Just a blink of an eye, it was our first year anniversary. I had been doing well, still an honors student in the school ever since the first examination. Irene was proud of me, always encouraging me to press on when things got tougher. She would mail snacks, drinks and even food back home when I told her that I missed the Korean food. 

Today, it was a Saturday in London thankfully and we had all the time to ourselves to have a candle light dinner facing the laptop screen with miles between us. I woke up especially early so that I could talk to Irene more since she was 9 hours ahead of me. 

But the thing was, she did not answer my video call request. 

No, she could not be contacted at all.

I had been frowning since the first call that I couldn't even feel my forehead anymore. "Baby? Can you answer the video call?" I left a voicemail at the end of the phone call. I tossed my phone aside and sat on the edge of my bed, thinking if she had forgotten about our first anniversary. 

She had been looking tired these few days, maybe she was still sleeping? But it was unlike her to laze on the bed since she always told me to get up to do something productive. I couldn't link anything to why she did not pick up my call and I decided to take a shower first to clear my mind. Was she angry that I couldn't spend the first anniversary with her? 

It must be. 

I sighed and turned the tap to let the warm water hit my face. Nayeon and Seolhyun had gone out to meet their study group to do their project and I had the whole dorm to myself. So after I was done showering, I went to the cupboard to take the instant noodles. I had no choice, I was too lazy to go down and walk a few streets to buy proper meal and I would not tell Irene about it so why not? 

"Nayeon? Are you back?" I asked loudly when I heard the key rustling. 

No answer. Maybe she was listening to music. I continued to pour hot water inside the cup and walked to the sink to wash the pair of chopsticks. 

Taking the cup of instant noodle in my left hand, I held the chopsticks and stirred the sauce with the noodle before slurping it loudly. 

"Didn't I tell you to not eat instant noodles?" 

Weird. 

I turned around slowly and my jaw dropped to the ground. 

Irene was standing there, frowning with one hand on her hip and the other holding onto a mini luggage. She dropped the luggage and walked towards me, taking the cup noodle away from my hand and the noodle was still dangling from my mouth and she giggled at me. 

Everything felt so surreal. 

I shut my eyes tightly and shook my head before opening them again to see my girl throwing the cup of noodle into the bin in the kitchen before washing her hand. 

"B-b-baby?" 

"Happy anniversary." She smiled and gave me a tight hug, sighing into my chest and rubbing her face on my shirt. "Are you not going to hug me back?" She pushed away and pouted. 

Then I realised. It was real. 

"Bae Joohyun!" I pulled her into a tightest hug I had ever given and she chuckled quietly as I kept squeezing her. "Why didn't you tell me?" 

"It won't be a surprise anymore." She said, voice muffled. 

"This is the best surprise!" I laughed and pushed away to kiss on the lips that I had been longing for but could not reach because we were miles apart. "I miss you so much." I whispered and leaned my forehead on hers. 

She looked at me so softly and cupped my face before moving up to give me a quick peck on my lips. "I miss you too." 

"How did you... get in?" I squinted at her, still holding onto her waist and her fingers kneading the back of my neck while she giggled sheepishly. "Wait... don't tell me Nayeon and Seolhyun are in this too?" 

"My girlfriend is so smart. But not smart enough." She teased and I threw my head back as I laughed. "Thank god that you will sometimes leave your laptop on the coffee table when you go to the toilet. That's how I got to talk more to Nayeon." 

"Naughty." I tapped her nose and she wrinkled her nose. "So they are not really doing project?" 

"That... I don't know. But..." she looked at me and bit her lip which drove me completely crazy. "I need to tell you that..." I waited eagerly for what's coming next and she pulled me closer to whisper into my ear. "I am on my period." 

"Again?!" I took a step back and looked at her incredulously. She giggled with her hand covering . I groaned and nodded in defeat. 

"Biology honors student doesn't know that period comes every month?" She folded her arms in front of her chest and eyed me teasingly. 

"I..." I sighed and walked up to cup her face. "Never mind. What matters is that you're here with me now." I smiled and kissed her again. She s her arms around my neck and pulled my into a deeper kiss. I walked a few steps forward to push her back until the back of her knees hit the edge of the couch and she fell back onto the cushion. But our kiss did not break. She moved her hands to my chest and I trailed my right hand down from her cheek to her neck and rested on her ribs. She whimpered when I kneaded her . Since she did not protest, I decided to take an advance to move my hand south until it was dangerously close to her womanhood until she pushed me away by my chest. 

"Behave yourself." She said and I sat up obediently. "Aren't you going to show me your room?" She asked when she saw that I was sulking. 

I nodded and smiled at her before taking her hand, pulling her to my room. "Familiar?" I joked because she had seen my room before and she sat on my bed, patting on the sheet beside her. "Wait here while I get your luggage." I said and quickly ran out to take her luggage. It felt quiet heavy. 

"I am going to stay here for a week." She informed me when I walked into the room. 

"Really?!" I could not stop grinning and she nodded. "You have everything planned nicely." I chuckled and sat beside her, pulling her by her shoulders to let her head rest on my shoulder. 

"You haven't had your breakfast, have you?" She asked me and I nodded. 

"Because someone took my breakfast away." I mumbled and she hit my lap. 

"I said no instant noodles." She scolded and pushed herself off me before standing up. "I am going to cook you something nice." She said and went to her luggage. 

"Did you buy these from Korea?" I joked and she glared at me playfully. 

"I bought them just now from the grocery shop. Things are so expensive here." She commented and took everything out. 

"Where's your clothes?" I asked. 

"Do I really have to bring any? I can wear yours. I just brought underwears and some fancy clothes to go out with you, if possible." She said without looking at me and stood up, holding the bags of grocery in her hands. I got up quickly and helped her to take everything, she protested but I did not listen to her and went to the kitchen to put everything down. "Wait awhile. I am going to prepare breakfast for you." 

"I am going to wait here like a good girl." I chirped and took a chair to sit in the kitchen. She looked at me for awhile as she put on the apron and she walked towards me to kiss on my lips. 

"You're so cute." She giggled and gave me another kiss. Then another kiss. Then, one last kiss before she patted my face and went to prepare the breakfast for me. 

"Joohyun unnie, are you going to cook bacon?" I asked in a higher pitch and she turned around, pointing at me with the cooking turner with her narrowed eyes. 

"Stop acting cute if you still want your breakfast." 

I laughed and held my fists near my puffed up cheeks. "Joohyun unnie doesn't like it?" 

She chuckled and shook her head before throwing a few bacons into the frying pan. "You know that I cannot handle your cuteness." 

I smiled and watched as she busy herself with my breakfast, walking about the kitchen to search for some cutlery and I would tell her where to find since she asked me to not stand up. 

"Have you eaten?" I asked her when she was setting up the table. She shook her head. 

"The food in the plane tastes awful and is expensive." She clapped her hands when everything was set up nicely. "Come here." She waved at me and I stood up, walking to the dining table and hugging her from the back. We sure looked like a newly wed couple in the first morning. 

"Thank you so much." I whispered into her ear from the back and kissed the crook of her neck. She patted my arm and detached herself from me. 

"Eat first. I am so hungry already. And after eating, you are going to bring me for a walk in London." She turned around and tapped my nose after every word. I nodded and smiled at her, pulling a chair out for her to sit first. 

She put on a fancy dress that made my stomach flip in a good way as I watched her putting on her red lipstick that suited her the best. As if she knew that I was watching her, she looked at me from the mirror and we held our gaze for what felt like an eternity and I wished that moment would last forever. Her eyes were so full of love and she had the softest pair of eyes I had ever seen. 

"You look so beautiful." I said softly to her because of the way she looked at me. My breathing became irregular when she moved closer to me, smoothing out the wrinkle on my shirt. 

"You are beautiful too." She blushed faintly when I kept looking at her so closely. "This blouse suits you so well." She said, patting my chest and gliding her hands from my shoulders down my arms. It was a white silk long blouse with a black ribbon, something that she mailed to me a few weeks ago. Now I knew why. 

"Shall we go?" I held my hand out for her and she took it cutely, giving me a curtsy and I chuckled. "Can I pay for the expenses?" 

"What if I said-" 

"I have some money from the awards!" I protested when I saw her shaking her head. 

"You need to save up for the future." She said. "Shush." She put her finger on my lips when I opened my mouth to argue and I could only nod in defeat again. Irene Bae does not lose. 

"Where are we going?" She asked as I locked the house. 

"You need to see the museum. We shall go to the London Eye in the night, how about that?" I smiled as we walked to the elevator. 

"Anywhere with you is fine." She hugged my arm closely. 

I sure missed this.