Work Text:
When Jihyun imagined how he would propose to her, he imagined it would be a grand romantic gesture. He envisioned a candlelit dinner, a picnic in the park, or a stroll through a botanical garden. Once he was sure they were alone, he would drop down to one knee in front of her and hold up a ring. He’d explain to her how he’d designed it himself and spent weeks sketching out different versions for his jeweler, making sure the result was nothing less than a perfect reflection of her. He would tell her how much he loved her, as if he didn’t already tell her every day, that he would give her the world if he could, if she would let him. Then he would finally ask if she would marry him.
He had the scenario all planned out, but he had yet to actually do it. He had hoped to do it on one of the trips he took her on: a week in Paris, another in Rome, a weekend getaway to Kyoto. They were places he’d visited on his travels, places he’d long wished to show her. He carried the ring in his pocket on each trip, waiting, searching for the right moment to ask her.
But every time he thought the moment had come, his nerves got to him. It made him feel silly; he knew without a doubt that she loved him just as much as he did her, and they’d had many conversations about their future together, so that was no reason to be nervous. Even the fact that he’d already been engaged to someone else a long time ago wasn’t what kept him from asking for her to be his wife.
...He wasn’t sure what it was, if he were honest. He figured it might be a sign that the perfect time had yet to present itself, and he would just know when it did. So he put it off for the time being and waited.
In the meantime, his imagined proposals began to slip into his nightly dreams. This time, it was twilight, and they were slow dancing on a secluded rooftop strung up with fairy lights. Their arms were wrapped around each other, her head resting against his chest. When the music stopped, he caught her lips in a sweet kiss. Then he bent down on one knee and looked up into her sparkling, teary eyes. She always cried at this part. He inhaled a breath, ready to ask the question–
The image faded as Jihyun woke to the sensation of warmth against his back. He kept his eyes closed, still half asleep, and he sighed in contentment as he felt his sweetheart’s arm curl around his chest and her lips press a gentle kiss to the back of his neck. He had no idea what time it was, but he vaguely remembered she had to stay up late to finish work and told him to go ahead to bed without her.
“Are you awake?” she whispered.
“Mm,” he intoned, only barely registering her words. His consciousness wavered between dreams and reality, but the only thing he was certain of at this moment was how he felt. How safe he felt in her arms, how much he never wanted her to let him go, how he wanted to keep her by his side for the rest of his life.
Instinctively, he shifted around in bed so that he lay on his other side, facing her. He stole a small glance through half-opened eyelids. The room was dimly lit in pale yellow lamp light, and she was snuggled under the covers next to him. He pulled her closer and shut his eyes as the comforting embrace of sleep slowly enveloped him once more.
Soft fingers played with the ends of his hair. “Good night, sleepyhead.”
He might have responded, but he wasn’t sure. He was quickly tumbling out of consciousness. Her face appeared in his mind, and he thought he was dreaming again when he heard her say, “I love you, Jihyun.”
The words of love and devotion he’d rehearsed for weeks made rounds in his head. He tightened his arm around her.
“Marry me,” he murmured.
The sharp sound of her breath catching snapped him back to reality. She stiffened against him.
“What?” she said.
Jihyun’s eyelids fluttered opened suddenly. She looked at him with an expression torn between confusion and shock.
Then he realized he had said those words aloud.
He was fully awake now, his heartbeat quickening as horror rushed through him. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. Not when he was practically half asleep, not when he hadn’t said all the things he’d planned to say to her before he popped the question officially. It didn’t even come out as a question–he always thought he’d ask, will you marry me? Instead, what he said was an imperative, a command. Marry me.
She didn’t respond, only stared at him, searching his gaze for answers, and he couldn’t think of anything to say. Should he apologize? Should he say he was dreaming or feign ignorance and lift the blame away from himself? But if he did that, would she be disappointed? Relieved? He thought with a sinking sense of dread that he’d ruined his chance at making this perfect for her, and he opened his mouth to take it back.
...But he paused. That didn’t feel like the right thing to do. Now that he’d said it, he couldn’t take it back. No, he didn’t want to take it back. The proposal might not have been perfect or well-executed as he’d always dreamed, but it had come out naturally, from a place deep in his heart. It was honest and real.
This, he now understood, was why he couldn’t ask her before. He’d been so caught up in finding the ideal moment when that wasn’t what mattered at all. What mattered was that he wanted to marry this wonderful, beautiful, inspiring woman beside him, and he didn’t want to wait anymore. Forget the ideals.
“Marry me,” he said again. “Be my wife. I said a long time ago that I wanted to love again, and I love you, MC. I chose you. Let’s spend the rest of our lives together.”
Her expression softened, eyes gleaming even in the dim light. “Okay.”
The simplicity of her answer made him smile. “Okay?”
She nodded and returned the smile. “I thought you were going to ask me weeks ago, to be honest. I’m surprised it took you this long, but I didn’t say anything because I knew you’d ask when you were ready.”
“I’ve been ready, but it wasn’t supposed to be like this,” he admitted. “I imagined something more...romantic. You deserved that.”
She cradled the side of his face with her hand and caressed his cheek. “I never cared about how you’d propose. I’m already yours, Jihyun. I always have been. Just as you are mine.”
Jihyun’s eyes welled with tears, his head dizzy with pure happiness. He was the type of man who got misty eyed while watching a beautiful sunset, but somehow he’d never expected he would be the one to cry after his own marriage proposal.
By now, though, he’d learned that reality usually fell far from his expectations. Sometimes for the better.
“You’re adorable,” she said as she wiped away his tears. She smothered him with kisses until they were both laughing. He lay his head against her chest, and he fell asleep to the rhythm of her heartbeat.
She eventually cried, too, the next morning when he took the engagement ring from its hiding place and slid it onto her finger, as if the quiet, dreamlike agreement they’d shared the night before had suddenly become real to her. She threw her arms around him. He kissed her passionately and promised her the world.
Just like how he imagined.