Tae Joon had taken the grand deluxe room with a massive king sized bed and a beautiful view of Namsan Hill. Since it was approaching Autumn, the sky had turned slightly dark by the time Jae Hee walked in.

On one side of the room, stood a huge glass topped study desk with two chairs on either sides; while on the wall in front of the bed stood a 46 cm LED TV. The room also came with coffee making facilities, fridge and a huge bath tub equipped bathroom.

Unsure of what to do next, Jae Hee sat stiffly at the study table, looking around the room, with her luggage safely kept in the cupboard near the entrance door.

Roughly half an hour later, the door bell rang announcing Tae Joon’s return, making Jae Hee jump out of her seat.

Aigoo…why am I so nervous, she thought, as she walked to the door to open it for Tae Joon.

True enough, Tae Joon stood outside the door with a huge smile and two even bigger shopping bags. Luckily enough, Jae Hee had the foresight of bringing up his sports bag with her earlier.

“Waahh…it got cold outside,” announced Tae Joon as he briskly walked in.

Jae Hee helped with one bag and noticed that Tae Joon was still dressed in his sports shorts and t shirt with only a light wind breaker to keep warm.

“You want to put on something warmer?” she asked.

“Ani, it’s ok now, in doors,” he smiled again as they unpacked the bags.

“I got us some ramen, soft drinks, bread and some chips,” Tae Joon said happily. He also bought a change of under pants, two plain coloured t shirts, shorts and a pair of no-brand denim pants; as well as some toiletries.

“There’s a fairly big convenience store just outside the hotel. It’s about 10 minutes walk out though,” he explained.

“Can we eat first? I’m so hungry,” Tae Joon continued. “I’ve got Kimchi and Chinese fried rice. I don’t know which you’d like or we can just share?”     

“Let’s share a bit of each,” Jae Hee said, her stomach growling too, having had no food since breakfast, which she had sparingly.

“Ok,” Tae Joon said as he laid the packed food on the table.

They ate in comfortable silence, alternating between the two lunch boxes, constantly looking and smiling to each other.

In no time, they finished the food.

Tae Joon then took Jae Hee by the shoulders and playfully pushed her towards the bathroom and told her shower.

“You smell,” he , scrunching his nose. 

Jae Hee gave an indignant look before grabbing her toiletries bag and proceeding to take her much deserved shower.

Once she was finished with the bathroom, Tae Joon took his turn.

Jae Hee was still unsure on where things were going. Tae Joon was acting like the earlier crying fest did not happen. Like she was not leaving in two days time. Like they would know where she was going to sleep tonight.

Jae Hee was standing by the table having cleared their earlier meal, looking at the bed with that thought, when Tae Joon came out of the bathroom. He was rubbing his hair dry, wearing his new shorts and a white t shirt he had in his sports bag. 

He looked her line vision and looked at her questioningly.

“Mwo?”

“Umm, we only have one bed.”

“Oh, I didn't check when I signed us in. Shall I call the reception and ask for a change?” he asked belatedly.

“Ani, kwenchana. It's not like we have never slept together before,” and immediately smacked herself on the lips for the remark.

Tae Joon smiled evilly.

“Ok, then I want you to do something with me that I’ve wanted to do for a long, long time,” he walked slowly towards her.

"Eh?" Jae Hee the deer came back in full force, backing away from him. “1 meter rule…’

“I’m abandoning that rule for the weekend,” Tae Joon said, advancing towards her with a sinister gleam in his eyes; and then jumping unceremoniously on the bed and pulling her with him.

He positioned himself on his stomach facing the television at the foot of the bed and put both his feet in the air, holding the tv remote triumphantly.

Likewise, he prodded Jae Hee to follow suit.

“Kaja, let’s channel surf!” he grinned.

“Eh?”

“Mwo, what did you think I wanted to do?”

“Aniya, nothing”

Tae Joon sniggered.

“You are not my style, remember? I go for the hot male models with sculpted body tones,” he laughed.

“Aishh…”

“When Omma was still alive, I always pictured taking my girlfriend home and we’d lay down like this in front of the TV while Omma prepare us snacks. Then we’ll probably study together or something, with Omma as the chaperone,” Tae Joon smiled, looking beyond, at the memory of a conversation he once had with his mother.

“Omma is not here. But my girlfriend is,” he smiled sideways at her. “So….. you wanna be my channel surfing partner?” he asked softly.

Jae Hee smiled indulgently and nodded.

Whatever, whatever you want to do, Kang Tae Joon, she vowed silently.

And so they played with the remote till they settled for The Running Man.

The show ended an hour later at around 7 in the evening; and while Jae Hee tried to control her laughter as the credits rolled, Tae Joon just contentedly watched her – his head resting comfortably on his arms. They were both still in the same on-the-stomach position they started with.

“What are you doing?” Jae Hee asked self consciously.

“Memorising your face, like you did mine yesterday,” he reminded her of her dirty tactics last night.

“Mianhe. I thought it was for the best.”

“It’s ok. You’re forgiven. Thinking of yourself has never been your strongest traits.” He said, while playfully nudging his bare feet to hers.

“So, what are we going to do?” she asked. Asking for what the future held for them.

Tae Joon sighed.

“Well, first, we’re going to promise each other that we are not going to cry this weekend. Then, we’ll probably go out to find dinner later. Then, tomorrow we can go out and have generally fun time together; or we can stay in… and have a generally fun time together,” Tae Joon said, pushing an errant lock of hair out of Jae Hee’s  beautiful face.

“Then, on Sunday, we’ll pack and I’ll send you to the airport; and then, you’ll wait for me in the States till I come and get you. Or if you miss me too much, you can come back to Korea first and rescue me,” he smiled, continuing explaining his simple plans. “In the mean time, we’ll talk, and later send emails, call and text each other.”

“I can do that.” Jae Hee nodded purposefully.

“Good. But for now,” he smiled and flipped on his back. “Let’s take a nap and rest.”

He reached out for her and pull her in his arms, before getting up slightly to pull the bed spread back to cover themselves from the chill.

Tentatively, Jae Hee laid her head on his shoulders.

“Yup, I can do this too,” she smiled silently and close her eyes.

- End of Part 2 -