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Mira was in love with you.
This was a fact of life. She loved you. Loved you to the moon and back. Loved everything there was about you.
She had known early on that you were the one for her. And it had scared her at first. Scared her to realize how deeply she had grown to care for you in such a short amount of time. Because what if you didn’t feel the same? What if you didn’t love her the way she loved you?
But you did. You proved that time and time again that you loved her so much and cared so much for Mira. That you accepted and loved all of her, the good and the bad, unconditionally.
How could Mira be anything but head over heels in love with you? It was a love she couldn’t keep buried; the numerous interviews she’s been on that have been derailed by her talking about you were just as much proof of that as all the times she’d been dragged back to Celine’s home on Jeju Island for training as punishment.
But training, punishments, and scoldings would never be enough to make her stop being so disgustingly in love with you. She was a lovergirl at heart, born to love and cherish those around her. How could someone ask her not to tell the world how in love she was with you?
Sometimes while she was with you, she'd find herself just staring at your hand. Imagining a ring on it.
A ring that Mira had chosen months ago after countless sleepless nights perusing jewelers all over Seoul and other cities to find the perfect one.
A ring that she has been carrying in her pocket for the last few weeks.
She thumbed the small box through the fabric of her sweatpants, eyes lingering over the names she had scribbled in the margins of her notebook, right next to the lyrics she’d been working on.
Her name, with your surname next to it. Your name with her own last name. Written in every bit of space she could fit the names in.
She liked the thought of having your surname—but god, something about you having hers had her heart racing in her chest. A permanent claim over you, proof that you were hers and she was yours, right in your name.
Flipping to a blank page, she wrote out your names combined a few more times, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth as she imagined you signing documents with her surname.
Mira knew it was unlikely that you would ever take her name. It just wasn’t common practice in Korea; hell, she’d been surprised to hear from Zoey that it was practically expected of a spouse to take the other's name in marriage in the States. But…she still liked the idea. Liked to imagine you with hers.
Would you like her last name, too? Would it make your heart pound as it did for her?
“You’re completely lovesick,” she chided herself with a laugh, as if that wasn't exactly how she wanted to be, pushing stray strands of hair from her face before pulling the small box from her pocket.
Inside was a simple silver band, with a few of your favorite gemstones elegantly arranged on top, and a promise of love engraved on the inside. In the shadow of the box, the colors were darker, warmer, and discreet, hidden from the world. But when brought to the light, the gems shone brightly, like stars in the sky. Just like you.
“Would they like you?” Mira asked as she held the ring between two fingers, letting it glitter under the fluorescent light above, tracing her thumb along the smooth surface. “I hope so. I hope they say yes.”
Ever since she had gotten the ring and begun carrying it, Mira had been struggling with how to propose. There was no question in her mind that you were the one, that she wanted to marry you.
But she didn’t know how to ask you.
She had considered it one time while on a dinner date with you at a fancy restaurant. The dining hall had been dimly lit, romantic, the ring felt like a burning weight in her purse, and you had looked so beautiful across from her. Mira had been so tempted to drop to her knee right then and there and ask you.
But it hadn’t felt right. Asking you such an intimate question while surrounded by strangers. Would that be pressuring you into saying yes? Would the presence of other diners become invasive once she brought out the ring? The proposal becoming a spectacle?
The moment had come and gone while she was still debating, and the two of you had eaten your food and gone back home while the ring remained hidden in her purse.
She’d thought of it while walking along the Han River with you. It was the first truly nice day of spring they’d had that year, and the sun was out.
She’d considered it while you and she were on the penthouse balcony, watching a gorgeous sunset over the city while Rumi and Zoey laughed from the main room as they played Mario Kart.
Mira almost proposed on a night while driving back to the city from a trip out of town, unable to bear how beautiful you looked as you leaned against the door, half-asleep.
Each time, Mira had watched you like you were the entire universe, born of stardust and burning bright. Each time, the moment passed, and she was unable to ask.
She’d considered hiding it among a bouquet of flowers or cupcakes, along with a letter asking, and then sending them to you. She’d thought of making a huge, romantic dinner and asking you to come home.
At one point, Mira had even spent three hours with Zoey planning an elaborate scavenger hunt around the city that would hit all the locations that held a special place for the two of you, with Mira being at the end of the hunt, waiting on her knee, asking you to marry her. But Rumi talked them out of it.
She wanted to marry you; that wasn’t in any doubt. But none of the ways she could think of for how to ask felt right.
The movies and books always made a proposal sound easy. When people talked about their engagements, they always made it sound like it was the simplest thing ever. Just grab a ring, get on your knee, and ask.
But for Mira, this was the hardest moment of her life.
None of the proposals she thought of could encompass all the things in Mira’s head, all the love in her heart, in her blood, in her soul.
The sound of keys jingling stopped her in her tracks, and she nearly dropped the ring in her haste to put it back in the box. She had only just slipped it into her pocket when the door opened, and you stepped inside, looking haggard from a long day of work, your cheeks and the tip of your nose tinged red from the chill outside.
“I’m home,” you announced with a smile in your voice that never failed to make Mira’s heart twist in her chest.
Mira hopped up from her spot and rushed to the entryway, wrapping her arms around your waist, pulling you into a hug before you could even slip your shoes off. “Welcome home,” she greeted, feeling better now that you were here. “How was your day?”
You laughed, tilting your head until your mouth found hers, greeting Mira with a kiss that always made her melt. “Boring. But it’s better now that I’m with you.”
Now that you are with her.
Mira held you tighter, unable to fight the smile on her face.
She held you like that for a while longer, wanted to hold you like that forever, until you started squirming, laughing as you pulled yourself out of Mira’s hold.
You put your keys on the bowl at the door, slipped your coat onto the rack, and Mira followed you deeper into the shared apartment you called home. Watching you sink onto the couch, sunlight falling over you in narrow strips that slipped through the closed blinds.
It was this, Mira realized.
This moment, standing in the living room, you have come home from a tiring day of dance practice and rehearsals, watching you go soft at being back home, their home. Feeling their life surround them in the form of post-it reminders on the fridge, photos littering the walls, little bits and bobs on the shelves and tables, a worn blanket tossed over the back of the couch.
This. Normal. Simple and mundane. This was what Mira imagined when she thought of a future with you.
Nothing elaborate or fancy. Just you and her, existing together. Happy. In love. Content.
She realized with a start that she wasn’t breathing. That she hadn’t prepared nearly enough.
Her hand squeezed the ring box in her pocket. This was the moment. She could feel it. Mira just needed to take that step, say those words. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t thought of what to say, hadn’t mentally written and revised whole speeches in slow moments, spent hours practicing in front of a mirror.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want this, either. You meant more to her than anything. Mira would fistfight God and Gwi-Ma both to be with you.
“Hey…” she managed, her voice slow.
You turned towards her, your brows furrowing, and Mira realized she must have looked terrified and ridiculous. At least, she felt terrified and ridiculous.
“Yeah?” you answered after a moment.
Mira took a step towards you, all those practiced speeches and declarations forgotten. “Um,” she tried again, swallowing hard as she tried to grasp for her words. It had never been hard for her before to talk about how much she loved you, so why was it so difficult now? “You know you’re the most important person to me, right?”
She took another step towards you, her palm felt sweaty as she held tight to the ring box. “You’re amazing. You’ve made my life so much better. I love you more than anything, than anyone, nothing would ever make me stop loving you…”
The confusion had returned to your face. “Mira, what’s going on?” you sounded concerned. Which was very much not what Mira wanted.
So, she took a deep breath. Focused on that beautiful face in front of her, on the apartment the two of you had made a home, on how absolute her feelings for you were. Some of the nervousness unknotted in Mira’s heart, and she found herself smiling.
“I love you, I’m never going to stop loving you,” Mira said again. Her voice was far more certain this time, adamant. She pulled the box from her pocket and slowly sank to a knee. Her smile was probably still a little frightened, still a little worried. But she held out the ring box, popped it open with her thumb. “Will you marry me?”
You were staring.
At Mira. At the ring.
Your mouth opened and shut twice like a gaping fish, unable to make a sound as your eyes flickered back and forth between the two.
A few seconds passed, and Mira felt the nervousness return. “Um… what do you say?” she tried again, the confidence quickly leaving her voice.
She hadn’t misread the signs, had she? All the conversations? All the looks? The almost four years that she had been with you? Were you just not as interested in her as she—
You were crying.
Immediately, Mira was torn from her fears as she saw the tears rolling down your cheeks.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, jumping to her feet. Did she do something wrong? Were you that upset about the proposal? “What’s—I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have—”
“Can you put it on me?”
Your voice had come out in a whisper, and Mira almost hadn’t caught it.
Hesitantly, you held out your hand, and she felt her words catch in her throat. You weren’t upset at her. At the proposal.
“…Yeah…” Mira murmured, taking your hand in hers and carefully sliding the ring onto your finger. It fit like a glove. Made just for you.
You smiled as you held your hand up to admire the ring. Your eyes glisten wet and sparkling in awe. “It’s beautiful,” you sounded so in awe. As if you didn’t believe this ring could be for you.
“You’re beautiful,” Mira corrected, fidgeting where she stood. “Does this mean…yes?”
You were laughing now, looking away from the ring to give her a bemused look, “If you think I ever would have said no...” You shook your head. "I love you, Mira, I always will. Everything you said? I feel the same for you."
Mira smiled, her fear and anxiety quickly melting away into the warmth of her adoration for you. “I know, but…I wanted to hear you say it,” she admitted, leaning closer to you.
“If that’s the case,” there was no preamble, no buildup. You simply cupped her face and dragged her into a kiss, murmuring ‘yes’ each time you pulled away for air.