"If I was a simple man,
I’d own no home, I’d own no land
Would you still stand by my side?
And would our flame still burn so bright?"

“Do you love me?” You looked at him quizzically, slightly taken aback by his question. “Of course I do.” A small smile graced his lips, his shielded eyes resting on the setting sun before the two of you.

Your eyes remained curiously on him, bemusement clear on your expression. “Why?” A slight chuckle escaped Jiyong’s lips. He ignored your question, “if I wasn’t famous…if no one knew my name, would you love me then?”

“That’s a silly question.”

“A question nonetheless.”

“Yes. I would still love the nameless person that you’d be.” His smile faltered slightly. With his eyes still resting on the scenery he gently reached for your hand. “What if I was blind? Or deaf?” You couldn’t fathom why he was asking such strange questions, but nonetheless decided to go along. “If you were blind then it would probably be easier for you to love me.” He fixed his serious gave on you in silence, his eyes boring into yours. With a tender tone he said, “You are beauty at its best.  And if I were deaf? What if I couldn’t hear your beautiful voice? Would you still bother speaking to me?”

“Of course I would. There’s always hope. I would hope until you were able to hear me.”  He contemplated for a moment, his head nodded.

“When I grow old and my face is wrinkled, will you still love me? What if I forget about the man I grew up to be? I wouldn’t be able to remember all the things you’ve done for me, all the ways you inspired me.” He pictured it vividly in his mind’s eye. A slight wave of fear surfaced on his face at the picture.

You took in the question for a moment before answering, “I don’t know. I might end up the same way. If either one of us ended up that way we could always remind each other. If we both end up that way…then…”

“We’d be screwed,” he chuckled. 

“Do you think it would be easier…to love me if I wasn’t who I am? You know if I weren’t complicated, just plain and simple.”

“No. You’re anything but simple. It doesn’t matter if you’re a celebrity or not. You will always be complicated. That’s something I can appreciate about you though…you’re a work of art. It’s so hard to figure you out. Even now…I can’t truthfully say I know you to a greater extent than the rest of the people around you,” You admitted,  lightly laughing at his frowning face.

“Are you calling me weird?”

“In a way, yes I am. But being weird is better than being a bore.” It was his turn to laugh at your expression with your nose scrunched up. You had been unsatisfied with the way it came out. “I don’t want to be complicated though. I want to be simple. I want the world to know who I am. Yet, I want to walk down the street without anyone being able to recognize me.”

“That’s an oxymoron in itself. You can’t be famous and expect no one to recognize you.”

“Well maybe I should have debuted with a mask? That might have made things easier for the both of us,” he mused solemnly.

“Maybe, maybe not. I guess we’ll never know now.”

“I know I mess up a lot, but I hope all my mistakes don’t make you distance yourself from me.” You turned to him in a serious manner, concern written on your face.  “JiYong, you’re starting to worry me. Where are all of these questions coming from?”

He sighed dejectedly, “I just want to know how unconditional your love is. I want to make sure that I’m doing what I should be doing for you to love me…for everyone to love me. I don’t want you to hate me. I want you to be able to overlook whatever mistakes I make because you love me enough.”

A sad smile graced his lips before he continued, “I just want to get everything I do right. I don’t know why I always question my reality. Sometimes it all feels like a dream. Like at any moment I’ll wake up from all of this and…I won’t see you. It scares me.”

Your gaze softened. In that moment, where the stars were brightening at the sun’s disappearance he looked so fragile. You wanted to shield him from any sort of negativity. But how can you protect someone from the world without interfering in their life?

“I guess I’ll just have to trust you.” He looked at your with a pained expression. Trust was something that should be handled with care. Could he be sure that he could keep yours safe?

You placed a warm hand on his cheek with a small smile on playing on your lips. “Sometimes you just have to trust the person. You have to trust that they won’t let you down.”

 Fin