged. “Do you want to get some drinks now?”

Jiyoon nodded as a smile grew on her face. “Yup, let’s go.”

******

Later, they were in a long queue to get their drinks, casually chatting when Changjo’s phone rang. He rejected the call without hesitation and put it back into his pocket, but it didn’t take too long for it to ring again. His choice undoubtedly was to reject it again. It wasn’t just him who insisted to keep rejecting the calls, but the caller did the same on insisting to bombard through his calls.

Jiyoon frowned at his irritated face. “Who is it?” she asked, getting curious of whom calling. She peeked at the screen which was still blinking since Changjo hadn’t rejected it that time. It’s his dad. She glanced at him who was still staring at the screen. “Just pick it up, it won’t kill.”

Changjo turned to look at her, clearly hesitating. “Go outside if you’re not comfortable here. I’ll be the one ordering. Just go,” she told him again.

If it wasn’t her whom told him to, he would have thrown his phone on the wall so it wouldn’t ring again. Changjo finally obeyed her advice as he responded with a nod. “I’ll be waiting outside.”

He walked out of the shop and sat on an empty chair at its veranda. He purposely positioned himself facing the street so that Jiyoon couldn’t figure out what the call was about. Changjo sighed before he finally touched the green button, answering the call at last, but he didn’t bother himself to talk or at least greet his dad first.

“Been a long time, Jonghyun-ah.” Indeed it had been a long time for Changjo to hear his dad’s voice too. The boy stayed quiet, letting his dad to continue talking. He promised himself that he’d just talk if necessary. “How are you doing, kid?” his dad decided to started off carefully with a soft tone, not wanting to lose the precious chance just to talk to his son.

“Best,” answered him shortly. He couldn’t breathe normally as he had been looking forward on what his dad was going to talk about, wishing that it wouldn’t be the same damned matter he’d been avoiding in the last few months.

“Good to hear that you’re okay,” he replied. His dad paused for a moment before continued talking. “You already know the reason why I’m calling you, right?”

Changjo clenched his eyes shut. Please, this is just a dream. Please, he casted spells in his mind. He knew well what he’s talking about. It’s the reason why he had been running away from home, being a nomad settling in his friends’ places for the last few months. It had never been as simply as he didn’t get along well with his family. It had never been that.

“Your time is running out, Jonghyun-ah. You can’t play around anymore. It’s time for you to come back home and do what you got to do.”

Changjo tried hard to maintain his emotion. “I’ve told you I don’t want to be married to someone I don’t know. I don’t want to do that, Appa. I don’t want to.” He emphasized. “Just so you know, I already have a girlfriend. She’s the perfect one for me, the only one. If you just simply want me to get married as soon as possible, I could just marry her tomorrow, even tonight. I don’t want to get married to anyone else other than my girlfriend. That’s my decision and that’s clear enough to you, I think.”

He could hear his dad sighed in the line across. “It’s not about your decision on this matter, Jonghyun,” told him calmly.

Changjo couldn’t understand his parents’ way of thinking. The enthusiasm of his dad on introducing his friends’ daughters to him was unstoppable. He had tried to talk to his mom, but nothing changed since her mom was just as excited as his dad. He was feeling all okay at the first, but he never expected it to be a real arranged marriage for him.

“But it’s about my life! Marriage isn’t something that can be easily arranged like that! It determines how the rest of my life will go! I don’t want to be stuck with someone I don’t know! Someone I don't love!” Changjo disproved. He couldn’t hold it back anymore. Fortunately the veranda section was deserted that nobody would eavesdrop his talk although some of the people who were passing by gave him weird stares.

“That’s why I need you to come home first so that you could get to know more about your future wife,” he replied. He purposely went with the flow, following where his son directed it to while trying to convince him slowly, which was impossible to the son. "You'll slowly fall for her when you're already used to be around her."

“I don’t even want to know about her, whoever you want me to meet. I once again state that I already have a girlfriend and I only want her.”

“But it’s already decided. I’ve made an unwritten deal with my old friend about your marriage with his daughter.” A slight of guilt was heard from his voice.

Changjo snorted. “So, let me conclude it. You chose to stand up for your friend instead of your own son? Is that it?” he rhetorically asked. “I can’t believe you’re that mean.”

“I want the best for you, Jonghyun. I trust him and his daughter. It’s gonna be different than those girls I’ve introduced you to before. I promise,” he half-begged to his own son. "It's gonna be different.'

“I don’t care. Why don’t you just match her with Minhyuk instead of me? Why has it always been me all the time?” he complained. “It’s unfair, Appa!”

His dad took a deep breath, slowly losing his patience. “Listen, Choi Jonghyun. I’m never and won’t ever be unfair on you two. You’ve been missing for months that you don’t even have any idea about your brother’s marriage next month. I also chose the girl for him and he didn’t protest for that.”

“That’s because he didn’t have a girlfriend when you asked him to!” he exclaimed.

“Screw it, Jonghyun. I’ve arranged both you and Minhyuk’s marriage from almost a year ago. You can’t just simply protest like I just told you about this yesterday. It’s been months. It’s not my business if you have a girlfriend now and I'm not giving a damn about it. It’s your own problem because I know you didn’t have a girlfriend back then when I told you for the first time. You can’t blame me for arranging your marriage. You’re only marrying the girl I’ve chosen for you.”

Changjo choked on his words. His dad was right, but he just couldn’t accept the stupid fact about his arranged marriage which would be coming sooner or later. It was just the most stupid thing in the 21^st century, arranged marriage it is. He was also mad knowing that by dating Jiyoon couldn’t change his dad’s decision on his future. Back then he gambled and recklessly chose to date Jiyoon—thinking that his dad would let him married her instead—but turned out it was just a major failure in the end since his dad insisted with his decision. And the worst, Changjo had fallen too deep for her.

Changjo felt soulless, playing a scene of him living separately with Jiyoon while he lived with another girl he didn’t even have any ideas about. “Appa, please. You’re too much. I can’t do this.” He trailed off. His emotions had taken over him. The anger inside him couldn’t be transformed into shouts and other things he usually did. He almost broke his tears out. He would try his best to beg just to avoid that whole arranged marriage of him. “I can’t do this.” He repeated with his choked voice. "I can't."

“You’re marrying the girl I’ve chosen for you, Choi Jonghyun. Full stop.” He stated it again to make it clearer. “You better go home soon or I’ll take you home by force. Don’t ever think of running away since I’ll find you no matter where you’re hiding at.” His dad threatened.

“Well, expecting to see you soon, Choi Jonghyun.”

Changjo didn’t have much time to mourn on his fate after the call had ended since he spotted Jiyoon coming towards him with two cups of drinks in her hands. He inhaled deeply, practicing his fake bright face in a split second before getting up from his seat.

“It’s just a damn long queue,” Jiyoon innocently muttered as she passed him his drink.

“Changjo-ya, what’s wrong?” she questioned Changjo’s weird unusual faint smile. He was smiling at her, but the girl was smart enough not to be fooled by him. She could see through him. It wasn’t his real smile.

“Nothing else than family matter,” he answered shortly. He had no idea how he should’ve answered it either.

Jiyoon stared at him deeply before leaving a soft peck on his lips. “Don’t hesitate to talk to me about anything which bothering you, okay?” she his cheek gently. The curiosity had been put aside by her since it was his family matter and she had no right to interfere it further without being asked to.

Changjo squeezed her into his hug. He closed his eyes, cherishing the moment. He didn’t know how many times left he’d be able to do it again in the future. The worst, it could be his last. “I love you, Jiyoon-ah. I really do,” he whispered weakly.

Jiyoon could still hear it vaguely despite all the noises from the street beside them. She turned her head a bit to kiss his cheek. “I love you too. I will always do. You know it,” she replied with a sincere smile, hoping it could make him brighter any bit.

“Come on, dear. Don’t let the gloom take you over,” she said as they pulled themselves away. She held his hand while her other hand was holding the drink she was sipping.

Changjo tightened his grip on her hand. I wish we could stay like this forever.

A/N:

Hi.

Please don't be mad at me.

Hehe.

*thanking new subscribers before running away*