Whisper In Her Ear - Winrina

22 - A Little Place Of Our Own

"Oh, wow."

Minjeong winced and waved a hand in front of her face to swat away the dust, coughing as she flung the door wide open to let the outside air and much needed sunlight rush in.

She stood on the doorstep of the dark room with Karina's hand clutched tightly in her right hand, her other hand grasping the strap of her guitar case on her shoulder as both of them assessed the small, murky living space that would be their home for several weeks.

The place consisted of one small room that seemed to serve as living room, dining space – it was really just a small table placed on the floor – and kitchenette, and another small room that seemed to be the bedroom on the far-right corner. Another room appeared to be the bathroom beside it.

The air was stale due to long disuse, and the tinier nonhuman residents seemed to make themselves comfortable by decorating the place with their white cobwebs.

Minjeong found the light switch on her right and hit it on, grateful that the place at least had functional electricity. She laughed nervously.

"I'm sorry. This is not what happens when movie's heroines take their lovers away for a romantic escapade."

Karina followed her inside the poor excuse of a living space, emanating soft laughter as she nudged Minjeong slightly. "Come on, it's not that bad. I'm sure a little cleanup and work on ventilation will do magic and will shoo away the spiders. It will be our place."

A grin adorned Minjeong's face with newfound optimism.

"Right. It's ours. I mean, not ours ours but still ours." She couldn't keep her mouth shut and stop grinning even if she wanted to. Her language teacher in elementary school would be crying in pain at how inarticulate she was being but she didn't mind.

"Let's open the windows so the fresh air come in." Karina padded over to the nearest one and pulled the curtain open, immediately attacked by a whirlwind of dust and reduced to a sneezing mess.

Minjeong laughed at her dismay and dropped her heavy backpack on the floor. "Maybe we should go shopping for masks, dusters and other cleaning utilities first."

"Agree." Karina made a last distasteful face at the dust assaulting her, turning around with a finger pressed below her nostrils to prevent further sneeze-fest. "The walls need some work too." She said after observing the peeling, faded wallpapers that surely had seen better days perhaps one decade ago.

"And the roof." Minjeong's head was tilted up as she pointed at the water stains adorning the ceilings. "We better hope it won't be raining any time soon, else we will be flooded."

Karina let out a hearty laugh, tilting her head to the side and staring at Minjeong with so much light in her eyes it was as if Minjeong had just stated that they would be moving to a mansion in Jeju island and not stay in the rundown, crampy room at the backcountry coastal town.

"I wasn't aware that the idea of being flooded amused you so much."

"No, silly. I'm just happy." The smile on Karina's face remained lively. "This – all of this feels so good." She gestured between them and towards the space. "Discussing what to do for our living space. It feels so – domestic. So natural. This is what my dreams are made of."

Minjeong's teasing grin softened into a tender smile as she padded over to take the messenger bag off Karina's free shoulder and relieved her from the burden. Her gaze met the older girl's as she lifted a hand to caress soft cheek.

"We will make the most out of this time, right? No sad thoughts, no growing anxiety about the impending future, no gloomy reminiscing about the past. Just now. We are going to live these few weeks in the present. You are only going to think about me. I'm only going to think about you."