Cha-hyeon’s play-dumb act—saying he had a hunch something good would happen today—carried straight through mealtime. He kept piling side dishes onto Se-min’s spoon, endlessly praising how delicious everything was and asking if he’d really made it all himself.
Thanks to that, Se-min ate with his face burning red, wearing a curious expression that mixed half-embarrassment and half-nerves.
Judging by how freely the compliments flowed, Cha-hyeon was obviously in a fantastic mood. And when Cha-hyeon felt good, so did Se-min, so he ended up smiling too. It was such a small, ordinary moment, yet a warm, effervescent happiness bubbled up in his chest. He didn’t even know why. He was just happy; it just felt good. Was it because, once today’s proposal made them spouses, days this happy might keep coming?
Even after they finished eating, the little everyday routine continued. Over nothing more than the dishes, they bickered—Cha-hyeon insisting he’d handle cleanup, and Se-min wanting to give him an unforgettable day, even if it meant doing something as mundane as washing up. In the end, Cha-hyeon did the soaping and Se-min handled the rinsing.
Two grown men shoulder to shoulder at the sink was obviously inconvenient and inefficient. But isn’t love the sort of thing where you don’t mind inefficiency? Spinning a romantic philosophy out of a single round of dishwashing, Se-min felt his heart flutter even at the constant brush of their arms.
“So what now? Shower? If we shower now, is that too early?”
After a dishwashing session that took twice as long as usual, Cha-hyeon turned off the faucet and asked in a teasing tone. Even if he tried to play innocent, the mood of “I’m having way too much fun” came through loud and clear. Se-min answered as calmly as he could.
“If you want to shower now, just shower…. I was thinking we’d head out around four.”
“Aha. Then we should time it so we wash up and get ready right around then, yeah?”
Noting the time—close to noon—Cha-hyeon’s eyes curved. He counted on his fingers like he was doing the math. After folding down a couple of fingers, he lowered his hand.
“What do we do while we wait? Watch a movie at home?”
As smoothly as he steered the situation, the truth was, Se-min was pressed for time. Clearing his throat, he spoke up.
“…But I’m going to start getting ready now.”
That finally made Cha-hyeon turn his body aside and rub the corner of his mouth. He did a dry wash of his face, fighting back a grin, then nodded like he understood.
“Mm-hm. I see. How pretty are you planning to get if it takes four hours? Is today really some special day?”
“…Hyung, just laugh already….”
Despite the gentle teasing, Se-min stuck to his plan without wavering.
After showering with more care than usual, he drove to the salon he’d booked—a famous spot where idols and actors got styled.
Up to the moment he made the reservation, he wondered if he was going overboard, but thinking of it as a once-in-a-lifetime day for his man, this didn’t even feel like “too much.” The proposal was practically guaranteed not to get rejected, but there was no harm in looking devastatingly handsome.
He washed his hair again, had it styled with a dryer and wax, and even got that natural-but-meticulous makeup. Before he knew it, over two hours had flown by.
“Wow….”
Catching sight of himself under the soft white lights in the mirror, Se-min couldn’t help a breathless sound of admiration.
He’d always considered himself decent-looking on a normal day, but once a professional’s touch ran from head to toe… how to put it. It was like there was a celebrity who looked exactly like this polished-up version of Se-min, and people would say everyday Se-min resembled that celebrity. Judging by how the kind salon staff showered him with compliments like a cascade, it wasn’t just his imagination.
When he put on the suit he’d kept ready so it wouldn’t wrinkle, he actually wondered, “Is this really me?” He didn’t wear suits often, so it felt a bit awkward, but he liked how he looked so much that the discomfort didn’t matter.
Unable to hold back his rising delight, he even took a rare selfie, then headed home. He pulled into the underground parking lot with ten minutes to spare before four.
Right on cue, the proposal service sent the final photos. The hotel room was lavishly decked out with balloons, colorful flowers, glitter, and ambient candles. On the table, the gifts he’d bought were arranged so the brand logos faced perfectly. The watch—standing in for a diamond ring—sat right at the center.
It matched the mock-up perfectly—nothing to fix, nothing to add. Overcome by a rush of excitement, Se-min let out a breath full of anticipation.
“Haa….”
Feeling his heart pounding, he couldn’t help the surge and gave the steering wheel two quick whacks—thud, thud! The reality that all that was left now was the actual proposal crashed over him like a wave.
Exhaling a tight, nervous breath, he leaned back against the seat and called Cha-hyeon. The brief dial tone on the other end only intensified the sense that his heart might fly out of his mouth.
— Hello?
“…Ah, Hyung. I’m in the underground parking lot. Are you all ready?”
He heard a little laugh through the receiver. Maybe because it was over the phone, the laugh sounded lower than usual.
— Yeah, almost.
“When you’re ready, come down slowly.”
— Okaaay.
Unlike his pounding heart, his voice had sounded fairly calm. Hanging up, Se-min checked his appearance once more in the side mirror.
While he was appreciating the face that looked unfamiliar yet more handsome than usual, there came a knock, knock on the window. He hurried to pretend he hadn’t been checking his reflection and turned his head toward the passenger seat.
The passenger door opened. With a painted-on smile, Cha-hyeon bent at the waist to meet his eyes, and the corners of his mouth gradually slackened. One eyebrow arched, his lips rounding.
“…Oh.”
That small, unfiltered exclamation rippled through the quiet car. Hearing that raw reaction sent a tingle to his fingertips and toes. A slow smile spread across Cha-hyeon’s face. Settled into the passenger seat now, he looked at Se-min like he was seeing him anew.
Under that prickling-hot gaze, even the space around his heart felt itchy. Trying to keep it together, Se-min swallowed as quietly as he could and feigned nonchalance.
“You look really pretty today, Se-min.”
Admiration laced with sincerity. As his Hyung’s gaze swept down his body with open satisfaction, Se-min thought for the hundredth, thousandth time that going overboard had been worth it.
“You’re pretty too, Hyung.”
“I’m pretty?”
Cha-hyeon snorted like he’d heard something ridiculous. But to Se-min, he really was pretty. Maybe he himself had gone overboard, but the neat outfit and the hairstyle half-covering his forehead made it obvious Cha-hyeon had put in real effort too.
“Yeah. For real.”
After today, this pretty man would be his. Resolute, Se-min pressed his lips together and opened the map app.
Forty minutes from home to the fine-dining place he’d booked. Exactly according to plan. With everything sliding into place just as he’d laid it out, he had a good feeling.
This was Seoul, where the roads were always clogged, so they ended up about five minutes behind the ETA—but he’d planned for that.
Arriving at the restaurant about ten minutes before their reservation, he felt himself growing calmer. Maybe he’d been wound too tight while preparing the proposal, because once it came to the real thing, a big, almost outsized confidence swelled inside him.
“I have a five o’clock reservation under Ji Se-min.”
The fine-dining spot he’d booked focused on Korean cuisine. Guided by the server into a private, enclosed room and placing their order, Se-min looked across at Cha-hyeon, who wore an easy, constant smile.
Sitting opposite him, Cha-hyeon kept that soft smile like everything was hilarious. Thinking back, he hadn’t shown the slightest sign of nerves from the start. When their eyes met, he crinkled them at the corners and smiled.
“Our Se-min even brings me someplace like this. Hyung’s so happy, you know?”
“Ahem, hem. You’ve taken me to lots of nice places too.”
Staring down at the wine-pairing course he didn’t really understand, Se-min answered like it was nothing. The corners of Cha-hyeon’s mouth, lifted nonstop until then, tightened just a fraction. After a brief silence, as if he hadn’t heard what Se-min said, he continued.
“A surprise like this, huh. So that’s why you kept yesterday’s date plan a secret, hmm….”
Drawing out the last syllables as he looked him over from head to toe, he smiled with the muscles near his dimples when Se-min raised his head again. In the pleasantly dim room, their expressions didn’t stand out sharply.
“Hyung, you’re going to have wine, right?”
“Wine. Sounds great.”
Cha-hyeon pulled the paper in front of him closer and read it. His black eyes—snake-like—slid slowly from top to bottom. While he read off wine names that meant nothing to Se-min, something seemed to occur to him.
“By the way, should we hire a designated driver?”
Se-min’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he fiddled with the neatly printed pairing-course sheet. Maybe because of the properly knotted tie, his throat felt even drier.
“I’m driving, so you drink. Coke’s fine for me.”
Playing it off with what sounded like composure, he put on a calm face. Propping his chin, Cha-hyeon rubbed his lower lip with his index finger, trying to hide a fleeting grin. But unlike the half-hidden mouth, his openly intent gaze landed squarely on Se-min. Even so, Se-min kept up his clumsy act.
“…Mm, ah, never mind. I want some wine too—what do I do. There’s actually a hotel bar I’ve been wanting to try. Should we grab another drink there later?”
Still resting his chin on his hand, Cha-hyeon watched him. Seeing his Hyung obviously trying not to laugh, and unlike his usual subtle flirting, Se-min flustered and tacked on something awkwardly.
“S-since we’ll be there anyway, we could just stay the night. Then we wouldn’t need a driver….”
In the end, Cha-hyeon dropped his head. His back began to tremble in little fits.
