The Red Box

Clutching one stack of papers with one arm, Si tried to balance another pile and a coffee cup with the other as she struggled to open the door to her office. Just as her fingers brushed the door knob, her phone went off rather obnoxiously.

Boomshakalaka!

Si yelped and the papers fell from her arms, but thankfully she caught the coffee cup before it hit the precious leafs of paper. Digging through her purse, she found her phone which was was still booming, “boomshakalaka!” and earning curious glances from her coworkers.

“Hello,” Si answered breathlessly, pushing hair back from her face and smiling.

“Happy birthday,” came the deep reply on the other end.

“Thank you,” Si said, cradling the phone between her ear and shoulder to pick up her papers. “How's America?”

“Boring without you.”

“Mm-hm, sure. I'm sure G's gotten you in trouble with all those American girls already.” The voice on the other end snorted. “Don't lie to me, Seung Hyun.”

“I didn't even say anything!”

“You were going to,” Si laughed, opening her office and shuffling all the papers she couldn't pick up with her feet into the room.

“G's getting into trouble on his own without me,” Seung Hyun replied and his voice softened. “I'm sorry I can't be there for you birthday.”

“Don't worry about it,” his girlfriend replied, piling all her work on the desk. “I'll just eat ice cream and watch I Love Lee Tae Ri all over again.”

“I think I'm losing to that Kibum guy.”

“No one can ever outdo you, Mr. T.O.P.,” said Si and sat down in her chair.

“That's right,” he replied and Si rolled her eyes. “You'll have a present coming later tonight so that can help occupy your time.”

“Oooh, what is it?” Si questioned, leaning forward.

“Its a surprise,” came Seung Hyun's reply and she could hear the smile evident in his voice. “I'm pretty sure you'll like it.”

“Fine,” his girlfriend huffed. She looked at the clock on the wall and winced. “I gotta go, babe. Thank you for call. Oh, and good luck at your concert tonight! Tell the boys 'hi'.”

“I will.”

–

Si sighed and sat down on the couch, tucking her legs under her as she began to spoon ice cream into her mouth, eyes glued to the TV. Through channel surfing, she'd found reruns of Iris and decided on that as a way to celebrate her birthday. Even though T.O.P. wasn't there, he could be in a different way. As a psycho assassin who killed at least one person every time he popped on the screen.

It was actually kind of sexy the way he showed no remorse for anything he did and walked around like a total badass. Si smiled to herself and watched the scene that had ensued on the screen.

Boomshakalaka!

Si jumped as her phone began to sing again and picked it up. “Yes?”

“Your present should be there any second.”

“How do you know?”

“Just wait for it...” The doorbell rang through the house and Si looked to the door. “Is it there?”

“Maybe,” answered Si warily, getting up from the couch. She opened the door and peered out. A figure stood on the porch, holding an extremely large bouquet of scarlet roses in front of them, obscuring their face.

“Its here,” Si said into the phone with a smile.

“I know,” the voice echoed in her ear from behind the bush of flowers. Si's eyes widened and the bouquet lowered to reveal Seung Hyun's face, one hand pressing the phone to his ear. “Happy birthday,” he said with a smile and pressed the “end” button.

Si stared at him in shock. “How are you even here?”

T.O.P.'s eyebrows raised and he turned his body. “I can leave...”

“No!” she said quickly. A grin sparked across her face as she was enveloped in his arms. “I just can't believe you're here...”

“I wouldn't miss this,” Seung Hyun said.

“Why?” laughed Si. “Its just another birthday.”

He gave her that smile that said more. “Go get your coat on. There's more to this besides these.” He gestured to the flowers blossoming from his hand.

Si took them from him and hurried into the house. Grabbing her coat and scarf from the hook beside the door and pulling on her snow boots, she met T.O.P. outside again. He offered her his arm and she gladly took it.

The stroll to the park was a couple of blocks from Si's house and it was a beautiful night. The air was still—chilly, but bearable. A fresh blanket of snow lay across the ground, encrusting trees and anything else immobile. The full moon's light sparkled on the undisturbed canvas.

Si breathed in deeply. Winter was the most beautiful time of year, a time to cherish and enjoy the beauty that nature brought. The sight of new snow, blank and untouched was the young woman's favorite part of the whole season. She looked up at T.O.P. and then down at the scraped-over sidewalk they were walking across. She broke away from his grasp and bent down.

T.O.P. looked at her questioningly. He was taken by surprise when she whirled around and flew a handful of the cold powder at his face. He scrunched up his face and brushed it aside before taking after her as she skipping down the sidewalk. She screamed when she saw his advance, shrieking louder when he grabbed her around the waist and easily swept her into his arms.

“And what was that for?” Seung Hyun demanded, keeping a perfectly straight face as he glared down at her.

Si—all too used to his intimidating facade—smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I felt like it.”

“You sound like Jiyong,” he grumbled and Si laughed.

They continued their trip across the park like that before a park bench met them. He set her on her feet and dusted the snow off before offering the seat to her and then taking one for himself. Si 's head rested on his shoulder and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

“Thank you,” Si breathed. “This was perfect.” In reality, she wasn't surprised Seung Hyun did something special like that for her. He knew what she liked and loved and craved and wanted. His romantic side was more distinct than people realized. Something as simple as a walk through the park at night was enough to make Si bubble with joy and he knew that.

Seung Hyun kissed the top of her head. “I'm glad you thought so.”

The two of them sat their in silence for a long while. The sound of the busy city was muffled and far away, leaving peace and quiet for the two lovers in the park. Si was nearly asleep in T.O.P.'s warm embrace when he stirred and cleared his throat.

“There's something else,” he said, digging into his coat pocket.

Si lifted her head and blinked away drowsiness as he drew his hand back. A small red box, its color contrast extreme in the bright gray of the nighttime winter world, was in his gloved hand. Si dared not try to think of what was in it. Slowly, he opened it. The diamond that sparkled within was a twin to the snow glistening around them.

“Will you marry me?” His voice was barely above a whisper; its husky, deep tone sending goosebumps over Si's skin as she stared at the ring cradled in the box.

She swallowed, tearing her eyes from the diamond as if it might disappear and looked up at her boyfriend, eyes full of questions. A few moments passed before her dark eyes brightened with the smile that formed on her face.

“Yes.”