“Our mother should have just named you Laika.”
– Neighborhood #2 (Laika), Arcade Fire

(1)

She used to pray for an easy love.

Then she meets him.

They are doing late night grocery shopping in pajamas when, staring at fat orange carrots imported from Australia, she thinks, Oh this is easy. WRONG.

He has a beautiful face and a mind that she never gets, but his face? Beautiful.

Seokjin do you want this? Seokjin do you want that?

No thanks.

He ends up buying one kilogram of lemon and a pack of six kiwis because Today I feel like Acid and, as they walk through the baby formula aisle, he, light like feathers and drizzle, says, I am holding your hand only because mine is itching to make a mess.

Do you see red all the time? Can’t you see me instead?

He pays using his own credit card while he still can, then he shrugs, Jisoo, my dear, love is difficult because people are. I’m sorry. This is all I’ve got to offer you.

(2)

Her hobbies include reading sad stories and poetry books and when Jennie, Lisa and Rose are away chasing dreams and getting younger, she gets her collection out of the shelves, lays them one by one on her bed over the comforter and reads each line in spoken words.

Sometimes she feels overwhelmed by the power held by nouns like Lake and Freckle and verbs like Hold and Caress.

Sometimes she shouts raw.

Sometimes she cries.

Now that she is seeing him, she records herself recite her favorite poetry and then sends the file to him.

He sends another back to her. Not of poetry. But of three seconds of static and, finally, his voice, raspy, “Thank you.”

Sometimes, love does not have to be difficult. See what we just did?