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“Yeah.”
We walk out of the building, and an unexpected breeze blasts us in the face. “Brrr,” I say, the sound falling from my mouth before I can stop it. “It’s cold for late October.”
“It’s definitely weird,” he agrees. He brings our joined hands to his mouth and blows some air on them. “We could pick up some soup. It’ll warm us up.”
“That’s a good idea,” I say as we head for his car. Autumn has settled nicely, with the leaves changing from vibrant reds to softer oranges and browns. Lots of leaves already cover the ground, and the breeze from earlier cuts through the branches and loosens more of them. They fall gracefully around us, like rain or snow, but even better, because as opposed to the whiteness of snowflakes or the transparency of water, the leaves bring a burst of color to a world that could always use more of it.
Maple leaves also remind me of something else. I grin as I stare at them as they fall around us. Sarfaraz looks to me, curiosity in his eyes. “What’s got you so happy?”
“You know all about my number one favorite Korean drama,” I start. “But in my second favorite K-drama, Guardian: The Lonely and Great God, they had a saying about maple leaves. It was a big motif in the show.”
“Which was?”
“The female lead said that if you catch a falling maple leaf, you’ll fall in love with the person you’re walking with,” I answer.
Sarfaraz looks up at the leaves swirling to the ground around us. He reaches up and snatches a perfect one right out of the air; it’s bright red, has no rips or breaks, and a long, intact stem. He holds it out to me, a cheeky smirk on his face. “For luck,” he teases.
I scoff but snatch the leaf from him anyway, laughter warming my chest. I already know that I’m going to laminate this leaf like Ji Eun-Tak did to the one Kim Shin caught for her in the show. I loop my arm through Sarfaraz’s and snuggle close to him.
“For the record,” he begins as we reach his car. “I don’t need a leaf to tell me to fall in love with you.” We stop by the passenger side door, and the look he gives me—pure adoration and amazement—nearly makes my heart stop. He reaches up and cups my chin, his fingers the lightest, softest touch against my cold skin. “I already did that a long time ago.”
I smile, and my response comes effortlessly. “I love you, too.”
I know perfect moments don’t exist, but when he presses his lips to mine, I decide that this one is pretty damn close, and that’s good enough for me.
