a forever future.
❒ pairing - evelyn x mingyu
❒ word count - 2.9k
❒ synopsis: mevie and their future
🏷️: @justmochi @ateezjuliet @peachyaeger @itzynabi @cosmicwintr @billboard-singer @kimhyejin3108 @cixrosie @enhacolor @allthings-fandoms @mingis-wrld @aysxldea @alixnsuperstxr
"You guys all ready?" Evelyn giggles as she squats down beside the eager dogs tugging hard at their leashes. If it wasn't for Mingyu holding onto the other end of the leashes firmly in his hand, the dogs would've taken off the second they saw the dog park as they had walked up.
Winnie lets out a few excited yips and twirls around in her spot, tangling herself up while Henry was beside her with his little grunts and snorts. Without another second, Evelyn unclips both dogs leashes from their harnesses and in an instant they took off into the dog park to chase after each other.
"Ay, these kids I swear," Mingyu huffs with a smile on his lips as he slots his fingers together with Evelyn's, shoving the leashes into his coat pocket. The two of them walked into the fenced in area with Evelyn taking time to pull the metal gate closed behind them to prevent any escapees.
"Hurts my heart that we had to leave Bleu at home," Evelyn pouts her lips a bit as she clings to Mingyu's arm from the slight chill in the air, "Knowing her, she'll be sitting in the windowsill staring down at the street watching for us."
"We're gonna have to get her a harness and bring her out with us," Mingyu wraps an arm around her to bring her in closer, "Or one of those backpacks with the bubble on the back."
"We are not putting her in one of those. She barely likes being in her carrier when she has to go to the vet." Evelyn snorts thinking about the time all of the animals had vet appointments for a checkup and how they were very late because Bleu wouldn't come out from underneath the couch the second she heard the carrier zipper.
"She'll be just like an astronaut," Mingy's face scrunches up playfully at the thought, "Bleu the little space cat."
The pair found their way to a metal bench just off the pathway and settled down onto it. Within no time, the two dogs came barreling over towards them and Winnie used her momentum to push herself up onto her hind legs and press her front paws to Evelyn's knees.
"I know what you want," Her hand rubs behind Winnie's right ear with her other hand digging around in her bag to retrieve the desired object. Any trip to the dog park required one thing to come with: a ball.
Setting her bag off to the side, Evelyn stood up briefly to wind her arm back and launched the ball forward out into the field. In an instant, both dogs took off after it as fast as their little legs could take them. It didn't take long for them to get distracted and start playing and rolling each other in the grass.
"It'll be bath time for everyone when we get home," Evelyn snorts as she settles back down onto the bench.
"Ooo bath time with you. My favorite part of the night," Mingyu leans a bit closer to her, pressing kisses to the side of her head, "We can relax -kiss- I can wash your hair -kiss- maybe splash some water around."
"My tub isn't that big," Evelyn giggles, bringing her hand up to cup his cheek and pressing her lips to his. His hand found its way to her waist and gripped the clothed skin as he deepened the kiss further. A small sound left her throat as his tongue gently prodded at her lips asking for permission. He tugged her a bit closer as his tongue entered her mouth, his other hand tilting her head up by her chin.
It wasn't long before two tiny paws pressed into Evelyn's leg that had the paired pulling away from each other. She giggled down at Winnie, the wet and slobbery ball ending up on her lap. Winnie's tongue was hanging out of her mouth lopsided and her tail was wagging a mile a minute.
"Thank you little mood killers," Mingyu playfully rolled his eyes leaning over to pat Henry on his head, grabbing the ball off of Evelyn's lap and chucking it further out into the field.
~
"You know-," He traced his thumb over the back of her knuckles in absentminded comforting circles, lips forming a slight pout with what was pondering on his mind, "I got my letter the other day."
Evelyn's smile faultered slightly knowing what he was referring to, "I know…I saw it on the counter the other day. It's coming up real soon right?."
"Yeah, yeah it is…" Mingyu nodded his head even though she wasn't looking at him. He leaned down and grabbed the ball Winnie had dropped at their feet, reeling his arm back and chucking it out into the open field, watching fondly as the two dogs took after it.
"What am I gonna do without you?" She half joked, pressing her back firmly into the bench seat. She didn't want to admit it directly but the thought of him going away to the military tugged immensely at her heart, "Your side of the bed is going to be cold."
"You'll have the dogs and Bleu," Mingyu nudged her shoulder with his, a subtle grin tugging at his lips, "They'll keep the bed all cozy warm at night."
"That's not what I'm talking about!" Her voice came out a little more forceful than she would've liked. It was like the air surrounding them had stopped in an instant and the world fell entirely silent.
"It's been…hard," Evelyn's bottom lip juts out, her gaze falling down to their hands clasped together. Her hand grips his a bit more firmly as she sniffles to keep the tears gathering in the corners of her eyes from falling down her flushed cheeks, "Watching everyone leave. I mean, we're all doing the best we can…but it's just-."
It had felt like a ton of bricks fell onto her chest all at once. For the first time since Jeonghan enlisted two years prior, had she let go of all the pent up hardship she had been feeling. Her usual happy go-lucky self was starting to crumble at the seams. It had been rough the last few months on not just her, but for the group as a whole. From filling in empty spots during choreography to covering vocal parts in songs; it has been exhausting on their bodies both physically and mentally. But it was inevitably going to happen whether they all liked it or not.
"There's so many what ifs that could happen during that time," She sniffled a bit louder this time, using her free hand to wipe at her wet face, "I just….don't want you to leave."
"Jagi-," Mingyu's voice was filled with the utmost sadness, pulling her closer to his body. He pressed his chin to the top of her head as she practically crumbled into his side, quiet sobs racking her body.
"I've gotten so use to you being a part of my life-," Evelyn's voice had quieted down a bit, her bottom lip pouting out a bit as she kept herself from having another breakdown, "- that it's going to be hard not having you in it for a while. It's hard enough now without some of the others."
He sighed heavily, his thumb rubbing against her arm as he held onto her. Her words hung heavy in the air around them and her sadness sent daggers straight to his heart, "Everything will be okay Evie."
"I know it will but…it's just-."
"What's really on your mind, baby?"
"I'm scared things will change between us being apart," Evelyn confessed, biting the inside of her cheek, "m'scared of being alone."
A stray tear made it's way down her cheek and dripped onto her hand, the bead falling down the crease of her finger. She sniffled loudly, wiping her face with the back of her hand before pulling away from him. This wasn't how she had expected their early morning dog walk to go nor did she expect to have a full on breakdown.
Mingyu smiled despite the tugging in his heart because deep down he had the same feelings. The first time since meeting each other were they going to be apart for a long extended period of time. The future was a scary sight. But as much as it pained him, he had to be the strong rock to be there for her. His hand reached down and clasped with hers, squeezing it tightly.
"I want you to know that I'm going no where when it comes to us," Mingyu cleared his throat to speak properly, "I'll get some vacation days after a while of being there and every single one is going to be used to come visit you. I won't have my phone for a bit but please know deep down, I'll always be thinking about you. And once I do get it back, you already know I'll be texting and calling as much as I can."
"It won't be the same," She sniffled, pouting her lips as her head met his shoulder, "And having to watch you leave every single time will hurt more than the last visit."
Mingyu turned his gaze out towards the field where the dogs had settled down into the grass, panting from their bursts of energy. He glanced up at the night sky, the moon was just barely peaking from behind some clouds. A small smile tugged at his lips, "You know, any time you'll be missing me, just have a look up at the moon. We'll be seeing the same moon and stars at night."
Evelyn looked up to the sky as the moon was coming out from behind the clouds now thanks to the slight breeze. The sky was littered with millions of little tiny glowing specks. She forced herself to sniffle back another onslaught of tears and a smile founds its way to her mouth.
The two of them were brought back when Winnie threw her ball at their feet, Henry barking at them with his hoarse voice. Evelyn picked her head up from his shoulder and pulled her phone out of the pocket of her bag. It was a bit past the dogs dinner time.
"Are you little puppies hungry?" Evelyn wiped at her face again as Winnie pressed her front paws to her knees and continued to bark. Mingyu reached down and gathered up Henry into his arms, the older dog licking profusely at his neck causing the man to let out a handful of giggles.
"Let's get these puppies home before they wither away."
~
"We need to plan a few days to drive down to see your family," Evelyn spoke over her shoulder as she wiped her hands on her apron after adding the required spices to the pot, "I miss your parents and I was talking to your sister the other day and she whined that she missed the animals."
"That sounds like her," Mingyu barked out a laugh, sweeping up the stray clumps of dog hair around the floor with the broom into the dustpan. The vacuum was out of the question for the dogs saw it as the worst monster they'd ever seen and saw it as their personal duty to protect the house and attack it.
"I want to take your mom and sister out for a girls day and you and your dad can go and hang out. We can take your parents out for dinner one night," Evelyn rambled on as she read off the next instruction on the recipe card.
Mingyu dumped the dustpan into the trash bin, hanging it and the broom back on the side of the cabinet. He approached behind Evelyn and wrapped his arms loosely around her waist and settled his chin on top of her head, "Sounds like a plan to me, baby."
"Mhm, I just want to do something nice for them since they're always doing nice things for us," She smiled to herself as she leaned back into him slightly. She tilted her head up and puckered her lips to which he responded immediately, "Can you clear off the table, this is almost ready. And if you could, just take that pile of clothes to the bedroom and I can sort them later."
Mingyu kissed her lips a few more times before he let her go, "Of course baby."
His footprints echoed down the hallway and a smile came to Evelyn's lips at the tiny patter of paws against the floor. Wherever the two of them went, the dogs followed right behind like little ducks in a row.
While waiting for the pot to come to a rolling boil, Evelyn glanced to the side at the cat tower at Bleu sprawled out on the highest perch, staring directly at Evelyn and flicking the tip of her tail gently. She knows the cat is annoyed at them for taking so long to feed her.
"Eomma is sorry missing your dinner," Evelyn spoke to the cat in her baby voice she used for all the animals, "I'll give you as many cuddles as you want after dinner." A few moments pass and Bleu turning her head to look out the window before looking back and slow blinking.
"I knew you'd cave to some cuddles," Evelyn giggled as she turned back towards the stove, stirring the pot. She dipped a spoon into the stew, blowing on it a bit before taking a bite, humming in satisfaction at the taste. Just like her grandmother used to make.
"Did you get the table cleared? Why are you quiet all of a sudden-," Evelyn's eyebrows were pinched together at the sudden silence of the apartment. She turned the stove off and moved the pan off the burner, turning on her heel to look behind her, "Mingyu-?"
Her heart jumped up into her throat and she had to grip the counter to steady herself on what she was looking at in front of her, her eyes darting around the figure as he was standing before her fiddling with his hands. Mingyu was changed from his sweatpants into Evelyn's favorite sweater that he owned, a pair of black slacks, and his hair was styled nicely; an entire different outfit. Evelyn swallowed the thick lump in her throat, her heart hammering against her chest as he began to speak.
"I -I don't know how to do this but-," Mingyu's voice shook a bit, a slight nervous laugh leaving his mouth. He hadn't gained the confidence to look up at her yet and chose to keep his gaze planted firmly on the floor of the kitchen. Evelyn had opened her mouth to speak but was seemingly stopped when Mingyu had knelt down onto the floor before her.
"Looking towards the future, whether its ten years from now, five years from now, hell even if it's five minutes from now; I want you to be there. To be there with me," By the time he managed to look up at her from where he was with one knee pressing firmly into the wood, his eyes had glossed over with his own onslaught of fresh tears, "I wasn't certain what my life would be like or where my life would be now all those years ago, but what I'm sure of now is that I want to live the rest of my life with you there."
It took a minute of him fumbling around in his pocket before he pulled out a square velvet box, fingers working to open it towards her showcasing an elegant silver ring with a beautiful diamond in the center of it.
"Park Eunji, will you marry me?"
"Mingyu I-" She hadn't even realised she was crying until a few tears dripped down her cheeks.
"I-It's okay if you say no. I just..had to. I wanted to. I-I can't picture any other person-."
Evelyn cut his words off before he could finish his sentence, her own voice laced with emotion and her eyes watery to the point she could barely see, "-yes."
"H-huh?"
She choked out a wet laugh, shuffling her feet over towards him until she collapsed onto the floor in front of him. It didn't take long before she leaned forward and cradled his face between her hands, "Yes yes, a million times yes."
He moved to sit fully on the floor, Evelyn falling in between in his legs as she closed the gap between the two of them in a slow and soft kiss, pulling apart and pressing their foreheads together. His fingers grabbed the ring from the box carefully, bringing up her hand and slipping the ring onto her left hand's ring finger.
"It's so beautiful." Evelyn brought it up closer to her face and smoothed over the diamond with the thumb of her other hand, sniffling back her now happy tears.
"I didn't plan on it turning out like this. I had a whole day planned just to do this properly but-," Mingyu wiped at his eyes with the pad of his thumb, "Earlier today you were just so sad about us, about the future that I-…I mean it when I say I'm yours until our very last days on earth, and even after that I'm yours forever."
~
some visual aid for the chapter: the ring
