Author's note: Ok guys, you convinced me – we do need some special chapters. Shout out to those in the comments who reminded me that we all deserve some more of In-ho's and Gi-hun's lovestory. Enjoy :)

**********************

April 2025 (POV In-ho) Stressful. So much to do and to plan and in the end it had to be perfect. In February Mi-na and Jun-ho had moved to Europe, in the moment doing researches about Mi-na's parents in Sweden, one of the countries where the color of her hair and eyes was more common. Gi-hun and I had started a tour and were recently visiting Czech Republic, Switzerland and Austria. When our plane arrived in Vienna Airport Gi-hun noticed an information desk with a little queue whose signs looked a little odd. "What's the matter with that information desk?", he had asked me, "I don't understand sh!t with my bad English." I laughed and played the translating interpreter once again: "It's a special service for people who wanted to travel to AUSTRALIA but ended up in AUSTRIA instead.", I explained and shook my head over stupidity as big as that. Gi-hun laughed. "Wait, seriously? That really exists? Well, at least you can't complain about Austria's service at the airport; seems excellent." Austria itself was a cute little country with nice landscapes although it was frickin cold. Now we found ourselves at Vienna's central station to catch the train to our next destination: we wanted to see the Bavarian castles in southern Germany - and me? I was stressed because in my head a plan had taken shape: From the first moment I had known that Gi-hun was the right person for me, the one I was meant to be with. At Christmas I hadn't been joking when I said I wanted to marry him as soon as possible, but I knew he wanted a nice proposal, like he was a fairytale princess. So what did he want exactly? A ring obviously and then? Kneeling down probably. But what did he expect from me? Did he want cliche stuff like rose petals or a carriage ride or a yacht going down a river? Should I do it in Paris? Or Rome? Or did Gi-hun prefer the seaside? To cut it short: I was fcked.

The whole train ride I thought about it, while Gi-hun was just sleeping. 'Typical', I thought, that man was able to sleep whenever and wherever he wanted. I seized the moment to take a quick look into my bag: okay, the ring was still there. I had been carrying it with me for weeks now, but there never seemed to be the right moment. 'Ugh, I must be cursed!', I thought and leaned back into the seat.

Our plan was to visit Neuschwanstein castle today, one of the most beautiful in Germany with an unpronounceable name, in the middle of the Alps.

"Hiking?", Gi-hun snapped when he realized it and I laughed: "You'll survive a little hike in spring. Look, even the sun comes out."

We made our way up to the castle, me enjoying the breathtaking view, him complaining from time to time about the 'steep climb'. We had almost made it to the castle as it got cloudy and from one minute to another it started to rain. "Told ya about this heckin weather in Germany, always raining.", Gi-hun continued complaining and I laughed, messing up his hair with my hand. "Relax Baby, look, there's the entry over there, we won't get wet if you hurry."

The castle was indeed breathtaking and I was wondering why there weren't as many tourists visiting with us. "It's due to the weather conditions", a guide explained. "In April there can be sudden changes of weather which can make the hike difficult or even dangerous."

We were eating in the castle's restaurant as the sky got darker and darker. "Is this normal in Germany? The sky as dark as this at 5PM?", Gi-hun asked me, looking out of the window in confusion. "Not sure", I mumbled, my mouth full of spaghetti, "But I thought in spring the sun would be up a little longer." That was when it began. Wind came up, so much wind you could hear it whistle around the castle. The employees were turning up the heaters because the temperature outside had dropped below 0°C. Irritated Gi-hun and I looked at each other and then out of the window – when we saw it: Snowflakes. In the middle of April it was frickin snowing. It seemed so absurd we couldn't help but burst out in laughter.

"Who thought it was a good idea to visit Europe again?", Gi-hun teased me and I shrugged my shoulders: "Next time we'll go further south. I had no idea that German weather would be like this." The storm outside had brought the clouds and the low temperature made it actually snow. And snow. And snow... Gi-hun and I had been sitting in the restaurant for hours, yapping about this and that, not noticing how the time went by, as suddenly we heard an announcement through the speakers: "Ladies and Gentlemen, due to unforeseen extreme weather conditions the way to descend the mountain has been closed. For your own safety you are advised to stay inside. Please avoid leaving the castle unless the staff gives you instructions. In case the weather won't clear up within the next hour we will take care that everyone gets a place to sleep. We apologize for the inconvenience and wish you a pleasant stay with us at Neuschwanstein." I froze, looking at Gi-hun, half in shock, half amused.

"Are they serious?", he asked. "Does that really mean we are trapped here until tomorrow? Because of unexpected snowfall in April? They better have rooms for guests!"

"Relax, I don't mind as long as I'm with you", I answered.

"Me neither – but you can be sure that as soon as I'll do unholy things with you the other guests might not be so unbothered. So I'd appreciate some... privacy.", Gi-hun explained, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and giving me a salacious look. I loved when he looked at me that way, it always made me horny – but this clearly wasn't the right place. I got up, tugging at my pants to hide my natural reaction to my boyfriend being so sexy and went to the counter to ask for a room.

An hour later we lay on the bed, naked and heavily breathing. Damn, he never ceased to make me crazy, just like back then on the island, when we did it for the first time after he came drunk into my room. I rolled back on top of him, kissing him passionately. "I'm really impressed of your various qualities, Player 456", I said, my hands going up and down his body. Gi-hun laughed and tried to escape: "What, still not enough s*x? Or are we finally satisfied?" "Satisfied for now.", I admitted and sat up to look out the window.

"Oh look, the storm is over." Gi-hun came over to me and we watched the white mountain tops shining even through the darkness of night. The storm had indeed stopped, it was just gently snowing. "You know what, get dressed. Let's take a look outside.", Gi-hun suddenly decided, looking enthusiastic like a little child. "I wanna see the snow."



(POV Gi-hun)

I had always loved the snow and when I saw the beauty of the mountains out there I just wanted to take a look outside. After giving In-ho my best puppy-dog-eyes he finally gave in and we made our way out through the castle's front door. We stood there outside in the snow, fcking snow falling down in April, covering the mountain tops around us in white, when I suddenly noticed that something about In-ho was odd. He seemed nervous, stepping from one foot to the other. Before I could ask him what was the matter he exhaled like he was gathering his courage and turned to me, saying: "You know what, fck this. I don't wanna wait forever, racking my brains how I'm gonna do it or if you'll accept me in the end." In-ho made some steps towards me, way more carefully than he usually did. He was still nervous and I started to worry - did I do something wrong? "You know, I thought about this for some time now but I'm sick of it.", In-ho continued, "I am yours, Gi-hun and I want you to be mine...officially. I know we're both almost fifty but since I met you I feel like my life had some kind of restart. I have wasted so many years living without love and now I'm tired of waiting and planning, I want to spend this life with you."

I couldn't breathe, I slowly realized what he could be aiming at. "In-ho... are you sure? I mean.... Love can be difficult sometimes. You are a widower and I am divorced. Won't the late ghosts of our past resurrect themselves whenever something wouldn't go right between us?", I asked, my voice trembling. In-ho smiled and he gave me a clear answer: "No, they won't. Unless you can't forget everything I've done before. I would understand if you couldn't forgive me." "I do forgive you. But even though, I don't really think you need my forgiveness. We had two completely different lives before, that totally changed when they collided.", I said, still excited about what was about to come. In-ho inhaled deeply and moved another step closer, the snow crunching under his shoes, then he took both of my hands, holding them in his.

"I want us to spend the rest of our lives together. You bring out the best of me and I know I won't be happy with anyone else as long as you walk the earth." He paused and I was breathless. My heart was beating so fast, I was surprised you couldn't hear it in the total silence of the snowy mountains. "Me neither.", I whispered, hot shivers running down my body, despite the low temperature.

"So will you?", In-ho asked and I could feel his hands trembling as well. Our eyes locked and I was unable to talk, to move or to do anything else. I was just staring at him, wondering if this was the moment. Standing out there in the snow without a coat I didn't feel cold because in my heart I knew that it was actually happening. 'He is going to propose!' was the only thought going through my mind. Ididn't say anything, I was petrified and the only sound was both our shaking breathing. In-ho smirked because of my speechlessness, then he deeply exhaled one more time before kneeling down in the snow in front of me, my hands still in his.

"Seong Gi-hun", he looked up to me and I could see the fire in his eyes,"Will you do me the honor of marrying me?"

I swallowed; there were a thousand things I wanted to say, how much I loved him, how crazy this was, how perfectly spontaneous this proposal was... There were cheesy things to say, romantic things, mawkish things he wouldn't have imagined in his wildest dreams. Instead I said the only thing that mattered, the one thing there was left to say:

"Yes."

In-ho's smile was so wide, it seemed to shine all over his face, showing his perfectly white teeth – and I realized that I was smiling the same way, so hard that my cheeks hurt. In-ho stood up and pulled me into a passionate kiss, our arms wrapped around each other's body. Happiness was spreading through my body as I realized that he was actually mine and he wanted me to be his, forever.

************************************

Author's note: Ok this chapter was freaking long, hope you enjoyed it. Do you want another epilogue? Wedding? Leave inspirations in the comments and stay tuned as always xx