For blingblingaili

At first, the couple paraphernalia Kim Hana and Yu Barom had bought for themselves seemed to be the greatest assets of their small apartment unit in Seoul. It had reminded them every day of their love; matching heart-shaped pillows on the couch, about 50 different polaroids stuck on the wall, a pair of male and female teddy bears on the headboard, matching fluffy slippers, and even matching pajamas. Of course, they didn’t forget to buy a king-sized bed for their bedroom and a decent-sized couch fit for two for the living room – just to serve as their special intimate spaces – at the time they were just moving in. Now, after just three years, Hana kind of regrets buying them.

One lazy Sunday afternoon, Hana was curled up on her bed – no, their bed: hers and Barom’s – staring at the polaroid montage on their bedroom wall. “I miss you so much, Rome,” she thought, hugging her knees tighter. It’s been a year since her boyfriend, Barom, who she often called Rome, left Korea to go to Australia. A great business opportunity at his company came up, and the president only invited the best employees to come with him to Sydney, Australia. Of course, upon hearing the great news, Rome couldn’t refuse to take it, not only because of his impending promotion but also because it meant he would be coming back to his hometown. Hana, of course, didn’t hesitate to let him go. Well, that was because she didn’t know she would be missing him this much.

Initially, she didn’t mind Rome’s absence, as his calls came often and her inbox was filled with his e-mails, but Rome eventually became busier and busier, lessening the only connections they had. Hana understood, as she always did. She told herself to hang in there and wait – but waiting was harder than it seemed, especially since her whole apartment was basically a constant reminder of her boyfriend. “I shouldn’t have bought so much couple stuff,” she mumbled to herself, diving into the nearest pillow.

Hana stayed like that for a few minutes until she needed some air. She was greeted by her cell phone as she looked up from the pillow, which displayed what could possibly be the greatest thing that happened in her day: ‘You have new mail: Rome’.

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