The next day, my alarm rang at six in the morning. I reached over to the nightstand and turned it off before I snuggled back into my blankets. I should wake up to find breakfast for Sun Hwa before I go back to sleep again. I lazily threw my blanket off of me, before I dragged myself out of bed. I went into the bathroom and splashed cold water on my face to wake me up. I brushed my teeth and went to put clothes before I headed out. I went to the supermarket and went to the frozen section before I got some frozen pizza and hamburgers.

This won't fill her up for the whole day. What else should I buy her? What do people eat in the United States? I took out my phone and researched on the Internet.

“Pizza. Burger. Steak? Fried chicken.” I chuckled. “I could've ordered fried chicken last night. Wait. I can do that tonight.” I continued to read, “Ramen. Fried eggs. Toast. Okay. I can do that. I can make these for her. I mean, I eat them occasionally. Sometimes.”

I went to get some bread and bought a dozen carton of eggs. “Wait. Don't they have something with the bread? What do you call it? Pecan and jelly? No. What is it?” I took out my phone and researched it. “Oh! Peanut butter and jelly!” I went to the aisle that sold that and grabbed one bottle of each. I should've gotten a cart. I looked like a fool trying to carry these in my hands. I went to the checkout line and paid for the items that I held in my hands.

“You sure bought a lot,” the lady said laughing.

“Yeah. My wife wanted to eat these so here I am buying it for her.”

“What a nice husband you are,” she said scanning the items. “How long has it been?”

“Excuse me?”

“How long has it been since she's been pregnant?”

“Oh. She's not pregnant.”

“I see. I'm sorry.”

“It's okay.”

I paid for the items and took them home. When I closed the door behind me, the house was still quiet. Was she still sleeping? I went into the kitchen and sat the bags down on the table before I placed the items into the refrigerator. After that, I took out my phone and called work.

“Hello,” my secretary answered.

“It's me. Cancel whatever I have for today. I can't come into work. Okay. Thank you.” I ended the call and when I looked up Sun Hwa was standing at the entrance of the kitchen. She did some hand signs and I looked at her funny. “What?”

She took out her phone and started to type.

‘You don't have work today?’

“Oh. I do. But I called in.”

‘Are you sick?’

“No. I wanted to stay home today and rest. Also,” I went to the fridge and opened it. “I bought some food. I don't know if you'll like it, but I want you to eat it. Every last bit. You haven't been eating for these past few days. I don't want your parents saying that I'm a bad husband.”

She walked over to the fridge and when she saw the food I just bought her eyes lit up. She took my hand into hers and started to jump up and down.

“You're welcome,” I said laughing awkwardly. “What do you want to eat first,” I asked as I took her hands off of me. “Pizza or burger? Or do you want toast for breakfast.” I gasped. “I forgot to buy cereal.”

She smiled and shook her head.

“I can't believe I forgot about that. That's the number one food for breakfast in the United States isn't it?”

She shook her head.

‘I'm already so grateful that you bought all these for me. I don't need cereal,’ she typed.

“Actually, I think I have some.” I walked over to my cabinet and opened them one by one before I saw a box. “Ahh! I do have one!” I took it out and showed it to her.

She smiled and clapped her hands.

“What do you want for breakfast?”

She walked over to the fridge and took out the burger.

“Okay. I'll make it for you.”

She shook her head and pointed to herself.

“You're going to do it?”

She nodded her head. Then she pointed at me and pointed at the burgers. It took me awhile, but I finally understood her.

“I'm good. I'll make something else for me.”

She nodded her head and prepared breakfast for her. I, on the other hand, poured myself a bowl of cereal and ate. When I was about half finished, her burger was ready and she joined me at the table. She took a bite and a smile came across her face.

“Is it that good,” I asked her.

She smiled and nodded her head.

“It must make you think about home right?”

She nodded her head and I took another bite out of my cereal.

This is so awkward. It seems as if I'm talking to myself.

‘I'm glad you stayed home today. I'm usually alone. The house is usually very cold and quiet,’ she typed.

“It's only for today. I'm going back to work tomorrow.”

She nodded her head. ‘Definitely! You go do what you have to do and don't worry about me. I'll be fine.’

She smiled at me and I forced a smiled back.

She seemed like those happy go lucky people. Or maybe she's just like that because she doesn't want to be a bother. Does she think that she's a trouble to me because she can't talk? Either way, even if she knows it or not, I really don't want to live with her like this.

‘Why are you dressed like that,’ she typed.

“Like what?”

‘Isn't that your work uniform?’

“No. I usually wear these clothings even when I don't work.”

‘Don't you feel stuffy always wearing that?’

Honestly, I do. But I haven't worn anything else but this for a long time. I'm not used to those other clothings.

“I'm fine just like this. You don't have to worry.” I set my spoon down. “I'm done eating. I'm going first.” I stood up and took my bowl and spoon. I went to the sink and washed them then put them away in the cabinets again.

I walked into the living room and my phone rung. I picked it up and it was Young Ji.

“Jin Young,” she cried. “Where are you right now?”

“I'm at home. Is something wrong?”

“Can you come over? Please? I need a friend right now.”

“Yes. I'll be right there. I'm coming.”

I hung up and quickly grabbed my wallet and keys before I headed out. When I was about to pull out of the driveway, I saw Sun Hwa standing in front of the window. She looked sad. Why was she sad? It's not like I was going to do anything with her anyway. I backed out of the driveway and headed to Young Ji’s.

I knocked on the door and she came to open it. She fell into my arms and cried again. I bet it was Junsu. Junsu was the one who hurt her again. I walked her inside and we both sat down.

“Tell me what's wrong,” I said. “Is it Junsu?”

“I saw him with another woman.”

“You mean from yesterday?”

She nodded her head. “I thought he was in trouble, but when I got to him he was with another woman. He only wanted me to give him back his belongings.”

“And did you do that?”

“I did this morning. When I went to his house this morning, he was with a different woman. It bothers me that he's always with different girl when I see him.”

“Young Ji, I don't want to say anything negative about anyone, but I do have something to say that I've been holding in for a while.” She waited for me to continue. “Junsu, doesn't deserve you. You deserve so much more than him. I know you still love him so my words are going to hurt you, but you should move on and let him go.”

“How can you say that? You know how much I love him.”

“I know, but I'm only saying what I think is to be correct.”

“Who am I supposed to love then? I've loved him for so long.”

“Maybe there's someone in front of you who has loved you too. Someone who has loved you even longer than Junsu has.”

“Who? Who has loved me longer than Junsu?”

“Me,” I said after a pause.

She looked at me and I looked at her with hope in my eyes. Hope that she'd finally realize my true feelings for her.

“Stop joking,” she said with a slight chuckle.

“I'm not joking. I truly love you, Young Ji.”

Her eyes immediately changed.

“I. I don't know how to reply to that,” she said.

“You don't have to. I don't care if you don't feel the same way about me. I just wanted you to know about my feelings.”

An awkward silence ate us.

“I should go than.”

I stood up, but she grabbed my hands.

“Don't go.”

I sat back down and waited for her.

“Honestly, I'm overwhelmed with everything right now. I promise you, I'll sort out my feelings and get back to you.”

I took her hand into mine and slightly squeezed it.

“You don't have to tell me right away.”

“But I can't leave you hanging.”

“Then call me whenever you're ready.”

She nodded her head. “Since you're not doing anything today, will you take me out? I want to clear my mind.”

“Sure. What do you want to do?”

“I want to go shopping.”

“Okay. Go get ready and I'll take you shopping.”

She wiped her eyes and left to the go to her room to change. When she came out, she was in a simple t shirt and jeans, but even that made her looked so beautiful.

“Let's go,” she said.

As we shopped, Young Ji bought clothes from every single store that we were in. Ever since high school, this was how she relieved her stress. I was always the one who took her too. This was a thing that we did together and I loved every second of it. At the end, we went to seven different stores and had about twelve bags in my hands. Young Ji seemed less stress now and that was great. I could send her home with my heart at ease.

“Jin Young, I don't want to go home yet,” she said as I was driving the car in the middle of the highway.

“What else do you want to do?”

“Let's go get some ice cream first.”

“Sure.”

I took a right turn and headed to the ice cream parlor. I ordered her a vanilla cup and ordered myself the same thing. We sat in the car and ate the ice cream. As we did so, we watched the sunset together.

“This is very peaceful,” Young Ji said. “I haven't had such a breathtaking moment like this for such a long time.”

“Enjoy this all you want. If you want to, we can do more of this in the future.”

“Really?”

I nodded my head.

“You're the best, Jin Young.”

I drove her home and helped her with her bags, before I drove myself home. When I closed the front door behind me, the time was 10:45 pm. Sun Hwa was probably sleeping and I'm sure she ate what I bought her today. When I was walking over to the couch, I saw Sun Hwa sleeping there. Why isn't she sleeping her her room? Was she waiting for me? I shook her and called out her name. She opened her eyes and smiled when she saw me. She spoke in sign language again which made me looked at her funny.

‘Did you eat yet,’ she typed.

“I ate already. Why are you sleeping here?”

‘I was waiting for you. You left so suddenly.’

“My friend was having a hard time. I just went to comfort her and took her out to get her mind off of things.”

‘Is she okay?’

“She's fine. You should go sleep in your room.”

She nodded her head and stood up to go upstairs to her room. I went to the kitchen and looked in the fridge. She sure did eat. A pizza was gone and another burger was eaten.

“Oh yeah. I was going to order some chicken for her today,” I said to myself.

It's already so late. I'll order it for her tomorrow.

The next day, I went to work and when the time came I ordered some chicken for Sun Hwa. I paid for everything already and the delivery was the only thing that needed to be done. Today, I left to go home earlier than usual. I wanted to make sure that Sun Hwa got the chicken. I would call her, but I don't know her phone number and I wouldn't be able to converse with her anyway. When I got home, Sun Hwa was nowhere in sight. Maybe she's in the kitchen. It's only six. She shouldn't be sleeping yet right? I headed to the kitchen and there she was eating the chicken I bought her.

“It looks like you got the delivery,” I said.

Her head popped up and smiled when she saw me. She stood up and ran over to me before she pulled me to sit down.

“What are you doing,” I asked her.

She gave me a plate and gave me a drumstick.

“You want me to eat with you?”

She nodded her head and waited for me to take a bite. I sighed and gave in.

‘Why are you home so early today,’ she typed.

“I didn't want to work anymore so I came home,” I said after I swallowed the chicken in my mouth.

‘You're not sick?’

I shook my head.

Why didn't I just tell her that I wanted to make sure she got the fried chicken?

Either way, she got her chicken and we're here eating it.

‘Jin Young, what is your usual wake up time?’

“I usually wake up at seven since my work starts at 8:45. Why do you ask?”

‘I want to wake up and make you breakfast.’

“You don't have to really. I make sure to wake up so I'd have enough time to make myself breakfast.”

‘I've noticed that you always look very tired. Why don't you sleep in tomorrow and I'll wake up to make you breakfast.’

“Really?”

She nodded her head.

“Than I'll wake up at 7:30 tomorrow.”

She nodded her head. ‘You can go to sleep early today. I'll make sure to clean everything before I go to bed.’

“Are you sure?”

She nodded her head.

“Then I'm going to leave everything to you. If you need any help don't be afraid to ask.”

She nodded her head.

I finished my drumstick and headed up to my room to change and go take a shower. When I came downstairs, Sun Hwa was still cleaning up the kitchen. It seemed like she was already done though. The table was cleaned and she was putting away the plates. But it seemed like the shelf was too high. Even when she was on her tippy toes she could barely reach. I walked up behind her and took the plate from her. I set it down on the shelf and she turned around.

“Do you usually struggle with this when I'm gone,” I asked looking down at her.

She nodded her head.

I looked up and did notice that the plates and bowls were too high up. I gently pushed her to the side and brought the plates and bowls down to the lower shelves and asked her to try to reach for it. She smiled when she reached them. She turned around and nodded her head. Without knowing, I smiled with her.

“Is there anything else that you struggle with,” I asked.

She nodded her head and took my hand before she lead me to the living room.

‘Do you have a remote controller for the tv,’ she typed.

“I do. It's in here,” I said going to the drawer beneath the tv. “I put the controllers in here. I'm rarely home so I don't use it very much.” I shut the drawer and showed her the control.

She smiled and nodded her head.

I put the controller back and asked if there was anything else that she needed.

‘No. This is all so far. If I have anything else that I need I'll let you know.’

“Alright.”

‘You should go to sleep now. You must be tried.’

I looked at the clock and it was only almost nine.

“I don't think I can. I'm not tired yet.”

‘Do you want to do something then?’

“Did you have something in mind?”

‘I just wanted to get to know you better.’

“Okay. Let's go sit and talk about ourselves.”

She smiled and nodded her head.

I told her what I thought she should know own about me. I even told her about Young Ji. Everything about her. Even the fact that I liked her. But I did not tell her that I confessed to her and that I was waiting for her answer.

Han Sun Hwa was actually born here, but because of her father's business they moved to the United States. They moved their when she was only three that's why she wasn't familiar with anything. I'm glad we could communicate because I'd go crazier if we couldn't understand each other. She's only had one boyfriend and they broke up back in grade school. After that, she stopped dating and focused on her studies instead. When she heard about our marriage, she was against it too, just like me, but she didn't want to disappoint her parents so she agreed to it.

After we got done interacting, the time was 10:30. I was getting sleepy and so was Sun Hwa so we both departed to our rooms and fell into deep slumber that night.