Bella

"For heaven's sake, Bella, why don't you just move in with him?" Cindy, my roommate, asked for the hundredth time after I entered our apartment. She was sitting at the table doing some work. "I think you're in the clear now."

I had spent the weekend--as I often did--with my boyfriend Seokjin at his apartment, which was in the same complex as ours. Every Sunday when I came back, Cindy would tell me to move in with him. Lots of people had warned me that Seokjin didn't do relationships, and that he never went out with the same girl for more than a few days. But we had been in a relationship since November, which was almost three months. Hence, Cindy's comment about being in the clear.

To be honest,  Kim Seokjin was probably the handsomest man anyone's ever seen. His looks were unreal. It was like staring at a painting. His face was beyond description, and anyone who saw him would never forget his sculpted face, his full lips, his razor-sharp jawline. His dark eyes were piercing, as if by looking at you, he could divine what was in your very soul. He had wide, strong shoulders and a ripped physique that could induce drooling, but his lines were long and lean rather than bulky and muscle-bound.

But his physical perfection came with quite an imperfect reputation. He was known for his womanizing around campus, around town, around the state...worldwide, who knew? I had witnessed first-hand how women flocked around him, shamelessly flirting, looking for any excuse to get him to notice them. They still did even when I was right next to him.

I closed the door and shrugged. "I don't know. Moving in together just doesn't feel...right."

My roommate rolled her eyes. "Huh. I'm sure it felt right when you walked into his super nice apartment and played house, right? You're his girlfriend, and you two act like a married couple already, cooking and studying and doing everything together. You're the luckiest girl in the world. How romantic is that?" She paused and her lips curled into a wide smile. "And I'm sure it feels right when you're in bed together."

"It's not about that," I replied. I put my overnight bag down on the coffee table and dropped down onto the couch. "I do love spending time with him, but I think that we both still need our space. We see each other almost every day, but we both have lots of other things to do. And we should take a breath away from each other to do our own things--classes, TV shows, my job...you know."

Cindy shook her head. "Sure," she said, not sounding convinced. "I hope it's not because you don't want to commit to the relationship because you're not sure about his feelings."

"Of course it's not that. I love Jin, and I know that he loves me. I am...we are committed to each other, but, like I said, we both have to study, and I have to work."

"That's another thing: why are you still working? Seokjin is, like, the richest guy we know. Can't he pretty much get you whatever you ask for?" She gestured at the Fendi overnight bag Jin had given me about a month after we started dating, when staying over at his apartment became a regular occurrence.

"That's why I don't ask," I said. "I don't want to be that kind of girlfriend. His crazy ex just saw him as a bank account, and I'd hate for him to think that's what's important to me. He does give me things, but I'm not with him for his money. Or his looks."

Cindy's expression turned salacious. "Of course not. You're with him for his big dick."

"Stop!" I exclaimed, half-outraged. "You did not just say that! No! I'm with him because he is a wonderful, honest, caring person. He would never hurt me, and I love him."

"And his big dick," she added with a mischievous smile. "It's okay to admit it."

"Ugh! As always, you don't surprise me with your insanity. I would never talk about my boyfriend like that. Is that the way you talk about Taehyung?" Cindy had started seeing Seokjin's cousin Taehyung around the time that Seokjin and I got together.

She looked at me and looked away. "Oh, uh, we're sort of not seeing each other anymore. Not that we were ever officially together. I guess you hadn't noticed."

I sighed, feeling guilty that I was too caught up in my own relationship to pay attention to others around me. "Oh, Cin, I'm sorry. I can't believe I didn't know."

"There's nothing to be sorry about," Cindy replied nonchalantly. "It was fun while it lasted. We're still friends, but I guess we're just not compatible. Besides, his family has some weird expectations of him that I just don't understand." She paused then suddenly brightened up. "But you and Seokjin. You are the couple that all of us aspire to be--compatible in every way, it seems. I wish I could find someone as hot as him. You're so lucky--"

"I'm going to take a nap," I announced, interrupting her. I got up and walked away, not wanting to hear any more about Jin's hotness from another female's lips. It reminded me that other girls still stared at him and wondered and fantasized.

"Of course," she called after me, "because you didn't do much sleeping when you slept over at Seokjin's, you little whore!"

"Whatever," I said as I closed my door on her laugh. I dropped my bag next to my bed before I climbed into it and hugged a pillow. I was with Jin because I couldn't imagine being without him. I loved him so much that I could no longer imagine myself apart from him. We were, as the saying goes, two sides of the same coin. I pulled on my long hair and brought it over my nose. I could still smell him on me--his cologne, his skin. I sighed thinking about waking up next to him every morning. I heard the text notification from my phone and pulled it out of my jacket pocket.

JinLove:   Home safely? I miss you already, darling

Me: I'm home. I love you

JinLove:  Not more than me! Get some rest. I know you must need it

I scoffed good-naturedly at his arrogant assumption that he had tired me out last night and tossed the phone next to me on the bed. I could not imagine this incredible happiness ever ending. We had already been through so much together. It seemed almost a lifetime ago when we began falling for each other before our own insecurities and emotional baggage--and then his deranged ex-girlfriend--almost tore us apart. All of those ordeals just reinforced the fact that we were better together than we were apart.

Jin and I were still learning about each other, but we knew that in just a few months, our love had grown to great proportions. Every now and then I wondered if it was possible to be too happy, if somehow the fates would decide that the love we shared could not possibly survive. Then I remembered the love I saw shining in Jin's beautiful, dark eyes when he looked at me, and I pushed away all negative thoughts.

Seokjin was indeed jaw-droppingly handsome, but he had so many special qualities that almost outshined his physical attributes. His expression was usually serious and guarded, but once he got comfortable, he was prone to laughing and making jokes, always trying to make others feel at ease. Only his closest friends knew this silly side because he only let his guard down around those he cared about. If he knew others were observing him, his smile would dissolve, and his handsome face would resemble a beautiful but cold statue.

He was very intuitive and could tell just by sitting next to you if something was bothering you. Then, he would try to help you by listening to what you chose to unburden. And if you did not feel like talking about your problems, he would tell you stories that would make you feel that you were not alone in your feelings. And no matter how troublesome or upsetting your issues were, he never judged or blamed you in any way. Instead, he always reminded you to be kind and forgive yourself for your mistakes.

Plus he was a phenomenal cook. I had to be careful if I did not want to gain weight from all of the delicious meals that he prepared for me. It was a skill he was most proud of. Oh, and he had a great voice--another talent he rarely shared with others, but I had had the pleasure of his sweet voice when he sang me to sleep during bouts of insomnia. He was artistic and open-minded and very affectionate.

In short, he was the perfect man. So why was a part of me still uncertain? Was it because it seemed too good to be true? Was there a price to pay for so much happiness?

Bella, you are the luckiest girl in the world, I thought to myself again. Stop being pessimistic.

With a smile, I floated off to sleep imagining his strong and protective arms around me.

Thank you, readers, especially those of you who read the first story and are here to see what happens next.  As a newbie, I have not been very good at keeping dialogue open with my readers, but please feel free to comment whenever you want.  I will try to keep up!