We need to first understand the concept of sour to understand the taste of sweet. We must know the feeling of pain before understanding the experience of pure bliss.  We must first comprehend the blistering feeling of being alone, to fully fathom the feeling of being close. We need one, for the existence of the other.

"Ying and Yang?" Kai called from the kitchen, as I sat on the couch, reading aloud.  I scampered out of my seat and towards the bookshelf, as I traced my fingers across the spines looking for a certain book, Kai has stuck his head over the counter to peer at what I was doing.

"Got it" I triumphed in success and I cradled the book in my arm all the way back to the couch. As I flickered through the pages, Kai had entered the living room with plates of leftover pizza.

"What are you doing?" he questioned as he set the plates down and took a seat on the floor, crossing his legs.

"You gave me a thought" I replied as I skimmed through the writing. Kai had taken a bite of his pizza and began nibbling on the rest.

"Ying and yang, is a concept derived from Chinese philosophy that can describe how seemingly opposite or contrary forces are interconnected and interdependent in the natural world; and, how they give rise to each other as they interrelate to one another." Kai nodded his head in understanding, as his eyes continued to gaze up at me.

"But in a, say "perfect world", it's agreeable that there isn't pain, right?" I continued, an epiphany slowly forming in my mind. Kai continued nodding along, his hair bouncing lightly.

"That means, in a perfect world, there would not be pleasure. Without pain, no one understand the feeling of pleasure. Without all the diseases, no one would understand the meaning of good health. Without feeling starvation, no one would understand the feeling of being well fed." I listed, factoring in the some of the world's problems.

"So, you're saying the perfect world would be one without anyone knowing?" Kai concluded as he seemed to reach my train of thought. "But wouldn't that continue to be perfect? A utopia built on the knowledge that no one would know of." He drifted on.

"No, because there wouldn't be freedom of thought, self expression, love." I answered, factoring in some of life's blissful aspects.

"Right, in an utopian world, hate is non existent, self expression unheard of and freedom of thought strictly forbidden." Kai had once again jumped on board of my train of thought and expanded it.  "To create an utopian world we exchange pain, disease and famine for freedom of thought, self expression and love."

"And whether that really is a utopian place, lies in the opinion of the inhabitant, what is important to them, a perfect society or a perfect diversity." I cut in, forming an idea of my own.

"A perfect diversity" Kai and I simultaneously muttered, our eyes locking, a hint of cheekiness tugging at his lips. As his lips grew into a gummy grin, he lunged forward encircling his arms around me.

"To live a life without love is to live it cold, to live a life cold is to live it dead, to live a life dead is to not live at all."

That night was spent with tickling fights, foolish games and endless laughter. Because, after all, how can you know the feeling of being stressed, without understanding the feeling of fun first?

---

The next morning, Kai found himself nestled against my lap, it seems as though we had fallen asleep on the living room couch, the forgotten pizza still sitting on the coffee table. Kai stirred awake and shifted his body upward until I was now the one resting against him. He wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me in further, finding a comfortable position in the crook of my neck.

"You have work today" I murmured as his chin rested on my head. Kai groaned, the vibrations reverberated into my back. "Kyungsoo called,  your shift is from 7pm till 9."

"Mmm" he hummed.  His humming vibrating off my neck, tickling it slightly. "I don’t want to…" he whispered, as he nudged his head on my shoulder, his breathe ticking the hairs on my neck.

"Mmm, I'll come along, plus we have to send away the packages to both our parents today." I commented back as I began getting up towards the bathroom. At the mention of his parents Kai got up, a huge smile smeared across his face.

"We should visit them soon, make a trip for both of our parents." He called as I covered the toothpaste across my toothbrush. I smiled wide, Kai's love for his family always made me happy. It wasn't until I saw the toothpaste dripping onto my shirt that I had closed my mouth. Kai popped his head through the bathroom doorway. "When is a good time?" he pondered cheekily as he blinked at you innocently. 

"I'm not too sure,  do you want to give them a call?" I mumbled back, the foam covering my lips. "Tomorrow morning though, after your shift tonight is too late." He nodded earnestly and strolled into the kitchen, a smile visible on his face.

---

Kai worked at bar located just out of the city centre. It was quite a cosy place, attracting indie bands, backpackers and university students. I found myself nestled in a booth in the corner toward the bar front. My notes, books and notebook scattered the table and my drink sandwiched between my book and notebook. The book I had previously been engrossed in for the past two days was sitting on my lap. New train of thoughts had immersed from when I read the book the first time and I thought jotting down some of my thoughts would be beneficial.  Kai was busily working at the bar, topping up my drink every once in a while. Kyungsoo was organising the next month's artist line up, as the bar had been closed due to weather conditions.  Given it was a work night the bar buzz had died down at around 12am and Kyungsoo decided to call it an early night. 

"Thanks for coming with me tonight" Kai remarked, taking my hand as we walked down the still damp street.

"Is that why you took my bag from me?" I queried as I eyed my messenger bag swung across his torso.

"No, I'm just a gentleman like that" he giggled back, kissing my cheek. We swung our arms as we continued walking back to my apartment, the smell of rain still lingering in the air.

Anyone still actually reading? Let me know!