It had been 2 months since she was married to Sang Hoon but the way they were acting, she felt that it was just a day since they got married.
The reason why, Choi Ah-Yeong agreed to this marriage was because she wanted to have a life, the same life which she had with Kang Dae-Hyun back then. It didn't matter with whom she had such a life, she just wanted to have a life of that sort.
The outgoing, free life where she didn't need to think before speaking something, where she would go out almost every day, look into each other's eyes often, cook together, read together, sleep together and so much more.
Ah-Yeong had agreed on this marriage hoping that she would have the same life as before. But it had already been two months and there was no progress. Forget about that, this was the first time she saw him smile and felt his warmth coming from his hand.
Within these two months, she realized that Sang Hoon wasn't a person like Kang Dae-Hyun. He was entirely different compared to Dae-Hyun.
"How about pizza and chicken sticks?"
Hearing his voice, Ah-Yeong broke out of her trance and gave a nod. She was okay with whatever food he ordered because she was just going to eat very little or not eat at all.
She gave a nod and Sang Hoon ordered Vegetable Pizza and Chicken Sticks.
****
Sang Hoon who was having his chicken sticks, noticed Ah-Yeong's plate empty and he quietly gave over his plate to her and took her plate in his hand.
"Eat them. They are delicious." He smiled and placed her plate in front of him.
Ah-Yeong liked it and she started eating. She also took one slice of pizza and placed it in his plate.
After having a hearty meal, Ah-Yeong and Sang Hoon both walked out.
Sang Hoon again noticed the wide gap between them and he wanted to close that gap. Since he held her hand once, he was not much nervous like before and he held her hand with ease. A smile came on his lips as he again felt her small hand in his.
****
While driving back home, Sang Hoon stopped the car in front of a park. He had thought that eating food with her will take a long time and that he would get some time to spend with her but it all just got over quickly.
So, he thought of spending some more time with her while holding her hand in a park. An ice-cream would also do good for him. Moreover, they didn't have any dessert after eating their food so, ice-cream was definitely going to work for him.
"Why are we here?" Ah-Yeong asked as she saw the park ahead of her.
Sang Hoon stepped out of his car quickly and took her question as a chance to help her out of the car. He so much wanted to do that with her.
He took long strides and approached her door. "We can have a short walk before we go back home." He replied to her question while opening the door. He stretched out his hand for her to take.
Ah-Yeong was taken aback by both his action and his response. She saw the hand in front of her and she got out of the car by holding his hand. She again was surprised to feel the warmth which was coming upon holding his hand.
"Just wait here. I will come." Sang Hoon said and Ah-Yeong gave a nod. She noticed that he was going inside an ice-cream shop. The warmth in her hand was fading away, little by little and she didn't like that.
She looked around at the park and remembered the time when she and Dae-Hyun had come together to a park like this. She couldn't understand as to why she was being reminded of Dae-Hyun again and again.
"Here!" Sang Hoon came behind her and gave her an ice-cream cup.
"Thank you!" Ah-Yeong replied.
"I didn't know which flavor you liked so, I bought mango flavor." Sang Hoon whispered loud enough for Ah-Yeong to hear and shyly turned his head to the other side.
"I like mango." As he heard her, he turned back only to see her giving a soft smile.
When they were taking strolls while eating ice-cream, Sang Hoon wanted to hold her hand. But his hand was busy and so was hers; both in eating their ice-creams. Later when they were done eating, Sang Hoon felt that they should be heading home because he noticed the tired look on Ah-Yeong's face.
Before he could ask her about going back home, Ah-Yeong asked "Umm... Can we sit at that bench over there?"
"Uhh... Yes! Sure." Sang Hoon politely gave a nod and they both sat at the bench together, with still a wide gap in between them. Sang Hoon noticed the wide gap and he moved a little closer to her.
He saw her hand rested on the bench and he nervously held her hand.
Ah-Yeong felt his warm hand and she wished that time could stop here for a while. Because his warmth was just making her remind of Kang Dae-Hyun and she wanted this warmth to not go.
Sang Hoon observed her face from the side. She was really beautiful, with thick black eyelashes, a high bridged nose, perfect parted lips. Now that, his eyes stole a glance of her lips, he wanted to know how they would taste like.
"Umm..." He opened his mouth only to feel his words being caught in his throat.
He cleared his throat and asked "Can I kiss you?"
'What???' He screamed internally as he realized what he had just asked her. Today, he was getting bolder and bolder for no reason. First, holding hands and now asking permission for kiss. He couldn't believe that he could be this straightforward.
"Huh?" As Ah-Yeong turned her head to face him, Sang Hoon held her face in his hand and kissed her soft parted lips. He surely had become very bold.
Feeling a kiss after six damn years, Ah-Yeong opened her eyes wide in surprise. The last time when she was kissed was when she and Dae-Hyun were still together.
Right now, being kissed by a person who was her husband but nothing less than a stranger to her, Ah-Yeong didn't know what to do.
She was elated but she was shocked, too. If this kiss was coming from Dae-Hyun, she would have responded back. But this kiss was coming from her husband, a person whom she married two months back.
She just couldn't respond back rather she shoved him away.
"I'm sorry!" Ah-Yeong apologized and stood up.
"No! No!! I am sorry. It was my fault." Sang Hoon who was enjoying the sweet mango taste of her lips, couldn't help but break out from his enjoyment. As he saw her standing far away, he realized what mistake he made.
"Let's go home, please." Ah-Yeong said in a low voice. She really couldn't understand why words of this kind were leaving her mouth. She wished that she had a full control over herself and her stupid thoughts.