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Nothing weird or suspicious in giving jewelry as a present. It's just a type of accessory. A lot of people receive jewelry on their birthdays without any hidden meaning.
"It's not my birthday."
Right.
"But thank you," Junmyeon smiled sweetly, taking out the ring from the velvet cushion of the red box. It was a simple, thin platinum band. Before Sehun could say anything, Junmyeon slipped it into his fourth finger on the right hand.
Sehun just gave him an amused smirk.
"So what's the occasion?"
"Hm?"
Sehun sipped his glass of wine. Yes, they had chickens and wine for dinner. Side by side, on the floor, in front of the television with a Netflix show that Junmyeon was currently addicted to, hands greasy and there was a stain of chicken sauce on Sehun's white shirt. So what, nobody can judge them from the comfort of their own home.
Not exactly their home; it was Sehun’s apartment, with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, in a quiet neighbourhood. There wasn’t anything fancy about the apartment at all— it was modest and homey. But Junmyeon stayed there all the time if he wasn’t back at the dorm, so Sehun just thought of it as theirs.
"The gift," Junmyeon brought up his hand, showing off his ring. "What's the occasion?"
"Nothing," Sehun shrugged, sluggish and relaxed from the alcohol, leaning back to the leg of the sofa. "Just feeling like wasting money, so I bought you a Cartier ring. Nothing special."
Junmyeon just stared at him.
"You're not the type to waste money."
"Do you like the ring?"
Junmyeon nodded. "I do."
"There you go,"
Junmyeon pouted, and sulkily put his head on the table, eyes focused on the screen. He had his legs stretched below the table as well. Sehun let him be for about ten minutes, watching the pout slowly disappear and relax, before reaching his hand out to Junmyeon— and stopped because he almost forgot about his greasy hand from the chicken.
"Hand me the wet wipes," Sehun nudged Junmyeon's thigh with his feet.
Junmyeon didn't say anything in reply, just tossed him the box of wet wipes while still having his eyes fixed on the screen.
Sehun diligently cleaned his hands and tossed the crumpled wipes into the empty chicken box. Then he slipped his hand under Junmyeon's hoodie and rubbed his back, fingers grazing his warm skin, up and down.
"What time do you need to leave tomorrow?" Junmyeon asked, turning his head to Sehun while pleasantly purr at having spontaneous back rub.
"Seven am," Sehun replied, smiling. "You're meeting the composer in the afternoon, right? Good luck."
Junmyeon smiled back, eyes blinking slowly. "Thanks, you too."
Picking up all the boxes and empty cans, Sehun cleaned up their after-dinner mess and brought them to the kitchen to put them in the trash can. Junmyeon turned off the television and yawned loudly, following Sehun to wash up his hands. He put his hand on Sehun’s shoulder, pulled him down a bit and kissed his neck where his mole was.
“I’ll wait for you in the bedroom,”
Sehun nodded and continued pilling up the dishes in the dishwasher.
Sehun greeted the staff that he recognized along the hallway, grinning widely behind his mask, aware of the curious eyes staring at the brown pup in his arms. The fans waiting outside the building were awestruck with the puppy, wondering whether it’s really Vivi (his April’s Fool joke was a success, apparently) or a different one. He stood outside the door to Junmyeon's waiting room and knocked the door with his feet.
Jongin opened the door and his eyes immediately landed on the one in Sehun's arms.
"What is this?" Jongin's jaw dropped, and Sehun was tempted to close it for him if his hands were not full. "Did you adopt another dog?"
Sehun pushed the door closed behind him with his elbow, and looked over to where Junmyeon was sitting.
"Surprise!"
Sehun snickered, pulling the mask off his face.
"What, seriously?" Chanyeol who was sitting beside Junmyeon stood, eyes wide in shock. "This is your new dog? Really? I brought flowers for Suho-hyung, even folded my spine in half to surprise him to be romantic; and you beat me by bringing a dog? That's not fair!"
Baekhyun came forward to touch the dog's paw. "You really did adopt another dog? Is this why you wanted to buy a new house? I thought it's because you two finally moved in together."
Sehun could see Junmyeon refraining himself from face-palming himself because of the makeup.
"Baekhyun, you're really—" From the side corner of the room, Jongdae was sitting and watching the entire thing silently before shaking his head. He looked well and his smile never changed. "Give Sehun a chance to explain."
Baekhyun pouted at him.
"Sehun did not adopt a new dog," Junmyeon said, raising an eyebrow at Chanyeol's statement.
Sehun glared at Chanyeol. Fine, he didn't bring flowers to congratulate Junmyeon, but he did buy something a lot better. What did Chanyeol know? And what did he mean, trying to be romantic? "It's my friend's puppy. I'm taking care of him for a week or so. I'm bringing him to see Junmyeon because he hasn't seen him yet."
"Oh," Jongin then turned to Junmyeon. "You're staying in the dorm? Why didn't you tell me, I can keep you company."
"It's fine, Jongin-ah." Junmyeon smiled and patted his shoulder, before going to Sehun and bowed to be on eye level with the quiet brown dog Sehun was holding. "He's very cute, what's his name?"
Sehun told him.
"Well, thank you for coming all the way to support me," Junmyeon chuckled, rubbing gently at the dog's ear. The dog immediately seeked Junmyeon's palm with his wet nose, giving it a lick.
A little surprise, Sehun stared at him. "I think he likes you."
"I think so too," Junmyeon straightened up and hugged Sehun tightly, as he whispered near his ear. "Thank you so much for being here."
Sehun wrapped a free hand around Junmyeon's back, while holding the dog by his side. "Wouldn't miss it for the world," and subtly landed a kiss near the crown of Junmyeon's head.
"Suho-shii," one of the ladies called out, beckoning him over. "Please come here, we'll set up the audio mic for you."
Junmyeon let Sehun go and walked away, but not before the rest of the members cheered him on.
"It's your birthday tonight?"
Sehun turned to see Kwangsoo smiling at him. He nodded.
"Happy birthday, Sehun-ah." Kwangsoo patted his back affectionately. "How old are you turning?"
"Twenty-seven, hyung."
It was very late. The filming had taken almost 16 hours and his body was aching. He couldn't wait to get home, wash up and stay in bed all day.
"I know it isn't much, but here," suddenly, the rest of the cast and some staff appeared from everywhere, with Sejeong holding a small victoria sandwich cake that Sehun assumed they bought in a hurry at the nearest convenience store, with two long candles and his name spelled horribly at the top. Sehun laughed happily, grateful at the thoughts.
"Sorry we couldn't get a better cake," Jaesuk said, coming in to give him a congratulations hug. "But, birthday present! I will get you a birthday present, okay?"
"Aih, hyung, stop fooling the kid. At this rate, you should have bought him two televisions already." Kwangsoo exclaimed, shaking his head. And Jaesuk protested his claim, promising Sehun that he would buy him anything his heart desires.
Sehun laughed easily at their antics. It's not even midnight yet but he's really on the road of having the best birthday ever.
When everything is wrapped up, the PD called out and announced the end of the filming for the day, and they all ended up clapping as they thanked each other. Sehun was already slipping on his jacket when the manager approached from behind the staff with his bag.
"The car has come to pick you up," he said, looking up from his phone and smiled. "You should hurry. The car is right there." He pointed at the opposite road and hurried over.
Sehun nodded, but his mind wandered curiously because; what's the hurry? It's not like there's traffic in the middle of the night.
But he followed the manager nonetheless, as the manager immediately circled the front car and jumped into the passenger seat, leaving him standing alone at the side of the car. Sehun shrugged it off and pulled the door open.
Only to be greeted by a grinning Junmyeon.
"Surprise!"
Sehun let out a yelp and staggered a bit, blinking at the elder who had his arms wide open.
"You nearly gave me a heart attack," Sehun grumbled, eyebrows furrowed but quickly hopped into the car, and pulled the door close.
"It's exactly midnight. So I'm the first person to wish you, happy birthday, Sehunnie!"
It was funny, and endearing. Junmyeon looked proud of himself. Sehun immediately threw himself into Junmyeon's arms.
"Thank you," he muttered, smiling and breathed in Junmyeon' familiar scent. "But Kwangsoo-hyung already wished me earlier,"
Junmyeon gasped, pulling himself away from Sehun. "What? He beat me to it?"
"But, hyungnie, you wish me exactly at midnight. So you were the first one to wish; his doesn't count," Sorry, Kwangsoo-hyung, Sehun said in his mind.
"Good," Junmyeon gave him a small kiss on the lips, then turned around before Sehun could have the chance to deepen it; to pick up a big birthday cake with fruits on top and candles in the shape of his initials from the backseat. He lit the candles with a lighter and looked at Sehun with a fond gaze.
"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, I love you Sehunnie, happy birthday to you."
Blowing the candles out, Sehun bowed a little to Junmyeon as a means of respect and gratefulness. "Thank you." He glanced at the backseat, full of shiny balloons in gold, silver and red. Junmyeon really prepared a lot for him, despite his busy schedule.
Being loved wasn't enough to describe the feelings that light up his whole being right now.
"Anything for you." Junmyeon said, as he settled back and knocked on the divider between the back seat and the front seat. Then Sehun felt the car started moving, and he immediately fastened his seatbelt before helping Junmyeon with his while Junmyeon had to balance the cake on his lap.
They spent the entire car ride trading stories and fed each other the birthday cake. Sehun got a couple more wishes from the members in the group chat, and he scrolled over the trending hashtags from Junmyeon's phone and smiled at the well wishes from the fans.
When they arrived in front of Sehun's apartment, they struggled to bring out the balloons and the leftover cake from the car; that the manager had to come out and help them bring everything inside.
"That's an exercise right there," Junmyeon huffed, putting his hands on his waist as he stared at the shiny balloons they managed to put in the hallway, mocking him in the face. "Where do you want to put them?"
Sehun waved it off as he put his coat in the closet next to the entrance. "Just leave them over there, so whenever guests come, it can be a greeting topic." He locked the door after saying goodbye to the manager, toed off his shoes and brought the cake to the kitchen and saved it in the fridge.
"Do you want to use the shower first?" Sehun asked after washing his hands carefully.
Junmyeon joined him in the kitchen, washing his hands too before moving to the kitchen counter to make some tea. "You go in first, I'm too hungry and the cake isn't enough. I'm making some toast. Is there any bread left?"
"In the pantry," Sehun turned on the heater and started taking off his clothes. "I thought you wanted to shower together," he smirked, glancing behind Junmyeon.
"I have a schedule in the evening, I can't handle it if we shower together so forget it," Junmyeon replied with a sing-song voice, turning on the kettle. Sehun was tempted to coax him but that would defeat the purpose of that night so he just huffed in disappointment and went on without him.
After Sehun got out of the shower, he made Junmyeon go in too before the toast was even done. He helped to finish off making a simple jam sandwich and poured the tea— not too hot as to take care of Junmyeon's throat— before setting them on the table at the living room.
"Here," Sehun said as Junmyeon came back, pink from the shower and tossed the towel he used to dry his hair on the sofa. Sehun surpassed the urge to roll his eyes at Junmyeon's messiness. "Do you want to watch something while eating?" He already had his hand on the remote and turned on Netflix.
As if thinking of something, Junmyeon shrugged and went to the food. "Nevermind that, let's sit and talk." He finished the single sandwich in record time and hummed in bliss over the warm tea.
Sehun sat next to him and kept his focus on Junmyeon's fingers. "You still wear my ring?"
Junmyeon smiled and raised his eyebrows, making his eyes look bigger. Urgh, Sehun sometimes hated it when he did that. Don't try to look innocent when you know how the night is gonna end.
"I'm here to celebrate your birthday, of course I'm gonna wear it."
"Good," Sehun cleared his throat and stepped in front of Junmyeon's line of sight, grabbed his elbows and led him to the balcony door where they could see the city lights. Sehun slowly pulled the ring off, held it in his fist, ignoring Junmyeon's shocked face. "I said to the fans a while ago, that I'm going to do something special on my birthday this year."
Junmyeon stared at the taken ring sadly. Sehun knew Junmyeon loved it; he saw Junmyeon wearing it multiple times without even taking it off for a few days, especially on the days he had to do recording. But he hid his hurt away. "Oh, what is it?"
Bending down, Sehun got on the floor on one knee while still holding Junmyeon's hands, and watched Junmyeon’s facial expression change from dumbfounded, curious, to realization and blushing profusely.
Sehun smiled, and held the ring up. "Kim Junmyeon, will you marry me?"
There were no fireworks, no fancy candlelight dinner and formal wear; not even in their favorite Los Angeles near the beach of Santa Monica or in Paris with the Eiffel Tower in the background. They're in Seoul, in their modest shared home of two in a quiet neighborhood, in their comfiest night clothes, messy hair, and there's bread crumbs on the corner of Junmyeon's lips.
And Sehun had never been more in love.
He was about to repeat the question when he noticed Junmyeon’s eyes glistened, and tears fell on his cheeks. Sehun had to laugh a little, and pulled Junmyeon down to gather him in his arms.
"I was supposed to surprise you!" Junmyeon muttered, sniffing hard over Sehun's shirt. "With the cake and the balloons; not you!"
Nodding in agreement, Sehun hushed him quietly and used the edge of his shirt to wipe Junmyeon's tear streaked cheeks; patting the closed lids gently with his thumbs. "Don't cry, don't cry, your stylish-noona will be angry if you show up with red eyes tomorrow. Don't cry," he put his lips over Junmyeon's temple. "So, does this means no or—"
"Yes, you jerk! Of course I will say yes, who do you think I am?" Junmyeon glared at him.
"Love of my life, of course," suddenly, Sehun felt like crying too. It's hard being an emotional couple. "Ah, you say yes. You will marry me?"
"You're not suddenly deaf, are you?"
"You're being mean now that we're engaged."
"We're not yet, I still don't have any ring."
"Oh yeah," for a moment, Sehun forgot about the ring digging into the skin of his palm, head still dizzy over the fact that they're engaged. "Right." He put the ring on Junmyeon's fourth finger, mesmerized at the sight of it. Unlike the first time Junmyeon wore it— the feeling seems different now.
Junmyeon stared at it admiringly. "I can’t believe you gave me an engagement ring before you even propose."
"If you're a little more observant, you would notice it sooner."
"Notice what?"
Sehun took the ring off again, much to Junmyeon’s despair, and turned the ring so Junmyeon could see the inside of the platinum jewelry. "See? There's an inscription there."
OSH TO KJM , 30.03
“Oh,” Junmyeon blinked, eyes became watery again as he slowly took the ring from Sehun; fascinated. “You put our initials and my debut date—”
“It’s also your thirtieth birthday this year, so I think the date suits you.” Sehun was aware how his cheeks became warmer, so he avoided looking at Junmyeon’s face when he slid the ring back to its rightful place and cleared his throat, before pulling Junmyeon up to stand again. “It’s getting late and you have a fan meeting later on, let’s go to—”
Swiftly, a pair of hands cradled his face and a pair of lips brushed upon his. Sehun instinctively wrapped his arms around Junmyeon’s waist and continued deepening the kissing— when Sehun felt Junmyeon’s hands sneaked into his back, clutching his shirt into his fists. Sehun understood him instantly, pulling away from the kiss for a moment to let Junmyeon tugged off the shirt.
“You sure?” Sehun muttered when the half-lidded elder latched his mouth to Sehun’s collarbone, but his own hands were already working on Junmyeon’s hoodie and his shorts.
“Yes, yes,” Junmyeon softly breathed on Sehun’s jawline, sliding his hands up from his back to his neck— making sure that Sehun could feel the cold metal of the platinum band on his warm skin— to pull him down for another kiss. “It’s your birthday and I love you and you’re my fiancé.”
He had been called a lot of things in his life; a son, a student, an idol, a singer, an actor, a dancer, a model— even a boyfriend. Sehun was not the sentimental type— he said it as it is, or showed it as it is— but for Junmyeon who always thought that words are powerful; loved saying “I love you”, as if the word was created for him, existed because of him. And sometimes Sehun hated him for it; because Junmyeon confessed to “I love you” so easily that Sehun sometimes developed an insecurity over it.
But “my fiancé”; that word is solely Sehun’s, and Sehun’s only.
And by the way, maybe Sehun shouldn’t be so turned on by that title, but he did.
“My fiancé,” Sehun drew the word out.
As Sehun hugged Junmyeon tightly, snuggling into his neck, Sehun wondered how it would feel when he finally got the title of Junmyeon’s “husband”.
-end-