When I Loved You

“Do you still write in your diary?”

“No.” Muyeol had stopped writing in it after Yiyoung dropped out of school. There was nothing left to write in it after she was gone. It was understandable, since his only focus had been Yiyoung.

“I wish you’d continued,” expressed Yiyoung.

Muyeol chuckled. “I don’t have to, since I can now express my feelings directly to you.”

Yiyoung’s eyes twinkled as an idea popped up in her mind. Her head spun with curiosity, wondering what Muyeol had written in the diary. ‘Wouldn’t he still have it? He’d treated it as if it was his most precious possession before. He might have kept it somewhere.’

‘Yiyoung was determined to find the diary. It almost felt like playing a game. But she didn’t express her intentions. “Okay, let’s enjoy each day and keep living like that.”

Completely oblivious to Yiyoung’s thoughts, Muyeol nodded. “I’ll try my best to enjoy each day.”

Yiyoung patted his back. “Thank you.”

She felt grateful when Muyeol said he would change. He looked even more lovely now. Yiyoung poured her heart out to him when she confessed, “I love you.”

Muyeol kissed her on the lips, for a long time.

* * *

After visiting Budapest and Prague, the two went to Istanbul. It was a long journey, but it wasn’t so bad, since they didn’t have to unpack and pack each day like Yiyoung had to during her tour. They stuck to one place at a time, only visited the places they wanted to visit, and also looked for famous restaurants.

After they arrived at the hotel in Istanbul, Yiyoung muttered, “What should I do now? I think I’m in love with traveling.”

Yiyoung had already tasted the beauty of traveling.

“We can continue to travel,” Muyeol said as he opened the trunk of their car.

Yiyoung knew they wouldn’t be able to travel like this. However, since they’d learned how to enjoy their trip, they wouldn’t lose themselves in their everyday lives now.

A hotel doorman quickly approached them and pulled out their luggage carriers.

“Thank you.”

Muyeol handed the doorman a tip and went inside the hotel lobby, his arm wrapped around Yiyoung’s waist. “What do you want to do first?”

Yiyoung leaned her head against his chest like a little girl and whispered, “We could have a mad party in the shower.”

Muyeol’s eyes changed in an instant.

Affected by that crazy party of theirs, the two rested for the remainder of the day, only starting their tour the next day. The itinerary included the exact same places that Yiyoung had visited before: the Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, the Basilica Cistern, and the Grand Bazaar.

Before they began the tour, Yiyoung slowly observed Muyeol. He was wearing a comfortable pair of jeans, and an indigo button-up shirt. It had looked awkward on him at first, but now it looked great. It seemed as if his mood had changed, too, like he could relax now.

“Oh, you look great,” Yiyoung said in a wicked voice.

Muyeol sniggered. “I’m taken.”

Yiyoung giggled and put her arm around his. “You’re shielding yourself, huh?”

“Do you like it?”

“Yes.”

“Shall we get going?”

“Yes. Let’s go.”

They headed to the Hagia Sophia after leaving the hotel, the place where two different religions coexisted. Muyeol was shocked to learn the history of the church. As he looked at the inside of the church as if he was engraving the sight in his mind, he said, “So it feels like this, huh?”

“Doesn’t it feel like a world in a book became real?” Yiyoung asked.

“Yeah, it does.”

Though they’d visited Budapest and Prague, somehow, Istanbul felt the most exotic to them. Perhaps it was because of the fancy tint of the colors; they were vividly carved in their minds.

Muyeol sat down next to a column and looked up at the ceiling. Yiyoung sat right next to him, also looking at the ceiling.