When The Earth Goes Dark (ft. LOONA's Chuu)

The cute pair of pink sneakers at the door to your apartment clued you in to the identity of your welcomed house guest. You smile widely, the excitement of having a full day to spend with your significant other, your love.

“Jiwoo, I’m home!”

“JAGI-YAAAA~!”

Your bundle of joy bounds out from the hallways. Before you can even see her, you can hear her rushing to greet you. You count to two, and that’s when Kim Jiwoo rounds the corner and leaps into your arms, wrapping you in a bone crushing hug while squealing in happiness.

You bury yourself deep into the crook of her neck, inhaling her scent deeply into you. Jiwoo smells of buttermilk and honey, a mixture of her shampoo and body wash she keeps over at your place. You wrap her petite body tightly, letting yourself enjoy being in her embrace, and the feel of her body in yours. You’ve missed her so badly.

“How was class, darling?” Jiwoo releases her hold on you, and holds on to your hands, rubbing the back with her thumbs.

“Good, I’ve been making a lot of progress with the whole video editing thing. Enough about that, how’ve you been?”

“I’ve been great!” Jiwoo pulls you into the house, and sits you down in the living room. “Are you hungry? Do you need me to make something?”

“No, babe. I just want to cuddle. I don’t get to see you enough because of our classes. I’m so happy you’re free today.”

“Okayyy~.” Jiwoo pulls you up, but she puts a hand on your chest. “Shower first! Come to me when you’re comfortable.”

—–

Jiwoo meets you with the widest grin and another bone-crushing hug when you return after the shower. Both of you sit down on the sofa, and Jiwoo begins to enthuse about her day.

“So today, I got lunch with Hyejoo and Jinsoul-unnie…”

It doesn’t take long for you to tune Jiwoo’s joyful enthusing in favour of seeing how animated she is. Her positivity and her personality shines everywhere she goes, and you adore that she is one of the brightest, kindest people you have the privilege of meeting. Every person she meets is greeted with a wide smile and an enthusiastic “Hello!!!!”. Occasionally, she even throws them free winks and hugs if they’re someone she knows. She illuminates every place she visits, every room she enters, and brightens every person she meets. Jiwoo has admitted that she loves making people happy, and that her goal in life is to spread positivity and love wherever she can.

You wonder how you manage to land the best girl in the entire world. She is the light of the morning sun against your skin, the cool breeze on a warm day. She is your motivation, the fire that fuels your drive to succeed. Every day, she is your first thought, and every night, your last.

Memories of high school and the early years of college wash over you. Jiwoo in her uniform, Jiwoo being your student guide, Jiwoo being your best friend, and later, Jiwoo confessing to you. You remember your reciprocation of her feelings,her tears of joy and her hug, and the warmth she provided, and continues to provide in your life.

It is in the moments when she pouts and stamps the ground in frustration when she finds your fridge empty. When she goes grocery shopping with you, absentmindedly stroking your hand pushing the cart while perusing the shelves. When she celebrates every success you achieve, comforts you with every defeat you suffer. When she meets you in between classes with your favourite hot latte from the cafe, and when she comes over when she can to make dinner and eat with you.

Suddenly, realisation hits. Every sound, every sensation, everything in the world doesn’t seem to be physical. Yet, you hear everything, feel everything. The sofa beneath you suddenly seems warm, yet you feel like you’re floating.

Jiwoo is The One.

As her mouth splits in a tooth-baring grin, her eyes squeezed shut as she squeals about something joyous, you realise that you want to marry her. You want to make her yours.

Every grocery shopping trip with Jiwoo comes to mind once again. Every argument over vegetables, what meat to buy, and whether to get snacks or not is replayed in front of your eyes. You realise that there is no one else in the world you want to argue about these topics with. There is no one you want to grocery shop with.

There is no one in the world you love more than Kim Jiwoo.

“Yah! You’re not listening to me!!!!” Jiwoo punches your shoulder, then starts tickling you. “I’m gonna teach you to listen to your elders!”

“HAHAHA, no! No! Stop! Stop!” You fight against Jiwoo’s tickling, thrashing about on the sofa as she tries to mount you. You fondly wonder how she is one year older when she still acts like a child. However, you wouldn’t trade her for anyone else in the world.

“Are you okay, darling?”

“A-Ah! Yeah. Yes.” You still reel from your epiphany, and you want to let Jiwoo know how you feel.

“Jiwoo, listen to me.”

“Huh?” Your girlfriend stares at you with confusion in her eyes. “Darling, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” You get up, pulling her to sit next to you. You turn to face her, grasping both her hands in yours. “I have something I really want to tell you right now.”

“What? You’re scaring me~.” Jiwoo pouts, and you pull her into a deep hug. You smile against her ear. Your girlfriend is so adorable.

“Listen to me carefully, okay?” You release her, and return to holding her hands.

“I love you, Jiwoo. Ever since high school, through graduation, through our years here in college, until now. It hit me when you were talking earlier. I couldn’t focus on what you were talking about because I was deep in thought.”

Jiwoo nods patiently, staring at you with fondness and sincerity in her eyes. You forge ahead, confidence boosted.

“I was thinking about you. How happy you looked telling me about your day. How happy I feel telling you about mine. I was thinking about how lucky I am to have you. Remember all the times where you open my fridge, see it empty, and then you stomp over to me to complain about my housekeeping and lack of nutrition? When we go grocery shopping and you stroke my hand when browsing? When we argue about the stuff we buy?” Jiwoo nods with each question you pose.

“I just realised that I want to do that with you forever. I can’t imagine myself grocery shopping alone, I can’t imagine myself getting groceries with anyone else in the world. I want to do this with you beside me for the next ten, twenty, thirty, hell, fifty years. I want to eat your homemade dinners made from the things we buy. I want to cook with you, cook for you. I want to be with you from now until forever.” You take a deep breath, before admitting your deepest desire at the moment.

“I want you to know that I want to marry you. Not now, but after we graduate. I want to be yours for the rest of my life.”

Jiwoo manages to hold in sobs until your admission. She lunges for you, her body heaving, wrapping you in the most love-filled hug she can give. You stroke up and down her back as she shakes in your embrace.

“How can you just say that unprompted?” Jiwoo sobs into your ear, punching your arm lightly. “I love you, you dickhead, but how can you spring it on me like this?” You tighten your arms around her body, pulling her even deeper into your embrace. Tears start to well up in your eyes, and soon, you join her in crying. You love her so much, and you want to be with her forever.

“Idiot, why’re you crying? I’m the one who just got proposed to.” Jiwoo wipes your tears with her hands. She hastily swipes at her own eyes with the sleeves of her T-shirt, before trying to make you presentable again. Tears still run down her eyes but she focuses on you.

“Look. Look at you. You’re still crying yet you still only wipe my tears. You’re so selfless, so kind, so bright and positive. How can I not want to marry you? You make my life so much better, so much brighter. I want to shine with you forever. I want to be yours for life.”

Your words make Jiwoo’s waterworks go again, and she sobs even harder. Another hug, and now both of you stay like that.

—–

It takes both of you fifteen minutes in each others’ embrace to calm down in order to clean up. Jiwoo grips your shoulder, softly knocking your foreheads together.

“I want to marry you too. I can’t not have you in this life, and maybe even the next. I love you, darling, and you’ll be the only man I marry.” She leans in closer, your breaths mingling. “Can I kiss you?”

“Of course. You don’t have to ask.”

Jiwoo initiates a soft, innocent, passionate kiss. This kiss is all lips, no tongue. She deepens the kiss by turning her head, and you reciprocate by kissing back with the same passion she gives. When both of you break the kiss, Jiwoo meets your eyes for a short glance before returning to meet your lips with hers again. Both of you share multiple pecks, but when Jiwoo and you share a heated gaze, your hot breaths against the other’s heated skin, a switch flips between both of you.

The next kiss Jiwoo initiates interlaces lust with love. Her hands stroke your back, and you mirror her actions on hers, though you place a hand on the back of her head. Her tongue swipes at your lips, and you grant her access, meeting her in the middle with yours. The kiss isn’t rushed. Both of you take the time to enjoy the feel of each other, the warmth emanating under clothing and from skin to skin contact. When the both of you break the kiss, Jiwoo whispers against your lips, “Bedroom, now.”

Both of you stumble to the bedroom, making out with each other along the way. Nothing is clumsy, rushed, or aggressive. Both of you move slowly, the focus on showing the other how much you love them instead of moving quickly. Time is on your side. Both of you have a lifetime ahead of you.

You only break contact to open and close the door to your room. The afternoon sun shines through your curtains, filling the room with a beautiful glow. Both of you stagger to the bed, and you lower Jiwoo softly onto your mattress. You climb on, straddling her as she leans against the headrest, rejoining both of your lips.

Jiwoo gets hungrier. Her kisses are deeper, more rushed. When she breaks the kiss, you know she wants more from you. You move your hand on her back to hover over her chest, glancing at her to seek permission.