*Now playing - Cover Me in
Roses by Holden Laurence*

"So, what do you think?"

My eyes finished wandering the room, trying to force a smile away as I said "The last three were beautiful"

"But?"

I bite at my bottom lip and walk to the window that looks out to the backyard, "This one feels like home"

I felt Jisung behind me before he wrapped his arms around my waist and laid his chin to rest on my shoulder "You are my home, darling" I let my eyes close as I placed my arms over Jisung's, letting myself soak up this moment. "This is the one?" He asks.

I nod, opening my eyes and turning around to look at him. I wrap my arms around his neck before giving him a small peck, "Yes, this is the one"

When I told Jisung about Devany and her situation—how I wanted to help her, Jisung offered his help as well. The next morning I told Dev and she was hesitant for a moment but I think what made her give in was the help we could get for her mom.

It was a back-and-forth thing for about a week before her mom gave in and we had lunch with her, this is where she shared her struggle with Jisung and me. We had promised to take care of Devany while she was there for a few months and she was thankful for that and for the help.

Now we just needed a place. I mentioned to Jisung how we didn't need to get a brand new home and I could make it work somehow but he insisted. Telling me that he didn't only want to buy a home for this situation but for us. Our forever home.

I walked through the house once more, visualizing the time we would spend here and all the holidays that we would decorate for. I couldn't stop myself from hoping to see a little one run around these halls, filling the house with loud laughter and joy.

"Ready to go?" I look to Jisung who steps to the front door. I nod and walk to him he holds out his hand for me to hold, and I take it "Let's get dinner to celebrate"

I look at him as we walk out of the house "At our place?"

Our place. My place, his place. The restaurant was technically mine but to me, I just see it as ours. It was the place where he first told me he loved me, it was also the place where I first saw him again after everything that happened.

Jisung smiles before turning to me, "Your place, darling" He corrects, letting my hand go and opening the passenger door for me.

I roll my eyes playfully, "Ours" I said before getting into the car and closing the door. I heard his laughter as I did so.

I watched as he shook his head with a smile on his face. I loved this man with my whole heart. I watched as he walked to the driver's side, getting in.

"Stubborn, that's what you are" He jokingly says but now I wanted to play.

"Really?" I said, sounding surprised "I thought I was yours?"

Jisung looks at me like he wants to devour me as he hums lightly, "You need to behave darling" He warns me.

I lean closer to him, whispering in his ear "But you make do bad things" My hand finds his thigh and I slide it up slowly.

I place a kiss under his ear, ready to take this a bit further but the sound of a phone ringing loudly made my hand come to a stop.

I whine and sit back, Jisung letting out a breathy chuckle before answering "You might've just added yourself to Minho's death list"

-

Over dinner, I held back the urge to pull him to the restroom and take him into my mouth. I don't know what it was but he held a lot of confidence today, just like he used to. He walked with his head held high and he didn't stray away—he was just an open book with me and that was everything to me.

I take another sip of the wine, my eyes wandering over everyone in the room as light chatter fills the space. It was so elegant in here, the dim lighting making it feel warm and intimate.

"Did you choose the look of this place?" I ask, looking at Jisung.

His eyes wander for a quick second before looking at me and shrugging "Most of this was Park, I bought it and then started getting overwhelmed because I didn't know how to run a goddamn restaurant" I chuckle and lean onto my elbows, listening to him. "He eventually realized my stress and said to not worry about it. He always said that and I don't remember the exact day that I fully gave him my trust but in the end, I knew I could trust him with my businesses"

"Have you seen him since you left?"

Jisung shakes his head, "I went to him before everything—I went to him when I officially decided to give the club to Changbin and we talked for a bit and he told me that he would leave the business and travel for a bit. He thanked me for helping him when he was in a financial struggle and I left him some money, I just feel like it's the least I could do since he had to deal with all my business bullshit" I give him a small smile as Jisung tries to joke but I knew deep down he would've hoped for everything to have been different.

I grab his hand over the table "I love you" I say lightly and he gives me a soft smile.

"Let's go get some fresh air?" He offers and I nod, both of us getting up from the table and walking away and out of the space.

I knew when he said fresh air that he meant go up to the roof. Just like this place, it was our thing and I knew there would be many times after this.

With our hands laced together, we walked to the roof. The fresh air hits my skin and I will never get over the view of this place.

We walk to the edge and I look over to see a couple, they laugh loudly as they exit the restaurant doors. A smile plays on my face before I look to Jisung who was already looking at me, making my cheeks heat up.

"Don't look at me like that" I said shyly, turning away but Jisung placed his hand on my cheek, making me look back at him.

He held a serious face but so many emotions played in his eyes. He dropped his hand from my cheek as he looked down and took my other hand into his.

"What is it?" I felt nervous now, more scared by his silence.

Jisung looks back up at me and sighs "I want to do right by you" He says lowly and I see his eyes gloss over. "And every day I will work on myself to be the best I can for you darling" I hold back my tears and he adds, "I don't want to lose you again. It feels like I've lost you so many times and I don't want to spend any moment apart from you"

I let go of his hands and placed them on his face, bringing my face closer as I said "I am here" I tell him, "I am here forever" I kissed him softly.

Pulling away I feel him slide my hands off his face as he holds them again, "I want to give you everything you want and dream of darling"

I chuckle lowly "You are everything I want and dream—" My face drops and so does my heart as I watch him get on one knee.

Jisung smiles at me and pulls out a ring, "I know I already asked you this" He says with a light chuckle, "Will you marry me Minho?"

I nodded "Yes," I said, "Y-Yes, of course"

As the ring finds its way onto my finger, I grab Jisung's face a crash my lips onto his. Pulling away and looking into his eyes "I don't think the words 'I love you' can express how much you mean to me"

-

There was something so naturally perfect about him that held me in a chokehold, one I didn't mind.

On the way back to my place I kept staring at the ring and it was beautiful. I would look at him and just think about how he was my fiancé.

Our hands never left each others as we walked up to my apartment. He placed kisses on my neck as I opened the door. I stumbled through not because we drank alcohol but because Jisung didn't give me space so he kept stumbling over my feet.

The cats swarm our feet and I finally push Jisung off "I need to feed my babies" I kneel to them as they welcome us.

I look up to see Jisung sulking "I'm your baby too"

I smirk at him, "I'll be in the room soon, I plan to finish what I started earlier"

Jisung's eyes widened for a second before he was out of my sight, making me chuckle and go to the kitchen to feed the cats.

When I finished, I walked to the room and Jisung was sitting on the edge of the bed on his phone. The shutting of the door makes him look up and toss his phone onto the bed.

"Took you long enough"

I smirk and walk to him, standing between his legs "Missed me already?"

He looks up at me "Anytime you're not right by my side, I miss you"

I frown and lean down, kissing him softly. It didn't take long before I felt his hands go to the waistband of my jeans and I pulled away, "What do you think you're doing?" I squint my eyes at him.

He ignores me, but his hand leaves my pants and instead, he pushes my shirt up, kissing my stomach.

"I want to tell you something," I said randomly.

His kisses come to a halt and he looks up at me. My face is serious and a bit nervous. I didn't talk right away, sitting beside him. I didn't know how to word it and truthfully I never thought I would admit it out loud to him.

"You're kind of scaring me" He admits and I turn to him.

"I didn't run into you on accident," I said out loud for the first time. His brows furrow and I look away "I knew you would be at the club that night and I knew you owned the place"

"What?" Jisung sounded confused.

I bite at my lip and shrug, "I paid someone to find you" I hesitantly look back to him and he is already looking at me. "I don't want to hide this from you. I want to tell you the truth and that's the truth" I said with tears in my eyes, "I moved here because I knew you were here. You never came back for me and apart of me hated you for it so I thought I would move back with a brand new boyfriend and make you jealous—"

"You told me you two weren't dating"

I sigh "That isn't the point. The point is that night I saw you and my plan came crumbling down once I laid my eyes on you for the first time in years" I tell him, "Seungmin moved here and he tried to get me to move here and to meet new people but I declined multiple time until I found out you were here"

I watched Jisung look away and he let out a soft sigh "We really are meant to be" He says lightly.

I found myself growing confused, "You're not mad?"

"I guess it's my turn to own up" He looks to me, "When I started getting into all the illegal stuff, I met some guys who can provide me information," Jisung says "That information was on you. Your whereabouts, jobs, and relationships"

"You had me followed?"

"I had you protected" Jisung corrects, "I got reports back monthly until I had them stopped"

I furrow my brows "You stopped looking into me, why?"

Jisung gives me a sad smile, "The night I saw you at the club—I told them that it would be the last and a part of it was because Changbin would tell me how looking into your life without me only brought me pain and I realized it was true" Jisung adds, "Getting report after report of you with Jae and seemingly happy, I just thought maybe I should stop"

I shake my head "I'm sorry"

"You have nothing to be sorry for darling," Jisung says, "I just wanted to protect you and know you were safe"

I lean closer to him "I will never regret coming to find you, because that's what I should've done the night you left town"

"And I will always protect you," He tells me, "I think that's why I was born, To love, look after, and protect you"

I kiss him after his words. Flooded with love as I admitted to him the thing that weighed on my shoulders since that night. He was mine, of course, I had to look for him. To see him again.

I climb onto him and straddle his waist before he lays down, our kiss never stopping.

I could never get enough of him, I want it all. I want him inside and out, his mind and his body. I want to be completely drenched in his every being.

I pull away as he lifts my shirt off my body and my hand goes to run under his shirt but his hand stops me. I look down and notice how tense he's gotten and I look back to his eyes, "Jisung?"

He looks into my eyes before looking away and letting my hand go. I stare at him for a moment and realize he has always stopped me from doing this since he came back. Touching his bare skin on his chest and even seeing it. He stopped me again but before he let go I noticed the anxiousness his eyes held.

I look down and swallow harshly "I won't look if you don't want me to," I said lightly.

"I do," He said, "I don't want to hide anything from you"

I lick my lips before sliding his shirt up and my heart drops. My eyes water as I look down at the scar on his stomach from that night.

My hand retracted from his body, now hoping I never hurt him because of it.

"It doesn't hurt, not anymore" I look up at him and he stares at me, "I just don't like the look of it and I thought you wouldn't either"

I frown and shake my head "You will always be perfect" I said softly, leaning down and kissing the scar he had grown so insecure about. I look back at him "But I am sorry that I wasn't there"

Jisung sits up "Your safe and now, so am I," He said to me "That's all that matters to me"

*Now playing - Cover Me in
Roses by Holden Laurence*

This chapter closes off the overall plot of the book.

If you do remember the first ever chapter of 'darling' jisung has a meeting with some guys about information (info on Minho) ... Trust me when I say, I had everything planned from the start babe.

but seriously, the next chapters are more for closing off the book and characters. They will be a lot more wholesome and just giving it a more happier feel since most of this book was probably sad since minsung wasn't consist in it.