Because of my mom's cooking, the girls decided to have a sleepover so they could try mom's breakfast food. My mom was happy enough to say yes and even prepared their sleeping bags in my room. She stayed a little longer to ask what we wanted for breakfast and she's giggling the whole time hearing them praise her cooking. I couldn't even say a single word without mom interrupting me. At that point, I was ready to trade rooms with her.
After my mom said goodnight, we watched The Conjuring which was suggested by Winter although no one was really paying attention to the movie. I fell asleep because Lia was gently stroking my hair while the lovebirds were playing Call of Duty on their phones. My best friend thought it would be a good idea to watch a horror movie with three people but wasn't brave enough to watch it fully. I don't mind horror movies, but the sweet caress of the girl beside me made me fall asleep and I didn't know what happened next.
I woke up to the sound of small snores coming from my best friend's mouth and quiet breaths from Lia. The blanket was barely covering her body so I fixed it. Looking out my window, I was greeted by a dark sky, I looked over to my alarm clock and saw that it was already 5:30 in the morning. Just in time to see the sunrise.
I quietly and slowly got up from my bed. With a smile on my face, I planted a kiss on her forehead that made her shuffle a bit. I grabbed my jacket on the chair and put it on. It was chilly outside and I didn't want to catch a cold. I went to the bathroom and opened the window that has access to the roof.
The wind blew past my face, causing me to zip my jacket up. This is what I always do when I don't have any plans for the day. I get up around 5 a.m. to watch the sunrise. My body was used to waking up at this hour so I didn't need an alarm to wake me up.
I sat down on the roof, watching the beautiful neighborhood. The streetlights were still on, as well as the lights in other houses.
Moments later, I heard a shuffling noise behind me. Turning my head around, I saw Lia with tired eyes walking towards me with a sleepy smile. I made a space for her to sit on, dusting the surface.
"What are you doing here?" She asked with a husky voice.
"Came here to watch the sunrise," I smiled.
"May I join you?"
I gave her a quick kiss on the lips, thinking how cute she is and that she's still asking for permission, "You don't have to ask, you know? You're always welcome to join me, Lia,"
"So, can I also join you while you take a shower later?" She cocked an eyebrow, smirking at me.
"While everyone is under the same roof? Yeah, I'll pass," She pouted, then I added, "Unless we're at your house, then you can always join me,"
"That's good enough for me."
I nudged her shoulder, chuckling as I shook my head, "What about you, huh? You should be sleeping right now,"
She ran down her hand on my thigh, "I felt a little cold. I woke up and saw that you weren't beside me anymore. I saw the bathroom door was and thought that you went up here, so I checked if you were."
"And now you're with me again," I grinned.
She intertwined our fingers together, "That just made me realize how clingy I am,"
I pushed my head back as I laughed, "You just realized it now?"
"I'm not observant when it comes to the things I do, okay?" She huffed out a breath.
"Well, I am and you're definitely clingy. You're like a leech," I smirked.
"Wow. It's only almost 6 a.m. and you're already annoying me,"
"It's the best way to start my day," I flashed her a dashing grin.
The sky was becoming brighter and brighter as time went by, the lights in our neighborhood were slowly turning off as well. Feeling a bit drowsy, a yawn escaped my lips. This time was also the best time to talk about deep stuff. I realized that we haven't talked about our goals in life and what we wanted to do in the future.
"Hey, Lia?"
"Hmm?"
"What are your goals in life?" I questioned.
She wasn't prepared for the question. She stared ahead and went into trance thinking about her answer. It was completely silent for a few seconds before she gave me an ambitious answer, "I wanna be a veterinarian; I want to help animals and find them homes. I want to travel the world and see the most beautiful places with someone I love. Get married one day and maybe even have kids. By kids, I meant dogs,"
I snorted. She's someone who always despised kids, literal human children, no matter how old she was.
Lia continued, "I know that you know I love being on my own, but I really do love being with the people I love too. I wanna be with them till I grow old."
What I also liked about her was that she knows what she wanted in life. That no matter how hard life gets, she won't stop reaching for her goals. She inspires me.
"For me, I wan-"
"Did I ask?" She cut me off.
I rolled my eyes, my mouth turned into a scowl, "Bitch,"
She squeezed my cheeks and chuckled at my reaction, "I'm joking, I'm joking! God, you're so cute! Go ahead, you were saying?"
"Nope. You're gonna tease me again,"
"I won't, I promise! I wanna hear your goals too,"
"I swear to God, Lia. If you cut me off again, I'll push you off this roof and let your screams be the one to wake people up instead of their alarms,"
"Okay, psycho. Start talking."
My goals were something I've always looked forward to in my life. These were my motivations to push myself to the limit and achieve them all. But now that I have Lia, I wouldn't mind adding another goal.
"I wanna be a writer. I want to create amazing stories and share them with the world. I want to be a chef as well and have my own cookbook. I wanna graduate college and like your goal, I also want to travel the world. I wanna help people and donate to charities. It's always been my goal to donate to the people in need as well as inspire little kids. It warms my heart to see people getting the help they need."
Lia gave me an admiring look, brushing a strand off my face and tucking it behind my ear, "You really are something else, Yeji. You're kind and passionate, you care deeply for everyone and you love too much. You're one of a kind, Yeji. You really are,"
My eyes started to sting. She didn't know how lucky I consider myself to have her and to be with her, "You can't make me cry this early,"
"Just stating the facts out here, Ji,"
"Jeepers, man. Don't make me cry," I sniffled.
"You're so sensitive!"
"You gotta be careful with the compliments, Choi. You know that I don't know what to say to them,"
She lifted my hand and gave it a peck, "Say thank you, and that's it."
"Thank you, Lia," I said lovingly.
"You're welcome."
"You're also one of a kind, you know? You're the most annoying person I've ever me-" I was yet again cut off by her as she pushed me lightly and glared at me.
My hands supported my body from slamming on the floor. I had to laugh because her expression was so funny.
"Stop laughing, Yeji!"
"You see this? This is exactly why you're the most annoying person I've ever met,"
"You don't know how much I would love to push you off this roof and watch your bones break as you fall down," She narrowed her eyes at me.
I stopped laughing when her expression turned scary, "You're so creepy, "
This time, she released an evil laugh. Sometimes I worry for her. "Says the girl who's wearing a shirt with a bunch of IU's face on it,"
I looked down to see a bunch of IU's face, smiling ahead. "I- it was a gift from Winter, alright? It happens to be my favorite shirt too,"
"You're obsessed!" Lia wrinkled her nose in disgust.
"Nah, I'm in love,"
"Obsessed, Yeji."
"Yes," I agreed. Her eyes twinkled in glee, staring at me quietly with a small smile, "You're staring because?"
"I'm not. Just thinking about how creepy you are for having that shirt," She denied.
"That's it. You can attack me but not this shirt," I defended.
"You really are one of a kind. Who protects a shirt?"
I shrugged, "Me,"
"And let's not forget about your Channing Tatum life-sized standee in your room,"
"Please don't attack him too. IU isn't doing anything but smiling and Channing Tatum isn't doing anything besides standing!"
She shook her head, clearly amused at my antics. She then looked up to me. "You're really something else,"
"You're also one of a kind, Lia. Even though people see you as this mean, bitchy, cold person, you're one of the sweetest people I've ever met. You also care so much for the people you love; you love too deeply. You're someone who'll do anything for yourself and for everyone. Even if you're afraid of something, it doesn't stop you from doing things that you love. And that made me love you."
Her eyes swelled up and I could see how she's trying to stop the tears from falling. She leaned forward and gave me a kiss on the lips, "I totally don't deserve you,"
"No, I feel like I'm the one who doesn't deserve you,"
"Okay, let's just say that we deserve each other. Cause you, Yeji, are an amazing woman, inside and out. I've never met someone who's so awkward and yet confident... Somehow. Even if you don't see how great you are, I know that one day you can learn to love yourself more and you'll see yourself the way I do eventually."
As my reply, I pecked her forehead and that made her smile like crazy. Even if she's very clingy, it doesn't bother me a bit. I love every moment with her.
"Hey, Yeji?"
"Yes, Lia baby?" I teased.
She wrinkled her nose like that's the most disgusting thing I've ever said to her, "Please don't call me that,"
"What? Baby?"
"Yes, call me babe or honey bee or whatever. As long as its not baby or bae."
"Okay, baby bae,"
"I hate you," She sneered while I cackled at her reaction.
"But what is it, Lia?"
"After we graduate college, where do you want to go first?" She wondered.
When I was 7 years old, I stumbled upon this magazine and on the cover, it said '50 most beautiful countries to visit'. I browsed the pages and saw amazing countries with beautiful places. But there's this country that really caught my eye which was Greece. I said to myself that one day I will be able to go there. As I grew older, I started learning everything about Greece and every time I did, I got more intrigued. That's where I want to go first.
"Greece. Ever since I was seven, I've always wanted to go there. I love everything about that country. I also want to try their cuisine," I looked in front of me and I can see the city from afar.
Lia pulled her knees closer to her and placed her head on top, "I think that's a great idea. Greece is beautiful,"
"But what about you? Where do you wanna go?"
"Norway. But I'm okay with anywhere as long as I'm with you," I was gonna annoy her by telling her that she's so clingy but she realized what I was gonna say, "If you said I'm very clingy, I'll go back inside and sleep,"
I raised my hands in surrender, biting my lips to stop myself from laughing, "Ok then, let's go to Norway first,"
"No that's unfair to you," Her eyes wandered as she thought of a solution, "How about we just toss a coin for it?"
"Sounds good to me."
The sun was about to rise, birds were chirping and some were flying high above; the newspaper boy was happily doing his job, throwing newspapers on every porch. The city lights started to flicker out one by one. The sun was peeking behind the city buildings.
With a sigh, I rested my head on her shoulder as she wrapped an arm around me, "Can we please do this again?"
"Watch the sunrise?"
"Yes."
"We can do it whenever you want to,"
"I didn't know I needed to do this with you until now,"
She cracked a smile, "Me either,"
"You're the best, Lia."
She planted a kiss on top of my head before placing her head on top of mine as we watched the sunrise, "Not the best like you."