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Sol realised that she hadn’t really known what happiness was until she experienced it with Jiwan. Waking up next to the girl she loved was a heaven made just for her. Jiwan’s hair was always a mess in the mornings, her mouth always half-opened and her fists always closed around Sol’s t-shirt to keep her close, but Sol wouldn’t change a single thing about it.
Their one year anniversary was getting closer and Sol wanted to do something special for her girlfriend, as she knew it was one of her deepest wishes to celebrate that milestone with the person she loved. Sol never thought she would end up being that person but she was beyond grateful for it.
She pulled Jiwan closer and kissed her forehead, making the other girl squirm a little bit.
“It tickles,” she mumbled.
“I’m sorry,” Sol whispered.
Jiwan nuzzled into her neck and breathed deeply. “You smell nice.”
Sol smiled and started to untangle the mess that was Jiwan’s hair. “Do you know what’s happening soon?”
Jiwan stirred a bit and opened her eyes, immediately squinting at the bright light that filtered through the curtains. “I don’t even know what day it is today.”
“Think about it. It’s August now…” Sol hinted with a giggle.
Jiwan lifted her head, her eyes wide open, “Our anniversary! I promise I didn’t forget, I’m just sleepy and-”
“Hey, it’s okay,” Sol assured her and pushed her head back to lay on her chest. “I just think that you should make sure you’re free that weekend…”
Jiwan looked up at her, a special shine in her eyes. Sol knew she was happy about the proposition. “Are you, Miss Yoon Sol, preparing something special for us?”
“Maybe…”
Jiwan cupped Sol’s cheeks and kissed her deeply. She got on her lap and kissed her everywhere she had access to, making Sol laugh at her antics.
“Is that a yes?”
“It’s a fuck yes!” She then stopped the kissing and hugging to look at her. “Give me a hint! I can’t wait until then, Sol.”
Sol thought about it for a second, she was still arranging everything but she was sure about the main event. “Mmm, just make sure you’re free for the whole weekend… we’re going somewhere.”
“Where? Where?” Jiwan insisted, jumping a bit on top of Sol.
“If I tell you now then it’s not going to be a surprise.”
“Fine,” Jiwan pouted and climbed down from Sol’s lap to cuddle next to her again.
“Don’t pout, you know I can’t resist it,” Sol lifted her chin and planted a sweet kiss to her pouty lips.
-x-
It was luckily a very nice day, it wasn’t too hot and a nice breeze blew all around them. Sol put their bags in the backseat and went back inside her apartment to leave everything in order, she took Jiwan’s hand and they walked back to the car together. Sol opened the passenger door and closed it after her girlfriend, then sat on the driver’s seat and drove away.
Jiwan looked happy, happier than she had ever seen her and it made Sol’s heart soar. All she wanted to see was her smiling like that, her steps light and her cheeks slightly blushed like they were now. Jiwan turned on the radio and started humming to the song playing.
“Are you going to tell me now?”
Sol looked at her for a brief second and then focused back on the road. “You’ve waited all time, you can wait a little bit more.”
“Yoon Sol, come on,” she whined.
“It’s a surprise, baby, you have to be patient. Just relax now, it’s a pretty day and we’re together, and that’s all that matters. Let me handle the rest.”
“Fine,” Jiwan placed her hand on top of Sol’s on the stick shift and waited for the other girl to lace their fingers together.
A few hours later, the tall buildings from Seoul were replaced by tall trees and the grey tones by beautiful greens and browns. The landscape was beautiful and Sol was pleased with her choice. It would be nice to spend some time outdoors and breathe in some fresh air. She needed it, especially after the stressful weeks she had had in between deadlines.
“It’s beautiful, Sol-ah,” Jiwan whispered as she looked at the scenery, the windows rolled down.
“It is. And you still haven’t seen where we’re staying. It looked amazing in the pictures.”
Jiwan turned to look at her and smiled brightly. “Thank you.”
“It’s the least you deserve.”
Sol started to see the signs indicating the way to their lodging, so she hurried and took a sleeping mask from her jacket pocket and handed it to Jiwan. “Hurry, put it on.”
Jiwan looked at it confused, “Okay…” She did as instructed and searched for Sol’s hand again. “It’s scary.”
“It’s just for a moment, we’re almost there.”
Jiwan felt the car slow down to a stop and heard Sol open the door and then the passenger side door to help her out of the car. The wind felt nice and refreshing on her skin and the air smelled like a mixture of pine trees and wildflowers.
“Okay, you walk and I’ll hold your shoulders to guide you. Ready?”
“Ready,” Jiwan breathed out and started to take tentative steps, Sol’s hands firm on her shoulders making sure she didn’t bump into something. She always felt safe when Sol touched her.
Sol pulled her to a stop and dropped her arms. “Okay, we’re here. On the count of three you can take the mask off.”
“1… 2… 3!” they counted in unison.
Jiwan took it off and allowed a few seconds for her eyes to adjust to the clarity again. In front of her was a beautiful and big white tent, a wooden deck in front of it with a railing and colourful flowers hanging from it. The tent was nothing like she remembered them to be when she used to go camping with her family, those small, crowded and uncomfortable ones that took ages to put up. No, this was almost the size of a small apartment, with a big opening in the middle that led inside what looked like a roomy space with a big bed in the middle.
She turned around and hugged Sol so tight she could barely breathe, climbing on top of her to wrap her legs around her hips. “I love it, I love it!”
Sol swayed them from side to side. “I’m happy you do, I was a bit nervous really.”
“Oh, you know I would like it even if we just went to Han River and had a beer. As long as I’m with you, anywhere is perfect.”
Sol smiled, she couldn’t believe how lucky she was. “Happy anniversary.”
“Happy anniversary,” Jiwan left a kiss on her cheek and got down. “Let’s go inside.”
The inside was equally amazing as the outside. The bed looked big and comfortable right in the middle of the tent, there was also a fireplace to one side, a bathtub, and a short wall that divided the sleeping area from the small kitchen.
“Sol-ah, this is amazing. How did you find it?”
“Lots of research… and some help from Nabi.”
Jiwan hugged her and tugged her close by the waist. “We’re gonna have fun. I love it.”
“That’s good to hear,” Sol leaned down and kissed her gently. “Let me unload the car, I’ll be back in a second.”
After getting settled, they walked down to the local market and bought some vegetables and meat to cook later. Jiwan would point at anything that called her attention, which was almost everything, and Sol would listen and agree. Sol doesn’t think there’s much that changed between them after they started dating, apart from the kisses and other activities, they were still the same that they were when they first met all those years ago. Jiwan is aware of one specific change, and that’s that Sol seems a lot less burdened. She doesn’t look like she’s walking around the world carrying an impossible weight anymore, she smiles more often, laughs more often and even initiates their hugs and kisses.
Jiwan looks down at their intertwined hands, at the grass beneath their feet, at the endless blue lake to their left and then at Sol. She can’t understand how she could live all those years without having her like this.
“I feel like I’m dreaming,” she confessed, and felt Sol tighten her hold on her hand. She leaned her head down on her girlfriend’s shoulder and they kept on walking to their tent.
-x-
They sat on the veranda and watched the sun go down. The lake was now tinted a beautiful orange hue. The air had turned chilly and Sol adjusted the blanket around their shoulders to protect Jiwan more from the wind. Sol’s eyes reflected the sky and Jiwan could swear she could get lost in them. This was paradise.
Once it was dark and the stars splashed the sky, they got up and started to cook dinner. They prepared a salad and then went outside to grill the meat and some vegetables. Sol was a good cook and always made sure to prepare everything the way Jiwan liked it without her having to ask for it. Jiwan always expressed her amazement at it and Sol would always say that it’s just a side effect of ten plus years of being in each other’s lives.
“Is it done?” Jiwan asked as she back-hugged Sol.
“A little bit more,” Sol said and turned her face to peck Jiwan’s lips.
Once dinner was ready, they took the small table outside and set everything on it. The fairy lights and candles were enough to illuminate their dinner and it set the mood for a more than magical night.
Jiwan stood up after they were done eating and asked Sol to wait there. After a few minutes, she came back with a bottle of champagne on one hand and the other one hidden behind her back.
“Oh, Seo Jiwan, you and your love for alcohol.”
“We have to make a toast, it’s one of the unspoken rules for anniversary celebrations.”
“You’re right,” Sol smiled. She popped the cork and filled their glasses. “To many, many, many, many more anniversaries.”
“To an infinite amount of days with you.”
They clinked their glasses and drank the champagne, then leaned in to taste it from each other’s lips.
“I have a surprise for you, too,” Jiwan said, a little abashed.
“Yeah?”
Jiwan nodded and took a little bag from behind her, extending her arms fully in front of her for Sol to take.
Sol opened it and inside was a small wooden box. She looked up at Jiwan and then opened it, revealing a small golden gummy bear-shaped pendant attached to a necklace. “Oh, Jiwan-ah.”
“I have the same one,” she said as she took it out from underneath her shirt. “I thought that, as silly as it sounds, gummy bears mean a lot to us. You always gave them to me before we started dating just because you knew I liked them, and I always associated them with you. I know it’s silly though-”
“I love it,” Sol leaned in to kiss her. “It’s perfect. Now I’ll always have you with me, even when we’re not together... and it’ll remind me of my little gummy bear addicted, perfect, beautiful, incredibly amazing girlfriend.”
Jiwan lightly punched her arm and pouted. “I’m not addicted.”
“Oh, I think you are. You bought a whole box that one time you could finally find your favourite limited flavour.”
“That’s a totally rational decision!” Jiwan justified herself.
“That’s what a gummy bear addict would say,” Sol teased after kissing her cheek. She then handed Jiwan the necklace and turned around so she could help her put it on.
Once she saw how it looked on her, Jiwan’s smile got so big her eyes turned into small crescents and cheerfully hugged Sol.
-x-
Sol got the bath ready and slipped in, signalling for Jiwan to go in too. The smaller girl put her hair up into a bun, got into it, and adjusted herself against Sol’s front. The soft and warm light the candles gave out turned the tent into their own personal heaven.
“I don’t think I can leave this place once the weekend’s over,” Jiwan said, her eyes closing as Sol massaged her back.
“We can always come back.”
Jiwan hummed, “I’d like that. We can even stay longer.”
“As long as you want, baby.”
“As long as the school allows me to. They need me after all, you know, not everyone can handle fifth-graders like me,” Jiwan said with a boastful tone.
“And you’d miss them if we stay away for too long, you love those little monsters, and they love you.”
“Not as much as I love you, though,” Jiwan said as she looked back at Sol.
“Oh, you’re flirting now. I think that champagne went to your head.” Sol giggled and kept on massaging Jiwan’s knots.
“I only had one glass,” Jiwan chuckled and let her head hang for Sol to work her magic on her neck. “Have I ever told you I also love your hands?”
“I can recall a few times which also involved this level of nakedness, yes.”
“Yoon Sol!” Jiwan brought her hands up to cover her reddening face.
Sol laughed and hugged her tight, kissing up her neck to her cheek. “I like it when you blush.”
The water turned cold but they were too comfortable to leave yet. They stayed in silence, taking each other’s presence in and relishing in that oasis of peace and happiness.
“I love you,” Sol whispered against her neck. And she uttered those three words before but right in that moment they carried an even deeper meaning. “I never thought I could be this happy, but you just turned my world upside down and I’m so grateful for you,” her voice shook as she said the last words.
Jiwan turned her head to look at her, surprised that her girlfriend got so emotional all of a sudden. “Oh, Sol-ah,” she kissed her lips once, twice, then looked at her again. “I love you, too. So, so much. And my life has been so much brighter since you walked into it. And then, when you said you liked me and we worked it out and started dating, the whole world turned even more colourful and bright and I could appreciate the small things again.” Jiwan turned around on Sol’s lap so she was facing her and made her look into her eyes. “You make me the happiest girl in the world, Yoon Sol, and I’ll never take a moment with you for granted.”
Sol gave her a teary smile and hugged her. “I love you,” she mumbled as she left a kiss on her lips, “I love you,” a kiss on her jaw, “I love you,” another one on her shoulder.
And she made sure to show her how much that night and every day to come.