YouxHandong [Female] Part 2 of 2

I sat in a chair quietly that Han Dong pushed me towards, the cushion so soft that I sunk into it quickly. We were in the Han household with Han Dong and I specifically in her room, discussing future matters.

"So uh... You said I'm yours now. What do I do?" I scratched my forearm, not knowing what else to say to my new friend. I watched her as she marched around her room, touching her chin in an odd manner. 

"I don't know yet, my friend. Can you clean? Cook?" Han Dong looked at me expectantly, eyes big and curious as she stared at me intensely. She held her hands tightly together, waiting patiently for my answer. 

"Han... Dong... I only know how to read and play the piano... I really don't know how to do anything else." I sighed deeply, shifting awkwardly in my seat. My shoulders fell and I didn't know how to help the dense atmosphere that became of the room after I responded to Han Dong's question. "I'm sorry..."

I turned my head up to see her reaction. A blank face. My eyes returned to the floor and the only thing that was running through my mind was the fear of me being kicked out because of how useless I was going to be in my new future home. The home that Mother wanted me to stay and live in. I felt heat rise to my face and the geyser of tears bubbling inside of me. I couldn't believe that, after my 12 years of living, I still didn't know how to fend for myself. I really am useless.

"It's okay, Jaehee." Han Dong's soft voice broke me out of my trance. She stepped closer to me and kneeled down in front of me, smiling at me like there was no tomorrow. "I can teach you everything I know, so smile, okay?" Her small hands cupped my face and her thumbs pushed away the tears that were rolling down to my cheeks. 

"Okay," still a sobbing mess, I answered the girl who later pulled me into a comforting hug. I wrapped my own arms around her and continued to cry my heart out. 

"There, there, my friend," Han Dong cooed into my ear, brushing her fingers through my hair gently. In fact, so gently that I soon fell into stupor.

...

I woke up to the sound of soft snoring. I opened my eyes and they met the darkness of the night. I sat up and tried looking around the room I was in but soon lost my focus when didn't recognize the feeling of the sheets and the bed I was in. It wasn't my plain bed with the ordinary white bed sheets. This bed was fluffy and soft and so was the blanket. It was a nice change. 

I didn't realize whose bed I was on until I heard the familiar voice of the sleepy girl next to me. She whispered, "It's okay. Just... Just go to sleep, Jaehee."

Han Dong tugged me back down onto the bed and laid me next to her, throwing one of her arms over my body.

I froze in my place because of the alien feeling of affection. My heart started beating faster and I couldn't slow it down.

What was this? Why did my heart speed up when she touched me? It was the same feeling I got when I saw that other girl from many years ago.

I cleared my head of the thought and closed my eyes, breathing in and out slowly so my heart rate would gradually relax.

...

"Hey... Hey... Hey, Jaehee," a delicate sound reached my ear.

I felt someone shake my shoulder lightly, waking me up from my peaceful slumber. My eyes fluttered open and I immediately saw a creamy white ceiling being illuminated by the sun shining in through the window. 

"Good morning, sleep head," Han Dong said excitedly with a huge smile plastered on her face. In her hand was a small book that looked like it had gone through Hell and back. 

"A book," I pointed out the obvious. I eyed the paperback and questioned its appearance, "Why do you have that book?"

"Since you told me that you can read, I've been intrigued and I want you to read this to me. It's made up of many short stories that teach you about morals and stuff. So are you up to the task? Your first task?" My friend wiggled her eyebrows at me, smiling like an idiot and nudging me on my arm gingerly.

Reading is the only other thing I can do besides play the piano, so I guess I can read a story or two to Han Dong.

"I'll do my best."

Han Dong handed me the book and I began flipping through the pages. 

"A Lion lay asleep in the forest, his great head resting on his paws," I read the first line softly, glancing up to scan Han Dong's face every once in a while, and the way her eyes sparked when the Lion appeared in the story encouraged me to read on, "A timid little Mouse came upon him unexpectedly, and in her fright and haste to get away, ran across the Lion's nose."

...

"A kindness is never wasted." I finished up by reading the moral at the bottom of the page. I put the book down and laid next to her, I took a breath and my mind became engulfed by my many thoughts of the moral of the story.

"Jaehee? You looked a little distressed." Han Dong snapped me out of my speculations and grabbed my hand, squeezing it tightly. "What were you thinking about?"

"I was... thinking about how this story reminded me of you. I'm the Mouse because I come from an ordinary family." I turned my body over so I could look her right in the eye. "And you are the Lion yet you aren't. You come from a wealthy household and, although I may not be able to do much for you and your family, you still have high hopes for me and the future. You believe in me and that's what makes you different from the Lion."

I felt my eyes crease when I smiled at Han Dong who beamed right back at me. Her kind eyes gleamed in a way I had never seen before from any other human being. They radiated with happiness and it was as if she tried to share it with me. Her beauty then reminded me of the girl I watched only once from my bedroom window. 

"Jaehee," she called out to me, tightening her grip on my hand, "I know we haven't known each other for long but... will you always be with me?"

Everything I had gone through had been short lived and I didn't know if my time together with Han Dong would be the same but, with how happy she had made in only the past few hours, I knew the answer to the simple inquiry.

"Of course." 

Present Time...

"Jaehee! Come here!" Dongie hollers from the kitchen, causing me to run to her almost instantly. 

I drop the book in my hands and run through her huge, empty hallways. With elegance, I stumble over my feet clumsily and catch myself before I land right on my face.I silently applaud myself for approximately two and a half seconds, pushing my body back up from the floor. I continue speeding through the halls, swiftly dodging each servant I almost run into until I reach my girlfriend in the kitchen.

Upon entering the kitchen, I sneakily tiptoe over to Dongie who diligently works by a counter and wrap my arms around her waist. She stops stirring whatever substance is in her bowl and reclines her back onto my front.

"Hey, babe," I sigh into her ear, resting my head on her shoulder afterwards. "Do you need any help?"

"Yeah..." Han Dong spins around and snakes her arms up and around my neck. She winks at me playfully, getting on the tips of her toes to whisper into my own ear hotly, "I need some help." 

My mind becomes filled of not-so-pure thoughts. I cough as my ears start burning. I pull Dongie closer and hug her firmly as she laughs at my flustered self.

"I'm just gonna... not take it in that way," I let go of my girlfriend and fan my scorching face, taking in the satisfied facial expression of hers.

Dongie smiles at me fondly, returning to the counter and proceeding to mix her blend of ingredients again. 

"So um, ahem, what do you need help with?" I reappear at her side and look over her shoulder, carefully examining how she was working with her hands. She has such pretty hands.

"I'm trying to make macarons and I just wanted you to come here and relish the expertise of your girlfriend," Dongie smirks at me for a second and her attention is turned back to the bowl of... "Beaten egg whites," she finishes my thought. 

"I-I knew that," I point to the eggshells that have been left on the counter. I shake my head. "You still can't clean up after yourself, I see." I gather the abandoned eggshells and throw them in the trash.

"I can clean up after myself. For example, with you-" 

"And that's where I stop you." I wipe my hands off on and retie the apron that seems to be loosening up on my future wife's waist. "You can't even tie this up well, Dongie." I snicker at her and tie my hair up. 

"And that's where I stop you," Dongie repeats my line and momentarily pauses her stirring to point at me with the whisk in her hand. She then angles her head at nothing in particular. "I need a spatula..." 

I follow Han Dong with my eyes as she steps toward a drawer and opens it. She shuffles through the many utensils in the space, seemingly searching for a certain spatula. 

"Do you-"

"I found it." She looks at me with a glint in her eyes, wordlessly telling me that she can do things herself.

"Okay, okay, Miss I-Can-Do-It-On-My-Own," I raise my hands up in surrender and grin at her. She begins folding the mixture and rotates the bowl periodically. 

"You mean Mrs. Park-Han," Dongie corrects me. 

"I-I um..." I feel my cheeks warm and I take steps to close the distance between the two of us. I give Han Dong a back hug and rest my head atop of hers. "Why are you being so cute?"

"Why am I being so cute? Well, I'm always cute." She then transfers the macaron mixture to a pastry bag and delicately pipes circles onto a baking sheet set on a silver tray. 

"And that you are." I nuzzle my nose into her soft hair. I move my head back to view the second to final stage of the cookies. "Hey," I broke the momentary silence with my voice, "Do you remember when you first fell in love with me?" 

"I do actually." Dongie maintains the steady piping of the cookies and continues on, "And I fell deeper in love with you when you used your fingers-"

"I meant the first time." I mentally facepalm at girlfriend but keep her close to me. 

"Of course," she giggles at me before pushing me away so she can turn around and wrap her arms around my neck again. Han Dong kisses me once. "I first fell in love you when you first read for me. I know it might not seem like something that would've been significant enough for you to remember but I can probably explain every image to you word for word. I could tell from the way you read that you could..." She stops her speaking momentarily. "...use your tongue to satisfy me in more ways than one."

"Oh my goodness, you're so gross." I chuckle at Dongie and her words and she only pecks me on my lips many times. 

"And that's why you love me." Han Dong physically expresses her cheerfulness with a big smile that plays on her lips. Her eyes almost disappear when she beams up at me. 

"I do love you." I embrace her briefly and let her go. "Now go bake your macarons, Mrs. Park-Han. They've been sitting out a while." I pat Dongie's behind when she walks away to retrieve her tray of cookies. 

"Yes, Mrs. Park-Han."