When she arrived, the back entrance of the restaurant was open. Yoongi was sitting on a crate, his tie loosened, looking tired and beautiful. He stood up as she approached, the moonlight reflecting off the industrial bins and the brick walls—a scene that was far from a 5-star gala, but felt a thousand times more real.

"I talked to Jin," she said, stepping into his space.

Yoongi nodded, his expression softening. "He's a good man. He told me if I ever hurt you, he'd replace my salt with sugar for the rest of my career. A truly devastating threat from a barista."

Areum laughed, reaching up to cup his face. "He's my family. And you... you're my future."

Yoongi leaned his forehead against hers, closing his eyes. "I don't care about the Aura Group. I don't care about the fame my father or yours could provide. I just want to be the guy who makes sure you're fed and that you never have to shrink yourself to fit into someone else's idea of 'perfect'."

In the quiet alleyway, under the glow of a single streetlamp, the CEO's daughter and the family friend's son—the Michelin chef—found their own rhythm. No cameras, no "content," no clinical observations. Just two people who were messy, stubborn, and completely, hopelessly in love.

Yoongi reached for a small, velvet-lined box sitting next to a bowl of half-eaten noodles. He didn't drop to a knee; he didn't need the theatre of it. Instead, he took her hand, his thumb tracing the callus from her espresso machine.

"I don't have a textbook for you, Areum. And I don't have a crown," he said, his voice a low, gravelly vibration that resonated in her chest. "All I have is a life that's loud, hot, and constantly under pressure. It's not a fairy tale. It's a kitchen. It's burnt edges and long nights. But it's real."

He opened the box. Inside wasn't a massive, extravagantly bright diamond meant to show off her father's wealth or his. It was a delicate, vintage platinum band with a single, deep-brown diamond—the colour of the espresso they had shared when they first started to vibe.

"I want to be the person who wakes you up with the best coffee in the world, and the person who sleeps next to you after the worst day of your life," Yoongi whispered. "I want to argue with you about everything and agree with you about the only thing that matters."

He looked into her eyes, his soul laid bare. "Will you be my partner? Not my subordinate, not my princess. My equal."

Areum felt a single, hot tear trail down her cheek. It wasn't the "perfect" proposal she had been raised to expect, but it was the only one that felt like it belonged to her.

"Only if you promise to never 'fix' me," she breathed.

"I'd never dream of it," Yoongi smiled, the first truly radiant smile she had ever seen on him. "I like you exactly as you are—stubborn, acidic, and entirely mine. Because I fell in love with you at first sight."

He slid the ring onto her finger, and as he pulled her into a kiss, the world outside the alleyway ceased to exist. There was no Aura Group, no Michelin stars, no toxic "analysis." There was only the heat of his skin, the scent of rosemary, and the quiet, steady rhythm of two hearts finally beating at the same frequency.

In the shadows of the kitchen, Areum finally understood what her mother meant. Love wasn't about finding someone who completed the picture; it was about finding the person who wasn't afraid to pick up the brush and help you paint over the mistakes.

As they sat together, sharing a bowl of noodles in the moonlight, Areum knew that the fire between them wouldn't burn out. It would only get brighter, fueled by the honesty of a man who loved her enough to tell her the truth, and a woman who was brave enough to hear it.

______________________

Finally, I wrote a book with Yoongi as the main lead. I enjoyed it so much. It was tough to write Hobi and Namjoon the way I had to. Oh, and Jimin too. But Jimin can pull off such roles better. I have done it once with IMPL, so I didn't feel that guilty writing him like that lol.