Yoona was the least of Victoria’s worries. This wasn’t high school—she wasn’t up for some kind of competition over Khun’s attention. Their love was different now. They trusted each other; to the point where third parties don’t hinder them anymore. Jealousy had become something trivial now that their love has reached its mature point. They could go for days without communicating with each other, or talking to each other but the feeling stays the same, constant and consistent as ever. She greeted Yoona with a smile.

“Unnie you came too.” Yoona hugged her.

Siwon had called her and invited her over. It’s ironic that she sat beside Khun while Victoria sat across them, thinking how funny it was that another girl was in her supposed place. Khun looked the most uncomfortable. It was only Yoona who was oblivious to the secret that Khun and Victoria had been together all along. It made the atmosphere more awkward.

Victoria’s phone vibrated. Khun had texted her in secret.

Mission: escape

Victoria had to hide her smile. She looked across the table and saw how completely red his ears were. The rest of the gang was drunk and making noise. Victoria finally resolved to calling it a day and excused herself from everyone that she was taking off.

“I’m going home, goodnight.” She said, bidding everyone goodbye.

It was late at night, but she decided to go home alone anyway. She was supposed to ride with Heechul but seeing him in his state, he wasn’t going home anytime soon. She walked outside, embracing the chilly air. No cabs were passing by, so she decided to walk a little. A few moments later, she sensed footsteps behind her. She didn’t need to turn around to know who it was.

“It’s creepy following a girl like that.” Victoria blurted.

“We didn’t see each other for days, I’m not letting this night slip by.” Khun replied, his hands in his pockets.

Victoria halted her steps and turned to face him.

“What do you have in mind?” she asked him.

“I don’t know. Talk maybe.”

“We have no place to go.”

Khun looked around. Not a single open café was nearby. They were both under a street lamp, under the spotlight like some kind of lead characters in a play. Nobody was around though.

“Here.” He simply said.

Victoria looked sideways, thinking if he was serious or not.

“What do you mean here?” she asked.

He sat on the sidewalk, just on the curb. Even as he sat on the ground, he still looked like he was posing for a magazine.

“Are you kidding?” she snorted, looking at him like he was a joke.

“Nope. Come here.”

Victoria rolled her eyes and sat beside him. On the curb.

“We haven’t talked in a while.” She said.

“I know. But think of it as music from another room.”

Victoria blinked at him. Sometimes she wondered how much he learns from books. On occasion he would say philosophical things and metaphors that he’ll incorporate to his everyday life.

“Music from another room?” she asked.

“You know like when you walk into a room, and hear your favorite song. You know the lyrics by heart. You start to sing along to it as you walk out of the room. The music fades right? You no longer hear the music but still you continue to sing it. Then when you go back to the room, you are still in sync with the music, exact lyrics, exact tune. It’s as if you never left the room. Do you know what I’m saying?”

“Have you been watching Hollywood movies last night again?”

“Yes I have.”

It figures. He took something out from his red backpack that he carried with him everywhere. It was a tiny pocketbook.

“What’s that?” she asked him.

“Pablo Neruda’s poems. He’s a famous Italian poet. His love poems are really the best.”

“I love poems.”

“Here, read Sonnet 17.”

There was an English version on one page and a Korean translation on the other. Khun had highlighted the entire poem as if it was his daily creed.

I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz,

or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.

I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,

in secret, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you as the plant that never blooms

but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;

thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,

risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.

I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;

so I love you because I know no other way

in which there is no I or you

so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand

so intimate that when you fall asleep it is my eyes that close

“I used to hate poems like this because I never understood it. It was too highfalutin to me. But now it makes perfectly good sense.” Khun shared.

“Is that how you love me?”

“Why do you think I highlighted it?”

“This love he’s writing about…it’s not an ordinary love. It’s very organic, very primal; it goes beyond flesh and spirit. It dwells in the soul.”

“I know. What are you trying to say?”

“I just don’t think we’re at that point yet. We’re not even sure what we are now.”

“True but I know what I feel.”

“Khun I know you’re sure we’re marrying in the future but let’s think first. Are you really going to stick around and look past my everything? What if I become overweight? Would you still love me then?”

“Yes.”

“Oh please.”

“What, you think I love you because of your body? Your banging body is just a bonus. I don’t care what you look like.”

“What if I shrink to two inches small?”

“I’d carry you around in my pocket.”

Victoria couldn’t help but giggle. He knew how to charm a girl alright. But she still wasn’t convinced. A huge cloud of doubt loomed over her. She was bothered by a lot of things, and she couldn’t possibly picture herself married at this point in time. She was, at this moment, terrified.

“You haven’t seen me at my worst, Khun.”

“And if I did, not a single thing would change. I would still accept you, what are you trying to say?”

“I’m just saying that just because we’re prefect now doesn’t mean in the future, we still will be. Everything can change.”

Khun looked at Victoria’s expression. She was calm, yet he could tell something was behind all this worrying act of hers. He just knew.

“What’s wrong? Tell me.” He demanded.

She looked away and pursed her lips the way she always did when she was embarrassed or being really serious. He held her hand, intertwining his fingers between hers reassuringly. She looked at their hands, their beautiful hands and smiled weakly. She shook her head.

“Nothing.” She almost whispered.

He forced a gaze on her, trying to pry her open. She couldn’t hide anything from him; he knew her too well now. She sighed and forced a smile before looking at him deep in the eyes.

“I’m not implying or assuming anything...but I’m late, Khun.”

“Late?”

It took a while for Khun to realize what it meant but his mind went completely blank and he sort of spaced out for a few nanoseconds. Nonetheless, he was able to figure it out himself right before she answered it for him.

“My period. It’s late.”

Only meters away, Yoona was keenly observing the two.

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Song in this chapter: Ordinary People (Asher Book's version)