Its a good thing for me if the lessons get extended.

And

Yelena unconsciously wiggled her hand that was next to her pillow.

Lets go on a boat ride. When you arent busy.

A boat ride, you say?

Have you been?

No.

Then that too will be a first you have with me.

Kaywhin had gone to a festival for the first time with Yelena.

Yelena smiled faintly.

Theres a lake that I had seen before. I heard its very famous for boat riding. Especially for lovers Well, thats what I heard.

Yelena cleared her throat.

It was strange. They were already married, but the mere mention of the word lovers made her bashful for no reason.

It will be fun. Yelena rushed to finish speaking. She watched Kaywhin.

Shortly after, he opened his mouth.

I look forward to it.

As do I.

When would their second date happen? She hoped the day would come soon. With that thought, she pulled her blanket up.

Well then, good night, Kaywhin.

Sweet dreams, Yelena.

Ah. She had longed to hear those words said with her husbands voice.

Yelena closed her eyes in satisfaction.

And after some time passed, she came across a problem she hadnt even thought of.

Why cant I fall asleep?

A considerable amount of time seemed to have passed by, but she was still wide awake.

Whats this?

Yelena wasnt very acquainted with insomnia. The two had avoided each other her whole life.

She had lain down to sleep, but to think sleep wasnt falling upon her. This was an unfamiliar experience.

She could understand if she was worried or nervous, but she wasnt really either of those.

Am I nervous? About sleeping with my husband after sleeping alone for so long?

No, that was nothing to be nervous about.

She wasnt uncomfortable either.

The bed was wide. There was space even with the two of them lying down.

Yelena hopelessly passed time in her confused state.

Then she finally opened her eyes stealthily.

Once her vision adjusted to the dark, she saw her husbands sweet face, his eyes closed.

Are you asleep, Kaywhin?

She had spoken in a whisper, but she received a response right away.

Whats the matter?

She locked eyes with a pair of blue eyes.

Yelena hesitated and then spoke. Well, if its okay with you just for a bit is fine, so would you like to go on a walk with me?

***

Yelena had heard from somewhere that if you arent active enough during the day, there will still be energy left in your body and you will find it hard to fall asleep at night.

Although of course, I did go outside today

It would be understandable if Yelenas body was only now responding to her lack of activity for the past several days due to being a patient.

Yes, it must be that.

If that wasnt the case, then the reason she could not fall asleep was inexplicable.

A night breeze blew in the garden.

Yelena unconsciously fixed her shawl, leading Kaywhin to ask, Are you cold?

Ah, no. Im not cold. Its just a habit

Yelena glanced at what her husband was wearing. Truthfully, if anyone was cold, it would be her husband.

Kaywhin was only wearing a single shirt in the wake of Yelenas sudden proposal to go outside.

More importantly, Im sorry. For abruptly saying we should go outside.

Dont worry about it.

Lets head back in a bit, after one or two laps Ah! Yelena tripped as she was talking.

Kaywhin grabbed her swiftly.

After Kaywhin caught Yelena, he offered his hand to her. Anyone could tell that he was signaling her to hold it.

Yelena paused and then took his hand.

Ba-dump.

Her heart raced.

Huh?

Yelena blinked in response to her hearts sudden palpitations. Perhaps she was startled because she had almost tripped.

Her heart that had started beating somewhat noisily did not quiet down for a long time.

Yelena silently walked around the garden holding Kaywhins hand.

Truthfully, she was barely conscious of her surroundings. Her attention was entirely focused on her hand holding her husbands while she was walking.

Strangely, her body was tense and she was a bit nervous.

It must be because its dark.

Without her husbands hand, she might fall. She might even get lost.

Shall we rest for a bit?

They had already completed one lap around the garden. Yelena was slightly out of breath from walking nonstop.

Yelena nodded. Sure.

A bench happened to be nearby. Kaywhin let go of Yelenas hand as he walked towards it.

For some reason, Yelena felt its loss and wiggled her now empty hand.

Should I have said we should keep walking around slowly without resting instead?

Yelena sat down on the bench with that thought. Kaywhin sat down next to her and spoke.

Were you unable to fall asleep?

Yelena abruptly turned toward him. They locked eyes and for some reason, Yelena felt that they were rather close together.

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