MISSION: Love

+ forty-three +

Hana

I was washing the dishes silently and enjoyed my peaceful time alone. Sunghoon was reading something in the living room since he found my old books. As soon as I was done with the last plate, I felt someone's hands snaking around my waist.

I felt Sunghoon's breath against my neck as he rested his chin on my shoulder. Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind. I began to think about the negative 'what-ifs'.

What if I never confessed my feelings to him?

He would continue getting married to Jinae. And I would probably spend the rest of my life alone, seeing him married to someone else.

I would probably keep the pain to myself and gaslight myself into believing that he was not meant to be with me.

I will probably gaslight and manipulate myself just like how I always did in high school.

And the pain will soon build up until I can't handle them anymore.

"What are you thinking?" He asked, feeling curious when he saw my scowling expression. I was brought back to reality after hearing his voice and my smile faded. I grabbed his hand and led him to the living room before taking a seat next to him.

He was still staring at me with his loving eyes. He had a bright smile on his face and pulled my body into a cuddle. He patted my back gently and I felt warmth all over me.

"When we were in high school, why did you always glare at me? You even had a frown on your face."

He chuckled, "I was too shy to talk to you. To me, you were the most beautiful girl there. That's why I always look at you when you don't notice."

"You're lying," I laughed. "I knew you liked Jay. I heard it from someone else. So I thought I didn't have a chance with you. But after seeing what he did to you, I couldn't see you bear the pain. So I thought I should always comfort you."

"So when Taehyun told you to fool me, you were actually in love with me?"

He nodded, "I was already in love with you the first time I saw you. But then when Taehyun suddenly told me to approach you, I thought this is my chance to make you love me. And probably we would end up with each other until now."

"I don't understand. You were always giving me a death stare. I don't get how that shows you love me."

"I don't know how to express my love to you. That's why I ended up being like a jerk that's annoyed whenever we make eye contact."

I burst into laughter and smacked him, seeing how innocent and vulnerable he was.

"I don't think we would still be together if we dated since high school."

"Why?" He frowned as he traced circles on my hand. "I was depressed. Being in love and having you accept my love and feelings would not change the fact that I was hurt and pained by my best friend. I would be insecure and gaslight myself into thinking Ahrin and Jihu could take you away from me. And that will result in me walking away from our relationship."

"We needed to be away from each other to focus on what we want and fix ourselves. And now you're a successful lawyer, Sunghoon. And I am the best in my profession. And if we're meant to be together, we don't have to worry about not meeting each other. Fate will simply bring us back to see each other again."

"And look where we are now. We are happy and together. I am not depressed anymore and I know my self-worth. And our relationship is stronger than ever. We understood each other very well and fought for each other. We parted ways before for a reason. To fix ourselves and realise that we needed to take care of ourselves. Then, we can finally take care of our beloved ones."

"You have done well, Hana-yah," he kissed my head lovingly, "I am so proud of you. You don't know how happy I was when I first saw you in the courtroom. I was glad that you had achieved your dreams of becoming a criminal psychologist. And it made me want to see you every day."

"Thank you," I muttered before leaning in for a kiss. He then stood up and told me to wait as he ran to his coat. I patiently waited for him and smiled when he came back. He kneeled on one knee in front of me and opened a ring box, revealing a diamond ring.

"We both have achieved our goals of becoming what we want. What's left is just to be together with each other forever. Will you marry me, Yoon Hana?"

"Yes!" I shouted excitedly and jumped on him, embracing him tightly so that he couldn't breathe. He held me by the waist to keep me from falling as he laughed due to my sudden reaction.

I pulled away and cupped his cheeks before initiating a kiss. He then deepened it and smiled in between the kisses, holding me tightly to make sure I'd never run away and leave him again.

It was the happiest day of my life because I knew that was the start of my life of becoming his wife. I would already have to start thinking of spending the rest of my life with him. I could even imagine us growing white hair together.

"I love you, Yoon Hana. I can't wait to wake up every time with you next to me."

"I love you too, Park Sunghoon."

I waited for you for ten years. And now, you're finally mine.

[ the end ]

This was one of my favourite stories to write. Hana's pain during her teenage years reminded me of what I felt and experienced during school. I've always been betrayed by my friends and I wanted to relate the problems to Hana's character. I wanted to write Hana as a character that experienced pain so much that she grew up to be a strong woman. And I wanted to show that since she couldn't get Jay to like her, there would always be a better fish in the sea. And that fish is Sunghoon.

I wanted to show that whoever is sad that their crush doesn't like them back, there would always be someone who would treat them better and fight for their love. Thank you for reading this story. Your comments have amused me and also made me learn some things as well. I love you guys so much <3