Christina Perri Ft. Steve Kazee - A Thousand Years Pt. 2

  Another week passes. Finals are coming up and Daehyun and I are constantly meeting up at the coffee shop together. I want to say our relationship is getting better, but in reality it's stagnant. Sure, Daehyun constantly reminds me of his "love" for me. I just don't believe him as my mind constantly thinks about my past self. I tell myself that he's only treating me this way because he's in love with who I was.

  Just one more week and this semester will be over. I'll be going home for a month and a half, away from Himchan, away from Jaebum, and away from Daehyun. Yes, I also consider Himchan a friend since he's one of the few people I talk to during biology class. It'll be strange to be away from them, but I think it will be good for me. It'll take me away from this crazy situation for a while.

  As we're sitting at our usual spot in the cafe, a familiar face approaches us.

  "Hey, Jaebum," I greet.

  He smiles. "We still didn't get our little coffee date."

  I blush and glance at Daehyun. It's not supposed to be an actual date, but more of a little hangout between the two of us. I still don't know if Daehyun is comfortable with Jaebum being here. "Uhm. Yeah, you're right. It's been a week, huh?" After our talk last week, we've been texting each other like the old times and I find myself thinking I have a normal life. However, did he really need to say that we’re going on a “date?”

  "But before we do that, I would like to have a word with Daehyun. If you don't mind."

  "I don't. Go ahead." Why would I mind anyways? We’re all supposed to be friends here.

  Jaebum turns his attention to Daehyun and motions his head to follow him outside. They don't exchange words as they make their way to the front door. I watch as they leave the cafe and out the door. I can still see them through the glass. It seems that they're having a serious conversation as Jaebum keeps his attention to Daehyun while Daehyun rubbing the back of his neck and nodding. At one point, Daehyun drops his head and Jaebum touches his shoulder. They don’t exchange words for moment.

  Suddenly, Daehyun bows low as he says more words. Both Jaebum and I are shocked. What is going on? What are they talking about? If only they can talk about it in front of me, but I’m guessing it has something to do with their other life.

  I stop watching when my cappuccino arrives and pretend that I wasn’t snooping. It doesn't take long for the two to return.

  Daehyun sits while Jaebum stands.

  "Do you mind if I sit here?" Jaebum asks, indicating the seat next to me.

  I glance at Daehyun, wondering if he's okay with it.

  "Go ahead," Daehyun motions for him to sit.

  Jaebum does so and takes his books out. He lets out a chuckle as he opens his book to the proper page. "Just like old times, don't you think?"

  "Yeah,” I mutter. I’m glad Daehyun is fine with Jaebum staying. I just want to know what they were talking about, but I know they will not be able to tell me. Does it have to do with what's going to happen to Daehyun in the other relm? After all, he's still a fugitive. I mentally slap myself. I shouldn't think too much about this. I have more important matters to attend to like this 800 paged biology book.

  After our study session, we go our separate ways. Well, we all almost go. Daehyun decides to follow me home, insisting that he wants to spend a little more time with me. I don't know why, but I don't complain and invite him in.

  "So. What do you want to do?" I ask while I'm thinking of ways to entertain him. We can watch TV, read a book, cook, study more, or whatever, but none of that sounds appealing. I actually just want to sleep.

  "I was thinking we could make lucky stars."

  That is the last thing I ever imagined Daehyun saying. "What?"

  He sits down on my couch like it's the most natural thing to do after coming here so many times and pulls out a bag full of colorful strips of paper. Then, among his books and somewhere deep in his bag, he pulls out a large glass jar with stars already filling up 5/6 of it. "I've already made approximately 1709 stars and I just need 125 more."

  I gape. He made that much already? "Why?" Those are specific numbers. Does that mean he counted every single one of them?

  All he does is smile and begins folding a paper star.

  "We used to fold paper airplanes, didn't we?" I ask as I settle next to him. I take a strip and tied a flat knot to start out with. I used to make these when I was little because they say that if you make a 100 or a 1000 stars, you can make a wish. Being a child, I made plenty and wished for a normal life - a life without seeing these numbers, but it was to no avail. My wish didn't come true and I stopped. It isn't until now that I realize I do have a normal life. I just have a little extra gift that no one else has.

  Daehyun presses on the edges to puff the star. "Yeah. We did. That's why I gave you that necklace. It was just a reminder that you can always wish your worries away and that there will always be someone beside you."

  It's true. I did feel that way with my necklace even though I didn't know the backstory to it. It was always there when no one else was and it comforted me. "I don't think I ever got to thank you for giving it to me."

  "You don't have to. Seeing you wearing it is enough of a gratitude." Daehyun starts on another star. "I want to start a new routine with you, but we don't have much time."

  "Yeah. Finals are coming up and our routine will just be us eating and studying," I joke as I finish my first star. I toss it in the jar. "Two down, 123 more to go."

  He chuckles softly. "I'm glad to be here with you like this. It's refreshing and you're not giving me death glares every few minutes."

  "Oh, you noticed?"

  "It's quite obvious."

  We laugh. Ah, it's so nice sitting here with him and making lucky stars. It brings back memories of my childhood. The good memories at least. I look to my side and see Daehyun is focused on completing these stars. His deep brown orbs are set on the paper, his lips are curved in a small smile, and his hair is all over his face. I want to brush those hairs away with my fingers to see more of his eyes, but I refrain from doing so and continue making the lucky stars.

  We sit in silence as we make the stars. Even if we're not talking, I’m comfortable. We don't have to say a lot to know that we're here together. Just his presence is enough for me to be relaxed. As we make our final stars, Daehyun pours it all out on my table and drops in the red stars back into the jar.

  "Uhm. What?" I'm too confused to even add more to my question.

  "I just want to organize the colors, so that way it looks prettier when you display it."

  "When I display it? You're giving it to me?"

  He nods his head and continues to drop the red stars into the jar.

  I assume he's going to organize it like the colors of the rainbow, so I begin helping him.

  It takes us quite a long time to put all the stars back in. When I drop the last star, Daehyun closes the jar and pulls out a red ribbon in which he tries it around the top. Now that it’s completed, he hands it to me with a bright smile on his face. "Keep it. It's all yours."

  "After all that hard work, you're giving this to me?" It's not easy making thousands of paper stars by yourself because sometimes, if you don't make them right, they won't puff up and you'll have to start over.

  "Lucky stars are meant to be gifts and depending how many stars are in the jar, it indicates a different meaning."

  I take the jar from his hands and turn it around to see how perfectly lined up the colors were. "And what does 1834 stars mean exactly?"

  Daehyun leans forward and presses a hand on mine. "Eternal love."

  A spark courses through me as he said those words. My cheeks flush and my heart slips a beat. I'm frozen on my spot as all I can do is look into Daehyun's eyes. They're sincere and all I can see through the reflection is me. "Eternal love, huh?" I repeat. "So what does that mean?"

  Daehyun doesn't move and remains at the same close distance from me. I can feel his breath against my skin, causing me to shiver.

  "It means, no matter what lifetime, no matter who you become, I will always love you."

  I don't know what to say. My mind is racing and him being so close to me doesn't help. I can simply push him away, but I don't. Instead, I find myself leaning closer and closer until our lips are centimeters apart. His warm breath tickles my face and his eyes are half closed and staring at my lips. I take the chance and press my lips against his.

  It's a soft and simple kiss with our lips just pressing onto each other, but a spark tingles my skin. With each passing moment, our kiss becomes something more. I rest the jar on my lap as Daehyun cups my cheeks. His lips move gently on top of mine as I attempt to do the same. This is my first kiss, so I assume I'm doing a lousy job at it, but it didn't matter when all I can think about is how passionate the kiss is.

  We pull away to catch our breaths. I can't help smile. "You know, I was worried that you only liked me because I was Mi Sun in another life."

  Daehyun shakes his head and drops his hands. "That's not true. I may have known you were Mi Sun in this life, but I fell in love with you the more I was with you." He touches my cheek.

  A memory flashes before me. Those same hands caress me but they're trembling. A pain on my side strikes me and I clutch onto it and groan. Tears are flowing down my eyes and sadness envelops me.

  Another memory. Daehyun is above me. Tears are falling on my cheeks. It's that same dream I had, but this time I can see who it is. It's all coming together now. Everything.

  I look at Daehyun. "Mi Sun died, didn't she? And it wasn't a normal death."

  His eyes widen and then soften. "Yes. But I'm not going to let that happen to you. I promise to protect you."

  Protect me? Protect me from what? I want to ask, but seeing his sad eyes, I can't bring myself to do so.

  Daehyun reaches out and takes me in a warm embrace. He takes in a deep breath and whispers, "It's almost time."

  "What do you-"

  I can't finish my sentence when he kisses me again. As his lips are pressed against mine, I can't help but get a bad feeling. This should be one of the happiest moments in my life, but why does it feel like a goodbye?