"Mmm what's for breakfast? Smells good!"
Yonghoon cooed as he entered the kitchen. You chuckled and rolled your eyes.
"No need to exaggerate, they're just normal fried eggs".
Yonghoon hugged you from the back and gave your cheek a peck.
"Anything that you cook for me is amazingly delicious, don't be so humble like that".
You chuckled again before pushing your boyfriend to the dining table and served him the fried egg sandwich that you just made.
"You always flatter me, come on let's eat".
You bit on your sandwich and paused for a second before facepalming yourself. Yonghoon was confused but after biting his, he realised what was wrong.
"Babe, did you accidentally put both eggs in mine? No wonder mine looked thicker than yours".
Yonghoon then took one of the fried eggs from his sandwich and put it in yours.
"Sorry, I was distracted I didn't realise what I was doing.."
Yonghoon laughed happily as he found you cute and continued eating.
The two of you had already planned to go to an art museum together on the weekend to celebrate your second year anniversary. The museum was showcasing a music-themed exhibition and the two of you were excited for it.
Yonghoon sat on the sofa while waiting for you to finish preparing. You donned your new pink dress and went out of your room.
"How do I look?" You asked nervously.
Yonghoon as usual gave a huge smile and showered you with compliments. After a while, he suddenly frowned and bent a bit to carress the bruise on your knee.
"Babe, what happened? Does it hurt?"
You pulled Yonghoon up by his shoulders and shook your head.
"It's okay, I just tripped of my foot the other day and fell down, but I'm not hurt. Ah.. It's ugly right if others see it? I will cover it with a bandaid. Sorry".
Yonghoon smiled sadly and pulled you into a hug.
"That's not what I meant, I was just worried about you. You don't need to cover it okay, I don't want you to feel uncomfortable."
You still plastered a bandaid on the bruise before the two of you went out for the date.
The arts exhibited were beautiful and interesting, you and Yonghoon walked side by side slowly, appreciating each and every frame displayed.
You stopped in front of a big frame and was completely mesmerised by it. They were just colours but it was as if you could feel and hear a melodious sound from it.
Yonghoon had walked to the next frame but you were still stuck on your spot, still staring at the big frame.
Yonghoon chuckled and snapped a few photos of you before gently tapping your shoulder.
"Babe, you really zoned out there, ready to move to the next one?"
You snapped out of your thoughts and gave an apologetic smile.
"Sorry, I just had so many thoughts running through my mind about this particular piece, I didn't realise that you were done. Let's go!"
Yonghoon held your hand and swayed them slowly.
"You know, I love going to art exhibitions with you, because I can really feel that you love them so much. I love doing what you love with you".
You only squeezed his hand and felt heat creeping up your face because of his sweet words.
After a long day, the two of you were finally sat at the restaurant that Yonghoon reserved.
While waiting for your food, Yonghoon took out a small blue box from his pocket and passed it to you.
You quietly took the box and opened it, revealing a simple yet beautiful bracelet, with a butterfly charm.
"It's beautiful, thank you so much."
You looked up from the gift and saw Yonghoon's face. He was smiling but there was a tinge of panic in his eyes. You quickly took his hand and carressed it with your thumb.
"Please don't misunderstand, I'm sorry. I may not look like it, but I am really happy and I love the gift so much, thank you".
Yonghoon finally breathed out in relief and held your hand back.
It was your turn to feel somewhat bad towards your boyfriend. Yonghoon noticed it and gently squeezed your hand to get your attention.
You shook your head and held it down.
"I did not get anything for you. I tried to, but I kept forgetting. Everytime I remember, I'm in a situation where I was unable to buy you one. And there are so many things that I want to buy for you but I could not decide quick enough, I ended up getting burnt out from thinking and, and, I, uhm, today arrived and I still have not bought anything. I'm sorry".
Yonghoon's eyes softened. He really wanted to come over to your side and give you a tight hug.
"Babe, it's really okay. I didn't buy you a gift because I wanted one from you too, I just wanted to give it to you because I love you. Don't think too much about buying me one, okay?"
You really wanted to buy him one, but since Yonghoon kept insisting that it was fine, you decided that it was best to stop pestering him about it.
Your anniversary celebration was so fun, you could not believe that a week had already passed. It felt just like yesterday, literally. You didn't remember much of what you did at work for the past week and just replayed the memories of last weekend in your head.
The two of you planned to just spend time at home watching movies this weekend.
You cursed in your head when you heard Yonghoon coming back from the convenience store while you were stuck on the sofa in a pile of clothes.
You heard Yonghoon walking slowly to you and hesitated for a bit.
"Babe, is everything okay?"
You sighed and covered your face, trying not to break down.
"I planned to do laundry while you were at the store, but halfway through, I suddenly thought of this one specific blouse that I have not worn for a long time, while I was searching for it, I remembered that I actually gave it to my sister.. I wanted to clean back up but after seeing the mess I felt so overwhelmed, so now I am stuck and cannot do anything.."
Yonghoon gave a soft smile and pulled you up from the sofa gently as he hugged you.
"It's okay babe, let's do the laundry together, okay?".
You buried your face into his comforting chest and nodded.
"I'm so sorry for always being like this. I wish I could do more for you.."
Yonghoon carressed your hair and pulled away to look at your face.
"You know, my birthday is in a few weeks, how about you make me seaweed soup? I will be so happy if you do!"
You pouted. "Are you sure that's enough?"
Yonghoon chuckled and nodded.
You agreed to it, and planned to think of something more later.
It's almost a week before Yonghoon's birthday, and you have been experimenting your best seawood soup recipe, as well as your boyfriend's favourite dish, stir-fried chicken.
You can cook because it was basically following some instructions, but you wanted to get the BEST recipe for your best person.
You were mixing some ingredients in a bowl when you accidentally bumped into the pot with hot soup and spilled some on your hands.
You screamed at the hot sensation and quickly put your hands under cold running water. It was so painful, you could still feel the burn. You tried to refrain your tears from falling and thought of what to do next.
You were grateful that Yonghoon had some extra work and will be coming home late. You treated your hands and quickly cleaned up the mess.
You sat down after cleaning everything up and wrapped your hands in a cold wet towel. You stared into the air, your mind was blank, for the first time in a long time.
You wonder if Yonghoon will be disappointed in you when he finds out that you can't even do something so simple without causing an accident.
You began feeling anxious and stressed out. Overwhelmed by your thoughts and emotions, you decided to escape from it by going to bed early.
You felt the other side of the bed dipped as Yonghoon slipped in quietly. He thought you were asleep but you were just hiding under the covers, too scared to face him.
Yonghoon scooted over to you and wrapped his arms around you. You felt yourself relaxing against him. You really needed a hug after that whole bad experience earlier.
The next morning, you quickly got up and planned to just buy some breakfast from the store dowstairs. You didn't have the mood to cook after yesterday's accident.
Your burns didn't hurt as bad as last night but you can see blisters starting to form. You decided to put on a long sleeve shirt that could cover your hands entirely.
Yonghoon woke up and was confused when you were not beside him. He walked around the house searching for you and finally ran to the door when he heard you unlocking. Yonghoon went to you like a puppy who had been waiting for its owner to come back.
You chuckled at him and shook your head.
"What do you mean you miss me? You see me everyday!"
Yonghoon pouted before taking the plastic bag from your hand.
"I didn't see you the first thing after I woke up, so I missed you."
"I bought some bread for breakfast. Eat them while they are warm."
Yonghoon happily munched on the bread and fed you some too. He then noticed that you had your sleeves all the way up to the tip of your fingers.
"Hmm babe? Are you feeling alright? Do you have fever or a cold?"
You tilted your head to the side in confusion.
Yonghoon noticed your expression.
"It's summer but you're all bundled up in that sweater. Are you feeling okay?"
"Ah! This.. yeah I am okay, don't worry"
Yonghoon noticed you avoiding his eyes, he knew you were hiding something serious.
He put his bread down and softly but firmly took your wrists.
You tried to pull away but he was stronger.
"Do--Don't look! They're ugly!!"
Yonghoon's expression softened at your words.
"Why would you say that?"
He lifted up the sleeves and was shocked when he saw burn blisters all over your hands.
"Babe! What happened? You burnt yourself? We need to go to the hospital!!!"
You only looked down, trying to hold your tears from falling.
"I was just trying to do something for you. But I can't even cook without hurting myself. I am so useless. I don't even deserve to be treated at the hospital. All I do is be a burden to you."
Yonghoon quickly sat beside you and pulled you into a hug. He carressed your hair to comfort you.
"Babe, you are never a burden. Everyone has their own challenges, and you deserve all the love in this world, especially mine. Please don't say that ever again".
You finally broke down into tears. You thought he would leave you because he finally had enough. But Yonghoon stuck to your side, accepting you for who you are.
You cried so hard until you passed out in Yonghoon's arms. Yonghoon carried you to your bed and decided to call for a doctor to treat your hands while you were sleeping.
Yonghoon was relieved when the doctor said that your burns will heal in no time. He was angry at himself for not being able to protect you.
Yonghoon sat beside you and admired your sleeping face.
"Please don't be sad, I will protect you I promise"
You heard his soft voice and opened an eye, still a but drowsy.
"I'm sorry for everything, Yonghoon. I promise to improve myself too"
Yonghoon nodded and covered your eyes, prompting you to go back to sleep. He knew how much of a rest you needed right now. You were exhausted mentally, physically and emotionally.
You both knew your relationship wouldn't be normal like other couples, but you stuck with each other for two years despite all the challenges. And the both of you had no plans whatsoever to leave each other alone.
a/n: growing up means starting to learn more about myself, so i needed to write this out to express my feelings as usual. hope yall enjoyed this!