The Proposition

— Three Months Ago —

The soil beneath your feet was still wet from the rain that had fallen throughout the night. The sun was still grey and dim, as if the sky itself was mourning. At least the weather had chosen to ease down not long before the ceremony started, as if the universe was giving people the opportunity to leave their homes and gather in this place to give their final respect.

The last goodbye.

Your chest felt tight as you sat between your Mother and some other family members who had come to show their support. Yet you barely paid them any mind, keeping your eyes locked forward instead, stuck to one place. Just like how your mind refused to believe that this was real. That you were not stuck in a bad dream you couldn't wake up from. That a huge part of your life, your future, was now out of reach, and his whole presence which used to be larger than life, your entire universe, had been reduced to nothing more but the size of a wooden casket.

At least the thing was crafted beautifully.

The chest was made of refined wood, one of the most luxurious ones you could find. Finished in a glimmering black paint, it looked like a gem under the dim sunlight instead of drowned in a sea of black formed by the mourning guests circling around it.

A silver cross was placed right on top of it, and it sparkled even with the lack of sunlight, capturing your gaze. Bouquets of white roses and lilies were scattered around the wooden box, and you had picked the most beautiful one of all to be placed right under the cross atop the casket.

Because he deserved it.

Lost in your grief, the priest's voice reading the passages from the bible and the murmuring whispers from the people around you became nothing but white noise. The people around you felt like a mirage; present, but a distance away from you.

Nothing else mattered at that moment, after all. All you had in mind was to try and feel his presence for one last time, before the universe would take him away from you indefinitely.

The white noise shifted to a steady hum as you absentmindedly grazed your thumb over the ring on your finger. Feeling the cold metal and the sharp diamond brushing against your skin, the fog muddling your senses was lifted, and everything came rushing back in.

The cold, the whispering voices and the soft, sobbing noises made by the guests, and the words spoken by the priest as he concluded his prayers. You suddenly realised that your hands had been shaking. Your face was damp with tears running down your cheeks. With a gasp, you blinked them away and wiped the rest with the back of your hand.

But as you raised your chin, your gaze stopped at the framed picture displayed right across from you. His smile and the bright look in his eyes appeared very much alive, yet not enough to make you believe that he would be able to manifest right before your eyes.

Seeing his face again also brought back memories.

You remembered his smile—the one that he showed only to you—and the sound of his voice, his laughter, and even the scent of his cologne. You recalled the first day he came to greet you, introducing himself to you with the smug smile of his which managed to thaw your frozen heart. You remembered the first day he asked you out on a date, with cheeks blushing in the shade of crimson that came up to his ears. Then your memory brought back the night he lowered himself down to his knee, his hand holding up the small box containing the ring that was now wrapped around your finger as he proposed to you to be his future wife.

That night seemed like forever ago now. Thinking about it now only made you feel as if that night never truly happened. Just like how your world was soon tilted over when he was suddenly gone, and life felt like a nightmare that you somehow couldn't get out of.

The tears that fell after came out with rage. Anger at the universe for dealing you with a bad card, just when you thought that life was finally turning around for you.

A sob escaped you when your chest tightened with pain. Looking away from your fiancee's final resting place, your gaze was met with his sister's. Sitting right across from you, she looked small between the other guests, even if your ages were not too far apart. Her tears had mostly stopped, but the pain in her eyes remained, still evident and made clearer each time she took in deep, shaky breaths.

As if feeling your gaze on her, she raised her chin. For a moment, it felt like you were silently reaching out to each other in need of comfort. Yet there was nothing else that you could do except to remain in your seats until the priest and the speeches ended, exchanging gazes to keep each other company until your tears ceased from falling.

It was only an hour later when you found yourself holding each other in a comforting hug. Her shoulders trembled against your arms as she softly cried for one last time, while you felt like you had already run out of tears. Everyone else was starting to leave the cemetery grounds, leaving only the main families from both sides—his and yours—to remain, accepting condolences from the departing guests as they walked past by.

"It hurts," Jinhee said as you let go of each other, her eyes immediately wandered towards her older brother's final resting place. "It hurts too much to think that he's actually gone. I just"—she shook her head, sighing—"I can't believe that he's no longer with us."

The pain in your chest came back as you followed her gaze. "I know," you answered with a whisper, your throat still felt tight after crying for so long. "I also can't believe it. It feels worse at night when I'm alone." Sighing, you looked away to force a smile at her. "But we need to be strong. I'm sure he would've wanted that, don't you think?"

Nodding, she wiped her tears and gave you a grim smile. "I know that. I'll have to try and remember that once I'm back in the dorms," she said with a resigned sigh. "Please don't be a stranger. We were so close to being sisters, after all."

The smile that came to you nearly brought back more tears. Only that they never came, even as you whispered, "I promise, I won't. Thank you for everything, Jinhee."

You watched as Jinhee joined her family—your supposed-to-be in-laws—as they left the cemetery. Your own family was also leaving, yet you opted to stay behind. After dealing with all the formalities around the ceremony and having to greet the guests, you felt the need to give your goodbyes without their presence.

Except that the moment you were left with nothing else but stillness, with nothing but the ground where your fiancé was buried laid in front of you, there was really nothing that you could say.

Still, you savoured this moment for a while, until someone else came in to fill the silence.

"It is a pity. He had such a bright future ahead of him, not to mention the opportunity of starting a family with the woman of his dreams," a voice disturbed your moment of solitude, drawing your attention away from where your fiancé was laid to rest.

You turned as your silent intruder came to stand by your side. Meeting his gaze as he looked over to you with a small smile. There was grief written on his face, a look that was shared by many others today. But one that was quite unexpected, coming from him.

"Min Yoongi."

His signature cold smile turned warm at the sound of your voice. "Forgive me. I didn't want to interrupt you at first, since I figured you needed to have some time alone with him," he said, nodding at the ground before you, "But I don't think you realised how long you've been standing out here, or that the sky is growing darker with the sign of rain."

You followed his gaze to look up to the sky, noticing how the rain clouds had thickened while you were lost in the moment of mourning. You realised that he was right, that you had lost track of time while you were wallowing in grief.

And then he surprised you once again when he spoke, bringing some warmth and comfort with his words when he said, "I'm sorry for your loss."

"Thank you," you said in return, finding it easier to smile. "I truly appreciate you for coming." Your gaze fell back to the resting ground again when you softly added, "I didn't realise that you were friends."

Yoongi said nothing at first, but there was a crease between his brows when he considered your comment. "I wouldn't say that we were friends," he finally said. "But we became pretty much acquainted, thanks to our connections."

That was how Yoongi stayed with you for a while longer, his presence was surprisingly comforting that you didn't mind it at all to stay and chat. Years had passed since the last time you ever exchanged any type of conversation with him, so it was quite surprising to find yourself chatting so easily with him just like old times. And it made you feel grateful for his company once you realised that you began to feel a bit lighter for the first time after a while.

Min Yoongi was certainly not a complete stranger to you, having grown up in the same city and raised within the same environment as you were. There was even a point throughout your youth when you were closely acquainted with one another, as you had both gone to the same school, sharing the same classes and projects for years, until you finally went separate ways for college in order to fulfil your duties as the successors of your family businesses.

Yoongi may not have been the initial heir to the main business empire, yet he still had a part in the family's company and he prepared himself well for it. He had gone abroad to study business, focusing on learning about everything that was necessary for his future in the family's business chain. Even when you were both still young, Yoongi had shown a deep passion for it, giving him the purpose and goal that he set his eyes on to do his best before returning to claim his place.

You, on the other hand, may have found your own path while you were gone.

Born as the only child of your family rendered you the sole heir of your family's business empire—Lacuna Technologies—and its wealth. The business which your father built with his own blood, sweat, and tears years before you were born had become the foundation of your family's welfare. While your family fortune may not be able to rival the wealth that the Min family had gained throughout the decades in which they thrived in the industry, Lacuna Technology had managed to build a reputable reputation in the business community that it rivalled many others, including one of the most important parts of Min family's business chain, MYG Holdings.

At some point during the years you were studying to be your father's successor, you began to loathe the future that was written for you.

It wasn't because you hated the responsibility and the title given to you by birth. It was the lack of freedom of choice that you had of your future which you despised most. Even if you had gone abroad to study business, with a minor subject in history and small industries—something that you came to become so interested in—you still couldn't embrace the thought of becoming your father's sole successor.

Aside from the huge weight that you were made to carry to follow in your father's footsteps, you simply couldn't imagine living in his shadows. Especially not when instead of having your interest landed on stocks and modern technologies, you had your heart and eyes set more on—

"Wine?"

A smile came to your face, as you proudly nodded. Yoongi's reaction to your admission only encouraged you to share more. "Yes, wine," you responded, which seemed to amuse Yoongi further. "To be more precise, it's the basic industry of winery business that I am particularly keen on focusing on. I already had my eyes on this particular land that would be perfect for planting and producing my own winery for quite some time, and I only had the chance to start the progress of breaking grounds, setting up the production system, and developing the types of wine I was going to research and produce when I had to come back and start working in my father's company."

Yoongi raised his eyebrows, showing interest. "That sounds excellent," he mused. "So the rumours saying that you weren't claiming your position as your father's successor were true. What do your family have to say about your choice?"

"Well—"

That was where your late fiancé came in.

He was your father's right-hand man―his assistant and legal advisor, and the person who acted as a mediator between the company and their toughest clientele—who had earned your father's trust throughout the years he spent working under your father. He was the one responsible for running the company whenever your father was away on his business trips, and later on, was given the stamp of approval from the boss himself to take his daughter's hand in marriage once he won your trust and heart.

It was his work etiquette, his gentle manners, and his brilliant mind—which balanced his golden heart—that had made you fall completely in love with him. And then, once the talk of marriage began, there was a mutual agreement shared between you and your family that your future husband would be taking over your position in your father's company while you went out to chase your dreams with his support.

But now, everything must change.

Silence fell between you once you laid out all the facts to Yoongi. This should have been a delicate matter to share, yet somehow, sharing all of this with him gave you a sense of relief.

Besides, the decision that was made to hand over your position to your late fiancé had already become common knowledge within the business community. But as they were merely passed around through the rumour mill and the whisperings shared within the high-ranked society, some of the facts may have been misconstrued, especially by those who had their eyes on your father's business.

To be able to speak the truth about what was actually happening behind closed doors took a lot of weight off your shoulders. But seeing the lack of response from Yoongi only meant that he already knew at least half of it.

He did mention having met your late fiancé a few times before, after all. Back when he had his own arrangements with your father's company and other events that were held in their circle. It wouldn't be a surprise to know if he would have heard some of the facts during the times he encountered your late fiancé in the past.

Another moment of silence dragged on, and just as your memories from the past—the man who had left you without so much of a goodbye while still carrying a large piece of your heart with him could never truly leave your mind, after all—began to re-emerge, Yoongi turned to face you.

Clearing his throat, Yoongi began to speak. "______," his voice sounded gentle when he said your name, and when you turned to face him, there was a hint of hesitation in his eyes before he continued, "I know this might not be the best of times to be talking about this. But due to the rumours, and the fact that you already had one foot out the company's door as we speak, I can predict that it won't be long before people will start pestering you about your future plans now that he is out of the picture. I can only say this because I experienced the same thing a while back."

His lips curled up to a grim smile, and you knew exactly what he was trying to say even before he said the words. With your late fiancé gone, there would only be a few possible outcomes left in choosing your father's successor. Either you would return to take over the business once your father stepped down, or you could point someone else to take over as you did with your late fiancé, or someone could come with an offer to buy you out.

He gained your full attention when you felt intrigued, and curious to know what he may have to offer you to solve this problem. "What is it about?"

What kind of offer are you going to give me?

—were the words that you had to bite back from saying.

Pressing his lips, Yoongi braced himself before speaking. "I have a proposition for you," he said. "And I know that you might hate me for bringing this up now, but you need to listen to everything I have to say before saying anything. Would that be all right?"

You nodded. "Of course, I can do that." Crossing your arms over your chest, you waited to hear what he was going to say. After everything that you had gone through for the past year, you were quite sure that nothing else could surprise you at this point.

You have never been so wrong.

"Marry me."