Be Mine

Epilogue

After settling down into their new neighbourhood and jobs, Sungjae and Sooyoung's lives started to pick up. The cafe always had a crowd and Sooyoung had a list of steady clients after landing a job as a psychologist at a clinic 30 minutes away from their apartment. After work each day, Sooyoung would travel to Muse for dinner and get some work done. They would then return to their apartment together after Sungjae closed the cafe.

When Muse closed every Tuesday, Sungjae would get up early and make sure Sooyoung had a hearty breakfast before work and whip up dinner for the both of them when Sooyoung returned home. When Sooyoung had the weekends off, she would travel with Sungjae to Muse to help out on Saturdays. She was especially well-liked among the children when families came and was known as the pretty "boss" to them. Sooyoung loved children and given her not-so-happy childhood experiences, she always made sure that every child and youth she had met would leave her with a smile on their faces.

"Are you the boss here?" Asked a cute little boy who was licking ketchup off his fingers.

"Nope," Sooyoung points to Sungjae who was behind the clear glass panel that looked into the kitchen zone, "he is." She stage-whispered, as if it was a little secret between the boy and her. "Why do you want to know?"

"My omma said I should say thank you when I have delicious food, and I wanted to thank the person who made this for me!" He lifted up his empty plate that was filled with his kids' meal.

Sooyoung laughed at the well-mannered boy. "I'll make sure to let the boss know for you."

The boy's expression lit up when he saw Sooyoung walking into the kitchen and telling Sungjae something. He continued to stare at the scene as Sungjae dusted his hands on his apron and washed his hands. The little boy's eyes widened when he saw Sungjae making his way towards him.

"Hello little boy," Sungjae bowed to the boy's parents in acknowledgement before continuing to converse with the boy. "I heard that you really enjoyed my food?"

The little boy furiously nodded his head, earning a chuckle from Sungjae who couldn't help but tousle the little boy's hair.

"Oh?" The boy pointed to Sungjae's hand. "You're wearing the same ring as the pretty boss! Are you two married?" He exclaimed.

Sungjae laughed as he fiddled with the couple ring he wore on his left hand. "No, but I hope to be soon." He winked at the little boy and looked up at Sooyoung who was busy attending to another table, making sure that she was out of hearing range.

After exchanging goodbyes, Sungjae returned to his spot in the kitchen.

As the little boy and his family were leaving, he waved bye to Sooyoung who was standing at the exit and motioned for her to crouch down.

"I think chef boss likes you," he giggled, "he told me he wants to marry you!".

Sooyoung responded by letting out a chuckle and patting the boy's head as she waved bye to them. There was no way Sungjae would say that. Both of them had never even discussed the idea of marriage and their careers had just started to pick up. Marriage had always been something Sooyoung had admired - the stability it provided with having your significant other as your rock keeping a hold on you every step of the way. But with Sungjae moving into her apartment, them already living together and planning their lives, it seemed as though they had skipped the milestone of a proposal. They had gone straight to being a couple that seemed to be married for years when they were just university sweethearts a few years prior.

As they drove back to their apartment, Sooyoung brought up the absurd idea introduced by the little boy at the cafe.

"-And do you know what he said to me? He told me that you wanted to marry me!" Sooyoung heartily laughed. "It was like he was trying to matchmake us or something!"