MISSION: Love

+ forty-two +

"Do you still want this thing?" Heeseung asked me as he held a box filled with old work papers. He was helping me clean my home since I planned to throw unnecessary things out. I shook my head and watched as he placed the box next to the entrance door. I continued cleaning my office, taking out a box that was placed on the top shelf. Suddenly, a photo album fell and dust flew everywhere.

My lips curved into a frown when I saw the picture on the front page. It was a photo of me and Ahrin. We had our arms around each other and huge smiles on our faces. It was our shared photo album and somehow, I ended up with it. I opened it and saw ourselves taking a picture in front of our high school, pointing at the building.

"Our first day of school!" I read what Ahrin had written below the photograph. I turned to another page and saw a photograph of me holding a tray of food. And Jay's blurry figure was standing behind me. There was a pink circle around him and Ahrin's note was above it: Hana's crush of three years! I hope he also likes her. They would look so cute together!

"We were so close. I wonder what happened?" I mumbled under my breath and closed the album. I turned around and saw Heeseung staring at me at the doorway. He folded his arms, "I thought you already threw that thing away," he said before taking the album away from my hands.

"I didn't know I still had it. I can't remember I even took those pictures with her."

"You should forget it. She hurt you so much. You can't recall those memories again. You were depressed, Hana."

"I know. I never want to remember my high school days again. I didn't even know I have the album all the time."

He nodded and smiled, "I'll get rid of this."

The doorbell suddenly rang, making us both flinch. We both went to the door and opened it, seeing Sunghoon and Jinae smiling at us.

"It's cold out there! Thank god today's our last day of work," the female lawyer said and handed her coat to her boyfriend. Sunghoon flashed a bright smile at me before pulling me into a hug. My body jumped at how cold his coat was.

"Yah!" I pushed him away and shivered. He chuckled and placed his coat on the coat rack before opening his arms, "Now can I have my hug?"

I gave in and ran into his arms, "I missed you. We haven't met for a week."

"You guys should continue cleaning. Sunghoon and I will prepare dinner."

"Are you sure? Sunghoon can't cook," Heeseung commented, earning a glare from the said lawyer. "I know. That's why he's going to set the table and just watch me cook. I don't want him to set fire to Hana's house," Jinae teased and headed straight to the kitchen.

"Hey! That's mean."

After an hour, Heeseung and I finally finished throwing out things that I didn't need anymore. We both laughed as we talked about random things until our attention was averted to our partners. Sunghoon was trying to hold a spatula but his hand was soon slapped by Jinae.

"You already burned the egg!" She yelled and smacked his arm. "You're the one who burned it!"

"Do you ever think you would end up with Jinae?" I whispered to Heeseung as I continued watching the two ex-partners bicker.

"I always thought I'd end up with Ahrin. If I did, I don't think I would be this happy right now. What about you? Do you ever think you would end up with Sunghoon?"

"I did. After all, when I was betrayed by my ex-best friend, and rejected by my old crush, he was always there for me. And I never realised that until I grew older and developed feelings for him. I used to think he was not the one for me since there were so many obstacles. But there he was, proving to me that there was a chance and he even kept fighting just to win me back."

Sunghoon finally turned around and grinned at me, "What are you guys doing back there? Come sit and eat."

Jinae served a few plates on the table and everything looked delicious except for the burnt egg. "Don't look at me. Blame Sunghoon," she said and took a seat next to Heeseung.

Sunghoon gave her a death stare before sitting next to me. We then continued having random talks and even laughed about their argument while cooking a while ago.

💌

Jinae

I sat on the rooftop silently, enjoying the cold atmosphere while watching the stars. The door to the rooftop suddenly opened, revealing Heeseung holding a few cans of beer. I chuckled and scooted to the side to let him sit next to me on the bench. He obeyed and gave me a can, "The stars are beautiful tonight, don't you think?"

"Yeah. Look at them twinkling," I hugged myself due to the cold breeze brushing against me. My eyes widened in surprise when I felt him wrap a warm blanket around me.

He continued looking at the dark sky filled with stars, ignoring my stare at him. "I think the moon is the most beautiful tonight."

My cheeks reddened and I continued looking at the sky. That was when I saw a shooting star passing by. "Did you see that?!" I raised my voice due to excitement. He laughed at my sudden reaction.

I closed my hands and clasped my hands together, praying that my wish would come true.

"I wish for Heeseung to be with me forever and grow old with me."

As soon as I opened my eyes, I saw him looking at me with fond eyes. "What?" I asked.

"What did you wish for?" He asked with his tender voice. I scoffed and rolled my eyes, "I am not going to tell you. It won't come true."

"Do you wanna know mine?"

I hesitantly nodded and watched as he let out an exhale. "I wish for us to grow old together and have a wonderful, happy family. We would have kids and they would grow into incredible human beings. Then, we would buy a mansion where our dogs or cats — whatever you want — could run around."

My lips curved into a smile, touched by his wish. I grabbed his hand before caressing it gently, "I want that too. Does that mean you're proposing to me right now?"

He nodded and hummed in response. "I am sure I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

Suddenly, our attention changed to the snowflakes falling from the sky. I tilted my head upwards and admired the beautiful snowflakes. He stood up and got in front of me before making me stand up.

I stood on my tippy toes before wrapping my arms around his neck. He then put his hands on my waist before leaning in for a kiss. I followed and closed my eyes, feeling his lips against mine.

I really wanted to grow old with this man. I thought I could never love again. But Heeseung proved me wrong. I didn't know how I could ever live again without him. He completed me.