Yonghwa…

Itaewon…

Yonghwa was sleeping peacefully, holding his special teddy bear, until he felt her stir in her own deep sleep. He naturally held her tighter but she began mumbling in her sleep. He opened his eyes to make sure she was okay. He saw a heartbreaking moment when a few tears escaped her shut eyes. She started breathing hard like she was gasping for air. Her cry became more loud and pleading. He remembered her telling him she had occurring nightmares about her parent’s death. He quickly leaned on one arm and shook her, trying to wake her up.

“Shin! Shin! Jebal, wake up.” He shook her a little harder, panic in his voice. “Shin, it’s just a nightmare. Wake up. Jebal.”

After a hard shake, Shinhye finally opened her eyes. She was hyperventilating, trying to catch her breath and calm down. Her eyes were wet with tears as she tried blinking them away. He couldn’t believe how much she suffered from her nightmares. But he was relieved and glad he was there to comfort her and bring her back to him. He stared at her, not saying anything, afraid she might not accept him being there or making her more scared. But when she locked her eyes with his, she gave him a grateful and yearning look.

With her eyes alone, he knew she wanted his comfort and protection. Without any hesitation, he pulled her closer into his embrace and wrapped his masculine arms around her. His defined chin nestled softly on the top of her head as he closed his eyes, hoping his embrace would comfort her. He knew it did because she snuggled closer to him, both her hands resting in the middle of his chest near his heart. She let out a relieving sigh. After a long comfortable silence, she finally spoke.

“Gomawo.”

Yonghwa placed a soft kiss on her forehead and still held her tight against him. “I’m here…always.”

He didn’t let her go, waiting for her to share her feelings and thoughts. He was more than curious as to what had her sad that she dreamt of her parents. But he wanted her to tell him on her own. As if they were on the same frequency, Shinhye broke her silence.

“After watching a movie with Semi, we went back to her apartment and had tea. I had a great time with her. We mostly talked about you and me. I was so happy sharing with her how much I adore you and how you are this wonderful and smart special person I’m lucky to have in my life.” Yonghwa continued listening to her pouring her heart out while at the same time feeling humble and lucky for her feelings. “As we kept talking about relationships, she brought up what we were going to do about us when you have to go back New York. I brushed it off at first telling her we would figure it out on our own. But when I was walking back here, the thought hit me.”

She stopped and he saw a couple tears escape. He hated seeing her so sad especially because he was the one making her sad when it wasn’t intentional. He gently the side of her face, never taking his eyes off her. This was the only way he could comfort her for now.

“At that moment, I wished I could call nae eomma and talk to her about these things. I love nae halmeoni very much and talk to her about anything. But I really wanted to talk to nae eomma. I wanted to share with her how much I really like you. How you make me feel whole. How happy I am. And how afraid I am of getting my heart broken when you have to… … leave.” She sniffled. Her tears escaping uncontrollably that moment.

Yonghwa held her tighter and rested his chin on her forehead after planting a big comforting kiss on her forehead. He hated himself for making her cry and not being able to say anything to comfort her. He, himself, was still trying to figure out New York. He said together they would figure it out and they would. But not now when his precious girlfriend is emotional. He needed to comfort her first and listen.

“Yong,… I… I…” He listened carefully thinking she was about to say something that could change everthing. But she didn’t. “I’m sorry. When I think about my parents or when I feel uneasy about something, my nightmares happen.”

He was disappointed when she didn’t say what he wanted to hear. Regardless, her feelings mattered to him and he didn’t want her to be sad or mad. He missed her smiles already. That’s what his goals were going to be from now on.

“Sshhh… Shin, I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.” He meant his words. “I’ll be your dreamcatcher every night.”

He felt her wrap her arms around him tighter. A faint smile formed his lips. “Shin, I promise you… I will always make you smile and happy. I promise you we will figure out everything. Trust me.”

She didn’t say anything further but held him tighter and snuggled against his chest like she didn’t want to let go. He felt her small smile on his chest near his heart. He felt better she was better and that was all he wanted. They lay there until they both fell asleep.

♦

After walking Shinhye to her yoga studio and hesitating leaving her to go to his grandfather’s coffee shop, he finally walked into his empty coffee shop. Luckily and as if by fate, Shinhye and him began their business early in the morning. Unlike the past days except occasionally, Yonghwa walked Shinhye to work and home the past couple of days since becoming a couple. But, he mostly stayed over at her place which he preferred because her place was inviting and warm. Because he was her personal dreamcatcher.

Yonghwa was ready to make himself a cup of authentic Italian Americano. He took quite the liking in all the exquisite tea leaves and coffee beans his late grandfather exported from around the world. As he scooped a small amount of Italian coffee beans, he smelled the strong and bitter fragrance. He loved the smell of that particular coffee bean. He poured the beans into his one-of-a-kind of coffee grinder that he manually grinded with his masculine hands.

All the time he spent grinding the coffee beans he thought about his late grandfather. His late grandfather must have had quite the muscular definition in his arms and upper torso for manually grinding coffee beans and tea leaves. More than anything, he thought about how much and why his grandfather loved this business so much more than his other businesses. He figured out the just of why he loved his coffee shop. Every time Yonghwa served his customers tea or coffee, the smile and inviting look that formed on their face was all the praise and recognition he needed to know he was doing something right.

After he finished grinding the coffee beans finely, he poured hot simmering water over the fine coffee grind that was wrapped in a papered filter. Already, he could smell the bitter and warm steam emitting from his fine coffee cup. After wafting in the bitter fragrance, he poured in three shots of espresso. He loved his coffee strong and plain.

“Ahhh…..” He sipped his lovely Americano as he walked towards his small office in the back.

He sat down at his desk and continued sipping his Americano slowly. He looked around his desk, thinking how much of a long day he has ahead of him to get the usual paperwork while working on the Tokyo inventory. His eyes fell upon a picture of his late grandfather as he worked in the kitchen grinding coffee beans with an ancient but authentic coffee grinder. He set his half-empty cup on the desk and reached for the picture.

“Waah… our resemblance is very similar.”

He half-whispered to himself. He never really studied the picture of his late grandfather no matter how many times he has sat there at the desk. He always had some resentment towards his late grandfather for forcing him away from his home. But, since growing some compassion for the coffee shop business and meeting Shinhye, he grew fond of his late grandfather.

“Harabeoji,…” He never addressed his late grandfather’s spirit but he felt like talking to his picture. “I hope I’m doing well with your coffee shop. It’s a lot of work yet it beats sitting behind a desk for 12 hours a day just doing paperwork. Here, I make in-person observations about what would be successful for the shop as well as what would be best for customers.”

He paused, thinking and feeling a small fondness for the coffee shop. He lightly touched his grandfather’s huge smiling face. “Harabeoji, jeongmal joesonghamnida. I’ve resented you for making me leave my life in New York for a month. But now,…”

He paused again, knowing what he wanted to do. For him and for Shinhye. “Now, harabeoji, I want to keep the coffee shop. I want to continue your legacy and hard work. I will change the minds of the board members and prove I am worthy and the rightful owner. But most of all, harabeoji, I want a life with Shinhye. You would love her. She actually shares the same kind of passion for yoga as you do for this coffee shop.”

He couldn’t help but laugh thinking about how wonderful and lovely she was. But then, he realized he figured out the solution to New York and his relationship with Shinhye. Talking imaginary to his late grandfather unconsciously helped him figure out all his feelings.

♦

After his ‘talk’ with his late grandfather, he felt a weight lift off his shoulders. His eyes opened to new possibilities. Possibly permanently. Even though he had tons of paperwork to review plus a whole weekend’s worth, he wasn’t burdened by the load. In fact, he was even more motivated and the numbers each report showed were all calculated correctly. He finished reviewing each report in record time to start walking over to one of his permanent possibilities, his lovely yoga instructor.

Just as he put on his silky grey blazer, his office phone rang. He contemplated whether he should take the call or leave it. He really missed and wanted to hold his beautiful girlfriend in his waiting arms more than delaying his time when the phone call could wait until he comes back from the weekend. He left his ringing phone untouched and walked out of his office, locking it.

Once saying goodbye to his workers, he rushed the few buildings down to surpri