*Dark Ages of Yixing... Dark Ages of Yixing...* I repeated those words in my head as I made my way to the parking lot, to meet up with L.Joe. I was so lost in thought, that I’d bumped into someone, which had almost caused me to fall on my bottom. I woke up from my thoughts and quickly bowed down to apologize. "I'm sorry."

"Yerim?” My heart pounded faster from the familiar voice. "L-Lay...." I missed him so much, but my body wasn't reacting. He flashed his dimpled-smile at me. I hugged him tight without a word. He was surprised by my reaction, but hugged me back. "Where have you been?" He scratched his head. "I've been working on something." "You've been working on it really hard. It must be very important to you." His face was stoned--somewhat confused...uneasy.

*Dark Ages of Yixing* The thought came back to me. That boy must've just been talking nonsense. Lay looked fine to me. I missed having him around. Even more than I’d thought, actually. I walked with him to his locker to pick up a few things, redirecting my course away from the parking lot.

L.Joe was still waiting in the parking lot. He tried reaching for his phone in his pocket, but remembered he had bandages on. The bandages made it harder to bend his fingers. He managed to take it out using both of his hands. He tried dialing my number in his phone, but it fell on the floor. "Aaaahhhh!!!" He bent down to the floor and checked his phone. It wouldn't turn on and there was a crack on its screen. He sat down on the floor, like a kid who got his candy taken away from him. He looked around at all the students leaving. He stared at his hands and ripped the bandages off in annoyance. The cuts stung him like needles poking at his flesh wounds.

He ignored the pain and ran around from hallway to hallway, to look for me. I was with Lay in the old music room. That's where he was the whole time he was missing. I should’ve figured. He toured me around and introduced me to all of the instruments in the room. I could tell how passionate he was about music. He took off a big black cover, which revealed a beautiful grand piano. "Tada!!" He smiled gleefully. "Lay, it's beautiful!" I lightly ran my fingers over the ivory keys.

"It's for you." My mouth opened in shock. "But why?" I smiled while shaking my head. "It's your birthday present!" I was confused. "My birthday present? But Lay, it isn't my birth..." I smacked my head. I couldn't believe I’d forgotten about my own birthday. He took my hand away from my head and handed me a card. My eyes began to water. "Lay you didn't have to..." He hugged me tightly. "Don't cry~" I hit his chest without any force. "How'd you even know?" "Your mother told me while I was in your house when we had to do the project.”

*What if she's in trouble!?* L.Joe ran faster and began to search inside the classrooms. "L.Joe oppa!" A group of girls ran to catch up with him. He stopped running and waited for the girls. "Ya this oppa runs really fast," a girl breathed out. "Have you girls seen Yerim?" They all looked at each other and shook their heads. “Okay thanks.” He ran away again and the girls gave up on trying to run after him. They caught their breath and watched him as he ran around.

L.Joe stumbled upon the room with the opened door as he was about to make his way back to the parking lot . *Yerim?* He walked towards the room and found me in Lay’s arms. He panted and his heartbeat raised, echoing its sound through his ears. He coughed and Lay and I turned. “L.Joe…” He stared sternly at Lay. “Hey, I was just--” Lay cut me off, knowing I was unsure of what to say. “I was giving her something.” My ears were starting to heat up from embarrassment and the tension in the room. “Hey, I’ll see you tomorrow. Thank you for the gift.” Lay shoved his hands in his pockets and smiled to me. “See you tomorrow.” I walked out of the room and took one last glance at Lay. Why did it feel like I’d done something wrong? Was is wrong to be spending time with my friend?...With someone I had feelings for? L.Joe followed after me, trailing behind. He’d kick pebbles here and there, but he didn’t speak. We decided to just walk to my house, since it would’ve probably taken longer waiting for the next bus to arrive.

I slowed my pace and waited for him to catch up with me. We were walking alongside each other now, but he still didn’t speak to me. “Were you waiting long?” I waited for him to reply. Nothing. “How’s your hand?”...Still nothing. I stared up at him and pouted, keeping my attention to him. Suddenly, he held onto my wrist, stopping me from walking any further. I looked forward and found the streetlight flashing the ‘stop’ sign. At least he didn’t want me to die...after what I did--whatever it was.

When the streetlight flashed the ‘go’ sign, we continued to walk. At one of the street corners, L.Joe took my hand and began to walk the opposite direction from my house. “Hey! The house is this way!” I pointed my free hand to the other direction. He ignored my comment and continued to drag me along. We arrived at a beautifully designed cafe. There were plants and wooden interiors everywhere and fairy lights hung across the ceiling. We sat across each other, beside a glass window that revealed a view of the city. People inside the cafe stared at us. Some of them even ‘sneaked’ photos of us. I leaned on the table and looked the opposite direction from them, to hide my face. L.Joe watched me as I hid behind my hand.

A waitress came over to our table and asked for our orders. I could tell that she was starstruck by the way she reacted when she saw us. She tried to keep calm, but her hands shook as she wrote our order in the notebook. “Will that be all?” L.Joe looked up at her and smiled. “Yes, thank you.” When she left, his face turned serious again. I squinted my eyes at him while resting my cheek on the knuckles of my hand. Did he take me here to talk to me or to just stare at me? The people staring at us didn’t seem to bother him, but it made me uneasy. Who knows if we’d be next in the rumor-mill? ‘The famous and handsome model Lee Byunghun and daughter of the well-known and successful Park duo, seen together.’ Headlines. Headlines.

My thought bubble was interrupted when the waitress came back with our order. “One hazelnut frappe, one pomegranate iced tea, and one green tea ice-cream waffle. Enjoy!” “Thank you,” we said in unison. She left and L.Joe continued observing every movement I made. I tapped my nails on the table while sipping on my drink. Suddenly, L.Joe stood up from his seat, making me sit straight up. “H-hey! Where’re you going?” I stared at him as his body became lost through the crowd of people. I sighed, uncertain of whether he’d just left me and gone home by himself. People were still staring at me, so I stood up and searched outside the window for a blonde-haired guy. I heard someone chuckle. A hand extended in front of me, from behind. It held a plate with a slice of cake. I turned my head slightly, to face the person.

L.Joe stood before me, smiling. “Happy birthday Yerim.” I laughed in disbelief. It seemed as though I was the only person to not know that it was my birthday. I shook my head at him and sat back down at our table, crossing my arms. He laughed at me, knowing I bought his “upset” act. But perhaps he was--at some point. He settled the plate down on top of the table and took a small box out from his pocket. It was a moonlight-blue with a cream-white ribbon. He held it out in front of me and waited for me to take it. I smiled, taking the box from his hand. “Open it.” I pulled one end of the ribbon and it untied. I opened the box carefully and inside, was a necklace with a diamond, teardrop-shaped pendant. “L.Joe I--” He smiled to me reassuringly. “May I?” He took the necklace from the box and stood behind my seat. I gathered my hair, lifting it to reveal my neck. I steadied my breathing as I felt the cold chains of the necklace on my skin. I felt L.Joe’s warm breath and without much thought, he planted a kiss on my cheek.

"May no gift be too small to give,

nor too simple to recieve,

which is wrapped in thoughtfulness,

and tied with love."

-L.O. Baird