Substitute Soulmate

Step

"I should've brought something for us to sit on," Sehun said.

"It's fine," Namjoo said.

He noticed her glance at her phone before sliding it into her pocket. Curious he asked, "Are you waiting for a call?"

He had hoped her husband's family wouldn't need her today, but if they called she would go. For a second he observed Namjoo for fatigue. Had she been getting a good amount of rest?

"No, it's just..." She looked like she was on the verge of building up a lie. He understood she wouldn't talk to him about her personal problems, but he at least hoped that she would be willing to share something.

"My dad called early in the morning," Namjoo explained. "He said my mom would call later to talk about something."

"Is that bad or good?"

"Well," Namjoo started peering off into the distance, waiting for her dog to come running back, "I have a bad feeling." She quickly turned calling out, "Hey boy! Come here!"

Sehun watched Olly return disappointed. If she had finished her sentence he would know what was going on. Plopping onto the grass exhausted, Namjoo's dog stared up at him with blaming eyes then glanced at her adoringly when she offered him water.

Minutes later they ended up sitting as Olly napped on Namjoo's lap. The dog was either lazy or the heat was draining his energy. He watched her hand gently rub his head and listened to the dog snore. Olly simply absorbed every last affection Namjoo seemed to possess. Sehun could see she loved her dog a lot. Always talking to him, walking him, and making sure he enjoyed himself almost like spoiling a child.

Watching them he wondered if she had become a mother she would be like this. Attentive and caring and especially loving.

"How did you meet him?" Sehun asked.

"What?" she glanced at him.

Most likely she hadn't been paying attention to him. Perhaps she'd been lost in her thoughts the way she looked at him. Sehun almost hesitated but he was curious, too curious.

"I was just curious," he excused. "Your husband. How'd you meet him?"

Someone was snapping pictures of a pair of butterflies dancing over flowers. Nearby, someone shot a frisbee into the air and a man laughed. Here, alone, they were void of distraction. Yet Namjoo was far off by herself.

"He sat next to me in speech class," Namjoo began her story, "I'd just given my ten-minute speech, was dying of embarrassment and anxiety. I didn't know anyone in class and I couldn't look at anyone. Then he tapped me on the shoulder and said good job. I looked forward to seeing him every day in class after that. One day he forgot a pencil, so I offered him my pen. We just...kind of became friends."

A tiny smile appeared on her lips as she reminisced her most happy days. He was in awe over how someone had moved her so deeply. As if the heaven and earth had come colliding together the day she met her husband and shifted apart the day he died. Those memories were probably things she wanted to keep special and to herself.

The pug stirred before suddenly leaping toward his shoes. Not too long after he began wrestling his shoe lace loose.

"Olly, no," Namjoo scolded.

"It's ok," he assured then pulled his foot away. The dog jumped after his shoe. Amused, he poked the dog in the side. Olly yapped at him irritated before he wrestled the dog onto his back with a hand and began giving him a belly rub.

A while later they began walking toward the park entrance. Olly's leash stretched from Namjoo's hand as he tried scurrying ahead after another dog in the parking lot. The day was still bright and the sun high in the sky. Half the day still needed to be wasted. It didn't feel fulfilling to let them just leave.