I really liked that window. It was more of a skylight really, but from it streamed the most softest of rays which just warmed me every morning; except it was now afternoon. It's been a while since i had slept so soundly to the point where I didn’t even dream, I was simply calm. Slowly I peeled myself off the bed and put on an oversized shirt not bothering to scrounge around for bottoms. I need food. Blame it on my work life, but the only thing I had in the pantry were some staples. Some bread, eggs and milk made for a perfectly fine French toast and so I brought out the saucepan to start cooking. It’s been a little over two years since I’ve been in London, now working at a clinic full-time once I was finished with my postgraduate studies. The hours are long and the job is demanding, having to go around schools and colleges to meet with young adults each with a different story and a different concern. And it was every bit as rewarding as I thought it would be.

From the window I could hear the shouts of children playing in the park across the road, along with the noisy chatter of people in the café downstairs. This was getting ridiculous, it’s a beautiful Saturday and at twelve in the afternoon I was making some shifty looking breakfast out of old ingredients. Annoyed, I turned the stove off and marched over to my bed, throwing the covers off it. He was lying face down completely unmoving, hair a heap of red, hot mess contrasting against the white sheets of the bed.

“Hey,” I said. “Wake up.” All I heard in return was a groan before he reshuffled himself and continued his sleep. He must be absolutely exhausted. Wearing nothing but boxers I had a pleasant view of his , all leanness almost gone and replaced with unexpectedly well-toned muscles spreading across his shoulders and arms. On his side was a huge tattoo that read ‘Forever Young’ along with the old black ink of ‘too fast to live too young to die’ on the back of his shoulder; they were  the products of his obsession. I leaned over and kissed it, deciding that I should let him rest for a little while longer, and then went back to my breakfast or lack thereof.

In the middle of reading my fifth personality profile, French toast now reduced to mere crumbs, I finally saw him stir and pull himself out of the bed before lazily approaching me.

“Good morning,” Ji Yong mumbled then bent over to peck me on the lips before sauntering off towards the bathroom.

“Hardly…” I said out of earshot. I think the age was getting to him. Now that he’s almost twenty-nine the work load, world tours and erratic schedules were finally affecting his sleeping pattern; in that he just passes out whenever he can.

“What day is it today?” he asked me as he puts on a shirt.

“Saturday.”

“Ah.” Ji Yong walked over to me once again then crouched down near my chair so that we were at eye level. “No wonder you’re in a bad mood.”

“I’m perfectly fine,” I said then continued to furiously flip through the pages of the report.

“Oh, really? Good I was thinking of just hanging out here at home anyway.”

“Do you want to die?” He smacked on that huge, childish grin of his then in one swift motion took the papers away from my hand and pulled me up off the armchair.

“Not really. That’s why we should go out and have a late lunch you and I,” he said and easily dragged me towards the closet.

We were nearing the end of summer and it was one of those miraculous days where there wasn’t a single cloud in the sky, which made sitting on the outsides tables for lunch all the more worthwhile. Ji Yong was casually wearing a fedora and sunglasses at an attempt to hide his less than conspicuous hair, whilst I happily drained in the sun in a light maxi dress.

“Did you wait long last night?” I asked him.  

“A couple of hours maybe, I can’t remember.”

“Are you serious? Why didn’t you call me? I would’ve rushed home if I knew you were there.”

“That’s exactly why I didn’t call. You would’ve been so distracted if you knew some hot guy was waiting for you in your apartment.” Wow, subtle.

“Oh sorry, were you talking about yourself?” I smirked.

“Funny Ri Ah.” Then the both of us smiled at our small joke. I loved days like this when it was just the two of us in our own little private world, as if nothing had changed. But who was I trying to kid, time had flown by and people had moved along with it as did Ji Yong and I. However, just for a few days in a year like today, Ji Yong would return to me. And when that happened, there was no past, present or future; just me and him safely within reach of each other. I could explicitly remember how everything had started, from the date, the weather, his clothes, his words. They were securely embedded into my mind because that was the day that I decided I didn't want to live without him.

It was in the middle of my first winter in London, in mid-February. I had been here for seven months and I hadn’t seen Ji Yong in nine. It hadn’t snowed all winter long, turns out snow was a rare occurrence right in the centre of the city and when it did, it barely had time to settle on the ground at all. But on that particular night, soft little balls of white started cascading from the night sky. Against the backdrop of old buildings and lamp posts that lined the streets, I had never seen anything so beautiful, and so I ended up taking my time home. At that moment, in a new environment with new friends, I was just so happy; this place was all that I hoped it would be. While I was carefully eyeing my steps on the slippery path, I almost didn’t see him. Ji Yong was wrapped up in a scarf and jumper, leaning near the apartment entrance just patiently waiting. Some of the snow had caught in his hair and his breath was clearly visible against the cold but he just stood there calmly, hands buried deep in his pockets. None of us said a word; we just smiled at each other, a smile laden with so much emotion of loving and longing, but most importantly a final acceptance. He held me tight and as soon as he said my name I felt as if everything was in place. Perfect. Whole. We made love that night in a cold and dark apartment, but that didn’t matter one bit. My heart was warm.

Ji Yong didn’t ask anything of me and neither did I of him and that’s how it had always been from then on. With no demands and no pressure we just loved each other the way we saw fit, and to us it was as simple as having someone to lean on.

“I saw another girl of yours online, she’s pretty. What is she, like thirty? Seung Ri oppa is going to have the time of his life when you get back,” I said.

“Sometimes I really want to know where they get their ideas from. You know once they paired me up with an eighteen-year-old. I mean, is that even legal?”

“There’s no smoke without fire.”

“Honestly, you would think that when I turned more to composing they would give me a break.”

“Ji Yong, it’s all those girl groups you work with. That studio is pretty isolated, I know from experience.”

“So now I’m a pimp.” I laughed at the image.

“TOP oppa would make a better one,” I decided.

“True. He has a movie premiere tomorrow where he plays a really good-looking spy.”

“When does he not play a really good-looking anything? Does that mean you have to leave soon?”

“Yeah, my flight’s tomorrow morning.” So quickly?

“We better make the most of it then.” I quickly finished off my lasagne and washed it down with a cool glass of lemonade while Ji Yong went inside to pay for the meal. We were a few feet away from the restaurant making our way across the plaza when a waiter started to call out after us.

“You paid right?” I asked Ji Yong. He nodded. It was only when the waiter got closer that I saw what was in hand. Crap.

“You left it on the table,” he said, then hands me a silver ring. “Better not lose it.” And he winked then quickly ran back.

“Thank you!” I shouted. Beside me I could already picture Ji Yong shaking his head with disapproval.

“I still don’t get why you can’t eat with it on,” he said, sighing.

“It’s uncomfortable and noisy when it keeps on clinking with the spoon. And don’t get me started on chopsticks.”

“If you lose it, you’re going to be the one buying us a replacement.” He took the silver band from me and smoothly slid it onto the ring finger of my left hand, exactly where it’s supposed to be.

AN: I'm going to take a moment here and write a small ode to GD. His 30 sec MV teaser is out and while it did give me a little headache, the beats and bass were everything that I could ever ask for. Hats off to the genius.