Jungkook

 
“I was so nervous, and I have no idea how I even made it to the end. I thought I might die midway,” Sarang complains, and I find it really cute when she uses that little whiny voice of hers.

“Mhm, but you did it. You made it to the end, and I’m sure there were no newly vacated seats when you finished singing,” I state confidently, and she agrees, humming.

“Yeah, it was incredible no one fled the spot,” Sarang giggles.

“Do I get to hear your performance? I hope you did not forget to record it,” my words are followed by a loud and dramatic gasp from her end.

“Oh my God! I totally forgot to get it recorded. I went there alone, and my nerves were killing me, so it totally slipped my mind. Oh no,” her voice and mood dip in a blink.

“Uh oh,” I remark, silently laughing to myself. “Then how do I know you actually did it? I asked for proof, did I not? Forgetting to record is not an excuse, my love,” the moment I let that out, my hand flies to cover my mouth, my face scrunching over my stupidity.

Even though she said it was okay the last time, I don’t really know if she’d be okay with me calling her ‘my love’ repeatedly, making it seem deliberate. In reality, it just came out naturally.

There’s a long pause on the line after which Sarang speaks first.

“Are you still there?”

“I am. I’m sor-”

“Don’t be. I liked it. I like it when you call me that. Really,” her voice sounds much softer when she says that.

“Good that I didn’t make you uncomfortable. Right, so what about the recording then? The challenge isn’t over until I have proof that you have completed it,” I insist, making Sarang moan unhappily.

“I’m sorry, I completely forgot about the recording part. What do I do now? Please don’t tell me to do it again,” she pleads in a softer voice.

“Hey, stop apologizing. And why wouldn’t you do it again? If you’ve done it once, shouldn’t it be a little easier the next time?” I probe her, still unable to control my wide smile.

“Don’t do this to me. Please suggest a workaround, except busking once again,” Sarang proposes a plan that suddenly gives me a new idea.

“Alright. I’ll accept that suggestion. I’ll consider the challenge completed if you could sing for me,” a few seconds of silence follow my words.

“When?”

“Right now.”

“No! I sound so terrible. You’ll end up laughing… Please, it’d be so embarrassing,” Sarang straight out stonewalls the plan.

“You sang for a crowd today, Sarang. In person. So singing for just me, and over the phone, wouldn’t be so nerve-wracking, right? You can do it,” I motivate her not to feel so shy or small.

“Ahhhh,” she groans, shuffling around her sheets. “Okay, close your eyes,” her tone lowers.

“It’s not going to make a difference.” I laugh softly.

“Right, we’re not facing each other,” she chuckles lightly. “Should I do it now?”

“Absolutely,” I confirm.

In a few more seconds, Sarang begins to sing the same song that she sang at the busking pit earlier this evening. My skin bristles, and my eyelids fall shut as her beautiful voice flows through every cell in my body, caressing my senses most delicately. The soothing lyrics of the song in her melodic voice truly feel like being softly kissed under the moonlight on a lonely night.

My mind begins to paint a mental picture of how she would look—a pair of large and dreamy eyes with pretty lashes, a small but healthy figure, shoulder-long hair that would feel like silk to the touch, cute and plump lips that would be tender and soft.

I could imagine those lips moving as she sang, and I wondered how it would feel to brush my fingers over them, to touch them with my lips.

A shudder ripples through me at that thought, and, unknowingly, a few drops of tears gather at the corners of my eyes, and they drip out when I open my eyes again when she finishes singing. Those few minutes felt like a beautiful dream, and even though the song wasn’t written by her for me, it actually felt like she was singing it for me, from the bottom of her heart.

“Sarang, thank you,” I whisper to her, placing a hand over my pounding heart as I lay alone on my bed.

“No, thank you, Jake. I never knew that I could do something like this. I’m a happy person tonight, and it’s only because of you.” Her voice isn’t as stable as it was while she was singing, and she clearly sounds a little emotional right now.

“Sarang, you’re a beautiful woman, and don’t ever let anyone or anything disturb that truth. I wish we could meet and spend a lot more time together,” I stop at that, not knowing if she’d ever be okay with that.

Honestly, I don’t know if I’m ready for it either, even though I’m inclined to believe at this point that she wouldn’t treat me differently because of my blindness.

“I have thought about it too, and I think time and fate will decide if that should ever happen. Who knows, we might have already met. Have you ever thought about that?” Her question makes me think now because I haven’t actually given it a thought.

“You’re right. We may have met without knowing,” I laugh softly at that prospect.

If we did meet, I hope I left a good impression on her.

“I’ll be looking forward to the next challenge. These little challenges are giving me a reason to smile each day, and I’m also excited to try different things which I haven’t done in all these years.” Sarang confesses, making my heart swell with joy.

At the start of these challenges, Sarang was closed off to the idea of trying things that she hadn’t done before. But now she is excited about giving it a shot, and if hearing such heartfelt words isn’t called success, I really don’t know what else is the definition of it.

“It’ll be an easier one, don’t worry. I already have it planned out, and look forward to the letter tomorrow,” I say enthusiastically.

After we end the call, I record a message with the content that I want to be written in the letter and send it to Taehyung right away, asking him to write the letter and post it first thing in the morning. I even consider asking him to drop the letter off at her doorstep since he knows where she lives, and it will also make it faster, but I refrain from doing that because slow is nice too.

I instruct my phone to send a copy of the voice recording to Sarang’s phone, and I keep chewing my nails while awaiting her reaction to it because she has no clue I was there.
 

Hae-Yeon

As soon as I end the call with Jake, I receive a voice recording from him, and when I play it, my jaw meets the floor, and my eyeballs almost pop out of their sockets. The recording begins with Jake uttering a soft ‘good luck, Sarang,’ and then I hear my voice singing at a distance from him. Hearing my recorded voice usually makes me cringe, but this time I have more questions in my mind that overshadow the cringe which wants to show up. It has definitely been recorded at the busking spot, and my heart palpitates when I come up with the possible answers to how he would have obtained this recording.

And I think I already know the only possible answer, but before I type it out, I receive another text message from him.

Jake:
I was there today

Jake:
I loved your performance, Sarang. Both times, I fell in love with it.

He was there? Oh my God! Did he see me then?

Me:
You were there?? Wow! You never told me!

Jake:
I’m sorry, I didn’t tell you. But I had such an amazing time there.

Jake:
And I really wished to come up and talk to you, but I didn’t know how that would make you feel.

Me:
I’m definitely surprised you were there.

I mentally whack myself on the face for not dressing up in better clothes and for just showing up in my usual baggy jeans and a sweater, not even bothering to tie my hair up neatly.

Jake:
But Sarang, this isn’t how I want us to meet.

Jake:
When the time is right, I wish we could meet like two normal people. Face to face.

My smile grows wider, my eyes well up with an unexplained sense of joy and gratitude, and my hands tremble slightly when I read his messages. He saw me today, and he still said that I’m a beautiful person, and he even says that he wishes for us to meet face to face. How I wish the world had more people like him who truly saw people for what they were beyond their exterior.

Me:
I wish for the same. I hope we will meet someday. Face to face.

Jake:
You must be tired. Get some sleep, my love.

A blush spreads across my face and my whole body when he comfortably uses the word ‘my love’, and my heart does a wild dance within my chest.

Me:
I’m going to play ‘Sins’ on loop and get into bed.

Me:
Good night, Jake.

I typed out good night, my love, and I almost hit the send button. But I corrected it to his name because, to me, both mean the same. Jake is my love and love is Jake. It doesn’t matter how I address him in my messages.

Putting my phone aside, I walk over to my music player on the desk and power it on. I pick out the CD of the album ‘Sins’ by Jake from its case and insert it into the player. Getting rid of my hair tie, I slide into bed and snuggle under the comforter while his soothing voice in the background effortlessly lulls me to sleep.

☆°•°☆

“Here you go,” Mi-Seul hands me Jake’s letter first thing in the morning, and it takes me by surprise.

“Wow! How did you get it already?” I ask her as I flip it around and notice that it has no postal seals on it.

“I don’t know, Hae. It was at my doorstep this morning,” she shrugs lightly and proceeds to drink her coffee.

“There’s no sign of the letter being posted. So was it directly dropped off at your doorstep?” My question makes her eyes snap up to meet mine as she sets her cup aside.

“Uhm, maybe?” She smiles, shrugging a little once again, and I raise a brow at her, observing how she suddenly looks a tad bit nervous.

“Am I missing something, Mi?” I lean a little closer to the table, making her shift her eyes to me once again, but my gaze is strongly set on her.

“No, Hae. What are you talking about? I didn’t notice the letter wasn’t posted until you pointed it out. I already told you that it was at my doorstep this morning, so maybe someone dropped it off there, not wanting to encounter any postal delays. Maybe Jake is really in a hurry to get these letters to your hands as soon as possible,” Mi-Seul punches my arm with a playful smile.

Smiling, I shake my head lightly as I place the letter inside my bag, and then we both head back to the studio.

There isn’t much work to do today other than editing and uploading some of the photos from the shoots done earlier this week. We get done with all our work just a little past noon, after which we both decide to close down for the day and head back home.

The moment I find myself alone in my car, I impatiently rip open the cover of Jake’s letter and read through it.

 
Dearest Sarang,

Did I surprise you too much with that voice recording yesterday? I’m sorry if I did, but I did not want to make you too nervous by telling you ahead that I would be there to witness your performance.

But I’m glad I came, and I had a wonderful time listening to you and the other performers as well. Even though I was present from the start till the end, I only recorded your song because I was there only for you, and there was something magical about your voice and your choice of song.

Was there a reason you picked that song? Because I haven’t heard anyone performing it before. And after hearing you sing it, I don’t think I would appreciate it if anyone else performed it. You sealed the deal for me.

Do you know what was even better than your public busking performance? It was the little concert where I was the only audience yesterday. It was over the phone, yes. But you have no idea how you made me feel in those few minutes. I can’t remember the last time I felt that way, and I don’t even know if I’ve ever felt such. It was only because of you.

Thank you, Sarang. Thank you for last night. Thank you for being a part of my life.

So with that, we have completed two challenges. Successfully.

The third one, as I already told you, is something simple. Pick the second item from your list of three things you are good at. If you forgot what it was, let me remind you what that was. You had listed embroidery as the second item on the list.

So go, embroider any design and appreciate yourself for doing it. Wear it if possible. You’re beautiful, and I want you to wear your work and feel even more beautiful. Do not forget to click photos this time. If you forget, I already have a little punishment planned for you.

You don’t want that, do you? ;)

I hope you will look forward to finishing this challenge successfully. Fighting, Sarang!

With all the love in the world,
Jake ❤

 
With a smile that does not falter for even the blink of an eye, I finish reading his letter and let out a sigh. My heart aches with how much I’m longing to meet him and spend time with him. I wish the day arrives soon, and I wish we could both show our real physical selves to one another when we meet.

Putting the letter back into my bag, I drive back home with a big smile while simultaneously deciding upon the design that I want to embroider. But this time around, I am not clicking any photos to show him that I have finished the challenge. No, I’m also not going to get punished by him.

If he could surprise me by being present for my performance, I could also surprise him in some way, right? Of course, I can.
 

What do you think she's planning?
😉

Published on : 09/17/2023