It Was Only A Week

You scribbled and scribbled. The room around you buzzed with the scratches of pencils. The large gymnasium was filled with rows of desks; it was exam season. You stared so hard at the paper you were surprised lasers hadn’t come out of your eyes and turned it to ash.

What is the last process to make OPC cement?

You studied the question again. Shit— professor Hark was watching you, beady eyes bearing into you. He knew, knew you had no idea what you were doing. You clutched your pencil harder.

A sudden calm came over you. OPC— you knew this. You looked up at the stars, shining like pearls above you in the night sky. By judge of the Sun, it as only around 4 o’clock. You still had plenty of time to finish this exam.

Wait, Sun? Hmm, that was weird. You could’ve sworn it was just night. Shit, you were getting distracted. Back to the question. You lifted the margarita you’d been writing with, taking a sip—

Margarita? This was wrong— all wrong. There wasn’t supposed to be margaritas during exams, or open roofs for that matter. And you could’ve sworn the exam hall wasn’t near an ocean, but the unmistakable sound of waves pierced through the walls.

You jolted awake.

Your head cleared instantly. If last night would’ve made a great drawing, the scene in front of you could be displayed at any museum of art, plastered over any iconic mural— Michelangelo be damned.

Yunjin dangled her feet over the side of the cliff, long red hair billowing in the soft morning breeze. The waves came softly, the low tide giving way to the shells and rocks the ocean offered. And the Sun— the brilliant Sun crept over the horizon, as if it knew the softness, the fragility, the fleeting nature of the moment.

You stirred, and Yunjin’s head tilted to the side. “Morning stranger,” she cooed.

“Morning,” you yawned as you sat up closer to her, legs too dangling.

Yunjin looked at you, eyes still tired, but gaze deep and present and there. A red strand of hair flicked onto her face. She didn’t break her gaze, and even when your hand instinctively raised, slowly approaching her to fix the hair she did not stir.

In her eyes you remembered everything. The perfect night you shared danced between you like fire— deeper than the ocean you looked over and more passionate than the rising Sun.

You didn’t want this to end, didn’t want to go back to a life where Yunjin wasn’t there. A life of deadlines and doom. It was so close, that life, despite the distance. Monday. 5 days until your midterm.

Your hand hitched midair, hovering halfway to Yunjin’s face. The tension in Yunjin’s eyes dissipated a bit, and she turned away. You dropped your hand.

The midterm was on Monday. You shouldn’t have even come here, shouldn’t have climbed these cliffs with Yunjin. You should’ve bee studying. Minho and Sakura, they would understand. Your family would too— this was school.

Why did it have to be like this? To have met someone so… real. So perfect, and yet so far away. So tragic a circumstance you only had this week together. You thought about what she said. About how it would be if you met at a cafe, or a thrift store, or park. Somewhere normal.

You wanted nothing more than to be with her in someplace normal.

The silence between you felt stretched after you failed to fix her hair. You hated it.

Professor Hark’s piercing eyes from your dream bore into your skull, questioning you. Why were you here? You should be studying. But this time, you wagered to stare back. Who did he think he was, changing the exam date based on his mistake.

Your hands clutched into the grass. 30%. That’s what the midterm was worth. And you’d gamble that 30% to spend a normal day with Yunjin. You’d have to tell Minho and Sakura you wouldn’t be going to the casino anymore— this was already too big a bet.

Adrenaline rushed inside your very core. It felt so weird, to be brushing off school. So soon after meeting your family again, too. But you also met Yunjin, a girl who was brave, fearless even, despite having fears. “Hey, Yunjin?”

She turned to look at you once more. “Hmm?”

“Do you want to go into the city today?”

A soft smile told you all you needed to know, and you could barely make out an “I’d like that,” despite the thumping in your chest.

Damn the midterm and that stupid dream.

It wasn’t hard to ditch Sakura and Minho. Yeah, they were disappointed— you only had seven days together, and after nearly two years of not seeing each other, the days were precious. You’d come to realize that.

But after explaining the amazing night you had, the two only encouraged you to go. You tore yourself away from your room after changing into something more appropriate, away from the looming threat of a bad grade.

It was honestly exhilarating, blowing off studying. Your phone dinged as the group chats you had with your classmates went off— people must’ve been waking up to find the email Professor Hark sent out late the previous night.

And you ignored it, blocked it all out. Oh, what your family would think. It was a weird sort of ironic clarity that washed over you, the feeling of putting something off even if for a moment. You knew the consequences of putting this off could affect your future. But you didn’t care, not for these seven days at least.

And so you made your way to Merida, a nearby city. Nervous wasn’t the right word to describe how you felt— it was more giddy excitement. Especially when you saw her, shortcut jean shorts with a white crop top, loose button up shirt covering the fit. You climbed in the taxi, being driven off to the city— somewhere normal.

It was a nice change of pace, being away from the slow paced easiness of the resort. The city felt familiar despite the vibrant blues and yellows of the buildings that lined the streets, or the undeniably astonishing architecture of the city. The hustle and bustle lived universally in every city; Merida was no different.

Still, it was an amazing sight. You exited the taxi, and a hand grabbed you by your wrist.

“Dogs!” Yunjin yelled. Still stunned by her boldness, you let yourself be dragged to a group of the many street dogs that roamed the streets. Her hand felt like hot coals on your skin— the kind you get at a nice massage. Warm and welcome. Your heart skipped a beat as she smiled and pet them.

The day couldn’t have gone better. Simply walking with her around the city was a breath of fresh air. To be in her presence a gift. The way she dragged you off to whatever shop or booth that caught her eye.

“What do you think about these sunglasses?” She asked at one of those shops. The white frames looked perfect against her pale skin.

“They’re nice,” you said, because words couldn’t capture how perfect she looked, with or without them.

“Nice? Just nice?” She pestered looking up at you. It was a good thing they were shaded so you couldn’t see her eyes. If you had, you’d have folded right there.

“They look—” the words hitched on the edge of your tongue, but Yunjin was still there, looking up at you as if whatever you’d say would’ve mattered— really mattered. “They look amazing Yunjin. Really.

Her eyes lingered on yours, smile so soft and real. She turned back to the market stall, grabbing a similar pair of white framed glasses, this one less curvy, more straight cut to fit the male face. She held them softly in her hands, before looking back up at you.

“There,” she said as she placed them over your eyes. “Matching.” On second thought, maybe today wasn’t a good idea. The way your heart hitched— Yunjin might stop your heart today with how much she gripped it, and then you wouldn’t live out your full week with her. At least you’d die happy.

You didn’t let yourself get carried away by the day. You made sure you lived in every moment it surrendered to you. You didn’t want to look back having just been mesmerized. So you too took action, dragging her off to the Plaza Grande and the Lucas de Galves Market, seeing the locals dressed in their white cloth, colourful flowers embroidered into the womens clothes, dancing with the men in their white panama hats.

You soaked it all in, but most of all, you soaked in Yunjin. The way she walked, so carefree, confident, cool. The way she looked at you and tapped your shoulder before dragging you off somewhere.

You didn’t want it to end. You wanted to walk this city forever with Yunjin by your side. But soon, the Sun rose to its blazing peak.

“I think it might be lunch time,” Yunjin heaved, raising her hand to block the Sun. “What should be get?”

“There’s a horchata stand over there,” you pointed. “I need something cold.”

You grabbed your icy rice drink, as well as a couple of panuchos. The traditional Yucatan dish filled your noses with the rich smell of refried beans and salsa.

“Where should we eat?” Yunjin asked.

“I think I saw the perfect place.”

And so you found a place under the shade of one of the many trees planted in the center park of the large plaza square that was the Plaza Grande. The soft grass felt cool under the shade. You sat across from her, slowly eating your lunch. Stolen glances didn’t do it justice. You couldn’t keep your eyes off of Yunjin. The way she tucked her hair behind her ears before taking a bite, or let out a refreshing gasp after sipping her horchata.