The smile never wavered from my face even as I exited the waiting room so that Kyuhyun could have his turn. Any other person could sense his growing unease and suspicion, but I was too elated to notice such trivial details. The nurse gave me an unyielding look as she sat down while waiting for Kyuhyun’s time to finish. I didn’t mind her stare; or rather, I never noticed her stare. I was busy locked in my own fantasy, replaying Donghae’s kiss in my mind over and over again. Occasionally I would see the nurse staring at me with a mixture of curiosity and disbelief, but I would just smile at her and avert my gaze.

Fifteen minutes went by in a flash. In almost no time, Kyuhyun went out of the room smiling lightly. That’s nice, I thought. At least they were able to reestablish a bit of their friendship. We thanked the nurse and together bade farewell to Donghae, promising we would visit him soon. He smiled at us and said that he would really appreciate it if we will.

     Closing the institute’s doors behind us, we walked towards Kyuhyun’s car, neither one of us saying much as a word. I was pretty comfortable with that, thinking that both of us were still pondering about our own private conversation with Donghae. I didn’t mind that. Seeing Donghae again after quite a while is somewhat a shock for both of us. Only when Kyu’s convertible roared to life have we decided to start a conversation.

“So what did you talk about?” I asked, smiling at his somewhat contented expression.

Kyuhyun winked at me and gave me a sideways smile. “We were a lot less intimate, that’s for sure,” he said, teasing me by moving his eyebrows up and down quickly and manically.

I gave him a playful slap on his arm. “How did you even know about that?” I asked, unbelieving. “The glass was tinted!”

Kyu laughed, “Semi-tinted. Not fully. Besides, you don’t have to deny it anymore. Donghae started our session by saying you were an amazing kisser.”

I flushed. That was about the third time I heard that today; not with the exact words, but the same meaning. “Did he really have to say that? It was supposed to be private,” I said, embarrassed.

Kyuhyun pulled over a stop sign and used the waiting time to look at me with his jovial eyes. “What can I say? Donghae’s not that private when it comes to relationships,” he played with the last word, judging my expression.

 I fidgeted a little, and then let out a playful cry, “Waaaaah, stop staring at me like that!”

Kyu chuckled at my unease and returned to the steering wheel just in time to see the traffic light go from red to green. “So, he was telling the truth after all,” he said, laughing lightly at himself.

“Yeah, but please keep it down, Kyu. It’s my first time and I don’t want to have any scandalous gossip about it,” I hesitated, shuddering at the errant thought. “Especially not Jung Jessica,” I added, and then rummaged my bag for my bottle of water. I was parched.

Kyu nodded in agreement. “If you don’t mind my asking, why do you hate her so much?”

The water almost found its way to my windpipe when I nearly choked at his statement. “No, I don’t,” I said, thumping my chest while I coughed. “She’s the one who hates me.”

“So you just return the hate back?”

“What else am I supposed to do? I tried being nice, but she just stares at me like I’m her next meal.”

“And you’re comfortable with this feud?” he pressed.

“No, I mean, who would? I never wanted to hold a grudge on somebody. I tried to ignore her for far too long, but she’s one tough nut to crack. Is she that heartless when somebody offends her?”

Kyuhyun shrugged. “I don’t know, I never got to know her that well.”

I sighed. “Just promise me, Kyu. Don’t tell anybody or anything for that matter about what happened in that tinted room.”

“Semi-tinted,” he corrected.

“Semi-tinted, or whatever you want to call it. Just please, don’t spread the word.”

“How about the details?” he teased.

“Kyuhyun!” I cried.

“I’m joking! I’m just teasing you.” He laughed. “You make such a big deal about this first kiss thing.”

 “It’s called first kiss for something, you know. I should be making a big deal about it.”

Kyuhyun raised both of his hands as a sign of surrender. “Okay, you win. I won’t tell anyone.”

“Swear on it,” I pressed.

“Okay, okay. Jeez, don’t sound so dramatic.”

“Swear on it,” I repeated.

“Hey, chill. I swear that I won’t tell anybody or anything about your little kiss with Donghae,” he smiled maniacally, “especially Jung Jessica,” he said all of this while raising his right hand while keeping the other on the steering wheel.

“Good enough,” I commented.

He smiled. “Or is it?”

I raised my eyebrow at his tease. “That’s not enough, though,” I said.

“Huh? What else do I have to do?”

“You have to mean it”

“Oh,” he said, and then looked at me. “I swear I would.”

“Keep your eyes on the road! There are more important things to look at aside from me!”

“Chill, I got this,” he said as he maneuvered smoothly on the early afternoon street.

“So, what did you guys talk about?” I asked, realizing he didn't answer my question yet.

“Why do you want to know?” he teased.

“Because I told you what happened between us. It’s only fair,” I reasoned.

“I don’t know. What’s in it for me?”

“Kyuhyun!” I cried.

“Okay, okay! Why do I always lose when you say my name?” he asked rhetorically. I waited for him to tell me.

“Okay, so as soon as I got in with Donghae, he started off by commenting about your kiss,” he stopped then he turned to me, “You already know what I mean here, right?” I nodded. “Good. So anyway, we talked about how his life was in that institute, how he managed to do his routines every day. He smiled and told me that overall his life there was off to a good start, it can be a bit frustrating at times, he said, but nevertheless, he would manage to pull it off whenever problems face him.

I took in the information gradually, making sure I didn’t miss out a thing. “Did he mention anything about coming back?” I asked; my voice inevitably hopeful.

“I don’t think so,” Kyu said slowly, “but he did say something about getting out as soon as he mastered moving around without his sight.”

I smiled. He was really trying hard. I have to be proud of him. After all what life slapped at him, after a series of random unfortunate events, he managed to pull it off.

“I just hope he’ll make it out well and start his life anew,” I said, casting a ray of hope in our conversation.

“He will,” Kyuhyun assured. “But ‘til then, he must prepare himself.” He looked at me intently while keeping a steady hand on the wheel and said, “Even with our sight, this life is hard as it is. Let’s see how he manages living in a world of darkness.” He then averted his eyes to the road. “For his sake, I hope he’ll manage.”