Anticipation

            I would have rather died than admit it to Kyuhyun, but I was terribly excited about going to the zoo.  I’d seen giraffes dozens of times, but never in color.  I couldn’t even sleep the night before and ended up calling him in the middle of the night.  I considered it payback.

            “Ryeonggu,” he said upon answering, his voice lower than normal since I’d clearly woken him up.  “Can’t you sleep?”

            “No.  I’m nervous about meeting your friends,” I lied.  It was the only thing I figured he’d believe aside from the truth.  I’d gotten to know him well enough throughout the course of the week to understand how best to lie to him without raising suspicion.  Kyuhyun was naturally suspicious of people and this didn’t exclude me.  At least, not yet. 

            “Mmm…I thought maybe you were lonely and missed hearing the sound of my voice,” he said, sounding amused. 

            “You wish.  Tell me about Eunhyuk and Donghae.”

            “Wouldn’t you rather hear more about me?” he asked, still using that y bedroom voice of his.  “You barely know a thing about me.”

            “Fine.  Tell me about them and then tell me things about yourself that I don’t know as well,” I agreed.

            “Can I ask you questions as well?” he asked.

            “I suppose.  As long as I have the right not to answer them if I don’t want to,” I stipulated.  That should keep him from asking me anything too strange.  “I get to start.  How did you meet them?”

            “Eunhyuk and I went to school together since we were little and Donghae joined our class in seventh grade.”

            “Is that when they realized they were soulmates?”

            “Yeah.  A few weeks after school started, they were playing basketball on the outdoor court.  Donghae went to block Eunhyuk from a layup, Eunhyuk bumped into him, and suddenly the world went from shades of grey to full color…just as it did with you and I…except perhaps they were already friends.  I don’t think they felt any less shocked about it though.  Eunhyuk could hardly believe it.”

            “It is jarring,” I confessed. 

            “What’s your favorite thing to look at…now that you can see everything?”

            “Paintings in the art museum.  I’ve gone there twice since last Friday with Heechul,” I told him.  “What about you?”

            “I take walks around the park near my house.  Everything’s in bloom.”

            “What’s your favorite color?”

            “Navy blue.  Haven’t you noticed how much I’ve worn it this week?”

            “I assumed it was because your mother had bought clothes in that color for you,” I honestly told him.  “Aren’t you going to ask me what my favorite color is?”

            “I’m pretty sure it’s purple.”

            I sighed.

            “Isn’t it?”

            “Yes.  What’s your favorite food?”

            “Spaghetti.  But I love most noodle dishes.  I really like ramen as well, but I at making it.”

            “You at making ramen?  That isn’t even hard.”

            “What’s your favorite food—beside cheesecake—I mean real food.”

            “I think kimchi fried rice is my favorite, if I don’t get to pick a dessert.  Although I should get to pick dessert.  It’s still real food.”

            “Do you cook?”

            “Yes.  I’m a very good cook, actually, which is why my brother refuses to move out of the house and in with his boyfriend.  Gunhee, apparently, isn’t very talented in the kitchen.”

            “You’re cute and you’re a good cook,” he summed up.  “I’m sold on this whole soulmate deal.  When should we get married?”

            “Very funny.  What do you have to recommend you?”

            “I’m really good in math, so I could be in charge of budgeting and the bills,” Kyuhyun offered.

            That wasn’t a bad idea, assuming we ever got far enough into a relationship that we were combining our finances.  Seemed a little bleak at the moment.  But I could use help with my budgeting.  I was kind of known for blowing all my money on clothes.  My hat collection alone was worth a mint.  “How about you first tutor your soulmate through senior math so he doesn’t fail!”

            “Are you failing now?”

            “I’m not doing very well,” I muttered.  “Someone hogs all my attention in class.”

            “Why don’t you come over to my house on Sunday and I’ll help you with the homework,” he offered.  “I can pick you up…unless you’d rather sleep over tomorrow night?”

            “Ha, ha.  You’d like that, wouldn’t you?  Your parents would flip out if they found out you’d discovered who your soulmate was and then invited him over to spend the night!  If it was a girl coming over, they’d never allow it.  They’d only let me come over because they’d assume I’m just a friend of yours.”

            “My mother already knows about you.”

            I shot up in bed, suddenly nervous.  “She does?”

            “Yeah.  She knew I could see in color when she saw me trying on clothes in my room and then she asked me about you.  She wants to meet you.  I don’t think she’ll get upset about you coming over.  She knows we’re not actually dating…although I did tell her about the zoo tomorrow.  She’s worried I’m going to screw it up somehow and promised to pray for me.”

            I grinned.  His mother clearly understood him well.  “I think I’m going to like your mother.  Tell me about your parents.  What are they like?”

            “Mom stays home, but she used to be a teacher.  Dad is a superintendent for a school, but he used to