One Life For Another

25

He softly, but weakly kisses me. I let him decide whether to kiss me for a long time or pull away after a short time. But he decides to keep his lips against mine. I like it but I want to talk to him, so I try to move away. Then he starts to whimper again, this time the sound is a bit angry. I sigh, "babe I know that you want touch, but I want to have  a little talk first." He hums softly and looks at me. "Where do you want to run away to?" I ask him. "Lets run away to Jeju island or Busan." "Then I prefer Busan over Jeju, because Jeju is an island. If they ever come after us they can find us easily because we have no way to escape." "You are right" his voice sounds weak. "Lets leave tomorrow night, if you are not on a high dosis of painkillers." "I want to go, even if I am still on a high dosis. I just want to get out of this place, that is really the only thing I want." He sounds so desperate that it almost hurts my heart. "Maybe it is an idea to leave today. I will ask Fiona about the medicine when you fell asleep." He nods and rolls onto his back. "Babe do you not have a feeling to have to go to the toilet already?" He shakes his head, "not really." I nod and softly push his t-shirt up. His stomach is still bloated but he doesn't flinch or whimper when I touch it. "I guess that the painkillers are working." He nods, "it feels good to have no pain." I nod and pull my hand away again. But Joël grabs my wrist and places my hand back on his stomach. "Please keep it there, it feels nice." I try to massage his stomach gently and watch his reaction. He is smiling softly and keep I massaging his stomach until I notice that the sleeping pill is starting to work. His eyes close every time, but he keeps opening them. "Hey what did I say? Give in to it babe." He nods tiredly and rolls onto his side again. He wraps his arms around my waist and I wrap my arms around his chest. "Sleep well love" I say as I feel him falling asleep. "Sleep well" he mumbles.

It is 4 hours later when I wake up by Joël getting up. "Where are you going?" I ask with a morning voice. "Toilet" he says and quickly walks to the bathroom. I smile and turn around again. He stays away for 15 minutes and then he comes back with a smile on his face. "Feels better, doesn't it?" He nods and sits down beside me. "How do you feel now that is gone?" "I feel like I am high on something." "Yes babe, your are high on painkillers. They made you so weak but it was better to push the pain away." "Hm, I feel okay now." I smile, "glad to hear." "Did I act out when I was on the high dosis?" "Well, you only wanted to stay against me and you started whimpering as soon as you didn't feel my touch." "I just love to stay close to you." "I know babe and I had no problem with cuddling you." I sit up, "shall we eat?" "Not hungry." "At least eat one thing" I beg him. He gives in easily, "Okay, one thing then." I smile proudly, "good boy." He chuckles and starts to tickle my sides. I start to get goosebumps and then I burst out in laughter.

We have a tickle fight for a short time before we quickly eat breakfast. We pack our bags and walk out of the building. "Goodbye forever" he mumbles while he is looking back at the building. I nod softly and intertwine my fingers with his. He squeezes my hand and we start to walk out of the gate. I don't look back once until we far away enough. "Lets go to the train quickly" Joël says. I nod, "lets hurry." Joël pulls my hood and mask up and does the same to himself.

The train ride takes 4 hours from which I slept 2. Being stressed out makes me really tired. Now we are standing on Busan central station. "Where do we go now?" "I thought about that already. A childhood friend of mine lived here. But one day he died and left his house behind. No one has ever sold or bought the house. We can live there together. I have the papers of the house." "How did you get that?" "He gave it to me because  he knew that he was dying. He told me that one day I would need a place to stay, a place that feels like home." "I am glad that he gave you the house." Joël nods, "lets go there." I nod too and we start to walk again. We walk pas tiny houses and end up in a part of Busan with big mansions. Joël stops by number 205 and ticks a code into a system. "Wait" I say, "this can't be the house." Joël shows me the paper and then I see that it is really this house. The gate opens and Joël pulls me into the garden. The garden is wide and there are roses growing everywhere. "Beautiful right?" Joël asks. "It really is." "I wanted my princess to live in a good house." I blush and stop walking. "Do you know how much I love you?" Joël shakes his head, "Tell me princess." "I love you a lot idiot." "Ai, calling your boyfriend an idiot?" I nod, "exactly, you idiot." Joël pushes me down in to the grass and playfully hits my shoulders. "Say I am sorry Joël, I won't call you an idiot again." "What if I don't say sorry?" "Then no kisses for you." I pout, "I am sorry Joël, I won't call you an idiot again." He smiles and pecks my lips. "Lets go inside" he says while getting up. I get up too and walk into the house with him. The hall is big and two stairs lead to the next floor. Joël puts the bags down and walks to the living room. He lays on the biggest couch. "Are you feeling better, now that we are here?" He nods, "but I am still feeling weak." "I know babe, you will get stronger soon. I promise." Joël smiles softly and reaches his arms out to me. I walk over to him and sit down beside him. He sighs and pulls my legs onto the couch. I let myself fall against him. "We are both so lazy." "No we are not baby. We are mentally tired." I nod, "you are right but we really should pick up a normal life style." "Lets start with that tomorrow morning. I am way to lazy now." He kisses the top of my head and starts to hum softly....