Vera In Love

Nineteen

It was our last day at the lake. I wish we can stay here longer. No one bothering us. It was great to see Nathan get back to illustrating his web comic and relaxing. Especially after that phone call his mother gave my dad last week. Nathan sat on the porch with his tablet and drawing board. A tea set sat still next to his laptop, steaming with morning tea.

I leaned against the door frame, admiring him from there. He wore grey sweats with a loose white tee. Nathan's hair has been growing, so he can practically do a top knot bun. His glasses, which I love when he wears them, slid down his nose. With a cup of tea of my own, I drink it as I drank him in. He looks so hot right now.

Nathan smirks. "Are you gonna stand there and stare?"

Pushing myself off the door frame, I walk to him - taking a seat across him.

"How's the comic?"

He leans back, holding his cup. "Good actually. I got two panels done and will publish them when we get home."

"That's great mi amor. I'm so excited to read them."

"Vera," he says. "When we go to Seoul, you're going to live with me. Is that alright?"

I nod. "Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Koreans don't agree that a couple should live in the same place, unless married. But it doesn't really matter. I'm not letting you stay at a hotel."

My eyes widen at the new information. "Really? How would your parents feel about this?"

Nathan shrugs. "Upset, but their opinion is invalid. I asked to rearrange the apartment for your liking."

I scoff. "Nathan you don't need to do that. I'm fine with however it looks like."

"Oh, I got you some Korean learning books."

From beside him he brings up a pile of colorful textbooks. I begin to break a sweat just seeing the pile of books. Learning a new language isn't that bad. I mean, I speak Spanish and Italian but it was simple because they're similar. Korean, on the other hand - oof.

"That's, um, great."

Nathan chuckles. "Don't worry, jagi. I'll help you. Get a head start, I'll be here if you need me."

He pushes the pile across the table. With a beating heart and an anxiety building up, I rip the plastic wrap apart. Flipping through the pages of the first blue textbook, I begin to read out loud.

Two hours later, Nathan set aside his web comic and he's been at my side, patiently reading through the Korean text. There was so much grammar and conjugation steps that it made my head spin.

"Babe, don't stress so much. Just repeat the conversation over again. Read it out loud to me."

I did. Need I to say that I would prefer learning French or Greek instead. Yet Nathan was patient and actually helping me pronounce the words correctly. Just as I finished reading the conversation for the twelfth time, Nathan finally suggested we eat lunch.

"From now on I'm going to layout some Korean words for you. You're to study them and I'll quiz you next time."

I give him a nervous smile. Nathan smiles reassuringly as he pulls me to his side. He kisses the top of my head as we walk to the kitchen. I sit on a stool and watch him take out ingredients. As he does, he says the Korean word for it and has me repeat it. It goes on until dinner, when I stop him.

"I think that's enough for today. I feel my brain frying."

"And for that, I'll give you a reward."