After a memorable 8-month anniversary call, Taeng and Tiffany were unable to video call for the past 4 days. Winter vacation was approaching which meant both of their college semesters were coming to an end thus resulting in the dreadful finals week. The two dearly missed each other the times they couldn’t call even though they spent every second texting each other. Despite the everyday communication, it wasn’t enough to satisfy their hunger for each other.

Taeng and Yul were in the library, studying for their separate exams. Final exams were still a couple of months away but they wanted to prepare themselves ahead of time since their professors gave a fair warning the exam was not something to be taken lightly.

Silence fills the library yet everyone felt the stress lingering in the air. Keyboards were being pounded on as students drain their brains for every word on their essay, pages were being flipped wildly as students desperately tried searching for keywords, and pencils were scribbling away ensuring no white space of paper was untouched. For both sides of the world, everyone knew the feeling of dead week.

Yul takes a deep breath, relieving his eyes from the textbook and stretches. “Man… I feel like we’ve been studying for hours,” He said tiringly, rubbing his eyes.

 Taeng nods while continuing to write his notes, “We’ve been studying for about 2 hours now.”

“Geez… Can we go home now? The vibe in this room is making me more stressed,” Yul said quietly, gazing around the bustling stressed students swimming around the library.

The blonde-haired boy sighs, “Yeah, my hand is cramped from all this writing anyway. Let’s head home, I can finish my notes there.”

The two friends pack their things, quietly leaving the rest of the students to their study and head home. Once they arrive, Yul informs Taeng he’s going to take a nap. He ensures him he will only sleep for 30 minutes and resume studying before dragging himself to his room and shutting the door. Taeng laughs to himself, unsure if he should believe his best friend, before heading to his room to continue his notes. He pulls out his notebook and textbook and continues from where he left off in the library. As he writes away, his hand writhing in so much pain from the nonstop work, he receives a notification on his phone.

He quickly sets down his pencil and picks up his cellphone, a wide smile grows on his face as he sees the name displayed on the screen. He quickly replies to the message and eagerly waits for the response. Within seconds, a reply was received and immediately Taeng forgot about his studies and ended up focused on the person he was contacting. After a couple of messages were exchanged, he quickly asks if his favorite person was available to call since it had been days since their last one. Without even checking the response, he quickly logs on his laptop to the video call app. He grins seeing the name he was hoping to see online and rapidly invites Tiffany into a call.

 Tiffany’s box pops up on his screen and he eagerly waits to see the face he had been dying to see for the past 4 days.

“Taenggggggg!”

His smile grows wider as the beautiful girl he had missed appeared before him with her perfect eye smile.

He childishly waves and sends her a kiss through the camera, “Miyoung-ah! I missed you so much!”

Tiffany laughs and blows him a kiss, “I missed you too! How is the studying going?”

Taeng dramatically sighs, “Horrible. I think my hand is going to fall off from all this writing.”

“Tell me about it. I think I’ve gone through 6 pieces of lead for my mechanical pencil just for one class!” The dark-haired girl expressed in exasperation, huffing out a breath as she runs her hand through her hair.

Taeng gulped and felt his heart skip a beat, he wasn’t sure why but the way Tiffany looked and acted was making him feel all sorts of emotions. He knows that she’s beautiful, gorgeous even, but at that moment he felt a different feeling take over his body seeing his girlfriend on the screen.

Maybe I just really missed her, he thought to himself.

He clasps his hand over his heart and felt the irregular beating, growing confused as to why it was beating faster than usual. He touches his cheek and it was burning hot with red. Taeng shakes his head and takes a deep breath, trying his best to calm himself down.

 Tiffany at her head and looks at her boyfriend worriedly.

 “Taeng, are you okay?” She asked with concern in her tone.

The blonde-haired boy snaps out of his thoughts and looks at Tiffany.

“Y-yeah, I’m fine. Why?” He asked with his tone higher than usual.

“You’re acting… different. Are you stressed from all the studying?” She asked, her face showing so much concern for the latter.

Taeng takes a deep breath and stares into Tiffany’s eyes deeply. The adoration he has for this girl is so unreal and the more he looks into her eyes the more he realizes his deep feelings for her. He can tell just how much she cares about him and from there he could feel his heart beating faster every second. For some reason, Taeng grew more nervous just looking at his girlfriend and he couldn’t look her straight in the eyes longer than 2 seconds. He quickly looks away and closes his eyes.

 What’s gotten over me? He thought to himself as his stomach began to do backflips.

He slowly opens his eyes and stares at the perfect human being on his screen. She was still looking at him with concern but didn’t say anything. The nerves in his stomach built up more, he couldn’t explain why but he was looking at Tiffany in a different light. There was something different about her but he can’t put his finger on it.

Taeng grows confused, what is this light he is looking at Tiffany from?

 “Taeng…?”

 He snaps outs of his train of thought again and stares at the girl.

“I’m really worried about you Taeng. Are you tired? You can sleep if you want. I’m happy I was able to see your face for a bit and we can always call tomorrow,” Tiffany said quickly, feeling like a burden to her boyfriend.

Taeng immediately shakes his head, “No no Tiffany. I’m not tired at all. I want to talk to you, I’m sorry I was just lost in my thoughts.”

 The latter slowly shakes her head, “About what?”

 Taeng pauses for a moment, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to tell his girlfriend the kind of thoughts he was having, he didn’t want her to worry about anything but he doesn’t want to lie to her at the same time.

“I was just thinking about…. How much I missed you. You look beautiful,” He said sincerely with a small smile on his face.

Tiffany felt her heart race and her stomach release butterflies. She smiles from ear to ear hearing the sweet words from her boyfriend, she never realized how much she missed hearing his voice.

“Taeng, you’re so cute. I missed you too handsome. I’m here now!” She said childishly, raising her hands in the air.

They both laugh and look deeply into each other’s eyes.

 “And that’s all I want,” He said coolly, sending another smile.

 “Me too,” She replied with the same smile.

Hours passed for the two as they continue talking about their past days, their studies, and other things they could think of. It amazed both of them that even though they texted every day, they always found something to talk about. They were never bored of each other and even if they didn’t have much to say sometimes, the silence was comfortable. For them, as long as they felt they were in each other’s presence, they were happy.

 “You know Taeng…” Tiffany said softly, with a gentle smile on her face.

“What?” He asked happily.

 “I can’t wait to meet you…. In person.”

 Taeng felt his heart race as a huge grin appears on his face.

“I can’t wait for that day too.”

“What is the first thing you want to do when you see me?” She asked expectantly, her eyes gleaming.

Taeng tilts his head to the side and softly chuckles, “I want to give you the biggest hug and look right into your eyes and say I lo-”

Instantly, his eyes widen and he clasps his hands over his mouth. He stares at the latter with disbelief as his brain racks around with thoughts jumping everywhere. Tiffany’s eyes widen too, she felt heat flush her entire body. Her jaw slowly drops and she too was left in disbelief.

“W-what were you going to say….?” She asked shakily, fidgeting her hands.

 Taeng felt as if he could die at that very moment. He slowly drops his hands onto his lap and stares at the girl in front of him. He couldn’t process any words as he sat there with a shocked expression.

Was I about to say….?

“Taeng?”

He looks at his girlfriend who looked as if the wind was knocked out of her. He runs his hand through his hair and swallows roughly before returning his gaze to the latter.

“I uh….” He stammered with embarrassment.

He looks around the room, thinking of what words to say next.

Tiffany looks at him expectantly for some reason…. She had a feeling of what he was going to say.

“I’m-gonna-head-to-bed-now,” He said in one breath, immediately regretting the words that came out of his mouth.

Disappointment washes over Tiffany’s face, she looks down and continues fidgeting with her fingers.

“Right now….? I thought you wanted to say something….”

Taeng felt horrible seeing his girlfriend’s expression change in a negative way. He didn’t mean to say that but his mind was so jumbled that he wasn’t thinking straight. He remains silent for a while, making Tiffany’s anticipation grow larger.

“Can I call you later…?” He said softly, “I need to do something really quick and then I promise to call you.”

 Tiffany felt hurt hearing Taeng reject her encouragement to continue his words but she couldn’t show it for the sake if her assumptions were wrong. She didn’t want to get her hopes up if she thought wrong.

“Okay…” She said weakly, she faintly chuckles, “You promise.”

Taeng nods, “I promise. I’ll talk to you soon okay?”

She nods and waves before ending the call. Feeling a little dejected, she heads out of her room to the living room to find Jessica. Her blonde friend was lazily sitting on the couch surfing channels on the TV. She gazes at Tiffany and immediately sits up seeing her friend look so blue.

 “Hey Tiff, what’s wrong?” She asked with concern.

Tiffany doesn’t answer quickly, she takes a seat next to her best friend and sighs heavily.

“Can I talk to you about something Jess?” She asked, her eyes fixed on the floor.

“Of course, what’s it about?” The blonde latter replied softly.

Tiffany takes a deep breath and looks straight into her best friend’s eyes.

“It’s about my feelings for Taeng.”

 

 “Yuuuuuuuuuuuuulllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll!!!!”

 Taeng yelled along the hall as he ran to his roommate’s door. Without even knocking, he bursts through Yul’s door and finds him passed out on his bed with his cellphone on his face. In one motion, Taeng jumps on the bed and shakes Yul vigorously.

 “Yul! Wake up! This is an emergency!” He yelled as loud as he could as he shook the dark-haired latter from his slumber.

Yul’s eyes snap open and his body jolts. “What?! What happened? Is the apartment on fire?!”

Taeng shakes his head roughly, “It’s not that kind of emergency!”

 Yul scowls and pushes Taeng off of him.

“What the heck man?! I was having the best sleep ever! What kind of emergency is worth waking me up?!”

 “I-I’m sorry! I need your help,” Taeng said frantically.

Yul sighs and sits up, “What about?”

The blonde-haired boy takes a moment to calm himself down by breathing deeply. He tries to collect his thoughts before fixating himself on Yul’s bed.

“It’s about Tiffany….” He said softly, his eyes pierced on Yul.

Yul groans, “Are you kidding me? How is that an emergency?! You woke me up for this?! Yes, buy that shirt for her and send her some chocolates. Was that it?”

Taeng shakes his head slowly, “No… This is more serious than that…”

 Yul felt the seriousness in Taeng’s tone, he gazes at his friend and sees a sad expression across his face. He immediately sits up straight and stares at his best friend, worried that the issue was much more serious.

“What is it?” He asked softly, staring with much concern.

 Taeng takes a deep breath and looks at Yul with glossy eyes. “How… how do you know when you’re in love?”

Yul’s eyes widen in shock, he was surprised to hear Taeng ask such a question since he thought he had full knowledge of love being with Jieun for so long.

“What do you mean Taeng? Have you never been in love?” He asked with lightness in his tone.

Taeng tilts his head to the side, “I… I don’t think so. What do you feel when you’re in love?”

Yul sighs and scoots closer to Taeng on his bed, draping his arm around his neck.

“Well… What do you feel when you talk to Tiffany?”

A smile forms on Taeng’s face just hearing his girlfriend’s names, her beautiful face appears in his thoughts, and her voice echoes in his mind.

“I feel… like I’m in heaven,” He trailed, “When she says my name it makes my heart explode. When she laughs it’s like hearing the most beautiful song, when I see her smile it’s like… I’m lost in the world. I can’t go a day without thinking about her. I want to protect her when she cries and…I want to be there for her all the time. I just want to….”

“Love her?” Yul finished with a smile on his face.

Taeng remains silent, letting the word “love” seep in his thoughts. When he was dating Jieun, he never felt those kinds of feelings towards her. He had feelings for her but it was never this deep like he has for Tiffany. Love was never something that occurred to him in relationships. He thought love was special and should be taken care of delicately because it can be so easily broken. Tiffany was different and he knew that. His feelings grew deeper and deeper for her each day and he was wondering if the stage of “love” would ever happen. He has known that girl for a long time now, she was precious to him. But love is a huge step in a relationship. It tightens the commitment even further and steps have to be taken more delicately.

Taeng grimaces and sadly chuckles, “I… almost said I love you to her a while ago.”

 “Dude almost?! What happened?” Yul asked in disbelief.

“I… I got scared Yul. I’ve never been in love. I’m scared of what’s going to happen to our relationship. I…” He felt a pang in his heart as he choked up. “I think I do love her Yul. And I mean… I think I truly love her but… I’m afraid of the next step. What if she doesn’t love me back? What if she can’t continue our relationship because she can’t find herself to love me? I can’t accept a break up from her, it would ruin me Yul. It would hurt a lot,” Taeng weakly said.

Yul takes a breath and clasps his friend’s shoulder, “You know what I think? I think no matter what happens it’s going to be okay. It’s not easy confessing your love to someone. Heck, it took me forever to say I love you to Jessica. But you know what? Letting her know that you love her is probably the best relief and feeling ever. I think you love her Taeng and she should know how much she means to you. Who knows? Maybe she feels the same. Life is about taking risks and it’s going to kill you more if you don’t tell her.”

 Taeng slowly nods his head and remains silent. He took a while to process Yul’s words that a comfortable silence filled the air. He took each word to heart and seriously thought about everything. From the time they started video chatting to the day, he asked Tiffany to be his. It was all precious to him, and he wanted to create more precious moments.

With Tiffany by his side.

“I love her,” Taeng said, breaking the silence.

Yul gazes at him, “What?”

A smile forms on the blonde-haired boy’s face. “I’m in love with Tiffany Hwang.”

 

“Are you serious?!”

“I think so… I felt like those were the words he wanted to say.”

 “What an idiot! He should have just said it right then and there!”

 Tiffany softly chuckles at the actions of her best friend. She could feel the steam coming right out of her ears after explaining the situation that just happened with Taeng not too long ago.

“I don’t know if that’s what he wanted to say….” She said, her tone filled with sadness.

 “What do you mean?” Jessica said, trying to calm herself down.

“Maybe he wanted to say something else. You know we were having a romantic moment and the emotions took over him. He probably didn’t mean it.”

Jessica scoffs and grabs Tiffany’s shoulders, “Do you hear yourself?! Why are you being so pessimistic?!”

Tiffany sighs, “I don’t know… I don’t want to get my hopes up you know? What if I’m right? What if he wanted to say something else?”

 Jessica takes a deep breath as she releases her friend from her grip and leans back against the chair. Silence seeps between them, Tiffany continues her stares at the blonde latter, knowing her friend was in the process of thinking.

 “Can I ask you something?” Jessica asked after some time.

 Tiffany nods and waits for her friend to continue.

 “Do you… love Taeng?”

Tiffany’s eyes slightly widen as she hears the question. It echoes in her mind and it wraps around each word the blonde latter asked.

An image of Taeng pops in her mind and she couldn’t help herself from smiling. He meant a lot to her, so much that he was precious in her mind and heart. She’s never felt this way about someone before, deep caring feelings that grow stronger each day. She wanted him more than anyone else and she couldn’t keep her eyes off him. No one else was like him and she didn’t want to think about anyone else about him. Her smile remains on her face as she stares at the floor, Taeng over-flooding her mind.

Jessica smiles seeing the smile on the latter’s face but she was eagerly waiting for the words she was hoping to hear. Tiffany faces Jessica with the same smile and chuckles.

“I think I-”

*Ring ring ring*

Both the girls jump, startled from the sudden noise that was coming out of Tiffany’s pocket. She quickly pulls it out and gasps in shock to see Taeng’s name across the screen. Jessica internally screams on the inside as she sends an awkward smile to Tiffany. She remains silent and rests against the couch, wanting to mentally punch Taeng in the face for his always bad timing.

 Without hesitating, Tiffany immediately presses the answer button to hear the voice of the boy she already missed. She completely forgot Jessica was in the room as she raises the phone to her ear.

 “Taeng?” She said softly.

 “Miyoung-ah, I told you I would call you back,” She hears the blonde-haired boy say sweetly.

 A smile forms on her face as she softly chuckles. “I’m so happy you kept your promise.”

 “Of course, I would never break a promise with you.”

 Silence seeps between the two and for both of them although it was comfortable it felt like an eternity.

“Tiffany?” Taeng said softly.

“Yes?”

“About earlier…I realized I never really fully answered your question,” He started, with a lingering tone.

Tiffany felt heat rise to cheeks, she did everything she could to control her emotions.

“O-oh that’s right. I’m a little disappointed you didn’t tell me.”

She hears the latter chuckle on the line, “Well… I want to finish it right now.”

 Tiffany gulps, she thought she was prepared to hear what he was going to say but thoughts rushed through her head and it made her more nervous as the silence was killing her.

 “Before we meet…” He started, “I want you to know that you mean so much to me. You’ve changed my life for the better. I want to protect you Miyoung-ah. I want to be the one you can turn to when you’re sad or mad. I want to be the one you can brag to your friends about and I want to brag about you to all my friends. I want our relationship to grow stronger just like my feelings for you. I want to take care of you and be the best possible boyfriend I can be,” He takes a deep breath, “What I want to say Tiffany is….I love you.”

Tiffany felt her heart explode out of her chest, the butterflies in her stomach escape again and she instantly felt as if she was on cloud 9. The words she was hoping to hear came right out of his mouth and it was ringing in her ears and repeating in her mind. She couldn’t believe it but she knew it was real and it was true. A wide smile forms on Tiffany’s face. She softly chuckles and takes a breath.

“Taeng…When we started dating, I knew you would be different. Every day I can feel that you truly had feelings for me and it made me like you even more. Every night I would fall asleep with a smile on my face because thinking of you made me so happy. Being with you has changed my life in the best way possible. You never gave up on me and you pushed me to be better every day. I cannot be more thankful to have you in my life. My dorky dorky Taeng… I love you too,” She whispered happily.

Taeng felt like he was in heaven hearing Tiffany’s response. This was a moment he thought would never happen to him but after experiencing it with Tiffany, he knew it was true. The love he had for her was real and it was growing stronger every second. He knew this was the perfect moment and he was so thankful he had a friend like to Yul to encourage him. He mentally thanks him before letting out the most sincere chuckle.

“I feel so happy right now,” He said breathlessly.

Tiffany chuckles, “I can’t express how I’m feeling right now but… it’s nice.”

 “When we meet…. I want to hug you, look right into your eyes and say ‘I love you, Tiffany,” He said sweetly, finally feeling happy that he could complete his previous statement.

Tiffany smiles, “And I can’t wait to be in your arms, look into your onyx eyes and say ‘I love you too Taeng.’”

At that moment, both knew this was a new step in their relationship. There’s going to be obstacles in the way but they know the feelings and newly profound love they have for each other won’t allow obstacles to stop how they feel. This was a new feeling for both of them but they couldn’t wait to get started on this adventure together.

Taeng and Tiffany continue talking until it grew late in Korea and it was time for Taeng to sleep. With smiles on both their faces, they found it impossible to hang up on each other.

 “Promise to call me tomorrow?” Tiffany asked sweetly.

“Of course. I promise,” He replied sincerely.

 Tiffany bites the bottom of her lip, although they just announced their love for each other, she was still shy to say it to him. This new feeling would need time to adjust but she knows this a feeling she wants to feel every day for him.

“Sleep well okay? Goodnight,” Tiffany said shyly, wanting to say the three words but not finding the courage to.

Taeng chuckles, “Thank you. You enjoy the rest of your night. I’ll dream of you and I can’t wait to talk with you tomorrow.”

 “I can’t wait to talk with you too.”

 “I love you, Tiffany.”

The smile on Tiffany’s face grows wider and her stomach feels warm. This feeling was sensational to her and she wished he could say those three words over and over all night.

“I love you too Taeng,” She happily replied, her heart beating erratically.

“Goodnight my love,” Taeng said breathlessly, a wide smile on his face.

“Goodnight love,” Tiffany said sweetly.

They both hang up and place their phone on their laps. Both had a smile on their face and both were experiencing the same feeling. A wind of love was overtaking their bodies and they were allowing it to envelop throughout them.

Taeng lies down on his bed, with his arms resting under his head as he stares at the white ceiling above him. The smile on his face was still there as he slowly closes his eyes.

 “I’m in love with Tiffany. I’m so in love with her,” He chuckled to himself before allowing sleep to wave over him with thoughts of his lover in his mind.

Tiffany sighs of happiness as she relives the moment that just happened to her. Taeng and she have deepened their relationship and even though it was a big step she knew he was worth it. Her thoughts were warped around everything he said, she places a hand over her heart and feels the beating of it. The smile on her face wasn’t going to disappear and she wished she could replay that moment again.

 “I’M SO HAPPY FOR YOU!”

She jumps in surprise as she felt arms wrap around her and the squealing of what sounded like a dolphin.

 “Yah! Jessica, you’re going to make me deaf!” Tiffany yelled, trying to squirm out of the blonde latter’s arms.

Jessica squeezes her tighter, “I’m just so happy for you! My little Tiffany is in love!”

Tiffany rolls her eyes and pushes the latter away, “I completely forgot you were in the room. Don’t ruin my mood, I just experienced the most wonderful thing in my life.”

“I know! I was there!” Jessica ecstatically stated, wriggling her arms like a child.

Tiffany sighs and laughs at the sight of her best friend. Instantly she hugs the blonde latter as tight as she could.

 “Thank you for believing in us Jess,” She said sincerely with a smile on her face.

 Jessica returns her hug tighter, “I’ll always believe in you guys. You deserve this Tiff.”

Tiffany chuckles before releasing from Jessica’s warm hug. The smile on her face remains as she thinks of Taeng who she can now proudly call her lover. She knew it was just the beginning of their love but she couldn’t wait to see what the future had in store for their relationship.

 “I’m in love with Taeng. I’m so in love with him.”