Lessons From Romance

The Silence

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Kai didn't come back the next day or the day after that. Namjoo was left wondering if that day had been some kind of gift from him to her.

Honestly she was glad Kai was taking the chance to gain firsthand experience in his field, she was very proud of him. So as she worked she reminded herself to continue working just as hard as he.

Kai was her role model after all; her greatest person and she would make him proud to.

One time after returning from her late night shift she'd find food prepped up and ready for her to eat on her table. She thought that those kinds of nights were what made her happiest even if she didn't see Kai in person.

Simple happiness was the biggest happiness.

This time she wanted to send Kai off with a smile on her face again. Letting him go happily and welcoming him back with full arms and a smile was what she wanted to do. In case Kai was nervous and afraid he wouldn't do well abroad Namjoo wanted to do something small for him. After a long night of thinking she realized she didn't know what exactly to get Kai that he wouldn't already have.

Early that next morning she waited in front of a department store with a thinning crowd going to and fro in front and behind her. Glass displays of jewelry of all sorts beamed in front of her, its surface reflecting the bright lights above. The service cloaks standing behind each counter waited patiently with painted smiles.

Raising her wrist to look at the time she tapped her foot against the tiles wondering why Luhan wasn't showing. Another thinning crowd passed by before she eventually spotted him walking toward her. With a smile she quickly waved him over.

"What are we doing here?" Luhan asked as Namjoo wheeled him toward one of the displays.

"There," Namjoo pointed at one of the silver Tiffany bracelets. "Does it look nice?"

He nodded quietly. "Why? Who are you getting it for?"

"Kai," Namjoo answered as her eyes droned in on the bracelet. "I want to give him something before he leaves. He'll like it, won't he?"

"He's leaving?"

Namjoo nodded then as if to assure herself told, "But he'll be back. I just want to give him some kind of good luck charm."

Then pointing to the bracelet asked to look at it. The image of giving the gift to Kai made her happy. As long as he would have something to remember her by she would be content enough. Although she dreaded being apart from him again for some time, she was certain he would return after he fulfilled her mother's wishes. Kai was always a filial son, he was even better than her.

Tucking the box with the bracelet safely hidden inside into her purse they finally headed out.

"Do you want to eat something special today?" Namjoo asked. "I'll make anything you want today."

"Really?"

"I owe you, remember?" Namjoo reminded.

They shopped fairly quickly because Luhan slapped a few items away from her hands a few times. Shortly after they went back to her place to start on lunch and in just a few minutes her kitchen was full of life.

"Why are you wearing a long sleeve on such a long day?" Namjoo wondered, pulling his sleeve up for the sake of not getting them wet. "If your sweat makes my kitchen smell you're the one deodorizing it."

When she pulled the sleeve on his left arm up the bandage around his wrist came into immediate view. Namjoo's eyes lay on the white bandage for a few seconds, the sound of the sizzling meat on the pan quiet in her ears. As a soft silence breezed over them she looked up at him realizing he'd had it hidden all this time and she'd forgotten all about it.