Blame 2pm

Seyoung was eating breakfast while reading a script when suddenly she heard his name on the television that she had turned on for background noise. She reached the remote to switch the tv off, hoping not to see his face but she stopped midway when she saw an image of a wrecked car in the middle of the road. That black car looks familiar. She knew the car all too well because she had spent countless hours in its passenger seat. Her heart dropped when she finally registered what the newscaster was saying. “Jang Wooyoung of 2pm was in an accident this morning at 2.40am in Ilsan where his car was rammed by a four-wheel drive. Police are still investigating the cause of the accident. It is reported that he is still in surgery and his current condition is unconfirmed.”

The remote that she was holding dropped to the floor as her hands covered her mouth. “Please no.” she gasped, shaking her head while her eyes were fixed on the tv even as the news moved on to reporting the weather. Fear and worst case scenarios ran through her mind. When she finally came to her senses, her first instinct was to search for her car keys and get to the hospital. But after a moment of rummaging through her purse, Seyoung paused. Does she even have the right to care about Wooyoung anymore?

Months have passed since their breakup and the last time they had seen each other. She did not wish him on his birthday nor did he contact her on the success of her drama. She was aware of how much he was hurt over their breakup. When scrolling through her twitter feed last month, she came upon his emotional performance during his concerts. He also looked thinner than ever. Doubts settled in that she decided to wait.

It wasn’t enough to make her stop worrying though. Seyoung spent the entire morning refreshing the news sites, hoping to know any updates on how he was doing. He had to be okay. She desperately wanted to believe that he was not seriously injured because the thought of him hurt was utterly frightening. The condition of his car flashed again in her mind. The sight of broken windows and the driver’s door smashed in made her heart raced.

It was almost noon when she braved herself to call his number, all the while praying for the best. A voice that wasn’t his picked up, it was Chansung.

“Chansung–ah?”

“Seyoung-ie noona,” he asked. “You heard?”

“Yeah, I saw it on tv.” It dawned on her then that none of his friends had informed her of the accident and she had to learn it through the news. She really was not part of Wooyoung’s life anymore and the thought broke her heart.

“Sorry noona, we didn’t know whether we should call you since, you know…” he trailed off as if reading her mind. “And it happened in the middle of the night too.”

“Chansung-ah, how is he? Is he okay? What happened, is he hurt?” Seyoung had no time for his small talk.

“He is stable. The surgery for his broken arm and fractured ribs went well.” Seyoung closed her eyes and held her breath. “He was driving home from our practice when a sleepy driver crashed into his car. The problem is he also hit his head really hard. His x-rays are fine but he is still unconscious.”

Seyoung breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn’t as bad as she had imagined it to be but the fact that he hadn’t woken up yet terrified her. She pressed Chansung for more information; the rehabilitation process, whether Wooyong’s parents were there, and the condition of the other driver. She hung up only until she made Chansung promised to call her as soon as there was any news.

The ward was piling up with flowers but the patient had yet to wake up to appreciate the many well wishes. Because of the crowded room, the members took turns to wait by the bed with Woooung’s mom. It was Junho who noticed when Wooyoung’s fingers began to twitch.

“Wooyoung-ah,“ he exclaimed, jumping out of his seat to quickly call the nurses on duty.

The doctor was brought in to explain about his accident and condition. He was asked primary questions like his name, age and address which he answered correctly. A few more tests was carried out and after he insisted that he was okay, his parents left to rest at the hotel.

“My head is pounding like I have a huge hangover.” Wooyoung sighed.

Minjun chuckled. “Yah, do you know how worried we were?”

Realization flashed in Wooyoung’s eyes as he tried to sit up.  “Wait, where’s Seyoung? Is she alright? Was she in the car with me?” he panicked.

“No Wooyoung, she wasn’t with you.” Taecyeon answered. “What are you talking about?”

“I almost died, my girlfriend must be worried sick. Where is she?”

Confused glances were exchanged between five pairs of eyes. “Umm, let me go get the doctor okay.” Chansung offered.

“It’s retrograde amnesia. Basically, Wooyoung has no recollection of anything that happened in the last six months.” Chansung updating Seyoung about Wooyoung as he promised.

Seyoung gasped. “You mean…”

“Yes, he has no memory that you guys had broken up. He was asking for you the whole time.”

“So, you guys have told him right?”

“No, how could we? The guy has a broken arm and fractured ribs. We couldn’t break his heart too.” Chansung explained. “Can’t you come and explain to him?”

There was a long silence before she spoke.  “I don’t think I can Chansung-ah. I haven’t seen him in so long and I’ve barely gotten over our break up the first time, and you’re basically asking me to go through it again.”

“Please noona, he’d have questions and we don’t know what actually happened between the two of you. He never really told us what broke you guys up,” he begged.

Seyoung sighed. “Okay, okay.” Even though she disliked the idea, she knew she was the only person to do it. Besides, she had to see Wooyoung with her own eyes to make sure that he was really okay.

On the way to the hospital, Seyoung ran through what she was going to say in her mind. She decided that she was just going to be honest and tell him what had drove them apart, how she had felt and how both of them was to blame for the failure of their relationship.

After greeting Wooyoung’s parents outside of his ward, she tentatively stepped into his room. The strong smell of antiseptic was the first thing that greeted her but her eyes were drawn to his body on the bed immediately. She took note of how he looked as he was resting with his eyes closed. He was wrapped in a cast and bandages, and despite the cuts and bruises on his face, she thought he still looked as handsome as ever. For a split second, thoughts to abort mission crossed her mind but it was too late as the sound of the door closing behind her rose Wooyoung up from his slumber.

His eyes lit up as soon as it set on her. A huge smile followed. “Seyoung-ah!” he exclaimed.

God, that voice. That smile. How much has she missed it? “Oh, Wooyoung-ah,” she stammered, her feet rooted in place. She almost blurted out she missed him. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m sorry, you must have worried a lot, didn’t you. But I’m fine now. I’m stronger than you think,” he said jokingly, beating his chest with his fist and then grimacing adorably at his own infliction.  

Seyoung couldn’t believe it at first. In front of her was the guy she loved, the old Wooyoung. The person she fell in love with and not the guy from months ago that broke her heart.  The reminder of what she lost was staring back at her so she looked away. Did she really have to tell him the truth? Couldn’t they just go on like the past six months didn’t happen? But Seyoung knew that wasn’t fair, for him or for herself. The emotional turmoil must have shown on her face because Wooyoung asked worriedly, “Hey, what’s wrong?” He extended his good arm towards her, “Are you not even going to give me a hug?”

It took all of her to not run into his arm but Seyoung walked to the chair next to his bed and fidgeted in the seat. She looked everywhere else but at him before finally exhaling, “We need to talk.”

His outreached hand dropped to his side and the cheery face that he was wearing grew concerned. She took a long moment before she finally blurted, “Wooyoung-ah, you’ve suffered a memory loss. The head trauma from the accident had caused you to forget what happened in the past six months.”

He let out a small laugh. “I thought you were being serious.”

“I am, Wooyoung-ah,” she reiterated, finally looking him in the eyes this time. She watched as his forehead creased upon realizing that she wasn’t joking around. The whispers between his parents and the doctor just now and the members walking on eggshells around him finally made sense.

“Okay…” he said slowly, “but how much could have happened in the span of six months anyway?”

There wasn’t any other way to sugar coat it. “We broke up,” she murmured.

It took a long moment for Wooyoung to process this new information. They weren’t together anymore? Seyoung is no longer his? How did he lose the love of his life? With every passing question that he asked himself, his heart felt like it was stepped on bit by bit. He hesitantly asked one question out loud, “Who broke up with who?”

“I broke up with you.”

“Oh,” he whispered as the world simultaneously felt like it was crushing on him. His eyes turned watery and Seyoung looked away because the pain he had on his face mirrored the pain she felt in her heart.  This wasn’t how Wooyoung looked the first time she left him. The look he had before was like he was resigned by their fate. But now he looked hurt, distraught even.

“I had my reasons,” she gulped the lump that formed in her throat. “I think you did too because you also agreed to separate ways.”

“Can you tell me what happened? What I did?”

“It wasn’t solely your fault. Six months ago, we just got too busy. You with music and me on dramas, that we both stopped putting in enough effort to see each other. You were going out to clubs and partying a lot. I tried going with you, because I just wanted to spend time together but you know I don’t like that kind of scene. In hindsight, I guess you were doing it for your album concept. I just felt ignored and taken for granted,” she smiled sadly at the memory during the tail-end of their relationship that she desperately wanted to forget which ironically, he had. “I don’t know, maybe we should have tried harder but you were kind of distanced. In the end, the silence drifted us apart.”

Wooyoung shook his head. He wondered why he was being that way, how he could be that stupid to just let her go like that. “I didn’t try to get you back?” Wooyoung asked.

“No, we haven’t spoken. This is actually the first time I’ve seen you since,” she smiled but he could see the pain disguised behind it.

“I don’t know what to say. I’m sorry I hurt you Seyoung-ah.” He rolled his head back and groaned out loud in frustration. Since he couldn’t remember anything, it felt like he just skipped a time-dimension. He was angry at his past self for hurting the woman he loves and even angrier that the present him had to now live with the consequences.

“This is hard to take all at once right? I’m sorry I had to tell you all this. But I’m fine now, it had been a couple months. You know what they say about time healing all wounds,” she comforted him.   

Wooyoung nodded, trying is hardest not to break down at the thought of her moving on. “Is there anything else I should know?”

“Umm, about us?” she wondered if she had left out anything. “Well, I don’t really know how you felt then, but during your solo concert you sang this break-up song and kind of spilled your heart out on stage. It was really an emotional performance. I don’t know, I think you might have thought that we broke up because I had someone else but I just want you to know that I didn’t. I wasn’t seeing anyone else.”

Wooyoung face lit up slightly upon hearing the last sentence. She didn’t know why she had said it but she felt like letting him know.

“Take care, Wooyuong-ah,” Seyoung said as she instinctively put her hand of top of his on the bed. The sudden skinship sent a jolt of electricity to Wooyoung as he looked up into Seyoung’s eyes who moved her hand quickly as though she also felt the same flutter in the stomach that he had.

“I have to go,” she looked away and got up from her seat. She was afraid that if she stayed any longer she wouldn’t ever want to leave his side.    

Wooyoung only managed to nod, because the word ‘goodbye’ somehow felt too permanent. Seyoung turned around and left. Finally, the tear that was pooling in his eyes trickled down his cheeks.

Seyoung was getting ready for bed when the doorbell rang. She wondered who had visited her this late as she pressed the intercome button to check who was at her front door. She hadn’t seen the man in the small screen for two months.

“Hi,” Wooyoung said nervously when she opened the door.

“Hi, how are you?” Seyoung stepped aside to let him in. “You’re not wearing your cast anymore.” She noted, as they made their way to the living room.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’ve started rehab on my arm just yesterday.” He held up his injured hand and waved his fingers slightly. “The doctor said aside from my memory, I’m recovering fast. He said the memories may come back to me one day, or it may not.” Wooyoung shrugged. “But yeah, it could have been worse.”

Seyoung shuddered at the thought of something worse happening to him. They sat on opposite sides on the sofa and Wooyoung noticed that their pictures together that once filled the frames on the shelves were now gone. It dawned on him how Seyoung might have already moved on.

“Umm, well what are you doing here?” Seyoung asked breaking the awkward silence.

Rubbing the back of his neck with his good hand, he found the courage to continue. “I have been thinking a lot about the night of the accident. It happened after practice and the members said I was driving home. However, you know, the accident didn’t happen near where I live, right? In fact, it happened just a couple blocks away from here.”

Seyoung nodded. She knew this but didn’t know why it was relevant now.

“What if, what if I was on the way to come here to see you that night of the incident?” Wooyoung asked quizzically.

“But you could have wanted to go anywhere Wooyoung-ah,” she said, incredulously. “Maybe you wanted to go to the tteobokki place around the corner that you liked. Or get your dry clean from your usual shop down the road.”

“At two o’clock in the morning?” Wooyoung stood up now.

Seyoung looked up at him, pacing the short length in front of her. The familiar sight of Wooyoung in this very living room was clouding her mind with memories they shared here. The board games they played, the songs he wrote as she read her scripts, the dances they had to the tune of his LP collections, the future they had planned together on this sofa. It was easier to forget everything when she hadn’t seen Wooyoung, their paths never crossed when she had filming and him touring. But now that he was here, the void in her heart that she tried so hard to fill felt even more wider.

“I don’t know, does it matter where you were going?’’ Seyoung asked, confused where the conversation was leading.

“I tried to recall and piece together what happened between us. I talked with the members, read our messages and my journals, but it still didn’t make sense to me. How we could have went our separate ways,” Wooyoung continued.

Seyoung smiled a comforting smile.  “Trust me, I didn’t lose my memory but even I am still confused how things got to the way it was.” Eventhough, in hindsight she knew she could have been a little more understanding of him working, put in a little more effort but it wasn’t like he fought for her either. Thoughts about what-ifs and what they could have done differently ran through her mind, so she was distracted when Wooyoung asked the next question.

“So, how do you feel about putting the past behind us and trying again?”

Seeing Seyoung hesitated, he started mumbling, “Unless you’re seeing someone else, I should have asked that first, shouldn’t I, how dumb of me, I’m sorry, I didn’t think…”

She stopped him in his tracks when she said, “I’m not seeing anyone.” A small, relived smile appeared on Wooyoung’s face. He pulled her up in his arms then. Seyoung didn’t pull away but she wasn’t confident either. “Let’s try again.” To be honest, she had wanted him to say these words months ago. Was it important that he was only saying it now?

Wooyoung’s a big believer of fate and that everything happens for a reason. All he knew now was that God had wiped the slate clean, at least for himself, and had given him a second chance to fix their relationship. He was not going to waste that chance by letting her slip from him for the second time. They were going to try harder, work it out together and communicate better. He promised this to her and more.

A gentle breeze blew from the sea as a couple napped peacefully underneath the shade of palm trees by a white, sandy beach. The few rays of evening light that escaped through the leaves shone into Wooyoung’s eyes, waking him up from his slumber. He rubbed his eyes with one hand and looked down at the tanned figure sleeping on top of him. Seyoung stirred, snuggling her head in between the crooks of his neck. Carefully, Wooyoung adjusted his position on the hammock and reached down to caress her hair while glancing at his watch. It was 5pm, Thailand time. It had only been an hour since they had fallen asleep after their afternoon hike.

Wooyoung placed a light kiss on her forehead and Seyoung’s eyes fluttered open instantly. She looked up at him who was smiling his trademark, boyish grin at her. She blushed underneath his gaze, embarrassed by her sleepy face. “Did you sleep well, princess-nim?”

Seyoung nodded while chuckling at the long-forgotten nickname from their We Got Married days. She closed her eyes again, wrapping her arm tightly over his waist. They stayed there momentarily, legs tangled together in the cramped hammock.  The past two days which they had spent at Koh Munnork, a private island just 3 hours away from Bangkok, was exactly the holiday the both of them needed. While Seyoung had just successfully finished filming her drama; My Daughter Geum Sa Wol, Wooyoung is in the midst of preparing for 2pm’s Japan Tour. They wouldn’t be able to spend as much time together in the next two months, and it was simple moments like this that carry them through weeks of being apart.

They were the only people in the vicinity, with only the sound of waves and seagulls around them. Wooyoung sighed wordlessly, taking long, deep breaths as if he was breathing the peaceful moment in and holding onto it forever. After a while, Wooyoung broke the reverie. “Seyoung-ah,” he said, pausing dramatically. “I have something to tell you.”

She eyed him suspiciously. “Your arm is numb, isn’t it?” she guessed.

Wooyoung looked at her with a bewildered look on his face. They have known each other a little over two years now and it still puzzles him how she could read his mind. Seyoung laughed at his confused expression and raised her head to release the arm she had slept on for the past hour. It wasn’t so much that she could read minds; it was just that she has a perceptive character.

Wooyoung sat up on the hammock and stretched his arms over his head. “Let’s go kayaking now. The sun isn’t as bright anymore.”

“Shall we each ride our own kayak and race?” Seyoung suggested.

Wooyoung shook his head in protest, and began lecturing her on the importance of doing things together as a couple. But before she knew it, he suddenly broke into a dead run towards the shore to the nearest kayak, leaving her behind. “Race you to the buoy!” Wooyoung shouted over his shoulders while laughing manically, pleased with himself.

“Oh my god, Jang Wooyoung!” Seyoung scoffed as she chased after him. And just like that the two of them began their playful, yet competitive kayak race. Neither played by the book, of course, and took every turn to sabotage the other. Their energy was wasted on laughing and using their paddles to splash water at each other rather than rowing.

Seyoung couldn’t believe how childish they were being but she loved every second of it. She cherishes the days that she spends with Wooyoung as there is never a dull moment. Wooyoung brings out a playful side of her and has a way to get her out of her comfort zone. Wooyoung on the other hand, who is usually cold around other people turns into an aegyo-filled machine whenever he’s around her. Together, they compliment the other.

Despite Wooyoung’s head start, Seyoung was approaching the buoy that marked their finishing point first. But the next thing she knew, Wooyoung had vengefully rowed his kayak into hers leaving her kayak capsized and herself chest-deep in the water.  She stopped laughing and pulled an exaggerated pout, making Wooyoung feel guilty that he let go of his own paddle and raised both his hands in the air in mock surrender. “Jalmot hasseo.”

Quick as lightning, Seyoung took the chance to tip his kayak over with her weight, and Wooyoung fell in the water. She broke in a loud laugh when he resurfaced, his drenched hair covering his forehead in an unflattering way. She splashed water at his face for the last time before floating lazily in the water, and looking up at the sun that was beginning to set. Wooyoung stayed where he was and watched his girlfriend from a distance. It didn’t matter what she is doing, he loves looking at her. Right now, she had a serene, almost child-like expression on her face.  

“Yeppuda!” Seyoung sighed in amazement at the colourful horizon, oblivious to Wooyoung’s stares.

“I know, right?” Wooyoung agreed quietly to himself, referring to her instead of the view.

Just as the sun was about to disappear, Wooyoung swam towards her, grasping her waist and pulling her closer to him while she wrapped her arms around his neck and legs around his waist. They bobbed in and out of the water in silence, with Wooyoung supporting both of their weight. He touched his forehead to hers, their eyes locked. Seyoung recalled a moment in the past when she couldn’t look at Wooyoung in the eyes out of fear that he could read the feelings she had for him. But now she wasn’t scared anymore. In her eyes he sees the endless amount of love she has for him and the same is reflected in his eyes.

They stared at each other’s faces silently as waves lapped around them, examining every freckle and flaw intently like they were seeing the other for the first time. Seyoung is a perceptive girl but nothing could prepare her for the next words that came out of Wooyoung’s mouth.

“Marry me.”

The two words caught Seyoung off guard. She pulled away slightly to search his face to see whether he was joking. “What?”

“I knew it from when we got virtually married. I knew you would be the one I want to marry for real.” In the spur of the moment, Wooyoung blurted everything he has been thinking for a long time now. The events of today had only reaffirmed his feelings and led him to this moment. He smiled at her blank face and continued, emphasizing each syllables with emotion. “I want to be by your side forever; sleeping in, going on adventures together, and making you laugh. I just want to spend the rest of my life with you, Park Seyoung.”

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as if breathing in his words. When she opened her eyes again, they were welled up with tears.

“Marry me?” he asked again.

Seyoung bit her bottom lip, almost like she was holding the rush of happiness inside her from bubbling away. She gave him a shy nod.

“Is that a yes?”

“That’s a yes!” Seyoung answered loudly this time, her voice cracking.

With a beaming smile, Wooyoung grabbed Seyoung’s face in between his palms. Their lips intuitively found each other’s, like two magnets that were drawn together. Wooyoung pulled her closer towards him while they shared a passionate kiss, his fingers tangled in her wet hair. When their lips finally parted, he stuck his tongue out and made a face. “Ugh, salty!”

She stepped in cautiously and even looked around to check if this was the correct house.  The picture on the wall of a familiar, smiling couple with a new-born suggested that she was indeed in the right home.

“Look Jae-young, omma’s home!” A voice called out from the stair landing. Seyoung looked up to see Wooyoung carrying their 15 months old son in his arms. A smile instantly appeared on her face at the sight of her two heroes.

“Happy Valentine’s Day omma!” Wooyoung exclaimed, as Jae-young clapped his hands excitedly like a little baby seal. Seyoung hands flew up to her chest, awestruck. “Omo, yeobo you shouldn’t have.”

“But I wanted too.” Wooyoung explained as he stepped down the stairs and walked towards her. “Roses are your favourite. And remember that time you were jealous I gave a 100 baby breaths to a girl when I was nine?”

Seyoung scrunched up her face at the memory of their first meeting. “There are 500 roses here, so.” Wooyoung finally reached where she stood and pressed his nose to the top of her head. She lifted her face to kiss him before pulling her husband and son in for a big hug.

Jae-young leaped from Wooyoung’s arms into hers when she pulled away and squished her cheeks with his tiny hands. He gave her multiple sloppy kisses making the young parents laugh. “But I didn’t get you anything yeobo,” Seyoung said guiltily as they walked into the kitchen together.

“You already gave me a beautiful, gorgeous son, what more could I want.” Wooyoung replied.

“A daughter?” Seyoung asked.

“Well. I mean…we can work on that tonight.” He smirked his trademark smirk and raised his eyebrow suggestively at her.

Seyoung bit her lip and chuckled as she sat Jae-young down in his highchair. “Appa is silly, isn’t he?” She made faces at their son who giggled and nodded. Seyoung sat down at the kitchen counter and watched as Wooyoung boiled water over the stove and prepared tea for her, while softly humming. Her gaze went back and forth between her husband and son, as she silently counted her blessings for these two people in her life.

“What did you boys do today?” she asked.

“Our son learnt how to bow today, didn’t you Jae-youngah? Show omma how do you bow?”

Jae-young clasped his hands on his round belly and folded his body in half until his forehead rested on the tray table of his highchair. “Aigoo,” Seyoung laughed and ruffled his soft hair.

“He’s so smart,” Wooyoung beamed as they stared adoringly at their proudest achievement in life who is now putting his hand in his mouth and drooling all over his shirt.

Seyoung giggled. “The smartest.” 

“God, look at those eyes. He looks just like you.” Jae-young looked up at them as if he knew they were talking about him and started to whine.

“I think he’s hungry,” Wooyoung said, handing Seyoung his biscuit across the counter. They continued to talk about their day as she fed their child and Wooyoung prepared dinner.

“Did you finish that song you wrote about him?” Seyoung asked.

“Not yet, it still needs your vocal.” Wooyoung joined her at the counter with two plates of jalapeno pasta and took a seat on the other side of Jae-young. “Do you think we can work on it after dinner?”

“Sure, I’d love to.” About three months ago, during Jae-young’s birthday, Wooyoung had presented her the sweetest lyrics he had written about Jae-Young titled ‘To the Moon and Back’. Since their last song ‘Two Hands Intertwined’, they haven’t worked on a song together and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to do so.

“Jae-youngah, omma and appa are going to the studio to make a song for you,” Wooyoung said in a child-like tone. Jae-young’s eyes lit up like he understood. But that was the way he always looked when Wooyoung speaks, his eyes fixated with admiration while Wooyoung’s are full of pure love.

When Seyoung finished cleaning up, she joined them at Wooyoung’s in-house studio. Once inside she saw Jae-young on his dad’s lap at the drum set. Wooyoung was trying to guide him to play a beat but their son had a mind of his own. He was wildly wielding the drumsticks around, almost poking his dad’s eye. Seyoung’s heart melted at the sight of them together and took out her phone to capture the moment. Wooyoung noticed her and looked up, grinning.

“Okay, let’s do this.” Wooyoung said, putting Jae-young on the floor while motioning Seyoung into the sound booth. Over the course of an hour, they worked diligently on the song while Jae-young played with his toys at the foot of Wooyoung’s chair. Once they were done, Wooyoung played back the track she just sang, along with the backup music he had previously recorded. As it played over the speakers, he lifted Jae-young up and bounced him in his arms. “What do you think son? Isn’t omma’s voice beautiful?”

Seyoung smiled and got out of the booth to join them. She put her arms around Wooyoung’s waist as he shifted Jae-young on his chest and held both of his loved ones in each arm. They swayed together around the studio to the slow beat of the song. Both of their gazes fell on their perfect baby’s face whose eyelids were getting heavier.

“I think he likes it,” Wooyoung whispered, as Jae-young drifted off into slumber. “He’s just like me. We both like to hear you voice as a lullaby.”

Seyoung pulled Wooyoung tighter in her embrace in response. She tore her gaze away from the tiny person they created together and looked up at Wooyoung, resting her chin on his chest. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him. “I love you, Jang Wooyoung,” she told him, immensely grateful by how perfect her life is at the moment.