Suddenly, a thought hit him—a realization that naturally led Ji Se-min to think of Cha-hyeon’s unclaimed reward.
There hadn’t been one right after the Gate clear, but sometime overnight, a new number had appeared. It was that same reward—the one that had briefly brought back the old Cha-hyeon, before the memory loss.
When the count had shifted from one to two, Cha-hyeon said he’d started to sense something—faint traces of how his Hyung used to feel about him, hidden in the void of those lost memories.
Maybe that was why. Even without the memories themselves, being able to feel those emotions had made him more like his old self—the Cha-hyeon before the blackout.
“What are you thinking about?”
Startled from his thoughts, Se-min blinked and quickly focused. Facing Cha-hyeon’s calm smile, he finally recognized what that strange sense of dissonance had been.
The smile. It was the same. The way Cha-hyeon smiled now was almost identical to the one Se-min remembered from before the memory loss. Even though he could clearly see the present Cha-hyeon standing before him, recalling the old one came effortlessly.
Simply put… the current Hyung felt like a mix—half the man he was now, half the one he’d been before.
Was this change because he could now faintly read those old emotions? Two of the three Conditional Reward slots were already filled, after all. Maybe that was why he was becoming more and more like the Hyung Se-min had once known. But strangely enough, it didn’t make him happy. If anything, he just felt… off balance.
“…Ah.”
Se-min murmured softly, trying to come up with an excuse as Cha-hyeon waited patiently for an answer. Luckily, before he could stumble over some awkward explanation, a much more pressing thought came to mind—the proposal.
“It’s nothing. Just—hey, Hyung, don’t plan a proposal or anything, okay? We shouldn’t overlap.”
Se-min straightened his shoulders, speaking with misplaced confidence. Water splashed noisily against the sink below. Cha-hyeon stared at him in silence for a moment before a small laugh escaped his nose.
“So it’s a surprise?”
Could it really be called a surprise when you announced it ahead of time? Still, Se-min had already made up his mind to propose. If Cha-hyeon had planned the same thing for the same day, it’d just be awkward. No—if they were both going to propose, he had to go first.
Getting ahead of it didn’t seem like a bad idea. Besides, Hyung had said he wanted to propose after they’d already talked about marriage, so he probably expected it anyway. And it wasn’t like Se-min had outright said, “I’m going to propose.” …Though honestly, it was close enough.
Se-min tilted his head, nodding and shaking it all at once—uncertain even to himself. His ambiguous gesture drew an amused, exasperated laugh from Cha-hyeon.
“Alright. Got it.”
The easy answer—like he wouldn’t pry any further—made Se-min breathe a little easier. Either way, he’d claimed the first move. That was what mattered.
As the tension eased, his gaze drifted toward the sink, where the water was still running uselessly. What a waste.
“Hyung, if you’re gonna wash the dishes, do it. If not, turn off the water. You’re wasting it.”
“Yes, yes.”
After nagging a bit, Se-min started to leave—then paused, realizing it sounded too cold. It wasn’t like Cha-hyeon was supposed to do the dishes; he was just being considerate. Maybe it had come off too much like a command.
And really, considering they were engaged, walking away while his Hyung—ten years older—was left doing dishes alone didn’t feel right either.
After a moment’s hesitation, Se-min stepped back and slipped his arms around Cha-hyeon’s waist from the side. They’d done plenty since they’d started dating, but he rarely initiated affection himself.
He had to show it more often. People only knew they were loved when you showed them.
Feeling Cha-hyeon’s muscles stiffen in surprise, Se-min immediately regretted not doing this more often. Was it really so rare for him to hug first that Hyung was actually startled?
But then, slowly, the tension in Cha-hyeon’s body eased. His voice, soft and low, brushed against the top of Se-min’s head.
“You’re being so cute, I wanna kiss you—but my hands are full.”
Heat flared across Se-min’s face, a walnut-pattern forming along his jaw as he clenched it. But he’d just decided to be more open with his affection, hadn’t he? With his cheeks flushed red, he tilted his head up, pretending to be calm.
Smooch.
The soft, almost playful sound was followed by the gentle touch of Cha-hyeon’s lips against his cheek—so close to his eye that Se-min instinctively squeezed them shut.
Like a tiny bird pecking him, the kiss was light and fleeting. Embarrassed, Se-min buried his face back between Cha-hyeon’s arm and shoulder.
Cha-hyeon turned back toward the running water, his gaze hardening slightly as he stared at the steady stream.
Ah, that worked like a charm.
***
Though Se-min had all but declared he’d be the one to propose first, when it came down to it, he had no idea where to start.
To him, a “proposal” was something out of a movie—kneeling on one knee, offering a ring. A huge, glittering diamond ring.
Lying on his bed, Se-min pictured himself kneeling before Cha-hyeon, sliding a massive diamond ring onto his finger. With that face and those looks, even a one-carat diamond ring that would look ridiculous on most men would suit Cha-hyeon perfectly, like a fashion ad come to life.
Still, looking good wearing it and actually using it were two different things. He had to think practically. Sure, Hyung would accept it with a smile… but knowing him, he might end up using it as a weapon before ever wearing it—like poking someone in the eye with it.
Se-min couldn’t even deny that possibility completely.
Anyway. The goal was to make it grand, successful, and heartfelt—something that’d make Hyung want to rush to sign the marriage papers right away. To pull that off, Se-min decided to start with the basics: research.
Instagram, Tick-Tok, YouTube Shorts, online forums—he searched them all. Before long, he got a sense of how things usually went.
As Cha-hyeon had said, most people proposed after deciding to hold the ceremony. Venues were usually hotels, restaurants, or living rooms. Scrolling through photo after photo filled with extravagant flowers, candles, balloons, and banners, Se-min murmured,
“Oh, there are companies that do proposal setups…”
He froze mid-sentence. With how sharp Cha-hyeon’s senses were as an S-rank Esper, he worried he might’ve overheard. Thankfully, there was no sound from beyond the door.
“Phew…”
He let out a quiet sigh of relief. Living together did have its drawbacks. Then again, back when he’d been nursing a secret crush, it had been torture trying to hide his feelings while being so close to Hyung. Funny how now he was complaining about the opposite problem—keeping a secret for a surprise.
Half amused, half nostalgic, Se-min smiled to himself and continued scrolling.
The more he read, the clearer his plan became. A huge diamond ring wasn’t right for Cha-hyeon. A wristwatch would be better—he loved collecting them, after all. As for the wedding bands, they could pick those out together later.
The banner? Definitely skipping that. Having their photos and cheesy phrases printed out felt too embarrassing. Most people seemed to write romantic stories about how they met or their hopes for marriage.
Se-min briefly imagined: “When I first met you… I was five years old.” Or maybe, “I think I started having a crush on you in middle school.” He winced immediately. No way. Just picturing saying that made him want to crawl into a hole.
Still… they had known each other since childhood and grown to love each other, but it wasn’t like he was some shameless neighbor kid who’d attended Hyung’s first-birthday party and then started dating him right after turning twenty.
Instead, he decided, he’d splurge on the lighting, flowers, and balloons. For a second, he wondered if he should make it more original—something special that came entirely from him. But honestly, his own ideas didn’t go much further than flowers, candles, and a ring. Maybe it was best to leave it to the professionals.
And the venue… a hotel felt right.
He still remembered how their “first date” had gone up in flames after getting caught in that Dungeon Gate hostage mess. He’d wanted that night to end with a drink at a nice bar and a quiet stay at a hotel. Maybe this was his chance to make up for that.
“Ha…”
Unable to contain the ticklish excitement bubbling in his chest, Se-min let out a long sigh. Just having a plan made him feel one step closer to the day they’d sign the marriage papers.
Finally, unable to hold it in, he punched his mattress with a soft thud.
The day when his name would sit side by side with his beloved Hyung’s on their family registry— it wasn’t far off now.
