Silent, they walked home, holding hands. Her heart was still quaking. So was his.
He clutched the silver package in his other hand.
“Do I have to wait until tomorrow to open this?”
She glanced at him and was surprised to see the eager look in his eyes.
“You want to open it now?”
“Can I?”
She shrugged. “I guess so…”
With no further ado, Namjoon released her hand to grasp the wrapping paper in both hands before tearing it off the box. Breeze was privately missing the contact between their fingers. She watched him open his gift with a slight trepidation dancing in her heart. Would he like the present she’d gotten him?
Namjoon glanced up at her for a quick moment, the smile dying on his lips as he caught the uncertainty in her eyes. She was clearly nervous about him opening her gift.
“You know I’m going to love it, right? Whatever it is. Because it’s from you.”
Again! Here came the tears! But she could feel a sweet warmth creeping into her heart as he finished speaking. She smiled at him as a tiny tear escaped the corner of her eye.
Namjoon turned his attention back to the little box in his hands. He opened it and unearthed a small, pink heart that framed a picture of him and Breeze, their arms around each other, gazing into each other’s eyes. He was astonished. How had she gotten such a picture? He looked at her.
“When she found us on the couch the other morning, your sister snapped that picture before she entered the room.”
Their most intimate moment so far, just waking from slumber together, captured forever on film.
“She sent it to you?”
Breeze nodded.
Namjoon stood looking down at it, a faint smile staining his lips. Breeze watched him hesitantly. She loved that picture. Did he?
“This was my favorite moment with you so far.” He raised his eyes to meet her own. “I love it.” Then a twinkle lit up those eyes as he added, “I told you so!”
She laughed, relieved. Grateful that he’d liked his gift. But more excited that he liked her. That he enjoyed spending time with her. That he wanted to hold her in his arms. That he sometimes stared for too long at her lips or clung to her hand when anyone else would have let it drop by now.
He carefully set the framed picture back into the box, replacing the lid, before he turned towards her and reached for her hand once again. When she gave it to him, he clung to it and pulled her close to him. Right up next to him. Privately, he was thinking that this was right where she belonged. Forever.