"Do you believe in love at first sight?"

Ae Sook couldn't help but smile, albeit sheepishly, since that was the sort of thing that she wouldn't have expected to hear outside of the movies. But the situation was one that she wouldn't have expected to experience outside of her imagination, and the question had come from someone she wouldn't have expected anything less from.

Dating an idol was difficult; there was no sugar coating that part. But dating Yesung was worth it, and that was the icing on the cake.

"Nope," Ae Sook answered cheekily in response to Yesung's question. His expression, once bright and teasing, turned confused.

Ae Sook smiled and leaned back on the bench. It was almost unheard of, but Yesung had an entire day free from any schedule. The couple had been at a bit of a loss as to how to spend it, but after a morning spent sleeping in (or at least trying) Yesung had taken Ae Sook out for a daytime date at the zoo. The weather was relatively decent for autumn, and the mild briskness in the air was nice. The park was less packed than it would have been in a warmer season as well, which was even more of a bonus. Still, the two were due for a break by the time they reached the reptiles and took a seat across from the giant land tortoises.

Ae Sook smiled, one side of coming up higher than the other, and watched Yesung from the corner of her eye. "I believe in attraction at first sight," she told him, swinging her feet, "but not love. That's not possible. People may be inexplicably drawn to each other at first sight, but I don't think they can know that they love each other until they actually know each other."

Yesung, with his jaw slack and lips parted in the tiniest "O", stared off towards the tortoise exhibit. "I guess," he reasoned aloud, "that makes sense."

Ae Sook’s smile evened out, and her feet stopped swinging. "Why do you ask?"

Yesung snapped back to life, giving Ae Sook his attention again. He blinked at her a few times before giving her a goofy, crooked grin. "No reason, really."

"Really?" Ae Sook didn't believe Yesung in the least but she wasn't upset at all that he was lying. To take some of the pressure off of him, she looked away towards the tortoises and kept talking. "To be honest, I like the idea that love at first sight doesn't exist. I like the idea of a stranger giving you butterflies for no reason, but legitimate love isn't supposed to be easy, is it? It takes time and effort to really get to know someone and to learn what it is that you love about them. Once you know why you love someone, even the little things that you didn't initially notice or even like about that person become their most endearing features. When you love someone you love every part of them, the good and the bad, but you can't learn to love all of that person until you know all of that person."

A silence passed over the two, not necessarily comfortable, but not tense enough to worry either of them. Ae Sook closed her eyes and enjoyed the air.

"So," Yesung said from her left, "you can only love someone when you know everything about them?"

"You can never know everything about anyone," Ae Sook countered right away. She let that fact sink in before turning to her date, her eyes glowing. "But you can know all that you need to know to fall in love with someone in a surprisingly short amount of time."

Ae Sook and Yesung maintained eye contact for a few moments until Yesung looked down at his knees.

"I'm confused," he confessed, biting at his lip and tilting his head to watch Ae Sook. "You're throwing too many ideas at me. I can't follow your logic."

"Neither can I," Ae Sook said, shrugging. There was a very brief paused before the both of them giggled.

The light laughter died down and gave way to silence. This time the quiet did bother Ae Sook to some extent, so she relieved it by reaching out and grabbing Yesung's nearest hand. She handled his fingers with care, fondling his digits with her own. She loved his hands, oddly enough, because they weren't so large that they felt overpowering against her own; Yesung's dainty hands were different, and having them barely bigger than hers made Ae Sook feel like they fit together all the better.

"We must have known each other before, before we met, I guess," Yesung said. He took his time pronouncing the words, his voice soft and thoughtful. His eyes were trained on Ae Sook’s fingers as they wound around his. "Because I'm pretty sure I love you right away."

A smile teased the corner of Ae Sook's lips. "You must have just spent a lot of time stalking me before approaching me."

"That too, maybe."

The idea made Ae Sook's smile widen. An idol watching a normal girl from afar? How strange.

But how Yesung.

Yesung was a strange person who was somehow so simple at the same time. Ae Sook’s relationship with him was a bit outlandish as well, yet it made nothing but sense to the two of them. They didn't have to think about being together. Ae Sook and Yesung just did what came naturally. Their relationship was natural. Even with all of its challenges and troubles it was clear to both of them that it was meant to be. It might sound silly to someone on the outside, but people on the outside looked at things with their heads. For Ae Sook, in her heart, there was no confusion. She was meant to be with Yesung; she and Yesung were meant to be together. It was thinking too much and trying to use logic that made everything complicated. Love just was, and that was all Ae Sook needed to know.

Ae Sook on her lips when a thought hit her. She continued playing with Yesung's fingers, trying not to make her sudden onslaught of nerves obvious. "Are you telling me that you love me?"

Yesung had never told Ae Sook that he loved her, not so plainly. He'd shown it through his actions, and she'd understood it from her own intuition, but he'd never actually said it. He hadn't ever needed to tell her. He didn't need to let her know something she already knew.

Yesung didn't need to let Ae Sook know, but when she was sure he was about to confirm it out loud the feeling it gave her was just awesome.

Yesung breathed out a nervous chuckle and edged closer, but Ae Sook kept her face downcast, hiding her rosy cheeks. "Yes," Yesung said with his exhale. "I love you."

Ae Sook could have squealed. She very nearly did but managed to hold it in. Instead her face snapped up, giving Yesung a clear view of her spectacular blush and about-to-burst grin. "I love you, too."

Ae Sook’s eyes were tingling around the edges and a little glossy, but she was still able to see the way Yesung's expression uplifted. He was shining more than he ever had on stage, all in response to her. To her. Ae Sook didn't quite understand how she could make another person so happy, but she didn't quite care either. She was just glad that she could, especially when that person made her at least three times happier than she could ever make him. There was no way that Yesung's feelings for her were stronger than hers for him; no human being had enough capacity to surpass her emotional reservoir. She could barely handle it as it was.

Yesung, apparently feeling the pressure of his own emotions, lunged for Ae Sook with puckered lips. He was a little overzealous, and the kiss wasn't the most effortless, but it was great. The greatest.

Yesung made Ae Sook feel like a little kid, free from problems and prejudice and all of the worries in the world. Maybe it was him, or maybe it was just love itself. Ae Sook didn't care to dissect the conundrum or understand which was which and why it was so. It didn't matter. All that mattered was that it was there. It was there and she was experiencing it to its fullest and she never wanted to lose it. Ae Sook wanted to live in that fairytale forever, even when evils popped up and made her wish magic did exist and could cure everything. Evil would pop up and there would be no magic to cure it, but Yesung would still be a part of the story, through the good and bad, and that was the only thing she needed.