As Halloween got closer, and Bella threw herself into planning the party, I knew I had to be honest with her. I wanted to start our new life together with no dark clouds over us. In the past, there had always been something that made our life less than perfect. First, it was Jimin, then my reputation, then my psycho ex, then my family--oh, it went on and on. I wanted this time to be different, to be stable and solid. I wanted our future.

We began spending a lot more time together these past two weeks. Bella would come over almost every day to talk about the party or the costumes. Sometimes we sat quietly together, each one doing our own work for our classes. More often than not, I would cook for her so that she could continue studying. Her class load was crazy, but she was trying to graduate in a couple of months.

On odd days we'd take some time to watch a TV show or a movie. We'd eat snacks and cuddle on the sofa. We would make jokes and laugh, just like the old times. It made me feel incredibly happy to share those moments with her.

And usually, after the movie was over, we'd make out. Her kisses drove me insane. The minute her lips touched mine, I could feel my entire body go up in flames. I had told her that we'd go at her pace, and if all she wanted to do was kiss, then I'd respect that.

But it was getting so hard--pun intended--to stop at kissing. The pain in my lower regions would sometimes make me whimper. When that happened, Bella would be embarrassed and apologize, and I would quickly dismiss it as nothing for her to worry about. But at times, it got so bad that I almost couldn't wait for her to leave so that I could take care of myself in private.

One Saturday night, after I had fallen back on the sofa with Bella on top of me, I thought she would finally agree. She had begun rubbing her body against mine, and I was sure I was about to lose the last shred of my sanity.

"Oh, my God, Jin!" she gasped, pulling her lips away from mine. "I was...I was hoping to wait...until--"

"Until when?" I asked breathlessly.

She kissed me again then paused, taking a deep breath. "Until we were...more sure."

I struggled to sit up while balancing her on my lap. "Bella, my darling, I'm sure. Very sure."

"Of course you'd say that right now," she smirked.

"No. It's not what you think," I replied and slipped her off my lap. "Wait here." I rushed into my room, threw open my nightstand drawer, and picked up the ring box that I'd kept there after she had returned the ruby ring. I hurried back and knelt in front of her.

"Here," I said. "For you."

Her eyes went wide when she recognized the box, and she stared at me. "Jin? Are you...?"

I chuckled. "No, no. I'm not asking you to marry me. I'm asking you to be my girlfriend. Again. Officially." I saw that she narrowed her eyes at me. "And, no, it's not because I want to make love to you--I mean, I do, but only when you say so and--yeah, anyway. What do you say?" I opened the ring box to reveal the ruby ring inside. My plan was to come clean to her about the whole Minda incident once she was my girlfriend, once I felt she was committed to me. Maybe then she'd be less likely to leave me.

After a few tense moments, she nodded, and I let out a whooshing breath. I tossed the box aside and slid the ring onto her finger, still on my knees before her. She placed her hands on my face and leaned in for a kiss.

I smiled at her. I wanted so much to just pull her into my bedroom, but instead, I sat on the sofa next to her and exhaled. I wasn't sure what to do next. All this time I'd been telling her that we'd go at her pace. I never took Minda's advice to just impose myself on her. I would never force her to do anything, I don't care how exciting that might seem to some people. So I just sat next to her, smiling like a fool, happy that she was my girlfriend.

I felt Bella staring at me and turned to her. "Is something wrong?" I asked.

She raised her eyebrows, as if I should know what's going on.

"Uh, what?" I was still confused.

She jumped to her feet. "Oh, my goodness, Kim Seokjin! If you don't take me to bed this instant, I swear it's all over between us!"

I didn't even stop to process her words. I rose from the sofa, grabbed her hand, and led her to my bedroom.

It was the best night of my life.