Chapter 43

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I woke up in the morning to the sound of a knocking at the door. It was relatively quiet, which is understandble. I sleep quite light when I'm overemotional. I checked my phone to see no missed calls, and that it was only 5am. My far too active father is surely already up jogging or working out.

Either he forgot his keys and is now trying to get inside of the house, or it's my mother demanding that she have access to my personal life. Either way, I'm over it. I walk down the stairs from the guest bedroom, and still hear a knocking at the door. I consider that if it's my mother, I want to make her wait. If it's my father, the hilarity of making him wait is far too tempting. I walk into the kitchen and pour myself a cup of coffee from the pot my father has prepared before he went on his run. I still hear the knocking as I pour the cream and sugar into it, making it perfectly light and tasty.

The knocking suddenly stopped, and I began to feel a bit guilty at the idea of my father standing outside calling his landlord, and having to pay the fee to get into his condo. I feel less guilty at the thought of it being my mother coming by to say "Another thing!"

I open the door ready to apologize to whichever parent it is, and instead I see Jumin, sitting on the porch of the house. He turns around instantly, seeing me, and I slam the door shut before he can say anything.

Best questions first: How did he find my father's address? The man has connections, and now I realize he has far too many of them. Second question: Why is he here?

I press my back to the door as if to barricade him.

"What in the fuck is going on down there?" My father asked running down the stairs still dressed in his pajamas.

"I...figured you were already out," I answered.

"I like to sleep in everyone once in a while. Is it your mother? I'll rip her a new one," My father said rubbing his eyes.

"It's uh...it's well. It's um..."

"Oh, fuck, Miran. Move," My father said approaching the door. He whipped it open after gently pushing me to the left of it.

"Jumin fucking Han leave my motherfuck-Oh. Oh boy. Oh wow, okay," My father said suddenly shocked. My father is not often speechless. "Maybe...uh...well...um huh...Miran...maybe you should uh...wow."

Oh, the stutter is genetic, apparently. I less gently pushed my father out of the way and saw Jumin standing there holding a ring box. I slammed the door again.

"Uh...are we just going to ignore that?" My father asked intensely.

"I think so," I sighed.

"He's proposing to you," My father announced.

"I know," I answered.

"You should...say yes."

"Should I?" I asked, rolling my eyes.

"Or no. Or yes. You should say something."

"What did mom say when you proposed to her?"

"I didn't propose to her. She showed up with a marriage license and demanded we do it. I was dumb enough to listen."

Helpful. I shooed my father away. "And no snooping," I ordered.

He nodded, and I listened to make sure he locked his door upstairs.

I slowly opened the door, to sure enough still see Jumin with a ring box, except he had progressed to the knee.

"You didn't give me much of a chance to get on one knee. So...here I am," he said smiling weakly.

"I uh...okay," I answered, slamming the door again. Oh God. How does one even begin to answer this? I slowly opened the door, again, to see an almost irritated looking Jumin still on one knee.

"You don't have to answer but can I just come inside? It's cold."

"Oh...sure," I sighed, opening the door and letting him in. He walked inside slowly, looking around at the condo. I noticed he had a briefcase and he set it down right next to him.

"Uh...well...take a seat," I nearly mumbled. Jumin sat down on the sofa, placing his briefcase down.

I sat at the other side of the couch, as far away as possible from him. He chuckled a little.

"Isn't it funny? It doesn't take much for you to feel so distant from someone," he said, quietly.

"Isn't it," I answered. He set the ring box between us, as if the elephant in the room needed to be so obvious.

"Do you really want me to answer?" I asked.

"Yes," he answered, placing his hand firmly on his leg.

"Okay. Then no," I responded.

"Maybe I can sweeten the pot," he smiled, opening up his briefcase. Oh God, a prenup? He handed over a thick set of documents. I began reading it.

"Is...is this a contract?"

"It's a family business. It would be shame if my wife couldn't work at the company," he answered, shrugging.

"Oh," I sighed, nervously. My heart was beating out of my chest at this point. He handed over just a single paper.

"And...if you want to ever get out...here's my resignation letter. Just give it to me, and I'll sign and date it. I'll be out of the company in an hours time," He explained.

"Oh..."

He handed over an envelope, that had a single key in it.

"And that's the penthouse key..."

"Oh..."

He opened the ring box, revealing a massive diamond situated in between two sapphires.

"I always figured you were much simpler than this, but it was my mother's ring. I called her and she sent it to me. It just came yesterday and I knew I needed to find you. So I called around to every place I knew. Every company. Anywhere. I asked who their lawyer was. You won't believe how many people have the last name Bae. It took me a while but I found it. I was praying to God that you weren't at your mothers...so...here I am. Sorry, I imagine it was at least a little scary to just see me outside your door like that. I'm...I'm just hoping my reasoning is good enough," he smiled.

"Oh..."

"So...Miran Bae...with all of your wonderful intellect, beauty, and poise, will you be my coworker, housemate, and wife?"

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