35
Voice of my Heart
Your family was finishing up the final touches on Myungsoo’s house when his family pulled into the driveway. You were in charge of watering all the of plants, and you did a pretty good job, if you could say so yourself.
“Hey! Welcome home!” you heard your dad say at the front door. You hurried downstairs to see your mom setting out lunch on the dinner table, and your dad helping Myungsoo and his dad carry in their luggage. Myungsoo’s mom greeted you and your mom, offering hugs.
“Did you guys bring back all of Japan or something?” your dad asked as he dragged some things inside. You were helping set up the table for lunch when you felt arms wrap around your waist, followed by a noise of protest on your shoulder.
You turned your head to see Myungsoo pursing his lips, eyes tired, but happy. “Hey, Myungsoo,” you said, kissing his cheek. He frowned and turned you around, raising an eyebrow.
“That’s all I get after a month? A ‘Hi, Myungsoo’ and a kiss on the cheek?”
You rolled your eyes and leaned forward to kiss him on the lips, feeling him smile into the kiss as he wrapped his arms around you again and squeezed.
“That’s better.”
“I’m a little bit grossed out right now,” Myungsoo’s dad said, giving the two of you a look.
“Now I know how they feel,” your dad said, laughing as he pulled out a chair for your mom to sit down.
--
Myungsoo noticed a few things different with your room when he came by with your souvenirs. A few things were rearranged to give you more space. Your table where you usually did homework was moved towards your closet, and a stack of fabrics and a small sewing machine rested on top.
He turned back to you to see you marveling at the miniature set of samurai armor he bought for you, along with the postcard of the cherry blossom trees, and a Hello Kitty fan. Myungsoo firmly believed that no guy could ever go wrong gifting a girl Hello Kitty.
He noticed that you looked a little bit different, and he stared at your face while you fanned yourself on your bed. You looked a little bit older, a little bit more worldly. It was probably the job that made you look that way, the feeling of self accomplishment and fending for yourself. You were so excited when you bought yourself a laptop with your own earnings, Myungsoo couldn’t help but be excited with you.
It made him think. His parents pretty much did everything for him. If he wanted something, they would buy it for him, as long as he concentrated on his schoolwork and proved that he was doing something with the things they bought him. He overheard them talking about getting him the latest model of DSLR for graduation. It was either that or a new car.
He knew your parents didn’t spoil you as much, even though you were the only child. You earned your things doing chores and getting grades. You had to save up money and buy things you wanted on your own, but for some reason, you always looked happier.
“Myungsoo? Is something wrong? You’re staring harder than usual,” you said, smiling as he sighed and laid down on your lap. You fanned him too as he closed his eyes.
“There’s only a month left of summer, then we start senior year. Can you believe it?”
“No, not really. Our last year of high school. I never thought this would come.”
“Pretty soon, we’ll be taking SATs, applying to college, figuring out where we wanna go and what we wanna be for the rest of our lives.”
You were silent. You still didn’t know exactly what you wanted to do after high school. Myungsoo had been asking you lately, but you didn’t really have an answer for him. At least, not an answer he would take seriously.
“Are you going to keep working once school starts?” Myungsoo asked, opening his eyes.
You shook your head. “No, I don’t think I’ll have time. I already told the owner, and she’s sad, but she said she’d get over it. I’m already mourning the loss of my employee discount,” you said with a fake sob.
Myungsoo chuckled and reached up to grab your chin. “I think you’ll be okay.”
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