We did not wait until the ending ceremony ended—we went home by cab earlier. Lu Han said that he was too tired and wanted to go home. I had no choice, but to follow his request.

Jihyun texted me in the cab saying she was a tad disappointed as I went home right away before the event ended. I told her that some things happened at home and I had to take care of it as soon as possible. Speaking about the formal dance, she also enlightened me that both juniors, Kai and Suzy snagged the main award of the night as ‘The King’ and ‘The Queen’. ‘Best Couple’ went to Kai, once again, and his lovely girlfriend, Soojung. She did not tell me who won for ‘Best Dressed’, but I assumed it went to the seniors.

Lu Han asked the cab driver to pull over a little far from our officetel. I was wondering why he did that, but he didn’t bother telling me. I gave him a puzzled look when he passed the older man a few notes with a toothy grin.

Now that we’re out of the cab, I can’t help but ask. “Lu Han, why did you do that?”

“Do what?” he asks me back, feigning ignorance.

I hit his shoulder lightly. “Don’t play pretend. You know what I mean.”

“Okay, fine. I’ll let you know.” He emits a chuckle. “I wanted to walk home with you, so I asked the driver to pull over.” He fingers run through my arm before lacing it tightly with mine. “Hand in hand,” he notes with a smile.

I’m a bit startled, but I don’t let it show across my face. I respond by tightening the grip so that he wouldn’t think that I don’t like what he’s doing or anything. I love it, to be honest. It has always been one of the things I wanted to do when I’m in a romantic relationship.

He steals a glance at me and as if on cue, I’m looking at him as well. We both smile at each other bashfully and fill the atmosphere walking down the lonely street with nothing but pleasant silence.

“I’m really glad, Yoona,” he says suddenly.

“About what?”

“That you came to accept me,” he continues. “Which I thought you wouldn’t at first. I mean, although I’m still 22 year-old, I already have a son and a single parent myself.”

“So what if you have a son and a single parent yourself? I don’t care about those things, Lu Han.” I stare at him convincingly. “Your feelings for me are what matters.”

“Thank you, Yoona,” Lu Han says, a wash of relief splatters all over his face. “I will be good to you, I promise.”

I smile at his promise. “You had better be.”

We suddenly come to a stop when Lu Han halts his footsteps. Perplexed, I crane my neck towards him. “What’s wrong, Lu Han?”

He says nothing, only to turn around and carefully leans in to me.

Oh, I finally get it what he wants to do. He wants to kiss me—our first kiss. I can’t help but have my eyes squeezed shut until I feel our lips tentatively pressed against each other for a few precious moments.

He pulls himself away, and I finally pry my eyes open. He looks away, flushed as though he hasn’t kissed a girl in years. Oh well, said by the girl who hasn’t been kissed in years, too.

I cup his face with my hands and steer it to my eyes. Our eyes meet. I shoot him a you-don’t-need-to-be-embarrassed-because-that-was-one-hell-of-a-good-kiss smile.

“I love you, Yoona,” he whispers.

“Hmm.” I have no courage to let the same words out of my lips at this very moment. I don’t know why, but I guess it takes time for me to be able to say those words to him.

“This might surprise you to hear me saying this, but I’ve got to say this.”

“I’m listening,” I say expectantly.

“If you had no one to lean on before, now you can lean on me. I may not be the best listener since I’m no good myself, but I can give you comfort, Yoona. If you want me to hold you, I’ll hold you tight. If you want me to cry along with you, I’ll cry along with you. I want to experience everything with you, Yoona. Through ups and downs. I… I’ll protect you.”

I take one step closer to him, lean in, and snake my arms around his waist. I lift my chin and look him in the eyes. “Lu Han, now I want a kiss from you. That’s not difficult for you, right?”

He’s taken aback, but laughs once he’s collected himself.

“It’s not difficult at all,” he says, pulling me into his arms. “In fact, I’d be pleased.”

And without words, under the moonlight, we share our second kiss. It’s sloppy, but it’s perfect. I love the fact that we share the same taste and feeling.

I love you, too. I find myself saying those words silently.

///

I wake up to the sound of my cell phone buzzing. Batting my groggy eyes open slowly, I let out a short yawn and stretch my arms out. Then I look up at the alarm clock and it shows 7:55 AM. Wow, I slept over eight hours and it was a pretty good sleep, I must admit.

I grab my cell phone on the night stand and lean against the bed frame comfortably. There’s a KakaoTalk notification from Taeyeon unnie pops on the screen.

Taeyeon unnie: Hey, Yoona. What time did you leave last night? I don’t think I saw you after we separated at the entrance. Get back to me ASAP and love you <3

Me: Unnie, sorry for leaving without telling you. I had some things to take care of, so I went home before the event ended. Don’t worry. I went home by cab safely. See you at the campus later. Love you too <3

Just after I have washed up, the doorbell rings. I glance at the door and a thought dawns on me. Who is coming in such early morning? I cannot help but be wonderstruck.

I immediately run after the door and unlock it.

“Lu Han!” I say, almost like a yelp. A wash of shock clearly written on my face. “What are you doing here?”

With a glowing beam, he lifts up a transparent plastic bag, which is filled with vegetable and raw food. “I’m going to make breakfast for you,” he says.

“You what?” I answer incredulously. “You’re going to make breakfast for me?”

“Yes!” Lu Han nods happily. “You haven’t had breakfast yet, right?”

“Of course I haven’t! I mean, I just woke up.” I squirm in embarrassment. I never thought he’d be the first person I see when I woke up, so I am super mortified. I’m in total wreck right now. “Anyway, come in.” I open the door for him.

“Thank you.” He barges in and wears the house slippers I’ve kept for guests. He dumps the plastic bag on the kitchen bar and rolls his sleeves up as though he’s ready to start.

I appear cautiously at the busy guy. He’s taking out things from the plastic bag. I wonder when he bought all this since supermarket is yet to open at this hour. He must have gone to the morning market or something. “Lu Han, is there anything I can help you with?”

“You don’t have to do anything.” He flashes a smile at me. “Today, I’m going to do everything. This is, you know, our very first breakfast together.”

“But still—”

“It’s okay, Yoona,” he says patiently. “Today is me making breakfast for you. Next time when it’ll be your turn, I’ll stay out of it too.”

“Fine, then. I’ll just watch you silently.” I heave a sigh, but at the same time, I’m delightedly surprised that he’s now showing me a different side of him that I haven’t seen before. I guess people start to change when they are dating.

Out of the blue, the latter’s in for a thought. “I guess there’s something you can do for me.”

“What would it be?” I reply expectantly.

He pushes me close towards his back. Then he grasps my hands and wraps them around his waist. “This,” he notes, looking over his shoulder, “is nice.”

I’m flustered that this is what he actually wants me to do. I laugh seeing him smiling widely. “If this is the least I can do, I’ll do it.” I tighten the grip and have my face partly pressed against his arm so that I get to see what he’s doing.

He keeps the bright smile plastered on his face and continues what he’s doing.

“Lu Han, what time will Jun be back today?”

“Around two, I think,” he says. Lu Han told me last night that since he was off to the formal dance last night, he left Jun to his uncle’s care (he was there to borrow his uncle’s son’s suit). “Let’s go pick him up after class today, okay?”

“Sure, but where?”

“At my uncle’s house,” he says and moves to the sink in which I have to follow his pace. It’s fun, though it actually looks ridiculous if one were to see us being stuck like this. “His house is pretty close to a particular subway station, so I guess we can take subway to go there.”

“Our English class ends at twelve, so I think there won’t be any problems,” I say. “Let’s go out with Jun afterwards, Lu Han.”

He turns around. “Do you have a place you want to go?”

“Of course! I heard there was a new ice cream shop at X Mall opening recently. Jun likes ice cream, doesn’t he? I’m sure he’d love it to bits!”

He nods and smiles at me. “All right, then. Let’s go there after we pick him up.”

“Anyway, what are you going to make me for breakfast, Lu Han?”

“Kimchi fried rice,” he says. “I figured out that it’d take long to cook the rice, so I got the instant one from the convenience store.”

I feel excited. “That already sounds marvelous! I can’t wait to try it!”

///

Lu Han would have loved the traditional way of eating at the dining table, but I insist on eating in front of the TV. He has no choice but to follow me. I haven’t bought a couch (okay, sad life), so we have to sit down on the floor with our backs leant against the bed. It’s not really convenient, but it’s not that bad either. Once we get used to it, it’ll be just normal just like we’re actually sitting on the legit couch.

“What do you want to watch, Lu Han?”