he counted the seconds until you took your next breath.
when you did, with the pulsing of his heart, he counted again.
he repeated this process over and over. then over and over again.
he could feel the rise and fall of your chest against his.
the soft beating of his heart.
the silent sound of your breathing.
the number of seconds between each breath.
he wasn't sure how many times he did this.
but one thing's for sure.
this wasn't the first time.
and most definitely wasn't the first night.
he had done this ritual so many times that it's become part of his nature.
he looked down at you.
the way the moon shone lightly down at you.
you looked ethereal.
you looked unreal.
you looked beautiful.
he pressed his lips onto the top of your head.
he let his mind be drowned by the sensation of being surrounded by you.
he waited till you took your next breath.
then he opened his mouth and whispered,
"i love you"
it always left him feeling vulnerable. openly confessing his love like that.
you shifted slightly in his arms and he snapped his eyes shut.
you wriggled her head out from under his chin and looked up at him.
had seokjin said something to you?
in your hazy state of mind, you could have sworn you heard something.
what he said though, you weren't so sure.
you reminded yourself to ask him in the morning.
that is, if you remembered.
seokjin waited, with his eyes closed, for your breathing to slow down again.
as quickly as you had woken, you had fallen back asleep.
he gently lowered his chin on top of your head.
he began to count the seconds between each breath again.
slowly.
against the beating of his heart.
he waited to profess his love yet another time.
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4. whisper it into her hair in the middle of the night, after you've counted the space between her breaths and are certain she's asleep. shut your eyes quickly when she shifts towards you in askance. maybe you were just sleep whispering.
- r. mckinley
