The loud laughter bursting from the living room made Haru and Juri turn to look, only to realize the boys are fussing over the game they have been playing for the past hour. What started as a normal dinner now turned into a game night for the boys and gossiping session for the girls.
Taehyung sits at the end of the coffee table, the two years old little Haru safely tucked in his lap, Namjoon sits at the end of the long couch, a book in hand but his focus on the big screen in front of him, Yoongi and his new friends, Jungkook and Jimin sprawled beside Namjoon, snacks in hands as they watch the younger boys of the group, Yeonjun and Soobin having a race car battle on the bright screen in front of them.
"Good lord, they are loud", Areum sighs too herself before turning to the girls again. "Hani, I can send you home later"
Hani, Juri's cousin drop by earlier to send the cupcakes Juri ordered for the little gathering and she was then dragged to join the little party. Hani was first introduced to Areum through Haru. Haru met her a while ago when Hani was helping to supply cakes and pastries to Yoongi's café. They have met at Yoongi's café several times for coffee too.
But this is the first time for Hani to meet the rest of the gang—the boys specifically.
"Are you meeting your fiancé later? Your beloved dreamy Doctor?", Juri grins at Areum, wiggling her eyebrows playfully. "Get married please. I need to establish the married ladies team in this big squad"
"Yes, Areum. You need to get married", Haru points a fork at her, sticking her tongue out when her sister shoot daggers at her. "I need to give way to you first"
"No, you get married first", Areum scoffs at her sister, stealing some cake from Hani's plate. "Oh by the way Hani, this cake is delicious. I might want to order more for myself"
"I am just a text away", Hani winks gleefully at her before darting her eyes back the living room.
"I am wondering how little Haru has yet to cry being surrounded by loud men all around her. She looks a little too comfortable", Jiwoo squints her eyes at living room, rubbing her jaw with her fingers. "Out of all the boys, she loves Taehyung the most"
"And Soobin", Yongsun adds with nod as she turns to follow Jiwoo's eyes. "And that man there, Jungkook"
"Jungkook is still single, isn't he?", Juri tilts her head to the side, trying to get a clearer look on the man of the topic. "How is he still single? He is very handsome and sweet"
"That you have to ask the man himself"
As if on cue, Jungkook gets up from the couch and walks straight towards the dining table, his doe eyes seem to sparkle when the white lights beam into them.
"I was wondering if there is more cake...?"
"How many slices have you eaten, Jungkook?", Juri grins at him as she helps cuts another slice for him. "Your fifth?"
"The cake is sooo good", he scratches the back of his neck, a bashful smile taking over his features. "Who baked the cake?"
"She did", Jiwoo and Haru did the honour of presenting Hani to him. "This is Hani", Haru adds. "And she loves to bake", Jiwoo continued.
"You did?", Jungkook turns to Hani, eyes gleaming with amazement. "The cake is so good!"
"T-Thank you", Hani beams at him "I am glad you're enjoying it"
Juri glances at Haru, then to Jiwoo before meeting Yongsun's eyes with a knowing look.
That look only means one thing. They are seeing the same vision.
-
Walking hand in hand, Taehyung hums to himself as they stroll along the Han River, the mid-winter sunset beaming splash of colours into the sky. He looks up to admire the hues of deep red, orange and blue above him, grinning to himself as he tugs Haru closer to his side.
"I want to do this with you for the rest of my life"
"I will kill you if you want to do this with another person anyway"
Taehyung finally turns to look at her, admiring her side features as she too looks up into the late evening sky, her eyes adoring the magnificent painting above her. They really love taking walks together, sometimes they talk sometimes they just embrace each other's presence in comfortable silence.
"Oh, by the way, Jungkook asked Hani out", Taehyung laughs as he remembers how Jungkook was completely head over heels over Hani and did not stop talking about her after coming home from the dinner two weeks ago. "I must say he really likes her too. He ordered a lot of cakes over the span of 5 days"
"Hani is a sweet girl. I would have fallen head over heels over her too"
"You should see Jungkook's face when Hani agreed to catch a movie with him last night. That kid was all over the clouds, searching for the perfect fit to wear today and he even went out last night to find something to give her"
The thought of Jungkook being completely elated about Hani makes her laugh to herself. She had seen the look in Hani's eyes when she first saw Jungkook and she looked completely smitten but she said nothing of it. Hani had glance at Jungkook a few times, but she was a little too shy that night to start a conversation with him. Well, Jungkook too. They thought they were not obvious but throughout the night, Haru saw them stealing glances at each other but the two of them were too reserved.
"Hey", Taehyung stands in front of her, his sharp eyes softly gazing at her. "Remember the day we met at the bar?"
"You mean the day you were checking me out?", she smirks teasingly. "I do"
"The day you were checking me out too"
"Geez, let me win", she pokes his waist playfully.
"I have been thinking...", he reaches for her hands, idly playing her fingers as he looks down into her eyes.
"What....?"
"I have been thinking about us"
Taehyung gulps nervously when Haru looks at him confusedly but her eyes stay soft as ever, looking at him so lovingly. It is a wonder he has yet to melt into a puddle of water or evaporate into the cold air with the intensity of her love beaming out of her eyes. He is just so weak when it comes to her. So weak that he can never even let himself get angry with her for more than a minute, caving in almost immediately whenever they banter.
Not that he has not been enjoying their frequent quarrel over the years. He enjoys them perhaps a little too much. Most of the time he ends up staring at her, smiling sheepishly to himself as he listens to her nagging at him and of course, 90% of the time he ends up silencing her with a kiss. It works, most of the time. The other 10% will end up him running for his life because Haru can get a little scary when she is mad. A cute kind of scary.
"What are you thinking?", she raised her eyebrows, head tilted to the side slightly.
"Other than wanting to kiss you right now?"
"Good lord", she rolls her eyes at him, inching backward only to have him snaking a hand around her waist, pulling her back to him.
"I was being honest. I want to kiss you all the time"
"I am so used to you being all cheesy to me, this has no effect on me already", she points to him having his hand around her waist. "Okay, Mister Kim?"
"Reallyyy?", he coos lowly, pulling her closer into his embrace as he brushes his mouth near her ear. "But I do know my voice still has the same effects on you"
And that, he is completely right. The sound of his low voice whispering straight into her ear certainly made her heart skip a few beats, goosebumps erupting on her cold tight skin and her breaths caught in her chest—just like the first night they met.
"See", he speaks into her ear again, this time with his hand rubbing the side of her waist. "I know my voice is your weakness"
"And may I know why you are using this lethal weapon against me right now?", her hands clutch his sweatshirt, trying to hold herself from screaming into the void for all the feels rushing through her veins.
"I do enjoy driving you crazy", he speaks again, voice as low as he could manage. "I can do this for life"
"No one is stopping you", she gently slaps the front of his chest, giggling to herself as she enjoys the entire conversation. "What game are you playing this time, Mister Kim?"
"A game where I am trying to convince you to spend the rest of your life with me"
Haru froze on her feet, her hands pushing him away slightly just enough to create a breath of space between them. She looks to his face, her tummy doing a summersault when she is met with Taehyung's eyes filled with nothing but colours of love and warmth.
"What did you say?", she mumbles her words, her head suddenly doing a crazy flip. "What did—"
"I have a proposition", he cuts her off with a gentle yet playful smile.
"What proposition?"
"I'd like to propose an upgrade", he speaks so calmly, but his eyes seem to waver with something that resembles nervousness laced with a little fear.
"I am listening"
"Can I propose to upgrade myself from being just a boyfriend to your ex-boyfriend?"
"Wait, what?", she looks completely lost at his words. "That is not an upgrade"
"I am not finished"
"Continue", she crosses her arms now, looking a tad bit impatient but Taehyung didn't miss the glint of amusement twinkling in her pretty eyes.
"I am looking along the line of upgrading you too, from my girlfriend—"
"To be your ex-girlfriend?", she finishes it for him, the corner of her lips tugging upwards, but she holds herself from smiling.
"To be my wife"
Taehyung didn't even let her to process his words as his hands wrap around her waist to bring her closer to him once more, pressing his forehead onto hers as he closed his eyes. As much as she wants to speak, she couldn't, not like this. Not when Taehyung is holding her so tenderly, and despite his eyes closed, she could almost see him and his thoughts as if everything about him is transparent.
Her body shudders as the words replay in her head, questions popping in her blank state of mind as she struggles to fight the building overwhelming emotions taking over her. Suddenly everything feels like a blur, time might have slowed down and perhaps, it feels like they have teleported into another dimension where no one else exist. Just the two of them.
"Haru", he cradles her head with one hand, breathing in and out heavily as he gathers his courage. "I want to marry you"
He said those words with such tenderness in his deep voice, and so much warmth it makes Haru feels like she is being enveloped in a magical embrace that seeps through her skin, igniting something within her.
"T-Taehyung, you are—"
"Marry me", he said again, with more determination but his voice remained as gentle as it could ever be. "Let me be yours for a long time"
Uncertain of the right words to say nor she has any idea on what to say, Haru puts her hand on his hand that is holding her face, her thumb rubbing the thick material of his winter coat. She looks up into his eyes, watching as he looks at her with the look that speaks nothing else but love and just pure love. If his eyes could speak, they would speak of the tale of him loving her in so many ways possible.
"I want to be yours for a long time too", she whispers in between her soft laugh, holding in the little drop of tear threatening to trickle down her face. "If you want me"
"And if you want me too", he cups her face with both his hands, his lips forming that wide gentle smile that looks so bashful yet so handsome on his perfect face.
Both of them breaks into a small giggle at the same time, eyes still tenderly looking at each other.
"So, marry me?", he caresses her face with his thumb, gulping when he feels the weight of his question, but he never felt so sure than right now. "Be my serendipity forever, Haru"
The word 'serendipity' pulls a knowing smile on her face, fully knowing they both acknowledge the word means a whole lot more than love. A word that sounds so whimsical on the lips, so airy to the ears but so fragile to the heart and it carries a weight of feelings no other words would ever do. Sometimes, it feels like a word that belongs in their very own language of love. A word that holds them together.
"If I say yes, will you buy salted caramel latte for me every day?", she laughs at her own question.
"Marry me, and you will find out", he leans closer, his lips lightly brushing hers.
Haru could not help but to laugh again, unable to really get her reply out because all she could think is kissing him again as an answer. But she could not really miss out on speaking the things that has been lingering in her head.
"Be my serendipity forever too, Taehyung. I truly love you"
He froze for a fleeting second, looking as if he was not expecting an answer so soon but then then, slowly he curves a sheepish smile that makes him look a little bit like wolf—a cute one though, his bright eyes seem to sparkle brighter than the stars at night.
"I am assuming that is a yes?"
She smiles at him as he leans close, not even giving her any time to reply as he presses his lips on hers, his hand twining into her hair as he tugs her closer to him. He kisses her lightly, a new profound emotion lingering around them that makes them smile into the kiss, unable to hide the bubbling happiness that comes from their hearts.
"A deal has been made", he speaks into the kiss. "And this deal can't be reversed"
"I will reverse it if you don't stop talking and just kiss me Tae"
"I love you", he sighs with a little shake of his head before he kisses her again, deeply this time.
"I love you too", she pulls away just enough to say those words. "And I will be claiming my first salted caramel latte tonight, okay?"
She leans in to kiss him again but then Taehyung catches her jaw, stopping her. "And I will be claiming you tonight", his voice went an octave lower when he spoke, his eyes glinting with such playfulness she knows too well.
"Deal"
THE END
Hello everyone!!! This book finally reached its ending! I am having a whiplash of emotions right now T_T.
Thank you, thank you and thank you for reading this book starting from the very first chapter till the very last part of the epilogue. I cant believe this book was on-going for 6 months??🧍🏼♂️🤭
I had such a great time writing this book. It was truly a memorable time for me staying late at night writing and updating. I had fun, truly. 🥰
I sure gonna miss Tae and Haru so much. I really love them with every bit of my heart. And i also love all the other characters. They all live in my heart rent free. Im gonna miss writing about them!!🥺
I hope this book has given you joy and maybe, has helped you to go through your day and night. I really wish all my books might have made you happy in any possible ways. I wish nothing but everyone to live a good life, and filled with nothing but happiness💖💕
I am currently in the works for my next book. ( hint on the member : he has lupine features he he he)
See you in my next book everyone!🤩✨💕