E2 Henry x Vic

@✵ henry lau ᵖʳᵒᵈᵘᶜᵉʳ "Wow, you really thought all of this through," Vic said with a chuckle. She was pleasantly surprised by Henry's thoughtfulness towards their special moment, and nodded in agreement, "Let's do it. The sooner we're married, the happier I'll be." Upon saying that, Vic realized that she and Henry had a lot of unspoken shared goals. They both wanted to be married, and Henry already knew how much she wanted to have a family of her own, complete with kids of their own. They had a tacit understanding that she had always taken for granted up to now. "You're right," she agreed, sliding her arm under Henry's so she could link arms with him, "I'm ready to start a family with you."

@✵ victoria song ᵐᵃⁿᵃᵍᵉʳ "Well, you love that," Henry shot back, enamoured. "Anyway, my cousin's wedding was to set the mood, duh. We should plan when we get back to Korea, though. You'll need to gather your wedding party, and we'll need to send out invites... I think we can get married by early next year." Satisfied with his timeline, Henry stopped them before another viewing area along the lakeside. "Hm? How does early next year sound?" he said with a smile, picking up both of Victoria's hands in his and holding them tightly between them. "The sooner the better, because the earlier we get married, the sooner we can have little ones running around-"

@✵ henry lau ᵖʳᵒᵈᵘᶜᵉʳ "I- I don't know," Vic stammered, finding that she had dug a hole for herself. Would it be too embarrassing to admit that she had actually hoped Henry would've proposed even sooner? They were practically living together at this point, spending all their time at each other's places and going out whenever they didn't have work. Now with the vacation trips that solidified how lovely their relationship was, Vic had kind of already started thinking herself as being adjusted to married life with Henry. "I guess...I wasn't expecting it to be in Canada! Since we did originally come here for your cousin's wedding." She smiled as Henry , tsking at him, "You're always so unexpected though, as usual."

@✵ victoria song ᵐᵃⁿᵃᵍᵉʳ It was supposed to be Victoria’s day, but Henry was happy with the attention on him. “Since the beginning of the year,” he admitted. Long engagements were common in the West, but he knew he’d be expected by their family and friends to move fast once they were engaged, meaning Henry had to have money on hand for a wedding by the time he proposed. He didn’t go into detail on the finances, though, choosing to focus on the happier things instead. “Then, if you weren’t expecting me to ask here, when were you thinking I was going to ask?” he teased, grinning as he swung their entwined hands between them. “I mean… Surely, you must have had an idea that it was coming.”

@✵ henry lau ᵖʳᵒᵈᵘᶜᵉʳ The proposal had happened so quickly - Vic was so thankful that Henry was thoughtful enough to record it. She wanted to hear his exact words of confession again later that night, and relive the beautiful memory that they had created together at the HarborFront. "Your parents are so sweet," Vic chuckled, eager to go home and greet them again too. They had always been extra loving and kind towards her when she would go over to their house, "You're right...I would've said yes anytime you asked, but I really wasn't expecting you to ask me during this trip! When had you been planning this from?" she asked, wanting to know all of Henry's thought process and also see how long he had been so sure of this decision.

@✵ victoria song ᵐᵃⁿᵃᵍᵉʳ He knew it! He knew she would say yes. There was really no other way this could have gone, and Henry was panicking for no reason. In his excitement, he nearly left his phone on the bench, only remembering it just before they left the area. Hand-in-hand, Henry's grin was wide as the ring on Victoria's hand rubbed against his skin as they walked. "I booked a restaurant to celebrate at tonight," he said, revealing his plans to Victoria now that she had agreed to marry him. "And... my parents are waiting for the news at home. They're so nervous. I told them they had no reason to be, but they're really desperate for you to become their daughter-in-law, you know?"

@✵ henry lau ᵖʳᵒᵈᵘᶜᵉʳ Vic nodded her head, biting on her lower lip to contain her excitement when Henry confirmed her answer, then reached for her hand. She held her breath as he slipped the ring on, both impressed and relieved that it was a perfect fit. Nothing could make this proposal more perfect. Using that same hand to cup Henry's cheek, she leaned in to kiss him again, the gentle breeze making her fall forward even more onto him. "I love you too, jagi," she murmured against his lips, smiling as she stepped in close and pressed her head against his shoulder, hugging him before the clear horizon.

@✵ victoria song ᵐᵃⁿᵃᵍᵉʳ Not wanting Victoria to bend, Henry stood to meet her, holding her delicately by her waist as he brought her in for a proper kiss. "Yes?" he repeated, wanting to hear Victoria's excited acceptance again. The thing was, he was far too in over his head to wait for her to say it again. Picking up her left hand, Henry slid the ring over her third finger. It was a modest piece — white gold band and a solitaire cut diamond, big enough to be seen but small enough to be humble. The few passerby near them clapped, but Henry paid them no mind as he pulled Victoria in again, their lips slotted together in a soft kiss. "Love you, Noona."

@✵ henry lau ᵖʳᵒᵈᵘᶜᵉʳ Some people around them had stopped to watch, but Vic didn't notice them at all, her eyes only trained on Henry. As he held her close and proposed with a sweet recount of their love story, Vic felt herself tearing up. She was not a crier, since she often had a resilient heart that gave her a free pass out of many strange reactions. As Henry professed his intentions, Vic's cheeks felt warm and tingly, the corners of her lips already twitching with her response in mind. "Yes!" she exclaimed right away, her voice pitchy from the excitement. The order of events didn't occur to her though, so before Henry could put on the ring, Vic leaned down and pressed her lips against his, kissing her boyfriend- no, fiance, in public for the first time.

@✵ victoria song ᵐᵃⁿᵃᵍᵉʳ Henry's free hand shot out to grab Victoria's, steadying her before she fell. "Noona," he began in Korean, before switching to Mandarin (he really had no plan with the languages, but he knew what he wanted to say in all of them). His mouth felt dry, and the rush of adrenaline to his head was already throwing him off before he even began talking. He just had to focus. So much for that, though. The long speech Henry planned and practiced in three languages flew out the window when he looked up at Victoria's beautiful, pretty face. He did end up saying words, but he hoped it was close to what he intended to say from the beginning. "I met you when I was just a kid, and now I'm grown up. I hope that after so long, I've shown you that I can take care of you, cherish you, love you like you deserve. Jie, I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and I want to make sure everyone knows it. Will you marry me?"

@✵ henry lau ᵖʳᵒᵈᵘᶜᵉʳ "Ooh, how cute!" Vic exclaimed at Henry's cute idea of doing a Tiktok. Sure, the Tiktoks they made were just for their eyes, but it was still fun to create their own content nonetheless. Vic found Henry's suggestion to be outlandish, but she wasn't going to complain if this was for the visual aesthetics. "Okay, tell me when!" Vic said, turning around so that she was facing the water. She waited for Henry to adjust her so that she'd be in the frame, leaving the content filming to her boyfriend entirely. Though Henry took a little longer than expected, Vic was patient, all the way until he counted them down.

She turned, jumping in the air with her feet kicked back so they wouldn't flail awkwardly in the video. Henry had beat her to the punch though, and when Vic was finally facing the middle, she realized her boyfriend had /not/ jumped. Instead, it looked like he fell. Onto one knee. While holding something. Her heart stuttered, and she gasped silently. Her voice became squeaky and pitched as she asked, "What's...what's this!" seeing the diamond ring sitting in the box, glimmering at her, "Liu Xianhua! What is this!" she demanded again, her voice quivering as the feelings started to overwhelm her.

@✵ victoria song ᵐᵃⁿᵃᵍᵉʳ There was no way Victoria could give a more obvious hint that this would be a nice spot to return to in their lives for the memories. Okay, maybe she meant as a date, but Henry took it the other way before he chickened out. It was suffocating to feel so anxious the entire time while Victoria was blissfully unaware of Henry's plans. "You're right. Let's do a Tiktok here so we don't forget," Henry said. Sure, it was a little suspicious, since they rarely did Tiktoks together, but he wanted a video of their moment. Setting up the camera against an empty bench (Henry was too confident in the honest system of Canadians), they took their places back at the dock where they were standing before. "So you should turn around and face that way, and when I count to three we'll jump 180 to face each other and do the hand slapping thing I showed you before. Got it?"

Helping Victoria stand in place first, Henry didn't even bother turning himself around, though he may have dropped a knee to the dock planks a little too audibly. He patted in his pocket for the ring, nearly screaming aloud when he didn't feel it and feeling like an absolute fool the next second when he realized it was in the opposite pocket. Carefully, he held it up in its box, not wanting to risk it slipping out of his fingers in his nerves. "Ready? One, two, three, turn."

@✵ henry lau ᵖʳᵒᵈᵘᶜᵉʳ Vic didn't notice anything off with Henry, and instead found his comments rather funny. She didn't ever think that a lake could lose its value with just a little shift in perspective. Back at home in China, she lived in the big city too, so seeing any kind of nature around her was a rarity. The mountains were far away at best, and the water were the rivers below the bridges on the walk to school each day. "The air feels fresh here," Vic commented, inhaling deeply and closing her eyes to take in the crisp scent of the lake in front of them. "And I love how clean everything is, really." she muttered, "It's a beautiful place to make memories."

@✵ victoria song ᵐᵃⁿᵃᵍᵉʳ All of a sudden, even though Henry had decided to pop the question on the spot, he broke out in a cold sweat. He had no reason to be nervous; he had already established that there was really no way that Victoria was going to say no. "It's alright," he answered, his palms suddenly feeling very clammy. How was he supposed to propose now? What if the ring slipped out of his sweaty hands and into the water? Or what if Victoria didn't like a scene? Well, there weren't many people around... Henry swallowed, hard. "Maybe because I grew up here... I prefer looking at mountains and oceans more. The lake is big, but knowing it's a lake makes it boring."

@✵ henry lau ᵖʳᵒᵈᵘᶜᵉʳ The walk was rejuvenating, as unusual as it might sound. Vic didn't feel the fullness of her stomach pressing against her back anymore, and she was fully enjoying the view surrounding them as they stood on the hard, stone ground. "Mm, yeah. I feel better," she agreed, brushing her hair back again as the wind slightly blew it in her face from the oncoming direction. "Where else are we visiting today?" she asked, having asked for a full tourist date with Henry at least once during their visit to Canada, "Canada is really beautiful. I feel like there's never ending beauty to see."

@✵ victoria song ᵐᵃⁿᵃᵍᵉʳ "That food got me turning into a goldfish," Henry said. "I would've eaten myself to death if they kept putting food down in front of me." A walk by the waterfront was doing wonders in quelling the nausea from eating such heavy foods, though. Henry stopped them against the railing at the end of a dock, and they watched boats and jet skis fly by for a while. "How are you? Not as full now?" he asked Victoria, just to double check. He initially planned on popping the question at Love Park, but the never-ending blue sky and clear waters before them offer a perfect, picturesque scene for a proposal.

@✵ henry lau ᵖʳᵒᵈᵘᶜᵉʳ Having seen most of the beautiful view from a 360 angle, Vic was satisfied. She was more than happy to head back onto the elevator and go back down, where the gift shop was only a few paces away. She and Henry wandered for just a little bit and (luckily) avoided spending on anything there. Instead, they visited their next location which was comparably picturesque, but in its different way. The Harbourfront looked like a very common dating spot, littered full with couples along the streets as they walked down the stoned-paved roads. Vic felt a slight breeze in her face as she took Henry's hand, keeping the water to their left. "I agree," she noted, sighing as she patted her stomach and then brushed her hair out of her face, "I ate that entire salmon...can you believe it? It was so juicy, I just couldn't stop."

@✵ victoria song ᵐᵃⁿᵃᵍᵉʳ "We'll go around them," Henry reassured, holding Victoria's hand tightly as he navigated the glass panels. There were only so many, and all crowded with tourists as well, so Henry managed to bring Victoria back to where they started in no time, away from the glass panels. He supposed Victoria had enough of heights for one day, so he suggested, "Let's go for a walk at Harbourfront." The waterfront was quite a walk away — they drove and parked, close to the park. Henry still hadn't decided on the specific spot to pop the question yet, but it would be anytime today, during their walk. As soon as the moment felt right, he would. "I'm actually really full," he said, swinging his and Victoria's entwined hands between them slightly as they walked. "Those were really good portions."

@✵ henry lau ᵖʳᵒᵈᵘᶜᵉʳ Vic couldn't bring herself to step another foot down to get across the small panel that she was standing on. It felt like her foot was being weighed down and rooted in place by an invisible force, even when Henry offered his hand to help her. She kept her eyes up at the ceiling, and hand to lightly throw herself against Henry to escape that dreadful feeling of standing on nothing. As she walked, rambunctious teens laid on the glass panels while their friends took pictures for them from above, and Vic shuddered, trying to side step the ruckus, "Jagi, come," she yelped towards Henry, holding his arm tightly with both hands, "There's so many glass panels!"

@✵ victoria song ᵐᵃⁿᵃᵍᵉʳ Henry reached out for Victoria when she yelped, steadying her first before trying to figure out what had startled her. He laughed when he realized what had scared his normally composed girlfriend to the point of practically clawing up the wall — the glass windows on the floor that allowed people to step over seemingly nothing. “I got you,” he said, holding her tightly by her forearms and guiding her off the glass floor to stand over solid ground instead. Despite her terror, Henry couldn’t help but laugh. She was just too adorable! “Aiyo, I got you, baby. Let’s walk around these and get out of here, yeah?”

@✵ henry lau ᵖʳᵒᵈᵘᶜᵉʳ At some point towards the end of their meal, Vic noticed that they had already passed their starting point, noting a goldfish sticker on the glass panels as their landmark. By the time their waiter had come and gone with the bill, they'd even made it another quarter of a rotation through. After, they went downstairs to continue their self-guided tour. The first floor had floor to ceiling panels that were perfect for any range of pictures, so of course Vic had to take some. "It's so beautiful!" she answered Henry, "And the land is so clean outside. It makes me feel so peaceful even though this is right in the middle of a busy city."

The second floor though, had informational boards that explained the CN Tower's history and uniqueness. Vic was quite impressed - that was until she almost stepped on a glass panel beneath her feet. Instantly she realized that it was a view of the ground beneath her, and her legs almost went numb. "Oh...oh what is that!" she yelped, clinging to the wall for a sense of stability.

@✵ victoria song ᵐᵃⁿᵃᵍᵉʳ Henry almost choked on his food when Victoria announced how good it was for the nth time with him — she sounded too adorable. “Agreed. If you think about it, you’re only paying thirty dollars more for the food, since the ticket to go up is around forty anyway.” The portions were quite decent as well, with Henry feeling quite full after he finished everything. With how ‘upscale’ the restaurant tried to make itself, he was expecting minuscule portions, but he’d definitely need to walk it off for a bit before anything else. After their lunch, they were directed to the observation deck for the second half of their visit. Enormous windows that spanned the entire circular room gave them access to the entire city. Henry took a few pictures for Victoria, and they stared out into the lake for a while. It was much easier on Henry without all the spinning, even if it was fun while it lasted. “It’s so beautiful,” Henry complimented again. “Do you like it so far?”

@✵ henry lau ᵖʳᵒᵈᵘᶜᵉʳ Seeing the equally amazed expression on Henry's face, Vic didn't waste any time in trying out a bite of her salmon. It was perfectly seasoned, not too salty or too peppery, and she almost melted along with the meat in . "It's...amazing," she cried out in a hushed voice, covering . Could they just be super hungry? How come the other diners in this place weren't creating an uproar about their dishes? She looked around, and then back to Henry, "No...everything is seriously amazing," she reassured him, "I'm so impressed that a tourist spot would have such high-quality food...and for a really reasonable price!" With that, she set right down to eating, only making light conversation so that neither of them would have to go too long talking without food in their mouths.

@✵ victoria song ᵐᵃⁿᵃᵍᵉʳ Victoria was right that the other trainees and idols were lazy as hell, but before he could open his mouth to add a couple insults, Victoria’s salmon shut him up. It was tender, perfectly flakey, yet still juicy in his mouth. Most baked and pan-fried salmon ended up quite dry if overcooked, but watching the way Victoria’s fork cut easily through the salmon, Henry could tell it was perfectly cooked, slightly under on purpose. His own beef cheek was the same — braised and slow-cooked to perfection so that the chunks of meat were falling off the main body of the cheek. “It’s really good,” Henry agreed. His champagne tasted even more flavourful, fuller, as he sipped after a bite. Scooping at the other components on his dish, Henry’s eyes were wide as saucers after a small bite of of mashed potatoes. “Is it me, or are these mashed potatoes like… /really/ good?”

@✵ henry lau ᵖʳᵒᵈᵘᶜᵉʳ Vic always took pride in her groups, since she was only able to manage successful groups if the characters themselves were willing to put in the effort. She chuckled and nodded, adding to Henry's thought, "They're one of the only groups at the company that train even when they're not preparing for a schedule." She remembered the late nights when she was leaving the company, passing by the studios only to see Baekhyun scrunching his face for his falsetto or Yibo trying to do a spinning headstand and slamming himself stomach first into the ground. "They're worth the investment." Though she wanted to say more, the food that was served stole her attention entirely. Her salmon was glistening and moist, even without needing to be tasted to confirm. "This is amazing!" she gasped, portioning off a mouthful of everything. She leaned in to accept the morsel from Henry, eyes widening at the mixture of creamy, tender, and beefy flavor. "It's...so good!" she exclaimed, also offering up a bite of her own salmon, "I think this is cooked a perfect medium rare too!"

@✵ victoria song ᵐᵃⁿᵃᵍᵉʳ "Of course, noona," he answered immediately, always eager to please when his girlfriend asked him for something, anything. There was nothing Henry wouldn't give just to get the tiniest hint of a smile from Victoria. "I would put aside all my other work first! And I'm fine if it's for 20/20. They're hardworking boys, they deserve it." Their main courses came out shortly after — a sizeable portion of salmon for Victoria and a plump, juicy beef cheek for Henry. "Bon appetit," Henry said, inviting Victoria to eat. Cutting into his beef cheek, Henry offered the first bite across the table to Victoria first. "Try it. What do you think? As good as the appetizer?"

@✵ henry lau ᵖʳᵒᵈᵘᶜᵉʳ It was no surprise that a top-tiered music producer such as Henry would be frustrated when he was met with amateur production quality. Vic shook his head, completely sympathizing with him. "No wonder the album sales have been dropping, even though our title tracks are consistently getting high views on online media platforms." She had done her research - especially with 20/20 in mind - to see how the competition was in the entertainment industry nowadays. She couldn't help but think Yibo and Baekhyun wouldn't see the fame that they did today had it been another production duo who helped them bring their song ideas into reality. "Well, 20/20 are promising. Even if you do find work from elsewhere, I'm still going to commission you to create their tracks," Vic said, winking at Henry, "Nepotism, if anything."

@✵ victoria song ᵐᵃⁿᵃᵍᵉʳ "Sort of?" Henry's face darkened at the mention of his own work. "Boa's been trying to cut costs by outsourcing some of the writing to rookie writers. I'm focusing on title tracks, and she's got these amateurs writing the rest of the b-sides. They're unreliable, they've got no training, no experience. The most impressive thing on their resume is their Soundcloud career. She's setting all these kids — the artists and the writers — up for failure, all to save a couple thousand won." Shaking his head, Henry leaned back in his seat to make space for the waiter to set down his second glass of champagne. "It's hopeless. I may have to start looking for work elsewhere if this continues. She won't renegotiate, either. I'd say 20/20 did well for their debut, but she's trying to pay everyone pennies, as usual."

@✵ henry lau ᵖʳᵒᵈᵘᶜᵉʳ "I agree," Vic hummed, looking behind Henry to glance at the waiter bringing two plates of food to the table behind them. The entrees looked to be decently portioned too, and the colors were vibrant and fresh. "Maybe it's because the ride up the elevator is overpriced on purpose," she surmised. After all, the food that they were being served tasted as expensive as some of the high end restaurants that they'd go to on a special date night. Since her stomach was not grumbling in hunger now, Vic could attend to conversation without distractions. "It's been going well. They're working hard. It's a pity that Boa won't promote them more intensely. The new groups getting pushed out have more and more members, so the two of them will have to work extra hard to not get buried by a sea of new faces." She squeezed Henry's hand in return, "Are you writing any songs for the other debuted groups so far?"

@✵ victoria song ᵐᵃⁿᵃᵍᵉʳ "My expectations for the entree just went up," Henry said as he finished the last of his crab cakes. Now he just felt silly, having lowered Victoria's expectations to zero, and now the food turned out to be absolutely fantastic. Henry had already finished his first glass of champagne, though and as their plates were cleared, he was already ordering another. "Wah... what is this? How aren't they losing money like this?" While they waited for their entree, Henry played with Victoria's hands again. "How's work?" he asked. On a regular day, they didn't talk much about work despite living together and working in the same place —it kept them sane and kept them from burnout. "How are the boys?"