Once a rough plan was in place, everything else fell smoothly into motion. Selecting the vendor, planning the date course, reserving the hotel room, choosing a concept, making payments—and finally, deciding on the most important item: the proposal gift.
As originally planned, Ji Se-min decided to buy a watch instead of a diamond ring. He started sneaking into the dressing room now and then to check out the watches Sung Cha-hyeon owned, secretly snapping photos of them. Then he searched online for men’s watches, narrowing down the options to a few that seemed nice, and from those, he picked the ones that matched his hyung’s taste. Finally, he double-checked to make sure none of them were models Cha-hyeon already had.
After that, Se-min went to the department store himself to see the three finalists in person. Since he’d chosen carefully, all three looked great—but after much consideration, he finally picked the one that seemed to suit Cha-hyeon best. Of course, he flinched when he saw the price tag—it was about as much as a foreign car—but the moment he imagined the look on Cha-hyeon’s face, the hesitation disappeared.
His hyung, eyes sparkling as he admired the watch.
His hyung, smiling as he slipped it around his wrist.
His hyung, accepting the gift—and his proposal—with that bright grin.
His hyung, when someone asked about the new watch, casually saying it was his proposal gift.
Just picturing it made Se-min grin without realizing.
It’s a once-in-a-lifetime proposal. What, I can’t even spend this much on the most important day of my man’s life?
Once excitement and pride took over, spending more became surprisingly easy. Originally, the watch was supposed to be it—but soon, other things began catching his eye.
A belt. A fountain pen. Cufflinks. A bag. Everything seemed like it would suit Cha-hyeon perfectly. Come to think of it, when he’d searched “proposal gifts,” bags were highly recommended too.
Maybe a backpack would be best? A leather one goes with both casual and formal looks. He could use it every day, too.
Right there on the spot, Se-min decided to buy a bag as well. He tried recalling the ones Cha-hyeon already owned. Unlike his growing watch collection, his bags were few—easy to remember.
He picked a neat leather backpack with an embossed logo—subtle yet stylish. Since he was already in the store, he decided to throw in a tie and belt, too. Another deep navy shopping bag joined the pile.
By the time he left the department store, his hands were heavy with gifts, but his heart felt light. On the drive home, he kept sneaking glances at the shopping bags on the passenger seat, struggling not to hum out loud.
Now all he had to do was keep everything hidden until the proposal. He carefully moved the bags into the trunk so they wouldn’t get wrinkled.
By the time he arrived home, his hands were empty again, but his smile refused to fade. His heart was fluttering pleasantly. He couldn’t wait to see his hyung’s reaction. Even though he’d scheduled the proposal for the soonest possible day, it still felt unbearably far away.
“I’m home! …Wait, why are you coming out of my room?”
Beaming, Se-min stopped short as he saw Cha-hyeon stepping out of his room by the entryway, a few old photo albums in his arms.
“Ah, you’re back? I was just looking for something.”
Cha-hyeon held up the albums as he spoke. Though puzzled for a moment, Se-min nodded. That must’ve been what he was looking for.
After taking off his shoes and switching into house slippers, Se-min walked over. Once he was ready, Cha-hyeon started toward the living room.
“Gonna look through the albums?”
“Yeah. I remembered you said you had some in your room.”
That did sound familiar. When had he said that? As Se-min tried to recall, Cha-hyeon set the albums on the table, and Se-min naturally sank onto the sofa.
“So why the sudden interest? Feeling nostalgic?”
“Shouldn’t you wash your hands first?”
“Ah, right.”
Se-min jumped up like he’d been caught. He dashed to the bathroom, quickly washed his hands, and returned just as Cha-hyeon opened one of the albums.
“All clean.”
Shaking the water from his hands, Se-min sat down beside him, leaning closer.
Now that he looked, it was his album. It reminded him of those old dramas he used to watch with his grandma, where a parent would say to a guest, ‘Here, look through the album while you wait.’
Still glowing from the emotions of earlier—buying the proposal gifts, imagining the moment—Se-min easily slipped into that soft, sentimental mood.
But the feeling didn’t last. Cha-hyeon wasn’t leisurely flipping through the pages; he was skimming them, quick and efficient, like someone searching for a document.
“…Is there a photo you’re looking for?”
Se-min asked carefully. The motion of Cha-hyeon’s hand paused. His lips curved faintly, then deepened into a dimpled smile.
“Not exactly looking, more like…”
His gaze shifted slightly to the side, as if he were mulling something over. His voice softened.
“There’s something that keeps coming to mind. I wanted to see if it’s really there.”
Something he wanted to confirm?
Before Se-min could ask, the pages rustled again. A hint of sharpness flickered in Cha-hyeon’s eyes.
“Ah.”
That quiet sound of realization drew Se-min’s gaze to the page. The photos were old, reddish from age and poor quality—but the one Cha-hyeon stared at showed a young Se-min in an apron, grinning brightly at the camera.
His bangs were tied up with a rubber band like a little apple stem, and he was holding a bunch of toy fruits. It must’ve been during a pretend play session. At that moment, of all things, Se-min remembered why he’d decided not to use a banner for his proposal, and his face burned hot.
“Ahem…”
Feeling awkward, Se-min cleared his throat. But Cha-hyeon kept quietly scanning the photos, moving on to the next page. That one, too, was filled with pictures of young Se-min playing house in the toy kitchen.
Even though embarrassment lingered, curiosity began to rise. They were just ordinary childhood photos—so what about them had caught Cha-hyeon’s attention?
But before he could ask, Cha-hyeon began flipping through the album again. Every so often, he’d stop and stare at a particular photo before moving on, for reasons Se-min couldn’t guess.
After finishing the entire album, Cha-hyeon closed the cover and placed it neatly on top of the stack.
Then, he slowly leaned back against the sofa, fingers interlaced over his stomach. Relaxed, eyes closed.
“……”
Silence filled the room. The mood wasn’t what Se-min had expected, so he sat there uncertainly, glancing between the albums and his hyung. When Cha-hyeon loosened his hands and beckoned him over, Se-min hesitated only briefly before leaning into his arms. It must’ve been the right move—Cha-hyeon’s hold gradually tightened.
The steady, low rhythm of his heartbeat was comforting. Even with his eyes closed, Cha-hyeon stayed quiet. Watching him, Se-min began releasing a gentle flow of guiding energy—not because it was needed, but as a silent way of asking, “Is something wrong?”
The unexpected guiding made Cha-hyeon chuckle softly. Through their skin, the energy trickled in, warm and ticklish.
“You’re being cute.”
“…I wasn’t trying to be cute.”
Se-min quickly corrected him, but Cha-hyeon only smirked, pretending not to hear. His hand began to move, idly brushing along Se-min’s waist. It was the kind of touch that could feel casual—or deliberate.
To Se-min, it definitely felt like the latter. His stomach tensed as he swallowed quietly.
“Did you finish looking through the album?”
“Yeah.”
“…And that thing you wanted to check—did you find it?”
Slowly, Cha-hyeon opened his eyes. Even under the soft light, his gaze was dark and sharp, drifting around the room as if taking in every detail for the first time.
His eyes moved from the large window to the view beyond, to the marble wall, the air purifier, the TV, the clock—taking in everything before he finally spoke. His tone was calm, but his words curved unexpectedly.
“Se-min, do you… happen to have a fantasy about starting married life in some old, rundown house?”
