All in Good Time

“Yunjoo, how was your weekend? Did you ring in the New Year with anyone special? Maybe a kiss at midnight under the gentle, radiant light of the moon?”

Chuckling at her friend’s wistful yet sarcastic expression, Yunjoo tapped her pen against her desk. She had barely been in the office for five minutes before being bombarded with questions. When she had first started working at the law firm as a receptionist, she thought it was the gods’ way of making up for all those awkward teenage years that her best friend since middle school was also an employee there. They knew each other like the back of their hands, and after spending time apart during university, it seemed only fate could have brought them back together. She had studied at her local college while her friend completed her undergraduate degree abroad and was currently studying law in one of the nation’s top universities.

Of course, their schedules were completely different. She handled calls and appointments while the other dealt with assisting the attorneys deal with clients, but that never stopped either of them from finding time to torment the other.

In a completely professional manner, of course.

“You know it,” she said, mindlessly doodling on the legal pad in front of her. “He was sweet and thoughtful and charming—Raena, the timing was just perfect.” Dramatically moving her hands in front of her, she continued, “It was ten seconds until midnight. I could hear the rest of the party counting down when he leaned in. Moment by moment, the background noise faded away and—”

“So you spent the holiday alone watching drama reruns?”

“Correct.”

Yunjoo grinned as Raena rolled her eyes and took a sip of her coffee. The girl knew her inside-out. Hell, there were times when Raena knew what she was eating for dinner before she even ate breakfast. Some would consider it creepy to have a friend who knew where the four freckles not visible in a swimsuit were located, but for as boring and mundane as Yunjoo’s life was, their relationship was completely normal to her.

But the fact that Raena was asking a question she clearly knew the answer to meant one thing.

She was asking about him.

“So what did you do for—”

“Oh, cut the Yunjoo,” her friend interrupted, activating future-lawyer mode. “Tell me what I want to know.”

Dragging her eyes away from the other girl’s, she turned her attention to the computer screen before her. Aimlessly scrolling through the day’s schedule, it only took a few moments for her to realize that her friend was not going to be deterred by the silent treatment. Still staring at the monitor, she felt her smile slowly fall off of her face.

She loved talking about him.

She hated talking about their situation.

“He’s still as elusive as ever, never staying in one place for too long. Last I heard, he was in Iceland.” With a genuine smile, she added, “He had always wanted to travel there.”

Raena sighed, running a hand through her short, auburn hair. No matter how often she said she was fine, Yunjoo knew how much her situation bothered her friend.

“I don’t understand how you’re okay with it. You know I support you, but this is too—”

“Miss. Kim, I need you in conference room A right now,” interrupted one of the lawyers. Glancing at the clock on the desktop, Yunjoo found that five minutes had already passed. Time was everything when dealing with the law, and it was officially time to start the workday, which meant it was officially time for her to have a break from the lecture that was sure to come.

Raena bowed and said, “Of course, sir, I am on my way.”

With the man’s back to her, Yunjoo flinched as Raena leaned across the receptionist’s desk, hands braced before her like a government agent interrogating a criminal. “This conversation is not over. I will see you back at the apartment.”

Yunjoo watched as her friend quickly turned around and followed the lawyer into the next room. She waited until she could no longer hear the click of heels before dragging her eyes to her hands that rested on her lap. Taking deep breaths, she forced herself not to think of the small shimmer of hope that had consumed her this past holiday, of the wonderful times in the past she and him had shared together, of the constant longing that always dwelled within her whenever he was gone.

As of right now, he was not here and that was that.

Sitting around and thinking about their state of affairs was not going to change anything. She had a job to do—a job she loved doing—and the schedule was not going to organize itself. She had worked hard for this opportunity and in all of their tear-filled laughter and broken-hearted smiles, the one thing they had both agreed upon was that they each needed to follow their dreams. If he wanted to become the next Olympian, she would always be in the stands; if she wanted to cross buildings on a tight rope, he would fly from wherever he was to be beneath her, ready to catch her.

But first they had to find those dreams.

Her parents had spent their entire lives doing everything they could to make her aspirations as easy as possible to attain, but when she strayed from economics, she was forced to create her own path. Gone were her parents’ useful connections and years of studying economics in cram school—she had been forced to start at square one. Day after night, she slaved to rebuild her image into one that was uniquely and completely hers, and though a job as a receptionist was looked down upon by some, it was something she had achieved on her own without the support of her parents. 

Step by step, she was working to complete a puzzle that had yet to present its final image to her.

Step by step, she was becoming the woman both she and her parents would be proud of.

Step by step, she was continuing forward, even if he were not by her side.

They had always spent more time apart than together, that was just the nature of their relationship. Whenever they were together, they were attached at the hip. Without a doubt, she was at her happiest when she could hear his laughs (which also involved feeling them, as he liked to hit whomever he was near when laughing) and see his childish grins. He would lure her in—or rather, she would throw herself in—only for time to tear them apart for some reason or another. Once it was a death in the family, the next it was a job; it was a relentless cycle that always ended with them in each other’s arms, no matter how short the time.

She was an independent, strong, confident woman even without him, but she was also an independent, strong, confident woman who just so happened to miss him terribly.

But it was only a matter of time before they could ring in the new year together.

She and him.

Kim Jongin.

***

“Lee Yunjoo and Kim Jongin.”

Groaning under her breath, Yunjoo dropped her head into her hands.

It was officially the end of the world.

The apocalypse was upon them; the tectonic plates would diverge, lava would erupt from the cracks, and particle by particle, the Earth would be swallowed whole into the pits of Hell. She would die, here and now, and all that anyone would remember her by was that one time she had accidentally swore in front of her entire second year middle school class. But then again, no one would be able to remember anything if everyone were to spontaneously combust by way of heat from the planet’s molten core.

Discreetly crossing her fingers, she prayed for the end of the world.

“Don’t forget, class, this project is worth fifty percent of your grade,” her teacher droned, lazily looking from face to face. “Even if you hate group work, it up and do it properly. You don’t always get to choose who you work with in real life. I assume you all would like to graduate and move on to university. It’s your last year, so do the work, put the effort in, and we won’t need to see each other again.”

Amen.

“With that said, meet with your partners to discuss the assignment. You’re free to leave when you’ve finished.”

Forcing her hands to unclench, Yunjoo took a deep breath. She had nothing personal against the guy, but she had heard harrowing tales of the dancing boy’s work ethic when it came to academics. He spent all of his time competing in underground competitions and performing on the streets that he simply did have time to pull his weight and type a few letters in an order that formed words. Somewhere deep within her, Yunjoo understood his desire to follow his passions and wanted nothing more than the guy’s success, but now her grade was on the line and for those—such as herself—who had no goal to work toward other than pleasing the parents, getting good marks was what mattered.

And she could do that.

All she had to do was talk to him, affirm that he was not going to do anything per usual, and walk to cram school.

Yes, she could do that.

“Hey, are you okay?”

Glancing up from her desk to the source of the smooth voice, she found herself staring into the eyes of none other than Kim Jongin himself. Sparkling with mischief, his smile widened at her poor attempt at a nod. No matter how much she wanted to be one of the girls who didn’t fawn over him, she could not completely block out the small voice in the back of her mind that begged her to bat her eyelashes or flip her hair.

But that voice was quiet compared to her conscious, so she was stuck with awkwardly producing a sound that resembled the lovechild of a cough and a snort.

Yes, that mating call of the abominable snowman was definitely the correct noise to make.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she said, attempting to brush off her inability to converse with him as a human. “So how do you want to break up the project? I’ve heard that you’re pretty busy, so I’m okay with doing the majority of the work.”

At her words, his grin faded ever so slightly. Panicking that she had offended him, Yunjoo wracked her brain to think of something to say. But as she mentally stumbled over fragments of inspirational quotes and Dr. Seuss rhymes, his lips turned up again as he kindly shook his head.

“Don’t worry about it, I’m totally fine breaking up the work fifty-fifty.”

Surprised, she replied, “Are you sure?”

“Of course!” he exclaimed, a bright smile breaking out across his face. “In fact, this happens to involved things that I’m really interested in.”

“Seriously?” she deadpanned. “You’re interested in the poetic comparisons of western and eastern literature as it relates to the renaissance?”

Yunjoo was not overly good a reading people, a fact which had painfully been brought to her attention over the past few years, but she swore that his smile became a little bit more coy at her response; it was a change that had butterflies fluttering in her stomach.

“Yeah, something like that.” Grabbing his books, she watched as he gracefully slid them into his bag. Standing back up, he flung his bag over one shoulder and flashed her a peace sign. “I’ll text you to set up a day to meet.”

“You don’t have my number.”

“Or do I?” Giggling childishly, his grin widened. “I’ll see you around, Yunjoo.”

He did text her that day.

And every day that followed through college.

***

“Tell me, honestly, are you upset that he wasn’t here for the New Year?”

Chewing slowly on her piece of kimbap, Yunjoo ignored Raena’s pressing gaze. They both knew the answer to that question, for it had been asked countless times, including the past three New Years. She did not want to say it again, she was tired of lingering on the empty space that seemed to loom around her, but just like always, she would give in and produce the same, typical response.

“No, I’m not,” she honestly replied. “Do I miss him? Of course, always, but it’s no one’s fault that he could not be here.”

“Yunjoo, I say this because I love you, but even if it were not his fault that he’s wherever he is, he was more than capable of flying back, if only for New Years weekend.”

Sighing, she glanced out her apartment window. She hated rainy days, not because of the fact that it was gloomy outside, but because it always reminded her of the first time they separated.

It had been pouring outside when Jongin burst into her dorm room—how he got in confused her to this day, for only she and her roommate had the key—tears intermingling with the raindrops on his cheeks. She had been working on a paper for her marketing class while daydreaming about their three-year anniversary. He had asked her out on New Years and so it was only right that they spend every New Year the same way they did that first. They would stay inside, eat some poorly made fried rice (neither of them could cook to save their lives), Skype with their slightly intoxicated families, and fall asleep to the laughter of old comedy shows.

From the outside looking in, it was a bland way to spend New Year’s Eve; they were both in their twenties—this was the time to go out and countdown the seconds with strangers. But he had first asked her out when he was a struggling dancer eating ramen for seven meals a week because he had no money, and it was then that she knew how much he wanted to be with her, even if circumstances were working against them.

But his dancing career became steadier and steadier, all leading up to that rainy day when he sobbed in her lap that he had been offered a chance to tour as a dancer with Rain.

“Maybe he could have, but I’ll never hold it against him that he didn’t.”

“I don’t understand how you can have faith in your relationship when you guys have been on and off for years now,” Raena said softly.

Shaking her head, Yunjoo gave her a timid smile. “We haven’t been on and off. We’ve been together, just separated.”

Silence consumed them as Raena stared long and hard at her. She could see her friend struggling with words. She knew that Raena was concerned and she appreciated the fact that she was never accusatory or condescending with her concern. Her parents had a very difficult time accepting the nature of her relationship with Jongin and often voiced their opinions without any regard to how she felt. They liked him as a person—it was difficult not to—but they didn’t like that she was in her late twenties with no sign of settling down.

But what they didn’t realize was that there was commitment already there.

“Joo, tell me, did you make fried rice for New Years and wait?”

Pausing at the question, she felt her heart break when she saw tears form in Raena’s eyes. Raena, who hadn’t cried at her grandfather’s funeral, at the death of her dog, at the separation of MBLAQ, was crying over her relationship.

“Rae—”

“No, don’t say anything,” she said, wiping her tears away with a forced smile. “I know that it’s different for you than it is for me. It’s just the image of you sitting there waiting for him to show up. And I get it that you don’t ‘wait’ for him, you go on with your life, but you deserve to have him by your side.”

“I’ve left him a couple of times, too,” she pointed out.

“True, but you’re my best friend and you’re never wrong in my eyes.” Sighing heavily, Raena leaned back in her chair. “You know what is that I can’t even be too upset, because deep down, I know that you and Jongin will end up together. The amount of thought I give your love life has caused me to go through several life crises before the age of thirty. If I go grey early, I will sue you for every cent you’re worth.”

Grinning, she threw a piece of kimbap at her.

“I’ll anticipate that moment then.”

***

“Yun-freaking-Joo, I swear to God that if you are not out here in one minute, I will eradicate you from the Earth!”

“I’m coming! Calm your pants, you psycho!”

Running out of the room, she swore as she slammed her toe against her door. Toothbrush hanging from her lips, she stalked into the kitchen, ready to annihilate her childhood friend. It was one of the most beautiful summer days and all she wanted to do was waste it being lazy. She was in between jobs right now, she had spent hours the night before organizing all of her crap, and now she was being forced to conform to the outside world for whatever reason. Was it so wrong to want to brush her teeth at a sloth’s pace at three in the afternoon after waking up?

As she turned the corner and prepared herself to rip Raena’s pretty brown hair from her head, she froze. Standing next to her demon-friend was the one person who could make all of this okay—the one person who could rid her mind of murderous intent.

Kim Jongin.

He was tanner than she remembered, but still just as attractive as ever. He wore black harem pants, a white tee shirt, and an old pair of sneakers. A snapback covered the roots of his grown-out blonde hair. In his hand he held his passport and phone; even from their distance of fifteen feet she could make out the phone case she had given him for their first Christmas together all those years ago (and every time he got an upgraded phone, he had a replica of the case custom made). All around his feet rested suitcases and luggage from his time abroad. He must have just come from the airport.

At the sight of her, in all of her toothpaste and rat’s nest hair glory, his lips stretched into the brightest smile Yunjoo had seen in the longest time.  A sob escape as she ran towards him. Paying no heed to the fact that she could have stabbed him with her toothbrush while simultaneously choking herself, she threw herself into his arms, instantly feeling at home when he embraced her.

She had missed him.

She had missed him so much.

Mumbling incoherently and smearing toothpaste all over her boyfriend’s shirt, her heart danced when his familiar laugh shook his chest.

“I missed you, too.”

Loosening her grip as she felt him pull away from her, she watched as he moved to open one of the bags near him. At the sight of his distraction, she moved quickly to the sink and spit. Looking for something to rise with, she spotted a glass of water sitting next to the faucet.

Raena.

Clearing , she made her way back to Jongin, who held a Tupperware container. As he opened the lid, a familiar smell of kimchi and burnt rice filled her senses.

It smelled like home.

“Happy New Year, Yunjoo.”

Tears falling down her face, she jokingly hit him as a broken chuckle escaped her lips.

“Happy New Year, Jongin.”

***

To others, their relationship may have appeared unhealthy. They spent more time apart than they did together and often when they were in each other’s presence, it was a few months of wild passion. It was unstable, it was uninhibited, and it was all worth it.

For some people, separation meant cautiously putting one foot into a long-distance relationship. There was that voice that always whispered jeers of how one would cheat or how they would fall out of love. It had been something that had plagued her the first time they were apart, but when he had returned, bouquet of flowers in his hand and his heart in hers, all fear dissipated. Maybe it was because they had only ever dated each other that they felt no need to look elsewhere.

They were both convinced that nothing else would ever be as good as their relationship was.

So they didn’t each take one step forward, they jumped in.

Waiting was always difficult, but it was bearable. She had not deluded herself into thinking that her happiness depended on him, for she was just as self sufficient and independent as he was. She didn’t have childish fantasies about prince charming or ridiculous notions of a whirlwind romance.

Everything she ever wanted was waiting for her.

They were just waiting for the right timing.

“I was offered a job in Japan, a chance to work in upper management.” Yunjoo said, toying with their intertwined fingers. It had been two weeks since his return. Every day was a new adventure for them and every day was a walk down memory lane, a reminder that they made the right choice. “I took it.”

“That’s my girl.” Looking up at his face, she felt a weight lift off of her shoulders at the pride on his face. He would never be mad at her, but it never made it any easier to break the news. Parting was easy compared to bringing it up. “When do you leave?”

“In a week.”

“So that’s why you weren’t working the past few weeks. I was beginning to worry that you were unemployed and that Raena had enslaved you, not that you’d be much work around the house, given that you once used bleach on black jeans and salt instead of sugar.”

“Says the one who burnt the fried rice.”

“Like you ever make it right.”

“At least I don’t burn the rice,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I burn the egg.”

A serene silence consumed them as they watched people pass them from their spot on the bench. The park was their favorite place to sit.

“I’m going to marry you, you know that, right?”

Heart warming at his confession, she squeezed his hand tighter. She knew it.

She had always known it.

“I do.”

Most people couldn’t live the way they did, and that didn’t make others weak or them strong. There were no grandiose signs from the universe that they were soul mates—in fact, their horoscopes begged them to part ways—and there wasn’t a huge support party rooting for them.

But none of that mattered because they were rooting for each other.

Their story wasn’t anything show stopping. They didn’t meet by chance or start out as enemies; they didn’t come from extremely different backgrounds or clandestinely meet at twilight. They were just two people who believed that they were meant to be together.

She had heard others say that there needed to be sacrifices in relationships for things to work out, and it was something that after much thought, she found to be true. For most people, the sacrifice was always a job or a promotion of some sort. For them, it was time. They would follow their dreams wholeheartedly, so when the timing was right, there were no regrets. More time spent together didn’t correlate to how much they loved each other.

“All in good time, right?”

Nodding, she leaned back into his arms.

“All in good time.” 

Holiday: New Years

"They sat on a park bench, held hands, and told each other their stories hour after hour. They were not lonely anymore. They had found and been found by their 100% perfect other. What a wonderful thing it is to be found by your 100% perfect other. It's a miracle, a cosmic miracle." -Haruki Murakami, 1Q84 [Prompt 12]

"Things we lose always have a way of coming back to us in the end, if not always in the way we expected." -Harry Potter [Prompt 17]

"It can bring you pain and resentment and distress and sadness and despair and misfortune. But it can also bring you the strength to endure all of those things. Than you can call it love." -It's Okay, That's Love [Prompt 19]

A/N: And that's that.

I have returned, all in good time. 

I apologize for my unannounced hiatus, but I just lost inspiration to write. Life took over and my creative side shut down. The longer I was away from writing, the less confident I became with it to the point where I wanted to write but was too afraid to log in and publish anything because I was scared it was not going to be any good. 

So "All in Good Time" is that story. It's the story of how, in my experience, writing cannot be forced. It's something that should come naturally, and all I could do was live life until the timing was right.

And this week, it was right.

I can't say I'll post as frequently as I used to, but I'm going to give my best effort to stay active!

It means so much that I was able to log in after all these months and see subscribers. It meant the world and I cannot thank you enough. 

Also, I am sorry if you expected more Jongin in this story, but even without much dialogue, he's the most important character in this oneshot.

Leave me a comment below and let me know what you think :)

The future awaits!

xo DivinestSense