Joohyun has had her heart broken in many different places—literally and figuratively. 

Her first break-up was in a museum. 

Next was in a restaurant. 

And the third one was in Yongsan Family Park. 

Each and every time, her heart was torn or broken in a million other pieces. So when Seungwan asked her out on a date, and Joohyun was starting to catch feelings, there was apprehension. 

But the blonde woman was adamant.

“Hyun, I’m taking you to a museum,” Seungwan said, a steering wheel on one hand and Joohyun’s hand on another on their first date. 

With a film camera in tow, Seungwan took photos of Joohyun gazing at artifact after artifact, painting after painting. The next thing Irene knew, she was prancing around, trying to tease the blonde woman. 

“Keep still! We need to make every shot count! Developing film burns the pockets you know,” Seungwan joked.

Joohyun twirled around, poking fun at the younger woman’s annoyed reaction. “You can’t catch me!” 

Seungwan drops Joohyun off at her flat at the end of their date; Joohyun immediately took out her phone, and typed away.  

Thanks for today! I love you. 😘 

As Irene was about to hit send, a wave of fear hit her, thoughts of uncertainty submerging her: What if it doesn’t work out? Can she really commit? 

After a minute-long pause, she pressed the backspace button repeatedly, rewrote her thought, and pressed send. 

I had a great time. Thank you for today. 🙂 

— 

For the next date, Seungwan took Joohyun out to her favorite Canadian diner off the outskirts of Seoul.

“I went here a lot whenever I missed my parents,” she explained, chomping on a few pieces of poutine, her favorite comfort dish when she momentarily lived in Canada. 

Joohyun gazed at Seungwan’s hamster cheeks for a bit before taking a sip of the malt milkshake she ordered. “You’re feeling homesick now?” 

“Not really. Seungwan gazed at Joohyun’s brown orbs, “I just feel like I want to share these fragments of my life with you.” 

Warmth nestled in Joohyun’s chest. But that was followed by a cool nervousness shivering down her spine, brought up by her hesitations, and the way Seungwan sounded so sure of being with her: What if we break each other apart? What if she dumps me here? What if I get stood up? 

Good thing Irene was quick to mask that out, and pushed the younger mockingly with a laughter to disguise her worries. “Yah, Seungwan you’re as greasy as your fries.” 

“They’re called poutines!” 

Like the last time, Joohyun immediately took out her phone and typed in a text message for Seungwan as soon as she drove away from their date. 

I love you xxx, thanks for today. 

Irene clicked her tongue while revising the text message. “No, no, no. This is not gonna work you’re going to get hurt.” 

I enjoyed today, as always. Thank you. She pressed send afterwards. 

—

Joohyun momentarily winced at the sight of the Yongsan Family Park, like wounds lathered in salt and let out to dry, recalling the last time she got dumped—sitting by the grass, staring at the sunset. 

Seungwan was there to make their third date, a late afternoon jog, enjoyable though. 

The two kept a constant pace as they jogged at the side of the pathway, Seungwan stuck out her tongue “You can’t catch me!” She said, speeding. 

Joohyun’s competitive spirit of course, never faltered, as she used every inch of her bones to catch up with Seungwan. When Joohyun got close, Seungwan squirted her water bottle. 

“Yah! Seungwan-ah!” Joohyun squealed, running faster to tackle the younger woman on the grass, inhibitions falling down. 

For a moment, Joohyun felt the world stop as her eyes took in Seungwan’s after their fall - a flurry of questions clouding her head. 

Could she really trust Seungwan to not make the same mistakes? She never thought she would find solace in a museum after getting dumped there. She never thought a restaurant date would make her feel warm after she got stood up one winter. 

And she never thought that after a series of heartbreaks in many different places, she would have her own defenses fall on their own in areas that left her broken - all because of one person.  

Joohyun wouldn’t have thought that one person would try and patch up memories of places which tore every fiber of her being apart. For the first time in a while she felt whole, and Seungwan was able to replace forgettable memories with ones, you could say can be immortalized if they tried hard enough to make things work this time around. 

And when they fell down the floor, Joohyun took the plunge, grabbing Seungwan by the collar to crash her lips to the blonde’s in a liplock that would seal the deal as the sun went down - like her defenses. I'm all yours

An hour later, Seungwan dropped off Joohyun at her flat, pulling her in for another kiss. 

And when Joohyun climbed up her flat, she took out her phone and immediately sent a text, inhibitions and defenses finally down. 

Hey thanks for today. I love you. 💙🙂😘 

• END