Chapter 135: Travel (8)

 

Eun-ha was determined to stay up all night to watch the sunrise, but as midnight passed, sleepiness began to overtake her.

 

It was adorable how she started to nod off, her head bobbing as she dozed. After all, we had done a lot of walking, so it was natural for her to be tired.

 

“Eun-ha, you’re sleepy, aren’t you?”

 

“Huh...? No, I’m not sleepy...!”

 

“I can tell, even if you pretend otherwise~. I’ve set an alarm for 4:30, so you can sleep a bit now.”

 

“But what if we both don’t wake up? You’re tired too, aren’t you?”

 

“I’m a light sleeper, so don’t worry. Let’s get some rest now.”

 

“Still... I really want to see the sunrise no matter what.”

 

“You’ll have a better chance of waking up if you sleep now and get up around 4:30. Staying awake for five more hours will be much harder.”

 

She pondered for a moment before replying.

 

“Alright, let’s do that. But let’s set multiple alarms.”

 

“Sure~. You should set yours too.”

 

“Okay..! Yaaawn~!”

 

Eun-ha immediately let out a big yawn.

 

“See? You’re sleepy, right?”

 

“Hehe... Yeah, I’ve actually been sleepy for a while now.”

 

“Come on, set the alarm first.”

 

“Yes~.”

 

Eun-ha set the alarm on her phone, and I turned off the lights.

 

“Han-gyeol, come here. Let’s hold hands while we sleep.”

 

“We’re just holding hands, right?”

 

“Yeah, I think we’ll only hold hands tonight. I’m too tired.”

 

“Alright, let’s get some sleep~.”

 

We lay down on the bed, sharing a blanket.

 

“Han-gyeol, no matter how sleepy I get, you have to wake me up. Promise?”

 

Eun-ha gently grasped my hand as she said this.

 

“What if you just want to sleep?”

 

“Don’t let me! Make sure I watch the sunrise. Okay? I’ll wake you up if you try to sleep through it too!”

 

“Got it. Now let’s sleep. We need all the rest we can get.”

 

“But I want to cuddle a little more.”

 

Eun-ha snuggled up close to me.

 

“If you’re this close, I won’t be able to sleep.”

 

“It’s dark, so I can’t see your face well...”

 

“You see it every day; it doesn’t matter if you see it a little less.”

 

“Even if I look at you until I die, it won’t be enough~.”

 

“You’re too cute. Alright, look all you want~.”

 

Eun-ha smiled softly as she gazed at my face.

 

“Han-gyeol.”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“I’m so happy because of you. I feel like I’m the happiest person in the world.”

 

“When do you feel happiest?”

 

“I don’t know. I’m just always happy. Just knowing you’re here makes me so happy.”

 

“I’ll make you even happier from now on.”

 

“No, I’ll make ‘you’ happier.”

 

“I’m not sure if it’s possible to be any happier than this.”

 

“I’ll make you the happiest person in the world..! Oh-! Am I saying something too cheesy?”

 

“No, I love it. Thank you for saying that.”

 

“Hehe...”

 

Eun-ha smiled brightly and planted a kiss on my cheek.

 

“Han-gyeol~”

 

“Yeah, Eun-ha~?”

 

When I called her name, she let out a soft giggle.

 

“I’m really sleepy~.”

 

“Then fall asleep already.”

 

“But it’s our last night here, and I don’t want to sleep.”

 

“We’ll wake up in four hours~.”

 

“Then give me a goodnight kiss...”

 

“Alright, come here.”

 

Eun-ha slowly leaned toward me. I gently stroked her hair as our lips met. When the kiss ended, she smiled sweetly.

 

“Thank you... I love you, Han-gyeol...”

 

With that, Eun-ha quickly fell asleep.

 

Just how much had she been holding back her sleep?

 

Even though she fell asleep right away, she still held onto my hand tightly.

 

Every time I tried to slip my hand out, she wouldn’t let go.

 

“Mmm...”

 

Even in her sleep, she didn’t want to lose her grip on me.

 

It was adorable how her brow furrowed every time I tried to move.

 

“Thank you... I love you too.”

 

Love is truly amazing.

 

I never believed the saying that love changes people, but I’ve changed the most since falling in love.

 

I love waking up to see Eun-ha’s smile in the morning.

 

I love the way she turns toward me when tying her hair.

 

I love her figure as she prepares breakfast for me when it’s her turn to cook.

 

And I love how the corners of her lips lift when I gently hug her from behind.

 

Since I started dating Eun-ha, I find myself looking forward to tomorrow more and more. I can’t help but wonder, ’What expression will she use to say ‘I love you’ tomorrow?’ My life has become so different from the one filled with worry that I used to know.

 

I can hardly believe that I’m experiencing this kind of love.

 

Every moment with Eun-ha feels precious and invaluable. I always thought of myself as a rational person, but when I’m with her, I find myself caught up in emotions.

 

It’s embarrassing and a little cheesy, but I don’t mind getting emotional like this. Slowly, I closed my eyes while gazing at Eun-ha’s face.

 

I want to dream about Eun-ha.

 

****

 

“Han-gyeol~ Wake up~!”

 

I felt Eun-ha’s voice and a gentle shaking rouse me from my sleep. As I slowly opened my eyes, I saw her with messy hair, trying to wake me up.

 

“Huh...?”

 

“It’s 4:40. We need to get up.”

 

“Already...? I didn’t even hear the alarm.”

 

“You were sleeping so soundly, I turned it off on purpose.”

 

Eun-ha grabbed both my arms and pulled me up.

 

“Go wash your face. I already freshened up. Once you brush your teeth, you’ll wake up fully.”

 

“Yeah... I’ll go do that...”

 

Half-asleep, I stumbled into the bathroom. I meant to wash my face first, but somehow I ended up squeezing toothpaste onto my toothbrush instead. So, I brushed my teeth first, then splashed cold water on my face before coming back out.

 

“Feel more awake now?”

 

“Thanks to you. I think I would’ve slept right through the sunrise without you.”

 

“Then hurry up and come over here and watch me tie my hair~”

 

Eun-ha patted the bed beside her, calling me over.

 

“Did you wait to tie your hair just so I could see?”

 

“Of course. You said you love watching me do it in the mornings.”

 

“Well, my heart’s racing already.”

 

“Come here~”

 

As I sat on the bed, Eun-ha held a hair tie between her lips and began tying her hair, her neck exposed in the soft morning light.

 

She tied her hair with practiced ease, then turned to me with a wide smile.

 

“Ta-da~! How does it look?”

 

“You’re breathtaking.”

 

“Now, let’s go watch the sunrise. It’s so peaceful outside, it feels even more special.”

 

“Yeah, let’s do that.”

 

Eun-ha and I sat on the edge of the bed, gazing out the window. The sky was gradually brightening, but the sun hadn’t fully risen yet.

 

“What wish are you going to make while watching the sunrise, Han-gyeol?”

 

“Obviously, I’m going to wish that I can stay by your side, being lovey-dovey with you forever.”

 

“Then our wishes are the same~. But I guess that’s okay in this case?”

 

“Maybe if we both wish for the same thing, it’ll work even better. Let’s just go with that.”

 

“Good idea! Let’s wish to stay together like this until the end.”

 

“Yeah, that sounds perfect.”

 

“Oh! Look, the sun is rising!”

 

Eun-ha excitedly pointed out the window. The sun was slowly emerging over the horizon.

 

“It’s beautiful…!”

 

Eun-ha’s face lit up with a wide, childlike smile as she watched the sunrise.

 

The sunlight gradually poured into the room, making her face glow warmly.

 

“It really is beautiful.” I agreed.

 

“Ah-! Han-gyeol, you shouldn’t be looking at me right now—watch the sunrise!”

 

“Feels like I’m missing out by not looking at you.”

 

“No way! Right now, it’s all about the sunrise, not me! Hurry, look!”

 

She grabbed my head and forced me to turn toward the window. As the sunlight and breeze streamed in, I had to admit, it did feel refreshing.

 

“Watching the sunrise just the two of us feels amazing!”

 

“Do you like it that much? We’ll have to do this more often.”

 

“Yeah! This is our first sunrise together, so it feels extra special!”

 

I sneaked a glance at her and saw Eun-ha still smiling brightly.

 

When the sun finally rose completely over the horizon, Eun-ha gripped my hand tightly.

 

“I’m so glad I met you, Han-gyeol! I really, really love this!”

 

“I feel the same. I’m so lucky to have met you, Eun-ha.”

 

“I love you~”

 

“I love you too~”

 

We both smiled at each other, full of happiness.

 

“Han-gyeol, what time do we have to check out?!”

 

“Checkout is at noon, but our train is at nine, so we have to leave by eight.”

 

“Then we only have about three hours left?”

 

“Yeah. We’ve seen the sunrise, so let’s get some more sleep. Once we’re back in Seoul, we’ve got to head straight to collage and go to class.”

 

We had only slept for about four hours, so I was planning to catch a bit more rest. But it seemed Eun-ha had a different idea.

 

“Han-gyeol~ have you ever skipped class before?”

 

“Skipped class? No, I’ve never done it. Why?”

 

“Hehe~ is that so~”

 

“Why are you asking all of a sudden?”

 

Eun-ha untied the hair she had just fixed earlier and then slowly pushed me down onto the bed, climbing on top of me.

 

“Then, let’s skip class together today.”

 

“Eun-ha, are you...?”

 

I had a feeling I knew what she was suggesting, but I asked anyway, just to be sure.

 

“What are you planning to do if we skip?”

 

“What do you think~?”

 

Eun-ha looked down at me with a mischievous gleam in her eyes.

 

“Hold on. Let me check my phone for a second.”

 

I reached for my phone on the bed, but Eun-ha quickly grabbed my wrist, stopping me.

 

“Nope! No phone. Look at me, not the phone!”

 

“I was going to cancel our train tickets.”

 

“Oh-! In that case, go ahead~”

 

“Just a sec~”

 

I hurriedly turned on my phone and canceled our train tickets. After putting the phone back down, Eun-ha asked,

 

“Did you cancel it?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Then, let’s do it...!”

 

With that, Eun-ha leaned down and kissed me deeply.

 

I never thought my first time skipping class would turn out like this.

--- The End OF The Chapter --

 

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