The dark clasped the azure sky as the day ended like a dried petal falling to the ground. The psychiatric ward was doing their daily routine, clueless about what Sun Hee had been through. They played classical music in a room while their patients were creating some paintings. It was one of the therapy sessions for depressed people. The room beside it has an educational session for mental illness.
Sun Hee bid goodbye to the nurses. She waited outside of the hospital and roamed her eyes around the open space.
"Is he coming to fetch me again? I hope not," she whispered.
When Youngsoo told her he was monitoring her, it wasn't only a threat. It's been a month since he has been driving her to her workplace at 6:00 am and fetching her at 5:30 pm.
A high-powered car stopped in front of her. Its window rolled down and Youngsoo's noble face popped out.
"Am I too late?" he said.
Youngsoo came out and opened the door for her. He was always doing that to her like she's a diamond in a field of pebbles.
"You shouldn't have come here. You were beside me in a month to the extent that I can count the tiny moles on your skin," she said.
A smirk splattered on his face.
"But you waited."
Her eyes flickered.
"Do I have a choice? The last time I left without your permission you scolded me."
Sun Hee was talking about the time when she went home without notice. She wanted to avoid him because each day with him was paradise, and it was something she shouldn't get used to. It might only be part of his work, but it's shaking her decision to get over him. To describe his reaction as scolding was an understatement because it was more of an explosion.
"Hey, do you want to die in the hands of that bastard?" Youngsoo said.
Sun Hee sat still on the couch in their living room.
"Don't you know the risk we are taking here?" his voice was low but deadly.
She couldn't make eye contact.
"Listen. If you do it again, I swear I'm going to put some bodyguards around you. It's also a bright idea to lock you up in your home. Do you understand?"
Sun Hee felt so small that she wanted to sink to the bottom of the Earth.
"I said do you understand?"
"Y-yes."
Sun Hee erased that memory in her head and focused on the road.
"I miss Mee Yoon," she said.
"You can always call her."
"There's a difference between talking to someone over the phone and seeing her in person. You can't hug her or see her smile. That proves you haven't dated before. You don't value physical attachment."
Youngsoo glanced at her.
"Well, I love my sister, but she hates seeing me. Does that mean she doesn't love me?"
"Of course she does. She is just shy to tell you."
"That's what I'm talking about. I don't have to see someone most of the time to show how much I love her."
Sun Hee smiled.
"You'd be a great boyfriend. Too bad you can't be because you devoted yourself to watching over her."
"I think she will understand if I get married someday. Even now, she is pushing me to get a girlfriend like I can buy one at a convenience store."
They arrived at Sun Hee's place.
"Wait here. I'll brew some coffee," she said.
Youngsoo nodded and sat on the sofa. His eyes rambled to their family photo. Sun Hee has a wide smile on the picture with her parents when she was young while gold medals hung around her neck.
"Cute," he whispered.
When she was older, her smile vanished until only her mother remained by her side in the photo. His attention landed on the piano. He slithered his fingers on its smooth surface and sat on the chair. He pressed one tune as his soul lingered on each note like a ritual chanted by the Gods.
Sun Hee paused when she heard the piano playing the song closest to her heart—All I Want by Kodaline. It wasn't a song that reminds her of an ex, but of her father. The lyrics of the song were the words she never told to her dad but lasted in her heart.
Sun Hee peeped through the door and gazed at Youngsoo with his eyes closed. He was an angel sent from above, dashing without wings. A tear dropped from her eye, but she wiped it away with a snap. She placed the coffee on the round table after he pressed the last key.
"That was marvelous. You didn't tell me you play the piano," she said.
"That's why it's called hidden talent."
He drank the brewed coffee.
"This tastes good. You didn't tell me you're good at this."
"That's why it's called hidden talent."
They chuckled.
"Are you practicing to become a good wife too?" he joked.
"Not only good but the best wife."
"Oh. That sounds interesting. I want to try it too."
"To be the best husband?"
"To be the husband of the best wife."
Sun Hee choked at her coffee.
"Hey, that's a good one," she said in an awkward tone.
"It wasn't a joke though."
Sun Hee gulped.
"When I turn 33 and both of us are still single, I will marry you."
She snorted.
"I will not marry you."
"It's too early to say that. Who knows? Maybe I'd find a girlfriend within 2 years or next year."
She rolled her eyes.
"As if you have women surrounding you."
"Detective Dan is a wonderful choice," he said.
"Oh? That's great."
"Considering how you declined my marriage proposal means that you are looking forward to it," he said with a sly smile.
"Quit dreaming. Promises are meant to be broken."
"But I didn't promise. Do you want me to?"
His eyes blinked with innocence.
"Hey, do you want to die?"
She glared at him.
"Oh my. Mee Yoon, is that you?"