Alex looked at her hurrying back until she left the bedroom. His smile still carrying his amusement, he picked up the small wooden box from the floor, along with the piece of paper that had fallen from inside. He put everything back the way it was, then threw the box back into the safe. Locking the latter, it was as if nothing happened at all.
He picked up his phone from the bedside table, then walked out of the bedroom. Under the light of the sun still contending with some vestiges of shyness beyond the skyline, the large apartment looked even more modern than under the artificial lights of the city at night, brighter and more tasteful, and without a single feminine touch.
Getting a glass of milk in the kitchen, he turned his back to the balcony door to put it in the microwave and turned on his phone to scroll through his contacts after a simple look at his messages. Inside were many names accompanied with pictures of beauty and invitation, and he paused slightly, his thumb hovering over them in hesitation.
After pausing over 'Caitlin', then 'Vinnie', then 'Candyce', then a few others, by the time he reached 'Mark Lee', the glass of milk was back in his hand, and almost empty. He shook his head slightly, before pressing on it. As the call flew out, he let out an exhale, as if to let out some helplessness he was feeling inside, then tipped his head back and downed the rest of the milk, before turning back to return to the bedroom.
In the walk-in closet opposite the bed, he threw down the towel now around his neck, then threw the phone on it after putting the call on handsfree. And right then, as he looked at the luxurious range of options before him, the call connected.
_ _ _
_ _ _
The sun was climbing up, but it was just announcing its arrival. It was still some ways from appearing and raining down harsh light and heat on the concrete jungle. But it was already painting the world, and the façade of an apartment building amidst the jungle of steel and cement, a shining gold different from the pale gold of the full moon just a few hours earlier.
Inside that modern apartment building, in one of the apartments midway to the top, a couple was sleeping, still yet to wake up, still comfortably cradled in the arms of the receding nightly veil. The apartment did not scream of luxury, but it certainly was cozy, especially under the nascent light of the day.
The calm silence that had yet to be totally broken by the waking city was a serene witness to the warmth on display on the bed, where the soundly sleeping brown-haired woman with a protective hand around her ballooned belly was nestled deeply in the arms of the dark-haired man she was sharing the bed with. It was a beautiful painting of love and affection, until the serenity was shattered by a human's intervention, through one of man's own inventions.
*Ring* *Ring* *Ring*
The sound was neither loud nor soft, but in the relative silence, it felt jarring, like a stone thrown in the calmest lake. That forced the man to stir and frown, before opening his eyes when he felt the same stir in his arms. That shook him awake, and the first thing he did when his mind cleared up was to pick the phone from the bedside table after carefully turning around, and cutting off the ringing sound.
He then checked the woman, and only upon seeing her calm down did he exhale a sigh of relief and check the bright screen for the cause of the early morning disturbance.
'Alex'
He was hardly surprised, though he did let out a small, soundless exhale that emptied his lungs. Carefully extricating himself from the enjoyable warmth leaning against him, he adjusted the pillow to take the place of his arm under the head of brown hair, exhaled with a wisp of regret, then picked up the call:
"Alex, give me a moment."
His voice was kept barely a whisper that only created a soft ripple in the serene bedroom. He slid down the bed, silently left the room, and closed the door quietly. Walking to the kitchen barefoot, he stifled a yawn, rubbed his chest, and finally spoke in a normal voice as he ruffled his dark hair:
"Alright, I can talk now."
Alex's voice came through:
"Mark. Is Ga-yeong still asleep?"
Alex's bright voice made Mark stifle another yawn as he served himself a glass of water. He looked back at the door he just closed, and smiled, his face awash with a soft glow, as if he could see the mother of his soon-to-be born child turning in her sleep while looking for him in the bedroom. His answer came, softened by the affection his tone was steeped in:
"Yes, she has yet to wake up."
Alex's bright voice came cutting into the beautiful moment with obvious laughter:
"Good for you, you got a full night of sleep, it seems."
"Cough!"
The jab made Mark choke on the water he was drinking and snap out of the ocean of love and affection he was setting himself to drown in. He didn't say whether he indeed got a full night of sleep or if he got woken up to serve his pregnant wife. He took a deep breath, and let out a sarcastic laugh:
"Ha. Ha."
Downing the rest of the glass of water, he decided to spare himself any further wound so early in the morning, so he went straight to the point:
"So, what's the matter?"
The sound of hangers being moved and clothes being picked out came from the other side, before Alex's answer came, somewhat offhanded:
"You remember that trip I have been thinking about?"
Mark paused his movement of serving himself another glass of water, and put down the carafe to bring up another part of that memory:
"And which I remember I strongly disagreed with. Are you still thinking about that? You know your mother will not like it."
The smile at the corner of Alex's mouth could be imagined as he replied:
"Then she doesn't have to know. Prepare the plane. We are going now."
Mark was taken aback. His hand holding the bit of water he had managed to serve himself shook, spilling some of it onto the kitchen counter.
"What!? Now!?!"