THIRTY SIX

The moment Seohyun opened her eyes, she didn’t really expect what she was seeing. She thought it would be like the simple picnic he prepared the first time they were there but everything just blew her away. Because of the fading light from the sky, the tiny lanterns scattered on the ground, the little strings of light bulbs around the bushes and the ones hanging from the branches of the old tree made the surrounding glow like myriad of fireflies clustered everywhere she looked.

At the center of the garden was a white mosquito net canopy with the same light strings all over, and looking at it from that angle showed her that there was a mattress inside with pillows and books scattered all over it. She could also see a picnic basket inside and his guitar. All around it were the same fairy lights, and by the time night finally swallows the remaining sunlight, she knew the place would even look magical.

“Oppa…” Seohyun gasped unable to really spell out the feelings she was having as she repeated almost breathlessly, “Oppa…”

“Surprised?” Yonghwa grinned as she draped her arms around his shoulder.

“My god… beyond…” she said and he kissed her slowly and gently for a short moment then they pulled away to look in front of them again. Yonghwa is really full of surprises—most of the time leaving her breathless and speechless.

“Happy anniversary?” Yonghwa said again almost by her ear and she debated on what it meant until he continued with that sly little smile as he nodded, “First L’Or photoshoot was today, Hyun…”

“Oh…” she smiled despite the tears forming by the corners of her eyes, “I’m so sorry… I didn’t know. I don’t really keep track—”

“Now you know,” Yonghwa grinned and brushed his lips on hers again and whispered, “Thank you…”

Seohyun nodded. She could think of every little reason for that ‘thank you’ and she too has her own to be thankful to him for so she smiled back, “Thank you too…”

“We better get inside our little tent before mosquitoes start feasting on us,” Yonghwa whispered against her neck and the sensation sent shivers down her soles.

Before they could even move, she grinned with a patronizing pat on his shoulder and quipped, “You outdid yourself this time, Oppa.” He laughed and followed her when she went ahead and slipped inside the net dropping her tired body on the soft comforts of the mattress. Spreading her limbs, she cried, “This is just perfect…”

Yonghwa sat close and pulled her head gently to make her rest on one of the pillows, she looked up at him grinning but he traced his fingers along the lines of her lips and asked with a little evil grin, “Are you ready for an outdoor under the night sky?” Seohyun looked at him deadpanned so he laughed raising both hands, “That was a joke but jokes are half-meant, you know, but if you’re up for it…”

She shook her head and ignored his comments completely, “I really love it, Oppa. Can we stay here till tomorrow?”

“I wish we could, sweetheart. But it’ll be too cold and I need to do you indoors.”

Another groan escaped as she moved a little when he lay down beside her. Then again, she shifted and turned to him, “You are so full of BS... but come a little closer, Oppa…” That finally made Yonghwa smile broader as he scooted closer and when there was no longer a space between them, she brushed her fingers on his cheek, “You sure no stalker here?”

“Sure…” Yonghwa nodded with eyes slowly becoming hazy. He ran his hand along the length of her thigh until he wrapped her leg on his pinning himself closer. Their lips met in light kisses, his hand roaming along the lines of her body while her fingers raked on his hair. Before he finally dipped into her, he asked, “Aren’t you hungry?”

“I am, but later… let me kiss you first.”

“Wow, how did you become this bold?” Yonghwa asked amused, his smile wicked yet growing wilder by every second he watched her.

She shook her head with a little smile and Yonghwa finally leaned closer, his mouth taking hers. There was this gentleness in his lips that she was so familiar of. His kiss has always intoxicated her however he made it—gentle or hard. And always, always he could make every living cell in her body tremble for him like never before.

And he too feels that way for her—she was sure of that. The thunders in his chest, the deep growl from his throat, the tightness of his grip, the warmth of his touch, the taste of their kiss. Seohyun was sure of everything. And it made her smile as Yonghwa pulled away to make her breathe but his fingers remained threading on the back of her head like giving her little head massage.

She smiled some more as she watched him his lips ever so slowly with those eyes burning through her. Seohyun swallowed, she was actually lightheaded from the long plane ride but she wouldn’t tell him how tired she was feeling afraid that the night with him would be shorter. Instead, she rubbed his arm and rested her head by his shoulder. “What are you thinking, Oppa?”

He straightened and lifted her chin for her to focus on him again. With a gentle voice, Yonghwa replied,

“I still have a long way to go before I get over the guilt of what I did last time.”

“Oppa…” Seohyun shook her head but he placed a small kiss on her lips before she could even continue.

“No, let me say it…” he said smiling, his thumb tracing little circles on her cheek, “I was so scared when I got your messages. I thought of the day you told me about not even listening to excuses—“

“But it was different.”

“It was but then, I don’t know, I may not know how that brain of yours works. I was so scared that you would run away when we met in New York. I watched you, you know, on the other side of the street. I was praying so hard that it won’t be the end—there won’t be an end.”

Seohyun found herself shaking her head not because she didn’t agree with what he was saying but to calm her heart. For the past week that she was away, Yonghwa never failed to send her a message saying, ‘Forgive me, I failed you. Let me make it up to you forever…’

At first, she would reply that it wasn’t necessary but in the end she realized that he needed that. To let her know how sorry he was, even though it wasn’t intentional. Thus, whenever he would say sorry again, she would just ignore it or tell him that she had forgiven him and would forgive him again and again.

She wiped her tears with the back of her hand and sniffed softy, “I was scared too, Oppa, so I got really mad. I was only scared. But thank you for apologizing, it means a lot.”

“I love you, I will never have anybody else, no one will ever be you, even come close to how you are making me feel,” Yonghwa asserted seriously

That made her crinkle her nose playfully and tugged his arm, “That’s pretty scary, you’re obsessed.”

“I may be,” he nodded.

“What would you have done if I broke up with you?” The question practically floored him and the confident smirk he was wearing was replaced with that hard look he was giving her.

“I don’t know, honestly, I couldn’t imagine,” Yonghwa shook his head, still holding her gaze, “I won’t have any answer for that, I can’t even risk to have those kinds of thoughts.”

Seohyun felt the rush of relief flowing in her body. That definitely centered her. She would always trust his words because it was only one time that he let her down. And she saw the person that was truly different from who he was in the past. Seohyun has been monitoring his recent activities especially his interviews and talk show appearances and she could tell from the past ones (when she wasn’t in his life yet) how much his perspective changed. Seohyun wouldn’t take credit for that, of course, but she knew she had affected him the way he did to her.

For her, Yonghwa was a breath of fresh air—the force that led her to believe that she could be happy in love and she could be happy now despite their status. Knowing that she got him gave her reason to see love in a different angle as opposed to what she had believed before.

But then again, there was this loom