The Proposal
Sia stared at me blankly for a moment.
“This… is it… what I’ve been thinking about…?”
She asked, her voice full of disbelief.
I gave a silent nod and opened the ring case.
A pair of rings gleamed under the surrounding lights.
“Ah….”
Once she confirmed the rings were inside, Sia finally realized my words were real.
“R… really? You’ll… really date me?”
“Yeah. Of course.”
“Ah….”
Sia, still dazed, her large eyes grew teary.
Plop.
One tear fell, then another.
“Eh? Eh? It’s not sad… it’s happy… Ah… tears won’t stop… I need to stop them quickly….”
Lost in her own flowing tears, Sia started babbling in confusion.
I reached out and pulled her into a tight hug.
“Ah…!”
“It’s okay, take a deep breath and you’ll feel better. I’ll hold you until then.”
“…… Yeah.”
I wrapped my arms around her.
Sia, nestled in my arms, leaned her head against my body.
The way she breathed in and out filled my senses completely.
“Hoo… yeah, I’m okay now… thank you.”
“Why are you crying like that, ruining that pretty face?”
“Puhu… if you say things like that, you have no choice but to feel better.
“Is it enough now?”
“…… No, I just want to stay like this a little longer….”
“Whatever you want.”
Sia buried her face in my arms, rubbing gently several times.
Then she finally relaxed.
“I’m really, really okay now. Thank you… Siwoo.”
“Why are you acting like this?”
“No… from the beginning, I was only yours.”
“Hearing that makes me happy.”
“Hehe….”
Sia, now calm, pulled back from my arms and met my eyes.
But her gaze still held a hint of unease.
I wondered if I really needed to say more, but a different thought surfaced.
“I’ll say it clearly—I like you, Sia.”
“……”
“This feeling has been with me from the very start. It’s not someone else’s plea or pity. It’s my own heart.”
“When… did you fall for me?”
“…… I’m not sure exactly… but when I realized my feelings, I was already in love with you.”
“…… I see.”
“Yeah. To put it bluntly, it started in elementary school. In the scenes I remember, I was always with you.”
“…… Then why didn’t you tell me sooner? You idiot….”
“……”
Sia scolded me with a hint of blame, but it was really just a pout.
She was embarrassed by her own words.
But I continued.
“Back then, I lacked confidence.”
“Confidence?”
“Yeah. Being by your side… In elementary school it didn’t matter, but after I entered middle school and realized how different we were…”
At middle school, Sia was incredibly popular.
Naturally, with her beautiful looks, almost everyone was kind to her, regardless of gender.
Since she received confessions from many people, it was only natural.
Plus, I didn’t think I was special back then.
Being next to her felt like a burden… and the people around us would judge us harshly.
As if I had become unworthy.
So I hid my feelings and stayed by her side.
Looking back now, it was foolish.
I thought my school life would stay like that.
But when high school came, everything changed.
With Sia leading me through the properly planned summer vacation, my confidence grew.
And knowing Sia wasn’t treating me like a little sibling but seeing me as a romantic partner…
I no longer had to hide my feelings.
Of course, there was a small hiccup when I learned her secret identity, but it didn’t affect me much.
The feeling was so strong it could ignore whether she was a succubus or not.
That’s why when I told her first, it was Sia… and I wanted to be the one to propose.
Sia, after hearing my story, said:
“Siwoo… you’ve always liked me too….”
“Yeah….”
“Idiot… you should have told me sooner….”
“I thought I wasn’t good enough for you.”
“Siwoo?”
“Yeah, that’s right… I was…”
“No! That’s not true at all!”
Sia exclaimed, then poured out everything.
“Siwoo, you’re such a good person! You naturally lean in when we’re together! If you’re cold, you hold my hand or drape your coat over me! When we date, you’re always worrying if my legs hurt!”
“There are things like that… but I thought you just weren’t matching my style on the outside.”
“But right now and in middle school, everything you do is perfect! It’s exactly my style!”
“…… Hearing that makes me happy, but back then I thought differently.”
“I… didn’t know that. So did you not want to be with me back then?”
Sia looked at me with worried eyes.
She seemed worried that being next to me in middle school hadn’t been a burden… but I hadn’t minded at all.
“No, not at all. Actually, being able to be with you—the one I’m in love with—felt even better.”
“I see….”
“It’s like the top idol of the school.”
“…… I wasn’t kind back then… I should have been gentle only with you and cold to others….”
“Why?”
“Because that way Siwoo would notice… that I only favor you. That I like you too.”
“…… I don’t think so. Even if you did that, I probably wouldn’t have confessed.”
Of course I wasn’t oblivious—Sia’s feelings would have been obvious quickly—but confessing would still have been hesitant.
Because I was afraid the relationship would break if I was wrong.
“So you don’t need to blame yourself.”
“…… Yeah, thank you.”
Our bond quieted once more.
The chilly night air of December blew over the mountain toward us, but we felt no cold.
Because there was no space for anything else in our minds.
We were full of thoughts about each other.
After choosing words, Sia spoke first.
“Hey Siwoo… can you show me the ring again?”
“Yeah….”
I took the case from my pocket and opened it.
Sia stared at the rings, then noticed something odd and looked up.
“But… are these not couple rings?”
“Of course they are.”
“But… what material is this? I’ve checked silver rings many times… they weren’t like this. Wait, no?”
Sia was right.
“This is platinum.”
“Plati…num? Not gold?”
“Yeah, platinum.”
“Eh… wait… how… that wasn’t cheap. Then how did you….”
“I just saved what I got for Sebaett-eon or pocket money from relatives.”
Actually, only half of my story was accurate.
I used the money more for others’ birthday gifts, so it was spent gradually, and platinum was expensive.
That’s why I told my mom I’d take allowance instead of a card.
Because she would give me allowance, I could buy the ring.
“No way… it’s too expensive… I’m fine with silver, let’s use silver, okay?”
“This is 18K, it’s fine.”
“But I’m not! You’re burdening me too much….”
“Burden? That’s nonsense. Besides, this already has initials engraved, no refunds.”
“……”
After my words, Sia deflated again.
While I was wondering how to fix it, an idea struck.
“Give me your hand. I’ll put it on for you.”
“…… Yeah.”
I took out the smaller ring from the case. Inside was:
[S♡S]
Then I slid it onto Sia’s left ring finger.
Sia’s finger fit perfectly.
“It fits….”
“Good.”
“How….”
“It’s a secret.”
Actually, I had it made according to Sia’s ring size from the accessory shop owner who hinted at it in Hongdae.
“Ah….”
Sia, staring at her hand, her eyes reddened again and tears fell.
Thinking of how to stop them, I had a good idea.
“Then later, when we get married, we can melt this and make another ring.”
“Eh…?”
“After melting it, add a small gemstone here and turn it into a wedding ring. No need to worry.”
“Th… that’s…”
Sia stopped crying and stared at me blankly.
She mumbled something, but I understood.
I smiled silently.
“I love you, Siwoo.”
Sia said it as she pressed her lips to mine.
I held her properly and didn’t refuse the kiss.
And while we kissed, snowflakes began falling from the sky.
We continued kissing, taking in the snowflakes falling on Namsan.
Our first kiss… was incredibly sweet.