past, present, and future | hwang hyunjin

t h i r t y

c h a p t e r   t h i r t y

"Yes, thank you ma'am!" I bowed to the karaoke employee as we left with our masks and hats fully covering us. She bowed back, giving us a small, grateful wave on the way.

My eyes were still red and puffy from crying, but Hyunjin's were as well. My hand was securely intertwined in his and our fingers were laced through each other's like it would be the end of the world if they weren't.

"That was such a great experience, Hyunjin," I said softly, smiling at him. He couldn't see it through the mask but I tried to bring the light into my eyes as well. "Thanks for bringing me there, I really enjoyed singing with you."

"Anytime," Hyunjin returned the smile, the corners of his eyes curling up. "I loved singing with you too. You have the most beautiful voice in the world."

"Thank you," I looked at the ground shyly, feeling a faint blush rise on my cheeks yet again. "So, are we going back to the JYP building now?"

"About that, actually," Hyunjin said, scratching his neck. "I have another destination planned for us."

Another Uber came to pick us up and drop us off. Hyunjin really loved his Ubers, didn't he?

"Isn't it beautiful?" Hyunjin said, leading me up the slope as we finally got out of the car.

Trees surrounded us, autumn already taking its effect. The small gravel pathway was littered with falling leaves. Our movements sent some of them rushing upwards and fluttering back down again. It was almost as if Hyunjin knew immediately what made me happy. Autumn was so pretty.

"Yes, very, I love it so much," I saw, leaning onto Hyunjin's shoulder as we walked and hugging his arm closer.

Hyunjin brought me to a secluded area, where no one could hear us. Not that there was anyone at this park anyway, but better to be safe.

He sighed, then took a deep breath. "Okay, Ari, I'm going to get straight to the point because I hate beating around the bush. Do you want to become my girlfriend? Officially?"

I blinked a couple of times, processing his words. Did he just ask me out? Of course, the answer was yes. There was only one problem, though.

"But we're idols," I pointed out. "What is we're caught?"

"Not if we're careful enough. Both you and I know that we share feelings for each other that run deep, and one thing that I hate the most is not paying attention to those feelings. Please, I really, really, love you so much, Areum," Hyunjin's eyes looked so adorable and desperate at the same time. And I knew he was being completely serious when my real name came in.

I already knew what my answer would be. I always did. I was just so scared to accept it that I never acknowledged it. But now I am ready to acknowledge my feelings. My completely true, completely real feelings.

"I love you so much too. And yes. The answer is always yes. Yes. Yes. Yes."

- - -

Yes. That one word held so much meaning to it. It meant that we shared everything now. We were together as one.

It was pretty evident because yet again, my fingers were intertwined with Hyunjin's, his hand warm in mine. I looked up at him, and his eyes were bright with warmth. "Do you have anything else planned for us?" I asked softly.