Translation of Love

26

Morning

I groan as I come into consciousness. My eyes open to a dimly lit room. I take my time; my deep breaths filling the air, my limbs stretching out as far as they can.

When I'm stretching my arms out I become aware of the empty space beside me. My eyes widen, hand moving around, desperately looking for the body that should still be there.

"Taeyoung—" My call out is cut off when I sit up and see him at his desk, writing something.

He looks over at me sleepily. "Good morning."

I stare at him, unsure if I should say what I'm about to say.

"Don't do that," I mumble.

"Do what?" He finishes writing something and turns his chair to face me.

"I don't like waking up and not feeling you beside me," I mumble my words, embarrassed by them.

His face changes to surprise once he registers my words.

"Oh, I'm sorry Sohee." He begins to laugh at me.

My cheeks turn red, an annoyed pout forming on my face. "Don't laugh." I lie back down, pulling the sheets to my chin.

While still laughing he gets up and sits on the edge of the bed.

"I had an idea in my head that I needed to write down."

"Okay. But don't wake up before me and make breakfast or whatever. I'd rather wake up with you here beside me." I blush again.

His gaze on me makes me anxious, an unreadable expression covering his handsome face.

"You're adorable," he says this while crawling back under the sheets, a serious look still on his face. "Here, I'm back." He taps his nose against mine.

"Thank you." A goofy little smile forces its way on my lips. This causes him to chuckle as his hand caresses my hot cheek.

"Well since we're both awake, I can leave now?" He says this in a joking manner.

"No," I say bluntly, my arms wrapping around him, pulling myself to him. "Stay just a little bit longer," I mutter against his shirt.

"Okay 공주님 [gongjunim]."

"What's that mean?"

"Princess."

I scoff at him. I take the time to savour this feeling. Him petting my hair, his warm smell surrounding me, his heart against my ear.

"You really haven't dated before?" He asks and I open my eyes again.

"I have. I've just never had a boyfriend. I've been on a lot of first dates. Not many second dates."

"Why?"

"I don't know if it's because I'm picky, or if deep down I was too scared to commit to someone, but I always found reasons why I didn't like the guy. So I always said no to a second date."

We both pause.

"So you should feel honoured that I like you so much."

He bursts out into a rumbling laughter, his chest shaking against me. I turn my head upwards to see his crinkled up face and smile at him.

All of a sudden the bedroom door opens.

"Hyung, do you know where—" Junwoo's mouth hangs open mid-speech when I pop the sheets over my head. Taeyoung flips his body around quickly, angling himself so that I'm covered.

"Uh..."

But he already saw me.

"Oh you're home?" Taeyoung casually says. But from behind his body, I can see that his ears are red.

"Yeah... I just got home. Is someone with you? Am I interrupting something?" He tries to get a peek around Taeyoung.

"Nope."

An awkward silence fills the air.

"바보 [fool], I already saw her." Junwoo laughs and Taeyoung clears his throat awkwardly. I slowly poke my head up from behind him.

"Hi Junwoo," I say.

"Ah, I can't even be mad," he says before turning and leaving the room.

Slowly my built up laughter comes out. My hands cover my embarrassed face. Taeyoung turns back around, a similar expression on his face.

"Well, I guess he's home now."

I laugh even more, tears building up in my eyes. His goofy smile appears as he leans his forehead against mine.

I love him. I think I really love him.

My laughs stop when the weight of these words strike me.

His laughs slowly die out, and he wipes the tears that are stuck on my cheeks. We stay silent for a while, just holding each other in our embrace, enjoying our companionship. It's one of those mornings where I feel as though I could lay in bed forever, and with arms wrapped around me, this feeling only heightens.

After a while he speaks. "Sohee."

"Yes."

"Can I ask?"

"Ask what?"

"About your mom."

His eyes are serious but soft. Genuine curiosity shines through them. He wants to know more about me, and who am I to tell him off after he told me about a bit of his life?

"Sure. You already know that she moved with me to Canada when I was two. So she was a single mom, raising me up. My grandparents helped us out a lot. They were quite strict, but cared about us."

I try to think of where to begin.

"I don't know. My life was good. We didn't have that much growing up, but I didn't need anything fancy. I was a happy kid and she was a great mom. She was my best friend. She never talked about Korea though, or about my dad. I was always too scared to ask. Very stubborn, she was always very stubborn."

"I loved her so much."

My mind drifts off—and for the first time in many months—I go back to that time; the worst time of my life so far.

. . .

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Love,

Sooaura