The days have been getting better and better. Minwoo treats me sweetly (since when has he not been that way?) with as much love as he can. Mom’s open to the fact that we sleep in the same bed and share clothes sometimes (he’s the only one that shares). And during breakfast, lunch, and dinner, we share food, drinks, and maybe a kiss or two. Mom just says we’re the cutest couple she’s ever seen.

I haven’t seen or talked to my mother since I ran away. She hasn’t tried to contact me or Mom at all. I’m fine with it. If I don’t have to see her, my life is great.

Today’s special, too. It’s Christmas morning. My birthday. I’m turning seventeen. Minwoo’s been telling me that he’s got the best surprise waiting for me. I’m anxious to see what it is. He’s provided great presents so far throughout our two-year relationship. Since it’s my birthday, it’s got to be extra special, so it’s probably going to be killing me all day just thinking about it.

Since I’m still lying in bed just staring at the ceiling, I begin to amuse myself. I turn onto my right side as carefully as I can. Minwoo’s arms are wrapped around my waist tightly. His bangs are over his closed eyes gently, making him even more handsome than normal. I feel my heart speed up. This is happening more now than ever. It’s still a mystery to me. But doesn’t that mean it’s true love? My heart races anytime I’m near him, and he tells me his does the same with me, so we’re meant for each other. Right? That’s what the psychiatrists say. So my conclusion is that it’s true love.

I sweep his fringe from over his eyes towards the bed. They won’t stay on the other side of his head. Now his eyes are in perfect view. This is the fun part. Ready?

I put my hands on either side of his face and pull him in for a breathtaking kiss, one that I’ve never thought I could pull off. It takes a few seconds, but I eventually feel Minwoo kiss back. His grip around me tightens, and we’re soon engaged in a hot make-out session. This is a great way to wake him up, don’t you think?

When we break apart, I see my boyfriend staring at me with love in his eyes. “Happy birthday, Eun-youngie. You should wake me up like that more often.”

I gasp as he rolls over on top of me and kisses me once again. This kiss is better than the one I engaged, but hey, girlfriends can’t always be as perfect as their boyfriends.

“Minwoo, Eun-young, I made you two breakfast!” Mom calls from the kitchen.

Now that I think about it, I can smell French toast, scrambled eggs, and maybe a little bit of hot chocolate. This is what I’ve woken up to eat this past week, and it’s all tasted so good.

“We’re coming, Mom!” Minwoo calls. He stands up, smiling, and helps me up, too. We head out to the kitchen.

The table is filled with delicious food, all made by Mom. She’s a great cook, and she said she’d teach me so I could feed Minwoo completely. I laughed an agreed. We’re going to start our lessons after New Years’ is over. For now, I’m going to just enjoy my time with them without being bickered to.

Since it’s my seventeenth birthday, Minwoo’s going to take me somewhere. Mom’s coming, too, and I’m completely fine with that. She’ll watch over us. Minwoo whines about it, but I’d actually rather have her here than not. My mother never really cared about what happened to me once I escaped out of the house. She never tried to go and find me to make sure I was safe. She never called the police department when I was gone for days at a time. There was an incident where we were actually out shopping together (surprising, I know) and she saw an old man checking me out. He even approached me and tried to me, for Pete’s sake! I think that was when I truly started to hate her. Back then I wasn’t dating Minwoo, so I wasn’t exactly the happiest person in the world. But that doesn’t matter now. I’ve got Minwoo, and he’s got me. We’re happy and in love, and that’s all that matters.

Minwoo, Mom, and I walk onto the bridge over the Han River. Cars zoom past us as we stay close to the side of the road. There aren’t many, so there’s a low risk of getting hit by one. Nonetheless, Minwoo’s hold on my waist can’t get any tighter.

The view is gorgeous. The river flows endlessly under the low bridge, fish and waves with each move the water makes. Wind blows lightly, chilling me to the bone. I’m surprised the water isn’t frozen, but that doesn’t mean it’s not cold. The water spouting out of the side of the bridge isn’t colored, seeing that it isn’t dark enough yet. It will be in a few hours, though.

I turn to Minwoo and ask, “If I were to jump off a bridge, what would you do to save me?”

Minwoo’s face is expressionless. The question must’ve caught him off guard. His face looks pale as he thinks it over. His voice comes out low, smooth, and sure, like he put hard thought in it… which is true, because he did. “I would jump after you. Even if I lose all strength, I’ll push past my limits and do everything in my power to keep you safe—even if I die trying. You’re the best thing this world has to offer, and nobody can say any different. You hear me?” He turned my face to his and pressed his lips against mine. It created sweet friction, and I absolutely loved the feeling.

The rest of our walk on the bridge was fun as Minwoo pointed out different kinds of fish. Mom just stayed quiet and observed, not wanting to interrupt us and our time together. She knew something I didn’t, I could tell, but I just didn’t know what it was.

Three hours later, we’re by a large Christmas tree. Mom just went to buy us hot chocolate, and Minwoo’s going around the tree drawing pictures in the snow. I follow him willingly and admire the many “I love Eun-young’s”. Some say “Minwoo and Eun-young Forever” and others proudly state “Eun-young belongs to Minwoo.” I just smile and wait for the rest of his pictures.

Mom comes back sooner than I thought she would. She’s smiling happily with three cups of hot chocolate. I run over and take two away from her so she won’t drop any. I’ve carried three cups before, too, and I know from experience that if your fingers get cramped while carrying the cups, you’ll eventually drop them. I was grounded for a month because I broke two glass cups…

“Thank you, Eun-young,” Mom says with a smile.

“It’s nothing.” I turn around to give Minwoo his cup, but he’s nowhere to be seen. I furrow my eyebrows and call out to him many times, actually believing he’s going to come back. I decide to ask Mom where he went, and if she saw which way it was.

She shakes her head, but a knowing smile plays on her lips. “No, I’m sorry, dear. You should go look for him.”

Really? This game again? I had to do this on Valentine’s Day, and you all know how that turned out.

…Okay, so it didn’t turn out bad. It turned out the way I wanted it. But it’s cold now, and I don’t want to freeze to death if I can’t find him!

“I’ll just wait for him,” I state. I start to walk to a bench, but Mom stops me.

“But his hot chocolate will get cold! I want you two to drink it together as a couple moment. Please?” The most surprising thing you could ever see is a woman over thirty years old pull off puppy dog eyes. No joke, man. She’s perfect at it, and there’s no way I can ignore her. I huff out a “Fine!” before walking off to find Minwoo.

I pass plenty of people. Children, mothers, fathers, grandparents, siblings, friends, lovers—they’re all out here enjoying their time together on this Christmas day. Yes, I said Christmas. I don’t completely hate it. Jesus was born today, which is the biggest reason to love it, and seeing the expressions of the children after they open their presents is spirit-lifting.

I pass a shop that has Christmas music playing. I pout and walk off. I don’t like some music, like “Little Drummer Boy.” That one is too confusing for me. Minwoo gets it, and has tried to explain it to me before, but it’s turned out as a failure every time. I’m too confused with the simplest things. Is that a bad thing?

The next happy place is a play of the Nativity Scene. I like this one. It’s about the day Jesus was born. Animals, shepherds, Joseph, and Mary are all surrounding little baby Jesus in the manger. The star shined brightly above, and angels sang glory and praise of the birth of the son of the almighty God. The scene brought a smile to my face, and it gave me inspiration to keep looking for Minwoo.

I take a sip of my hot chocolate. The sweet taste of chocolate seeps into my taste buds and leaves a warm feeling of guilty pleasure in my mouth. The hot drink trickles down my throat, heating it up. I realize that I’m standing in the middle of a large crowd of people while drinking hot chocolate like a model. A few guys are staring. This isn’t good. I’ve got to get out of here before anything too serious happens. I turn around to hurry away. I spot Mom. She yelps and dashes into a nearby shop. I’m about to follow her, but I stop when I hear my name being called by the voice that makes me weak in the knees every time. I turn back around and am greeted with my boyfriend’s smile. In his arms is a large purple teddy bear. It’s got a large card in its hands that say, “Happy Birthday, Eun-young. It’s time for your present now.”

Minwoo walks forward when he sees my smile. Mom walks up from behind me and takes the teddy bear. She walks off behind me. Minwoo holds out a piece of paper with a bunch of writing on it. The title says, “I Love You.” I take it, shocked, and begin to read.

My dearest Eun-youngie,

          How many months has it been? Almost a complete 24? Wow! My life has been blessed with you for nearly two years! Do you know how happy that makes me? I want to hug you and kiss you and cuddle with you and give you every present in the world… just to see your beautiful smile.

          When we started this relationship, I didn’t think it was real. I was too happy to have such a nice, beautiful, and pure girl as mygirl. But after a few months, I realized that I wasn’t in a dream. I was only staying awake all night thinking about you because reality had become better than any dream could ever be.

          Over these past two years, we’ve become closer than ever. What’s been the best experience, though, is when you told me you loved me. I was happy to be there and help you with the trauma your mom was causing you, and I kept asking my own mom if you could come over and stay. It didn’t happen when I wanted it to, but it did, and now I can wake up every morning to the sound of your beautiful voice, the look of your angel-like face, and the kindness you’ve always shown me.

          You’re different from other girls. You never wear make-up, you don’t try to dress up for me, and you didn’t change yourself for me. You impress me with just that, and that’s all I’ve ever wanted in a girl. I was blessed when I found you, and right now, I’m even more blessed to still be with you.

          You’re killing me, Eun-young. My heart’s going to burst from happiness. It seems like life couldn’t get any better than it already is at this moment. You’re by my side, laughing with me, smiling with me, and doing everything that I’ve always wanted to do with my girlfriend. You fit the bill perfectly, and there’s nothing I want to change about that. You’re perfect the way you are.

          What’s a boyfriend supposed to do? Kiss his girl? Hug his girl? Love his girl? Well, of course! But he’s supposed to treat her like his world, too. I’ve promised myself that I’m going to protect you from bullies, keep you warm when it’s cold, and make your life as perfect as I can get. But I haven’t done that yet, have I?

          Remember when we were in my room six months into our relationship, and you asked me to stay with you forever? I will honestly say that doubts ran through my mind. Not because of you, but because of me. I wasn’t sure if I could be a dependable boyfriend for you, the most beautiful angel on this earth. I didn’t think I’d be able to stay dependent to you, and that you’d give up on me. But the moment you told me you loved me too, I made up my mind to give 220% in our relationship to make you the happiest you could be. So I promised you the one thing that I could: to marry you.

“Choi Eun-young, life without you is impossible to me now. I don’t know what I’d be like, or where I’d be standing. You practically formed me, and I’m grateful to you for that. We went on dates, talked alone, and stayed by each other’s sides for all this time, even with the many hardships we faced. But what’s left is to keep my promise.”

Okay. That wasn’t in the letter. I looked up, the tears threatening to fall from my cheeks. Minwoo was looking at me with his dark brown eyes, a bright but nervous smile on his lips. I nearly fell from being too weak in the knees.

Tear one: Minwoo gets down on the ground on one knee.

Tear two is followed by a gasp: A little black box appears from out of his pocket, and he opens it to reveal a sparkling diamond ring.

Tear three: “Will you marry me, Choi Eun-young?”

I’m shaking right now. I’m shaking from happiness, and Minwoo sees it. He smiles reassuringly at me. The women around us are trying not to squeal from the scene in front of them. I mean, come on, what ahjumma wouldn’t? We’re young, and yet seem so sincere with each other. We are, too.

Where would I be without Minwoo? Probably dead from suicide because of my mom. But, nope; I’m here with Minwoo. He’s kneeling in front of me, asking me to marry him.

“Yes,” I whisper to him. “Yes, I’ll marry you, Minwoo.”

He stands up with a smile that makes me think his face is going to be torn apart. He takes hold of my left hand. The next thing I know, my ring finger is finally occupied by one of the most beautiful rings I’ve ever seen. The tears find their way from my eyes as Minwoo picks me up and spins me around. This gesture is one I’m all-too-familiar with, but love it anyway. It’s how Minwoo and I started dating.

The crowd cheers and Minwoo puts me down. He places a kiss on my forehead, my two cheeks, my nose, and every place possible, except my lips. He saves that place for the best thing I’ve ever heard come out of his mouth: “I love you, Mrs. No Eun-young.”

For the rest of the night, we dance along to the Christmas music, and the crowd around us is so riled up, they dance along with us. I guess Christmas isn’t so bad after all. I’ve got a reason to celebrate now.

This is the best birthday ever, thanks to the one and only No Minwoo: Boyfriend Extraordinaire.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: And lo, I have finished "No Minwoo: Boyfriend Extraordinaire." This journey has been amazing, thanks to all of you subscribers. I've really matured in my writing style over the course of this story, and even with all of my own personal problems that happened during the production of this story, I kept at it for all of you who made it possible to keep writing :) So I send my true and sincere thanks for everyone who stayed and witnessed the story of No Minwoo and Choi Eun-young. Who knows? Maybe they're story will go on. ;)