Proposal ; beomgyu (completed)

xii.

2023.
22 years.

Junoh had been feeling broken-hearted ever since she saw Beomgyu kissing his... girlfriend?

Anyways, whatever she was to him, it meant that she got to kiss him and to have him smile at her.

Junoh wanted Beomgyu to smile at her and to kiss her. Not that other woman.

"Auntie, why are you looking so sad?", Woobin asked, tilting his little head and placing his forefinger on his chin.

"I'm just tired", she smiled softly and carded her fingers through his fluffy hair. "Aren't you guys tired?", she looked at Woojoo, who was already fast asleep on her other side and giggled.

"She sleeps too much", Woobin scrunched his nose.

"She runs a lot, so she needs her energy back", she smiled. Woojoo cuddled up to her aunt more, and Junoh cooed before placing the blanket over her little shoulders. "Do you want to have a sleepover here tonight?"

The little boy nodded enthusiastically and Junoh smiled brightly. It was because she was too tired emotionally and physically to actually move the sleeping girl to the kids' room, so she decided she would cuddle them both until she felt a little bit better.

Woobin passed the controller to Junoh, who turned the latest Disney movie –'Amaya and the fifth element'– off, before turning the lamp off and staring into darkness.

The little boy cuddled up to her and Junoh hummed before placing the blanket over his shoulder too, and nuzzled him. His baby smell was something that she found really comforting, and it brought a big smile to her face knowing she was him and Woojoo's godmother.

Woobin's godfather was a guy Yeonjun played with when they were kids and that drifted apart from when the other kid moved away, only to find him again back in middle school. Kang Taehyun. The boy was a genius so he attended the same grade as Yeonjun, even when being younger than Junoh.

He ended up being a the fastest guy to ever go through med school, and was now working towards his fellowship in neurology specialty.

Woojoo's godfather was a guy that Soobin had befriended when doing a summer school program. He was the opposite of Taehyun; a slow kid who had ADHD and couldn't multiply in his mind even if his life depended on it.

He'd come from the United States, where he'd been an actor kid, thus he barely had a strong intelectual base. Soobin helped the boy through school until he made it to University and studied drama. Huening Kai was a well known model, influencer, and k-drama actor. And happened to be the brightest person you'll ever meet.

Junoh sighed and ignored her phone that buzzed on her nightstand. It had been a week since she'd seen Beomgyu kiss a girl; a week of sadness and a broken heart that she'd had to live through because her plans to open up a branch of her business in Korea was going good and she had started paperwork and looking for a place that would become the headquarters and her office too.

So after a week, she thought she'd feel alright but truth be told, every time she remembered that moment, her heart would feel like it was breaking all over again.

And yes, she knew her and Beomgyu's has drifted away from each other, but she couldn't deny the strong love she felt for him. She couldn't deny that she felt like she belonged next to him and that seeing him with another woman shattered her whole spirit over and over again.

So when her phone buzzed and she saw it was Beomgyu's message, she just couldn't take it and turned it off and went to sleep.

At least her soul would be warmer because she was cuddled with the most beautiful demons ever.

*     *     *

Junoh woke up late. The kids had gone to school, her brother and brother in law had left for work, and she was left alone with the cook.

An old woman who seemed to be tired all day, but that had the most energy out of them all –including the little catastrophes–. Junoh liked her, and the woman had been working on that kitchen ever since the house was built.

"You look upset, miss Choi", the woman had stated before placing a plate with miso soup in front of her.

"I am, halmoni", she mumbled and smiled when the woman passed her a spoon.

"Is it something you can vent about?", the woman turned off the oven and opened the lid. "I am a very good listener".

Junoh couldn't help it, and suddenly she was spilling words as if she'd been trained to be a professional rapper. Her feelings had been bubbling up in her chest for about a week, and she hadn't realized she needed to just talk about it to feel better. But she did need it, and she felt like a weight had been lifted off her.

The old woman giggled at Junoh. She laughed when Junoh finished her venting, and even had to take a seat because her stomach had started hurting because of her giggles.

"I don't–"

"Kids these days...", the woman wiped a happy tear and looked at Junoh. "Do you love this young man?"

"Yes"

"Have you told him so?"

With a shake of the head, Junoh sighed.

"Then how could he know your feelings? If you keep them inside, only you will be the one to know them. Yes, maybe he has a girl, but do you know if he loves her? Do you know if he loves you instead?"

"I couldn't bear to hear him say he loves someone else", Junoh let the spoon fall into her now empty bowl.

"And could you live with the feeling of never telling him you love him? Could you live knowing he may even love you back and you chickened out?"

She bit her lip, avoiding the woman's intense gaze. She was partly right. Hell, she was completely right.

"So what do I do now?"

"Now you start showing him you love him. You try to ignite that lost sparkle and hope it turns into fire. You have to make him warm up to you, and also hopefully have him warm you inside, too".

Junoh nodded. Going to her room, she turned her phone on and pressed his contact so she could call him.

She had to try, at least. Because she did love him, and she couldn't lose him again.

"Hello?"

"Beomgyu, I'll pick you up at eight tonight. Wear something comfy and bring your camera".