Chapter 14
"The confession?" Xiaoting answers in a whisper.
"It took me a while to answer, didn't I?", Yujin nods slowly as if remembering how long has it been.
Of course, Xiaoting remembers. She remembers it so well. Three months have passed since she confessed. Actually, it's only two days short to be on its fourth. But she quickly shook her head. "No, no. It's fine, unnie. You don't have to--"
"But I want to." The bubbly Yujin turned serious and it only makes Xiaoting even more nervous. She isn't going to be rejected at this place, is she? Is this the reason she brought her here? So the rejection would hurt less? No, no. She shook that thought out of her head. Her sweet Yujin isn't cruel like that.
"Hey, hey. Relax, Ting. Look at me." Yujin noticed the change in Xiaoting. The younger looks worried and tensed.
"Ok, I'll get it over quickly." The leader put her hands over Xiaoting's shoulders.
"Ting, the reason why it took me long is that I thought about it long and hard. I was worried that after you said that, you'll come to me and say you never meant anything."
Xiaoting put her head low after hearing that. She have caused Yujin great distress and it's something she would regret for long. In a low voice, she uttered a sorry. If she needs to apologize over and over again, she would gladly do.
"Oh no. Ting. Ting, look at me." Yujin held Xiaoting's chin and gently raise it so their eyes could met. "I didn't bring it up to hear you apologize. I told you already, right? We're done with it. I forgave you for that. I just wanted you to know." Yujin explained.
Xiaoting nodded and as soon as Yujin smiled at her, she feels at ease once again.
"As what I'm saying, I waited, but you didn't take it back. Instead, you made it up to me and showed me that you mean it."
Yujin puffs up her cheeks and looks down on her feet. For some reasons, she feels guilty of not trusting Xiaoting then. She decided not to tell this anymore.
"I thought it would also be hard for you. You were afraid of the possibility of losing me. And I don't like that you are fighting alone with that. That's why, I... I started thinking of what could be the next for us."
Xiaoting's heart flutters with Yujin's words. The next? For them? Oh my god!
"What do you mean by that unnie?" She manage to say, although her heart seems to jump out her chest.
"You know, we couldn't go back to just being friends. Especially if we both feel the same way." Yujin smiles and it turns from confident to shy.
"Oh my god!" Xiaoting' gasps makes Yujin look at her again. "You mean, you still like me?" She asks excitedly.
The leader sees how her member's eyes sparkle at what she heard. She smiles widely, suddenly feeling proud of making Xiaoting react like this.
"Truth is, I never stopped liking you. I tried, when I felt there wouldn't be chance for us, but what I feel for you persists. So I just let myself feel it." Yujin shrugged and said it like it was a matter of fact.
"Unnie..."
Yujin was caught off guard when the younger threw herself at her for a hug.
"Unnie, thank you for still liking me," Xiaoting said after parting from the hug.
"What's there to thank for?" The leader laughs.
"It's just that... I thought you liked someone else already. So thank you that it's still me. Thank you. It's still me, wow. Thank you, thank you, really."
Xiaoting smiles with relief. While Yujin giggles cutely at the comment. Her heart swells at how adorable this girl is. It can't be helped now. She has to have her.
"If I like someone else, then I wouldn't give this to you, would I?"
The leader handed her a small thing and Xiaoting was surprised she gasped loudly.
It's a lock. A heart-shaped, pink lock. Their initials, CYJ x SXT, and the date are written on it by a marker. Yujin prepared for this.
"You told me of the things you're afraid of. And I was making myself ready for how we can get through it. I know I can't promise that we'll always be together like this. We're bound to go separate ways. But, Ting..." Yujin pauses to scoot closer and holds Xiaoting's hands.
"Ting, I promise I will never give up on you. We'll make things work, ok? And this lock is the symbol of that promise." She smiles confidently at her.
"Aww, unnie." The younger girl is so touched she barely thinks of better words to say so she just squishes Yujin's hand.
"I wanted to assure you before I ask you something." The leader said after a silence.
"Ask me something? About what?" Xiaoting innocently asked.
From the confidence of her assurance a minute earlier, Xiaoting noticed the shift of Yujin's gaze. She suddenly looks nervous.
"Uhm... well, here goes." The younger watches as Yujin fumbles in her pocket, taking out a small thing that fits her hand.
"Shen Xiaoting, I hope it isn't abrupt to ask this, but... would you be my girlfriend?"
Yujin nervously smiles at the surprised Xiaoting. She opens her hand to reveal a black and white bead ring.
"Oh my god!" Xiaoting gasped.
Then there came an explosion. An explosion happening inside Xiaoting. She swears she feels like bursting into a colorful ray of lights similar to the fireworks in a night sky.
That question confirms that all those scenes she watched from those romantic flicks feel exactly how she thought they would. It's warm and sweet, yet also brings a thrilling sensation inside her. It's wonderful.
It's even more heart-fluttering that Yujin is doing it here, from where she always wanted to go as soon as she set foot in Seoul. She gets that they couldn't date as freely as they wanted. They're both girls who want to be in a relationship in a society where this kind of thing is frowned upon. They're also public figures, idols on top of that.
However, Yujin assuring her and then asking her confidently, in this public space, makes her heart swell with pride. Someone could photograph them. Someone could overhear them. Although very unlikely, and easy to reason out from, Xiaoting realized how much Yujin is willing to risk for her.
She would joke that Yujin is not romantic, but this? This is beyond everything she imagined. This is better than any romance films she watched.
Xiaoting is enthralled by the moment that she just gestured to Yujin to put the ring on her finger. Her actions give away the 'yes' before she even said it.
"So... is it a yes?" Yujin asked.
Xiaoting swats her arm seeing that smirk and the playful expression on her face.
Yujin asked again expectantly.
"It's a yes, right?"
"Of course. It's a yes." Xiaoting nods shyly.
Yujin smiles widely at her and puts the ring on her index finger. The older woman took out another ring from the back of her pocket, a white and pink one, and asked her to put it on hers too.
"Tada! Yours is like Kuromi's and mine is My Melody."
Xiaoting giggles. There's something cute about Yujin and her gifts. First, the wildflower from when she confessed, which was a reference to the messy bouquet she gave Yujin at that time. Then this one, when she's asked to be her girlfriend.
The two stayed quiet for some minutes. They're just feeling the warmth and calmness of the moment. Soon, Yujin stood up and held her hand for Xiaoting to grab. They walked to the corner of the railings and put their love lock on it.
"Now, we also have made our promise here," Yujin said softly as she turned to see her now girlfriend, beaming at her. But Xiaoting suddenly pouted.
"I should have asked you first. I always wanted to ask you to be my girlfriend." She said.
"You didn't know how I feel though. But, Ting, I really appreciate that you didn't ask me about it then. You respected my silence and that gave me time to think things through." Yujin commented back that makes Xiaoting smiles brightly again.
Living with her for almost three years now, Yujin has seen her members from different happy causes, but this appearance, it's nothing like those. Xiaoting's eyes are gleaming. Her smiles are satisfied. Anyone who looks at her can tell how delighted the girl is.
"You always make me happy, unnie. But so much happier today. I love you." Xiaoting said and then wraps her lovely Yujin in a warm embrace.
Just like that, they felt that everything is going to be alright.