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Sungjin’s hometown is how you perceive it to be and more. The past three days in his beloved Busan is peering into Sungjin’s distant history, to the first chapters of his biography. Despite never have gone here before, the city does not feel completely foreign. Maybe it’s you giving credit to Sungjin’s story-telling proficiency. Or maybe it's how the people, who practically witnessed his growth and upbringing, acknowledged you not just a guest but also as his lover.
Many had changed, Sungjin would point out. Like the new marketplace or the old arcade parlor or the color of his elementary school gates. What remains untouched, however, is, in Sungjin’s words, the ‘stylish scenery’ of the beaches in Busan.
Instead of retreating to his parent’s house by night time, Sungjin drove to the beach — the one which overlooks the expanse of Gwangan Bridge and the far end of the cityscapes. One of Park Sungjin’s 10/10 Vacation Place Recommendations. Discounting the drives from places to places to introduce friends and relatives, this is the only time you two were truly alone.
Both of you settled at the back seat of his pickup truck where Sungjin spread a fleece blanket and kept the rear door open. You thank the cordial weather for being not too chilly as you breathe in the scent of the sea. It has been a day and the far-off balmy sounds of the ocean waves coalescing with Sungjin’s humming is nothing short of perfect and rewarding.
You could fall asleep right there and then, but you also wouldn’t miss out engrossing every single second of this moment for the world. So instead, you raise your head from Sungjin’s shoulder and gaze at the night sky, noting how clouds are not in attendance tonight. It amazes you, how the starlights can be this visible above the busy city.
“That’s the Great Bear — which made sense. If you look at it the right way, she kind of resembles you.” You broke off the calming silence, tracing the seven specific prominent stars into a single constellation.
“Suddenly? Where?” Sungjin looks at the same direction. “Looks like fish cake stick to me,” he adds, tilting his head to face you over his shoulder, mouth slightly agape as if trying to catch whatever face you'll make to his charming habit of making silly remarks. You stifled a laugh trying to look unamused. Food is a constant afterthought of his, apparently.
It was when you hold gaze, when you noted how the stars must be doing a job well done in their bright and multitude stillness for his lashes to cast shadows on his almost hooded eyes.
Quiet washed out your rather antic colloquy about astrology, the soft crashing of the light waves upon the shore more prominently sonorous than earlier. It was the single monotonous sounds you find soothing. Forth. Crash. Pull. Or maybe again, the sea just loves to complement Sungjin. In your midst of deciding which, Sungjin envelopes your left hand with his right—like waves dipping into sandbars. Only this time it remained in place, without getting pulled back to the open sea.
“Thank you,” Sungjin exhales. “Meeting everyone must be tiring. Tomorrow and the days after, we go wherever you want.” It took three full days of Sungjin catching up with old friends and relatives. That includes introducing you to, well, everyone , and the mandatory interview with the ahjumma s. You adore everyone hoping they think well of you too. All of it enjoyable but your drained social battery must have been noticeable through your slumped figure.
“I get to make a reservation Busan’s finest man as my personal tour guide?” you managed to try to relieve the obvious worry on his face, glad he chose to say ‘thank you’ than ‘sorry’. Because the last thing you want to Sungjin to feel is that he is a burden when he’s nothing but comfort.
When his tight lips break into a wide smile, you can’t help but feel proud.
“If you pay 20% of the full payment now, I can even give you a discount,” he responds with a nervous squeeze on your hand for a reason you are not quite sure of. When he released it before the warmth spreads, he held your fingers to his sight, particularly caressing the fourth one with his thumb.
“While we’re on the subject matter…you think I could get a reservation here?”
“Suddenly?” The response rolls off your tongue more like a usual response (a habit courtesy of the man himself) than of an actual surprise.
He shifts with his whole body to get a proper full view of you. “I know we’re still considerably young and healthy and we may not be even halfway living our lives,” he took in a deep breath, stars in his dark eyes. “And that we have plans and I...I don’t know where I’m going with this. But when everything permits, and we’re in that moment where the time is right, in the future, I’m certain with you.”
Sungjin was not sure of the reason he made the sudden proposition. Yet he's not entirely uncertain why. It could be the momentum, he thought, or how romantically fitting it would be for the night sky you find to love so much to witness his sincerity. Was he being romantic right now? In the back of his dad’s pick up truck? But then again, the reason was just you. And how he feels when he’s with you. Every day he sees fragments and stardusts of you sprinkled all over his life now.
Now he is looking at you like you’re the most beautiful soul in the world and hoping his deep eyes would convey how thankful he is for growing with him as he falls for you deeper each passing day.
You could cry right there and then. Who wouldn’t when the man in front of you is just so sincerely, brilliantly...Park Sungjin—with his genuine intentions and his stellar smile. Out of words, you pressed your lips on his knuckles, sending cosmic waves hoping he would decipher every frequency.
“The reservation fee is non-negotiable. And I don’t accept just any payment.” There will be plenty of time to explicitly express in words or actions, big or small, how every moment with this man is worthwhile.
“And that would be?” Sungjin asks with a lighthearted laugh.
“Monthly payment of fish cake dates.”
It’s getting late and a little bit chillier. The two of you scoot closer. Warmer. The stars increasing in attendance.
“Deal. Where do I stamp?”
You raised your chin and tapped your lips, taking advantage of the moment. “Right here,” you giggled.
“Right there? Do I have to stamp now?” Sungjin cupped your cheeks and gave you a quick peck. Sweet and swift, maybe too swift, just enough to catch the faint and lingering scent of his musky perfume. The thing is, you appreciated the gesture, but a peck would not do justice of how good a kisser he is. When he caught you frowning at his lips, he leaned once more.
Your eyes twinkled three blinks before shutting close and completely losing yourself the moment his lips landed deep into yours. Your lips were chapped but he couldn’t care less. The sea relentlessly returns to kiss the sandy shore, no matter how many times sent away. The kiss is not supernova-tic — neither of you are collapsing stars. It was unhurried, oblivious of the concept of time. The whole planet went silent and it feels like you can touch the whole world with your hands. And you did, as you let your hand dip the base of his skull. His thumb brushed against your cheeks.
And then both lips pulled apart. If only you could transport to other dimension where time ticks slower.
“So did I seal the deal?”
“Done.”
Sungjin stares above and traced the scattered stars into nebulous lines. “If you look hard enough and use your extreme imagination, you can see a house with a backyard where you can grill fresh meat.” Painting the unimaginable future stretched ahead was silly and splendid at the same time.
“I’m also seeing three dogs, am I looking right?”
He laughed and you followed.
This could mean nothing, or absolutely everything. You wouldn’t know. But Sungjin looks so effortlessly breathtaking bathed in moonlight right now.
And it’s phenomenal, you thought, how in this incredible expanse of the galaxy, you found one another.