#exocium

It had been 3 weeks since you last saw your husband as he had to attend a business trip in Japan. Truthfully, you and your husband weren’t really the clingy type. Unlike some couples you knew, distance actually had a positive effect on your relationship. Being away from each other at times helped keep you both sane. You were confident enough in your relationship that distance, spending time with friends, having drinks with officemates after work, was never an issue. From the very beginning you agreed that friends, family, and work should never be an issue in a relationship. What’s important is making time for each other.

However, spending 3 weeks away from your loving husband who cooked, cleaned, and made love to you almost every night had you feeling like a love-crazed deprived wife whose husband never comes home. It didn’t help that you were currently 11 weeks along and in 3 of those weeks, your husband had been away.

And that’s how Kyungsoo found himself attacked the moment he opened the door to your house. You latched onto him immediately; arms wrapping around his shoulders and legs around his waist. You told him how much you missed him and almost cried at the feel of him wrapping his arms around you and burying his face around your neck. Even his smell drove you mad.

You weren’t the only one who had been deprived though. Kyungsoo tightly hugged you and whispered sweet words about how much he missed you and thought about coming home and sleeping next to you every night. For a while, the two of you had stayed in each other’s warm embrace.

After some time though, he started to feel uncomfortable and asked that you go down. He hadn’t taken his coat and scarf off yet and wanted badly to be rid of the extra layers. You had refused to be separated from him however so Kyungsoo had no choice but to accept it as you hurriedly stripped him of his coat and scarf and got on his back to continue hugging him.

"You were gone too long." Kyungsoo felt goosebumps at the desperation and hurt in your voice and set his mug down. He knew he left you at a bad time. You weren’t far along into your pregnancy yet but you were constantly anxious about it after you found out. Every little thing that went wrong at home or at work would have almost caused you to break down if it weren’t for Kyungsoo calming you with soft whispers and gentle pats on the back. You also began to crave a lot of attention, he thought. Kyungsoo sighed. "I'm sorry. They had us extend another week because of some problems."

"You were supposed to be home last Friday."

"I know, love. I'm sorry."

On your end, you knew you were being an annoying brat. And truth be told, Kyungsoo would usually never allow you to get away with it but it was in the first few weeks of your pregnancy that you started to notice his strictness turn down a notch. He seemed to be softer and more tolerant of your teasing and moods; even when they were unreasonable and over the top at times.

So you started abusing it, knowing full well Kyungsoo wants nothing more than to give you whatever you wanted to ensure you were constantly happy. You felt a bit guilty knowing how apologetic he had been on the phone when he delivered the news that he'd be gone another week. And you knew very well the moment he stepped through that door that he was apologetic as hell.

You should have just accepted that apology and sweet reunion by the front door. But you weren't going to because you'll be milking the hell out of this opportunity you were given.

"Stop making coffee." You ordered, voice muffled as you kissed his shoulder and kept your lips there. Kyungsoo sighed again but stood still. "What do you want me to do?" He asked, voice soft and gentle even though you knew he was probably getting tired of this. "I want to cuddle." You had the audacity to feel a bit of shame. You were well aware that Kyungsoo was tired from his flight and wanted coffee so as not to fall asleep too early. Kyungsoo hated having his body clock ruined so that he never slept no matter how tired he was during the day. He had to sleep on time to wake up on time and to wake up feeling well rested. But again, the pregnant lady in you wanted to be spoiled rotten today.

"You seem to be on the right track already." He joked, turning around to look pointedly at your state behind him. You pursed your lips to hold in a laugh. Kyungsoo chuckled, feeling you tense up. "A real cuddle, please. Kyungsoo I missed you." At that, Kyungsoo tapped your bum softly before slowly easing you down. He faced you and embraced you tightly.

See, it wasn’t just that he had been physically away for some time. You've been stressed since you found out about your pregnancy. Truth be told you weren't really sure you wanted kids; motherhood was not something you were confident in. Kyungsoo knows about this and has assured you a hundred times over that it wouldn’t matter. It only helped a little though because that nagging feeling of not being a good partner always stayed with you. But you’ve also imagined having little yous and little Kyungsoos running around the house and so you never bothered to stop Kyungsoo whenever he wanted unprotected sex. Plus you couldn’t help but enjoy sex a tad bit better without that little barrier keeping you from completely feeling him.

But now that you're here, you've been anxious ever since. You lacked sleep, didn't eat as much, and always needed reassurance that things were going to be okay.

Kyungsoo kissed the top of your head. "I'm here, I'm already here." He gently swayed the both of you, arms still wrapped around your body. You felt tears in your eyes. "I missed you so much. I felt lonely here."

"I know. It's my fault. I'm sorry."

"Your mom often came to visit but it's not like I could jump on her and ask her to whisper sweet nothings to comfort me."

"Please don't, you'd give her a heart attack."

The two of you chuckled.

For a while, the two of you stayed that way. Arms around each other; finding comfort in the silence. It would be later that night, after you’ve eaten dinner (care of your personal chef Do Kyungsoo) and washed up, that your husband would caress and kiss every part of your body and make love to you the way only he knew how; closing and ending the 3-week longing that made your heart ache.

-

“Tell your mom what happened.” He simply said and started sweeping the floor; broken pieces of glass being swept toward his direction and away from your son’s little feet. “What happened sweetie?” Your son looked up at you with tears in his eyes and the corners of his mouth tugged down. You should have been heartbroken over the sight but you can’t help but feel like your son was the cutest boy in the world. His rosy cheeks, plump lips, and big doe eyes are so reminiscent of his father’s. And if there’s another similarity he shared with his father, it was that he refused to cry even with tears threatening to spill down his cheeks.

“Let’s get you away from the mess. You might step on a small glass, come on.” You took his hand as Kyungsoo silently leaned down to inspect if there were any stray bits of glass on the floor. “What happened, big guy?” You asked gently, crouching down in front of your son when you were in the living room. “I accidentally fall the cup.” Your son answers in his own cute way, grammar and tenses still incorrect. Again, your heart swells at his cuteness. “The cup accidentally fell?” He nodded.

“What were you doing before that?” “Eating cookies.” “Why didn’t you ask dad to get the cup?” “He peed in bathroom.” “Aaah, well, you should have waited for him to come back, right? What did we always say? That when you can’t do it, you have to ask for help. Remember?” “But I can do it. But it just fall down.”

You smile and pat his head. “Okay. I’ll explain to daddy okay? For now, you stay here and I’ll get your cookies back.” You got up and went to the kitchen only to find your husband rubbing his eyebrows, a look of frustration still on his face. “He said he wanted to drink but you were in the bathroom.” You explained as you reached for the cookies still on the table. “I finally did it. I finally ruined it.” Kyungsoo said in a soft voice. You look over to him and then look at the dustpan containing the broken glass. “Ruined what?” Kyungsoo turns to you and you're struck again by the resemblance. This time, bigger and sadder eyes are looking at you; plump lips turned down and upset. Your heart swells again, this time, in adoration of your beautiful husband.

“I yelled at him. I shouldn’t have. I was annoyed cause he woke me up cause he wanted cookies so I got it for him. But then I went to the bathroom then he broke the glass and ....” Kyungsoo trailed off with a sigh. You approached your husband and hugged him tightly. “He’s gonna hate me. He’s probably thinking I’m the worst dad in the world and now he’ll only draw you and write, I love mommy and not daddy on his projects or something.” Kyungsoo said grumpily. You couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “God, I have two sulky boys in this house.” Leaning away from him, you look at his face and rub his shoulders. “He’s so much like you, you know. Sulky, grumpy, trying to be independent-”

“Trying to be?” He questions with one eyebrow raised. You respond with your own raised eyebrow and he clears his throat and looks at the floor. “Trying to be independent as in trying to pick up his glass cause he probably didn’t want to bother you while you were peeing. Now, you’re not a bad dad. All parents get angry. I get angry too. What you need to do is explain it to him and love him, like you always have.” Kyungsoo looks at the floor thoughtfully before looking at you with doubt. “You don’t think he’ll think I’m a bad dad?” You scoff. “He thinks anyone who cooks him spaghetti is a hero.” You both chuckle. “Looks like you lose on that, your spaghetti sucks.” Kyungsoo yelps as you pinch his shoulders before letting go and gesturing for him to leave. “Take the cookies and say sorry.” Kyungsoo nods and takes it. Before he leaves he looks at you, raises a small fist and says, “Wish me luck.”

-

“You not angry again?” The little boy says, bits of chocolate stuck to his mouth and cheeks. “Nah, I was just… surprised.” Kyungsoo gently wipes his mouth with a tissue. The father and son were seated on the couch with the TV open. Kyungsoo had the plate of cookies on his lap as his son ate it messily; little feet shaking in happiness. Kyungsoo brushed his son’s hair from his face. “Still, daddy’s sorry he shouted. I shouldn’t have. That’s bad, right?” He asked gently as the little boy simply nodded. “Daddy was wrong, right?” The boy nodded again. “I’m really sorry. If you’re angry with daddy, you can tell me.”

“I’m not angry. I’m sorry too.” “Okay champ, I’m sorry again.” “Can you make spaghetti?” “We just had spaghetti last night.” “Then…. sauce and rice.”

“Spaghetti sauce and rice?” Kyungsoo asked, baffled. The little boy nodded happily before getting distracted as the TV played his favorite show. “It’s start! It’s start!” He shouts and gets off the couch and jumps up and down in front of the TV. Kyungsoo watches him for a while before telling him the cookies are on the coffee table and getting up to go to the kitchen.

“How’d it go?” You ask as you flip the fourth piece of pancake on the pan, making breakfast of eggs, pancakes, and bacon: the boys’ favorites. “It went well. We both said sorry like men.” You laugh. “Wow, good for you then, best-dad-in-the-universe.” You tease. “Uh-uh, although, he’s actually a lot more like you than you think.” Kyungsoo says, picking up plates to set on the table. “He has bad taste in food like you. Makes me worried he’ll be as bad as you at cooking.”

Kyungsoo nodded appreciatively, mouth busy enjoying his sandwich. It was a new recipe you both saw on a video yesterday and Kyungsoo being Kyungsoo, he immediately went to the grocery to buy ingredients and insisted on perfecting it to bring to your picnic date today. You knew better than to not let him have his way especially when it came to food. This date will absolutely not be ruined by him being sulky about not being able to try out a new recipe. Although, a pouty Kyungsoo would have been pretty cute and would definitely make for a memorable picnic date. “Can I have a bite then?” Without so much as a glance and any hesitation, he moved the wrapper lower so you could take a big bite. You brushed your hair to the side and leaned in to take a bite when Kyungsoo’s hand disappeared. “Wha-”

“Ah.” Mouth still agape in expectation of a sandwich, you glanced up at him to see what had caught his attention. His face was angled towards the sky with an expression of surprise. Closing your mouth and gulping at the ghost of a sandwich, you glanced up as well. “Uh, what am I looking at exactly?” Instead of responding, Kyungsoo fished his phone out from his pocket and started to take photos. His lips formed a small smile and his eyes shone with the happiness of a little boy discovering something interesting to play with.

Forgetting all about the delicious sandwich you had been promised, you opted to watch in silence as Kyungsoo’s gaze flitted from his phone to the sky and back again for a few seconds. His small smile turned the corners of his lips down which you found fascinating. Never had you met someone whose smiles would curve downward at the edges. What was even more fascinating was the slow build up as his smile grew into a wider grin. You watched as his big doe eyes turned into crescent-moon like shapes, his perfect white teeth showed, the heart shape of his lips became more prominent, and his cheeks puffed up. It was a sight you felt blessed to witness everyday.

Kyungsoo slowly lowered his head but kept his eyes glued to the screen of his phone as he went through a few photos. The smile on his face had now been turned into a slight frown and his thick eyebrows were knitted together in concentration. Your distraction had disappeared and so curiosity took over. Your boyfriend was never one to spend a long time on his phone especially when you were around so you were wondering what could have fascinated him enough to take out his phone. Suddenly, his gaze turned bright and he showed his phone off to you proudly.

“Look, a croissant cloud.” You blinked at him before looking down at his phone. In front of you was a picture of the clouds above and for a few seconds you wondered what on Earth he was talking about. A croissant cloud? What? To you, the photo on the screen of his phone was similar to the hundreds of cloudy day photos you’ve seen online.

Realizing you’ve probably stared at his phone a few seconds too long already, you were about to give up and ask him what it was he meant when you saw it. In the middle of the photo was a cloud slightly bigger than the rest but smaller than the one above it but the curved down corners of it were indeed reminiscent of a croissant shape. You howled in laughter and grabbed his phone to take a closer look. “Oh my god Soo, you’re right!” Kyungsoo laughed a little, your own laughter dragging it out of him. A common occurrence given your nature to laugh a little too loudly at times which would cause him to feel the need to laugh as well.

“Right?” He said, a cheeky grin on his face and both eyebrows raised as if to say, “Isn’t it cool?” Still feeling giggly, you let go of his phone and wrapped your arms around your knees to rest your head on them so you can return to admiring your boyfriend’s sudden outburst of little happiness. “Do you like outdoor dates now then?” Kyungsoo thought for a moment. Between the two of you, it was him that always rejected outdoor dates. Sure, he liked to taste good food but he made reservations for that and always chose quiet and secluded restaurants that he knew would never be buzzing with too much people and noise. On your end, you knew Kyungsoo found it easier to appreciate his surroundings when there wasn’t a lot to distract his senses so you never complained. Plus, who could reject good food with a handsome date.

He let go of his phone and leaned back, placing his arms behind him and looking up at the clouds again. His eyes shone with a contented look not much different from your own right now. “If we could have this view everyday, I wouldn’t mind coming out of my cave once in a while.”

“The dumplings are amazing. But you already know that.” Do Kyungsoo said as he gently dipped his hundredth (it wasn’t but it didn’t matter) dumpling in his favorite sauce and slowly brought the mouth-watering dish to his mouth. You watched in annoyance (agony) as he sneaked a glance at you while chewing.

The thing is, you were having a wonderful date. This morning, he took you to a newly opened cafe that was highly recommended by his officemates and the coffee and salmon egg sandwich you had were amazing. Next, he brought you to a bookshop since you mentioned you’d been meaning to buy new books. He paid for all the books you placed on the counter and carried the bag of books with one hand while he held hands with you with his other. And as you two walked while holding hands, he talked to you about his week, his family, his friends, and everything and anything he might’ve left out during your nightly calls.

All in all, Do Kyungsoo was the poster boy of a perfect boyfriend that day. That is, until you got to the Chinese restaurant. You liked to think it was his fault that you were currently not stuffing your mouth with dumplings. But if there was a God of Dumplings, he would have disagreed.

See, after ordering your usual noodles-and-dumplings pairing, you decided to make lunch a little more fun by suggesting you play 1 ladder game. Kyungsoo disagreed. “Food shouldn’t be played with. Eating is not a game.” He said. But you thought he was being too serious over a silly game. So you wrote down dumplings on one side of a table napkin and X on the other, and urged Kyungsoo to draw the lines.

And when he won and you said it’s just a game, Mr. Boring suddenly decided to honor the game and refused to give you a single piece of dumpling the moment your food arrived.

And that’s how you found yourself staring daggers at your boyfriend as he continuously slurped, chewed, and enjoyed his noodles-and-dumplings pairing. “Your food’s getting cold.” He said in between bites. “Noodles are meant to be enjoyed with dumplings.” You huffed. He adjusted his glasses and put down his spoon. “You’re right. I guess that’s why I’m having the time of my life now.” Kyungsoo took a sip of his iced tea.

Have you mentioned wanting to smack this charming man’s dazzling face?

“Give me just one bite.”

“You lost.”

“You said eating is not a game!”

“It’s not, does it look like we’re playing a game right now?”

“Just one.”

“You lost fair and square.”

You raised your eyebrow and stared at him as threateningly as you could. You weren’t going anywhere with that though because between the two of you, Kyungsoo’s ability to shut out the world around him was stronger. Unfortunately, you were sometimes not exempted from said ability.

You tried not to pay attention to him and took a sip of the broth of your noodles. Damn, these were good noodles. For a while, the two of you ate in silence. You genuinely enjoyed your noodles but after eating almost half of your bowl, you couldn’t help but glance at Kyungsoo again. You gulped as he ate a piece of dumpling whole. His thick lips glistened from the sauce and looked to be moving so gracefully as he ate.

“Kyungsoo.”

“Hm?”

Smack!

On the lips.

“Wha-” Kyungsoo gawked at you. You simply shrugged and got back to your noodles. “Since you wouldn’t give me a piece of dumpling, I figured it wasn’t cheating if I tasted them through your lips. They’re as good as ever babe, love it, thanks.”

Red slowly colored Kyungsoo’s ears. “You-uh… go.” You raised an eyebrow at him. “What’s that? You’d give me a taste again?” Before he could move, you quickly reached for him and kissed him again. When you pulled away, you noticed his cheeks were turning red too. You simply gave him an innocent smile. Kyungsoo was dumbfounded for a moment before he regained his senses and started chewing on his dumpling fast.

“You’re a cheater.”

“Hey, technically I didn’t eat it!”

Kyungsoo took a sip from his drink before taking a piece of dumpling and leaning towards you. “Hm.” He nudged you. “You can’t resist me huh.” You teased, a playful smile on your lips. He wasn’t having any of it and started counting.

“3, 2...”

You quickly lunged for the dumpling.

-

Your video call lasted 5 hours and you were ready to call it a night when a sudden buzz from your phone had you picking it up to check what the notification was about. Your heart sank when you saw a text from your boss: they needed you tomorrow for an urgent request made by a client. You wanted to burn your office. It was Christmas for goodness sake! For a while, you stayed up, feeling annoyed at the thought of waking up early on a supposed day off. Then, deciding you couldn’t do anything about it, you went to bed real pissed. You woke up at 5 in the morning still really pissed and got to work still pissed. What made things worse was that it was cold and you wanted nothing more than to read at home with some warm coffee and to text your boyfriend once in a while to chit chat about stuff he was up to with his family.

But no. You were in the office, filing papers after a 3-hour-long meeting with a client. Afterwhich, you still had other documents to sort before you could get on with your actual work. By the time you clocked out and bid goodbye to your coworkers who were also fuming over being called in on Christmas, you were drained, stressed, and most of all, hungry. Kyungsoo was already aware of the situation as you had texted him in the afternoon and his pissed off emojis in response (which were rare) were the only good things to come out of your day. It was when you were already on the elevator of your apartment building when you realized you had no food at home. You were supposed to go to the grocery this morning, having planned it in your head since you didn’t really have anything to do on Christmas and you figured people were eating out and not doing their grocery on Christmas day itself. But this plan had been forgotten in the anger that ensued last night from your boss’ text. In defeat, you simply hoped you at least had some ramen left at home or else you’d just rip your hair out from frustration.

As you were debating on whether you should just go down again and take the 10 minute walk to the nearest grocery shop or to order takeout and patiently wait for your food, you grabbed your keys to open the door. In your distraction you failed to notice the light peeking from gaps in the doorway and the noise coming from inside. When you opened the door you were greeted with the savory and sweet smell of assorted food and the dancing of different colored Christmas lights in the living room. The lights on the little Christmas tree you kept closed were now open and underneath it small boxes of gifts were set up.

Your mouth was open in a silent question as you closed the door behind you and gazed around the room. With your heart pounding quickly in your chest you dropped your things and went straight for the kitchen, mind racing and excited, fully knowing that if there was a place in this house your significant other would be, it would be the kitchen.

To your disappointment however, Kyungsoo was nowhere to be found. Instead, food lay on the table. A little disheartened at the lack of a Do Kyungsoo in your kitchen, you approached the table to check out the various dishes on it. They all looked amazing and you vaguely thought, with your heart sinking to your chest a little lower, that it must have been your mother who dropped by to prepare everything. A hundred words per second of excuses and reasons as to why this cannot be the work of Kyungsoo ran a marathon in your head. He made a promise to his family for Christmas, his family lived far away, if he did travel from there to here he wouldn’t have had time to cook.

Just then, you noticed a small white paper at the corner of the table. With a frown, you walked towards it and lifted it up. It was a postcard with the words Merry Christmas written at the top. At the bottom, sat a smiley face. It wore a Christmas hat on top and had hearts for cheeks. You laughed. Distracted once again, you failed to realize that a certain someone was standing in the kitchen doorway. “Ehem.” You turned quickly to find the man you wanted to see the most that day. A split second later, you let out a howl of laughter.

Kyungsoo was wearing a light gray shirt and simple jeans. His short hair neither well kept or unkempt given its lack of need to even be brushed. It wasn’t his clothes or hairstyle that made you laugh though. He was hiding the bottom half of his face with a similar postcard to the one you were holding. But from his slightly puffed up cheeks you could see the formation of a smile on his face. Do Kyungsoo was home.

“Merry Christmas, love.” He said, mouth still covered by the postcard. Your heart swelled with happiness and affection for him. Leaving the postcard behind, you closed the gap between the two of you and hugged Kyungsoo tightly. “Oh my god Soo! I can’t believe you’re here!” You said, arms wrapped tightly around his neck. Kyungsoo chuckled, his shy but deep sound of laughter giving you comfort. “I couldn’t allow you to spend Christmas with Jin Ramen.” He joked. The two of you laughed and you pulled yourself away from him but kept your arms around him still. “How did you know I was planning on having a steamy Christmas night with Mr. Jin?”

Kyungsoo rolled his eyes and gently rubbed your back with his free hand; the gesture almost made you melt into a puddle. “You told me your plans for today last night during the call. Then I realized those grandeur plans of buying groceries and reading the day away weren’t happening given your sudden call to work. So I bought food from my place that my mom and I cooked and took the bus here. Sorry, I probably smell like public transportation and Christmas goodies. I practically just got here and didn’t have time to shower.” You shook your head. Whether he was wrapped up in a pretty bow or just dressed in jeans and a shirt made no difference. His presence would always make your heart burst in happiness. “I’m pretty sure I also smell like public transpo with a hint of annoyance and murderous intent directed at my boss.” Kyungsoo laughed, this time the sound was louder and fuller that you couldn’t help but join in. Whenever Kyungsoo laughed his deep HA-HA-HA laugh, you sometimes found it funnier than the actual joke.

It was a laugh that was uncontrolled and therefore important to you given your boyfriend’s quite reserved nature. The two of you shared more jokes and laughs before Kyungsoo, taking advantage of the few seconds of silence that passed after your laugh, slowly closed the gap and leaned in for a kiss. At first, light pecks and not-too-silent smooches were heard across the room as you shared kisses. Soon however, the kisses turned hungry and passionate that you found yourself clinging to Kyungsoo; hands now moving from his neck to his hair fervently. After a moment, you pushed him away a little so you could breathe. “Soo, maybe… maybe this can be done later. I’m a little hungry.” You said sheepishly. Kyungsoo hummed in agreement, although his eyes were looking a little dangerously hazed in that familiar way that had butterflies magically appearing in your stomach.

“I’m hungry too, but I think I want to have something other than Christmas treats right now.”

You punched him on the arm. “Soo!” He put up a peace sign before letting you go and gesturing towards the table. As you turned, you suddenly saw a surprise by the window. Outside, the first few drops of snow have arrived. As they floated down and covered everything in a fine sprinkle of white dust, you looked over at Kyungsoo. He returned the gesture with a warm smile. “First snow.” He whispered. The thought of the first snow of the year would always fill you with dread for the icy hell that was to come, but in that moment, with Kyungsoo’s warm eyes and warm smile and his warm hands reaching for yours to intertwine your fingers together, you felt the warmest you’ve been since winter came around.

They were especially noticeable whenever he smiled or laughed in embarrassment. Which, in his case being surrounded by a bunch of girls that constantly complimented him and had a huge crush on him, was a frequent occurrence.

It didn’t help that his best friends encouraged this behavior from his fangirls. “It’s okay, tell him he’s cute. He secretly likes it.” Park Chanyeol would often tease. The girls would laugh and it would become a competition of who could get Kyungsoo’s ears more pink.

Do Kyungsoo was loved by everyone. He was constantly surrounded by people that made it their daily agenda to put a smile on his face. From the side of the crowd, you were content and happy to look at Kyungsoo; thankful for everyone that constantly put a smile on his face.

But the happiest smiles from Kyungsoo weren’t from here. No, you knew those smiles were reserved for someone else.

The corners of his lips would turn down in happy corners as he talked to his significant other over the phone and in those moments you were reminded painfully that those heart shaped lips didn’t smile for you. You were just another face in the crowd. Another stranger that added to his laughter for the day. A nameless acquaintance who he greeted politely every morning.

And this process had gone on for every single dish laid out that you had been there for what felt like an eternity. You bit your lip as you eyed him slowly and surely chewing on the piece of fish he had deemed his current target. He was taking his time and not at all paying attention to your very invasive staring. You couldn’t take it anymore, you hadn’t even gotten to dessert yet. “So? How is it?” You asked, voice tense. Kyungsoo finished his food before nodding and wiping his mouth with a napkin.

“Not bad. Although I’m not sure if it's well-seasoned… I’ll have to ask the-”

“Try the lamb.” You cut him off real fast. He pursed his lips in thought. He was definitely gonna call the chef. You quickly went to work, slicing a piece from the side that looked best; not too big, not too small, lest your fiancé feels the lamb’s not cooked, seasoned, prepared, or whatever-the-hell-cooking-term-he-knows well enough. Without a second to spare, you fed him the piece of lamb. He looked at you with an annoyed face and you knew you ruined his routine of stare-scrutinize-smell. Honestly, you did not care anymore.

“It’s good right? We’ll get this and this.” You pointed at the dishes nearest you. “Let’s move on to dessert.”

“I haven’t tried the chicken yet.”

“It’s good.”

“But I haven’t tried it.”

“Dessert please!”

Kyungsoo washed down his piece of lamb with water, a look of distaste on his face. From the lamb or from your lack of patience you’re not sure.

The desserts looked amazing. There was cake, macarons, and cotton candy. Perfect for little kids some parents are gonna bring. Then, you tensed up, suddenly realizing cotton candy might not be good enough for a wedding dessert. You looked to your left and felt dread when you saw Kyungsoo staring at the cotton candy platter with his brows lightly knit together.

You gulped. When he opened his mouth, it felt like he did it in 2x slow motion.

“The colors look nice. The macaron was good.” He said and you blinked several times. “You already tasted it?” He simply nodded and you glanced down to see he had taken a bite off of a single macaron and left the rest of it on his plate, untouched. “Try the cake.” You said, reaching for the piece of macaron on his plate when he suddenly slapped your hand away. “Oh ho. I’m gonna eat the rest of that.” You gaped at him accusingly. “No you won’t!” He shook his head. “I am. What if the other side isn’t as good?” What the hell was he talking about? “Fine.” You got a slice of cake instead. You thought it was pretty good and looked over at him. You breathed a sigh of relief as you saw him nodding while chewing. A good sign. Now, only the cotton candy was left.

“Let’s ask for the drinks.” Kyungsoo wiped his mouth. “Huh? You’re not gonna try the cotton candy?” He shook his head lightly. “It’s just sugar, kids will love it.” You smiled. This was the first food off of a long list that he didn’t take too much time on.

When the drinks were served, he made sure to smell each one and ask about each drink. You weren’t very good at discerning what drinks went best with what food so you had to leave it up to him. After he finished talking with the chef and taking note of each ingredient from each glass, he took his time drinking and savoring each sip. “Are you just gonna look at me?” He asked, eyes not leaving the drink in his hand. “You do your thing, love.” You said. Kyungsoo moved on to the next drink and the next before he got to the final one.

The moment he took a sip, his eyes lit up a little and a small smirk played on his lips. And right then and there, you were 100% sure you could walk down the aisle in that instant. Who cares if you were dressed in jeans and a light blue blouse. That smirk right there could have you saying “I do” a hundred times over.

“Do Kyungsoo, marry me.” Your chest swelled with happiness as he licked his lips and chuckled. “Soon love, soon.” He placed the glass on the table and looked at you. “I can’t wait.” You whispered. Kyungsoo gently took your hand in his and kissed it. He then caressed your ring with his thumb and hummed. “I can. Because we’ll get to spend everyday like this and I wouldn’t want to rush it at all.” You felt your cheeks flush. You may get annoyed at the small things your future husband had a habit of over analyzing, but you would not want to trade this man for anything in the world.

“So, can I get a bite of that chicken first?”