Hello my Flamies!!
I know I am pushing the time limit for this for me, and I've missed it for many of you, but I really wanted to get something out for Valentine's Day for something special. I know not everyone celebrates it, but think of this as my way of showing all of you just how much I love you <3
This book has been on my mind a lot lately. It still amazes me when I see votes and comments come through. Since it's my first story, it holds a special place in my heart, and it always will. With that being the case, I thought I'd bring the characters back for a special bonus chapter!
Prepare yourself for a sappy chapter lol but if I can't do it for Valentine's Day, when can I, right?
Again I love you all so much <3<3
I hope you enjoy!!!
"Alright Sue, I think that should just about do it." Lily said as she stepped back from the mannequin in front of her. She felt an overwhelming sense of pride as she looked over the outfit in front of her.
She had been busy working on a new set of outfits for her boys, the main centerpiece being a black jacket that she had hand sewn hundreds of sequins and rhinestone in intricate patters. Each jacket was different so that each member could stand out on their own.
"These are amazing, Lily. You've really outdone yourself this time." An older woman said, coming over to inspect the the final jacket. She gave Lily a proud look and turned to finish inspecting the other jackets.
Lily hopped in place and waited for a final pass form a woman who she was starting to look up to as a mother figure.
They had worked closely together designing new costumes for each and every performance, photo shoot, and public appearance for over a year now.
And it didn't seem like their job was going to end any time soon.
Ateez's popularity had skyrocketed. They were constantly doing fan meetings, and were working on their second world tour, which was about to kick off in the place that started it all.
They had booked the biggest concert venue in town for two nights, so everyone they had gone to college with or had ever met could attend.
Lily smiled as she thought back to the last time she had gone on tour with the boys. They had made so many memories while touring the cities, and even though she had to pretend to be a member of the staff while in public, that didn't stop them from having a good time.
And still getting to spend every night with Wooyoung was something that would never get old.
They had been dating for almost two years now, and it was still being kept a secret for the sake of their privacy.
He had supported her all through college, and Lily had changed to a fashion member, graduating at the top of her class. Once she did, their manager hired her on full time as part of the staff. He had grown his own soft spot for her after everything that had happened and was more than happy to make sure she stayed close with her family.
"Do you have any plans for tonight, Honey?" Sue asked.
Lily hummed. "I don't think so. The boys are busy rehearsing, but I thought I would try to fix them a nice dinner to celebrate. I think they mentioned doing a broadcast to spend a little time with Atiny as well."
"That's a shame. You need to do something special too." Sue came over and cupped her chin. "Don't let them forget about you. Good job today, you should be proud of yourself." She said while gathering her things to leave.
"Thank you." Lily turned and looked back and the jackets. She couldn't wait to see the boy's faces when she showed them.
And she understood what Sue was getting at, but Lily didn't mind if nothing was done to celebrate today. She just felt blessed to have the life that she did.
Sometimes it still didn't feel real. There were times that her phone vibrated and she expected it to be her father saying he had found her and demanding that she come home. Plus there were still nightmares that plagued her at night.
Thankfully she had Wooyoung by her side to get her through every one. He never tried to tell her to move on or that she needed to put her fears aside. He just coaxed her through it and reminded her that everything was ok now.
And she knew he didn't force her because he still had nightmares too. Whenever he did, he always held her closer at night and she would return the favor.
Lily grabbed her back and made sure to lock up the studio before walking down the hall.
They were still living in the same house. It fit their needs perfectly and everyone had decided they didn't want to move again. Even though there were bad memories within its walls, the house was still home and it had everything they needed.
Music could be heard thumping from the main practice room. Hongjoong was punching them through practice after practice so they could be at their best for their concert.
Knowing better than to disturb them right now, Lily made her way to the kitchen and started looking around for something to fix. It was hard to keep a fully stocked fridge with how much eight boys could pack away, so they ended up doing take out a lot.
But today was special, so Lily really wanted to make them something special.
She wasn't given the chance.
A pair of long arms hugged her from behind and held her close. "What do you think you're doing?" Yunho asked, resting his chin on the top of her head.
"What are you doing?" Lily smiled and patted his hands. "You're supposed to be practicing."
"No. I have a different mission right now." He used one hand to close the fridge.
"Oh? And what mission is that?"
Suddenly a flower appeared in front of her face and Lily let out a small laugh. As cheesy as it was, she loved it when the boys gave her lilies.
"You are to stay out of the kitchen missy." A deeper voice came from her right. Yeosang was holding another lily next to his flushed, sweat coated face. "Sorry." He said after catching his breath. "You know how Joong can be."
"What are you guys up to?" Lily asked, looking between the two of them as Yunho went to stand by his friend.
"Nothing, nothing." Yeosang waved his hands back and forth. "Just go relax. We are almost done with practice."
"Please tell me you guys aren't making a big deal out of today?"
"Oh, don't worry. We aren't." The taller laughed and skipped out of the room, followed by Yeosang after he rolled his eyes.
Lily shook her head and stepped away from the fridge. She was curious about what they had planned. None of them were good at hiding things. Especially Yunho.
Sighing, she obeyed their wishes and made her way to the living room, grabbing her sketchbook on the way. She flipped it open to a new page and started drawing the outline of a body she knew very well. As Wooyoung's shape started to form, so did a new concept for a costume.
A loose, blue with a low cut collar that had crossed ribbons to cover his chest. As with most of her outfits, she paired it with black pants because it simply looked the best. Next to it she started to sketch some other variations, one with a collar that acted as a chocker, but still showed off a little bit of the chest, one that wasn't as low cut but had some accents on the shoulders.
Time completely slipped away from her as she worked, so she jumped a little when someone flopped onto the couch next to her. "Oh! Sannie, you scared me!"
"You're so cute when you start sketching." He giggled and patted her leg. When he tried to take her sketchbook, Lily pursed her lips and scowled at him, holding it away from his hands. "I want to see!!" He whined, making grabby hands.
"You know I never reveal what I'm working on until it's finished. It's bad luck." She teased, closing the book. "Hence why I keep my studio locked up because you all like to snoop!"
San stuck his lower lip out in a pout. "It was just that one time. And Mingi started it."
"I don't care." Lily flicked his forehead and stood up.
The older made a disgruntled sound but stood with her, grabbing her hand before she had a chance to walk away. "Where do you think you're going? Come on!" He tugged at her and pulled her to the practice room.
She followed willingly after she noticed he had also added another lily to her collection.
Once they entered the practice room, she smiled at the scene before her. They had set up a section in the middle of the room full of blankets and pillows.
It had become a small tradition of theirs to camp out in the practice room every so often just playing games and enjoying each other's company.
Joining the blankets was a feast. There was a little bit of everything they all loved, and a stack of board games ready and waiting.
So was everyone else.
Lily's eyes were instantly drawn to where Wooyoung was standing in the middle. He had the biggest grin on his face and was bouncing on the balls of his feet.
Seonghwa, Mingi, Hongjoong, and Jongho were all holding a lily in their hands, while Wooyoung was holding five so she had an even dozen.
"What's all this?" Lily asked, her heart beating a little faster.
"Well, we know we've been a little extra busy, so we wanted to surprise you with a fun evening." Seonghwa said.
"And it may or may not have to do with what today is." Mingi chuckled while wrapping his arms around Seonghwa and resting his chin on the older's shoulder.
Jongho shuffled nervously and rubbed the back of his head, "It's lame, we know. Bu-"
"It's perfect." Lily looked at each of them in turn. She felt a pleasant warmth fill her as she looked at her family. "Thank you."
Wooyoung stepped forward and took her hand, leading her to her place. They settled down together with her leaning into his shoulder.
"So how is rehearsal going?" She asked after a little bit. They had all helped themselves to food and fallen into an easy routine of feeding each other and passing everything around.
Mingi especially was making sure Seonghwa was taken care of, always offering him more food and asking if he was comfortable. Which was a reasonable question seeing as the older was situated in the rapper's lap.
"I think it's going well." Hongjoong said, running his hand through his now slightly pink hair. "We have the choreography for most of our songs, and Wooyoung's part is coming along nicely." The older gave Wooyoung a proud smile before handing a bucket of chicken to Yeosang.
Wooyoung lowered his head and pushed his lips out in a pout. He always had a hard time taking praise, especially from Hongjoong. "I wish I didn't get so nervous about things."
"It's natural Youngie. I'm just glad you didn't give up." San said, wrapping an arm around his best friend's neck and pulling him away from Lily.
"Well that's thanks to you in part." Jongho added, not looking up from his bowl of food.
San just waved him off and released Wooyoung at the same time.
Lily knew why he was shy though. He had vouched for Wooyoung on one of the songs, convincing their manager to let him audition three times for one of the songs. It ended up earning him a larger part than normal and Lily couldn't be more proud of him.
"I can't wait for you guys to see the new costumes I've designed." Lily shimmied her shoulders let out a little giggle at the eight sets of eyes begging her for more information. "I just finished them today, so I promise you can see them tomorrow."
"Why must you tease us so?" Yunho whined, falling back so he was laying down. Jongho smacked his stomach, making him groan and curl in on himself. "Hey! What was that for?"
"Be nice." The youngest said, still focusing on his food, inhaling it at an incredible pace.
"Don't be such a brat." Yunho sat back up and locked his arm around Jongho's neck so he could use his other hand to viciously rub the top of his head. Now it was Jongho's turn to whine as he twisted in place to shake off the older.
"Hey, hey. Don't make me come over there and separate you." Seonghwa glared at them and they both instantly separated.
"Sorry, Hwa." They mumbled at the same time.
"I swear Joong. You need to learn to control your kids." Seonghwa grumbled.
Hongjoong placed a hand on his chest, looking offended. "MY kids? They are your kids too. Why do I always get blamed for these things?"
"Because Seonghwa is our favorite." Yeosang said with no hint of emotion in his voice.
The room fell silent as seven of them looked at Yeosang.
But Lily knew to watch Hongjoong. She started to laugh when he jumped up from the floor and ran after a now scrambling Yeosang.
"Never a dull moment." Wooyoung forced out through his laughs. He turned to Lily and pulled her close so he could press a few kisses to the side of her neck.
She hummed in response and closed her eyes. "I should probably start cleaning up." She whispered after a moment.
"Nope. Not tonight." He said. "We can take care of it."
Lily knew better than to argue and just let herself enjoy the attention.
His lips attracted her to the point that she didn't notice him taking her left hand and playing with her fingers. Nor did she notice that Hongjoong and Yeosang had stopped messing around. She barely recognized the absence of his lips against her skin when she felt something slip onto her left ring finger.
Her eyes opened wide and she looked down. The ring sitting there was a simple white gold band and one large, round, sparkling diamond set into it.
Lily slowly brought her other hand to her mouth and she felt tears coming to her eyes as she looked at Wooyoung.
He had a gentle smile on his face. "Lily." He said softly, reaching up to tuck a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear. "You're still happy here, right? With all of us?"
She nodded, unable to speak. Everyone's eyes were on the couple, but all she could focus on was Wooyoung and they way he studied her.
"Good, because you make me happy too. I know I try to tell you as often as I can, and I know it's not always enough, but I love you. With all my heart. And before you say anything, yes I got permission to do this."
They both chuckled, Lily's more shaky than his. Wooyoung moved so he could be on one knee while holding her hand.
"I wanted this to be special, and I though there was nothing more perfect than doing this here. Will you marry me Lily? You're my world. My life. My star. And I know we don't have a normal relationship, but it's still so special to me and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Please? Say you'll stay with me forever?"
Lily couldn't contain her emotions as tears of happiness spilled from her eyes. She nodded and choked out a yes only a second before Wooyoung pulled her into his arms.
She glanced at the ring one more time, then over at the others.
They all had varying levels of smiles on their face. Seonghwa's were mixed with tears and Mingi was whispering into his ear to try and comfort him. San and Yeosang where hugging each other and both Yunho and Jongho had a look of pride on their face. Hongjoong gave her a reassuring nod.
Then the seven of them gathered all the dishes and food before leaving to give the newly engaged couple time to themselves.
Wooyoung slowly lowered Lily down so that she was nestled into the pillows surrounding them. He laid down next to her and brushed his thumb across her cheek. "Thank you." He whispered.
"For what baby?" Lily turned her head to look at him straight on.
"For always making me so happy." He leaned forward to kiss her forehead.
Lily bit her lip and poked his side. "When did you turn into such a sap?"
"The moment you wormed your way into my heart. Take it or leave it."
"I guess I'm going to leave it then." Lily started to sit up, but Wooyoung latched onto her and pulled her to him, whining the entire time.
"That's mean." He buried his face in her neck.
Lily just laughed and closed her eyes, but not before looking at the ring on her finger again. She still couldn't believe it, but there it was.
Not that she had ever doubted it, but the fact that Wooyoung had wanted to take things even further in their relationship made her feel so loved. It made her look forward to their future and all the adventures they would have together. Even before tonight, they had already talked about a few things they wanted to do on tour.
And now she could start looking at things for a wedding too.
The thought made her tighten her grip on Wooyoung.
He reached up to gently grab her chin and tilt her head back, connecting their lips for the first time that night in a slow, loving kiss. But even then it set her soul on fire.
Yes, she knew she was meant to be with Wooyoung. All the hardship, every single bad thing that had happened to her, it had led her to him and bound them together. And she loved him with every fiber of her being.
No one came back to disturb them, and Lily was pretty sure she had Seonghwa to thank for that.
The couple laid in each other's embrace, enjoying this perfect moment together. There was something peaceful about the silence of the room that normally thrummed with loud music. The only thing that broke it was the gentle sounds of their breathing.
As Lily started to feel herself slipping away, comforted by the warmth of Wooyoung's body, she felt him kiss her head a couple of more times before he whispered, "Happy Valentine's Day, my love. It's you an me, forever. I'll always protect you, cherish you, and do my best to make you the happiest person alive. You're my everything. Thank you for saying yes."