The sun warmed the room through the translucent blinds.  Something Yongsun read about in an HGTV article.  Shutters were too old fashioned, and blinds too plain.  She paid a fortune for these curtains, and right now they were doing their job; cradling the windowframe between soft arms, letting only enough warmth in to make the room temperature comfortable, not hot.  (Though Yongsun still managed to kick off the covers in her sleep).

Suddenly she heard a door open, skittering across the floor, and she quickly reached under the sheets for her bra.  After making sure her most precious parts were covered, she sat up on her forearms, letting the comforter fall down to her waist, and patted her stomach.

"Jjing jjing!" she cooed.  She patted her tummy again.  "Jjing-jjing-ah!"

She heard the familiar jingle of his collar, and her heart leapt excitedly.  He pawed at the mattress for a while.  Yongsun was going to bend down to pick him up, but as soon as he saw her hand, he yelped, skidded away on slippery paws.

"Jjing!"

"Bark bark!"

She frowned.

"Jjing-jjing-ah!"

She thumped her hand on the mattress but her dog wouldn't budge.  Instead he was content to swish around under the curtains, until he found the right perfect spot, closed his eyes, and let the sun bathe him in a halo of warmth.

"You know my tummy is warm too..." she tried to seduce him.

Suddenly she was met with a heavy weight on her abdomen, but it wasn't her precious puppy.  Instead she felt the familiar pant of her girlfriend against her stomach; Byulyi crossed her arms over Yongsun's abs, resting her chin on top of them, smiling up at her cheekily.

"You're right," she sang, "this is comfortable."

Yongsun rolled her eyes.

"Jjing-jjing!" she tried again.

Byulyi removed her arms to nuzzle into Yongsun's stomach once -she twitched- but Byulyi moved her arms back again.  At least she wasn't fooling around this morning.  What with Jjing Jjing refusing to obey his master Yongsun was already having a tough time.

When Yongsun glanced back down at her, Byulyi was smiling, eyes soft, hair impossibly softer, and Yongsun couldn't help herself, she reached down to touch it, twirled one silver strand around her finger.

"This is such a pretty color," she murmured.

Byulyi's smile grew.

"You're pretty."

"Aish."  Yongsun withdrew her hand.  "You can't even take a compliment normally."

"Okay okay," Byulyi laughed, she crossed her fingers, "promise, no more jokes."

Yongsun eyed her carefully, lips pursed, not unaware of the way Byulyi her lips suddenly, like Yongsun was giving her other ideas.  "Hmm, okay," she laid back down, crossing her arms behind her head, "no stupid jokes."  She looked up for a moment to wink at her, "but I could always use a good laugh, and -NO- that's not an invitation to tickle me."  She watched Byulyi's hands warily, saw her fingers twitch, but she dutifully kept them crossed like she had promised.

"Anyways," Byulyi drawled, "I meant what I said earlier, you just didn't let me finish explaining."

Yongsun inhaled a large breathe, puffing up her stomach, so that Byulyi would rise up slightly.

"Go aheaaaaad," she said in a long exhale.

Byulyi blushed, suddenly shy, and Yongsun reached down to touch her hair again.  At that Byulyi felt her confidence rise again, she bit her lip, mulling over her thoughts.

"Well... this morning you know, you slept in as usual."  She waited for a reaction, but Yongsun remained unfazed by her jab.  She pouted, continued anyway... "But it's almost summer, and the sun rises earlier now, and well... I could just see you better.  Like... the light was all over your face," she frowned, "I'm surprised you didn't wake up honestly."

Yongsun shrugged, kept playing with Byulyi's hair.

"So since I could see you clearer, and you were still sleeping," she shrugged, "you just looked more beautiful I guess.  Like you were here but not really all here."

Yongsun raised an eyebrow at her.

"It makes sense!" Byulyi urged, but Yongsun clearly didn't believe her.

"Well you know, that saying, 'distance makes the heart grow fonder'?"  Yongsun nodded, still not sure where this was going on.

Byulyi uncrossed her arms, flattened her palms against Yongsun's ribs, now she wanted to feel her, it was important.

"Well... I know you're here, I can see you, but when you're sleeping, you're not really here.  Your mind is somewhere else, and that's the most beautiful part of you."  Yongsun scoffed disbelievingly.  

"It's true!" she leaned into Yongsun's touch, her hand now cradilng Byulyi's face so she could look into her eyes properly.

"Your mind adds the color behind your eyes, the warmth behind your smile... if your mind didn't exist, neither would the person I love."

Yongsun flushed.  She brushed her thumb across Byulyi's cheek.

"Why are you always saying such weird things?"

Byulyi shook her head, softly, gently.  She wrapped her hand around Yongsun's.  "It's not weird.  When it's early morning, and everything is quiet and dead, you seem like one of those dead things, because behind your eyelids you're so far away, when you're sleeping, it feels like you're so far away from me, but you're also... you're still you.  I know you'll wake up, eventually, and so looking at you just... it reminds me, like the sound of the birds, and wind rustling, and the smell of you, warm and sometime sweet like..." she spread open her fingers, staring into her palm as if the answer was sitting right there.  "You're just like one of those things, that feels like... the thing that fills my soul. You know that inexplicable feeling you get just from when you realize -right in the moment you are living- that you are alive?"

Yongsun shook her head.

"You're so weird," she said again.

Byulyi frowned, burying her face in Yongsun's stomach.  

"You don't get it," she mumbled.

Yongsun grabbed her arm, tugged her up to lay down more snugly againt Yongsun's chest, their whole bodies pressed together now.  Jjing Jjing is falling asleep again, even though it's three hours till noon.

Yongsun smiled, tempted to plant a kiss on Byulyi's pouty lips, but she also wanted to watch the expression on her face.

"Are you quoting poetry at me?"

Byulyi lowered her head again.

"...maybe."

Yongsun barked out a laugh.  Jjing Jjing startled, his collar chimed into the silence.

"If you want to impress me you'll have to come up with some better lines."  

She finally leaned in.

Oh well Byulyi thought.  She didn't mind being distracted by her girlfriend's lips, even if those traiterous lips just dragged her for coming up with cheesy compliments.  She saw Yongsun's plump, pink, lips, approaching.  Her heartbeat quickened, her eyes fluttered closed, and then-

"Bark bark!"

Byulyi groaned.

"Now?" she cried, while Yongsun nearly shoved her off the bed, immediately grabbing Jjing Jjing's leg and dragging the poor thing on top of her.  

"Jjing-jjing-ah!" she wailed.  She snuggled her face into his fur, and he whined in annoyance.

Byulyi stuck out her tongue, but Jjing Jjing could only pant and wag his tail in response.

Neruda never mentioned the part where your girlfriend prefers her dog over you.  She sighed, knowing she'd have to read a lot more poetry to figure out one Kim Yongsun.