Shinhye…

Gwangju…

“Aigoo, nae aga’s namjachin eats so well!”

Shinhye placed the back of her palm in front of her lips to hide her smile. Her grandmother surely outdid herself and cooked everything that was in the restaurant’s refrigerator. Now, she made sure Yonghwa had a good serving of meat on his mountain full of rice.

Yonghwa gulped, trying to swallow the last spoonful of rice and meat. “Gomawo halmeoni.”

Shinhye’s heart fluttered when he addressed her grandmother. Her grandmother insisted he call her ‘halmeoni’ but since arriving, he had yet to address her in that informal way. She smiled and blushed.

“Wae geurae, aga?” Shinhye found her grandmother’s and Yonghwa’s eyes on her. Her blush brightened more.

“Ani. Geunyang… Jinjja jinjja haengbokhae.”

“Aigoo, aga. If you’re happy, then I’m happy.” Youngae caressed her granddaughter’s hand from across the table and gave her a loving, warm smile. Then she turned to Yonghwa, next to her. “Gomapda Yonghwa. Jinjja gomapda,… nae sonja.”

Shinhye was sentimentally touched watching the comfortable interaction between her grandmother and boyfriend. Yonghwa turned his attention back to her and she could clearly see love in his eyes.

“Aigoo… look at the time. I better clean up and go to bed. I have an early day tomorrow.”

Youngae quickly stood up to leave, not wanting to interrupt their moment. Yonghwa’s eyes never left hers and Shinhye felt like she couldn’t look away but clearly didn’t want to.

“Halmeoni, Shin and I will clean up. You made this delicious and grand dinner. I’ll be grateful if I could help out. Ne?”

They reluctantly tore their gaze from each other to her grandmother. Youngae had a grinning smile on her face. She gave them an approving and grateful nod before retiring for the night.

“Sijak!” Yonghwa playfully clapped his hands together and rubbed his palms together.

Shinhye laughed at his playfulness. She stood from the table and began piling the empty dishes on a circular tray. But Yonghwa stopped her.

“I’ll take this.”

He quickly stacked the rest and ran to the kitchen. Shinhye chuckled at him and followed him. Once she entered the kitchen, he was already preparing the warm dish water.

“You really made yourself at home in nae halmeoni’s kitchen.”

He softly laughed. His laugh made her heart jump. It was attractive and music to her ears. “Geureom. She’s nae halmeoni too.”

She stood right next to him, her left shoulder touching his right elbow. “I love… how much you adore nae halmeoni. She really adores just as much.”

They were staring at each other now and Shinhye could feel the intensity in the air. Yonghwa set down the dish he was in the middle of scrubbing, carefully shaking his wet pink gloves. He didn’t bother to take off his wet gloves and immediately placed his hands on her hips.

She was surprised by his sudden embrace. She softly protested. “Y-yahh…”

He never removed his hands but pulled her closer to him. She gulped from their closeness. Even though they already shared their first kiss and hug so much, that moment felt different. There was that unspoken frequency between them.

“I adore you more.”

One of his hands left her hip and reached for her face. He cupped her face near her ear and his thumb her blushed cheek. He gazed straight into her eyes. She felt nervous suddenly, anticipating.

“Sasileun, Shin, I don’t just adore you,“ He gulped hard. “I luh-“

Ring… ring… ring…

Yonghwa closed his eyes out of irritation. She watched him as he left her side to check his phone. She felt disappointed their moment was interrupted and she wouldn’t be able to hear what he was going to say. She saw a frowned, annoyed look on his face as he checked his phone. He silenced the call and set his phone back on the counter.

“Wae? Nugu?”

“Meolla. But it’s a New York number.” He didn’t seem phased by the phone call. “Whoever it is can wait till Monday.”

He placed his hands back on her waist. “Right now, nae yeojachingu is all that matters. Now where were we?”

She smiled, blushing. She gave him a look like she was thinking. “What about we finish cleaning up and we do some yoga. I know the perfect place.”

♦

“Where is this place?”

Shinhye led Yonghwa to her secret spot a few blocks from her grandmother’s home. During the times she had her nightmares, her own room was the instant relief she needed to calm her down. But once she calmed down and still needed the comfort of yoga, she escaped to her secret place.

“I found this place the night my parents passed. I couldn’t handle the devastating news so I ran. I didn’t stop running until I tripped right in front of this small opening.” She showed Yonghwa the small opening, that was now closed-up. “I hid here practically all night and cried because no one was here. I cried myself to sleep. But the owner of this place found me and woke me up. He was a very nice harabeoji just like nae halmeoni. He allowed me to come here anytime I wanted after I told him what happened. He gave me a key.”

She saw a pained, sympathetic look in his eyes. “I’m sorry you had to grieve alone. But he was very nice to let you come here.”

“Ne. He still owns this place but he moved to the next city with his granddaughter.”

Shinhye looked around and everything she left there was still there. She watched as Yonghwa looked around as well. “Nice small space. I like it.”

“Me too.” She sighed, thinking about the lonely memories she had here. But now that Yonghwa was with her, she wanted to make happy memories there with him. “I have a couple yoga mats there in that large bin.”

She walked to get them and laid them out side by side. After straightening them out nicely, she fixed her ponytail into her signature loose bun. As she tied the rubber band around her bun, she felt Yonghwa’s eyes on her. She turned her gaze to him and she blushed. The look on his face set her on fire. He stared at her like she was the only person in the world mixed with seduction.

“W-wae?” She flustered.

His look never changed. He started walking closer to her, making her feel nervous. He stood before her.

“You are very beautiful.” He softly grasped her hands in his, her knuckles with his thumbs. “And y.”

She was nervous. She never really thought of herself as a y person. Hearing such a compliment from him made her feel happy. Any compliment from him made her feel happy and accepted. This moment, especially with the in the air, made her heart pound in her chest. She couldn’t find her voice.

“I mean it. I don’t mean anything by it or expect anything.” He was genuine. “I’m lucky you’re mine. All mine.”

She still couldn’t speak. But he must have known how she was feeling flustered because he gave her a soft smile and reluctantly let go of her hands. He cleared his throat.

“Shall we do some yoga?” His voice a little husky. “It’ll lighten the mood.”

She was brought back to focus. She unconsciously shook head as if shaking would erase the mood they just shared.

“Ne. Let’s begin.”

When it was only Yonghwa and her doing yoga, she didn’t have to explain each pose like she did with her students. Yonghwa naturally followed her, plus he knew most of the poses she’s taught him and knew her favorite ones. There was silence shared between them but it was a comfortable silence.

“Let’s try this new pose I haven’t taught you yet. It may be a little difficult as it requires balance but the strong and well-coordinated man you are, you should be able to handle it.” She teased a little.

He lightly chuckled. “You think I’m strong and well-coordinated?”

“Geureom. Your biceps are toned and you carried all those empty dishes like it was weightless.”