My Name Is Lucy: In Search of the First Dreams. Book 4

After the intense and intimate journey that the couple, Lucy and Ryeon, had experienced, this was now the last day in the city of Sokcho.

They had made love several times, had made promises, and felt more passionately in love than ever, celebrating a new beginning in life. Now they were adults and had many responsibilities ahead, but at that moment, Lucy just smiled and reminisced about the last night they had shared. Her whole body still felt Ryeon's fingerprints wandering around.

She finished organizing her suitcase and chuckled at how Ryeon seemed convinced that he was forgetting something somewhere in the cabin.

"You've already packed your wallet, headphones, and socks. What could you be forgetting?" Lucy teased.

"I don't know, darling," Ryeon replied, placing both hands on his hips as he surveyed the well-organized space. "My God, what am I forgetting?"

Lucy just chuckled softly, finishing her own packing. She left the suitcase in the corner, next to a coat she would wear, and climbed the steps to the bed.

"There's nothing here, Ryeon. You're becoming paranoid."

"Hmm..." Ryeon walked over to the small kitchen.

Lucy descended again and joined him in searching for something she didn't even know about. "I found it!" she heard Ryeon celebrate and turned, attentive and curious.

Ryeon had a goofy smile on his lips, holding something between his closed hands.

"What did you find?"

"What I had lost."

"And what is it?"

Ryeon continued with the silly smile, but he approached Lucy. He noticed how her eyes remained steady, always so curious, but when he finally opened his hands and revealed what was there, he saw them widen as they always did when surprised.

"Ryeon, you…"

"It's just symbolic," he quickly said. Ryeon opened the small box he had in his hands and chuckled. "When we made love all night long, you said we would live every second together and that we would definitely get married. And you know, I'm totally head over heels for you, so why not use these now?"

"Are you asking me to marry you?!" Lucy's eyes widened, the realization sinking in.

Lucy's eyes were still wide open in the most unconscious way possible. Ryeon chuckled softly.

"I asked you a long time ago, don't you remember? You said, 'Maybe I'll accept.'"

"That's true, but... I wasn't expecting rings now. How did you buy them if I didn't even see you leaving?"

"They're simple, darling. I bought them from the stall at the market when you went to see those little trinkets. I promise that in the future, I'll get real rings, made of good material, and they'll truly symbolize that you agreed to intertwine your not-so-perfect life with my mischievous one."

"My life is far from perfect," she laughed, but she approached, biting her lower lip as she raised her left hand. "But I like it. I don't need a fancy ring when I already have you. That doesn't matter much."

Ryeon smiled, filled with love and excitement. He picked up the thinner ring and slid it onto Lucy's ring finger. He kissed the cheap metal over her hand, making her sigh.

"It's very beautiful," Lucy remarked, examining it. "Give me yours, I'll put it on."

Ryeon handed it over, completely thrilled as he raised his left hand to Lucy as well. He watched her carefully place the steel ring on his ring finger, and just as he had done, he kissed her hand, looking into her eyes afterward.

"Can you imagine if we got married now? Your dad would kill me," he laughed, getting closer to wrap his arms around her petite waist and steal a kiss from her thin and delicious lips.

"He probably would, he wants to walk me down the aisle."

"Are we going to have a church wedding?"

"Why not?" she smiled, watching Ryeon gasp.

"My God, so... my God! Does this mean I'll see you walking down the aisle in a white dress with a bouquet? My God!"

"Don't freak out now, you goof," she laughed, kissing him again. "It's still going to take a while. I have so many things to accomplish, and it takes so much effort and money that maybe the wedding will be the last thing, don't you think?"

"We'll figure it out."

Lucy laughed, still looking at the hands that now had a different "ornament." Her soft and loving heart was just a little more surrendered to Ryeon.

"We need to go," Ryeon alerted her, bringing her back from her thoughts.

Lucy nodded, looking for her suitcase, but she frowned.

"Ryeon, did you really mean that?"

Ryeon laughed but denied it.

"It was just a play."

"Are you sure?"

Pulling the suitcase out, Ryeon left a peculiar laugh in the air.

"Well, almost that."

"You really lost it, didn't you?!"

"I just got nervous. I was torn between the kitchen and the bathroom cabinet, but I found it, didn't I?"

"You're unbelievable," she shook her head, walking alongside her boyfriend down the mountainside.

"The important thing is that I found it. And now we're engaged."

"Almost that."

"Yeah, almost that," he intertwined their fingers, feeling a pang of sadness having to leave the beautiful and largely unexplored city behind.

Perhaps they would return to the city in the future, but this time, the couple's purpose had been achieved.

They had spent an entire week together, making the most of every possible moment.

***

Jungso was feeling excited. He had just returned home and was holding a fully decorated cake. He saw Sun-ha pass through the kitchen as he entered the house and placed the cake on the table.

"Did it turn out the way you wanted?" Jungso chuckled but nodded. Sun-ha approached and covered her mouth, impressed by her husband's silly idea.

"It really looks good. Where is her document?"

"Upstairs, in that green folder."

"Go get it. She already let us know that she's landed in Busan and made us promise not to go to the airport, so she should be arriving any moment."

"I'll get it then."

Sun-ha laughed at how excited her husband seemed. She heard the doorbell ring, so she hurried to answer it. A gentle smile came to her face as she looked at Roseanne and Adam.

"We brought some treats," Roseanne quickly said, lifting a small tray she had in her hands.

"You didn't have to." Sun-ha gestured for them to come in. "I invited you; you shouldn't worry."

"It's not a big deal. After all, we're practically a family because of our children. I want you to see that I'm not a bad person, nor am I a bad mother-in-law."

Sun-ha smiled; Roseanne had some similarities to Ryeon in certain aspects. For instance, in that moment, Roseanne had those mostly narrow eyes, round and wide with pure nervousness that she didn't even try to hide. Her hands were tucked close to her body as she smiled awkwardly.

"Yes, we're almost like a family," Sun-ha affirmed, calming her with a smile. "Come see the cake; Jungso just got it."

Roseanne looked at her boyfriend with an excited smile and entered the place. She followed Sun-ha and suppressed a laugh when she saw the cake.

"Jungso's idea, I presume."

"You guessed it," Lucy replied, glancing at her husband as she noticed him entering the kitchen.

"Oh, good morning," Jungso greeted kindly. He first shook hands with Adam and then greeted Roseanne with a smile. "Did you like the cake?"

"It's quite unique," Adam said, chuckling at his own joke.

"Nah, it's a copy. The authentic one is right here." Adam raised the folder, as if it wasn't very obvious.

They all sat around the table, but not even ten minutes had passed when their phones started ringing. Ryeon messaged his mother, letting her know he had arrived in Busan and that the flight had gone well. Lucy informed both of her parents, especially Jungso, who had been asking non-stop how they were.

After twenty minutes, they were crowded in front of the door, anxiously waiting for Jungso to open it.

"SURPRISE!"

The mutual shout startled Lucy, causing her to jump back. Ryeon was on the other side of the street, about to enter the house, but he turned his head toward the sound and was surprised to see everyone smiling, including his mother and Adam.

"Come on, little brat," Jungso called, motioning for Lucy to come inside.

"But what... surprise? Why?" Lucy furrowed her brows, feeling her father hugging her tightly.

Sun-ha laughed, patting her husband's back to signal him to let go of their daughter so he could hug her.

"Surprise because you're back," her mother explained.

Roseanne had her arms around her taller son, feeling good to have him close again. Ryeon stepped away, briefly hugging Adam before diverting to Jungso, smiling shyly as he approached to hug his father-in-law.

"I missed you, uncle."

"You little liar," Jungso teased, hugging him.

Sun-ha, still a bit awkward, waited. Ryeon also smiled at her, not as comfortable with his mother-in-law, but he didn't want to act strangely. He hugged her briefly, finding it amusing how much shorter she was compared to him.

"How was the trip?" Jungso asked, returning to hug his daughter. "Oh, we made a cake."

Lucy headed to the kitchen, and the others followed. Her eyes were drawn to the cake, and her brow immediately furrowed.

Jungso looked like an eager child next to her, almost bouncing with excitement. He was missing just a few jumps as his daughter read what was written on the image printed on the rice paper.

"This is..."

He simply nodded, retrieving the folder to open it and find the original document.

"Your new birth certificate. Surprise!"

Ryeon's eyes widened as he hurriedly walked over to stand by Lucy. He chuckled when he saw the cake; Jungso was truly one of a kind with his silly ideas.

A rice paper with Lucy's new birth certificate? Why did it seem so obvious?

Lucy picked up the certificate, reading it carefully.

"Jeon Lucy, daughter of Jeon Jungso and Jeon Sun-ha. Born on the first of September, two thousand and two, Busan, South Korea."

Lucy's eyes were shining. She looked at her parents, captivated, and then showed the document to Ryeon, who needed only an excited smile to start shedding tears.

Ryeon hugged her tightly and reassuringly.

"I'm so happy," he whispered in her ear, holding her a little tighter.

Lucy nodded, pulling away to wipe her tears and embrace her parents.

Roseanne didn't want to be left out and hugged her with affection.

"I'm proud of you, my dear."

Lucy smiled, turning her gaze to Adam, who still didn't feel entirely comfortable giving a hug, but his words of happiness were enough to make Lucy's smile last a little longer.

Finally, Lucy's eyes returned to the document. She needed to sit down to take as much time as she needed to believe that it was truly real.

"Now I need to process the other documents," she said, looking around at everyone. "Is this real?"

"It's very real, darling."

"I'll help you with whatever you need to get the new documents, little ant, don't worry."

"But that takes a long time, and I'll need to go back to studying in a week. Can I get it done in Seoul?"

"It's likely, but we'll call and make sure of all the details, okay?"

Lucy nodded, her gaze shifting to the amusing cake.