Lay with me

Chapter 3: Happy-happy?

After the concert, Lay and I squeezed into the backseat of EXO's van.

The seating arrangement was this: the driver and manager sat in the very front, Suho and Sehun on the left side of the second row, Chen and Xiumin on the right side of the second row, Kyungsoo on the left side of the third row, Chanyeol and Baekhyun on the right side of the third row, and Kai, me and then Lay in the fourth row.

Whenever the van went over a bump, I would lean into Lay and feel enveloped in his warm, firm chest. Then Kai would pull me over to ask me if there was something in his eye. I just sighed and politely replied no. He was cute, but I liked Lay.

We were able to find a Korean kalbi house nearby and I obviously sat next to Lay. We laughed at Baekhyun's silly jokes and Sehun's complaints. Exo was very welcoming towards me. I was disappointed when I was getting dropped off because the night was over, but I was also grateful to have been able to experience everything. Before leaving, Lay kissed me on the forehead and it was better than any kiss I could have imagined. His lips were soft, but still masculine and I could feel the love.

From then on, we met once a month whenever he was available. I was working as a junior analyst so I had to go to different hotels and restaurants to assess companies and write reports on whether people should buy the stocks. I always requested projects in South Korea so I was able to go every other month and he was able to come to New York every other month for photoshoots, interviews, etc.

After about two years like this, Lay popped the question. It was at our favorite restaurant in the city. He bent down on one knee and opened a box with a beautiful two karat diamond ring. He said, "I love you, Yura. I know I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?"

I nodded my head. I had been expecting this, but I still teared up. He was too perfect and our entire life was too perfect. 

While we walked back to my apartment, we talked about everything we had to do.

"When do you want to get married? What do you want our wedding to be like?" he asked.

"Hm...I want to get married next summer and I want a big, fancy wedding."

"But I want to get married quickly. How about this fall? Even September seems far away. Three months?! I also want a smallish wedding. My parents love you so they'll help plan everything. What will your parents think?"

The next day, I called Kai to tell him the great news. He and I had gotten close over the past few years because whenever Lay came to visit me, he usually came as well. We talked often and he was a great friend towards me. If Lay was my lover, then Kai was like my soulmate. Kai congratulated me, but then he had to go because of his busy schedule.

Lay and I got our answer two days later. My parents were completely against our marriage because they felt as if marrying a Chinese man would take away my Korean identity and our kids would want to follow Chinese traditions rather than Korean. Although they thought he was kind and caring, they also worried about what kind of future we would have together. After all, he was a celebrity and him getting married would hurt his career.