Spam | SKZ ✓

68

After a very healthy breakfast of chicken and black bean noodles, Minho and I are walking hand in hand in the local park.

"I've never seen someone eat so much chicken in one sitting," Minho says, his voice slightly muffled behind his mask. "It was impressive."

"Listen," I say, rubbing my stomach with my free hand. "All I'm saying is that if I were to be reincarnated as a chicken in my next life, I would absolutely eat myself."

"That's... I don't even know what word I could use to describe that sentence," he says, his eyebrows furrowing as he stares down at me.

I sigh happily, my full belly amplifying my uplifted mood even more as I swing our arms between us. The park is beautiful, the walking track circling the small playground that many giggling children are playing on. "This is the best day ever."

"Speaking of this day being the best," Minho says, glancing over at me for a second before turning his gaze ahead of us again. "I have a proposition for you that I've been working on for a while now."

"A proposition, huh?" I ask, smirking at him as he looks over and rolls his eyes at me.

"Don't freak out or anything because this is kind of a big deal," he says, and my pace slows as confusion sets in at his serious tone.

"Please tell me you're proposing," I say, and Minho sighs as he shakes his head.

"I found a job for you," he says, his voice quiet.

"Oh?" I ask, even more confused than I was a second ago.

Minho stops walking, turning to stand in front of me to make me stop too. "I've been thinking about the things you've been telling me lately. How you're half American, how your dream is to travel and experience the different cultures and people all around the world and how you don't like how we live so far apart."

I frown at him, his words almost connecting together into an idea but it's just out of my reach as I wait for him to continue.

"What if," he says, reaching out to take my hands, "my company hires you to be our English translator? That way, Chan and Felix aren't having to do all the work translating for us. And you would get to travel everywhere with me - with us, I mean - and we would get to spend so much more time together while you also get to see the world like you've always wanted to do."

My jaw drops.

"Are you serious?" I ask, my voice barely working.

"You don't have to," he says, speaking quickly. "I know it would mean you picking up your entire life and I don't even know if translating would be fun for you or if you even want to travel with me or-"

I shut the beautiful man in front of me up by wrapping my arms around his torso and pulling him against me, my head resting against his chest and hearing his pounding heart.

"I can't believe you went through all of this trouble for me," I say, blinking back happy tears. I step back just to be able to look into his eyes that are still looking at me worried like I would actually say no.

"I know it's a lot," he says, rubbing the back of his neck. "I wanted to help so badly and I realized how perfect the job is for you and how much it would help all of us."

"Everyone's okay with this?" I ask, eyes wide.

Minho laughs, his hands reaching out to rest on my hips. "Chan and Felix nearly screeched in excitement when I told them the idea. Chan would never say it to us or anyone, but I know how exhausted he can get from how much he does for us, and it would be one less thing for him to worry about. The company says the job is yours if you want it."

"They're not just offering it to me because I'm your girlfriend," I ask, biting my lip. "Right?"

Minho sighs. "You're qualified. You're fluent in English and Korean. You have the availability to dedicate to the hours they would need you to put in. All I did was talk to a few people about the idea and it just blossomed into this real opportunity that is perfect for you. It's not because you're my girlfriend. It's because you can do it. And you should, in my opinion."

"You want me to?" I ask, trying to suppress my grin.

This is so insane.

He laughs again. "I would get to see you so much more often, we wouldn't have to be apart for those long periods of time when I travel and I get to see you happy and doing things you've always dreamed of. There's nothing I've wanted more."

"You're being gross and mushy," I laugh as tears roll down my cheeks.

"So you'll do it?" he asks, reaching up to wipe my tears away. "You could find an apartment close to my dorm and I could hire you to be my private English tutor so we'd have a reason to be together even more often."

"You bet your juicy ass I'll do it," I say, and his eyes light up. "I can be your English tutor too, for all the members so eventually none of you will even need a translator."

Minho's shoulders slump. "I don't want to have to share my time with you."

I smile at him, my hands moving to rest against his chest. "You're going to have to. I'm going to be all official translating for a lot of you."

"Fine. But just my tutor," Minho says. "The rest of them can fend for themselves."

"Fine," I echo back to him. "But I don't want you to pay me money for tutoring you."

"What would you like to be paid with then?" he asks, his voice dropping lower as he leans closer to me, his eyes staring at me that way that makes me question what year it is.

"Guess you'll have to find out," I ask, shrugging.

He rolls his eyes as he turns and walks away, and I laugh as I jog to catch up to him.