(Credits to the owner of the youtube video 💓)
Saranghaeyo, Gong Tae Kwang.
I had finally said it out loud, the truth I'd tried so hard to avoid ever since I left Seoul six months ago. Time seemed to slow down to a stop, as we both stood frozen in place.
I could feel my heartbeat pounding hard against my chest. I had always been the meeker and mild-mannered twin, a trait that had been both a blessing and a curse. While it enabled me to get along effortlessly with other people, it also made me falter easily when faced with the need to express myself. All my life, I had been so used to suppressing my emotions that saying them out in the open felt so foreign to me.
Yet now, facing the man who had given me the courage to find my true self and had loved me in spite of my flaws, I couldn't find it in me to feel ashamed. Shame is only for those who did wrong-and last time I checked, loving someone was not a crime. But I have to admit, I was scared-scared of his reaction and of his possible rejection.
"Jebal, Gong Tae Kwang. Say something."
"Go Eun Bi," came his breathless reply. "Hit me. Hard enough to leave a bruise."
"Ya!" Really, this guy.
"Ani, hajima. Just-what did you-can you repeat what you just said?"
"I said, saranghaeyo-" I never got to finish my sentence, because before I knew it, he was cupping my face in his hands. The same indecipherable emotion that I've seen before fleeted across his face, however this time, it was here to stay.
Love. Why didn't I recognize it before? It was pure, unadulterated love that shone from his eyes. Those dark orbs roamed around my face, sparkling with unshed tears-but this time they were brimming with happiness.
"You sure took your sweet time, you pabo."
"Mianhe, I-"
"Nado saranghae, Go Eun Bi." A lone tear fell down his cheek, as I felt a large weight lift off my chest. "Nado saranghae." He still loves me. He loves me, too.
Before I could wrap my head around that fact, he closed the short distance between us in one swift motion. A short laugh escaped us both as our noses bumped into each other, before his mouth finally met mine in a warm embrace. Sparks emanated where our lips touched, my eyes flying shut on their own accord as he gently caressed my lips with his own.
The kiss was very much a reflection of Gong Tae Kwang-slow and languid, yet tender and passionate at the same time-never pressing for more than I was ready to give. I felt the words that he didn't speak, the overflowing love that he could hardly contain within himself. He let me know how much he cherishes my entire being and existence without the need to say a word-and that in itself was enough to make my heart feel like it could burst any moment.
When we finally broke away, he held me in his arms and burrowed his face into my neck-and for the first time in a long, long while, I finally felt like I was home. Because home doesn't have to be a place where you belong. It can be that one person with whom you can be anyone you wish to. It can be that special someone whom you cherish and can entrust your heart to.
And for me, that person was the man who stood in front of me this very moment.
"Saranghaeyo, Go Eun Bi."
"Nado saranghae, Gong Tae Kwang."
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