"I think you let me off the hook too fast," he says, my hair gathered on his palms as we lay there staring at my ceiling, legs entangled underneath a mess of cream sheets and smiles hidden behind sleepy mutterings of I love you's. We've spent hours in each other's embrace, traces of the morning light creeping up on the walls while we wallow in how thirsty we are of the sun that's about three hours shy from rising. We spent the night in a sleepless sense; touching, caressing, dry lips drinking in each other; letting the feelings take their course, forgetting about everything that we should be worrying about. I smile and take a deep breath, satisfaction filling in every empty part of me. I close my eyes, letting my ears hear his breathing, the clock's ticking, his heart's beating. I hear everything except the inhibitions that used to pile up inside my head. "I thought about it over and over."

    "Thought about what?" I ask as I lift my head to look at him. His eyelashes seem longer. His face has this wondering look that has me curious all the time. But it saddens me how I see the difficulty in his eyes and his lips and his expression.

    He suddenly looks at me, and it surprises me how his gaze still makes my heart beat so fast. "How I'm going to ask you to forgive me," he says. "I thought I would have to beg because I've always known how headstrong and stubborn you are," he looks at our intertwined fingers, letting his eyes linger for a few silent moments. "You've always been the only woman who's brave enough to stand up to me," he whispers and I can't help but smile at the way he talks about me as if I wasn't in the room. "—well, I guess you're not the only one since your mother scolds me a lot."

    I laugh as I feel him watching me, my ears hearing the familiar sound of his chuckling and it gave me just enough time to appreciate how simple things really are—how easy life is without having to complicate it myself. "It has always been like that, you know?" I say.

    "What has?"

    "Being in love," I sit up to look down at him, trailing my finger down his exposed chest. "Days will seem like years. Every silent second feels like a death sentence," I lean down to give him a quick kiss. "Pain doesn't last as long as happiness."

    "Everything's worth it," he finishes.

    "Everything's worth it."

    So we just stared at each other, the world slowly fading as the silence pulls us down, deeper into each other while we let it, not a single complaint leaving our lips and not a single trace of regret showing in the way we looked at one another. I guess, to a certain extent, I'm thankful that he left. Because it gave us enough time to think if whether or not we could spend the rest of our lives the way we've always dreamed of—the way we've always imagined. The future's a mystery, but now that he's here, I think I could face whatever it may bring.

    "Mom?"Joon Seo's voice snaps us out of the trance we're in as we both look at the opened doorway to see him in his monkey pajamas with a head of messy hair as he clutches on to his plush toy. He looks exactly like his father.

    "Yes, sweetheart?" I stand up to walk towards him, scooping him up in my arms. "You hungry?"

    I was met with no words but a simple nod as he rests his head on my shoulder, probably looking at his father and wondering why he hasn't gotten up yet. "I'll cook," I heard Joo Hyuk say and if my back wasn't turned to him, I would probably be thanking him with my eyes.

    "Well that's certainly a first," I mutter