What is love?

He had always posed this question to his parents whenever they pestered him about his intimate life. He understands the concept of romantic love but he can never empathise with it. There was once where he told his friend that the latter had too much coffee and the heart pounding he felt was not due to him seeing his crush but rather, it was a coffee induced heart palpitation. His best friend had then sent a glare at him.

But if you had asked him honestly on what he thinks about love, at least in theory, he will tell you that love is when you choose them over anything else. It was probably how ‘Bae’ was coined together, before anyone else. This was why love has always been a scary thing to him. He could not imagine being happy or sad just because the other person is. He always shuddered at the thought.

“But my theory is that, he has not met her yet,” was what his best friend said.

***

“Can I, your Majesty?”

“Does ‘No’ ever exist in your dictionary?”

“Yes it does – only if you were the one who says it.”

“Wow! Voice recognition system, huh? I am impressed.” She playfully teased as a reflex to hide away her creeping blush.

“So, can I?” He was relentless. Biting her bottom lips, she nodded. While grinning, he teased, “Voice recognition, remember. I am not a motion sensor.”

She stopped in her tracks and glared at him. Her blush was visibly gone as he let out a deep chuckle.

It was their second last day in Melbourne and both of them were walking to the Queen Victoria Market. It was the middle of spring and the weather was turning warmer. He has his hands in his jacket and she was gently fixing the red scarf that was wrapped around her neck. A small distance was between them. While walking, she stole a glance at him. All she sees was his pensive eyes and slumped shoulders. They were slightly different from his usual upright and confident posture.

This morning, she had protested meekly against his suggestion of them visiting the market. The day before, she happened to stumble across him having a little phone conversation. It seems like something bad had happened at work and it had bugged him since then. She managed to walk away before he caught her in the act of eavesdropping.

After much coaxing from his end that he needed fresh air, she relented and here they are, walking side by side in silence. She was not sure what she should say as he seemed lost in his thoughts. She had weighed her options and went ahead with keeping her peace. She figured he will come around when it is time. They were at a road intersection when he asked her if he may have the honour to hold her hands (which led to the conversation above).

***

Despite having his gaze fixed on her knitted brows, he could still see her folded arms across her chest. Her whole posture was sending him a verbal warning, ‘Try being funny again and you will see what I will do.’ His smile grew wider. A gentle breeze was blowing and it messed up her hair a little. She had to unfold her arms to tuck the stray hair back behind her ears. Despite still looking all upset, there was something about her aura that told him she was nowhere near there. It was her being all coy and he refused to play into her tricks again. He likes this side of her, he must admit. It always makes the weight of his world feels lighter-- it always teaches him to not take things too seriously.

Unbeknownst to him, small warmth started spreading across his chest. His smile instinctively got brighter, gracing the world with the presence of his pearly whites. Removing his hands from his pockets, he embraced her in his arms. He snuggled his nose into her hair, his worries momentarily gone.

His arms were still wrapped around her waist when he pulled back. “I think I’ll still enjoy this 50 years down the road.”

“What does ‘this’ refers to?” She gave him a side-eye. “By any chance, is it my death-glare?”

“No chance at all,” he tightened his arms and leaned in, gently brushing his lips against her temple. “Us. Besides, it will be scary if you had this expression on for 50 years straight. I am sure the muscles used to knit your brow will grow tired and let’s not forget about the wrinkles.”

When he pulled back again, he saw her with wide open, appearing in what he presumed her pretend to be shocked expression. She raised her right hand in front of and said, “You mean, we have no chance at all?”

He finally laughed. He pinched her nose and saw her smiled slowly. Without thinking, he grabbed her hand and led them across the road while saying, “You just love taking things out of context, don’t you?”

“What happened to ‘verbal communication only’?” She smirked and tightened her grip on his hand, hinting at his previous remark that sparked the whole debacle.

“Trust me, you were real verbal. The eyebrow game is too strong.”

“Thanks. I had been practicing them for 23 years,” said the 23 year old smugly.

“Wow, since birth. That explains everything.”

She observed his smile and his brightly lit eyes. ‘Mission accomplish,’ she gave herself a pat on her back. She felt like she had won the world.

“Thank you and I am sorry,” he said quietly. The impressive thing is that she understood what he meant exactly.

“If ever you want to talk, my ears function pretty well. I had them checked one second ago.” That earned another chuckle from him. “Though, I cannot promise I will be of any help. I mean, I am just 23.”

“Stop being adorable and ruining the moment,” joked her husband.

“Adorable? Ruining the moment? In a sentence? Are you sure?”

He rolled his eyes with a smile, not sure if he was feeling annoyed or happy, “So many questions, you.”

“So many ‘change the topic’ ideas, you.”

Their playful conversation went on throughout the walk to the market. An enjoyable date they had, I would say. He bought her flowers and she fed him fruits. It was almost romantic. He had stolen a few forehead kisses when he saw her marvelled at the little pretty handicrafts. She had snuggled a little closer to him whenever there is a build up of crowds at the stalls they were at. They have very natural reactions towards each other. It was like they were almost in love.

“Can I tell you a secret?” said Chae Young sweetly. He raised an eyebrow, wondering what mischief is she up to again. She chuckled at his expression. Letting out a deep breath, she confessed, “It’s been a long time since I’ve been me.”

He smiled. He always had this inkling that she was not who she portrayed to be. She was a far cry from a trophy wife. Remember the time when she prepared her first breakfast for him? The way she smiled while asking him about his eggs preference and he had not liked nor believed her act? It had hit him somewhere down the road that it was all pretence. So when she suddenly confirmed what he had suspected all along, he was glad. He took it as her finally trusting him enough to let him in. It did not take much effort for him to think of what to say next. 

“Welcome home.”

Those two simple words from Jin Young were enough to send another wave of peace and contentment through her. It is that feeling when there is a laugh in your eyes, a waltz in your walk and hope in your talk. Between their first kiss and his genteel way of wishing her a happy wedding anniversary, the doubts of Jung Jin Young liking her has vanished into thin air. She felt genuinely happy and peaceful, finally breaking free from the cage she had been living in for the past three years.

She shifted her gaze to the Apple Blossoms that were mixed in together with other flowers which he bought for her. Adorned in light pink hues, they were indeed very lovely. Thanks to the floral arrangement classes she attended previously (as part of the trophy wife training), she knew offhand that they represent peace-- her current state of mind. She cannot help but wondered about his reaction if she told him how perfectly this flower that he gave to her represents how she felt inwardly. It was always fun to share little things like this with him. She had found a striking trait about him that she liked. You see, she always has a habit of going on bouts of pointless chatter which hardly stimulates her audience. He was different. He was always attentive to her and was never bored listening to her fun facts.

She was about to share with him her little piece of general knowledge when her tracks suddenly stopped. Her eyelids froze open as her gaze was fixated on the couple across the road sharing a sweet kiss.

***

Have you ever experienced this—the thought that this moment is what you have been searching for for your entire life. You felt peace and contentment – only to have them destroyed in the next moment?

She has.

They were halfway across the world. What are the odds of them bumping into each other? Apparently, it was not small, she learned.

The cage she thought she had broken free from was apparently still there.

He sensed her changing aura. Instinctively, he followed her gaze. Despite meeting the guy a few months back in her mountain training event, Jin Young had recognised him the moment he saw him.

“Chae Young ah, can you tell me another secret?” His tried to grab her attention. It fell on deaf ears.

He tried again, “Who is he to you?”

There was not a reply from her. It remained that way throughout the day.

Her silence were only broken later that night when she insisted on sleeping on the couch. He tried teasing her. When it did not garner any response from her, he went silent and grabbed his side of the pillow. Without another word, he settled into the couch for the night. With the throbbing pain in his heart lulling him to bed instead of her soft physique in his arms, sleep refused to pay Jin Young a visit that night.

‘So much for being naive enough to think she had let me in.’ He let out a deep breath and willed for sleep to come. He wanted the pain to go away.

Whose pain to go away – he was not sure – his or hers?

Across the room, she heard him. Pulling the comforter closer to her, his last question haunted her.

‘Who is he to you?’

***

What is love?

She clearly knows what love is.

Love to her, is him.

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A/N: Happy Lunar New Year! Apologies for the late update! Rest assured, I am going to complete this story. Will probably keep this under 15 Chapters (secretly targeting to end this at Chapter 10). Would like to give a heads up that this story will not have some mind-boggling . I tried thinking of one and it really stops the inspiration from flowing. I hope you still like (more of a 'remember', actually) this story after such a long time! The updating time will be very, very much shorter from now on (now that I have given up on conjuring a plot-twist!).

Fun Fact #1: When I first wrote this, I needed a break from my previous job. 

Fun Fact #2: I wanted to explore how arrange mariage works during my grandparents days, hence, this concept was born. (Kinda lost my way with the plot-twist thing).

Fun Fact #3: The plot-twist is that there is no plot-twist.

Thank you for taking time to leave comments! I really appreciate it greatly! Was always a joy to read your thoughts on this!

Have a good celebration (if you are celebrating)!