❝ I learnt it from Youtube. ❞
—Jeongguk doesn't like it cliché, and Jaehwa should've known that.
Days became weeks, which eventually turned into months. It was crazy, Jaehwa thought, how fast time flew. It felt like it was yesterday when they drove all the way to the outskirt of Seoul, a place far from the hustle and bustle of the metropolis to send Hyun to a foster care there. It felt like yesterday she and Jeongguk shared their kiss with the moon and stars witnessing how they cheeks flushed upon their confessions. Maybe it was because both of them were busy—with Jeongguk who just graduated from university and her struggling with her final year, they didn't have much time to take in what was revolving around them.
Both of them weren't really into a corny relationship—though sometimes something cringey happened out of nowhere—so they decided to keep it as it was. No nickname, no overdone gestures. They were more comfortable to act like they were best friends for life because it felt more natural that way. At least, none of them would have a trouble opening up for each other, especially Jeongguk. At one time he would talk about his biggest regret which would make him look so fragile, but then, the next day he would complain about losing so many lives on Overwatch as he drove Jaehwa home.
Basically nothing changed. Of course, they did kiss sometimes but that didn't happen as frequent as Jaehwa thought it would.
It was another Friday night where she and Jeongguk would go out for a quick date before settling at the guy's apartment. Out of all things, Jaehwa had always looked forward to this day where they would order fried chickens and pizzas, sitting at the dining room and talked about random things. She found that being alone with Jeongguk in his personal space was the best way to know him inside out, to know what he had on his mind, and to know everything about him in general.
Jaehwa sat on a chair, couldn't suppress a faint smile when Jeongguk shuffled to the dining room excitedly with boxes in both of his hands. It was finally summer again, so they didn't have to bundle up like back in days she was babysitting Hyun. Jeongguk had always preferred to go with a tank top when he's at home (to be honest, he preferred topless but since Jaehwa was around, he had to cover up a bit) so the sight of her boyfriend in a white dry fit tank top she gave him on his graduation few months ago (Jaehwa liked practical gifts) was nothing alien to her eyes.
"You are wearing it again." Jaehwa chuckled lightly as she leaned her back against the chair. Jeongguk replied with a small frown, his eyes remarking that he didn't understand her statement. "The tank top I gave you. You like it that much, hmm?"
"Is it obvious?" Jeongguk smiled sheepishly as he set the takeouts on the table, taking a seat across Jaehwa afterwards. She nodded, eyes scanning how the material of the top fell ever so effortlessly against his buff torso. "Just in case you don't know, I have a washing machine."
"I wasn't implying anything." Jaehwa leaned in to reach for the box, her eyes widened upon the sight of bulgogi pizza.
"How many terms do you have left?" Jeongguk asked before he took a bite of the chicken drumstick. She almost chuckled upon the ketchup at the corner of Jeongguk's lips, the way he stared at her with those puppy eyes as he waited for her response made Jaehwa feel something on the inside.
"Four." Jaehwa replied. "A year to go."
"You'll get there sooner than you thought. I was in your shoes." Jeongguk stated proudly, in which what he got in return was a glare from Jaehwa. It was easy for him to blurt that out when he was not the one who's buried in assignments.
Silence took over the small space as they both focused on eating their late dinner. Unlike usual where they always had topics to talk about, the night was surprisingly quiet. Maybe it's because Jeongguk was tired since he just started joining a small production company a few weeks ago, so Jaehwa took his silence that night as a cue for her to not force him to rant about his work as per usual.
"Jae." Jaehwa swallowed hard when Jeongguk broke the silence out of the blue. From her field of vision, she could see how the guy was no longer munching on the chicken. Instead, he was drawing circles on the box with his fingers, looking at somewhere she couldn't tell.
"Hmm?" Jaehwa managed to hum though it was almost inaudible. Her heart palpitated at the sudden change of the atmosphere—the air somehow turned stuffy as the mood tensed up. It freaked her out that Jeongguk looked somewhat serious that it reminded her of the day they talked about sending Hyun to the foster care.
"I thought about this a lot." He paused, not looking up at Jaehwa. "But..."
"But?"
"I think we should end this." Jaehwa stopped chewing immediately, her eyes met Jeongguk's which were wavering for a reason she couldn't tell.
She had never been in a serious relationship until she met Jeongguk. Maybe it was bad of her to not expect anything on the day they decided to date, but as time went by, she found herself falling harder for him to the extent she hoped he is the one.
Her mind was filled with thoughts as the silence continued filling the air of the kitchen. Half of herself wished she was dreaming, but before she could utter a word that could barely rolled off her tongue, Jeongguk took a sharp inhale, a small smile crept onto his lips.
"Let's get married." He breathed. Jaehwa swallowed hard, the thud caused by the pizza that was secured in her hand just now elicited a light chuckle from Jeongguk. Or maybe he was laughing at how pale she was. "I know you're in your final year. I won't force you, but my heart aches every time I think about Hyun." Jaehwa waited for Jeongguk to finish off, her lips went dry as time went by. "Your priority is your study so study for now, hmm? We can put the rest aside for now, until the time is right."
Another silence. God, she hated how quiet the apartment complex was.
"And one more thing." Jaehwa hated this. She hated how calmed and collected Jeongguk was while she could barely breathe properly. She hated how Jeongguk could blurt everything without any stutter like he had thought about it since forever, like he had practiced the lines over and over again that every muscle of him had memorised what to do. "I want you to know that I'm doing this not because of the custody. I love you. I love you so much. I really do, and I can't imagine myself marrying someone who's not you."
Jaehwa didn't know whether to laugh or awe upon what she just heard. It felt so not Jeongguk, it felt so weird to have him staring deep into her soul like he was reading her inside out. Yet, behind the foreign feeling, she couldn't believe how much Jeongguk had grown, how much he had matured if to be compared to the day they first met. Maybe the events that happened during their encounter were the reason why he changed into such man.
"Kim Jaehwa?" Jaehwa snapped back to reality when she felt a hand on top of hers. There, she saw him holding her hand that was placed on the table and much to her surprise, Jeongguk's hand was icy cold just like hers.
"Jeongguk-" She breathed out, trying her best to flash a small smile. Jaehwa was happy that it was finally happening, but her tongue froze every time she wanted to utter a word. "I-"
"Will you marry me?"
At least, she gave up to blurt the word out. It was replaced with a gesture instead—a light nod was all it took to make Jeongguk loosen up. Jaehwa didn't notice how stiff he had been until he sank deeper into his chair, his hand against hers started to feel warm again.
"Alright. Give me a minute."
"Jeongguk, what-"
Jaehwa's words were cut off when Jeongguk left his seat to shuffle next to her chair, kneeling on the floor before he took something out from his pocket. Jaehwa knew this was going to be really cliché—this proposing stuff, the happy tears and all but deep inside her, she believed Jeon Jeongguk wasn't a cliché guy she saw in dramas. He always had his own way to amaze her (in both and bad ways) ever since day one.
"Give me your hand." Jaehwa was prepared for this whole event, but she burst into laughter when Jeongguk took a ring out of his pocket.
"Jeongguk-" She broke into another round of laughter, had to clasp her stomach with her other hand as she threw her back backwards. "What is this?!"
"Shut up. I learnt it from Youtube."
Jaehwa was still trying to swallow her laughter when Jeongguk slid the aluminium foil ring into her ring finger, both amused and perplexed at how her boyfriend's mind worked.
"It smells like fried chicken." Jaehwa said after she sniffed the ring that was now around her finger. "You could use a new aluminium foil."
"I haven't got my first payment yet. Don't worry, I will change this into something better later. By the way, don't ever degrade fried chicken like that. Fried chicken is life. And you-" Jeongguk paused before he propped himself up with his arms, planting a quick peck on her lips but it made Jaehwa shriek a bit when he spontaneously licked her lips playfully, cleaning pizza crumbs off them. "Are my life too."
"You're nasty!"
"I have always been."