Seomin rushed about with rubber yellow gloves, cleaning tools in tow. She went to their washroom and set to business, scrubbing every nook and cranny of the shower. “Seomin aren’t you being a little about cleaning? It’s Hyeyoung who’s visiting, not your mother,” Donghae questioned as he leaned on the door, tired from all the tasks Seomin had him do, which included wiping the windows, organizing the mess of music and papers in the living room, organizing their collection of movies, washing all the dishes, and all other sorts of tasks. By now, it was already five in the afternoon.

In annoyance, Seomin turned her face and narrowed her eyes at her boyfriend. “I can’t have her think we’re lazy people who can’t bother to clean up after ourselves when the cleaning lady is on vacation!”

“But that’s who we are…” Donghae mumbled.

Seomin glared at him. “If you have nothing to do but complain, then start organizing the closet. It’s such a mess right now!” His mouth dropped. Seomin knew it was a big task and there was no way she was going to clean the bathroom and organize the closet. With their laziness and busy work schedules overtaking their lives, the couple hadn’t been putting any clothes back in place, and with the cleaning lady’s recent vacation, had also not bothered to wash any clothes for the past week and a half. A mountain of dirty clothes lay at the end of their bed. She threatened to throw the dirty sponge at him and he darted out of the room. “At least bring the dirty laundry out to get it washed!” Seomin yelled after him. When she heard him leave the apartment with all the dirty clothes, Seomin chuckled to herself. My boyfriend has learned well on managing my temper. He knows exactly when to stop pushing it!

An hour later, Seomin finished cleaning the bathroom. She was putting the cleaning tools away when Donghae returned with all their clothes washed, pressed, and neatly folded. “Ta da!” he announced, “One of the other tenants, some really old lady, helped me iron and fold the clothes.” A cheeky grin spread on his face.

Seomin rolled her eyes and shrugged. “Well at least you got it done. I’ll make dinner.” She walked into the kitchen, but felt Donghae tug her arm. She turned around. “Do you need something?”

He shook his head and gave her a hug. “I think the question should be ‘Do we need something?’ In that case, yes we absolutely need to a break. Put on your disguise so we can go out and eat instead.”

“Wait, now? It’s not that dark yet.”

“We can organize the closet together first. Then we can get ready and pick up some food along the way to our secret destination. I think it will be dark enough by then.” He pushed her to their bedroom where they began to organize the closest. First, they separated their clothes from one another and put them on hangers. Once they hung their own clothes the way they wanted to on either side of the closet, they worked on the drawers. They matched shoes together, putting them all in a row as best as possible before deciding the closet was clean enough. “Alright, let’s get ready.”

Seomin picked up a golden yellow scarf, a black baseball cap, and brown plastic glasses. When she looked at Donghae, she burst out in laughter. He too, had picked a yellow scarf, black baseball cap, and plastic glasses, only his were black. “We definitely look like a couple.”

“Oh well, nobody will know it’s us then!” He happily took her hand and they left the apartment together. They walked away from their building, turning the corner before hailing a taxi to avoid speculation. They rode the taxi until Donghae had the driver stop in front of a food stand. Seomin waited in the back, playing with her phone and trying her best not to look at the taxi driver. She was glad that he was not young and asked very few questions. When Donghae returned, Seomin felt relieved. She took the plastic bag full of kimbap and two cans of beer, chuckling at his choice of dinner. The driver drove to Han River and dropped them off. Once he helped Seomin out of the taxi, he paid the taxi driver. Seomin and Donghae scanned the area. “Nobody’s here except for a few passersby, We’ll be safe.” He led her by the hand down to a bench, where they took out their dinner and ate in a comfortable silence. They watched the water cascade from the bridge, the multicolored lights underneath making for a spectacular sight.

Seomin took out the beer, handing one to Donghae before opening one for herself, the liquid pouring down . “Ah,” she sighed. “This is really nice. I wish we had more time like this.”

“Me too. It’s hard to distance myself from you when we work together. Every day I struggle not to put my hand on your shoulder longer than necessary, push a strand of hair that fell into your face, or just whisper sweet words in your ear.”

She leaned her head onto his shoulder, blushing. “I would like to hear those sweet words.” Click. Seomin frowned and looked around. “Did you hear that?”

“No, what did you hear?” Donghae asked, looking around. But the both of them only saw darkness. “It could be a squirrel.” She was not entirely convinced, but Seomin rest her head on his shoulder again, letting the matter slide. “I can say some sweet words now.” He took her hands in his own. “You’re beautiful on the inside and outside. When I see you persevere through the struggles, my love for you grows. I long for your touch whenever you are not by my side.” He turned his head and lowered his lips to her ear. “And after all those sweet words, I’d kiss you like this.” Donghae got off the bench and crouched in front of her, still holding her hands. He kissed the top of her head, her forehead, each eye, each cheek, her nose, and finally, Donghae planted a kiss on Seomin’s lips. They were warm and soft, and their lips moved slowly out of romantic passion rather than lust. Click. Click. Click. It was definitely what Seomin thought it was. Donghae jerked his head away and looked about. Suddenly, he pulled Seomin up off the bench and began to run. “Don’t show your face,” he hissed. Afraid they would be caught, Seomin lowered her head as they ran, trusting Donghae to not lead her into a pole.

She heard the pattering of feet and from the corner of her eye, she saw two men with cameras running after them, their cameras flashing at rapid speed. Seomin heard them call after them. "Miss! You've dropped some money!" But she did not fall for their tricks. She had no money on her. She didn't even have a bag with her. All she had was her phone, which she was tightly gripping to, in fear that she would drop i