(Listen to 맡겨 (Entrust) by Infinite : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZZi42OrTRE)

From the very beginning, one thing was clear. Woohyun and I had an unbelievably strong foundation of trust between us. Maybe it was the accident, maybe it was the way he had read through me at the funeral. But unlike all the people I had met, especially after growing up in a minefield like India, Woohyun’s transparency was one of his biggest strengths. Just when someone thought they could blow his cover, they realized that he never had one. He was open-minded, ready to listen to everyone’s views and opinions. His honesty would charm others, without him using any tact. He also had the beautiful quality of agreeing to disagree. It was one of the reasons why we never really had a serious quarrel.

8 October. It was our 100 day anniversary. Because I wasn’t Korean bred, I wasn’t aware of this special couple occasion and even after knowing about it, I didn’t bother. But my wild curiosity made me ask Woohyun about it.

“100 day anniversary?” he asked, his shocked voice shaking me a little. The two of us were sitting in my apartment, playing Jenga. A few weeks after we started dating, I had thrown a 24/7 long tantrum thanks to one difficult student. The very next day, Woohyun had landed up at my door in a mailman’s outfit, gifting the box to me.. “Isn’t it irritating when one smaall block topples down the whole structure? Stuff like that shouldn’t happen in real life.”

“Yeah,” I continued, praying that he could notice my indifference. “Akane was yapping about it during today’s class so I couldn’t help but wonder. What do people do on their 100^th day as a couple? Do they actually count the number of days?”

Woohyun startled me by packing all the blocks away. “You’re talking,” he reasoned and turned to face me. Unfortunately, I wanted him to be as distracted as possible for this topic.

“No,” I said. “YOU talk. I’m done.”

Woohyun shrugged. “It has been our 100^th day together, I knew that already. But its not like I counted. I glanced at the calendar and realized it instantly. If you want to celebrate it—”

“ADADA!” I shouted. Woohyun blinked at me while I blushed like there was no tomorrow. I bit my lip. “Its not that I don’t WANT to,” I said. “Its just that… I don’t understand it. All I wanted to know was whether you found it important.”

Embarrassed at my outburst, my crossed legs started shaking without my permission and attention. I shifted my attention to the big window, whistling ‘Oh Susanna’. Seconds later, I felt Woohyun’s hands on my knees, disciplining my thighs. Our eyes met and he pulled me towards him.

“Let’s get this straight,” he sighed, our eye-contact intact. “You don’t believe in this.”

I shook my head.

“Nor do I.”

“It seems so.”

Woohyun tried to suppress a smile but failed. “Listen. For me, the only thing that counts is your happiness. Not the number of days we’ve dated. So if this occasion means nothing, it could be an excuse to have more fun as a couple….” His eyes twinkled and my lips turned up into a grin. Both of us jumped up to catch hold of our respective jumpers and left the house holding hands.

“Can you do that again?” he asked when we reached the Yeouido Park.

“Do what?” I asked. My jaw dropped when Woohyun flailed his arms and squealed, “ADADA!”

“I did NOT do that! At least not like that!” Woohyun grinned while I twisted my lips and folded my arms, walking ahead of him.

“We still look like a couple,” he said. I pretended to not hear him and looked around at the street fair that had been organized. 

“Holding hands is just a norm,” he continued. “Even if you walk till the end of this street, the chemistry won’t die out.”

Peeved, I turned to face him and narrowed my eyes. “Let’s see.”

And I ran.