Perfect Beginning (The Prequel)

chapter 16

Jin was dragged back into his work with no opportunity to quietly think about the conversation. 

His body reacted to his tasks relying solely on muscle memory.  His thoughts drifted immediately to you. 

You said you would miss him.  He felt such a surge of emotion recalling that, he stumbled and earned some nasty glares. 

Righting himself again he thought about what that could mean.  He chose hope. 

He would earn your trust in a thousand little ways.  Anything to be able to hear you say those words to him every time he left the country. Hell, he wanted to hear them from you anytime he left the room you were in. That earned another stumble and a reprimand. 

He would have to explore  this fragile hope later, now he had to focus on work.

You checked the time.  It was still early.  You told yourself you were still considering what to do, but your heart already knew what it wanted.

You gathered your journal and Jin's letters and carefully placed them in your bag.

You headed into the shopping area near your office.  You entered your favorite book store and paused as you soaked in the smell of the old books and the excitement of the new.

The back corner of the store was filled with specialty paper and book making supplies.  You headed there and spent the next hour browsing and picking out the perfect supplies.

You purchased a book making kit and beautiful paper for the pages.  You daydreamed about Jin and things he might like the entire time. 

You left with a very masculine book binding kit and lots of surprises that would make this project a perfect blend of the two of you.

You hurried into your office, surprised that a couple of your colleagues were still working. 

On closer glance they seemed to be flirting while eating snacks and drinking coffee from the “Jin Lounge” as you had come to think of it.  You gave them a smile as you passed, one more confirmation you were taking the right path.

Once in your office you carefully removed the pages from your journal.  Surprised at how many pages were filled, you made a mental note to get another one.  The journaling had become an important part of your day.

You quickly placed small numbers at the bottom of the pages to keep them in order.  You repeated the process with Jin's letters then carefully photocopied all the pages onto the beautiful paper you had chosen. 

The result was not as pleasing as the original handwritten papers, but it had it's own beauty, combining the uniformity of the printed pages with the unique style and flow of each of your writing styles and forms.

You sat at your desk carefully gathering the letters and entries into order. You added blank pages after each entry, envisioning placing notes or more comments there.    You were happy and absorbed into the work.

As a finishing touch you added a special clear envelope onto the front cover of the book and slipped in a precious keepsake.

As you finished the binding you sat for several minutes turning the book over and over in your hands.  You slowly raised it to your face and placed a reverent kiss on the cover.  You laughed at yourself, but you knew this  was no trivial thing.

Cleaning up the mess, you carefully placed the originals back inside the covers of the shell of your journal and tied it shut. 

You headed home, catching a glimpse of the young lovers, now embracing in the lounge.  Smiling you turned off all the main lights and locked the doors behind you. 

Yes.  Love deserved a chance.

You picked up street food on the way home.  Once there you settled into your couch with your supper, a cold diet coke and the book. 

You began to read it through, starting with Jin's first letter.  It was so beautifully interwoven.  Your thoughts, memories, hopes and regrets all danced on the page, first one leading, then the other. 

As you read deeper into the pages you allowed yourself to daydream of you and Jin, limbs entwined, on a couch or in a bed, reading the book together.

You were laughing or crying, sometimes both, comforting or teasing each other.  You took turns reading then together you would add notes or memories to the pages.

You were warmed soul deep by those thoughts.  Yes, love truly did deserve a chance.

You woke up before your alarm the next morning and arrived at work early.  You were relieved to find your assistant there before you pulling the days' files and organizing your work.

“ I need you in my office in fifteen minutes please"  you said after greeting him. 

He nodded, intrigued.  Something was up!

You sat on the chair by the window and spread the contents of your bags on the table.  You had stopped at a small party store on the way over and now you arranged the simple wrapping paper and ribbon on the table in front of you.

You took the book out of your bag and held it in your hands.  You had left a blank page in the front for an inscription.  You had tossed all night thinking of things to write, then discarding them.  In the end you simply wrote  "for us, The First Chapter"
and scrawled your name.

You carefully wrapped the book in black paper and tied a black satin bow around it. It looked like a very expensive, very masculine, package. 

You looked at the small blank card on the table.  You were anxious again.  What should you say? You wasted precious minutes before you grabbed a pen and scribbled

“I hope you enjoy.  It shows we can be together, even when we are far apart. Hurry Home safely!” and scribbled your name before you had second thoughts. 

You stuffed the note into it's envelope and  securely tied it to the ribbon and gave it a critical look.

“Now….do it!” you coaxed yourself.  Your assistant entered before you could change your mind.