chapter three
Bucket List
Sehun sat on the couch and looked over the list.
Before I Die
Go bungee jumping!- Attend a Masquerade Ball
- Swim with dolphins
- Get kissed in the rain
- Go rock climbing
- Adopt a dog
- Scuba diving
- Paris
- Run a marathon
- See the grand Canyon
- Ride a hot air balloon
- Disneyland
- Visit Japan
- Sky diving
- Meet Kim Jongin
- See the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)
- Drive a race car
- Ride a horse
- Donate Blood
- Get a Tattoo
- Fall in Love
- Get married.
He looked up to see Soojung who was on her laptop.
“Sehun!”
He stood up and smiled. “Yeah?”
“Kim Jongin is a dancer.” She says as she scrolls through his biography. “He’s only 23.”
Sehun takes a seat next to her. “Stage name…Kai?”
“Ah, he’s a solo artist under a music company. SM Entertainment.” Soojung says. “He seems cool. I see why Yoora-shi would like him.”
Sehun nods along. “He’s talented.”
“He’s going to have a fan sign in Seoul next month…maybe we should try and go.” Soojung says.
Sehun nods. “We could.”
“Help me finish the list.” Soojung says, taking his hands. “Everything on that list…I want to complete it.” She smiles brightly.
“Even get married?” Sehun says. “It says she wants to fall in love and get married.”
Soojung eyes the list and releases her grip on his hands. “Grandma said…she’s always wanted to see me in a white dress.” She mumbled. “When we’re 27 years old and we’re still single.” Soojung looks up. “Let’s get married.”
Sehun nods and turns to the laptop screen. If only you’d wait six years for me… He thought.
“Soojung…Christmas is around the corner…Let’s get at least one thing done on this list.” Sehun says. “I-It’s not going to rain anytime soon so let’s forget about number 4.” He says.
Soojung laughs. “What can we do?”
“Donate blood…adopt a dog…get a tattoo.”
“Donate blood? Needles again? Why not.” She says.
Sehun turns to her and reaches for her hand. “Soojung…you’ve been sick for so long, you’re immune to these terms. It kind of worries me when you’re like this…”
“I just wish I was never sick in the first place.” She admits. “I wasn’t able to do things a teenager would because I lived in a hospital the whole time.” She mumbled bitterly.
She continues. “I’ve never had a high school crush before…man I wish I knew how that felt.”
Sehun stares at her. It’s a wonderful feeling, Soojung. Your cheeks get red when you see them and your heart skips a beat. You feel like everything will be okay when you’re with them, and when your day has been the worst, everything gets flip flopped around when you see them smile. More importantly, it’s nice having a high school crush because chances are, you’ll never have the guts to confess…you’ll never know if that person likes you back. I’ll never know if you’ll love me the way I love you, but it’s perfectly fine because you seem happy for now…so I’ll just stay by your side and love you silently.
Sehun nods. “Y-Yeah, I wonder what it’s like to love someone.” He says softly.
“We’re only 21! We have a long time to find someone Sehun, don’t worry.” Soojung chuckles. “I want to go to college Sehun…” She says quietly. “I just don’t know if any schools would accept me…I was absent for most of my high school career.”
“You made up all the work and you were medically excused.” Sehun says. “Don’t worry about it. Just find a major first…something you want to do for the rest of your life.”
Soojung shakes her head. “I never thought about it…I never had the chance to.” She says. “Some days I want to become a doctor, some days I want to be a teacher…I don’t know what I like.”
Sehun nods. “I was like that too…”
“You never told me about your major.” She says.
“I want to be a dentist.” Sehun says. “One’s smile already says a lot about them.”
“What made you choose that?”
He shrugged. “My mother once told me that if you’re confident, you can do anything. If you can smile and look at the life ahead of you, nothing is impossible. So I thought if I can be someone’s reason to smile confidently…that’d be nice.”
Soojung smiles. “What about me? What about my smile? What does it say?”
Sehun looks at her and smiles back. “Your smile tells me that you’ve never given up a day in your life before…your smile tells me that you’re a beautiful person inside and out…” Sehun pauses. “Your smile tells me that you’re happy.”
Soojung nods. “I am.”
A couple days later, the two venture out into the city to adopt a dog and maybe even get tattoos.
Sehun stands in the tattoo parlor with Soojung. They look around for inspiration although they both have something in mind.
“Soojung…let’s get this one.” Sehun points to the photo on the wall. It’s a picture of a girl and her boyfriend. She got the words ‘to infinity’ tattooed on her ribcage while her boyfriend has the words ‘and beyond’ on his.
“To infinity and beyond.” Soojung says softly. “I like it.”
In the midst of Sehun’s tattoo session, the artist looks at him and shakes his head. “Boy, you love her…don’t you?”
Sehun nods. “She’s my best friend.”
He shakes his head. “No, you love her…”
Sehun looks at him in silence.
“Don’t worry, this room is sound proof, and she’s down the hall.”
Sehun nods in defeat. “I love her.”
“Does she know?”
He shakes his head. “No…”
“Why?”
“I don’t want to ruin our friendship.” Sehun says simply. “And I’m afraid that she won’t love me the same way.”
The artist nods. “If so, then why’d she agree to get this tattoo? To infinity and beyond, it’s something couples usually do.” He says.
Sehun sighs. “She recently got multiple transplants from this woman who died. She’s the author who passed away a couple months ago, and that author had a bucket list. A list of things she wanted to do before she died, and Soojung’s helping her complete it…since she has her heart and eyes anyway.”
“And getting a tattoo was one of them?” The artist asks.
Sehun nods. “So was falling in love…and getting married…and getting kissed in the rain.”
“And you’re worried she already loves someone else.” The artist says as if he read Sehun’s mind.
Sehun nods. “Pretty much.”
A couple hours later, Sehun walks down the halls of the tattoo parlor, his shirt is in another room and he’s wondering how Soojung is taking it. The tattoo was quite painful, but knowing Soojung, the pain was probably nothing to her.
Soojung walks out of her room, she’s holding her shirt the necklace she took off earlier.
Sehun flushes red to see her like this, her black skinny jeans look amazing on her and her hair is tied up in a bun.
Soojung looks up and runs up to him. “Let me see!” She turns him to the side and reads the words. “And beyond…”
Then she turns to the side and shows him her part of the quote. Sehun also notices the beautiful ink on her back; a dandelion with its seeds dancing in the air followed by a few birds.
The artist comes out and laughs. “Aigoo! Look at you two…” He walks them to a mirror and makes sure they’re facing each other before pointing. “Now you read the quote together.”
To infinity and beyond…
18. Get a Tattoo
[a/n]: comments are much appreciated!
Happy holidays!
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