"Why are you in such a rush for?" Lucas tilted his head as he took another sip from his drink but his eyes were still glued onto Jieun who was hastily packing up her things and constantly looking at her phone. She just showed him a smile as she stuffed the books into her bag and that was all he needed to know the reason behind her rushed behaviour.

"Mark?"
 
She nods her head and there's a slight blush on her cheeks when Lucas mentioned his name. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Jieun was still in a daze to believe that her best friend that left her so long ago was attending the very same university as her and that she was willing to do anything to make up for the lost time. She loved him dearly - it was clear to anyone who had a pair of working eyes and a brain. He was still her first love despite everything they went through and even then, her love for him didn't fade nor disappear. That was just how much she truly loved him.

"You're meeting up with him a lot for the past couple of months since you guys met again - you have other friends too, you know, Jieun?" Lucas spoke with a slightly bitter tone in his words. Sure, he was happy that Jieun met up with Mark again seeing how his best friend finally was able to reunite with her first love but a part of him was jealous over how much time she was spending with Mark to the point she cancelled a lot of plans just so she could make more time for Mark. It was as if she was willing to drop everything and everyone just for that one person and Lucas wasn't sure if he agreed with her actions.

Jieun just snorted and ruffled his hair before she slung her blue bag over her shoulder, "I just want to catch up with him - get to know what he's been up to and how things have been going on. There's only so much you can know by writing to someone and... I don't know, I just feel at peace whenever he's around."

"You do like him, don't you, Jieun?"

"I guess I still do," she gave out a long sigh just as her phone rang. She waves goodbye at Lucas as she answers the phone, quickly telling Mark that she was on her way to their arranged meeting spot. 



Mark still found it hard to believe how he managed to find Jieun again - perhaps fate really worked in mysterious ways and maybe, just a small maybe, the universe thought it was time for the two of them to be in each other's lives once again. He was able to reach out and hold her, feel the warmth of her skin and actually see for himself how her eyes would turn into crescent shapes whenever she smiled or laughed. He was here to witness them - no longer imagining how her face looked after years and years of being apart from one another.

She was still as beautiful and as charming as he remembered, she was still the Jieun he had fallen in love with all those years ago. How was it even possible to love someone for so long even when you never had the chance to meet them for such a period of time? The love he had for Jieun was like no other - he was always sure of himself that he would never fall for someone as hard as he had fallen for Jieun back when they were kids. 

He didn't need to wait for her letters anymore - all he needed to do was give her a call and a few minutes later, she'd be right by his side. 

It was selfish, he knew that. How very very selfish of him to want Jieun to spent so much time with him but he couldn't help himself. He made the mistake of letting her go all those years ago and he was determined to make up for all his mistakes, for all the times he wasn't there for her when she needed him and for all those broken promises they had made. He was willing to do anything just so Jieun could be beside him once more, even as a friend - he didn't mind. It would be too selfish of him to want something more out of what they had, he was already at peace with being even in the same room as she was.

So, as he sat down in the little restaurant with his leg bouncing up and down as he waited anxiously for Jieun's arrival, he had a warm smile on his face. He wondered what kind of food Jieun would order and what her reaction would be when she ate - she was always so joyful around food, he found it to be very much adorable. Maybe she'd talk about her classes with her friends or how she saw this really cool cat video the other day and wanted to buy a cat right then and there even when she was allergic to them. Perhaps she'd talk about their old days, the days where they used to run to each other's houses and spent so much time together that people nearly thought they were stuck with glue with how close they were. Whatever she decided to converse on, he'd be fine with it since he found everything Jieun talked about to be interesting no matter how mundane they were.

He twiddled his fingers just as his eyes shot up to look at the door at the sound of the familiar bell ringing followed by the soothing voice that he could listen to all day long. Mark stands up, gives her a small wave when he sees her searching the rows of table for his face. His heart skips a beat when he sees her smile at the sight of him - it was as if time slowed down really really really slow, to the point where he could see the air particles move.

The way her hair seemed to bounce with every step she took.
The slight skip in her steps as she made her way towards him.
The light shining from her eyes as she made eye contact with him.
The faint smell of her perfume as she gave him a quick hug before sitting down opposite him.
The way her lips curved into a smile. 

If perfection was a person, Mark certainly thought that person to be Jieun.

"One day," Mark thinks as Jieun orders, "One day, I'll tell you - just wait for me a little longer, Jieun."

"Are you sure you guys aren't dating?" 

Minji asked Jieun just as the girl in question had finished ordering her bubble tea order. Jieun raised and eyebrow and Minji scoffed at her attempt to dodge the question. In all the years they had been friends, Jieun should have known by now that when Minji wants answers, she gets answers. 

"Don't play dumb with me, Eun," Minji took her drink and they headed towards the table seated next to the large panel windows - a perfect view of all the people walking to who knows where to do who knows what. As Jieun poked her straw into her drink and took a long sip, Minji rolled her eyes.

"Don't pretend that you don't know what I'm talking about, Jieun."
"What are you talking about anyway?"
"You and that Minhyung guy! You guys are practically glued to each other, everyone on campus is talking about it. Can't believe Miss Out of Everyone's League actually found a guy that fits her standards. I was getting worried you were going to live to become that weird cranky lady with a dozen cats just because her type of guy doesn't exist."
"Minji, I'm allergic to cats."
"I was talking metaphorically."

Jieun brushes her fingers against her hair, placing down her drink on the wooden table and her free hands drummed her fingers against the table. She's uncertain of what to answer Minji - what exactly was her relationship with Mark? She couldn't seem to properly put a label on their status and the status of her feelings for him. It was complicated and truthfully, she had been trying to stop prying further into her own head. She had just gotten Mark back, she didn't want to scare him away with;

"Hey, I've been in love with you ever since we were kids and now that you're here we should really get together because I think I'll die if I lose you again."

Yeah, that's a hard bomb to drop.

"I don't know, Minji," she sighs and lets her eyes wander to observe the people passing by on the other side of the window, "I just... don't want to lose him, you know? He meant everything to me back then and even now after all those years, he still holds a dear place in my heart. But, after so long - you just kind of get confused over your own feelings. Is this really love or is this just some unresolved feelings?"

With a grunt, Jieun rests her head on the table.

"Don't get me wrong, he's amazing and all that but what if it's just me? What if I'm the only one going crazy for him and I just end up losing him all over again if I tell him what I've been thinking? What if I just end up making things awkward for us? I just can't seem to think straight whenever he's around - it's so exhausting."

Minji was taken aback with the sudden vomit of words from Jieun that it took her a quick second to process before analysing the situation Jieun was in before giving her thoughts on Jieun's current problem. A comfortable silence fell between them, with Jieun's head still on the wooden table and Minji taking small sips from her drink.

"Here's what I think you should do," Minji spoke up, breaking the quiet air as she gently pushed her drink further on the table and clasped her hands together. "You, my dear Jieun, should definitely try and make things clear with Minhyung. You guys have been hanging out together nearly every day for the past couple of months and if my eyes aren't lying to me, Minhyung probably looks at you the same way - both of you are idiots who are in love with each other but are too much of a scaredy-cat to come clean with your feelings to one another.

"He likes you, Jieun - maybe more than you know. Really. If he's as precious as you say he is, a confession won't break the bond you have between the two of you. If it does then, girl, he is not that special. I can't stand seeing you two be all lovey-dovey, clinging to each other 24/7 and tell me that you guys are nothing more than friends because that is just a straight-up goddamn lie!" Minji pointed an accusing finger at Jieun's direction, "You waited long enough, Jieun - it's time for you to be with dear prince charming himself."

The girl shrugged her shoulders and leaned back into her seat, leaving Jieun to think for herself about her words. Minji had given her honest opinion and all that was left was for Jieun to take the first step forward or continue to keep her feelings hidden away. It was all up to Jieun's decision after all - was she ready to flip to another chapter of her life where Mark and she were more than friends?  
 

"I really like you - I never loved someone so much in my entire life and I don't think I ever will. So, could you give us a chance?"
 

It was nearly a year since Jieun and Mark reunited and in that short time, they managed to spend so much time together to the point that both of them ended up dating when Christmas came up. Their feelings for one another hadn't changed throughout the years and through the constant exchange of letters, those feelings continued to live and grow. Their meeting was just the push they needed to come clean to each other about how they truly felt and how they thought of one another. 

So, for their very first Christmas as a couple, they bought couple rings as a symbol of their new relationship status. It was Mark's idea to buy them as gifts and Jieun was more than happy to agree.

As they laid on the bed inside Mark's comfy warm small apartment, he kept looking down on the ring on his finger with a satisfied smile on his face. 

"What are you so happy about?" Jieun asked, snuggling closer against his chest as she pulled up the blankets to cover both of them from the cold. Her arms circled around his torso, her ear hearing how loud and calming his heartbeat was. The room was dimly lit and the echoes of the honking cars amidst the heavy traffic below didn't annoy her, instead, she found herself feeling such peace and relaxation just by having him around her. His presence always brought her a comfort she could never find anywhere else.

He looked down at her, pressing his lips against the temple of her forehead. "Nothing," he holds up his right hand, still looking at his ring, "It's just that every time I look at this ring - I'm reminded that I'm here with you. That you're here with me. That we're together, breathing in the same air, feeling each other's warmth and holding one another. It's a symbol that makes me realise that this isn't a dream and that you're really here by my side."

He puts his arms around her and rests his cheek on her head, a small satisfied hum coming out from both of them.

All they needed was one another and just with that, everything was alright.