Yonghwa

“Hoaaaamm~”

I rubbed my half-opened eyes as I started to gain consciousness from a good night sleep. I sat straight up lazily and looked at the other bed, which was empty.

Going on an unplanned trip to Seoul at this time of year was a bad idea. I didn’t pre-book any kind of place to stay so we had to find a way. Almost every hotel was full. Thankfully, we found a homestay that still had one room available and fortunately it was a twin-bed room. I would have refused if it was a double-sized bed. I didn’t want to make Seohyun uncomfortable by sleeping on the same bed.

I felt chilly breeze coming from the balcony door. Seohyun must be there, I thought.

“Hyun~” I called out as I approached her by the rail on the balcony. She was breathing the fresh morning air and seemed to be enjoying the breeze even though it was really cold.

“Good morning, Yong~” She turned to me with a smile that instantly made me feel warmer. “Did you sleep well?”

“Mhmm, it was the best. I had a dream where I got my first kiss on the hills with the fireworks…” I leaned on the rail beside her.

“Haha, silly. It wasn’t a dream.”

“Jinjja? You mean…it was real? We really had our…first kiss?”

Soehyun suddenly looked confused. “Oppa, you really think it was a dream? I thought you were just kidding…”

“Haha, yes I was kidding, Seohyunnie. But…I still couldn’t believe it though…” I turned my gaze on the overlooking landscape of a peaceful neighborhood and inhaled the fresh morning air.

“Mhmm…maybe this could make you believe…”

She leaned in closer to me and took a quick peck on my cheek. I was a little startled and turned to her whose face was really red, but unlike usual, she didn’t turn away trying to hide her blush. Instead, she just smiled shyly at me there.

I traced the mark where she gave me the peck on my cheek with my finger. It felt magical. I looked at her with amazement. Our Sehyunnie had become a lady.

“Feels real enough?” She giggled even with her tomato face.

I just smiled to her. “Thank you, Hyun~ for making this the best morning I’ve ever had.”

“No, Yong~ Thank you,” she smiled back.

We turned our gaze into the landscape. It was perfect. It was the kind of peace we used to have when we went to the school’s rooftops or the park near the school. It was such a peaceful atmosphere where we don’t have to worry about anything and just enjoy the presence of each other.

“Don’t you miss home, Hyun~?” I asked her, still fixing my gaze on the landscape.

“I do, Yong. A little bit. But I don’t have anything else here beside memories…”

There was sadness in her tone. I could never imagine her pain of losing both the most important people in her life. When my dad left me and Mom, I was so mad at him that I didn’t feel lonely at all in his absence.  I never felt so alone because I was always surrounded by people whom I care about. It was different for her. It was the one thing I could never understand for her.

“But now I realized that home is where you feel most welcomed and safe. It is the place that waits patiently for you when you’re away. It is the place that accepts you with open arms when you return. And I feel most at home when I am here…” she shifted slightly towards me and closed the gap between us.

“Here? You mean, Seoul?”

“No, Yong~” She giggled. “Right by your side…”

I couldn’t help but smile without a word. Words cannot describe how thankful I was to have her by my side. I put my arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer. I leaned my head on hers before stealing a kiss in the forehead. She gasped and blushed when I kissed her forehead.

“Come on, let’s get inside. Don’t want to catch a cold, do we?” she walked inside and pulled me along by my hand.

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Before going back home, Seohyun asked me to visit her parents’ cemetery. It has been long since the last time she’d been in Seoul so she said we should pay a visit while we were here.

We went to the cemetery by taxi. It was quite far from the homestay, but fortunately it was in the same direction with the train station so we didn’t have to go another way around when going to the station.

We walked into the quiet cemetery ground. I scanned through all the gravestones and finally found Seohyun’s parents’. Her parents were quiet wealthy and known for their contribution in many charity organizations, within and outside the city, so they were made a separate space for the graves.

I stood from a distance and watched Seohyun as she kneeled down in front of the graves. She put the bouquet on the grave and started praying for their sake. I wanted to watch closer, but I thought that it was Seohyun’s time. After some time, she stood up and walked back towards me.

“Come on, oppa. Let’s go…” her face was expressionless.

We turned around and walked back towards the exit. Just halfway from the exit, Seohyun suddenly stopped and gazed up to the sky. I stopped pacing too and followed her gaze.

“Eomma, appa…I know you are watching me from up there. Don’t worry about me. I already found a new home…” She looked back on me and smiled. The smile that always felt like the first time it made me feel this way.

I smiled back and took her hand into my coat pocket. Wearing dorky smiles, we headed back joyfully towards home.

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Author's note:

Annyeong!

Sorry for the short update *bow* I barely have enough time to squeeze in an update ><

Here's an update containing nothing but YongSeo moments ^^ sorry if it bores you...

Do comment and tell me what you think ^^ most appreciated

Thank you for reading!

Gamsahamnida!