2022-05-15 21.00

“…and i used to visit his house really often too, his mom always gave us a delicious Korean halal foods and he would tell me that there’s a pork in there to prank me…”

she stared at him with a smile curled up on her face as he talked about his old friends. his voice is her most favourite sound in the entire world. his eyes sparkled, shining even brighter than the stars outside the car where they were sitting in.

“…oh, he’s also a very funny guy, he — wait, sorry, i didn’t realize i talked so much.” he grunted.

“no, that’s okay,” she caressed his cheek gently. “i love listening to your stories. i love seeing you talk so happily about the people you cherish.”

he smiled the sweetest smile she has ever seen. “do you want to know why i tell you all of this? the stories about my childhood, my school, my friends?”

she raised her eyebrows, asking ‘why?’ in silence.

“i want you to know every version of me,” he said, reaching for her hand. “i want you to know about the middle-school me, when i was a nerd and just wanted to play. i want you to know about the high-school me, when i spent most of my time wanting to look good and be accepted by my friends, girlfriends… and a bunch of unimportant stuff like that. i also want you to know about the first-year-of-college me, when i actually didn’t change much since high school, maybe even worse?”

he held her hand tighter while stroking it softly in between.

“you already know about the current me, the me after you came along. but i want you to know how i was before i met you, i want you to understand that every step that i have ever took, it has led me to you,” he paused for a bit. “i want you to realize that all along, you are everything i was searching for.”

he wrapped his arms around her gently, brushing his fingers through her hair with a small genuine smile.

“until i could buy a time machine to take you go back in time, i’ll use my stories and i’ll have you meet my friends to learn more about it, okay?”

she pulled him into a tighter hug as she bury her face in his shoulder trying to hide her glassy eyes.

and from that moment, she knew that she’s never going to let go.