Love…

Amour…

Ai…

Mohabbat…

Aejeong…

Different languages… Different sound…

But the meaning?

Meaning is exactly tantamount… But what makes love unconventional for every person?

The innervations it induces to every person is peculiar. The modus used to express it, is also unique. Because the person declaring the love and the one being pronounced too, have the right to have their own story.

To write a story, just for them. In their own way… With their own exceptional feelings.

As a genius person once said, 'A man is love sees a pimple as a dimple.'

In other words, love word can be the same but the way one sees it makes the difference. The real difference lies in the eyes of the playgoer.

When the words 'I Love You' came smoothly out of Ye Jie's mouth, Xu Mey's mind ran at a speed that even her favorite motorbike might shy away.

Huh? Did he say he loves me? No, I must have misheard. No, no, he said exactly that. But how is that even possible. Does he mean it? Where is this idiotic thought coming from? Of course, he didn't mean it. He couldn't… No! He shouldn't! He must be going through a heatwave. Oh, wait! Summer is not here yet. Then he must be going through menopause. No, no, he is not a middle-aged man. Then what the hell is wrong with him?

She felt like pulling her hairs in frustration. Not from his words. No, no, not at all. She wanted to pull her hair at her own cogitation.

"Have you gone crazy? You don't even know me?"

Even her calling him 'crazy' didn't bring any change to Ye Jie's somber look. He didn't appear to be disingenuous. Xu Mey's heart shook at his silence violently. "Why?" Her tone was careful yet she didn't want to believe in his words.

"Why not?" He asked his own question.

"Because… Because… Because love is not a joke. You can't just fall in love with me. At least don't say that you fell for my looks. That will make me look at you as a shallow person and I know for a fact that you're not shallow." It took some time to get the words out but it went smoothly. At least she thought it did.

Ye Jie was quietly looking at her beautiful profile as the sun rose slowly in the sky and the rays fell on her back through the huge glass doors. Her bedhead, unwashed face made her look pure.

But his silence accompanied with his deep gaze was falling on her like a heavy boulder.

"That's exactly what I expected from you." Xu Mey raised her eyebrows. "I can bet my life on the fact that in the span of 60 seconds which you took to reply me, there must have been a thousand thoughts running in your tiny brain." He flicked her forehead playfully. She glared at him viciously while rubbing the spot between her brows even though he didn't apply any force.

"You're one of the most shrewd people I have ever met in my life. You like to analyze everything before saying or acting on it. But that cleverness of yours makes you the foolish person as well."

"I'm not foolish." She retorted stubbornly.

"My dear wife, analyzing a situation is a good thing but when that analysis turns into overthinking, that's not good."

"Don't you analyze the situation before making a deal?"

"I do but not always. Let's take an example of our marriage. You married me for your own personal agenda. So, technically you're the one profiting from this relationship, not me."

"Who said you didn't gain anything?" She asked.

"You tell me, what did I get?"

Xu Mey put her palms against her cheeks and made an adorable face saying, "You got a beautiful wife."

Ye Jie: "…"

Okay, you win!

I can't possibly compete with that answer. I did get a beautiful wife that even I'm confused whether to hide her from the world or show her off.

"Too much?" Xu Mey asked carefully looking at his expressions.

Ye Jie ruffled her already bedhead in a loving manner saying, "Not at all. I do have a beautiful wife and I can scream it out to the whole world."

Xu Mey smiled beautifully hearing him. She never liked being called beautiful. She always believed in the inner beauty rather than outer one. But today, hearing it from him was different. Like he was the only person in the world who was meant to call her beautiful. Like he was the only one who had the right to call her beautiful. This feeling was very new yet it made her heart warm.

Coming back to the agenda of talking, Ye Jie said, "On a serious note, next time before running your brain at the speed of light, just say whatever is on your mind."

"What if I hurt you with my words? Like when I called you a used product." She was cautious in talking. She had to think properly before replying to anyone. She knew eventually she would end up saying something that could hurt him. And at this point, she didn't want to hurt him. Last time, the 'second-hand' comment was supposed to stay in her mind but she unknowingly said it out loud hurting him in the process.

Of course, she felt bad for that.

Xu Mey wasn't an unreasonable person. She was a naturally very soft-spoken and polite person. But when faced with people that annoy her, she turns into a ferocious beast ready to pounce on the enemy with poisonous words.

Ye Jie was indeed hurt at her comment back when she said it. But after a while, he made peace with the fact that his beautiful wife is a candid person.

"You hurting me with your words will be a lot better than you hurting yourself by keeping it inside you." It was a very simple answer. But the meaning behind was loud and clear; he didn't like seeing her hurt.

Thump…

Thump…

Thump…

Xu Mey's poor heart was being played by Ye Jie's sweet-talking early in the morning. The heart that was barren for decades was suddenly lighting up with the thunderstorm which will bring a rain of feelings to this desolate heart and slowly, slowly the flowers of love will make their roots deep in it. And then those love filled flowers will bloom like cherry blossoms.

"Relationships have some stages but we skipped all of them and jumped straight to the marriage. Now, we need to explore the other stages together." Ye Jie continued in a calm voice unaware of the inner turmoil in Xu Mey.

"Together?" That's a very strange word for me.

"Yes, together. All we need to give each other is time. Time can make up for every other stage we missed. And words will help us to grow together." Ye Jie took her hand in his looking expectantly at her glistening eyes. "You can spare some time for me… For us… Right?"

"Just say yes sis-in-law…" A loud but tired voice made both Xu Mey and Ye Jie turn their heads.