The Ordinary Proposal
Exactly one week after the talk of rings, I found myself lingering in front of my vanity, putting extra effort into my makeup. I usually avoid heavy layers to keep my skin clear, but today was an exception. "Ugh… it’s a bit tight. Have I been slacking lately? ...I’ll have to hit the gym for an extra session later."
I paired the look with a short skirt and stockings—an infallible choice for any man—and a tight-fitting knit top that clung to my curves, offering a visual treat that would have him drooling. I practiced a smile in the mirror, just in case a commemorative photo happened to be taken. It was a dinner reservation at a famous hotel, booked two days ago. Seungwoo had stammered through the request, looking as if he were about to confess something right then and there. Once I’d mentioned wanting a ring, he must have looked into it immediately. For someone who usually acted so indecisive, he had a surprisingly swift side. He seemed like a beast who didn't want to let a delicious piece of bait like Joo Yeoeun slip away.
"Honey, I'm here!♥"
As I stepped out of the taxi at the hotel entrance, Seungwoo was already waiting. He had styled his hair with mousse for the occasion. He wore a sharp suit that looked like he’d rented it for the day, a pocket square that didn't quite match, and a watch he never usually wore. 'Pfft!?' I swallowed a laugh. He was telegraphing his intentions from the very start. His dressed-up appearance and the atmosphere he was projecting were completely different from his usual self. Plus, perhaps thanks to the suit, his broad frame was on full display. He’d been saying that exercise had become a part of his daily routine, and now that he was showing off such a masculine aura, I felt a shiver run all the way down to my core. 'Hmm… so, a hotel proposal, is it?' It wasn't exactly spontaneous, but it was a safe choice. Even if it wasn't particularly exciting, just seeing that face of his, ready to burst with shyness, made me feel wonderful.
"S-shall we go in?"
"Yes!♥"
I linked my arm with his. Entering this grand hotel, we were a couple. 'If we were in a foreign country, would my last name change by the time we walked out?' I couldn't stop smiling as I imagined what we might become by the end of the night.
One hour later. '……What is this?' Nothing. By the time we were finishing the hotel meal, absolutely nothing had happened. I had been on edge, expecting staff to swarm in for a surprise event, glancing at the empty piano to see if a pianist would suddenly walk up, and checking the ceiling for hidden devices that might shower us with flower petals. But nothing. I even chewed my food slowly, wondering if the ring was hidden inside one of the fancy courses. But nothing. It was almost impressive how little was happening.
'Is it in the alcohol…?' It was a deep red wine. *Gulp, gulp…!* I downed it, hoping a round ring would appear at the bottom. But, as expected, I only saw the bottom of the glass with a little puddle of wine left. Nothing happened. I had been brought all the way here, and my burning anticipation was dying down to mere embers.
"Um… if you're finished, shall we head out?"
"Ah…!?"
S-so that was it?! Now I realized the hotel meal was just the prelude. Just something to fill our stomachs before setting the mood. The event must be waiting in the room he’d booked! 'Ugh… I shouldn't have been so thorough about clearing my plate!' The food was delicious, but I resented how much I’d stuffed myself just to find a ring.
As he escorted me, I pressed a hand to my stomach and stood up. With the staff’s polite guidance, we headed up to the 15th floor, presumably to a room with a great view for the event. 'The event starts in there, right?' With a pounding heart, I turned the doorknob of the room we were led to. I stepped inside, my heart fluttering, all the way to the bedroom—
'………Huh?'
The room was beautiful. It was clear he’d spent a decent amount of money, and the night view of Seoul through the glass was moody and deep. But there were no balloons. There were no strings to pull for a banner, not even a message for a proposal. This was just a hotel room. A clean, well-maintained, expensive hotel room. I turned to him, wondering if there had been a mistake, when he said, "Um… then, I’ll go wash up first?"
"Oh……? You're going to wash up just like that?"
"Yeah… I put mousse in my hair, which is different from usual, and it feels so stiff and strange. Sorry, but I’ll go in first."
"O-oh, okay…."
That was really it. I heard the water running in the bathroom, and after he came out, it was my turn. Just in case, really just in case, he was going to give it to me during sex, we even did that, but nothing happened. We just spent the time like we were on a staycation, eating and relaxing before heading home. That day ended just like that. I wanted to point out so many things, but even I knew to hold my tongue when it came to a once-in-a-lifetime event.
A week passed. 'Right, the hotel was a bluff, and he’s planning to go for the win here!?' We arrived at a famous 3-star fine dining restaurant that was frequently featured in the media. We had dressed up well again, claiming we were lucky to get a cancellation. But, 'Sigh, ha… when on earth is the ring I ordered coming out?!' I really don't like overeating. A diet is essential to maintain my figure, which also serves as promotion for my Pilates studio. Besides, I’d been eating so happily since meeting him that I was keeping a tight rein on my intake; I wouldn't forgive myself if I gained even 0.5kg today. Still, I chewed every bite meticulously, fueled by the single thought that the ring must be hidden in the food. I ate even the last dessert, digging through it with the determination of someone training in hell, but—
"S-shall we go then?"
"……!?"
It was over again. I had waited for that tiny ring while eating until I was full to the throat, but we left without any event. My second expectation was shattered. My second resolve was pushed aside just like that. We had simply enjoyed a delicious meal in a nice place. Was it nice to eat with my lover and enjoy the atmosphere? Of course it was. 'But why act like you're about to propose, only to leave after just eating!?' It was meaningless. Like cracking open a chestnut only to find it hollow and eaten by bugs. I was burning with frustration at his incomprehensible behavior. Yet, this disaster repeated two more times. We went to a snowy, secluded villa in Gangwon-do to enjoy the atmosphere, but we left without doing anything in that natural set. We visited the amusement park where we had our first date, but he just hemmed and hawed, and nothing happened.
'Are you trying to do it now!?' By this point, I was stubborn enough not to let the words "ring" or "proposal" pass my lips. I held back, wondering if he was waiting for Christmas, but—
"Then, I'll go buy some beer at the convenience store before the fireworks start?"
"……Do whatever you want."
On that day, we met quite ordinarily. He suggested we watch the fireworks at the Han River park for Christmas Eve, and I sat huddled on the hill, a place I’d been tired of seeing since I was a child. While he was away buying beer, I pulled my legs in and let out a deep sigh. 'Sigh… maybe he doesn't have the heart for it yet?' Come to think of it, it might have been an arrogant expectation. Like clapping with one hand, his opinion was incredibly important if we were to move to the next level. Was this just the result of my own heart racing ahead? As I tasted the bitterness, I heard familiar footsteps behind me.
"Here's the beer."
"……Thanks."
*Crack!*
"And this, too."
"? You didn't have to buy snacks—"
I turned around. The moment I did, my dopamine levels spiked. What he was holding in his hand was… none other than a ring case. It was dark, so I wondered if I’d seen wrong, but as soon as he opened the case, the golden light reflected off the nearby streetlamp. It was incredibly beautiful. The ring I’d dreamed of for weeks was so delicate and lovely. My blood started pumping faster. I bit my lip in excitement, then glared at him with wide eyes.
"Hey, why now?"
"……Ugh."
"You missed all those good opportunities, so why give it to me so abruptly now?"
I was happy to finally see the ring, but I was also annoyed. I couldn't understand it at all. Why drag it out and then just toss it at me here on the riverbank without any mood? He just exhaled a puff of white breath into the cold air. He thought for a moment while holding the ring case, then spoke plainly.
"Actually… I felt a sense of shame while spending so much money in front of you, saying I was preparing a proposal."
"……?"
I couldn't understand what that meant. I chewed on it for a moment, then narrowed my eyes and asked, "Are you saying it's a waste of money to spend on me?"
"Huh? …No, no! How could that be? That's not what I meant…"
After a sigh and a pause, he continued, "With my ability, I can't make you happy like that every day, so I felt a 'sage moment' of realization after acting like I was showing off with money."
"What?"
"Isn't it true? Even if I think about it again, the income gap between you and me is obvious, right? Unlike you, Yeoeun, I can't make every day special for you, so I couldn't bring myself to say, 'I'll make you happy every day' in a place like that. It felt like I was just puffing out my chest for no reason."
I didn't immediately empathize, but I got the gist of what he was saying about the "income gap." I thought he’d moved past it, but Seungwoo was still worried. About the "gap" that he’d been harping on about since we first met.
"I've felt this for a while, but don't you think too much?"
To think he was still hesitating for a reason like that. I couldn't say he didn't have a lot of financial leeway, but he was truly different from other men. It was reliable that he was the type to deliberate over everything, but he thought so much that he ended up making the wrong move himself.
"Well… it feels a bit late to say this since we've come this far, but I couldn't shake it off because I was being serious. I’d had the ring case in my pocket ever since we went to the hotel, but the words just wouldn't come out. So, I even canceled the events I’d planned halfway through, when I went to the bathroom."
"……."
"So I gave it more time to think… but the timing just never felt right."
I thought about slapping his cheek. If he showed any sign of being a coward and digging his own grave again, I was ready to bite his arm.
"But."
Before the next words came out.
"I’ve made up my mind now. I… I really like today."
"? Today?"
"Us right now. It’s nice to take my lover to an expensive hotel or restaurant and feed her well, but I’m still happy just meeting like this without much effort, cracking open a canned beer, and looking at your face. Just coming out empty-handed and watching the free fireworks makes my heart warm."
"……."
"Chatting at the same cafe every day, looking around the streets to see what’s trendy, going to each other's homes, turning on Netflix, and holding hands—come to think of it, nothing particularly special has happened since I started dating you, Yeoeun. But I liked that it wasn't special. It was enjoyable enough even without being special. I can give you this kind of 'ordinary daily life' enough."
The excitement that had sunk low began to rise calmly. His cute, courageous confession, which he’d spilled out after acting like a coward, touched my heart like a fluttering feather.
"So, Joo Yeoeun."
And he went for the climax, seizing the timing.
"Y-yes!"
I became so serious that I accidentally used formal speech. Before he even said anything, the fine hairs on my skin stood up, drenched in anticipation, because of his serious gaze, so unlike his usual hazy look.
"As I mentioned before, there isn't much I can give you."
"No, that's—"
"Still, still, I can cherish you more than anyone else. If it’s in front of you, Yeoeun, I have the confidence never to tell a useless lie, and I can be on your side more than anyone else for the rest of my life. Most of all… I don't want anyone but you anymore."
Seungwoo grabbed my hand. The beer can he’d already opened fell onto the grass and spilled everywhere, but he didn't care at all. He only followed the shape of my lips. As I stared blankly at his mouth, feeling the electricity enveloping my whole body, he said,
"So, Joo Yeoeun! Will you—"
He was going strong, but he stopped there. He rolled his eyes, thinking for a moment, and then, very much like Son Seungwoo, he quietly changed the phrasing.
"Will you… be with me forever?"
Rather than the restraint of marriage, he was confirming our hearts first. And the order of "being together forever," which followed like a trap, held a stronger binding force than marriage. 'Really, really, really! If you can talk this well, why…!' My boyfriend is cool. My boyfriend, as expected, does it when it counts. The eloquence that comes out properly when it needs to is just lovely.
We were just sitting on the Han River bank, but it made my heart sweeter than the atmosphere of an expensive, gold-plated hotel or the desserts at a restaurant. *Squeeze!* I couldn't hold it in anymore because my heart was pounding. My boyfriend in front of me looked so adorable I thought I might die. I wanted to rub my face against that shy face of his, but I held back and answered first.
"You… you don't even know how much you've already given me, do you?"
Everything was good, but I had to correct that. The claim that he hadn't given much and couldn't give much was wrong. Actually, there were many places I wanted to correct in his confession, but for now, I modestly followed this order.
"Put it on… my ring finger.♥"
"……!"
I held out my left hand. As I held it out softly, like an old medieval aristocratic custom, his face flushed a beautiful red. Seeing that look of someone who had gained the whole world made me feel good, too. *Tremble, tremble…* Finally, my boyfriend—no, my future husband (…♥)—placed the ring on my finger with shaking hands. He was so nervous he missed a few times, looking pathetic, but he finally pushed it all the way on. *Squeeze♥* My ring finger was filled. A promise that no other man could enter was now engraved.
I was the one who received the ring, but he looked like he was going to die of happiness. "Hehehe♥ Do you like it that much?"
"I think I might die of happiness… can I hug you?"
"It's yours now, do you need permission for every little thing?"
At that signal, I threw myself into his arms. Just like at the amusement park hotel where we first went, we sat on the riverbank and hugged, as if just holding each other was enough. *Whoosh— Pop! Pop! Pop!* Just then, the fireworks started. Every time a firework soared into the sky and embroidered it with sparkles, the spectators sitting by the Han River let out small exclamations of wonder.
'…I can't see it.'
But because I was buried in his arms, I was at an angle where I couldn't see. I couldn't even turn my head because of his tight hold, showing no sign of letting go. 'Hmm~ what does it matter? I can just watch the fireworks with him next time.♥' So I decided to give up cleanly. I just kept my own "now," held in his arms. I whispered, giggling in my own sanctuary, that there was more to see right here. 'Anyway… saying he hasn't done anything for me, he’s such a fool.'
A man named Son Seungwoo is a fool who looks at someone else's empty rice jar before his own. He really is a fool. He’s filled my heart so full, yet he says he hasn't given me anything. If I were him, I’d wag my tail every day saying I was happy to death, so how could I push him away? 'Anyway, the cute retriever has been adopted.♥' If I received any more, I’d burst. Like he said, just being ordinary like this is perfect. I’m full just from the ordinariness of being together.