I blinked.

D.O continued to look at me expectantly, his cheeks slowly turning pink as he held my left hand in his.

When I finally recovered from the initial shock, the first thing that came out of my mouth was, "Wait... what?" I was almost certain I had misheard.

D.O smiled at me affectionately. "I said, 'will you marry me?'"

Again, I blinked. Okay, I thought to myself. So, I didn't mishear.

D.O searched my eyes. He saw that I was having difficulty processing what he had just asked so he continued talking, still on bended knee. "You said that your type of guy was someone thoughtful and responsible; mature and hardworking and someone who thinks about others. But most importantly, someone who will make you smile every day." He looked at me shyly as he resumed, "Well, I can be all of these things for you so... can't I be your ideal man?"

I was still so surprised. "Kyu-Kyungsoo I... I don't know what to say."

"Just say how you truly feel about me."

I gazed into his hopeful eyes that were full of yearning. I knew how I felt about him but, I couldn't help hesitating. "Kyungsoo... are you sure about this? I mean, there are so many women out there and marriage" I played with the cuff of my sleeve nervously, "isn't something you should enter unless you know they're the one." I looked directly into his eyes. "How do you know I'm the one for you? What if it's all a mistake and you regret it later on--?"

"I know you're the one" he replied softly as he got up and joined me on the bench again. I guess kneeling on the grass was starting to get uncomfortable for him. "Back then, when you and the others were talking about relationships and ideal types, you never got to ask me about my type."

I stared at him, puzzled at why he was bringing that up. "What is your ideal type, then?"

D.O looked at me endearingly, "Someone who is loving, caring and has a great smile" he replied.

I felt my cheeks heat up.

"But, she should also be a great cook and probably around the same age as me."

I frowned slightly. I was a year younger than D.O, so that wasn't much of a problem but, I wasn't a great cook. I had been improving but I still had a long way to go. When I pointed this out to him, he just chuckled.

"I know you're not a great cook" he grinned while replying. "But even if you can't cook well, I have fun cooking for you. When I see you smile and appreciate my food, I feel happy." He squeezed my hand as he told me sincerely, "You make me want to take care of you."

I stared into his eyes, my heart beating faster as he continued, "Nami-ah, I know you're not perfect and I don't want you to be. You can be immature at times and you're stubbornly independent and it drives me insane when you don't rely on me at all" he gave me a playful tug on the hand to express his slight annoyance, "but to me, you're like sunshine: seeing you once brightens up my day." He gripped my hand just a little tighter as he muttered, "I guess what I'm trying to say is, you complete me. And in return, I'll love you completely. Nami-ah, I'm in love with you."

D.O lifted our intertwined hands and kissed the back of mine, causing me to blush. By this time, my heart was jumping out of my chest from D.O's proclamation. I was feeling a rollercoaster of emotions: I was anxious, elated and overjoyed at what he had just told me. And I was still in disbelief at what was happening. It was just so unexpected, so sudden, so unpredictable... I couldn't get my head around the thought.

D.O wanted to marry me?

"I know that these wedding rings aren't real," he said as he pulled his lips away from my hand, "and I know that our marriage is just pretend but, someday, in the future, I hope that this will be real. Because what I feel for you definitely is." I saw the serious look in his eyes as he asked me nervously, "And what about you? Do you... feel the same way?"

"I..." my voice grew quiet as I struggled to get an answer out of my mouth. The truth was, I did feel the same way. I was sure of it. And after hearing D.O pour his heart out to me, I knew that our feelings were mutual. But there was one thing that held me back from giving him a straight answer. And that was the fact that I was a fraud. I didn't want to enter such a big commitment without being completely honest with him.

I took a deep breath as I tried to figure out what to do. My mind told me it was a bad idea whilst my heart said that I should go for it. Both of them fought for dominance on who I should listen to, confusing me even more. I knew I loved D.O but I didn't want to lie to him. I had to tell him the truth. But if I told him the truth, would he still want to accept me?

I stared at D.O's expectant expression, his round eyes staring back at me nervously. He must be so anxious right now and it wasn't fair that I was making him feel more anxious by making him wait.

"I..."

He leaned in closely with bated breath.

I looked around wildly for a sign. Anything, to help guide me on how to answer. "I..."

"What is it, Nami-ah?" he asked nervously. "Please, just tell me" he urged.

I closed my eyes as I tried to figure out what to say. My mind was literally screaming 'no!' while my heart was shouting 'yes!' Should I listen to my mind or my heart? I asked myself desperately. Like picking off petals from a daisy, I started chanting in quick sing-song: mind or heart? Mind or heart? Mind or heart? Mind or--

"No" I heard my voice say.

D.O's jaw dropped at my answer. His eyes showed a mixture of shock, disappointment and hurt. "What? No?" His voice cracked as he shrank back in despair. D.O looked like he was about to retreat into himself like a turtle would to its shell.

"No! I mean, 'yes'. I mean--" I covered my face with my hands as I tried to calm myself down. I was so flustered I became tongue-tied. "I need time to think about it. It's just so sudden. I need time to consider."

D.O's face showed relief at my words. He smiled weakly. "Of course. I know this must have come as a shock to you."

"Kyungsoo, you know that I love you," I told him honestly. "But jumping into marriage... it's too soon. I mean, we've only known each other for six months."

D.O averted his gaze.

"And you might find someone better."

At this, he looked up at me. "Nami-ah, you mean everything to me" he replied firmly. "I'm already certain you're the one for me. I don't want to date anyone else."

His eyes were hard and unyielding which gave me goosebumps. "But we're going too fast..." I murmured. "Shouldn't we properly date first?"

D.O gave me a weak smile. "Isn't that what we've been doing for the past month?"

"Yes, but..." I paused, "what about your career? What about EXO?"

D.O didn't hesitate. "I would give up my career for you, you know that."

"Kyungsoo..." I didn't know what else to say. His declaration was both touching and frightening. I didn't want him to quit his career because of me. I knew how much singing meant to him. I looked away. "I need time to think about it."

D.O tried to hide his disappointment. "Of course." He drew closer towards me until I felt his lips press against my forehead. Afterwards, he leaned his forehead against mine as he murmured, "I can wait. You can give me your answer when I return from the US."

I peered into his eyes and saw that his expression had softened. He whispered, "I'll wait for you, Nami-ah, because you're someone worth waiting for." D.O pulled away from me slowly as he stood up from the bench. I gaped at him and he gave me a small smile. "Let's go back to the apartment now." He reached out his hand and offered it to me.

Hesitantly, I took it and we went back home.

~*~

"He did what?!" Hyun-suk exclaimed, causing my phone speakers to crackle.

I winced as I jerked my phone away from my ear. "I wish you'd stop doing that" I groaned. "I'm going to go deaf one day because of you."

I was back at the apartment now and I was alone. After D.O and I had returned from the park, he had received a call from Manager-nim that he was needed back at the dorm urgently. It was something to do with a quick briefing with all the EXO members so his presence was important. When he had asked about my transportation, Manager-nim had said that they will be picking me up later. Reluctantly, D.O left me to pack the rest of our things while he went to attend whatever urgent matter needed attending to.

In some ways, I was quite glad I was able to have some privacy. After what had happened at the park, I was still in shock and I needed someone to talk to about it. It just so happened that that person was no other than Hyun-suk.

"Omo, so does that mean you're engaged to D.O? This is such big news!" he squealed. After watching D.O and I on WGM together, Hyun-suk was able to connect the dots and find out that the Ji-hoo I had been referring to was D.O and Ju-pyo was Chanyeol. It had astonished him at first but then, he expressed his happiness for me. To me, it felt like a great burden had been lifted from my back: it felt good to have someone to confide in.

"I'm not engaged" I clarified, "I told him I needed more time to think about it."

"Girl! What is there to think about? Just say 'yes'!"

I sighed. "I want to. But... there are other things I need to consider."

Several thoughts fleeted through my mind, making me anxious. It wasn't just D.O's career and how fast our relationship was going that was worrying me. There was also the fact that I had been lying to him all this time. I was an undercover reporter and my name wasn't even Nami--it was Mirei-- and D.O didn't know that.

Guilt slowly consumed me. What should I do? The truth was, my whole existence was fake. The Nami that he knew-- that the EXO members knew-- wasn't real. And it made my heart ache not being able to tell D.O this. I was afraid of what he'd do if he found out. Would he stop loving me? What if he never wants to speak to me again?

When I found out that I was a bet, I had been so hurt. Chanyeol had lied to me and I didn't feel like I could ever trust him again. And now, I was doing the same thing to D.O: I was lying to him and it wouldn't surprise me if he never forgives me because of it. I knew that I would have done the same.

"Girl, you still there?"

I snapped back into attention, "Yeah, yeah, I am."

"Do you want to know what I think?" he asked.

"Yes," I replied, remembering why I had called Hyun-suk.

"I think you should definitely say 'yes'."

I was speechless for a few moments. "You think so?"

"Girl, I know so!" Hyun-suk enthusiastically exclaimed. "If you really want to think about it, take your time in doing so. You have until they come back from the US anyway." He paused before sassily adding, "And that should give you plenty of time to organise your wedding venue, dress and of course, your maid of honour. And FYI, that better be me!"

A small smile started to grace my lips as I listened to Hyun-suk's silliness. He wasn't much help but at least he was able to cheer me up.

"Nami-ssi, tell me honestly" I suddenly heard him say in a serious voice. "Do you love him?"

"Yes, of course, I do" I replied without hesitating.

"And if, for example, he decided to marry someone else, how would you feel?"

I tried to imagine Kyungsoo happy with another person, other than myself, and my heart started aching at the image. "I...I don't think I can bear it" I sincerely replied.

Hyun-suk's voice sounded triumphant from the other side. I could tell he was smiling. "Then, you have your answer. Just dive! Take the plunge! Life is too short to be hesitating all the time."

I grinned as I listened to Hyun-suk's words of encouragement. Somehow, hearing him say those things made me lean more towards my decision to tell D.O the truth. "Okay, Hyun-suk. I'll think about it."

"Don't fret too much, though. Remember! You still have time" he reminded me.

"Yeah. I'll make sure to think about it wisely" I told him before we hung up.

I let out a deep breath as I glanced around the apartment. Now, all I had left to do was pack up before Manager-nim arrives. As I was about to start clearing away some of the plush toys D.O had won for me in some arcade games, my phone suddenly started buzzing. I pulled it out and saw that it was an unknown number.

I ended the call immediately. "Must be some pesky insurance salesman again" I muttered under my breath. "How did they even get hold of my number?"

But just as I was about to resume packing, my phone buzzed again and this time, I saw that it was a message from Richard. No, correction, several messages from Richard. I gulped as I unlocked my phone. I had been avoiding both Richard and Nikka ever since I went on WGM, mainly because I knew that they wouldn't approve.

Reluctantly, I opened my messages on WhatsApp and saw Richard's messages grow from patient to irritated to downright fuming as I scrolled up. His last message was written in caps lock and had at least five exclamation marks. I could already imagine what his gruff voice sounded like just by reading the messages.

Guardedly, I decided to finally phone him up. There was no use ignoring him much longer. "Hello, sir?"

"Fucking finally!" Richard snarled from the other end of the line. Even though we were thousands of miles apart, his voice sounded as clear as though he was standing right in front of me. "Do you have any bloody idea how long I've been trying to bloody contact you?"

"I know, sir. I'm terribly sorry, sir" I replied profusely, though I couldn't help rolling my eyes.

Richard then went on a long tirade on how vexing it was trying to contact me and how Nikka had started irritating him every day when I hadn't been replying to his messages. Nikka thought that something bad had happened to me and I immediately started feeling guilty for ignoring him. Surprisingly, Richard didn't mention anything about WGM. Was it possible that he never found out?

"If nothing was stopping you from contacting me, you should have bloody done so earlier!" he grumbled. "I could have booked your tickets and sorted your documents ages ago if it weren't for your tardiness!"

"Tickets, sir?" I repeated, confused.

"Yes, tickets" he retorted sharply. "I've been reviewing the material you've gathered over the past six months and it's satisfactory. You've gathered enough material to make a documentary-style report" Richard paused before declaring, "you're no longer needed in Seoul."

I blinked.

"Hello? You still there?"

"Ye-yeah, sir," I replied, flustered. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I was no longer needed in Seoul? It was time for me to leave? "But sir," I pleaded, "I still have half a year until my contract ends. I can't leave yet--"

"I've already taken care of that" Richard interrupted. "EXO will be going on tour tomorrow, right?"

"Tonight, sir" I corrected distractedly. "Time difference."

Richard grunted. "Well, whatever. The main point is, I've arranged for a real housekeeper to take your place once they've left for wherever they're going. This way, the transition will be a clean cut. The new housekeeper will be arriving in Seoul next week and you should leave next week as well."

"But sir--"

"No buts, Mirei" Richard's voice was steely. It was also the first time he had got my name right. "It's been decided..."

The room seemed to sway under my feet as I listened to Richard's final words to me. It should have felt like a godsend, and it would have been, six months ago, had I heard it then. But now, all it felt like was a tonne of bricks crashing on top of my head.

"You're coming back home."

~*~

Author's Note:

Hi reader, thanks for reading chapter 59 of Our Little Dorm Mother!

So, the plot is advancing pretty fast now. What will happen next? Will Nami leave? Will she stay? Will she be able to tell D.O the truth?

Stick around and find out next time!