A One Night of Bliss

Chapter Six: A Dreamful Kiss

The night is getting deeper but Dara and Hyukjae were still fully awake while seating in silence beneath the cold sand of the empty beach; away from the city. After their fun moments at the amusement park, they head over the coastline of Guryongpo. It was already 2:00 am and the serenity of the surroundings is visible. The small waves of the sea are gently crashing the seashore, making a piece of music that was soothing to their ears. The moon and the stars above were shining brightly beyond the horizon. And the cold breeze of the wind is bringing shivers to Dara's spine.

Hyukjae, noticing that Dara is trembling from the coldness of the wind, took off his jacket and silently put it over her small body. She flinched in surprise. But the moment she saw the tranquility of his eyes, a smile had bloomed on her lips under the dim lights of the moon.

Seeing the smile of her made him feel that he swallowed a herd of butterflies and it was flying joyfully inside his stomach. It was enough for him to feel panicked because what he had felt was peculiar and new to him...

No, it was not new, it was just unfamiliar and it was scaring him...

Because he was afraid that if his feelings will bloom deeper, that person will be taken away from him...

Nevertheless, he tried his best to calm down and smiled back. And enjoyed this once-in-a-lifetime moment. He doesn't know why but he wanted to cherish this moment as if it will never happen again. He shook off that negative thought and looked at that one star. The one star that shines brightly only for him. And seeing that star, he unconsciously blurted out the deepest feeling he had that night as he took a glance at the person who was seated beside him.

"Dara?" He called that name in a serene tone.

"Yes?" Dara looked at him with a raised eyebrow but the smile on her face never fades.

"Thank you for tonight. Thank you for being in there while I was breaking down." He said, his heart was full of sincerity for her. Because in one blink of an eye, he realized so many things, the things that he needed to realize the most.

Dara smiled. And gently shook her head. "Don't thank me Hyuk. I think I should be the one who should thank you. Thank you for having fun with me. It means a lot." She pulled out a small piece of paper from her coat pocket. She spread it and tried to read it with the help of little light from the moon. She beamed at him while showing him the familiar paper from the bar earlier. "I have completed my list now! Thank you for helping me in completing this tonight. I thought that I won't complete this because I have a very complicated life. But now, I can't believe I completed this in just one night!"

She stared at it for the longest time, and she can't help but get teary while looking at the eight crossed-out numbers. For her, it was a dream come true. A dream that she once gave up because of the reason she loose hope of fulfilling it. But tonight, she was able to complete it with Hyukjae...

Hyukjae was observing her. Seeing the tears that were forming in her eyes, he immediately wraps his arms around her. He doesn't know exactly what's bothering her. Perhaps, she was just happy that she completed her list. Or perhaps, there is another reason for her tears. But he doesn't have the time to ponder as he wanted to give the same comfort she had given to him. And it seems that Dara needed it as she clings to him as long as he pulled her into a solace hug. He gently patted her head and spoke.

"It's okay Dara, I'm here."

Dara allowed herself to cry as long as her fragile heart no longer feel the pain. Even if she said to herself that she won't let herself cry, for the reason she hates crying, her tears are uncontrollably flowing. She never cried in front of the people who love her, especially in front of her family because she doesn't want them to see her so vulnerable. But with Hyukjae, it seems that her vulnerability took over her self-consciousness.