“I still can’t believe that both of us are in Italy right now. It feels like a dream or something. Is this for real?” Mino let out a small chuckle before turning to glance at his beloved wife, his smile still on the lip. “Do I need to kiss you? So that, you will wake up from that dream of yours, baby.” Mino offered, smirking at his beloved wife mischievously.

Irene smiled shyly before casually leaning herself closer towards Mino then, tightening her grip around Mino’s arm. Her pair of eyes were looking at the outside view from the window train that both of them currently in at the moment. Of course, Irene did not have any clue where they head to but still, she’s enjoying herself by looking and memorizing the beautiful scenery along the way to the destination that Mino’s taking her to.

For the golden hair woman, she did not remember when would be the last time she went overseas. Probably few years ago, Irene thought back. Before married, Irene sometimes went to overseas. Mostly by herself because she much prefers that way though – no need to think about others except for herself.

Maybe because of that kind of personality before that kept her distance from people who tried to get closer towards her. It was rude and seen as selfish or anti-social but that’s the way she is. But now, Irene could positively say that somehow – she’s changing little by little. And it’s all thanks to the man sitting next to her at the moment.

She darted her eyes towards Mino who was looking at his phone, did not notice her stare towards him. A sweet, happy smile appeared on her thin lip as she continued to stare the person that able to change to someone that she never expects to be. Herself that too long gone after the humiliation incident between her and that arrogant, cocky senior of hers. Never once Irene forgets to pray for the grateful feeling that she has towards God for making Mino as hers officially and legally.

Thinking back about what had she done towards Mino, the man beside her probably deserves someone much better than her. Mino could choose to divorce and leave her when he found out about her darkest secret but he didn’t. He might insult and treat her like however he wants but he didn’t. He probably hates her so damn much after what she caused him for but he still didn’t. Her husband had so many chances to move her from his life but he decided not to but instead, keep staying by her side up till this moment.

“Joohyun?”

Irene blinked her eyes, could feel Mino’s fingers gently touched her cheek. “Hey, what’s wrong? Are you okay, baby? Do you feel sick or something, hmm?” Mino asked suddenly, finally noticing that Irene had been staring at him since when he also did not know and the fact that his wife’s eyes were teary at that moment.

The golden hair woman slowly shook her head, flashing her teeth towards Mino then. “No, I’m fine. Just get caught for staring at you probably.” she said in playful voice, chuckling under her breath then. “Oh, really? Should I punish you for doing that?” Mino asked back with one eyebrow rose.

“Hurmm, maybe later.” Irene replied. “When both of us alone and in our own personal space. That would be so much better.” she purposely darted a seductive yet y grin towards Mino as her tempting voice whispered close to his ear before giving a peck at Mino’s corner mouth then. Mino shook his head unbelievably, letting out a deep breath then. “You should be lucky we’re in the public right now, baby, or else…” he trailed off, smiling at Irene a meaningful, killer smile then. Irene let out a laugh then before playfully pinching Mino’s arm which earned a small scream from the beastly figure man.

“Baby.” Mino whined, looking at his eyes with a pitiful look. Irene shrugged then, acting as the innocence one before she threw her gaze back towards the scenery view that can be seen from the window of the train.

Later on, when the train reached at the station, Irene realized that Mino and her now at a town called Cortona which located in one the provinces of Arezzo in Tuscany, one of the regions in Italy. Location at the altitude of 600 meters, Cortona town offers a magnificent and spectacular panoramas for anyone that visits the city.

Since the town area is very small, Mino and Irene just walked around since it is the best way to explore the city further and even better. Irene noticed that in Cortona there’s a lot of churches spread out around the town area. Somehow, looking at the churches building threw Irene’s mind back to the time when Mino and her were getting married four years ago.

“Do you take this man to become your husband? To promise to stay by his side – through sickness and health, through misery and poverty, happiness and sadness and love him till the soul of your life apart from your body?”

Her pair of eyes glanced around as she gulped a big lump that choking on her, making her even harder to breathe at that time. She took a deep breath, pressing her lip tightly as she let the time passed by slowly. I’m not ready for this. I’m not even sure whether this is right for me, she thought in her mind repeatedly.

Irene flickered her eyes upward, suddenly meeting with that black charcoal pair of eyes, looking at her with complicated reflection as he stared back at her with unreadable expression on his face. She huffed a low breath, closing her eyes slowly as she tried to gather some courage to open .

“I.. I-I do.” she unwillingly slipped that two words before opening her eyes as she stared down at the floor, mixed feelings playing in her heart and mind.

The priest who stood between her and him let out a relief sigh as a smile appeared on his lip that almost covered by his cleanly trim mustache; he looked at both, Mino and Irene before opened his mouth to speak. “I’ll then pronounce both of you as husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.” told him, flashing his bright, proud smile towards the two people.

Mino realized that he was walking ahead all by himself, looking behind his back when he saw that his beloved wife was focusing at one of the churches here in this town. His lip crept a small smile before he made his way towards his wife then, calling for her who seem to be in her own world at that time.

“Is everything alright, Joohyun? I’m sorry that I didn’t realize you were stopping by just now.” he apologized, meeting with Irene’s pair of eyes when she turned to look at him.

A sweet smile pasted on Irene’s lip before she darted her eyes back towards the church known as Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie or simply by the name, Church of Calcinaio. It says that this church supposed to be the most beautiful Renaissance monument in Cortona. “Yeah, everything just fine. It just that – I suddenly remember about our wedding when I look at all this churches. It reminds me of our time before when we got married to each other. I can’t believe how fast time flies actually and knowing that our marriage is four years now – I feel a bit upset and regret for not able to appreciate the time that we had before. Maybe if we-”

Irene could not finish her sentence when Mino placed his index finger on her thin, rosy red lip then which was an unexpected act from Mino. “Hey, don’t say something like that. I don’t really like it when you’re feeling like this, okay? Look, we come here to enjoy and spend our time together, right? Stop looking back at our past because I don’t want it to ruin our moments here. Yes, we probably wasted a lot of time that we could build so many memories together but well, at least, now we’re doing it. It’s better late than never, baby.” Mino assured, putting up his signature smile towards Irene.

“You’re right, Mino. I’m sorry for bringing up this thing out of blue. Well, you know, looking at this building pulls me back to that time before. That’s all.” Irene shrugged, creating a small, quick smile then.

Mino pressed his lip together before he stepped closer towards his wife then before pulling Irene’s waist and crushed his lip against her then as he kissed her right in front of the church building. The kiss was soft and smooth, just like a kiss that tells you the sweetness and pureness of love that your partner feels for you. Before Irene could take some time to remind herself about the kiss, Mino slowly pulled away before giving a brush on the tip of her small nose making the golden hair woman giggled with his act.

“We may not kiss properly during our wedding before but now, I can remember that we did kiss at the church although it just at the front building.” Irene let out a small laugh then before placing a quick peck at Mino’s lip then. “Ti amo tanto.” Irene whispered with love feeling overload in it, deeply staring into Mino’s eyes then. “Ti amo anch'io amore mio.” Mino simply replied which Irene looked at him in a small confusion. “Is that also mean ‘I love you too’ in Italian?” she asked, grinning at Mino then.

The beastly figure man chuckled under his breath, raising both of his eyebrows then. “Maybe.” he trailed off purposely before starting to walk away from the church building, heading for another walk around of the town area then. Irene could only pout cutely as she listened to Mino spoke in Italian language before.

Of course, the truth is, Irene did not know how to speak in Italian. Maybe a ‘good morning’ or ‘I love you’ she could pass but still, she’s not a fluent speaker unlike Mino though. To be honest, Irene felt like Mino can speak in Italian language well though. He might not be fluent like an Italian but at least, he could speak in that language although in slow pace. Irene noticed about Mino’s ability to speak in Italian language when both of them checked in at the hotel that they currently staying in Florence, Tuscany.

Believe it or not, she was quite surprised when listening to Mino speaking in Italian.

“Are you feeling hungry, baby?” Mino asked a moment later when both of them took a break from walking around, their body covered with sweats already. Irene glanced at Mino then, taking off the long cardigan that she wore from earlier before wrapping it around her small waist.

“Kind of. Do you want to eat lunch now?” she asked Mino back then, fanning herself with her own hand as she took some time to tie her rose gold hair color into a high ponytail style rather than letting it lose free – especially not in this kind of weather that felt like a burning sun. “Come on, let’s go find something to fill our stomach. I think I saw a restaurant before when we passed through the alley just now.” Mino talked quietly, waiting for Irene first before walking with her back to the route that both of them took earlier.

The married couple took few minutes before finding themselves a restaurant named La Fett'Unta, the one that Mino had seen earlier. Both of them then stepped inside the restaurant and thankfully, lucky was by their side because there just only two tables left unoccupied for them to sit and out from the two tables unseated, there’s only a table that preserved for two people to eat at the restaurant. Although that day was weekend but still, the restaurant was packed with people mostly from the local area, tourists who come to pay a visit at the town and not to be forgotten, few backpackers also included in the restaurant.

Irene could see how cozy the atmosphere surrounded in the restaurant. It was a simple and small restaurant that they picked to eat for their lunch today. There were all together ten tables and by the time, Mino and Irene went through the entrance of the restaurant, it was a crowded one and full of noises coming from everywhere inside the restaurant. Irene thought if both of them were late few minutes, perhaps, Mino and her might have to walk again around the town to find another restaurant since there’s not many tables left.

Seconds after the two of them took a seat at the table located at an angle inside the restaurant which nearer to the bar, a staff who works as a waiter came to their table to take their order then.

“Good evening. Would both of you like to order now?” the waiter asked in Italian language which threw Irene in a blur and confusion written all over her face.

Irene watched in silence as Mino communicated with the waiter in the same language also, probably ordering their food and drink for them to eat for lunch. She eyed the waiter who excused himself after taking their orders, collecting along the menu that he brought earlier before disappearing back into the kitchen then.

Mino noticed that Irene was staring at him with a long look. What? he mouthed at his wife. “What was that all about? Is there something wrong?” Irene asked curiously, remembered back when she watched Mino and the waiter from just now kind of having a battle talk about something – as if, there’s something coming up that seen as a problem.

“Oh, that before? Nothing, actually. I told him that you can’t eat chicken and remind him few times by trying to avoid from putting anything chicken-related in your food.” Irene looked at Mino with a slight of surprise, raising one of her eyebrows. “How do you know about that? I think I never tell you that part of me. What happen if I eat chicken then?” Irene replied back, wanting to know whether Mino’s answer will be the same just like she is.

The beastly figure quirked a small smile on his lip before resting both his arms on the table, looking at Irene as he started to speak again. “Well, it’s true that you don’t tell me, baby. But, like I said, I’m much kind of person who prefers to observe people around me including you. Do you remember when you accidently ate the sandwich that contain chicken ingredient in it? I didn’t remember where was it – but, I do remember you had to go to the clinic that same night also all by yourself. Mom told me about that because you called her that night, telling her about your condition. She told me that you also did not want to disturb me because of my practice that time. Of course, she told me that it was absurd because basically, I’m your husband and I should be there to help you especially in that kind of situation. But still, you insisted that you can deal with it all alone and in the end, mom couldn’t do anything at all to change your mind. So, tell me if I’m wrong, Joohyun.” Mino explained everything, almost precisely with what Irene had been through before.

She looked at Mino with shocked eyes, did not believe that Mino could remember every part of that incident that happened to her back few years ago, when both of them did their own things in their own world. “Did mom call on you to report about me?” Irene asked in a playful tone then.

Before Mino could answer, the waiter who took their order before came to their table to serve drinks for both of them and some dishes that Mino and Irene could eat first before the main dish arrived. “No. Mom thought that I already knew about that incident happened to you. I’m the one who asked her because I noticed you looked different; more like a sick person but still, stubborn enough to go to work and not having a proper rest.”

Once again, Irene was taken aback by Mino’s words, almost did