even though you and ryujin went to the same highschool, you only ever noticed each other at one of your mom's galas. your dad was a famous politic, and your mom? well, she'd been doing business with ryujin's father since you can remember. so, you already had an advantage when you met, and it was the ability to avoid the whole "my dad/mom is a crime lord" conversation
needless to say, you were also going through training of your own, and meeting someone your age who knew exactly how that felt, was refreshing. plus she was pretty, and hot, you couldn't decide whether you liked her in pretty dresses or suits and leather jackets more.
she was pretty quick to start flirting, and the next time you run into each other (this time for an operation your parents wanted you to attend), you hookup in the back of her car. and then at school, at lia's party, and then again in her house when her parents were out traveling. no one is surprised, and by no one i mean jisu who saw bite marks above your right breast when you change in front of her like usually. the next day, she notices ryujin's own marks under her ear with a shaking head.
you do the whole "friends with benefits" thing for a few months, you go on a few dates with a couple different girls, but you were both falling for the other fast and hard. so she asks to be 'exclusive' friends with benefits first. that doesn’t help much at all though. because she still finds herself wanting to make you laugh more often. sometimes cuddling you after sex, and she even sneaks hello and goodbye pecks whenever she can, but she can't keep it quiet for much longer, the pitter pat of her heart was getting louder every day she spent with you and she was worried you might hear it.
"we need to stop fucking" so she decides spitting this out at lunch, out of nowhere and not even giving herself time to sit properly was the right decision. you have no idea why.
"... okay?" you're not even done chewing your fry, and she finds the way you stare back at her to be rather weird.
"is that it?"
"i'm not gonna force you to have sex with me ryujin" you're not gonna lie, it hurt your ego and feelings when she brings it up, you probably wouldn't see much of her anymore, and you wanted to. but you can't say that, won't say either.
"you're not gonna ask me why?" her pout is cute
"i didn't know you wanted me to" you shrug, looking at her food that she hasn't touched since she sat in front of you. "but i'm all ears"
"i wanna take you out" she blurts. huh, that was much easier than she expected. she thinks? your reaction confuses her, she wishes she knew what was going through your head in this moment
"oh” fuck, she knew she shouldn't have said anything, now she won't even get to see you to fuck, or see you at all. and now her armpits are sweating profusely, shit, her whole body is heating up in embarassment, and she's just about to leave, to cry it all off in the bathroom, when you finally reply with "im busy mondays with my mom, meetings and stuff" you shrug "but you can pick me up any other day"
she places the tray back on the table, and sighs "thursday?"
"sounds good" you nod "make it worth it" you say, picking up your trash and walking over to jisu who was waiting for you at the door of the cafeteria.
you already thought a date with her was more than worth it, but you enjoyed the way her cheeks flare up and she nods quickly and nervously in response. so the date jisu and you had planned to just hang out at the mall and buy yourself pretty clothes, turned into the two of you looking for an outfit that was nice yet versatile enough that no matter what ryujin had planned you wouldn't look out of place
you had only been on a couple dates when that one talent show happened, and it could explain the nerves that ryujin told yuna about when they were folding pamphlets, but ryujin still felt the butterflies in her stomach and the drying of her throat even after marrying you.
she knew quickly she wanted to spend the rest of her life with you, and it scared her to think you could've thought differently about her. while your relationship was never perfect, and there were times when the two of you found yourselves questioning whether being together was even the right thing to do, she couldn't see the rest of her life without you. and honestly, neither could you.
and you weren't surprised when she proposed, partly because of that one conversation you had about wanting to be with each other forever, but also because yuna and lia were too obvious, and so was she. you say yes, to no one's surprise of course, and the next thing you know, your relationship has unlocked another sort of level the two of you are eager to begin
years later though, when ryujin and you take over your family businesses, move in together and all, when it feels like the two of you have been through everything together, she often finds herself mentally patting her own back in praise for having the guts to ask you out.












