It’s going to be May 20^th soon, so find a person of the opposite to be your one day lover.

Tick tock

Tick tock

Tick tock

The clock pulsated indefatigably. Liyin was minutely aware of the time. The day was a peculiar one. Couples lined the café, hands entwined, giggling and smiling. It usually wasn’t like this.

She scanned the café and spotted a man who appeared to be alone. His features were attractive but his face was contorted into a frown. She shrugged and pursed her lips. He had problems of his own surely, and she frankly wasn’t concerned.

Liyin gently stirred the contents of her chocolate milk. She sat there idling for hours, but she couldn’t ignore a sensation in her heart. It was bloated with warmth; a yearning warmth. Her throbbing heart was warning her of something, something she couldn’t quite discern.

Liyin took a sip of her chocolate milk and gazed above the rim of the white cup. It appears that she had developed a habit of glancing at the man she observed earlier. Her heart pumped disappointedly, however. The man who stayed here for hours like her was no longer there.

Don’t kiss, don’t hug, just hold hands…

Liyin snatched her handbag from the seat next to her and stood up. There wasn’t much point in her staying now. She placed the bills on the wooden table and strode towards the door. Just as she approached the door, it was pushed inwards and a man walked inside. It was the same man from before.

He bowed slightly at her and walked pass. Liyin noticed that he was gripping a parcel in his hands. He must have left to retrieve the parcel. Liyin hesitated on whether to leave, approach him or return to her seat. The last option would be a little embarrassing after she had just decided to leave.

Without considering the consequences, she clutched his wrist. He twisted around sharply and stared at her questioningly.

Liyin smiled meekly in return.

…and go for movies...

Liyin trotted in front of the theatre impatiently. She had arrived fifteen minutes early to their date. In the warm autumn, the weather chose to be chilly and she was waiting outside. Assuming that the weather would be just fine, she didn’t bring a jacket and was jogging lightly to maintain her warmth. Her breaths formed mist that floated before the sun.

Liyin felt weight on her shoulders and glanced sideways. A black jacket enveloped her petite form. She glimpsed behind her and recognised her date, Junsu, the man she met the day before. She smiled appreciatively.

“Have you been waiting long?” Junsu asked softly.

Liyin shook her head rapidly. Junsu smiled and clutched her hand. He led her into the theatre.

Liyin and Junsu occupied a seat in the middle of the theatre. Liyin had selected a light romance comedy. She wasn’t certain that Junsu would enjoy it though, but she wanted to opt for something light.

The plot progressed to the and Liyin scrunched her nose. The comedy and romantic element in this was excellent, but the female protagonist was a negative distraction. The female displayed to her partner a feeble and weak side and expected him to protect her all the time. In situations when she could have easily fended for herself, she chose to blame him for her slight injuries.

Junsu chuckled as he noticed Liyin’s unsatisfied expression. He thought she was adorable and entwined his hands with hers and gripped onto it throughout the whole movie.

As Junsu was concentrating on the scene in front of them, Liyin glanced at him. The flickering light from the movie was bathing Junsu’s defined side profile with splashes of colour. Liyin giggled to herself and relaxed into the chair. A longing feeling for physical contact coerced her prop her head on his broad shoulders. 

“Bam!” Liyin jumped in surprised and laughed. The action movie she chose this time was a pleasure to watch. She had always enjoyed action films, but for some reason, she wanted to present herself as a feminine woman, not a young tomboy, to Junsu.

She was tired of the act though; if she wanted to display her best impression, she should be more of herself. If the date ended well, he wouldn’t be expecting something else from her. If it turns out that he doesn’t like her, Liyin would have at least been true to herself.

Liyin dipped her hands into the popcorn container. At that moment, Junsu also felt a need for the savoury snack to coat his tongue, and so he reached for the container. They both reached for the container at the same moment.

Liyin’s soft fingers grazed the back of Junsu’s hand. She withdrew quickly at the foreign touch and glanced quickly into the container. She spotted a hand and connected it towards a body.

The muscular arm trailed towards Junsu. Liyin gazed at Junsu sheepishly and smiled in apology. He smiled back at her brightly. Liyin couldn’t help but smile back.

…dinner…

“…and, you know, there was this one time when my grandfather had a loose tooth. He just plucked it out, and I was standing outside, close to the window. He threw it out the window and the tooth landed right on my arm.” Junsu indicated his arm for emphasis.

Liyin burst out laughing with Junsu guffawing in a high pitch tone.

The laughing ceased, with both of them still slightly heaving from the laughter.

Junsu had been telling her various anecdotes from his life. She had so far learnt of his allergy to shrimps, his family members, his passion and interest in music (just like her) and other minor particulars about his life and childhood.

The distance between them eased as Liyin found herself enjoying the presence of this man. Something enthusiastic and unrestrained appealed to Liyin; she was relaxed and complacent around him – she was happy.

Their order arrived. It was steak, with vegetables and sauce surrounding the succulent slice of beef. Junsu thanked the waiter who bowed and left.

Liyin bit her lower lip upon remembering a predicament in her earlier years involving steak that lead her to remain distant from it. It was a situation that caused her to be embarrassed, and so whenever she wanted to taste steak again, she would be reminded of the disconcerting event.

At university graduation, Liyin and her classmates organised an outing which included dinner at a prestigious restaurant. They decided to order steak for the main course.

“How would you like your steak, miss?” the waiter had asked.

Liyin had been tempted to answer with “What do you mean?” but her crush (in which she amorously called “J”) had been there. It made her out to be foolish if she did not understand the relevancy of the meat to her tastes. So, Liyin had rapidly conjured a response.

“Medium, if you would please.” Liyin had glanced at the menu and winced. The medium was significantly pricier as opposed to the ‘well done’ and ‘rare’. The price was a rather immense struggle for her tiny wallet; of a freshly graduated university student who had debts to reimburse to the government and had not yet procured sufficient experience for renumerating positions.  It was too late to withdraw her words so Liyin had to withstand the price of the meal.

As the order arrived, Liyin glanced at her crush’s order. He had specifically ordered rare steak, but comparing it to hers, the texture and colour was, in precise detail, the same. But the rare steak had been almost half the worth of the medium.

Before the waiter had left, Liyin called him back. “Um, excuse me, I ordered medium steak, not rare.”

The waiter blinked, confused. “It is medium, miss.”

“No, it isn’t,” denied Liyin.

“Yes, it is, miss. Please look closer,” insisted the waiter. Liyin peered again at the steak; the meat was brown, with a little red at the centre top. It was no different from J’s.

“It is not,” emphasised Liyin.

“Yes, it is, miss.”

“No, it is not.”

An exasperated sigh: “Yes, it is, miss.”

“No, it’s not!”

“Miss, please; look at it!”

The two continued to bicker with multiple sets of eyes staring at the spectacle in front of them. Liyin was conscious of the gazes at her by her classmates and her cheeks reddened as she quarrelled. It was not until the manager emerged and apologised that the voices of the two quietened. The manager offered to cover the expenses of her meal if she would let the issue resolve itself.

“I’ll ignore the matter, but I don’t need you to pay for the meal.” Liyin still needed her pride to retain. 

“Thank you,” the manager breathed a sigh of relief.

It was not until later that Liyin discovered she was actually the erroneous one. J had told her later what he had done. He switched his order to the same as Liyin’s. He had confessed abashedly that he had liked Liyin, but after that incident with her mistake, he could not bear looking at her the same way he used to. He apologised (rather casually) and Liyin hung her head low in shame.

She was the one at fault, yet she dared to berate the waiter vociferously at his “ignorance” despite his position of waiter at an esteemed restaurant. Since then, Liyin avoided the particular dish as much as she could, because her friends would constantly tease and ridicule her of her past blunder.

“Liyin, are you alright?” Junsu shook Liyin’s arm lightly with a concerned expression.

Liyin averted her focused eyes from her reverie and stared at Junsu. “I’m alright,” she smiled and looked down.

Junsu noticed Liyin staring at her food intently while distractingly playing with her fork. She appeared to be deliberating something. Junsu began slicing his own steak, with rapid forward and backward movements. Liyin felt an awkward tension rising up like water boiling to the brim of a pot.

Suddenly, Junsu shoved his plate of neatly sliced steak to Liyin and exchanged it for hers.

“Ready and sliced,” Junsu grinned.

Liyin looked shocked and opened . The bubble of tension popped soundlessly as Liyin gazed at the result of Junsu’s thought and consideration.

“T-thank you,” Liyin barely managed to utter a response.

Liyin received another bright grin as a reply and couldn’t help but smile back as well. Her heart swelled in the temporary atmosphere of comforting happiness.

In short, she was happy.

…and shopping.

Junsu flicked through the pages of the latest fashion magazine – voluptuous female and muscular male models adorned the publication. His posture relaxed into the chair he occupied as engaged himself with the latest trends while waiting for Liyin to trial her clothing.

The door clicked open and Liyin emerged. A black dress clothed her body. The pink belt secured the area of her waist and the felt texture cascaded around her form in a loose triangular shape.

Junsu glanced up from his magazine and opened in mouth in amazement. It was an amazing fit hat highlighted Liyin’s body delicately and framed her dazzling face.

“How does it look?” Liyin smiled happily and spun around.

“Perfect.”

Liyin’s finger skimmed the shows displayed on the rackets. There were many different styles, heights and colours, but she so far hadn’t been impressed or captivated by any of them. The bag containing the earlier purchase of the dress was swung rashly through Liyin’s annularly encased fingers.

Liyin puckered her lips for a moment as she browsed the last display of shoes. With a sigh, she plunged onto a nearby chair blue chair. It was hopeless. Liyin had scanned four department stores and none of them contained a design she was satisfied with. Either they were a colour she could not tolerate, or were an overbearing design.

Suddenly, a figure kneeled at her legs. Liyin jerked instinctively and looked down; Junsu had a pair of cream coloured flats in his hands. He looked up and sent a boyish grin to her. Liyin’s heart fluttered momentarily and she averted her gaze. Junsu widened his grin.

Delicately, Junsu slid the ribboned flats into Liyin’s foot that he secured with his left hand. They slid easily around her foot. He proceeded to the next foot with gentle and attentive hands. Liyin was aware of how soft his fingers were on her skin and blushed lightly.

When finished, Junsu took Liyin’s warm hands in his and guided her to stand up. Her eyes were fixed on her shoes, and how fitting they were on her feet. It was rather amazing; Liyin had browsed through so many department stores and scanned so many shoes, but none of them seemed to delight her the way the shoes on her foot did.

Liyin clenched Junsu’s hand tightly and looked up at him with a smile.

“Thanks.” And Liyin’s smile broadened to a grin that showcased her pristine teeth.

By midnight, text each other with a message: Let's break up. If both of you have mutual feelings for each other then text each other with: …

Liyin faced the window from her room upstairs. She could spot the occasional figures striding through the clear but tenebrous night. Couples held hands through their thermal gloves, with smiles depicting happiness. Numerous families could be seen with warm smiles as the laughter of their joy drifted to Liyin’s ears.

It was like a perfect yet blemished painting. The snow littered the ground, brightly shining as the mirror of the moon. Cars were layered with snow and breaths misted with fogs; noses were bright red and lips were colourless, yet those were imperfections characterised a painting with beautiful lights, beaming affection and internal warmth.

Liyin reached for her phone on her bedside table. She ran her hand smoothly across the sleek and dim surface of her phone. Liyin breathed deeply, once more gazing out through the window. Her hands unconsciously played with her phone; rubbing, circling, juggling – all until she activated it with a button.

It was a few seconds more until the twelve chimes indicated midnight. Liyin’s hand tensed as she clutched the cool surface of her phone. Finally, she gathered the courage to send the text message.

“Let’s break up.

“Let’s be together.”

Tick tock

Tick tock

Tick tock

“Let’s break up.

“Let’s be together.”