Stupid in Love - Max (ft. Huh Yunjin)
(Play the song on loop, I don't care how long the chapter is - it just fits the whole idea so perfectly)
Time flies, they say, when you're having fun.
But for Jeon Wonwoo, our protagonist, he wouldn't say he has 'fun'. He'd rather say he's extremely content with his life right now and there's absolutely nothing he would change in his life.
Or at least, that's what he thought.
It's been a bit over a year since the last time we saw these guys; Jieun's five, turning six in a few months, and she's joined school already. And following in her Daddy's footsteps, she excels at everything she does — be it in extracurriculars and academics, or just bringing delightful chaos into the happy couple's life.
As for Wonwoo? He's a hardworking intelligence analyst in one of South Korea's most recognised companies, the company nearly having begged Wonwoo to join just two months earlier. Remember Jeonghan? The ever-helpful, brother-like Seungcheol's boyfriend? Turns out the company is owned by his parents, and that makes Wonwoo's work life a lot more easier, with Jeonghan by his side.
Needless to say, Jeonghan and Wonwoo are practically besties now, as they spend their rare occasions of being off work together gossiping about their wonderful boyfriends.
What about Mingyu? Well, he's doing great too! Being the computer-geek he is, he works at a respectable post in a well-known software company. Although he keeps getting offered to move abroad several times, he keeps putting it off just for Jieun and Wonwoo. But he does change his mind a while later, having something spectacular in his mind. Right now's the perfect time for Mingyu to execute his plan.
•
"Gyu!"
Wonwoo returns after a pretty ordinary work day, only to find the house empty. Huh, that's strange. Mingyu's always at home by the time Wonwoo arrives. He knew Jieun was out at a classmate's birthday party.
Shrugging it off, Wonwoo places his backpack near the foot of the bed, in the much-cleaner room. Most of their university stuff is gone, for obvious reasons, and the bedroom looks so much more spacious now. Wonwoo fails to understand how him and Mingyu even survived in the pigsty this room had been at a point.
Wonwoo snorts, reminiscing how life was that time. It feels like it was so long ago, how much of a rollercoaster his last year at university had been.
As Wonwoo changes into something comfortable, his gaze flickers towards a few documents lying unattended on Mingyu's bed. Must be some of Mingyu's work stuff.
Wonwoo enters the silent kitchen to get a glass of water, and contemplate about dinner. As he fills his glass, a note stands out in plain sight near the drying rack. And Wonwoo could easily recognise Mingyu's ugly scribble spread on the tiny piece of paper.
Wonwoo picks it up.
Hey Baby!
Thought of taking you out to dinner tonight! Can you be there at XX Hotel by 8?
That's strange. Why couldn't have Mingyu simply dropped him a text? Not that Wonwoo minds, he likes it when Mingyu pulls cute stunts like this.
Wonwoo folds the note, and moves back to the room to pick an outfit.
Oh, did I mention? Wonwoo also developed an interest in owning quirky, one-of-a-kind outfits in the past year. Any clothing unlike its kind that catches Wonwoo's eye, he gets it. He turned out to like doing his own makeup too, and he uses every chance he gets to his fullest.
Contents of his wardrobe strike vibrantly at Wonwoo's eyes when he opens it. And so does another note placed in the colourful chaos of his closet. Wonwoo reads that too.
Hi again,
Wondering why I didn't send you a text? Well, a man likes to do cute stuff like this for his boyfriend, it's nothing much.
And please don't be late, I'll freak out.
Wonwoo still can't understand how Mingyu knows him so well. A smitten smile playing on his lips, Wonwoo keeps this note safely too, and returns to sifting through his clothes.
Mingyu knew well enough, setting the time as 8 in the evening, instead of anytime earlier. Wonwoo spends a lot of time getting his outfit to perfection. And he manages to take Mingyu's breath away every fucking time.
Almost two hours and a mini-breakdown later, Wonwoo decides it's time to get ready, and so he gets his makeup done. He goes for something relatively simple today: just a soft, greyish monochrome look highlighting his eyes the most.
Once he's satisfied, Wonwoo moves on to his outfit, which he still questions as he puts it on. In the end, he decides not to change anything. He checks the time on his phone, freaking out when he realises he only has thirty minutes until the clock strikes eight.
With one last look at himself in the mirror, Wonwoo nearly checks himself out. Mildly flashy, and something he's never worn before, Wonwoo pulls off an open-heart, beaded dress shirt,
(A/N: Please tell me you know what I mean because some dude on TikTok did it and I think Wonwoo would slay the look😳)
paired with black trousers with subtle, silver embroideries along one leg's side.
Wonwoo hurries, grabs a chic purse on his way out, throws the house keys in, and bolts towards the elevator within five minutes.
He books a taxi, not wanting to recreate the traumatising incident he had in the subway recently (it's for me to tell some other time), and taps his foot as he waits for it to arrive.
To his relief, he doesn't have to wait for long, as he gets in the vehicle a few minutes later. He relays the address to the polite driver, and the car speeds off.
•
Mingyu never remembers being this nervous for his presentations at office or even at university, for that matter. He's been at the destination for so long, he's made friends with the friendly waitress attending to his table every now and then, asking him whether he wants anything or offering him a cold glass of water whenever he looks like he needs it.
"Sir?" She inquires as she enters the private booth Mingyu booked. "Are you expecting someone?"
"Yeah."
"Special occasion?"
"Yeah," He buries his face in his hands. "It's supposed to be a happy one, I don't even know why I'm so jumpy!" Cries Mingyu.
"Fighting!" She cheers him on, after refilling his glass with cold water yet again. Mingyu offers her a lame smile, pacing back and forth.
Any time Mingyu hears even the slightest noise, he becomes alert, thinking Wonwoo has arrived. And then he proceeds to glance at his watch, counting down the time until Wonwoo actually does. Which is probably later than what Mingyu told him; his boyfriend's always fashionably late.
At precisely seven-past-eight, the door opens, and Mingyu looks up to see it's not the waitress this time.
Wonwoo steps inside in all his glory, looking so fucking gorgeous, it makes Mingyu tremble from head to toe.
Mingyu remains stunned in his position as he takes a while to let the sight sink in. If he could, and if he didn't have the immense amount of self-control, Mingyu would have folded in front of his boyfriend right here.
Instead he lets his mouth hang open foolishly, looking at Wonwoo giving him a shy smile that would, sooner or later, make his heart burst into glitters and sparkles.
"Wonwoo..." Mingyu finally finds his voice.
"Hey."
"Hi- Uh, you look..." Mingyu gulps. Fuck, he's so in love. "Stunning. I don't even know how else do I say it-"
Wonwoo interrupts him with a quick kiss. "I'm glad you like it," He whispers.
Mingyu, honestly, forgets the reason why both of them are here at the moment. He literally can't take his eyes off of his boyfriend doing absolutely nothing, yet looking good enough to devour.
"I uh, just you know, wanted to take you out tonight? Just for a change," Mingyu silently chides himself for messing up with his words so much.
"I know. It's nice already,"
"Heh."
Gods, Mingyu mustn't have made such a fool of himself ever before. He's sure he looks dumb as fuck for tripping over his words and keeping himself in check. When Wonwoo gently takes Mingyu's hand in his, and gives him a sweet smile, Mingyu knows he's won in life. He could die happy this way.
•
Dinner goes by in a colourful blur, and it's finally time for Mingyu to stop fucking stalling and get to the point.
"Hey Baby?" Mingyu says. "Mingyu fighting!"
"Hm?"
"There's actually a reason why I planned this..."
"Yeah?"
"I uh- You know what, fuck it," Mingyu curses, but continues with everything he has in him anyway. "Jeon Wonwoo, my wonderful, out-of-this-world boyfriend, I love you too fucking much and I think it's unhealthy, but so is pizza and I could have too much of it and die happy, and I feel the exact same way about you, but like multiply that by infinity, yeah that much. So could you please make me the luckiest motherfucker ever to walk on God's green earth and do the honour of being my husband?" Mingyu says all that in a single breath, and gulps the remainder of the water from his glass.
Wonwoo definitely wasn't expecting this. It's an alien feeling, it's like a warning before a rollercoaster ride — no matter how serious, it leaves you feeling giddy and content after you're done with the ride. But Wonwoo would give anything to go with this — the best ever ending he knows his rollercoaster would give him.
Meanwhile, with trembling hands, Mingyu produces a little black velvet box, an exquisite ring sitting inside it, from the pocket of his suit jacket, and silently holds it in front of a flushed Wonwoo. Mingyu could slap himself for being such a wimp, when he'd planned it so elaborately in his head. He groans loudly, his head hitting the table.
"I feel so stupid,"
"I love it." Wonwoo swallows thickly before speaking ahead. "You'd be making me the luckiest man on earth by being my husband, and I would love to be considered that,"
Mingyu's breath hitches. "Is that a yes?"
"What else would I say?" Wonwoo smiles at him.
Mingyu laughs airily in disbelief. He bolts out of his chair, grabs Wonwoo by his waist, and kisses the hell out of him, lifting him up from his feet. He doesn't want to let go of the man in his arms, ever, and he would gladly hold him this way forever. It's only when Wonwoo taps him lightly on the shoulder, that Mingyu stop plundering his mouth, and sets him back on the floor. "I almost died because of not being able to breathe, but I'd rather I die that way." Wonwoo admits.
"Gods, I love you so fucking much,"
"I love you more."
Mingyu slides the waiting ring onto Wonwoo's finger, leaving a gentle kiss on top of it.
And so they leave the hotel that night, arms linked and ready to flip to the next page in their lives — which holds a new chapter for them.
---
I keep imagining Mingyu in this fit here:
And Wonwoo's shirt I was talking about:
Also, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING !!