Work Text:
“See you tomorrow, Ji!”, Gyuri shouted in her coworker’s direction.
Jiwoo barely moved her head towards the other girl, mumbling some sort of a goodbye. The spirits of the usually cheerful girl were low today. Nothing seemed to go her way, neither at university nor at work. And to top it all off, today was Valentine’s Day and her girlfriend hadn’t even managed to shoot her a simple text.
She made her way to her car parked around the corner only to discover a ticket stuck under her windshield wipers. “Well this is just great.” With a blurry vision, Jiwoo grabbed the ticket and stuffed it into her pocket. Out of sight out of mind.
She seated herself behind the steering wheel and took a deep breath. She was just having a bad day. Those are rare for her but they happen. And that’s okay.
Quiet buzzing came from Jiwoo’s purse. Maybe… maybe Jungeun hadn’t forgotten what day it was. A quick glance at her phone screen confirmed Jiwoo’s hunch. At least part of it. Jungeun had indeed texted her, but it was a simple ‘when will you be home?’ No hearts. No ‘happy valentine’s’. No ‘i love you’. Nothing.
Jiwoo sent her girlfriend a short text back, letting her know she would be home in about ten minutes and threw the phone onto the seat next to her. While driving, her thoughts kept wandering back to Jungeun. She knew her girlfriend wasn’t one to display affection openly or often - but when she did, it made it even more special.
And Jungeun had never missed a Valentine’s Day in the past four years of them being together. Now that Jiwoo started to think about it, Jungeun’s behaviour the past few weeks had been... off. Jiwoo was used to her girlfriend’s mood swings during finals week, so that was what she had blamed Jungeun’s distant demeanor on. This time, however, was different. Was Jungeun planning to break up with her? Did Jiwoo do something wrong? Her mind felt like it was about to explode.
She rubbed her temples and looked up at the traffic light. It had been red for at least five minutes - at this rate she won’t be home for another hour. At least she now had more time to think about what Jungeun’s actions meant. And how she would deal with a potential break-up. Or if she could deal with that.
Four years was a damn long time, Jiwoo couldn’t even remember ever being without Jungeun. Fuck, she could never imagine being without that girl. Jungeun wasn’t only her girlfriend, she was her best friend and soulmate.
Jiwoo felt her eyes sting and shook her head. “Not now,” she mumbled, blinking rapidly to stop herself from crying. And as much as she was scared of being broken up with, she couldn’t wait to get home and crash into bed.
The ten-minute drive turned into a thirty-minute drive and when Jiwoo unlocked the door to the apartment, she felt like today was the longest week she had ever experienced.
“Jungie?” Jiwoo’s voice was shaky. “Are you home?”
No response. The hallway was illuminated by soft warm yellow hues coming from the living room. Jiwoo dropped her things to the floor and made her way towards the light. It flickered, as if someone lit hundreds of candles and created a soft wind by moving too quickly.
Jiwoo stepped into the living room area and was surrounded by candles, white rose petals and fairy lights. There weren’t hundreds of candles, but at least fifty of them. Jungeun was standing in the middle of the room, looking at Jiwoo softly.
“Happy Valentine’s Day, my love.”
“I… Wow, you… Happy, happy Valentine’s!” She took a step towards Jungeun and hesitantly reached for her hands. “You, you remembered?”
“Of course I remembered!” Jungeun chuckled as she took her girlfriend’s hands into hers.
“I, I just thought that… I…” Jiwoo was lost for words. “Happy Valentine’s day, Jungie!”
Jungeun pulled the other girl closer until their foreheads rested against each other’s. “Happy Valentine’s Day”, she whispered before pressing her lips to Jiwoo’s.
The moment their lips touched, Jiwoo felt all her doubts and worries disappear into thin air. Every kiss with Jungeun felt like it was their first. Every kiss with Jungeun was full of passion and love. Every kiss with Jungeun felt like home.
Jungeun pulled away and looked at Jiwoo with concern. “Babe, are you okay? Why are you crying?”
The other girl hadn’t even noticed that tears had started running down her cheeks. Jungeun wiped them away and cupped Jiwoo’s face. “They’re good tears, happy tears. Don’t worry, Jungie.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, i’m sure.” Jiwoo smiled, took her girlfriend’s hands and pressed kisses on them. “I love you. Like, to the moon and back.”
“I love you too. Like, to infinity and beyond.” Jungeun smiled back and her eyes seemed to sparkle in the soft light. “I know it’s cheesy, but you’re my other half. The light of my life. My best friend. My soulmate.”
Jiwoo noticed how shaky Jungeun’s voice got all of a sudden. Their hands separated for a few seconds, just enough time for Jungeun to pull a little gold ring out of her back pocket.
Ring and Jiwoo’s hands in her hands, Jungeun got down on one knee and looked up. “The past few years with you have been the best years of my life. I couldn’t imagine my life without you. And I don’t ever want to.”
She didn’t think she could cry more than she already was, but Jiwoo’s vision now was completely blurred, the tears kept running down her face.
“Kim Jiwoo, will you, will you marry me?”