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Gi-hun sat on the brown and white plaid picnic blanket. He ran two fingers over it and was extremely glad it was dry. He'd spent months planning this day and it would be a real shame if something as frivolous as the weather ruined it.
He prepared some food and a couple of snacks. He even brought a flask of green tea, a special, calming blend the graying woman who ran the local herbal store told him is best. She always waved her finger at him with a hunch in her back and asked what the occasion was. He would just shrug.
He doesn't visit her often, he finds she reminds him of Geum-ja— Young-sik's mother— a little too much. The memories are still fresh in his mind, waiting from the right moment to be called into the present.
Whenever he's there, he pushes the thoughts away with a polite smile. Typically it's either "ahh, our usual batch ran out," or "just something to go out," but this time, Gi-hun didn't hesitate to spill his plans for the afternoon.
She nodded along knowingly as he spoke. When he was done, she reached behind the shelves to fetch a heavy looking ceramic jar "I know just the blend you're looking for." She wiggled her eyebrows.
Gi-hun laughed awkwardly, leaving a stack of bills at the counter before shuffling his way out of the shop with his feet a little too close together. He pretended not to hear when the woman was calling him back, he shook his head, something about change.
He opened the woven picnic basket when he saw In-ho approaching in the distance. Gi-hun purposefully told him to arrive at a later time, knowing that In-ho made a point of always being early. It seems foresaw this too, as he is
"What's this?" In-ho sat cross-legged beside him. Their thighs almost brushed and Gi-hun hated the way it still sent a blush through his neck and cheeks. "It's not like you to ask me out like this.
It's true, it's not like Gi-hun at all to shoot a text with nothing but a location and time and he should have realized that it would make In-ho suspicious. Well, screw it, he better think something is up. It will make it better when he finally works up the courage to ask.
"Oh! Um..." C'mon Gi-hun, some composure. You've been together for two years now. "It's a picnic."
In-ho chuckled, the sound warm and pleasant. It reverberated nicely in Gi-hun's chest even though they weren't that close.
"Well, I can see that. I want to kn—"
"Would you like some gimbap?" Gi-hun began unwrapping it from the foil, not waiting for an answer and not looking at In-ho's stunned face. "It's a little mushy, but I'm sure it's still warm. I made it this morning."
"Ah," In-ho took a piece without protest. "Thank you, Gi-hun."
Gi-hun kept his head down. He busied himself with unwrapping strawberry and cream sandwiches and pouring them some green tea. What he did not do was unwrap the two, small, chocolate cakes. They were so small, they were practically cupcakes.
Gi-hun puffed out his cheeks to keep a laugh in as his hands roamed over the baked treats. He'd hidden something in them. A special surprise, one that was worth dragging In-ho to the park over.
Rings, Gi-hun grinned to himself. Gold ones, encrusted with little diamonds scattered about like stars. They were sharp and beautiful and as soon as Gi-hun he saw them, he knew that the pair was meant for them.
In-ho's eyes narrowed as he noticed Gi-hun's cherry red face, tears pricking his eyes from keeping in laughter and a sharp grin on his face. "Are you al—"
"I've missed you."
In-ho's expression softened, his shoulders sagged forward with relief and his posture loosened. "I wasn't gone that long anyway." He reasoned. "Just a few hours."
"Why do you still work anyway?" Gi-hun shifted to sit behind In-ho, draping himself over his back to mess with the hairs at the nape of his neck and massage the remaining tension from his shoulders. "We have all the money you could possibly want."
"It's good to assimilate with the locals."
Gi-hun scoffed. "Someone once told me it was better to hide away for months at a time to not draw any unnecessary attention."
In-ho turned back to cast a glance with a frown over to Gi-hun. It was his sincerest apology. "We had just left Korea. It was too fresh."
Gi-hun smiled. "Of course you did what's best for us in the long run." He dropped his hands and crawled over to sit in front of In-ho. "But why don't you quit?"
"It's nice to have something to do."
"I suppose." Gi-hun moved closer. "But we can spend that time together?"
He'd been worried about this since the start. That one day, In-ho would get bored of him, drop him into the trash and go back to the games. He was a career man, he made a life for himself before Gi-hun and this plain existence was clearly boring him.
"I mean, if you want to Gi-hun." In-ho brushed a strand of hair behind Gi-hun's ear. "I thought I'd give you some space."
"God on earth and heaven, why?" Gi-hun sounded equal parts concerned and confused.
"I read somewhere that the secret to a good relationship was balance."
"Have you been on BuzzFeed instead of working?" Gi-hun laughed.
In-ho went a little red and Gi-hun almost cheered.
The sun beat down on them pleasantly, neither too hot nor bright. Noon was coming soon, but it was no worry, Gi-hun set up their blanket beside a tree with many leaves. Gi-hun moved to lay down, his head resting on In-ho's lap. It only took them a minute to fall into a familiar routine of In-ho petting Gi-hun's hair, raking his fingers through it rhythmically. The feeling and the soft heat of the sun lulled him into a half sleep.
"It's almost as long as when we first met." In-ho said. "It suits you."
Gi-hun hummed into the light fabric of In-ho's pants. He couldn't be bothered to lift his head, nor respond for that matter.
It didn't make a difference, as In-ho kept on chattering to himself like someone that had a loose screw or two. "I've always wanted to braid your hair. It was one of my first thoughts, when I saw your smile plastered on that tile." He didn't stop brushing his fingers through his hair, fluffing it up only to smooth it back down again.
"It stood out to me. I wondered how you kept it so fluffy when you could barely afford to eat." Then, Gi-hun felt deft fingers pulling strands. He was starting a braid.
"And that hair dye! Oh!" One hand held the start of the braid in place, the other flew up to drap over In-ho's forehead like a fainting woman. "Red doesn't suit you."
Gi-hun chuckled, feeling his cheek get rubbed raw from where it was pressed into In-ho's thigh.
It was a nice way to spend the afternoon.
*
Once the sun began to fall and it's grew significantly colder, Gi-hun decided to do what he organized this whole thing for.
"In-ho, I have something for you." Gi-hun said, lifting himself out of In-ho's lap with a grunt.
"Oh really? Since when do you get me things?"
In-o looked surprised, his eyes wide. It was true. This kind of well planned get-together was completely out of character for the clumsy and easily distracted Gi-hun, oh but what love brings a man to do.
Gi-hun bent over to fish the cakes out of the picnic basket, and he handed one to In-ho with a smile on his face.
"What's this?" In-ho unwrapped the cake and Gi-hun did the same with a self-satisfied smirk on his face.
Gi-hun nibbled at the cake, and despite being very careful, smeared chocolate all over his face.
When he glanced over to In-ho, he noticed that the man was already half way through his dessert. He was about to go back to his own cake when he realized that In-ho just might have eaten the ring.
Quickly, Gi-hun swiped the remaining treat right from In-ho's hands, who now stared at him with a sort of irritated amusement.
"Okay, what the hell, darling?" He wasn't angry, but he certainly wasn't happy. The cake snatching must have gotten to him. "You've been acting strange all day."
"Oh— um, you..." Gi-hun felt himself flush red as the realization of what he had to say washed over him. He pointed weakly to In-ho's chest. "I think you might've eaten a ring."
"I might've what?"
Gi-hun fiddled with his thumbs in his lap, eyes darting anywhere to avoid look at In-ho. "A ring. There was a ring in the cake." He kept his voice devoid of emotion. "You probably swallowed it."
In-ho choked on air (not on cake, thankfully), and hit his chest a few times as if that would help to dislodge the long gone ring. His face went a little red from all the spluttering.
"Wait," Gi-hun put a hand on his shoulder to soothe him, when he realized that maybe In-ho hadn't eaten the ring and that it might still be in the leftover half of the cake.
With a grimace, he dug through the dessert, chocolatey sauce coating his fingers in a sticky mess. After a few seconds, the search became more frantic rather than just unpleasant, as he got through most of the cake. He threw the thing to the side with a sigh.
"So, did I eat the ring?" In-ho asked with a tinge of a laugh.
Gi-hun rubbed his hands over his face. "I can't believe I messed up this bad. How could I have not told you?"
Then, In-ho lunged at Gi-hun, wrapping his arms tightly around him.
Gi-hun clawed at his chest in a weak attempt to get away, but In-ho held him close. The warmth of his chest pressed against his face was almost as suffocating as how badly Gi-hun craved the contact. "Do you really want to marry me?" In-ho whispered, light as a feather.
"If this wasn't clear enough."
In-ho pulled him closer, shifting Gi-hun onto his lap. "Then I suppose you want to hear my answer."
Oh. Oh. Well that was embarrassing. He spent so much time thinking over the fine-tuning of his plan and then with In-ho swallowing the ring, he'd completely forgotten that a proposal requires an answer.
"So, um... Will you marry me?" He asked In-ho's shirt rather than the man himself.
"What do you think, Gi-hun?" For a second, Gi-hun was stunned into silence by uncertainty. Does In-ho really want to marry him? Then, In-ho took his cheeks between his palms to catch his eyes. He stared deeply before leaning in.
Just as their lips brushed, he said: "Yes. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, darling."
The kiss was brief and chaste and nothing compared to what they've shared already. The bond that Gi-hun just sealed between them only made a difference on paper. What they already had together ran much deeper.
They spent the rest of the evening pleasantly, only packing away the picnic to leave when it got too cold to sit outside comfortably any longer— even if they were wrapped up in each other's arms.