Nani and Jimin stood outside and stared up at the moon. It was nearly half visible. Its glow released a warmth into this moment that neither of them would ever forget. Jimin slipped his arms around Nani from behind and pulled her close to him. He rested his chin on her shoulder as they gazed up at the moon.
But his breath in her ear was distracting her. Her eyes left that beautiful moon to glance back at his lovely face. She could feel her heartstrings being pulled. Would he still be here when she awoke in the morning?
“Jimin, let’s stay outside for as long as we can tonight,” she whispered.
He could hear the longing in her voice. “You’re afraid to go to sleep, aren’t you?”
She didn’t reply. But her eyes locked with his. He could feel her melancholy.
“You’re afraid you’ll wake up, and I’ll be gone.”
“Yes,” she murmured quietly.
His eyes delved the depths of hers for a few breathless moments. Then he gave in to an impulse he’d been fighting all day. He turned her towards him and bent his head to brush his lips tenderly across her own. Stunned, she stood rigid as his mouth wreaked a gentle havoc on hers.
But as he continued that tender assault, she began to relax. Her arms found their way around his neck, and he drew her closer still to his heart. Once she was nestled snugly against him, he drew his lips reluctantly away from hers. As he stared down at her in the growing darkness, he sighed.
“I’ll miss you too should we ever awake from this dream. But,” he glanced up at that glowing ball in the sky over their heads, “we will always have this moon. Whenever you see one like it, remember me, and know that I will be remembering you too.”
They stood for a long while that night gazing at the luminous moon. Breathing the same air. Huddled together for warmth. But too soon, Jimin noticed she was fading. Her eyelids were growing too heavy to resist. Her limbs were developing a weightiness too. One that was becoming more difficult to fight.
“Come,” he whispered. “Let’s go to your room. I’m freezing. I can’t stand out here any longer.”
Her compassion for Jimin spurred her into the house. She glanced at the clock. One-oh-nine. He noticed too.
He bent to breathe into her ear, “Happy Birthday, Nani!”
She smiled at him. Then she led him to her room.
“Top bunk or bottom?” she asked him.
He looked at her quizzically. “Don’t you sleep on the bottom?”
She nodded. “But you’re my guest. So, you choose.”
“I’ll take the top. After all, I am taller than you.” He grinned impishly at her suddenly, and she laughed.
“Well, at least you’re taller than someone,” she smiled mischievously at him, but she spoke it with such tenderness that it couldn’t possibly have hurt his feelings.
His smile stretched across his face as he gazed down at her with affection. “I had a great time with you today, Nani. I’m so glad you called my name.”
As she stared up at him, she was powerless to resist the yawn overtaking her. His smile slowly faded.
“You’re exhausted. You need sleep.”
“No!” she forced her eyelids open again. “I’m fine.”
“Nani,” he spoke her name as a gentle father would to admonish his recalcitrant child, “it’s time to sleep. Come now. I’ll tuck you in.” He iterated this last with a humorous affection.
“No, Jimin!” she sobbed suddenly as she threw herself into his arms. She wept silently against his chest as his arms came up around her.
He held her close to his heart as she finally calmed down. He continued to cradle her in his strong arms until she fell asleep standing up. He felt her body go lax. He caught her and bent to pick her up.
The bottom bunk was hers for sure now. He laid her down on it and tucked the covers in around her. Her eyes fluttered open.
“Jimin…”
“Shhh. I’ll just be up on your top bunk, Nani. Goodnight. Sleep tight.” He bent to brush a kiss across her forehead, then he pulled off his hoodie and laid it over her for added warmth before climbing up on the top bunk.
The last thing Nani heard before she drifted off to sleep was his weight settling above her.
—
Soon enough, the somber light of Sunday’s sun was seeping into her bedroom. Before she even opened her eyes, Nani heard the rain pelting her roof again.
“It’s raining on my birthday?” was her first thought.
Jimin was her second. She sat straight up and smacked her head on the top bunk. Her hand flew up, and she rubbed the aching spot. After a moment, with trepidation stalking her every breath, she crawled out of bed. She didn’t notice the black hoodie that fell to the floor. Instead, she looked up at the top bunk. Her heart sank as she found it empty.
Tears filled her eyes. She stuck her foot on her bed and stood up on its surface to get a better look at her top bunk. As though she might discover Jimin had shrunk to pocket size and was just waiting for her to find him hidden beneath the covers. The bed was still empty, but…
…wait. What is that?
She reached out and fingered a silver chain. Her eyes, however, were not on the necklace but on its stunning pendant. For the glass circle hanging from it encased a glowing moon. Identical to the moon of earlier this morning. Last night’s moon. Under which Jimin had kissed her lips.
She stared down in wonder at the moonglow necklace as his words of last evening flowed through her.
“We will always have this moon. Whenever you see one like it, remember me, and know that I will be remembering you too.”
Nani would.
She ran her thumb over the glass covering their moon, and she knew that she would always remember Jimin every time she looked at it. Because of him, she now knew what it felt like to be treasured. She would remember that feeling every time she glanced at the moon. And she was just as certain that he would remember her every time he peered up at the glowing ball over his head. A brilliant moon he could see even now. In Seoul. Where her heart was. And always would be.
