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You see, Hao has been a very patient person for the past 29 years of his life. But when it comes to being patient about marrying his boyfriend of almost eleven years—with whom he has a child, he might add—he's not nearly as patient.
Once upon a time, when Hao was young—like really young—he dreamed of getting married to a beautiful princess in a faraway castle. He dreamed of being a knight in shining armor who would slay a dragon to save the princess. He dreamed that after saving her, she would fall into his arms, fall in love with him and that they would end up married with lots of children and live happily ever after. He dreamed of a fairytale like the ones in the books.
As he grew up, he realized that he no longer dreamed of that. He did dream of a fairytale, but a slightly different one, where the roles would be reversed and no woman would be involved. His dream was to be the princess saved by the handsome knight. His dream was to find the love of his life, marry him, have a child (or two, at most), and live happily ever after.
Finding the love of his life: check.
Having a child: check.
Live happily ever after: so far, check.
Marry the knight: not check. The last box left to tick. And he really wants to tick it.
Despite having a five-year-old child, they’re still not married. Not that being married before having a child matters, Hao just wants to marry Hanbin. Is that too much to ask for? Clearly it must be, because it’s not looking like Hanbin is going to propose anytime soon.
They’ve talked about marriage before. They were so sure that they were endgame that only a few months after they got together a decade ago, they mentioned that they wanted to get married in the future. At the time, Hao had no idea that ‘in the future’ would be in a very far future he hasn’t even witnessed yet.
So yes, Hao is a very patient guy—just not when it comes to Hanbin proposing. He’s no longer patient. He needs to make it happen. He’s waited too long, and he wants to be married before he turns 30. Yes, Hao could do it and it would solve the problem real fast, but remember he’s a princess and he wants to be asked, not the other way around.
Sung Hanbin will propose to him. Hao gives himself two weeks, tops, to make it happen.
The plan is simple: drop hints until Hanbin gets it. If he just straight up tells him he wants to get married, it won’t be fun, and it’ll sound like Hao is the one proposing—which is totally not the point.
“Okay, Jiwoong and I are married,” Taerae exclaims, showing off the ring on his finger proudly. “Now who’s next?” he asks, looking in Hao and Hanbin’s direction tentatively. Taerae was made aware of Hao’s plan, and this is his contribution to it.
Hao turns to Hanbin, looking at him with his head tilted and a grin as a way to say, Us! It’s us! We are next, right? But Hanbin doesn’t seem to think the same. He just brushes it off by laughing confusedly and sneaking an arm behind his back. Hao sighs, crossing his arms and looking at his friend across the table in defeat.
His friends getting married only reinforced his will to do the same with Hanbin.
Marrying Hanbin is something he always wanted—sometimes more than others. When they had other projects such as moving in together, finding a job, or even when they had their baby, it didn’t matter as much for him. They had other things to worry about. But every time, he still found himself thinking about marriage eventually. When a project ended, he always wished that it was the moment for the next big project: marriage. But it never came. And here they are.
It always ignites a strong feeling to get married too when he sees people having their big wedding. It’s bittersweet. Every time he attends a wedding, he hopes the next will be his.
Sometimes he wonders if Hanbin even wants to get married. What if he doesn’t want to marry him anymore?
“Hey!” Taerae says, catching the attention of everyone around the table. “There’s this game Jiwoong and I played right before he proposed. It’s the ‘If you marry me…” game!” he gestures with his hands as if he just made a big announcement. “For example, ‘If you marry me, I’ll love you forever.’ This one is cheesy,” he cringes. “It can be funny or serious, doesn’t matter. It’s a silly game but—"
“Let’s do it!” Hao shouts a little too excitedly, making his friends laugh.
Gunwook is the first to speak. “If you marry me, I’ll buy you all the Pokémon cards you want,” he says while looking into Matthew’s eyes lovingly.
Matthew’s face light up. He jumps from his seat and takes Gunwook’s hands into his own. “Let’s get married right now!” he jokes, earning a big laugh from his boyfriend.
“Ew,” Yujin grimaces. “I hate gays,” he teases and Gunwook slaps him playfully on the arm.
Taerae claps his hands together. “Hao, your turn!”
Hao mirrors the knowing grin on Taerae’s face. “Hm…” he thinks. He places a hand on his boyfriend’s nape, caressing his hair, and says, “If you marry me, I’ll treat your parents well.”
“You already do that,” Hanbin remarks, smiling fondly and pinching Hao’s cheek. Gosh, if Hao wasn’t so fond of his boyfriend’s adorable face, he’d slap him for being so oblivious right now.
Hao smirks, getting an idea. “If you marry me,” he leans in close enough to Hanbin’s ear to whisper, “you’ll get me in your bed every time you want for the rest of your life.”
Hanbin’s ears redden at the thought. He’s a little flustered for a second, but the next, he grins mischievously and murmurs, “No need to marry you for that.” He winks. He fucking winks!
It’s super hot. But not the reaction Hao wanted. Why does Hanbin sound like he doesn’t care about marrying him?
“Ugh this game is so stupid,” he crosses his arms and pouts.
“Why are you sulking, baby?” Hanbin laughs lightly, finding his boyfriend endearing. Hao can’t even be mad at this man.
Hao is disappointed. It looks like Hanbin didn’t get the hint, he’ll have to keep trying.
Hajoon runs with open arms into Hao’s legs as soon as the door opens. Hao chuckles, patting his son’s hair affectionately. He crouches down to his level to hug him tightly, melting when his son’s tiny hands wrap around his neck excitedly.
“I missed you, puppy!” Hao murmurs, burying his face into Hajoon’s hair and breathing in the familiar, sweet scent of his baby. It’s only been a few hours since he last saw him, but it feels like forever.
“Baba! Look what Guvin gave me!” Hajoon exclaims with sparkles in his eyes, taking a bag from Gyuvin’s hand and opening it to reveal different type of candies. He mispronounces Gyuvin’s name as usual. Hao finds it adorable that none of their friends’ name is pronounced correctly by his son.
“Wow!” he breathes, looking at his son. Then, he looks at his friend with an eyebrow raised, and with a humorous tone, he says, “That’s…a lot!”
Gyuvin flashes him an innocent smile and enters the house. “Your child is too cute. I can’t resist him,” he says, shrugging as he makes his way to the kitchen to greet Hanbin. Hao rolls his eyes amusedly.
After giving a hug to his other dad, Hajoon sits at the kitchen counter with Hao, proudly showing him all the candies Gyuvin bought him, and the new stuffed animal he says he won at the claw machine. Gyuvin is obviously the one who won it, but Hao won’t crush his son’s pride—if he says he won it, then he did.
“Oh! Would you look at that. A candy ring!” he grins when Hajoon gets the candy out of the bag.
“For baba!” Hajoon immediately says, grabbing his dad’s hand and putting the ring on his finger. With a proud grin, he beams, “So pretty!”
Hao giggles at his son’s cuteness, pinching his round cheeks.
Gyuvin interrupts the moment by teasingly saying, “Your appa should be the one to do that.”
Hao laughs at that and purposely raises his voice for Hanbin to hear, “Right! What is appa waiting for?” he tells Hajoon with a pout, but his eyes are stuck on Hanbin when he says it.
Hanbin just laughs it off, completely focused on not burning the vegetables he’s cooking in the pan.
Hao sighs, a little disappointed that Hanbin didn’t get the hint this time either. He goes back to admiring his son’s new stuffed animal, a cute pink puppy which reminds him of his son—Hajoon is akin to a small puppy. He’s very energetic, playful and curious, and also very affectionate. This might be the effect from spending too much time with Gyuvin.
Another day, another attempt to make Hanbin understand that it is time for him to propose.
Today’s hint: “This is so cute!” Hao says in awe at the screen displaying the main characters of the drama getting married. “Isn’t it?” he asks, looking up at Hanbin from his lap, batting his eyelashes in a way he knows makes Hanbin go crazy.
Hanbin smiles fondly at his boyfriend. “It is.”
Hanbin seems more receptive than usual, so Hao continues, “What would our wedding be like?”
Hanbin seems lost in Hao’s eyes as he thinks about it and Hao takes his time to stare at Hanbin. He looks so beautiful from this angle—from every angle actually. But from here, he can see his long eyelashes falling prettily over his eyes, the wet strands of hair resting messily on his forehead, and his beautiful brown eyes looking back at his own lovingly.
“It would be as beautiful as you,” he murmurs, gently stroking his cheek with his thumb.
“As beautiful as us,” Hao corrects, smiling like a fool. Hanbin nods, squeezing Hao’s hand. “And Hajoon would look so cute in a suit,” he smiles at the thought of their adorable baby wearing a suit. “Imagine him in his little suit being the ring bearer. How cute!” Hao coos. He knows Hanbin’s weaknesses very well, him and Hajoon, so maybe this will help getting what he wants.
He’s being too straightforward today. This isn’t just a hint at this point, it’s basically like saying ‘I want us to get married!’ but Hao is feeling quite bold today. His last two attempts were a failure so he might as well go bigger and less subtle now.
Hanbin laughs lightheartedly. “Our baby will look so cute that he’ll steal the spotlight from us.” Will?
Hao squeals internally. It was already a given that they would get married someday but this makes it more real, like this is something that will happen for sure. And it will. Hao never doubted that. The future tense Hanbin used is nothing to get too excited over really, but Hao is just too impatient about Hanbin proposing.
A cry interrupts them suddenly, breaking their bubble and the wedding talk. Damn. Just when Hao was potentially getting closer to success.
They turn their heads in sync in the direction of the sound to see Hajoon standing awkwardly next to the couch with tears staining his cheeks. The sad pout and the scared look on his face break both of their hearts.
In an instant, Hao is by his side, wiping the tears off his face. Hanbin follows. “What’s wrong, baby?”
“Appa,” he cries harder, reaching out for Hanbin.
“Appa is here, baby,” he says softly, pulling him close. “Did you have a nightmare?”
“Monsters,” he whimpers, holding onto Hanbin’s shirt tightly with his fist.
Hanbin caresses his back tenderly. “Did you see monsters?” Hajoon nods, tears sliding down his cheeks. Hao is weak when it comes to his child. He hates to see him crying and it takes everything in him not to cry too.
“There are no monsters, Joonie,” Hao reassures, placing a soft kiss on his forehead. “You’re safe. Appa and baba will protect you.” It seems to soothe him because his cries soften.
Hanbin nods and picks him up in his arms. He takes Hao’s hand and heads toward their bedroom. “It’s okay, baby.”
The three of them go to bed and cuddle, Hajoon in the middle of their warm embrace, all monsters already forgotten. He must have been so tired that he falls asleep almost immediately. Hanbin and Hao smile at him lovingly, their hands intertwined between their bodies. Hanbin leans closer, placing a sweet kiss on Hao’s lips. Butterflies erupt in his stomach—yes, even after all this time he still feels the butterflies.
It’s in these moments that Hao realizes that he couldn’t be happier, he has everything he always dreamed of. Except a wedding…this could definitely make him a little happier.
After dropping Hajoon off to Jiwoong and Taerae’s place this morning, they headed to their date.
Hanbin decided to take him out on a whim in the morning. When Hao appeared in the kitchen, Hanbin told him nothing except to get ready because, “We’re going on a date!”
Hao found it a little suspicious.
It’s not unusual for them to go on spontaneous dates. It happens sometimes. But they usually plan it at least the night before in order to have time to organize everything, such as knowing who will take care of Hajoon.
Although Hanbin had given him no warnings about any date the day prior, he seemed to have it all already planned out, which surprised Hao. “Jiwoong and Taerae will take care of Joon, so we have the whole day.”
Could it be that Hanbin had actually gotten the hints and was about to propose? Or is Hao just being completely delusional? Whatever. It’s probably just a normal date. He didn’t want to get his hopes up, so he put that idea in a corner of his mind and tried to forget it.
The potential proposal popped in his head again when they arrived at a fancy restaurant where Hanbin had booked a private room for them with a table beautifully decorated with roses and candles. At this moment all the alarms in his mind went off. Is it really going to happen? Is Hanbin about to propose? Oh my gosh! Hao tried hard to contain his feelings inside and not scream.
As the meal went on, nothing happened. No proposal. Even when the dessert arrived, there was no ring. Hao was sort of expecting to take a bite into that delicious chocolate cake and break his teeth on a ring, but it did not happen. And when Hanbin stood up after their meal was finished, Hao remained stuck to his chair, watching his hopefully-soon-to-be-fiancé’s every move with hope in his eyes. But he only rounded the table to pull Hao’s chair out and take his hand to walk out and continue their date, crushing any hope Hao had left.
No Hanbin on one knee. No ring. No proposal.
Hao is disappointed—by his own fantasies, not by Hanbin. He just thought that maybe today would be the day. But it wasn’t.
Which is totally fine. He doesn’t need a proposal to enjoy this date with the love of his life.
Now, they swing their joined hands as they wander through the quiet street, pausing to admire the window displays.
As they pass by a jewelry shop, Hao’s steps falter, making Hanbin stop too. Hanbin gives him a knowing smile and says, “Let’s go in,” as he drags him inside.
Hanbin knows Hao’s love for jewelry. Hao has already tons at home, but Hanbin keeps buying them for him. He says that it’s not the jewelry that makes Hao look beautiful, but Hao that makes the jewelry looks beautiful—“You’re more beautiful than any jewelry. If anything, that jewelry should feel lucky to be worn by you.” Hao wants to consume Hanbin’s whole being when he says things like that. This man knows perfectly how to charm him.
Hao’s in awe of all the necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and rings displayed around the shop—especially the rings. Yes, Hao is a little obsessed with being proposed to. He dreams of adding an engagement ring next to the promise ring they exchanged years ago.
Among all the rings, one shiny ring adorned with a small diamond catches his eye. The sunlight outside casts a light on it, making it appear as if it stands alone in the middle of all the other rings. It’s like it’s calling out to him.
It’s almost like love at first sight—that’s how Hanbin and he fell in love. This ring mesmerizes him. He can’t keep his eyes off it.
“It’s beautiful,” Hanbin breathes in his ear, breaking Hao’s silent daze and startling him a bit.
“It would look good on my finger,” Hao says, moving his ring finger in an obvious manner. Hanbin doesn’t seem to take notice of his allusion. He slides it on, stretching his hand to take a proper look.
“It suits you perfectly," Hanbin compliments, putting his hand under Hao’s to steady it and places a quick kiss on his temple.
Hao grins widely at the compliment. He thinks so too. This ring is made for him.
“Hello!” a sales assistant interrupts, a huge smile on her face. “Can I help you? Are you looking for something in particular?”
“No, thank you! We’re just looking,” Hanbin replies, an equally huge smile on his face. We’re just looking, Hao thinks. That’s right.
“This ring looks great on you, sir!” she tells Hao before leaving. It sounds genuine, not like a comment she made just to get him to buy it. Hao thanks her, smiling softly as he looks down at the ring on his finger.
It really suits him. He doesn’t buy it, though. It doesn’t matter. He already has a lot of rings and it’s not like he needs this one.
They leave the shop, moving on to the next interesting shop further down the street. The only thing they end up buying is a new toy for Hajoon. Maybe next time they’ll come back, they’ll end up buying rings.
“Hey, my beautiful boyfriend,” Hanbin murmurs in the crook of Hao’s neck, placing a quick kiss there and slipping a hand on his waist under his shirt. “And my adorable baby,” he adds, circling his arms around Hajoon and lifting him up to shower him with kisses, making him giggle uncontrollably.
Hao admires his two favorite boys, smiling from ear to ear at the lovely sight. How did he get so lucky?
“What are my boys making?” Hanbin asks, reaching to dip a finger in the cream for the cake to try some, but Hao slaps his arm away. He licks the cream he managed to take from his finger, chuckling.
“We made dinner and now we’re making a strawberry cake because Joonie wanted one.” And who is Hao to say no to his adorable, tiny, cutie, pookie bear?
He was never a good baker, but since Hajoon was born, he started baking more and more just to please his son. Hajoon has a sweet tooth that needs to be satisfied and Hao loves doing just that. He cherishes those baking moments because most of the time Hajoon helps him, and he seems to enjoy it a lot. It’s always so much fun spending time with his baby.
Hanbin looks around at all the food and salivates just from looking at it. “Wow! You’re so perfect,” he exclaims, kissing Hao right on the lips.
Hao places a hand on his chest and closes his eyes in a confident manner. “So husband material,” he murmurs, insisting on the husband part and basking in the compliment.
Hanbin laughs, “Right—” His phone rings, making Hao jump. And Hanbin does something unusual, he leaves the room to take the call. To anyone, this might seem like the most normal thing ever, but for Hao it’s weird. The way Hanbin is behaving right now is weird. When he checked the caller ID, he tensed and when Hao asked who it was, he was vague about it.
Normally, they take their calls next to the other. It’s never been a problem, they have nothing to hide, and it doesn’t bother any of them. The only time they don’t is when there’re other people around. So the fact that Hanbin left just now to take that call is super suspicious. It’s just a phone call, but Hanbin always stays in the room whenever it’s just them. Hao finds it strange.
When he comes back, he looks oddly happy, even more than he was just a moment ago. “What’s got you smiling like that?”
“Nothing. I’m just happy to see you!” Hanbin grins widely, already by his side again and ruffling his hair.
Hao lets it go, not wanting to sound annoying with more questions, but he thinks about it for the rest of the day.
While the others are playing a very heated game of uno in the living room, trying really hard to contain the swear words that are not appropriate for the little kid sitting on Ricky’s lap, Hao and Taerae cut some fruits in the kitchen.
By all the noise and yelling that can be heard from the living room, you’d think they’re playing a much more serious game.
They laugh when they hear Yujin accidentally letting out a swear word and Hanbin scolding him the second the word comes out. Hao can’t see them, but he’s sure Hanbin covered Hajoon’s ears and that Hajoon is trying to remove his dad’s hands right now. He also knows that his baby is pouting as he’s doing it—he learned that from him.
In the middle of cutting an apple, Hao feels a tug on his pants. He looks down to see Hajoon, looking up at him to get his attention.
“Baba,” he says cutely.
Hao wipes his hand on the nearest cloth and push the knife away to make space for Hajoon to sit on the stool next to him. “Yes, puppy?”
Hajoon opens his mouth to say something, noticing something else, he closes it and stares at Taerae’s hand. “Oh.” That oh is pronounced in the cutest way ever with his mouth forming an o and big curious eyes. “Pretty,” he beams, pointing at the ring on Taerae’s left hand. That child has an eye for beautiful jewelry, just like his dad, Hao thinks.
Taerae grins. “You like it?” he asks, raising his hand in the air for Hajoon to see better. Hajoon nods eagerly. “It’s my wedding ring,” he comments proudly.
Hajoon makes a confused face. “Huh?” His gaze moves between Hao’s hand and Taerae’s, and he touches Hao’s rings, intrigued. “Baba has rings too.”
“Yes, but not like this one,” Hao explains, smiling at how adorable his son looks with his confused frown.
“I have this one because Jiwoong and I are married,” Taerae clarifies.
“Married? Why?”
Taerae laughs. “Because we love each other.”
Hajoon’s thought process is visible on his face, you can see the exact moment it clicks in his mind. “Like appa and baba?” Hao smiles.
“Yes!” Taerae exclaims, amused by the kid.
Hajoon turns to Hao, looking at him with curiosity. “Baba?”
“Hm?” Hao hums.
“Are you married like Taewae?” He touches Hao’s rings again. Taerae cackles, earning a slap on the arm from Hao.
“No, baby.”
“Why?”
Hao sighs in amusement. Children and their endless questioning… Hao doesn’t have the answer either.
A smirk appears on his face when he gets an idea. This is an opportunity to drop a hint again. Hehe.
“You should ask appa.” He grins mischievously and puts his hands on Hajoon’s shoulder as if he was motivating him before a football game. “Go ask appa why baba and he are not married. But appa can’t know I told you to go. It’s a secret, okay, baby?” Hao puts a finger in front of his mouth in a shushing gesture. Hajoon nods, clearly ready to take on the mission. He mirrors Hao’s gesture with his finger and pretends to seal his lips. Where did he learn that?
Hao pushes him slightly toward the door and gives him a thumbs up to encourage him.
“Are you seriously using your own child to get what you want?” Taerae says, lurking behind Hao’s shoulder.
Hao turns to Taerae. “He’s not proposing! Even with all the hints I’ve been giving! Ugh,” he whispers-yell, sighing in frustration. “We’ve been together for a decade, we’ve got a whole child, and we’re still not married!” He groans. “I’m starting to think he doesn’t want to marry me.”
“If you want to marry him so bad, just ask,” Taerae blurts as though it is the most obvious thing ever. “Why wait for him to propose if you can just do it instead?”
“I want him to be the one to ask,” Hao stands his ground, crossing his arms over his chest. “It’s romantic.”
“Okay, princess,” Taerae mocks, laughing at Hao’s dramatic ass. “If you don’t want to do it, then be patient.”
“But I want to marry him!” he pouts.
All gazes are fixed on Hajoon as he enters the room—like subjects watching their prince. That child has everyone whipped and wrapped around his finger.
He goes straight to his dad, taking a seat on his lap. “Why appa and baba are not married, appa?” he asks, stealing the cards from Hanbin’s hand when he’s distracted by the sudden, unexpected question. Everyone snorts in the room and one of them says, “I love that child!”
Hanbin’s expression warp into surprise. What is he supposed to answer to this?
Not getting any answer, Hajoon looks up at Hanbin expectantly with big, innocent eyes. Hanbin smiles because his baby is just too adorable.
“Hao! Why is our child asking me why we’re not married?” he asks suspiciously, speaking loud enough for Hao to hear from the kitchen.
Hao’s head appear in the doorframe, and he shrugs his shoulders. “No idea!”
“Taewae said he kisses Jiwoon,” Hajoon continues, keeping the secret and not denouncing Hao. Jiwoong almost chokes on the water he was drinking, and everyone else laugh.
Taerae pops into the room. “I never said that!” he defends, raising a finger in protest.
“Baba and appa kiss too.” Hanbin puts a hand on his mouth to shush him, which only makes Hajoon giggle more.
“But they’re not married,” Taerae remarks, teasing Hao some more. They go back in the kitchen and appear again with plates full of fruits.
Hanbin bends to Hajoon’s ear and whispers something Hao can’t hear.
Hao takes a seat next to Hanbin and feels a hand on his waist not even a second later—his boyfriend has a serious obsession with his waist. Hajoon shifts onto Hao’s lap, settling comfortably.
“What did you whisper in his ear?” Hao asks.
Hanbin smiles. “It’s a secret.”
“Just propose to me already!” it comes out more whiny than expected, almost like a child throwing a tantrum.
How did Hao end up in that situation? Well…
In the two weeks Hao thought it would take for Hanbin to propose, nothing happened. He still kept dropping hints in hope that Hanbin would somehow get it at some point. He became more and more bold as time went by, just wanting Hanbin to finally understand and do something. But Hanbin’s proposal never came, and Hao is very impatient.
That’s why he made the decision to take the matter into his own hands and just straight up tell Hanbin to propose. Lying there on the grass beneath the scorching sun, just the two of them, Hao couldn’t hold back any longer. And that’s how he ended up here, right now, saying this.
How desperate is it on a scale of 1 to 10? Probably a big 9. Hao’s just a desperate man in love who wants to finally get to call his boyfriend of almost eleven years his husband. He doesn’t care how desperate or pathetic he looks.
“Can’t you read hints? I’ve been trying to subtly tell you for weeks!” Hao exclaims, clearly out of it and exhausted from trying so hard and getting no results. “Don’t you want to marry me?” he pouts.
Hanbin laughs lightheartedly, throwing his head back. Hao is taken aback by this reaction. Yes, Hao admits that how desperate he is is funny, but does Hanbin have to laugh about his misery? Hao expected Hanbin to comfort him, or reassure him before laughing at him.
Hanbin doesn’t say a word. He rummages through the pocket of his pants in silence and takes out a small, velvet box after a few seconds. Okay, so maybe Hanbin took the hint. Hao’s heart accelerates, drumming in his chest. Is it what he thinks it is?
It is exactly what he thinks it is. Hanbin opens the box, revealing the ring Hao had been waiting for for so long. It’s finally happening.
“If you had just gave me five more minutes…” Hanbin says softly, still chuckling while Hao’s tears drop and slide down his cheeks. Hanbin cups Hao’s cheeks and wipes the tears away.
“I had a whole speech prepared, but you seem too impatient for that. So, will you make me the happiest man on the planet and marry me, Zhang Hao?” Hanbin murmurs, tears prickling at his eyes.
Hao nods eagerly, unable to say a word at first. “Yes, yes, yes, I will! Of course I will!” he exclaims, leaving kisses on every part of Hanbin’s face in happiness.
Hanbin giggles, envelops Hao in a tight hug and pulls away to take the ring out of the box. He exchanges a tender look with Hao and gently takes his hand to slide the ring right where it belongs.
Hao looks at his hand, a feeling of pride and warmth spreading through his chest as he takes it in. Taking a proper look at the shiny ring adorned with a small diamond, he notices that it’s the exact same ring he tried on at the jewelry shop not long ago. Turns out Hanbin did notice that day. Of course he did.
Hao lets out a sob, weeping like a baby as Hanbin soothes him in his arms, tears falling from his eyes too.
“I’m so happy,” Hanbin whispers after a while, smiling in Hao’s hair. “I did get the hint, baby. You weren’t very subtle about it. And I want to marry you as much as you do,” he says, as a matter of fact.
“When did you get it?”
“Actually, I was thinking about proposing before you started hinting at it. I really decided to do it when you tried that ring on at the jewelry shop,” he explains, taking Hao’s hand and softly stroking the ring with his thumb. “It’s really made for you.”
“I love it!” But he loves Hanbin even more.
“I love you,” Hanbin declares, giving Hao a kiss.
“I love you,” Hao repeats, so smitten by his fiancé. Fiancé! “Wait, if you were already planning to propose, was that call you took the other day related to it?”
“A call? Oh! Yes, it was your dad calling me back.”
“My dad?”
“And your mom. I asked for their approval,” Hanbin admits a bit shyly.
“That’s why you didn’t take the call next to me, and you looked so happy after! God, I found that so weird. But why did you ask for their approval? As if you’d need it. They love you more than me, and they’ve been waiting for us to get married more than us.”
“Definitely not more than you.” Hanbin laughs, earning a playful slap on the shoulder from his fiancé. He seems to remember something. “Do you want to know what I whispered in Hajoon’s ear the other day?” Hanbin smiles slyly.
Hao gives him a curious look, and his eyes widen in realization. “Was that related to the proposal too?”
Hanbin nods, humming in response. “I told him appa will marry baba. I’m surprised he didn’t tell you.”
“Our baby knows how to keep a secret,” he says proudly. Just like his appa, Hao thinks.
All this time, Hanbin had already taken the hints and planned to propose while Hao kept uselessly giving hints. Hao must have looked like an idiot begging for Hanbin to propose when he was already planning to do it.
Hao has finally gotten what he always wanted, a proposal. And soon, he’ll get to marry the love of his life and the father of his child. He’ll get the wedding he always dreamed of. He’ll say yes to Hanbin in front of the people they love. He’ll call Hanbin his husband.
Finding the love of his life: check.
Having a child: check.
Live happily ever after: so far, check.
Marry the knight: soon check.