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Jihoon and Guanlin have been dating for a few years. The idea of marriage did not appear in Jihoon’s head until he attended Seongwu and Daniel’s wedding. It was a small and simple wedding where they exchange their vows in front of their families and close friends. He could genuinely feel their happiness when they were officially pronounced as married.
“So when are the both of you getting married?” Jisung asked the both of them casually.
Guanlin had a shy smile in response, scratching the back of his head while Jihoon remained quiet. He is serious about Guanlin, but he had never thought about it. A wedding ceremony between two guys was… uncommon. They had talked about living together but never about getting married. Maybe it was the time he should put some thoughts into it.
After the wedding, Jihoon and Guanlin went to a fried chicken restaurant for supper. Jihoon kept quiet, engrossed in his thoughts while eating the drumsticks. Should we get married too? He only snapped out from his thoughts when he realised that he had just finished all his chicken drumsticks on his plate. Guanlin could easily guess from the looks on Jihoon's face that he did not have enough and pushed his share towards him, “Jihoon hyung, you can finish my share.”
This moment, he wants to marry this man.
1. Finding the perfect ring
Jihoon started off preparing his proposal by looking for the perfect ring.
He visited a lot of jewellery stores, trying to find the right one. All the salespersons had recommended him their diamond ring collection. The diamond rings were absolutely stunning and beautiful, but nothing seems to be the right one for Guanlin. He admits he was being picky but nothing is too perfect for Guanlin. Something less flashy but meaningful would be a perfect choice.
Jihoon was running out of option and finally decided to approach Minhyun for advice. Minhyun replied him with an address and wished him good luck. He arrived at the store and notice that it was slightly different from other jewellery shops that he had visited. It was not as extravagant as the others. It was just a simple handmade accessories shop.
His eyes wander around the display shelf looking for something suitable. There was indeed something on one of the display shelf that caught his eyes. It was a rose gold knot ring. It was not something fanciful but what attracted Jihoon’s attention was the description of the ring.
Two parallel wires that are tied together by a knot.
Each is flexible to move about the other, yet they're inseparable.
N o matter where they go they will always be tied together.
Jihoon found the meaning behind the design was relatable to their relationship. The two wires represent them as two different identities. They come from different countries, just like two parallel lines. The chances of them meeting were small, but yet they still meet and fall in love. He also wished that their decision of being together will make them inseparable no matter where they go, just like the knot.
It was the perfect proposal ring.
He had made the right choice to ask Hwang-ge Liang Minhyun for advice.
Proposal ring. Checked.
2. Proposal Planning
Jihoon was done finding the proposal ring. The next step would be the proposal. When would be a good time to propose? If he were to ask him out on a random occasion, Guanlin would probably suspect something was not right when he walked into the beautifully decorated venue. He needed an event to act as a smokescreen so that Guanlin would not suspect a thing. It would be even better if his close friends could be there to witness the moment and give them their blessing.
The only upcoming event he could think of was the countdown party at Jisung’s apartment.
Since he made up his mind to propose during the party, he would need to inform Jisung first and probably ask for help on that. Jihoon also called Woojin along because he could not miss out his best friend for such an important moment of his life. He met them at a cafe nearby, keeping his intention of proposing a secret as he wants to break the news to his best friends in person.
“So why did you asked us out today?” Jisung asked.
“I am going to propose to Guanlin,” Jihoon announced calmly.
Jisung, who was sipping on his hot chocolate, spit out his drink in reaction, “you are going to what?”
“I am going to propose to Guanlin,” Jihoon repeated nonchalantly while wiping up the mess with Woojin. “Why are you so surprised? Didn't you ask us about our wedding plans during Daniel hyung and Seungwu hyung's wedding?”
"Yes, I did. But..." He paused for a moment trying to think of an explanation while looking at Woojin.
"He just thought Guanlin would be the one proposing," Woojin explained on Jisung’s behalf.
“I am his hyung, I should be the one proposing.”
"So when are you planning to propose?"
“I am planning to propose during the countdown party if Jisung hyung is okay with it.”
Jisung exchange glances with Woojin who once again he answered on his behalf, “of course hyung would be okay with it. We got your back.”
Jihoon knew he could count on his best friends.
Proposal plan. Checked.
3. The Proposal
Jisung had invited everyone to his apartment for the New Year countdown celebration. All of them were informed about the proposal and volunteered to help with the preparation. Jisung and Minhyun were in-charge of the food, Daehwi and Jinyoung were in-charge of decorating the rooftop, Woojin was in-charge of taking photos and filming, Jaehwan and Sungwoon were in-charge of living up the atmosphere. They were told to make things subtle as Jihoon only planned to propose after the fireworks had ended.
Jihoon and Guanlin only arrived at the rooftop an hour before the countdown. They went up to the rooftop to find the area cleaned and decorated with fairy lights. Chairs and tables were set up for them to sit comfortably and enjoy the celebration. Jihoon was impressed with the effort Daehwi and Jinyoung had put in and secretly gave them a thumbs up in return.
They had made the rooftop a perfect venue for the proposal.
Jaehwan and Sungwoon did their part and started hosting games while waiting for time to pass. There were many moments of laughter which had temporarily helped Jihoon to relieve his nervousness. After a while, Daniel and Seongwu arrived with drinks for the celebration. Jihoon had a few drinks, nothing enough to get drunk. He just needed a little to give himself the courage for the proposal later.
The next moment Jihoon checked the timing on his watch, it was already 15 minutes left until midnight. Time had passed so quickly when they were having fun. Knowing that time was getting closer and closer to midnight, he could feel his stomach churning, his palm sweating despite the cold.
Breathe, Jihoon told himself.
That was when he felt a few water droplets on him. He looked up trying to find the source and all he could see was the night sky and dark clouds. It was raindrops. The frequency of the water droplets increases and everyone at the rooftop fled inside the building for shelter. It started raining heavily and showed no signs of stopping anytime soon. The decorations were getting ruined by the strong wind and pouring rain. They were also not in time to save the food.
It was a disaster.
They had no choice but to return to the apartment and Jisung had to order pizza and chicken instead. The only alternative left was to watch the fireworks from the balcony. Jihoon, who was already nervous like crazy, felt even worse. Things are not going as planned. Jisung came over to him and gave him a pat on his back, “don’t worry, everything will be alright.”
It was less than a minute to midnight. Everyone gathered on the balcony, leaving the centre spot not so coincidentally for Jihoon and Guanlin. Jihoon clutch onto the box in his pocket nervously. One minute to the final moment, he told himself. In his head, he started practising the proposal speech he had prepared a few days back in his mind.
The MC of the live broadcast had started gathering the performers on stage for the countdown. They started giving well wishes before the start of the brand new year. Jihoon could feel his heart pounding rapidly against his chest. He took a quick peek at Guanlin who also seems to be in deep thoughts.
What could he be thinking?
Finally, the moment has come, “Three...Two...One...HAPPY NEW YEAR!”
Fireworks shoot up the sky, colouring the dark sky with colourful sparks. The rain did not affect the beautiful fireworks display. It was a start of a brand new year, a special year for both Jihoon and Guanlin. If everything goes as plan, they would be starting the year with a new status. Fiancé. Jihoon reminded himself, once the fireworks end, he will get down on a knee and propose to Guanlin.
The fireworks ended in a flash. Jihoon took out the small box that he had been hiding in his pocket all night. He opened the box, showing the knot ring that was placed inside and turned over to face Guanlin. Jihoon had imagined hundred and one possible scenarios that could happen next when Guanlin sees the ring, but none of it matched with what really happened.
Guanlin was holding the same small box with the same knot ring in his hand.
Everyone in the room started laughing, leaving the couple puzzled. It took Jihoon and Guanlin awhile to realise that they were trying to propose to each other at the same time. The rest did not seem surprised by the mutual proposal. They already knew what was going to happen. Guanlin had also approached them for help. It would also explain why Jisung overreacted when he told him about his proposal plan. There were just watching how things were going to unfold when they both proposal to each other at the same time.
Jihoon and Guanlin started laughing along.
Guanlin took the initiative to take the ring out from his box first and wore it on Jihoon’s ring finger. Jihoon followed, taking out the ring and wore it on Guanlin's ring finger. No questions were asked as the answer was obvious. They held their hands together before leaning in for a kiss. Everyone popped the party popper in their hands, celebrating the moment.
Proposal. Completed.