“Quick! Tae! You twisted your ankle!”
“Wha—?” Suddenly, Tae was scooped up into two strong arms as Jungkook began to speak loudly.
“Tae, man, are you ok? I know it hurts, but please don’t cry. I don’t want to cry in public. Again. I think you just twisted it. You’ll be ok. We’re on break. You have time to heal. We don’t have any concerts to perform for three weeks.”
Tae took his cue from Jungkook and began to cry, a lone tear tracing its way down his cheek. “It really hurts, Jungkook. Why did we have to play cricket in the park today? I mean, Jiminie’s not even here with us.”
Breeze turned around. “Jungkook? Tae? Are you ok?”
Tae looked up at her as she and Namjoon approached them. Namjoon narrowed his eyes as he looked at both boys. What was their game?
“So, Tae, you hurt your ankle?” Namjoon knew just how to get back at them. “Jungkook will carry you home. We’ll follow you the whole way.” Namjoon smiled as he noted the distressed look on Jungkook’s face.
“Um, Namjoon, that’s a long way, and Tae is kind of heavy. Do you think you could help carry him part of the way?”
“No, Jungkook, you’re doing a great job! We all know how strong you are! Just think of the big muscles you’re building! All the girls will swoon at our next concert. Besides, I have to carry this picnic basket and blanket.”
Jungkook swallowed his discomfort and tightened his hold on Tae. He shook his head. The things he let Tae talk him into. He groaned as he shifted Tae’s weight and began the long walk back to the hotel. At least they’d gotten the pictures they needed.
Halfway home Namjoon took pity on Jungkook. “Jungkook, can you make it the rest of the way by yourself? I need to get Breeze back to Eomma’s house for lunch.”
Jungkook sighed with obvious relief. “Yes. You two go. We’ll see you tonight.”
Namjoon nodded, and he and Breeze walked away, turning the corner towards home. Jungkook sighed with relief as he practically dropped Tae on the road.
“Hey, injured actor here! Is that any way to treat a friend? Or a fellow actor? My acting skills saved our bacon back there!”
“Your acting skills? I’m the one who noticed Namjoon turning towards us! If I hadn’t been so quick on my feet, we might have faced an interrogation.”
“That was a close call.” Now it was Tae’s turn to sigh with relief.
“Nice touch crying back there, Tae.”
“Yes, echoes of my acting days.”
“They’re not over yet.”
“Oh, they’re not?”
“I think you just won an award for your performance today. If ARMY had seen it, we’d be inundated by flower bouquets.”
Namjoon and Breeze watched Jungkook unceremoniously drop Tae on the pavement. Then both boys walked home, completely free from injury.
“What was all that about?” Breeze questioned Namjoon.
“Hmm…” Namjoon might have had a clue. Both Tae and Jungkook had been wearing their cameras around their necks. But he kept his thoughts to himself, simply shrugging his shoulders. “With those two, you never know.”
He was smiling, though. He had a feeling they’d been up to something good. He felt kind of bad for making Jungkook walk several blocks carrying Tae.
—
After lunch, Namjoon escorted Breeze out to his mother’s garden. She looked inquiringly up at him when he finally stopped walking.
“I have a birthday present for you,” he whispered.
“For me? Joonie, my birthday isn’t till January.”
“I know. It’s my birthday present. For you.”
She gazed at him quizzically. “Joonie, you’ve already given me so many wonderful presents. Today is your birthday, and I gave you one simple gift.”
“No. You gave me the best birthday gift. You gave me your heart. I’ve waited a long time – years – to have a girl to lavish my love on. You can’t blame me for spending my money on you. I once spent $500 on a pair of the cutest baby booties just because I can’t wait to be a dad. So…now that I’ve found the girl I want to marry, shouldn’t I spend some money on her too? After all, I can’t put those booties to use without her.” He had bent close to her to whisper his love in a sweet breeze that caressed her cheek.
She gazed up at him as tears filled her eyes. He had just said he wanted to marry her. And have babies with her. Her dream come true. She must be asleep. He’d known her for six days. None of this made any sense. Had reading her letters really made him feel this close to her? Her book had convinced him she was marriage material? She was so overwhelmed. But visions of their future danced in her head.
She could see herself clothed in a long white dress, her hair in a curling, waterfall braid, as she walked down a long, flower-lined aisle towards Joonie, dressed in a black tux – oh, he looked so fine! – and heading a line of six other sharply dressed young men, all clad in the same black tux, each sporting a sea-foam green boutonniere. Her best friends, all three of them, were standing with Joonie’s sister, Hobi’s sister, and Tae’s sister, waiting for Breeze to complete her walk down the aisle.
“Breeze?”
She came back to this precious moment in time and raised her eyes to meet his own again. He smiled at her and then glanced down at his pocket. She watched as he pulled out another burgundy velvet box. She reached for it tentatively, her heart racing now. Was he asking her to marry him?
She opened it to unearth a lovely, aquamarine heart necklace on a gold chain. It perfectly matched the earrings kissing her earlobes right now. Her heart resumed its steady rhythm. She couldn’t even be disappointed. This necklace was so beautiful. She gazed up at him.
“It’s stunning, Joonie!”
“Just like you, Breeze. May I put it on you?”
She nodded. He took the necklace from the box as she turned her back towards him. He reached around her neck and allowed the pendant to drop onto her chest as his nimble fingers threaded the chain around her neck and joined the clasp in the back. She fingered the jeweled heart as he walked around to face her again.
“Thank you, Breeze, for coming to be with me on my birthday. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate my life than here with you in Ilsan.”
“It’s been my pleasure, Joonie. There’s no place in the world I’d rather be than here with you. This is my dream come true.”
—
Late in the afternoon, all his friends congregated at his eomma’s house.
Jungkook carried Tae through the doorway. Namjoon studied them, wondering why they were still playing this game. He could wait; he was a very patient man.
“So, Tae, how is your ankle? Do you think you’ll be recovered by October?” Not waiting for a response, Namjoon added, “I’m wondering how Jungkook’s back is too after walking all those blocks carrying you.”
Tae waved his hand around. “You know Jungkook. He’s strong as an ox. And I have a feeling I’ll be fine by tomorrow.”
“Speaking of that, how exactly did you injure yourself?”
“Well, you see, Jungkook and I were playing cricket in the park. It was my turn at bat. When I went to run, I caught my foot in a hole. Must have twisted my ankle then.”
“It was the strangest thing, but I didn’t notice either you or Jungkook carrying a ball, a bat, or a wicket.”
Tae thought fast. “That’s because we borrowed them from some other people who were playing.”
Big, fat liar, Namjoon wanted to say. But he kept his own counsel, waiting to see how the evening unfolded.