Gary stood outside Jihyo’s door at. Ok, maybe not stood. He was pacing up and down out of nervousness. His face was flushed and red and his heart pounded against his ribcage fast and hard.

He glanced his watch, 7:30:00. He knocked the door, apprehensively. I hope she’s awake.

The door swung open. “I am,” she smiled.

She took his breath away.

She let her hair flow over her shoulders. She wore a deep blue dress and went up till her knees, and a pair of dainty earrings. Her make-up was light, just some face powder and lip gloss. But, it sufficient to bring out her beauty.

But the highlight was her smile. So radiant, so mesmerizing.

They say life is not about how many breaths you take, but how many moments take your breath away. Then, Jihyo would be everything that mattered in his life.

When he finally regained his composure, he held out his hand to her, like a gentleman. “You are beautiful,” he said.

She gracefully held his hand.

“I didn’t expect you to dress up, you know,” he chuckled. “Nor did I expect you to wake up.”

“I had to,” she laughed. “To match your suit.” She winked mischievously.

Gary walked her to his car and opened the door for her.

“So, where are we going?” she asked as he began to drive.

Secret, he thought to her.

Eventually, they reached a beach. It was windy, but not uncomfortably cold. It was dark, because there weren’t any street lights around. The sky was filled with stars, and coupled with the crashing of the waves against the shore, it was rather romantic, although not luxurious.

“We are having dinner here?!” Jihyo looked around for any signs of a restaurant, but there was none.

“Wait.”

He disappeared for a moment.

In a while, he returned, with a group of people following behind. Some of them were carrying the tables and chairs. Two chefs followed behind, pushing their stoves and cooking equipment. The others surrounded them. Jihyo looked around in shock.

The people started to light up hurricane lamps* that were on the sand, which she didn’t notice because it was too dark.

 The lights formed a heart shape. And she was standing in the middle of it.

“Please sit,” he gestured, pulling out her chair for her.

“Ahh… Thank you oppa…” she felt tears forming in her eyes.

He smiled shyly, seeing how touched she was. “You like the restaurant?” he asked. “It’s called, Gary’s heart.”

She nodded.

And so, they began their dinner, with the chefs serving piping hot dishes from right beside them. After dinner, the ‘helpers’ removed the tables and chairs and replaced them with a floor mat, so the couple could sit on it.

“What do you think of our first date?” he asked.

“It’s amazing,” she whispered. “Thank you, oppa, for creating such a memorable first date.”

He smiled. “You know, Dong Hoon suggested many restaurants to me, but eventually I decided that you would like it best here. I’m glad I was right.”

They laid on the mat, watching the stars and the clouds drift by.

“The stars are so pretty,” she sighed happily.

“I’ll fetch it for you if you want it,” he joked. She hit him lightly. But to her surprise, he drew out a necklace with star shaped pendant from his pocket, smiling cheekily, sitting up to help her put it on.

"Come, let’s go. It’s late,” he finally said.

The two of them stood up reluctantly and went to keep the lamps, since the helpers had already left.

“Why don’t you just use normal lamps, oppa?”

He scratched his neck. “Uh…. Because I’ve always thought the candles are more romantic that just a light bulb… I guess it represents my burning love for you.”

Jihyo blushed.

“But when I tried out the candles, they kept getting extinguished by the wind!” he sighed in exasperation. “But this lamps are pretty too, aren’t they?”

“Maybe it represents that our love will remain no matter what,” she smiled. He smiled back.

And so, they started packing up.

“OWW!” Gary suddenly exclaimed. He had accidentally touched the glass part of the lamp, which was still burning hot.

Jihyo rushed over. “What happened?!”

“I burned myself….”

Jihyo held up his hand. It was red. Instinctively, she blew on it. “Is it better?”

He nodded. “It’s not painful anymore,” he smiled. “Must be the power of love!”

“Yah!”

He brought up his hand to have a closer look. Indeed it wasn’t red anymore. Normal burns don’t even recover within seconds.

Unless…. It couldn’t be….. it had only been less than a week….

He grabbed the glass part with his entire palm on purpose, until he couldn’t take it anymore and withdrew it, screaming in pain.

“Oppa!!! What the heck?!” Jihyo screamed at him. “What were you thinking!”

Gary didn’t reply. He grabbed onto his scalded palm in pain. Jihyo gently caressed his injured palm and blew on it again. “Are you better? I’ll get some water…”

“No… Just stay…” he gasped, in between groans.

“I’ll be right back oppa…” Tears was welling in her eyes. It pained her to see him in so much pain.

“No,” he grabbed her with his unhurt hand. “Stay and heal me…”

She didn’t know what he meant, but stayed as she was told. “You’ll be fine, oppa,” she said as she rubbed the back of his hand, tears falling onto his palm.

Like magic, the redness of his palm dissipated. It was no longer as red, or as painful.

He released himself from her grasp.

“You’re a Healer,” he breathed. “A very powerful one.”

*Hurricane lamps are like those camping lights, not our normal fluorescent light. It’s basically a candle (or more like a burning wick soaked in kerosene) inside a glass bottle. You guys can just google it. Its cool!

(AND TADAAAAAA SHE’S WATER THE HEALER. HEHEEHEHEHE why did I make her a healer? BECAUSE SHE ALWAYS MAKES ME LAUGH AND LAUGHTER IS THE BEST MEDICINE!!!)