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How to Propose Marriage: Top Tips and Trends
13 Things to Do for the Perfect Marriage Proposal - Brides
How To Propose To Her (Successfully): 9 Hot Tips
How to Propose to a Woman: 10 Steps (with Pictures) - wikiHow
Go big or go home! The story of how you proposed will be re-told A LOT, so make sure that it's a story worth telling…
No no no… these websites were not giving Soobin the answers he needed. Why are these websites all so keen on grand gestures? He would rather die than propose to Yeonjun in front of an entire crowd or on stage at a concert. Something tells him Yeonjun wouldn’t have said yes to his proposal if he did. Yeonjun loves surprises and thrives on attention and grand gestures, but he also values privacy. While he may love a surprise celebration for his birthday, Soobin knows he wouldn’t have wanted the same attention for a marriage proposal. He needs to do it in private, away from prying eyes and people chanting “Say yes! Say yes!” while he sweats his butt off waiting for Yeonjun’s answer, but it has to be interesting . As the website said, it has to be a story worth telling. It needs to be grand and memorable, but still private.
He wants to fling himself off his balcony.
Tyun…
I want to throw myself off the balcony
Taehyun’s reply comes almost immediately.
Taehyunnie
Defenestration isn’t the answer hyung.
Yeonjun hyung would say yes no matter what you know that
Even if u propose to him in the middle of the kitchen with nothing else other than a “would you marry me” he would still say yes
So don’t overthink it
You have to feel comfortable with this too
Soobin sighs, defeated, his ears drooping sadly. He covers his face with his ears and screams, it’s 2 am, Yeonjun is asleep in their bedroom and he would rather not receive noise complaints from his neighbours.
I wish I could just propose in the kitchen
But I feel bad… he deserves more than a simple proposal in the kitchen
Taehyunnie
You could cook him a meal and then propose after
Or bake something nice and propose after dessert
You’re good at baking hyung
Baking. Oh my god, baking.
“Taehyun you’re a fucking genius,” Soobin muttered, reaching for his laptop. He knows what to do now.
You’re a genius tyun
I know what to do now thank you
Taehyunnie
Good luck hyung
<3
He gets down to planning the next day, when Yeonjun leaves in the afternoon to meet up with his friends from university.
“I'll pack dinner for the both of us?”
Soobin hums, watching Yeonjun put on his shoes by the front door. He pulls Yeonjun in and presses a kiss to the top of his head, heart swelling with extreme fondness when Yeonjun tries to play it cool, but his red cheeks and bushy tail swishing happily behind him betrays him. God, Soobin loves him so much, he can't wait to marry him.
“Drive safely and have fun, text me when you're about to buy dinner.”
Another kiss which got Soobin blushing this time and Yeonjun’s gone, the door closing gently behind him.
Soobin immediately gets to work, pulling out an empty word document. He’s going to bake something, hide the ring in it, and wait for Yeonjun to find it himself. A pleasant surprise but still private.
With the plan in mind, Soobin begins to write down a list of things to think about:
- what dessert should i make
- ring
- how to embed the ring into the dessert
- how do i get hyung to eat the dessert
- what do i do after he finds the ring
Points 1 and 2 are easy, he's already gotten the rings a month ago and hid them in a safe under his desk at the office. And a cupcake would be the easiest for this plan.
Point 3 is easy too, Soobin supposes. The ring cost him a huge fraction of his salary — he's not going to put it in the cupcake batter and bake it. Plus, what if he accidentally poisons the cupcake? The thought of fucking up the proposal and spending the night in the ER makes him shiver.
He’s going to bake the cupcake, stuff the ring in, and then top it with frosting. It’s going to be red velvet because instead of the red velvet box it's going to be in a red velvet cupcake. (Soobin gives himself a pat on the back for this absolutely ingenious idea. He's so smart for this one.)
Point 4… he might order takeout before bringing out the cupcakes. Soobin can bake, but he can't cook for shit. Yeonjun had always been the better chef out of the two. A home-cooked meal is always sincere but he wants Yeonjun alive by the end of the night to say yes, thank you very much.
That leaves point 5.
He’s already known what to say, having rehearsed it many times in his head in the shower or at night before falling asleep. It's something he's been imagining and wanting for a long long time, but never quite got around to acting on it because they were still young and immature and lots to learn about being in a relationship. But now that they’re both nearing their thirties, way more mature than when they first met nearly ten years ago and the experience of going through the ups and downs of being in a relationship under their belt, Soobin feels ready. He’s never been more sure and ready to marry the love of his life to settle down with the other and grow old together with him.
Soobin sniffs, tearing up a little. Truth be told, he hasn’t quite recovered from the huge argument they had five years ago. It was the first argument they had where it wasn’t resolved within a day. Yeonjun had slammed the door in his face and slept over at Beomgyu’s for a week, and their bed has never felt so cold despite it being the peak of summer. Soobin really thought it was the end of their relationship, heck even his mom thought it was, but Kai, his lovely guardian angel, had physically dragged Yeonjun home and forced them to talk it out. They say fights bring a couple closer and it’s true, but Soobin never quite forgot how it felt when Yeonjun walked out on him. He’s so proud of their growth and to think that he’s still here, five years later, planning to get married to his boyfriend of ten years, he really owes it to Kai.
Things are easy after he’s made the list. Soobin picks a date, May 2nd, a week before their anniversary. It’s close enough, but not too close to arouse Yeonjun’s suspicion. Yeonjun has work that day, which is perfect because it gives Soobin enough time to bake the cupcakes and order takeout.
He grabs the red box from his work bag, taking a nervous breath as he opens the box. Everything feels real now that he has the ring in his hand and the clock on the wall reminding him that he has less than five hours before Yeonjun is home.
Soobin takes the ring out of the box and slips it on his ring finger. It doesn’t fit, of course, Yeonjun’s hands are slimmer than his, but the thought of slipping the ring onto his boyfriend’s — soon to be fiance’s — finger makes his heart pound painfully in his chest. He’s so excited about this but also so worried that it makes him want to puke.
Soobin quickly slips the ring into a mini ziplock bag before he actually empties his lunch onto the cupcakes before him — that would be disastrous. He carefully cuts out a small chunk of the cupcake, slipping the ring in, before expertly piping some cream cheese frosting on. Soobin tops it off with red heart-shaped chocolate to mark out the one with the ring, smiling to himself when it’s completed. It’s cute like a regular cupcake — no one would have been able to guess there is a ring in there. All he has to do now is to finish off the other cupcakes, let them chill in the fridge, order take out then wait for Yeonjun to come home.
Somehow the greatest challenge comes in the form of choosing what to wear. Soobin wants to dress nicely, but he can’t be too nice or else Yeonjun would get suspicious. Jeans would be too obvious, but shorts would be too sloppy. A button-up would give it away, but a t-shirt feels too plain for the occasion. Thirty outfit changes and a phone call with Taehyun later, he eventually settles for a pair of black sweatpants and Yeonjun’s oversized button-up shirt. It’s casual enough, but also not too sloppy, and he wears Yeonjun’s clothes often so the other would not suspect a thing. He even put on sexy underwear, the one with a small heart cut out for his tail to pop through because you know… just in case. All that is left is for Yeonjun to come home and have dinner.
Their front door opens at 7.30 pm sharp and he can hear Yeonjun’s tired sigh. His fox ears are droopy from exhaustion, but they perk up immediately when he catches sight of Soobin peaking from the kitchen.
“You ordered takeout?” Yeonjun groaned, squeezing the bunny in a tight hug, “thank you Soobinnie.”
“I even made cupcakes earlier hyung.” His voice sounds a little strained, but thankfully Yeonjun is too exhausted to catch it.
“Ahh, you’re the best, I feel so blessed bun I love you.” Yeonjun sighs and presses a kiss to Soobin’s cheek. The fox gropes his butt cheekily and Soobin yelps, swatting the other’s arm then pushing the other towards their bedroom.
“Go shower! You stink!”
“Join me?” Yeonjun wiggles his brows suggestively, fingers already unbuttoning his shirt.
“No!” Soobin yells, face red, and hurriedly returns back to the kitchen before Yeonjun’s bare chest lures him into the bathroom and completely derails the plan.
Soobin is nervous throughout dinner, legs shaking and ears ramrod straight. He’s also spacing out more than normal and if Yeonjun notices it, he doesn’t say a thing. Instead, he rants about his day at work, his stupid boss, and the annoying entitled client he has to deal with. Soobin barely registers a single thing his boyfriend says, mind too focused on what is sitting in the fridge as he offers occasional hums and nods. Time passes disgustingly slow when he’s nervous and by the time they’re both ready for dessert, Soobin is so wound up and anxious he’s about to start barking while on all fours on his kitchen floor. He wants to scream .
He’s almost autopiloting at this point, grabbing the cutleries and dumping them in the sink while Yeonjun gathers the empty takeout boxes and throws them into the trash. Soobin grabs the cupcake with the heart in the fridge and a normal one for himself and sets it on the table.
“The one with the heart is for you.” Yeonjun gasps at that, face lighting up at the gesture. His smile eases Soobin’s nerves a tad bit, allowing him to slide back into his seat and grab his cupcake without his hand shaking at least.
“Thank you, that’s so cute— you’re so cute Soobinnie,” His boyfriend shoots him a stupid flirtatious wink that makes him roll his eyes in faux annoyance.
“Just shut up and eat it hyung.”
Soobin waits with bated breath as he watches the other peel off the cupcake liner, inspecting it a little before he takes a bite of it.
You see, when Soobin thought of this plan, he forgot that his boyfriend could be a little dramatic at times. He likes to cry out loud when he gets a paper cut, groan and collapse onto the floor dramatically when he accidentally bumps into something, or whine loudly when Soobin refuses a kiss.
Sometimes, he might even take a huge, dramatic bite out Soobin’s baked goodies to make a show of how tasty it is.
**
He realises it a second too late — Yeonjun chomps down hard on the cupcake with a sickening crack. Soobin immediately leaps to his feet, snatching the cupcake away from him and gasps in horror when Yeonjun is bleeding from his front teeth. There’s too much blood to see the extent of the damage but he knows the tooth (or teeth, fuck ) is definitely chipped. Yeonjun remains calm, stunned, but Soobin is a frantic mess, already rummaging through their cupboard for their first aid kit. He grabs a handful of gauze and presses it to his boyfriend’s bleeding mouth, jaw clenching when the first gauze is immediately soaked through. Look Soobin, this is your fucking fault.
“Soobinnie—”
“Don’t say a word hyung. We’re going to the hospital.”
**
The drive to the ER is tense. His hands are gripping the steering wheel tightly, eyes blurry with unshed tears. He can sense Yeonjun’s worry from beside him and it makes Soobin feel even worse. He fucked up, his stupid proposal idea landed his boyfriend in the hospital bleeding profusely with a chipped tooth and said boyfriend is still worried about him . Why couldn’t Soobin just propose normally like any other dude on one knee? Why did he have to go ahead and do this stupid fucking plan—
A warm hand on his thigh pulls him out of his thoughts and Soobin sniffs, tears finally spilling down his cheeks. Thankfully the hospital is near and they make it in fifteen minutes. The nurse takes one look at Yeonjun and immediately ushers him into an empty bed, no questions asked. Another nurse approached Soobin with tissues and a small cup of water and kindly led him to a seating area to wait.
“Don’t worry too much boy, he would be out in a jiffy yeah? We’ll bring him right back to you when he’s done.” The nurse, a bear hybrid probably in her mid-fifties, gave him a comforting hug which Soobin greatly appreciated. She pats his back twice before going back to her work.
The wait was agonising, his mind filled with a jumble of thoughts, worst-case scenarios flooding his brain. Soobin hugs his legs to his chest, hiding his face in his knee. He had caused this, he was the one who brought this upon Yeonjun. The older was bleeding so so much earlier. What will even happen to Yeonjun, will he ever have front teeth again? Can he even eat properly again?
The sexy underwear he has on makes him feel even more pathetic. To think he thought that tonight would be a success. Yeonjun might not even want to speak to him after this. If he can speak.
The drive back is equally tense and quiet. Yeonjun got a temporary crown, the older had shared, the next trip to the dentist his teeth would be as good as new. It brought Soobin some relief that Yeonjun would be fine, but it didn’t make him feel any less guilty and horrible about this situation.
Soobin immediately rushes to clean up the cupcakes the moment they got home, even tossing out the other cupcakes he’s made in the fridge. He hates wasting food but if he has to look at the cupcakes any longer he might rip his hair out. He spends a good hour obsessively cleaning the kitchen, taking his anger out on the sponge as he scrubs everything clean. Thankfully Yeonjun understands and he returns to their bedroom first, giving Soobin the space he needs. He feels like shit, he doesn’t know how to even begin to apologise to his boyfriend. How is he even supposed to explain everything?
The ziplock containing the ring is coated with blood and it makes him sick to his stomach when he sees it on their dining table. Rinsing it off, he takes out the ring and slips it back into its original case. There’s no way Yeonjun would say yes now, maybe he could sell it — he doesn’t know. Soobin doesn’t want to think about it.
Yeonjun is still awake when Soobin finally washes up and slips into their bedroom. Soobin pauses, suddenly hesitant to join him, but Yeonjun drags him down by the arm and pulls him into a tight hug.
Soobin sobs, the tears he’s held back since the drive home finally released.
“I’m so sorry— I’m— I really am sorry. I didn’t mean for this to happen I swear—”
“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Yeonjun shushes him, a comforting hand running through his hair and brushing his ears, “It was a freak accident bun you wouldn’t have known.”
“I made you bleed so much—”
“But I’m fine now aren’t I bun? I don’t blame you for what happened at all Binnie. It’s okay, it’s okay.”
Yeonjun eases them both onto their sides and pulls the covers over them, not once letting go of Soobin. He eventually falls asleep to the soothing sensation of Yeonjun carding his hand through his hair.
Neither brings up the topic of the proposal. It doesn’t go unnoticed.
Despite Yeonjun’s constant reassurance, Soobin is clearly still very much affected by the accident. He tries to pretend to be okay, but his ears are droopy and his smile isn’t reaching his eyes. It breaks his heart, knowing that Soobin still blames himself for this accident. He’s more distant, hesitates and flinches a lot around Yeonjun and treats him like he’s made of glass. His bunny no longer looks at him in the eye and as much as Yeonjun wants to give Soobin space, he wants nothing more than to pull Soobin into a tight hug and never let go. He misses his loud cheerful bunny.
Yeonjun knows, he didn’t quite catch what was in the cupcake but had put two and two together when he saw the red box tossed carelessly onto Soobin’s desk. He chuckled. Soobin was going to propose, but it didn’t go as planned when he chipped his tooth on the ring. His silly bunny is a chronic overthinker and probably thought he had ruined all chances of them ever getting married.
He will have to be the one to propose then. He’s going to have to prove to Soobin that he still loves him even after a chipped tooth.
---
How to Propose Marriage: Top Tips and Trends
13 Things to Do for the Perfect Marriage Proposal - Brides
How To Propose To Her (Successfully): 9 Hot Tips
How to Propose to a Woman: 10 Steps (with Pictures) - wikiHow
Dear god… what in the hell are these tips?
Google is of no help, but thankfully, he’s got Beomgyu. And as Beomgyu suggested, they’re now on their way to the location where Yeonjun would propose.
“Where are we going hyung?” Soobin is still a little quiet and reserved, but making a huge improvement since a week ago.
Yeonjun pays it no mind, instead swinging their joined hands as they walk down the street towards their destination. “You’ll see!”
The destination turns out to be an old, run-down playground. It’s the playground where they hung out a lot when they first started dating, and also the place where they had their first kiss. This place holds a lot of memories for them, and if Yeonjun had to propose, this would be the best place to do it.
Soobin must have completely given up on the idea of ever marrying him because he looks genuinely confused as to why they are here at their special place on their anniversary.
The entire place is deserted, too late into the night for anyone to be around. It’s perfectly quiet, giving them the privacy he needs. The sand crunches loudly beneath their shoes as Yeonjun leads Soobin to the center of the playground and turns to face him.
He looks adorable, head tilted to the side in confusion but still follows along and Yeonjun desperately wants to kiss him. But he takes a deep breath and pulls a velvet box out of his pocket.
“Soobin-ah,” Yeonjun starts, tail swishing nervously behind him, “You’re the one I want to spend the rest of my life with, the one I want to wake up to every morning. I want to have more grocery shopping dates with you, I want to eat more of your baked goodies, and I want to be the one to help you detangle your tail for you the rest of your life. I love you so much Soobin I would gladly chip all my teeth for you please don’t ever doubt my love for you.”
Soobin is frozen in his place, eyes shining with unshed tears. Yeonjun takes a step closer and holds Soobin’s hands in his. Has Soobin’s hand always been this soft? Yeonjun raises his head and looks into his eyes, a small smile on his own face.
“Will you marry me?”
Soobin doesn’t respond, still frozen in his place. Seconds stretch into a minute and Yeonjun starts getting a little anxious.
“Come on Soobin, please say something you’re freaking me out.” Yeonjun laughs nervously, his ears flattening on his head. Maybe he read the situation wrong, maybe Soobin wasn’t ready for this. He can feel his eyes start to water.
“YES! Yes yes yes yes oh my god yes—” Soobin rambles, finally snapping back to his senses. Relief washes over Yeonjun and he breaks out into a huge grin.
Soobin’s hands are trembling as Yeonjun slides the ring onto his finger, tears flowing down his face uncontrollably. He cries even harder when he sees Yeonjun pull out the ring he discarded a week ago and hand it to him.
“Put it on for me?”
A choked sob leaves Soobin’s mouth when he finally slides the ring onto Yeonjun’s finger. It’s beautiful, and the ring fits Yeonjun perfectly.
Soobin pulls Yeonjun in for a tight hug, overwhelmed with emotions. He’s soaking Yeonjun’s shirt with his tears but Yeonjun doesn’t care. Anything for his fiance .
They hold onto each other tightly, rocking slightly back and forth as Yeonjun’s tail curls around Soobin’s hip comfortingly. Yeonjun can feel himself begin to get choked up with emotions. He’s just so ridiculously happy right now he feels like his heart is going to burst.
He pulls back and holds Soobin’s hand in his. The two silver bands on their fingers glistened in the moonlight and he smiles.
“I want a beach wedding hyung.” Soobin hiccups, voice watery, but his smile finally reaches his eyes for the first time since his failed proposal.
“Anything for you bun.”
“And the cake, it needs to have at least five tiers.”
“Yes baby.”
“And Kai has to be the one to play the piano when I walk down the aisle.”
“I’m sure he would love to.”
Later, when they are both home, showered and snuggling in bed, Soobin speaks up. “Hyung, do you know why I baked a red velvet cupcake?”
“No… why?”
“It was to replace the red box the ring came in.”
“...oh my god… that’s a good one.”