May 5, 2017

Yoon Dalnim was rushing.

She couldn't even believe that she allowed herself to be late like this. People were counting on her to be at the university on time, but she just had to wake up late. But she can't put all the blame on herself, she had to put some on her boyfriend, who was currently doing an Asian tour for EXO'rDIUM. And yes, she missed him so much and she wanted to video chat with him until three in the morning.

A bit unprofessional of her, yes.

But she couldn't dwell on the lack of sleep right now, not when she has an important event to attend to.

Hands fumbled as they quickly slipped the black heels to feet. Dalnim grabbed her shoulder bag from the counter by the door and stumbled out of her apartment. However, her rash actions nearly got her crashing into her neighbor who happened to exit his apartment at the same time. The impact so hard that it nearly got her falling backwards, but she regained her balance.

Young Gi took a glance down at his watch before giving Dalnim a look, an awed glint to his eyes. "You're late."

"Well, no, duh!" Dalnim fixed the collar over her blouse as she looked at her nurse friend from head to toe. Needless to say, he looked decent early in the morning. After an exhausted yawn, she asked, "Where are you going so fancy in the morning? A breakfast date?"

His tan cheeks flushed. "Maybe."

Dalnim's brows raised in bewilderment. "Hold up, really? I was kidding!"

"Wow, thanks for the self-esteem boost," Young Gi scoffed with a roll of his eyes at the comment.

"But, who is she? Is she someone I know?"

"I'm not sure," he smiled, happy. In fact, so happy and excited that Dalnim could feel it radiating off his very body. "You should get going, I can tell you about it later."

And she couldn't have been any happier for the man. Genuine and true, she wanted her friend to find some happiness in his life, a someone who would cherish him. "Alright, you promised, let's chat over this with tteokbokki."

With a nod, Young Gi agreed. "Good luck, okay? Not like you need much of it anyway since you're Yoon Dalnim. Make sure to say hi to some of the professors for me too, mm?" He glimpsed down at his wrist again. He tapped on his watch, baring a stern glance at the dark-haired lass. "Dalnim-ah, you're wasting time."

It was like a shock jolting her whole body. The athlete grabbed onto his wrist and peered at the small face of the watch, a gasp leaving her lips at how so much time had passed by just their morning greetings. How could time be so cruel to her right now?

She bid one last farewell to the male with a frantic wave and burst off into a bolt, down the flight of stairs and out of the building to the busy streets. Dalnim hailed down a cab and told the driver to take her to the University of Seoul, where she would be giving her first ever seminar as a special guest speaker. Despite her nerves, she was excited to be talking to young students about the usefulness of the English language, as well as her journey to where she is now.

Dalnim never thought that certain events would even bring her to this very moment. Starting from her fame from volleyball, to the recognition of her volunteer work at the hospital, giving patients free English lessons, this gave her the golden opportunity to share her story to young adults who might need the inspiration, the motivation. She basically made a full circle, as her professors and advisors were what brought her into this, and then she'll be doing the same.

It made her giddy and at least for now, her enthusiasm had replaced her exhaustion.

Dalnim now stood in front of the place she spent four years at. University of Seoul, the very place she had contemplated long and hard on whether she wants to be a professional volleyball player or an English teacher. The hours she spent with her advisors had come back in memory. They were the ones that have convinced her and helped her down the road after all, as well as her English professor.

Truly, the start of it all.

With a skip to her step, Dalnim arrived to the main office of campus at a decent time. Time just so happened to be on her side after all. Luckily, the traffic wasn't a bad drive and she arrived just fine.

Once receiving her badge as an important visitor, she was escorted straight to the backstage of the auditorium where she'll be having her lecture in. Before her, a woman stood tall, back turned to her, dressed quite nicely. The only unique factor to the older woman's outfit was the interesting design on it, a Pac-Man design, the video game's whole style printed on every inch of fabric of the dress.

At this, familiarity hit Dalnim all at once and she smiled brightly. "Professor Gu!" The athlete chimed in joy, as she quickened her pace to reach the other sooner.

The older woman turned abruptly, a flicker of surprise crossing her face for being called out so suddenly. However, the second she spotted the athletic beauty approaching her, a reciprocating smile etched onto her own painted lips.

The two women reunited, engulfing each other into friendly hugs, tight in grasp but still very much professional in their own terms. After all, Dalnim deeply respected this woman, the English professor that had stuck by her since freshman year of college.

"Oh my, Yoon Dalnim, it has been way too long! I'm so proud to see you again after all the successes you've made so far. I knew you were someone who could achieve so much!" Professor Gu replied, her famous eye-smile showing through. "So determined and so strong. You truly are an amazing woman for going through what you went through last year."

The athlete grinned, sentimental. She went through quite a bit, didn't she? "Professor, thank you." Dalnim's eyes drifted down to the index cards in her ex-teacher's slender hands. Occasionally, she would catch her name written a couple times on the paper. Once it had clicked, she glanced back up to the woman, the delight washing over her. "Are you the one that's going to introduce me?"

"Of course!" Professor Gu quipped with a prideful tone to her voice. "I watched you grow into such a beautiful woman and you're like, one of my own children! I basically had to fight to have this opportunity to introduce you."

Dalnim waved her hand dismissively at the older, flustered at such a compliment. "Professor, please. I just got lucky."

"It was your hard work, Dalnim-ah, why be so humble about it now?" Professor Gu placed a hand on the girl's shoulders, patting it in an affectionate manner. "You're literally about to give a speech about how your hard work had brought you this far."

"Professor, you should go on stage," a stagehand called out, gesturing that she come forward, to go through the curtains into the blinding light.

"Well, that's my cue to talk brilliantly about you." The professor tucked the loose strands of hair that couldn't reach to her bun behind her ear. "Once I say, 'Now I introduce the woman of the hour, Yoon Dalnim,' that's your hint to come out on stage, okay?"

She returned an okay sign.

With one last smile, Professor Gu exited onto the stage. The curtain shifted ever so slightly as the woman left, giving Dalnim the chance to get a glimpse of the audience outside. And to her surprise, the auditorium was nearly packed. The sight of young students who were chattering about and waiting patiently in their seats went silent as the professor arrived to the podium.

The whole entirety of it brought an adrenaline rush.

And whenever she could feel the adrenaline flowing through her, she knew she would do fantastically. It worked every time after all during volleyball matches.

Dalnim allowed herself to listen to her professor's introduction.

"Hello students, first of all, I would like to say how thankful I am so much of you have come today. Whether it be because of the person who's about to talk to you or whether you're genuinely interested into what she has to say, this is an amazing feat," the professor's voice echoed loudly. "I would like to tell you about today's speaker. It was about nine years ago when I had first had the pleasure of meeting Yoon Dalnim. She came to my Advanced English course just like any one of you with any of your class; scared, nervous, and maybe a tad bit excited.

"I wasn't sure how to make of Dalnim as of yet, but I knew she must be a very talented, dedicated girl if she had gotten the permission to take my course that's usually meant for third and fourth years. Of course, she didn't disappoint. She practiced the English language diligently. Dalnim was one of my best students. However, this girl had the misfortune of having two dreams; one of being an English teacher or a professional volleyball player. From we can all see, we knew which path she took."

There were a couple faint laughs heard, bouncing off the walls to Dalnim's ears. She exhaled her nerves.

"She became one of the most well known athletes of our country, as well as some other parts of the world. Dalnim had made a name for herself as an outstanding athlete on the volleyball court, making spikes and winning points like it's nothing." Dalnim heard her professor take a breath. "If some didn't know, Yoon Dalnim was mixed in with a scandal just last year. And to say this personally, I didn't believe one word of the explosion that had come. That woman is truly one of the most kind and generous people I have ever met. And to some of you who know me, you would know I only speak of truth.

"Despite it all, despite the scandal and the injury that had followed after that rendered her from playing the sport she loved, she didn't give up. She fought on, she held her head up high, and she even put her free time to use by taking classes online to get a degree to teach. As well as that, she stayed down to earth, she volunteered to work at Gold Hospital, the very place she was admitted to, to help unfortunate patients receive the joy of learning a new language. Whether you're here because you admire the athlete, or if you're inspired by her hard journey, or just anything, you chose right to attend to this lecture today. Now... I officially introduce the woman of the hour, Yoon Dalnim, herself."

Her stance tall, confident, Dalnim let herself walk out into the light, onto the stage where booming applause greeted her, as well as cheers. She hugged Professor Gu one last time at the podium, before taking it herself.

Their young faces were filled with awe.

The adrenaline.

The young woman flashed her most charismatic smile. "Hello, I'm Yoon Dalnim from South Korea's women volleyball team, and I'm delighted to be here with you all today. Now, where shall I begin?"

Dalnim managed to talk about her story, as well as give words of encouragement to her lovely audience, who gave her the respect she deserved. Most of the young adults seemed entranced, hanging onto her every word, every syllable, while as some may have given her the stink eye. The athlete knew who they must be, those kind of fans, but that didn't intimidate her.

She had finished her hour long seminar with utmost professionalism. If she weren't a well-known athlete, people probably would've mistaken her as a professor, a teacher by the least, by how well she spoke and how confident she displayed herself to be. Dalnim even managed to keep it lighthearted, a way that reeled in the students' attention, rather than using such speech that would lull them to sleep.

Dalnim will be an amazing teacher.

"Now that I've finished, I'll go ahead and accept questions if there are any." A good handful out of the hundreds have raised their hands, some calmly, some spastically, hoping they'd get the attention first. A chuckle let Dalnim's lips at the sight of it, they sure were engaged.

One by one, Dalnim picked a select few and answered their questions to the best of her abilities. They all seemed simple to reply to, none of which threw her into a loop and brought her into hesitating silence. That was, until she chosen a red-headed female with a forest green top. The student stood up from her seat and gazed down at Dalnim with a fire in her eyes.

If anything, even before the question left the girl's lips, the athlete was intrigued to what she might say. Dalnim already had an idea, she has dealt with enough of them in the past year.

"Hello Dalnim-sshi, my name is Lee Hyejung and I have a question about your relationship with EXO's Park Chanyeol." By the way the aura of the whole auditorium had shifted, Dalnim could sense this was the kind of thing the others were dreading. The sasaeng have finally revealed herself and it looks like she was about to drop the biggest diss of the year. "You claim that it was determination and effort that brought you to where you are today. Is that what you used to make Chanyeol your boyfriend? Do you understand how devastated many fans were when the news came out that you were basically cheating on your boyfriend with Chanyeol? I don't mean to offend, but hearing that myself was one of the most absurd things ever."

Dalnim bared a grin, which probably got Hyejung steaming where she stood, but that was the point. "I see we're going to have some snark today, I'm enthralled! Shall I change this lecture into a last minute love seminar?" A playful glint flashed in the woman's eyes, she won't let some hateful fan get the best of her today. "Granted, none of that was true. If I truly was dating someone else, I don't think Chanyeol would have stayed with me for more than a year now. At the time, I only ever was romantically involved with the idol. As well as the fans, I do apologize, but sometimes, you can't help how love goes. I liked Chanyeol and Chanyeol liked me, and we naturally ended up together, we're human, things like that happen. EXO are growing older, and it shouldn't be a surprise that more of them dating."

"Are you saying that more of the members are dating as of now?" Hyejung questioned next, Dalnim could feel the seething rage that emitted off her. Her anger was almost laughable.

"Well, we already gotten the news that Baekhyun is dating someone just recently. Sehun was out seen with an unknown girl. I shouldn't be the one to confess anything, but yes, it's true that idols, mostly those who have been in the industry for as long as EXO has, are dating."

This Hyejung girl looked ready to attack. Maybe if she weren't about 10 rows away from the stage, she would have flung herself to the athlete. Just as she was about to burst about more irrelevant things, the young girl with honey-colored waves behind her grabbed her wrist.

"Hyejung-ah, how about you stop being an emotional idiot for one second and let Yoon Dalnim-sshi alone? Literally everyone here would much rather watch paint dry than to hear you argue about how butt hurt you are to a professional volleyball player." A couple other students surrounding them chimed in agreement and urged Hyejung to sit back down in her seat and let Dalnim finish. Thankfully, the redhead did, the pressure of everyone's judging eyes forcing her to crumple down back into her seat.

"Well, that really was an interesting question to end this lecture with," Dalnim responded, earning a few laughs from the students. "It really was a pleasure to come back to my university and having this opportunity to speak to all of you. I'll occasionally visit campus from time to time so feel free to stop me and say hello and have a chat, but for now, I must go. It really was a pleasure."

Another round of applause when Dalnim left the stage.

She didn't waste time to leave campus and get another taxi to ride in. "Please take me to the Seoul Volleyball Gym."

And the cycle had started again. Training and practicing at the gym just like before, working hard to be the best wing spiker for the whole nation. Yoon Dalnim had a lot to do to catch up with her teammates. After all, she still had to be cautious of her knee.

But everything seemed joyful, easy going.

"Are you serious? Someone really had asked you about something that happened a year ago?" Tae Ri snorted at the audacious story Dalnim had just told while they were on their 15 minute break. The other teammates made their inputs, all ranging from how ridiculous it seemed.

"She sure knows how to hold a grudge," Hye Rin murmured, her hands at work at redoing her ponytail. "I thought everyone would be used to you and oppa's relationship by now."

"Apparently not," Dalnim shrugged. She smacked the volleyball to the wall, bouncing it back into her hands. She almost laughed, just the thought that she was so utterly concerned when the scandal came out was nostalgic. It was hard to believe that was more than a year ago, it seemed longer. She felt like she had been with Chanyeol much longer. "But, Tae Ri, weren't you a little angry when V started dating that one rookie singer?"

The short-haired libero pursed her lips. "I mean, at least I'm not any of those malicious sasaengs who feel the need to degrade that girl every time they get. I don't like seeing Taehyung sad, so let him be with a girl he likes."

"That's the spirit," Yeon Kyun beamed, giving a comforting squeeze to the younger's shoulder. "But hey, remember that DAY6 concert? I think YoungK was eying you."

"Oh dear god, I hope so."

Hana shook her head at the girls, a serious expression on her face. She then broke out into a giddy grin, "No way, he was eying me."

"Hana-unnie!"

The team laughed. Now, this feels like a true family, no one left out.

"Dalnim-ah, I need to discuss something with you," Coach Seon called out from the doorway to her office. The ravenette took one last gulp of ice cold water and jogged over to the waiting older woman, so they could both enter the office together, door closed behind them. Dalnim settled herself in the adjacent chair from hers and stared expectantly at her coach, waiting for what was to come. "So I got a call from CHEER--"

Dalnim grimaced instantly, holding up her hand to make her stop. "I don't want to, unless the whole team is a part of it."

"It's not like that, listen to me," Coach Seon sighed, leaning forward in her seat. "They want to do a short interview and a photoshoot with you and Chanyeol. They wanted to focus more on your relationship and of the past you shared, as well as how you two have been so far. How's that?"

"What did Chanyeol's company say?"

"They're going to allow it with just a bit of precautions," the older answered. "You two won't even have to talk much, they want to mainly focus on the photoshoot. Is that okay with you?"

Memories of the ADIDAS photoshoot came to mind, the day she found out Chanyeol was incredibly famous. Dalnim laughed at the memory. "Yeah, okay. I'm down for that."

"Okay, awesome, I'll go ahead and email them that you agreed." Just as Coach Seon was about to type into her computer, she let out a sound, glancing back up at Dalnim just as she remembered something. "I also been informed that you'll have to be ready to get picked up in about an hour..." Coach checked her phone. "Except that I got that call a while ago, so you have about 20 minutes to freshen up."

"Freshen up?" Dalnim murmured in confusion. "Am I going somewhere?"

"You'll find out soon enough. Go ahead and shower and change out. Practice is done for you today, alright?"

Pursed lips. "What is it? Can't I just cancel? I still have a lot to practice for. We have a game coming up."

Coach Seon stared down the girl. "Trust me, you're going to want to go. You better go hurry now or you're going to regret smelling like sweat later." Dalnim blinked, but she bowed respectfully to her coach and rushed out of the office towards the locker rooms.

20 minutes.

The girl washed up and changed to her normal clothes, just throwing her sweaty uniform into her bag. She walked out of the locker room to see her teammates already back into practice. Hana spotted her, just as she was waiting to practice her serves, and gave her a look, to ask her what was going on with her eyes.

Dalnim shrugged.

And just as that happened, a tall man clad in a button down shirt and slacks entered their gym. All the girls halted into a stop at the unexpected visitor, bowing in greeting. Coach Seon then gestured for Dalnim to go over to the man. She obeyed with that clueless expression still plastered on her face.

She then felt like she had seen this man somewhere before.

"Hello, we've met a couple times, I'm Han Seokju and I work at SM," the man introduced himself with a kind, handsome smile. "I'm here to pick you up and take you to the airport."

"Airport?" Dalnim sputtered out. "Where am I going?"

"You'll see when we get there." Seokju ushered the confused woman out the gym, barely giving her the time to bid a goodbye to her coach and teammates. They rushed to the awaiting car outside, and they were off.

Crazy day, Dalnim seemed to be rushing all over today.

"If I'm going anywhere, shouldn't I go home and grab some things to wear? Toiletries, at least?" Dalnim asked the older man who sat at the drivers seat, very focused on the road.

"We have that settled. No need to worry about that."

"No need to worry?" Dalnim bit down on her lip. "This is crazy. Can't I, at least, know where I'll be suddenly be flying off to?"

"Well, as you may know, EXO is currently on their tour." The athlete nodded at this. "Just think of this as a spontaneous vacation. Their next stop of their tour is to Japan."

"I'm going to Japan?!"

"That's correct."

"Any reason?"

Seokju seemed to be smiling, but Dalnim wasn't so sure. "You'll see when you get there."

~  *  ~ * ~ * ~

It was late at night when Yoon Dalnim finally arrived on Tokyo ground. She was beyond confused as to why SM had her fly over to the different country, but at least she knew that she'll be seeing her famous boyfriend sometime soon. Seokju had accompanied her the whole ride and was now driving her through the busy streets of Tokyo in a spacious van, their final destination unknown to the curious athlete.

Were they going to a hotel that EXO were staying at?

They would have to, right? Where else would they be heading to at this time of night?

The drive from the airport to their destination took nearly an hour. As tired as Dalnim was at the moment, she couldn't bring herself to sleep. After all, she was in Tokyo. She always wanted to visit the place ever since she was a young girl. Plus, the sights of the bustling city amazed her, she didn't have the time to sleep. There was so much to see.

They drove to a place that was a bit ways outside the city, distant and alone at its own area. Trees and bushes scattered around the building, along with dirt pathways to walk on for a nice stroll, as Dalnim could see a few people doing.

"Is this?..."

Seokju parked the car along the curb and exited the car to open the passenger door for Dalnim. "It is, you can go ahead and leave your athletic bag here and I can bring it over to the hotel you will be staying at. I will be back in about four hours to pick you and Chanyeol up."

At the mention of the idol's name, Dalnim perked up. "Chanyeol's inside there?"

"As well as the other members, but I will be picking them up right now. Please go ahead and go up to the front desk and tell them that you're with SM Entertainment, they will take care of you after that. I'll be waiting outside for EXO."

"Ah," Dalnim nodded in understanding. "Thank you so much, Seokju-sshi. I hope you get the rest you deserve as well."

The man grinned, "I will, Dalnim-sshi. Now go ahead and go see your boyfriend. He's been waiting for a while."

Dalnim didn't need a another second. She hurried up the stone steps to what looked to be the main building of the facility. She halted just at the entryway as she took in her surroundings of the place. Seokju had dropped her off at a spa.

"Omo, there's the athletic beauty!" The woman turned towards the familiar chatter voices to her right. Her lips tugged upward at the sight of her friends.

EXO, excluding Chanyeol, greeted Dalnim with brief hugs. All the boys were wearing casual clothing, rather than the robes that every other guest at the spa were wearing. They all must be done with their relaxing time here. "It's good to see you again after so long," Minseok told her.

"Same with you all," Dalnim beamed. "I heard how sold out all your concerts have been so far, congrats."

"Thanks, Dalnim-noona/ah," some of the boys chimed in appreciation.

Jongdae stepped forward, a mischievous grin to his lips, earning a raised brow from the girl. "We heard you and Chanyeol-ah will be having some alone time together, so don't break him too hard, okay?"

At this Dalnim smacked the vocal's shoulder. "Jongdae-yah! Get your head out of the gutter, will ya?"

Junmyeon grabbed Jongdae into a headlock, shooting Dalnim an apologetic glance. "I'm sorry for him.

"Hey, they have all the privacy they want here, they could do whatever they want," Baekhyun chuckled. Junmyeon grabbed him as well into a headlock. "Yah, hyung!"

"I'm sorry for him too. Why don't you go ahead? We'll be heading back to the hotel for now. Have fun!"

"But not too much fun."

"I swear to god, Jongdae."

"But, hyung, you don't believe in god?"

"Sehun... if I had another arm."

Dalnim laughed. "Okay, okay, you all should get going too. Hopefully, I'll see you all later, alright?"

The boys agreed and they finally left the spa to leave Dalnim back to her own devices. She did what she had to, she went to the front desk and did what Seokju told her to do. The woman at the desk, surprisingly talking to her in English, had given her her own robe and sandals to wear as well with a key to a locker she could place her belongings in. After changing and leaving her stuff securely in her locker, a kind employee who waited outside the locker room then lead her to her next destination.

They walked outside through the back, where the air was thick with steam. As well as fenced water spots people could go in, more pathways were around to walk along. A forested area, just dimly lit with lampposts. But they didn't have to go further than that, as a certain man was just sitting nearby on a wooden bench, gazing up at the starry sky. The employee then bowed at Dalnim and left her.

Delight waved over Dalnim as she hurried over to the male. "Sunny!"

Upon hearing the name, Chanyeol's head turned and his beautiful smile pulled at his lips. He stood and opened his arms for Dalnim to embrace. "Hello, jagiya~ How do you like this surprise?"

"Oh, the spa getaway in Tokyo, Japan? It's a bit much, isn't it?" Dalnim murmured as she craned her neck to peer up at her boyfriend, her arms securely around his torso. All Chanyeol did in reply to that was shook his head and pecked her lips. "What do you have against SM to let them do all this?"

"Don't worry about it, okay?" he chimed. "How about we go take a nice stroll before we go into the hot springs?"

"Sounds great."

Dalnim couldn't get enough of the scenery. Just the way the trees and blooming flowers were spread out around the facility, as well as the streams and wooden bridges that connected the paths, she absolutely loved it all. If only she was allowed to bring her phone outside, she would have taken a lot of pictures and go rant it to Baekhyun's official girlfriend and her new friend, Kang Ji Eun, who had a knack of taking beautiful photographs of scenery just like this.

She felt like she had arrived to heaven. Neither she or Chanyeol had to worry about anyone invading their space and bothering their private time together. Here, she could hold Chanyeol's hand all she wanted and not have someone in the distance take a picture of her doing so.

The couple reached another bridge and they stopped so to look at the small running river below them. It was amazingly clear water, and Dalnim couldn't help but let out an impressed ooh.

"Yoon Dalnim." The ravenette's attention averted from the flowing water onto her boyfriend. Chanyeol turned to face her and Dalnim did the same, gazing at him in question and curiosity. "We've known each other since we were babies, can you believe that?" A small laugh, Dalnim shook her head. "Me neither, but I cherish you being with me my whole life so far... and so on."

Dalnim's heart began to race.

"I've been thinking a lot about us lately since we've been officially together for more than a year and a half and the bottomline here is that I want you to be in my life until the day I die." Chanyeol grabbed onto Dalnim's hand, the one where their promise ring gleamed ever so slightly under the light. And with his other hand, he took out a long, velvet black box from his robe pockets. She saw him gulp. "This is going to be weird, so bare with me okay? We have these rings that already symbolizes how important we are to each other, right?" 

Chanyeol shakily opened the box to reveal a dazzling golden necklace with linked hearts hanging from its chain. "Well, this is what I want to propose to you with." His hands took out the necklace from its box. The man was absolutely trembling. "I love you so damn much, Yoon Dalnim, and I can't see myself with anyone else except with my best friend. And, I know we're extremely busy and all, but one day, I want to call you my wife... if you would want to... Oh my god, are you crying?"

The tears were streaming down the volleyball player's bare face. She was just so overwhelmed with joy.

"Park Chanyeol, I will be more than happy to marry you." Dalnim didn't waste anytime to attack the tall male and collide her lips to his, kissing him with as much passion she could bring, a kiss to show him the love she had for him. A smiling, giggly kiss. Chanyeol wrapped his arms around his future wife's waist and twirled her around in the air.

Happiness, pure and genuine happiness.

And nothing could ever defeat that, not for Park Chanyeol or Yoon Dalnim.

They're going to openly love and cherish no matter what comes to them. From then on, their days will only be filled with brilliant sunshine, that will never disappear from them ever again.  

A/n: author's note next~