Lifetime

Bliss

Jimin was back to his usual self after that night, as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. When we returned to school after the holiday break, he and Hobi focused intensely on choreographing and practicing their routines for the dance school auditions they'd received call backs for.

I started receiving acceptance letters from the schools I applied to in February and with almost too many options, I would lie awake at night, contemplating the various outcomes in my mind.

If Hobi was accepted into NYU and Jimin into Juilliard, I could go to NYU or Columbia, putting us in the same area for the coming four years. We could end up in California with them both at UCLA and me either there or at UC Berkeley. SAIC felt like it would be a good fit for me, and Hobi could end up there if he was able to join a dance company he'd applied for, open to skipping college all together if the right option presented itself. None of that even took into account the possibility that Jimin would end up studying dance at his dream school in France.

Most people would have scolded me for having them carry such weight when it came to making a decision for my future, and believe me, my mom did. Even so, when I closed my eyes to imagine the next coming phase of my life, I couldn't see it without at least one, but preferably both of them with me.

With Jimin and Hobi traveling during some weekends for auditions, I spent more time with my mom. She seemed to already be preparing herself for having an empty nest when I left for college, taking me shopping more in those last few months of high school than she had in my entire life.

She started crying when I emerged from the dressing room, two clips holding together the sparkly emerald green gown that immediately made me think of Hobi since it was his favorite color. "Come on mom, this is just the first dress." I laughed, walking over to kiss her cheek before going to stand on the platform where I could get a better look in the mirror.

"And these are just the first tears." She chuckled, coming over to set a pair of heels for me to try on with the dress.

"These will make me taller than Jimin." I complained, holding onto her shoulder as I stepped into them.

Jimin asked me to be his prom date almost as soon as the committee announced the date and theme closer to the beginning of the year. Hobi was already planning the extravagant and very public promposal Gabby would want. Apparently Jimin had an idea in mind too and must have started executing it immediately. When he met me for our walk home from school that day my brow furrowed at the branded box from his mom's bakery that he carried. He opened it discreetly, revealing five cookies that were coated with icing. "Prom?" I forgot to give him an answer before downing one, laughing as I told him I wouldn't have had it any other way.

My mom stood behind me, instructing me to turn around so that I could peek around my shoulder to see the back of the dress. "Don't be afraid to be taller than him, or any man." She responded. I turned my head to look at the dress in the mirror, unsatisfied with the intense cutout and moving back to the dressing room to try on the next pick.

Five dresses and a lot of sweat later I emerged in the dress that made my mom's jaw drop. She knew me well enough to know it would be the one, fluffing the bottom so that it fell perfectly around me. It was a light blue satin a-line gown that made me feel like Cinderella. My mom scurried to the jewelry section of the store, returning with a simple necklace, a sparkly tear-shaped pendant dangling from the end.

"And I have the perfect earrings to match." She put her hands together, pressing them to her mouth and nose as she stifled another cry.

After a quick appointment with the alterations specialist and a swipe of my mom's credit card, we left hand in hand, excited for the memories to come.

For the next few weeks, prom was the talk of the entire school, a constant stream of conversations about the perfect ride, perfect dress, perfect slow dance. Needing a change of topic, Jimin and I decided to stop talking about it. I focused instead on teaching him to cook, perfect to help him with his sudden interest since my mom did everything she could to train me to be a wife and mother.

While Jimin spent the morning of prom getting a fifteen-minute haircut I started my day with two hours at the hair salon, moving on to getting a manicure and pedicure with an appointment for my makeup right after. By the time my appointments were finished I was famished and the sun was setting. I could have used a nap, hoping the pasta my dad made would be enough to fuel me for the night and being careful to keep my makeup intact so that I would only have the easy job of reapplying my lipstick.

My mom and I listened to our favorite songs from the early nineties while she helped zip me into my dress. I held my breath the entire time, only exhaling when I felt the zipper fully close. She clasped the necklace she bought around my neck before grabbing the small velvet jewelry box she had when she came in.

"These were your great-grandmothers." She opened the box to reveal a gorgeous pair of diamond earrings that matched the shape of the necklace.

She helped me put one on while I took care of the other, pulling me into a hug with the complete look, tears filling her eyes again.

A knock at my window interrupted us, Hobi squinting to see inside my room through the blinds. My mom didn't say anything else but there was a certain look in her eyes that made me wonder what she was thinking as she turned her gaze back from the window to me. She kissed my cheek before leaving with a small sigh.

Hobi's face completely changed as I lifted the blinds and window sill so that he had a full view of me, his expression moving from one I initially couldn't read, a slow-forming grin on his lips. He still had my favorite smile in the world, his eyes appearing closed with the way his mouth spread at the sight of me, his teeth as bright as ever.

He seemed stuck there, staring, and I laughed. "You don't look too bad yourself, Hobe." I called him out of his trance.

After blinking a few times he leaned into the windowsill, his arms crossed on the edge so that they propped him up. "I wanted to see you before." He cleared his throat.

"Well since you're the first other than my mom, you could at least tell me what you think." I lifted my skirt a little to give him a small twirl.

He chuckled, his eyes filled with sincerity. "You'll be the most beautiful girl there tonight." His comment took me off guard, my eyes widening before a small smile was brought to my lips.

I shook my head at him. "You should probably get back before your girlfriend gets here." I squatted down in front of the window, thinking about how incredibly handsome he looked as he walked away. I pulled out my journal, scribbling down the date, time, and words that gave me my first blissful feeling of the night.