Chapter 9

Yuri was getting more nervous by the minute. She had done everything she could think of to cut the date short & strangely, Jaejoong seemed even more nervous than she was. He had drunk three pitcher of water & gone to the restroom five times in the hour they were in the restaurant. They barely talked; people probably thought they were competing who could eat the fastest with the way they just shoveled food in. When their plates were cleared, Yuri took in a deep breath & decided to pop the question then & there. Just before she could opened , Jaejoong waved his hand, signaling the waiter for their bill. So, Yuri swallowed her words, took a gulp of her water to calm herself down & decided to follow her original plan.

In his car, Jaejoong glanced at Yuri, wondering if anything’s wrong with her. She seemed so preoccupied during dinner that she didn’t say anything when they skipped dessert. Usually, she would protests strongly as she said dessert made getting ready for dinner worthwhile & neither did she say anything during the ride from the restaurant. She was so lost in thought that she got startled when he parked the car near the beach. She looked around in confusion & when she realized where they were, she shouted, “Jaejoong Oppa, what are we doing here?! I thought we are going home! My stomach feels weird & tense; I want to relax a bit! Why don’t we go strolling under the moonlight at the park?!”

Jaejoong was taken aback by Yuri’s outburst that he forgot about his nervousness for a while. Trying to placate his girlfriend, he took her arm & started walking to the beach, “Just for a while, princess. If your stomach is still bugging you, we will go straight to the park okay?” Yuri sighed loudly & walked with Jaejoong while trying to loosen up her insides. She really didn’t know how long she could put up with the nerves.

On the ridge just above the stepped leading to the beach, Jaejoong suddenly stopped walking. He caresses her cheeks & kissed her earnestly. For a while, Yuri forgot her nervousness. She didn’t know how long they were kissing when suddenly she noticed the darkness around her gradually disappear. She looked towards the beach where the lights originated. There, numerous of candles were lighted. The candles were arranged specifically to read ‘Yuri, my love’.

Jaejoong pulled Yuri’s hand & they walked down to the beach. The I’s in her name were dotted with small red boxes. Jaejoong bent down to pick them up & gave the first one to Yuri, “Open it.” He said, smiling tenderly. Yuri, tears in her eyes, looked up at Jaejoong & slowly opened it. Inside was a white pearl teardrop necklace, “I’m giving you my tear for safekeeping because I know with you by my side, I would never need it.” Jaejoong whispered softly.

Then he gave the second box to her. Yuri opened it & found a ¼ carat tw 10k white gold diamond engagement ring inside, “I want to spend eternity with you. Will you be mine?” Jaejoong asked hoarsely. Yuri gulped the lump clogging & closed her eyes. His eyes were on her. Jaejoong felt his legs & arms went rigid with tension that he’s afraid they were going to snap while his heart were hammering in his chest as if it wanted to drill a hole & get out. Yuri suddenly let out a whoop & jumped into Jaejoong’s arms & shouted, “Yes! Yes! Yes, & I was going to propose to you tonight!” Jaejoong hugged Yuri back tightly in his just-restored arms & twirled her; their laughter echoed on the beach.

Near the bushes, Hyukjae shook his head resignedly, “Buddy, why you would ever want to get married is beyond me. Well, I wish you the best of luck. I’m glad I could help you light up the candles.”

Unknown to the happy couple & a certain bewildered person on the beach, a female figure was watching it all with malice in her dark brown, almond-shaped eyes, “Be happy while you still could, Oppa. The time will come when you had regret you ever messed with me.”

Just when Jaejoong stopped his car in front of Yuri’s apartment building, Tiffany stormed out of the building & shouted at Yuri, “You had better have a good explanation for what you have done to me & Yoona, missy! I waited for you at the park for eight hours!”

“Fany, I’m engaged.” Yuri rushed out from the car & hugged Tiffany while jumping around. Jaejoong got out of the car, smiling indulgently. He could hardly believe it himself.

“You what? You abandoned our plan & proposed to him at dinner, didn’t you? & that’s your good explanation? I’m going to…”

“No, no. Before you threaten to tickle me until I pee in my pants, Oppa proposed to me at the beach. He proposed to me. Hyukjae Oppa helped him set up the place just as you helped me.”

“That moron! He’s going to get it from me tomorrow. I knew he’s been hiding something from me lately. Yuri, I’m so happy for you two.” Tiffany said, sniveling a little, “So, tell me all the details & we will call it even. I can’t believe this. You have been dating Jaejoong Oppa for five months & he proposed to you. I have been dating that jerk for almost three years & he’s not even thinking about marriage!” Tiffany babbled, while wiping her tears.

Jaejoong approached the two sniveling girls & laughingly said, “I must apologize to you for letting you wait at the park for eight hours, Fany. Yuri told me about her plan & how you helped her but I’m glad I beat her to it. It was, after all, a guy’s privilege. You two better go in. It’s so chilly tonight. Princess, I will see you tomorrow.” He bent down & kissed Yuri goodnight while Tiffany sighed dreamily.

“Buddy, are you sure about marrying Yuri? You would be tied down. No more checking out girls, no more first dates, you will see her every morning & night for the rest of your life.” Hyukjae said with a puzzled look, thinking his buddy probably had a mental breakdown.

“I know.” Jaejoong answered dreamily.

“You are not the Jaejoong I used to know.” Hyukjae stood up in disgusts.

“Pal, what’s stuck in your craw? Why are you grumbling in the middle of the night? Ah, Fany hasn’t forgiven you, has she? The bouquet & note didn’t work? How come?”

Hyukjae sighed dejectedly, “I don’t know what to think anymore. She said she probably would be willing to meet me tomorrow night. Maybe not.”

“You know what you should do? Propose to her.”

“You are out of your mind. I’m too young to be tied down. I still have many good years until I want to get married.”

“I heard her talking to Yuri tonight. She doesn’t seem angry any longer. From what I heard, I think she silently wondered whether you have any intention of marrying her.” Jaejoong smacked Hyukjae’s shoulder & went to bed. Hyukjae put his glass down & lied down on the couch, thinking about ways to persuade Tiffany to forgive him.

The next day, Tiffany woke up by a shrill sound of her cell phone. She rubbed her eyes & her phone “Yeah, what?”

“Sweet, I will pick you up tonight at seven okay?” Hyukjae asked in a honeyed tone.

“You woke me up at this ungodly hour just to say this?”

“Um...please give me your agreement? I couldn’t sleep all night, thinking about you. Your answer would give me a peace of mind so I wouldn’t have dark circles under my eyes.”

Tiffany grinned & said, pretending to be grumpy, “Oh, alright! I will meet you at Top Cloud at seven!”

“No, just come to my place. I’m going to cook for you.”

“You cook? No kidding?”

“Hey. Just wait. You will have a taste of heaven tonight.” He said confidently. His mind turned rapidly, thinking about the unrecognized take out places that served good food, “So, you will be coming at seven, right?” He confirmed.

“Oh, I will be there for sure. I won’t miss it for the world.” Tiffany snickered.

Tiffany moved her linen cotton denim jacket to her left hand & pressed the bell with her right. A second later, a grinning Hyukjae appeared & pulled Tiffany in. Closing the door, he leaned down for a kiss, “Hold it.” Tiffany pushed him aside & walked around him towards the kitchen. A pot of red sauce was shimmering on the stove with uncooked spaghetti on two plates beside it, ‘He doesn’t even boil the noodle. Who’s he kidding?’ She turned around & found Hyukjae grinning in the kitchen doorway.

“Is it ready? I’m starving.” She said, while observing Hyukjae carefully.

“In a minute. I will just need to pour the sauce over the noodle there.” He said, with certainty, ‘I will have to get her out of the kitchen so I could get the spaghetti out from the oven.’ He thought.

“Impressive.” She said in amazement, trying to keep her face straight.

“So, you forgive me?” Hyukjae asked, confident that his scheme was working out.

“I didn’t say so. You said I’m supposed to come here to taste your cooking. So here I am. Nobody said anything about forgiveness.” Tiffany tried to act cool. She was very touched that Hyukjae, the bum who was so helpless with housework, made an effort to boil a spaghetti sauce. Although, she knew that he must have hidden something in the oven, his effort touched her nonetheless.

“But I...Fany, I’m very sorry that I didn’t trust you. In fact, I have absolute trust in you. It’s Sehun I don’t trust. He must have made a move on you to spite me.” As soon as the words left his mouth, Hyukjae knew he made an enormous mistake.

“What did you say? You really think so? Fine, I will prove it to you that he flirted with me because he found me attractive. I’m leaving.” Tiffany put on her jacket & stormed towards the door, eyes burning with tears. Not even one second she had ever thought that Hyukjae’s opinion on her was so low.

“Wait.” In his panic, he dropped on his knees & blurted out, “Fany, will you marry me?!”

Tiffany stood still in shock, her hand on the doorknob. She turned around slowly & stared at Hyukjae in disbelief. Hyukjae, on the other hand, felt his blood drained out of his head & he felt clammy suddenly, ‘Oh my god, what have I done? I don’t want to get married now. I still have years left before I want to settle down.’ He looked up at Tiffany, thinking of ways to find his way out of the mess when he saw the astonishment in Tiffany’s eyes & then a beautiful smile blooming on Tiffany’s face. He sighed inwardly & cursed himself.

She had never imagined Hyukjae would proposes to her. She could feel her heart bursting & confetti raining down inside her. Beautiful, colorful & full of joy confetti. She closed her eyes & nodded. Then she pulled Hyukjae up & hugged him, “Yes, of course. Yes. I have been waiting for you to pop the question. Hey, we could have a double wedding together with Jaejoong Oppa & Yuri. It’s going to be wonderful. I should call Yuri.” Hyukjae felt as if his world was coming to an end. He, who was in the prime of his life, was getting married? What a joke but backing out now was out of question. He would lose Tiffany for sure. He forced on a smile & said softly, “No, no, I think I don’t want to have a double wedding. We will have our own wedding. With our own style.” & far more later than Jaejoong & Yuri’s wedding date.

Tiffany adoringly kissed Hyukjae & settled her head on his shoulder, dreaming about their future together. He frowned while he kissed her shoulder-length, curly blonde hair absently.