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soobluv · 8 months
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make me move (M)
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↣ PAIRING: Johnny (NCT) + reader (female)
↣ GENRE: baby daddy; a rollercoaster of emotions; smut
↣ SUMMARY: You were pregnant when Johnny left to follow his dreams and not a day goes by that you don’t wonder if you did the right thing by keeping his daughter a secret from him. Then, unexpectedly, Johnny comes back into your life, but neither of you are sure if he’s ready to be a father.
↣ WARNINGS: mild language; some alcohol use; explicit sexual content
↣ NOTES: 17k words; listening to make me move by culture code feat. karra; this is a one-shot, there will be no sequels; check the masterlist in my description for other one-shots in this collection; happy reading!
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soobluv · 8 months
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I Hit It Like It’s All Mine (M)
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pairing. Johnny x female reader
genre. best friends step-mom AU, besties johnjae, college graduate Johnny, pwp, M/F
warnings. profanity, infidelity, y/n is older than Johnny, alcohol mentioned, teasing, overstimulation, breeding kink, rough & unprotected sex, degradation/praise. idk ily Johnny.
wc. 10k
now playing. All Mine//Plaza
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Week 1
“Oh,” Jaehyun slams down on the brakes, speaking over the rubble of rocks and engine shutting off. “I should probably mention something important about my step-mom.”
Johnny lets out a confused laugh, pushing his sunglasses up to headband the mess speeding down the coast made of his long locks. “Gee, we’ve been flying and driving for how many hours now? Suddenly you decide this important information is something you need to tell me right before I meet her for the first time?”
Jaehyun shrugs, running a hand through his hair full of mucky sea breeze. “Didn’t want you to hound me about this on the way, I know how you are.”
“I know how you are as well, Jeong Jaehyun.”
“When we’re home, I prefer Jeffrey, dude.” His best friend sneers, exiting the convertible he had to beg his dad to let him rent for a few weeks while vacationing at their beach house.
“Sure Jeff, now please, spare me the details and catch me up on this vital info before I have to pretend your dad isn’t a complete dick with an amazing pool and view of the beach for the next three weeks.” Johnny chides, hauling out a surfboard from the backseat.
“Right right, well my step-mom,” Jaehyun feigns a lack of interest, pulling a trucker hat on to tame his unruly hair. “She’s hot, like.. like she’s really really hot.”
Johnny has to laugh, pausing with a crease between his eyebrows. “You dirty fucking pervert.”
Jaehyun gives him a look, lips tugged back in a way he only displays when he wants to be taken serious. “I’m being real right now man, she’s like..”
Scratching at the back of his neck, Jaehyun’s shoulders slouch, shaking his head at his best friend. “Just be careful dude.”
“Jaehyun—Jeffrey, whatever, what the fuck dude?” Johnny’s face furrows, following after his friend to enter through the back of the house. “You think I’m gonna try to fuck your step-mom or some shit?”
Jaehyun spares him an annoyed look, tossing his backpack onto his bed before flopping onto his stomach with a groan. “Yeah, I think you’re going to try and fuck my step-mom.”
“Have some faith in me dude,” Johnny bristles, lugging his belongings into his best friend's summertime bedroom he hasn’t seen in years. “Should let me sleep on the floor still, you know whenever we come back too late. Don’t want your sexy step-mom finding me drunk off my ass in the hallway— I’m irresistible, you know?”
“Yeah, you really had no reason to keep growing past 5’10. Thanks for leaving me behind, good looking out as always.” Jaehyun grumbles, perching his chin onto his forearm uncomfortably as memories flash across the backs of his eyelids. The last time he’d asked his friend to not fuck a girl had been Senior year of high school, and that didn’t end well for him.
Jaehyun’s throat clears, sitting up with the sudden urge to down a gallon of water. “Remember Sabrina? That transfer I had uh— a thing for our last year of high school?”
Johnny snorts, fingering a polaroid of his teenage-self between two digits. “You mean that blonde you had a fat crush on? Yeah, of course I remember her… great legs.”
“I thought so.” Jaehyun sighs, eyeing his best friend with a scheming gaze. “Whatever happens, I just don’t want to find out. Alright?”
“Dude chill,” Johnny rolls his eyes, opening up the walk-in closet he spent a few blurry nights passed out in. “Let’s get a quick swim in before the sun goes down, yeah?”
Jaehyun lets out an exhausted grunt, muffled and distant, burying his face deeper into freshly laundered bedsheets. “Pass.”
“Boo, you whore.” Johnny jeers, stripping down to nothing as he fiddles with different pairs of swim trunks in search of his size. “Have to make the best of every day here.”
Without bothering to waste more time, he shuffles into much too small flip flops to avoid unpacking his belongings. “I’ll be back.” Cracking a beach towel across Jaehyun’s back, Johnny lightly jogs back out the way they entered, sighing in relief as cool thick air flows across his skin.
Something about summers at the beach growing up always brought comfort back when he needed it. Trudging through the sand with a towel slung over his shoulder, Johnny smiled watching his toes get lost in the midst of granules, chalked up by the residue painting it’s way up past his ankles the more he kicked through. His grin only grew wider when he lifted his gaze to peer around the expanse of space still filled with locals, vacationers, bums and best of all— girls sliding their frames down for a better look at him.
Johnny laid out his towel near the water, just close enough to run in and dose himself in salty waves within seconds, but to avoid any possible high-tide crashing beyond his feet. Letting out a loud obnoxious yawn, he stretches out, allowing the sunglasses holding back his hair to fall into place and shield his eyes. It felt nice to lean back, purposely flexing his stomach muscles under the low sunlight and picking up the whispered hush of gasps and girlish vocals asking ‘who is he?’
Scratching under his chin, he glances around casually, tinted shades disclose well enough to admire oiled up bottoms basking in the sun. If all goes right, he should be getting his dick wet at least five times a week while staying out here. That should be a good enough way to melt off the weight of pre-med stress. Johnny’s tongue clicks, reminding himself to stop thinking about school. The future doesn’t matter right now, his decision to spend a large portion of break with Jaehyun boiled down to one thing and one thing only: getting laid.
‘California girls,’ Jaehyun sang, winking at his friend as he coerced him to purchase his flight. ‘They’re unforgettable.’
Johnny scoffs a bit at the memory, internally nodding as he takes in breasts bouncing beneath barely there bikini tops. He has a point, or Katy Perry did, whoever the hell sang that song. Nights fucking under lifeguard towers, running into the ocean butt naked under nothing but moonlight, slurping melted ice cream off dips and crevices sugary sticky syrup should never be. After months bundled up under thick layers and jackets with his face buried in research papers and endless cups of black coffee, he needed this more than ever. Jaehyun could tell, leave it to his best friend to know what's best for him.
Johnny decides it’s time for a quick swim, shoving up and dusting off sand from his backside, he strolls ahead pausing in his tracks when he sees something that catches his attention.
“My board?”
Johnny squints and shakes his head, blinded by sun cascading behind the figure sitting on top of the familiar surfboard. Turning his foot he moves closer for a better look, jaw loosening as the bright shadow diminishes, unveiling skin… tons of skin. His lip curls, noting the letter ‘J’ he etched into the edge of the board when he was 15, his board, not Jaehyun’s.
‘What difference does it make if I use your board or not?’
‘This is my baby, you can’t ride my baby.’ Johnny said, smoothing a wax down the body of wood with a rag. ‘How would you feel if another man was out there riding your girl?’
Jaehyun sneered, kicking sand at his best friend. ‘How many times have I asked you to not ride my girl and you do it anyway?’
‘Fine,’ Johnny scooped out his pocket knife, digging the sharp edge of it into the wood to carve out his initial. ‘This way, everyone knows who she belongs to.’
Jaehyun leaned over watching as the taller smirked proudly, breaking into a boisterous laugh. ‘You idiot, both of our names start with J.’
Johnny watched Jaehyun fall back into the sand clutching his stomach, twisting his mouth to the side because he just branded his baby for no good reason.
‘Ugh, just stay off my board dude!’
“The fuck..” Johnny watches intently as you emerge from the water, obscene droplets of water rolling off your thighs. “Nice board.”
He speaks before registering how close he’s come to stand near you, catching splashes of your hair across his chest as you wring out the sea water. “Thanks.”
Johnny wants to scoff, too caught up in the way you drop his beloved surfboard down by your feet carelessly. He wants to give you attitude, raises his voice at you for handling his baby so poorly, but he can’t, he can’t with his tongue hanging from his mouth like a thirsty dog.
“You’re beautiful.” His mouth feels dry already, swallowing mucky air down as he takes in your form and wonders how you managed to surf his board in that tiny string bikini leaving barely anything to imagine.
“Thanks.”
Again, you sound bored, not even sparing him a glance while throwing your hair around to air dry, and Johnny thinks it’s amusing. More amusing than any of the girl’s lined down the beach desperate for him to approach them instead.
“That board is a little too big for you, don’t you think?” Johnny cocks an eyebrow, head tilted to the side, tongue rimming his bottom lip to add action behind his condescending tone. “Just started surfing yesterday or something?”
“Hah..” finally you look at him, moreso glare at him, an equally snarky expression to match his written across your face. “What makes you think I can’t handle a board this big?”
Johnny pauses, taking in your features from the confidence in your gaze to your unblemished skin and lips that would look perfect struggling around his cock, and he thinks you’d be fun to ruin. Already dreaming of the hundreds of ways he could erase that cockyness from your pretty face. “You don’t really look like you can handle riding one that size.”
Clearing your throat, you bend over, ensuring a perfect view of your bottom perched between lycra cloth squeezing the fleshy meat out enticingly. Lifting the board under your arm with ease and a flip of your hair. “Now why would a little boy like you think you have a damn clue what I can handle?”
Johnny trails by your side, scrunching his eyebrows when you call him a little boy. “I’m 6’1!”
“No shit,” smiling, you brush him off with a wave of your hand. “Now shoo! Go find someone closer to your age to bother.”
“My age??” Johnny guffaws, too immersed in the way you’re dismissing him to even notice the direction you’re headed. “Uh, in case it’s not obvious— we’re definitely like the same age?”
“Doubt it.” Spinning quickly, you nearly knock him off his feet with a fierce hit from the tip of your surfboard. “Now go play with your toys before I call security and tell them you’ve lost your mommy.”
“I’m twenty-seven!” Johnny splutters, telling himself to ignore the coil in his gut lighting up from your threat. “And that’s my board!”
Akin to a petulant child, he reaches to grip around the wooden body to drag it free from your hold. The two of you going back and forth in a match of tug-o-war for no more than a minute between huffs and puffs and shrieks of ‘let go! I’m calling security!’ before the deep shout of his name distracts him enough to abruptly release his hold and send you crashing into the sand flat on your ass.
“Dude! Johnny what the hell!” Jaehyun runs from the front of his dad’s house, jumping over the pebbles lining the pathway of sand leading to the entrance. Hurling into his friend's chest, he knocks the wind out of Johnny and reaches to help you up, blabbering apologetically as the surfboard lays near you unceremoniously.
“Jaehyun?” You ask, latching onto his forearm to stand up and brush sand off your damp backside. “I thought you were coming in later?”
“Huh?” Johnny(ready to pounce on his friend) pauses and looks between the two of you, slowly glancing around in realization that you’ve walked up to his home for the next few weeks.
Jaehyun explains they ended up catching an earlier flight and hit no traffic, apologizing for being forgetful and not informing you ahead of time. “This..”
He points to the tall brunette that followed you home, letting out a disappointed sigh. “This is Johnny.”
“Oh!”
“Yeah,” Jaehyun nods, motioning between the two of you. “And this— is my step-mom.”
“Oh.” Johnny gulps, convincing himself that his cheeks are burning because of the warmth from the sun and not because of embarrassment, no, not because Jaehyun was right.
“See how I was right,” his friend leans in to mumble, patting Johnny on the shoulder. “Sorry if he was already bothering you.”
“Ahh, it’s okay. I think we got off on the wrong foot.” You say, pulling the board back up and tracing the carving. “I assumed this was Jaehyun’s before, my mistake.”
Jaehyun chuckles, nudging into Johnny’s side. “You see how that made no difference.”
“Shut up.” He mumbles under his breath, following the two of you inside, not without wiping off your limbs near the entrance. Quickly pulling on a too big zip up jacket to cover up in front of your new house guests.
“I had your dad’s assistant buy some of your favorites.” You call out, moving to the kitchen for a glass of water. “Fully stocked the fridge with cold brew and those Celsius drinks you like.”
Johnny follows behind, keeping his gaze set on the floor in hopes you’ll forget his lame attempt at flirting just minutes ago. “Don’t know what your friend likes, but we can order food if you guys are hungry?”
Jaehyun shrugs, grabbing two water bottles. “Sounds good, we aren’t picky. Whatever you want to eat we’ll be fine with.”
“Burritos?” You ask between sips of water, flicking to look between the two for approval. Jaehyun nods with a thumbs up, sliding one of the bottles in front of Johnny.
“Sounds yum.”
“Great!” Bouncing onto your toes you place an order on your phone and ask for Jaehyun to keep an ear open for the doorbell. “I’m gonna hop in the shower and rinse off real fast, feel free to get comfortable. The guest rooms all cleaned up and ready for you as well.”
Smiling in Johnny’s direction on your way out of the kitchen, you add a wink, as if to reassure him that you won’t bring up your beach banter again.
Jaehyun waits until he can hear the water running from your bathroom shower, breathily laughing and relaxing back into the chair near his friend's side. “You were trying to fuck her, weren’t you?”
“She had my board.” Johnny says, pretending to care more about scratching off the label on the water bottle melting in his palm.
“And you were trying to fuck her because of that?”
Johnny’s jaw clenches, ripping off the label and crumbling the paper between his fingers. “Just wanted to know why she had my board… She called me a little boy.”
Jaehyun laughs, knowing that must have pushed some buttons. “She’s older than us, not by much but.. surprisingly my dad actually remarried someone older than me.”
Johnny hums, taking a long swig from the bottle to woosh around his tongue. Mouth still dry from embarrassing himself. “So that’s your step-mom.”
“Yup.” Jaehyun’s lips smack, popping as the ‘P’ rolls off his tongue. “By the way, my dad won’t be around, some business deal in Dubai for the next few weeks.. Old bastard didn’t even bother to mention it. He’s already sky-high with his feet kicked up in Emirates first class.”
“So..” Johnny nods, playing with the bottle cap nervously. “It’s just the three of us.”
Jaehyun sighs, crushing up his empty bottle. “Yeah. It’s just the three of us.”
Meeting his best friend’s gaze, a silent exchange of words passes between the two. The small raise in Jaehyun’s eyebrow let Johnny know his thoughts without saying anything.
“I don’t want to know anything.” Jaehyun repeats quietly, getting up at the sound of the doorbell.
Johnny’s lips purse, hunching over onto the counter in thought. Maybe his original summer plans needed a few alterations, tapping the tips of his fingers against the marble counter, he wondered how much talk you were.
One way to find out.
Week 2
Paint fumes spill through the air conditioning vent, penetrating the guest rooms walls much too early to make sense. Johnny sniffs, squinting and groaning as his knuckles drag across his eyelids and he kicks at the sheet covering his lower half. “Fuck is that?”
It hasn’t been the most peaceful week, not quite, his own words of having to make use of each day coming back to bite him in the ass as Jaehyun shouted at him to get ready for another long night of bar hopping and club after club. Johnny realized after the second day of slamming shots that while his 22 year old self would have laughed at him, his present day self was in need of a porcelain bowl to drown his night of fun inside of.
“Ugh, I’m gonna throw up,” he mutters to himself, rolling side to side in bed miserably. The strong scent of paint more acidic than it should be as it mixed with vile poison left in his system from last night.
“That’s because you won’t eat greasy food after drinking dumbass.” Jaehyun says by his bedroom door with shades on inside and a cold brew in hand. “Mr. Healthy would rather suffer and stick to his diet.”
“Ughh.” Johnny fails to chuck a pillow at his friend, mumbling a string of curses.
“I left some medicine and orange juice on the nightstand.” Jaehyun lets him know. “Already ate breakfast, need fresh air, gonna take a stroll down to the pier. You coming?”
Johnny doesn’t bother to grace him with a real response, waving an arm behind to signal for him to go away. The other snorts, mumbling a ‘weak ass’ under his breath before exiting.
Minutes pass before he finally forces himself to crawl off the bed, dragging the sheet wrapped around his hip off as he scatters to collect the anti-nausea pills and cup of pulp-free OJ, that good rich people OJ from Whole Foods, he thinks. Typical Jeong household, nothing but the best.
Johnny slumps against the bed watching the room spin for a minute in an attempt to recall what happened last night.
‘Shots! Shots! Shots!’ Jaehyun kept howling in his ear, slamming wads of fifty dollar bills down on the bar as he ordered another round. ‘Who wants to do body shots!!’
Johnny sighs, having forgotten what a woo woo party girl his best friend could turn into after cracking open a bottle of Tequila. This is Jaehyun’s influence, egging him on with a whispered ‘pussy’ in his ear as he stared at the round of clear vengeful liquid ready to burn his esophagus. “Damn you Jeff.”
Another whiff of paint has chunks rising up his throat, charging up to the nearest bathroom to release the blacked out memories of last night. Johnny splashes his face, rinsing his mouth thoroughly until his teeth slick right off his tongue, shining pearly whites and burning from the amount of mouthwash he gargles to remove the taste. “No more drinking, you’re not 21 anymore.”
Stepping into the hallway, Johnny squints from the smell of paint growing stronger, following the trace of it down the hall to an open door where you bounce about barefoot in a pair of dirtied overalls and what looks like a bikini top. This one less revealing than the others you’ve sported around the house this week.
Johnny did his best to not stare, maybe, he could do better. Even now as he rests against the door frame and follows your every move mixing different paints together, he can’t resist eyeing the dips in your back whenever you shift slightly. He can’t help but imagine how nice his hands could look placed around your carved in waist, gripped between his digits as he holds you down and fucks you until you’re screaming out for him to slow down.
“It’s rude to stare, especially unannounced.” You say without turning to look at him, noting his presence from the sound of light footsteps ending by the door.
“Sorry,” Johnny apologizes, voice coated in heavy drowsiness. “I didn’t know that you paint, I mean..”
“Why would you, right? It’s a hobby,” you explain, stroking a wide brush across a black and grayed canvas. “Mr. Jeong didn’t want me to get bored when he’s away, can’t have a bored housewife.”
“You seem to stay pretty occupied..” Johnny thinks out-loud. If you weren’t stealing his surfboard, you seemed to be running off to some pilates class, or to get your nails done, something about a Erewhon market to grab an overpriced smoothie. Living that Tiktok life according to Jaehyun. “You’ve been painting for a while?”
Johnny enters to look around at what he assumes are completed canvases perched against a wall to dry by an uncovered window. “You’re pretty good.”
“Thanks.”
Something about the way you seem unimpressed by him and always reply to his flattery in the same monotone uninterested way tickles him more than it should. Johnny can’t even say he’s caught your eyes lingering on him once yet.
“Shouldn’t you be out with Jaehyun?” You ask, following the movements by your side from the corner of your eye. Johnny’s shirtless, of course, barefoot in nothing but the boxers he probably fell asleep in last night.
“We aren’t attached at the hip.” Johnny shrugs, pretending to seem interested in the tubes and cans of paints scattered near your feet. Squatting down, he looks through the ingredients wondering if you should really be in here inhaling this stuff. “Also, I can’t hang the same way I used to. Age is finally catching up to me I guess.”
“You’re a child.” You scowl, turning to look down at his messy head of hair. “Stop speaking as if you’ve lived 50 years on earth.”
“A child??” Johnny shoots up straight, standing tall in all his half-naked glory. “You’re only a few years older than me!”
“I could be your—“
“You could not.” He interrupts, smirking full of arrogance that only a 20-something year old could possess. “You could be Mr. Jeong’s daughter though.”
“Possibly.”
Johnny’s surprised you garner him with a response, expecting his message to go ignored. Of course he’d dropped hints about the age difference between you and your husband, occasionally mentioning how even if he’s home you must not feel a difference. Pushing it further by joking around if the old man can even get it up anymore.
“Is that what you’re into?” Johnny crosses his arms, leaning back on a wall in front of your painting set-up. “Wrinkled and shriveled?”
“Is that the way a pre-med student should be speaking about his future patients?” Clicking your tongue, you return to your work, not wanting to fall for the game Johnny’s been trying to involve you in since arriving.
“I’ll be starting my residency soon.” Johnny corrects you, counting the different tones of paint splatter on your overalls. “This might be one of my last summers to fuck around, you know.. mess up a few last times.”
“Sounds like you’ve been messing up nearly every night.” You smirk, lifting an arched brow at him. The parade of different girls walking in and out of your house hasn’t gone unnoticed despite Jaehyun’s best efforts to be discreet about it, neither has their obnoxiously loud moans and screams while getting plowed in your guest room.
“Not quite the mess up I’ve been dreaming about.” Johnny says confidently, studying the small changes in your expression this up-close. Between you running around to complete your errands and Jaehyun cock-blocking him, he hasn’t had the easiest time to pick up on your mannerisms. Barely able to lock eyes with you long enough to maintain eye contact with the way you nonchalantly carry on avoiding him, make him feel invisible.
“Imagine if your mother knew of these things you dream about.” You say, peering over the canvas to find Johnny’s honey gaze. “You think she would approve of this behavior?”
“Not at all.” Johnny’s quick to say, pushing off the wall. “But she’s not here, is she?”
“Unfortunately.”
Johnny doesn’t fail to notice the second too long you take to look away from his chest, moving to stand by your canvas with his boxers hung low enough to show off the sharp edges of his jutted hip bones, he flexes intentionally, stretching his waist side to side for his stomach muscles to convulse. The way they would convulse when..
“Do you think I’m a bad boy?” He whispers, as if you aren’t home alone, because he knows that secrets should stay quiet.
“I think you are mentally a young boy, a young boy afraid of your last days of youth slipping through your fingers.” You know Johnny feeds off your attention, casually side-swiping him and refocusing on your painting despite his best efforts to show off his great physique.
“Perhaps.” He shrugs, looping a hand around your wrist gently to tug your brush onto the smooth flat planes of his abdominal muscles. “But I want to grow up, I wanna show you what a man I can be.”
Johnny speaks between bated breath, sweeping the deep red paint up and down the indent of definition lining his stomach.
“What makes you think I want to know what a man you can be?” Words feel heavy sliding off your tongue, dipping the paint brush lower into his twitching navel, blood red trickles down rolling past the scrunched waistband of his bottoms.
“Because, you can handle big things.” Johnny retorts, tilting his head to one side. “At least, that’s what you claim, I’ve yet to see it proven myself though.”
“And how exactly am I supposed to prove that to you?” arching back your neck to push your chin forward, you have to look up at Johnny, brushing past his waistband to press the bristles of your mostly dried brush against the bulge that’s formed between his hips.
Johnny’s throat bounces, swallowing behind his pursed lips from the stiff itchy friction pushing through the thin cotton fabric covering his groin. Instinctively canting his hips forward in search of more, he has to resist the urge to look down. Grinding the backs of his teeth together as he watches your face lacking any sign of weakness. “Let me fuck you.”
“Spoken like a true bratty child.” You snicker, trailing the tips of your manicured nails down the side of his twitching abdomen. “I’m a married woman.”
“Means nothing to me,” Johnny lilts, throbbing between his thighs from the rough manner you continue to dig into his crotch. “Besides that, I haven't seen you wear a ring.”
“Ah, and you would know, given all the time you spend staring at me.” You say, digging your freshly done nails into the lines of muscles covered in paint. “You think I’m playing some game with you, don’t you? Such a little boy.”
“Maybe.” Johnny’s throat tightens, swallowing the wad of saliva that’s gathered at the back of his mouth. “I find it hard to believe you seriously married Jihoon.. of all people to waste your youth on.”
“Marriage isn’t as simple as you’re making it.” You whisper, tracing one of his hips with the smooth pads of your fingers. “It’s not a waste if you get something worth it out of it.”
“Hmm,” Johnny blows a long breath out, head drooping to concentrate on the brush jabbing at his hardened size. “I’m not oblivious, I understand that much, but what I also know for a fact is that there is no way Mr. Jeong can fuck you the way you deserve.”
“Deserve?” A smile creeps across your lips at that, pinching the fabric of his ruined boxers between your grip to tug lower and unveil where tanned skin meets lines of paleness protected by his swim trunks. “How exactly do I deserve to be fucked?”
Johnny tips forward, nudging his forehead against yours. “Wanna find out?”
“I’d love to find out.” Tossing the paint brush aside your mouth draws out an ‘Ooo’ feeling up his covered size with a push of your palm against his groin. “I don’t believe that you are going to be the one that shows me.”
“You want it?” Johnny’s tongue feels heavier with each press of your palm against the underside of his length, sucking his plump bottom lip under his teeth to suppress a groan.
“You’re asking me to cheat on my husband?”
“I’m asking you to let me fuck you.” Johnny says falling into a deep vibrato. His patience wears thinner with each teasing touch, a few steps closer is all it takes to press you against a wall, arms lifted above your head to leave you feeling caged in. “If I fuck you once, I promise that I’ll have you begging to be mine.”
“What makes you think I want to be yours?” Clasping your fist around his cock, you squeeze the fabric against his shape, pushing one of your thighs between his. “You’re the one begging to fuck me.”
“That’s what you want?” Johnny’s eyes flutter shut, not even trying to hide how aroused he is as he clamps around your thigh, hips jerking forward to fuck into your palm. “I’ll beg all you want— fuck, I’ll get on my knees. I’ll do anything, whatever you want.. just tell me. Tell me what to do.”
Johnny slumps more, catching a moan on your shoulder as his tongue begins to lick at your skin, sweet skin he could devour right now if you’d just let him. “Please, need to fuck you so bad.”
The back of your head knocks against the wall, stroking faster along his length throbbing thick and hot in your grasp. “Fuck..”
Johnny bites down on your shoulder, jerkily thrusting into your palm with three messy strokes, a broken shout lost behind the bite as his teeth bury in hard enough to break skin.
“Johnny!” Hissing, you reach for his hair, using the dried paint on his stomach to clean off the cum seeping from his boxers onto the back of your hand. “That hurts!”
He apologizes weakly, lapping at the fresh teeth marks left behind. Hot breath panting along your throat as he recovers and comes down. “Sorry… really sorry.”
“Think you can fuck me like I deserve?” You say, twisting chunks of his hair between your digits. “You just came from a few touches, kid.”
“I can..” Johnny’s head hangs shamefully, chewing at the insides of his cheeks feeling embarrassed yet again. “I can..”
“Yeah yeah, you need to go clean off.” shoving at his chest you nod to the door. “Don’t get paint all over my bathroom.”
“That’s seriously never happened to me before..” Johnny whispers, more to himself, rubbing at the back of his neck in disbelief.
“Not surprised.”
“Why?” He squints, taking in the sly smile lifting one of your cheeks.
“Little boys tend to be overzealous.” Patting his cheek, you nod to the door again. “Go.”
Johnny has to bite his tongue to stop himself from begging to fuck you one more time, nodding and bowing as he accepts the loss.
Maybe you were right.
Maybe you had him all figured out, Johnny contemplates, scrubbing the paint from his stomach under the stream of hot water hitting his skin, leaving behind pelts from the boiling temperature he’s set it at. A cold shower would have been for the best, especially now as he lathers up your body wash onto a cloth. The scent that clung to your skin still stuck to the backs of his teeth.
Fuck, I’m an idiot.
He sighs, dropping his head to rest on the shower tiles as his fist wraps the cloth around his length, half mass already just from the intoxicating scent of your steaming around his skull.
You never said no, and that’s enough to shoot dopamine through his veins, jolting his hips up as he turns and fucks faster into his palm; eyeing the red stained water swivel it’s way down the drain.
One way or another, Johnny was set to have his way with you. No married woman jerks off another man besides her husband willingly like that.
Shouting between gritted teeth he watches release mix in with the red, more than determined to paint your insides the same way and make you regret toying with him.
Week 3
‘Headed out to meet the girl from the party last night. Probably won’t be back until late. Stay out of trouble will you?’
Johnny’s eyes squint, rubbing his forehead to will away the nasty lingering sensation of a hangover attempting to ruin his morning. Groaning, he lowers the brightness on his phone screen to give his friends message a thumbs up, that should be enough of a response.
Trouble is the last thing he wants right now, bending over to roll his forehead against the marble kitchen tile, he groans wondering if that party was even worth it.
It wasn’t.
Not really, not when all he could think about while different girls approached him with high hopes of hooking up was the pretty desperate housewife home all alone..
“Johnny?”
Trouble called for him, slowly pushing himself to stand straight and swallow down the breeze of salty beach air entering from the sliding door he’d opened earlier, he wipes at his mouth with the back of his hand; pushing a mess of highlighted brown locks away from his face before forcing a smile to greet you.
“Morning!” His teeth chattered together upon finding your concerned gaze, blinking to disguise the quick scan of your figure covered by nothing but a thin baby pink negligee.
“Morning..” You say softly, slowly tip-toeing closer to the end of the kitchen counter he’s gripping onto to stop himself from keeling over. “You guys must have had fun last night?”
Johnny nods, adding a bored shrug. “Nothing amazing, I was just about to go for a run along the beach. Need some fresh air to blow away the remnants.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Bumping into his side to examine his face up-close, your tongue clicks, raising your fingers to drag through messy strands of hair masking his eyes. “You look like shit, kid.”
Johnny cuddles into the touch with a low groan, similar to a cat purring and burying its cheek into your palm, the corners of his lips lifting at the nickname. “Thanks, you almost sound like you care about me.”
“Don’t go for a run.” Dragging him to sit at the kitchen counter, you instruct him to stay put. “I’m gonna make you my hangover smoothie, always remedies Jihoon after a night of drinking.”
Johnny’s face immediately dips into a frown, perching his chin onto his palms with sad puppy eyes. “Must you mention him right now?”
Gathering up ingredients to cure your guests current problem, you dryly laugh, beginning to chop up ginger and garlic cloves. “Have you ever heard of this thing called gratitude? You’re living under his roof for free after all.”
“It’s a shame really..” Johnny grumbles, rubbing circles into his temples.
“Hmm? What’s that?”
“That I have no other way to thank him than by fucking his young hot wife.” He grins lazily, sighing between a laugh at the dramatic gasp you let out and your jaw plunging down to the floor. “You’ll have to relay the message for me— you know, if the old man can even handle what I’m going to do to you.”
“God, here I am trying to relieve your pain, and all you can talk about is your stupid horny teenage boy fantasies.” You sneer, tossing the concoction of ingredients you’ve readied into a blender before twisting about the kitchen to grab a cup, cursing under your breath as you reach a top shelf and trigger a pesky kink in your neck.
“Need help?” Johnny’s already on his feet before you can protest and insist he needs to stay put again, pressing to your back to reach overhead and set down the glass before you. He hums, pinching the part of your neck that meets your shoulder. “You pull something?”
Swatting at him, you nod, clenching your eyes shut. “Think I fucked up my neck between this new pilates class and lugging around new appliances for my paint room. Ahh—“
Johnny kneads harder at a knotted muscle between his thick fingers, pressing the heel of his palm in to add pressure. “And Mr. Jeong hasn’t hired you a personal masseuse yet? Someone’s worried about his pretty trophy getting polished off by another man.”
“Ugh..” hunching forward to grip on the counter you gasp between trying to keep your breath calm. “That hurts!”
“Yeah, I bet it does.” Johnny moves your hair aside, pressing his nose closer to inhale the scent of your shampoo still clinging to your scalp. “Do you always smell this good first thing in the morning?”
“I don’t know..” answering mindlessly under his weighty palms, you let out an embarrassingly satisfied groan, pushing your hips back to get comfortable with your elbows on the counter. A choked sigh emits from behind you using the opportunity to press closer and lock his hips to your barely covered backside.
“That was too easy,” Johnny snickers, rocking his girth between the dip that's formed on your bottom. “Mrs. Jeong, what would your husband think??”
“Ugh.. you little..” between staggered breaths you curse him, reaching back to push at his abdomen only for Johnny to tether your wrists together with one hand, his other unwilling to release the back of your neck.
“Little?” Johnny says brazenly, pushing roughly against your lower half, the toes of his sneakers knocking your ankles apart until you spread eagle over the counter for him. “Say that again?”
Another powerful cant of his hips has you gasping, struggling to release from his unyielding grip. “Fuck..”
“What was that Mrs. Jeong?” Johnny tsks, throwing a twist between his eyebrows to display the foul act. “What would your husband say? Acting like such a slut for his damn near second son? Have some shame.”
“Johnny!” Between gasping you manage to pinch at his hand and free one of your wrists. “Jaehyun could walk in at any moment!”
“Don’t worry your pretty head off about him,” Johnny sucks in his lower lip, maneuvering his hips back enough to view the stain that’s formed on your pathetic excuse for sleepwear. “Would you look at that?”
“Stop! Don’t look!” You almost believe your pleads, knocking against the cabinets before your legs when the cool blow of air conditioning shivers up your bottom as Johnny leisurely gathers the fabric of your negligée with one fist.
“Soaked right through your underwear sweetheart. Tell me to stop, tell me this isn’t because of me.” Johnny says heatedly, wedging your underwear higher with his other hand, the fabric bubbles with more wetness as he tugs it between your folds, kissing the backs of his teeth. “So fucking wet.”
“You c-can’t..” you gasp, bouncing against the burning pressure Johnny’s created down your center.
“That’s cute..” He chuckles, grinding together the backs of his teeth from the way your ass jiggles, just begging to clap back against him the more you shake at your knees. “Who’s going to stop me baby?”
“Ja-Jaehyun, he—“
“Jaehyun doesn’t give a fuck.” Johnny interrupts your sad excuse to make him stop, sliding one of his digits up your thigh to collect a dollop of wetness that's begun to trickle down past mid-thigh. “Your husband can’t do shit either. So bold and moronic to leave his pretty little slut of a housewife home alone, allow you to prance up and down the beach showing off your perfect tits, fat peachy ass.”
“He-he could..” You gulp, losing train of thought when he slaps at your butt, a large palm cupping the pert round of your ass hard enough to leave prints behind to catch sight of in a mirror the next day. “..wa—walk in.”
“Shut up about Jaehyun,” Johnny spits, delivering a rougher slap to your ass. “Suddenly you want to act like step-mom of the year? You knew what you were doing, we all know what you want.”
“Please..” You whimper, reeling from the sting of pain shooting to the back of your thigh.
“You know what could cure my hangover better than a smoothie?” Johnny asks, ripping your soaked underwear down to the tops of your thighs and cursing under his breath at the full visual of your glossy cunt. “Your tight pretty pussy.”
“Ugh!” Groaning, you scratch at the surface of the counter, slipping further and further away from your sanity; the last of it exiting your body at the first brush of his length between your folds. “Johnny!”
The shrieked scream of his name has him bending over, pressing the full amount of his weight onto your back to smash your breast on the cold surface. “What was that?” He grabs your chin, forcing your head to turn to the side and plant your cheek on the counter. “Speak up, tell me to stop.”
“Please..”
Johnny’s tongue clicks, wrapping a fist around the base of his girth to control swiping the tip between your folds. Teasing you with the occasional press of his cockhead against your pulsating hole. “Please stop Johnny, I’m an honest married woman.” He mocks, pouting and pulling your bottom lips open, your heavy breath leaving a cloud of moisture along the marble.
“Please..”
Johnny sneers, twisting your neck to a more pained angle to refocus your eyes on him. “Please spit in my mouth, treat me like a nasty cock slut, fuck me like a whore with your big cock.”
He nods your chin up and down, pupils blown wide as he dips the tip of his cock inside your entrance. The rim of it snapping like a rubber band around his bulbous size as he draws away. “Slutty fuck hole has more to say than you? Fine.”
Keeping your lips propped open with his fingers dug into your cheeks, Johnny gathers up saliva, lapping it from corner to corner inside his mouth. His plump lips purse together to pour it out slowly, a thick wad of it stretching out to land on your tongue with whimpered cries following behind. The act pushes tears from your eyes in disbelief.
Jaehyun’s father would never spit in your mouth, let alone call you any type of degrading names. As if able to read your mind, he snaps you out of it by jerking your head around, landing soft slaps on your cheek. “Swallow.”
Johnny waits until your throat bounces, evidently sucking down his spit and smiles as you gaze back with large watery half-dazed eyes. “What do you say?”
His thumb smears your lips, shoving the fat of your lower lip side to side with a glint in his eye. “Thank You..” You say, almost timidly, shivering at the thought of giving him the wrong answer.
“That’s right.”
“I shouldn’t..” You say nervously between inhaling, thighs wobbling in anticipation of knowing what comes next.
“You shouldn’t? Or you don’t want to?” Johnny cocks an eyebrow, eyes half-lid as he watches thoughts run rampant behind your gaze.
“Want to..”
Johnny licks his lips, alternating to cup your pussy from the back and slot his palm against your entrance cruelly, the tips of his calloused fingers pressing down on your clit. Cock landing in rapid slaps on your ass leaving a mess of your wet arousal with each hit. “You hear that? So fucking wet for me sweetheart. Here I thought only a real man could turn you on this much.”
Johnny leans back down again, capturing your lips and the moan you let out as two fingers push past the heat of your entrance. The sound of wetness echoes throughout the kitchen, obscene and loud, sprouting out onto his palm like a broken faucet. “Love how I play with your pretty pussy don’t you baby?”
He licks between the seam of your lips, demanding to be let in with a firm push of his tongue. Easily dominated by his larger mouth finding control as you gasp out a moan, scissoring apart his fingers to stretch you open. He bites at your upper lip, pulling the fleshy meat between his as he shifts to hover over you and lick the swell that's begun to form from his bite. “So tight, knew that your husband couldn’t possibly be making use of your perfect pussy.”
Johnny grunts, shoving a third finger inside of you to push against the inside of your velvety dripping walls. “God, how am I supposed to fit in here?” Raising his voice over the sound of your slippery wet cunt, he grins, forcing a fourth finger inside of you and working into a speedy pump. “Your useless husband should thank me, finally someone to satisfy his pretty little trophy wife, make use of her young tight body. Ruin you for any other man.”
Shifting to grab the back of your neck in a chokehold, Johnny keeps your upper half held down flat on the counter, working his other arm to a rapid pace that has you shouting. Tip-toeing off the ground from the throttle of his fingers, pushing the coil in your gut to constrict your insides and spill over the tears you’d been holding in. A slew of pleading and curses spilling out between the sound of creamy wetness hitting his forearm and hips.
“That’s it, opening up so fucking nice for me pretty.” Johnny pulls out abruptly, mouth desperate for a taste. Having to wipe his hand off on his shorts just to get a proper grip on your ass. He falls to his knees quickly, pulling your buttcheeks apart to drag his tongue from clit to your wrinkled hole, missing your dripping entrance just to hear you suffer. Squirming and quaking under the fierce hold he grips you in.
He bites down on the swell of your ass, groaning between sucking at the fleshy meat, fingers pressing in harder to fully display where you leak for him. The complete visual of you so obscene, clenching around nothing with your fingers buried in your mouth to contain your cries. “Fuck. So fucking tiny..”
He prods at your entrance, circling the stubby tips of his nails against it to watch another tremor of anguish roll up your thighs. “Tell me baby..”
Johnny glides two digits back inside, having to tuck his lip in to lower the growl in his chest. “Want me to fuck you?”
His tongue curls up, tracing the outline of your hole squeezing his fingers, swirling around your clenched rim that taunts him with the idea of fucking your ass until you’re pitifully groveling. Sulking and begging for him to slow down, go harder, fuck my ass until I break.
“Not…n-not right..” you whimper in spite of your desire screaming out otherwise from every direction. Fighting back the orgasm his fingers are plowing out of you, curling up where you need and pressing with a hard wiggle until your ass jiggles against his face. Tightening around his fingers too much as you hit release, having to stop his ministrations from the grip. “please..I’m married.”
“That makes one of us.” Johnny sighs, popping his fingers free to glide against his tongue. Eyes rolling to the back of his skull, dizzy just from the taste of your hitting his tonsils. “Only one of us has to care.”
Pushing up off his knees, he loops around your waist from behind, chin perched on your shoulder to lick at the shell of your ear, whispering close enough for your eardrums to vibrate. “And it’s not me.”
Hauling away from the counter, Johnny directs you toward the living room with his knees banging into the backs of yours. Protests falling silent as he spins you to face him and cups your cheeks with damp palms. “No one has to know.”
Not allowing you more time to think, his mouth crashes down on yours to stop the next thing you can say to convince yourself that this is wrong. If it’s so wrong, then why do you like it so much?
Johnny doesn’t have to ask you, he knows you’d put up a fight if you really cared. Knows you’d yell at him and push him off instead of lifting your arms above your head for him to strip you free of your nightgown, freely exposing your bare breasts for him to grab and massage, pinching your already hardened nipples as he sucks on your tongue.
“This is what you needed all along, someone to put you in your place.” Johnny’s lips lower to your chest, wrapping his mouth around your nipple to suck on, pulling it between his teeth as his hands cup your ass. Bending at his knee to lift you off your feet, he turns effortlessly, laying you down on the couch you’ve spent many nights with your husband watching movies; more nights alone scrolling through your phone burning through his credit cards.
“Told you I’d fuck you how you deserve baby.” Johnny says, wishing you hadn't insisted on acting so resilient. Now he’d have to make use of the next few days to fuck you morning and night until you have to beg him to carry you, legs too worn out. Leave your cunt raw and used, not like Mr. Jeong would even fathom the idea of his son's best friend since childhood doing something this low to him, not Johnny, the alleged ‘good influence’ on his son.
“Gonna be good for me? Take it like you deserve?” Johnny kicks off his running shoes, easily shoving aside the throb in his skull in favor of devouring you. Pushing his shorts off in one sweep, he positions between your thighs as if his life depends on it. As if you’ll suddenly wake from your spacey horny daze and slap him across the face.
Gripping your chin, he forces your glossy eyes back on his face, sharp features more shadowed from the light streaks of sunlight entering the mostly dimmed room. He’s straight out of a wet dream above you, hair tousled, sweeping down above his strong eyebrows and hooded eyes. Lips swollen fat from the assault delivered to your mouth, and a body you can only squeeze your eyes shut tightly to imagine on top of you while your husband sloppily thrusts and cums too fast.
“Want you.. want you to fuck me.” You drawl, ready to wail as you clutch at his waist. The dips of muscle melting beneath your palms. “Please.. fuck me like I deserve.”
Johnny’s nearly mortified by how red the engorged head of his length looks, stroking up the base as if he needs any help to fully harden, aching between his thighs where his balls sit heavy; dying to release load after load inside of you.
“I know, pretty baby.” Johnny has to take a deep breath, pushing at the back of one of your thighs to swipe between your creamy coated folds, biting down on the tip of his tongue as you tremble in his hold and let out a wet pleading sob to get fucked.
He struggles to slide inside despite how wet you are, mentally and physically cursing, sucking at the drool ready to pour from the corners of his lips. He has to shut his eyes to not cum already, the image of your perfect pussy taking his cock finally feels overwhelming, it’s too much, a culmination of his every thought since the moment he saw you sat on his board with your thighs spread open. He knew he had to have you.
“Fuck, you feel so perfect.” Johnny hisses when he bottoms out, his heavy sack smacking at your rim as he lodges himself in place. Head swirling as you clench up around him and let out the prettiest moans he’s ever heard.
“Big… s’big..” more tears brim your eyes, tugging your lip between your teeth to not wail as a batch of salty wetness rolls down past your lips and pools at your neck.
“Just for you.” Johnny tries out an experimental roll of his hips, stomach sucking in rapid convulsions from how deep inside of you he’s reaching. Unable to even bring himself to take in the hint of bulge protruding on your mound. “Need to get fucked stupid so bad, don’t you sweetheart?”
He can’t wait anymore, patience out the window as he draws back to the tip and rams forward, earning an ear shattering shout from the confines of your chest. He grips onto your thigh, hoisting it around his hip for better leverage as his other hand stays splayed on the back of your knee, pushing your flexibility to its limits with each thrust.
Johnny can see your breasts rise and fall between labored breaths, the rapid motion forcing your tits to bounce delectably, leaving his mouth no choice but to capture your nipple between his teeth and bite.
The drag of his cock feels heavy, near painful from after already cumming. It hurts in a good way, in a way you’d begun to forget. Lost to the torturous slam of his cock spacing out your insides, as if to claim your cunt for no one other than himself.
“Not gonna last much longer,” Johnny says between raspy short breaths. Pistoning into you roughly, nearly inaudible above the booming sound of skin slapping skin. “You’re just too fucking good.”
“You.. you have to..” struggling to breathe too, you can hardly form your thoughts coherently, fucked into another dimension as Johnny keeps going. Cock plunging in and out of you faster, faster than your husband’s ever been capable of.
“No.” He grits, planting his palm against the back of your knee to keep you held in place; not that you have anywhere to go.
“Johnny.. have to..” You start to say again, another orgasm threatening to silence you when he slams in at another angle. Shocking you with the press of two fingers on your clit, working the stiff little bundle of nerves expertly. The relentless pace he fucks into you with never faltering, hip bones smack against your pelvis with a sharp clap. “P-pull out.. can’t.”
“No.” Johnny repeats, sinking in impossibly deep. Delirious as you think the length of his size reaches what feels like the back of your throat. The constant reminder that you haven’t been fucked this good in years echoes at the back of your mind. Perhaps you’d never been fucked this good, definitely not since before the days you found yourself sat across from Jeong Jihoon interviewing to be his secretary fresh out of university. The thought that he’d end up asking you to marry him after a year of fooling around never once crossed your mind. The thought that you’d crave for another man to disrespect you in your happy home, cheat on the man you allegedly love; the man you married for an easy life, never once had occurred to you.
“You’re mine now, don’t fucking tell me what to do.” Johnny rages, bending closer to hover his face above yours. “You make your husband pull out?”
Johnny jaw locks, flexing at the sides where his cheeks start to hollow. His muscles tight and corded from staving off the release he so desperately wants to fill you with, release he wants to keep you full of, watch it swallowed up ensuring you have a piece of him inside of you forever.
“Johnny..” You whimper, pushing a palm against his chest as fresh tears line the rims of your eyes. “S’too much.. can’t anymore.”
“Liar.” Johnny can feel moisture itching at the backs of his eyes, ready to tear up himself from the way your tits bounce with every brutal jostle of your bodies colliding together. “What happened to handling big things, huh?”
A wash of pride puffs out his chest, dipping at his waist as he drives every inch of his length inside, the stretch hurting more now as he barrels another orgasm out of you, much weak this time, still gushing enough clear liquid out to drip down past his balls.
“Fuck, you’re such a mess for me.” Johnny can feel his long overdue orgasm building to its breaking point. Choking on his saliva as he focuses on where the two of you connect, cock drenched with the glisten of your never ending release. “Look so pretty when you’re getting fucking ruined.”
“Joh-johnn—“ You try to speak, digging your nails into his chest, may as well be babbling in another language for all he cares. “Too big for me, too m-much.. please..”
His hips finally come to a stand still, groaning from the depths of his chest in a guttural tone. Johnny should be ashamed of the whined shout that breaks out of him, fucking into you with three rapid fire thrusts that send him over the edge. Pushed hard enough to lurch him forward, boneless as he plants on top of you and punches the air from your chest with his, the hold on your thighs weakened, flopping your legs around his sides numbly as his cock throbs against your insides. The tip of it painting your cervix with spurt after spurt of thick white ropes.
Johnny’s not sure he’s ever cum this hard before, the sensation rattles up his spine, buried balls deep as he trembles and falls apart. The amount of release is too much, pouring out around his thick size to drip it’s way down between his inner thighs; sticky and hot where it glues his skin together with each slight circle of his hips. “Fuckfuckfuck..”
Between his eyelashes fluttering, Johnny watches your chest heave, mind continuing to spiral from your release. He thinks you’re the prettiest woman he’s ever seen, especially fucked full of him, euphorically blissed out at his hands. He knew you’d be even prettier after ruining you, stripping you down to submit for him.
Mine. Should be mine. Fucked like you’re all mine.
Drawing back from between your legs as slowly as possible, Johnny admires how wrecked your core appears, twitching around his size as each inch glides free. It’d be a shame to waste all this cum, if not for how debauched and pretty your cunt looked like this. Covered in release that you took out of him. Mine. Mine. All mine.
“So.. Mrs. Jeong..” Johnny falls to your side, huffing as he lands.
“Ugh.” Smacking his chest, you roll your eyes. “Stop calling me that.”
Johnny licks up your neck, biting down on your jaw until you let out a pained squeak. “I’ll have to come back next summer, don’t you think?”
His pouty lips litter kisses higher, tugging your earlobe between his teeth with a light teasing bite. “Maybe even Christmas, Thanksgiving? Hmm, I know how busy your husband can get.”
“What would my husband think? Suddenly his son's friend has decided to hang around every holiday?”
“Best friend, you know Mr. Jeong says I'm always welcome. A polite and intelligent young man such as myself.” Johnny informs, lapping at your ear between words. “He really thinks of me as his own son.”
“My husband’s a very cunning man..” You retort, twisting your neck to face him. “He managed to make me his, you know.”
Johnny’s eyes flicker over your face, the regular pace your chest rises and falls at again, thumbing at your bottom lip. “He’s smart.”
“Really smart..”
“I’m smarter.” Johnny says confidently, pushing the tip of his thumb past your lips. “And I always get what I want.”
Always get what’s mine.
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soobluv · 8 months
Text
honeymoon avenue
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pairing; jaehyun x (f) reader
genre/warnings; smut, a pinch of angst, fluff, stuck in an elevator with your ex-fiancé, exes to lovers, unprotected sex, oral (f receiving), very fast-paced story
summary; A year ago, wedding bells were ringing and you were screaming, “Yes!” at the top of your lungs. Last Christmas, you were supposed to be wed under a mistletoe. This Christmas, company finds you in the form of your ex-fiancé that broke off your engagement after you’re both inconveniently trapped in an elevator.
wc; 12.3k (complete opposite of a slow burn)
playlist; honeymoon avenue by ariana grande, my everything by ariana grande, undo (back to my heart) by tinashe, ice queen by baekhyun
a/n; ‘tis the season! decided to try something a little new. this was definitely a challenge for me, but it was fun regardless. merry christmas! see this as a little gift from me <3 as always, feedback is appreciated!
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Last year around this time, you had arranged to be wed. You recalled restlessly counting down the days until your lover would meet his lips to yours in front of all of your friends and family once granted the greenlight to kiss the bride.
You had everything planned down to a “T.” The banquet hall would be emerald and burgundy. There would be an arch above you where a mistletoe would hang. The wedding cake would have Jaehyun’s surname. And everyone’s attire would be formal, though seasonal.
It was supposed to be the best day of your life.
A winter wonderland wedding seemed like an apt choice for you. You were so, so cold, but there was still an air of warmth to you. Now, your heart was unthawed.
This Christmas - much like the last - you would be alone.
It stung knowing you would be lonely for the second Christmas in a row and there was nobody at fault but yourself. You were miffed at your own behavior, but gave yourself no time to dwell on the past, doing what you knew how to do best - work until your brain went numb.
There was plenty on the roster today. A corporate meeting, phone calls to answer, and reports that wouldn’t type themselves. And that was to be brief. Speaking of which, you needed to brief employees about new protocols.
“Come on, come on, come on,” you chanted impatiently to yourself, tapping your foot against the floor. The elevators in your apartment were running later than usual today.
You heaved a breath of relief when the doors chimed open. Out went a group of people and in went you. Maneuvering your body to press the first floor button, you came to a halt when you noticed it was already selected and gleaming.
That was when you finally noticed the man in the elevator - the only other person there with you - glancing down at his phone. You leaned against the railing and shifted your attention to the door nonchalantly, writing off the stranger as the very least of your concerns. Getting to work on time was paramount.
As it always was.
Morning traffic is going to be brutal, you thought with a grimace. Every thought in your head revolved around work and how long it would take you to get there.
It would seem you would have no time for your morning coffee run. You remembered those times when you’d stay the night at Jaehyun’s, waking to a hot cup of coffee that he’d made just the way you liked it waiting for you.
Four words would permanently be etched into your memory. Have a good life.
With some disdain, you bade the thought retreat. Jaehyun was no longer a part of your life and you doubted he would want to be ever again. Not that you blamed him. It was your punishment alone.
The elevator gave a jolt and you gripped the elevator for dear life, screeching, “What the…?”
The floor indicator donned the number one in a big, bold shade of red, though ironically, the door gave not an inch. Which was odd. You pressed the button that ostensibly opened the door in these types of situations, but to no avail.
“Are we stuck?”
Your head snapped behind you and you nearly broke into a cold sweat when you noticed that the man lone in the elevator with you was no other than your ex-fiancé.
Living in the same apartment complex as the man you were once fated to marry was no easy feat, but the multiple years of seeing each other made it simpler to avoid him. For one, you knew one another’s routines and thus what time to be out the door either before or after the other.
That said, you had seen Jaehyun a couple of weeks ago, but the last time you’d spoken was when he returned all of your things from his apartment. Have a good life. Those were the last words he’d exchanged with you.
That had been approximately a year ago, a couple of weeks before Christmas and the day you were supposed to say, “I do.”
“Appears that way,” you replied, clearing your throat.
Jaehyun had his phone in his pockets now. You held your breath as you gave him a once-over. He was still handsome as ever, though that was to be expected. As far as you were concerned, he looked more or less the same as the last time you’d spoken, only his hair was a little lengthier. He still looked rather displeased to see you.
And he was wearing a suit. Which meant he was most likely also trying to go to work.
You frowned. Now you were thinking about Jaehyun in suits. Needless to say, that was a sore spot.
A voice came over a speaker and you recognized it as Yangyang’s, one of the apartment staff. He spoke like he was reading from a textbook, “Passengers, do not be alarmed. Our technical team will be arriving shortly to repair the service. We apologize for the inconvenience.”
You mused aloud, “Can he hear us?”
“Loud and clear,” Yangyang chirped.
“How long will it be before someone can help us?” you asked, never keen on being late.
“I can’t say, ma’am. Anywhere from fifteen minutes and a couple of hours.”
You interjected to screech, “A couple of hours?”
Jaehyun clamped a soothing palm on your shoulder to calm you down. It was almost embarrassing how effortlessly his touch could ease you even a year after he broke off your engagement.
Yangyang explained in his usual exuberant tone, “The weather and usual early traffic may cause a delay, ma’am. They will be arriving as swiftly as possible and servicing is already underway by our maintenance staff.”
“Thank you, Yangyang,” Jaehyun said, smoothing his palm down your back.
“Have a nice day, Mr. Jung. You too, ma’am.”
You heaved a breath. “So, it looks like we’re going to be here a while.”
“Hopefully not that long,” Jaehyun said, recouping his hand.
Though it stung, you understood. It went without saying that being trapped in an elevator with the ex that abandoned him was not part of today’s plan. He may have called off the engagement, but you were the one that left him high and dry.
You broke his heart. Not only that, you stole his future. Everything he ever dreamed of, a wife and children, was thrown out the window because of your selfishness.
Jaehyun discerned you would both be stuck together for a while and rather than sit in awkward silence, he asked, “How’s life?”
Darn him. No matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t get the last words he had said to you out of your head. Have a good life.
The breakup was bitter and stone-cold. Jaehyun made a couple of things unmistakably clear with those four words alone. For one, he was cutting you out of his life for good. And he no longer desired to be imprisoned within yours, being punished for no good reason at all.
And you never fought him - never fought to win him over. Maybe because you had already known for some time that your engagement was in danger. It was beyond reclaim. Irrevocably damaged.
Never one to appear weak, you said, “Good. Really good. I was promoted to secretary.”
Jaehyun perked up. You got what you wanted. But did I deserve to be the sacrifice, baby? Was it worth it?
“Still a workaholic, I see.”
You frowned. “Old habits die hard. How have you been?”
“I can’t complain,” Jaehyun said. “I wasn’t promoted or anything, but everything’s been pretty good over here.”
You had no doubts. Jaehyun was an editor and his line of work gave him plenty of leeway. For the most part, he worked from home, though there were instances where he came into the workplace. At least, when you last spoke, that is.
“That’s amazing. I’m happy for you,” you said, willing yourself to smile. A part of you was strangely bitter. It didn’t want to see him happy without you.
Though you no longer followed each other, Jaehyun still popped up on your Instagram homepage every now and then. And perhaps you’d searched his page more times than you cared to admit. Everything about his page was achingly sentimental and reminiscent of your past together.
Pictures of him at museums or bridges at nighttime or parks with his hair whipping through the breeze. Once upon a time, you were the one taking those pictures of him. Now, you wondered who was behind the camera, living the life you’d carelessly given away.
“Thanks,” was all he willed himself to reply.
Your eyes instinctively fell to your watch and your head fell back as you groaned, “God, I’m going to be late for work.”
Jaehyun fought a snort. “You and me both. At least there’s still some good news.”
“Like what?”
“It’s warm in here,” Jaehyun commented lightheartedly.
You chuckled. What a way to relieve the tension. Though Jaehyun never failed to make you laugh with ease. Except for when you broke up. Nothing was funny then.
Those weeks leading to the breakup may have been worse than the day it actually happened altogether. The feeling of knowing something was inevitably bound to happen yet being unable to prevent it was arguably worse than the emptiness you felt when Jaehyun announced he no longer wanted anything to do with you.
Emptiness numbed you to the pain for a couple of days. You couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep. All you could feel was a bitter, nipping cold enveloping you, eventually splitting you right down the middle.
Jaehyun subtly eyed you as you typed a message to your boss, warning him that you may have been late for work and telling him to proceed without you. Maybe some things never changed. You were still gorgeous, that was for sure. But you were also still married to your work. Ultimately, that would always prove to be your downfall.
It seemed like only yesterday you were his. He was planning to meet you at the altar, itching to sweep you into his arms and kiss you the moment you were pronounced husband and wife.
You had always been a workaholic. At one point, Jaehyun loved it about you. He never thought your relationship would be foredoomed because of it. Devoted and loyal were two terms that described you strongly.
Although, maybe you had been too devoted to the wrong thing.
Your broken engagement was a prime example of what happened when you applied too much pressure to one thing and neglected the other. It was the wretched result of not finding balance.
Everything you ever hoped and dreamed of flashed before your eyes. Once upon a time, you were both making plans to move into a house together. You wanted a pet. And you were thinking about children.
Now, you were all alone. And you had never felt colder.
For some reason, the absurdity of your predicament hit you merely moments after you sent the text message. It just didn’t seem probable to be trapped in an elevator with your ex-fiancé. Much less alone. You threw your head back and whined, “I mean, what are the odds.”
Jaehyun pitched you a confused glance.
You winded a hand through your hair and elaborated, “Us being stuck in the exact same elevator and forcing ourselves to pretend we don’t mind. If I remember correctly, you had no intention of hearing from me again.”
“I think we should spare each other the awkwardness,” Jaehyun replied, donning an impassive expression. And tone.
You bit your lip. Maybe you shouldn’t have said anything. Jaehyun being kind to you should not have been mistaken and was probably more or less because he wanted to avoid as much tension as possible - not because he didn’t hate you.
Jaehyun spoke up again to ask, “How long have we been here?”
You glanced at your phone and read the time. “About fifteen minutes, I guess.”
“So, we’re going to be here for a couple of hours,” Jaehyun quipped, trying to lighten the mood the best way he knew how.
You winced, hoping there was an in between. “Not like I had anything else to do,” you mumbled.
Jaehyun himself wasn’t exactly bummed about missing a day, or at least a couple of hours. Though this was you. He used to joke that hell would freeze over the moment you decided to actually take a day off. “They will survive without you for a while,” he comforted softly.
You scoffed. You were carrying that company on your back. “I’m afraid that’s where you’re wrong. The whole building will be in flames if I’m not there within an hour tops.”
“I’m sure,” Jaehyun scoffed. “I’ve never seen anyone work as hard as you do.”
I have, you thought wistfully. Jaehyun fought harder for your relationship than you ever tried, but enough was enough. He was at his limit, giving more than he was receiving and he couldn’t let you take advantage of him anymore.
Though it was intended to be a compliment, for whatever reason, your heartache was only amplified. You swiftly changed the subject. “So, what are your plans for the holidays?”
He shrugged. “Nothing special. I’m going to spend some time with my family.”
That caught your attention. “You haven’t been seeing anyone?”
Jaehyun only shook his head. He was afraid of opening his mouth and saying something that would make shit awkward again. For all he knew, you two would both be stuck together for potentially the next couple of hours and he did not want to spend it in suffocating silence.
Unfortunately, Jaehyun couldn’t deny that after your engagement was broken off, finding other girls had been hard. They came a dime a dozen, but none of them remained. Even after you were long gone, bits of you lingered, scattered everywhere across his life.
Jaehyun went to bed and thought of nights spent cuddling you to sleep. He visited his favorite cafe and thought of your go-to order. Jaehyun hooked up with other girls and thought of how beautiful you looked writhing underneath him, your voice calling out his name in a cry, dripping with sweet honey.
Though you were forever gone, the memories of you still haunted him everyday. For so long, he had been convinced he was made for you. You were the only woman he ever wanted.
And he couldn’t have you.
Jaehyun commanded the thoughts to go away. You stopped being his long before the breakup. “You?”
“Oh, you know. With my line of work, I just don’t have the time,” you replied bashfully.
That Jaehyun knew all too well. Just a little.
He bobbed his head. “Sounds like you.”
Guilt suddenly plagued your chest. Every second beside him you were reminded of the fact that you were the one who ruined a beautiful thing. You had gotten what you strived for, though in hindsight, the lengths you went to get it were brutal and cold-hearted.
You had sacrificed so much of yourself to get to where you were. And now that you were standing at the top, you could finally see the collateral damage you’d inflicted at the bottom.
There was only a good couple of feet to separate you and Jaehyun. And you absolutely loathed it. There was more distance between you when he uttered those four words permanently etched into your memory, before turning and heading out of your front door.
Jaehyun fancied it no more than you did. Walking away had been hard. He looked back, but never stopped. A year ago, he was convinced that he would have moved on by now. But no matter how far apart you were, his heart was still one of your captives. Not only did he leave a piece of it with you, but the whole damn thing.
He wanted it back. Damn it, he wanted you back. He wanted back every piece of himself he gave you, but above all else, he wanted back what you had. To go back to the way everything was the day he got down on one knee and asked for permission to hold your heart forever.
He remembered it like it was yesterday. Earlier that spring, he took you to a bridge. Not only was it one of your favorite spots in the city, but it was where you both first said I love you.
Maybe that was why. Now, you couldn’t bring yourself to visit it anymore. The memories were too painful.
Just like the first time he took you there, night had fallen. The bridge overlooked a river, moonlight cast into the water. Purple lights made the trail glimmer. But the moon was a little fuller, the air a little cooler.
Not that either of you minded. To be with you, he was content.
You were beaming. Even before he proposed. None of you could stop thinking about the night you first said that you loved each other. But when Jaehyun asked you to marry him underneath the moonlight, you were over the moon.
You were chanting, “Yes!” Jaehyun had to sweep you into his arms and meet his lips to yours to cut you off. A very long time ago, the memory made him smile. Now, it made his heart swell with agony.
His eyes were sad. And understandably a little angry. Even after all these years, you could still read him clear as day. You wondered if he could read you, too. You whispered, “I’m sorry.”
Jaehyun heaved a deep breath. An apology wouldn’t fix his broken heart and saying you were sorry wouldn’t undo the heartache you inflicted on him. It wasn’t okay. He hated you for leaving him lonely. For choosing your job over a future together. He would never forgive you for it. “I never wanted much. I never wanted all of your time. Only a little was all I was asking for.”
“I don’t want to go there with you, Jaehyun,” you said, exhaling a sigh of your own.
All Jaehyun did was shake his head and murmur under his breath, “Classic.”
A part of you bristled. Why Jaehyun always wanted to hash things out with you was a mystery. Fighting was draining and you never had the energy. A long day of work left you with only enough strength to take a long hot shower before crawling into bed.
Not Jaehyun. He would never understand. The pressure to succeed, the struggle to unlearn the definition of success you were taught even before your adolescence.
A year ago, everything was falling apart in your relationship. You were arguing more, spending time together less. Jaehyun was trying to salvage what was left. In his mind, fighting with you was better than not speaking to you at all.
Most of your memories with him were unforgettable, but when they were bad, they were excruciating to think of. You could still remember the last argument before the uncoupling.
December was still fresh and the air was frigid, numbing your senses until you stepped into your warm apartment. Jaehyun was waiting for you there. A smile tugged your lips when you hung your coat and excitedly bounced into the kitchen, smelling hot chocolate.
“Baby, I’m home,” you sang radiantly. At one point, it used to be your favorite line to say. A lifetime of obsessing over movie cliches was to blame.
Jaehyun locked eyes with you and simpered. You looked nothing less than exhausted, though he found it cute on you. “Hey, my love. How was your day?”
You instantly groaned, “I’d rather not talk about it. Or think about it, for that matter.”
“Will a cup of hot cocoa make it better?”
You propped yourself on the island and flirted, “Made by Barista Jaehyun himself? Of course.”
Jaehyun handed you a mug and you accepted it graciously, muttering, “thank you.” He was the sweetest thing you could ask for. Even sweeter than the hot cocoa warming your palms.
That was how the arguments always began. They were sweet, innocent moments - until they weren’t.
Your lover dipped behind the island and returned with a mug of his own, still steaming with freshly hot cocoa. You thought absolutely nothing of it. Not until he opened his mouth. “How does a date night on Friday sound?”
You frowned. “This Friday?”
“Well, yeah,” Jaehyun said, rubbing his nape. “It’s been a while, you know. Since we’ve gone out on a date.”
That was true. Jaehyun always had some extra time to spare. He wanted to spoil and indulge you at every given chance. But you were always busy. Even when you were off the clock, you were still on the clock. And more often than not, you brought work back home with you.
“I’m so busy and so tired, Jay,” you whispered gently. God knew you wanted to, but you didn’t have the time and much less the energy.
“I get that,” Jaehyun started. “But can’t you take even a day off?”
“I’m aiming for a promotion, Jaehyun. I have to prove myself. My boss has been dangling this shit in our faces for the past few months. I can’t let an opportunity like that slip away.”
Jaehyun was rapidly getting frustrated and reminded, “You do realize we’re getting married in a few weeks, right?”
Your eyes flickered. “Yes, I do. And I plan to be there.”
“At the rate you’re going, I wouldn’t be surprised if you stood me up.”
Your heart sank. “How can you say that?”
“How couldn’t I?” Jaehyun snapped, evidently pained. “We’ve been engaged for the past nine months, but it doesn’t feel like I’m about to get married. It feels like I’m losing you because you’re too absorbed in your goddamn job.”
“Are you asking me to choose you over my job?” you asked, standing to your feet. This entire argument was an affront to your pride.
“No. There is no point in giving you an ultimatum when I already know that you will choose your job every time without hesitation - you already do. I’m asking you to make room for me, but I can’t force you to do anything you don’t want to.”
You countered, “I do want you.”
“Do you?” Jaehyun snapped, skeptical. “You can’t even go on a date with me. You want a promotion more than anything else.”
You sighed, “I don’t want to fight, Jay.”
“I know that. You don’t want to fight for anything,” Jaehyun said bitterly. “You would rather watch us burn to ash than fight for us.”
Anger plagued you and you were prepared to hurl something back, but he didn’t give you the chance.
Jaehyun added, “I don’t like the person this job has made you become. I want the woman I proposed to back, and I’m scared she’s not there anymore.”
Your words were cold as ice, “Then, leave.”
And the rest was history.
There was nothing you could say when Jaehyun left you, no fight for you to give. It was you that sent him away. It was you that made him leave. He had only given you what you asked for.
Old habits died hard. The one-year anniversary of both the breakup and the day you were supposed to be married was rapidly approaching and to distract yourself from the pain, you were burying yourself in work. You didn’t want to think about Jaehyun and what you almost had. Not even for a second. And then, today came and ruined everything.
Now, you were being forced to confront the past.
Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry. You’re stronger than this. God, you wanted to be anywhere but here right now. Tears burned your eyes, but you would never let them fall. Not with Jaehyun there. You didn’t want him to see the mess he’d left of you - how miserable you were without him.
You wanted to mend everything back together, but it was too late. Everything was irreparably broken. You had the opportunity to patch things up, and you passed it up. No more time could be wasted crying for the moon.
And still, somewhere deep inside, you knew Jaehyun would steal it for you.
Jaehyun saw your eyes and softened a little. Damn it, they still made him weak. Your tears were made of diamonds and they were priceless. Jaehyun said, “My mother still talks about you, you know. She asks me when we’re going to get back together.”
Your eyes flickered. “That’s… interesting,” you lied. “I thought she would hate me. And be more protective of her baby.” Because I broke your heart.
“You know my mother always loved you,” Jaehyun chuckled fondly. “I don’t think anyone believed in us more than her - not even ourselves.”
Somebody had to, you thought weakly. Though Jachyun was a romantic to his core, even he had to eventually throw in the towel.
Everyone thought you and Jaehyun would be the perfect match. Each of your families were anticipating a beautiful wintry nuptial ceremony on Christmas day. And when news of the uncoupling broke loose, your people weren't exactly shocked, but they were heavily disappointed.
You were clearly the problem. Until you learned how to balance, you would never be happy in love.
Up until now, you were beginning to become content with that fate.
Though now, your heart was greedy.
Jaehyun’s mother crossed your mind. She was the epitome of an angel and the fact that she still wanted you in her son’s life after all the pain you caused him was deafening. But what about what Jaehyun wanted? Does he even still love me?
Every moment spent with his mother had been wonderful. She spoke fondly of him and vice versa and supported him unconditionally. It was true motherly love and it made your chest stiffen, taut with envy. Ever since you were a kid, you only knew pressure. Your parents wanted you to have the life they didn’t when they were your age, but they were very strict in how they went about it.
Tough love was all you received. They didn’t help you through trying times. You were expected to suck it up. You were taught that tears were a sign of vulnerability and vulnerability was weakness.
You fought them back with everything you had and said, “How does she know I wouldn’t mess things up again?”
“I don’t know,” Jaehyun told you, not disputing the fact that you had essentially destroyed everything. It stung, but it was the truth. “She says ‘a mother knows best.’”
Jaehyun watched you struggle to hold yourself together. You were good at pretending to be okay and smiling through your pain, but he was even better at seeing through you. He saw you through a lens that only a man who loved you with his whole mind, body, and soul for years could see. He saw all your weaknesses, all your flaws. But he never judged and he saw something else in them, too. What made you beautiful.
“But what do you want?” It was killing you. For as long as you stood there, you needed to know.
“I wanted you,” Jaehyun replied honestly. “But you wouldn’t let me have you.”
You shook your head. “You had me. Every piece of me - it belonged to you.”
“That’s not how I remember it,” Jaehyun muttered. “You had my heart, but your work had yours.”
“That’s not true.”
Jaehyun was firm. “It is and you know it.”
“I loved you,” you told him softly.
“Well, you sure had a funny way of showing it.”
You gripped the railing to anchor yourself. It didn’t move, but you could feel yourself slipping into weakness. “I don’t know how to stop, Jaehyun. I think it’s a part of me now. It’s hard to stop doing something you’ve done your whole life.”
I don’t like the person this job has made you become. I want the woman I proposed to back, and I’m scared she’s not there anymore.
Maybe he was right. Maybe that woman was long gone.
A cloud of melancholy came over you, pouring over you and Jaehyun. He told you somberly, “I could have helped you if you would have let me in. But you were pushing me away.”
“I know,” you said, meeting his dark eyes. “But I wish I would have known back then. I never realized I was breaking us apart. Not until it was too late. I thought I was doing what was best…”
Jaehyun finished darkly, “You were doing what was best for yourself. Not for us.”
You opened your mouth to defend yourself, but quickly accepted he was right and instead said, “I was wrong. I was selfish. I wasn’t considering how any of it made you feel and that’s a decision I have to live with now.”
“Do you regret it?” I need to know if my broken heart was worthwhile.
Your eyes burned. “Every day of my life.”
“Why?” Jaehyun questioned, voice barely above a whisper. “You got the promotion. Isn’t that what you wanted?”
“I thought it was,” you muttered. Your chest was swelling with self-disgust and agony and anger. Not at Jaehyun, but at yourself. “But when I lost you, I realized that everything I needed was already right there. Until it wasn’t.”
Jaehyun was quiet but pensive. As if he was trying to trace exactly where everything started going wrong.
Even in school, you were devoted. You were the valedictorian of your class. Jaehyun used to steal you away to kiss you behind the bleachers. But you would always be there for his basketball games, cheering him on better than any cheerleader.
High school sweethearts, he thought wistfully. In high school, you won prom king and queen. Everyone thought you would last forever. That only God himself could part you.
How beautiful it was to be young, dumb, and in love.
Jaehyun knew your issues stemmed from your childhood. When you were still in high school, sometimes you had to blow him off to study. He remembered you canceling hangouts because your parents refused to let you out of their house until you studied until you were cross-eyed. Their house, their rules, was the policy.
But he also remembered those nights when he would hear a knock on his bedroom window and smile when he saw you beaming at him through the glass. One December night, you were crazy enough to sneak out during the nipping cold, shivering and rubbing your arms outside his window.
Though it was many years ago, Jaehyun remembered that night clearly. His mother made you hot cocoa and promised not to tattle. She always had a soft spot for you and held some disdain for your parents. She claimed they worked you too hard.
Everything was so perfect back then. He knew what changed, but he couldn’t understand why. You used to make time for him whenever you could. As the pressures of adulthood caught up to you, it all came to a slow, brutal end.
But why?
Then, leave. Those were the two words he would never forget. They were powerful than the I love you’s - more powerful than the I miss you’s. Your clipped, icy tone, would maybe someday be forgiven, but never forgotten.
A stubborn wound was forevermore slashed on his heart waiting for you to heal it.
You were breaking. Every part of you was crashing down. A familiar ache split your heart right down the middle. “I’ll never forgive myself for throwing away the most beautiful thing that has ever happened to me. I didn’t know what I had until it was gone and I can’t tell you enough how sorry I am.”
Your ex-lover was mawkishly nostalgic and sentimental and never said he forgave you, for that would take a while longer, but told you, “I knew I was the second priority in your life after your career. And I was okay with that. Then, it started to feel like I had no place in it at all. I was at the end of my tether, a stranger to the woman I was supposed to marry, and I knew we couldn’t carry on like that, my love.”
My love. That was what Jaehyun always used to call you. Your eyes flickered. “Do you still…?”
“I don’t think I’ll ever completely get over you,” Jaehyun admitted forlornly.
That was when the dam broke. Jaehyun had dismantled you piece by piece and left you vulnerable. You had no strength to fight back the tears rolling down your cheeks.
Jaehyun’s arms, as they always were, were wide open. He pulled you into his warm embrace and let you sob into his chest, smoothing his hand down your back and protecting you from the sharp coldness of your own pain. You were beleaguered to remember the last time you let yourself cry. You let everything pile up until the water pressure became too much.
“Shh. It’s okay. Let it out,” Jaehyun crooned, gently stroking your hair. “You’re not weak.”
There was an ache resurfacing in your body and it was purely unshakable. Your heart was whole, but hollow. Only its pleas to be back with Jaehyun - where it belonged - rang out in the icebound, empty void.
Being in Jaehyun’s arms only made you nostalgic and the pain hit you harder. You thought regretfully of those moments in the past when he would hold you for all to see. And you remembered going to bed and always knowing he was still there, because you would feel his arms still tight around you and smile. Like he wanted to protect you, even while asleep.
You sobbed, “I don’t deserve you.”
Jaehyun gently pushed you back only a little and looked you in your eyes. He wiped your cheeks with his thumb and told you calmly, “You made a mistake. We all do.”
The gesture made you soft and weak. Goddamn it, you were so weak for him. Like your knees would give in any moment now.
“Not like the one I made, though.”
“That’s true,” Jaehyun said. “But do you regret it?”
Your voice wavered, “More than anything.”
“Then, I forgive you.”
You shook your head, not knowing how to accept that. You didn’t deserve forgiveness. You didn’t deserve understanding. But that was the kind of person Jaehyun was.
He deserves someone better than me, you thought somberly. But you wouldn’t know what you would do with yourself if he found that someone.
“You should hate me,” you said softly, voice cracking. “I broke your heart. I broke us.”
Jaehyun shook his head. “You know what my mother always says?”
“It doesn’t only matter if you break something, but if you’re willing to put it back together,” you said, smiling fondly at the memory of his mother. She always treated you like you were her own.
Jaehyun nodded and asked, “Are you willing to put us back together again?”
You mulled it over. There was no doubt that you were willing. Back then, you were too in your head to notice reality. Now, you were blindsided by pain and regret and inclined to do anything to make it stop. “What if I mess up again?”
“Relationships aren’t perfect. People fuck up and people make mistakes. You’re only human,” Jaehyun told you frankly. “I’ll be there to help you clean it up. But don’t let me pull all the weight. We both have to fight together.”
“Okay.” You knew what you wanted now. It wasn’t that job. It wasn’t a promotion. It was the man that had spent half his life loving you, and would still love you for the other half. “I’m willing.”
Jaehyun smiled. A part of him couldn’t fathom how this was happening. The hole in his heart was steadily being sealed. He pulled you back flush against his chest.
The tension in the air seemed to alleviate then. You could finally breathe again. Being in a tight space with the love of your life didn’t feel suffocating anymore, but closer to relief.
You were talking freely again. You missed just being able to have a conversation with Jaehyun, recalling those times when you would discuss anything under the sun. Long nights of talking the moon away knowing full well you had work in the morning hit you. With Jaehyun, the small talk was skipped. You could discuss anything and everything.
There was no worry, no fear. Sometimes, there would be tension, but never the unpleasant kind. Only moments ago, those times seemed like merely a distant memory. Now, there was hope that you had Jaehyun back.
In his arms, you realized that was where you belonged. It was your safe haven in a world filled with danger. Your secrets were safe with Jaehyun and you were free to be vulnerable, because you knew he would never betray you. No matter what happened between you both, whether you were angry or in love, you knew whatever you told each other would forever remain under lock and key.
“Do you remember the arch?” you asked, wistfully recalling what could’ve been. “I wanted a mistletoe up there. For some reason, I couldn’t shake the thought of kissing you underneath it for the first time as your wife.”
Jaehyun chuckled fondly. “I remember. I also remember you wanted John Stamos to marry us because he was your, and I quote, ‘true first love.’”
You nudged his side. “Hey, I would have also accepted Shemar Moore.”
Goddamn it, now Jaehyun was thinking about kissing you. His eyes fell to your pretty lips, still as enticing as they used to be when you were his. Never had he wanted to kiss you so badly. Like it would heal the wounds caused by missing you.
Can I… can I kiss you?” Jaehyun asked.
You said with no hesitation, “You can do whatever you want to me.”
Now that he had your permission, Jaehyun didn’t waste a second to envelop your lips in his. Only then did you realize how much you missed feeling his lips on yours, how much you craved tasting his tongue in your mouth. You had gone so long without, but ironically, he still felt like home. And making out with him felt right as ever.
Jaehyun kissed you so fiercely that he nearly swept you off balance and caught your hips in his arms. Your fingers threaded through his hair, back against the railing. He kissed you to make up with the wasted times he spent with other people. You kissed him to make up for the wasted times you could have spent with each other. To fill the void and patch each other back up.
He taught you what love was. It was letting each other in instead of freezing each other out. It was building something beautiful together and fighting to protect it instead of letting it all fall apart and into ruins.
Kissing you eased Jaehyun’s heart. His pain was forgotten and he was overwhelmed with his undying love for you. He would never get over you, no matter how hard he tried. A love like the one you had would take more than a lifetime to get over you.
The way you immediately clicked, it was like you knew each other in a past life. Even now, his feelings were unabating. In his next life, it would still be you and only you. Always and forever.
You were so besotted with Jaehyun and the way his lips tasted that neither of you noticed the elevator door opening.
Yangyang cleared his throat. “Um, guys?”
Both of you whipped around, more than a little shocked to see the door open with Yangyang standing in the middle to prevent it from closing on you.
Jaehyun looked at you and asked, “How long have we been in here?”
“Approximately two hours,” Yangyang chirped. “You’re free to go now. By free to go, I mean please exit the lift. As you can see, there’s a bit of a line.”
You looked behind Yangyang and saw a couple of people impatiently waiting to travel upstairs. You lowered your head and flushed. Jaehyun laced his fingers through yours and led you outside of the elevator, smiling like a dumbass. He didn’t care who saw. He couldn’t have been any more happy than he was right now.
“Well, we’re free,” he said once you were both in the clear. Then, he frowned. “But we still have work.”
You winced. “And I wasn’t kidding about the place burning down. I really need to be there. I know how that sounds, but I promise I’ll make it up to you later. Do you trust me?”
“Of course,” Jaehyun said, grabbing your wrist and kissing the back of your hand.
Your heart tugged at the gesture. Why’d he have to be so goddamn perfect?
You got on your toes and pressed a brief kiss to his lips, feeling butterflies swimming in your gut. It seemed they had come to visit again. “I’ll see you later, Jaehyun.”
Jaehyun told you goodbye and watched you leave. It hurt a little to see you go, but he knew you would come back to him. You always did, even if it took a year and unlikely circumstances.
When you were gone, he turned around and grabbed his phone out of his pockets. He had to tell his mother that maybe she knew best after all.
Night fell. Jaehyun still hadn’t heard from you although you should have been off from work hours ago. A part of him was worried, but he still trusted that you wouldn’t give in to your old habits. It was Friday night. Maybe you were resting and would see him tomorrow.
Jaehyun went into his living room and played some music. The atmosphere reminded him of you. Holding you in his arms and spinning you around. Everywhere he went, he could still hear your voice and laughter ringing in his hair, like the ghost of you was haunting him.
He shook his head. You drove him mad. He accepted that he would never forget you, much less the way it felt to love you.
The doorbell rang and he could barely hear it over his music. Jaehyun didn’t pause it, but went to open his door and was pleasantly surprised to see you standing there.
“What are you doing?” Jaehyun asked.
“I told you I would make it up to you,” you said, gesturing to the pair of grocery bags in your arms.
It was Jaehyun’s natural instinct to take them out of your hands, and turning, he said, “Hurry up and come in. It’s cold outside.”
You didn’t need to be told twice and followed him immediately, shutting the door behind yourself. It was warm and cozy inside his apartment, as always. You hung your coat on the rack and glanced around, memories hitting you tenfold, square in the heart. Everywhere your eyes fell, you saw figures of you and Jaehyun.
Dancing in the living room. Movie night marathons on the couch. And racing down the hallway with your lips on the other’s and your hands desperately trying to remove each other’s clothes as you messily stumbled into the bedroom for a long night of loving.
“I see you’ve already set the mood,” you joked when you noticed the music playing, watching him set the groceries on the counter.
Jaehyun beamed. “I wasn’t even expecting company.”
“Sorry for showing up unannounced.” You smiled coyly, approaching the kitchen. “I’ll make it up to you. And no, you can’t help, Chef.”
“Please?”
You grabbed a gigantic wooden spoon and pointed at him. “Sit your ass down.”
“Jesus. Alright, then,” Jaehyun said, lifting his arms defensively. Ever stubborn were you. The reminder roused a chuckle from him. “Have it your way then, bossy.”
“I will.”
Jaehyun shook his head, still cheesing like an idiot. You were still iron-willed. That part of you would never change.
You cooked dinner in Jaehyun’s apron and he laughed at how big it was on you. The memories were overwhelming now. It seemed that no matter where you were or what you were doing, his mind would always find a way to remind him of your presence.
But the memories didn’t have to be bitter or painful anymore. He wanted to try again. He wanted a fresh start, a chance to repaint the canvas and a clean slate. As long as you were both determined to make things work, Jaehyun had faith in you and him.
“Dinner was amazing,” Jaehyun complimented, throwing your dirty dishes in the sink to be remembered later. He stepped back over to the island and trapped you in his arms.
You peered up at him, cheeks warming. “Thank you.”
Looking into your pretty eyes, Jaehyun couldn’t resist the temptation to kiss you anymore. You made a noise of surprise when he met his lips to yours, caught completely off-guard, but you kissed him back. It would be fighting your instincts not to.
You closed your eyes and let Jaehyun guide you, trusting he would never lead you astray. When he kissed you, he melted away your icebound surface and got under your skin, peeling you back layer by layer. You liked kissing Jaehyun. Way too much. Even now, you could still recall the first time you made out, hiding behind the bleachers on campus yet gigging loud enough for all to hear.
When it came to each other, you both were like moths to the dangerous flames of love. Love would always unite you again. You couldn’t resist those pretty, twinkling sparks of fire. And you couldn’t get enough of the burn.
Jaehyun was confused when you pulled away, but looked into your eyes again and saw a kind of sadness twinkle in them. Your voice was weak, “Why don’t you hate me?”
“I couldn’t even if I wanted to, baby,” Jaehyun said, finding your hand and squeezing it firmly. “And believe me, I tried. Even if a part of me did hate you, an even bigger part of me will always love you.”
That was all you needed to hear before you were sucking on his tongue again, wet kissing noises tangled in the sound of old school music.
Then, Jaehyun pressed you into the counter, kissing you even rougher. You were riling him up, moaning into his mouth and that noise would never not do it for him. A different kind of fire came over you when you noticed him very impatiently unbuttoning your blouse.
Same old Jaehyun. At heart, he was still the same as the cute boy you fell in love with. You were pleasantly impressed that kissing you alone still got him up.
You broke the kiss again to ask through jagged breath, “Do you think we’re moving too fast?”
“Probably,” Jaehyun replied. Not that he gave a damn. Unless you did, of course. “Do you wanna stop?”
“Jaehyun, I literally have not had sex in over a year. If you don’t fuck my brains out I think I’ll cry.”
Jaehyun chuckled darkly. “That can be arranged.”
You made a noise of surprise when Jaehyun cautiously scooped you into his sturdy arms and lowered you onto the counter. You made out hotly, his hands continuing to quickly unbutton your blouse and yours pulling his shirt above his head.
The sight of his happy trail and toned abs made your core throb. And your mouth water. Your palms involuntarily slicked over them, feeling nothing but hard skin and muscle.
“See something you like?” Jaehyun asked, grinning in the most annoying way possible.
You swallowed the lump in your throat and said, “Still a gym rat, I see.”
Jaehyun bobbed his head. “Yeah. I still hit the gym with Johnny when we have spare time.”
That you knew. Despite the breakup, you and Jaehyun still had a ton of mutual friends, chiefly from high school. You recalled seeing Johnny post one of his gym visits with Jaehyun not too long ago.
And you also vividly remembered the sight of Jaehyun, donning sweats and a blank tank-top. He drove you absolutely feral. His hair was matted to his forehead with sweat and his biceps were flexed, showing off his muscle. You would always be a sucker for a burly man that could snap you in half if he so pleased.
Jaehyun expertly removed your bra and tossed it somewhere to be forgotten. He wanted to see your breasts bounce while he pounded you into oblivion. Your skirt followed, but Jaehyun slid your panties to your ankles at a agonizingly slow pace, all the while smiling like an idiot as you gave a needy and impatient whimper.
“You’re already so wet,” Jaehyun murmured, drawing an invisible pair of lines on your bare cunt with his fingers. “Did you miss me that much?”
You whimpered, “Please, Jay.”
Hearing you call out his name like that was all it took for Jaehyun to lose all sense of self-restraint and he spread your thighs apart with tenderness, burying himself between them. You let out a sharp cry, throwing your head back. Some of your best orgasms were the ones when Jaehyun ate you out until you physically could no longer take it and begged for him to stop.
Jaehyun targeted your clit immediately, a testament to the fact that he knew your body intimately. Your thighs clamped around the sides of his head, unaccustomed to the pressure.
He merely clasped your thighs in his palms and held them freestanding, undeterred as he continued to lap at you like with the hunger only an untamed beast could have.
“Fuck,” was all you could say, curses dangling from your lips. You had been touch-starved for over a year and the familiarity of Jaehyun’s touch was overwhelming in the best way possible.
Despite the fact Jaehyun handled you gently, with love and tenderness and nothing but, he ate you out like an animal.
Jaehyun longed for the taste of you, arousal gathering on his tongue. He loved unraveling you like this. You could never stay still, much less quiet when he was going down on you. The sight of you, head angled back and moaning his name nearly made him cum in his pants.
Your fingers clamped locks of his hair and Jaehyun groaned, somehow spurred on by the gesture. You were making noises left to right, feeling yourself nearing your peak in record time. A year of no sex factoring in a skilled partner would absolutely do that to you.
Your lover learned to recognize you at the threshold of release a very long time ago and briefly parted from your pussy, substituting his mouth with his fingers as he sang, “Just let go for me, baby. It’s okay.”
It was clear that your body had every intention of obeying him. Naturally, it submitted to Jaehyun, with no fear and no reluctance. He knew it and it knew him.
“Oh my God. Jaehyun,” you moaned, thighs twitching. Not wanting to hurt him, you clamped your nails into the counter, eyes closed as the pressure threatened to consume you from head to toe.
Jaehyun talked you through it, whispering, “Do it for me, baby. Just let go.”
Not too much longer, orgasm seized you, rendering you weak and defenseless. You had no strength in your body to fight it even if you wanted to, weakened by his touch. Your toes clenched and you cried his name, fingernails scraping the island roughly enough to damage both your nails and the countertop.
Jaehyun didn’t stop eating you out until you went rigid, chest undulating. You looked a hot mess, heaving for breath and your lips parted, easing the airflow.
“Are you okay?” Jaehyun asked when he moved from between your legs, fighting off a smirk at the sight of you completely disheveled.
“Not until you fuck me,” you rasped, still needy in spite of still trying to catch your breath.
Jaehyun snickered and tugged his pants down, underwear soon giving chase. You positively gawked when you saw his bare, thick dick. It never failed to make your mouth water. And your body tremble with release.
You kept your nails at your sides as Jaehyun lined his cock up at your entrance, gently easing himself past your sheath-like walls. He still clasped his hands at your thighs, brows crumpling with concentration. You were still so goddamn tight, clamping around him with a grip almost vice-like.
“Jay,” you whimpered, hands clenched into fists.
“Shh,” Jaehyun whispered, moving his mouth to the side of your face. There was a catch in your breath when you noticed his lips brushing against your ear, breath tickling your nape. “Open up for me, baby.”
The sensation of being filled completely made you feel nothing short of relief. There was a wet noise when Jaehyun’s hips smacked against your own, the last thrust followed by one even deeper. You tried your best to take all of him, wanting to please him even if it was the last thing you did.
Jaehyun slipped out of his own trance briefly enough to mention, “I didn’t wear a condom.”
“Just pull out,” you said, in no state of mind to give a damn. You liked the feeling of him fucking you nice and raw.
“We’re definitely a pair of idiots.”
You snickered and found his hand, slipping your fingers through his. “You’re my idiot and I’m your idiot. That’s all that matters.”
Jaehyun smiled into the crook of your neck, eventually clamping his teeth there to conceal a moan at your expense.
He lifted his head and drew back to admire the entire view, watching his cock disappear between your legs over and over again borderline obsessively. There was something about you that he would never get tired of. He liked holding you close and loving you hard.
“You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” Jaehyun exhaled, voice full of sincerity. And raw pleasure.
You were burning up, withering heat blindsiding you. Jaehyun was making short work of you. It felt like love-making rather than plain old fucking, all things considered. Jaehyun’s gentle, steady pace as he whispered sweet little nothings in your ear, old school romance songs faded out in the background all the while.
All you could focus on was Jaehyun. He was all you could hear, all you could feel. You were driven by the feeling of your walls garroting his size, the sounds of the little groans he couldn’t smother into your skin and his affectionate words urging you closer to climax.
“Don’t hold back, baby,” you sighed, tightening your hold around his hand. It was a tiny, sweet gesture. “Please? I wanna hear you.”
Jaehyun obeyed you because there wasn’t a damn thing on this earth he wouldn’t do for you. You owned him and you knew it.
Jaehyun swore when you clamped around his dick even harder. He watched your breasts bounce, your whole body unstill. Even your hands were scrambling, releasing him and now finding purchase in his back. “I love you,” he sighed, kneading your breasts.
“I love you, too,” you moaned, feeling light as ever. He always took you to another dimension whenever you were together, but especially when he was fucking you within an inch of your life.
I love you, too. Jaehyun was beaming. That was the first time he’d heard you say it in over a year and you had no idea how badly he needed to hear it again now.
Jaehyun marked up your neck, leaving a trail of himself like souvenirs for you to remember in his absence. Your pulse thumped rapidly, your heart on the verge of tearing out of your chest, landing into his palms where it belonged. Now, your heartache was - at long last - soothed.
There were no words to aptly describe your affection towards Jaehyun. Your love for him ran to an inexplicably deep extent with seemingly no end. It was all you could think about while he fucked you, how badly you needed him in your life. How the sensations he made you feel were irreplicable and you were content enough to simply be in his arms.
Your lover never lasted very long when fucking you bare and raw and sensing himself approaching climax, Jaehyun brought his fingers to your clit, already swollen from release. A gasp tore from your throat when he fondled with the sensitive bundle of nerves, trying to facilitate an orgasm out of you.
“Jaehyun,” you whined. You reached for his hand, sensitive.
Jaehyun grabbed your hand with his spare one and slipped his fingers through again for you to squeeze. “It’s okay, my love. I want you to cum,” he said gently, biting your sweet spot.
He was making short work of you. Your climax threatened to ensnare you with a force powerful enough to snap you in half. You needed it. More than anything, you needed it.
You hauled your nails over his back, drawing long, red lines across the naked flesh. Jaehyun hissed darkly, pace quickening and coming even harder. You were driving him mad and vice versa. Your body had never been more confused than it was in that moment, barely willing itself to not writhe away but simultaneously matching his thrusts, wanting to build the pleasure yet somehow escape it all at once.
“I’m coming, I’m coming,” you warned in an impassioned chant, choking on your lack of breath. “I’m…”
Your body quivered, release stealing the rest of your words before you could speak them. You found Jaehyun’s hand again, squeezing it for dear life. The orgasm was so heavy you almost collapsed in on yourself and Jaehyun. You were seeing white, burning red, emitting Jaehyun’s name in a sharp cry.
Jaehyun felt you clenching around his cock with climax and immediately withdrew, knowing he would bust a nut inside you if he stayed a second longer. “Open your mouth,” Jaehyun told you, voice husky, thick with lust.
It was almost enough to break you all over again.
You did as instructed, no hesitation required. Jaehyun fitted his cock inside your mouth, moaning at how warm it was. You took him in, wanting to get him off and taste him dripping down your throat.
When he saw you, cheeks hollowed with his rigid cock in your mouth, Jaehyun nearly came then and there. He fucked your mouth, guttural little praises dangling from his lips.
Your thighs clenched tightly, hot sparks still aflame between. He got you riled up effortlessly, hardly ever needing to try. There was something about him that you were naturally attracted to, an unshakable kind of attraction. You couldn’t fathom why you couldn’t escape him, why your body and heart was seized by your lover.
“So good,” Jaehyun grunted, pace accelerating.
Jaehyun fucked your throat until he came, emptying his balls into your mouth at long last. Eagerly, you swallowed as much as you could, an amalgamation of his release and your saliva dribbling down your chin and onto your naked, heaving breasts.
And the sight positively wrecked him.
“Fuck,” you rasped, still registering what the hell had happened.
Jaehyun’s eyes flashed with alarm. “Did I hurt you?”
“No, it’s just that that’s the best sex I’ve had in a while.”
Jaehyun rolled his eyes and quipped, “That’s the only sex you’ve had in a while.”
“Still the best.”
Jaehyun laughed, eyes crinkling. “Round two?”
“God, yes,” you groaned, still feeling unalloyed pleasure burning between your thighs.
Jaehyun scooped your bare body into his arms again and carried you into his room, pressing the gentlest of kisses to your lips and neck all the while.
You smiled to yourself in the morning when you roused, feeling Jaehyun’s arms still wrapped loosely around your waist.
Everything had shifted then. Though you initially had plans of spending the holidays buried in work, you came to find that Jaehyun’s warm embrace was the greatest gift you could have asked for on Christmas day. There was none of the loneliness and dwelling you dreaded, only making brand new memories with the man you loved with your entire heart, mind and soul.
On Christmas day, you visited his mother’s house where his family had gathered, recognized familiar faces that were surprisingly all too glad to see you again.
When Jaehyun’s mother opened the front door, you greeted bashfully, “Hi, Mrs. Jung.”
“I knew we would meet again,” Mrs. Jung said softly, simpering in a self-satisfied manner. “Come in, dear. You’re always welcome in our home.”
You stepped inside the house, Jaehyun following suit once exchanging a silent, understanding glance with his mother. As always, she was right.
As you glanced around, nostalgia hit you tenfold. Everywhere you looked, there were memories of you and Jaehyun. You could see you both running up the stairs excitedly and Mrs. Jung scolding you about horse-playing indoors. When your eyes fell to the kitchen, you saw yourself joining the Jung’s for dinner, sitting directly beside your lover.
Jaehyun leaned into your ear, given that seasonal music was blaring, and said, “I’m going to have a talk with my brother for a second. Be on your best behavior and don’t try to escape out a window. Old habits die hard.”
You rolled your eyes and playfully shoved him. “Go. I’ll be right here,” you said, heart wrenching softly.
Jaehyun snickered and slithered away.
In his place came someone you were very familiar with.
“Nostalgia?”
You whirled around, instantly recognizing the voice as Taeyong’s, one of Jaehyun’s many, many cousins.
“I made a lot of memories here. I’ll never forget any of it,” you replied honestly. “Long time, no see.”
Taeyong bobbed his head in agreement. “Definitely. I was scared that I’d never see you again.”
“Why is that?” Your curiosity was piqued. You never imagined Jaehyun’s family would anticipate meeting you once more. It was the stark opposite of your expectations.
Taeyong leaned closer like he was telling you someone’s deepest, darkest secret, and whispered, “Between you and I, Jaehyun hasn’t been the same since the breakup. Not a happy camper. You were a part of his life for so long that we were all convinced he would never adjust to living one without you again.”
Visioning a morose, heartbroken Jaehyun made you frown. “I did that.”
“You absolutely did. You broke the poor guy’s heart and made him unbearable. He didn’t deserve that. And I didn’t deserve to have to put up with his insufferable ass,” Taeyong scoffed offhandedly, though you knew his words were lighthearted. “But you fixed it.”
“I guess I did that, too,” you exhaled contentedly, turning your head to spot Jaehyun chatting with his brother. That made you beam. Everything had fallen apart, shattered into pieces, but you were both willing to do the work and put them together.
“He’s himself again,” Taeyong said, following your gaze. “Thank you for giving me my favorite cousin back.”
“I should have never taken him away in the first place.”
Taeyong gave you a playful, half-assed attempt at consoling, “Good people do bad things. We all fuck up. Just maybe not as badly as you.”
You nudged his side.
He continued, turning somewhat sober, “He forgives you. But this won’t work out until you also forgive yourself.”
“You’re so young, but so wise,” you whispered, slightly touched.
Taeyong snickered. “It runs in the family,” he said, patting your back before turning away.
You merely stood there, rooted in place. Taeyong had given you something to muse on you. You realized a part of you was still clinging onto guilt, unable to rationalize your own decisions. You were so convinced that you were undeserving of Jaehyun’s love and courtesy that you had forgotten how to move on from your errors.
It would be a process. But a step a day was better than none at all.
You beamed when you noticed Jaehyun approaching you and he returned it, outstretching his hand and asking, “May I steal a dance?”
“Of course,” you said, taking his hand in yours.
Jaehyun brought you from the foyer to the living room where mainly everybody had gathered to dance, spinning you in his arms as holiday music filled the air.
You swept some free strands of hair from his handsome face, admiring the view only a little higher up than you. Even in a room filled to the hilt with people, Jaehyun and Jaehyun alone was all you could see. Everyone else faded. It was only you and your lover, swaying to the rhythm of a seasonal song.
“This feels like senior prom, but Christmas edition,” Jaehyun quipped.
You snickered delightfully. “I remember when we were announced prom king and queen. I like how nobody was surprised.”
You remembered it like it was yesterday. Jaehyun joined you for the first dance, gently whirling you around in front of several prying eyes, but you didn’t care. To you, the room was as good as empty. They were faceless, nameless people with no contribution or value, no relation to you and your blossoming romance with Jaehyun.
It was an experience you never knew you needed back then. Maybe in that moment, you knew it was fate. That one way or another, Jaehyun was inevitably the one you would grow old and gray-haired with.
Even now, as you stared into his pretty brown eyes, you knew that this was the man you wanted a future with.
Jaehyun glanced up and said, “Look.”
You did as told, smiling fondly as you noticed the mistletoe hanging above your heads. A part of you wondered if it was a coincidence or if he chose this spot deliberately. “I remember kissing you in front of everyone,” Jaehyun added, full of mischief.
You played along and hummed, “I’m not sure if I recall. Care to remind me?”
Jaehyun didn’t waste a second to lock lips with you, tasting hot cocoa on your tongue. You could taste gingerbread on his and the thought made you giggle into his mouth. There was something about it - something about Jaehyun - that made every tiny thing mean a billion times more.
All of the whimsical little things made your heart swell with happiness.
“Yo, chill, you horn dogs. There’s children,” scolded Jaehyun’s other cousin Mark, covering his little cousin’s eyes. His family gave you a headache. Every time you learned them all, it was as if another cousin popped out of thin air.
You and Jaehyun pulled away, snickering. You leaned on your toes, giving his lips one final peck before deciding you’d had your fill.
Days of being Jaehyun’s again turned into some of the happiest months of your life. You were letting go of some of your old habits and setting some past trauma free. There were a handful of grim times, but you both made the effort to repair things before they spiraled out of control.
Excuses had run their course. Jaehyun would ask you on dates and you’d agree more, overworking yourself less. Until now, you never realized that putting some distance between yourself and the stresses of work was what it took to be happier. You had made the earth-shattering mistake of convincing yourself that hard work equated happiness.
The two of you agreed to take things slow, afraid rushing would land you in an achingly familiar predicament, but you couldn’t deny that things had been speeding up. And Jaehyun already knew that it would forever be you.
It was another long, brutal day of work and nothing was out of the ordinary. You were running across the office, balancing direct orders on top of your daily tasks. You needed six skins to have a job like this. Three to balance the roles of multiple people and another three to endure the wear and tear.
Ten, your favorite co-worker, tracked you down and stopped you dead in your tracks to say, “Hey, slow down a second. Someone’s here to see you.”
You did the opposite of slowing down, still walking and as he followed you, said, “Tell them I’m taking a sick day, would you? Thanks, Tennie.”
“I don’t think so,” Ten said, donning an amused look. Which successfully made you pause in confusion. Usually, Ten never hesitated to cover for you. “You’re going to want to hear what this guy has to say. I swear.”
Very reluctantly, you agreed to follow Ten, curiosity piqued as you wondered who in the hell would dare interrupt you in the middle of a swift-paced work day.
Jung Jaehyun. That was who.
You made a face of confusion when you saw him there, smiling at you like an idiot. Confused, you asked, “Jay, you couldn’t text or call?”
“What I’m about to do is a bit difficult to do over the phone,” Jaehyun retorted, admiring your state of obliviousness.
You huffed, “What are you…”
You cut yourself off when you noticed one of the staff hand Jaehyun a tiny box and he proceeded to crouch on one knee. The realization made your heart thud, pulse quickening.
Jaehyun started, “Baby, I’ve been racking my brain trying to think of how to say this. I had to have tried to practice this a million times before I decided to talk to you from my heart.”
Your co-workers all gathered around, and you noticed even your boss observing from the corner of your eyes, but your gaze was locked on Jaehyun and no one but.
Your lover fought his nerves and added, “We met when we were in high school. I remember it like it was yesterday. We were so young, dumb, and drunk off learning what true love was for the first time. We couldn’t resist each other.”
The memories made your heart melt, taut with ecstasy.
“Then, we got older. And things got more complicated, but in spite of that, we never stopped loving each other. Not for a second,” Jaehyun declared, impassioned. “I’ve been in love with you for so long that I can’t imagine my life any other way. No matter what has changed between us.”
Jaehyun was staring you dead in the eyes, watching your face melt with awe. It gave him all the courage he needed.
“You made it so easy to fall in love with you but so hard to fall back out. And I don’t want to. I adore you, my love. Thoughts of you keep me up and night, restless. You make me crazy.”
Your eyes burned, fighting an oncoming threat of tears with every passing word. Jaehyun had swept you off your feet, making you feel emotions you never knew existed.
“I know we’ve been through thick and thin, baby. But we were there for each other. And even when we separated, we found our way right back into each other’s arms,” your lover added.
You wanted to pinch yourself, determine if you were dreaming. Even though Jaehyun had proposed once to you before, you would never get used to the wave of emotion that plagued you, rendering you soft and full of glee.
“I didn’t know what love was until I fell for you. You’re my first love and all these years by your side have only solidified my courage that I want you to be my last. You are the only woman on this earth I can imagine a future with and if it’s not you, then I know there’s nobody else out there for me.”
Ten was smartly grabbing a box of tissues for safe measure.
Jaehyun’s voice got softer, “Let’s try again, my love. Let’s do this one more time - one last time. Will you marry me?”
Now, you had the spotlight. Ten was none too subtly mouthing, “Say ‘yes.’” Everybody was anticipating your reaction and you wondered exactly how long in advance everyone had been in on this little surprise except for you.
There was no hesitation and you practically screamed as you chanted, “Yes!”
Jaehyun, much like the last time he proposed to you, swept you into his arms and kissed you to death, effectively silencing you. The room erupted in cheer. Everybody was glad to get a break from their tedious jobs and witness a moment as beautiful as this one.
The champagne was already popping. Your fiancé whirled you in your arms and you told him affectionately, “I love you.”
“Say it again,” Jaehyun said, incapable of getting enough.
“I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you. I love you so much that I don’t know what to do with myself.”
“Let me love you,” your fiancé said, staring at you like you were the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. And you were. “That’s all you have to do.”
You smiled, pretending to mull it over. “I think I can let that happen.”
Jaehyun was over the moon. There were no words to describe how ecstatic he was. He missed this feeling and he was more than glad that it had returned. “Merry Christmas,” he said playfully.
“Jaehyun, it is literally the end of July. This reminds me of when you wished me Happy Valentines Day after fucking my brains out on your birthday,” you replied, rolling your eyes.
“Still,” your fiancé said, pressing a kiss to the corner of your lips and cheesing at the memory of fucking you raw again. “Marrying you is the best gift I could ever ask for.”
You smiled in agreement. And fought a smirk as you remembered you had your own little surprise for your betrothed, waiting for you at home on the bathroom counter.
Jesus Christ, you were going to need a bigger place to stay.
4K notes · View notes
soobluv · 1 year
Text
like hot summer (l. hs, s. jy)
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pairing. heeseung x female reader x jake
genre. summer loving with a broken air conditioner, explicit smut, pwp, they’re all just horny, M/F
warnings. profanity, pervert Heeseung and Jake, jealousy(minimal), masturbation, unprotected sex, oral, degradation/praise, double penetration(both holes), threesome, cum swapping, wet and messy. minors DNI.
wc. 9900
IB. Disturbia(minus the serial killer neighbor)
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Stranger Things. All Of Us Are Dead. Squid Game.
Heeseung grumbles, clicking through the list of options on screen. at this rate not sleeping paired with binge watching any popular show available to stream would not play out well with nowhere to go besides upstairs.
the television power cuts off just as he contemplates switching to Hulu to start a new show, settling a wrinkle between his eyebrows and a rising whine from his chest.
“mom! the circuit breakers acting up again!” he bemoans, punching the remote down into a pillow.
“notice how nothing else has turned off.” she scoffs at him, waving a power cord mid-air with a snarky expression.
“mom, what the hell??”
ignoring her son’s complaints, she passes by toward the kitchen, warning him to beware of his language.
“sweetie, make yourself useful and go check the mail, would you?”
Heeseung’s mother lightly smacks the back of his head as she passes by the couch with her cellphone lodged between her shoulder and cheek.
“first week of house arrest and he’s sitting on the couch burning through anything available to stream on Netflix.” she shares with whomever listens on the opposite line. 
standing up, Heeseung mutters to himself about how he really should make an effort to avoid hanging out in the living room on her days off. 
it’s not as if he enjoys hearing about what a fuck up he is, or his mother recounting the story of the mistake that ruined all of his summer plans.
“drinking and driving without a license, can you believe it? after I dropped a month’s mortgage for him to travel through Europe this summer!” she complains into the phone as he steps outside. 
Heeseung sighs, stretching his arms high above until the tips of his fingers graze along the porch’s rooftop. shaking the weight of the bracelet that blinks a glowing green on his ankle before stepping into a pair of sandals. 
it's only his first week under house arrest, and the highlight of his day is stepping out to grab the mail.
mail time means time to catch up on the daily duties around the neighborhood. Mrs. Fawn across the street waters her garden, smiling joyfully at the sight of her tulips finally blooming. Mr. Eldridge at the end of the block pulls into his driveway, parking and hauling ass inside while stringing along a young woman who looks nothing like his wife; most likely his secretary. 
the bratty boys from two houses down spit jeers as they pass by on their bikes, flipping off Heeseung and laughing while blowing their tongues at him because he can’t step more than 100 feet away from his home. 
“sniveling little..” he mutters between clenched teeth, waving them away with a returned middle finger. “you count your lucky days! wait until the end of summer when I get your ass!”
“big talk for a loser who can’t even leave his house!” they high five, pedaling away in a fit of accomplished laughter. 
“a loser..” he repeats, toying with the raised flag on the side of the mailbox. a loser, that stings more than he’d like to admit. staring down at his sock clad feet shoved into a pair of sandals, he kisses the backs of his teeth nodding, watching the bracelet around his ankle blink up at him in a taunting manner.
“yeah. I’m a loser.”
before a state of melancholic ‘not young enough to act this dumb anymore, but not old enough to even purchase my own beer’ can settle, the sound of a wooden door ricocheting open distracts him from the oncoming blackhole of thoughts.
a door that hasn’t been opened in weeks, moving trucks occupy the driveway next door’s spaces catching Heeseung’s attention. 
new neighbors, he thinks, shifting onto the tips of his toes to sneak a look. no one had lived next door for a few months now. the resident next door had been unoccupied ever since the Jong family moved to a new town. so much for his plans of late night pool dips in their yard now.
nice tv, expensive furniture, too many boxes labeled ‘extremely fragile!’, a man directing movers with a stressed out expression.. the new owner of the house most likely.
and you.
the sight of you hits him harder than a vehicle speeding light years above the speed limit.
the beginning of summer days already has you opting for less clothing, showing more skin than usual since you’re home. moving into your new home meant dripping in sweat. evident by the thick sheen of perspire cascading down your throat.
Heeseung notices the trickles of sweat instantly, following a particular bead down until he lands between your breasts barely contained in a flimsy tank top. driblets of sweat pass like slow motion, opening his mouth slowly in hopes of catching a droplet to moisten his drying throat. 
it’s been a long time since he’s seen an attractive girl. 
two weeks, 15 days, 7 hours, and 42 minutes to be exact. 
since the last day of university when he finally got to experience a so-called ‘rager’. a great end of the year party that ended up with a senior clinging to his arm midway into the festivities. tapping his nose while hiccuping between her drunken compliments, cooing and calling him cute.
cute enough to take home as she threw her keys at him and dragged him out in search of her car parked a few blocks away. 
as much as his dick screamed at him to get laid- ‘it’s been weeks! you’re a virgin again at this point!’ that's what the aching throb between his thighs would shout at him if it could; Heeseung couldn’t help but sigh when her glazed over eyes rolled back. drooped in the passenger seat pathetically giggling and burping, groaning that she drank too much.
he sighs, apologizing to his crotch before adjusting himself beneath his belt, as if to say ‘shut it, it’s not happening tonight’.
“you live at the sorority on the other side of campus right?” he asks, not receiving much of an answer beyond a few gurgled words. 
Heeseung hadn’t drank much, a couple beers that had gone flat and stale from nursing them more than actually drinking. 
but he drank enough to get pulled over and fail a breathalyzer test. completely fucked without a license, that’s how he ended up in court 4 days later attempting to appeal a DUI.
no more coming of age self discovery trip to Europe for the summer. no chance of even hanging out by the pool or beach flirting with girls on vacation. no opportunity to get laid or party, get drunk and high with his friends.
not that Jake’s even home for the month, having headed back to Australia the minute summer hit to visit family. 
but as your intrigued gaze meets his, Heeseung can feel the corner of his lip twitch.
maybe this summer wouldn’t be a complete loss afterall.
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“you canceled my nintendo subscription?”
“indeed, I did.” Heeseung’s mother snaps, chucking a wad of clothing at his face. “I have an overnight shift at the hospital. it’s time for you to make use of all this free time and clean up around here. I am not your maid.”
laundry, clean up around here, make use of your free time.
everyday had turned into the same speech. no more streaming services, no access to online games, even jerking off had become a task. 
“asking me to tidy up is like asking for a preempted disaster.” Heeseung mutters, shoving in a much too large load of clothes to wash that hasn’t been properly separated. what harm would a blue sock do to these white silk dress shirts anyway.
“what’s even the difference between laundry softener and detergent, do I need both?”
worrying his bottom lip while eyeing between Snuggles and Tide feels redundant, drawing a sigh out of his chest while ultimately deciding to pour in both.
‘today’s episode of the exciting adventures of a stay-at-home son..’ he thinks, stepping out of the laundry room while shaking his ankle. itchy and annoying, nothing but a nuisance this thing had become.
even the taste of food had lost it’s usual momentary serotonin high, bland and dry on his tongue as he munched on a bag of chips. stale, much like the air floating around him running from different vents throughout the house with a lack of chill.
Heeseung furrows his eyebrows, reaching high above near a vent without much struggle. dry gusts of air tickles between his digits missing the familiar cool breeze that should reach past his skin to satiate overbearing warmth deep within his muscle.
“there’s no way..” 
sad realization that the air’s been set at 68 degrees to keep house chilly from floor to ceiling settles in. the fucking air conditioning wasn’t working, height of summer and no type of indoor peace from the unbearable heat burning down onto the cement pavement surrounded outside.
“my mom wouldn’t skip paying the bill just to punish me more right?!” Heeseung speaks to himself, pacing before the controller screen in disbelief. “no.. that has to be punishable by law somewhere around the world.”
“God, fuck me.” he grunts, finding himself seated by an open window that conveniently faces your bedroom from across the way. “yeah.. fuck me..”
he wonders if this is the lowest low of desperation one can reach, toying with the cord that controls the blinds as he takes in your side profile. nose buried in a book without a care in the world, no concern or worry that anyone could be watching you, completely unaware of your neighbor under house arrest sweating against a leather office chair concentrating much too hard on your face.
he sighs, leaning back with a lifted brow when you start to shift about, dragging fingers through your scalp while laughing at whatever page you’ve just finished reading.
“cute..”
even the breeze barely flowing through the window screen feels hot, boiling his skin faster, or maybe it’s the way your figure melts into your bed. breasts squished together in a thin tank-top giving him the full front on view of hardened peaks poking through the flimsy material. it’s almost like you turned toward him on purpose.. as if you wanted him to see your chest on the verge of spilling out.
don’t think about it, that’s what he keeps repeating to himself. there’s no way you know he’s watching you. there’s no way you’d stretch out on your bed enough for your top to ride up, exposing more and more smooth flesh, pajamas riding low on your hips. no way you would do any of that on purpose. 
“fuck. it’s hot.” 
hot air incinerates through his lungs with each deep breath, smoothing bangs off his forehead that clump together with sweat. trying to convince himself it’s the humid thick air blowing down his back from the vent above that’s stirring heat up his stomach. it has nothing to do with the way you start to tickle up and down the center of your chest while you read with your bottom lip tucked tightly between your teeth. it has nothing to do with how easy it’s become to imagine you beneath him, panting out ragged breaths, desperately whining at him to let you cum..
finding enough decency to finally look away, he clears his throat, mentally cursing at himself to go take a freezing cold shower. it has to be the over 100 degree weather getting to him, that’s what’s making his shorts tighten around his groin. that’s what has sweat dripping between his legs down to the crevice of his ass.
“yeah, I should definitely shower.” he says to himself, sparing a sniff to the t-shirt he’s had on for three days. just as he decides that’s for the best, his eyes scan through the window once more, catching his breath at the visual of your bare backside with a towel draped over your chest, held up only by one arm as you slip into a pair of sandals.
“fuc—.”
words evade him when you slowly turn, gaze finding his in an instant, taking your time to stride out of your bedroom without looking away, most likely to take a shower.
Heeseung doesn’t think about it, reiterating over and over that there was no way you could tell he’d been watching you…the blinds weren’t fully open..there was just no way.
even with his palm gripped around his length, holding back whimpers under the showerhead, he can’t stop thinking about the way you stared back at him.
if he could see you clearly, why wouldn’t you be able to see him?
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“Jake!!” Heeseung shouts while throwing long arms around his friends shoulders. a tub of Vegemite drops from the others hold, clutching at a packet of bread now squished between them. “you’re back!”
“surprise!” his friend gets out between a wheeze and deep breath. “I brought you a snack from the homeland to try too.”
he shakes the bag of sliced white bread, eyebrows wiggling with excitement as they head to the kitchen together. “one of my favorites.”
Heeseung’s nose twitches, crushing his lips together while his friend uses a butter knife to spread brown jam-like goo around with a large smile. “looks like…clumpy soy sauce..”
“hey! you can’t knock it until you try it.” his friend claps, finishing with a ‘ta-da!’ as if he’s presenting a 5 star meal. 
“my stomach’s sensitive today..” Heeseung grimaces, poking and sniffing around the crust. 
“stop being a baby and try it!”
“fine! fine!” 
salt, pure bitter salt turned to mush hits his tastebuds. the twitch in his nose forming into a full on scowl, chewing only to hold back a gag as his friend bursts into a boisterous laugh, hunched over clutching at his stomach.
“God, your face!” Jake squeaks, letting out an escalating giggle while smacking at the kitchen counter. “I guess it really takes a true Aussie to enjoy such a delicacy.”
Heeseung swallows, disgusted, rolling his eyes but smiling nonetheless. “I’m happy you’re back.”
“yeah, now I can log you into my accounts and save you from this perdition.”
“and maybe.. hang out with me everyday?” the older of the two says, dragging his best friend to his bedroom. “until this punishment’s over?”
“yeah, of course dude, I’ve got your back!” Jake smiles, patting his friends back, halting as they enter Heeseung’s bedroom. “oh this is bad, you’ve created the tower of Twinkies..”
“you try staying home for weeks with no contact to the outside world. Elmer’s glue and stale snacks will become more appealing craft tools than you’d think.” 
“yikes..”
music blasts, the familiar tune of top 40’s radio pop blaring from an old speaker, jerking Jake’s attention away from the tower of Twinkies in the direction of the noise.
“what was that?”
Heeseung grins, pointing his chin toward the extended corner in his bedroom where sunlight beams in from. “the best part of my day.”
“look, don’t judge me for this, but I have a new neighbor.” he explains, walking over to the window that faces your backyard direct on. “and she’s..”
“she?”
“yeah, she’s..” Heeseung clears his throat, raising an eyebrow at his friend. “well, see for yourself.”
Jake eyes him suspiciously, pushing open the blinds enough to fully capture your body backstroking through the clear blue chlorine water. bikini clad breasts float above, round and perky, leading up to a gorgeous face with your eyes shut allowing him plenty of time to absorb each of your features. 
“woah.”
“right?” his friend nods by his side, lowering his neck to peer through the same slit as you stand up in the pool, throwing your head back to drain water from your ears. 
“who is she??” Jake asks, jaw dropping open letting out mild sounds of pain from the back of his throat when you step out. zooming in on your fingers fixing the bikini bottoms that have begun to ride up your ass.
Heeseung sighs, nodding again while leaning against the wall. he chews at his lip, the two of them glancing down to the bracelet on his ankle. “don’t know..”
Jake sighs, patting his friend on the arm. “man, this fucking sucks! we planned so much for this summer..”
“trust me, I’m beating myself up everyday over it.” Heeseung laments, tapping his forehead against the wall. “I was supposed to be backpacking through Europe, get laid every night. I was supposed to finally have a threesome!”
Jake laughs, nodding along. “if it’s any consolation, my nasty little porn threesome didn’t happen while visiting back home either. actually, I only managed to get it in one time. my parents really laid out every activity and family get together possible, wasn’t exactly the forearm deep in pussy summer vacation of my dreams.”
“do you have to say it like that?”
“hey!” Jake chuckles, nudging into the tallers side. “who’s the one jerking it to their hot neighbor, huh?”
“I don’t do that.” Heeseung scowls, returning to watch you rub body oil up and down your legs. “that would be..”
“that would be something I would do.” Jake says, cocking a groomed eyebrow at his friend. “especially with no chance to get laid.. I mean, do you even remember what it feels like?” he finishes with a laugh, the two playfully hitting each other.
“my hand will never compare to the real thing.”
“the real thing is about 400 feet away..” Jake peers between the blinds again. “and she’s just turned over..those bikini bottoms are holding on for dear life.”
Heeseung nearly jumps to get a look, expelling a groan from the back of his throat upon seeing your waist dip in; further pushing your perky butt up for the sun to kiss. 
“believe me dude, those girls you could have been fucking in Europe wouldn’t come close.” his friend reassures. “you gotta talk to her somehow.”
“I know, but..” 
Jake fixes him with a knowing look, nudging his chin toward his friend’s lower half. “you can ‘but’ all you want— your dick definitely has another idea in mind.”
he snorts, picking up binoculars he spots hidden under a throw pillow on the floor. “my ass you haven’t been jerking it, bet these give you a great close up shot.”
Jake holds up the magnified lenses, inching closer between the blinds while lightening the mood with gasps, ‘oooohh’ and ‘ahhh’ passing between breathy laughs.
“imagine what she sounds like moaning, ohhhh Heeseung! you dick’s sooo big!”
he chuckles, accidentally slamming the binoculars into the window with a shocked shout.
“crap! shit!” Jake hisses out curses. the two swiftly collapsing down to their knees painted with mortified expressions.
sharing a concerned look, Jake hits his forehead with the binoculars in a repetitive motion. “fuck!”
“God you freaking idiot!” Heeseung inches back to the window ledge, motioning for his friend to do the same. both sharing a pale look of fear when they aren’t met with your figure laid out, or anywhere to be found.
“dud—“
the front door bell rings out, sending their jaws to the floor letting out a unison “no!”
“there’s no way!”
Heeseung pinches at the sweaty tufts of hair gathered at his nape, pacing back and forth before the door as you knock again, asking another ‘hello?’
“this is all your fault!” he hisses, sucking down a deep breath before reaching a trembling hand to twist open the door.
“hi” you greet with a wave of your hand, standing with your hip cocked to one side. a thin t-shirt thrown over the red bikini they know you have on beneath.
“I got locked out of my house.” you smile bashfully. “mind if I hang out until my parents get back?”
“uhh..” Heeseung dry swallows a gulp, sensing shame written all over his face; as if the beads of sweat on his forehead give away what they had just been up to.
“yeah, we were just playing..” Jake stutters, choking back a laugh. “uh..Monopoly.”
“like, the boardgame?” you ask, wrinkling between your eyebrows.
“the one and only.” he continues to huff laughter awkwardly, prodding his friend’s side with his elbow. “Heeseung’s a pro at Monopoly, kicks my ass each time. I don’t know why I keep placing bets to win.”
“Heeseung?” 
“oh right!” Jake speaks up again, noticing his friend’s gone speechless. “this is Heeseung, and I’m Jake.”
“Heeseung, the Monopoly king, apparently, and Jake..the Australian?” you smirk, strutting past the two without missing the opportunity to bodily graze against your neighbor as you share your name with them.
“wow, it’s hot in here.” you say, fanning your face, skin still aflame from sitting out under the sun for the past hour. 
“air conditioner’s broken.” Heeseung finally speaks again, averting his gaze to the ground. “repair guy can’t make it out until next week. a lot of..uh, heat waves caused rolling blackouts to happen.”
“soo..” you spin on the balls of your feet back to face them, taking in your surroundings. “Monopoly, huh? I like to play.”
Jake can’t control his lips from lifting at the corners, coughing over another laugh while burying his elbow deeper into Heeseung’s side. “bet you do.” 
he nods up the stairs toward his friend’s bedroom, leading you into a messy boy’s room that tastes as musty as it looks. 
“wow..” you say, toeing at a pile of clothing near the entrance. the occupant of the bedroom spluttering while racing around to chuck everything behind his closet. he smiles, painfully, glaring at Jake’s amused face behind your back. 
“can’t believe you live right next door and we haven’t properly met until now..” you wander toward the window, picking up the discarded binoculars left on the floor as clear evidence, covered in fresh sweaty fingerprints.
“yeah, Heeseung’s on house arrest..he’s innocent though!” Jake jokes, defenselessly with a palm held up. too busy draping a towel over the tower of Twinkie’s with his free hand to notice when you look through the binoculars and get a clear visual into your bedroom.
“house arrest?” you turn to face them, dangling the incriminating object in your hand. “maybe for spying on your neighbors?”
Heeseung’s face drops, standing up straight with his mouth agape.
“oh crap, my dad’s calling..texting uh, he needs uh, help with that..that thing.” Jake nods rapidly, covered in sweat from scattering around to hide a pile of naughty magazines and hentai DVDs under his friend’s bed. “nice meeting you!” 
he clasps Heeseung’s shoulder on his way out, leaning close to whisper. “don’t fuck this up, Monopoly king.”
before the other can get a word out, the front door slams shut, leaving the two of you alone still letting the binocular string hang from your fingers with a questioning gaze.
“uhm,” Heeseung grimaces, scratching at the back of his head. “I was supposed to travel through Europe this summer.”
removing the binoculars from your hold, he forces a smile. “sightseeing, bird watching.. hiking and stuff.”
“wow from Europe to..” you look around again, cringing as you spot a pile of failed foil ball attempts. “to this. that’s pretty depressing, not gonna lie.”
he shrugs, stuffing the binoculars inside a desk drawer. “do you really want to play Monopoly?”
“way too hot in here to play anything.” you complain, plopping down onto his bed to strip the shirt you threw on only to walk over. “how do you live like this?”
“I don’t.” Heeseung shrugs, sitting at a corner on his bed nervously. 
“I can tell. must get really boring, trapped at home, nothing to do..” 
his head lifts, glancing over your bare flesh out of his peripheral vision. silently nodding as he fidgets with his hands and hem of his shorts.
“I’d invite you over, but you probably can’t go very far with that thing.” you stretch to the side, plugging your phone into charge on his bedside table. fussing with it long enough for his gaze to travel further.
Heeseung watches your actions, starting from your painted toenails wiggling against his bedding. legs still glistening from the oil you had applied earlier, the tied strings on your bikini lifting off your skin when your hip turns more. it should be easy to look away, but you’re the first girl he’s had in his bed.. ever.
“Heeseung,” you turn back to face him, propping your elbows against the pillow behind you. “I’m hot.”
“yeah..” he nods dumbly, continuing to admire your waist dipping in; breasts nestled together like they were while you laid on your bed reading the many nights he’d admired you from afar.
“maybe I should take my top off to cool down?” you ask out loud, playing with the spandex strings holding your chest together securely. 
Heeseung nods, blinking slowly, mesmerized and lost in a trance until you break into a fit of giggles, ruining the fantasy that had begun to unfold.
“you really think I’m gonna take my top off that easily?” you snicker, toeing at his forearm. “why would I do that? when you could just take it off for me?”
he sits up straight, unconvinced by your mischievous smile that you aren’t just taking advantage of his current weakened horny loser demeanor. “are you fucking with me?”
“not yet” you turn, propping up on one elbow just as you had the day you noticed wide doe eyes watching you from the house next door. 
Heeseung scoots closer to you, leaning in enough to fully inhale the scent of cherry blossom and chlorine clinging to your warm skin. he’s even prettier up close, not making much of an appearance outside since the day you moved in, other than the few times you’ve caught him watching you from the window without the binoculars in the way hiding his delicate features.
“I’m good at games too.” you push closer, throwing a thigh over his hip to lay him flat beneath you. his throat bobs, unsure of what to do with his hands other than cloak your waist. 
soft, supple and soft, and so so smooth. smooth enough that he can’t stop roaming, touching and feeling at the skin covering your back and abdomen. the rough tips of his fingers dig in, squeezing the meat on your hips, passing over the strings keeping your bottoms held in place.
“do you wanna play with me?” 
Heeseung sucks in a deep breath, disbelief striking his chest as he stares above in awe. this had to be a dream, he probably fell asleep mid-jerk off. he’ll wake up, sat before the window with his cock in hand coated in sweat. it doesn’t matter, because he can’t stop his hips from rolling up, budging a space between your thighs to press against the damp seat of your bottoms.
“you’re so hard,” you grin, chewing at your bottom lip. “why are you so hard? was the sightseeing that good for you today?”
Heeseung can’t even process anything you’re saying anymore. he’s panting, sticky hot and nasty. sweat rapidly pouring out of his pores enough to have his shirt melting into his skin. he jerks up to sit, wet lips hover yours, sharing warm gusts of air from your mouth to his.
“can I kiss you?” the words spill out of him, dizzy and numb to what he’s just asked. Heeseung’s positive this is a dream, or a heat stroke, more delirious and empty headed with each brush of your bite-stung lips passing each other. 
your quiet nod gives him the okay, crashing against your mouth feverishly, he licks, kisses, sucks, bites. he kisses as if it’s his first and last time, clinking your teeth together, pushing his tongue between your wanton lips. rolling against the roof of your mouth with an expert massage that draws needy groans from your throat. 
every breath, movement, pathetic little whine rising out of both of you feels heavier. asserting more effort just to grind your hips together as the heat surrounding your bodies grows higher. thick and smoggy air locks your chests closer, clutching and scratching at the back of his wet shirt to push your core against him with fortified vigor.
Heeseung can feel his eyes roll back, desperately rutting up between your thighs like a dog in heat. biting down a hiss, he drops his face to your shoulder, whining when he thinks he might cum, because it’s too soon. he needs more, he needs more of your pretty sounds. little sad broken noises to rewind over and over again the next time he jerks off while picturing the way you look at him, when you’re not supposed to see him.
thick palms slap down on your hips holding you still so that he can catch his breath, regain some strength to take the lead and place you on your back with his lower half slotted between your spread open legs.
“fuck, how is this real.” he whispers, wheezing and huffing as he grips your bottoms. swollen folds push out, spilling around your bikini, slick and shiny, covered in arousal that begs to get fucked. 
he thinks about it, a flash of thought racing past his mind almost too fast, screaming and kicking at him to pull out his cock and stuff you raw to the brim. that’s what you want, sucking on two of your fingers while staring at him pliantly, waiting for whatever he gives you next.
what he wants to give you vs what his hand leads him to do— pulling out his length enough to breathe, smearing pre-cum collected at the slit under your navel. positioning against your center, he rolls down, whimpering as he shoves his size at your bikini bottoms. 
“fuckfuck, I’m go-gonna..”
Heeseung grinds faster, your free hand trailing up to his long arched back neck, thumb pushing against the round pronounced bone vibrating under your touch with each moan that drips from his tongue. 
he feels stupid, empty headed, focused on nothing but the way you bounce deeper into his bed. breasts so close to toppling free from your triangular top with each slam after slam of his hips. the first peak of nipple paired with your nails scratching at his throat jolts shivers down his spine, hunching forward more to chase the incessant desire to fuck you.
“Heeseung—“ you whine, shoving your spit slick fingers between your pressed lower halves to grip onto him, adjusting his next thrust to glide underneath your bikini. the sopping wet smear of arousal pulls a scream out of his chest, baring his teeth and gripping at the blanket surrounding your head as the tip of his length spills, dripping on your mound, confined by the heat between your bodies. confined by your ruined bikini bottoms covering half of his cock pulsing, making a filthy mess inside.
“fuck..” breathlessly, you fall back, a proud smile pinching at your lips. “you owe me a new swimsuit, convict.”
Heeseung can’t catch his breath fast enough, having enough sense available to fall off to your side. he slaps at his face, ripping chunks of sweaty wet hair while groaning and shaking his head. “did that seriously just happen?”
the obnoxious snort you let out says enough. 
“good timing” you motion to your phone charging on his bedside table, noting a car door slamming shut outside. “my mom’s home.” 
pulling back on the t-shirt you came in with, you tap the tip of his nose, winking as you head out. “maybe we can actually play Monopoly next time?”
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Jake: ran into your neighbor at the grocery store earlier, she’s having a party tonight.
Heeseung: I can’t go that far without setting off the bracelet.
Jake: oh yeah..
Heeseung: you want to go, right?
Jake: everyone else is going..
Heeseung sighs, peering out of the window to see you unloading the trunk of your parent’s car, full of snacks and drinks. smiting the bracelet that glows back at him more and more angry with each blink.
Heeseung: have fun.
he turns off his phone, lunging onto his bed to bury his face in a pillow and scream. 
of course everyone’s going, why were you having a party anyway? who could you possibly even know to invite?!
“Jake, that’s who.” he says, kicking at his bed annoyed.
exactly.
Jake, who stands by a table decorated with red solo cups, filled up with an assortment of cranberry and orange vodka, colorful jello shots and gummy bears to add a festiveness to it all.
Heeseung grumbles, stuffing his face with the half-empty bag of chips in his lap as he watches his friend chat up different girls. something they could both be doing if not for this stupid DUI.
“ohhh, it’s the Aussie.” you voice loudly, approaching the familiar face you met the other day.
Jake swallows down the drink he’s been boredly whooshing around in his mouth, eyes perked up as he takes in the barely there skin-tight dress perfectly hugging your curves. “woah..”
“I clean up nicely, right?” giving him a twirl, he catches your dress lifting up from the breeze enough to see the tops of your thighs, where your ass meets and rounds out. landing back on your toes with a wink, aware that many eyes at the party and nearby were currently on you. 
“very..very nice..” Jake whispers, glancing over his shoulder toward Heeseung’s house. a small pang of guilt pinching at his chest, quickly forgotten when your hand wraps around one of his biceps.
“wanna dance?” you ask, wide-eyed, hopeful. making it impossible for him to come up with an excuse fast enough, not that he intended to.
“of course.”
Jake knows his best friend must be watching, but that’s not enough to stop him from rolling his hips against yours. he doesn’t catch your eyes shooting toward Heeseung’s window, nor the malevolent behavior you’ve kept up all night while purposely dragging yours fingers down different guys chest; giggling demurely with your hand over your mouth as you sneak another look toward the shadow behind the glass.
“you left too fast the other day.” you say, adding a sweet flirtatiousness to your tone.
“did I?” one of his hands slips lower, tickling the visible skin peeking out on the slits tracing up to the tops of your thighs. “I’m sure you two found something to do without me.”
“I’m sure we could have found something else, better suited for 3..” 
Jake doesn’t miss how you slot one of your thighs between his, strategically nudging the top of your knee against the rough fabric of his jeans lining his crotch.
Heeseung sitting alone sulking in his bedroom crosses his mind, licking at his lower lip annoyed that he can’t help but think about his best friend. he sighs, gripping onto your hips with more strength to stop you from rubbing against him.
“maybe we..”
“Jake..” minty licks of breath pass from your mouth to his, mixing with fruity bitter alcohol lingering on his tongue. the tip of his nose grazes against your upper lip, head slowly inching closer, eyelids growing heavier with heat condensation as he takes a deep breath, readying himself to capture your mouth..
a bolt of aggressively loud music jolts your bodies apart, crazed and shocked by the sudden blast of sound that shouts out from speakers placed on the balcony of the house beside yours. an ugly sound of screeching accompanying the off-putting beats and tunes that ring out. the complete opposite to the chill summer playlist you’d worked hard on curating last night.
“ugh!” you groan out. forgetting about Jake in favor of charging across to where your backyard meets the house next doors. easily finding the visual of Heeseung laughing to himself from behind the window with the same binoculars in hand as he searches for your annoyed face, scanning from Jake to the rest of your confused partygoers glancing around.
a slam of hard sole protected feet hitting the balcony near his bed shifts his attention, spotting you trudging into his opened window, ripping the power cords of his speakers out until the music completely cuts. 
“hey hey!” he runs over, binoculars dropping to his feet to grasp your wrists instead. “that was expensive!”
“so is my party!” you argue, whining for him to let go of you.
“yeah, well you looked bored.” he retorts, holding your arms by your sides. “more focused on me than your stupid party.”
“so you were watching me.” you say accusingly, shoving your chest forward to add intimidation. 
“I—“ Heeseung stutters, letting go of your arms and stepping back. “was just, checking in..”
“yeah?” you continue to walk toward him, coercing him to step backward until the backs of his knees meet the edge of his bed. “for how long now? days? weeks? how long have you just been checking in?”
nervously gulping, he shakes his head. “it’s not like that, I swear! I just..”
“spit it out Heeseung!” 
“I like you!” he glowers, fumbling with his hands anxiously. “I’m not just..watching you like some pervert.”
he meets your less than convinced expression, sighing and nodding. “of course that’s part of it! you’re hot, okay?! but..”
Heeseung stands straight, motioning toward the window. “it’s like going to class for example— there’s a new girl, she’s pretty. she’s really fucking pretty. everyone gets caught up in their routines, studying, sharing daily gossip, rushing to finish their assignments for the next period. but I’m just watching you, wondering what you’re like. what your hobbies are, what you hate.. if you’d hate me..”
he huffs, ignoring the harsh expression continuing to twist your eyebrows together. “sometimes you look like you’re trapped, and I wonder what’s stopping you from going out. I wonder why you stay home and hang out by yourself so much. I watch you unpackage new books with a smile on your face, spending hours reading through one, and I wish I could do the same. I think about going over, hanging out with you, I don’t know, maybe we’d be friends... I’m just watching you.”
tension leaves your face, returning your features to their usual softness. shoulders falling back into a relaxed position, taking a step forward until your knees meet his. 
“that’s either..the sweetest, or creepiest thing I’ve ever heard.”
Heeseung prepares to apologize, caught off guard by your lips smacking into his. instinctively gripping onto your waist to deepen the kiss, lured deeper in by the cool mint swirling around your tongue. 
moans you have memorized play prettily, pouring out between each wet lap of his tongue exploring through your mouth. sitting down, he helps you straddle onto his lap with ease. catching his breath while complimenting how good you look.
“you always look good.” he adds, feeling up the material of your dress attached to your skin by pools of sweat. 
Jake stumbles onto the balcony as you had minutes ago, clinging to the ledge in a way he has for many years when sneaking out with the excuse of having a sleepover at Heeseung’s house to cover his ass.
“Jake!” his best friend’s voice echoes, tinged with shock.
“what..” 
it’s likely the incriminating position he finds the two of you in can only mean one thing, with your legs spread open around Heeseung’s hips and ass planted against a noticeable bulge tenting up from his basketball shorts. deducing that you hadn’t fallen and landed like this coincidentally by the look of sheer guilt flashing across your face.
“what are the two of you doing?” he hiccups, smearing the back of his hand against heavy eyelids. warmth and buzz from alcohol continues to rise heat up from his chest to the expanse of his throat, speckled with a flush of reds and pinks. the shades only intensified by the amount of thick heat filling his friend’s bedroom, most of it radiating from your connected bodies.
“it’s..” Heeseung squints, squeezing your waist. “we..”
“we’re having fun.” you interrupt, adding a coy look his way with hidden meaning. “no reason we can’t all have fun together, right?”
fun. fun together.
Jake’s head tilts in question, noting the difference in size between you and Heeseung, from his hands nearly belting your waist to long legs stretched open beneath you, comfortably adjusted to sit pretty on his lap.
thoughts reel much too fast all at once, scatterbrained and just coherent enough to understand your cocked brow intends more suggestion than playing some console game.
“fun?” he takes a few steps forward, the tips of his fingers tickling up from your bare shoulder blade to the back of your neck. “what exactly did you have in mind?”
Jake’s hold turns rough as he ends the question, trailing up to bunch your hair in a tight fist. he yanks and tugs your head side to side, smoothing the tip of his tongue across his dry upper lip to leave it red, shiny and tempting.
Heeseung catches on to the dynamic the two of you have clearly fallen into, dragging one of his hands upward, brushing past your chest to cup the front of your throat. “think you can go around fucking everyone you want?”
the lock around your neck makes it harder to breathe, harshly huffing in hot air that collects sweat on your upper lip easily, with hooded eyes you weakly nod, pushing against the girth pressed up against your ass. 
“that’s so slutty,” Jake sneers, ripping at your scalp with another rough pull. “that’s what you want though, isn’t it?”
“walking around all summer in nothing but the tiniest bikinis..” Heeseung mumbles, pressing closer to lick across your collarbone. “you knew we were watching you. you did it on purpose, and you still want more?”
“you perverts were the ones jerking off together.” you manage to get out, attempting to catch your breath when Heeseung’s fingers loosen around your neck. “disgusting little boys that don’t know how to control their hormones.”
“you still let me cum on you,” Heeseung whispers, tracing your chin with a pattern of kisses.
“only on? and here I thought that good little whore’s always swallow.” Jake sneers, a little perturbed by how quick you were to run off to argue with Heeseung, only to find you in a compromising position.
“we do. you want me to swallow?” you ask, hazily watching his face from upside down with your head pulled back. “then show me why you deserve it.”
Jake’s tongue pokes from the corner of his lip, fascinated and amused by your assertiveness. he pulls harder at your hair until you follow his arm and land on your bottom onto Heeseung’s bed. 
“that little twirl you gave me earlier..” he falls to his knees, prying your thighs open in front of his face. the smallest cloth, poor excuse for underwear covers your cunt. soaked through, wetness smeared on your inner thighs. he huffs a laugh, observing your contorted features, the way you tremble beneath his touch. “showing off this dress that barely covers your ass.”
Heeseung helps by gathering your dress up, lifting it to slowly unveil your stomach convulsing; twitching with anticipation and excite. using his other hand to cup the back of your head, he lifts you, straining your spine to watch how his best friend peels off your drenched stringy panties. 
“so wet for us,” Jake says, pleased by how your thighs stay open. 
the bridge of his nose drags between your folds, slick pours free, dribbling down to his mouth where the tip of his tongue lavs up the driblets. “so fucking good.”
his face drops, lips pursed as he greedily slurps your folds clean. the ridges of his mouth tickling against your smooth flesh, awakening nerves desperate for a touch. your legs tense up, clenching and unclenching anticipating what he’ll do next. building up tormenting waves of pleasure with precise strokes of his pout grazing up and down nastily, covering his chin and nose in slick arousal.
breathing becomes more difficult, chest erratically lifting under Heeseung’s hands that have found their way to your breasts, aiding in overstimulating your senses, a heavy palm cups and squeezes at the fat mounds between his fingers, leaving your dress to slip down around your waist. 
the backs of your thighs strain, hoisted up for Jake to glide in even deeper. tongue pushing past your entrance with a strong wiggle. lewd sounds draw up, expelling more and more wetness to stream down his chest. the mixture of heady sweat and arousal landing on his neck like a coat of gloss.
he latches onto your clit, grazing his teeth along the bundle of nerves until your toes pat the backs of his shoulders, delivering little kicks that grow stronger with each repeated suck he gives. 
Jake pushes at the pits of your knees more, crunching your stomach muscles to collapse together as he takes in your rim, fluttering too pretty for him to ignore. the visual more than enough to bury his face between your ass, rolling his tongue around, collecting spit from the back of his throat to dangle. pushing it in when your hole gives, relaxing around the muscle allowing him to further lick in.
“ugh!” Heeseung knows that’s a different type of moan, high and loud, flushing down your chest with humiliation. ashamed by how much you’re enjoying a tongue in your ass, he grins wolfishly, pinching your nipple harshly for extra torture.
“cum—I—I’m..ahh, p-please—“
Jake’s nose grazes back up, peppering kisses on your pulsating hole, two fingers circle your rim. tongue seething back inside, gently working up to a faster motion that has you screaming. punching and gripping at your sides as you shake your head. “n-no-no! need, need to!”
Heeseung can’t help but notice how your eyes won’t stop rolling back, thighs clamped around Jake’s head ferociously. drawing his jaw to snap open as much as he can and sink his tongue to push deeper between you velvety walls.
he knows you’ll cum soon, egging you on by prodding his nose into your cheek. he nods, jerking the back of your neck as he tells you to watch. 
“look at him eating your pussy like it’s all he knows how to do.” he lilts, lowly rattling from his chest, exposing your throat for his teeth to bury into. demanding you keep watching.
“think you deserve to cum?” his taunting questions laced with mockery. nipping your chin, he moves behind you, choking around your throat to bend you closer, fully trained on the tip of Jake’s nose incessantly brushing your clit.
“please please!” you start to sing like a broken record, bursting into tears. toes curled, corded muscles in your calves aching from how tightly locked you are. climax ready to race through your veins, fisting at the bed topper wrinkled by your hips. the tongue inside of you curls up, just right, applying the perfect amount of pressure..
“Jake, stop.” Heeseung commands in a stern tone. shifting his eyes from your lower half to your pleading face. a twinkling gaze admires your distraught wrecked appearance. disheveled hair, swollen bit lips, tracks of tears and sweat rolling down your cheeks. 
he bends closer to your face, dragging two fingers across your blubbering mouth. “you wanna cum?”
all you can do is blink, spiraling down from your lost orgasm, twitching on the bed painfully. 
“I asked you a question.” wet fingers tap at your cheek, jerking your eyes to open wide and look at him. soft edges of his face harder under dim light; fooling you to believe his usual delicate looks could never change. 
“yes..please please.” 
Heeseung’s sitting you up, distracting you with kisses as sounds explode around you. clothing ripped off to land strewn on the floor, bodies moving about, repositioning with Jake laid out, eagerly stretching his arms above his head.
“how do you want it?” fingers trace down your spine, dipping between your buttcheeks to circle your wet rim. he pokes in just enough to feel a stretch, to hear you whimper, nodding your head maniacally. “all at once?”
“please, please Hee..”
sticky skin pulls apart like velcro detaching, settling your weight on top of Jake with Heeseung’s hot soaked chest pressed to your back, motioning for you to get comfortable how you want. 
Jake’s cock feels thick in your hold, gliding the tip between your folds. gasping and sighing with each catch of his slit against your entrance.
“ready..”
lining up to your entrance, Jake buries inside of you first. thick girth stretching your slicked up walls to fit his size easily. relief stricken as you settle, opening and shutting your hands into balled up fist when Heeseung brings two spit-coated fingers down to circle your rim.
pain curls up your spine before he can even push the tip of his cock through. the width making your hole flutter nervously.
“relax..” he says softly, popping inside your ass with fingers wrapped at the base of his length. losing his cool stature the more you grip and squeeze at him. “just like that, you’re doing so good.”
Heeseung’s breath feels like flames burning from your nape to the column of your throat, incinerating your whines before they can even fully escape. he’s so deep, jutting his front against your ass only to let you feel how good he stretches you out. 
“too much?” it’s lower than a whisper along the back of your ear, asked with concern. nibbling along your earlobe when you shake ‘no’.
“more more,” you nod with speed, whining through clenched teeth when Heeseung’s thick fingers graze your chest. pinching and tweaking your hardened nipples the more you beg. 
“why should we let you cum?” Heeseung asks, louder, loud enough for Jake to hear. easily turning the tables to have you shivering, shaking your head with clenched fists.
“please, please d-don’t..”
“we could just keep you like this..” his palms smooth lower, dipping the tips of his thumbs into your navel, cupping at the bulge extending your lower stomach out in this position. he presses in, pushing against the shape earning grunt from his friend below, a cracked wail out of you. manipulating the lower part of your stomach that meets your mound to rub and jerk off the length protruding.
“you like to play, right?” Heeseung blinks away droplets of sweat raining down his forehead. vision blurring further each time you clamp around him, your back vibrating against his chest tremor after tremor. 
“why should I let you cum?” his nose traces from your damp nape to the top of your jaw, collecting sweat along the way with a drag of his tongue. “only good girls get to cum, are you a good girl?”
the sound of anguish and pleasure you let out has Jake’s eyes rolling back. his digits buried in your hips deep enough to leave marks of fingerprints. he can’t take it anymore, whining, losing control with a roll of his hips. 
“I am! I am!” you plead, sniveling like a brat. knowing you pushed and teased Heeseung for weeks in hopes of this moment. “I’m a good girl.”
he grabs your chin, forcing you to look at him as he glides out to the tip, pupils blown wide and dark, filling the whites of his eyes. “you know what good girls do best? they get fucked.”
pelvic bone slaps against your bottom, sending you to hunch forward, toppling over completely if not for Heeseung’s arms circling your waist. he bucks up, burying the entirety of his length back inside. struggling to thrust faster because of how tight you feel, suffocating his size with immense heat and suction. 
“feel good?” he says, panting breathlessly, swallowing sweat that won’t stop pouring from down your face to your jawline.
“yesyesyesyes!” coherency evades your head, surged by a flood of heat. stimulated from both ends by the body pressed to your back working you up and down both of their cocks. the pressure of Jake’s length hitting hard with each grind against him. they feel too good, too good in different ways.
“I’ll work for it,” you start to spew, flattening your palms on Jake’s chest for some type of balance. rocking your lower half against theirs with more weight to drive them mad. the two cursing and groaning, Heeseung’s tone dropping with his face hiding in your neck. “anything, anything..”
“yeah?” Heeseung sounds broken, voice cracking, trying to stave off how good you feel around him. how tight, wet and hot you grip onto him. how good you take it, begging and begging for more. “make him cum first.”
pleading eyes glancing back at him do nothing to help you, Heeseung tethers your arms behind your back, wrists clamped together in one of his hands. taking a hold of your shoulder to push you down on Jake’s cock faster.
he chants for you to take take take, bounced up and down by the force applied on your limbs. the two working in unison to chase their highs. 
pushing at your back, he forces your face to land between Jake’s chest. panting breathlessly, sucking in salty sweat that's pooled in the divots of his pecs. hip bones pound against your ass, pummeling you to fuck both of them harder with each hit. 
“fuck!” your cry gets muffled, Jake’s arms thrown around your neck pressing your nose deeper into the dollops of sweat. he thrusts harshly, using his hug on your figure to leverage his lower half, grunting as he tries to catch his breath. 
“sofuckinggood, pussy so fucking good for me.” 
Heeseung’s mostly gone still, letting Jake take free reign to fuck you how he needs, cock splitting in and out of you. pushing more and more slick to splash and heat a pathway down to his balls with the absurd amount of sweat that won’t stop dripping.
“so messy, big fucking mess you’ve made.” he keens, doing his best to quill the orgasm itching down his gut, churning up his chest at a higher speed the more you clench around him. 
“please!! please cum, please!” your sobbing cries rush through him spine to balls. slamming your body down in a frantic sloppy motion to ride his cock faster. brutally thrusting up faster and faster, pushing whimpered moans from your mouth between choked coughs and wails. 
“f-fuck..” he grits, lowering his palms to your ass. clapping back onto Heeseung’s cock still filling you from the back. he’s so so fucking close, burying all the way inside of you with one more thrust. his back arches, waist lifting up from the bed painfully. cumming hard enough to empty his lungs as he coughs and wheezes for air. 
Heeseung doesn’t wait, hooking the backs of your arms together. he hauls you up again, pressed to his chest to fully take his size. muttering a reminder that you don’t get to cum until he does.
his initial thrusts have your body freezing up, overstimulated and sensitive from being edged for so long now. reaching between your thighs, he slaps your core, making you squeal and gush tears. 
“ask for it, what do you want?” hot breath fans your cheek, jerked to fuck back on his length by his arm trapping you, working your ass to fully take him.
“c-cum..wa-want cum.” shattered little cracks sound between your begging, completely fucked out. willing to do anything to feel a white wash of heat empty your brain.
“fuck your ass, taking my cock like this?” he bites out. hips canting fiercely into your backside, nibbling up your jaw to mutter against your earlobe. “so fucking nasty, begging me to fuck your ass full of cum.”
eyes roll to the back of your head, nodding dumbly to everything he says. bounced against the pistoning slam of his hips that won’t stop until he gets what he wants.
“Hee…need it, need you! need to fe—“ your pathetic begging pushes him over the edge. growling as he delivers three more pointed rough thrusts.
“fuck, oh fuck” deep grunts break into moans, face falling to your shoulder, cock pressed deep in your ass; releasing long strings of white cum as he whimpers and moans into your ear. going on and on about how good you take it, how amazing you feel, words jumbled together making no type of sense.
“Hee, please! I c-can’t!”
a palm slaps on your pussy, snickering about how much you whine. good girls know how to control themselves.
his fingers rub exactly where you need, side to side against your swollen clit, playing you like a toy. “this is what you wanted? this what you waited for?”
“yes! yes!” your legs quiver, lifting your hips up as you writhe in his hold. fingers viscously rub at your clit, drawing your orgasm up with heightened speed. “oh fuckk!”
a hot gush of liquid spills out from behind Heeseung’s palm. spraying out a mess of slick arousal and remnants of cum all over Jake’s stomach. drops of release reaching high enough to hit his chest and chin. reduced down to a snotty sobbing mess as you lock around the wrist continuing to flick between your legs. “c-can’t!”
Heeseung murmurs something inaudible to your foggy ears, teething at your neck as he glides a messy drenched hand up your stomach. smoothing the excess release up and down your chest and sides.
“clean it up.” Heeseung orders with a nod to the mess you’ve made. digging his fingers deep into your hair, he scratches against your scalp as he lowers your mouth to the slop of cum decorating the etched lines of Jake’s abdomen. “..like a good girl.”
whatever he says doesn’t matter anymore, too fucked out to process or care, your tongue loll’s out like a thirsty animal. lapping up your juices mixed with white sticky release. Jake whimpers, sucking air between his teeth, unable to help the twitch his length gives while watching you suck and slurp up everything. nasty, absolutely filthy. sweating down on his bare chest with his best friend’s cock still lodged deep in your ass.
“fuck.” he sighs, defeteaed and strung out. head turning side to side in disbelief of what just happened.
“come here,” Heeseung says, softer now, without releasing your hair as he maneuvers you to sit back up. pinching your chin to face him, muttering for you to show him the sloppy mess still coating your tongue. 
hooded eyes sink deep into his skin, landing forehead to forehead with you before shoving his tongue against yours. the entire act obscene, absolutely depraved, licking your mouth clean. swallowing down each drop of saliva and cum that spills past your parted lips. inhaling the guttural moans you let out despite how much you tighten up around him.
he keeps kissing you for a moment longer, finishing with a peck on your Cupid’s bow before asking if it’s okay to move now. cum bubbles from your rim as he glides free, taking time to ease the discomfort for you, littering wet kisses on your shoulder. 
“Hee..” whispering, you peek at him shyly, almost fearfully.
“good girl, the best.” he says with a proud smile, helping you lower to lay between him and Jake. brushing soaked hair away from your face, he sighs, chuckling softly at the music still drifting through the window from your party.
“this is crazy.” you let out an exhilarated laugh, sweat drenched and exhausted.
“hmm?” Heeseung mumbles. “what is?”
“really wanted to fuck two guys this summer, at the same time.”
Jake lets out a huge scoff, lifting his head enough to fix you with an offended look. “you used us?!”
“absolutely not.” you correct, lips quirking side to side. “maybe.”
Heeseung swallows, breaking into an uncontrollable laugh. “you know, this wasn’t what I had in mind for my first threesome, but I think I’d do it all over again.”
“I mean,” you turn to face him, trailing up his stomach muscles to his chest. “I’m ready to go again whenever you are.”
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fic taglist: @muffinminnie @deobitifull @aalwaysreading @gobighee @zerasari @axartia @kaleidosai @neo-weareone @krealxrl @sweetiewolfie @laffatae @skzenhalove @heeseungsslutsworld
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soobluv · 1 year
Text
honeymoon avenue
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pairing; jaehyun x (f) reader
genre/warnings; smut, a pinch of angst, fluff, stuck in an elevator with your ex-fiancé, exes to lovers, unprotected sex, oral (f receiving), very fast-paced story
summary; A year ago, wedding bells were ringing and you were screaming, “Yes!” at the top of your lungs. Last Christmas, you were supposed to be wed under a mistletoe. This Christmas, company finds you in the form of your ex-fiancé that broke off your engagement after you’re both inconveniently trapped in an elevator.
wc; 12.3k (complete opposite of a slow burn)
playlist; honeymoon avenue by ariana grande, my everything by ariana grande, undo (back to my heart) by tinashe, ice queen by baekhyun
a/n; ‘tis the season! decided to try something a little new. this was definitely a challenge for me, but it was fun regardless. merry christmas! see this as a little gift from me <3 as always, feedback is appreciated!
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Last year around this time, you had arranged to be wed. You recalled restlessly counting down the days until your lover would meet his lips to yours in front of all of your friends and family once granted the greenlight to kiss the bride.
You had everything planned down to a “T.” The banquet hall would be emerald and burgundy. There would be an arch above you where a mistletoe would hang. The wedding cake would have Jaehyun’s surname. And everyone’s attire would be formal, though seasonal.
It was supposed to be the best day of your life.
A winter wonderland wedding seemed like an apt choice for you. You were so, so cold, but there was still an air of warmth to you. Now, your heart was unthawed.
This Christmas - much like the last - you would be alone.
It stung knowing you would be lonely for the second Christmas in a row and there was nobody at fault but yourself. You were miffed at your own behavior, but gave yourself no time to dwell on the past, doing what you knew how to do best - work until your brain went numb.
There was plenty on the roster today. A corporate meeting, phone calls to answer, and reports that wouldn’t type themselves. And that was to be brief. Speaking of which, you needed to brief employees about new protocols.
“Come on, come on, come on,” you chanted impatiently to yourself, tapping your foot against the floor. The elevators in your apartment were running later than usual today.
You heaved a breath of relief when the doors chimed open. Out went a group of people and in went you. Maneuvering your body to press the first floor button, you came to a halt when you noticed it was already selected and gleaming.
That was when you finally noticed the man in the elevator - the only other person there with you - glancing down at his phone. You leaned against the railing and shifted your attention to the door nonchalantly, writing off the stranger as the very least of your concerns. Getting to work on time was paramount.
As it always was.
Morning traffic is going to be brutal, you thought with a grimace. Every thought in your head revolved around work and how long it would take you to get there.
It would seem you would have no time for your morning coffee run. You remembered those times when you’d stay the night at Jaehyun’s, waking to a hot cup of coffee that he’d made just the way you liked it waiting for you.
Four words would permanently be etched into your memory. Have a good life.
With some disdain, you bade the thought retreat. Jaehyun was no longer a part of your life and you doubted he would want to be ever again. Not that you blamed him. It was your punishment alone.
The elevator gave a jolt and you gripped the elevator for dear life, screeching, “What the…?”
The floor indicator donned the number one in a big, bold shade of red, though ironically, the door gave not an inch. Which was odd. You pressed the button that ostensibly opened the door in these types of situations, but to no avail.
“Are we stuck?”
Your head snapped behind you and you nearly broke into a cold sweat when you noticed that the man lone in the elevator with you was no other than your ex-fiancé.
Living in the same apartment complex as the man you were once fated to marry was no easy feat, but the multiple years of seeing each other made it simpler to avoid him. For one, you knew one another’s routines and thus what time to be out the door either before or after the other.
That said, you had seen Jaehyun a couple of weeks ago, but the last time you’d spoken was when he returned all of your things from his apartment. Have a good life. Those were the last words he’d exchanged with you.
That had been approximately a year ago, a couple of weeks before Christmas and the day you were supposed to say, “I do.”
“Appears that way,” you replied, clearing your throat.
Jaehyun had his phone in his pockets now. You held your breath as you gave him a once-over. He was still handsome as ever, though that was to be expected. As far as you were concerned, he looked more or less the same as the last time you’d spoken, only his hair was a little lengthier. He still looked rather displeased to see you.
And he was wearing a suit. Which meant he was most likely also trying to go to work.
You frowned. Now you were thinking about Jaehyun in suits. Needless to say, that was a sore spot.
A voice came over a speaker and you recognized it as Yangyang’s, one of the apartment staff. He spoke like he was reading from a textbook, “Passengers, do not be alarmed. Our technical team will be arriving shortly to repair the service. We apologize for the inconvenience.”
You mused aloud, “Can he hear us?”
“Loud and clear,” Yangyang chirped.
“How long will it be before someone can help us?” you asked, never keen on being late.
“I can’t say, ma’am. Anywhere from fifteen minutes and a couple of hours.”
You interjected to screech, “A couple of hours?”
Jaehyun clamped a soothing palm on your shoulder to calm you down. It was almost embarrassing how effortlessly his touch could ease you even a year after he broke off your engagement.
Yangyang explained in his usual exuberant tone, “The weather and usual early traffic may cause a delay, ma’am. They will be arriving as swiftly as possible and servicing is already underway by our maintenance staff.”
“Thank you, Yangyang,” Jaehyun said, smoothing his palm down your back.
“Have a nice day, Mr. Jung. You too, ma’am.”
You heaved a breath. “So, it looks like we’re going to be here a while.”
“Hopefully not that long,” Jaehyun said, recouping his hand.
Though it stung, you understood. It went without saying that being trapped in an elevator with the ex that abandoned him was not part of today’s plan. He may have called off the engagement, but you were the one that left him high and dry.
You broke his heart. Not only that, you stole his future. Everything he ever dreamed of, a wife and children, was thrown out the window because of your selfishness.
Jaehyun discerned you would both be stuck together for a while and rather than sit in awkward silence, he asked, “How’s life?”
Darn him. No matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t get the last words he had said to you out of your head. Have a good life.
The breakup was bitter and stone-cold. Jaehyun made a couple of things unmistakably clear with those four words alone. For one, he was cutting you out of his life for good. And he no longer desired to be imprisoned within yours, being punished for no good reason at all.
And you never fought him - never fought to win him over. Maybe because you had already known for some time that your engagement was in danger. It was beyond reclaim. Irrevocably damaged.
Never one to appear weak, you said, “Good. Really good. I was promoted to secretary.”
Jaehyun perked up. You got what you wanted. But did I deserve to be the sacrifice, baby? Was it worth it?
“Still a workaholic, I see.”
You frowned. “Old habits die hard. How have you been?”
“I can’t complain,” Jaehyun said. “I wasn’t promoted or anything, but everything’s been pretty good over here.”
You had no doubts. Jaehyun was an editor and his line of work gave him plenty of leeway. For the most part, he worked from home, though there were instances where he came into the workplace. At least, when you last spoke, that is.
“That’s amazing. I’m happy for you,” you said, willing yourself to smile. A part of you was strangely bitter. It didn’t want to see him happy without you.
Though you no longer followed each other, Jaehyun still popped up on your Instagram homepage every now and then. And perhaps you’d searched his page more times than you cared to admit. Everything about his page was achingly sentimental and reminiscent of your past together.
Pictures of him at museums or bridges at nighttime or parks with his hair whipping through the breeze. Once upon a time, you were the one taking those pictures of him. Now, you wondered who was behind the camera, living the life you’d carelessly given away.
“Thanks,” was all he willed himself to reply.
Your eyes instinctively fell to your watch and your head fell back as you groaned, “God, I’m going to be late for work.”
Jaehyun fought a snort. “You and me both. At least there’s still some good news.”
“Like what?”
“It’s warm in here,” Jaehyun commented lightheartedly.
You chuckled. What a way to relieve the tension. Though Jaehyun never failed to make you laugh with ease. Except for when you broke up. Nothing was funny then.
Those weeks leading to the breakup may have been worse than the day it actually happened altogether. The feeling of knowing something was inevitably bound to happen yet being unable to prevent it was arguably worse than the emptiness you felt when Jaehyun announced he no longer wanted anything to do with you.
Emptiness numbed you to the pain for a couple of days. You couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep. All you could feel was a bitter, nipping cold enveloping you, eventually splitting you right down the middle.
Jaehyun subtly eyed you as you typed a message to your boss, warning him that you may have been late for work and telling him to proceed without you. Maybe some things never changed. You were still gorgeous, that was for sure. But you were also still married to your work. Ultimately, that would always prove to be your downfall.
It seemed like only yesterday you were his. He was planning to meet you at the altar, itching to sweep you into his arms and kiss you the moment you were pronounced husband and wife.
You had always been a workaholic. At one point, Jaehyun loved it about you. He never thought your relationship would be foredoomed because of it. Devoted and loyal were two terms that described you strongly.
Although, maybe you had been too devoted to the wrong thing.
Your broken engagement was a prime example of what happened when you applied too much pressure to one thing and neglected the other. It was the wretched result of not finding balance.
Everything you ever hoped and dreamed of flashed before your eyes. Once upon a time, you were both making plans to move into a house together. You wanted a pet. And you were thinking about children.
Now, you were all alone. And you had never felt colder.
For some reason, the absurdity of your predicament hit you merely moments after you sent the text message. It just didn’t seem probable to be trapped in an elevator with your ex-fiancé. Much less alone. You threw your head back and whined, “I mean, what are the odds.”
Jaehyun pitched you a confused glance.
You winded a hand through your hair and elaborated, “Us being stuck in the exact same elevator and forcing ourselves to pretend we don’t mind. If I remember correctly, you had no intention of hearing from me again.”
“I think we should spare each other the awkwardness,” Jaehyun replied, donning an impassive expression. And tone.
You bit your lip. Maybe you shouldn’t have said anything. Jaehyun being kind to you should not have been mistaken and was probably more or less because he wanted to avoid as much tension as possible - not because he didn’t hate you.
Jaehyun spoke up again to ask, “How long have we been here?”
You glanced at your phone and read the time. “About fifteen minutes, I guess.”
“So, we’re going to be here for a couple of hours,” Jaehyun quipped, trying to lighten the mood the best way he knew how.
You winced, hoping there was an in between. “Not like I had anything else to do,” you mumbled.
Jaehyun himself wasn’t exactly bummed about missing a day, or at least a couple of hours. Though this was you. He used to joke that hell would freeze over the moment you decided to actually take a day off. “They will survive without you for a while,” he comforted softly.
You scoffed. You were carrying that company on your back. “I’m afraid that’s where you’re wrong. The whole building will be in flames if I’m not there within an hour tops.”
“I’m sure,” Jaehyun scoffed. “I’ve never seen anyone work as hard as you do.”
I have, you thought wistfully. Jaehyun fought harder for your relationship than you ever tried, but enough was enough. He was at his limit, giving more than he was receiving and he couldn’t let you take advantage of him anymore.
Though it was intended to be a compliment, for whatever reason, your heartache was only amplified. You swiftly changed the subject. “So, what are your plans for the holidays?”
He shrugged. “Nothing special. I’m going to spend some time with my family.”
That caught your attention. “You haven’t been seeing anyone?”
Jaehyun only shook his head. He was afraid of opening his mouth and saying something that would make shit awkward again. For all he knew, you two would both be stuck together for potentially the next couple of hours and he did not want to spend it in suffocating silence.
Unfortunately, Jaehyun couldn’t deny that after your engagement was broken off, finding other girls had been hard. They came a dime a dozen, but none of them remained. Even after you were long gone, bits of you lingered, scattered everywhere across his life.
Jaehyun went to bed and thought of nights spent cuddling you to sleep. He visited his favorite cafe and thought of your go-to order. Jaehyun hooked up with other girls and thought of how beautiful you looked writhing underneath him, your voice calling out his name in a cry, dripping with sweet honey.
Though you were forever gone, the memories of you still haunted him everyday. For so long, he had been convinced he was made for you. You were the only woman he ever wanted.
And he couldn’t have you.
Jaehyun commanded the thoughts to go away. You stopped being his long before the breakup. “You?”
“Oh, you know. With my line of work, I just don’t have the time,” you replied bashfully.
That Jaehyun knew all too well. Just a little.
He bobbed his head. “Sounds like you.”
Guilt suddenly plagued your chest. Every second beside him you were reminded of the fact that you were the one who ruined a beautiful thing. You had gotten what you strived for, though in hindsight, the lengths you went to get it were brutal and cold-hearted.
You had sacrificed so much of yourself to get to where you were. And now that you were standing at the top, you could finally see the collateral damage you’d inflicted at the bottom.
There was only a good couple of feet to separate you and Jaehyun. And you absolutely loathed it. There was more distance between you when he uttered those four words permanently etched into your memory, before turning and heading out of your front door.
Jaehyun fancied it no more than you did. Walking away had been hard. He looked back, but never stopped. A year ago, he was convinced that he would have moved on by now. But no matter how far apart you were, his heart was still one of your captives. Not only did he leave a piece of it with you, but the whole damn thing.
He wanted it back. Damn it, he wanted you back. He wanted back every piece of himself he gave you, but above all else, he wanted back what you had. To go back to the way everything was the day he got down on one knee and asked for permission to hold your heart forever.
He remembered it like it was yesterday. Earlier that spring, he took you to a bridge. Not only was it one of your favorite spots in the city, but it was where you both first said I love you.
Maybe that was why. Now, you couldn’t bring yourself to visit it anymore. The memories were too painful.
Just like the first time he took you there, night had fallen. The bridge overlooked a river, moonlight cast into the water. Purple lights made the trail glimmer. But the moon was a little fuller, the air a little cooler.
Not that either of you minded. To be with you, he was content.
You were beaming. Even before he proposed. None of you could stop thinking about the night you first said that you loved each other. But when Jaehyun asked you to marry him underneath the moonlight, you were over the moon.
You were chanting, “Yes!” Jaehyun had to sweep you into his arms and meet his lips to yours to cut you off. A very long time ago, the memory made him smile. Now, it made his heart swell with agony.
His eyes were sad. And understandably a little angry. Even after all these years, you could still read him clear as day. You wondered if he could read you, too. You whispered, “I’m sorry.”
Jaehyun heaved a deep breath. An apology wouldn’t fix his broken heart and saying you were sorry wouldn’t undo the heartache you inflicted on him. It wasn’t okay. He hated you for leaving him lonely. For choosing your job over a future together. He would never forgive you for it. “I never wanted much. I never wanted all of your time. Only a little was all I was asking for.”
“I don’t want to go there with you, Jaehyun,” you said, exhaling a sigh of your own.
All Jaehyun did was shake his head and murmur under his breath, “Classic.”
A part of you bristled. Why Jaehyun always wanted to hash things out with you was a mystery. Fighting was draining and you never had the energy. A long day of work left you with only enough strength to take a long hot shower before crawling into bed.
Not Jaehyun. He would never understand. The pressure to succeed, the struggle to unlearn the definition of success you were taught even before your adolescence.
A year ago, everything was falling apart in your relationship. You were arguing more, spending time together less. Jaehyun was trying to salvage what was left. In his mind, fighting with you was better than not speaking to you at all.
Most of your memories with him were unforgettable, but when they were bad, they were excruciating to think of. You could still remember the last argument before the uncoupling.
December was still fresh and the air was frigid, numbing your senses until you stepped into your warm apartment. Jaehyun was waiting for you there. A smile tugged your lips when you hung your coat and excitedly bounced into the kitchen, smelling hot chocolate.
“Baby, I’m home,” you sang radiantly. At one point, it used to be your favorite line to say. A lifetime of obsessing over movie cliches was to blame.
Jaehyun locked eyes with you and simpered. You looked nothing less than exhausted, though he found it cute on you. “Hey, my love. How was your day?”
You instantly groaned, “I’d rather not talk about it. Or think about it, for that matter.”
“Will a cup of hot cocoa make it better?”
You propped yourself on the island and flirted, “Made by Barista Jaehyun himself? Of course.”
Jaehyun handed you a mug and you accepted it graciously, muttering, “thank you.” He was the sweetest thing you could ask for. Even sweeter than the hot cocoa warming your palms.
That was how the arguments always began. They were sweet, innocent moments - until they weren’t.
Your lover dipped behind the island and returned with a mug of his own, still steaming with freshly hot cocoa. You thought absolutely nothing of it. Not until he opened his mouth. “How does a date night on Friday sound?”
You frowned. “This Friday?”
“Well, yeah,” Jaehyun said, rubbing his nape. “It’s been a while, you know. Since we’ve gone out on a date.”
That was true. Jaehyun always had some extra time to spare. He wanted to spoil and indulge you at every given chance. But you were always busy. Even when you were off the clock, you were still on the clock. And more often than not, you brought work back home with you.
“I’m so busy and so tired, Jay,” you whispered gently. God knew you wanted to, but you didn’t have the time and much less the energy.
“I get that,” Jaehyun started. “But can’t you take even a day off?”
“I’m aiming for a promotion, Jaehyun. I have to prove myself. My boss has been dangling this shit in our faces for the past few months. I can’t let an opportunity like that slip away.”
Jaehyun was rapidly getting frustrated and reminded, “You do realize we’re getting married in a few weeks, right?”
Your eyes flickered. “Yes, I do. And I plan to be there.”
“At the rate you’re going, I wouldn’t be surprised if you stood me up.”
Your heart sank. “How can you say that?”
“How couldn’t I?” Jaehyun snapped, evidently pained. “We’ve been engaged for the past nine months, but it doesn’t feel like I’m about to get married. It feels like I’m losing you because you’re too absorbed in your goddamn job.”
“Are you asking me to choose you over my job?” you asked, standing to your feet. This entire argument was an affront to your pride.
“No. There is no point in giving you an ultimatum when I already know that you will choose your job every time without hesitation - you already do. I’m asking you to make room for me, but I can’t force you to do anything you don’t want to.”
You countered, “I do want you.”
“Do you?” Jaehyun snapped, skeptical. “You can’t even go on a date with me. You want a promotion more than anything else.”
You sighed, “I don’t want to fight, Jay.”
“I know that. You don’t want to fight for anything,” Jaehyun said bitterly. “You would rather watch us burn to ash than fight for us.”
Anger plagued you and you were prepared to hurl something back, but he didn’t give you the chance.
Jaehyun added, “I don’t like the person this job has made you become. I want the woman I proposed to back, and I’m scared she’s not there anymore.”
Your words were cold as ice, “Then, leave.”
And the rest was history.
There was nothing you could say when Jaehyun left you, no fight for you to give. It was you that sent him away. It was you that made him leave. He had only given you what you asked for.
Old habits died hard. The one-year anniversary of both the breakup and the day you were supposed to be married was rapidly approaching and to distract yourself from the pain, you were burying yourself in work. You didn’t want to think about Jaehyun and what you almost had. Not even for a second. And then, today came and ruined everything.
Now, you were being forced to confront the past.
Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry. You’re stronger than this. God, you wanted to be anywhere but here right now. Tears burned your eyes, but you would never let them fall. Not with Jaehyun there. You didn’t want him to see the mess he’d left of you - how miserable you were without him.
You wanted to mend everything back together, but it was too late. Everything was irreparably broken. You had the opportunity to patch things up, and you passed it up. No more time could be wasted crying for the moon.
And still, somewhere deep inside, you knew Jaehyun would steal it for you.
Jaehyun saw your eyes and softened a little. Damn it, they still made him weak. Your tears were made of diamonds and they were priceless. Jaehyun said, “My mother still talks about you, you know. She asks me when we’re going to get back together.”
Your eyes flickered. “That’s… interesting,” you lied. “I thought she would hate me. And be more protective of her baby.” Because I broke your heart.
“You know my mother always loved you,” Jaehyun chuckled fondly. “I don’t think anyone believed in us more than her - not even ourselves.”
Somebody had to, you thought weakly. Though Jachyun was a romantic to his core, even he had to eventually throw in the towel.
Everyone thought you and Jaehyun would be the perfect match. Each of your families were anticipating a beautiful wintry nuptial ceremony on Christmas day. And when news of the uncoupling broke loose, your people weren't exactly shocked, but they were heavily disappointed.
You were clearly the problem. Until you learned how to balance, you would never be happy in love.
Up until now, you were beginning to become content with that fate.
Though now, your heart was greedy.
Jaehyun’s mother crossed your mind. She was the epitome of an angel and the fact that she still wanted you in her son’s life after all the pain you caused him was deafening. But what about what Jaehyun wanted? Does he even still love me?
Every moment spent with his mother had been wonderful. She spoke fondly of him and vice versa and supported him unconditionally. It was true motherly love and it made your chest stiffen, taut with envy. Ever since you were a kid, you only knew pressure. Your parents wanted you to have the life they didn’t when they were your age, but they were very strict in how they went about it.
Tough love was all you received. They didn’t help you through trying times. You were expected to suck it up. You were taught that tears were a sign of vulnerability and vulnerability was weakness.
You fought them back with everything you had and said, “How does she know I wouldn’t mess things up again?”
“I don’t know,” Jaehyun told you, not disputing the fact that you had essentially destroyed everything. It stung, but it was the truth. “She says ‘a mother knows best.’”
Jaehyun watched you struggle to hold yourself together. You were good at pretending to be okay and smiling through your pain, but he was even better at seeing through you. He saw you through a lens that only a man who loved you with his whole mind, body, and soul for years could see. He saw all your weaknesses, all your flaws. But he never judged and he saw something else in them, too. What made you beautiful.
“But what do you want?” It was killing you. For as long as you stood there, you needed to know.
“I wanted you,” Jaehyun replied honestly. “But you wouldn’t let me have you.”
You shook your head. “You had me. Every piece of me - it belonged to you.”
“That’s not how I remember it,” Jaehyun muttered. “You had my heart, but your work had yours.”
“That’s not true.”
Jaehyun was firm. “It is and you know it.”
“I loved you,” you told him softly.
“Well, you sure had a funny way of showing it.”
You gripped the railing to anchor yourself. It didn’t move, but you could feel yourself slipping into weakness. “I don’t know how to stop, Jaehyun. I think it’s a part of me now. It’s hard to stop doing something you’ve done your whole life.”
I don’t like the person this job has made you become. I want the woman I proposed to back, and I’m scared she’s not there anymore.
Maybe he was right. Maybe that woman was long gone.
A cloud of melancholy came over you, pouring over you and Jaehyun. He told you somberly, “I could have helped you if you would have let me in. But you were pushing me away.”
“I know,” you said, meeting his dark eyes. “But I wish I would have known back then. I never realized I was breaking us apart. Not until it was too late. I thought I was doing what was best…”
Jaehyun finished darkly, “You were doing what was best for yourself. Not for us.”
You opened your mouth to defend yourself, but quickly accepted he was right and instead said, “I was wrong. I was selfish. I wasn’t considering how any of it made you feel and that’s a decision I have to live with now.”
“Do you regret it?” I need to know if my broken heart was worthwhile.
Your eyes burned. “Every day of my life.”
“Why?” Jaehyun questioned, voice barely above a whisper. “You got the promotion. Isn’t that what you wanted?”
“I thought it was,” you muttered. Your chest was swelling with self-disgust and agony and anger. Not at Jaehyun, but at yourself. “But when I lost you, I realized that everything I needed was already right there. Until it wasn’t.”
Jaehyun was quiet but pensive. As if he was trying to trace exactly where everything started going wrong.
Even in school, you were devoted. You were the valedictorian of your class. Jaehyun used to steal you away to kiss you behind the bleachers. But you would always be there for his basketball games, cheering him on better than any cheerleader.
High school sweethearts, he thought wistfully. In high school, you won prom king and queen. Everyone thought you would last forever. That only God himself could part you.
How beautiful it was to be young, dumb, and in love.
Jaehyun knew your issues stemmed from your childhood. When you were still in high school, sometimes you had to blow him off to study. He remembered you canceling hangouts because your parents refused to let you out of their house until you studied until you were cross-eyed. Their house, their rules, was the policy.
But he also remembered those nights when he would hear a knock on his bedroom window and smile when he saw you beaming at him through the glass. One December night, you were crazy enough to sneak out during the nipping cold, shivering and rubbing your arms outside his window.
Though it was many years ago, Jaehyun remembered that night clearly. His mother made you hot cocoa and promised not to tattle. She always had a soft spot for you and held some disdain for your parents. She claimed they worked you too hard.
Everything was so perfect back then. He knew what changed, but he couldn’t understand why. You used to make time for him whenever you could. As the pressures of adulthood caught up to you, it all came to a slow, brutal end.
But why?
Then, leave. Those were the two words he would never forget. They were powerful than the I love you’s - more powerful than the I miss you’s. Your clipped, icy tone, would maybe someday be forgiven, but never forgotten.
A stubborn wound was forevermore slashed on his heart waiting for you to heal it.
You were breaking. Every part of you was crashing down. A familiar ache split your heart right down the middle. “I’ll never forgive myself for throwing away the most beautiful thing that has ever happened to me. I didn’t know what I had until it was gone and I can’t tell you enough how sorry I am.”
Your ex-lover was mawkishly nostalgic and sentimental and never said he forgave you, for that would take a while longer, but told you, “I knew I was the second priority in your life after your career. And I was okay with that. Then, it started to feel like I had no place in it at all. I was at the end of my tether, a stranger to the woman I was supposed to marry, and I knew we couldn’t carry on like that, my love.”
My love. That was what Jaehyun always used to call you. Your eyes flickered. “Do you still…?”
“I don’t think I’ll ever completely get over you,” Jaehyun admitted forlornly.
That was when the dam broke. Jaehyun had dismantled you piece by piece and left you vulnerable. You had no strength to fight back the tears rolling down your cheeks.
Jaehyun’s arms, as they always were, were wide open. He pulled you into his warm embrace and let you sob into his chest, smoothing his hand down your back and protecting you from the sharp coldness of your own pain. You were beleaguered to remember the last time you let yourself cry. You let everything pile up until the water pressure became too much.
“Shh. It’s okay. Let it out,” Jaehyun crooned, gently stroking your hair. “You’re not weak.”
There was an ache resurfacing in your body and it was purely unshakable. Your heart was whole, but hollow. Only its pleas to be back with Jaehyun - where it belonged - rang out in the icebound, empty void.
Being in Jaehyun’s arms only made you nostalgic and the pain hit you harder. You thought regretfully of those moments in the past when he would hold you for all to see. And you remembered going to bed and always knowing he was still there, because you would feel his arms still tight around you and smile. Like he wanted to protect you, even while asleep.
You sobbed, “I don’t deserve you.”
Jaehyun gently pushed you back only a little and looked you in your eyes. He wiped your cheeks with his thumb and told you calmly, “You made a mistake. We all do.”
The gesture made you soft and weak. Goddamn it, you were so weak for him. Like your knees would give in any moment now.
“Not like the one I made, though.”
“That’s true,” Jaehyun said. “But do you regret it?”
Your voice wavered, “More than anything.”
“Then, I forgive you.”
You shook your head, not knowing how to accept that. You didn’t deserve forgiveness. You didn’t deserve understanding. But that was the kind of person Jaehyun was.
He deserves someone better than me, you thought somberly. But you wouldn’t know what you would do with yourself if he found that someone.
“You should hate me,” you said softly, voice cracking. “I broke your heart. I broke us.”
Jaehyun shook his head. “You know what my mother always says?”
“It doesn’t only matter if you break something, but if you’re willing to put it back together,” you said, smiling fondly at the memory of his mother. She always treated you like you were her own.
Jaehyun nodded and asked, “Are you willing to put us back together again?”
You mulled it over. There was no doubt that you were willing. Back then, you were too in your head to notice reality. Now, you were blindsided by pain and regret and inclined to do anything to make it stop. “What if I mess up again?”
“Relationships aren’t perfect. People fuck up and people make mistakes. You’re only human,” Jaehyun told you frankly. “I’ll be there to help you clean it up. But don’t let me pull all the weight. We both have to fight together.”
“Okay.” You knew what you wanted now. It wasn’t that job. It wasn’t a promotion. It was the man that had spent half his life loving you, and would still love you for the other half. “I’m willing.”
Jaehyun smiled. A part of him couldn’t fathom how this was happening. The hole in his heart was steadily being sealed. He pulled you back flush against his chest.
The tension in the air seemed to alleviate then. You could finally breathe again. Being in a tight space with the love of your life didn’t feel suffocating anymore, but closer to relief.
You were talking freely again. You missed just being able to have a conversation with Jaehyun, recalling those times when you would discuss anything under the sun. Long nights of talking the moon away knowing full well you had work in the morning hit you. With Jaehyun, the small talk was skipped. You could discuss anything and everything.
There was no worry, no fear. Sometimes, there would be tension, but never the unpleasant kind. Only moments ago, those times seemed like merely a distant memory. Now, there was hope that you had Jaehyun back.
In his arms, you realized that was where you belonged. It was your safe haven in a world filled with danger. Your secrets were safe with Jaehyun and you were free to be vulnerable, because you knew he would never betray you. No matter what happened between you both, whether you were angry or in love, you knew whatever you told each other would forever remain under lock and key.
“Do you remember the arch?” you asked, wistfully recalling what could’ve been. “I wanted a mistletoe up there. For some reason, I couldn’t shake the thought of kissing you underneath it for the first time as your wife.”
Jaehyun chuckled fondly. “I remember. I also remember you wanted John Stamos to marry us because he was your, and I quote, ‘true first love.’”
You nudged his side. “Hey, I would have also accepted Shemar Moore.”
Goddamn it, now Jaehyun was thinking about kissing you. His eyes fell to your pretty lips, still as enticing as they used to be when you were his. Never had he wanted to kiss you so badly. Like it would heal the wounds caused by missing you.
Can I… can I kiss you?” Jaehyun asked.
You said with no hesitation, “You can do whatever you want to me.”
Now that he had your permission, Jaehyun didn’t waste a second to envelop your lips in his. Only then did you realize how much you missed feeling his lips on yours, how much you craved tasting his tongue in your mouth. You had gone so long without, but ironically, he still felt like home. And making out with him felt right as ever.
Jaehyun kissed you so fiercely that he nearly swept you off balance and caught your hips in his arms. Your fingers threaded through his hair, back against the railing. He kissed you to make up with the wasted times he spent with other people. You kissed him to make up for the wasted times you could have spent with each other. To fill the void and patch each other back up.
He taught you what love was. It was letting each other in instead of freezing each other out. It was building something beautiful together and fighting to protect it instead of letting it all fall apart and into ruins.
Kissing you eased Jaehyun’s heart. His pain was forgotten and he was overwhelmed with his undying love for you. He would never get over you, no matter how hard he tried. A love like the one you had would take more than a lifetime to get over you.
The way you immediately clicked, it was like you knew each other in a past life. Even now, his feelings were unabating. In his next life, it would still be you and only you. Always and forever.
You were so besotted with Jaehyun and the way his lips tasted that neither of you noticed the elevator door opening.
Yangyang cleared his throat. “Um, guys?”
Both of you whipped around, more than a little shocked to see the door open with Yangyang standing in the middle to prevent it from closing on you.
Jaehyun looked at you and asked, “How long have we been in here?”
“Approximately two hours,” Yangyang chirped. “You’re free to go now. By free to go, I mean please exit the lift. As you can see, there’s a bit of a line.”
You looked behind Yangyang and saw a couple of people impatiently waiting to travel upstairs. You lowered your head and flushed. Jaehyun laced his fingers through yours and led you outside of the elevator, smiling like a dumbass. He didn’t care who saw. He couldn’t have been any more happy than he was right now.
“Well, we’re free,” he said once you were both in the clear. Then, he frowned. “But we still have work.”
You winced. “And I wasn’t kidding about the place burning down. I really need to be there. I know how that sounds, but I promise I’ll make it up to you later. Do you trust me?”
“Of course,” Jaehyun said, grabbing your wrist and kissing the back of your hand.
Your heart tugged at the gesture. Why’d he have to be so goddamn perfect?
You got on your toes and pressed a brief kiss to his lips, feeling butterflies swimming in your gut. It seemed they had come to visit again. “I’ll see you later, Jaehyun.”
Jaehyun told you goodbye and watched you leave. It hurt a little to see you go, but he knew you would come back to him. You always did, even if it took a year and unlikely circumstances.
When you were gone, he turned around and grabbed his phone out of his pockets. He had to tell his mother that maybe she knew best after all.
Night fell. Jaehyun still hadn’t heard from you although you should have been off from work hours ago. A part of him was worried, but he still trusted that you wouldn’t give in to your old habits. It was Friday night. Maybe you were resting and would see him tomorrow.
Jaehyun went into his living room and played some music. The atmosphere reminded him of you. Holding you in his arms and spinning you around. Everywhere he went, he could still hear your voice and laughter ringing in his hair, like the ghost of you was haunting him.
He shook his head. You drove him mad. He accepted that he would never forget you, much less the way it felt to love you.
The doorbell rang and he could barely hear it over his music. Jaehyun didn’t pause it, but went to open his door and was pleasantly surprised to see you standing there.
“What are you doing?” Jaehyun asked.
“I told you I would make it up to you,” you said, gesturing to the pair of grocery bags in your arms.
It was Jaehyun’s natural instinct to take them out of your hands, and turning, he said, “Hurry up and come in. It’s cold outside.”
You didn’t need to be told twice and followed him immediately, shutting the door behind yourself. It was warm and cozy inside his apartment, as always. You hung your coat on the rack and glanced around, memories hitting you tenfold, square in the heart. Everywhere your eyes fell, you saw figures of you and Jaehyun.
Dancing in the living room. Movie night marathons on the couch. And racing down the hallway with your lips on the other’s and your hands desperately trying to remove each other’s clothes as you messily stumbled into the bedroom for a long night of loving.
“I see you’ve already set the mood,” you joked when you noticed the music playing, watching him set the groceries on the counter.
Jaehyun beamed. “I wasn’t even expecting company.”
“Sorry for showing up unannounced.” You smiled coyly, approaching the kitchen. “I’ll make it up to you. And no, you can’t help, Chef.”
“Please?”
You grabbed a gigantic wooden spoon and pointed at him. “Sit your ass down.”
“Jesus. Alright, then,” Jaehyun said, lifting his arms defensively. Ever stubborn were you. The reminder roused a chuckle from him. “Have it your way then, bossy.”
“I will.”
Jaehyun shook his head, still cheesing like an idiot. You were still iron-willed. That part of you would never change.
You cooked dinner in Jaehyun’s apron and he laughed at how big it was on you. The memories were overwhelming now. It seemed that no matter where you were or what you were doing, his mind would always find a way to remind him of your presence.
But the memories didn’t have to be bitter or painful anymore. He wanted to try again. He wanted a fresh start, a chance to repaint the canvas and a clean slate. As long as you were both determined to make things work, Jaehyun had faith in you and him.
“Dinner was amazing,” Jaehyun complimented, throwing your dirty dishes in the sink to be remembered later. He stepped back over to the island and trapped you in his arms.
You peered up at him, cheeks warming. “Thank you.”
Looking into your pretty eyes, Jaehyun couldn’t resist the temptation to kiss you anymore. You made a noise of surprise when he met his lips to yours, caught completely off-guard, but you kissed him back. It would be fighting your instincts not to.
You closed your eyes and let Jaehyun guide you, trusting he would never lead you astray. When he kissed you, he melted away your icebound surface and got under your skin, peeling you back layer by layer. You liked kissing Jaehyun. Way too much. Even now, you could still recall the first time you made out, hiding behind the bleachers on campus yet gigging loud enough for all to hear.
When it came to each other, you both were like moths to the dangerous flames of love. Love would always unite you again. You couldn’t resist those pretty, twinkling sparks of fire. And you couldn’t get enough of the burn.
Jaehyun was confused when you pulled away, but looked into your eyes again and saw a kind of sadness twinkle in them. Your voice was weak, “Why don’t you hate me?”
“I couldn’t even if I wanted to, baby,” Jaehyun said, finding your hand and squeezing it firmly. “And believe me, I tried. Even if a part of me did hate you, an even bigger part of me will always love you.”
That was all you needed to hear before you were sucking on his tongue again, wet kissing noises tangled in the sound of old school music.
Then, Jaehyun pressed you into the counter, kissing you even rougher. You were riling him up, moaning into his mouth and that noise would never not do it for him. A different kind of fire came over you when you noticed him very impatiently unbuttoning your blouse.
Same old Jaehyun. At heart, he was still the same as the cute boy you fell in love with. You were pleasantly impressed that kissing you alone still got him up.
You broke the kiss again to ask through jagged breath, “Do you think we’re moving too fast?”
“Probably,” Jaehyun replied. Not that he gave a damn. Unless you did, of course. “Do you wanna stop?”
“Jaehyun, I literally have not had sex in over a year. If you don’t fuck my brains out I think I’ll cry.”
Jaehyun chuckled darkly. “That can be arranged.”
You made a noise of surprise when Jaehyun cautiously scooped you into his sturdy arms and lowered you onto the counter. You made out hotly, his hands continuing to quickly unbutton your blouse and yours pulling his shirt above his head.
The sight of his happy trail and toned abs made your core throb. And your mouth water. Your palms involuntarily slicked over them, feeling nothing but hard skin and muscle.
“See something you like?” Jaehyun asked, grinning in the most annoying way possible.
You swallowed the lump in your throat and said, “Still a gym rat, I see.”
Jaehyun bobbed his head. “Yeah. I still hit the gym with Johnny when we have spare time.”
That you knew. Despite the breakup, you and Jaehyun still had a ton of mutual friends, chiefly from high school. You recalled seeing Johnny post one of his gym visits with Jaehyun not too long ago.
And you also vividly remembered the sight of Jaehyun, donning sweats and a blank tank-top. He drove you absolutely feral. His hair was matted to his forehead with sweat and his biceps were flexed, showing off his muscle. You would always be a sucker for a burly man that could snap you in half if he so pleased.
Jaehyun expertly removed your bra and tossed it somewhere to be forgotten. He wanted to see your breasts bounce while he pounded you into oblivion. Your skirt followed, but Jaehyun slid your panties to your ankles at a agonizingly slow pace, all the while smiling like an idiot as you gave a needy and impatient whimper.
“You’re already so wet,” Jaehyun murmured, drawing an invisible pair of lines on your bare cunt with his fingers. “Did you miss me that much?”
You whimpered, “Please, Jay.”
Hearing you call out his name like that was all it took for Jaehyun to lose all sense of self-restraint and he spread your thighs apart with tenderness, burying himself between them. You let out a sharp cry, throwing your head back. Some of your best orgasms were the ones when Jaehyun ate you out until you physically could no longer take it and begged for him to stop.
Jaehyun targeted your clit immediately, a testament to the fact that he knew your body intimately. Your thighs clamped around the sides of his head, unaccustomed to the pressure.
He merely clasped your thighs in his palms and held them freestanding, undeterred as he continued to lap at you like with the hunger only an untamed beast could have.
“Fuck,” was all you could say, curses dangling from your lips. You had been touch-starved for over a year and the familiarity of Jaehyun’s touch was overwhelming in the best way possible.
Despite the fact Jaehyun handled you gently, with love and tenderness and nothing but, he ate you out like an animal.
Jaehyun longed for the taste of you, arousal gathering on his tongue. He loved unraveling you like this. You could never stay still, much less quiet when he was going down on you. The sight of you, head angled back and moaning his name nearly made him cum in his pants.
Your fingers clamped locks of his hair and Jaehyun groaned, somehow spurred on by the gesture. You were making noises left to right, feeling yourself nearing your peak in record time. A year of no sex factoring in a skilled partner would absolutely do that to you.
Your lover learned to recognize you at the threshold of release a very long time ago and briefly parted from your pussy, substituting his mouth with his fingers as he sang, “Just let go for me, baby. It’s okay.”
It was clear that your body had every intention of obeying him. Naturally, it submitted to Jaehyun, with no fear and no reluctance. He knew it and it knew him.
“Oh my God. Jaehyun,” you moaned, thighs twitching. Not wanting to hurt him, you clamped your nails into the counter, eyes closed as the pressure threatened to consume you from head to toe.
Jaehyun talked you through it, whispering, “Do it for me, baby. Just let go.”
Not too much longer, orgasm seized you, rendering you weak and defenseless. You had no strength in your body to fight it even if you wanted to, weakened by his touch. Your toes clenched and you cried his name, fingernails scraping the island roughly enough to damage both your nails and the countertop.
Jaehyun didn’t stop eating you out until you went rigid, chest undulating. You looked a hot mess, heaving for breath and your lips parted, easing the airflow.
“Are you okay?” Jaehyun asked when he moved from between your legs, fighting off a smirk at the sight of you completely disheveled.
“Not until you fuck me,” you rasped, still needy in spite of still trying to catch your breath.
Jaehyun snickered and tugged his pants down, underwear soon giving chase. You positively gawked when you saw his bare, thick dick. It never failed to make your mouth water. And your body tremble with release.
You kept your nails at your sides as Jaehyun lined his cock up at your entrance, gently easing himself past your sheath-like walls. He still clasped his hands at your thighs, brows crumpling with concentration. You were still so goddamn tight, clamping around him with a grip almost vice-like.
“Jay,” you whimpered, hands clenched into fists.
“Shh,” Jaehyun whispered, moving his mouth to the side of your face. There was a catch in your breath when you noticed his lips brushing against your ear, breath tickling your nape. “Open up for me, baby.”
The sensation of being filled completely made you feel nothing short of relief. There was a wet noise when Jaehyun’s hips smacked against your own, the last thrust followed by one even deeper. You tried your best to take all of him, wanting to please him even if it was the last thing you did.
Jaehyun slipped out of his own trance briefly enough to mention, “I didn’t wear a condom.”
“Just pull out,” you said, in no state of mind to give a damn. You liked the feeling of him fucking you nice and raw.
“We’re definitely a pair of idiots.”
You snickered and found his hand, slipping your fingers through his. “You’re my idiot and I’m your idiot. That’s all that matters.”
Jaehyun smiled into the crook of your neck, eventually clamping his teeth there to conceal a moan at your expense.
He lifted his head and drew back to admire the entire view, watching his cock disappear between your legs over and over again borderline obsessively. There was something about you that he would never get tired of. He liked holding you close and loving you hard.
“You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” Jaehyun exhaled, voice full of sincerity. And raw pleasure.
You were burning up, withering heat blindsiding you. Jaehyun was making short work of you. It felt like love-making rather than plain old fucking, all things considered. Jaehyun’s gentle, steady pace as he whispered sweet little nothings in your ear, old school romance songs faded out in the background all the while.
All you could focus on was Jaehyun. He was all you could hear, all you could feel. You were driven by the feeling of your walls garroting his size, the sounds of the little groans he couldn’t smother into your skin and his affectionate words urging you closer to climax.
“Don’t hold back, baby,” you sighed, tightening your hold around his hand. It was a tiny, sweet gesture. “Please? I wanna hear you.”
Jaehyun obeyed you because there wasn’t a damn thing on this earth he wouldn’t do for you. You owned him and you knew it.
Jaehyun swore when you clamped around his dick even harder. He watched your breasts bounce, your whole body unstill. Even your hands were scrambling, releasing him and now finding purchase in his back. “I love you,” he sighed, kneading your breasts.
“I love you, too,” you moaned, feeling light as ever. He always took you to another dimension whenever you were together, but especially when he was fucking you within an inch of your life.
I love you, too. Jaehyun was beaming. That was the first time he’d heard you say it in over a year and you had no idea how badly he needed to hear it again now.
Jaehyun marked up your neck, leaving a trail of himself like souvenirs for you to remember in his absence. Your pulse thumped rapidly, your heart on the verge of tearing out of your chest, landing into his palms where it belonged. Now, your heartache was - at long last - soothed.
There were no words to aptly describe your affection towards Jaehyun. Your love for him ran to an inexplicably deep extent with seemingly no end. It was all you could think about while he fucked you, how badly you needed him in your life. How the sensations he made you feel were irreplicable and you were content enough to simply be in his arms.
Your lover never lasted very long when fucking you bare and raw and sensing himself approaching climax, Jaehyun brought his fingers to your clit, already swollen from release. A gasp tore from your throat when he fondled with the sensitive bundle of nerves, trying to facilitate an orgasm out of you.
“Jaehyun,” you whined. You reached for his hand, sensitive.
Jaehyun grabbed your hand with his spare one and slipped his fingers through again for you to squeeze. “It’s okay, my love. I want you to cum,” he said gently, biting your sweet spot.
He was making short work of you. Your climax threatened to ensnare you with a force powerful enough to snap you in half. You needed it. More than anything, you needed it.
You hauled your nails over his back, drawing long, red lines across the naked flesh. Jaehyun hissed darkly, pace quickening and coming even harder. You were driving him mad and vice versa. Your body had never been more confused than it was in that moment, barely willing itself to not writhe away but simultaneously matching his thrusts, wanting to build the pleasure yet somehow escape it all at once.
“I’m coming, I’m coming,” you warned in an impassioned chant, choking on your lack of breath. “I’m…”
Your body quivered, release stealing the rest of your words before you could speak them. You found Jaehyun’s hand again, squeezing it for dear life. The orgasm was so heavy you almost collapsed in on yourself and Jaehyun. You were seeing white, burning red, emitting Jaehyun’s name in a sharp cry.
Jaehyun felt you clenching around his cock with climax and immediately withdrew, knowing he would bust a nut inside you if he stayed a second longer. “Open your mouth,” Jaehyun told you, voice husky, thick with lust.
It was almost enough to break you all over again.
You did as instructed, no hesitation required. Jaehyun fitted his cock inside your mouth, moaning at how warm it was. You took him in, wanting to get him off and taste him dripping down your throat.
When he saw you, cheeks hollowed with his rigid cock in your mouth, Jaehyun nearly came then and there. He fucked your mouth, guttural little praises dangling from his lips.
Your thighs clenched tightly, hot sparks still aflame between. He got you riled up effortlessly, hardly ever needing to try. There was something about him that you were naturally attracted to, an unshakable kind of attraction. You couldn’t fathom why you couldn’t escape him, why your body and heart was seized by your lover.
“So good,” Jaehyun grunted, pace accelerating.
Jaehyun fucked your throat until he came, emptying his balls into your mouth at long last. Eagerly, you swallowed as much as you could, an amalgamation of his release and your saliva dribbling down your chin and onto your naked, heaving breasts.
And the sight positively wrecked him.
“Fuck,” you rasped, still registering what the hell had happened.
Jaehyun’s eyes flashed with alarm. “Did I hurt you?”
“No, it’s just that that’s the best sex I’ve had in a while.”
Jaehyun rolled his eyes and quipped, “That’s the only sex you’ve had in a while.”
“Still the best.”
Jaehyun laughed, eyes crinkling. “Round two?”
“God, yes,” you groaned, still feeling unalloyed pleasure burning between your thighs.
Jaehyun scooped your bare body into his arms again and carried you into his room, pressing the gentlest of kisses to your lips and neck all the while.
You smiled to yourself in the morning when you roused, feeling Jaehyun’s arms still wrapped loosely around your waist.
Everything had shifted then. Though you initially had plans of spending the holidays buried in work, you came to find that Jaehyun’s warm embrace was the greatest gift you could have asked for on Christmas day. There was none of the loneliness and dwelling you dreaded, only making brand new memories with the man you loved with your entire heart, mind and soul.
On Christmas day, you visited his mother’s house where his family had gathered, recognized familiar faces that were surprisingly all too glad to see you again.
When Jaehyun’s mother opened the front door, you greeted bashfully, “Hi, Mrs. Jung.”
“I knew we would meet again,” Mrs. Jung said softly, simpering in a self-satisfied manner. “Come in, dear. You’re always welcome in our home.”
You stepped inside the house, Jaehyun following suit once exchanging a silent, understanding glance with his mother. As always, she was right.
As you glanced around, nostalgia hit you tenfold. Everywhere you looked, there were memories of you and Jaehyun. You could see you both running up the stairs excitedly and Mrs. Jung scolding you about horse-playing indoors. When your eyes fell to the kitchen, you saw yourself joining the Jung’s for dinner, sitting directly beside your lover.
Jaehyun leaned into your ear, given that seasonal music was blaring, and said, “I’m going to have a talk with my brother for a second. Be on your best behavior and don’t try to escape out a window. Old habits die hard.”
You rolled your eyes and playfully shoved him. “Go. I’ll be right here,” you said, heart wrenching softly.
Jaehyun snickered and slithered away.
In his place came someone you were very familiar with.
“Nostalgia?”
You whirled around, instantly recognizing the voice as Taeyong’s, one of Jaehyun’s many, many cousins.
“I made a lot of memories here. I’ll never forget any of it,” you replied honestly. “Long time, no see.”
Taeyong bobbed his head in agreement. “Definitely. I was scared that I’d never see you again.”
“Why is that?” Your curiosity was piqued. You never imagined Jaehyun’s family would anticipate meeting you once more. It was the stark opposite of your expectations.
Taeyong leaned closer like he was telling you someone’s deepest, darkest secret, and whispered, “Between you and I, Jaehyun hasn’t been the same since the breakup. Not a happy camper. You were a part of his life for so long that we were all convinced he would never adjust to living one without you again.”
Visioning a morose, heartbroken Jaehyun made you frown. “I did that.”
“You absolutely did. You broke the poor guy’s heart and made him unbearable. He didn’t deserve that. And I didn’t deserve to have to put up with his insufferable ass,” Taeyong scoffed offhandedly, though you knew his words were lighthearted. “But you fixed it.”
“I guess I did that, too,” you exhaled contentedly, turning your head to spot Jaehyun chatting with his brother. That made you beam. Everything had fallen apart, shattered into pieces, but you were both willing to do the work and put them together.
“He’s himself again,” Taeyong said, following your gaze. “Thank you for giving me my favorite cousin back.”
“I should have never taken him away in the first place.”
Taeyong gave you a playful, half-assed attempt at consoling, “Good people do bad things. We all fuck up. Just maybe not as badly as you.”
You nudged his side.
He continued, turning somewhat sober, “He forgives you. But this won’t work out until you also forgive yourself.”
“You’re so young, but so wise,” you whispered, slightly touched.
Taeyong snickered. “It runs in the family,” he said, patting your back before turning away.
You merely stood there, rooted in place. Taeyong had given you something to muse on you. You realized a part of you was still clinging onto guilt, unable to rationalize your own decisions. You were so convinced that you were undeserving of Jaehyun’s love and courtesy that you had forgotten how to move on from your errors.
It would be a process. But a step a day was better than none at all.
You beamed when you noticed Jaehyun approaching you and he returned it, outstretching his hand and asking, “May I steal a dance?”
“Of course,” you said, taking his hand in yours.
Jaehyun brought you from the foyer to the living room where mainly everybody had gathered to dance, spinning you in his arms as holiday music filled the air.
You swept some free strands of hair from his handsome face, admiring the view only a little higher up than you. Even in a room filled to the hilt with people, Jaehyun and Jaehyun alone was all you could see. Everyone else faded. It was only you and your lover, swaying to the rhythm of a seasonal song.
“This feels like senior prom, but Christmas edition,” Jaehyun quipped.
You snickered delightfully. “I remember when we were announced prom king and queen. I like how nobody was surprised.”
You remembered it like it was yesterday. Jaehyun joined you for the first dance, gently whirling you around in front of several prying eyes, but you didn’t care. To you, the room was as good as empty. They were faceless, nameless people with no contribution or value, no relation to you and your blossoming romance with Jaehyun.
It was an experience you never knew you needed back then. Maybe in that moment, you knew it was fate. That one way or another, Jaehyun was inevitably the one you would grow old and gray-haired with.
Even now, as you stared into his pretty brown eyes, you knew that this was the man you wanted a future with.
Jaehyun glanced up and said, “Look.”
You did as told, smiling fondly as you noticed the mistletoe hanging above your heads. A part of you wondered if it was a coincidence or if he chose this spot deliberately. “I remember kissing you in front of everyone,” Jaehyun added, full of mischief.
You played along and hummed, “I’m not sure if I recall. Care to remind me?”
Jaehyun didn’t waste a second to lock lips with you, tasting hot cocoa on your tongue. You could taste gingerbread on his and the thought made you giggle into his mouth. There was something about it - something about Jaehyun - that made every tiny thing mean a billion times more.
All of the whimsical little things made your heart swell with happiness.
“Yo, chill, you horn dogs. There’s children,” scolded Jaehyun’s other cousin Mark, covering his little cousin’s eyes. His family gave you a headache. Every time you learned them all, it was as if another cousin popped out of thin air.
You and Jaehyun pulled away, snickering. You leaned on your toes, giving his lips one final peck before deciding you’d had your fill.
Days of being Jaehyun’s again turned into some of the happiest months of your life. You were letting go of some of your old habits and setting some past trauma free. There were a handful of grim times, but you both made the effort to repair things before they spiraled out of control.
Excuses had run their course. Jaehyun would ask you on dates and you’d agree more, overworking yourself less. Until now, you never realized that putting some distance between yourself and the stresses of work was what it took to be happier. You had made the earth-shattering mistake of convincing yourself that hard work equated happiness.
The two of you agreed to take things slow, afraid rushing would land you in an achingly familiar predicament, but you couldn’t deny that things had been speeding up. And Jaehyun already knew that it would forever be you.
It was another long, brutal day of work and nothing was out of the ordinary. You were running across the office, balancing direct orders on top of your daily tasks. You needed six skins to have a job like this. Three to balance the roles of multiple people and another three to endure the wear and tear.
Ten, your favorite co-worker, tracked you down and stopped you dead in your tracks to say, “Hey, slow down a second. Someone’s here to see you.”
You did the opposite of slowing down, still walking and as he followed you, said, “Tell them I’m taking a sick day, would you? Thanks, Tennie.”
“I don’t think so,” Ten said, donning an amused look. Which successfully made you pause in confusion. Usually, Ten never hesitated to cover for you. “You’re going to want to hear what this guy has to say. I swear.”
Very reluctantly, you agreed to follow Ten, curiosity piqued as you wondered who in the hell would dare interrupt you in the middle of a swift-paced work day.
Jung Jaehyun. That was who.
You made a face of confusion when you saw him there, smiling at you like an idiot. Confused, you asked, “Jay, you couldn’t text or call?”
“What I’m about to do is a bit difficult to do over the phone,” Jaehyun retorted, admiring your state of obliviousness.
You huffed, “What are you…”
You cut yourself off when you noticed one of the staff hand Jaehyun a tiny box and he proceeded to crouch on one knee. The realization made your heart thud, pulse quickening.
Jaehyun started, “Baby, I’ve been racking my brain trying to think of how to say this. I had to have tried to practice this a million times before I decided to talk to you from my heart.”
Your co-workers all gathered around, and you noticed even your boss observing from the corner of your eyes, but your gaze was locked on Jaehyun and no one but.
Your lover fought his nerves and added, “We met when we were in high school. I remember it like it was yesterday. We were so young, dumb, and drunk off learning what true love was for the first time. We couldn’t resist each other.”
The memories made your heart melt, taut with ecstasy.
“Then, we got older. And things got more complicated, but in spite of that, we never stopped loving each other. Not for a second,” Jaehyun declared, impassioned. “I’ve been in love with you for so long that I can’t imagine my life any other way. No matter what has changed between us.”
Jaehyun was staring you dead in the eyes, watching your face melt with awe. It gave him all the courage he needed.
“You made it so easy to fall in love with you but so hard to fall back out. And I don’t want to. I adore you, my love. Thoughts of you keep me up and night, restless. You make me crazy.”
Your eyes burned, fighting an oncoming threat of tears with every passing word. Jaehyun had swept you off your feet, making you feel emotions you never knew existed.
“I know we’ve been through thick and thin, baby. But we were there for each other. And even when we separated, we found our way right back into each other’s arms,” your lover added.
You wanted to pinch yourself, determine if you were dreaming. Even though Jaehyun had proposed once to you before, you would never get used to the wave of emotion that plagued you, rendering you soft and full of glee.
“I didn’t know what love was until I fell for you. You’re my first love and all these years by your side have only solidified my courage that I want you to be my last. You are the only woman on this earth I can imagine a future with and if it’s not you, then I know there’s nobody else out there for me.”
Ten was smartly grabbing a box of tissues for safe measure.
Jaehyun’s voice got softer, “Let’s try again, my love. Let’s do this one more time - one last time. Will you marry me?”
Now, you had the spotlight. Ten was none too subtly mouthing, “Say ‘yes.’” Everybody was anticipating your reaction and you wondered exactly how long in advance everyone had been in on this little surprise except for you.
There was no hesitation and you practically screamed as you chanted, “Yes!”
Jaehyun, much like the last time he proposed to you, swept you into his arms and kissed you to death, effectively silencing you. The room erupted in cheer. Everybody was glad to get a break from their tedious jobs and witness a moment as beautiful as this one.
The champagne was already popping. Your fiancé whirled you in your arms and you told him affectionately, “I love you.”
“Say it again,” Jaehyun said, incapable of getting enough.
“I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you. I love you so much that I don’t know what to do with myself.”
“Let me love you,” your fiancé said, staring at you like you were the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. And you were. “That’s all you have to do.”
You smiled, pretending to mull it over. “I think I can let that happen.”
Jaehyun was over the moon. There were no words to describe how ecstatic he was. He missed this feeling and he was more than glad that it had returned. “Merry Christmas,” he said playfully.
“Jaehyun, it is literally the end of July. This reminds me of when you wished me Happy Valentines Day after fucking my brains out on your birthday,” you replied, rolling your eyes.
“Still,” your fiancé said, pressing a kiss to the corner of your lips and cheesing at the memory of fucking you raw again. “Marrying you is the best gift I could ever ask for.”
You smiled in agreement. And fought a smirk as you remembered you had your own little surprise for your betrothed, waiting for you at home on the bathroom counter.
Jesus Christ, you were going to need a bigger place to stay.
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soobluv · 1 year
Text
honeymoon avenue
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pairing; jaehyun x (f) reader
genre/warnings; smut, a pinch of angst, fluff, stuck in an elevator with your ex-fiancé, exes to lovers, unprotected sex, oral (f receiving), very fast-paced story
summary; A year ago, wedding bells were ringing and you were screaming, “Yes!” at the top of your lungs. Last Christmas, you were supposed to be wed under a mistletoe. This Christmas, company finds you in the form of your ex-fiancé that broke off your engagement after you’re both inconveniently trapped in an elevator.
wc; 12.3k (complete opposite of a slow burn)
playlist; honeymoon avenue by ariana grande, my everything by ariana grande, undo (back to my heart) by tinashe, ice queen by baekhyun
a/n; ‘tis the season! decided to try something a little new. this was definitely a challenge for me, but it was fun regardless. merry christmas! see this as a little gift from me <3 as always, feedback is appreciated!
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Last year around this time, you had arranged to be wed. You recalled restlessly counting down the days until your lover would meet his lips to yours in front of all of your friends and family once granted the greenlight to kiss the bride.
You had everything planned down to a “T.” The banquet hall would be emerald and burgundy. There would be an arch above you where a mistletoe would hang. The wedding cake would have Jaehyun’s surname. And everyone’s attire would be formal, though seasonal.
It was supposed to be the best day of your life.
A winter wonderland wedding seemed like an apt choice for you. You were so, so cold, but there was still an air of warmth to you. Now, your heart was unthawed.
This Christmas - much like the last - you would be alone.
It stung knowing you would be lonely for the second Christmas in a row and there was nobody at fault but yourself. You were miffed at your own behavior, but gave yourself no time to dwell on the past, doing what you knew how to do best - work until your brain went numb.
There was plenty on the roster today. A corporate meeting, phone calls to answer, and reports that wouldn’t type themselves. And that was to be brief. Speaking of which, you needed to brief employees about new protocols.
“Come on, come on, come on,” you chanted impatiently to yourself, tapping your foot against the floor. The elevators in your apartment were running later than usual today.
You heaved a breath of relief when the doors chimed open. Out went a group of people and in went you. Maneuvering your body to press the first floor button, you came to a halt when you noticed it was already selected and gleaming.
That was when you finally noticed the man in the elevator - the only other person there with you - glancing down at his phone. You leaned against the railing and shifted your attention to the door nonchalantly, writing off the stranger as the very least of your concerns. Getting to work on time was paramount.
As it always was.
Morning traffic is going to be brutal, you thought with a grimace. Every thought in your head revolved around work and how long it would take you to get there.
It would seem you would have no time for your morning coffee run. You remembered those times when you’d stay the night at Jaehyun’s, waking to a hot cup of coffee that he’d made just the way you liked it waiting for you.
Four words would permanently be etched into your memory. Have a good life.
With some disdain, you bade the thought retreat. Jaehyun was no longer a part of your life and you doubted he would want to be ever again. Not that you blamed him. It was your punishment alone.
The elevator gave a jolt and you gripped the elevator for dear life, screeching, “What the…?”
The floor indicator donned the number one in a big, bold shade of red, though ironically, the door gave not an inch. Which was odd. You pressed the button that ostensibly opened the door in these types of situations, but to no avail.
“Are we stuck?”
Your head snapped behind you and you nearly broke into a cold sweat when you noticed that the man lone in the elevator with you was no other than your ex-fiancé.
Living in the same apartment complex as the man you were once fated to marry was no easy feat, but the multiple years of seeing each other made it simpler to avoid him. For one, you knew one another’s routines and thus what time to be out the door either before or after the other.
That said, you had seen Jaehyun a couple of weeks ago, but the last time you’d spoken was when he returned all of your things from his apartment. Have a good life. Those were the last words he’d exchanged with you.
That had been approximately a year ago, a couple of weeks before Christmas and the day you were supposed to say, “I do.”
“Appears that way,” you replied, clearing your throat.
Jaehyun had his phone in his pockets now. You held your breath as you gave him a once-over. He was still handsome as ever, though that was to be expected. As far as you were concerned, he looked more or less the same as the last time you’d spoken, only his hair was a little lengthier. He still looked rather displeased to see you.
And he was wearing a suit. Which meant he was most likely also trying to go to work.
You frowned. Now you were thinking about Jaehyun in suits. Needless to say, that was a sore spot.
A voice came over a speaker and you recognized it as Yangyang’s, one of the apartment staff. He spoke like he was reading from a textbook, “Passengers, do not be alarmed. Our technical team will be arriving shortly to repair the service. We apologize for the inconvenience.”
You mused aloud, “Can he hear us?”
“Loud and clear,” Yangyang chirped.
“How long will it be before someone can help us?” you asked, never keen on being late.
“I can’t say, ma’am. Anywhere from fifteen minutes and a couple of hours.”
You interjected to screech, “A couple of hours?”
Jaehyun clamped a soothing palm on your shoulder to calm you down. It was almost embarrassing how effortlessly his touch could ease you even a year after he broke off your engagement.
Yangyang explained in his usual exuberant tone, “The weather and usual early traffic may cause a delay, ma’am. They will be arriving as swiftly as possible and servicing is already underway by our maintenance staff.”
“Thank you, Yangyang,” Jaehyun said, smoothing his palm down your back.
“Have a nice day, Mr. Jung. You too, ma’am.”
You heaved a breath. “So, it looks like we’re going to be here a while.”
“Hopefully not that long,” Jaehyun said, recouping his hand.
Though it stung, you understood. It went without saying that being trapped in an elevator with the ex that abandoned him was not part of today’s plan. He may have called off the engagement, but you were the one that left him high and dry.
You broke his heart. Not only that, you stole his future. Everything he ever dreamed of, a wife and children, was thrown out the window because of your selfishness.
Jaehyun discerned you would both be stuck together for a while and rather than sit in awkward silence, he asked, “How’s life?”
Darn him. No matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t get the last words he had said to you out of your head. Have a good life.
The breakup was bitter and stone-cold. Jaehyun made a couple of things unmistakably clear with those four words alone. For one, he was cutting you out of his life for good. And he no longer desired to be imprisoned within yours, being punished for no good reason at all.
And you never fought him - never fought to win him over. Maybe because you had already known for some time that your engagement was in danger. It was beyond reclaim. Irrevocably damaged.
Never one to appear weak, you said, “Good. Really good. I was promoted to secretary.”
Jaehyun perked up. You got what you wanted. But did I deserve to be the sacrifice, baby? Was it worth it?
“Still a workaholic, I see.”
You frowned. “Old habits die hard. How have you been?”
“I can’t complain,” Jaehyun said. “I wasn’t promoted or anything, but everything’s been pretty good over here.”
You had no doubts. Jaehyun was an editor and his line of work gave him plenty of leeway. For the most part, he worked from home, though there were instances where he came into the workplace. At least, when you last spoke, that is.
“That’s amazing. I’m happy for you,” you said, willing yourself to smile. A part of you was strangely bitter. It didn’t want to see him happy without you.
Though you no longer followed each other, Jaehyun still popped up on your Instagram homepage every now and then. And perhaps you’d searched his page more times than you cared to admit. Everything about his page was achingly sentimental and reminiscent of your past together.
Pictures of him at museums or bridges at nighttime or parks with his hair whipping through the breeze. Once upon a time, you were the one taking those pictures of him. Now, you wondered who was behind the camera, living the life you’d carelessly given away.
“Thanks,” was all he willed himself to reply.
Your eyes instinctively fell to your watch and your head fell back as you groaned, “God, I’m going to be late for work.”
Jaehyun fought a snort. “You and me both. At least there’s still some good news.”
“Like what?”
“It’s warm in here,” Jaehyun commented lightheartedly.
You chuckled. What a way to relieve the tension. Though Jaehyun never failed to make you laugh with ease. Except for when you broke up. Nothing was funny then.
Those weeks leading to the breakup may have been worse than the day it actually happened altogether. The feeling of knowing something was inevitably bound to happen yet being unable to prevent it was arguably worse than the emptiness you felt when Jaehyun announced he no longer wanted anything to do with you.
Emptiness numbed you to the pain for a couple of days. You couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep. All you could feel was a bitter, nipping cold enveloping you, eventually splitting you right down the middle.
Jaehyun subtly eyed you as you typed a message to your boss, warning him that you may have been late for work and telling him to proceed without you. Maybe some things never changed. You were still gorgeous, that was for sure. But you were also still married to your work. Ultimately, that would always prove to be your downfall.
It seemed like only yesterday you were his. He was planning to meet you at the altar, itching to sweep you into his arms and kiss you the moment you were pronounced husband and wife.
You had always been a workaholic. At one point, Jaehyun loved it about you. He never thought your relationship would be foredoomed because of it. Devoted and loyal were two terms that described you strongly.
Although, maybe you had been too devoted to the wrong thing.
Your broken engagement was a prime example of what happened when you applied too much pressure to one thing and neglected the other. It was the wretched result of not finding balance.
Everything you ever hoped and dreamed of flashed before your eyes. Once upon a time, you were both making plans to move into a house together. You wanted a pet. And you were thinking about children.
Now, you were all alone. And you had never felt colder.
For some reason, the absurdity of your predicament hit you merely moments after you sent the text message. It just didn’t seem probable to be trapped in an elevator with your ex-fiancé. Much less alone. You threw your head back and whined, “I mean, what are the odds.”
Jaehyun pitched you a confused glance.
You winded a hand through your hair and elaborated, “Us being stuck in the exact same elevator and forcing ourselves to pretend we don’t mind. If I remember correctly, you had no intention of hearing from me again.”
“I think we should spare each other the awkwardness,” Jaehyun replied, donning an impassive expression. And tone.
You bit your lip. Maybe you shouldn’t have said anything. Jaehyun being kind to you should not have been mistaken and was probably more or less because he wanted to avoid as much tension as possible - not because he didn’t hate you.
Jaehyun spoke up again to ask, “How long have we been here?”
You glanced at your phone and read the time. “About fifteen minutes, I guess.”
“So, we’re going to be here for a couple of hours,” Jaehyun quipped, trying to lighten the mood the best way he knew how.
You winced, hoping there was an in between. “Not like I had anything else to do,” you mumbled.
Jaehyun himself wasn’t exactly bummed about missing a day, or at least a couple of hours. Though this was you. He used to joke that hell would freeze over the moment you decided to actually take a day off. “They will survive without you for a while,” he comforted softly.
You scoffed. You were carrying that company on your back. “I’m afraid that’s where you’re wrong. The whole building will be in flames if I’m not there within an hour tops.”
“I’m sure,” Jaehyun scoffed. “I’ve never seen anyone work as hard as you do.”
I have, you thought wistfully. Jaehyun fought harder for your relationship than you ever tried, but enough was enough. He was at his limit, giving more than he was receiving and he couldn’t let you take advantage of him anymore.
Though it was intended to be a compliment, for whatever reason, your heartache was only amplified. You swiftly changed the subject. “So, what are your plans for the holidays?”
He shrugged. “Nothing special. I’m going to spend some time with my family.”
That caught your attention. “You haven’t been seeing anyone?”
Jaehyun only shook his head. He was afraid of opening his mouth and saying something that would make shit awkward again. For all he knew, you two would both be stuck together for potentially the next couple of hours and he did not want to spend it in suffocating silence.
Unfortunately, Jaehyun couldn’t deny that after your engagement was broken off, finding other girls had been hard. They came a dime a dozen, but none of them remained. Even after you were long gone, bits of you lingered, scattered everywhere across his life.
Jaehyun went to bed and thought of nights spent cuddling you to sleep. He visited his favorite cafe and thought of your go-to order. Jaehyun hooked up with other girls and thought of how beautiful you looked writhing underneath him, your voice calling out his name in a cry, dripping with sweet honey.
Though you were forever gone, the memories of you still haunted him everyday. For so long, he had been convinced he was made for you. You were the only woman he ever wanted.
And he couldn’t have you.
Jaehyun commanded the thoughts to go away. You stopped being his long before the breakup. “You?”
“Oh, you know. With my line of work, I just don’t have the time,” you replied bashfully.
That Jaehyun knew all too well. Just a little.
He bobbed his head. “Sounds like you.”
Guilt suddenly plagued your chest. Every second beside him you were reminded of the fact that you were the one who ruined a beautiful thing. You had gotten what you strived for, though in hindsight, the lengths you went to get it were brutal and cold-hearted.
You had sacrificed so much of yourself to get to where you were. And now that you were standing at the top, you could finally see the collateral damage you’d inflicted at the bottom.
There was only a good couple of feet to separate you and Jaehyun. And you absolutely loathed it. There was more distance between you when he uttered those four words permanently etched into your memory, before turning and heading out of your front door.
Jaehyun fancied it no more than you did. Walking away had been hard. He looked back, but never stopped. A year ago, he was convinced that he would have moved on by now. But no matter how far apart you were, his heart was still one of your captives. Not only did he leave a piece of it with you, but the whole damn thing.
He wanted it back. Damn it, he wanted you back. He wanted back every piece of himself he gave you, but above all else, he wanted back what you had. To go back to the way everything was the day he got down on one knee and asked for permission to hold your heart forever.
He remembered it like it was yesterday. Earlier that spring, he took you to a bridge. Not only was it one of your favorite spots in the city, but it was where you both first said I love you.
Maybe that was why. Now, you couldn’t bring yourself to visit it anymore. The memories were too painful.
Just like the first time he took you there, night had fallen. The bridge overlooked a river, moonlight cast into the water. Purple lights made the trail glimmer. But the moon was a little fuller, the air a little cooler.
Not that either of you minded. To be with you, he was content.
You were beaming. Even before he proposed. None of you could stop thinking about the night you first said that you loved each other. But when Jaehyun asked you to marry him underneath the moonlight, you were over the moon.
You were chanting, “Yes!” Jaehyun had to sweep you into his arms and meet his lips to yours to cut you off. A very long time ago, the memory made him smile. Now, it made his heart swell with agony.
His eyes were sad. And understandably a little angry. Even after all these years, you could still read him clear as day. You wondered if he could read you, too. You whispered, “I’m sorry.”
Jaehyun heaved a deep breath. An apology wouldn’t fix his broken heart and saying you were sorry wouldn’t undo the heartache you inflicted on him. It wasn’t okay. He hated you for leaving him lonely. For choosing your job over a future together. He would never forgive you for it. “I never wanted much. I never wanted all of your time. Only a little was all I was asking for.”
“I don’t want to go there with you, Jaehyun,” you said, exhaling a sigh of your own.
All Jaehyun did was shake his head and murmur under his breath, “Classic.”
A part of you bristled. Why Jaehyun always wanted to hash things out with you was a mystery. Fighting was draining and you never had the energy. A long day of work left you with only enough strength to take a long hot shower before crawling into bed.
Not Jaehyun. He would never understand. The pressure to succeed, the struggle to unlearn the definition of success you were taught even before your adolescence.
A year ago, everything was falling apart in your relationship. You were arguing more, spending time together less. Jaehyun was trying to salvage what was left. In his mind, fighting with you was better than not speaking to you at all.
Most of your memories with him were unforgettable, but when they were bad, they were excruciating to think of. You could still remember the last argument before the uncoupling.
December was still fresh and the air was frigid, numbing your senses until you stepped into your warm apartment. Jaehyun was waiting for you there. A smile tugged your lips when you hung your coat and excitedly bounced into the kitchen, smelling hot chocolate.
“Baby, I’m home,” you sang radiantly. At one point, it used to be your favorite line to say. A lifetime of obsessing over movie cliches was to blame.
Jaehyun locked eyes with you and simpered. You looked nothing less than exhausted, though he found it cute on you. “Hey, my love. How was your day?”
You instantly groaned, “I’d rather not talk about it. Or think about it, for that matter.”
“Will a cup of hot cocoa make it better?”
You propped yourself on the island and flirted, “Made by Barista Jaehyun himself? Of course.”
Jaehyun handed you a mug and you accepted it graciously, muttering, “thank you.” He was the sweetest thing you could ask for. Even sweeter than the hot cocoa warming your palms.
That was how the arguments always began. They were sweet, innocent moments - until they weren’t.
Your lover dipped behind the island and returned with a mug of his own, still steaming with freshly hot cocoa. You thought absolutely nothing of it. Not until he opened his mouth. “How does a date night on Friday sound?”
You frowned. “This Friday?”
“Well, yeah,” Jaehyun said, rubbing his nape. “It’s been a while, you know. Since we’ve gone out on a date.”
That was true. Jaehyun always had some extra time to spare. He wanted to spoil and indulge you at every given chance. But you were always busy. Even when you were off the clock, you were still on the clock. And more often than not, you brought work back home with you.
“I’m so busy and so tired, Jay,” you whispered gently. God knew you wanted to, but you didn’t have the time and much less the energy.
“I get that,” Jaehyun started. “But can’t you take even a day off?”
“I’m aiming for a promotion, Jaehyun. I have to prove myself. My boss has been dangling this shit in our faces for the past few months. I can’t let an opportunity like that slip away.”
Jaehyun was rapidly getting frustrated and reminded, “You do realize we’re getting married in a few weeks, right?”
Your eyes flickered. “Yes, I do. And I plan to be there.”
“At the rate you’re going, I wouldn’t be surprised if you stood me up.”
Your heart sank. “How can you say that?”
“How couldn’t I?” Jaehyun snapped, evidently pained. “We’ve been engaged for the past nine months, but it doesn’t feel like I’m about to get married. It feels like I’m losing you because you’re too absorbed in your goddamn job.”
“Are you asking me to choose you over my job?” you asked, standing to your feet. This entire argument was an affront to your pride.
“No. There is no point in giving you an ultimatum when I already know that you will choose your job every time without hesitation - you already do. I’m asking you to make room for me, but I can’t force you to do anything you don’t want to.”
You countered, “I do want you.”
“Do you?” Jaehyun snapped, skeptical. “You can’t even go on a date with me. You want a promotion more than anything else.”
You sighed, “I don’t want to fight, Jay.”
“I know that. You don’t want to fight for anything,” Jaehyun said bitterly. “You would rather watch us burn to ash than fight for us.”
Anger plagued you and you were prepared to hurl something back, but he didn’t give you the chance.
Jaehyun added, “I don’t like the person this job has made you become. I want the woman I proposed to back, and I’m scared she’s not there anymore.”
Your words were cold as ice, “Then, leave.”
And the rest was history.
There was nothing you could say when Jaehyun left you, no fight for you to give. It was you that sent him away. It was you that made him leave. He had only given you what you asked for.
Old habits died hard. The one-year anniversary of both the breakup and the day you were supposed to be married was rapidly approaching and to distract yourself from the pain, you were burying yourself in work. You didn’t want to think about Jaehyun and what you almost had. Not even for a second. And then, today came and ruined everything.
Now, you were being forced to confront the past.
Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry. You’re stronger than this. God, you wanted to be anywhere but here right now. Tears burned your eyes, but you would never let them fall. Not with Jaehyun there. You didn’t want him to see the mess he’d left of you - how miserable you were without him.
You wanted to mend everything back together, but it was too late. Everything was irreparably broken. You had the opportunity to patch things up, and you passed it up. No more time could be wasted crying for the moon.
And still, somewhere deep inside, you knew Jaehyun would steal it for you.
Jaehyun saw your eyes and softened a little. Damn it, they still made him weak. Your tears were made of diamonds and they were priceless. Jaehyun said, “My mother still talks about you, you know. She asks me when we’re going to get back together.”
Your eyes flickered. “That’s… interesting,” you lied. “I thought she would hate me. And be more protective of her baby.” Because I broke your heart.
“You know my mother always loved you,” Jaehyun chuckled fondly. “I don’t think anyone believed in us more than her - not even ourselves.”
Somebody had to, you thought weakly. Though Jachyun was a romantic to his core, even he had to eventually throw in the towel.
Everyone thought you and Jaehyun would be the perfect match. Each of your families were anticipating a beautiful wintry nuptial ceremony on Christmas day. And when news of the uncoupling broke loose, your people weren't exactly shocked, but they were heavily disappointed.
You were clearly the problem. Until you learned how to balance, you would never be happy in love.
Up until now, you were beginning to become content with that fate.
Though now, your heart was greedy.
Jaehyun’s mother crossed your mind. She was the epitome of an angel and the fact that she still wanted you in her son’s life after all the pain you caused him was deafening. But what about what Jaehyun wanted? Does he even still love me?
Every moment spent with his mother had been wonderful. She spoke fondly of him and vice versa and supported him unconditionally. It was true motherly love and it made your chest stiffen, taut with envy. Ever since you were a kid, you only knew pressure. Your parents wanted you to have the life they didn’t when they were your age, but they were very strict in how they went about it.
Tough love was all you received. They didn’t help you through trying times. You were expected to suck it up. You were taught that tears were a sign of vulnerability and vulnerability was weakness.
You fought them back with everything you had and said, “How does she know I wouldn’t mess things up again?”
“I don’t know,” Jaehyun told you, not disputing the fact that you had essentially destroyed everything. It stung, but it was the truth. “She says ‘a mother knows best.’”
Jaehyun watched you struggle to hold yourself together. You were good at pretending to be okay and smiling through your pain, but he was even better at seeing through you. He saw you through a lens that only a man who loved you with his whole mind, body, and soul for years could see. He saw all your weaknesses, all your flaws. But he never judged and he saw something else in them, too. What made you beautiful.
“But what do you want?” It was killing you. For as long as you stood there, you needed to know.
“I wanted you,” Jaehyun replied honestly. “But you wouldn’t let me have you.”
You shook your head. “You had me. Every piece of me - it belonged to you.”
“That’s not how I remember it,” Jaehyun muttered. “You had my heart, but your work had yours.”
“That’s not true.”
Jaehyun was firm. “It is and you know it.”
“I loved you,” you told him softly.
“Well, you sure had a funny way of showing it.”
You gripped the railing to anchor yourself. It didn’t move, but you could feel yourself slipping into weakness. “I don’t know how to stop, Jaehyun. I think it’s a part of me now. It’s hard to stop doing something you’ve done your whole life.”
I don’t like the person this job has made you become. I want the woman I proposed to back, and I’m scared she’s not there anymore.
Maybe he was right. Maybe that woman was long gone.
A cloud of melancholy came over you, pouring over you and Jaehyun. He told you somberly, “I could have helped you if you would have let me in. But you were pushing me away.”
“I know,” you said, meeting his dark eyes. “But I wish I would have known back then. I never realized I was breaking us apart. Not until it was too late. I thought I was doing what was best…”
Jaehyun finished darkly, “You were doing what was best for yourself. Not for us.”
You opened your mouth to defend yourself, but quickly accepted he was right and instead said, “I was wrong. I was selfish. I wasn’t considering how any of it made you feel and that’s a decision I have to live with now.”
“Do you regret it?” I need to know if my broken heart was worthwhile.
Your eyes burned. “Every day of my life.”
“Why?” Jaehyun questioned, voice barely above a whisper. “You got the promotion. Isn’t that what you wanted?”
“I thought it was,” you muttered. Your chest was swelling with self-disgust and agony and anger. Not at Jaehyun, but at yourself. “But when I lost you, I realized that everything I needed was already right there. Until it wasn’t.”
Jaehyun was quiet but pensive. As if he was trying to trace exactly where everything started going wrong.
Even in school, you were devoted. You were the valedictorian of your class. Jaehyun used to steal you away to kiss you behind the bleachers. But you would always be there for his basketball games, cheering him on better than any cheerleader.
High school sweethearts, he thought wistfully. In high school, you won prom king and queen. Everyone thought you would last forever. That only God himself could part you.
How beautiful it was to be young, dumb, and in love.
Jaehyun knew your issues stemmed from your childhood. When you were still in high school, sometimes you had to blow him off to study. He remembered you canceling hangouts because your parents refused to let you out of their house until you studied until you were cross-eyed. Their house, their rules, was the policy.
But he also remembered those nights when he would hear a knock on his bedroom window and smile when he saw you beaming at him through the glass. One December night, you were crazy enough to sneak out during the nipping cold, shivering and rubbing your arms outside his window.
Though it was many years ago, Jaehyun remembered that night clearly. His mother made you hot cocoa and promised not to tattle. She always had a soft spot for you and held some disdain for your parents. She claimed they worked you too hard.
Everything was so perfect back then. He knew what changed, but he couldn’t understand why. You used to make time for him whenever you could. As the pressures of adulthood caught up to you, it all came to a slow, brutal end.
But why?
Then, leave. Those were the two words he would never forget. They were powerful than the I love you’s - more powerful than the I miss you’s. Your clipped, icy tone, would maybe someday be forgiven, but never forgotten.
A stubborn wound was forevermore slashed on his heart waiting for you to heal it.
You were breaking. Every part of you was crashing down. A familiar ache split your heart right down the middle. “I’ll never forgive myself for throwing away the most beautiful thing that has ever happened to me. I didn’t know what I had until it was gone and I can’t tell you enough how sorry I am.”
Your ex-lover was mawkishly nostalgic and sentimental and never said he forgave you, for that would take a while longer, but told you, “I knew I was the second priority in your life after your career. And I was okay with that. Then, it started to feel like I had no place in it at all. I was at the end of my tether, a stranger to the woman I was supposed to marry, and I knew we couldn’t carry on like that, my love.”
My love. That was what Jaehyun always used to call you. Your eyes flickered. “Do you still…?”
“I don’t think I’ll ever completely get over you,” Jaehyun admitted forlornly.
That was when the dam broke. Jaehyun had dismantled you piece by piece and left you vulnerable. You had no strength to fight back the tears rolling down your cheeks.
Jaehyun’s arms, as they always were, were wide open. He pulled you into his warm embrace and let you sob into his chest, smoothing his hand down your back and protecting you from the sharp coldness of your own pain. You were beleaguered to remember the last time you let yourself cry. You let everything pile up until the water pressure became too much.
“Shh. It’s okay. Let it out,” Jaehyun crooned, gently stroking your hair. “You’re not weak.”
There was an ache resurfacing in your body and it was purely unshakable. Your heart was whole, but hollow. Only its pleas to be back with Jaehyun - where it belonged - rang out in the icebound, empty void.
Being in Jaehyun’s arms only made you nostalgic and the pain hit you harder. You thought regretfully of those moments in the past when he would hold you for all to see. And you remembered going to bed and always knowing he was still there, because you would feel his arms still tight around you and smile. Like he wanted to protect you, even while asleep.
You sobbed, “I don’t deserve you.”
Jaehyun gently pushed you back only a little and looked you in your eyes. He wiped your cheeks with his thumb and told you calmly, “You made a mistake. We all do.”
The gesture made you soft and weak. Goddamn it, you were so weak for him. Like your knees would give in any moment now.
“Not like the one I made, though.”
“That’s true,” Jaehyun said. “But do you regret it?”
Your voice wavered, “More than anything.”
“Then, I forgive you.”
You shook your head, not knowing how to accept that. You didn’t deserve forgiveness. You didn’t deserve understanding. But that was the kind of person Jaehyun was.
He deserves someone better than me, you thought somberly. But you wouldn’t know what you would do with yourself if he found that someone.
“You should hate me,” you said softly, voice cracking. “I broke your heart. I broke us.”
Jaehyun shook his head. “You know what my mother always says?”
“It doesn’t only matter if you break something, but if you’re willing to put it back together,” you said, smiling fondly at the memory of his mother. She always treated you like you were her own.
Jaehyun nodded and asked, “Are you willing to put us back together again?”
You mulled it over. There was no doubt that you were willing. Back then, you were too in your head to notice reality. Now, you were blindsided by pain and regret and inclined to do anything to make it stop. “What if I mess up again?”
“Relationships aren’t perfect. People fuck up and people make mistakes. You’re only human,” Jaehyun told you frankly. “I’ll be there to help you clean it up. But don’t let me pull all the weight. We both have to fight together.”
“Okay.” You knew what you wanted now. It wasn’t that job. It wasn’t a promotion. It was the man that had spent half his life loving you, and would still love you for the other half. “I’m willing.”
Jaehyun smiled. A part of him couldn’t fathom how this was happening. The hole in his heart was steadily being sealed. He pulled you back flush against his chest.
The tension in the air seemed to alleviate then. You could finally breathe again. Being in a tight space with the love of your life didn’t feel suffocating anymore, but closer to relief.
You were talking freely again. You missed just being able to have a conversation with Jaehyun, recalling those times when you would discuss anything under the sun. Long nights of talking the moon away knowing full well you had work in the morning hit you. With Jaehyun, the small talk was skipped. You could discuss anything and everything.
There was no worry, no fear. Sometimes, there would be tension, but never the unpleasant kind. Only moments ago, those times seemed like merely a distant memory. Now, there was hope that you had Jaehyun back.
In his arms, you realized that was where you belonged. It was your safe haven in a world filled with danger. Your secrets were safe with Jaehyun and you were free to be vulnerable, because you knew he would never betray you. No matter what happened between you both, whether you were angry or in love, you knew whatever you told each other would forever remain under lock and key.
“Do you remember the arch?” you asked, wistfully recalling what could’ve been. “I wanted a mistletoe up there. For some reason, I couldn’t shake the thought of kissing you underneath it for the first time as your wife.”
Jaehyun chuckled fondly. “I remember. I also remember you wanted John Stamos to marry us because he was your, and I quote, ‘true first love.’”
You nudged his side. “Hey, I would have also accepted Shemar Moore.”
Goddamn it, now Jaehyun was thinking about kissing you. His eyes fell to your pretty lips, still as enticing as they used to be when you were his. Never had he wanted to kiss you so badly. Like it would heal the wounds caused by missing you.
Can I… can I kiss you?” Jaehyun asked.
You said with no hesitation, “You can do whatever you want to me.”
Now that he had your permission, Jaehyun didn’t waste a second to envelop your lips in his. Only then did you realize how much you missed feeling his lips on yours, how much you craved tasting his tongue in your mouth. You had gone so long without, but ironically, he still felt like home. And making out with him felt right as ever.
Jaehyun kissed you so fiercely that he nearly swept you off balance and caught your hips in his arms. Your fingers threaded through his hair, back against the railing. He kissed you to make up with the wasted times he spent with other people. You kissed him to make up for the wasted times you could have spent with each other. To fill the void and patch each other back up.
He taught you what love was. It was letting each other in instead of freezing each other out. It was building something beautiful together and fighting to protect it instead of letting it all fall apart and into ruins.
Kissing you eased Jaehyun’s heart. His pain was forgotten and he was overwhelmed with his undying love for you. He would never get over you, no matter how hard he tried. A love like the one you had would take more than a lifetime to get over you.
The way you immediately clicked, it was like you knew each other in a past life. Even now, his feelings were unabating. In his next life, it would still be you and only you. Always and forever.
You were so besotted with Jaehyun and the way his lips tasted that neither of you noticed the elevator door opening.
Yangyang cleared his throat. “Um, guys?”
Both of you whipped around, more than a little shocked to see the door open with Yangyang standing in the middle to prevent it from closing on you.
Jaehyun looked at you and asked, “How long have we been in here?”
“Approximately two hours,” Yangyang chirped. “You’re free to go now. By free to go, I mean please exit the lift. As you can see, there’s a bit of a line.”
You looked behind Yangyang and saw a couple of people impatiently waiting to travel upstairs. You lowered your head and flushed. Jaehyun laced his fingers through yours and led you outside of the elevator, smiling like a dumbass. He didn’t care who saw. He couldn’t have been any more happy than he was right now.
“Well, we’re free,” he said once you were both in the clear. Then, he frowned. “But we still have work.”
You winced. “And I wasn’t kidding about the place burning down. I really need to be there. I know how that sounds, but I promise I’ll make it up to you later. Do you trust me?”
“Of course,” Jaehyun said, grabbing your wrist and kissing the back of your hand.
Your heart tugged at the gesture. Why’d he have to be so goddamn perfect?
You got on your toes and pressed a brief kiss to his lips, feeling butterflies swimming in your gut. It seemed they had come to visit again. “I’ll see you later, Jaehyun.”
Jaehyun told you goodbye and watched you leave. It hurt a little to see you go, but he knew you would come back to him. You always did, even if it took a year and unlikely circumstances.
When you were gone, he turned around and grabbed his phone out of his pockets. He had to tell his mother that maybe she knew best after all.
Night fell. Jaehyun still hadn’t heard from you although you should have been off from work hours ago. A part of him was worried, but he still trusted that you wouldn’t give in to your old habits. It was Friday night. Maybe you were resting and would see him tomorrow.
Jaehyun went into his living room and played some music. The atmosphere reminded him of you. Holding you in his arms and spinning you around. Everywhere he went, he could still hear your voice and laughter ringing in his hair, like the ghost of you was haunting him.
He shook his head. You drove him mad. He accepted that he would never forget you, much less the way it felt to love you.
The doorbell rang and he could barely hear it over his music. Jaehyun didn’t pause it, but went to open his door and was pleasantly surprised to see you standing there.
“What are you doing?” Jaehyun asked.
“I told you I would make it up to you,” you said, gesturing to the pair of grocery bags in your arms.
It was Jaehyun’s natural instinct to take them out of your hands, and turning, he said, “Hurry up and come in. It’s cold outside.”
You didn’t need to be told twice and followed him immediately, shutting the door behind yourself. It was warm and cozy inside his apartment, as always. You hung your coat on the rack and glanced around, memories hitting you tenfold, square in the heart. Everywhere your eyes fell, you saw figures of you and Jaehyun.
Dancing in the living room. Movie night marathons on the couch. And racing down the hallway with your lips on the other’s and your hands desperately trying to remove each other’s clothes as you messily stumbled into the bedroom for a long night of loving.
“I see you’ve already set the mood,” you joked when you noticed the music playing, watching him set the groceries on the counter.
Jaehyun beamed. “I wasn’t even expecting company.”
“Sorry for showing up unannounced.” You smiled coyly, approaching the kitchen. “I’ll make it up to you. And no, you can’t help, Chef.”
“Please?”
You grabbed a gigantic wooden spoon and pointed at him. “Sit your ass down.”
“Jesus. Alright, then,” Jaehyun said, lifting his arms defensively. Ever stubborn were you. The reminder roused a chuckle from him. “Have it your way then, bossy.”
“I will.”
Jaehyun shook his head, still cheesing like an idiot. You were still iron-willed. That part of you would never change.
You cooked dinner in Jaehyun’s apron and he laughed at how big it was on you. The memories were overwhelming now. It seemed that no matter where you were or what you were doing, his mind would always find a way to remind him of your presence.
But the memories didn’t have to be bitter or painful anymore. He wanted to try again. He wanted a fresh start, a chance to repaint the canvas and a clean slate. As long as you were both determined to make things work, Jaehyun had faith in you and him.
“Dinner was amazing,” Jaehyun complimented, throwing your dirty dishes in the sink to be remembered later. He stepped back over to the island and trapped you in his arms.
You peered up at him, cheeks warming. “Thank you.”
Looking into your pretty eyes, Jaehyun couldn’t resist the temptation to kiss you anymore. You made a noise of surprise when he met his lips to yours, caught completely off-guard, but you kissed him back. It would be fighting your instincts not to.
You closed your eyes and let Jaehyun guide you, trusting he would never lead you astray. When he kissed you, he melted away your icebound surface and got under your skin, peeling you back layer by layer. You liked kissing Jaehyun. Way too much. Even now, you could still recall the first time you made out, hiding behind the bleachers on campus yet gigging loud enough for all to hear.
When it came to each other, you both were like moths to the dangerous flames of love. Love would always unite you again. You couldn’t resist those pretty, twinkling sparks of fire. And you couldn’t get enough of the burn.
Jaehyun was confused when you pulled away, but looked into your eyes again and saw a kind of sadness twinkle in them. Your voice was weak, “Why don’t you hate me?”
“I couldn’t even if I wanted to, baby,” Jaehyun said, finding your hand and squeezing it firmly. “And believe me, I tried. Even if a part of me did hate you, an even bigger part of me will always love you.”
That was all you needed to hear before you were sucking on his tongue again, wet kissing noises tangled in the sound of old school music.
Then, Jaehyun pressed you into the counter, kissing you even rougher. You were riling him up, moaning into his mouth and that noise would never not do it for him. A different kind of fire came over you when you noticed him very impatiently unbuttoning your blouse.
Same old Jaehyun. At heart, he was still the same as the cute boy you fell in love with. You were pleasantly impressed that kissing you alone still got him up.
You broke the kiss again to ask through jagged breath, “Do you think we’re moving too fast?”
“Probably,” Jaehyun replied. Not that he gave a damn. Unless you did, of course. “Do you wanna stop?”
“Jaehyun, I literally have not had sex in over a year. If you don’t fuck my brains out I think I’ll cry.”
Jaehyun chuckled darkly. “That can be arranged.”
You made a noise of surprise when Jaehyun cautiously scooped you into his sturdy arms and lowered you onto the counter. You made out hotly, his hands continuing to quickly unbutton your blouse and yours pulling his shirt above his head.
The sight of his happy trail and toned abs made your core throb. And your mouth water. Your palms involuntarily slicked over them, feeling nothing but hard skin and muscle.
“See something you like?” Jaehyun asked, grinning in the most annoying way possible.
You swallowed the lump in your throat and said, “Still a gym rat, I see.”
Jaehyun bobbed his head. “Yeah. I still hit the gym with Johnny when we have spare time.”
That you knew. Despite the breakup, you and Jaehyun still had a ton of mutual friends, chiefly from high school. You recalled seeing Johnny post one of his gym visits with Jaehyun not too long ago.
And you also vividly remembered the sight of Jaehyun, donning sweats and a blank tank-top. He drove you absolutely feral. His hair was matted to his forehead with sweat and his biceps were flexed, showing off his muscle. You would always be a sucker for a burly man that could snap you in half if he so pleased.
Jaehyun expertly removed your bra and tossed it somewhere to be forgotten. He wanted to see your breasts bounce while he pounded you into oblivion. Your skirt followed, but Jaehyun slid your panties to your ankles at a agonizingly slow pace, all the while smiling like an idiot as you gave a needy and impatient whimper.
“You’re already so wet,” Jaehyun murmured, drawing an invisible pair of lines on your bare cunt with his fingers. “Did you miss me that much?”
You whimpered, “Please, Jay.”
Hearing you call out his name like that was all it took for Jaehyun to lose all sense of self-restraint and he spread your thighs apart with tenderness, burying himself between them. You let out a sharp cry, throwing your head back. Some of your best orgasms were the ones when Jaehyun ate you out until you physically could no longer take it and begged for him to stop.
Jaehyun targeted your clit immediately, a testament to the fact that he knew your body intimately. Your thighs clamped around the sides of his head, unaccustomed to the pressure.
He merely clasped your thighs in his palms and held them freestanding, undeterred as he continued to lap at you like with the hunger only an untamed beast could have.
“Fuck,” was all you could say, curses dangling from your lips. You had been touch-starved for over a year and the familiarity of Jaehyun’s touch was overwhelming in the best way possible.
Despite the fact Jaehyun handled you gently, with love and tenderness and nothing but, he ate you out like an animal.
Jaehyun longed for the taste of you, arousal gathering on his tongue. He loved unraveling you like this. You could never stay still, much less quiet when he was going down on you. The sight of you, head angled back and moaning his name nearly made him cum in his pants.
Your fingers clamped locks of his hair and Jaehyun groaned, somehow spurred on by the gesture. You were making noises left to right, feeling yourself nearing your peak in record time. A year of no sex factoring in a skilled partner would absolutely do that to you.
Your lover learned to recognize you at the threshold of release a very long time ago and briefly parted from your pussy, substituting his mouth with his fingers as he sang, “Just let go for me, baby. It’s okay.”
It was clear that your body had every intention of obeying him. Naturally, it submitted to Jaehyun, with no fear and no reluctance. He knew it and it knew him.
“Oh my God. Jaehyun,” you moaned, thighs twitching. Not wanting to hurt him, you clamped your nails into the counter, eyes closed as the pressure threatened to consume you from head to toe.
Jaehyun talked you through it, whispering, “Do it for me, baby. Just let go.”
Not too much longer, orgasm seized you, rendering you weak and defenseless. You had no strength in your body to fight it even if you wanted to, weakened by his touch. Your toes clenched and you cried his name, fingernails scraping the island roughly enough to damage both your nails and the countertop.
Jaehyun didn’t stop eating you out until you went rigid, chest undulating. You looked a hot mess, heaving for breath and your lips parted, easing the airflow.
“Are you okay?” Jaehyun asked when he moved from between your legs, fighting off a smirk at the sight of you completely disheveled.
“Not until you fuck me,” you rasped, still needy in spite of still trying to catch your breath.
Jaehyun snickered and tugged his pants down, underwear soon giving chase. You positively gawked when you saw his bare, thick dick. It never failed to make your mouth water. And your body tremble with release.
You kept your nails at your sides as Jaehyun lined his cock up at your entrance, gently easing himself past your sheath-like walls. He still clasped his hands at your thighs, brows crumpling with concentration. You were still so goddamn tight, clamping around him with a grip almost vice-like.
“Jay,” you whimpered, hands clenched into fists.
“Shh,” Jaehyun whispered, moving his mouth to the side of your face. There was a catch in your breath when you noticed his lips brushing against your ear, breath tickling your nape. “Open up for me, baby.”
The sensation of being filled completely made you feel nothing short of relief. There was a wet noise when Jaehyun’s hips smacked against your own, the last thrust followed by one even deeper. You tried your best to take all of him, wanting to please him even if it was the last thing you did.
Jaehyun slipped out of his own trance briefly enough to mention, “I didn’t wear a condom.”
“Just pull out,” you said, in no state of mind to give a damn. You liked the feeling of him fucking you nice and raw.
“We’re definitely a pair of idiots.”
You snickered and found his hand, slipping your fingers through his. “You’re my idiot and I’m your idiot. That’s all that matters.”
Jaehyun smiled into the crook of your neck, eventually clamping his teeth there to conceal a moan at your expense.
He lifted his head and drew back to admire the entire view, watching his cock disappear between your legs over and over again borderline obsessively. There was something about you that he would never get tired of. He liked holding you close and loving you hard.
“You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” Jaehyun exhaled, voice full of sincerity. And raw pleasure.
You were burning up, withering heat blindsiding you. Jaehyun was making short work of you. It felt like love-making rather than plain old fucking, all things considered. Jaehyun’s gentle, steady pace as he whispered sweet little nothings in your ear, old school romance songs faded out in the background all the while.
All you could focus on was Jaehyun. He was all you could hear, all you could feel. You were driven by the feeling of your walls garroting his size, the sounds of the little groans he couldn’t smother into your skin and his affectionate words urging you closer to climax.
“Don’t hold back, baby,” you sighed, tightening your hold around his hand. It was a tiny, sweet gesture. “Please? I wanna hear you.”
Jaehyun obeyed you because there wasn’t a damn thing on this earth he wouldn’t do for you. You owned him and you knew it.
Jaehyun swore when you clamped around his dick even harder. He watched your breasts bounce, your whole body unstill. Even your hands were scrambling, releasing him and now finding purchase in his back. “I love you,” he sighed, kneading your breasts.
“I love you, too,” you moaned, feeling light as ever. He always took you to another dimension whenever you were together, but especially when he was fucking you within an inch of your life.
I love you, too. Jaehyun was beaming. That was the first time he’d heard you say it in over a year and you had no idea how badly he needed to hear it again now.
Jaehyun marked up your neck, leaving a trail of himself like souvenirs for you to remember in his absence. Your pulse thumped rapidly, your heart on the verge of tearing out of your chest, landing into his palms where it belonged. Now, your heartache was - at long last - soothed.
There were no words to aptly describe your affection towards Jaehyun. Your love for him ran to an inexplicably deep extent with seemingly no end. It was all you could think about while he fucked you, how badly you needed him in your life. How the sensations he made you feel were irreplicable and you were content enough to simply be in his arms.
Your lover never lasted very long when fucking you bare and raw and sensing himself approaching climax, Jaehyun brought his fingers to your clit, already swollen from release. A gasp tore from your throat when he fondled with the sensitive bundle of nerves, trying to facilitate an orgasm out of you.
“Jaehyun,” you whined. You reached for his hand, sensitive.
Jaehyun grabbed your hand with his spare one and slipped his fingers through again for you to squeeze. “It’s okay, my love. I want you to cum,” he said gently, biting your sweet spot.
He was making short work of you. Your climax threatened to ensnare you with a force powerful enough to snap you in half. You needed it. More than anything, you needed it.
You hauled your nails over his back, drawing long, red lines across the naked flesh. Jaehyun hissed darkly, pace quickening and coming even harder. You were driving him mad and vice versa. Your body had never been more confused than it was in that moment, barely willing itself to not writhe away but simultaneously matching his thrusts, wanting to build the pleasure yet somehow escape it all at once.
“I’m coming, I’m coming,” you warned in an impassioned chant, choking on your lack of breath. “I’m…”
Your body quivered, release stealing the rest of your words before you could speak them. You found Jaehyun’s hand again, squeezing it for dear life. The orgasm was so heavy you almost collapsed in on yourself and Jaehyun. You were seeing white, burning red, emitting Jaehyun’s name in a sharp cry.
Jaehyun felt you clenching around his cock with climax and immediately withdrew, knowing he would bust a nut inside you if he stayed a second longer. “Open your mouth,” Jaehyun told you, voice husky, thick with lust.
It was almost enough to break you all over again.
You did as instructed, no hesitation required. Jaehyun fitted his cock inside your mouth, moaning at how warm it was. You took him in, wanting to get him off and taste him dripping down your throat.
When he saw you, cheeks hollowed with his rigid cock in your mouth, Jaehyun nearly came then and there. He fucked your mouth, guttural little praises dangling from his lips.
Your thighs clenched tightly, hot sparks still aflame between. He got you riled up effortlessly, hardly ever needing to try. There was something about him that you were naturally attracted to, an unshakable kind of attraction. You couldn’t fathom why you couldn’t escape him, why your body and heart was seized by your lover.
“So good,” Jaehyun grunted, pace accelerating.
Jaehyun fucked your throat until he came, emptying his balls into your mouth at long last. Eagerly, you swallowed as much as you could, an amalgamation of his release and your saliva dribbling down your chin and onto your naked, heaving breasts.
And the sight positively wrecked him.
“Fuck,” you rasped, still registering what the hell had happened.
Jaehyun’s eyes flashed with alarm. “Did I hurt you?”
“No, it’s just that that’s the best sex I’ve had in a while.”
Jaehyun rolled his eyes and quipped, “That’s the only sex you’ve had in a while.”
“Still the best.”
Jaehyun laughed, eyes crinkling. “Round two?”
“God, yes,” you groaned, still feeling unalloyed pleasure burning between your thighs.
Jaehyun scooped your bare body into his arms again and carried you into his room, pressing the gentlest of kisses to your lips and neck all the while.
You smiled to yourself in the morning when you roused, feeling Jaehyun’s arms still wrapped loosely around your waist.
Everything had shifted then. Though you initially had plans of spending the holidays buried in work, you came to find that Jaehyun’s warm embrace was the greatest gift you could have asked for on Christmas day. There was none of the loneliness and dwelling you dreaded, only making brand new memories with the man you loved with your entire heart, mind and soul.
On Christmas day, you visited his mother’s house where his family had gathered, recognized familiar faces that were surprisingly all too glad to see you again.
When Jaehyun’s mother opened the front door, you greeted bashfully, “Hi, Mrs. Jung.”
“I knew we would meet again,” Mrs. Jung said softly, simpering in a self-satisfied manner. “Come in, dear. You’re always welcome in our home.”
You stepped inside the house, Jaehyun following suit once exchanging a silent, understanding glance with his mother. As always, she was right.
As you glanced around, nostalgia hit you tenfold. Everywhere you looked, there were memories of you and Jaehyun. You could see you both running up the stairs excitedly and Mrs. Jung scolding you about horse-playing indoors. When your eyes fell to the kitchen, you saw yourself joining the Jung’s for dinner, sitting directly beside your lover.
Jaehyun leaned into your ear, given that seasonal music was blaring, and said, “I’m going to have a talk with my brother for a second. Be on your best behavior and don’t try to escape out a window. Old habits die hard.”
You rolled your eyes and playfully shoved him. “Go. I’ll be right here,” you said, heart wrenching softly.
Jaehyun snickered and slithered away.
In his place came someone you were very familiar with.
“Nostalgia?”
You whirled around, instantly recognizing the voice as Taeyong’s, one of Jaehyun’s many, many cousins.
“I made a lot of memories here. I’ll never forget any of it,” you replied honestly. “Long time, no see.”
Taeyong bobbed his head in agreement. “Definitely. I was scared that I’d never see you again.”
“Why is that?” Your curiosity was piqued. You never imagined Jaehyun’s family would anticipate meeting you once more. It was the stark opposite of your expectations.
Taeyong leaned closer like he was telling you someone’s deepest, darkest secret, and whispered, “Between you and I, Jaehyun hasn’t been the same since the breakup. Not a happy camper. You were a part of his life for so long that we were all convinced he would never adjust to living one without you again.”
Visioning a morose, heartbroken Jaehyun made you frown. “I did that.”
“You absolutely did. You broke the poor guy’s heart and made him unbearable. He didn’t deserve that. And I didn’t deserve to have to put up with his insufferable ass,” Taeyong scoffed offhandedly, though you knew his words were lighthearted. “But you fixed it.”
“I guess I did that, too,” you exhaled contentedly, turning your head to spot Jaehyun chatting with his brother. That made you beam. Everything had fallen apart, shattered into pieces, but you were both willing to do the work and put them together.
“He’s himself again,” Taeyong said, following your gaze. “Thank you for giving me my favorite cousin back.”
“I should have never taken him away in the first place.”
Taeyong gave you a playful, half-assed attempt at consoling, “Good people do bad things. We all fuck up. Just maybe not as badly as you.”
You nudged his side.
He continued, turning somewhat sober, “He forgives you. But this won’t work out until you also forgive yourself.”
“You’re so young, but so wise,” you whispered, slightly touched.
Taeyong snickered. “It runs in the family,” he said, patting your back before turning away.
You merely stood there, rooted in place. Taeyong had given you something to muse on you. You realized a part of you was still clinging onto guilt, unable to rationalize your own decisions. You were so convinced that you were undeserving of Jaehyun’s love and courtesy that you had forgotten how to move on from your errors.
It would be a process. But a step a day was better than none at all.
You beamed when you noticed Jaehyun approaching you and he returned it, outstretching his hand and asking, “May I steal a dance?”
“Of course,” you said, taking his hand in yours.
Jaehyun brought you from the foyer to the living room where mainly everybody had gathered to dance, spinning you in his arms as holiday music filled the air.
You swept some free strands of hair from his handsome face, admiring the view only a little higher up than you. Even in a room filled to the hilt with people, Jaehyun and Jaehyun alone was all you could see. Everyone else faded. It was only you and your lover, swaying to the rhythm of a seasonal song.
“This feels like senior prom, but Christmas edition,” Jaehyun quipped.
You snickered delightfully. “I remember when we were announced prom king and queen. I like how nobody was surprised.”
You remembered it like it was yesterday. Jaehyun joined you for the first dance, gently whirling you around in front of several prying eyes, but you didn’t care. To you, the room was as good as empty. They were faceless, nameless people with no contribution or value, no relation to you and your blossoming romance with Jaehyun.
It was an experience you never knew you needed back then. Maybe in that moment, you knew it was fate. That one way or another, Jaehyun was inevitably the one you would grow old and gray-haired with.
Even now, as you stared into his pretty brown eyes, you knew that this was the man you wanted a future with.
Jaehyun glanced up and said, “Look.”
You did as told, smiling fondly as you noticed the mistletoe hanging above your heads. A part of you wondered if it was a coincidence or if he chose this spot deliberately. “I remember kissing you in front of everyone,” Jaehyun added, full of mischief.
You played along and hummed, “I’m not sure if I recall. Care to remind me?”
Jaehyun didn’t waste a second to lock lips with you, tasting hot cocoa on your tongue. You could taste gingerbread on his and the thought made you giggle into his mouth. There was something about it - something about Jaehyun - that made every tiny thing mean a billion times more.
All of the whimsical little things made your heart swell with happiness.
“Yo, chill, you horn dogs. There’s children,” scolded Jaehyun’s other cousin Mark, covering his little cousin’s eyes. His family gave you a headache. Every time you learned them all, it was as if another cousin popped out of thin air.
You and Jaehyun pulled away, snickering. You leaned on your toes, giving his lips one final peck before deciding you’d had your fill.
Days of being Jaehyun’s again turned into some of the happiest months of your life. You were letting go of some of your old habits and setting some past trauma free. There were a handful of grim times, but you both made the effort to repair things before they spiraled out of control.
Excuses had run their course. Jaehyun would ask you on dates and you’d agree more, overworking yourself less. Until now, you never realized that putting some distance between yourself and the stresses of work was what it took to be happier. You had made the earth-shattering mistake of convincing yourself that hard work equated happiness.
The two of you agreed to take things slow, afraid rushing would land you in an achingly familiar predicament, but you couldn’t deny that things had been speeding up. And Jaehyun already knew that it would forever be you.
It was another long, brutal day of work and nothing was out of the ordinary. You were running across the office, balancing direct orders on top of your daily tasks. You needed six skins to have a job like this. Three to balance the roles of multiple people and another three to endure the wear and tear.
Ten, your favorite co-worker, tracked you down and stopped you dead in your tracks to say, “Hey, slow down a second. Someone’s here to see you.”
You did the opposite of slowing down, still walking and as he followed you, said, “Tell them I’m taking a sick day, would you? Thanks, Tennie.”
“I don’t think so,” Ten said, donning an amused look. Which successfully made you pause in confusion. Usually, Ten never hesitated to cover for you. “You’re going to want to hear what this guy has to say. I swear.”
Very reluctantly, you agreed to follow Ten, curiosity piqued as you wondered who in the hell would dare interrupt you in the middle of a swift-paced work day.
Jung Jaehyun. That was who.
You made a face of confusion when you saw him there, smiling at you like an idiot. Confused, you asked, “Jay, you couldn’t text or call?”
“What I’m about to do is a bit difficult to do over the phone,” Jaehyun retorted, admiring your state of obliviousness.
You huffed, “What are you…”
You cut yourself off when you noticed one of the staff hand Jaehyun a tiny box and he proceeded to crouch on one knee. The realization made your heart thud, pulse quickening.
Jaehyun started, “Baby, I’ve been racking my brain trying to think of how to say this. I had to have tried to practice this a million times before I decided to talk to you from my heart.”
Your co-workers all gathered around, and you noticed even your boss observing from the corner of your eyes, but your gaze was locked on Jaehyun and no one but.
Your lover fought his nerves and added, “We met when we were in high school. I remember it like it was yesterday. We were so young, dumb, and drunk off learning what true love was for the first time. We couldn’t resist each other.”
The memories made your heart melt, taut with ecstasy.
“Then, we got older. And things got more complicated, but in spite of that, we never stopped loving each other. Not for a second,” Jaehyun declared, impassioned. “I’ve been in love with you for so long that I can’t imagine my life any other way. No matter what has changed between us.”
Jaehyun was staring you dead in the eyes, watching your face melt with awe. It gave him all the courage he needed.
“You made it so easy to fall in love with you but so hard to fall back out. And I don’t want to. I adore you, my love. Thoughts of you keep me up and night, restless. You make me crazy.”
Your eyes burned, fighting an oncoming threat of tears with every passing word. Jaehyun had swept you off your feet, making you feel emotions you never knew existed.
“I know we’ve been through thick and thin, baby. But we were there for each other. And even when we separated, we found our way right back into each other’s arms,” your lover added.
You wanted to pinch yourself, determine if you were dreaming. Even though Jaehyun had proposed once to you before, you would never get used to the wave of emotion that plagued you, rendering you soft and full of glee.
“I didn’t know what love was until I fell for you. You’re my first love and all these years by your side have only solidified my courage that I want you to be my last. You are the only woman on this earth I can imagine a future with and if it’s not you, then I know there’s nobody else out there for me.”
Ten was smartly grabbing a box of tissues for safe measure.
Jaehyun’s voice got softer, “Let’s try again, my love. Let’s do this one more time - one last time. Will you marry me?”
Now, you had the spotlight. Ten was none too subtly mouthing, “Say ‘yes.’” Everybody was anticipating your reaction and you wondered exactly how long in advance everyone had been in on this little surprise except for you.
There was no hesitation and you practically screamed as you chanted, “Yes!”
Jaehyun, much like the last time he proposed to you, swept you into his arms and kissed you to death, effectively silencing you. The room erupted in cheer. Everybody was glad to get a break from their tedious jobs and witness a moment as beautiful as this one.
The champagne was already popping. Your fiancé whirled you in your arms and you told him affectionately, “I love you.”
“Say it again,” Jaehyun said, incapable of getting enough.
“I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you. I love you so much that I don’t know what to do with myself.”
“Let me love you,” your fiancé said, staring at you like you were the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. And you were. “That’s all you have to do.”
You smiled, pretending to mull it over. “I think I can let that happen.”
Jaehyun was over the moon. There were no words to describe how ecstatic he was. He missed this feeling and he was more than glad that it had returned. “Merry Christmas,” he said playfully.
“Jaehyun, it is literally the end of July. This reminds me of when you wished me Happy Valentines Day after fucking my brains out on your birthday,” you replied, rolling your eyes.
“Still,” your fiancé said, pressing a kiss to the corner of your lips and cheesing at the memory of fucking you raw again. “Marrying you is the best gift I could ever ask for.”
You smiled in agreement. And fought a smirk as you remembered you had your own little surprise for your betrothed, waiting for you at home on the bathroom counter.
Jesus Christ, you were going to need a bigger place to stay.
4K notes · View notes
soobluv · 1 year
Text
Sleep Well, Princess
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Title: Sleep Well, Princess
Pairing: Jaehyun x You (feat. brother!Taeyong)
Genre: age gap, big brother's best friend au, angst, drama, fluff, romance, slow burn, smut
Warnings: six year age gap, unprotected and kind of public sex (no worries, nothing rated will involve minors!)
Word Count: 12.5k
Summary: When you were six, you developed a crush on your older brother's best friend. When you were thirteen, you fell head over heels in love with him. When you were sixteen, you decided to wait for when the time was right. When you were nineteen, he rejected you.
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The first memory you had of Jeong Jaehyun was that of a warm summer evening when you encountered an unfamiliar boy sitting at your terrace.
You had hurried back home from your friend’s house, eager to make it for dinner on time, but when you had arrived, your entire family was gathered in the garden, eating watermelon with a boy you had never seen before.
“That’s Jaehyun!” your older brother Taeyong had introduced him. “He’s new in town and my classmate!”
Jaehyun had worn the brightest smile, the corners of his lips smeared with leftover watermelon that let his skin glisten with sweet juice. You hadn’t even been able to clearly hear the words he was directing at you, that was how full his mouth was.
When you had sat down next to your twelve-year-old brother on the stairs, munching on your watermelon like everyone else, you were watching this new boy Jaehyun from the corner of your eyes, your pupils wanting to stay fixated on the fruit, but still going astray eventually.
He was as tall and slim as your older brother, wearing similar clothes, having similar haircuts, and even speaking and laughing in a similar manner. If anything, they could pass as brothers.
But for your real brother, as a matter of fact, you didn’t want to look at him for so long. But for your brother, you didn’t want him to look back at you. But for your brother, your cheeks didn’t flush so much in his presence.
“My, my!” Taeyong had laughed. “I think my sister has a crush on you!”
You had smacked him so hard, your fingerprints were still visible on his arm later that night. That was one of the downsides of being so close to a sibling: they could read you like an open book. There was nothing you could hide from them.
You had wanted to disappear right there and then, convinced to currently experiencing the most embarrassing moment of your young life so far. You hadn’t even known Jaehyun for half an hour, yet you were labelled as the annoying little sister probably.
But Jaehyun had only laughed, nothing more. And just like that, the topic had been swept under the rug to never be addressed again.
Most children experienced their first crush at the age of five.
You had been six at that time.
Throughout the years, you had not only watched your brother grow, but Jaehyun as well as they became the bestest of friends.
His height had shot upwards so that he was now even towering your brother by a few inches. He had built muscles that were becoming more apparent through his clothings. His face had gotten more expressive features after maturing in his teenage years.
You had been crushing on your brother’s best friend for as long as you could think of.
And then, he broke your heart.
____
When You Were 7
“Yongie! Yongie!”
You ran into the living room, the pink tulle rustling with each step of yours as the wand of the same color swung in your hands when you entered through the door and found your brother sitting on the couch, playing a video game on the big TV.
“Yongie! How do you find my dress?”
Your brother shifted around. “A new princess dress? Looks amazing on you, sis!”
“Right?!” You smiled brightly. “I’m a princess!”
The moment you encountered Jaehyun next to him though, you stopped in your tracks and looked at his best friend, frozen.
You hadn’t been aware that he was here, even though on the weekends, he usually always was. Yet, you suddenly felt so foolish and childish in your pink princess gown with the magic wand, imagining yourself to reign in a non-existent country.
Jaehyun was thirteen years old, of course he would only laugh at little girls who played dress up, especially as princesses.
Slowly, your hand that was holding the wand sank to your side along with your head, and all the sparks from your eyes vanished when it dawned on you that it would probably make Jaehyun think of you sillily when he saw this overly childish side of yours.
“How’s your country called, princess?”
You turned keen-eared upon hearing his words. Immediately, your head shot up and you locked gazes with him, his expression only radiating kindness with the soft smile that he was addressing at you.
Princess.
He had called you princess!
“It’s called ‘Phantasia’!” you announced proudly. “I’m the reigning princess!”
“Well, princess… Where is your crown? A princess usually wears a crown, right?”
“Oh…” You touched your head as though you had placed it there the moment before. “I broke it the last time…”
“No worries. A true princess doesn’t need a crown to make her whole.”
For the rest of the day, you felt like walking on clouds. No one was able to take away what Jaehyun had said to you earlier, and you were even still grinning when your mother read a goodnight story to you later that night.
The weekend after that, Jaehyun was over at your house again.
Taeyong had told you that he was living with his grandfather as his parents were doing business abroad, and whenever possible, the old man needed rest, so Jaehyun spent most of his free time at your house. Your brother didn’t mind, and you were surely the last one to object to this arrangement.
“This is for you, princess.”
You were sitting on the terrace when Jaehyun suddenly appeared in front of you, carrying something in his hand that you weren’t able to clearly see against the sunlight. A moment later, you felt a light pressure on your head.
When your fingers reached up and touched an edgy plastic object on top of your head, you instantly knew what it was without needing to take it off and inspect.
You got so excited, you were sure you were going to burst with bliss.
It was a crown.
“A crown doesn’t make you a princess as you already are one,” Jaehyun explained. “But it’s still nice to have some validation every now and then, right?”
You refused to take off the silver plastic crown with the pink jewels for the next weeks without a single break, even adamant to wear it during bathtime and to sleep until your mother got so sick and tired of it that she took it away and threatened to never give it back to you unless you came back to your senses.
Since then, the crown sat enthroned on top of your drawer so that you had a good look at it from all corners in your room.
It was your biggest treasure.
A month later, Taeyong had his first big party, and of course, all his friends came over, including Jaehyun.
Since his gathering had started during your bedtime, your mother had forbidden you to go downstairs as you should be asleep already, but you were so excited for the event to take place that two hours later, you were still wide awake.
You were listening to the boys’ voices from the ground floor as you peeked through your door and slowly crawled to the very top of the stairs to catch a glimpse at the guests downstairs. But you saw nothing yet, so you sneaked to crouch on the first step.
When you still weren’t able to get even the slightest insight into the happenings, you decided to go down another step in your crouching position, but in the process, you lost your balance so that you suddenly slipped and fell down the rest of the stairs with loud rumbling.
“Ouch!” you let out, feeling all your muscles and bones ache when you finally came to a standstill.
“Taeyong, someone fell down the stairs!”
You were lying on the ground, many pairs of eyes directed at you from above when you opened your lids, but even among all these faces with your head still dizzy, you were able to make out Jaehyun’s features in the corner.
“Let me through, that’s my sister!”
You felt your body getting lifted up and stabilized by the strong arms of your brother.
“Sis, are you okay?” Taeyong was touching your arms, feet, head, and then your upper body. “Thank god, nothing seems to be broken! Are you alright? Is your head okay? We have to make sure that you didn’t get a concussion from the fall! Come with me.”
Your brother carried you in his arms to the couch, the music having come to a pause, and all the gathered boys’ faces were directed at you. The entire situation suddenly got so embarrassing for you, and if your mother would find out, you’d get one hell of a rebuke!
“It’s okay!” you tried to brush it off. “I’m okay!”
You wanted to jump from the couch when a familiar voice suddenly instructed, “Sit still.”
Jaehyun gave Taeyong a frozen pack of pears that your brother then pressed on the back of your head.
“Look at me.”
That was easy. You weren’t able to look at anything or anyone other than Jaehyun anyway. You got lost in his deep, brown eyes that were always so soft but now so serious. He lifted a finger in front of you.
“Follow my motions.”
You nodded and moved your eyes to the right and left, then back, and then to the right and left again as he wanted.
“How many fingers do you see?”
“Three.” Pause. “One.” Pause. “Four.”
“Does something else hurt besides your head on which you have fallen?”
You shook your head. “Only my limbs and back from the fall. But it’s subsiding.”
“She’s all right,” Taeyong then stated. “Thank god.” He put the pack of pears in your hand. “Then I can scold you now! What were you thinking, lurking on the stairs in the middle of the night in the absolute dark?!”
“I wanted to… The kitchen… water... I-” you stuttered, starting to tremble all over as you got so overwhelmed with the entire situation.
“It’s okay,” Jaehyun interrupted him. “It’s late, she just hurt herself… Just leave it be. How about we get you a glass of water and then I’ll bring you back upstairs, okay y/n?”
Like in a trance, you nodded. You couldn’t believe what he had just offered. “Okay.”
“Then continue serving your guests, Taeyong, I’ll be right back.”
You held onto Jaehyun’s warm hand when you followed him up the stairs back into your bedroom. He had never been here before, and suddenly, you wished your room was a bit more tidied up and your plushies wouldn’t be as scattered as usual.
But Jaehyun didn’t seem to mind as he placed the glass of water on your nightstand while you slipped under your blanket.
“Everything okay? Nothing hurts, right?”
You nodded. “I’m alright.”
“Then, I’m glad.”
Relief resonated in his tone, and his eyes only averted for a second, but this single second was long enough for him to notice something at the other side of the room.
“The crown,” he remarked. “It’s there.”
“Of course,” you answered triumphantly. “It’s my biggest treasure!”
“Then take care of it well.” Jaehyun smiled, walked to the door and switched off the lights. “Sleep well, princess.”
“Goodnight, Jaehyun.”
After he had closed the door, you still thought about the events for a long time, even when the voices downstairs vanished one by one. The touch of his hand embracing your fingers remained until the next morning.
You were seven and crushing on Jaehyun.
____
When You Were 10
You were regularly spending your summer breaks at your grandparents’ house by the seaside, and since Jaehyun couldn’t visit his parents in the US this time as they were too busy with their business, you had decided to tag him along with you.
“Yongie, look!” you called for your brother. “My side is already this big!”
Taeyong sat up and looked over the pile of sand to get a glimpse at your construction. “Beat me, sis!”
“You have to hurry up, we have to finish first before mommy calls us for dinner!”
“Alright, alright,” he gave in with a laugh.
You were sitting there in the sand with your blue swimsuit and a straw hat, wanting to build the biggest sand castle this small seaside town had ever seen. But one person, who had volunteered to help, was still missing, even though he had excused himself quite a while ago already.
“Where is Jaehyun?” you asked your brother and looked around from under your hat. “We can’t get it done without him.”
“I don’t know.” Taeyong shrugged. “You wanna look for him? I have some catching up to do here, huh?”
“Okay!”
You arose from your spot and freed your legs and knees from the sand that had gotten stuck on your skin. It was a hot summer evening, and you would have to leave soon, but not without getting this sand castle done, you were very determined.
Walking to the toilets, you waited there for quite a bit, but Jaehyun wasn’t among the people leaving even five minutes later, so you made your way to the stalls where people were selling food, and indeed, Jaehyun stood there by a table. But he was not alone.
From afar, you spotted two girls who were with him, and it was obvious that they were head over heels for Jaehyun.
Somehow, this bugged you very much, your nails digging into the palms of your hands as you clenched them to fists. Jaehyun was only standing there, talking to them, but that was enough to get you sulking, and you didn’t even know why.
Stomping through the sand back to Taeyong, you still weren’t able to get the picture with him and the two girls out of your head.
“Hey sis, look I’m this far al-”
You jumped into the nearly finished sand castle and walked all over the construction.
“Hey! All the hard work is now gone to waste!” Taeyong complained in disbelief.
“I don’t care! I wanna go home!”
“Did something happen?” he asked you gently as you flopped down on the pile of sand and crossed your arms, pulling the straw hat deep into your face.
“No.”
“Why the sudden mood change then?”
“Whatever. Can we just go home?”
“We have to wait for Jaehyun.”
“No, we can just go without him.”
Taeyong deeply sucked in a rush of air and sat down in the sand right next to you. “I know when something happened and you don’t want to tell me, sis. We’re siblings. We just feel it.”
You wanted to scream from the top of your lungs, not being able to sort these controversial feelings into anywhere as you had never experienced anything like it before.
“We don’t need to wait for Jaehyun as he already has company,” you pressed through gritted teeth.
“Who?”
“Girls.”
“Mhm… I see.”
Only the sound of the sea was audible to you as you continued sitting quietly next to each other, counting the sand grains to your feet.
“Jaehyun is a good looking, sixteen year old guy. Nobody can withhold him from talking to girls or girls coming to him in the first place,” your brother then opened the conversation. “You’ve grown up with the two of us, sis. Of course you’d get attached to him too and view everyone else as a threat to your relationship with him. But him talking to other girls besides you is normal, and you gradually have to accept this.”
You continued to sulk, but as his words slowly dawned on you, you started to make sense of these feelings as well.
“Remember when I brought my female friend home one day and you were on our nerves the rest of the time she was there?”
Of course you remembered. You had been jealous that his entire attention was directed at her only, even though usually, he spent his free time with you.
You hadn’t talked to him the entire next day.
Oh.
“For me, you’ll always be my little sister. Even when I get a girlfriend or will be married one day, you will come first for me.” These words made you smile amongst the chaos within you. “One day, Jaehyun will find someone he loves and wants to spend his life with as well, and this person will be the number one for him - just like you are for me.”
“And why can’t I be that person?”
Taeyong chuckled and his arms wrapped around you for a comforting embrace. “Because you are my person already.”
“And if I want to change that person?”
You laughed out loud together now.
“You wouldn’t want someone to keep us apart as well, right?”
“Of course not!”
Taeyong stopped laughing. “Then you must realize that you can’t act to Jaehyun this way.”
Turning serious again, you inhaled deeply. “I don’t want to be a nuisance to him.”
“You’re not, sis. But if you keep feeling and acting this way, you’re on the verge of being. But don’t worry, you’ll always hold a special place in Jaehyun’s life. I know.”
Somehow, this reassurance from Jaehyun’s best friend calmed you down. In the end, he was the person who knew him the best.
“Hey you two.”
You both looked up, and you had to blink a few times before you recognized Jaehyun in front of you. Speak of the devil.
“I’m sorry that it took me so long,” he apologized. “Some girls wouldn’t let me go, even though this entire time, I was afraid the ice cream would melt. But I still made it on time, I hope.” He held a popsicle right in front of you. “Here, for you.”
“For… me?” you wanted to make sure, and he nodded.
With care, you took the popsicle into your hand.
“What about me?” Taeyong asked.
“Get your own one.”
“Unfair!”
With sparkling eyes, you stared at the popsicle. The sweet liquid was already dripping on your fingers and on the sand underneath you, but you didn’t mind. Amidst everything, he had brought this to you.
“Thank you,” you said gratefully.
“Of course,” Jaehyun smiled.
When you came out of the bathroom after having showered, you passed by Taeyong’s room where he and Jaehyun were residing during your stay. You wanted to barge in to say goodnight before you went to bed, but stopped when you overheard them talking heatedly.
“What about the girls from before?” your brother asked. “You gonna meet them? They were from Seoul too, right?”
“Of course not. You know I’m not going to date anyone.”
“That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be allowed to enjoy your youth.”
You heard Jaehyun laugh. “Yeah, not now. Maybe later.”
Somehow, it set your mind at ease. With a fluttering heart, you walked inside the room and told them, “Goodnight, guys!”
“‘Night, sis.”
“Sleep well, princess.”
You were ten and now knew what jealousy meant.
____
When You Were 13
It was your first time trying to use eyeliner as you stood in the bathroom, painting the black line along your right lid.
“Oh no!” you then exclaimed, having miscalculated the angle again and now in the process of making this line thicker than the one on your left lid. “I’ll never get it right…”
In the end, you considered yourself satisfied with what you had gotten right and put a bit of your mother’s lipstick and blush on. Throwing kisses and posing in front of the mirror, you threw your hair back and forth, inspecting your reflection from every side.
Not flawlessly perfect, you thought, but close to it.
In two inch heels, you walked out of the bathroom with your cutest dress on. From downstairs, you could already hear your brother shouting to your mother across the room that he was taking her car now, so you knew you didn’t have much time left before he’d leave.
“Taeyong!” you called after him, coming down the stairs with rather shaky steps and much slower than you intended. “Taeyong, wait! Can you take me with you and drop me off at Seulgi’s please?”
“Huh? Okay, then hurry up, Jaehyun is on hi-”
He stopped mid-sentence and watched you stop on the ground floor, not having recognized you at first glance.
“What did you do?” Taeyong then yelled, approaching you with hasty steps. “Why do you look like a panda? What’s with these dark eyes? That’s ridiculous!”
He wanted to touch your face, but you slapped his hand away. “That’s eyeliner! Everyone wears that nowadays!” you defended yourself.
“But not a thirteen year old!” he said indignantly. “And that lipstick? Is there a clown parade in the neighborhood I have to know about? Is that why you meet up at Seulgi’s? And what’s with these shoes? You can’t even walk in them! Did you get them from mom? They’re way too big!”
“Of course I can walk in them!” you yelled back at him. “Mind your own business, will you?!”
“You look entirely ridiculous, sis! Go dress yourself properly and wash your face at once! I’m not taking you with me if you look like this!”
“No way!” You stomped with your feet on the ground. “I can dress however I want!”
“Mom!” Taeyong then yelled louder. “Mom, come loo-”
“Knock, knock.”
You both turned around and encountered Jaehyun standing by the open entrance door.
“You didn’t hear me, so I thought I’d just go inside and then I saw you shouting at each other. What’s up even?”
“My sister is up!” Taeyong placed his hand on his forehead as though in exhaustion. “She decided to join the circus today, apparently! Just look at her!”
You felt tears welling up behind your eyes as Jaehyun’s gaze fell upon you. You had only wanted Taeyong to give you a ride, because he and Jaehyun were supposed to go to the sports court to play basketball this evening, and you wanted to take this chance to be close to his friend for a short while.
In a magazine from a classmate, you had read that women usually prettied themselves up before they met with a man they liked, and since your big brother’s best friend was the person you liked, you thought this also applied to you.
In the magazine, you had seen them not only wearing high heels, but also designer dresses and other pretty clothes. Their make up had made them look even more beautiful, and their hair was flowing in long locks over their shoulders.
You thought, for your age and skills, you didn’t look that bad. But in the eyes of 19-year-old boys, you apparently did look like a clown.
Without another word, you turned around and ran up the stairs. Your ankles hurt from all the twisting while walking, but you rather wanted to feel this physical pain instead of the emotional one Taeyong’s further words would make you experience.
You kicked the heels away in front of your bedroom and then disappeared to the inside, throwing yourself onto the bed with your clown face buried into the pillow. Rather than crying, you wanted to scream in anger. Only moments later, sadness kicked in.
You were only a child in these boys’ eyes, so your older brother was probably right. What did you even know? You most likely truly did look like a clown, having made a fool of yourself right in front of Jaehyun’s eyes.
Now, he would never look at you like a woman.
“Go away!” you then shouted as you heard it knock on your door. “I don’t want to talk to you!”
“It’s me.” Pause. “Jaehyun.”
Within a second, you were sitting straight on your bed, your expression lightening up until you realized that he was still your brother’s best friend and probably led a similar way of thinking.
“You don’t have to scold me as well. I know my lesson.”
“I didn’t come to scold you.”
You remained silent for a moment, but then consented, “Come in.”
Thick strands of your hair fell into your face, but you didn’t swipe them away to not have Jaehyun face your panda mien directly. You heard him closing the door behind him, then walking over to your bed.
“You know,” he started as he crouched down in front of you, “there was one thing I never quite understood. And that was how beautiful girls didn’t think they were already beautiful enough.”
You kneaded your fingers in nervousness, his voice clear enough for you to hear, but they didn’t seem to get through your head right away.
“I’ve known you since you were little, y/n. I know how you look when you’ve just woken up, I know how you look when you’re tired, I know how you look when you’re soaked with water… I know all of your faces. And if you don’t want to believe your family, then believe me that you don’t need any makeup to look pretty.”
Your heart jumped a little with each compliment he directed at you. It was the first time that a boy had told you that he found you pretty. And even though you knew Jaehyun only said it to you to appease and simultaneously encourage you, it was enough to force your sadness into a corner.
“But those idols and models in magazines, they also wear makeup and these clothes. Why shouldn’t I also be allowed to feel prettier?” You now had enough courage to look up at him, still reluctant to smile.
“Because…” Jaehyun touched your cheek in a reassuring manner, growing a smile. “You’re still too young to think that you can only go outside when you’re wearing makeup.”
“I won’t think that!”
“Really?” He raised a brow. “Once you start, you will get used to that new face of yours and won’t feel pretty or confident enough naturally. Of course, every woman can wear as much makeup as they want. But I don’t want a young girl like you to think she has to alternate the way she looks already. It feels so wrong.”
From your nightstand, he pulled out tissues from the box and then wiped over your mouth. His gentle gesture was a great contrast to the lightning zapping through your body whenever his fingers closed to your lips, even with the fabric in between.
You stared at him, frozen on the spot, and Jaehyun continued smiling. “If you cannot embrace yourself right now, how will it be later on?”
Letting his words sink in, you had to acknowledge their accuracy. “When can I try then? When I’m older?”
“Well...” He withdrew his hand, the tissue smeared with red color. “When you realize that you don’t need any of it. At all times.”
Not the answer you expected, but you were still content. You helped him wipe over your eyes, turning you into a human again instead of a panda.
“And Taeyong holds the same opinion, trust me,” Jaehyun added when he threw the tissues into the trash can. “He was only shocked to see his little sister so dressed up, like an adult. He just didn’t voice it very well. It’s like that when you have overprotective, big brothers, hm?”
When you followed Jaehyun downstairs, dressed in your usual clothes with no trace of makeup left anymore, Taeyong was already waiting by the stairs, his expression turning from an anxious to a relieved one when he saw you.
“‘’scuse me,” he murmured.
“Me too,” you murmured back to him.
And just like that, like it always was among siblings, the fight was never addressed again.
You rode with Taeyong and Jaehyun to your friend Seulgi, and the smile Jaehyun threw at you when you turned back and waved at them made up for everything that had happened in the past hour.
It was nearly bedtime for you later that night when you sat on the couch in the living room as Taeyong and Jaehyun walked through the entrance door together.
In your pink pajamas, with your hair sticking out to all sides, you probably wouldn’t make it into a fashion magazine. But after Jaehyun’s reassuring words, you weren’t worried about these things anymore as you met his approving gaze when the both of them flopped down to the left and right of yours.
“How was your match?” you asked them.
“I totally destroyed Jaehyun!” Taeyong called him out loudly. “Right?”
“Only by one point,” Jaehyun grumbled.
“In all games!”
You laughed along with them when you heard your mother call you from upstairs to go to bed. You then jumped off from the couch and ran to the stairs.
“Goodnight!”
“G’night.”
“Sleep well, princess.”
You were thirteen and Jaehyun the only boy you had eyes for.
____
When You Were 16
“Where are you going?” Taeyong asked you from the couch, shifting away from the TV and around to you.
You had entered the living room in search of your other high heel, but still didn’t succeed in finding it, and you were already running late. You had dressed yourself in a nice outfit that the shoes would only complete, because tonight was a special occasion.
“On a date,” you deadpanned at your brother, your eyes scanning your left and right.
“Who is it? The guy who’s two years your senior again?”
“Yeah. Can you pick me up from the cinema later?”
He nodded. “Sure. I’ll be there at 11. If you’re not there by then, he’s dead meat.”
You rolled your eyes, but still couldn’t bite down a grin. “Shouldn’t you be studying for your university exams? Isn’t that why you’re spending the time at home? Instead, you’re worried about some high school boy.”
“Trust me, I know how high school boys are, sis, I was one myself,” Taeyong spoke with a serious tone. “Especially the ones in their last year are the worst.”
“Ugh, please, spare me from these stories!” You had seen girls entering and exiting your house more often than you wanted to remember when you had only been eleven. “Just pick me up at 11, okay?”
Taeyong laughed. “Alright, I’ll be there.”
Three hours later, you stood in front of the cinema, waiting for your brother with a sulky expression on your face, the rain mercilessly pouring down at you.
Only minutes later, a black car pulled up on the street in front of you, and you crossed the pavement from the cinema to the vehicle with your hands shielding your face from the rain as you opened the door and hopped inside.
“Thank for coming so qui-”
“Hey.”
The one sitting in the driver’s seat was not your brother though.
“Jaehyun?!”
“Surprise.”
You didn’t see him as often anymore after he had moved to Daejeon to study. Every now and then, he came to visit his grandfather or Taeyong though, and when they were in the mood, they stepped by at your house, but not as often as before and surely for not as long. You wished it would be different though.
Of course, you got it. They were university students now, not school boys anymore with other obligations and commitments in life while you were fully enjoying your teenage years. Jaehyun’s mind would be occupied with other things than visiting his best friend’s little sister.
Throughout the time, Jaehyun had only stayed that for you: a simple crush from your childhood that you admired from afar. And that hadn’t stopped you from meeting other people.
“What are you doing here?” you asked him, perplexed.
“My grandfather has been feeling unwell lately, so I’m staying with him for the week.”
That must have been a spontaneous decision due to an emergency you assumed, because the last time you had asked about Jaehyun, Taeyong hadn’t mentioned anything about it. Or he had simply forgotten due to the stress from university.
“I’m sorry about your grandfather,” you said. “I’m glad I got to see you at least, though.”
Throughout the veil of dripping leftover rain, a smile was visible on your face and Jaehyun audibly let out a rush of air as he started the car. “Taeyong sent me to pick you up as he quickly had to drop by his dorm and grab some books.”
“Ah okay, so he actually did start studying in the end.” You chuckled.
“I came back from the States only yesterday, so he and I haven’t been able to have a good chat yet. We’ll still be catching up though.”
“Have you visited your parents?” you asked him out of curiosity. “Is their company still doing well?”
“Yeah, kind of visiting and kind of learning from their success. I haven’t seen them for very long periods since studying at KAIST, so I took the opportunity to fly over there. And I have to get back when my grandfather is feeling better, ready to return to university for the final exams.”
“Sounds kind of exhausting, jetting between two countries and attending to your family’s duties. Are you alright?”
His eyes widened for a short moment, and you wondered whether you were the first person to ever ask this genuinely.
“I’m okay.” But feeling uncomfortable with the attention, Jaehyun then shifted it back to you. “What about you? How was your date?”
You replied to him, “One word: awful. I don’t think we’re going to continue dating.”
He furrowed. “But why?”
You were pondering whether you wanted to tell him or not as you were still reluctant to spill the entire story. But you knew how nagging Jaehyun could be, so you spared him the details and mainly delivered the necessary parts of the story which consisted of only,
“He can’t kiss, okay? At least I don’t think that’s how kissing is supposed to feel. And I don’t know whether it’s on me or him, but…” you breathed in deeply. “It’s just not working out. He’s the only boy I’ve ever kissed, so I don’t have a comparison, but whenever I think about kissing him, I just want to run away, because it feels so gross and wrong.”
You closed your eyes shut, not wanting to see his expression, but instead, you heard a very loud laughter.
“So funny, huh,” you asked ironically as you opened your eyes again.
“Oh to be a teenager again,” Jaehyun continued laughing.
You got very worked up over that topic. “What if that’s what kissing is like and I just don’t like it? Or what if I just… can’t kiss?”
The words were falling from your lips like an endless stream, and you only realized now that it was Jaehyun you were directing them at. You got so flustered, you wanted to jump out of the car right there and then.
“Well, y/n,” Jaehyun then began as you sank further into your seat as though it would suck you into a deep, black hole. Thank god you would be home in a few minutes. “I can assure you, kissing is indeed a blissful act, nothing that should gross you out or even feel wrong. And if it doesn’t work quite the way you want the first time around, you can only practice. But trust me, it’s an awesome way to express your feelings.”
“I wouldn’t know,” you conceded.
“Yet,” Jaehyun added. “Sometimes, two people just don’t match. That can happen, but don’t let this experience discourage you. One day, you’ll meet a guy, and everything will fall into place. Then, it will feel right. Then, you will think back about your date just now and laugh.”
“So… it’s okay if I tell him that we don’t make a good couple and end it? Over this topic only?”
“Of course. You definitely should if you feel this way. You don’t want to lead him on, right?”
“No, for sure not.”
As always, Jaehyun managed to encourage and cheer on you. It was just such a shame that he wasn’t around as often anymore.
“Hey Jaehyun…” He pulled up in front of your house. “I still have the crown that you gave me.”
Even in the semi-darkness of the car’s insides, you saw how his face brightened up. “Really? That plastic thing?”
“Exactly that.” As he brought his car to a stop, you unbuckled your seatbelt. “By the way… it’s sad that you’re not around as often anymore.”
“Yeah, I think so too. But I just have-”
“-so much to do,” you ended his sentence, the corner of your lips tilting down. “I know. Taeyong always says that as well when I ask about you.”
Jaehyun’s eyes widened. “You do?”
You chuckled and turned to the door, aiming for the handle. “Almost every time when he comes home for the weekend. I think he gets sick and tired of my questions already, but I can’t help myself. When you have free time next summer, let’s go to the seaside again, okay? Good night then, Jaehyun.”
You waited for him to say his usual goodbye line, but as it didn’t come, you wanted to turn around and check on him. Before you could do so though, he had already wrapped his fingers around your wrist and pulled you back into your seat.
Rendered silent, you didn’t know what was happening around you as Jaehyun’s face suddenly hovered over yours, his gaze casting a spell over you, and you couldn’t look away anymore. Your heart was jumping irregularly against your chest, and you feared that he might hear how loud it was as blood rushed to your ears at the same time.
One of his hands found its way onto your cheek and rested there for a moment, letting you relish the warmth as his face drew closer to yours. You had kissed someone only an hour prior, yet you didn’t feel any pang of conscience as you became aware of what this situation implied if you continued.
But you didn’t stop and closed your eyes instead.
For all the time that Jaehyun was gone, you had thought your feelings constantly vanished little by little until they had entirely vanished, brushing them off as a light crush. But the truth was that they had been kept in control on a lukewarm blaze only, ready to inflame again when you were conscious enough to accept their meaning.
And your feelings were very much set aflame when his lips brushed over yours before he leaned in further and captured them fully, deepening the kiss. Parting your mouth in a gentle manner, you let him pass through with his tongue, your fingers searching for support by gripping onto his shirt.
This wasn’t like kissing the guy from before. This felt sweet, endearing and simply… right.
Jaehyun had told you the truth about kissing. It was a heartfelt act that made it possible to convey feelings that couldn’t or didn’t want to be expressed in another way.
The kiss slowed down only after minutes when you were sure that you would run out of breath soon as you still didn’t know how to align your breathing rhythm with the motions. You hoped he hadn’t minded.
“Sleep well, princess,” was what Jaehyun then said after he had pulled away.
You then stood there, in front of your house, totally flabbergasted, the warmth of his lips against yours still present as you touched that exact spot, realizing something very important in your life now. With idle steps, you made your way into the house, trying to sort out your thoughts.
You didn’t want that senior from school. Or another guy. And the reason it hadn’t worked out with him or wouldn’t with anyone else was because your heart would never fully be with them.
It had always only been with Jaehyun.
When Taeyong entered the house an hour later, you hadn’t moved from your spot at the kitchen table where you had taken a seat, staring into space. Your brother was only a shadow in the background you barely perceived as you had a hard time coming to a conclusion with your thoughts.
“How was it, sis? Do I have to beat that guy up?” he asked you.
“No,” you answered absent-mindedly. “It was nice, but I’m still going to stop seeing him, though.”
“Well, okay. Sucks for him, I guess.” Taeyong shrugged. “Whatever makes you happy makes me happy as well. You’ll eventually find the right one, I’m sure about that. You’re still so young.”
With these words, he pulled you out of your thoughts, and you wanted to know further, “Do you mean it, Yongie? From sibling to sibling?”
“That you’ll eventually find the right one?”
“Whatever makes you happy makes me happy, I mean.”
“Of course.” He nodded at you encouragingly.
If this was the case, then he wouldn’t mind your feelings for Jaehyun. Why should he even? Jaehyun was his best friend. If there was someone he would surely approve of, then it would be Jaehyun, out of all people.
This. This was it.
You wanted to wait then.
For you to grow more mature and attain your majority. When you were ready, you wanted to pursue a relationship with him. You were just afraid that Jaehyun couldn’t wait for just as long. But you wanted to give it your best.
Your light crush on your brother’s best friend was long gone.
You were head over heels in love with him now.
____
When You Were 19
“Now, a picture with your brother!”
You got closer to Taeyong who then put an arm on your waist, holding one of your flower bouquets while you were being kept occupied with the other ones. Yet, you were still smiling and holding up a peace-sign into your parents’ camera.
“I’m so proud of you, sis!” He hugged you for the nth time that morning.
“Ah, come on, Yongie! You just had your graduation ceremony as well, don’t discredit your own success!”
“Only because I enlisted in the meantime, so it’s nothing special in comparison to you graduating from high school. And then, you’re going to study at Ewha!”
Ewha Womans University. You had been dreaming of getting in ever since you were very young, having worked hard throughout the past years to pass the entrance exams. At last, academically, everything had worked out for you.
“Congratulations from me as well.”
That voice… You turned around just to meet a face you hadn’t seen in more than two years.
“Jaehyun…”
The moment you spotted him, your heart started to pound faster and hotness shot into your cheeks.
“I invited him, sis!” your brother clarified. “He was in town and couldn’t miss your graduation, right?”
Jaehyun’s grandfather had died before he decided to enlist right after graduating from university. You hadn’t known that he was back in town, but now he stood here in front of you again, having changed so much and not at all at the same time.
He had matured outwardly in the years you hadn’t seen each other.
When people grew up side by side, such a process naturally passed by them, but since you had been apart with no contact, he seemed like an entirely new person to you now, not the boy in his early twenties you had last seen.
He was a 25-year-old young man now, but still the very same person you were in love with.
As for you, you had grown up as well. You had not only mastered the art of makeup, but gotten your driver’s license and would soon move out to start living in a dorm when university started. Yes, you had also dated in the meantime, but none of the guys came close to the one you had been waiting for.
Jaehyun hugged you tightly, and you were sure that he must have felt your heavy heartbeat against his chest when he pressed you close to his firm physique.
“Ah, give me the flowers,” Taeyong then offered to you. “She can’t carry more. Here, hold Jaehyun’s instead. Wait here, I’ll bring them to the car. Where are our parents again? Man…”
Your brother disappeared the next moment, leaving you two all by yourself. The surroundings radiated a hectic atmosphere with all the students and family members running up and down, taking photos and talking, yet to you, it felt like you and Jaehyun were in your own world.
“What brings you to Seoul?” you asked him with a smile. “Not my graduation only, I assume.”
“That too, though.”
You raised a brow. “What else?”
Jaehyun’s parents were running a successful company in the States, but Jaehyun himself had never really been involved in it. They had rarely come to visit here, he had only stayed with his grandfather in Korea.
“A goodbye.”
He had only stayed in Korea for his grandfather…
“A… goodbye?”
But his grandfather was now dead.
“I’ve graduated from a prestigious university, my enlistment period is over, I have no one to take care of here anymore… it’s time for me to move on and follow in my parents’ footsteps like they wanted. My time in Korea is up now.”
You bit into your bottom lip, shaking your head, still desillusional to the truth. “But this is Korea, Jaehyun. You have always been here. Why would you go to the States?”
“Because this is why I’ve come here in the first place. First, my grandfather had to take care of me when I was only a child so that I could graduate from school. Then, I had to take care of him while working towards my graduation from a university. Now that I’ve achieved everything my parents had wanted me to, I can follow them to the States.”
“But… that doesn’t make any sense. You belong here, Jaehyun.”
Jaehyun was struggling with non-emotional explanations too, you saw it. “I feel so too. I haven’t felt so at home at any other place. Only at your house. You were my family when I had barely one.”
“Then why do you go away? Stay here, simple as that.” You just couldn’t wrap your head around it.
“Sometimes, it’s not that simple.” He tilted his head as though he was pondering whether to say something he was still holding back or not. “Actually, I was supposed to leave after high school to study in the States already. But since I’ve gotten into KAIST, they let me stay. You know why I desperately wanted to stay here and applied to that university?”
You shook your head.
“Because I didn’t want to leave you behind.”
With your mouth agape, you didn’t know what to respond to him as simultaneously, you felt your heart sink. There was nothing to be happy about, so you calmed down your excitement over his confession. This scene wouldn’t close with a happy end.
“You were only six when we got introduced to each other. I’ve seen you grow throughout the years, yet for me, you’ve always stayed that six year old girl who came running towards her older brother and stopped in her tracks, because she spotted an unfamiliar person. I wanted to protect that little girl forever.”
His flower bouquet was rustling in your hands. That sound seemed very near, but Jaehyun’s voice was miles away. Was it because you didn’t want to listen to his continuing words?
“You’re scared of the dark, you stumble very often, you nearly cry when you get startled, you can’t watch horror movies and you still eat watermelon like a little child. How could I leave this innocent, precious girl behind?”
“Is this how you see me?” you asked through pressed lips. “As a little girl? Because I’m not one anymore.”
“Of course you’re not a little girl anymore. But you’ll always stay your brother’s little sister for me.”
Jaehyun disappeared behind strands of your hair that the breeze had gotten loose from your bun, and your gaze now dropped to the flowers in your hands.
Of course. In your high school uniform, you couldn’t possibly be the right match for someone who had already graduated from university and would now move to the other side of the world to co-lead a company.
Years of waiting went down the drain just like that.
“Back then… have I also only been Taeyong's little sister to you?”
You didn’t even need to give further hints. He knew exactly what you meant. In his eyes, you saw how much he struggled with himself right now. No, you weren’t wrong. Back then, he had expressed his feelings for you as well. You hadn’t been the only one.
You weren’t just his best friend’s little sister.
“I don’t know what’s gotten into my mind back then,” Jaehyun tried to backpedal. “I shouldn’t have done that. I mean… A sixteen year old girl?”
“What about it?” you pressed the topic. “It would have been controversial when I was thirteen and you were nineteen. It would have been controversial when I was fifteen and you were twenty-one. But now? Nobody cares whether it’s nineteen and twenty-five or twenty-two and twenty-eight. Thirty and thirty-six? Nobody cares two hoots about it! I’m a grown up, young woman now. Please view me as one as well!”
As he didn’t answer, you felt tears burning around the rims of your eyes. Jaehyun lifted his hand to comfort you, but retracted it at the last moment.
“You can’t, right?” was your conclusion. “Even if you wanted to, you can’t. I will always be your best friend’s little sister in your eyes, right? The one who came running at you in her princess gown which you completed with a plastic crown, who fell down the stairs and had to be accompanied by you back to her room. The little girl who sulked at the beach and only got happier when you gifted her a popsicle, who you helped clean off her first makeup attempt. Who you… made so happy, showing what it was like to be kissed in a heartfelt way.”
“Y/n, I…”
“I get it, Jaehyun. You don’t have to vindicate yourself.” Your lips formed a thin line, almost hurting, and you tried to stay strong, swallowing down all the tears. “For me, you’re my big brother’s best friend who I had a crush on when I was only a little child. But you are also the person I fell in love with when I was a teenager and who I want to be with now that I’m all grown up. But you cannot seem to move on from the stigma I have in your eyes. And as long as you cannot do this, I’ll always stay your best friend’s little sister.”
The day you graduated from high school was also the day you got your heart broken.
“I wish you all the best for your new life in the States.”
Yet, as you walked away from Jaehyun, you held your head up high, proudly crossing the schoolyard, greeting and bidding farewell to everyone who addressed you. You couldn’t even remember their faces anymore as only one was on your mind.
Taeyong and your parents were waiting by the car when you arrived, and you pretended that everything was fine when they asked where Jaehyun was.
“He didn’t want to come with us,” you lied.
You had asked him to stay away, and he obeyed.
Taeyong’s gaze rested on you the entire way home while yours was absent-mindedly directed at the side window. Your heart was bleeding, but you kept it together from the outside.
But a sibling’s eyes were able to see more than others’ eyes.
“Sis,” your brother then began, “there is something I need to tell you.”
____
When You Were 21
You watched your sister-in-law in her white gown where she was sitting at the table, beaming at your older brother. The DJ was playing a romantic and well-known song in the background while the MC aimed for the center of the improvised dance floor to incite the guests to dance.
A mild, salty breeze was blowing through the festive tent under which you were sitting, your bare feet buried in the sand under your table. Your fingers closed around the champagne glass in front of you, and you led it to your mouth, downing it all at once.
“Enjoying the reception?” Taeyong was by your side the next moment, taking the seat next to you.
“Yeah, absolutely,” you assured him honestly.
You hadn’t been to your grandparents’ house these past years, but now, you had all gathered here in this small town again to celebrate your big brother’s wedding. Your entire family from all across the country had arrived along with Taeyong’s friends from all the different phases in his life so far.
“Even though Jaehyun is here?”
You cringed at his words, your eyes, that had tried to avoid that specific direction, rolling to the exact person that had just been mentioned. He was sitting at the table across the hall from you, chatting with his friends from school. Then, your eyes returned to your brother’s now wife.
“If she hurts you, I’m going to hurt her as well.”
“Sis…”
“I can understand now even better why you didn’t want him to hurt me, Yongie.” You tilted your head to the side, smiling at Taeyong from that angle. “He had to leave sooner or later to go live somewhere else and thus breaking my heart.”
“He didn’t want to date anyone while he was here, and trust me, almost every girl at our school tried to shoot her shot.”
You snickered. “I know.”
“When I told him that he would never be allowed to hurt my sister, he took it very seriously. I’m sorry that I haven’t seen it coming that he hurt you by doing exactly that.”
“Yongie.” You paused. “We’ve talked about that topic so many times already. And I can tell again: stop blaming yourself. You did nothing wrong. You didn’t tell him to raise my hopes up and then dump me. You only told him to spare me from any kind of pain. That he hurt me eventually is only his fault.”
“I wish that I would have been able to spare you from this pain as well as your older sibling.”
You shrugged. “That’s part of growing up, huh? Even you can’t spare me from falling in love with someone and experiencing heartbreak. The heartbreaks after that weren’t that severe.”
“So it’s truly over between you and that guy?” your brother asked. “Is that why you’ve come without a plus one?”
“Yeah. When he scheduled a viewing with the realtor for us to move in together next year, I figured that wasn’t what I wanted.”
“What is it that you want then, sis?”
Your eyes looked over to Taeyong’s bride, then shifted back to him. “Exactly what you have.”
You halted the conversation and sat by side in silence for a while, watching the MC and other guests playing games.
“Jaehyun is staying in Korea now,” Taeyong pulled you out of your thoughts again. “His parents will open a branch here and he’s going to lead it.”
You didn’t know what to say. At first, you didn’t feel anything. Then, you felt everything at once. Anger, sadness, despair, but also happiness and excitement. You were in such an intense emotional turmoil, your brother’s statement having suddenly shaken your entire world in which you had settled with the thought of not having Jaehyun even on the same continent as you.
“Excuse me, Yongie.” You arose from your seat, suddenly getting suffocated by the heavy atmosphere, even though you were partially outside at a beach. “I need some fresh air.”
And you straight up walked out of the tent.
Five minutes later, you were standing by the shore, having your eyes closed and listening to the background noise of the reception that took place behind you. The water touched your toes with every next wave, forming a great contrast to that stifling feeling from earlier. The sound of music and faded conversations that came from the location behind you blended in well with the sound of the ocean by night with no one around but you.
Your ears then eavesdropped footsteps approaching in your direction though, disrupting the peaceful quietness, but you didn’t turn around to make out the person. You already knew who it was. And this time, you were ready to breathe again.
“Why didn’t you tell me the truth?” you asked Jaehyun, opening your eyes. “Three years ago, when we last saw each other… why didn’t you tell me that you’ve promised my brother to never hurt me and thus rejected me?”
“Because, at that point, I already did,” he responded to you, the sand giving in under his bare feet. “I saw in your eyes how much pain I made you feel after getting your hopes up with that kiss and then not being able to act on my true feelings because of my obligations. I have only promised him one thing. And even that, I haven’t been able to keep. The person he trusted the most eventually hurt the person he loved the most. It’s been haunting me ever since, because if I hadn’t kissed you, things might have played out differently.”
“I would have understood,” you asserted as he suddenly stood next to you, facing the ocean as well. “That your stay in this country was only temporary, and that Taeyong only didn’t want you to develop feelings and act on them, because you’d eventually have to leave.”
“Even if, would that have stopped you from developing feelings for me after what happened between us? I was supposed to be the mature one. Yet, in the end, it was me acting like a child, led by feelings.”
You tilted your head to the side. “In the end, it was never about me being your best friend’s little sister, but sparing me from a heartache, am I right?”
“Your brother said that no one should ever hurt you. Not even me.”
You stretched yourself, raising your arms in the air. “We would have made it work somehow.”
“I know how much you love your family and this country. Ever since you were a little child, you never wanted to go anywhere else. I couldn’t be the one partially forcing you to live in another country.”
“And now?” you asked, inhaling deeply.
“I’m back now. And I’m going to stay as my parents opened their asian branch here and want me to lead it.”
You ignored your faster heart rate. “I’m another person now, Jaehyun.”
“I’ve embraced every person you have evolved yourself into ever since we’ve known each other. And I gradually fell in love with every single one of them. When you were a child, I wanted to protect you from everything evil. When you turned into a teenager, I suppressed every slight urge to kiss you on the spot. When you have become that beautiful young woman, I had to withhold myself to confess my undying love for you. I switched from wanting to be your protector to wanting to be your lover as well.”
You blinked away your tears. “For… so long already?” you whispered. “You’ve been having feelings for me for so long?”
“I haven’t seen you as my best friend’s little sister for many years already.” His voice was soft, tempting.
You swallowed, hard. “I didn’t sit around, waiting for you, Jaehyun. I’ve built my own life, I’m independent now.”
“Of course,” he agreed, seemingly more to himself. “I wasn’t expecting that. I just thought that… you might still be interested in pursuing a relationship with me on the off chance. But if you don’t feel this way anymore, then I can understand.”
Jaehyun waited around for a few more moments, but without hearing you utter another word, he assumed the answer was clear, so he intended to head back. With the sand scrunching under his feet, he slowly walked away from you.
It didn’t take you much longer to turn around to him and reveal, “I was supposed to move in with my boyfriend next year after university.” He didn’t stop distancing himself from you yet though. “But I broke up with him right before I got here.”
Then, Jaehyun finally came to a halt, and you approached him slowly from behind. “You did?”
“But not because of you, Jaehyun,” you made clear to him. “I deeply loved him, I truly did. And I was only able to come that far, because I’ve gotten over you. I’ve moved on from you. But in the end, he wasn’t what I exactly wanted.”
“And what is it that you now want?”
Still facing his back, you answered confidently, “A life independent from someone else. Even from my brother. I’ve grown up with you both constantly by my side. Only throughout the past years, I’m slowly learning who I truly am, and I’m still in the process of doing so. My life’s been great, and I would love to continue living like this.”
You saw him bobbing his head. “I understand.”
“...with you by my side.”
Jaehyun faltered. “W… what?”
“If we had gotten together back then, I would have spent my youth shaping my future around you. But like this, I was able to live the life I really wanted to find out who I am and what I wanted. And even though I truly wanted to be with someone else… I know that a little six-year-old girl would be hella at me if I don’t pursue what she had always wanted. Because the truth is, Jaehyun, in every childhood, there’s someone we can’t forget. I always told myself to never wait around that long though.” You wiped away a tear from your cheek. “But you came back.”
“But I came back,” he repeated and slowly turned around to you. “And this time, I intend to stay.”
“For how long?” you asked, drying your cheeks with the back of your hands.
“I hope…” He paused, enclosing your face with his warm palms, “This time, I can stay forever.”
____
You overlooked the scenery that unfolded in front of your sight. From the tent at the beach, you still heard faint voices and music playing, yet you had decided to return to your grandparents’ house already after having talked to Jaehyun, now having gotten up in the middle of the night to still enjoy the silence of the sea before the whole world would wake up.
Not too long anymore, and the sun would start rising. You tied the blanket tighter around your naked body, your shoulders still exposed to the breeze that grazed along your skin, causing you goosebumps. Leaning over the balustrade, you closed your eyes and inhaled the salty air, a peaceful smile on your lips.
You shuddered when you suddenly felt a warm touch on that spot of your skin that seemed cold to you. A very welcoming contrast.
“Cannot sleep?” Jaehyun asked you as he pressed himself against you from behind, taking you in his arms and sharing his warmth.
You shook your head. “I’m still… so excited. Happy. How are you supposed to find sleep when there is just so much going on inside you?”
He rested his chin on your shoulder, tickling you. “I feel the same.”
“I remember… when I was ten, we spent a summer here together. And I found you with other girls while searching for you. That was when I first experienced jealousy. But then, you came back with a popsicle only for me.”
Jaehyun chuckled. “Unknowingly, you were the only girl in my life for a very long time. When it first crossed my mind that my feelings may exceed those of brotherly love, I found you standing in the rain after a failed date.”
“I was sixteen at that time, and after our first kiss, there hadn’t been anyone else except for you. I wanted to wait until I was ready for you.”
“I’m sorry that I have made you wait for so long.” He truly sounded regretful, but you knew already as you had spent the majority of the night talking about the past among… finally taking your relationship to another, physical level. “I must confess something though,” Jaehyun then broke it down to you. “When I was in the US, I was engaged.”
“Oh.” Your whole body froze up, but you weren’t surprised at all. He was attractive, intelligent and successful. Every woman would want someone like Jaehyun. “Why did you break it off?”
“Because... “ He placed another kiss on your naked body, this time on the side of your neck. “There was only one little girl I promised to marry. And she was living on the other side of the world.”
“Me?” you asked, confused. “You promised to marry me?”
“Silly. You totally forgot, hm? You were six and I was twelve when you asked for my hand in marriage. I was so shocked, I didn’t quite know what to respond! But from that moment on, I promised to you and myself that I would protect you forever.”
You counted yourself lucky for the fact that the night sky concealed the embarrassment showing on your cheeks. There were many fond memories you had been holding of Jaehyun, but you were also aware that many other ones were missing. For example your proposal.
“Look who’s getting all shy!”
“I was six, I probably didn’t know what that meant!”
“You knew very well.” Jaehyun grabbed you by your upper arms and moved you around to face him. Even now, under the dim moonlight, you still couldn’t believe that he was finally here. And yours. “The question is, y/n, whether you’re aware that you cannot take a proposal back.”
“Well…” You gulped before taking that step. “Are you aware that you cannot take your answer back as well?”
“Very well,” he agreed.
Bending down, Jaehyun placed his lips on yours for the nth time that night, and as your kiss deepened and his arms wrapped around your still covered waist, you knew that you probably wouldn’t get too much sleep anymore until it was time for the family brunch the next morning.
You felt his fingers crawling up between your thighs, parting the thin blanket around your legs. The cool breeze swirled strands of your hair up into the air as you rested your forehead on Jaehyun’s shoulder, his fingers working upwards until he reached your core that then started to throb against his palm.
“H...here?” you asked him between breaths and spread yourself further for him.
“Mhmm,” Jaehyun hummed, his hot breath hitting your earlobe as he turned his head to you. “No one can see us and the view is splendid.”
“So you’re that kind of a guy, hm?”
Having slept with Jaehyun for the first time earlier that night was kind of… awkward for not only you, but him as well. You had been friends for the majority of your childhood, so shaking off the sisterly admiration as well as crossing the inhibition level had turned out to be a big step to take that you both had underestimated.
There had been a lot of “uhm”s and “eeeh”s, a lot of surreptitious glances, and a lot of sexual advances that had failed and needed to be repeated, but also a lot of loving words to overcome these inhibitions and just let go. You weren’t a virgin anymore and he wasn't either, it was all just in your head.
The Jaehyun that still lived in your memories was the Jaehyun from your childhood and teenage years. The Jaehyun here with you now was the one you hadn’t seen nor interacted with for years, a grown up man who offered himself to be your romantic partner in life, not a sibling-like acquaintance anymore.
And once your mind had realized that as well, you found yourself under him, enjoying his stroking game that was just top notch.
You mewled quietly when he slowly but deliberately pushed two fingers into you, and your hands reached for the balustrade behind you for support. No, he definitely wasn’t someone you looked at like a sibling anymore. He had been able to prove to you that he was way more than that within the past hours only.
Your breaths came in hitches as Jaehyun worked with his fingers inside of you, pumping in and out at a rhythmic pace. With your legs shaking, you had a hard time continuing standing steadily, afraid your knees would give in at any moment.
The blanket that had kept your bare body hidden from the moonlight and warm from the cool sea breeze then slipped over your arms, passed by your waist, and finally dropped to your feet. Jaehyun himself was still only in his boxers, so it was an easy job for you to hook your fingers into the waistband and pull the underwear down so that he was exposed in front of you as well.
Supporting your elbows on the parapet, you arched your spine and threw your head back as Jaehyun started to rub his full palm over your folds, giving your clit just the right amount of friction with each stroke to swell against his hand.
He brushed with his lips over the side of your neck until he found the right spot and started to nibble on it. You moaned quietly as he stimulated you in two places simultaneously, and for the break of a second, as you suddenly realized that you were here on the balcony, exposed to the very wide world, you froze up. But then again, as his teeth buried themselves into your side, you forgot all of your worries and relished the act.
You bucked your hips against Jaehyun’s flat hand, close to your release already, when he let go of you and made you turn around to face him with your back. The untouched steel from the balustrade felt cold against your ribs as you let out a gasp after having Jaehyun smack your bum, the sound echoing throughout the calm night.
Your fingers wrapped tightly round the metal as you bent over backwards and had him spread your cheeks. With knuckles turning white and front teeth sinking into your bottom lip, you let him enter from behind with no problems as you were already so wet.
Jaehyun was pressed hard against your back as you shuffled to find the right posture for him. Shortly later, you had your arms finding support in a crossing position on the railing with your chin resting on them, your back forming a nearly straight line where it ended with your bum getting connected to Jaehyun.
His fingers submerged into the flesh around your thighs, and you had to bite down a scream when he plunged deep into you for the first time. Where your sight was directed at the nighttime scenery in front of you, you had it now dropped as you took every stroke of him with delight, protruding your bottom even higher as it felt more intense to you this way.
Slapping sounds mixed with your moans chimed throughout the night, possibly loud enough for your neighbors to not miss what was exactly going on on your balcony. You rigidly held your body against his, giving in with every slam that came down, but also bouncing back to position whenever he withdrew.
Only Jaehyun changed your position when he brought your bodies together to a more intimate standing position and held you against the balustrade, one of his hands rubbing against your clit, the other massaging your breasts while he was sucking on your neck at the same time all while still moving inside of you.
You had no idea how he was doing that, but thinking back, Jaehyun had always been good at multitasking, you remembered. And as you were standing there on the balcony, getting penetrated and stimulated on so many levels, emotionally and physically, you were sure you could faint right there on the spot.
But instead, you came all over him, inside and outside, silently and vocally. Your hand grabbed the back of his head, the other searching for the rail to have something that supported you in case you’d truly faint.
Jaehyun was holding you throughout all your small and big waves of highs, holding you closely when you shuddered and mewled in his arms, almost forgetting to enjoy his own release that followed right after yours, and you supported him just as much as he had supported you.
Shortly later, when you were all cleaned and cuddled up in the bed again, you confessed something to him.
“Actually,” you started, lying on your side and facing Jaehyun. “I still have the crown that you gave me.”
“No way!” he exclaimed and pulled the blanket over the both of you. “That old plastic thing?”
“As I said,” you continued, right before well earned sleep finally got the better of you, “it’s my biggest treasure.”
You still felt the softness of his lips on your forehead before passing out.
“Sleep well, princess.”
____
When You Were 6
“And then, he just called me ‘granny’! Only because of the bun my mom made me this morning!” you sobbed into your hands, sitting on the terrace. “Now, all the boys in my class call me like this and they won’t stop! I will never wear a bun to preschool again!”
You reached with one hand into your hair, fiddling with the elastic that held your strands together on the very top of your head. You had wanted to complain to your older brother, but he wasn’t home yet, and instead, you had found his new friend in your garden, opening up to him now.
“Leave it!” Jaehyun told you and seated himself next to you. “I find that bun suits you. It’s cute on a little girl like you.”
Through a teary vision, you made eye contact with him. “You… think so?”
Jaehyun nodded euphorically. “Don’t listen to boys your age. They can be very silly at times.”
You looked up to him with big eyes. “Jaehyun!”
“Hm?” He smiled.
“Later on, I don’t want to marry such guys!” you blurted out clearly. “I want to marry you! Because you’re not as mean as them. You’re kind.”
With slightly opened lips, he stiffened. But not for long though. His smile broke through a second later again, his features solemn and soft.
“Look!” Jaehyun arose, took you by your hand and helped you up. “Right now, you’re still a little girl. So grow up fast, okay? Then we can marry.”
“Okay!”
You pumped your fist in the air, sealing a deal that seemed so uncoerced and comfortable to you at that moment, of which impact you weren’t fully aware of yet though, and which you would forget in a few years from now on.
But Jaehyun…
… he had always remembered.
Although at the moment of the promise, Jaehyun hadn’t taken it seriously. He had thought that you were only speaking from the top of your head, aiming for a little girl’s fantasy who grew up with an overprotective older brother. He had hoped you’d dismiss it from your mind when time flew by.
And you actually did.
Whereas Jaehyun was the one who had never been able to forget.
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soobluv · 1 year
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Desperate - J.JH
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INTRO: Days got lonely for you working your plain old 9-5 job and all your colleagues found it hilarious that you hadn't gotten laid in forever. You were only joking when you said you would pay someone to sleep with you at this point...
GENRES: Smut
WARNINGS: Profanity/swearing, oral (F receiving), chocking/breath play, nipple play (receiving and giving), humiliation (giving), slight degradation along with that, Jaehyun seems to have a slight pain kink, dom!femreader, unlikely sub!Jaehyun, overall explicit content - DO NOT ENGAGE WITH THIS POST IF YOU ARE UNDERAGE, PLEASE!
WORD COUNT: 7.7k
AUTHORS NOTE: This turned out a little more hard core than I would've thought it was going to, but still pretty mild. A good fun one to read even if you don't enjoy femdom :)
Jaehyun wasn’t a sex worker and he certainly wasn’t a sub. He was just desperate for money. You knew this when he called you up and introduced himself saying he had heard from a friend of a friend that you were willing to pay a decent sum of money for a man to let you dom them for a night. If you were being honest you were kind of joking when you said it to your friend and everyone knew you definitely didn’t need to pay someone to sleep with you, but after hearing the desperation in his voice you couldn’t turn down the stranger at the end of the line. Not when he had clearly put himself out of his comfort zone to get your number and ring you. You just knew that your friends would be teasing you about this when you told them you’d actually followed through with it. Doming men was always a sort of fantasy you would put on the backburner whenever you slept around. Sometimes it would come out but more often than not it was just left to your imagination, so hence how the discussion came about. 
Over the phone you had made it clear that this would be a one time occurrence, as you were sure that you were breaking some sort of law as it was. Luckily he complied with that, pointing out that was his intention also and he prepared with his own term. No one, under any circumstances, is to find out. You couldn’t agree more. You didn’t need people other than your close friends finding out that you paid someone to sleep with you. Infact, it was bad enough having your small circle of colleagues knowing at all. The two of you agreed on a time and date and it was set. 
When 7pm Saturday comes around you find yourself anxiously sitting on your couch playing with your fingers and picking at your nails. It was dark out already and it was risky meeting a total stranger for the first time at your own house, you knew that. But you weren’t exactly made of money either, so buying a hotel room that you’d probably only spend an hour or two in if you were lucky seemed like a total waste. You just hoped that he wasn’t actually intent on murdering you then robbing the place. 
That thought does nothing to ease your worrying mind, so when the doorbell rings you visibly jump before standing up and flattening the creases out of your dress, trying your best to compose yourself. You begin to make your way to the door to meet the mysterious man who is waiting for you and that’s when it hits. This was a really bad idea. You freeze with your hand on the door handle. ‘Don’t be stupid.” You say to yourself.
You take a deep breath then close your eyes for a second before opening the door. What you immediately notice as the door separating you two leaves, is a hand about to hit you in the face and your eyes widen in shock. A short gasp escapes your lips and you take a step back in alarm. The hand in front of you immediately retracts and that’s when you see the man in front of you. Jaehyun, or at least that’s the name he told you. He must’ve been readying to knock again, you thought to yourself and internally shook your head at your antics. He was tall with black bangs that framed his face. Raking your eyes down his figure you notice that under his rather loose fitting clothes that he has a toned looking figure. When your eyes raise to catch his, you see the hesitancy that glaze through them. He stands slightly tense in front of you and by the soft and slightly worried look on his face you realise that this man couldn’t possibly murder you (but if he was going to he was a damn good actor).
Silence hangs in the air for what only feels like second but must’ve been a minute or two before Jaehyun shifts to lean on one leg. He reaches a hand out, this time gesturing for a handshake. “Hi, I’m-”
“Jaehyun.” You finish his sentence in a breathy whisper before smiling sheepishly. 
He lets out a chuckle nodding his head. “And you must be-”
“Y/N” Inside you cringe. Interrupting people was a rude habit you had to get rid of as it constantly bugged those around you, but Jaehyun just laughs lowly, nodding again. 
It stays quiet for a moment longer before you seemingly shake out of a trance, “Oh, please come in.” You step further into the doorway to allow him through and when he passes with a curt bow of his head and a small smile and you feel your heart melt. This guy had to be someone's boyfriend because there is no way he’s single with manners like this and those adorable dimples. If he’s not a murderer he has to be a cheater. 
You lead him into your living room and gesture for him to sit on the couch. “Would you like something to drink?” You ask, eyes watching him closely as he sits down and observes the room. His own eyes darted to your face, “A water would be fine thanks.” You nod politely before ducking away to the kitchen. When you’re out of sight you let out a breath of relief. This is so awkward, the air around him feels like it’s sucking the life out of you. You try to come up with things to talk about and ways to bring up the current situation without making it even more awkward as you fill up two empty glasses and walk back out to the living room. 
Placing the drinks on the coffee table you proceed to sit across from him in another chair and thank the gods that you actually have enough furniture in your house which means you don’t have to sit right beside him. He picks up a glass and takes a nervous sip while his eyes fly around to anything in the room that isn’t you. 
You clear your throat, forcing a wave of courage to wash over your features but it doesn’t shake the wobble in your hands or the slight tremble in your voice. “So, Jaehyun, what do you like to do in your spare time?” 
“Oh,” The question shocks him, you can tell by the way his eyebrows raise, “well I like to read.” You shift in your seat, trying your best to look more comfortable so that he will in turn, loosen up a bit. “So authors like Mark Twain, Charles Dickens?” You offer up a couple of authors that your male colleagues enjoy but he only shakes his head with a small smile at your suggestion. “No, actually. Jane Austen, Virginia Woolf and Shakespear if I’m in the mood.” It’s your turn to be surprised, an astounded “Really?” escaping past your lips and he nods with a half amused, half fake offence look. “I’m sorry, I just didn’t take you for a fairytale, feminist romantic.” 
He smiles again, this time showing his pretty dimples in all their glory and you can’t help but reciprocate the expression. “If you don’t mind me stating,” he starts and you try to keep an inviting look on your face as he attempts to keep his gaze locked on yours, “you don’t seem like the domineering type, if I’m being honest.” You feel a slight blush rise to your cheeks at his proclamation but pull yourself together with only a slight shake of your pupils being the give away at your uncertainty.  “No?” You question, letting a humorous tint lace your voice as you said the word - raising a brow. He shifts becoming obviously uncomfy but you just watch him amusedly. “Well, I was expecting-”
“A dominatrix?” You finish his sentence again and almost scold yourself aloud for interrupting, however taking note of the way his ears start to flush a deep pink at the very word.
“I suppose.” He admits, attempting to sit up straight and seem less small. Jaehyun had never felt like he wasn’t ever in control of a situation before and it showed. He was probably more nervous about handing over the reins rather than the rest of what was at hand as well. 
“Jaehyun, I’m not a seasoned pro at this. I simply want to experiment a little, but if you don’t feel entirely comfortable with this, then I’m not gonna judge you if you want to walk out right now.” You explain to him trying to seem as unthreatening as possible. His features harden as his lips set into a straight line. “I have to do this, I’m a bit tight for cash at the moment as you know.” He says and you visibly cringe. This is so illegal.
He sees your change in character and immediately stands to his feet to reassure you, “Oh, gosh I don’t want you to think you’re taking advantage of me or anything. This is completely consensual.” You begin to nervously play with your fingers once again as you let out a whisper, “Jaehyun, I’m paying you to have sex with me.”. 
He comes to your side suddenly and you become aware of the pleasant scent that follows him. “Just think of it as a favour, friend to friend.” He tries to convince as he kneels next to you on the ground. You look down at him, “Jaehyun this isn’t vanilla sex.” He cocks his head to the side in fake thought, “I know that. What if I told you I was kind of excited.” He nods sheepishly, letting his head fall to look at the ground where your feet lay. 
You look at the back of his head before he raises his eyes to look at you with a slight blush on his cheeks. “Just be patient. I haven't done this fully before.” You say and he smiles lightly, “I haven’t done this ever, so we’re in the same boat.” He replies and you suck in a breath. Maybe we are in the same boat, but let’s just hope we don’t get hit by a tidal wave. 
You let out the breath and reach a hand down to his chin. Your fingers grasp his jaw as you lower your face to his, ”If I’m gonna go to jail for you then you better make it worth my while.” You don’t get to see his expression before you bring your lips to his softly. The kiss is hesitant as you both get used to the feeling of each other's lips together. His hand reaches towards you to hold your face closer as he opens his mouth. When you nip at his lip he flinches before letting a grunt into the kiss, his grip on you tightening as his other hand rests on your knee. You pull away and take amusement in the way he looks up at you with parted lips.
“What’re your limits?” You mumble centimetres from his mouth and it takes him a minute to register your words. “Sorry?” Is his reply as he finally releases his gaze on your lips to meet your eyes. You shake your head in a show of fake disappointment before gently grasping his chin again. He expects you to lean down and kiss him, but you quickly drop your head to his cheek where the hot air of your breath fans against his ear lobe. It sends a hot chill down Jaehyun’s spine at the feeling, and he has to suppress his desired need to just grab you and force your mouth on his. 
“How far can I push you until you break, hmm?” You change your wording, putting slight emphasis between each word and you swore you could feel the heat pour off him in sensual waves, a barely audible gulp making your ears perk up. “Anything. You can do anything, just ask first if it’s extreme.” 
You hum in approval, allowing a slight grin to appear on your face as you stand up and gesture for him to do so as well. It takes him a moment efore he scrambles to his feet in what seems to be embarrassment if the red tinge that covers his features again is any indication. “We should go to my bedroom.” You mean to suggest, however it comes out as more of a statement. He nods and you then lead the way, taking note of the way he silently moves behind you as you wander through your hallway. 
When you reach the bedroom you open the door for him to step inside. As he does you come in behind him and shut the door quietly. “Sit on the bed,” You say before adding a “please” at the end of the sentence out of habit. You hear him as he takes a seat on your bed whilst you start to search through one of your draws. When you find the item you’re looking for you turn to see him already staring at you, so you smile reassuringly. 
You move over to him and his sitting position gives you a height advantage and you realise that it oddly sends a thrill through you. Even having such a little switch in the usual power dynamic has you excited already. You run the fabric of the blindfold through your fingers so that Jaehyun can see what it is clearly. “Do you have a safeword?” You can tell this question amuses him as a flash of humour passes through the light of his eyes but it leaves just as quickly as he remembers his reason for being here. “Do I have to have one?” He rebuts and you press your lips into a thin line. “I would prefer it if you did.” You reply and as he senses your slight disapproval at his question he mutters the word “Valentine” under his breath. 
You quirk a brow confirming ‘valentine’ as his safe word to which he nods and you breathe out an almost exasperated ‘ok’. “If you’re slightly uncomfortable though, you have to tell me. Say orange or slow down or something.” You say to which he replies with a firm but quiet ‘yes’. You then start to bring the blindfold up to his eyes before tying it firmly around the back of his head. As you do, you can’t help but to run your fingers through his hair. The soft strands tug gently at his scalp and have Jaehyun shivering at the sensation of the action. With his sight obstructed everything you do, everywhere you touch or even when you move, has him sensing things at a heightened level. 
You move away from him and take amusement in the way he rigidly sits, awaiting for you to do something. You have to admit the blindfold was a great idea, and you hoped that Jaehyun thought so too. You thought it might cut out some of the awkwardness and be a good way to start things off if you couldn’t necessarily see each other. With him waiting, you start to undress yourself. Bringing the fabric of your dress over your head to drop it on the floor. Jaehyun hears as it hits the ground and he subtly sucks in a breath at the action. 
You proceed to unclip your bra and slide out of your panties as well, leaving you completely naked in front of him. Jaehyun wouldn’t ever admit it but it was killing him just knowing you were standing only an arms reach away, completely bare, and he couldn’t see or touch you.  
You can tell it surprises him when you climb onto the bed, however you’re away at the other end, leaning on the headboard watching his back as his head turns over his shoulder in your direction. You breathe out a quiet, shaky breath but can’t help the excitement that builds inside of you. All of your skin is exposed and the slight chill mixed with this exhilaration in the air causes your nipples to prick up and goosebumps to appear on your skin. 
“Jaehyun,” You call his name and he lets out a hum at your voice. “Take off your clothes.” Your order has him gulping before standing up and trying to discard his clothing as best he can whilst having no vision at all. It’s clumsy the way he does it as you watch and he almost trips over several times pulling his legs from his sweatpants. He catches the way you chuckle slightly at his struggle and it causes a flash of humiliation to pass through him. 
Nevertheless, he feels his body erupt in tingles and the familiar feeling of becoming hard causes his head to spin at the revolution that this might be something he was into. 
You definitely notice the way he seems to throb at the sound so when he is left in nothing but his underwear you tilt your head to the side, forgetting he can’t actually see you. “What about those?” You question with a hint of judgement lacing your tone and you watch carefully as he slowly grips the band with his fingertips before pulling his last garment of clothing down. 
You aren’t completely shocked by his body. You did make a mental comment on how you thought he was hiding his toned form under less than flattering clothes, I mean after all he didn’t come here with the purpose of impressing you. However, as your gaze travels down his body you can’t help but to admire his athleticism, but what surprises you the most is his hard, leaking cock that stands tall under your gaze. At least you know he’s enjoying himself. 
“You’re so pretty, Jaehyun.” You muse and appreciate the way he shivers at the compliment. He clasps his hands in front of him, obstructing your view and you smirk in response. “Come here.” The order is short but he reacts right away, trying to feel for you on the bed. His head shoots up at your following command, “Crawl.”. You watch in diversion as he ponders the thought before he crawls onto the foot of your bed, proceeding slowly up to you. 
When he places his hand on your out-stretched foot, instead of retracting it shyly like you thought he would, he wraps his fingers around your ankle before following your leg up your body. The action surprises you and you can only sit stunned as he continues to crawl up between your legs, his hand stopping at your hip bone as the other once again rests on your cheek. He brings your mouth to his, connecting your lips in a kiss that feels much less cautious than the first and more full of desire. His lips are passionate on yours, the taste of lust seeping into your mouth from his. It’s not quite a whole mess but the sounds that tumble from your mouth into his make him hold your head on an angle that has his tongue angled deeper into you. 
You break the kiss with a push to his chest and instead of sitting back like you hoped he would, he begins to press firm kisses to your neck and collarbone. You find your hands in his hair, toying with the strands as puffs of air escape your lips before you realise what was supposed to be happening here. “Sit back.” You demand and he hums against your skin, yet doesn’t let up. Your fingers that are in his hair grip at his roots lightly before you use this grasp to pull his head from you. The groan he lets out as his head falls against your hand is pornographic and the sound sends shoots of arousal straight to your core. 
“You have to listen to me, Jaehyun. After all, you are being paid.” Your comment makes his cheeks redden in embarrassment but nonetheless, you marvel in the way his cock twitches. You tug his hair back further causing an arch to form in his back as he leans his chest into you. A chuckle passees through your lips before you lick over his right nipple, causing him to suck in a breath. “I’m paying you to do this because you asked me to. But you seem to enjoy it more than you let on, don’t you?” When no sound is heard from him you take the sensitive bud into your mouth, delivering a sharp pinch of a bite. 
“What was that?” You question, this time hoping for an answer. His hands grab at the sheets below as he lets out a grunt followed by a very quick, “Yes.”. 
Satisfied with his answer you release his hair. “Go sit at the foot of the bed.” Your order is simple and your tone leaves no room for argument as you watch the slightly desperate look on Jaehyun’s face turn to an annoyed one. You can tell he wants to rebut but you lightly slap his thigh in warning, “You don’t get to pick and choose what you get here tonight, Jaehyun.” That’s all it takes for him to tighten his lips before he makes his way to the edge of the bed, with his hands stretched out to find his way. 
While you keep an eye on him, you reach over to your left bedside table and pull out your trusty toy. It might seem pointless to have this man all to yourself and still want to use a vibrator but if you played your cards right, you could have Jaehyun keening in your lap for your attention. It would beat this cool and calm exterior he tries to hide his emotions in anyway. 
The toy you pulled out is a wand vibrator. Enough to push you along and enough to get Jaehyun wound up but sadly not enough to satisfy you tonight. As you switch on the toy, you watch as the man a foot away from your feet slowly swivels his head around, trying to discern where the light buzzing noise is coming from. It humours you when you see the expression on his face change when he figures out what it has to be. 
“Are you kidding me?” His question lacks intrigue and you notice a hint of disappointment in his tone that makes you smile. “What’s wrong, baby.” You ask, a slight mocking tone to your voice and when he doesn't answer you bring the vibrating head of the toy to your clit. You let out a sigh of content and a barely audible moan, that you can tell affects him as he gulps before running his tongue along his bottom lip. 
“What am I here for if you just want to do it like this?” His voice is firm, like he wants an easy answer from you but you only lightly laugh. He looks flushed as his hands fiddle in his lap to not touch anything he shouldn’t, and the amusement you seem to gain from his overall hopeless state only makes his cock throb painfully. 
“Who’s not to say that I didn’t just want you to watch?” You say and you can almost feel the twinkle in your eyes when you moan out loud and Jaehyun clenches his jaw whilst choosing to ball his fists in his lap. “That would be cruel, and I can’t even see.” Is his response. 
“It’s not cruel when you’re being paid generously to just listen. And I’ll let you see soon, maybe.” Your lips curl up when he grunts lowly in response, his pink tinged skin now a permanent feature on his pale complexion. 
Choosing now to let him wallow in his own self pity, you focus on the toy in your hand and start to move it against your sensitive bud with purpose. The whimpers and soft moans that leave your mouth are like a siren song to Jaehyun’s ears, your body calling him yet he’s stuck in place by your authority over him. If this was under any other circumstances, Jaehyun can name all the things he would do to you right now. You teasing him like this was just down right humiliating, Jaehyun was a man notorious for being in control with women. If he didn’t need the money so badly he would be ripping this blindfold off and fucking you into your bed so hard that you would forget your own name. But he wasn’t in charge, you were. So he has to sit still and take what you give him, even if it means listening to you get off on a toy while he was sitting right here eager to do anything for you. 
You call his name as you pleasure yourself but even you become frustrated with how close you’re getting just to sit on the edge of bliss. You turn the vibrator off and place it to the side before running your fingers through your folds. With your legs spread in front of him, if Jaehyun were to take off his blindfold right at this second he would see how impossibly wet you are. But you’re betting he can hear it by the way he licks his lips and the soft groan that escapes him as you stroke yourself. 
“What do you want from me?” He asks, with a desperation in his voice that you hadn’t heard thus far, “What do I have to do for you to use me instead?” His pleading tone makes your core clench, he’s practically begging. Which you could tell was a very rare occurrence from him.
You sit up slightly so that you can see him better. His brows are knit together and his entire body is flushed a light tinge of pink. What catches your eyes though is the sight of his angry red cock, pulsing with need. “What do you want?” You ask, your eyes glancing back to his face to see his eyebrows raise and a look of excitement flashes across his features. 
“Would you let me taste you?” He asks softly but with an edge of confidence as your own eyes raise at his assertive tone. The smirk that crosses your features indicates your mischievousness as you rebut, “How bad do you want to?” Your question doesn’t seem to throw him off like you thought it would, with only a light display of embarrassment becoming present on his face as he replies, “So bad.” 
You make him wait for a minute and the silence hanging in the air makes him think you’ll say no but you spread your legs wider and mumble out, “Go on then.” That’s all it takes for him to practically jump up, however he doesn't come up the bed to you. He instead searches for your foot before tugging you down to the edge of the bed, dropping to his knees when he thinks he has you placed where he wants. His soft hands run up from your knees to your thighs as he leans into your core, taking in your scent. You hear a short “fuck” escape from his lips and Jaehyun only wishes that he could see your pretty pussy. He almost has you jumping from his grip when his warm tongue makes experimental touches against your inner thighs, so close to where you want him. “Jaehyun.” The tone in your voice is once again warning, willing him to cut out the teasing and get on with it. 
He hums against you and gives you no warning when he suddenly parts your lips with the pads of his thumbs and presses his tongue into your heat. Your hands immediately fly to his head pushing him closer as your thighs enclose around his head. Drawn out moans fight their way from your chest into the air as you feel his hot tongue dart inside your dripping hole over and over again. Pulling back from you, you watch the look of concentration on his face as he tries to go at it blindly and you admire the sight of the dark fabric of the blindfold against his pale skin. 
You however get no more than a second of this before he is dipping back in, eager to show you that you should’ve used him from the start. He directs his attention to your clit and uses his thumb and index finger to squeeze it together lightly between the two, before he uses his tongue to poke at it in fast strokes. A series of curses and whines leave your mouth in a hurry, the feeling of his technique nothing like you’ve ever experienced before. While you are distracted one of his fingers begins to probe at your entrance and you don’t notice until he pushes it into you slowly. Your back arches and you once again grip his hair to hold him close as he pumps the digit inside of your heat. Making up your mind, you decide to pull the blindfold from his head, tossing it elsewhere in the room. 
Jaehyun’s eyes adjust quickly to the light of the space and he is immediately grateful to you for not only taking off the blindfold but also for having such a pretty pussy like he had hoped. Your wetness drips down from the finger that’s inside you to pool around his knuckles, and before you can breathe he’s ducking back down to latch his lips around your clit. He adds another finger to your hole carefully and begins to suck harshly on your bundle of nerves, his obvious motivation right now to see you come apart in front of him. 
Your grip on his hair is tight and only makes him groan into your core when your fingernails graze his scalp. The vibration sent through you in turn has your core beginning to clench as the pressure of pleasure builds within you. 
Jaehyun senses your state by your rigid muscles and the raise in pitch of your moans, and works to double his efforts. His fingers draw in and out of your heat at a rapid pace and his mouth suctioning on your clit with his tongue occasionally poking through to prod at it has you seeing stars behind your lids. You cum faster than you ever have when a guy’s gone down on you. The overwhelming pleasure that consumes you as you gush out onto his awaiting tongue has your body twitching while he lets your hips ride against his face. 
When you finally slump back down onto the bed, your muscles are spent and your pussy is still clenching from the power of the orgasm. Jaehyun’s fluffy hair tickles at your thighs as he brings his head back up, a primal look in his eyes as a smile graces his lips. Your mouth twitches into a similar state as you raise a brow, “Why do you look so happy?” 
He shrugs in response before sitting up on his knees, “I bet you wish you let me do that sooner.” His smug expression has your eyes narrowing, a playful hint passing through them. “Why don’t you come sit up here Jaehyun, get up off the floor.” You say indicating for him to lay in the space to your left. 
He stands up to his full height and you begin to remember how good it feels to order around a man who could easily overpower you. It’s even better when you realise that they don’t want to. The bed dips as he lays down beside you and you turn on your side to face him, your faces millimetres from one anothers. 
His eyes hold scepticism as you run your fingertips over his chest, tracing special patterns around his nipples. You feel him shiver under your touch as you do so. Quickly and before he can react you flick his right nipple causing a low hiss to escape his parted lips. “What a sensitive little thing you are, Jaehyun.” You muse, once again a touch of mockery slipping into the speculation. 
Your eyes catch his as a breath escapes him. Maintaining his gaze, you slowly lower your mouth to his chest where you let a dribble of spit slip past your lips before it falls directly onto the flicked nipple. He sharply inhales and you find yourself tingling at the effect you have on him. You do the same to his other nipple before you blow on both of them. Exchanging from the right to the left. 
The harsh temperature change on his sensitive buds has his lids half closing and short pants escaping him before drawing your attention down to his leaking cock. You hum lighlty as you resume flicking his nippples slowly, watching for any signs of actual pain but you only see pleasure enveloping his features as a drawn out breath turns into a whine. Again the easily flustered man immediately tries to catch the sound in his throat, but it’s too late. 
Your eyes zero in on the way he tosses his head to the side in embarrassment and you take this opportunity to lean up and press hard marks to the soft skin of his throat. You surprise him with a pinch to the nipples as you do so, and his hands immediately fly to your waist attempting to pull you on top of him. You pull back and tut, a borderline condescending look on your face as his eyes plead with you to stop teasing and give him what he wants. 
You trail a hand up his thigh tauntingly before stopping just beside his cock. The head pulses almost violently and you wonder if this is what it must feel like for him to have ‘blue balls’. Jaehyun thinks the exact same thing. 
“Do you want me to touch you here?” You question almost sadistically as your fingers dance around where he wants you most. He begins to squirm under your touch and he nods his head. You pretend to ponder the thought, “I think you should ask.” you say in amusement as his head shakes. 
“Touch me.” The demand leaves you slightly stunned but a smirk makes its way to your lips. You grasp his cock suddenly, the tight, dry friction on his sensitive dick having him all but yelp in pain whilst his hips thrust into your grip in contradiction. You lean forward slightly, your smile a sheet hiding your teeth that you display threateningly, “Ask nicely.” 
HIs body heaves in need and the slight pain of your grip and your show of aggressive dominance causes a shameful moan to grace the air. “Please. Touch me.” He rushes out in an attempt to mask the sound. You sit back on your heels, a satisfied smile replacing the sadistic one. “Good boy. You’ll find doing what I say works in your favour.” You pretend to not notice the way his thighs tremble at the pet name, instead choosing to spare him of the added embarrassment. 
You place yourself in between his legs and lean down, but before you can get too close to his leaking member, a hand finds its way into your hair. “No.” You all but growl and the pressure is immediately gone, almost making you wonder if you had imagined it. But as you look up to him from your position the way he turns his head to the side and gulps shows you you hadn’t. 
You choose to let it slide, figuring it was a habit and it would be mean to punish him for it straight away. However as you once again lean closer to his cock his hand is back, this time tangling in your hair. Your sharp eyes puncture him before your words can as you lean over him, your body pressed firmly against his. “For fucks sake Jaehyun, can your stupid little horny brain not comprehend that no means no.” His wide eyed response almost makes you think that your outburst was too much for him but when he swallows a deep groan and thrusts emptily into your thigh, you know. This little shit is getting off to this more than you thought. 
You grab his wrists so tightly you swear your nails leave imprints on him and another moan tumbles from his lips. You breathe harshly, almost annoyed he’s becoming more and more turned on as you become increasingly tired of his antics. You thrust his arms forward above his head causing your boobs to bounce and land an inch or two from his face. His barely open eyes snap to your exposed nipples as he arches himself from the bed, lifting his face to your chest and in turn, causing friction to occur between your tightly pressed bodies. 
His thigh between your legs rubs at your clit deliciously and your eyes all but roll back as his mouth connects with your hardened bud. With your weight still pressing his wrists out of reach he is rendered almost useless and a shot of arousal shoots through your core. You slowly start to grind your pussy against his bare thigh and the sensation has a short gasp pulled from your throat. Jaehyun moans against your nipple as his teeth lightly scrape over the sensitive skin. He tenses his thigh as he switches his attention to the other breast, popping the last from his mouth. 
You continue to rock against him, completely aware of how your own thigh pushes against his balls and lower shaft, causing him slight relief along with an appreciated ting of pain. He seems to mostly get off to how you use him though. The way you tend to lose yourself in the feeling, almost completely forgetting he was there and only focusing on your own pleasure has his mind foggy. “You just let me use you, don't you.” You chuckle, a borderlining scary glint passing through your eyes but it only makes him want for you more. 
You release his wrists from your grip in favour of placing them either side of his head as you sit yourself up in a more comfortable position and the movement has your chest leaving his reach. So you can continue rocking your cunt against his toned thigh but also be close enough to his face for what you wanted to try. You raise your right hand slowly up to his neck before wrapping your fingers loosely around the column of his throat. His eyes immediately close and a light hum of appreciation that exits you turns to an elicit moan as he moves his thigh in a way that has your clit being pressed against it in just the right way. 
With this, your fingers tighten slightly and you feel as his hands twitch above his head where you left them. You lower your head so that your lips hover above his, “Good boy, just lightly. It feels good.” He gasps as you choose this moment to slip his pulsing head into your entrance. A slight rotation of your hips is all it takes and he slips in easily, filling you almost too good. Again, your grip on his throat tightens and you know when the sensation of both hits him as he lets out a gorgeous moan, the sound causing you to tighten around him as you begin to pop your hips on his cock. 
Jaehyun was about to cum. You could feel it by the way he seems to expand inside you, and you wouldn’t blame him. He’s been on edge for a while and the combination of your pussy wrapped around him and your fingers tightly wrapped around his neck, would have him seeing stars. Though, you won’t let it be over that fast. You don’t know Jaehyun’s body well enough to know what his recovery period would be and you are not paying as much as you are to let him cum that fast in your pussy. 
Just as you feel he’s only a stroke or two from exploding you lift off him, causing a pitiful whine of his to fill the room. You release your grip on his neck in favour of tangling your fist in his hair tightly and leaning down. “You know it can’t be that easy baby.” You pout, the now familiar mocking tone present in your voice. 
“What the actual hell.” He groans, pulling his head to the side, almost purposefully so that the tug on his hair is harder. You place a gentle kiss on his sharp jawline before patting his chest, caressing him so lightly as to not rile him into cumming untouched. When enough time had passed that you were satisfied he was again far from orgasm, you slowly sunk down on him again. 
Jaehyun tries not to move, he really does, but he’s just so fucking sensitive from beging edged. He cries out curse words as you move against him slowly. His back arches off the bed and trying to sooth his mind, you tug at his roots till his head tips back again and you lower your head to litter light kisses on his throat. Now marked with light hickeys and obvious marks from where your fingers were tightly coiled around his neck.
All of these light touches and soft movements bring Jaehyun closer to cumming much faster than he thought he could but like before, you felt his impending orgasm and chose to lift right off of him. He whines a hopelessly loud cry and attempts to usher you back down on him by lifting his hips. When you don't budge he frustratingly brings one of his hands that he had so nicely kept above his head, between the two of you where he grasps his cock in his hand. Hissing from the sensitivity of two denied orgasms, he tries powers through and tug at himself desperately.
It’s only when you pull his hand from his cock underneath you that you notice the water pooling in his tear ducts. Dear god, you made him cry. You shush him soothingly and wipe the stray tear that falls. He grabs your wrist looking up at you with pleading eyes. “Safeword?” You question. He shakes his head no and you internally smile. “Please let me cum.” he begs, a strain lingering in his voice. You nod and he prepares for you to take a seat on him when you suddenly roll to the side making him panic. You weren’t going to leave him like this were you? Pay him and send him home? 
“No, no, no. Please.” he pleads before you connect your lips with his, encouraging him to roll to his side as well. He melts into the kiss, easily letting you lead as he obliges, fully facing you as you press yourself closer to him. You lift your leg so that you are half straddling his hip and use the heel of your foot to press his hips to yours. His cock nudges at your thigh and he shudders, lightly placing one hand on your cheek and the other on your waist. Silently asking for permission. When you don’t push him away, he deepens the kiss, moaning into your mouth as you reach a hand down to grasp him softly and align him to your entrance once again. 
He doesn't push himself into you. He seems to have learnt better than that in your short time together. So when you once again press your heel to his ass he gets the hint and jolts into you. His mouth gapes open as you continue to kiss him and small whimpers fall from your own mouth. It’s been a struggle for you too, don’t be mistaken. As everytime he gets edged, effectively, so do you. So when he does finally start to rut his hips into yours you know he won’t last long. His movements are slow and deep as he fights his own sensitivity to finally tip over the edge. 
It feels intimate. The position, the pace, the way he parts from your mouth to look you in the eyes before his lids close in bliss everytime you squeeze around him. You know very well by now when he's getting close so when you feel him begin to throb inside you, you guide his hand on your waist between the two of you and you think he gets the idea. He presses small, slow and sensual circles on your clit that has you quickly tipped over the edge. Your body in turn convulses as he rides you through your high. The pulsing and tight heat of your pussy around him paired with the contractions from your orgasm has his own high crashing into him. The most beautiful sounds leave his raw throat as his eyes screw shut, his grip on you tightening and you swear you’ve never seen a prettier sight. 
The next few moments you two just spend lying in each other's arms, both too sensitive to move until you know that your pussy has held him captive long enough. You gently pull away from him, lowering your leg back down to your side. Another moment passes and Jaehyun still has his eyes closed and you almost think you’ve given him a heart attack. “I don’t want to leave.” he mumbles and you almost laugh in relief. 
“You don't have to leave right now Jaehyun.” You asure and his eyes peel open, grip still tight around your waist. 
“No, you don’t get it. I don’t want to just go and never see you again.” His voice is barely above a whisper and you find yourself caught in thoughts. Does this mean he’s caught some sort of feelings? I mean you would be lying if you said you didn’t feel anything but this was only supposed to be a one time thing. 
You go to move, trying to untangle yourself from his arms and avoiding his gaze. “Look Jaehyun, I’ll just get your money-”
He pulls you close to him so that your noses are nearly touching and your heart thumps hard in your chest as his eyes make contact with yours. “I don’t want the money. I want you.”
You sigh in relief once again. “I want you too.”
1K notes · View notes
soobluv · 1 year
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M A S T E R L I S T
O N E   S H O T S
JAEHYUN X READER
➳ Sleep Well, Princess - [age gap, big brother’s best friend au, angst, drama, fluff, romance, slow burn, smut]
When you were six, you developed a crush on your older brother’s best friend. When you were thirteen, you fell head over heels in love with him. When you were sixteen, you decided to wait for when the time was right. When you were nineteen, he rejected you. 
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➳ Our Kids Talk about Us | Let’s Talk about Our Kids - [single parents au, angst, fluff, romance, smut]
After his beloved wife’s death, Jaehyun still wears his wedding ring to keep women away from him. When your kids become friends and his daughter starts to move on, he suddenly finds himself being the one stuck in the past.
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➳ His Love in Her Force - [fake marriage au, small town au, hate to love, action, drama, romance, slow burn, smut, suspense]
Fleeing from a ruthless stalker, you are forced to participate in a witness protection program at the other side of the world, pretending to be the wife of a taciturn undercover detective from now on. As you start to settle, your newfound happiness is stripped away from you all over again. 
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➳ All the Pretty and Ugly Things - [idol!Jaehyun, heavy angst, drama, romance, smut]
He stands in the spotlight, but the only one he's looking at is you. Until one day, the sparks in his eyes are gone and the Jaehyun you know privately is only a lifeless shell of the Jaehyun he pretends to be on stage. Crumbling under the pressure of being an idol, you try to share his baggage, but there is only so much a human can take.
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TAEYONG X READER
➳ The Other Brother - [fiancé’s younger brother au, runaway bride, mutual pining (they just don’t know it yet), hate to love, angst, romance, smut]
Your wedding day is supposed to be the happiest day of your life, but mere hours before the ceremony, you get cold feet and seek shelter with your fiancé's younger brother - the last place on earth where you want to be as you have never gotten along. But as the time of your wedding draws closer, you start to think that you might have ended up with the wrong brother after all.
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➳ Bet You Can’t Pull Him - [best friends au, club au, one night stand, fluff, romance, smut]
Having just broken up with your boyfriend, a night at the club should fix everything. But vodka, jealousy and heartbreak is a very dangerous combination when suddenly, you realize how hot your best friend actually is and that, in no way, you’re going to share him with anyone else.
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TEN X READER
➳ The Demon in My Dreams - [supernatural au, mystery, romance, smut]
Every morning, when you wake up, you can still feel his lingering touches on your virgin body and his seductive words entering your innocent ears. He only appears in your dreams and doesn’t exist. Yet, every night, your body insists otherwise. 
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YUTA X READER
➳ On a Night Call - [escort au, angst, romance, smut]
Since you’re still not over your past relationship, your friend recommends a guy to you who should help you feel a bit less lonely. You expect a therapist or a fortune teller when that night, an escort boy stands in front of you. And he is determined to do his job right. 
2K notes · View notes
soobluv · 1 year
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still, my favorite ❤️
His Love in Her Force
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Pairing: undercover detective!Jaehyun x ballerina!reader
Genre: fake marriage au, hate to love, action, drama, fluff, romance, small town au, slow burn, smut, suspense
Word Count: 28k (it's worth it if you like slow burn, promise)
Summary: Fleeing from a ruthless stalker, you are forced to participate in a witness protection program at the other side of the world, pretending to be the wife of a taciturn undercover detective from now on. Despite all differences, you slowly start to settle with your new life as a married couple - until your newfound happiness is stripped away from you all over again.
A/N: Loosely inspired by a friend's friend case that went viral where I live. Jaehyun goes by several names here (Jay Jung, Jung Jaehyun and Jeong Yuno).
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Imagine leaving everything behind. 
Your home, your friends, your family.
Life as you knew it, vanished overnight, and you had to start anew at the other side of the world.
People easily let such a wish slip when their ordinary life got too exhausting. But what many truly meant was that they wanted to take a break from their daily routine and relax a few weeks under the tropical sun. 
They could always come back to the security and comfort of their stable home, and that was why only the minority was serious and courageous enough to actually go through with the plans of starting anew somewhere far away.
And then, there were people like you. The ones who didn’t have a choice.
“Mrs. Jung, please put up your table, we’re starting to descend,” the stewardess told you.
Mrs. Jung. That was your new name now. 
You had no relation to this surname that you had gotten assigned to only sixteen hours ago through a fake ID and passport at the airport. It sounded so foreign and disturbing to your ears. 
This “Mrs. Jung” wasn’t you, yet you had to slip into her role and pretend to have been someone else’s wife for a significant part of your life already. It was a role you didn’t deem yourself to be suitable for at all.
You were a young, single woman who lived her childhood dream of being a ballet dancer. After having attended different dance academies around Asia and Europe, you had settled with your first engagement, the Korea National Ballet, back in Seoul for the meantime where your family was residing.
A week ago, you had gotten the confirmation letter that you were accepted into the Dutch National Ballet after having studied there the year prior.
Your life was finally everything you had been working so hard towards since you were little.
And then, your future had gotten stripped away from you. Just like that.
“Mrs. Jung?” The stewardess passed by again. “The table.”
“Oh sorry,” you quickly apologized and put it up to properly lock it.
You then proceeded to stare out of the window, the plane having brought you to a continent you had never set foot on ever before. Narrow streets, tiny houses and small forests passed by you in a blur of earthly colors as the plane slowly angled downwards to start its final descent. 
You hated your new life already.
_____
“My duty here is finished,” the officer, who had been accompanying you all the way to the US, told you. “I’ll be taking the next flight back. But no worries, a driver is already waiting for you and will escort you to your new home. You must be relieved, you’re almost there now, Miss.”
“Relieved, detective?” you mocked and crossed your arms in front of your chest. “I’ll be exchanging the life of a successful ballerina for the one of a housewife, stuck in the nowhere on the other side of the world, because you couldn’t do your job right. What in the hell should I be relieved about, tell me?”
“Listen, Miss.” He lowered his voice as though there were other people besides you in this domestic charter flight. “Detective Jeong is one of our best people for this job here, I heard. So when it’s about life or death, there is no other place you’d rather be at the moment. He surely wants to be elsewhere as well, so that makes you two people that have to arrange themselves with this situation.”
“Jeong?” You raised a brow. “Isn’t his name Jung also?”
“Your fake name applies to the both of you of course. It’s a fine, but grave detail to his real one, also for easier spelling. Don’t ever use it in front of anyone though.”
You barely listened to him. “I don’t care. I don’t care about any of this.”
“I’m sorry this happened to you, really.” He sounded almost empathetic. Almost. 
“Don’t be, I know that deep inside, you aren’t. You think you did a good job, detective. If you wouldn’t have sat on your asses all day long and laid out all my collected evidences properly instead, I wouldn’t even be here on this stupid plane, in this stupid country!”
“I already told you there is nothing that we can do anymore, Miss. Stalking cases, where the suspect hasn’t done any harm yet, are always hard to handle since not everything can be considered solid evidence. That’s the thing with social media.” He was tired of leading this conversation, but you weren’t, because you knew you were right. “Besides… The judge hasn’t even passed the sentence yet.”
“But they’re close, and we all know what the sentence will be, otherwise I wouldn’t be here! And it’s only because my father pays such a huge amount of money that you’re willing to get me into this program and away from him.” Your heart was full of hostility, and you let him feel every single bit of it. “Otherwise I would possibly be dead by tomorrow.”
“Again, I’m sorry this happened to you, Miss.”
“Screw your half-assed apologies! I’ve lost my trust in the police a long time ago!” you yelled at him. “You’d rather want a woman dead than get a stalker behind bars!”
And, once again, replied with, “I’m sorry, Miss.”
You didn’t want to hear any more of this, so you remained quiet for the rest of the landing approach and just bid an annoyed farewell to the detective when you disembarked the aircraft. By the exit, after you had picked up your luggage, you were welcomed by the announced driver. 
“Hello, Mrs. Jung. I will accompany you to your new home,” he greeted you. “Welcome to Connecticut. Follow me please. Here, let me help you with your luggage.”
You tagged along with a distance of two steps until you got out of the airport and into his car. The ride distanced you from the airport and thus from the next city as well. While you were hoping to cross another town soon, no such thing happened.
“How far is it?” were the words you finally brought out after half an hour of driving. “It’s been quite a while and all I’m still seeing is… green.”
“Oh, it’s still an hour, Mrs. Jung.”
“An hour?” you squealed and sat straight up from the backseat. “Where are we driving to? Maine? This was Connecticut already, how far into the province are we going?”
“Where your persecutor won’t find you that easily, Mrs. Jung.”
You swore to god, if he called you “Mrs. Jung” again, in every sentence… But it was the first time someone used the word “persecutor”, and it kind of caught you off guard to have someone not talk down on your case.
You leaned back in your seat and closed your eyes to relax after such a long flight that also included a layover. It worked out a bit too well in the end though, sleep eventually engulfing you with the mundane sound of the car rolling over the road in the background.
You only woke up much later when the car had already come to a halt. At the outside, when you groggily opened your eyes, you saw two figures talking to each other in front of your side window. One of them was the driver who had brought you here, the other though, you could only make out the outlines of as he stood with his back turned to you, but it was definitely a much taller man.
“Couldn’t you have gotten someone else?” the unfamiliar man spoke. 
“Since when do detectives in your position get to choose the person they will protect?” the driver asked back.
“It’s just… that she’s…” He faltered.
“A young dancer at the peak of her career?”
“Don’t go there.”
At that moment, he turned around to you and your eyes met. You didn’t know who was more shocked to see the other. So that was him, your “husband”. How dare he speak about you like that! As though you were happy over this situation!
Your eyes were wide open now and you aggressively unbuckled your seatbelt. Opening the door, you stepped outside, getting greeted by the driver right away.
“You’re awake, Mrs. Jung! May I introduce you to your husband Jaehyun? Around here, for better pronunciation, he’s known as Jay.”
The unfamiliar man, obviously going by the name of Jaehyun/Jay, said nothing to you, not even during the entire time your eye contact didn’t break. You felt him clearly examining you from head to toe though, but not in the way a guy checked out someone he was interested in.
No, he was eyeing you from head to toe like he was inspecting a piece of leftover meal that he was unsure of whether to still eat after finding it in the very back of his fridge seven days after preparing. He was full of disgust, and his off-putting behavior was masking how ridiculously good he looked at the same time. 
In the end, he decided against the meal and shifted back to the driver. “She’s looking even gaudier than in the pictures.”
“Excuse me?!” You clenched your fists. “What do you mean?!”
But he ignored you. “She’s looking like a Christmas tree, drawing attention to her wherever she goes. So flamboyant.”
“This is called fashion! People in Seoul wear such outfits!” you retorted, upset that he was still treating you like you weren’t there and simultaneously insulting you. 
The driver just patted his shoulder. “I’ll get going.”
When he had driven away, you were left alone with Jaehyun or Jay - if that was even his real name, but you supposed it wasn’t, a fake name like yours and your both’s surname most likely as well. 
You stood there kind of awkwardly in the small driveway of the house you needed to call your new home from now on. Judging from the outside, admittedly, it looked like a cozy country style bungalow, spacious enough for two people and with no other houses in the immediate radius. 
You would have liked it very much for a short vacation if you wouldn’t have to share it with a stranger who apparently didn’t have the hots for you anyway.
“Let’s go inside,” he barked with suppressed anger, and you wondered why he was already behaving so hostile towards you. 
But at least, the feeling was mutual since he was a policeman as well. Starting from the day they had laughed at you when you called 911 shortly after the physical stalking had started, you had vowed to hate every single one of them.
When you stepped through the entry door, heaving the luggage up the stairs yourself, because Jaehyun was not gentleman enough to help you, you were positively surprised. 
The interior was bright and modernly furnished. There was a huge kitchen, open to the living room that looked equally comfortable and cozy with a soft couch. Additionally, there was an entire wall filled with books only at the opposite of the window facade by the entrance.
“The bathroom is over there.” Jaehyun stood next to you and pointed with his finger to one of the two doors behind the kitchen. “And that is the bedroom. No worries, it’s all yours, I’ll sleep on the couch.”
“You better do so,” you murmured and went straight to the bedroom, dragging your luggage behind you.
“You’re not allowed to go outside all alone. Either I accompany you or you ask for my permission and tell me exactly where you go and for how long.”
He spoke like a robot who had memorized an instruction, and who knew, perhaps he was even one. This already felt like jail. Whether you were here or at home, leaving either wouldn’t be safe for you. It didn’t make any difference except that you hated it here. And him.
Jaehyun cleared his throat. “I’ll prepare dinner.”
“I’m not hungry.”
You shut the door behind you and looked around in the room before you let yourself fall onto the huge bed and stared at the ceiling. Minutes later, you found yourself crying so hard like you had never cried before in your life. 
Your entire body shook, and you sobbed so loudly, you feared that Jaehyun might hear it. But you actually didn’t care. You would gladly let him know that he wasn’t the only one feeling miserable in this situation you two were in, even though you voiced it differently.
Missing your parents, grandparents, friends and everyone else dear to you, you now realized that you were all alone. You hadn’t been allowed to keep your phone in case you’d be tracked down and thus weren’t allowed to get in touch with anyone from your former life either in case someone accidentally revealed your whereabouts.
Another part of you mourned the end of your career that you had been working so hard towards and that hadn’t even really started yet. This same part hated your father for putting you into this program, but loved him at the same time to go through these lengths to ensure your protection. 
But the biggest part of you hated the man who had laid his eyes on you a year ago and vowed to never leave your side again in the most controversial ways. 
The man who had ruined your life. 
This was what he had wanted for you - cornered, shut off, frightened. When admiration turned into hatred, there was no space for happiness anymore. You had never felt more agonized. And lonely.
And with this feeling, after your sheets were all wet from too much crying, you slept in long after night had fallen.
____
The ringing doorbell woke you up, and judging by the misty light that flowed into the bedroom from the outside, it must not be past nine in the morning. You must have slept for over fourteen hours.
Opening your eyes in a slow manner, it took you a few moments to adjust to your surroundings. At first, you were happy to have woken up in your home again - until you realized it quite wasn’t and reality dawned on you, a dreadful feeling instantly weighing down on your heart that nearly caused you to bawl right there and then again. 
You grabbed a pillow and put it over your face to drown out the noise that was coming from the door. If anything, it was Jaehyun’s responsibility to open it as he was closer to the source, and you weren’t even sure whether you were allowed to let strangers in. 
But the string of constant noise just wouldn’t subside, and jet lag was hitting you hard.
“Goddammit!” you yelled in annoyance, jumped out of the bed and stormed into the living room.
But there was no sign of Jaehyun, the couch neatly made, so no one was even able to suspect that someone had slept on it the night before. You tiptoed to the window close by the entrance door to get a look at the person standing outside. 
It was an old, asian woman with gray hair. 
The moment she spotted you by the window, she quickly hurried over and excitedly signed you to open the door. In her hands, she presented a bag, dangling it in front of your vision. You neither had the time nor the patience to put up with her right now, but since she had spotted you already, there was no chance that you could still avoid her.
“Yes?”
You opened the door, not paying attention to your disheveled hair and the clothes from the day before. Whatever she wanted, you hoped that she would finish fast.
“My, my!” she called out in delight. “You must be Mrs. Jung, having arrived yesterday, right?”
You nodded, still not having adjusted to that name. At least you were fluent in English. “Yes, that’s me. May I help you?”
“I brought you a set of dumplings as a welcome gift. Here, take them. According to the villagers, they taste the best in my restaurant, Mrs. Jung. I’m sure they only say it because I’m running the only restaurant here, though.” She winked and then laughed as you took the package into your hands, slowly waking from your petrification. “Far away from your home country, I thought you needed something familiar, and food always manages to lift the mood, am I right? I must know, because when I immigrated here from Vietnam, I also felt lonely.”
This old woman’s surprising genuine gesture seemed so sweet to you though, you had to gulp big time to hold back your tears that were still present from before. Amidst a sea of turmoil, she radiated so much warmth and grandmotherly love, it made your chest tighten and soothed your pain at the same time, and you regretted your malign thoughts from earlier.
“Thank you so much,” you said wholeheartedly, softly.
“Grandmother Anh!” The two of you simultaneously spotted Jaehyun hurrying in your direction while crossing the front yard. “What are you doing here so early in the morning?”
“I wanted to drop by and bring you a set of dumplings as I remembered your wife must have arrived by now,” she explained and pointed at the bag in your hands. “Freshly made.”
“Thank you so much, grandmother Anh!” He wasn’t paying attention to you. “It wasn’t necessary for you to come all the way up there though!”
She waved aside. “A short trip up to here hasn’t hurt anyone yet, right?”
“You want to come inside for a cup of tea?” you offered her as you deemed it suitable for a situation like this despite not knowing whether you actually had tea. It earned you an angry gaze from Jaehyun though, and you wondered what you had done wrong.
“No worries, dear, I have work to go after now, and I’m sure you want to have some time to adjust yourself to your new living situation. Thank you for the invitation though. And don’t forget to step by my restaurant!”
When she was gone, you retreated to the inside, but as soon as the door closed behind you, Jaehyun threw a fit.
“What the hell were you thinking?” he yelled at you. “Oh, I know! You weren’t even thinking! Opening the door for someone you don’t know, even though you’re currently in a security program, are you nuts?!”
“Of course I’ve looked through the window before!” you shot back at him angrily. Stranger or husband, nobody was allowed to talk to you this way, and in contrast to the day prior, you had enough energy now to give him hell back. “If it was a suspicious looking man, I wouldn’t have let him in, but this was a nice grandma! My stalker is still in detention until the court decision, so he won’t come here so easily, and I doubt he has accomplices in the middle of the american nowhere when he’s just a simple korean man!”
“Listen up here, I’m trying to teach you a point,” Jaehyun pressed through gritted teeth, urging you to move backwards until your feet hit the baseboard and your back rested against the wall. “You know why you’re not allowed to use the phone or the internet? You log yourself into your social media account, congratulations, you just disclosed your location and he’ll appear here once he’s free. You call a friend while being connected to a local radio mast, congratulations, you’re now in danger again, because he’s hired a technician to track your steps. The same goes for people. One tells the other who they’ve seen here, words spread, someone knows someone who knows someone who knows him. Or one of them takes a picture, it lands on the internet, and things on the internet stay on the internet. It will then only be a matter of time until he comes across it. How do you know what he’s capable of? Because he’s ‘a simple korean man’? You’re smarter than this!” For the time he paused and inhaled deeply. “I’m here to prevent all this from happening, to prevent him from finding you, so you have to follow me. Since you’re not known by anyone yet, I have to run a background check, and we still have time to study our story so that they’re going to match. Until then, you’re gonna stay quiet and inside.”
“I didn’t ask you to be my protector!” you defended yourself, his closeness flustering you still. “No one from the police has ever helped me anyway, so stop acting like you care about my wellbeing!”
“Care about your wellbeing?” He revealed his pearl white teeth when he scoffed. “I don’t care about your wellbeing. It’s just that I want to get out of here as fast as possible and you’re just something that holds me back if I don’t take care of it. So you play by my rules or you go back now.”
“You-!” You swallowed the rest of the sentence.
With a slip to the side, you escaped from his fearful presence and crossed the living room in a hurry to lock yourself inside the bedroom again.
Only hours later, when hunger got the better of you, you dared to come out. The dumplings laid on the dining table where you had dropped them off earlier, and you couldn’t ignore the gurgling sounds your stomach was making anymore. 
Jaehyun was sitting on the couch, typing something into his laptop and minding his own business without looking up to you. You were grateful for his ignorance as neither of you wanted to back off from your argument earlier, so you took half of the dumplings and retreated back into the bedroom from where you didn’t come out for the rest of the day.
At night, you cried yourself to sleep again.
____
“Let’s go grocery shopping.”
You were very much surprised when Jaehyun offered to take you on a short trip to the supermarket two days later. Yesterday, you had only been living off leftover dumplings and hadn’t felt any appetite, even until now. This was your very first interaction since the argument.
“I don’t want to,” you blocked it off.
“It’s weird and actually more suspicious when everyone now knows that you’ve already arrived, but don’t show yourself. We have to blend in, that’s how it works here in the countryside. And I have already done a background check on everyone, they’re clean. Besides…” He hesitated. “You should start eating properly.”
You didn’t care about his reasoning as you didn’t want to go out at all. Staying inside, hiding and being left alone sounded like the proper activity according to your mood, but Jaehyun wouldn’t budge, so you had no other choice than to finally dress up and accompany him against your will.
You hadn’t seen anything from the village except for your own house so far, so you got a bit excited when you finally stepped out onto the streets. The sun was shining brightly that morning, and it was kind of comfortably warm already for early spring. 
When you did a 360 degree turn, you silently noted that the village was located on the slope of a hill, your house placed on the highest point and the other houses stretching a few hundred meters apart from each other along the main street and scattering into narrower ones. 
The view and the location were splendid, you had to give credit for that. You weren’t the kind of person to seek this kind of tranquility as you were more a fan of a buzzing city, but somehow, you didn’t find it so bad here. 
The houses were all so small and looked so cozy, embedded and blending in with nature, and the village overall was surrounded by trees and the greens of the connected grasslands that reached to the very top of the mountains.
“If we should come off as a couple, you have to stay by my side.”
You hadn’t noticed how Jaehyun had gone ahead already and quickly fell into his step. You were kind of grossed out by the idea that he would suddenly want to take your hand or do something else that young couples usually openly showed to prove their affection towards each other, so you kept your arms close to your body. But luckily, he didn’t seem to be fond of such a thing right now as well.
As you were walking down the street leading to the village center, Jaehyun told you, “I’ll be starting my work tomorrow. I’m a police officer here, so I’ll be gone for the majority of the day.”
“You work?”
“In contrast to you, I have to.”
“I see,” you noticed curtly. It wasn’t like you minded. No, you rejoiced even!
“But don’t get the wrong idea,” he reminded you as though he was reading your thoughts. “It doesn’t mean you can do what you want and go wherever you want.”
You rolled your eyes. “I understood the first time already.”
“Very well. We’re here,” he then declared when you stood in front of a store, not bigger than a 7/11.
“That’s it? That’s the grocery store?”
“Yeah. What did you expect anyway?”
Yeah, what exactly did you expect to discover in this small village? You sighed. “Let’s go inside.”
A high-pitched voice directly greeted you from the inside. “Mr. Jung! Is this your lovely wife? I can’t believe I finally get to see her! Welcome, Mrs. Jung!” A middle-aged man approached you from the counter, took both of your hands and shook them excitedly. “I’m Mr. Jones. Please help yourselves. You’ll find here everything that you need. My store might be small, but it’s rich in its ingredients.”
You felt Jaehyun’s stares in your back when you carefully greeted him back with a, “Nice to meet you, Mr. Jones” before you went back to his side like the obedient wife you were supposed to play.
Jaehyun was wandering through the small aisles and put one grocery after another into his shopping basket. From afar, he truly looked like a caring husband. But you knew better. 
“What do we want to cook for dinner?” he asked nonchalantly, almost kindly.
For the first time, his voice wasn’t filled with anger or tension that you would also find in your own tone whenever you opened your mouth to speak to each other. In front of the people, you had to conceal your negative feelings towards each other. 
“Hmm…” You looked through the shelves, Jaehyun tagging along. “I’m kind of craving fried rice.”
“I’d rather have steak.” He put the meat in the basket. 
Of course he’d get what he wanted. But you didn’t want to back down either and bought the ingredients for your own cravings.
“Mrs. Jung, please make sure to step by again,” Mr. Jones told you when he packed your groceries. “We always have fresh fruits, you’ll love them!”
You nodded, totally not in the mood for smalltalk with strangers.
Back at home, you waited until Jaehyun had finished preparing his steak before you cooked your own dish. You ate in silence, him on the couch, you in the bedroom, both of you then cleaning after yourselves in silence, too. 
And that slowly became your arranged routine. Silent and separate, yet still together physically.
____
You had spent the past days inside the house mostly, reading, watching TV and staring at the ceiling. At home, you barely had time for these trivial things as you were always practicing, even during your free time. But your free time now was endless, and simple leisure activities prevented you from falling back into this deep, black hole that engulfed you every night, luring out your tears.
You didn’t want to go out, you didn’t want to talk, you barely wanted to eat.
When you felt like this at home, you would just start dancing, but now, you didn’t even have that. Your life was dull after you had been ripped off your passion and your entire future. You didn’t know whether, if you’d ever return, you could catch up again.
At this point, you were asking yourself whether this life was actually worth living. But if you were to give up now, it only meant your stalker had succeeded. This was what he wanted, and you wouldn’t give him this.
As you were lying on the couch that evening again, staring into space, you heard Jaehyun coming home and immediately shot up to go back into your room. You wanted to spend as little time around him as possible.
But he didn’t let you go far. “Mr. Jones saw you in the driveway this morning as he drove by.”
“...And?”
“You know for sure that this isn’t allowed,” Jaehyun hissed sharply. “I prohibited it.”
“But why?” you genuinely wanted to know. “I was only catching some fresh air, nothing to fret about.”
He didn’t show any compassion. “If you want some fresh air, open a window, but, under no circumstances, are you allowed to leave the house when I’m not there. Think about what would have happened if it was someone else driving by, not Mr. Jones!”
“You’re totally nuts!” you yelled now. “And paranoid! That man doesn’t even know I’m here, so technically, I can roam around freely if I want to!”
“This is why I didn’t want you,” Jaehyun growled, his voice full of contempt. “The moment I saw you in the car, I knew what kind of person you would be. And I was proven right. You’re so reckless and neglecting in regard to your own life. On top of that, you’re so audacious as well, and I actually despise people like you. You didn’t even need this program, you’re only here because your father wanted to protect his little princess!”
You froze, and Jaehyun turned stiff in the same breath, your eye contact not breaking despite the interruption. Almost simultaneously, it became clear to you both what he had just said, and the extent of his hurtful words.
Jaehyun opened his lips, his eyes wide in shock. “I-”
The ringing doorbell broke through the distressing silence between the both of you and Jaehyun crossed the living room to hurry to the entrance door.
“Hello Mr. Jung!”
“Grandmother Anh, what a surprise!” he greeted her, still a bit overwhelmed, but trying to downplay the situation. “What brings you here?”
“I was wondering whether you and your wife already have plans for dinner and whether you are interested in joining me and a few other villagers at my restaurant this evening?” she asked politely, trying to get a glimpse of the inside. 
“My wife is doing fine, only still adjusting. There is just so much work to still go after inside the house, so we barely have time at the moment. I’m afraid we have to decline.”
“That’s unfortunate,” the old woman commented. “But I still hope that you can make time this evening and join the dinner. We would be really pleased!”
“I’m going to ask her, alright?”
“Actually I wanted to ask her pers-…”
“Grandmother Anh?” you popped up behind Jaehyun and interjected. “I would happily join the dinner along with my husband! Thank you so much for the invitation!”
“Oh dear, I’m so glad! Then I’ll be going to prepare something nice for you two then, alright? See you later!”
When she was gone, you didn’t resume the topic from earlier, but instead said, “She probably heard it. She probably heard everything and was anxious about what was going on in here. Perhaps, she even thought we were physically fighting, so I had to show myself to let her see that everything is okay.”
“You could have just politely declined,” Jaehyun interposed.
“That’s not the point,” you explained calmly, walking around in the living room and pulling the curtains together. “The whole point of us being here is that we will pretend to be a happy couple, not drawing any suspicion on us. Doing grocery shopping every few days together just doesn’t do it. Didn’t you yourself say that words spread fast here?”
He didn’t want to concede it, but Jaehyun’s following words were his own gesture of acknowledging your believability. “So, what do you suggest we should do?”
Perhaps, he also realized at that moment, that he was missing something that you had been contributing from the very beginning: the ability to not only think rationally, but also compassionately. 
And that sometimes, your reckless acts originated from this character trait of yours, being a person who relied mostly on emotions and urges. He opened his mouth to say something, but quickly closed it again.
“We’re going to show everyone how happy we are as a couple. That it was a usual lovers’ quarrel, that we don’t physically fight, and that you don’t keep me locked up or whatever. And since you’ll be there too, it’s safe. Satisfied?”
You weren’t fond of all that, of the thought of going out, meeting people and pretending you were living the happy life of a married couple. But you had no choice.
You didn’t admit this openly, but this was your only way to survive this hellhole and eventually return to your old life one day.
____
You were more anxious than excited to finally step out of the house again. When you stood in front of the restaurant later that evening, you barely brought yourself to crack a smile. How were you supposed to pretend to be happy when all you wanted was to cry?
“Stop.” Jaehyun held you back when you already wanted to enter through the front door. “Didn’t you forget something?”
You cursed inwardly, having hoped that he had forgotten about it. Why had you even mentioned such a thing as holding hands to prove the nature of your relationship? You would rather not, but you also saw that it was necessary to come off as a true couple and not two strangers who had just met. Even though the latter was true.
So you placed your hand in Jaehyun’s for the first time. It felt surprisingly warm and tender, and so different from the attitude he always showed you. How could someone so grouchy and cold have such tender and warm hands?
Jaehyun’s fingers enclosed around yours, and the unexpected feeling he caused you to experience currently didn’t have anything to do with the fear of getting touched by him. By far not. Not even something close to it.
You were so flustered that you barely noticed how he led you into the restaurant, right towards a large table on which a handful of people were already seated, and all their heads turned to you.
“Oh my, it’s the Jungs!”
You directly spotted grandmother Anh who approached you from behind the counter, taking your hands into hers and out of Jaehyun’s grip.
“Welcome! Dear, let me introduce you to the other villagers,” she addressed you. “Mr. Jones already told me that you two met, but these are…”
She proceeded to list four names that you forgot right after again, and you then took one of the two left free seats at the table along with Jaehyun while the old woman was bringing in one dish after another.
“Please help yourselves!” grandmother Anh then announced after she had sat down well. “Dig in!”
The entire table was filled with different dishes from the region, but also asian food. You felt your mouth watering after having lived off your humble cooking skills ever since your arrival.
“You see, this is a special restaurant,” grandmother Anh explained to you. “I’m not specialized on Asian or Western food. Basically, I can cook anything by order.”
“That’s true,” a middle aged woman next to you answered, Mr. Jones’ wife. “Mrs. Anh started off with an Asian restaurant, but since she’s running the only food place here, the requests started to pile up.”
You swallowed the last bite of delicious fried rice - your go to comfort food - before you responded, “No matter Asian or Western, your food is very delicious, grandmother Anh.”
“I’m so happy you like it, dear!” She smiled from ear to ear. “Hurry, eat up before all the others do!”
You nodded, and for the first time since you had gotten here, you didn’t only feel hunger, but also appetite as you reached for fried chicken, more fried rice, baked potatoes and steamed vegetables all at once. 
When you were training - which was usually all the time - you hadn’t had the pleasure to eat such delightful food as you had to follow a very strict diet to remain your figure. Just a few grams more would have gotten you kicked out of every academy. Of course you stole a secret bite of fast food and sweet treats here and there, but tonight was the first time you could actually eat without compunction.
“... And you left everything behind for your husband, even your job?” Mrs. Jones casually dropped when the dinner slowed down and everyone was finishing off. “That’s so courageous!”
Before you had come here, you had studied both of the roles that had been assigned to you very thoroughly. Jaehyun was the cop who had found a new job here, and you, his wife, had followed from Korea to settle with him in rural Connecticut. That was the part of the script that bothered you the most as this was something you would never ever consider doing in the first place. Giving up your dreams for a man - they wished!
“The things women do for the love of their life, hm?” you only brought yourself to say reluctantly, dripping with hidden sarcasm.
“My husband also made us both move from Vietnam to here,” grandmother Anh clinked herself into your conversation. “He was always dreaming so big, dreaming about living the American dream. I wasn’t fond of the idea, but I was even less fond of living a life without him. So I followed him.”
“Where is your husband now?” it blurted out of you, and you regretted it right at that moment already when her face fell. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to-”
“It’s alright, dear,” she brushed it off in understanding about your unawareness. “It’s been five years without him, and I still miss him dearly. With my experience, I can put myself in your shoes very well. You feel lonely and depressed very often, hm? A new country, new people, an entirely new environment, and a husband who’s not home for the majority of the day. It’s hard to adjust.”
Those feelings had nothing to do with Jaehyun, but with yourself only, so you confirmed them with a nod. 
“How about you join our female poker round every wednesday?” Mrs. Jones then proposed. “It’s grandmother Anh, the girl sitting over there named Rosie, and me.”
When the girl heard her name, she briefly raised her head and smiled at you.
“Poker?” you asked carefully. “I’ve never played poker before.”
“You’ll learn it in no time!” Rosie encouraged you. “I’m pretty sure we aren’t playing it accurately either, but we’re having lots of fun and drinking lots of wine. You’ll love it!”
Poker with two elderly women and a girl around your age that you had barely interacted with before didn’t sound like your usual pastime activity back there in Korea. But at least there would be alcoholic drinks, and it would help you avoid this dark hole for a little while, you assumed.
“I’m afraid my wife might not be able to join,” Jaehyun then cut you off at the moment you wanted to excitedly accept their invitation. The three women looked at him in the same confused manner as you. “She’s really busy with work around the house and chores.”
“I’m sure I’ll be done by wednesday, that’s how fast but thorough I always work,” you affirmed to the women, avoiding Jaehyun. “So I’ll join you for sure.”
Jaehyun opened his mouth again, but it perhaps dawned on him that when he objected now, he’d look more like a husband mistreating his wife. The fact that he was known as a police officer didn’t affect the situation positively. 
“Okay,” he then gave in. “I’ll let you ladies have fun.”
“Oh it’s going to be so fun!” Rosie exclaimed and clapped her hands together. 
You were really looking forward to something now as well, for the first time since you had gotten here.
____
“Go, yell at me,” you provoked Jaehyun when you walked through the front door of your house after the dinner.
But he didn’t. Instead, he hung up his jacket, totally muted, put his phone on the kitchen counter and walked straight into the bathroom, locking the door behind him. Whatever, if he didn’t want to talk about it, then you didn’t need to talk about it either.
With dragging steps, you then moved over to the kitchen yourself to get something to drink before your eyes fell onto Jaehyun’s phone.
Your front teeth sank into your bottom lip as you stretched out your hand in the direction of the device. You knew it was wrong, you knew what consequences it would all bring, yet you couldn’t hold back. The temptation was too strong.
Your fingers glided swiftly over Jaehyun’s display as you typed the name of your stalker into the search bar. And the first article that popped up was the one reporting about his release. 
Dated today. You knew it. You just knew it.
You cursed under your breath as you read through the comments that were almost all defaming him and the acquittal following everything he had done to you. When it had gotten public that a popular ballerina had been stalked, the media was quick to cover the story. Before, no one had cared about it. 
The majority of people having your back in the comment section were only a drop in the bucket. But it still was soothing somehow.
When you went back to the search results, you found an article about you retiring from the Korea National Ballet. It wasn’t a big one, but had still gotten covered by a local newspaper after your absence from the performances had been noticed, and they were quick to link your decision with your stalker not getting a sentence because the state of evidence was too insufficient. 
Your fingers trembled, because now, as soon as he picked up these news, he would start searching for you and carry out his threat that he had sent to your home through a letter a week before you had started your new life here,
I will come for you.
“You know for sure that this isn’t allowed,” Jaehyun scolded strictly next to you, and you flinched, nearly letting the phone drop before he snatched it out of your hands. “Didn’t I already tell you that with today’s technology, every time you go online, you leave traces? You want that? Having him here?”
“I didn’t log into any social media or anything,” you defended yourself. “I just… looked him up, and hundreds of other people pulled up that website also, so.”
“Even that is not-”
“He’s free,” you interrupted him, your breathing only coming in hitches as you realized what it meant for you. “As of today, he’s free again, and he’ll come for me. Like he wrote in that letter.”
You shut your eyes, ready to get yelled at, but Jaehyun didn’t say a word again. With the phone in his hand, he went into the bedroom - your room - and you followed him. You didn’t know what this meant. Had you gone too far tonight? 
“What are you doing?”
He jerked something out of the closet, and at second glance, you recognized the thing in his hands as your suitcase which he then threw at your feet.
“Go pack. You’re going home.”
You blinked in confusion. “What?”
“If you don’t give a damn about your life, you don’t deserve to stay here. So you should go home.”
He was so cold and indifferent about it, it made you shudder. And that stare of his. You hadn’t seen it before. This was serious.
When you had first come here, you would have rejoiced and would have willingly accepted a flight ticket back. But with this knowledge, the thought about setting a foot on Korea’s grounds with your stalker on the loose raised your hackles. Then, this entire nightmare would start all over.
Hesitantly, you brought yourself to admit that this was where you were the safest now. On the other side of the world, by the side of a detective. 
“Please…” you started.
“What am I supposed to say?” Jaehyun asked, overly annoyed, not breaking eye contact. “You defied my orders. Again. You think I didn’t know about this? I knew before you did, before the media did. It’s because of your reaction that I wasn’t supposed to say a word. Now look at what it has done to you! Will you ever get a good night’s sleep again?”
“I’m sorry!” You had never said that to him before, so this was a huge step for you. But you meant it. “I couldn’t resist. I had to know.”
“Of course you had to. You always have to meddle. Did something positive ever result from your meddlings? Perhaps, your meddlings have even brought this upon you!”
You stared at each other and Jaehyun’s face fell when it dawned on him what he had just said. Once again.
“You’re not better than any of them,” you hissed. “Yet, I’m not going anywhere.”
You picked up your suitcase and threw it back into the closet. When you turned around, Jaehyun had left your room already, so you quickly closed the door in case he would return and hid in the safety of your familiar four walls until the next morning. 
____
When wednesday finally came around, you were still feeling some sort of anticipation that Jaehyun’s hurtful words hadn’t been able to entirely tear down. You had only interacted with him when it was truly necessary since the day he wanted to kick you out, otherwise avoiding him at all costs. At least, he hadn’t prohibited you from going today.
“Remember to only share the most necessary things about us,” Jaehyun repeated again as you walked along the streets to grandmother Anh’s restaurant. “And not more. Don’t invent anything, just dodge the topic. If someone wants to take a picture, prohibit it. But luckily, people here aren’t so obsessed with social media.”
“It’s so easy for an emotional klutz like you to say such things,” you grumbled. “But it’s something entirely different when people put pressure on you, especially when you’re in such a small group.”
“Whatever,” he shrugged it off. “Just dodge everything you can dodge.”
You rolled your eyes. You hadn’t wanted him to come with you, but one of his conditions was to still accompany you everywhere once you stepped outside of the house, so you had no choice but to walk with him all the way there. 
“I’ll pick you up at ten, okay?” Jaehyun confirmed, and you nodded. “If something happens-”
“What should happen? We’re in the middle of nowhere and I’m just playing poker with the three less suspicious people on earth. Give it a rest already.”
“If something happens,” he continued unbothered, “or you start to feel uneasy… even if you only want me to pick you up no matter the reason, even if you’re only a few minutes away…” He reached his hand into his pocket. “Take this, just in case.”
He held up a black flip phone in front of you. One which you had only seen in action way back then in primary school, and which you deemed antique by now, because you were only able to send text messages and make calls with it. That kind of phone.
You took it into your hand and opened it up. The black and white display only showed one number when you pulled up the contacts list. You proceeded from the assumption that it was Jaehyun’s.
“It’s curbed, so you can only call me. Shortcut is one. The card has fifteen bucks on it, but I doubt you’ll spend it all unless we talk to each other for six hours straight. So don’t even think about calling someone you know from back home.”
Perhaps, a tiny part of him did care in the end. At least more than any policeman back there in Korea throughout the span of a year.
“Okay.” He cleared his throat. “See you later then. At ten.”
What you had wanted was an apology. But this was nearly just as good and his very own way of saying sorry, you saw that now.
Jaehyun turned his back to you and slowly walked back while you stored the phone away in your purse and entered the restaurant through the front door.
Not much later, you found yourself laughing among the other three women, having forgotten about your miserable situation for the evening as you hadn’t had so much fun in a long time already. 
Poker had faded into the background and you were getting to know about the other women more than playing cards. And while you were talking, you emptied one bottle of wine after another.
“So tell me,” Rosie urged, “how did you and Jay meet? It’s so rare having such a young couple deciding to live with us so secludedly!”
“We’ve met when we were both still in university,” you revealed, having studied this part of your new identities very carefully so that your stories would match. Yet, you couldn’t help but to spice it up a bit. “Through mutual friends. We couldn’t actually stand each other at first. I hated his guts, and he hated mine. But we slowly warmed up, and the rest is history.” 
“At first, I couldn’t quite read him as well,” Rosie admitted. “So I found his character very off-putting. But Jay is actually really warm-hearted and caring.”
No way she was talking about Jaehyun. You suppressed a laugh.
“That’s true!” Mrs. Jones nodded. “When he came into the hardware store earlier today, I was there too, talking to Mr. Alden. And he was searching every shelf high and low for an MP3 player. You know, one of these old things that you can only listen to music with which no one uses anymore. Mr. Alden didn’t have one of these of course, so he ordered it for him. He looked very stressed about it, but in a desperate and not angry way. More like a gift he needed promptly.”
An MP3 player? What would he need it for? In your world, your husband wasn’t capable of showing or even bearing feelings at all. Why was it then, that these people had a whole other picture of him?
“One time, at my father’s pharmacy,” Rosie added, “he asked what my father could recommend if someone suffered from a stomach ache. Apparently, his wife, so you, was in pain one night, and he wanted to be prepared for the next time this could occur. So, I would say you truly have a dedicated husband.”
You frowned. You had indeed suffered from a stomach ache one night, searching through the shelves and ending up making tea instead as you hadn’t found any medicine. That you had found it the next day, you had blamed it on your absent-mindedness.
“Mr. Jung surely has a warm heart despite his stoic demeanor. Otherwise he also wouldn’t have helped me when I had fallen on my back. That happened only last week. He carried me all the way to the doctor’s,” grandmother Anh continued.
There had truly been a day when Jaehyun had only come home much later than usual, and he was commonly very strict in keeping his routines. You hadn’t asked him about it though and had shrugged it off again. That was how indifferent you always were at home. Perhaps, you then realized, you should start doing exactly that: communicate. 
You couldn’t continue living with a person you openly despised and didn’t care about. Jaehyun had said a few awful things to you, but the phone in your purse and what people were telling about him were proof enough to you that he was, indeed, different from the cops you had encountered until now.
Most likely, he wasn’t so awful and you had only failed to see. Jaehyun had given you a few second chances. Now, it was your turn to give him one.
“Why the long face?” Rosie pulled you out of your thoughts. “Let’s celebrate the start of your new life here! Grandmother Anh, I’m going to open another bottle, alright? The night is still young, cheers!”
You heard it pop for the second time.
____
You woke up the next morning with a headache. You didn’t know how you had gotten home or when, but the last time you had gotten so drunk, it was in the academy in the Netherlands. These village people’s alcohol tolerance was really on a whole other level!
A glimpse at your phone told you that it was midday already, and you suddenly were sitting up straight in your bed. But since you had no business anywhere anyway, you fell back against the mattress.
You then slowly drifted off to sleep again when the doorbell interrupted your nap. That was the downside of living in such a small village. People just came over whenever they wanted.
“Have you just woken up?” Rosie asked you.
A bit embarrassed, you scratched your head. “Maybe…”
“It’s been a tough way home, hm?” she laughed. “Jay also didn’t quite know what to do with you.”
“To do… with me?” you repeated with widened eyes.
“Oh my!” Rosie covered her opened mouth with her hand and giggled. “You can’t remember a thing?”
You shook your head. “Nothing.”
“You were so drunk after our fourth bottle of wine, you slept in right there and then. Jay had to carry you in a piggy back out of the restaurant and all the way home up here, and you didn’t even bat an eye.” She chuckled again. “And then, you only cried, ‘I wanna go home, I wanna go home!’ while he constantly replied, ‘You’re gonna be home soon’. And you said again, ‘But not this home!’”
“Holy!” you gasped. “I really can’t remember!”
Everyone knew about the drunken truth, and Jaehyun had also certainly known that you didn’t mean this home when you had said you wanted to return. If the alcohol had gone to your head much more, you would have probably revealed your true identity by accident! You suddenly felt so defeated. You had put yourself in danger. Again.
“Make sure to reward him properly for all the convenience with a nice meal or otherwise, okay?” Rosie winked and handed a paper bag over to you. “And start out by giving him these painkillers for his back pain. My father doesn’t recommend using it on a daily basis. Perhaps, change your mattress to a less soft one as they probably stem from that.”
“But our mattress is not soft,” you commented naively and accepted the painkillers when it suddenly crossed your mind that he didn’t even sleep on the bed. “It’s probably only because he naps on the couch so often,” you briefly corrected yourself. “I’ll have an eye on it.”
After Rosie said goodbye to you, you closed the entry door behind you and directly went into the bedroom to prepare something before Jaehyun came home.
When he eventually walked through the front door a bit later that day, he didn’t say a thing about the night before, but calmly took off his jacket and went to sit on the couch without greeting you. 
Communicate. Your start. “Can you come to the bedroom real quick, please?”
Without a complaint, he arose again and followed you. When you opened the door, you presented a room to him with your clothes and other stuff all gone, the bedding freshly exchanged.
“This is your room from now on.”
Jaehyun blinked in irritation, and it was not the first time that you witnessed him turning so startled. You continued to take him aback. “I don’t understand…”
“I’m sorry,” you apologized to him quietly and bowed. “For having caused such havoc last night, being a burden to you again. When Rosie told me what happened because I can’t remember a thing, I realized that I put us both in danger again, now with my habit of drunkenly telling the truth. It wasn’t my indication to do so, and I will look after my alcohol consumption much better from now on. As I will do with everything else, of course. I will be obedient and follow the rules.”
He slowly turned around to you, his expression not quite distinctive enough for you to read. “Okay.”
“And because of your back pain, Rosie dropped by earlier with the painkillers. But I know it’s all because of me too. So, here, have the bedroom. It’ll be much better if you sleep on the bed as the mattress is not as soft. I’ll take the couch, I’ll be fine.”
You both stood there, quiet for a while. Until Jaehyun broke the silence himself. “There is a mattress.” 
“What?”
“Here.” He crouched down, put his hands in the compartment under the bed and pulled out a small mattress that had been kept there apparently. “It’s too small for me, but for you, it should be fine. Let me carry it to the living room for you, okay?”
You smiled and nodded. “Thank you. And thank you for the stomach medicine as well.”
He opened his mouth to return something, but seemed to get too flustered and closed his lips again. It was familiar to you.
“I’m sorry too.” You turned keen-eared. What had he just said? Jaehyun’s ear tips turned red as he looked to the side. “I- I didn’t mean it. You’re not… you know.”
He didn’t elaborate what he referred to. But he didn’t need to. You knew what he had exactly apologized for, and accepted it. All the things, little and big. About you being a princess, about you always meddling. And about you having brought this upon yourself.
Your husband wasn’t a man of many words, but he had silently accepted your apology too by starting to sleep in the bedroom that night and leaving the new mattress to you. 
You hadn’t been much of a great wife either, and you silently promised to him to be a better one from now on.
____
You were alone the next night, Jaehyun working overtime as one of his colleagues had spontaneously wanted to change shifts, so he had to take up on two in a row.
That was why, even by 1am, you still weren’t able to sleep. In your pajamas already though, you wandered up and down the living room, your thoughts swimming. You had kept the lights turned off as you went back to your mattress every now and then when you felt ready to finally fall asleep, only to fail once again.
You had gotten so used to having Jaehyun sleep in the room next to you that now that he was gone, you couldn’t fall asleep at all as you felt so defenseless. You were not paranoid about your stalker having gotten here, but with Jaehyun around, you had been able to fall asleep with more ease.
All by yourself though, you felt at your own fear’s mercy.
THUD
You froze on the spot. What in the hell was that?
You were currently facing the window, but the noise came from the other side of the closed door where the bedroom was located. Believing that your hearing might have fooled you, you held in your breath and listened closely.
Thud.
Again. This time, not that loudly, but it was clearly the same noise as before. You almost didn’t dare to make a move. It was in the middle of spring, the weather was warm and the moon was shining brightly. This was not the background noise of a thunderstorm.
Thud.
No, you hadn’t been fooled by your own hearing. There was definitely something going on in the bedroom that should not be going on, and Jaehyun was not here tonight! Restraining your breathing volume, you tiptoed to the kitchen area, hoping the parquet under your feet wouldn’t audibly give in.
THUD.
Louder. Your heart was racing, but you told yourself over and over again that you couldn’t afford losing your nerves now. Perhaps, it was an animal trying to get in, perhaps the wind pressing a branch against the glass, but perhaps also someone trying to break in. 
It couldn’t be him.
… right?
He was still in Seoul, you had obediently followed Jaehyun’s rules, you had left no traces. There was no possibility that he could be here.
… right?
The faults you had made hadn’t been that grave. You were now obediently following the rules.
… right?
As your gaze fell upon the kitchen counter, you reached for the phone Jaehyun had given to you and dialed the shortcut. The phone was shaking in your trembling fingers as the display lightened up and you saw it trying to connect to Jaehyun. 
But he didn’t pick up. You tried again and again. But he didn’t pick up even after the fifth attempt. You nearly wanted to cry. What was a police officer husband good for when he wouldn’t even come to rescue you? 
Whatever, you didn’t need him anyway. You were a strong, independent woman, you would take matters in your own hand. Literally. So you grabbed the pan that was lying on the stove and headed for the bedroom door. 
At this moment, you didn’t know what was louder. Your own heartbeat, your own breathing or the thudding that came from the bedroom. Perhaps, all at once, and the only thing that kept you going right now was the thought that you just didn’t want to die here, all alone, on the other side of the world, without having seen your friends and family again. 
BAM.
“Hey!”
You flinched the second you stretched out your hand to press down the door handle as the lights suddenly turned on, and a sharp scream escaped your lips as you were sure your life was flashing before your eyes. The pan fell onto your feet, missing your toes by a hairbreadth, as a pair of strong arms wrapped around you from behind.
Then, you realized that you were crying as you twisted and turned, trying to escape. “Let me go! Let me go!”
“It’s me!” a familiar voice then came through to you. “It’s Jaehyun! It’s me!”
His voice, his scent. This all suddenly embraced you as it dawned on you that indeed, it was him. You had just not known what it was like to be held by him which had startled you so much as you had never had any physical contact before.
In his arms, your chest was still heaving up and down heavily, but he held you closely and tightly, with no intention to let you go now as tears continued to stream down your face.
“It’s okay,” you then heard Jaehyun whisper, his voice close to your ear. “I’m here now.”
He only let you go after you had stopped trembling and crying out loudly, and only reluctantly with a deep sigh from your part. You didn’t know where that had exactly come from though.
As you then turned around to him, you clenched your fists and hammered against his chest. “You idiot! Where have you been?!” you yelled at him. “I’ve called you five times, but you didn’t pick up! What do you have a cell phone for!”
Jaehyun didn’t hinder you from letting out your anger. Only when your strength was slowly subsiding as exhaustion settled, he enclosed your fingers and explained to you calmly, “I’m sorry. I didn’t hear it ring as I was in the car with my colleagues, and when I got out, I was already here and saw that you have called five times.”
“I- I… I heard,” you stuttered, but you didn’t quite know how to explain your situation. What if he would think you had only imagined it and didn’t take you seriously? 
But Jaehyun did exactly that without you having to explain yourself. “My colleagues are currently searching the property high and low. I came here the moment I left the car.”
“I heard a thudding noise coming from the bedroom. As though… I don’t know. Someone was trying to get in. Through the window… I don’t know, there was definitely something!”
“Okay, let me check.”
You were hiding behind Jaehyun as he slowly pushed the door open and got in position. Then, he switched the lights on and you saw, as you peeked from behind him, exactly nothing. With slow steps, Jaehyun crossed the room and positioned himself in front of the closet. As he drew the door open, as expected again, you only found clothes inside of it.
“All clear inside here,” he then confirmed and approached the window to open it, calling outside, “What’s up out there?”
“All clear out here!” you heard someone yell in the distance.
“All clear in here as well!”
“You want us to stay put?” 
Hesitantly, Jaehyun turned around to you, and then back to the window. “It’s okay, for tonight, I got this. Thank you.”
“Alright.”
Your teeth sank into your bottom lip as you stood by the door and felt embarrassment crawling up your cheeks. “I’m sorry. I was so sure…”
“Don’t ever apologize for such things,” Jaehyun cut you off, and you faced him with insecure eyes. “You were scared, and your feelings are valid. Nothing else matters.”
The majority of people would have brushed it off. But Jaehyun had taken you seriously the moment he saw you all alone, so scared.
Only later that night, when you were ready for bed again, it sank into you that this was probably what the other women had talked about when the topic revolved around Jaehyun last week. Finally, even for only a short moment, he had shown you this part of him as well.
“Where is my mattress?” you then asked when you came out of the bathroom.
“In the bedroom,” Jaehyun deadpanned. “Come.”
You raised a brow, but willingly followed him to the bedroom where you found your mattress lying next to the bed. 
“Tonight, you can stay here. Just…” You heard him gulp. “... just… in case you feel unsafe and scared again.”
He made it sound like you had requested for it, which you surely hadn’t, and you both knew. It was Jaehyun’s manner of offering you some kind of security and solace, just because he wanted to, not because you had asked for it.
“Thank you.”
“And next time when I have the day off, I’m going to show you how to shoot with a gun.”
“... what?”
For the first time since you had come here, you didn’t cry yourself to sleep. You didn’t know whether it was because of the shock that was still lingering or because of someone else sleeping right next to you, even though not on the same bed.
“Jaehyun?”
“... Hm?”
You had your back turned to the side of the bed and were facing the wall from your small mattress, eyes wide open while listening to Jaehyun fiddling with the blanket just two feet away from you.
If you had faced him at this moment, you didn’t know if you would still have said what you were about to say.
“I take it back. You’re better than all of them combined.”
He knew what you meant, and despite his missing audible answer, you were sure he had gratefully acknowledged it.
When Jaehyun’s breathing rhythm became quieter and more regular, you could finally relax as well, a foreign nervousness falling off your shoulders and letting you drift off to sleep shortly after.
You felt so safe like never in your life before.
____
“What exactly happened with that man, if I may ask?” 
You were standing in the backyard, Jaehyun getting the gun prepared while you watched him.
“I thought you had all the background info about me before I got here already?” 
“Not the details. I only know about a guy who’s stalked a popular ballerina in Seoul. She dragged him to court, but the judge decided that the evidence was too insufficient and that he’d most likely get free. Since the ballerina claimed he had threatened her again, she was put in this program voluntarily.”
“I didn’t claim that he threatened me,” you disagreed. “He sent a letter. With a death threat. To my home. But the judge said it cannot be proven that it’s from him.”
“I only told you what I heard.”
Yet, he had still taken your fears from the night before seriously. You wondered whether, if Jaehyun had been responsible for your case back there in Seoul, you would still be here now.
“It started with a simple bouquet of roses after every performance shortly after I joined the Korea National Ballet a year ago,” you started. “I just returned from the Netherlands and it was my first engagement as a professional ballerina. At first, I found it flattering to already have such a dedicated fan. He’s a man in his early thirties, neat, groomed and very polite. Until he made his intentions clear and I rejected his advances. That’s when he stopped being polite.”
“That’s where it usually starts,” Jaehyun noted.
You nodded. “Admiration turned into obsession with bouquets that got even bigger and more pompous. With letters that claimed his unconditional love for me. With presents that I’m too embarrassed to talk about. Then, obsession turned into harassment. With phone calls from different numbers over one hundred times a day. With a date’s car tires all slashed. With fake online profiles of mine where manipulated nudes popped up. Back then, I still thought I could handle this all by myself. I’m a grown up woman. I’m responsible for myself.”
“When did it change?” Jaehyun questioned. “When did you report everything to the police?”
“When I started getting texts like ‘Better pull the curtains together when you sleep’ right after I went to bed and ‘Home sweet home’ with a picture of me entering my apartment building. I never disclosed my home address to anyone.”
Jaehyun was lost for words.
“And what did the police do? Nothing. Because they had too little conception of such things, they told me. The guy never signed his gifts, never showed up physically again as well. Presents, calls and letters aren’t a crime. And they didn’t take the phone calls as well as texts seriously enough to track the source as they claimed they wouldn't be able to do it.”
“I’m sorry.” Jaehyun released the gun’s safety catch, and you heard it in his voice that, in comparison to the detective from the plane, he was sincere about it. “There are detectives who care and detectives who don’t care. After all, we’re all normal people. But they were clearly people who didn't care enough.”
“I’m not alone with this situation. There was a case where the stalker waited under the girl’s bed. Another one waited in her roommate’s closet. Another one waited for her right on the streets. And they all ended up dead. I don’t want to join them. I’m only lucky to be here, because my father had the money to. These other girls weren't so lucky. But I want to be lucky and strong for all the girls who couldn’t be and can’t be in the future.”
“What do you mean?”
“I will come back home,” you responded determinedly. “I will come back home and get him imprisoned. This time, forever.”
“I haven’t encountered a woman like you until now,” Jaehyun concluded after some beats of silence passed by in which his gaze didn’t divert from yours.
You furrowed. “Like me?”
He nodded and held up the gun. “So fearless.”
You took it as a compliment and smiled. You hadn’t heard such kind words out of his mouth until now. But then again, this was the first proper conversation you two shared since you lived together.
“Here.” Jaehyun showed you how to properly hold the weapon. “Make sure this finger is here and this one here. Right now, it’s not locked anymore. If you pull the trigger…”
“... it will shoot.”
“Yes. Here, let me lock it again and then try releasing the safety catch yourself.”
You took the gun from his hand after he was done and placed it in your own palms. Positioning your fingers where Jaehyun had shown you, you weren’t able to get it right on the first attempt.
“Your index finger must be here.” Jaehyun touched it and moved it around. “And your thumb… right. Here. But a bit lower for a better grip.” He gently motioned this finger down as well. 
Where you had loathed his touches before, you still minded them. But oddly, not in the same, negative way. No, better say in a way that made you wish he would have his fingers placed on yours for a little bit longer and one that made you crave for more than these little touches.
“You wanna know how to aim at your target?”
Excitedly, you nodded and heard Jaehyun chuckle. For the first time, very genuinely. It was like last night had broken the ice between you two that should have melted weeks ago already.
“Hello? Someone home? It’s me, Rosie!”
“Quick.” Jaehyun took the gun from your hands and hid it behind his back.
“We’re outside!” you called out and saw Rosie turning around the corner a moment later. 
“Hey you two! What a beautiful sunday, right? I hope next week, the weather will be just as beautiful, because then… drum roll please… we’re going to hold our annual spring festival!” She lifted up her hand and presented a few colorful flyers to you. “Please come, okay? There will be boots, an animal competition and a stage for karaoke!”
Immediately, you were hooked. “Of course!” But then, it crossed your mind that you were only allowed to go outside with Jaehyun’s confirmation and instantly fell back into silence, unsure whether to face him.
“You two have fun together. I have volunteered to patrol that day, so I’ll be kind of there anyway.” 
Jaehyun had indeed given you indirect permission!
“Oh, it’s going to be so cool, trust me!” Rosie clapped her hands. “Okay, I’m going to inform the next house! I’m telling you, the people coming into the village center less than you are the Schmidts! See you next week at the latest, alright? And you, we’ll be seeing each other tomorrow at poker, okay?”
You hadn’t known that you were invited again, that you had gotten welcomed with open arms and accepted into this community. But it made you very happy, and you nodded.
“Of course. See you tomorrow.”
Later that day, Jaehyun placed a small object on the table that you hadn’t seen in quite a while. Since primary school, to be exact.
“This is for you.”
“What’s this?” you asked, even though the answer was quite clear. 
You were sleeping in the living room again, but somehow, since the night you had spent by Jaehyun’s side, you felt a bit more lonely than before. You weren’t crying yourself to sleep at all anymore, yet the feeling of loneliness still lingered. 
And it was not the kind of loneliness that made you long to hear a family member’s voice, it was more than that. This, you were sure of.
“An MP3 player,” Jaehyun announced and crinkled up his nose. “I figured, if you were to spend your time here with no connection to the outside world aside from the TV, you might as well spend it with your passion.” He placed a pair of earphones next to the device. “You can use it to listen to music only or to dance. Just as you please.”
You looked at Jaehyun, and saw it clearly now. With the person who had made you feel so unwelcome the day you had landed in this unfamiliar country, he had nothing in common anymore. 
This was not only a side of him, this was him. 
The man Mrs. Jones had talked about who had searched the shelves high and low for exactly this device. The man Rosie saw buying stomach medicine and the one who had helped grandmother Anh when she had fallen. 
This man had finally shown himself to you too in all his aspects.
You didn’t know what had made Jaehyun accept you for who you were to him, but somewhere along the way, he had settled with this arrangement.
And you were getting adjusted to your new life as well, you realized as your features softened. 
“Thank you.”
____
When the day of the festival finally came around, you stood with Rosie in front of grandmother Anh’s booth and tasted her dumplings together.
“My dear girls, you need to try these too! I experimented with another filling, so please give me feedback.”
The old woman shifted another plate in your direction, but you and Rosie waved aside in unison.
“Granny, we’re so stuffed already!” Rosie said. “And you don’t even want us to pay! Leave these for your actual paying guests.”
“Alright, alright! But I’ll make them for our next poker night! And then, you’ll tell me how they taste!”
“Okay!” you agreed. “We’re going to Mrs. Jones’ booth now, grandmother Anh. See you later!”
Linked with Rosie’s arm, you made your way through different booths, passing by people from neighboring villages as well as the stage, until you reached Mrs. Jones at the other side of the festival ground.
“Hello my favorite girls!” she greeted you cheerily. “Look what I have! A cotton candy machine! You can each have one for free!”
“Are you sure you can operate this?” Rosie skeptically raised a brow. “When people serve these, they look so professional, but you haven’t ever used one before, or am I wrong?”
“That’s not true!” the woman whined playfully. “Don’t be so rude, Rosalind Richards, or I’ll have a talk with your father!”
“Guess I’m not one of her favorite girls anymore!” Rosie whispered to you, and you chuckled while Mrs. Jones prepared the cotton candy for each of you.
In the end, the outcome wasn’t even that bad, she only needed to practice a bit more. With the cotton candies in each of your hands, you and Rosie walked over to watch the animal competition. 
People had brought their dogs and walked with them up the stage where they demonstrated different tricks. You and your friend were standing there for the entire time, eating your cotton candy and watching the dogs show off what they had practiced for. When the competition was over, you rode a few rounds on the small ferris wheel and visited the other booths, only finishing your tour when the sun was already setting.
Your last stop was a shooting gallery where you met Jaehyun overlooking the situation. He had been here since the morning, so you assumed he was off duty now as he wasn’t in his uniform anymore, standing at the sidelines, joking with another colleague. 
You had never seen him effortlessly interacting with other people in daily situations before, and for the first time, you perceived him as the normal man that he was outside of your fake marriage. Casually standing there, talking, laughing. A normal man whose dark hair was blowing in the wind, his sleeves rolled up, his arms folded in front of his chest.
A perfectly normal man who was also very attractive. 
As his head slowly moved to the side, your gazes met, and you gulped, somehow embarrassed that you had gotten caught, although it was only natural to look at your partner. 
Jaehyun was a man you could have easily felt attracted to if you had met under normal circumstances, not as your fake husband and your taciturn protector.
You had only failed to see clearly until this day.
“Oh look, it’s your husband Jay!” Rosie then finally noticed as well. “Let’s go over to them!”
A smile spread across Jaehyun’s face and he lifted his hand to wave at you. When you approached his group though, he got called over to the booth and took a rifle in his hand. Apparently, he had lined up to shoot.
“Oh let’s watch him!” Rosie urged.
“Jay is our best shooter,” one of his colleagues said proudly. “Look closely.”
He was leaning over the booth’s counter, his rolled up sleeves revealing his muscular arms and veiny hands. His entire body was tensed up, every single nerve concentrated on bringing down the targets. The air was almost static due to the tension as even other people stopped to watch.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Before you could even process what had happened, Jaehyun had shot down all three targets at the first go, and the spectators were rejoicing. 
“Wow!” Rosie exclaimed. “What was that? I couldn’t even follow the happenings!”
Indeed! You watched Jaehyun giving back the rifle and having presented the prizes in the back of the booth which offered everything, from giant plushies, different toys to knick-knacks. Knowing Jaehyun, he would probably take a pass on that, so you were quite surprised when he chose something from the knick-knacks.
You couldn’t see what it exactly was, but as he shifted around to you, Jaehyun approached you with a keychain dangling between his fingers. It was a yellow elephant that wore a red tie. It looked hella ridiculous and childish - but not to you. 
Stretching out his hand, Jaehyun held it out to you, and you were stunned, not exactly knowing where to turn your attention to: the gift or Jaehyun who looked at you with a gaze you had never seen on him before.
As you didn’t move, you felt Rosie’s elbow poking into your back, pulling you back to reality. No, you shouldn’t behave like a dumbfounded twelve-year-old, this was officially your husband after all!
So you raised your hand and took the keychain between your fingers. It was a plush knick-knack that probably wasn’t valuable at all. But Jaehyun had chosen this one among everything he had been offered to give it to you. And you would treasure it dearly.
You smiled. “Thank you.”
“It’s late. Let’s go home?”
You nodded and said goodbye to Rosie before you followed Jaehyun across the festival ground. You had trouble keeping up with his steps among all these people, so Jaehyun did what every other good husband would do: he reached for your hand and kept it in his until you had left the premises.
That was only for the show in front of all these people, you kept telling yourself the entire time. You had to prove to them that you were a happily married couple, and such couples did things like these.
The keychain, which you had attached to your purse, dangled with each step you took as you raised your voice, “Jaehyun…”
“Hm?”
“Why are you here?” you wanted to know. “You know my story, but what about yours? Is this your department?”
You spent every day alongside this man, yet knew nothing about the true him. At first, you hadn’t cared either. But the more time you spent by his side, the more it irked you that he was still such an enigma.
You thought he’d stonewall, but he gave you a clear answer, “I’m the NYPD, as a matter of fact.”
“Oh, I see. New York, hm.” You nodded. “And… why are you here?” 
The way his fingers cramped up around yours made you freeze despite having to keep up with his pace while walking. You had hit a sensitive nerve, you immediately became aware of that.
“I’m sor-”
“You really want to know?” he asked back. 
“Yeah.” You shrugged. 
“I did something a good detective should have never done.”
And with this sentence, he wasn’t about to tell you more. He didn’t need to express this, you were able to read the atmosphere. But that only kept your thoughts spinning. What was something so terrible that a detective could do that got him transferred to another area of responsibility?
You didn’t believe that Jaehyun was a bad person. 
He was cold at times, but an entirely cold person wouldn’t have let you sleep on the bed while they were enduring back problems. He was grumpy at times, but an entirely grumpy person wouldn’t have warmed up to the point of letting a smile slip every now and then. He pretended not to care at times, but a person who entirely didn’t care wouldn’t make sure that the people around them would be well and healthy. 
He was crude at times, but an entirely crude person wouldn’t have held your hand until you were home.
____
“What are you doing?” Jaehyun asked you when he came home from work that day and found you sitting at the edge of the bathtub with the bathroom’s door wide open.
“Dyeing my hair.”
“Pink? Red?” he asked.
“Magenta. It was quite an adventure until I had the base, but I think I’m there now,” you explained while you stirred the color in the small bowl in your palm. A huge amount had already been put on your head.
“Isn’t it too…” He stopped.
“Too flamboyant?” You intentionally used the word he had described you with the first time you had met. “Probably. But, just in case someone will ever make a connection between me and the ballerina from Seoul, they will dismiss the thought immediately since my English is almost flawless and my hair doesn’t match the color.”
Jaehyun seemed to ponder about it, but then confirmed your way of thinking. “I think you’re right.”
“Besides…” You smiled mildly. “Ever since I was little, I was never allowed to alter my appearance. A ballerina has to look perfect where perfect means we all have to look the same. Same hair, same makeup, same figure. It’s kind of nice to try something new after all this time.”
“Okay.” Jaehyun held up a plastic bag. “Grandmother Anh gave me these dumplings when I dropped by her restaurant today. I’ll prepare them for dinner, okay?”
“Alright!”
“Hurry up, they’ll be done in a few.”
“Got it.”
You quickly finished dyeing your hair and wrapped it all up with a shower cap before you went to the dinner table where Jaehyun had not only prepared the dumplings, but also different side dishes such as rice and vegetables.
You hadn’t known that he was such a good cook, but thinking back, Jaehyun had always prepared more extravagant dishes in comparison to you who just threw rice and vegetables together.  In fact, you had never quite learned how to cook.
This was the first time that you and Jaehyun ate dinner together and the first time that he had cooked for you, too.
“You look ridiculous,” he commented while he scooped rice on each of your plates. But was this a chuckle that had accompanied his voice?
“It’s not quite done yet. Wait until it’s washed out and dried. I’ll be the only pink-haired ballerina walking on this earth!”
You threw your hands in the air, almost tipping over a bowl, but you didn’t mind. Somehow, this was a very good feeling - to finally make your own decisions for your own body, your own appearance. It was only a minor change, but to you, it felt like you could conquer the world. 
“Enjoy the meal!” you announced and then dug in. 
By the first bite you could tell that Jaehyun was not only a good cook, but an exceptionally good cook. This, you also told him, which turned him all flustered. He then asked about your day to which you answered that you had thought of finally picking up dancing again after much struggle.
“Why did you struggle?”
You lowered your head. “Because the last time I danced, it only brought me misery.”
You were at your last bite, but suddenly didn’t feel like finishing anymore. Before, you had felt something like easiness, even happiness almost for quite a constant while. Now, your thoughts got thrown back to your stalker who was roaming around in freedom.
“If it’s your passion, you shouldn’t lose sight of it. Because you don’t know whether you will still be able to enjoy it whenever you want in your future.”
You didn’t know what he meant with that, but he wasn’t keen on explaining either as he gathered your plates and brought them over to the sink the moment after.
It was the first evening in a long while that you peacefully enjoyed without a burdened heart. You wouldn’t mind this becoming your routine.
Later that evening, when you had washed out the dye and dried your hair, you hid in the backyard of your house where no one could see you with earplugs in and the MP3 player attached to your body, picking up some ballet moves again.
Sheltered from the whole outside world, you tried to let the fact sink in that you were safe here and that no one would come to make your life miserable after a performance. Here, you could actually be at peace again.
And then, you danced until it turned dark.
When you returned to the inside, Jaehyun had accidentally fallen asleep on the couch with a book on his chest. On tip-toes, you sneaked up to him and wanted to take the book out of his hand to put a blanket over him when something suddenly urged you to halt.
The first two buttons of his white shirt were open, and right there, between the first and second one, you spotted a scar.
Of course. A detective always went hand-in-hand with danger. He was your husband, you saw him every day, yet this was the first time that you noticed this visible mark on his chest. How many more dangers had he encountered so far? How many more bullets had he caught during his young career? You knew nothing about it.
You stretched out your hand, determined to touch the spot, but snapped out of your trance-like state just before you laid your fingers on him. In your head, you scolded yourself. What in the hell were you thinking, behaving like such a creep?
You tried to calm yourself down when suddenly, Jaehyun’s hand snatched forward and wrapped around your wrist before you could even blink. You got bent forward over the backrest with his other arm then enclosed around your neck, his eyes full with surprise as he brought your face close to his.
“You’re so beautiful.” Barely a whisper from him.
You stared at each other for a moment in near disbelief, and you didn’t know where the ground and where the ceiling was anymore as everything around you seemed to rotate. Your whole body felt so hot as though you were suffering from a fever, but your heart beating out of its usual rhythm told you that the reason for your body reacting this way was nowhere near something rational things could explain.
A part of you wanted to break free, another part wanted to look into his soft eyes just a bit longer.
“It’s you!” With a sigh of relief, Jaehyun let go of you and fell back down on the couch. “I wasn’t able to recognize you at first because of your new hair! I thought it was a thief or something!”
“Ha.” You couldn’t even explain the sounds coming out of your mouth anymore, and thus decided to remain quiet about it. “I’ll go take a shower.”
“Okay. I’ll go to bed then. Good night.”
When the door fell close behind you, you leaned against the bathroom’s tiles, trying to calm yourself down once again. But even when you placed your palms on your cheeks a few minutes later, you were still hot all over.
Staring at your face in the mirror over the sink, you gritted your teeth, having tried to fight against this feeling for so long. But looking at your reflection, you came to the realization that this was the expression of someone who had lost this fight a long time ago.
You had never wanted this to happen, because you wanted a way out of this fake marriage someday. 
Now, it seemed like the exit door was blocked by your own feelings.
____
“Can I tell you something?” Rosie asked you the next time you gathered to play poker. “Because you’re my friend now, I want to be honest with you.”
Mrs. Jones was currently giving out the cards, and while you collected them, you nodded. “Go ahead. Is it my hair? You’ve been staring at it forever. I like it though.”
“I love the color, but it obviously looks like you did it yourself. Why didn’t you call me? I could have helped!”
“I’m sorry, it was an urge, I’m very impulsive. So, what is it then?”
“To be honest, in the beginning, you and Jay didn’t quite radiate the happiness of newlyweds to me. You were so distant and cold towards each other,” Rosie laid out her first impression. “I thought it was because of the cultural difference. I know from grandmother Anh that in Asia, public display of affection is not very common and you both immigrated from there. But it was like…” She halted. “Like you were strangers. Not familiar with each other at all. As though you had just met.”
You didn’t know how to properly react to this revelation, and Rosie wanted to apologize right away before grandmother Anh stepped in to support her, “I second that. You tried so hard to conceal it and pretended to be a happy couple, but my old eyes can see beyond that. When he bought the music player for you though… I knew that something had entirely changed between you two.”
Between you two?
You had only assumed that for you things had changed since the day of the festival. When he had looked a little too good that day. When he had smiled a little too genuine. When he had held your hand a little too long.
But never for him either.
“Everything has changed,” grandmother Anh continued. “You look so in love, just like when my late husband was courting me back then.”
You pressed your lips together to a fine line and you tried so hard not to blush, but to no avail as you looked into everyone’s eyes and encountered a smug grin from each side. 
No, you were wrong. The day of the festival was the day you had assumed first, admitting it to yourself the day you had picked up ballet again. But something had changed for you before all that. Slowly, continuously. And it was still in process.
“See?” Rosie teased. “This is how Jay looked as well when I told him exactly the same!”
“Quit joking,” you replied briefly, but your voice only came out as a whisper while the hotness wandered further to the very tips of your ears. “You’re giving out cards now or what?”
“Let me tell you something!” Mrs. Jones now meddled too, not wanting to be left out. “After so many years of marriage, I haven’t seen my husband getting so stressed about buying a gift for me, not even on my birthday!”
But you hadn’t even talked to each other regularly back then when Jaehyun was looking for the MP3 player for you. 
It just didn’t make sense to you.
Or were you just in denial because it couldn’t actually be possible? After everything that had happened between you two, Jaehyun had grown fond of you from the very beginning already, even before you? 
“Oh dear, why are you making such a face?” Grandmother Anh sounded worried as your hands still laid on the table, not touching the cards you had been given while everyone else had already picked up theirs. “Are you not feeling well?”
You were certainly not feeling well. Your stomach had turned upside down, and you suddenly felt like you couldn’t breathe, on the verge of a collapse. While it had become so obvious to everyone around you, you had been left in the dark this entire time.
“I need to get fresh air.”
You arose, pushing the chair under you away with your legs and hurried to the entrance door before you thought you were going to run out of air entirely now. But even the outside didn’t make a difference, and you were supporting your arms against the wall while breathing in and out heavily.
After a while, you heard the entrance door open and close again, and judging by the shoes that you could see from your position, Rosie had followed you to the outside. 
“I called Jaehyun to pick you up.”
“What?!” Your eyes widened and you felt your stomach turn. In your hot ears, you heard it ringing while simultaneously, your loud heartbeats tried to steal the show. “I’m all fine!”
“Yeah,” she chuckled. “But I thought you’d rather want to be with your husband today than with us, and this is a good excuse to leave the round. Just pretend to be a little dizzy.”
“Rosie!” you called her out while the next moment, you heard fast footsteps approaching in your direction. “I’m not coming to your birthday barbecue anymore next week!”
“I know you’re lying.” She winked.
“Are you okay?!” Jaehyun came to a halt in front of you, totally out of breath and beads of sweat visible on his forehead. He only needed a brief moment to take a breather before he faced you, his features drawn with apprehension, his eyes mirroring pure concern. 
The next moment, his palms were on your cheeks, and he gasped, feeling your heat burning against his skin.
“You’re all glowing and hot!” Jaehyun stated in shock. “Do you have a fever?”
“I-I’m… I’m all fine!” you tried to brush it off, but his hands cupping your face possibly made it only worse as you felt like melting from within.
“Jay, you need to take her home, okay?” Rosie persuaded him. “The gathering is over. Have a good night!”
With these words, she turned around and closed the door behind her, leaving you alone with Jaehyun. Despite having been alone with him so often already, with all this new knowledge, everything was different now.
You were jittery and all nervous around him, having problems looking into his eyes, and he noticed of course - but for all the wrong reasons.
“Come, we’re going home! You’re sleeping in the bed tonight, no questions asked. I’ll get a few more blankets so you’ll have it all warm in case you’re catching a fever. Tomorrow, you’ll be doing fine again, no worry. It’s probably the change in weather since it’s been unusually hot these past days for spring.”
You hadn’t ever seen him so talkative and openly expressing worry, and it somehow took you by surprise. Goosebumps raised all over your arm as Jaehyun’s hand slid down your side and his fingers intertwined with yours.
There were no other people aside from you out here at this hour, there was no need to pretend being a couple - yet, he held your hand as you walked all the way up to your house in silence.
It didn’t feel real to you.
But the night sky was your witness.
____
A few days later, long after nighttime had fallen, you were lying on your mattress, still wide awake like the nights before. 
You hadn’t noticed until now, but your life wasn’t so dull anymore. You weren’t on the verge of depression anymore in contrast to the first month in your new home. You had made new friends, had picked up your passion for ballet again, trained during daytime, and spent the evenings with Jaehyun, cooking, eating and then watching a movie or taking a stroll on the hill behind your house together. 
It was an entire different life from the one you had lived back at home in Seoul, but nothing you enjoyed less. No, which you enjoyed even more, if you said so yourself. 
A warm feeling embraced you every time the clock approached the hour your husband would return home, and even though you saw each other every day, it was like seeing him for the first time, your heart almost jumping out of your chest whenever he walked through the door, greeting you with a smile.
You were able to clearly name that feeling now that made you so excited, you were barely able to sleep at night while Jaehyun was lying in the room next to you, sleeping peacefully.
Or… could he not either?
There were noises coming from the bedroom. You sat straight up on your mattress, feeling a rush of hotness wash over you with your heart beating out of its usual rhythm. Flipping the blanket over, your naked feet touched the wooden floor, but you didn’t bother slipping into your shoes.
You tiptoed to the bedroom to make sure that your ears hadn’t misled you, but you swore you could hear him walking up and down in there as well. With a trembling hand, you placed your fingers on the handle, but before you could even think about how in the hell you could explain what you were doing in front of Jaehyun’s bedroom in the middle of the night, only dressed in your light pajamas, the door suddenly opened from the other side.
Jaehyun was just as shocked to see you as you were shocked to see him. You wanted to stutter something about sleepwalking, but as you made eye contact, you realized that he wasn’t expecting an explanation from you.
He wasn’t expecting anything as he closed the last remaining gap between you two, his hands cupping your face again, this time to pull you against his chest. 
And as his lips met yours, you now were assured that he had lied awake every night like you as well. 
____
With hasty movements, Jaehyun unbuttoned your pajama top all while not letting his lips slip from yours, his fingers rather fumbling, but knowing exactly and precisely what they were doing and the carelessness most likely stemming from pent-up anticipation, because he was finally getting what he had wanted all along:
You.
You felt him smiling into the next kiss that came rather sloppy in his hurry as your shirt glided from your shoulders, the palpable traces along your skin getting replaced by Jaehyun’s fingers that drew down the same path in a feathery-light manner. 
He was holding himself back until it almost hurt, you felt it as his fingers’ grips were first tight, then froze and softened lastly. But you didn’t want him to hold back. You had both been holding back for way too long already.
Both of your hands slung around Jaehyun’s neck as you deepened the kiss until it almost became hard for you to breathe, that was how wildly and hungrily you were craving for each other. With a little jump, you also hooked your legs around his waist, feeling him supporting you instinctively from the bottom with a strong grip.
You moved from the door frame to the bed where Jaehyun seated himself down and placed you on his lap, but you had no intention of moving away as your fingers vanished under his shirt and pulled it over his head in one swift motion.
But Jaehyun’s lips didn’t find their way back to your mouth. Instead, they traveled down the side of your neck, eliciting a moan from you in the process, and stopped by the raising of your breasts. You threw your head back, your nails digging into the flesh of his shoulders, leaving red marks as he took your nipple between his lips.
Sucking sounds mixed with the audible rhythm of your heavy breathing, thwarted by suppressed squeals whenever he bit into it, pulling it between his teeth and teasing you until you couldn’t take it anymore. So Jaehyun then wrapped his arms around you and flipped you both around.
“You have no idea for how long I’ve been holding back,” he told you with an expression on his face that you had never encountered before as he was hovering over you. 
Lust, desire, and so much… passion. 
Yes, you for sure had had no idea. But you luckily did now. 
Strands of your red hair had gotten disheveled, partially disturbing your view, and he brushed them off, smiling. For a short while, you shared a moment of loving understanding, and your heart thumbed so fast against your chest, you were scared he was going to hear it.
There was a distinct feeling growing inside of you that didn’t want to admit. That you couldn’t confess, not even to yourself. Because you knew, this was only temporary.
“Then show me,” you challenged him.
“Very well.”
His grin widened, revealing his teeth even in the semi-darkness when his mouth came back down on yours, his hands roaming across almost every single inch of your body as though he wanted to keep a map of your body in his mind. As though he shared the exact same thought with you:
That this was not permanent, struggling with holding himself back to prolong the experience and going through with the act as fast as possible because he had been looking forward to it for so long already.
Jaehyun’s lips left yours, passing by your neck and tracing down to your stomach where he placed butterfly kisses around your navel, and you shuddered from the soft touches that you had been missing out on for a very long time already.
Your hands disappeared in the thickness of his hair as his lips further approached your nether regions, and you gave him credit for still being so patient when release was so close as it made you almost go crazy in contrast.
Tender warmth covered your core, the fabric of your pajama bottoms being the only barrier between the two of you, and you craved for nothing more than to feel his tongue inside you right now, feel how it dipped into your wetness, his mouth doing the same as he had done to your breasts before.
But Jaehyun’s patience had reached its limit. There was nothing left of it anymore.
After several moments of internal conflict, Jaehyun decided to not withhold anymore and to go for it instead. At the end, he had the entire night, and he would make use of every single second he had left.
The mattress gave in under you when he hooked his fingers into the waistband of your pajama bottoms after he had removed his own boxers, the feeling of his weight then carefully pressing back down on you, now the both of you entirely naked. It felt so surreal to you as you locked your gazes, and you needed a moment to process this situation, to let the fact sink in that this was indeed real.
Then, as though he had just done the same, Jaehyun eased between your thighs and started to enter you. The night was still so long, but it felt like he didn’t want to lose any time, and neither did you. You hadn’t noticed how wet you had gotten throughout the foreplay which had made his entrance so easy, almost imperceptible.
Your pupils rolled to the ceiling as he adjusted and you finally felt him inside you fully. You couldn’t quite remember the last man you had been intimate with, even though it had happened only shortly before moving here, but somehow, Jaehyun had clouded your memories of every other man in your life who wasn’t him at this point.
As a matter of fact, on the contrary, you now knew that you had never desired another man this much. Every fiber of your body was longing for him so badly that despite him being right here, it ached so much not to have him even closer. And that wasn’t even physically possible.
“What’s wrong?” Jaehyun asked suddenly, having noticed your conflicted expression and coming to a halt.
You shook your head. No, nothing was wrong. Everything was perfect, it was almost unbelievable.
“I-... I…” You were so overwhelmed by your feelings, the words nearly slipped carelessly out of your mouth. Luckily, for you though, you were able to swallow all of them. Instead, you said, “I’m just so happy.”
The corners of Jaehyun’s lips tilted up, and he took this moment of sweetness to tenderly peck your lips and confess, “Me too. I’m happy too.”
Soft moans fell from your lips as he started moving inside of you again. His motions were deliberate and powerful, and you enjoyed every single thrust of his. Jaehyun was so excited, but put you first still, and you appreciated that.
There were times, his thrusts seemed insatiable as he rammed into you nearly in a trance, seeking for his release, but despite you enjoying these rough phases very much as well, he always calmed down and feeded you with slow, sensual pushes that put you on the verge of being delighted and desperately wanting more.
His lips were wet and warm against your lips when his hips got a rest on top of yours, and you were quick to hook your ankles around his waist when he picked up his pace for the nth time, but this time being the last that would finally bring the long awaited release, you both knew at that moment.
Jaehyun’s chest glistened with a paper thin layer of sweat, and your eyes wandered along his neck to his face where you watched him in awe changing his features to a more tensed one, working towards your orgasms. Your fingers slithered up his arms that were propped up to the left and right of yours, and you held tightly onto him, breaking your eye contact to not let his hard work go to waste and concentrate on yourself.
You bit into his arm as you came, and he let out a groan, whether it was because of your bite or because of him reaching his own heights as he released into the sheets next to you, you didn’t know. But at that moment, as you slipped out of this world for a few seconds, you wished that you could have this for the rest of your life.
Especially for - no, because of - what followed after.
Your grumpy and always stoic husband rolled onto the space next to you to take a rest, a smile spreading across his face that just wouldn’t vanish anymore as he turned his head aside and looked at you. And you genuinely felt the same. 
Instinctively, you moved over to him, and he stretched out his arms to pull you onto his chest where you laid yourself down. You didn’t say anything for a long time until you felt him pressing his lips on your forehead.
Now, you truly felt like you had arrived at home.
There, it was so warm, and so comfortable that you wanted to stay forever.
____
Rosie’s birthday barbecue took place the next day where the festival had been held weeks prior. If anything, you knew by now that her father, the pharmacist and major apparently, technically built this village. Aside from the pharmacy, he owned several other stores here.
Unfortunately, you had come all by yourself. 
Jaehyun had left early in the morning already, rudely awakened by a call from his supervisor, so you weren’t able to fully concentrate on celebrating Rosie’s big day right now as you wished, but for reasons that couldn’t wipe that grin from your face.
Your thoughts revolved around Jaehyun as well as around what had happened the night before - several times in different positions as though he had feared he was running out of time to do all this to you.
This morning, you had woken up with your limbs entangled and strands of your hair in his face, but he hadn’t complained. Instead, after getting the call, he had pulled you closer to him, lying in bed with you a few minutes more and even kissing you goodbye when he had walked out of the door.
You flushed when you recalled the memories.
“My, my! What’s that?” Rosie called you out as she took the seat next to you. “What’re you blushing for? Long night with your husband?”
“Rosie!” you called out indignantly, totally shocked, but she only laughed.
“Come on, nobody heard! Lucky you!”
You shook your head and shifted a small box in your friend’s direction. “Open it.”
“What are you doing?” Rosie feigned upset. “I told you to not get me anything!”
“Well, the gift shopping area in this village is very limited, but I didn’t want to come empty-handed.”
You could tell Rosie was very excited as her fingers fiddled with the ribbon that held the gift wrap together. As she untied it, a small, flat box was revealed.
“It’s not much, but where I come from, these are very trendy now, and I’m more of a personal gift giver than buying something random. My husband had to order them from the internet, but the rest was made by me. I hope you like it.”
Rosie stilled her motions. “Did you just say ‘my husband’?”
Did you? You gasped nearly inaudibly. You had never referred to him like this before, and truth to be told, you hadn’t even intended to do so now. It had just slipped somehow.
Your friend giggled. “Your husband always refers to you as ‘my wife’, and I found it odd that you hadn’t until now. Perhaps, it took you longer to get used to it, right?”
“...Right.” You kneaded your fingers in uncertainty.
“Are you kidding?!” Rosie then squealed as she opened her gift fully and pulled out a pearl bracelet. “It’s so cute!”
It was made of freshwater pearls in different colors that you had beaded yourself with all the colors Rosie liked the best. You had never seen her wearing jewelry, so she apparently didn’t want to bother taking them on and off.
“It’s an elastic band, so you don’t have to close and open it every morning. You can wear it all the time or take it off and put it on easily.”
Rosie pulled it over her hand and held her wrist against the sunlight. “Such pretty colors! Thank you so much! I will cherish this all my life! It’s a token of our friendship!”
She cuddled you a little bit too tight for your liking, but you didn’t mind. You hadn’t seen such an openly pure reaction to your gifts ever when you had given presents to your friends or family all along. And they had been more expensive and impressive than what you had given to Rosie.
Here, life was much easier. People seemed to be content and satisfied with the little things life had to offer, that was why they had chosen to stay in the countryside. You admired this mindset as people in the big city always thrived to achieve more and to be better than everyone else. 
You wanted to be more like Rosie and the villagers.
“Okay, let’s eat now! The meat is ready!”
You really wanted to enjoy the barbecue, and more often than not, you earnestly did. But watching Mr. and Mrs. Jones' banter-like but loving interactions, along with many other married and dating couples, made you long for something which you had never expected to be missing. 
“What is it, dear?” Grandmother Anh then asked you as most of the people were slowly finishing their meals and moved on to play with the children or to talk with each other. “You look so somber.”
You, among only a handful of other guests who were still eating, had remained in their seats. Next to you, there was an extra plate with food that hadn’t been touched yet.
“Grandmother Anh…” You turned to her, your eyes expressing exactly what was going on inside of you. “Is it possible to miss someone so much, your heart hurts even though you had only been together in the morning?”
Because that was how you were feeling now. You wanted to be around Jaehyun all day, all night, not missing out on his presence even a single moment. Where you had loathed his existence before, it was all you could think about now and how you’d probably die of a heartache if he was ever gone.
You had never experienced something close to this.
“Oh dear…” Grandmother Anh squeezed your arm and smiled compassionately. “I miss my husband starting from the moment I open my eyes in the morning. And I even felt like that when he was still with me. We weren’t separated for a single day, and I know that even now, he’s with me.”
Because they loved each other wholeheartedly. You couldn’t say the same about what Jaehyun felt for you.
“But why are you so upset right now, dear?” she asked you. “He’s here now.”
“... what?”
You looked up and spotted Jaehyun walking down the street in your direction. You suppressed the urge to blink a few times in case this wasn’t real. But grandmother Anh had just said so, and he would be standing right in front of you not too long from now.
Suddenly, you were all nervous and excited like a child on the first day of school. Jumping out of your chair, hitting the table’s edge in the process and flushing to your cheeks, you didn’t quite know what to do at first. You wanted to run towards him and jump into the safety of his arms like this morning, but were too shy to do so.
What if he rejected you?
What if last night and this morning were an exception?
What if he had returned to being the reserved and taciturn Jaehyun from the beginning?
These were thoughts that were running through your head when you were standing there awkwardly to welcome him.
“I…” you then started when he stopped right in front of you, his mien not quite expressive enough for you to read. “I saved you some meat and potato salad.”
You didn’t know what you were saying, you were only trying to downplay this awkwardness that had weighed down the lighthearted atmosphere of the party as Jaehyun also clearly didn’t know how to behave after your intimate encounters.
“Are there n-”
But your words got stuck in your throat as Jaehyun stretched out his arms and cupped your glowing cheeks with his palms. It was almost magical how instantly, you were able to calm down. Then, he pulled you towards him, covering your lips with his as though he had been waiting all day only to do that.
As he kissed you there, in front of everyone, chastely, but also deeply, you knew that this wasn’t an act. This was not staged for the villagers to believe that you were a truly married couple.
This was honest. His feelings were real.
“God, I’ve wanted to do that all day,” he admitted, tucking a strand of your hair that had gotten loose behind your hair. “I thought time would never pass.”
And you were on the same page.
You were still on the same page when the front door of your house closed behind you later that evening and Jaehyun shoved you against the door, devouring all of you with an open mouth and his tongue, his fingers locked with yours in a tight grip, pinned against the wall above your head.
You were still on the same page when he bent you over the kitchen counter, not even showing the slightest patience by undressing you clothing for clothing as he just dragged your pants down and pushed into you from behind with a long-suppressed groan that made you scream in excitement.
You were still on the same page when you laid your palms flat on the surface in the illusion of getting support, moving along his length to meet his thrusts whenever he pulled out to just slam back into you full-force, because you couldn’t take being apart from him for even a second.
You were still on the same page when you were shaking from past-orgasm spasm, his cum dripping down your hips as he had released on your back, and he carried you on his hands to the bedroom with the words,
“I’m not done yet.”
It was raw.
And it was real.
____
For the fifth morning in a row, you woke up next to Jaehyun. And every time, it still felt so surreal to you that you wanted to give yourself a pinch to make sure this was real. But whenever you turned to his side, his arms tightly wrapped around you, and looked into his eyes that were so sincere and clear, you didn’t mind if this was a dream after all if only you wouldn’t wake up from it.
But today, his expression was clouded, and you could tell something was bothering him gravely that he couldn’t let go of.
“What is it?” you asked him, barely awake yet, but irritated that he wasn’t cuddling with you as usual. “Did something happen?”
It was odd. The fact that you could live with a person for so long and still know nothing about them. That was what Jaehyun told you the next moment.
“What do you mean?”
“That you don’t know my biggest secret yet. And that it might make you hate me.”
You feared that your whole world would teeter under your feet the further he spoke about what he had to confess to you. At this point, you loved him so much, you didn’t know what could possibly make you hate him. After all, he was a detective, and one of the good ones.
The last thing he would have done was kill an innocent person.
… right?
Jaehyun’s struggles were almost palpable for you as he inhaled and exhaled deeply, the muscles on his chest straining and never seeming to relax anymore as he withdrew into a deep hole of silence.
Minutes passed without him crawling out of it, and you sat up yourself, leaning against the headboard while Jaehyun was leaning forward, not facing each other. You wanted to hug him from the back to give him comfort, but also sensed that this would only restrain him from crossing over the final line he was so close to reaching.
And he really wanted to pass it.
“I could never hate you,” you told him. “I l-...” You gulped. “You’re a good person. What would ever make me hate you?”
“Not even knowing that I ruined someone’s life?”
There it was. The elephant in the room that rendered you totally motionless and emotionless. Ruining someone’s life was a wide term and could come in many shapes and forms, each that had a different impact on the victim, and the culprit. 
You desperately wanted to know Jaehyun’s dimension, and you knew he desperately, finally wanted to tell you.
“Explain to me. Has it got something to do with the scar on your chest?”
“Yes. As a detective, my job is to protect the victims. But I failed to do so once when I purposely hurt them.”
“How so?”
Jaehyun bent further forward, and you perceived how he lifted his hands to ruffle his hair in aggravation before he continued, “Last week, at Rosie’s birthday party when I got called to my supervisor, I told you it was about my case.”
You nodded. You hadn’t pushed the topic, because if Jaehyun had wanted to talk, he would have come forward. And now, it was apparently the time.
“This case has brought me here to this witness protection program. I’m clearing my name and serving my sentence, because I hurt a victim. The trial is long finished since the victim decided not to press charges, but hurting a hostage is not seen as a peccadillo among the police nonetheless. After I got suspended for a few months, I got sent here to prove myself again while working in another unit and eventually return to the NYPD.”
You had a hard time processing what Jaehyun tried to get into your head. Inwardly, you were repeating every single syllable until they settled.
“I ruined a life. That hostage, a woman… I shot at her,” he pressed bitterly through gritted teeth. “There, you have it. The reason to hate me.”
Your brow arched. “I don’t quite understand. Why did you shoot at a hostage?”
Being nosy was one of your characteristics, but the best part of it was that you never judged a situation before you got all the details, and you hadn’t collected enough details to waive Jaehyun’s action as something bad yet.
“The kidnapper was holding her hostage with a gun pointed at her head.” 
It was difficult for Jaehyun to speak about this situation, you could tell from the way he expressed himself, with hitches and deep breathers in between, but you gave him all the time he needed.
You lifted your hand and touched his back in a reassuring gesture, scared he would shy away, but still wanted to try. Instead of retreating, you felt his muscles relaxing under your palm, and you exhaled in relief, letting him know you were there for emotional support, no matter what was to come.
And what was about to come was really hard to digest.
“Instead of shooting at the kidnapper, I shot at the hostage’s leg. Of course I didn’t want to hurt her on purpose, but at this moment, it was the best thing that I could do. I could see it in his eyes. He really wanted to pull the trigger, that was how ruthless and brutal he was. As soon as I would shoot at him, he would shoot at her. So I had to do the last thing a policeman is supposed to do, and aimed at the hostage instead.”
Your forehead was in creases. You couldn’t grasp the entire situation as it sounded just so absurd to you. As a ballerina in the spotlight, you had never gotten in touch with this dark side of the world.
But Jaehyun was a good person. So good, that he omitted the entire story from you.
“You shot at the hostage, because an injured hostage is useless to the culprit,” it suddenly became clear to you. “You’re not a bad person, Jaehyun. That’s very courageous. And honorable as you did everything to save the hostage.”
His shoulders shook, and you were irritated whether he was laughing or crying. Until you noticed that his shaking was actually trembling, and that he was uttering indistinct sounds. Only moments later, you realized that he was, indeed, silently crying.
You just weren’t sure whether these were tears of guilt or tears of relief for finally coming clear with you.
“The scar… it’s from a bullet, right? Did he shoot directly at you after that? Is that how you got it?” 
“Even if, at the moment I pulled the trigger, he let go of the culprit and shot at me, I didn’t save her life.”
You felt a tight knot in your stomach. “Jaehyun… that woman… is she still alive?”
It didn’t sound like she didn’t survive the entire incident, but you wanted to hear it from him. Almost instinctively, he nodded with much hesitation, and relief washed over you. 
“But at what cost?” he broke through your thoughts. “That woman… one of her legs was rendered useless. I hit der at such an unfortunate spot-”
“But she still has her life,” you interfered. “And you risked your own life for her. You were ready to die for a victim. But she’s still alive, and you as well. That’s all that matters.”
“All that matters? Here’s the thing you’ll hate me for…” He sucked in a rush of air. “She was a professional ballerina. Just like you.”
You didn’t know what to say. Perhaps, it was best to not say anything at all now.
For a ballerina to lose the ability to use even one of her legs was the most unfortunate thing that could happen. All your life, you were trained to rely on your legs. They were your pillars that carried your passion, your career. You were dependent on your legs. You hadn’t learned how to use anything else to get through life.
You leaned forward and replaced the palm of your hand on his back with both of your arms. Gentle, you snuggled up against him and held him in your arms, resting your head in the crook of his neck and closing your eyes, listening to his silent cries.
“Jaehyun. Still. You didn’t ruin a life.”
Everything happening in the past weeks suddenly made so much sense to you. Why Jaehyun had been behaving so hostile upon seeing you for the first time, why he hadn’t wanted you to think so lowly about your safety, why he had wanted you to pick up your passion again, why he had bought you the MP3 player…
“You saved hers.”
Reluctantly, he placed his arms over yours. You really felt his insecurity, but your support was unwavering, and you let him know.
“And you saved yours as well. No lives were lost. You’re a good detective.”
At that moment, you assumed that you were the first person he actually opened up to. And the first person who actually truly understood his deepest feelings.
“Thank you.”
Jaehyun turned to you and kissed you. It tasted of tears and despair. 
And a bit of wishful thinking.
____
“I’m still in therapy because of it,” Jaehyun spoke the day after when he was ready to pick up the topic again. “Well, when I’m in New York, I mean.”
It was constantly warm outside nowadays, you two sitting on the slope of the hill behind your house, and you couldn’t wait to finally embrace summer fully in this part of the world where you had never experienced this season before. 
Your hair was glowing in the bright sunlight. Jaehyun liked to compare it to a pink rose when you woke up in the mornings and he ran his fingers through the strands.
“That’s good,” you coaxed him, showing full support ever since his confession. “I think it’s always good to speak with a professional about traumatic experiences. They will never go away at some point, but we all have to learn to live with them.”
You stood by your opinion that Jaehyun had had no other choice and actually had made the right decision in this situation. You respected him for that, and you had learned that the hostage, who had attended the trial of course, thought so as well as she had voiced during the process.
It was only the inner demons Jaehyun was fighting now, and you would help him get every single one of them caged.
“It’s odd.”
“What is?”
You stretched yourself, enjoying the warmth. “The fact that I know about your most traumatic experience, but not even where you were born.”
“I was born in Seoul, as a matter of fact,” he clarified instantly.
“The city where I live?” you called out in surprise. 
Jaehyun nodded. “I lived there with my mom until I graduated from high school. Then I went to New York because my dad has been working there, and pursued a career as a policeman.”
You pulled grass between your fingers, the mild breeze playing with the tips of your hair strands. “Why did you want to join the police?”
“I’m good at solving cases. And I really want to help people, but didn’t have the patience to go to med school.” Jaehyun looked up, smiling softly against the wind. “Why did you take up ballet classes?”
Yeah… why? You shrugged. “It was something I was passionate about ever since I was a little child.” Your reasoning was not as extensive and detailed as his, but for you, it had always been enough.
And for Jaehyun as well. He turned his head against the sky and basked in the sun. “That’s great. Anything else you want to know?”
“Fair enough, since you knew every fact about me before I even set foot in this country. Do you have siblings?” you jumped at the chance. 
“No.”
“Favorite food?” 
“Nothing specific. I like anything.”
“A country you’d like to visit one day?”
“Japan.”
“A country you have visited and is your favorite?”
He smiles. “I’ve only been to South Korea and here, so… Here.”
“Can you imagine going back there though?” you then asked. “To Seoul, I mean.”
“Absolutely not.”
You didn’t know why his answer hurt you. Disappointment seeped deep into your heart at the realization that your real home and his real home were separated by an entire ocean if you were ever to go back. 
“Do you miss your home?” Jaehyun then returned.
Did you still?
You weren’t so sure about that anymore. You missed your family and your friends, as a matter of fact, and not a day passed in which you didn’t think about them. But not as much and as hurtful as in the beginning where tears had kept you up all night. Your sadness had stepped back, making space for a feeling that was much greater.
But you didn’t want to tell him that.
“Yeah, I do.”
Jaehyun shifted his head back to you. “I can imagine that.”
He kissed you then, right at your favorite spot in the entire village, his fingers entangled in your rosy hair. You felt so happy, yet so regretful as you hadn’t had any memory of a moment where you had been at such a high in your life back there in Seoul.
There, you had everything. The spotlight, your family and your friends. But despite everything, right here and now was where your heart was going to burst because you didn’t know how much bliss it could still grasp.
There were so many more questions you wanted to still ask him.
How his life back there in New York was. How he imagined life when this was all over. Whether he had someone he held dear back home.
But you swallowed all of them down. You were scared of the answers.
You didn’t need to know every little detail about a person’s life to fall in love with them. All it took was to know how they treated others, how they treated you and their outlook on life, nothing more.
Not even their real name.
The rest would fall into place.
Deep down, you had accepted your new life with every aspect it offered itself to you, and whenever you thought about the village and its people, a certain warmth enclosed your heart that nearly made you teary-eyed.
You didn’t want to leave anymore. That was now clear to you.
____
Call it intuition. Gut feeling. A woman’s instinct.
Whatever it was called that you were experiencing that day, it would be right. Your whole world crashed when Jaehyun walked through the door after work that day.
“You have to leave,” were his first words as soon as he spotted you. “Now.”
“... what?”
With widened eyes, you watched the sweat drops on his forehead slowly rolling along his temples. Had he run all the way here? And why did he seem so anxious as though he was trying to uphold a friend? You had never seen him like this.
“Go pack your things. You have five minutes.”
“Jaehyun…” You stood up from the couch. “I don’t understand, only last wee-”
“It’s all settled,” he interjected calmly but curtly. “The day I got called to my supervisor, you remember? They told me I was free to return to the NYPD. My job here is done as they finally found someone else for you. I can go back home, to my old life.”
“That means…?” You halted. You wanted to cover your ears. You didn’t want to hear.
But Jaehyun broke the hard truth down for you. “You’ll be moved to another city, get assigned another fake husband, exactly. The driver will be here in a few.”
You were flabbergasted at how factual his way of delivering the news to you was. “You only stayed with me to deal with your bad conscience, right? Because I’m a ballerina as well, and for protecting me, you would pay your debt? Now that the time is over, you want to get rid of me?”
Of course you hoped he would deny everything you had just accused him of. But he didn’t. This was like a nightmare.
“This program works like that,” Jaehyun explained to you like you were some twelve year old, with much repulsion written all over his face. “You move from one city to another, from one husband to another. You brought this upon yourself.”
Here was the deal with anger. You didn’t feel how it got implanted into you. You couldn’t feel it grow and feed on your pain. Suddenly, it was there, and you didn’t have any control over it until, from one moment to another, it made itself aware verbally and physically.
You wanted to scream, grab for the nearest vase nearby and throw it against the wall, yelling at him how much of an asshole he could be, leading you on this entire time. But sometimes, people were stronger than anger.
And so were you.
He had never led you on. You had always been aware of the rules. He didn’t owe you anything.
“Is that all?” you only brought out dryly, the vowels stuck in your throat. 
You didn’t want to cry, you didn’t owe him a single tear in return, not a single word anymore, because you had known all along that this was about to come eventually. 
This… all this wasn’t real. This wasn’t your life. And the next one wouldn’t be your real life either.
You didn’t know what your next fake home and fake husband would be like. You didn’t know for how long they’d stay this time. All you knew was that you didn’t want them. You didn’t want anyone else other than Jaehyun.
“That’s all.”
But he didn’t want you anymore.
You just wondered how he could stand there, as stoic and taciturn and as cold as when you had first met. 
What had happened to the Jaehyun that woke up next to you every morning, playing with your hair, snuggling up against you and kissing the nape of your neck? The Jaehyun that showed you a different side every night, making you feel so special and loved? The Jaehyun that had let you into his deepest secrets?
Perhaps, he was just so good at his job. No wonder they wanted him back in the NYPD.
Your fingers grabbed just whatever piece of clothing they could find, regardless of whether you had picked up everything that belonged to you or not.
When you rolled your suitcase to the door a few minutes later, you had digested the first waves of shock and were only barely able to hold back your tears. You had expected that the end would come in little steps, with signs that would indicate the last days were approaching, giving you time to adjust, prepare and linger around.
Now, it was like ripping off a band aid. 
As you turned away from him, who had not moved since, tears were burning behind your eyes, but you didn’t want to lose your dignity in front of him. You wanted to defy him again, show him that you were just as strong as him and that it all didn’t bother you. That you had only played the role of a wife so perfectly, you had not only fooled the ones around you, but him as well - just as he had done with you.
But in contrast to Jaehyun, for you, it had meant everything to the point you had wished that this was your real life.
This, you couldn’t lie to yourself about. And it was the thing that hurt the most.
When the car pulled up the next moment, you expected Jaehyun to still say something to you, but he just stood there, with an expressionless face, watching you getting into the vehicle. Your eye contact didn’t break, even though you wished so. You just couldn’t tear your gaze away from him as you still hoped that he would raise his voice and beg you to stay.
And you would have.
But he didn’t.
When the car reverted, he just stood there. When you drove along the main street, he just stood there. Even when you were almost out of his sight, he just stood there.  
“You’re going to Phoenix this time, Miss!” the driver, the same as from your first day, told you, looking through the rear mirror. “I’m sure you’ll like it there!”
No, you wouldn’t. 
This was the most miserable day of your life, and still in the car, you broke down in tears.
You would have given everything to sit down with Rosie, grandmother Anh and Mrs. Jones just once again, playing cards and drinking wine. You would have given everything to go shopping with Rosie and hear her lighthearted laughter again. You would have given everything to eat grandmother Anh’s dumplings and get her advice again.
You would have given everything to just spend another day in the village, appreciating what you had had and saying goodbye to everyone.
But even this, he had pried out of your hands, rendering you so defenseless and vulnerable.
You hated him.
And whenever your gaze fell upon the key chain of the yellow elephant wearing a red tie on your purse, you cried even harder, wanting to rip it off and throw it out of the window.
But no matter how much you wanted to hate him and talk yourself into it, you couldn’t bring yourself to truly feel so.
You didn’t care about your old life anymore. You didn’t care whether you could never go back. You didn’t care about your career, about your future.
You were willing to give all of this up forever just to spend another day in the life that had been such an illusion, but had made you the happiest so far.
“Uhm… Miss…”
____
Klick.
The sound of the safety catch of a gun getting released.
“You’re late,” Jaehyun announced into the semi-darkness as he took the weapon back into his hand. “She’s not here anymore. She just left.”
“I know,” a voice he had never heard before, answered back. “I actually came for you.”
“Oh. Be my guest then.” Jaehyun chuckled with sarcasm. “I wasn’t sure when exactly you’d arrive since my people couldn’t find the flight you boarded, but this is what I call perfect timing as I just left the door open. So, how did you find us exactly?”
He shrugged. “You know… it cost me a fortune and a few private detectives, but I was always watching her, even during detention. I always knew where she was. That I’m only coming now is because I thought that eventually, when she sees that I’m free and behaving, she’d come back.” His voice cracked. “But she didn’t.”
Jaehyun remembered the night you had claimed to have heard someone roaming around in the bedroom or garden. So there had been truly someone among you, a private detective most likely. He hated himself at that moment for not having been able to protect you better. 
“You know what happened to the former guy she dated?” 
The stalker stepped into the light that flooded into the room from the window, and as Jaehyun looked into his face, he encountered a man who he, and probably every other person, would deem harmless at first glance. He looked like a normal office worker, not intimidating or even dangerous at all with his slicked back hair and wide glasses.
“They packed their things and went away as soon as they met me,” he illustrated, almost boastful with much pride in his voice. “One of them didn’t want to back off, so I had to slash his tires. That was when he got the message.”
“Lucky you that I’m not one of these guys. I’m not scared of you.” Jaehyun grinned. “I’m her husband, and I’m going to protect her at all costs.”
“She doesn’t belong to you!” he then yelled, throwing around his arms. “She belongs to me! … But… she’s always running away from me… She never comes back to me. Why would someone do that when you’re destined to be together?”
Despite the semi-darkness, Jaehyun saw the insanity coming forward in his eyes that gradually slowly took power of his entire body. He wasn’t familiar with stalking cases personally himself, but had read quite a few things prior to your arrival.
Clearly, this guy followed the delusional disbelief of your both’s romantic destiny despite you having made it clear several times that no such thing existed at your side. Yet, his obsession with you had made him want to continue being a part of your life and change your mind at all costs until it turned unhealthy and dangerous for you, watching you and following each of your steps. Admiration had quickly turned into the sadistic urge to torment you, because if he couldn’t have you, nobody could.
And now, you didn’t even deserve to live if it wasn’t with him.
“I’m not going to run away like the other guys,” Jaehyun spoke calmly. “I’m here to set an end to this, because she deserves to live freely and happily. And I want to give this to her.”
“No!” he screamed, sweat dripping down his temples, and only now, Jaehyun saw the blade glistening against the dim light. “She can only be happy with me! With me only, not with someone else or even alone!”
Jaehyun lifted up his arms and aimed the gun at him. He flinched. “She’s happy with me. How does that sound, asshole?”
Suddenly, he laughed. “If you shoot at me, you’re going to jail, and you’re not going to have her either.”
“I don’t care,” Jaehyun spoke calmly and the guy raised his brows. “I don’t care if I might go to jail because of this, because no one else before cared enough. I don’t care if I have to give my life for hers, because my life is not worth living if she’s dead. I don’t care if I have her or not. I just want her to be far away from you and live her life to the fullest, because she deserves it. Because this is what love is.”
“Oh, you fool.” He laughed again, this time like a maniac. “She has you in her force. That’s what she usually does.”
“Maybe.” Jaehyun’s finger enclosed the trigger. “But that’s what love also is. Forceful.”
The stalker raised his hand, the huge knife between his fingers fully visible now as he prepared himself to dash forward, but the second he moved, your voice echoed through the house.
“Stop!”
You stepped into the living room, totally out of breath, but lucky to have convinced the driver to turn around before it was too late after he had empathized very much with you during your breakdown in the car and told you the entire truth.
“It’s okay,” you breathed, having reached the premises only seconds ago. “I see it clearly now. I can’t be with you, Jaehyun. I can’t run away from my feelings either.” You smiled mildly and stepped closer to the stalker. “I see where I belong to.”
Jaehyun couldn’t believe what he had just heard. “What-!”
“I know we didn’t have a great start,” you said, your gaze not wavering from the guy who had made your life on earth a living hell, yet you tried to conceal that you were trembling all over and sweating in fear as this was the only way to save Jaehyun. “While you only wanted to protect me, I always tried to defy you. I felt caged, imprisoned and really unhappy. It was only later that I realized that you did all that because you cared. About my safety… about me.”
Jaehyun saw that you were directing these words to your tormentor, but he also saw that they were not lies. They were only directed at the wrong person.
“Yes, yes!” the guy blurted. “That’s totally it!”
“Will you now please put away the knife? I will willingly come with you.” Then, you finally spun around to Jaehyun. “Please put the gun away as well.”
“But-!”
“Please!”
Hesitantly, he did as he had been told, so did the persecutor. He knew where you had come from as the guy wouldn’t have done the same, but still didn’t find the thought to be so weaponless appealing. 
After the stalker had placed the knife on the kitchen counter, he turned around to you with a bright smile on his face, but it got wiped out very quickly - with your knuckles rolling nearly in slow motion over his cheek and continuing along the bridge of his nose. He lost balance and was thrown against a chair, folding like a piece of paper as he collapsed against the furniture.
Your fist had met his face full-force, and you stilled the seconds after, having totally caught him off guard - and yourself as well.
“The knife!” Jaehyun then screamed, reaching for his gun once again.
But as your fingers moved to reach for the weapon, your hand got slapped away and the blade vanished in front of your eyes and back into the possession of the stalker. Only this time, the knife was not the only thing he claimed to have taken control over.
The sharp blade slightly buried itself into the side of your neck as he had rendered you motionless by having you in a choke with his other arm wrapped around your middle. All your twisting and turning didn’t benefit you in any way as he was much taller and stronger, and you could only watch all the color drain from Jaehyun’s eyes as he looked back at you in horror.
“What wishful thinking, I’m such a fool,” the stalker whispered into your ear, blood streaming down your side, and the pain slowly overshadowed the shock you had initially felt. “If you can’t have someone yourself, all you can do is kill the person.”
You heard it click as Jaehyun was now pointing his gun at you. “Not before I kill you first.”
And then, there was pain.
____
When you were in the hospital, you dreamed of Jaehyun.
He was holding your hand at night, not leaving your side. It was tender and warm, just like the first time he had held your hand when you had joined the dinner with the other villagers. You could even hear what he was saying to you. Many words you had been longing to hear for so long.
Too bad that these were only fever dreams.
Because instead, when you woke up three days later, there was Rosie.
… Rosie!?
But you weren’t able to bring these words out as your throat was dry, so the syllables only came out as rasping sounds. She was quick to serve you a glass of water before you were finally able to ask,
“...Rosie? What happened?”
“Jesus!” she let out in wonder. “You can’t remember a thing?”
You shook your head. “Do you?” And then cocked your brow. “... what do you know exactly?”
“Jay told me everything. About you. About the program.” Your eyes widened and you prepared yourself to sit up, but Rosie gently pushed you back against the pillow. Only then you noticed that you couldn’t have made it further anyway. Your entire middle hurt. “It’s okay, lay still. Nobody can harm you anymore. He’s dead.”
“... dead?” You barely believed your own ears. 
Rosie nodded. “Jay’s bullet hit you, but it was only a graze, barely visible, but enough to take the stalker by surprise so that he suddenly let go of you. But… he was on top of you the next moment… with the knife.” She struggled to find the right words. “When I arrived after the reinforcement you called before… there was so much blood, and Jay was holding you in his arms… he was screaming… wailing. He thought he’d lost you, and so did I.”
You got stabbed?!
That would explain the immense pain that turned more distinct with each bypassing second, and you were so close to calling a nurse to pump some more morphine into you.
“W… what happened to… him?” you asked, though a part of you already knew the answer.
“Jay shot at him. He died on the spot.”
You didn’t blame yourself for feeling so much relief at this moment. For the past year, this man had robbed you of all your happiness and freedom. Now, it was all over. You were safe and free. You had every right to be happy.
But you weren’t.
“Where is…” Suddenly, you stilled as a dangerous thought crossed our mind. “Is he-”
“He’s fine.” The corner of Rosie’s lips tilted up. “Even now, you’re only thinking about him. He’s outside. Should I call him in?”
“Yes, please. And Rosie?” You reached for her hand, squeezing it. “Thank you for coming. It means a lot.”
She squeezed your fingers back. “Even though this life of yours wasn’t real… I know our friendship is.”
She was so right.
When Rosie left, Jaehyun didn’t come in right away. You waited for at least five more minutes until the handle moved downwards and the face you had been longing to see all along finally appeared in your room.
“How are you doing?” he asked, and it made you shudder how distant he sounded as opposed to the look in his eyes. 
They were telling a whole other story, and you wondered what was holding him back from running over to you and finally taking you into his arms. 
“Fine.”
The pain in your stomach really did feel fine when the pain in your heart was a much graver one.
“Don’t lie to me. You got stabbed right through. It’s not like it’s nothing.” He lowered his head. “And it’s my fault. Again.”
You saw where he was coming from after everything that he had been through. Your mind was still working only slowly as it hadn’t been able to make the connection right away, but now, it was all clear.
“It’s thanks to you that I’m still alive. I’m very grateful.”
Eventually, the pain in your stomach would pass, leaving only a scar. You couldn’t imagine what the stalker would have done to you if Jaehyun wouldn’t have been there. You counted yourself very lucky to still be alive.
“Thank you, honestly.”
He acknowledged your feelings with a nod, though you weren’t entirely convinced that he thought the same about you. And as he didn’t move away from the door further in your direction, you finally grasped that he just wasn’t there by your side yet. Not only physically, but also emotionally.
At some point, everything happening in the past months had been real for him too. But now that he could have it all, he was getting cold feet. You didn’t know why, but you knew that it wasn’t your fault, and it certainly wasn’t in your power to lay out all the reasons as to why he shouldn’t feel this way.
He just wasn’t ready.
“You’re going back to the NYPD, right?”
“Yeah. Tomorrow already, as a matter of fact. I have things to take care of.” He scratched his head in nervousness. “You’ll be okay?”
Oddly, you could affirm his assumption.
You’d return to Seoul and to the Korea National Ballet. If you’d had a talk with the academy, you were positive that you could also still join the Dutch National Ballet as originally planned. You had your old life back, and it would all fall into place.
Your future, everything you had worked so hard for, laid in front of you again.
And without Jaehyun. 
Again.
“I’ll be okay.” Despite these insights, you smiled through your pain. “Really.”
“Okay.” Jaehyun’s smile was equally painful. 
Perhaps, he had wished for another outcome as well. But whatever was holding him back was more powerful than everything he’d ever felt for you, and you wished that you could share his pain again, telling him that he didn’t need to go through this all alone.
But you knew, this time, he wouldn’t let you.
Rosie was there for you after he had long left, comforting you throughout the entire night. She was also there when you got discharged two weeks later, bidding you farewell at the airport and showering you with so much love a friend could possibly feel for another. 
“We’re going to meet again,” you promised her.
“I’ll come visit you,” she promised you too.
And with that, you returned to your old life.
____
The curtain call was your favorite part of each performance. Then, all the burden and pressure fell from your shoulders and you could finally breathe again, showering in the spotlight and relishing the applause.
Today was the first time that you stood on the stage of the Korea National Ballet again after the events in the States and thus, your first curtain call after such a long time.
Your hair had returned to its natural color, and despite the fact that you hadn’t changed at all from the outside, you knew that on the inside, you were an entirely different person. Nothing would be like before ever again.
“Good performance,” your instructor remarked and moved on to tell the same to the others as well.
You hadn’t danced an important position, only moving in the background as your instructor had been sure that you had let things slide in the months you were away. Before, you would have gotten angry, practicing day and night to lose the remaining weight and catch up with the others. Yes, you surely had let things slide, but to you, nothing of this was important anymore.
The Dutch National Ballet hadn’t wanted you back, and you couldn’t hold it against them. You were glad to have been able to pick up some kind of engagement again. Until you were back at the top, a lot of time would pass.
You just weren’t so sure anymore if you wanted to climb up that high again.
You took off your tight shoes in the dressing room and rubbed your wounded feet, your thoughts drifting off. You had seen him again. In the audience, sitting in the first row and watching you. Usually, you didn’t let your eyes wander through the people, but this time, your role had given you enough time to do so.
Not your stalker, but Jaehyun.
He had sat there, in a black tuxedo, and had watched you with the same gaze that he would share only with you during your time together.
You knew immediately that this wasn’t real. He wasn’t here. He couldn’t be here. 
Because lately, you saw and felt him very often. Next to you on the bed when you were waking up, walking close to you as you strolled through the streets, and in the mirror whenever you lifted your head after washing your face. 
This was what it was like when you couldn’t let go of a person you had once loved so much.
“There is someone waiting for you in the lobby,” another dancer told you in passing.
“Who is it?” 
“Said his name was Yuno.” She shrugged. “Wears a black tuxedo and waits by the stairs.”
“Okay.”
You didn’t know a person named Yuno, so you didn’t hurry changing your clothes and took your sweet time, until a sudden thought crossed your mind. This was how it had started out with your stalker as well! 
But it couldn’t be. He wasn’t alive anymore, and here, nobody would give you the same attention as you were only a background dancer. You sucked in a rush of air, halted, and then continued your way.
You’d be fine.
Just as you had promised Jaehyun.
“Mister…” you called out when you came around the corner. You didn’t know his surname, so you faltered, only able to watch him from behind as he stood with his back to you.
“Jeong. Mister Jeong.”
“... Mister...”
Your voice was stable, in contrast to your inner feelings as a storm broke free deep within you. You hadn’t seen him in so long, and you wanted to cry, scream and slap him all at once.
“I saw your performance.” He smiled. “You’re marvelous. I wanted to bring you a bouquet of flowers, but thought it would be a bit too tactless…”
“You’re late,” you interrupted him.
“I know,” he agreed. “There were a few things I had to take care of.”
“Things that took you three months?” You folded your arms across your chest. “I thought… I thought you moved on.”
“Is that what you think of me?” He looked hurt. “Have you moved on?”
Not a single bit. Every night, you lived through every moment you had spent together in the States. As much as you had wanted to, you hadn’t been able to move on.
Almost unnoticeably, you shook your head.
“You want to know what I did during this time?” He stepped closer to you as the lobby was emptying, and you didn’t retreat. “I visited the ballerina. She’s doing well. She’s a counselor now, helping people who are as handicapped as her. She said it’s fulfilling and that she’s very happy, and she thanked me again for saving her life. Hearing it from her personally takes a huge burden off my heart.”
Despite your controversial feelings, you smiled. “That’s good to hear. I’m happy for you.”
“And I finished my therapy sessions,” he continued. “For a long time, I thought I was the person bringing harm to people. I’m a detective, why am I only bringing harm to people I desperately want to protect? It just didn’t get into my head. My therapist said that not everyone is made for this life and I should focus on finding a partner who is as equally courageous and fearless as me. Who shares my views on life, who doesn’t back down and looks danger right into the eye. Only then, when I have a partner who can take care of themselves, I don’t have to fear for two lives, but only for one. For mine, because my partner will be fine by themselves.”
Then, he smiled too as you recalled, “I slapped the hell out of that asshole.”
“Yeah, you did. You also defied all my orders. You always know how to take care of yourself. You don’t run away when it’s getting dangerous. And you didn’t hesitate even for a single second when you found out that I lied that day. You came back right away to help me. If there is a woman suitable for me, then it’s you.”
You chewed on the inner flesh of your mouth to keep the growing smile from showing. You still didn’t know what exactly this all meant, but you were eager to hear it from him soon.
“But I didn’t come here to tell you this only.”
You tilted your head. “What did you come here for then?”
“I came to pick up my wife,” was his answer that nearly made your heart jump out of your chest.
You stared at him, lost for words and mouth agape.
“I’m sorry that it took me so long. I wanted to get everything cleared and settled. I wanted to be emotionally ready for a new path in my life, with you by my side. I… I mean… If you hate New York and want to stay in Seoul instead,” he hemmed and hawed, “I would be happy to cross the ocean again as long as you’ll be waiting for me at the other side. But if you want to come back to the US, I’ll be fine with that as well. In Seoul, New York or Connecticut… I can call any place my home as long as you’re with me. This time, as my real wife.”
You felt tears gathering in the brims of your eyes. “As… as your wife?”
“As my wife.” He nodded. “You want me to repeat that again?”
“Yes, please.” You blinked, your shoulders starting to tremble.
“Perhaps, you rather want to read it,” he dismissed softly and reached into the inner pocket of his tuxedo to pull out a sheet that he carefully unfolded and handed over to you.
You read attentively.
MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE APPLICATION
of
Jeong Yuno
and
….
There it was. His real name. Your real name. 
This was real.
You looked up to him, the tears now streaming down your face, and you desperately tried to dry them with the back of your hand.
“If we get all your papers together, we can apply tomorrow and be officially married by next week.”
You could barely see through the blurry curtain of tears. 
“This time, for real?” 
you asked as Yuno, as his real name was, took your hands into his, and it felt just like the first time when you had walked along the streets of the little countryside village.
“This time, for real,” he promised.
4K notes · View notes
soobluv · 1 year
Text
😭😭❤️
honeymoon avenue
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pairing; jaehyun x (f) reader
genre/warnings; smut, a pinch of angst, fluff, stuck in an elevator with your ex-fiancé, exes to lovers, unprotected sex, oral (f receiving), very fast-paced story
summary; A year ago, wedding bells were ringing and you were screaming, “Yes!” at the top of your lungs. Last Christmas, you were supposed to be wed under a mistletoe. This Christmas, company finds you in the form of your ex-fiancé that broke off your engagement after you’re both inconveniently trapped in an elevator.
wc; 12.3k (complete opposite of a slow burn)
playlist; honeymoon avenue by ariana grande, my everything by ariana grande, undo (back to my heart) by tinashe, ice queen by baekhyun
a/n; ‘tis the season! decided to try something a little new. this was definitely a challenge for me, but it was fun regardless. merry christmas! see this as a little gift from me <3 as always, feedback is appreciated!
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Last year around this time, you had arranged to be wed. You recalled restlessly counting down the days until your lover would meet his lips to yours in front of all of your friends and family once granted the greenlight to kiss the bride.
You had everything planned down to a “T.” The banquet hall would be emerald and burgundy. There would be an arch above you where a mistletoe would hang. The wedding cake would have Jaehyun’s surname. And everyone’s attire would be formal, though seasonal.
It was supposed to be the best day of your life.
A winter wonderland wedding seemed like an apt choice for you. You were so, so cold, but there was still an air of warmth to you. Now, your heart was unthawed.
This Christmas - much like the last - you would be alone.
It stung knowing you would be lonely for the second Christmas in a row and there was nobody at fault but yourself. You were miffed at your own behavior, but gave yourself no time to dwell on the past, doing what you knew how to do best - work until your brain went numb.
There was plenty on the roster today. A corporate meeting, phone calls to answer, and reports that wouldn’t type themselves. And that was to be brief. Speaking of which, you needed to brief employees about new protocols.
“Come on, come on, come on,” you chanted impatiently to yourself, tapping your foot against the floor. The elevators in your apartment were running later than usual today.
You heaved a breath of relief when the doors chimed open. Out went a group of people and in went you. Maneuvering your body to press the first floor button, you came to a halt when you noticed it was already selected and gleaming.
That was when you finally noticed the man in the elevator - the only other person there with you - glancing down at his phone. You leaned against the railing and shifted your attention to the door nonchalantly, writing off the stranger as the very least of your concerns. Getting to work on time was paramount.
As it always was.
Morning traffic is going to be brutal, you thought with a grimace. Every thought in your head revolved around work and how long it would take you to get there.
It would seem you would have no time for your morning coffee run. You remembered those times when you’d stay the night at Jaehyun’s, waking to a hot cup of coffee that he’d made just the way you liked it waiting for you.
Four words would permanently be etched into your memory. Have a good life.
With some disdain, you bade the thought retreat. Jaehyun was no longer a part of your life and you doubted he would want to be ever again. Not that you blamed him. It was your punishment alone.
The elevator gave a jolt and you gripped the elevator for dear life, screeching, “What the…?”
The floor indicator donned the number one in a big, bold shade of red, though ironically, the door gave not an inch. Which was odd. You pressed the button that ostensibly opened the door in these types of situations, but to no avail.
“Are we stuck?”
Your head snapped behind you and you nearly broke into a cold sweat when you noticed that the man lone in the elevator with you was no other than your ex-fiancé.
Living in the same apartment complex as the man you were once fated to marry was no easy feat, but the multiple years of seeing each other made it simpler to avoid him. For one, you knew one another’s routines and thus what time to be out the door either before or after the other.
That said, you had seen Jaehyun a couple of weeks ago, but the last time you’d spoken was when he returned all of your things from his apartment. Have a good life. Those were the last words he’d exchanged with you.
That had been approximately a year ago, a couple of weeks before Christmas and the day you were supposed to say, “I do.”
“Appears that way,” you replied, clearing your throat.
Jaehyun had his phone in his pockets now. You held your breath as you gave him a once-over. He was still handsome as ever, though that was to be expected. As far as you were concerned, he looked more or less the same as the last time you’d spoken, only his hair was a little lengthier. He still looked rather displeased to see you.
And he was wearing a suit. Which meant he was most likely also trying to go to work.
You frowned. Now you were thinking about Jaehyun in suits. Needless to say, that was a sore spot.
A voice came over a speaker and you recognized it as Yangyang’s, one of the apartment staff. He spoke like he was reading from a textbook, “Passengers, do not be alarmed. Our technical team will be arriving shortly to repair the service. We apologize for the inconvenience.”
You mused aloud, “Can he hear us?”
“Loud and clear,” Yangyang chirped.
“How long will it be before someone can help us?” you asked, never keen on being late.
“I can’t say, ma’am. Anywhere from fifteen minutes and a couple of hours.”
You interjected to screech, “A couple of hours?”
Jaehyun clamped a soothing palm on your shoulder to calm you down. It was almost embarrassing how effortlessly his touch could ease you even a year after he broke off your engagement.
Yangyang explained in his usual exuberant tone, “The weather and usual early traffic may cause a delay, ma’am. They will be arriving as swiftly as possible and servicing is already underway by our maintenance staff.”
“Thank you, Yangyang,” Jaehyun said, smoothing his palm down your back.
“Have a nice day, Mr. Jung. You too, ma’am.”
You heaved a breath. “So, it looks like we’re going to be here a while.”
“Hopefully not that long,” Jaehyun said, recouping his hand.
Though it stung, you understood. It went without saying that being trapped in an elevator with the ex that abandoned him was not part of today’s plan. He may have called off the engagement, but you were the one that left him high and dry.
You broke his heart. Not only that, you stole his future. Everything he ever dreamed of, a wife and children, was thrown out the window because of your selfishness.
Jaehyun discerned you would both be stuck together for a while and rather than sit in awkward silence, he asked, “How’s life?”
Darn him. No matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t get the last words he had said to you out of your head. Have a good life.
The breakup was bitter and stone-cold. Jaehyun made a couple of things unmistakably clear with those four words alone. For one, he was cutting you out of his life for good. And he no longer desired to be imprisoned within yours, being punished for no good reason at all.
And you never fought him - never fought to win him over. Maybe because you had already known for some time that your engagement was in danger. It was beyond reclaim. Irrevocably damaged.
Never one to appear weak, you said, “Good. Really good. I was promoted to secretary.”
Jaehyun perked up. You got what you wanted. But did I deserve to be the sacrifice, baby? Was it worth it?
“Still a workaholic, I see.”
You frowned. “Old habits die hard. How have you been?”
“I can’t complain,” Jaehyun said. “I wasn’t promoted or anything, but everything’s been pretty good over here.”
You had no doubts. Jaehyun was an editor and his line of work gave him plenty of leeway. For the most part, he worked from home, though there were instances where he came into the workplace. At least, when you last spoke, that is.
“That’s amazing. I’m happy for you,” you said, willing yourself to smile. A part of you was strangely bitter. It didn’t want to see him happy without you.
Though you no longer followed each other, Jaehyun still popped up on your Instagram homepage every now and then. And perhaps you’d searched his page more times than you cared to admit. Everything about his page was achingly sentimental and reminiscent of your past together.
Pictures of him at museums or bridges at nighttime or parks with his hair whipping through the breeze. Once upon a time, you were the one taking those pictures of him. Now, you wondered who was behind the camera, living the life you’d carelessly given away.
“Thanks,” was all he willed himself to reply.
Your eyes instinctively fell to your watch and your head fell back as you groaned, “God, I’m going to be late for work.”
Jaehyun fought a snort. “You and me both. At least there’s still some good news.”
“Like what?”
“It’s warm in here,” Jaehyun commented lightheartedly.
You chuckled. What a way to relieve the tension. Though Jaehyun never failed to make you laugh with ease. Except for when you broke up. Nothing was funny then.
Those weeks leading to the breakup may have been worse than the day it actually happened altogether. The feeling of knowing something was inevitably bound to happen yet being unable to prevent it was arguably worse than the emptiness you felt when Jaehyun announced he no longer wanted anything to do with you.
Emptiness numbed you to the pain for a couple of days. You couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep. All you could feel was a bitter, nipping cold enveloping you, eventually splitting you right down the middle.
Jaehyun subtly eyed you as you typed a message to your boss, warning him that you may have been late for work and telling him to proceed without you. Maybe some things never changed. You were still gorgeous, that was for sure. But you were also still married to your work. Ultimately, that would always prove to be your downfall.
It seemed like only yesterday you were his. He was planning to meet you at the altar, itching to sweep you into his arms and kiss you the moment you were pronounced husband and wife.
You had always been a workaholic. At one point, Jaehyun loved it about you. He never thought your relationship would be foredoomed because of it. Devoted and loyal were two terms that described you strongly.
Although, maybe you had been too devoted to the wrong thing.
Your broken engagement was a prime example of what happened when you applied too much pressure to one thing and neglected the other. It was the wretched result of not finding balance.
Everything you ever hoped and dreamed of flashed before your eyes. Once upon a time, you were both making plans to move into a house together. You wanted a pet. And you were thinking about children.
Now, you were all alone. And you had never felt colder.
For some reason, the absurdity of your predicament hit you merely moments after you sent the text message. It just didn’t seem probable to be trapped in an elevator with your ex-fiancé. Much less alone. You threw your head back and whined, “I mean, what are the odds.”
Jaehyun pitched you a confused glance.
You winded a hand through your hair and elaborated, “Us being stuck in the exact same elevator and forcing ourselves to pretend we don’t mind. If I remember correctly, you had no intention of hearing from me again.”
“I think we should spare each other the awkwardness,” Jaehyun replied, donning an impassive expression. And tone.
You bit your lip. Maybe you shouldn’t have said anything. Jaehyun being kind to you should not have been mistaken and was probably more or less because he wanted to avoid as much tension as possible - not because he didn’t hate you.
Jaehyun spoke up again to ask, “How long have we been here?”
You glanced at your phone and read the time. “About fifteen minutes, I guess.”
“So, we’re going to be here for a couple of hours,” Jaehyun quipped, trying to lighten the mood the best way he knew how.
You winced, hoping there was an in between. “Not like I had anything else to do,” you mumbled.
Jaehyun himself wasn’t exactly bummed about missing a day, or at least a couple of hours. Though this was you. He used to joke that hell would freeze over the moment you decided to actually take a day off. “They will survive without you for a while,” he comforted softly.
You scoffed. You were carrying that company on your back. “I’m afraid that’s where you’re wrong. The whole building will be in flames if I’m not there within an hour tops.”
“I’m sure,” Jaehyun scoffed. “I’ve never seen anyone work as hard as you do.”
I have, you thought wistfully. Jaehyun fought harder for your relationship than you ever tried, but enough was enough. He was at his limit, giving more than he was receiving and he couldn’t let you take advantage of him anymore.
Though it was intended to be a compliment, for whatever reason, your heartache was only amplified. You swiftly changed the subject. “So, what are your plans for the holidays?”
He shrugged. “Nothing special. I’m going to spend some time with my family.”
That caught your attention. “You haven’t been seeing anyone?”
Jaehyun only shook his head. He was afraid of opening his mouth and saying something that would make shit awkward again. For all he knew, you two would both be stuck together for potentially the next couple of hours and he did not want to spend it in suffocating silence.
Unfortunately, Jaehyun couldn’t deny that after your engagement was broken off, finding other girls had been hard. They came a dime a dozen, but none of them remained. Even after you were long gone, bits of you lingered, scattered everywhere across his life.
Jaehyun went to bed and thought of nights spent cuddling you to sleep. He visited his favorite cafe and thought of your go-to order. Jaehyun hooked up with other girls and thought of how beautiful you looked writhing underneath him, your voice calling out his name in a cry, dripping with sweet honey.
Though you were forever gone, the memories of you still haunted him everyday. For so long, he had been convinced he was made for you. You were the only woman he ever wanted.
And he couldn’t have you.
Jaehyun commanded the thoughts to go away. You stopped being his long before the breakup. “You?”
“Oh, you know. With my line of work, I just don’t have the time,” you replied bashfully.
That Jaehyun knew all too well. Just a little.
He bobbed his head. “Sounds like you.”
Guilt suddenly plagued your chest. Every second beside him you were reminded of the fact that you were the one who ruined a beautiful thing. You had gotten what you strived for, though in hindsight, the lengths you went to get it were brutal and cold-hearted.
You had sacrificed so much of yourself to get to where you were. And now that you were standing at the top, you could finally see the collateral damage you’d inflicted at the bottom.
There was only a good couple of feet to separate you and Jaehyun. And you absolutely loathed it. There was more distance between you when he uttered those four words permanently etched into your memory, before turning and heading out of your front door.
Jaehyun fancied it no more than you did. Walking away had been hard. He looked back, but never stopped. A year ago, he was convinced that he would have moved on by now. But no matter how far apart you were, his heart was still one of your captives. Not only did he leave a piece of it with you, but the whole damn thing.
He wanted it back. Damn it, he wanted you back. He wanted back every piece of himself he gave you, but above all else, he wanted back what you had. To go back to the way everything was the day he got down on one knee and asked for permission to hold your heart forever.
He remembered it like it was yesterday. Earlier that spring, he took you to a bridge. Not only was it one of your favorite spots in the city, but it was where you both first said I love you.
Maybe that was why. Now, you couldn’t bring yourself to visit it anymore. The memories were too painful.
Just like the first time he took you there, night had fallen. The bridge overlooked a river, moonlight cast into the water. Purple lights made the trail glimmer. But the moon was a little fuller, the air a little cooler.
Not that either of you minded. To be with you, he was content.
You were beaming. Even before he proposed. None of you could stop thinking about the night you first said that you loved each other. But when Jaehyun asked you to marry him underneath the moonlight, you were over the moon.
You were chanting, “Yes!” Jaehyun had to sweep you into his arms and meet his lips to yours to cut you off. A very long time ago, the memory made him smile. Now, it made his heart swell with agony.
His eyes were sad. And understandably a little angry. Even after all these years, you could still read him clear as day. You wondered if he could read you, too. You whispered, “I’m sorry.”
Jaehyun heaved a deep breath. An apology wouldn’t fix his broken heart and saying you were sorry wouldn’t undo the heartache you inflicted on him. It wasn’t okay. He hated you for leaving him lonely. For choosing your job over a future together. He would never forgive you for it. “I never wanted much. I never wanted all of your time. Only a little was all I was asking for.”
“I don’t want to go there with you, Jaehyun,” you said, exhaling a sigh of your own.
All Jaehyun did was shake his head and murmur under his breath, “Classic.”
A part of you bristled. Why Jaehyun always wanted to hash things out with you was a mystery. Fighting was draining and you never had the energy. A long day of work left you with only enough strength to take a long hot shower before crawling into bed.
Not Jaehyun. He would never understand. The pressure to succeed, the struggle to unlearn the definition of success you were taught even before your adolescence.
A year ago, everything was falling apart in your relationship. You were arguing more, spending time together less. Jaehyun was trying to salvage what was left. In his mind, fighting with you was better than not speaking to you at all.
Most of your memories with him were unforgettable, but when they were bad, they were excruciating to think of. You could still remember the last argument before the uncoupling.
December was still fresh and the air was frigid, numbing your senses until you stepped into your warm apartment. Jaehyun was waiting for you there. A smile tugged your lips when you hung your coat and excitedly bounced into the kitchen, smelling hot chocolate.
“Baby, I’m home,” you sang radiantly. At one point, it used to be your favorite line to say. A lifetime of obsessing over movie cliches was to blame.
Jaehyun locked eyes with you and simpered. You looked nothing less than exhausted, though he found it cute on you. “Hey, my love. How was your day?”
You instantly groaned, “I’d rather not talk about it. Or think about it, for that matter.”
“Will a cup of hot cocoa make it better?”
You propped yourself on the island and flirted, “Made by Barista Jaehyun himself? Of course.”
Jaehyun handed you a mug and you accepted it graciously, muttering, “thank you.” He was the sweetest thing you could ask for. Even sweeter than the hot cocoa warming your palms.
That was how the arguments always began. They were sweet, innocent moments - until they weren’t.
Your lover dipped behind the island and returned with a mug of his own, still steaming with freshly hot cocoa. You thought absolutely nothing of it. Not until he opened his mouth. “How does a date night on Friday sound?”
You frowned. “This Friday?”
“Well, yeah,” Jaehyun said, rubbing his nape. “It’s been a while, you know. Since we’ve gone out on a date.”
That was true. Jaehyun always had some extra time to spare. He wanted to spoil and indulge you at every given chance. But you were always busy. Even when you were off the clock, you were still on the clock. And more often than not, you brought work back home with you.
“I’m so busy and so tired, Jay,” you whispered gently. God knew you wanted to, but you didn’t have the time and much less the energy.
“I get that,” Jaehyun started. “But can’t you take even a day off?”
“I’m aiming for a promotion, Jaehyun. I have to prove myself. My boss has been dangling this shit in our faces for the past few months. I can’t let an opportunity like that slip away.”
Jaehyun was rapidly getting frustrated and reminded, “You do realize we’re getting married in a few weeks, right?”
Your eyes flickered. “Yes, I do. And I plan to be there.”
“At the rate you’re going, I wouldn’t be surprised if you stood me up.”
Your heart sank. “How can you say that?”
“How couldn’t I?” Jaehyun snapped, evidently pained. “We’ve been engaged for the past nine months, but it doesn’t feel like I’m about to get married. It feels like I’m losing you because you’re too absorbed in your goddamn job.”
“Are you asking me to choose you over my job?” you asked, standing to your feet. This entire argument was an affront to your pride.
“No. There is no point in giving you an ultimatum when I already know that you will choose your job every time without hesitation - you already do. I’m asking you to make room for me, but I can’t force you to do anything you don’t want to.”
You countered, “I do want you.”
“Do you?” Jaehyun snapped, skeptical. “You can’t even go on a date with me. You want a promotion more than anything else.”
You sighed, “I don’t want to fight, Jay.”
“I know that. You don’t want to fight for anything,” Jaehyun said bitterly. “You would rather watch us burn to ash than fight for us.”
Anger plagued you and you were prepared to hurl something back, but he didn’t give you the chance.
Jaehyun added, “I don’t like the person this job has made you become. I want the woman I proposed to back, and I’m scared she’s not there anymore.”
Your words were cold as ice, “Then, leave.”
And the rest was history.
There was nothing you could say when Jaehyun left you, no fight for you to give. It was you that sent him away. It was you that made him leave. He had only given you what you asked for.
Old habits died hard. The one-year anniversary of both the breakup and the day you were supposed to be married was rapidly approaching and to distract yourself from the pain, you were burying yourself in work. You didn’t want to think about Jaehyun and what you almost had. Not even for a second. And then, today came and ruined everything.
Now, you were being forced to confront the past.
Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry. You’re stronger than this. God, you wanted to be anywhere but here right now. Tears burned your eyes, but you would never let them fall. Not with Jaehyun there. You didn’t want him to see the mess he’d left of you - how miserable you were without him.
You wanted to mend everything back together, but it was too late. Everything was irreparably broken. You had the opportunity to patch things up, and you passed it up. No more time could be wasted crying for the moon.
And still, somewhere deep inside, you knew Jaehyun would steal it for you.
Jaehyun saw your eyes and softened a little. Damn it, they still made him weak. Your tears were made of diamonds and they were priceless. Jaehyun said, “My mother still talks about you, you know. She asks me when we’re going to get back together.”
Your eyes flickered. “That’s… interesting,” you lied. “I thought she would hate me. And be more protective of her baby.” Because I broke your heart.
“You know my mother always loved you,” Jaehyun chuckled fondly. “I don’t think anyone believed in us more than her - not even ourselves.”
Somebody had to, you thought weakly. Though Jachyun was a romantic to his core, even he had to eventually throw in the towel.
Everyone thought you and Jaehyun would be the perfect match. Each of your families were anticipating a beautiful wintry nuptial ceremony on Christmas day. And when news of the uncoupling broke loose, your people weren't exactly shocked, but they were heavily disappointed.
You were clearly the problem. Until you learned how to balance, you would never be happy in love.
Up until now, you were beginning to become content with that fate.
Though now, your heart was greedy.
Jaehyun’s mother crossed your mind. She was the epitome of an angel and the fact that she still wanted you in her son’s life after all the pain you caused him was deafening. But what about what Jaehyun wanted? Does he even still love me?
Every moment spent with his mother had been wonderful. She spoke fondly of him and vice versa and supported him unconditionally. It was true motherly love and it made your chest stiffen, taut with envy. Ever since you were a kid, you only knew pressure. Your parents wanted you to have the life they didn’t when they were your age, but they were very strict in how they went about it.
Tough love was all you received. They didn’t help you through trying times. You were expected to suck it up. You were taught that tears were a sign of vulnerability and vulnerability was weakness.
You fought them back with everything you had and said, “How does she know I wouldn’t mess things up again?”
“I don’t know,” Jaehyun told you, not disputing the fact that you had essentially destroyed everything. It stung, but it was the truth. “She says ‘a mother knows best.’”
Jaehyun watched you struggle to hold yourself together. You were good at pretending to be okay and smiling through your pain, but he was even better at seeing through you. He saw you through a lens that only a man who loved you with his whole mind, body, and soul for years could see. He saw all your weaknesses, all your flaws. But he never judged and he saw something else in them, too. What made you beautiful.
“But what do you want?” It was killing you. For as long as you stood there, you needed to know.
“I wanted you,” Jaehyun replied honestly. “But you wouldn’t let me have you.”
You shook your head. “You had me. Every piece of me - it belonged to you.”
“That’s not how I remember it,” Jaehyun muttered. “You had my heart, but your work had yours.”
“That’s not true.”
Jaehyun was firm. “It is and you know it.”
“I loved you,” you told him softly.
“Well, you sure had a funny way of showing it.”
You gripped the railing to anchor yourself. It didn’t move, but you could feel yourself slipping into weakness. “I don’t know how to stop, Jaehyun. I think it’s a part of me now. It’s hard to stop doing something you’ve done your whole life.”
I don’t like the person this job has made you become. I want the woman I proposed to back, and I’m scared she’s not there anymore.
Maybe he was right. Maybe that woman was long gone.
A cloud of melancholy came over you, pouring over you and Jaehyun. He told you somberly, “I could have helped you if you would have let me in. But you were pushing me away.”
“I know,” you said, meeting his dark eyes. “But I wish I would have known back then. I never realized I was breaking us apart. Not until it was too late. I thought I was doing what was best…”
Jaehyun finished darkly, “You were doing what was best for yourself. Not for us.”
You opened your mouth to defend yourself, but quickly accepted he was right and instead said, “I was wrong. I was selfish. I wasn’t considering how any of it made you feel and that’s a decision I have to live with now.”
“Do you regret it?” I need to know if my broken heart was worthwhile.
Your eyes burned. “Every day of my life.”
“Why?” Jaehyun questioned, voice barely above a whisper. “You got the promotion. Isn’t that what you wanted?”
“I thought it was,” you muttered. Your chest was swelling with self-disgust and agony and anger. Not at Jaehyun, but at yourself. “But when I lost you, I realized that everything I needed was already right there. Until it wasn’t.”
Jaehyun was quiet but pensive. As if he was trying to trace exactly where everything started going wrong.
Even in school, you were devoted. You were the valedictorian of your class. Jaehyun used to steal you away to kiss you behind the bleachers. But you would always be there for his basketball games, cheering him on better than any cheerleader.
High school sweethearts, he thought wistfully. In high school, you won prom king and queen. Everyone thought you would last forever. That only God himself could part you.
How beautiful it was to be young, dumb, and in love.
Jaehyun knew your issues stemmed from your childhood. When you were still in high school, sometimes you had to blow him off to study. He remembered you canceling hangouts because your parents refused to let you out of their house until you studied until you were cross-eyed. Their house, their rules, was the policy.
But he also remembered those nights when he would hear a knock on his bedroom window and smile when he saw you beaming at him through the glass. One December night, you were crazy enough to sneak out during the nipping cold, shivering and rubbing your arms outside his window.
Though it was many years ago, Jaehyun remembered that night clearly. His mother made you hot cocoa and promised not to tattle. She always had a soft spot for you and held some disdain for your parents. She claimed they worked you too hard.
Everything was so perfect back then. He knew what changed, but he couldn’t understand why. You used to make time for him whenever you could. As the pressures of adulthood caught up to you, it all came to a slow, brutal end.
But why?
Then, leave. Those were the two words he would never forget. They were powerful than the I love you’s - more powerful than the I miss you’s. Your clipped, icy tone, would maybe someday be forgiven, but never forgotten.
A stubborn wound was forevermore slashed on his heart waiting for you to heal it.
You were breaking. Every part of you was crashing down. A familiar ache split your heart right down the middle. “I’ll never forgive myself for throwing away the most beautiful thing that has ever happened to me. I didn’t know what I had until it was gone and I can’t tell you enough how sorry I am.”
Your ex-lover was mawkishly nostalgic and sentimental and never said he forgave you, for that would take a while longer, but told you, “I knew I was the second priority in your life after your career. And I was okay with that. Then, it started to feel like I had no place in it at all. I was at the end of my tether, a stranger to the woman I was supposed to marry, and I knew we couldn’t carry on like that, my love.”
My love. That was what Jaehyun always used to call you. Your eyes flickered. “Do you still…?”
“I don’t think I’ll ever completely get over you,” Jaehyun admitted forlornly.
That was when the dam broke. Jaehyun had dismantled you piece by piece and left you vulnerable. You had no strength to fight back the tears rolling down your cheeks.
Jaehyun’s arms, as they always were, were wide open. He pulled you into his warm embrace and let you sob into his chest, smoothing his hand down your back and protecting you from the sharp coldness of your own pain. You were beleaguered to remember the last time you let yourself cry. You let everything pile up until the water pressure became too much.
“Shh. It’s okay. Let it out,” Jaehyun crooned, gently stroking your hair. “You’re not weak.”
There was an ache resurfacing in your body and it was purely unshakable. Your heart was whole, but hollow. Only its pleas to be back with Jaehyun - where it belonged - rang out in the icebound, empty void.
Being in Jaehyun’s arms only made you nostalgic and the pain hit you harder. You thought regretfully of those moments in the past when he would hold you for all to see. And you remembered going to bed and always knowing he was still there, because you would feel his arms still tight around you and smile. Like he wanted to protect you, even while asleep.
You sobbed, “I don’t deserve you.”
Jaehyun gently pushed you back only a little and looked you in your eyes. He wiped your cheeks with his thumb and told you calmly, “You made a mistake. We all do.”
The gesture made you soft and weak. Goddamn it, you were so weak for him. Like your knees would give in any moment now.
“Not like the one I made, though.”
“That’s true,” Jaehyun said. “But do you regret it?”
Your voice wavered, “More than anything.”
“Then, I forgive you.”
You shook your head, not knowing how to accept that. You didn’t deserve forgiveness. You didn’t deserve understanding. But that was the kind of person Jaehyun was.
He deserves someone better than me, you thought somberly. But you wouldn’t know what you would do with yourself if he found that someone.
“You should hate me,” you said softly, voice cracking. “I broke your heart. I broke us.”
Jaehyun shook his head. “You know what my mother always says?”
“It doesn’t only matter if you break something, but if you’re willing to put it back together,” you said, smiling fondly at the memory of his mother. She always treated you like you were her own.
Jaehyun nodded and asked, “Are you willing to put us back together again?”
You mulled it over. There was no doubt that you were willing. Back then, you were too in your head to notice reality. Now, you were blindsided by pain and regret and inclined to do anything to make it stop. “What if I mess up again?”
“Relationships aren’t perfect. People fuck up and people make mistakes. You’re only human,” Jaehyun told you frankly. “I’ll be there to help you clean it up. But don’t let me pull all the weight. We both have to fight together.”
“Okay.” You knew what you wanted now. It wasn’t that job. It wasn’t a promotion. It was the man that had spent half his life loving you, and would still love you for the other half. “I��m willing.”
Jaehyun smiled. A part of him couldn’t fathom how this was happening. The hole in his heart was steadily being sealed. He pulled you back flush against his chest.
The tension in the air seemed to alleviate then. You could finally breathe again. Being in a tight space with the love of your life didn’t feel suffocating anymore, but closer to relief.
You were talking freely again. You missed just being able to have a conversation with Jaehyun, recalling those times when you would discuss anything under the sun. Long nights of talking the moon away knowing full well you had work in the morning hit you. With Jaehyun, the small talk was skipped. You could discuss anything and everything.
There was no worry, no fear. Sometimes, there would be tension, but never the unpleasant kind. Only moments ago, those times seemed like merely a distant memory. Now, there was hope that you had Jaehyun back.
In his arms, you realized that was where you belonged. It was your safe haven in a world filled with danger. Your secrets were safe with Jaehyun and you were free to be vulnerable, because you knew he would never betray you. No matter what happened between you both, whether you were angry or in love, you knew whatever you told each other would forever remain under lock and key.
“Do you remember the arch?” you asked, wistfully recalling what could’ve been. “I wanted a mistletoe up there. For some reason, I couldn’t shake the thought of kissing you underneath it for the first time as your wife.”
Jaehyun chuckled fondly. “I remember. I also remember you wanted John Stamos to marry us because he was your, and I quote, ‘true first love.’”
You nudged his side. “Hey, I would have also accepted Shemar Moore.”
Goddamn it, now Jaehyun was thinking about kissing you. His eyes fell to your pretty lips, still as enticing as they used to be when you were his. Never had he wanted to kiss you so badly. Like it would heal the wounds caused by missing you.
Can I… can I kiss you?” Jaehyun asked.
You said with no hesitation, “You can do whatever you want to me.”
Now that he had your permission, Jaehyun didn’t waste a second to envelop your lips in his. Only then did you realize how much you missed feeling his lips on yours, how much you craved tasting his tongue in your mouth. You had gone so long without, but ironically, he still felt like home. And making out with him felt right as ever.
Jaehyun kissed you so fiercely that he nearly swept you off balance and caught your hips in his arms. Your fingers threaded through his hair, back against the railing. He kissed you to make up with the wasted times he spent with other people. You kissed him to make up for the wasted times you could have spent with each other. To fill the void and patch each other back up.
He taught you what love was. It was letting each other in instead of freezing each other out. It was building something beautiful together and fighting to protect it instead of letting it all fall apart and into ruins.
Kissing you eased Jaehyun’s heart. His pain was forgotten and he was overwhelmed with his undying love for you. He would never get over you, no matter how hard he tried. A love like the one you had would take more than a lifetime to get over you.
The way you immediately clicked, it was like you knew each other in a past life. Even now, his feelings were unabating. In his next life, it would still be you and only you. Always and forever.
You were so besotted with Jaehyun and the way his lips tasted that neither of you noticed the elevator door opening.
Yangyang cleared his throat. “Um, guys?”
Both of you whipped around, more than a little shocked to see the door open with Yangyang standing in the middle to prevent it from closing on you.
Jaehyun looked at you and asked, “How long have we been in here?”
“Approximately two hours,” Yangyang chirped. “You’re free to go now. By free to go, I mean please exit the lift. As you can see, there’s a bit of a line.”
You looked behind Yangyang and saw a couple of people impatiently waiting to travel upstairs. You lowered your head and flushed. Jaehyun laced his fingers through yours and led you outside of the elevator, smiling like a dumbass. He didn’t care who saw. He couldn’t have been any more happy than he was right now.
“Well, we’re free,” he said once you were both in the clear. Then, he frowned. “But we still have work.”
You winced. “And I wasn’t kidding about the place burning down. I really need to be there. I know how that sounds, but I promise I’ll make it up to you later. Do you trust me?”
“Of course,” Jaehyun said, grabbing your wrist and kissing the back of your hand.
Your heart tugged at the gesture. Why’d he have to be so goddamn perfect?
You got on your toes and pressed a brief kiss to his lips, feeling butterflies swimming in your gut. It seemed they had come to visit again. “I’ll see you later, Jaehyun.”
Jaehyun told you goodbye and watched you leave. It hurt a little to see you go, but he knew you would come back to him. You always did, even if it took a year and unlikely circumstances.
When you were gone, he turned around and grabbed his phone out of his pockets. He had to tell his mother that maybe she knew best after all.
Night fell. Jaehyun still hadn’t heard from you although you should have been off from work hours ago. A part of him was worried, but he still trusted that you wouldn’t give in to your old habits. It was Friday night. Maybe you were resting and would see him tomorrow.
Jaehyun went into his living room and played some music. The atmosphere reminded him of you. Holding you in his arms and spinning you around. Everywhere he went, he could still hear your voice and laughter ringing in his hair, like the ghost of you was haunting him.
He shook his head. You drove him mad. He accepted that he would never forget you, much less the way it felt to love you.
The doorbell rang and he could barely hear it over his music. Jaehyun didn’t pause it, but went to open his door and was pleasantly surprised to see you standing there.
“What are you doing?” Jaehyun asked.
“I told you I would make it up to you,” you said, gesturing to the pair of grocery bags in your arms.
It was Jaehyun’s natural instinct to take them out of your hands, and turning, he said, “Hurry up and come in. It’s cold outside.”
You didn’t need to be told twice and followed him immediately, shutting the door behind yourself. It was warm and cozy inside his apartment, as always. You hung your coat on the rack and glanced around, memories hitting you tenfold, square in the heart. Everywhere your eyes fell, you saw figures of you and Jaehyun.
Dancing in the living room. Movie night marathons on the couch. And racing down the hallway with your lips on the other’s and your hands desperately trying to remove each other’s clothes as you messily stumbled into the bedroom for a long night of loving.
“I see you’ve already set the mood,” you joked when you noticed the music playing, watching him set the groceries on the counter.
Jaehyun beamed. “I wasn’t even expecting company.”
“Sorry for showing up unannounced.” You smiled coyly, approaching the kitchen. “I’ll make it up to you. And no, you can’t help, Chef.”
“Please?”
You grabbed a gigantic wooden spoon and pointed at him. “Sit your ass down.”
“Jesus. Alright, then,” Jaehyun said, lifting his arms defensively. Ever stubborn were you. The reminder roused a chuckle from him. “Have it your way then, bossy.”
“I will.”
Jaehyun shook his head, still cheesing like an idiot. You were still iron-willed. That part of you would never change.
You cooked dinner in Jaehyun’s apron and he laughed at how big it was on you. The memories were overwhelming now. It seemed that no matter where you were or what you were doing, his mind would always find a way to remind him of your presence.
But the memories didn’t have to be bitter or painful anymore. He wanted to try again. He wanted a fresh start, a chance to repaint the canvas and a clean slate. As long as you were both determined to make things work, Jaehyun had faith in you and him.
“Dinner was amazing,” Jaehyun complimented, throwing your dirty dishes in the sink to be remembered later. He stepped back over to the island and trapped you in his arms.
You peered up at him, cheeks warming. “Thank you.”
Looking into your pretty eyes, Jaehyun couldn’t resist the temptation to kiss you anymore. You made a noise of surprise when he met his lips to yours, caught completely off-guard, but you kissed him back. It would be fighting your instincts not to.
You closed your eyes and let Jaehyun guide you, trusting he would never lead you astray. When he kissed you, he melted away your icebound surface and got under your skin, peeling you back layer by layer. You liked kissing Jaehyun. Way too much. Even now, you could still recall the first time you made out, hiding behind the bleachers on campus yet gigging loud enough for all to hear.
When it came to each other, you both were like moths to the dangerous flames of love. Love would always unite you again. You couldn’t resist those pretty, twinkling sparks of fire. And you couldn’t get enough of the burn.
Jaehyun was confused when you pulled away, but looked into your eyes again and saw a kind of sadness twinkle in them. Your voice was weak, “Why don’t you hate me?”
“I couldn’t even if I wanted to, baby,” Jaehyun said, finding your hand and squeezing it firmly. “And believe me, I tried. Even if a part of me did hate you, an even bigger part of me will always love you.”
That was all you needed to hear before you were sucking on his tongue again, wet kissing noises tangled in the sound of old school music.
Then, Jaehyun pressed you into the counter, kissing you even rougher. You were riling him up, moaning into his mouth and that noise would never not do it for him. A different kind of fire came over you when you noticed him very impatiently unbuttoning your blouse.
Same old Jaehyun. At heart, he was still the same as the cute boy you fell in love with. You were pleasantly impressed that kissing you alone still got him up.
You broke the kiss again to ask through jagged breath, “Do you think we’re moving too fast?”
“Probably,” Jaehyun replied. Not that he gave a damn. Unless you did, of course. “Do you wanna stop?”
“Jaehyun, I literally have not had sex in over a year. If you don’t fuck my brains out I think I’ll cry.”
Jaehyun chuckled darkly. “That can be arranged.”
You made a noise of surprise when Jaehyun cautiously scooped you into his sturdy arms and lowered you onto the counter. You made out hotly, his hands continuing to quickly unbutton your blouse and yours pulling his shirt above his head.
The sight of his happy trail and toned abs made your core throb. And your mouth water. Your palms involuntarily slicked over them, feeling nothing but hard skin and muscle.
“See something you like?” Jaehyun asked, grinning in the most annoying way possible.
You swallowed the lump in your throat and said, “Still a gym rat, I see.”
Jaehyun bobbed his head. “Yeah. I still hit the gym with Johnny when we have spare time.”
That you knew. Despite the breakup, you and Jaehyun still had a ton of mutual friends, chiefly from high school. You recalled seeing Johnny post one of his gym visits with Jaehyun not too long ago.
And you also vividly remembered the sight of Jaehyun, donning sweats and a blank tank-top. He drove you absolutely feral. His hair was matted to his forehead with sweat and his biceps were flexed, showing off his muscle. You would always be a sucker for a burly man that could snap you in half if he so pleased.
Jaehyun expertly removed your bra and tossed it somewhere to be forgotten. He wanted to see your breasts bounce while he pounded you into oblivion. Your skirt followed, but Jaehyun slid your panties to your ankles at a agonizingly slow pace, all the while smiling like an idiot as you gave a needy and impatient whimper.
“You’re already so wet,” Jaehyun murmured, drawing an invisible pair of lines on your bare cunt with his fingers. “Did you miss me that much?”
You whimpered, “Please, Jay.”
Hearing you call out his name like that was all it took for Jaehyun to lose all sense of self-restraint and he spread your thighs apart with tenderness, burying himself between them. You let out a sharp cry, throwing your head back. Some of your best orgasms were the ones when Jaehyun ate you out until you physically could no longer take it and begged for him to stop.
Jaehyun targeted your clit immediately, a testament to the fact that he knew your body intimately. Your thighs clamped around the sides of his head, unaccustomed to the pressure.
He merely clasped your thighs in his palms and held them freestanding, undeterred as he continued to lap at you like with the hunger only an untamed beast could have.
“Fuck,” was all you could say, curses dangling from your lips. You had been touch-starved for over a year and the familiarity of Jaehyun’s touch was overwhelming in the best way possible.
Despite the fact Jaehyun handled you gently, with love and tenderness and nothing but, he ate you out like an animal.
Jaehyun longed for the taste of you, arousal gathering on his tongue. He loved unraveling you like this. You could never stay still, much less quiet when he was going down on you. The sight of you, head angled back and moaning his name nearly made him cum in his pants.
Your fingers clamped locks of his hair and Jaehyun groaned, somehow spurred on by the gesture. You were making noises left to right, feeling yourself nearing your peak in record time. A year of no sex factoring in a skilled partner would absolutely do that to you.
Your lover learned to recognize you at the threshold of release a very long time ago and briefly parted from your pussy, substituting his mouth with his fingers as he sang, “Just let go for me, baby. It’s okay.”
It was clear that your body had every intention of obeying him. Naturally, it submitted to Jaehyun, with no fear and no reluctance. He knew it and it knew him.
“Oh my God. Jaehyun,” you moaned, thighs twitching. Not wanting to hurt him, you clamped your nails into the counter, eyes closed as the pressure threatened to consume you from head to toe.
Jaehyun talked you through it, whispering, “Do it for me, baby. Just let go.”
Not too much longer, orgasm seized you, rendering you weak and defenseless. You had no strength in your body to fight it even if you wanted to, weakened by his touch. Your toes clenched and you cried his name, fingernails scraping the island roughly enough to damage both your nails and the countertop.
Jaehyun didn’t stop eating you out until you went rigid, chest undulating. You looked a hot mess, heaving for breath and your lips parted, easing the airflow.
“Are you okay?” Jaehyun asked when he moved from between your legs, fighting off a smirk at the sight of you completely disheveled.
“Not until you fuck me,” you rasped, still needy in spite of still trying to catch your breath.
Jaehyun snickered and tugged his pants down, underwear soon giving chase. You positively gawked when you saw his bare, thick dick. It never failed to make your mouth water. And your body tremble with release.
You kept your nails at your sides as Jaehyun lined his cock up at your entrance, gently easing himself past your sheath-like walls. He still clasped his hands at your thighs, brows crumpling with concentration. You were still so goddamn tight, clamping around him with a grip almost vice-like.
“Jay,” you whimpered, hands clenched into fists.
“Shh,” Jaehyun whispered, moving his mouth to the side of your face. There was a catch in your breath when you noticed his lips brushing against your ear, breath tickling your nape. “Open up for me, baby.”
The sensation of being filled completely made you feel nothing short of relief. There was a wet noise when Jaehyun’s hips smacked against your own, the last thrust followed by one even deeper. You tried your best to take all of him, wanting to please him even if it was the last thing you did.
Jaehyun slipped out of his own trance briefly enough to mention, “I didn’t wear a condom.”
“Just pull out,” you said, in no state of mind to give a damn. You liked the feeling of him fucking you nice and raw.
“We’re definitely a pair of idiots.”
You snickered and found his hand, slipping your fingers through his. “You’re my idiot and I’m your idiot. That’s all that matters.”
Jaehyun smiled into the crook of your neck, eventually clamping his teeth there to conceal a moan at your expense.
He lifted his head and drew back to admire the entire view, watching his cock disappear between your legs over and over again borderline obsessively. There was something about you that he would never get tired of. He liked holding you close and loving you hard.
“You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” Jaehyun exhaled, voice full of sincerity. And raw pleasure.
You were burning up, withering heat blindsiding you. Jaehyun was making short work of you. It felt like love-making rather than plain old fucking, all things considered. Jaehyun’s gentle, steady pace as he whispered sweet little nothings in your ear, old school romance songs faded out in the background all the while.
All you could focus on was Jaehyun. He was all you could hear, all you could feel. You were driven by the feeling of your walls garroting his size, the sounds of the little groans he couldn’t smother into your skin and his affectionate words urging you closer to climax.
“Don’t hold back, baby,” you sighed, tightening your hold around his hand. It was a tiny, sweet gesture. “Please? I wanna hear you.”
Jaehyun obeyed you because there wasn’t a damn thing on this earth he wouldn’t do for you. You owned him and you knew it.
Jaehyun swore when you clamped around his dick even harder. He watched your breasts bounce, your whole body unstill. Even your hands were scrambling, releasing him and now finding purchase in his back. “I love you,” he sighed, kneading your breasts.
“I love you, too,” you moaned, feeling light as ever. He always took you to another dimension whenever you were together, but especially when he was fucking you within an inch of your life.
I love you, too. Jaehyun was beaming. That was the first time he’d heard you say it in over a year and you had no idea how badly he needed to hear it again now.
Jaehyun marked up your neck, leaving a trail of himself like souvenirs for you to remember in his absence. Your pulse thumped rapidly, your heart on the verge of tearing out of your chest, landing into his palms where it belonged. Now, your heartache was - at long last - soothed.
There were no words to aptly describe your affection towards Jaehyun. Your love for him ran to an inexplicably deep extent with seemingly no end. It was all you could think about while he fucked you, how badly you needed him in your life. How the sensations he made you feel were irreplicable and you were content enough to simply be in his arms.
Your lover never lasted very long when fucking you bare and raw and sensing himself approaching climax, Jaehyun brought his fingers to your clit, already swollen from release. A gasp tore from your throat when he fondled with the sensitive bundle of nerves, trying to facilitate an orgasm out of you.
“Jaehyun,” you whined. You reached for his hand, sensitive.
Jaehyun grabbed your hand with his spare one and slipped his fingers through again for you to squeeze. “It’s okay, my love. I want you to cum,” he said gently, biting your sweet spot.
He was making short work of you. Your climax threatened to ensnare you with a force powerful enough to snap you in half. You needed it. More than anything, you needed it.
You hauled your nails over his back, drawing long, red lines across the naked flesh. Jaehyun hissed darkly, pace quickening and coming even harder. You were driving him mad and vice versa. Your body had never been more confused than it was in that moment, barely willing itself to not writhe away but simultaneously matching his thrusts, wanting to build the pleasure yet somehow escape it all at once.
“I’m coming, I’m coming,” you warned in an impassioned chant, choking on your lack of breath. “I’m…”
Your body quivered, release stealing the rest of your words before you could speak them. You found Jaehyun’s hand again, squeezing it for dear life. The orgasm was so heavy you almost collapsed in on yourself and Jaehyun. You were seeing white, burning red, emitting Jaehyun’s name in a sharp cry.
Jaehyun felt you clenching around his cock with climax and immediately withdrew, knowing he would bust a nut inside you if he stayed a second longer. “Open your mouth,” Jaehyun told you, voice husky, thick with lust.
It was almost enough to break you all over again.
You did as instructed, no hesitation required. Jaehyun fitted his cock inside your mouth, moaning at how warm it was. You took him in, wanting to get him off and taste him dripping down your throat.
When he saw you, cheeks hollowed with his rigid cock in your mouth, Jaehyun nearly came then and there. He fucked your mouth, guttural little praises dangling from his lips.
Your thighs clenched tightly, hot sparks still aflame between. He got you riled up effortlessly, hardly ever needing to try. There was something about him that you were naturally attracted to, an unshakable kind of attraction. You couldn’t fathom why you couldn’t escape him, why your body and heart was seized by your lover.
“So good,” Jaehyun grunted, pace accelerating.
Jaehyun fucked your throat until he came, emptying his balls into your mouth at long last. Eagerly, you swallowed as much as you could, an amalgamation of his release and your saliva dribbling down your chin and onto your naked, heaving breasts.
And the sight positively wrecked him.
“Fuck,” you rasped, still registering what the hell had happened.
Jaehyun’s eyes flashed with alarm. “Did I hurt you?”
“No, it’s just that that’s the best sex I’ve had in a while.”
Jaehyun rolled his eyes and quipped, “That’s the only sex you’ve had in a while.”
“Still the best.”
Jaehyun laughed, eyes crinkling. “Round two?”
“God, yes,” you groaned, still feeling unalloyed pleasure burning between your thighs.
Jaehyun scooped your bare body into his arms again and carried you into his room, pressing the gentlest of kisses to your lips and neck all the while.
You smiled to yourself in the morning when you roused, feeling Jaehyun’s arms still wrapped loosely around your waist.
Everything had shifted then. Though you initially had plans of spending the holidays buried in work, you came to find that Jaehyun’s warm embrace was the greatest gift you could have asked for on Christmas day. There was none of the loneliness and dwelling you dreaded, only making brand new memories with the man you loved with your entire heart, mind and soul.
On Christmas day, you visited his mother’s house where his family had gathered, recognized familiar faces that were surprisingly all too glad to see you again.
When Jaehyun’s mother opened the front door, you greeted bashfully, “Hi, Mrs. Jung.”
“I knew we would meet again,” Mrs. Jung said softly, simpering in a self-satisfied manner. “Come in, dear. You’re always welcome in our home.”
You stepped inside the house, Jaehyun following suit once exchanging a silent, understanding glance with his mother. As always, she was right.
As you glanced around, nostalgia hit you tenfold. Everywhere you looked, there were memories of you and Jaehyun. You could see you both running up the stairs excitedly and Mrs. Jung scolding you about horse-playing indoors. When your eyes fell to the kitchen, you saw yourself joining the Jung’s for dinner, sitting directly beside your lover.
Jaehyun leaned into your ear, given that seasonal music was blaring, and said, “I’m going to have a talk with my brother for a second. Be on your best behavior and don’t try to escape out a window. Old habits die hard.”
You rolled your eyes and playfully shoved him. “Go. I’ll be right here,” you said, heart wrenching softly.
Jaehyun snickered and slithered away.
In his place came someone you were very familiar with.
“Nostalgia?”
You whirled around, instantly recognizing the voice as Taeyong’s, one of Jaehyun’s many, many cousins.
“I made a lot of memories here. I’ll never forget any of it,” you replied honestly. “Long time, no see.”
Taeyong bobbed his head in agreement. “Definitely. I was scared that I’d never see you again.”
“Why is that?” Your curiosity was piqued. You never imagined Jaehyun’s family would anticipate meeting you once more. It was the stark opposite of your expectations.
Taeyong leaned closer like he was telling you someone’s deepest, darkest secret, and whispered, “Between you and I, Jaehyun hasn’t been the same since the breakup. Not a happy camper. You were a part of his life for so long that we were all convinced he would never adjust to living one without you again.”
Visioning a morose, heartbroken Jaehyun made you frown. “I did that.”
“You absolutely did. You broke the poor guy’s heart and made him unbearable. He didn’t deserve that. And I didn’t deserve to have to put up with his insufferable ass,” Taeyong scoffed offhandedly, though you knew his words were lighthearted. “But you fixed it.”
“I guess I did that, too,” you exhaled contentedly, turning your head to spot Jaehyun chatting with his brother. That made you beam. Everything had fallen apart, shattered into pieces, but you were both willing to do the work and put them together.
“He’s himself again,” Taeyong said, following your gaze. “Thank you for giving me my favorite cousin back.”
“I should have never taken him away in the first place.”
Taeyong gave you a playful, half-assed attempt at consoling, “Good people do bad things. We all fuck up. Just maybe not as badly as you.”
You nudged his side.
He continued, turning somewhat sober, “He forgives you. But this won’t work out until you also forgive yourself.”
“You’re so young, but so wise,” you whispered, slightly touched.
Taeyong snickered. “It runs in the family,” he said, patting your back before turning away.
You merely stood there, rooted in place. Taeyong had given you something to muse on you. You realized a part of you was still clinging onto guilt, unable to rationalize your own decisions. You were so convinced that you were undeserving of Jaehyun’s love and courtesy that you had forgotten how to move on from your errors.
It would be a process. But a step a day was better than none at all.
You beamed when you noticed Jaehyun approaching you and he returned it, outstretching his hand and asking, “May I steal a dance?”
“Of course,” you said, taking his hand in yours.
Jaehyun brought you from the foyer to the living room where mainly everybody had gathered to dance, spinning you in his arms as holiday music filled the air.
You swept some free strands of hair from his handsome face, admiring the view only a little higher up than you. Even in a room filled to the hilt with people, Jaehyun and Jaehyun alone was all you could see. Everyone else faded. It was only you and your lover, swaying to the rhythm of a seasonal song.
“This feels like senior prom, but Christmas edition,” Jaehyun quipped.
You snickered delightfully. “I remember when we were announced prom king and queen. I like how nobody was surprised.”
You remembered it like it was yesterday. Jaehyun joined you for the first dance, gently whirling you around in front of several prying eyes, but you didn’t care. To you, the room was as good as empty. They were faceless, nameless people with no contribution or value, no relation to you and your blossoming romance with Jaehyun.
It was an experience you never knew you needed back then. Maybe in that moment, you knew it was fate. That one way or another, Jaehyun was inevitably the one you would grow old and gray-haired with.
Even now, as you stared into his pretty brown eyes, you knew that this was the man you wanted a future with.
Jaehyun glanced up and said, “Look.”
You did as told, smiling fondly as you noticed the mistletoe hanging above your heads. A part of you wondered if it was a coincidence or if he chose this spot deliberately. “I remember kissing you in front of everyone,” Jaehyun added, full of mischief.
You played along and hummed, “I’m not sure if I recall. Care to remind me?”
Jaehyun didn’t waste a second to lock lips with you, tasting hot cocoa on your tongue. You could taste gingerbread on his and the thought made you giggle into his mouth. There was something about it - something about Jaehyun - that made every tiny thing mean a billion times more.
All of the whimsical little things made your heart swell with happiness.
“Yo, chill, you horn dogs. There’s children,” scolded Jaehyun’s other cousin Mark, covering his little cousin’s eyes. His family gave you a headache. Every time you learned them all, it was as if another cousin popped out of thin air.
You and Jaehyun pulled away, snickering. You leaned on your toes, giving his lips one final peck before deciding you’d had your fill.
Days of being Jaehyun’s again turned into some of the happiest months of your life. You were letting go of some of your old habits and setting some past trauma free. There were a handful of grim times, but you both made the effort to repair things before they spiraled out of control.
Excuses had run their course. Jaehyun would ask you on dates and you’d agree more, overworking yourself less. Until now, you never realized that putting some distance between yourself and the stresses of work was what it took to be happier. You had made the earth-shattering mistake of convincing yourself that hard work equated happiness.
The two of you agreed to take things slow, afraid rushing would land you in an achingly familiar predicament, but you couldn’t deny that things had been speeding up. And Jaehyun already knew that it would forever be you.
It was another long, brutal day of work and nothing was out of the ordinary. You were running across the office, balancing direct orders on top of your daily tasks. You needed six skins to have a job like this. Three to balance the roles of multiple people and another three to endure the wear and tear.
Ten, your favorite co-worker, tracked you down and stopped you dead in your tracks to say, “Hey, slow down a second. Someone’s here to see you.”
You did the opposite of slowing down, still walking and as he followed you, said, “Tell them I’m taking a sick day, would you? Thanks, Tennie.”
“I don’t think so,” Ten said, donning an amused look. Which successfully made you pause in confusion. Usually, Ten never hesitated to cover for you. “You’re going to want to hear what this guy has to say. I swear.”
Very reluctantly, you agreed to follow Ten, curiosity piqued as you wondered who in the hell would dare interrupt you in the middle of a swift-paced work day.
Jung Jaehyun. That was who.
You made a face of confusion when you saw him there, smiling at you like an idiot. Confused, you asked, “Jay, you couldn’t text or call?”
“What I’m about to do is a bit difficult to do over the phone,” Jaehyun retorted, admiring your state of obliviousness.
You huffed, “What are you…”
You cut yourself off when you noticed one of the staff hand Jaehyun a tiny box and he proceeded to crouch on one knee. The realization made your heart thud, pulse quickening.
Jaehyun started, “Baby, I’ve been racking my brain trying to think of how to say this. I had to have tried to practice this a million times before I decided to talk to you from my heart.”
Your co-workers all gathered around, and you noticed even your boss observing from the corner of your eyes, but your gaze was locked on Jaehyun and no one but.
Your lover fought his nerves and added, “We met when we were in high school. I remember it like it was yesterday. We were so young, dumb, and drunk off learning what true love was for the first time. We couldn’t resist each other.”
The memories made your heart melt, taut with ecstasy.
“Then, we got older. And things got more complicated, but in spite of that, we never stopped loving each other. Not for a second,” Jaehyun declared, impassioned. “I’ve been in love with you for so long that I can’t imagine my life any other way. No matter what has changed between us.”
Jaehyun was staring you dead in the eyes, watching your face melt with awe. It gave him all the courage he needed.
“You made it so easy to fall in love with you but so hard to fall back out. And I don’t want to. I adore you, my love. Thoughts of you keep me up and night, restless. You make me crazy.”
Your eyes burned, fighting an oncoming threat of tears with every passing word. Jaehyun had swept you off your feet, making you feel emotions you never knew existed.
“I know we’ve been through thick and thin, baby. But we were there for each other. And even when we separated, we found our way right back into each other’s arms,” your lover added.
You wanted to pinch yourself, determine if you were dreaming. Even though Jaehyun had proposed once to you before, you would never get used to the wave of emotion that plagued you, rendering you soft and full of glee.
“I didn’t know what love was until I fell for you. You’re my first love and all these years by your side have only solidified my courage that I want you to be my last. You are the only woman on this earth I can imagine a future with and if it’s not you, then I know there’s nobody else out there for me.”
Ten was smartly grabbing a box of tissues for safe measure.
Jaehyun’s voice got softer, “Let’s try again, my love. Let’s do this one more time - one last time. Will you marry me?”
Now, you had the spotlight. Ten was none too subtly mouthing, “Say ‘yes.’” Everybody was anticipating your reaction and you wondered exactly how long in advance everyone had been in on this little surprise except for you.
There was no hesitation and you practically screamed as you chanted, “Yes!”
Jaehyun, much like the last time he proposed to you, swept you into his arms and kissed you to death, effectively silencing you. The room erupted in cheer. Everybody was glad to get a break from their tedious jobs and witness a moment as beautiful as this one.
The champagne was already popping. Your fiancé whirled you in your arms and you told him affectionately, “I love you.”
“Say it again,” Jaehyun said, incapable of getting enough.
“I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you. I love you so much that I don’t know what to do with myself.”
“Let me love you,” your fiancé said, staring at you like you were the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. And you were. “That’s all you have to do.”
You smiled, pretending to mull it over. “I think I can let that happen.”
Jaehyun was over the moon. There were no words to describe how ecstatic he was. He missed this feeling and he was more than glad that it had returned. “Merry Christmas,” he said playfully.
“Jaehyun, it is literally the end of July. This reminds me of when you wished me Happy Valentines Day after fucking my brains out on your birthday,” you replied, rolling your eyes.
“Still,” your fiancé said, pressing a kiss to the corner of your lips and cheesing at the memory of fucking you raw again. “Marrying you is the best gift I could ever ask for.”
You smiled in agreement. And fought a smirk as you remembered you had your own little surprise for your betrothed, waiting for you at home on the bathroom counter.
Jesus Christ, you were going to need a bigger place to stay.
4K notes · View notes
soobluv · 1 year
Text
honeymoon avenue
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pairing; jaehyun x (f) reader
genre/warnings; smut, a pinch of angst, fluff, stuck in an elevator with your ex-fiancé, exes to lovers, unprotected sex, oral (f receiving), very fast-paced story
summary; A year ago, wedding bells were ringing and you were screaming, “Yes!” at the top of your lungs. Last Christmas, you were supposed to be wed under a mistletoe. This Christmas, company finds you in the form of your ex-fiancé that broke off your engagement after you’re both inconveniently trapped in an elevator.
wc; 12.3k (complete opposite of a slow burn)
playlist; honeymoon avenue by ariana grande, my everything by ariana grande, undo (back to my heart) by tinashe, ice queen by baekhyun
a/n; ‘tis the season! decided to try something a little new. this was definitely a challenge for me, but it was fun regardless. merry christmas! see this as a little gift from me <3 as always, feedback is appreciated!
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Last year around this time, you had arranged to be wed. You recalled restlessly counting down the days until your lover would meet his lips to yours in front of all of your friends and family once granted the greenlight to kiss the bride.
You had everything planned down to a “T.” The banquet hall would be emerald and burgundy. There would be an arch above you where a mistletoe would hang. The wedding cake would have Jaehyun’s surname. And everyone’s attire would be formal, though seasonal.
It was supposed to be the best day of your life.
A winter wonderland wedding seemed like an apt choice for you. You were so, so cold, but there was still an air of warmth to you. Now, your heart was unthawed.
This Christmas - much like the last - you would be alone.
It stung knowing you would be lonely for the second Christmas in a row and there was nobody at fault but yourself. You were miffed at your own behavior, but gave yourself no time to dwell on the past, doing what you knew how to do best - work until your brain went numb.
There was plenty on the roster today. A corporate meeting, phone calls to answer, and reports that wouldn’t type themselves. And that was to be brief. Speaking of which, you needed to brief employees about new protocols.
“Come on, come on, come on,” you chanted impatiently to yourself, tapping your foot against the floor. The elevators in your apartment were running later than usual today.
You heaved a breath of relief when the doors chimed open. Out went a group of people and in went you. Maneuvering your body to press the first floor button, you came to a halt when you noticed it was already selected and gleaming.
That was when you finally noticed the man in the elevator - the only other person there with you - glancing down at his phone. You leaned against the railing and shifted your attention to the door nonchalantly, writing off the stranger as the very least of your concerns. Getting to work on time was paramount.
As it always was.
Morning traffic is going to be brutal, you thought with a grimace. Every thought in your head revolved around work and how long it would take you to get there.
It would seem you would have no time for your morning coffee run. You remembered those times when you’d stay the night at Jaehyun’s, waking to a hot cup of coffee that he’d made just the way you liked it waiting for you.
Four words would permanently be etched into your memory. Have a good life.
With some disdain, you bade the thought retreat. Jaehyun was no longer a part of your life and you doubted he would want to be ever again. Not that you blamed him. It was your punishment alone.
The elevator gave a jolt and you gripped the elevator for dear life, screeching, “What the…?”
The floor indicator donned the number one in a big, bold shade of red, though ironically, the door gave not an inch. Which was odd. You pressed the button that ostensibly opened the door in these types of situations, but to no avail.
“Are we stuck?”
Your head snapped behind you and you nearly broke into a cold sweat when you noticed that the man lone in the elevator with you was no other than your ex-fiancé.
Living in the same apartment complex as the man you were once fated to marry was no easy feat, but the multiple years of seeing each other made it simpler to avoid him. For one, you knew one another’s routines and thus what time to be out the door either before or after the other.
That said, you had seen Jaehyun a couple of weeks ago, but the last time you’d spoken was when he returned all of your things from his apartment. Have a good life. Those were the last words he’d exchanged with you.
That had been approximately a year ago, a couple of weeks before Christmas and the day you were supposed to say, “I do.”
“Appears that way,” you replied, clearing your throat.
Jaehyun had his phone in his pockets now. You held your breath as you gave him a once-over. He was still handsome as ever, though that was to be expected. As far as you were concerned, he looked more or less the same as the last time you’d spoken, only his hair was a little lengthier. He still looked rather displeased to see you.
And he was wearing a suit. Which meant he was most likely also trying to go to work.
You frowned. Now you were thinking about Jaehyun in suits. Needless to say, that was a sore spot.
A voice came over a speaker and you recognized it as Yangyang’s, one of the apartment staff. He spoke like he was reading from a textbook, “Passengers, do not be alarmed. Our technical team will be arriving shortly to repair the service. We apologize for the inconvenience.”
You mused aloud, “Can he hear us?”
“Loud and clear,” Yangyang chirped.
“How long will it be before someone can help us?” you asked, never keen on being late.
“I can’t say, ma’am. Anywhere from fifteen minutes and a couple of hours.”
You interjected to screech, “A couple of hours?”
Jaehyun clamped a soothing palm on your shoulder to calm you down. It was almost embarrassing how effortlessly his touch could ease you even a year after he broke off your engagement.
Yangyang explained in his usual exuberant tone, “The weather and usual early traffic may cause a delay, ma’am. They will be arriving as swiftly as possible and servicing is already underway by our maintenance staff.”
“Thank you, Yangyang,” Jaehyun said, smoothing his palm down your back.
“Have a nice day, Mr. Jung. You too, ma’am.”
You heaved a breath. “So, it looks like we’re going to be here a while.”
“Hopefully not that long,” Jaehyun said, recouping his hand.
Though it stung, you understood. It went without saying that being trapped in an elevator with the ex that abandoned him was not part of today’s plan. He may have called off the engagement, but you were the one that left him high and dry.
You broke his heart. Not only that, you stole his future. Everything he ever dreamed of, a wife and children, was thrown out the window because of your selfishness.
Jaehyun discerned you would both be stuck together for a while and rather than sit in awkward silence, he asked, “How’s life?”
Darn him. No matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t get the last words he had said to you out of your head. Have a good life.
The breakup was bitter and stone-cold. Jaehyun made a couple of things unmistakably clear with those four words alone. For one, he was cutting you out of his life for good. And he no longer desired to be imprisoned within yours, being punished for no good reason at all.
And you never fought him - never fought to win him over. Maybe because you had already known for some time that your engagement was in danger. It was beyond reclaim. Irrevocably damaged.
Never one to appear weak, you said, “Good. Really good. I was promoted to secretary.”
Jaehyun perked up. You got what you wanted. But did I deserve to be the sacrifice, baby? Was it worth it?
“Still a workaholic, I see.”
You frowned. “Old habits die hard. How have you been?”
“I can’t complain,” Jaehyun said. “I wasn’t promoted or anything, but everything’s been pretty good over here.”
You had no doubts. Jaehyun was an editor and his line of work gave him plenty of leeway. For the most part, he worked from home, though there were instances where he came into the workplace. At least, when you last spoke, that is.
“That’s amazing. I’m happy for you,” you said, willing yourself to smile. A part of you was strangely bitter. It didn’t want to see him happy without you.
Though you no longer followed each other, Jaehyun still popped up on your Instagram homepage every now and then. And perhaps you’d searched his page more times than you cared to admit. Everything about his page was achingly sentimental and reminiscent of your past together.
Pictures of him at museums or bridges at nighttime or parks with his hair whipping through the breeze. Once upon a time, you were the one taking those pictures of him. Now, you wondered who was behind the camera, living the life you’d carelessly given away.
“Thanks,” was all he willed himself to reply.
Your eyes instinctively fell to your watch and your head fell back as you groaned, “God, I’m going to be late for work.”
Jaehyun fought a snort. “You and me both. At least there’s still some good news.”
“Like what?”
“It’s warm in here,” Jaehyun commented lightheartedly.
You chuckled. What a way to relieve the tension. Though Jaehyun never failed to make you laugh with ease. Except for when you broke up. Nothing was funny then.
Those weeks leading to the breakup may have been worse than the day it actually happened altogether. The feeling of knowing something was inevitably bound to happen yet being unable to prevent it was arguably worse than the emptiness you felt when Jaehyun announced he no longer wanted anything to do with you.
Emptiness numbed you to the pain for a couple of days. You couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep. All you could feel was a bitter, nipping cold enveloping you, eventually splitting you right down the middle.
Jaehyun subtly eyed you as you typed a message to your boss, warning him that you may have been late for work and telling him to proceed without you. Maybe some things never changed. You were still gorgeous, that was for sure. But you were also still married to your work. Ultimately, that would always prove to be your downfall.
It seemed like only yesterday you were his. He was planning to meet you at the altar, itching to sweep you into his arms and kiss you the moment you were pronounced husband and wife.
You had always been a workaholic. At one point, Jaehyun loved it about you. He never thought your relationship would be foredoomed because of it. Devoted and loyal were two terms that described you strongly.
Although, maybe you had been too devoted to the wrong thing.
Your broken engagement was a prime example of what happened when you applied too much pressure to one thing and neglected the other. It was the wretched result of not finding balance.
Everything you ever hoped and dreamed of flashed before your eyes. Once upon a time, you were both making plans to move into a house together. You wanted a pet. And you were thinking about children.
Now, you were all alone. And you had never felt colder.
For some reason, the absurdity of your predicament hit you merely moments after you sent the text message. It just didn’t seem probable to be trapped in an elevator with your ex-fiancé. Much less alone. You threw your head back and whined, “I mean, what are the odds.”
Jaehyun pitched you a confused glance.
You winded a hand through your hair and elaborated, “Us being stuck in the exact same elevator and forcing ourselves to pretend we don’t mind. If I remember correctly, you had no intention of hearing from me again.”
“I think we should spare each other the awkwardness,” Jaehyun replied, donning an impassive expression. And tone.
You bit your lip. Maybe you shouldn’t have said anything. Jaehyun being kind to you should not have been mistaken and was probably more or less because he wanted to avoid as much tension as possible - not because he didn’t hate you.
Jaehyun spoke up again to ask, “How long have we been here?”
You glanced at your phone and read the time. “About fifteen minutes, I guess.”
“So, we’re going to be here for a couple of hours,” Jaehyun quipped, trying to lighten the mood the best way he knew how.
You winced, hoping there was an in between. “Not like I had anything else to do,” you mumbled.
Jaehyun himself wasn’t exactly bummed about missing a day, or at least a couple of hours. Though this was you. He used to joke that hell would freeze over the moment you decided to actually take a day off. “They will survive without you for a while,” he comforted softly.
You scoffed. You were carrying that company on your back. “I’m afraid that’s where you’re wrong. The whole building will be in flames if I’m not there within an hour tops.”
“I’m sure,” Jaehyun scoffed. “I’ve never seen anyone work as hard as you do.”
I have, you thought wistfully. Jaehyun fought harder for your relationship than you ever tried, but enough was enough. He was at his limit, giving more than he was receiving and he couldn’t let you take advantage of him anymore.
Though it was intended to be a compliment, for whatever reason, your heartache was only amplified. You swiftly changed the subject. “So, what are your plans for the holidays?”
He shrugged. “Nothing special. I’m going to spend some time with my family.”
That caught your attention. “You haven’t been seeing anyone?”
Jaehyun only shook his head. He was afraid of opening his mouth and saying something that would make shit awkward again. For all he knew, you two would both be stuck together for potentially the next couple of hours and he did not want to spend it in suffocating silence.
Unfortunately, Jaehyun couldn’t deny that after your engagement was broken off, finding other girls had been hard. They came a dime a dozen, but none of them remained. Even after you were long gone, bits of you lingered, scattered everywhere across his life.
Jaehyun went to bed and thought of nights spent cuddling you to sleep. He visited his favorite cafe and thought of your go-to order. Jaehyun hooked up with other girls and thought of how beautiful you looked writhing underneath him, your voice calling out his name in a cry, dripping with sweet honey.
Though you were forever gone, the memories of you still haunted him everyday. For so long, he had been convinced he was made for you. You were the only woman he ever wanted.
And he couldn’t have you.
Jaehyun commanded the thoughts to go away. You stopped being his long before the breakup. “You?”
“Oh, you know. With my line of work, I just don’t have the time,” you replied bashfully.
That Jaehyun knew all too well. Just a little.
He bobbed his head. “Sounds like you.”
Guilt suddenly plagued your chest. Every second beside him you were reminded of the fact that you were the one who ruined a beautiful thing. You had gotten what you strived for, though in hindsight, the lengths you went to get it were brutal and cold-hearted.
You had sacrificed so much of yourself to get to where you were. And now that you were standing at the top, you could finally see the collateral damage you’d inflicted at the bottom.
There was only a good couple of feet to separate you and Jaehyun. And you absolutely loathed it. There was more distance between you when he uttered those four words permanently etched into your memory, before turning and heading out of your front door.
Jaehyun fancied it no more than you did. Walking away had been hard. He looked back, but never stopped. A year ago, he was convinced that he would have moved on by now. But no matter how far apart you were, his heart was still one of your captives. Not only did he leave a piece of it with you, but the whole damn thing.
He wanted it back. Damn it, he wanted you back. He wanted back every piece of himself he gave you, but above all else, he wanted back what you had. To go back to the way everything was the day he got down on one knee and asked for permission to hold your heart forever.
He remembered it like it was yesterday. Earlier that spring, he took you to a bridge. Not only was it one of your favorite spots in the city, but it was where you both first said I love you.
Maybe that was why. Now, you couldn’t bring yourself to visit it anymore. The memories were too painful.
Just like the first time he took you there, night had fallen. The bridge overlooked a river, moonlight cast into the water. Purple lights made the trail glimmer. But the moon was a little fuller, the air a little cooler.
Not that either of you minded. To be with you, he was content.
You were beaming. Even before he proposed. None of you could stop thinking about the night you first said that you loved each other. But when Jaehyun asked you to marry him underneath the moonlight, you were over the moon.
You were chanting, “Yes!” Jaehyun had to sweep you into his arms and meet his lips to yours to cut you off. A very long time ago, the memory made him smile. Now, it made his heart swell with agony.
His eyes were sad. And understandably a little angry. Even after all these years, you could still read him clear as day. You wondered if he could read you, too. You whispered, “I’m sorry.”
Jaehyun heaved a deep breath. An apology wouldn’t fix his broken heart and saying you were sorry wouldn’t undo the heartache you inflicted on him. It wasn’t okay. He hated you for leaving him lonely. For choosing your job over a future together. He would never forgive you for it. “I never wanted much. I never wanted all of your time. Only a little was all I was asking for.”
“I don’t want to go there with you, Jaehyun,” you said, exhaling a sigh of your own.
All Jaehyun did was shake his head and murmur under his breath, “Classic.”
A part of you bristled. Why Jaehyun always wanted to hash things out with you was a mystery. Fighting was draining and you never had the energy. A long day of work left you with only enough strength to take a long hot shower before crawling into bed.
Not Jaehyun. He would never understand. The pressure to succeed, the struggle to unlearn the definition of success you were taught even before your adolescence.
A year ago, everything was falling apart in your relationship. You were arguing more, spending time together less. Jaehyun was trying to salvage what was left. In his mind, fighting with you was better than not speaking to you at all.
Most of your memories with him were unforgettable, but when they were bad, they were excruciating to think of. You could still remember the last argument before the uncoupling.
December was still fresh and the air was frigid, numbing your senses until you stepped into your warm apartment. Jaehyun was waiting for you there. A smile tugged your lips when you hung your coat and excitedly bounced into the kitchen, smelling hot chocolate.
“Baby, I’m home,” you sang radiantly. At one point, it used to be your favorite line to say. A lifetime of obsessing over movie cliches was to blame.
Jaehyun locked eyes with you and simpered. You looked nothing less than exhausted, though he found it cute on you. “Hey, my love. How was your day?”
You instantly groaned, “I’d rather not talk about it. Or think about it, for that matter.”
“Will a cup of hot cocoa make it better?”
You propped yourself on the island and flirted, “Made by Barista Jaehyun himself? Of course.”
Jaehyun handed you a mug and you accepted it graciously, muttering, “thank you.” He was the sweetest thing you could ask for. Even sweeter than the hot cocoa warming your palms.
That was how the arguments always began. They were sweet, innocent moments - until they weren’t.
Your lover dipped behind the island and returned with a mug of his own, still steaming with freshly hot cocoa. You thought absolutely nothing of it. Not until he opened his mouth. “How does a date night on Friday sound?”
You frowned. “This Friday?”
“Well, yeah,” Jaehyun said, rubbing his nape. “It’s been a while, you know. Since we’ve gone out on a date.”
That was true. Jaehyun always had some extra time to spare. He wanted to spoil and indulge you at every given chance. But you were always busy. Even when you were off the clock, you were still on the clock. And more often than not, you brought work back home with you.
“I’m so busy and so tired, Jay,” you whispered gently. God knew you wanted to, but you didn’t have the time and much less the energy.
“I get that,” Jaehyun started. “But can’t you take even a day off?”
“I’m aiming for a promotion, Jaehyun. I have to prove myself. My boss has been dangling this shit in our faces for the past few months. I can’t let an opportunity like that slip away.”
Jaehyun was rapidly getting frustrated and reminded, “You do realize we’re getting married in a few weeks, right?”
Your eyes flickered. “Yes, I do. And I plan to be there.”
“At the rate you’re going, I wouldn’t be surprised if you stood me up.”
Your heart sank. “How can you say that?”
“How couldn’t I?” Jaehyun snapped, evidently pained. “We’ve been engaged for the past nine months, but it doesn’t feel like I’m about to get married. It feels like I’m losing you because you’re too absorbed in your goddamn job.”
“Are you asking me to choose you over my job?” you asked, standing to your feet. This entire argument was an affront to your pride.
“No. There is no point in giving you an ultimatum when I already know that you will choose your job every time without hesitation - you already do. I’m asking you to make room for me, but I can’t force you to do anything you don’t want to.”
You countered, “I do want you.”
“Do you?” Jaehyun snapped, skeptical. “You can’t even go on a date with me. You want a promotion more than anything else.”
You sighed, “I don’t want to fight, Jay.”
“I know that. You don’t want to fight for anything,” Jaehyun said bitterly. “You would rather watch us burn to ash than fight for us.”
Anger plagued you and you were prepared to hurl something back, but he didn’t give you the chance.
Jaehyun added, “I don’t like the person this job has made you become. I want the woman I proposed to back, and I’m scared she’s not there anymore.”
Your words were cold as ice, “Then, leave.”
And the rest was history.
There was nothing you could say when Jaehyun left you, no fight for you to give. It was you that sent him away. It was you that made him leave. He had only given you what you asked for.
Old habits died hard. The one-year anniversary of both the breakup and the day you were supposed to be married was rapidly approaching and to distract yourself from the pain, you were burying yourself in work. You didn’t want to think about Jaehyun and what you almost had. Not even for a second. And then, today came and ruined everything.
Now, you were being forced to confront the past.
Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry. You’re stronger than this. God, you wanted to be anywhere but here right now. Tears burned your eyes, but you would never let them fall. Not with Jaehyun there. You didn’t want him to see the mess he’d left of you - how miserable you were without him.
You wanted to mend everything back together, but it was too late. Everything was irreparably broken. You had the opportunity to patch things up, and you passed it up. No more time could be wasted crying for the moon.
And still, somewhere deep inside, you knew Jaehyun would steal it for you.
Jaehyun saw your eyes and softened a little. Damn it, they still made him weak. Your tears were made of diamonds and they were priceless. Jaehyun said, “My mother still talks about you, you know. She asks me when we’re going to get back together.”
Your eyes flickered. “That’s… interesting,” you lied. “I thought she would hate me. And be more protective of her baby.” Because I broke your heart.
“You know my mother always loved you,” Jaehyun chuckled fondly. “I don’t think anyone believed in us more than her - not even ourselves.”
Somebody had to, you thought weakly. Though Jachyun was a romantic to his core, even he had to eventually throw in the towel.
Everyone thought you and Jaehyun would be the perfect match. Each of your families were anticipating a beautiful wintry nuptial ceremony on Christmas day. And when news of the uncoupling broke loose, your people weren't exactly shocked, but they were heavily disappointed.
You were clearly the problem. Until you learned how to balance, you would never be happy in love.
Up until now, you were beginning to become content with that fate.
Though now, your heart was greedy.
Jaehyun’s mother crossed your mind. She was the epitome of an angel and the fact that she still wanted you in her son’s life after all the pain you caused him was deafening. But what about what Jaehyun wanted? Does he even still love me?
Every moment spent with his mother had been wonderful. She spoke fondly of him and vice versa and supported him unconditionally. It was true motherly love and it made your chest stiffen, taut with envy. Ever since you were a kid, you only knew pressure. Your parents wanted you to have the life they didn’t when they were your age, but they were very strict in how they went about it.
Tough love was all you received. They didn’t help you through trying times. You were expected to suck it up. You were taught that tears were a sign of vulnerability and vulnerability was weakness.
You fought them back with everything you had and said, “How does she know I wouldn’t mess things up again?”
“I don’t know,” Jaehyun told you, not disputing the fact that you had essentially destroyed everything. It stung, but it was the truth. “She says ‘a mother knows best.’”
Jaehyun watched you struggle to hold yourself together. You were good at pretending to be okay and smiling through your pain, but he was even better at seeing through you. He saw you through a lens that only a man who loved you with his whole mind, body, and soul for years could see. He saw all your weaknesses, all your flaws. But he never judged and he saw something else in them, too. What made you beautiful.
“But what do you want?” It was killing you. For as long as you stood there, you needed to know.
“I wanted you,” Jaehyun replied honestly. “But you wouldn’t let me have you.”
You shook your head. “You had me. Every piece of me - it belonged to you.”
“That’s not how I remember it,” Jaehyun muttered. “You had my heart, but your work had yours.”
“That’s not true.”
Jaehyun was firm. “It is and you know it.”
“I loved you,” you told him softly.
“Well, you sure had a funny way of showing it.”
You gripped the railing to anchor yourself. It didn’t move, but you could feel yourself slipping into weakness. “I don’t know how to stop, Jaehyun. I think it’s a part of me now. It’s hard to stop doing something you’ve done your whole life.”
I don’t like the person this job has made you become. I want the woman I proposed to back, and I’m scared she’s not there anymore.
Maybe he was right. Maybe that woman was long gone.
A cloud of melancholy came over you, pouring over you and Jaehyun. He told you somberly, “I could have helped you if you would have let me in. But you were pushing me away.”
“I know,” you said, meeting his dark eyes. “But I wish I would have known back then. I never realized I was breaking us apart. Not until it was too late. I thought I was doing what was best…”
Jaehyun finished darkly, “You were doing what was best for yourself. Not for us.”
You opened your mouth to defend yourself, but quickly accepted he was right and instead said, “I was wrong. I was selfish. I wasn’t considering how any of it made you feel and that’s a decision I have to live with now.”
“Do you regret it?” I need to know if my broken heart was worthwhile.
Your eyes burned. “Every day of my life.”
“Why?” Jaehyun questioned, voice barely above a whisper. “You got the promotion. Isn’t that what you wanted?”
“I thought it was,” you muttered. Your chest was swelling with self-disgust and agony and anger. Not at Jaehyun, but at yourself. “But when I lost you, I realized that everything I needed was already right there. Until it wasn’t.”
Jaehyun was quiet but pensive. As if he was trying to trace exactly where everything started going wrong.
Even in school, you were devoted. You were the valedictorian of your class. Jaehyun used to steal you away to kiss you behind the bleachers. But you would always be there for his basketball games, cheering him on better than any cheerleader.
High school sweethearts, he thought wistfully. In high school, you won prom king and queen. Everyone thought you would last forever. That only God himself could part you.
How beautiful it was to be young, dumb, and in love.
Jaehyun knew your issues stemmed from your childhood. When you were still in high school, sometimes you had to blow him off to study. He remembered you canceling hangouts because your parents refused to let you out of their house until you studied until you were cross-eyed. Their house, their rules, was the policy.
But he also remembered those nights when he would hear a knock on his bedroom window and smile when he saw you beaming at him through the glass. One December night, you were crazy enough to sneak out during the nipping cold, shivering and rubbing your arms outside his window.
Though it was many years ago, Jaehyun remembered that night clearly. His mother made you hot cocoa and promised not to tattle. She always had a soft spot for you and held some disdain for your parents. She claimed they worked you too hard.
Everything was so perfect back then. He knew what changed, but he couldn’t understand why. You used to make time for him whenever you could. As the pressures of adulthood caught up to you, it all came to a slow, brutal end.
But why?
Then, leave. Those were the two words he would never forget. They were powerful than the I love you’s - more powerful than the I miss you’s. Your clipped, icy tone, would maybe someday be forgiven, but never forgotten.
A stubborn wound was forevermore slashed on his heart waiting for you to heal it.
You were breaking. Every part of you was crashing down. A familiar ache split your heart right down the middle. “I’ll never forgive myself for throwing away the most beautiful thing that has ever happened to me. I didn’t know what I had until it was gone and I can’t tell you enough how sorry I am.”
Your ex-lover was mawkishly nostalgic and sentimental and never said he forgave you, for that would take a while longer, but told you, “I knew I was the second priority in your life after your career. And I was okay with that. Then, it started to feel like I had no place in it at all. I was at the end of my tether, a stranger to the woman I was supposed to marry, and I knew we couldn’t carry on like that, my love.”
My love. That was what Jaehyun always used to call you. Your eyes flickered. “Do you still…?”
“I don’t think I’ll ever completely get over you,” Jaehyun admitted forlornly.
That was when the dam broke. Jaehyun had dismantled you piece by piece and left you vulnerable. You had no strength to fight back the tears rolling down your cheeks.
Jaehyun’s arms, as they always were, were wide open. He pulled you into his warm embrace and let you sob into his chest, smoothing his hand down your back and protecting you from the sharp coldness of your own pain. You were beleaguered to remember the last time you let yourself cry. You let everything pile up until the water pressure became too much.
“Shh. It’s okay. Let it out,” Jaehyun crooned, gently stroking your hair. “You’re not weak.”
There was an ache resurfacing in your body and it was purely unshakable. Your heart was whole, but hollow. Only its pleas to be back with Jaehyun - where it belonged - rang out in the icebound, empty void.
Being in Jaehyun’s arms only made you nostalgic and the pain hit you harder. You thought regretfully of those moments in the past when he would hold you for all to see. And you remembered going to bed and always knowing he was still there, because you would feel his arms still tight around you and smile. Like he wanted to protect you, even while asleep.
You sobbed, “I don’t deserve you.”
Jaehyun gently pushed you back only a little and looked you in your eyes. He wiped your cheeks with his thumb and told you calmly, “You made a mistake. We all do.”
The gesture made you soft and weak. Goddamn it, you were so weak for him. Like your knees would give in any moment now.
“Not like the one I made, though.”
“That’s true,” Jaehyun said. “But do you regret it?”
Your voice wavered, “More than anything.”
“Then, I forgive you.”
You shook your head, not knowing how to accept that. You didn’t deserve forgiveness. You didn’t deserve understanding. But that was the kind of person Jaehyun was.
He deserves someone better than me, you thought somberly. But you wouldn’t know what you would do with yourself if he found that someone.
“You should hate me,” you said softly, voice cracking. “I broke your heart. I broke us.”
Jaehyun shook his head. “You know what my mother always says?”
“It doesn’t only matter if you break something, but if you’re willing to put it back together,” you said, smiling fondly at the memory of his mother. She always treated you like you were her own.
Jaehyun nodded and asked, “Are you willing to put us back together again?”
You mulled it over. There was no doubt that you were willing. Back then, you were too in your head to notice reality. Now, you were blindsided by pain and regret and inclined to do anything to make it stop. “What if I mess up again?”
“Relationships aren’t perfect. People fuck up and people make mistakes. You’re only human,” Jaehyun told you frankly. “I’ll be there to help you clean it up. But don’t let me pull all the weight. We both have to fight together.”
“Okay.” You knew what you wanted now. It wasn’t that job. It wasn’t a promotion. It was the man that had spent half his life loving you, and would still love you for the other half. “I’m willing.”
Jaehyun smiled. A part of him couldn’t fathom how this was happening. The hole in his heart was steadily being sealed. He pulled you back flush against his chest.
The tension in the air seemed to alleviate then. You could finally breathe again. Being in a tight space with the love of your life didn’t feel suffocating anymore, but closer to relief.
You were talking freely again. You missed just being able to have a conversation with Jaehyun, recalling those times when you would discuss anything under the sun. Long nights of talking the moon away knowing full well you had work in the morning hit you. With Jaehyun, the small talk was skipped. You could discuss anything and everything.
There was no worry, no fear. Sometimes, there would be tension, but never the unpleasant kind. Only moments ago, those times seemed like merely a distant memory. Now, there was hope that you had Jaehyun back.
In his arms, you realized that was where you belonged. It was your safe haven in a world filled with danger. Your secrets were safe with Jaehyun and you were free to be vulnerable, because you knew he would never betray you. No matter what happened between you both, whether you were angry or in love, you knew whatever you told each other would forever remain under lock and key.
“Do you remember the arch?” you asked, wistfully recalling what could’ve been. “I wanted a mistletoe up there. For some reason, I couldn’t shake the thought of kissing you underneath it for the first time as your wife.”
Jaehyun chuckled fondly. “I remember. I also remember you wanted John Stamos to marry us because he was your, and I quote, ‘true first love.’”
You nudged his side. “Hey, I would have also accepted Shemar Moore.”
Goddamn it, now Jaehyun was thinking about kissing you. His eyes fell to your pretty lips, still as enticing as they used to be when you were his. Never had he wanted to kiss you so badly. Like it would heal the wounds caused by missing you.
Can I… can I kiss you?” Jaehyun asked.
You said with no hesitation, “You can do whatever you want to me.”
Now that he had your permission, Jaehyun didn’t waste a second to envelop your lips in his. Only then did you realize how much you missed feeling his lips on yours, how much you craved tasting his tongue in your mouth. You had gone so long without, but ironically, he still felt like home. And making out with him felt right as ever.
Jaehyun kissed you so fiercely that he nearly swept you off balance and caught your hips in his arms. Your fingers threaded through his hair, back against the railing. He kissed you to make up with the wasted times he spent with other people. You kissed him to make up for the wasted times you could have spent with each other. To fill the void and patch each other back up.
He taught you what love was. It was letting each other in instead of freezing each other out. It was building something beautiful together and fighting to protect it instead of letting it all fall apart and into ruins.
Kissing you eased Jaehyun’s heart. His pain was forgotten and he was overwhelmed with his undying love for you. He would never get over you, no matter how hard he tried. A love like the one you had would take more than a lifetime to get over you.
The way you immediately clicked, it was like you knew each other in a past life. Even now, his feelings were unabating. In his next life, it would still be you and only you. Always and forever.
You were so besotted with Jaehyun and the way his lips tasted that neither of you noticed the elevator door opening.
Yangyang cleared his throat. “Um, guys?”
Both of you whipped around, more than a little shocked to see the door open with Yangyang standing in the middle to prevent it from closing on you.
Jaehyun looked at you and asked, “How long have we been in here?”
“Approximately two hours,” Yangyang chirped. “You’re free to go now. By free to go, I mean please exit the lift. As you can see, there’s a bit of a line.”
You looked behind Yangyang and saw a couple of people impatiently waiting to travel upstairs. You lowered your head and flushed. Jaehyun laced his fingers through yours and led you outside of the elevator, smiling like a dumbass. He didn’t care who saw. He couldn’t have been any more happy than he was right now.
“Well, we’re free,” he said once you were both in the clear. Then, he frowned. “But we still have work.”
You winced. “And I wasn’t kidding about the place burning down. I really need to be there. I know how that sounds, but I promise I’ll make it up to you later. Do you trust me?”
“Of course,” Jaehyun said, grabbing your wrist and kissing the back of your hand.
Your heart tugged at the gesture. Why’d he have to be so goddamn perfect?
You got on your toes and pressed a brief kiss to his lips, feeling butterflies swimming in your gut. It seemed they had come to visit again. “I’ll see you later, Jaehyun.”
Jaehyun told you goodbye and watched you leave. It hurt a little to see you go, but he knew you would come back to him. You always did, even if it took a year and unlikely circumstances.
When you were gone, he turned around and grabbed his phone out of his pockets. He had to tell his mother that maybe she knew best after all.
Night fell. Jaehyun still hadn’t heard from you although you should have been off from work hours ago. A part of him was worried, but he still trusted that you wouldn’t give in to your old habits. It was Friday night. Maybe you were resting and would see him tomorrow.
Jaehyun went into his living room and played some music. The atmosphere reminded him of you. Holding you in his arms and spinning you around. Everywhere he went, he could still hear your voice and laughter ringing in his hair, like the ghost of you was haunting him.
He shook his head. You drove him mad. He accepted that he would never forget you, much less the way it felt to love you.
The doorbell rang and he could barely hear it over his music. Jaehyun didn’t pause it, but went to open his door and was pleasantly surprised to see you standing there.
“What are you doing?” Jaehyun asked.
“I told you I would make it up to you,” you said, gesturing to the pair of grocery bags in your arms.
It was Jaehyun’s natural instinct to take them out of your hands, and turning, he said, “Hurry up and come in. It’s cold outside.”
You didn’t need to be told twice and followed him immediately, shutting the door behind yourself. It was warm and cozy inside his apartment, as always. You hung your coat on the rack and glanced around, memories hitting you tenfold, square in the heart. Everywhere your eyes fell, you saw figures of you and Jaehyun.
Dancing in the living room. Movie night marathons on the couch. And racing down the hallway with your lips on the other’s and your hands desperately trying to remove each other’s clothes as you messily stumbled into the bedroom for a long night of loving.
“I see you’ve already set the mood,” you joked when you noticed the music playing, watching him set the groceries on the counter.
Jaehyun beamed. “I wasn’t even expecting company.”
“Sorry for showing up unannounced.” You smiled coyly, approaching the kitchen. “I’ll make it up to you. And no, you can’t help, Chef.”
“Please?”
You grabbed a gigantic wooden spoon and pointed at him. “Sit your ass down.”
“Jesus. Alright, then,” Jaehyun said, lifting his arms defensively. Ever stubborn were you. The reminder roused a chuckle from him. “Have it your way then, bossy.”
“I will.”
Jaehyun shook his head, still cheesing like an idiot. You were still iron-willed. That part of you would never change.
You cooked dinner in Jaehyun’s apron and he laughed at how big it was on you. The memories were overwhelming now. It seemed that no matter where you were or what you were doing, his mind would always find a way to remind him of your presence.
But the memories didn’t have to be bitter or painful anymore. He wanted to try again. He wanted a fresh start, a chance to repaint the canvas and a clean slate. As long as you were both determined to make things work, Jaehyun had faith in you and him.
“Dinner was amazing,” Jaehyun complimented, throwing your dirty dishes in the sink to be remembered later. He stepped back over to the island and trapped you in his arms.
You peered up at him, cheeks warming. “Thank you.”
Looking into your pretty eyes, Jaehyun couldn’t resist the temptation to kiss you anymore. You made a noise of surprise when he met his lips to yours, caught completely off-guard, but you kissed him back. It would be fighting your instincts not to.
You closed your eyes and let Jaehyun guide you, trusting he would never lead you astray. When he kissed you, he melted away your icebound surface and got under your skin, peeling you back layer by layer. You liked kissing Jaehyun. Way too much. Even now, you could still recall the first time you made out, hiding behind the bleachers on campus yet gigging loud enough for all to hear.
When it came to each other, you both were like moths to the dangerous flames of love. Love would always unite you again. You couldn’t resist those pretty, twinkling sparks of fire. And you couldn’t get enough of the burn.
Jaehyun was confused when you pulled away, but looked into your eyes again and saw a kind of sadness twinkle in them. Your voice was weak, “Why don’t you hate me?”
“I couldn’t even if I wanted to, baby,” Jaehyun said, finding your hand and squeezing it firmly. “And believe me, I tried. Even if a part of me did hate you, an even bigger part of me will always love you.”
That was all you needed to hear before you were sucking on his tongue again, wet kissing noises tangled in the sound of old school music.
Then, Jaehyun pressed you into the counter, kissing you even rougher. You were riling him up, moaning into his mouth and that noise would never not do it for him. A different kind of fire came over you when you noticed him very impatiently unbuttoning your blouse.
Same old Jaehyun. At heart, he was still the same as the cute boy you fell in love with. You were pleasantly impressed that kissing you alone still got him up.
You broke the kiss again to ask through jagged breath, “Do you think we’re moving too fast?”
“Probably,” Jaehyun replied. Not that he gave a damn. Unless you did, of course. “Do you wanna stop?”
“Jaehyun, I literally have not had sex in over a year. If you don’t fuck my brains out I think I’ll cry.”
Jaehyun chuckled darkly. “That can be arranged.”
You made a noise of surprise when Jaehyun cautiously scooped you into his sturdy arms and lowered you onto the counter. You made out hotly, his hands continuing to quickly unbutton your blouse and yours pulling his shirt above his head.
The sight of his happy trail and toned abs made your core throb. And your mouth water. Your palms involuntarily slicked over them, feeling nothing but hard skin and muscle.
“See something you like?” Jaehyun asked, grinning in the most annoying way possible.
You swallowed the lump in your throat and said, “Still a gym rat, I see.”
Jaehyun bobbed his head. “Yeah. I still hit the gym with Johnny when we have spare time.”
That you knew. Despite the breakup, you and Jaehyun still had a ton of mutual friends, chiefly from high school. You recalled seeing Johnny post one of his gym visits with Jaehyun not too long ago.
And you also vividly remembered the sight of Jaehyun, donning sweats and a blank tank-top. He drove you absolutely feral. His hair was matted to his forehead with sweat and his biceps were flexed, showing off his muscle. You would always be a sucker for a burly man that could snap you in half if he so pleased.
Jaehyun expertly removed your bra and tossed it somewhere to be forgotten. He wanted to see your breasts bounce while he pounded you into oblivion. Your skirt followed, but Jaehyun slid your panties to your ankles at a agonizingly slow pace, all the while smiling like an idiot as you gave a needy and impatient whimper.
“You’re already so wet,” Jaehyun murmured, drawing an invisible pair of lines on your bare cunt with his fingers. “Did you miss me that much?”
You whimpered, “Please, Jay.”
Hearing you call out his name like that was all it took for Jaehyun to lose all sense of self-restraint and he spread your thighs apart with tenderness, burying himself between them. You let out a sharp cry, throwing your head back. Some of your best orgasms were the ones when Jaehyun ate you out until you physically could no longer take it and begged for him to stop.
Jaehyun targeted your clit immediately, a testament to the fact that he knew your body intimately. Your thighs clamped around the sides of his head, unaccustomed to the pressure.
He merely clasped your thighs in his palms and held them freestanding, undeterred as he continued to lap at you like with the hunger only an untamed beast could have.
“Fuck,” was all you could say, curses dangling from your lips. You had been touch-starved for over a year and the familiarity of Jaehyun’s touch was overwhelming in the best way possible.
Despite the fact Jaehyun handled you gently, with love and tenderness and nothing but, he ate you out like an animal.
Jaehyun longed for the taste of you, arousal gathering on his tongue. He loved unraveling you like this. You could never stay still, much less quiet when he was going down on you. The sight of you, head angled back and moaning his name nearly made him cum in his pants.
Your fingers clamped locks of his hair and Jaehyun groaned, somehow spurred on by the gesture. You were making noises left to right, feeling yourself nearing your peak in record time. A year of no sex factoring in a skilled partner would absolutely do that to you.
Your lover learned to recognize you at the threshold of release a very long time ago and briefly parted from your pussy, substituting his mouth with his fingers as he sang, “Just let go for me, baby. It’s okay.”
It was clear that your body had every intention of obeying him. Naturally, it submitted to Jaehyun, with no fear and no reluctance. He knew it and it knew him.
“Oh my God. Jaehyun,” you moaned, thighs twitching. Not wanting to hurt him, you clamped your nails into the counter, eyes closed as the pressure threatened to consume you from head to toe.
Jaehyun talked you through it, whispering, “Do it for me, baby. Just let go.”
Not too much longer, orgasm seized you, rendering you weak and defenseless. You had no strength in your body to fight it even if you wanted to, weakened by his touch. Your toes clenched and you cried his name, fingernails scraping the island roughly enough to damage both your nails and the countertop.
Jaehyun didn’t stop eating you out until you went rigid, chest undulating. You looked a hot mess, heaving for breath and your lips parted, easing the airflow.
“Are you okay?” Jaehyun asked when he moved from between your legs, fighting off a smirk at the sight of you completely disheveled.
“Not until you fuck me,” you rasped, still needy in spite of still trying to catch your breath.
Jaehyun snickered and tugged his pants down, underwear soon giving chase. You positively gawked when you saw his bare, thick dick. It never failed to make your mouth water. And your body tremble with release.
You kept your nails at your sides as Jaehyun lined his cock up at your entrance, gently easing himself past your sheath-like walls. He still clasped his hands at your thighs, brows crumpling with concentration. You were still so goddamn tight, clamping around him with a grip almost vice-like.
“Jay,” you whimpered, hands clenched into fists.
“Shh,” Jaehyun whispered, moving his mouth to the side of your face. There was a catch in your breath when you noticed his lips brushing against your ear, breath tickling your nape. “Open up for me, baby.”
The sensation of being filled completely made you feel nothing short of relief. There was a wet noise when Jaehyun’s hips smacked against your own, the last thrust followed by one even deeper. You tried your best to take all of him, wanting to please him even if it was the last thing you did.
Jaehyun slipped out of his own trance briefly enough to mention, “I didn’t wear a condom.”
“Just pull out,” you said, in no state of mind to give a damn. You liked the feeling of him fucking you nice and raw.
“We’re definitely a pair of idiots.”
You snickered and found his hand, slipping your fingers through his. “You’re my idiot and I’m your idiot. That’s all that matters.”
Jaehyun smiled into the crook of your neck, eventually clamping his teeth there to conceal a moan at your expense.
He lifted his head and drew back to admire the entire view, watching his cock disappear between your legs over and over again borderline obsessively. There was something about you that he would never get tired of. He liked holding you close and loving you hard.
“You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” Jaehyun exhaled, voice full of sincerity. And raw pleasure.
You were burning up, withering heat blindsiding you. Jaehyun was making short work of you. It felt like love-making rather than plain old fucking, all things considered. Jaehyun’s gentle, steady pace as he whispered sweet little nothings in your ear, old school romance songs faded out in the background all the while.
All you could focus on was Jaehyun. He was all you could hear, all you could feel. You were driven by the feeling of your walls garroting his size, the sounds of the little groans he couldn’t smother into your skin and his affectionate words urging you closer to climax.
“Don’t hold back, baby,” you sighed, tightening your hold around his hand. It was a tiny, sweet gesture. “Please? I wanna hear you.”
Jaehyun obeyed you because there wasn’t a damn thing on this earth he wouldn’t do for you. You owned him and you knew it.
Jaehyun swore when you clamped around his dick even harder. He watched your breasts bounce, your whole body unstill. Even your hands were scrambling, releasing him and now finding purchase in his back. “I love you,” he sighed, kneading your breasts.
“I love you, too,” you moaned, feeling light as ever. He always took you to another dimension whenever you were together, but especially when he was fucking you within an inch of your life.
I love you, too. Jaehyun was beaming. That was the first time he’d heard you say it in over a year and you had no idea how badly he needed to hear it again now.
Jaehyun marked up your neck, leaving a trail of himself like souvenirs for you to remember in his absence. Your pulse thumped rapidly, your heart on the verge of tearing out of your chest, landing into his palms where it belonged. Now, your heartache was - at long last - soothed.
There were no words to aptly describe your affection towards Jaehyun. Your love for him ran to an inexplicably deep extent with seemingly no end. It was all you could think about while he fucked you, how badly you needed him in your life. How the sensations he made you feel were irreplicable and you were content enough to simply be in his arms.
Your lover never lasted very long when fucking you bare and raw and sensing himself approaching climax, Jaehyun brought his fingers to your clit, already swollen from release. A gasp tore from your throat when he fondled with the sensitive bundle of nerves, trying to facilitate an orgasm out of you.
“Jaehyun,” you whined. You reached for his hand, sensitive.
Jaehyun grabbed your hand with his spare one and slipped his fingers through again for you to squeeze. “It’s okay, my love. I want you to cum,” he said gently, biting your sweet spot.
He was making short work of you. Your climax threatened to ensnare you with a force powerful enough to snap you in half. You needed it. More than anything, you needed it.
You hauled your nails over his back, drawing long, red lines across the naked flesh. Jaehyun hissed darkly, pace quickening and coming even harder. You were driving him mad and vice versa. Your body had never been more confused than it was in that moment, barely willing itself to not writhe away but simultaneously matching his thrusts, wanting to build the pleasure yet somehow escape it all at once.
“I’m coming, I’m coming,” you warned in an impassioned chant, choking on your lack of breath. “I’m…”
Your body quivered, release stealing the rest of your words before you could speak them. You found Jaehyun’s hand again, squeezing it for dear life. The orgasm was so heavy you almost collapsed in on yourself and Jaehyun. You were seeing white, burning red, emitting Jaehyun’s name in a sharp cry.
Jaehyun felt you clenching around his cock with climax and immediately withdrew, knowing he would bust a nut inside you if he stayed a second longer. “Open your mouth,” Jaehyun told you, voice husky, thick with lust.
It was almost enough to break you all over again.
You did as instructed, no hesitation required. Jaehyun fitted his cock inside your mouth, moaning at how warm it was. You took him in, wanting to get him off and taste him dripping down your throat.
When he saw you, cheeks hollowed with his rigid cock in your mouth, Jaehyun nearly came then and there. He fucked your mouth, guttural little praises dangling from his lips.
Your thighs clenched tightly, hot sparks still aflame between. He got you riled up effortlessly, hardly ever needing to try. There was something about him that you were naturally attracted to, an unshakable kind of attraction. You couldn’t fathom why you couldn’t escape him, why your body and heart was seized by your lover.
“So good,” Jaehyun grunted, pace accelerating.
Jaehyun fucked your throat until he came, emptying his balls into your mouth at long last. Eagerly, you swallowed as much as you could, an amalgamation of his release and your saliva dribbling down your chin and onto your naked, heaving breasts.
And the sight positively wrecked him.
“Fuck,” you rasped, still registering what the hell had happened.
Jaehyun’s eyes flashed with alarm. “Did I hurt you?”
“No, it’s just that that’s the best sex I’ve had in a while.”
Jaehyun rolled his eyes and quipped, “That’s the only sex you’ve had in a while.”
“Still the best.”
Jaehyun laughed, eyes crinkling. “Round two?”
“God, yes,” you groaned, still feeling unalloyed pleasure burning between your thighs.
Jaehyun scooped your bare body into his arms again and carried you into his room, pressing the gentlest of kisses to your lips and neck all the while.
You smiled to yourself in the morning when you roused, feeling Jaehyun’s arms still wrapped loosely around your waist.
Everything had shifted then. Though you initially had plans of spending the holidays buried in work, you came to find that Jaehyun’s warm embrace was the greatest gift you could have asked for on Christmas day. There was none of the loneliness and dwelling you dreaded, only making brand new memories with the man you loved with your entire heart, mind and soul.
On Christmas day, you visited his mother’s house where his family had gathered, recognized familiar faces that were surprisingly all too glad to see you again.
When Jaehyun’s mother opened the front door, you greeted bashfully, “Hi, Mrs. Jung.”
“I knew we would meet again,” Mrs. Jung said softly, simpering in a self-satisfied manner. “Come in, dear. You’re always welcome in our home.”
You stepped inside the house, Jaehyun following suit once exchanging a silent, understanding glance with his mother. As always, she was right.
As you glanced around, nostalgia hit you tenfold. Everywhere you looked, there were memories of you and Jaehyun. You could see you both running up the stairs excitedly and Mrs. Jung scolding you about horse-playing indoors. When your eyes fell to the kitchen, you saw yourself joining the Jung’s for dinner, sitting directly beside your lover.
Jaehyun leaned into your ear, given that seasonal music was blaring, and said, “I’m going to have a talk with my brother for a second. Be on your best behavior and don’t try to escape out a window. Old habits die hard.”
You rolled your eyes and playfully shoved him. “Go. I’ll be right here,” you said, heart wrenching softly.
Jaehyun snickered and slithered away.
In his place came someone you were very familiar with.
“Nostalgia?”
You whirled around, instantly recognizing the voice as Taeyong’s, one of Jaehyun’s many, many cousins.
“I made a lot of memories here. I’ll never forget any of it,” you replied honestly. “Long time, no see.”
Taeyong bobbed his head in agreement. “Definitely. I was scared that I’d never see you again.”
“Why is that?” Your curiosity was piqued. You never imagined Jaehyun’s family would anticipate meeting you once more. It was the stark opposite of your expectations.
Taeyong leaned closer like he was telling you someone’s deepest, darkest secret, and whispered, “Between you and I, Jaehyun hasn’t been the same since the breakup. Not a happy camper. You were a part of his life for so long that we were all convinced he would never adjust to living one without you again.”
Visioning a morose, heartbroken Jaehyun made you frown. “I did that.”
“You absolutely did. You broke the poor guy’s heart and made him unbearable. He didn’t deserve that. And I didn’t deserve to have to put up with his insufferable ass,” Taeyong scoffed offhandedly, though you knew his words were lighthearted. “But you fixed it.”
“I guess I did that, too,” you exhaled contentedly, turning your head to spot Jaehyun chatting with his brother. That made you beam. Everything had fallen apart, shattered into pieces, but you were both willing to do the work and put them together.
“He’s himself again,” Taeyong said, following your gaze. “Thank you for giving me my favorite cousin back.”
“I should have never taken him away in the first place.”
Taeyong gave you a playful, half-assed attempt at consoling, “Good people do bad things. We all fuck up. Just maybe not as badly as you.”
You nudged his side.
He continued, turning somewhat sober, “He forgives you. But this won’t work out until you also forgive yourself.”
“You’re so young, but so wise,” you whispered, slightly touched.
Taeyong snickered. “It runs in the family,” he said, patting your back before turning away.
You merely stood there, rooted in place. Taeyong had given you something to muse on you. You realized a part of you was still clinging onto guilt, unable to rationalize your own decisions. You were so convinced that you were undeserving of Jaehyun’s love and courtesy that you had forgotten how to move on from your errors.
It would be a process. But a step a day was better than none at all.
You beamed when you noticed Jaehyun approaching you and he returned it, outstretching his hand and asking, “May I steal a dance?”
“Of course,” you said, taking his hand in yours.
Jaehyun brought you from the foyer to the living room where mainly everybody had gathered to dance, spinning you in his arms as holiday music filled the air.
You swept some free strands of hair from his handsome face, admiring the view only a little higher up than you. Even in a room filled to the hilt with people, Jaehyun and Jaehyun alone was all you could see. Everyone else faded. It was only you and your lover, swaying to the rhythm of a seasonal song.
“This feels like senior prom, but Christmas edition,” Jaehyun quipped.
You snickered delightfully. “I remember when we were announced prom king and queen. I like how nobody was surprised.”
You remembered it like it was yesterday. Jaehyun joined you for the first dance, gently whirling you around in front of several prying eyes, but you didn’t care. To you, the room was as good as empty. They were faceless, nameless people with no contribution or value, no relation to you and your blossoming romance with Jaehyun.
It was an experience you never knew you needed back then. Maybe in that moment, you knew it was fate. That one way or another, Jaehyun was inevitably the one you would grow old and gray-haired with.
Even now, as you stared into his pretty brown eyes, you knew that this was the man you wanted a future with.
Jaehyun glanced up and said, “Look.”
You did as told, smiling fondly as you noticed the mistletoe hanging above your heads. A part of you wondered if it was a coincidence or if he chose this spot deliberately. “I remember kissing you in front of everyone,” Jaehyun added, full of mischief.
You played along and hummed, “I’m not sure if I recall. Care to remind me?”
Jaehyun didn’t waste a second to lock lips with you, tasting hot cocoa on your tongue. You could taste gingerbread on his and the thought made you giggle into his mouth. There was something about it - something about Jaehyun - that made every tiny thing mean a billion times more.
All of the whimsical little things made your heart swell with happiness.
“Yo, chill, you horn dogs. There’s children,” scolded Jaehyun’s other cousin Mark, covering his little cousin’s eyes. His family gave you a headache. Every time you learned them all, it was as if another cousin popped out of thin air.
You and Jaehyun pulled away, snickering. You leaned on your toes, giving his lips one final peck before deciding you’d had your fill.
Days of being Jaehyun’s again turned into some of the happiest months of your life. You were letting go of some of your old habits and setting some past trauma free. There were a handful of grim times, but you both made the effort to repair things before they spiraled out of control.
Excuses had run their course. Jaehyun would ask you on dates and you’d agree more, overworking yourself less. Until now, you never realized that putting some distance between yourself and the stresses of work was what it took to be happier. You had made the earth-shattering mistake of convincing yourself that hard work equated happiness.
The two of you agreed to take things slow, afraid rushing would land you in an achingly familiar predicament, but you couldn’t deny that things had been speeding up. And Jaehyun already knew that it would forever be you.
It was another long, brutal day of work and nothing was out of the ordinary. You were running across the office, balancing direct orders on top of your daily tasks. You needed six skins to have a job like this. Three to balance the roles of multiple people and another three to endure the wear and tear.
Ten, your favorite co-worker, tracked you down and stopped you dead in your tracks to say, “Hey, slow down a second. Someone’s here to see you.”
You did the opposite of slowing down, still walking and as he followed you, said, “Tell them I’m taking a sick day, would you? Thanks, Tennie.”
“I don’t think so,” Ten said, donning an amused look. Which successfully made you pause in confusion. Usually, Ten never hesitated to cover for you. “You’re going to want to hear what this guy has to say. I swear.”
Very reluctantly, you agreed to follow Ten, curiosity piqued as you wondered who in the hell would dare interrupt you in the middle of a swift-paced work day.
Jung Jaehyun. That was who.
You made a face of confusion when you saw him there, smiling at you like an idiot. Confused, you asked, “Jay, you couldn’t text or call?”
“What I’m about to do is a bit difficult to do over the phone,” Jaehyun retorted, admiring your state of obliviousness.
You huffed, “What are you…”
You cut yourself off when you noticed one of the staff hand Jaehyun a tiny box and he proceeded to crouch on one knee. The realization made your heart thud, pulse quickening.
Jaehyun started, “Baby, I’ve been racking my brain trying to think of how to say this. I had to have tried to practice this a million times before I decided to talk to you from my heart.”
Your co-workers all gathered around, and you noticed even your boss observing from the corner of your eyes, but your gaze was locked on Jaehyun and no one but.
Your lover fought his nerves and added, “We met when we were in high school. I remember it like it was yesterday. We were so young, dumb, and drunk off learning what true love was for the first time. We couldn’t resist each other.”
The memories made your heart melt, taut with ecstasy.
“Then, we got older. And things got more complicated, but in spite of that, we never stopped loving each other. Not for a second,” Jaehyun declared, impassioned. “I’ve been in love with you for so long that I can’t imagine my life any other way. No matter what has changed between us.”
Jaehyun was staring you dead in the eyes, watching your face melt with awe. It gave him all the courage he needed.
“You made it so easy to fall in love with you but so hard to fall back out. And I don’t want to. I adore you, my love. Thoughts of you keep me up and night, restless. You make me crazy.”
Your eyes burned, fighting an oncoming threat of tears with every passing word. Jaehyun had swept you off your feet, making you feel emotions you never knew existed.
“I know we’ve been through thick and thin, baby. But we were there for each other. And even when we separated, we found our way right back into each other’s arms,” your lover added.
You wanted to pinch yourself, determine if you were dreaming. Even though Jaehyun had proposed once to you before, you would never get used to the wave of emotion that plagued you, rendering you soft and full of glee.
“I didn’t know what love was until I fell for you. You’re my first love and all these years by your side have only solidified my courage that I want you to be my last. You are the only woman on this earth I can imagine a future with and if it’s not you, then I know there’s nobody else out there for me.”
Ten was smartly grabbing a box of tissues for safe measure.
Jaehyun’s voice got softer, “Let’s try again, my love. Let’s do this one more time - one last time. Will you marry me?”
Now, you had the spotlight. Ten was none too subtly mouthing, “Say ‘yes.’” Everybody was anticipating your reaction and you wondered exactly how long in advance everyone had been in on this little surprise except for you.
There was no hesitation and you practically screamed as you chanted, “Yes!”
Jaehyun, much like the last time he proposed to you, swept you into his arms and kissed you to death, effectively silencing you. The room erupted in cheer. Everybody was glad to get a break from their tedious jobs and witness a moment as beautiful as this one.
The champagne was already popping. Your fiancé whirled you in your arms and you told him affectionately, “I love you.”
“Say it again,” Jaehyun said, incapable of getting enough.
“I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you. I love you so much that I don’t know what to do with myself.”
“Let me love you,” your fiancé said, staring at you like you were the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. And you were. “That’s all you have to do.”
You smiled, pretending to mull it over. “I think I can let that happen.”
Jaehyun was over the moon. There were no words to describe how ecstatic he was. He missed this feeling and he was more than glad that it had returned. “Merry Christmas,” he said playfully.
“Jaehyun, it is literally the end of July. This reminds me of when you wished me Happy Valentines Day after fucking my brains out on your birthday,” you replied, rolling your eyes.
“Still,” your fiancé said, pressing a kiss to the corner of your lips and cheesing at the memory of fucking you raw again. “Marrying you is the best gift I could ever ask for.”
You smiled in agreement. And fought a smirk as you remembered you had your own little surprise for your betrothed, waiting for you at home on the bathroom counter.
Jesus Christ, you were going to need a bigger place to stay.
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soobluv · 1 year
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I’m Glad We Met
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summary: you’re a designer, and you meet Johnny Suh when you get the chance to design his outfit for the Met Gala. That night, the starting point, brings together two strangers, unavoidably attracted to each other even over long distances, thousands of miles and interruptions OR johnny suh holds your hand once and you never want him to let go again
length: 20,789 words
tags: strangers to friends to lovers, long-distance, slowburn, fingering, titty head, slight dacryphilia, big dick johnny, multiple orgasms, marathon sex
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The moment your team threw Johnny Suh’s name into the list of potential celebrities to wear your design to the Met Gala, you knew it had to be him. He had the perfect look. The perfect figure. He had the dazzling charm that you knew would wear your design confidently on that infamous set of stairs.
You could scarcely believe it when his team reached back out to yours with a confirmation.
A lot of the planning is done virtually. Comments on designs, his measurements, scheduling and planning for when exactly he will arrive in New York in advance. You speak with Johnny and his team a couple times over video call, but the first time you actually meet him in person is only two days before the momentous event.
“Are you nervous?” Johnny asks with an easy grin after the greetings and introductions are made. “It’s your first Met Gala, right?”
It is.
You were surprised to score the invitation, to be acknowledged in any way by Anna Wintour, to be offered the opportunity to not only walk the carpet and attend the event but to have your designs on display for the world to love or hate.
“I’m a bit nervous,” you admit to Johnny.
He laughs. “I’m a seasoned pro now,” he jokes. “This is my second year, so I can hold your hand through it all.”
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soobluv · 1 year
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Teacher’s Pet ㅡ S.Jn
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college romance ㅡ professor!johnny x college student!reader ㅡ age distance! prohibited relationship! warning: act of cheating - professor to student relationship
Summary: An academically committed student is what you’re trying to achieve, but what you don’t know is that Johnny finds it hard to resist an academically committed student like you.
“Astonishing.”
You smile as the whole class applauded. Just one word from the professor as his approval to your presentation can make the whole class agree even though you know some of them don’t like you.
You put your cheat paper down, bowing as you turn back to your seat. There’s no doubt that you felt proud of what you’ve done since you’re working hard on it. Oh well, reading 15 journals and spending three nights without sleeping properly had never felt better until now since you know you got your A grade secured. As a college student, this semester is the most important times for you to be the teacher’s pet.
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soobluv · 1 year
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SOFT ♡‧ ⁺彡
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✧ Summary- Just a cute moment with Jaehyun
✧ Info- In a relationship, cute fluffy moment.
✧ Warnings- Nothing really, straight fluff, kissing
✧ A/N- hello again. I day dreamed about this recently, so I wrote about it :) just a cute moment I hope to experience one day 😔. Anyway, got a hallway crush recently, so writings might be inspired by him ehecsudhdh bye!! Requests are always open!
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You both sit in the middle of the bed, right in front of eachother. He holds your hand feeling the warmness as you rant about some stupid test that was just absolutely ridiculous. Your knees touch against eachother every time you express your anger. You don’t even notice how flustered you make him feel with the small touches and contact, but he just stares.
Cute
He’s not even really paying attention to the words that fly out of your mouth. His eyes though do pay attention to everything about you. Yours eyes, the light shade of pink of your cheeks, your neck, your hands, your mouth, your lips. Oh god, he could stare into your eyes forever and get lost in your kisses. Before he even notices what he does, he leans in, interrupting you.
You pause, waiting. He doesn’t lay his lips on yours but rather sits in the lingering feeling. Your gaze meets his as you feel a feeling in your stomach start to move around.
Stupid butterflies
You instead pull back from the feeling, now giving an annoyed expression because he hadn’t kissed you, but instead teased you. He smiles, his dimples making its presence as he leans in softly, but passionately kissing you.
You hated when he did that, you felt as if you could melt any second, but loved the feeling of his soft lips. You had always wondered how he could make a kiss soft yet passionate. How he could mix such fluffy yet sexy feelings into one kiss, well one long kiss.
You could feel the shade of pink on your cheeks run to your ears as he lays his hand around your waist. A gasp leaves your lips, as he parts to pull you into his lap.
You can’t help but copy the smile that is plastered on his face as he eyes look up to yours.
“What?” You ask
“You looked cute” his smile growing wider, his dimples only going deeper.
He’s so annoying, but god how you go crazy over him, especially those god awarding dimples.
You look away, avoiding eye contact “that’s why you interrupted me?”
His hand softly grabs your chin, forcing you to look at him. Again, he slowly leans in, this time you don’t wait, you lean in as well. The kiss going soft and slow, but doesn’t change its pace and most likely won’t. The lovely feelings rush through your body hitting limb by limb making you feel weak and you loved it. You loved how he could make you feel things you didn’t know you could. It was like going on a field trip everyday and experiencing and finding out new things about yourself.
He pulls away, giving you the same look as before. Making you feel so loved to the point where you just wanna hide. Embarrassed you do just that, hiding yourself in the crook of his neck.
A low chuckle escaps his lips
A weird feeling of relief comes to you, happy to be hiding, but another part of you wants to keep meeting his soft, brown eyes.
God everything about Jaehyun makes you feel so… soft.
You speak, breaking the not awkward, but somewhat comforting silence. “You make my cringy side come out”
Another laugh escapes his lips as his hand brushes against your back, keeping it there. His other hand rests on your waist.
“Cringy side?” He asks, squeezing your hip, firmly but again softly, wanting an answer out of you.
After a pause, you finally force yourself to meet his eyes before speaking.
“Yea my cringy, romantic, giggly side”
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-:)
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soobluv · 1 year
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All the Pretty and Ugly Things
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Pairing: NCT's Jaehyun x You
Genre: idol!Jaehyun, heavy angst, drama, romance, smut
TWs: several smut scenes; ml has phases with a bad personality; story begins upbeat and spirals to a darker tone in the second half; depiction of past scandals (e.g. Itaewon); mentions and descriptions of panic attacks and (spells of) depression/depressive episodes
Word Count: 27,5k
Summary: He stands in the spotlight, but the only one he's looking at is you. Until one day, the sparks in his eyes are gone and the Jaehyun you know privately is only a lifeless shell of the Jaehyun he pretends to be on stage. Crumbling under the pressure of being an idol, you try to share his baggage, but there is only so much a human can take.
A/N: This is the requested full length story to "I Still Search for You". The story spans from early 2018 'till the beginning of 2023, including real life events, and is heavily Jaehyun centered. The events are facts, everything else is made up - this is fiction after all. Now, enjoy :)
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THEN
Hey, Jaehyun.
Why is it that making our dreams come true and being truly happy are often two different things? I still can’t figure it out.
Once, you told me that if you hadn’t become an idol, you would have wanted to be a young father instead, probably having two children by now. I can imagine that very well. You are so good with children, and they love you as well. 
But dreams change. Just like people.
You cannot be a father at the peak of your career, and it pains me to see you giving up on this genuine dream of yours to chase after another that drains you off the light that had once been so vivid in your eyes.
You never wanted to be an idol. 
The possibility had not crossed your mind even once despite listening to that music daily - until that fateful day when you were only fifteen and got street-casted by an agent for your overly good looks.
Oftentimes, I wonder if you hadn’t stayed in school for so long that day, your path might have taken a different turn. Whether, if you had only finished classes a bit earlier or a bit later that day, you would have still run into this agent. 
These good looks of yours was what drove you to your downfall eventually, this exceptionally handsome face that had once smitten me as well and overshadows everything that’s lying underneath it. And there is so much you keep hidden, because to the outside world, you’re supposed to be perfect. 
But they can’t see the broken young man that has succumbed to the spotlight.
All they see is their perfect idol, smiling in interviews, beaming on stage, flawlessly following whatever the company demands from him. They call you attractive, talented, write you letters, give you presents, put projects together and do everything in their power to support you from all across the world.
I really appreciate them for all their efforts, and I know you do too. They keep you going, alive, push you to greater heights when you’re feeling like giving up. Everything you do, you do for them. You don’t want to disappoint them, you want to make them happy with your presence alone.
So they are not responsible for what has happened to you, for how you feel. They had only done their best from what they got to see of you. We all did.
But it wasn’t not enough. Nothing and no one was enough.
Jaehyun, you really wanted to love this world.
And in the end, it broke you.
____
2018
“Stop sulking, put your big girl pants on and come with me!”
You groaned as Seulgi grabbed you by your hand and pulled you off the couch on which you had just settled so comfortably.
“Please… I don’t feel like going out today,” you complained.
“You haven’t gone out in 68 years. Or how long has it been since your breakup?”
“124 days.”
“That’s enough. The fact that you could even come up with the exact number? Chills.” She grabbed a pair of jeans from ‘the chair’ and threw it into your arms. “Come on. Change into it, I want to see whether you look cute in them when we make you presentable for the outside world again.”
“Where are you even dragging me to?” you asked, reluctantly disposing of your joggers and slipping into the jeans. “Will there be many people? I hate big social gatherings, you’re aware of that as we’ve known each other for years.”
“Back then in school, you also hated people, so we won’t be many. Only Jisoo, my friend Taeyong, one of his band members and a producer friend. A small gathering only.”
“Four other people? I don’t consider this a small gathering.” You paused. “Just… why?”
She glared at you. You had never gone out with Seulgi’s company squad before except for her band members and Jisoo, and the latter belonged to a different group. If it had happened that you went out together with her idol friends - the very rare times - you ended up being the one taking photos of them. And you wanted to remain this person in the background. 
Taeyong? You knew him of course. Seulgi talked about him a lot, mainly when it was about dancing and songs, but he was the leader of one of the most popular boy groups in the country as well, so it was a given that you turned keen-eared upon hearing his name. Perhaps, you were a bit excited to go to the gathering.
“Okay, beat me.”
A little while later, you were sitting in the restaurant, and once again, you felt very out of place. Having known Seulgi since middle school, you really appreciated her efforts in supporting you after a heartbreak, but you were asking yourself whether this gathering was truly necessary if you could just sit at home and watch Netflix.
“We’re here!”
You looked up and reconsidered. Perhaps… Yes, it was necessary.
You almost choked on your coke when you spotted Taeyong standing right in front of you. You had seen him in music videos, in whatever threads and pictures people shared of him online or in whatever articles he got featured, but never in real life. And in real life, it was a whole other experience.
Yes, he was just as handsome, just as beaming, and radiated so much ‘idol aura’, you feared you would swoon. But he actually appeared less intimidating than on stage, much slimmer, a bit smaller and very, very kind. Yet, he still acted like a normal young man when he introduced himself a bit shyly to you along with his producer friend.
You were fawning so hard over Taeyong, having engaged him in a conversation right away, that you nearly overlooked the other young, taller man entering the restaurant fifteen minutes later. You hadn’t even noticed someone was still missing until now.
“I’m sorry I’m late.”
“We’ve just arrived from the production studio, what’s your excuse, Jaehyun?” Taeyong teased him. “Can’t you tell the time?”
“I can.” Jaehyun lifted his arm, looked at his watch and directed the following words at the object, “The manager who was supposed to drive me was late, I’m sorry I didn’t make it fifteen minutes earlier.”
His humor was spontaneous, random and deadpan, rendering everyone silent so that birds chirping in the background would possibly be audible right now. A real dad joke nobody seemed to get or find funny. Except for you. He was literally telling the time what his excuse was.
You bursted out in laughter, catching his attention with your lighthearted tone that came from the very bottom of your heart and that no one had heard for three whole months.
“Oh look. Finally someone who finds your dad jokes funny,” someone commented.
Jaehyun joined your laughter, and shortly later, you found yourself sitting next to him, engaged in a conversation about why records were so much better than anything digitized nowadays and why no one could top Bruno Mars, having totally forgotten who was actually sitting next to you,
Jeong Jaehyun.
Everyone knew NCT, and despite you not being a regular listener, you still had one person you ogled every now and then. But Jaehyun had never been that person. 
Of course you had noticed his handsome looks, his prince-like aura and his great voice. To you though, he had always seemed too perfect which was why he never quite peaked your interest. You just didn’t do perfect.
But he proved to you, later that evening when all your friends were already gone and you were hiding in the women's restroom, making out wildly to cure your heartbreak, that ‘the idol’ Jaehyun himself was far from perfect.
If he was perfect, he wouldn’t kiss someone he had just met in a restaurant’s restroom so passionately, having them sit on top of the sink with their arms wrapped around his neck. A perfect idol wouldn’t have his fingers entangled in your hair, his hands rubbing between your clothed thighs and his tongue slowly pushing into your mouth.
It was a good thing that you didn’t expect him to be perfect as you were anything but as well.
You moaned quietly when he put pressure on the spot where his fingers were placed, softly biting into his lower lip to which he responded with a groan and grabbed you by both of your legs, wrapping them around his hips. Arching your spine, you rubbed yourself against him while his hand slowly found its way under your blouse.
Your back reacted with pleasant goose bumps as Jaehyun traced his fingers along your skin, and since it had been so long that you were last touched like this, hell broke loose inside of you, relishing all the pent-up desire of which you hadn’t even been aware of as you thought you were still mourning after your ex boyfriend.
But no, you were apparently already really attracted to this stranger who wasn’t really a stranger at all since you passed by his cardboard standee at least once a day when you were on your way to work and walked by the cosmetic store close to the subway. This entire situation seemed so surreal to you, even though you were living in it right now.
When you finally parted, a bit breathless and lightheaded after this long make out session, you wondered whether Jaehyun did that more often than he would openly admit. You understood though. He could have anyone he wanted, and he probably did.
“If you expect now to be invited to my place, forget it,” you told him, shuffling out of his grip and jumping from the sink. “I’m kind of a traditional girl.”
You were still heartbroken and didn’t do rebounds. Partially, you also didn’t want to invite him home because he was an idol, and you could imagine quite well what getting involved with them meant.
“A traditional girl who makes out with a guy she has just met?” Jaehyun cocked a brow and spun around to you, not letting you miss the joking tone in his voice though. “That’s quite a paradox.”
You sleekened your blouse and reached for your purse, just now realizing how late it had already gotten. “Admittedly, it doesn’t happen quite often that I immediately feel so attracted to a guy I barely know.”
The corners of Jaehyun’s lips tilted up to a wide grind that revealed his pearl white teeth. “That’s how attracted you are to me?”
“Don’t raise your hopes up.”
“It’s probably better this way, because I’m afraid you might tear my shirt apart right here and now, if that’s how attracted you are to me.”
You rolled your eyes, but smiled. “Goodnight, Jaehyun.”
He chuckled. “Goodnight.”
On your way home, you were still thinking about him and how damn good of a kisser he was. You knew from Seulgi that idols also dated, slept around or had flings here and there. You had never expected yourself to be one of them though, and certainly not with Jeong Jaehyun.
To you, it was an experience you surely hadn’t expected to get, but wouldn’t like to miss out on now in the aftermath. It also was something you hoped to not experience again, because you just didn’t want to get involved with someone who had kissing different girls on his every day agenda, because he was just capable of doing it.
Someone like Jeong Jaehyun.
____
“Come on, it’s gonna be fun!”
You sighed. “Fine.”
“Hooray!”
Seulgi took you by her hand and dragged you to the backstage area. She had invited you to join the afterparty of Red Velvet’s second concert in Seoul, and even though you weren’t really keen on partying tonight, you wanted to celebrate this special day with your friend.
While Seulgi and the other members drove with their manager back to the company’s building, you took an Uber on your own. During the entire ride, you were asking yourself whether Jaehyun would be there as well, but dismissed the thought almost instantly. On the off chance that he was there too, you would just behave normally.
You hadn’t told anyone about your physical encounter with Jaehyun. To you, now, a few weeks later, it only seemed like a vivid fever dream, not worth mentioning. The only person who knew about it was Seulgi, but only because she was friends with Taeyong and had squeezed it out of you.
She hadn’t been very happy about it though. If it would have been Taeyong, she would have supported it, but not Jaehyun. Apparently, you had been right about your initial gut feeling. Jaehyun just wasn’t someone you would want to fall in love with as you would most likely get your heart broken.
“There are idols who are here for the sole reason of making music,” she had said. “And then there are idols who find women also important, like Jaehyun. I can count on one hand how many girls in the company he hasn’t screwed yet.” 
“I figured,” you had brushed it off. The heartbreak you had experienced in the past was enough for a lifetime. One more reason to never see him again.
The moment you entered the afterparty’s location though, you knew that this was going to be big as not only the Red Velvet girls and their acquaintances were there, but also trainees, other groups, the company’s entire staff and friends.
“What’s going on here?” you asked yourself in silence as Seulgi dragged you into the hall.
“Stay here, I want to introduce you to some people! Grab a drink, I’ll be back.”
“Okay.”
You looked around and people passed by you without even noticing your presence. That was probably the commoner effect. You weren’t an idol, neither a trainee nor a staff. Of course nobody would even pay the slightest attention to you.
“You’re so attracted to me that you even joined the afterparty just to see me again?” Well damn, you knew that voice. 
Jaehyun stood in front of you the next moment, having circled you from behind. “Or am I wrong?”
“You’re wrong,” you defended yourself. “I’m just here, because I want to support Seulgi and her group. I’ll go look for her…”
“One drink!” Jaehyun blocked your way. “Have one drink with me?”
“And then?” You crossed your arms.
“We can continue talking about our interests. It was fun and insightful to do so with someone who genuinely cares.” You didn’t miss the earnesty in his voice, and you were almost sorry for what you were about to say next,
“Probably because you’re only fixated on people in the entertainment industry. Your selection is limited.”
He tilted his head. “What do you mean?”
“I've been friends with Seulgi since middle school, Jaehyun. I know about idol life, and also about their dating life. It doesn’t bother me, at all. About you though…” You eyed him suspiciously. “Seulgi warned me, because you have quite a reputation among these people.”
“Before you knew, that hadn’t stopped you from kissing me.” He wasn’t haughty about that fact, but merely stated an observation. “If you had known back then, would you still have dragged me to the women’s restrooms?”
You bit into your bottom lip, unsure what to say. “Attraction and morals are two different things. I want to do what’s morally right, and that would be to not get involved with you. I’m being honest… I’m still suffering from a heartbreak. I don’t want a rebound,”
“Morals,” he scoffed. “Sometimes in life, morals have to be put down as they only restrict you from living your best life and don’t bring you forward to cherish what makes you happy at this very moment. I’m saying that there are more important things than morals.”
“What else?” You were genuinely curious. 
He stepped closer to you. “Sometimes, the attraction between two people is all that matters at a certain moment. And trust me, I’m feeling very much attracted to you right now.”
Heat shot into your cheeks and your body became hot all over too. If you were honest, you wanted this too. So badly even. But you were afraid your needs would take over your senses and that the happiness would only last for so long, until you were alone again.
“And something tells me you feel it too.” Jaehyun grinned mischievously, and it suddenly dawned on you why getting involved with him felt so off-putting.
Because the Jaehyun he showed you now and the Jaehyun he presented to the world through his group were the same person - they knew they owned the charms and the looks, and that girls couldn’t resist them. 
He wasn’t perfect, but pretended to be. He might have even convinced himself he was. But you didn’t want to be another naive girl falling for this type of guy like your ex was.
“Goodnight, Jaehyun,” you told him and turned away from him to look for Seulgi and tell her that you would head home first.
Jaehyun didn’t follow you.
….
Jaehyun wasn’t the type of idol to sleep with fans. This had always been a no go for him. 
Despite the possibility of signing an NDA, fans would gossip, brag and tell their friends, eventually risking the idol’s reputation if their identity ever got revealed and their past relationship proven to be true. No, fans were out of the picture for him.
Jaehyun couldn’t take such a risk as he had the image of perfection to keep up. Being nearly scandal-free until now, he had publicly adapted to this role the company had applied to him. He didn’t allow a woman to tarnish his reputation that he had worked so hard for.
Idols and trainees on the other hand had the same things to lose as him, so they usually kept their mouths closed. They were the safer option if one wanted to explore romance or physical attraction.
If it stayed within the company, no one actually minded dating or whatever was going on between the employees as they trained in the same building and interacted on a regular basis. Even dating outside of this tight knitted industry was allowed as long as they wouldn’t get caught. But Jaehyun weighed himself safer within the company and made the most out of it. 
He had always been told to be handsome and attractive, otherwise he wouldn’t have gotten casted, so getting the girls wasn’t a problem in the first place. What was a problem was actually keeping them. 
Jaehyun just didn’t want to keep anyone around.
….
“You’re going already?” Jaehyun heard the female trainee whisper from the couch as he was dressing himself up again. “No one will come here, so-”
“See you.” The next moment, he was out of the door. 
After you were gone, he had directly gone to the girl he had been with last time already, but admittedly only for distraction. There hadn’t been a woman who had ever dumped him. Until now. He just didn’t know whether he found it frustrating or rather… interesting.
“... You?”
You stood in the lobby, shuffling around awkwardly. “Whatever this is between is… it made me run the entire way back here. Someone said you have been gone for a while already, but I decided to stick around though and wait.” Your gaze then fell upon his shirt that was buttoned wrong and his hair that stuck out to all sides. “But I see, you already found what you were looking for in the end.” You spun around on your heels and started walking away.
“No!” Jaehyun ran down the stairs faster than your steps could carry you back to the exit. “Please wait!”
“What do you want from me, Jaehyun?” you then asked him seriously, shaking off his hand that he had placed on your shoulder. “I was about to give us a chance to explore this mutual attraction, but you just blew it up. So what makes you go after me now?”
“Okay… but we’re not committed to each other, so you shouldn’t even bother who I get involved with in the first place.”
He was right, but you just didn’t want to admit to that. You were only hurt that he had sworn to be so attracted to you and then let it all out with another woman. “Is it your common strategy? Hitting on a girl and then just moving on when you get rejected?”
“Perhaps?” he asked, partially stating. “Perhaps, it was also because your rejection threw me out of the loop, and I needed to prove to myself that it’s not me, but you.”
“What? Never gotten rejected by someone before?”
Rejections didn’t fit into Jaehyun’s perfect life. A perfect person didn’t get rejected by someone they desired, because what was there to even turn down?
“I- I mean you like Bruno Mars and records,” he stumbled over his words. “And we even kissed. And then you turned me down not even once, but twice. What should I think about it?”
“Maybe start off with the fact that not everything is about sex?”
He shrugged. “I wouldn’t know. And I care too little to get familiar with this topic, to be honest.”
You shrugged too. “I see. But as I implied, sometimes my morals are stronger than my desires. And such a moment is now.”
“Three’s a charm hm, dumping me?” Jaehyun was flabbergasted. “Come on, you just got here!”
“Because I thought you cared enough to stay focused on me at least! For one night!” you called him out, upset. “... But I was wrong.”
“You can’t expect someone like me to focus only on you.“ He scratched his head. “That’s just… not possible.”
“Because temptation lures in every corner, am I right?”
He didn’t respond, but that was enough of an answer to you. “Good night, Jaehyun.”
“That’s not it.”
You stopped in your tracks again. “Instead…?”
“Instead, it’s rather the fact that I can’t get involved with fans. I’m pretty much scandal free, so I can’t risk getting the word out that I’m sleeping around. It’s staying within the company, so I tried to get you out of my head, because I don’t know which category you belong to, and it’s messing with my head.”
“Nobody asks you to get involved with fans.” You shook your head. “There is not only black and white, not only idol and fan. And I’m neither an idol nor your fan.”
“Which category do you belong to then?”
“I’m just an ordinary girl.”
Jaehyun clenched his fists, knowing the moment you walked out of the entrance door that he had screwed up big time. Again.
On the other hand, he didn’t really bother as well at that moment. There were many girls awaiting him here, so why would he be chasing after someone he couldn’t have?
____
2019
“…and then Miyeon said-“ Soyeon stopped mid-sentence, realizing that Jaehyun wasn’t even listening. “Hello? What’s up?”
Jaehyun didn’t quite care about what Miyeon had said. He also didn’t quite care about Soyeon if he had to be honest, even though she was great. He had tried jumping into the dating pool after being urged by Taeyong, but he just wasn’t feeling it. 
Jaehyun yawned. “No, continue. I’m listening.”
“Okay, so Miyeon said-“
Jaehyun propped his elbow against the desk, placed his chin on his hand and averted his eyes back in the direction of the window, his thoughts drifting off once more. Since NCT 127 had come back from America, something inside of him had changed. He couldn’t quite put a finger on it though.
They had had a lot of fun in the States, so that wasn’t the problem here. The fun had included wild party nights and sneaking foreign girls into their rooms who didn’t know who they truly were, visiting different cities and doing something that felt close to vacation every now and then.
They also had had a lot of success. The group had stood on big stages, had been guests in popular shows, and had even walked along the red carpet at award shows. Their popularity was skyrocketing, getting more recognition in the west, and they had achieved everything they had only fantasized of back in trainee days.
Whenever Jaehyun stood on the stage, he felt like a king, and the crowd was his nation. At moments like that, when the spotlight was on him, he felt like all those years of hard training, suffering mentally and physically, and pulling himself together again and again, finally paid off. All his hardships were forgotten and there was only him, living his dream. His life was perfect.
So why was it that Jaehyun was still not content after realizing he had everything a young man his age with the same ambitions could ask for?
Perhaps, it was because after the lights went off and the members separated, he returned to a dark hotel or dorm room, feeling entirely alone with a gap in his heart that was so deep, not even the cheerful laughters of friends or one night stands were able to fill it. 
„We should end this,“ Jaehyun then blurted out.
„What?“
„You and me, here,“ he explained monotonously. „Let’s end this.“
Soyeon blinked in confusion. „We’ve only been dating for two months. Why would we end this already?“
Because he didn’t see this going anywhere. Because, in the months they had been dating, he could count on one hand how often they had seen each other. Because, when he had been overseas, he had never thought about her. 
Jaehyun wasn’t an expert with relationships, but he assumed this was not how they should work. Instead, he said, “I’m just not interested in dating anyone at the moment. I don’t have the time to spare. I’m sorry.”
Soyeon arose from the bed, and Jaehyun moved his head to make eye contact with her.
“It’s okay, I’m not mad though.” She shrugged. “It would have been nice if this would have worked out. Because you know, Jaehyun… we idols can never be with people who idolize us. I hope you think about this thoroughly.“
“There are not only idols and fans,” he stated, summoning words he had been told earlier this year. “There are ordinary people as well.”
“I didn’t count them in, because they rarely withstand the pressure we idols bring along.” Soyeon grabbed her bag and walked to the door. “Seriously… don’t drag a poor girl into our world. You’ll only ruin her.”
“What would you know?” he unwillingly snapped.
But Soyeon wasn’t bothered. “We all try at some point.”
Jaehyun didn’t put further thoughts into her words and brushed them off as futile when a face popped into his mind of which he hadn’t thought in a long time.
The girl he had once felt so attracted to but missed his chance not only twice, but on three occasions. He suddenly wondered where you were, what you were doing and whether the attraction would still be there if you two would run into each other again.
Jaehyun then pulled out his phone and opened his private chat with Seulgi. It consisted of zero messages between the two of them, that was how distanced they actually were. Yet, he still decided to text her.
____
“You know I only agreed to meet you, because Seulgi asked me to.” You sipped on your coke, watching Jaehyun with wary eyes.
“Yes, and I want to thank you for that.”
“You have to thank Seulgi.”
“I already did.”
He hadn’t touched his Americano, but just proceeded to stare at it, avoiding eye contact with you at all cost. You hadn’t missed the skepticism in the waitress’ eyes when she had brought you the beverages as she had to look at Jaehyun twice and even turned around on her way back once again to make sure that her mind had not fooled her. Jaehyun had ignored it.
“So, what’s the matter?” He was sitting opposite of you as you asked. “It’s been more than half a year since we’ve last seen each other.”
Jaehyun fiddled with his fingers that he had rested on his lap. “Did you see anyone during this time?”
“Why would that be any of your business?”
He cleared his throat. “I toured through Japan, America, Thailand and parts of Europe this year, as you might know. I had everything in front of me that I worked so hard for. The fame, the success. In America, I went to red carpets, award shows, TV shows… It has always been my dream to do all that. When I first came back in May, I even started dating someone I thought was perfect for me as she is an idol as well. I had all that. My life was perfect. And it still wasn’t enough for me.”
Even though he was speaking seemingly nonchalantly, there was a sad undertone in his voice. Jaehyun certainly knew how to conceal his true feelings, and it made you feel that he considered it to be necessary to do this in front of you as well.
“What went wrong?” you wanted to know.
“I realized how fading it all was. The spotlight doesn’t last for long. When you’re a trainee, nobody tells you what will happen when the lights go off. Nobody prepares you for what will happen once the darkness comes. And damn, is that darkness deep. And so endless. A few hours of spotlight just don’t make up for hours, days and months of darkness.”
You weren’t a celeb, but you could understand what he was feeling. Many people looked down on idols, laughing off their career and deeming it not even being a true job. But the idol life was a hard one with hours and hours of training of which one couldn’t even be sure whether all the blood, sweat and tears would pay off eventually. You had seen Seulgi going through all of this.
“What about the other guys?” you questioned. “I’m pretty sure you’re all there to support each other as well.”
Jaehyun chuckled bitterly. “We’re 23 people in the whole group. That’s like an entire classroom. How many people did you naturally get along with in your class back then in high school?”
“Perhaps, only a handful. My friends.”
“Exactly. Some, you can turn to when you feel down, but they are not there all the time and they have their own problems too that you cannot make your own, because the burden will be too much. The majority, you just want to punch in the face because they get on your nerves. Others, you simply avoid altogether.”
Seulgi was very lucky to be in a group with only a couple of girls who got along all the time, more or less. You couldn’t imagine how it was for Jaehyun with more than twenty other guys. 
“And the girl you dated?”
He smiled, and it somehow stung. “She’s pretty, talented and a very good person. Characteristics you rarely find in idols all combined. But she travels around very often as well and has so many projects going on. She was there when I wasn’t, and I was there when she wasn’t. That’s why so many relationships between idols fail. We barely have time. We can’t make each other’s darkness go away.”
You nipped on your coke again. Jaehyun’s glass now consisted of more water than coffee. “What did you call me here for exactly, Jaehyun?”
He sucked in a rush of air. “You haven’t answered my question.”
“Which question?”
He locked your gazes, finally. “Did you see someone in the past months?”
“Yes.”
“Oh.” Finally, he led the straw to his mouth, taking a sip, but not pushing the topic further. Nevertheless, the air was still heavy, and you decided to clear it.
“But I’m not anymore.”
Jaehyun looked up, his eyes sparkling. 
“Two rules,” you made clear.
“I’m listening.”
“You text me at least once a day. Not because I want to surveille you, but because I just want to know you’re alive and well, and thinking of me despite your busy schedule.”
He chuckled shyly. “Lately, I’ve been thinking of you all the time, so that’s a given.”
You flushed a bit and lowered your voice to shield your conversation from the other customers. “Second rule… And I know you’re not going to like this, but the second rule is no sex.”
“What?” he whispered in disbelief, eyes widening and leaning over the table closer to you as though he was sure he had misheard. “Are you being serious?”
“I want you to prove to me that you’re serious about me,” you whispered back. “That you don’t only want me for sex, and if we have sex, that you don’t end things right after you got what wanted. I’m not such a girl, Jaehyun. And I don’t want such a man. If you’re not okay with this, we don’t have to do this.”
“No, no, no!” he directly dismissed. “It’s okay. I’m okay with this.” 
He nodded with much determination, and you could see the sincerity in his eyes. He was in for all of it, and you would lie if you acted like you weren’t surprised by his reaction. Jaehyun truly meant it.
“Let me add something…” you backpedaled for clarification. “No sex until I’m ready for it. Better?”
But he didn’t object. “Whatever rules you set.”
“Can I add another one?”
“You’re on a roll now?” he asked skeptically.
“I want you to take me out on a date. A real date.”
The corners of his lips tilted up. “This, I can do too. Can I add a rule as well?”
“Go ahead.”
“In private, call me Yuno, like my real name. When I’m with you, I don’t want to be Jaehyun.”
What he implied was that in private, he wanted to be vulnerable, who he truly was, not an idol. You gladly accepted that.
“Okay, Yuno.”
As you addressed him by his real name, smiling so sweetly and genuinely, Jaehyun thought that, for the first time, he could imagine wanting to keep someone around.
____
You weren’t dense. You knew that dating an idol wouldn’t be like dating any other guy.
With any other guy, you could walk around freely where crowds were, holding hands. With any other guy, you could spontaneously meet up after work, several times a week. With any other guy, you could take couple pictures and post them online, on your public account.
Dating Jaehyun wasn’t any of the above. 
But you weren’t just any girl either.
You didn’t complain when he had to cancel plans last minute, because he was too tired to get up again. You didn’t hold it against him when you were always the one having to drive into his neighborhood. You also didn’t interfere when the manager was adamant about following you everywhere.
Jaehyun made up for all of this more than anyone before him by being the sweetest boyfriend one could ask for.
Little by little, you got to know the person behind this idol mask, the person behind ‘Jaehyun’. The person you called ‘Yuno’ in private. A person you could really imagine falling in love with deeply not far from now.
Because this person truly was not perfect. And that was what made him so loveable for you.
____
Today, Jaehyun was off work, so for the first time in two weeks, you actually had an entire day to yourselves, and it would be the last one before he’d take off to New York for the Global Citizen Festival. 
Even though you had gone on short dates before, such as grabbing a coffee and sitting in the park or movie evenings at your place, Jaehyun had promised that this one would be your first real date together, just as he had promised to you when you had agreed on going out.
What you hadn’t expected was for him to take you to Seoul Children’s Grand Park.
“Is it okay?” he asked you hesitantly as you stood in the queue at 10am in the morning. “I thought…”
You nodded and let your fingers slip into his palm as you moved forward in the queue. “It’s totally okay. I understand.”
Any other guy wouldn’t have taken you to a children's theme park, but this was where Jaehyun and you could roam around freely without hiding and him wearing more of a disguise than a cap. As mainly families visited the park with their lively kids, they wouldn’t be keen on getting info on who this stranger was if they would ever grow suspicious at all. It was the perfect spot to spend an entire day away from the turmoil that usually surrounded him.
Jaehyun let out a rush of air. “Then I’m relieved.”
“Who said we cannot have fun here as well?” You gently nudged him. “I’m sure it’ll be the best day ever!”
You hadn’t pegged Jaehyun as the goofy guy. During the short span of weeks that you had been dating so far, you had gotten a glimpse of the part that wasn’t manipulatively charming and self-centered. This Jaehyun now was light-hearted, making jokes and laughing all the time as though he had no care in this world. 
This Jaehyun was whole-heartedly happy. 
“What is it?” he asked you, smiling against the sun, having to blink. 
“Nothing,” you said and squeezed his hand. “You’re scrunching up your nose when you laugh. It’s so cute.”
You had just disembarked from a ride and Jaehyun had been laughing next to you the entire time. You hadn’t wanted the ride to end just to continue to listen to him laughing as you harbored the feeling that he hadn’t been able to do so as much lately, so you wanted to be this person to him.
“Stop,” he urged and covered the lower half of his face with the back of his hand, and you noticed how his cheeks as well as the tips of his ears turned pink. 
You chuckled. “Come on, I want to see the animals!”
You moved through the groups of families and their children, and despite Jaehyun having been very tense in the beginning, always controlling whether someone was watching you or on the brink of recognizing him, he had slowly started to relax when he noticed that no one paid the slightest attention to you two.
“Is it hard?” you then wanted to know as you studied the elephants with kids of different ages screaming right next to you by the balustrade. But you didn’t mind. “Not quite being able to go where you want as you might get recognized?”
“I can go wherever I want and whenever I want,” Jaehyun clarified. “Most of the time, people don’t care, the majority of them only watch. We’re only human with daily tasks as well. Seldomly, someone takes a secret photo and spreads it, very rarely, they ask for autographs and other things personally. Sometimes, it’s annoying, but it comes with my job, so it doesn’t bother me most of the time as long as they respect our privacy. It’s only when I’m with a girl that things can get heated.”
“Sure.” One elephant was blowing water at a smaller one. The children were rejoicing. “Your fans would probably give you hell if it ever makes headlines.”
“When you date someone, with the staff, sasaengs and friends around, it’s a given that there is a group of people who know and they tell the people they know and so on. That’s how gossip arises, but as long as it doesn’t make headlines and you’re on Dispatch’s good side, you’re okay. But I don’t want you to only be okay.”
You tilted your head, now turning around to face him. “What do you mean?”
“You’re not an idol, neither a staff or a trainee. You don’t have anything to do with this world and I want it to stay this way. I want you to be safe.” He glanced down at you, the look in his eyes imprenetable. “I don’t want my girlfriend to become the target of hate, that’s why I want to protect your identity at all costs. I want to do it right this time.”
You weren’t a hillbilly. You had seen what had happened when it got revealed that Kai was dating Krystal. And when Baekyhun was dating Taeyeon. The hate that flooded through online communities and were discussed for weeks all over the internet - and they were very popular and beloved idols. It warmed your heart that Jaehyun wanted to spare you from all of this as well. 
But wait, had he just called you…?
“It’s not easy, being with me,” he continued as though he hadn’t just put a label on you two. “And with you, it’s probably going to be extra hard. But I don’t want my life to ruin yours, to ruin what we’re just trying to build. I just need to know you’re fully on it as well.”
With a smirk, you challenged him, “Build what?”
“A…” He gulped. “... a serious relationship.”
You had all along known that behind the playboy side of his that he had shown you first, there was a goofy, endearing person hidden, that was the reason why you had agreed on going out with him in the first place. This was the person you had hoped to be there all along, the person you wanted.
So right in the middle of screaming children who their parents tried to calm, you grabbed Jaehyun by his collar and lifted yourself up to your toes. This surrounding was shielding you perfectly from unwanted attention as you wrapped your arms around his neck and kissed him.
“I still won’t sleep with you,” you then announced in secrecy when you parted.
“It’s okay. I’ll wait,” he replied patiently, his hands around your waist.
Dating Jaehyun wasn’t like dating any other guy. But dating Jaehyun was just as fun. 
And Jaehyun, for the first time, wanted to keep someone around.
____
“Hey, come in.”
“Hi Jungwoo. I’m not gonna stay for long. I just wanted to say goodbye.”
Your palms were sweating as Jungwoo giggled. “Stay for as long as you want. We’ve only recently moved in, so enjoy the cleanliness for now, because it’s not going to stay this way for much longer.”
You weren’t sure why you were so nervous, why you were even covered in a thin sheet of sweat just because you had gotten invited to Jaehyun’s group’s dorm for the first time, but Jungwoo’s shy bubbliness and kind aura quickly put you at ease.
It had been three months since you and Jaehyun started dating, and he was going to leave for Japan soon. Since he had to get up early the day after and the place where he had spent the day was closer to his dorm, it was a given that you would meet him at his own home. 
Jaehyun was still deliberately following the texting rule, no matter how late it was, where he would travel to shortly after and wherever in the world he was currently residing. And lately, he had been in Spain and back in the US, the time difference putting a strain on your occasional facetime calls, but you had still managed to do it as often as possible.
Despite his busy life, he was always putting you first.
“Follow me, his room is over there. No worries, it’s all his.”
You found yourself anxiously looking to your right and left, afraid to encounter any of the other boys - the source of your nervousness. You weren’t prepared to meet all of them and already felt a lump in your throat when you heard different voices from what seemed like the living and kitchen area. But to your reassurance, Jungwoo came to a stop right before that space.   
“This one.” He opened the door for you. “Make yourself at home. You want to drink something?”
You shook your head. “Thank you.”
“Okay. Call me if you need anything!”
He closed the door behind him, and, in the safety of Jaehyun’s room, you felt all the strain getting lifted off your shoulders. As you looked around, you recognized everything from the relay cam published the month prior on the group’s youtube channel.
There, to your left, was the cabinet with all his stuff like his Marshall music box, his vinyl records and the Mickey Mouse sitting on the top shelf. In front of the big window stood his desk along with the keyboard and his computer. Next to it, another standing keyboard, followed by his bed to your right. 
Jaehyun loved listening to vinyls, using analog cameras, drinking wine and playing the piano. It was a soft, private side he also showed his fans in his vlogs, a fragment of who he really was, deep inside. In his videos, he appeared as such a comfort person, entirely different from the young man you had encountered last year and luckily came out more and more around you.
But what differed him from the person everyone else got to see was that you also knew the Jaehyun who was off-camera. The one not so pressured to uphold a perfect facade, who broke through the stark mask every now and then.
Yuno, who called you, sobbing because he had reached a dead end with a song he was composing. Yuno, who wanted to be desperately hugged by you, because he felt so lonely. Yuno, who raised his voice because everything was going wrong with his day.
His fans didn’t have to see. And you were always there to clean up the mess he had left, sweeping up the remains of his emotional outbursts, because from the outside, he had an image to keep up. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be possible. Shared baggage wasn’t as heavy. And always, you willingly and happily did that - for him.
As you walked across the room, you spotted a few sheets spread across his desk over the keyboard. You didn’t want to peek, but got your attention drawn to them by the vivid colors, and you frowned as you read your name on two of the documents.
They were flight initiaries to Tokyo. And the third one, a bit smaller but thicker by paper, was an entry ticket to their respective concert.
“Oh damn. It should have been a gift.”
You hadn’t heard how he had walked into the room and shifted around to him, the ticket in your hand now, asking in near disbelief, “What’s this?” as though you didn’t already know.
“You’re joining me in Tokyo!”
“You’re nuts!” you objected, still not believing it. “I have a job, I have to ask for a time off first. What if it won’t get through? Then this would go to waste!”
Jaehyun threw his head back and laughed. Then, he approached you and took the ticket out of your hand. “I know you’ve always wanted to visit Japan and see me on stage. So why not combine these two, and why not in February when there is the opportunity?”
“My boss is a witch, I told you all the stories about her, weren’t you listening?” You already imagined her anguished face, horror striking your face. “Oh god, I can hand in my two weeks notice tomorrow when I tell her about this.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Jaehyun brushed it off confidently. “I already called your workplace. No important meetings on these dates. Your vacation days will be officially approved by tomorrow.”
“Are you being serious?” You raised your brow in suspicion, not allowing your skeptical and worrying self to feel joy yet. “Or is this a joke?”
“Do you or do you not see your name right there?” He held the flight initiatives out in front of you. 
“How did you get my passport number?” 
“I didn’t send you to go grab the ordered food for nothing that day.”
“You’re-” The words got caught in your throat, because you felt tears aching behind your eyes.
“Awesome? Unbelievable? The best boyfriend ever?”
“I wanted to say stupid.” You swallowed it all down. “Stupidly awesome. But the title ‘best boyfriend’ also fits.”
“Well, that’s what I wanted to hear.”
Finally, you wrapped your arms around his neck and Jaehyun spun you around, the both of you laughing. 
You had talked about finances after some weeks of dating already since the discrepancy between your monthly salaries was almost impossible to put into words. But despite Jaehyun always offering, you were adamant about only doing and achieving things you could afford as you never ever wanted to grow dependent on a man.
But Jaehyun didn’t mind grand gestures every now and then. Just like this one.
“You know I’m going to reward you greatly for this, right?” you asked him quietly as he placed you back on the ground.
It took Jaehyun a few moments of obliviousness until you observed the question marks slowly vanishing from his eyes and the innocent look in them getting replaced with one that was auspicious, and a tid bit sinister.  
Oh, he wanted that reward. So bad.
You had never talked about sex again, and he had never asked about it in return. Despite having come close to it again and again when a reunion session got too heated, Jaehyun had never pushed for more when you weren’t the one making the first step.
Now, being sure that it wasn’t only about this one thing for him and that he was fully ready to commit, you wanted to prove to him that you were ready for it as well by giving him the one thing he hadn’t been able to get yet.
With a swift motion, Jaehyun had swooped you off the ground, and you were bouncing on the bed the next moment, him on top of you, lips close to your ear, and whispering,
“I hope you know what you’ve gotten yourself into.”
You wanted to know. So bad.
____
“I’ve never waited so long for a girl before,” Jaehyun whispered through gritted teeth as he hastily, with trembling fingers, fiddled with the hem of your shirt. “But you made it all worth it.”
You bit your bottom lip. “You don’t know yet, and I don’t want to disappoint you as you've waited for so long.”
He halted and locked gazes with you, putting his forehead to yours. “I’m not talking about sex only. I’m serious. You’re not boring. You’re not stuck-up. You don’t drool over me. You see me as who I am, and you’re still with me. You make everything worth it.”
His words turned you on so much that you slid your thigh over his lap, turned over and straddled him. “Please sleep with me right now,” you almost begged and fisted his t-shirt. You wanted him even more if that was possible. “Or I-”
But Jaehyun didn’t let you finish your sentence. His hands fell to your hips and pressed your body closer to his groin as his lips finally met yours in a passionate kiss that was long overdue. He was propped up on his hands while you were holding his neck and then bent in to deepen the kiss with the use of your tongue.
Suddenly, you pulled away in shock as you heard people passing by the door, laughing audibly as though they were standing right next to you.
“Yeah, the walls here are paper thin, sorry about that. But usually, nobody barges in just like that.”
You shifted your attention back to Jaehyun, deliberately diving into his mouth again, but you were still able to clearly hear the laughter and conversations only feet away from where you were about to do the deeds - all while Jaehyun moved from your mouth to your neck, growing more greedy and impatient.
His fingers dug into your hips and he growled lowly against your skin as he kissed along your collarbone. Willingly, you lifted your arms and let him slide off your shirt, shivering lightly against the coldness that immediately hit your shoulders, but was replaced by the warmth of Jaehyun’s mouth right after. 
He pressed you down on him, hard, and you rubbed against the thickness between your legs, barely noticing the straps of your bra slipping along your arms and exposing your bare breasts. Heat swirled in your belly, making your clit throb and your body craving him so badly, you didn’t think you could wait for much longer.
“Give it back!”
“HAHAHAHAHA, NEVER!”
Your body stiffened and you caught a glimpse at the door which was still closed, luckily. It felt like the boys had run right through your room! You wanted to ask Jaehyun whether there was a key to put you at ease for a bit, but you melted into him the next moment when he grabbed your left nipple between his teeth, sending shocks right down to your nether regions.
You moaned when his palms were placed flat on your back and you arched your spine, angling into his body as he bent forward and sucked the whole peak of your breast into this mouth. Forgotten were the voices and the people running back and forth outside of the room. Your eyes fluttered closed as Jaehyun’s tongue, hot and wet, came out and swirled the pebble of your nipple.
Laugher crossed the comfortable quietness in the room again that had only consisted of the nearly audible moans and growls of you two before. You tried to shift your head, but Jaehyun now turned his attention to your other nipple, dragging it out by his teeth, and then teased you by nibbling the entire breast.
“What if someone comes in?” you whispered, but your interruption was pathetic in this situation, and Jaehyun knew.
He sucked hard, stretching your skin. You grinded against his groin so desperately, you felt it tickle and wet between your legs already - and you were not even entirely undressed yet! You rolled your hips, rubbing fast on him, your fingers tugging on the hem of his t-shirt, and Jaehyun stilled for a moment to let you take it off for him.
He then pulled you back against him, your faces on level. One of his hands slipped down your back to grab your ass, and you let out a squeal, hushing right after as footsteps passed by the door. You gazed into his eyes, saw the passion, the lust, and you knew that all your concerns were irrelevant. 
You would do it right here and now, no matter how loud and heavy it would get, no matter who could hear you. You would do it right now, and no one and nothing would be able to stop you from it. 
“Please,” you muttered, palming his chest with your hands. “I don’t want to wait anymore.”
Jaehyun expelled a short breath as he had wanted to prolong the foreplay a bit more, but he didn’t need to be asked twice to hurry up. Wrapping an arm around your waist, he flipped you onto your back, and you let out a small gasp along the way, excited and nervous at the same time. 
“Your wish is my command.”
Jaehyun got on his knees, gazing down at you. You unbuttoned your jeans, sliding them over your hips, then your legs. His eyes didn’t waver from you as you revealed your black panties, and he licked his lips. Slowly, he slid his fingers up your thighs and hooked them into the waistband of your undies.
“At any other occasion, I would take my fair time with you,” Jaehyun admitted. “But right now, I can’t wait anymore either.”
Your black panties landed on top of your other clothes at the side of the bed along with Jaehyun’s jeans and boxers. He reached into a small drawer that was hidden in the headboard and pulled out a condom that he then rolled on, the wrapper getting lost on the floor as well. 
“But we have to be quiet, okay?” you tried again as someone outside had seemingly randomly started to play the piano. “We’ll try.”
“Sure.” Jaehyun positioned himself between your thighs, a smile curling a corner of his mouth. You hadn’t been able to take a detailed look at his hard-on yet from your position, but it already felt like it was a lot to take in. “We’ll try.” Why did it seem like he wouldn’t even want to try? 
Your hair was fanned out on the pillow beneath you as he came down to you and pressed between your legs. Thrusting his hips slowly and steadily, he worked inside of you, and you groaned, stretching while he was sinking into you. Your cheeks heated up and you threw your head aside as Jaehyun was going deeper and deeper, burying himself to the hilt.
“Oh,” Jaehyun sucked in a rush of air, his face twisted. “It feels so good.”
You shared the same thought as him as he lowered his body closer to you, your nipples brushing his chest. Without thinking, you bent your knees and spread your legs wider, your heels digging into the mattress.
Jaehyun kissed you, but before you had time to savor that feeling of fleeting peace before he would rock your entire world, he had already pulled out and thrusted right back into you.
“Oh, god.”
You looked up, witnessing Jaehyun enjoying the act himself as he grabbed for the headboard to give him support while his thrusts got harder and faster, moving in and out of you. The muscles in his arms were bulging and tight as they strained in the attempt to hold his position, the muffled voices of people in the background nearly entirely faded.
That was until you noticed that the bed was creaking. Very loudly. “The bed,” you breathed in between thrusts, worried. “We have to go slower.”
But Jaehyun just groaned, dropped his head and silenced you with his lips. Instead of going slower, he only went harder. Your breasts bounced back and forth, and whimpers fell from your lips that only transitioned to higher tones, challenging the noise the bed was currently making. 
“Go slow,” you still tried to plead, but you weren’t sure anymore whether you had even audibly uttered these words.
You totally forgot about the noise around you. At some point, when your head was so clouded, filled with passion and lust, you just didn’t care anymore. Instead, you pulled Jaehyun deeper with every thrust, rolling your hips to meet his rhythm and moaning at the pleasure of him filling you.
Jaehyun slid a hand under your bum and nestled in farther, grunting as he went on even rougher, your whole body shaking and thus the entire bed with you. Loud creaks mixed with your own sounds of pleasure as you begged him to go faster, deeper, rarely having felt this good in your life.
“Yes, yes! Please, don’t stop!” you cried lowly as you felt an orgasm crest.
He thrusted in and out of you again and again, sweat forming on his forehead, but his rhythm was steady, the strength in his arms holding the position and not giving in. His length nudged far inside you, and you cried out, loud this time, breaking loose and coming as your walls clenched around him.
“Oh, f-”, Jaehyun groaned as he pushed one more time and then stopped, his body stiffening on top of yours and his arms straining, bringing forward his veins.
You ran a hand up his back, feeling the sheen of sweat as you both came down from your highs, overly exhausted, but over the top happy. And you both beamed.
When you later left the dorm that night, hoping to not get caught by someone after what you had done merely an hour before, you still found a member, Yuta, as a matter of fact, standing in the corridor and winking at you.
Well…
____
2020
After Jaehyun returned from Japan, NCT 127 was preparing for their comeback with ‘Kick it’ along with the release of their second Korean studio album ‘Neo Zone’. You had hoped that, with their first world tour concluded, Jaehyun’s life would slow down a bit, his world spinning a bit less fast. But you were wrong. 
NCT 127 was climbing up the ladder of success and, amidst the comeback, they were to travel back and forth between the US and South Korea. You were truly, really happy for them, they had been working so hard for all of this. 
But you also couldn’t deny that Jaehyun’s announcement of their second world tour starting in North America in June came along with a bland aftertaste for you. 
____
“What’s wrong?” Jaehyun asked you.
His blue hair shimmered in the sunset getting reflected in your bedroom. Tomorrow was the comeback stage of ‘Kick it’, so he wasn’t able to stay for long as he had to get up very early.
Throughout the past months, he hadn’t neglected rule number one even for one day. Between recording, practice and other schedules, he still found time to text you or even call shortly, so you didn’t know why it even bothered you that he would now start having even less than the little time he usually was able to spare.
You felt very selfish, demanding so much, even though it was probably the bare minimum for such a relationship. But this was Jeong Jaehyun, not any other guy. So you swallowed the real reason and only informed him, “From now on, you don’t have to text me everyday, okay?”
Jaehyun pulled his brows together. “You don’t want me to text you anymore?”
You had seen him on stage. He knew what he was capable of, so did everyone else, including you. “It’s not like that…”
When the Yuno you knew turned into Jaehyun, the idol, the stage was his home. He loved the spotlight, he loved his occupation, he loved his fans. Every motion he executed, every note he hit, every gaze he shot to the crowd was well thought-out and touched perfection. Partially, this job was his passion, but much more, it was also work. Only on the stage, he could let go and ride on the wave of his fame. He was born to be in the spotlight, and there was no place for you to interfere in any means. 
“It’s just…” You shrugged. “I don’t want to be a distraction to you, you know.”
“You think you’re my distraction?” He got up from the bed and approached you to kneel in front of you on the floor. “You’re my biggest motivation, that’s the truth.”
Now, it was you who was frowning. “What do you mean by that?”
“I know my fans love me no matter what, and I appreciate their dedication and love, they’re my motivation too. Whatever I do, they solemnly celebrate their idol, and I can count myself lucky they always have my back. I’m talking about the good fans here, though.” He sucked in a rush of air. “But whenever I'm on stage, I’m afraid that I'll get lost again. Lost in this world, in this part of me that I keep caged and only let out when I’m in the spotlight. The part of me that relishes the stage a bit too much. Because that’s not really me anymore. I don’t want to return to being this person.”
You had seen Jaehyun in Japan. And you could understand why his fans went crazy over him. On stage, he radiated so much confidence and sexual appeal that you almost felt jealous of all the girls seeing the same in him as you and fell in love with him all overagain at the same time.
But Jaehyun at home wasn’t like that. He watched Money Heist in his checkered pajama bottoms, wore thick glasses as otherwise he wasn’t able to see, and currently spent as much time in the fitness studio as possible as he felt insecure about his build.
“In a crowd of ten thousands of people, it’s so easy to turn invisible,” he continued, “but I always search for you until I find you. Even when you’re not physically there, I sing a song and think about you, and you appear in my mind.”
You averted your eyes, touched by his words and letting his voiced concerns sink in. “What are you saying…”
“I’m saying…” He took your hands into his. “That because of you, I can be who I truly want to be, who I actually am, not this cocky asshole from the past. You keep me grounded, you bring out the best part of me. And while my fans don’t bring out the worst part of me, they’re always on the brink of luring it out, and it’s so tempting to me.”
From what Jaehyun had told you, at one point, he had wished to have a relationship with his fans like Taeyong did. More like friends with a mutual understanding, despite being fan and idol. His bandmate shared nearly everything with his beloved fans, so much that Jaehyun sometimes jokingly described it as a parasocial relationship.
But that was the difference between idols like Jaehyun and idols like Taeyong. Jaehyun kept everyone not privately involved with him at an arm's-length, because he didn’t want to disappoint anyone when he acted out of the box and not so perfect.
“You don’t always have to be perfect, Yuno.” You gently pressed his fingers together in a gesture of reassurance. “Even though they all expect it from you, it’s okay to be you every now and then. Especially around me. I don’t do perfect anyway. I want you to know that.”
“What happened to Taeyong predebut… It nearly destroyed him,” he admitted quietly. “I don’t want that to happen to me. Perfection is not only my image, it’s my shield.”
You dismissed the topic about Taeyong’s scandal quickly. Nobody in their dorm was allowed to talk about what had happened back then ever again, and you didn’t want to break this rule out of respect. “And now, he’s so loved and successful, coming out even stronger. He’s found his passion, his purpose in life. Flaws don’t make you unlovable, Yuno. I love every single one of your flaws, and I’m sure your fans would too.”
Jaehyun nudged his face between your thighs and you let your fingers run between his soft, blue hair that now reminded you of lapis lazuli. “Don’t be so hard on yourself.”
“Okay.” Then, quietness followed before he bluntly blurted, “You said you love me.”
You bit your tongue. “I said I love your flaws.”
“Which is technically the same,” he muffled into the fabric of your pants.
It wasn’t, to be exact. But it didn’t matter, because this was true, too.
Your palm still rested on the back of his head. Perhaps, that was the reason he wasn’t able to face you. It let things slip easier from your lips. You were thankful for that at this moment. 
“Yes. I do. I love you.”
It was the first time that you told him this despite feeling it for quite a while already. You hadn’t expected to eventually come around, but now that you had, you were afraid of him not feeling the same, not being capable of feeling the same.
But after everything he had told you before, you knew that these doubts were unreasonable.  
He loved you too. What was there to worry about in the end?
You bent down and placed a kiss on the top of his head. Taking you by surprise, Jaehyun rose at the same moment and grabbed you by your neck, pulling you close to him so that your foreheads almost touched, strands of his lapis lazuli colored hair in your vision.
“I love you too.”
____
“He won’t come out.”
Taeyong and Jungwoo stood in front of Jaehyun’s room when you arrived, worry etched into their faces. If they both weren’t able to get him out, how would you?
The day before, news broke out that Jaehyun, along with Eunwoo, Jungkook and Mingyu had gone out together on April 25 to the dawn of April 26, visiting three locations in Itaewon - right after Covid restrictions of the first wave had eased. And people were furious.
You didn’t even remember that day anymore as you hadn’t seen each other before or after. Between comeback preparations and mc-ing, Jaehyun was busy as hell, and you let him enjoy his free time with his friends too, even though sometimes, you felt like you weren’t one of his top priorities anymore. But all of this didn’t matter at this moment.
“It’s the first big blow up he’s experiencing,” Taeyong explained to you with a low voice. “It’s currently too much for him to process and handle.”
“How am I supposed to help if you aren’t able to?” you wanted to genuinely know.
The main problem didn’t lie with the fact that they had visited the etablissements amidst the government’s advice to distance themselves socially. Though this was considered a problem too, of course.
The entire internet was furious that these young men hadn’t isolated themselves after someone, who had visited etablissements in the same area a week later, was officially tested positive for Covid. Thus, the government had recommended all visitors of this neighborhood between April 24 and May 6 to isolate themselves at home. 
But no such thing had happened to the guys as they had carried on with their schedules as usual. Of course they had taken Covid tests, and you had too just in case, and they had all turned out negative.
But the internet was merciless.
“Did you talk to him yesterday?” Jungwoo asked.
You shook your head. The day this scandal surfaced was the first day Jaehyun hadn’t ever texted you nor picked up your calls. That was why you had connected with Taeyong and came here directly.
“Whatever I want to say… It doesn’t seem like it’s the right thing. I want to be careful, thinking about every word, wanting to encourage him. But I’m afraid, with what I have to say, I might hurt him even more despite not wanting to.”
“The most important thing is to not judge,” Taeyong recommended. “Whether it was right or wrong, he knows himself after having an emergency meeting with the management yesterday. You know what kind of person he is. Just… believe in him.”
“It’s a tough time for all of us since tomorrow is the comeback, and he has to face the entire world in that vlive.”
You looked at Jungwoo who had last spoken, now feeling even more discouraged, and your shoulders dropped. “This is not really my forte, you know. I’ve never experienced something like this, nor did I go through this with someone. I can just offer… myself.”
“But that’s enough.”
“I don’t know whether my presence is enough to soothe his heart, Taeyong. He apparently doesn’t need me. Or better say, he doesn’t want me here.”
“He may think he doesn’t need you, but deep inside, during hard times, the people we love are all we need. We try to push them away, cocooning ourselves in the comfort of loneliness and isolation when everything we need is the warmth of familiar arms wrapped around us in protection.”
The words spurting out of this man sometimes… No wonder he made his fans feel like they were actually acquaintanced. You were enchanted, too. “Okay. I’ll get in.”
Jaehyun’s entire room was dark, his curtains pulled together, the lamps off. The only source of light came from the tiny slit in between the fabric by the window that wouldn’t close seamlessly, so only a tiny bit of sunlight streamed in. Jaehyun himself laid on his bed, the blanket pulled over his entire body, and he had his head turned to face the wall.
“Hey, it’s me. I’m coming in,” you announced and waited for a few heartbeats.
No protest from Jaehyun. You moved your head, nodded at Taeyong and Jungwoo, and pulled the door closed behind you. When you had entered the dorm, you had already taken off your shoes, but now you also slipped out of your jacket, and it fell to the floor with a rustle.
On tiptoes, you approached Jaehyun’s bed and lifted the edge of the blanket. He wore a black t-shirt and checkered pajama bottoms, seemingly not having changed since this night or the one before. He wasn’t protesting, so you silently laid yourself next to him onto the mattress, pulling the covers back over you both.
Jaehyun’s body was warm, and you heaved up your left arm to drape it over his torso, nestling yourself against him and inhaling his scent. For a few moments, it felt awkward to you as he wasn’t responding to any of your gestures, and you were asking yourself whether what you were doing was even right or whether you were only making a fool of yourself. 
But just as you were playing with the thought of leaving again, Jaehyun reached for your hand that had rested against his stomach and embraced your fingers with his palm, tightly. You let out a nearly vocal sigh of relief, closed your eyes and offered him your company like Taeyong had suggested.
At one point, you believed you had drifted off, so the voice was only faint, but you swore that he had said exactly these words,
“Thank you for being here.”
____
Withdraw from the group, Jaehyun. Don’t go on TV.
Just keep quiet, Jaehyun.
NCT’s Jaehyun, please keep to the social distancing guidelines.
Jaehyun, tell us some good restaurants in Itaewon.
Some hot places in Itaewon, too.
….
Jaehyun’s perfect image had gotten a crack.
On the vlive on comeback day, everyone acted normal, the jokes, everything. It wasn’t the first scandal NCT had faced, but the first one to involve their perfect main vocal all the girls were swooning over. That was why, on that specific day, they tried a bit harder.
“Thank you,” Jaehyun addressed the screen when he won the meat gifset, but he didn’t smile. He simply couldn’t bring himself to do so anymore as he had tried too hard in the past hour, and now all his energy had completely left him.
It had been hard for Jaehyun to force up a smile whenever he needed to speak to the camera, comments rolling over the screen, rendering his expressions icy. Usually, the section was filled with compliments on his good looks and other pleas for some kind of fanservice, but today, it was an endless stream of malicious comments. 
Or so it seemed to him.
….
That’s hilarious. Go eat your meat at a club, Jaehyun.
He’ll eat that with his Itaewon fam and girls.
….
Taeyong had had his hand on Jaehyun’s chair and shoulders at times when he spoke, letting him know that he was there for him even though he couldn’t see the leader as everyone had to face the screen. Haechan and Yuta had also mentioned his name quite a lot, encouraging him to answer the questions, even though they weren’t the mcs. Yuta, along with Mark, had also tried to include him in their stories. Especially the first, who laid more on the quiet site in live broadcasts, had seemed to be more enthusiastic to include Jaehyun despite sitting quite far away from him.
Jaehyun was really grateful for that, for his brothers.
Yet, when the entire vlive was over and the cameras shut off, Jaehyun couldn’t help but to let out an audible sigh of relief.
“Thank god,” was he only thinking, “it’s finally over.”
It was the first time that he thought that. Usually, he enjoyed comeback schedules as it was the busiest, but also one of the greatest times with fans. But right now, Jaehyun never wanted to see a single one of them again.
Next, Jaehyun noticed Taeyong’s palm was back on his shoulder in a secure gesture. “The comments… please don’t mind them. The majority were from our true fans and very supportive towards your situation. You okay?”
Last night, after you were gone, he had slept in Taeyong’s bed for the first time since trainee days. And despite the night before consisting of little to no sleep for him, it was nice to have someone familiar by his side again during such hard times, so that he had been able to close his eyes for a few hours.
Jaehyun shrugged. He knew there was no point in lying to Taeyong. They had known each other for so long, he’d sense it directly. 
“I just don’t know how to get over it.” A deep frown was forming a creak between his brows, his eyes glistening. “Tell me… will I ever get over it?”
To his dismay, Taeyong was smiling, but rather sadly, almost apologetically. “There are situations that are going to burn themselves into your soul. We live for great things and relish them, but hard times are the ones that threaten to rip apart who we are. You don’t have to let it get that far.”
Jaehyun couldn’t imagine that this deep pain that he felt would ever vanish. It came along with a certain agony and anxiety he had never experienced to this extent before. This turmoil of unfamiliar feelings was so strange to him that at times he felt like he wasn’t able to catch air.
Like right now.
“Jaehyun…?”
He gasped for air, but somehow, it wouldn’t find its way into his lungs. His heart was racing so fast, it felt like it was burning right in his chest. And the last time he remembered he had sweated so much was during dance practice, not after an hour of sitting.
Jaehyun felt like someone with an iron grip had embraced him and wouldn’t let him go anymore, constraining his mobility, the movement of his lungs. Or why else would it be so hard for him to breathe right now?
He started to panik.
“Tae-... I-... I can’t…”
“Okay, sit down.” Taeyong led him back to the chair, not letting go of his arm the entire time and seated himself on the stool next to him. “Yuta, please get a glass of water, quick.”
Taeyong was constantly carressing Jaehyun’s arm and shoulder, patting his back and whispering encouraging words to him that didn’t quite get through his haze of panik. He was shaking and murmuring that he was scared while Taeyong responded with even more carressing and encouraging words.
“Calm down. Breathe, calmly. It’ll be over soon. Listen. Slowly, draw breath through your nose. Count until four. Do you follow me? Okay… one… two… three… four. Hold your breath for seven seconds… six… five… four… three… two… one. Now breathe out through your mouth, but count until eight! One… two… three… four… five… six…. seven…. eight. Now repeat again. Breathe in…”
Half an hour passed by until Jaehyun could see clearly and breathe normally again. It was the first time that he had had a panic attack, and this only marked the beginning of several more.
That day, Jungwoo moved into Jaehyun’s room.
____
“Since Jungwoo moved in with him, he seems much better,” you told Seulgi, spinning in your small chair. It was the perfect metaphora to what was going on in your head.
It had been two weeks since your boyfriend’s scandal, and the internet had quickly forgotten. You had read online that people announced they would unstan NCT because of that, but that wasn’t something new to you, and the amount of people actually going through with it was so minuscule, it didn’t have an effect. 
The group’s released repackaged album ‘Neo Zone: The Final Round’ marked their best-selling album up to now and their first to exceed over one million total sales. Things were going well for the band despite the US tour they had been looking forward to so much getting temporarily postponed.
Everyone had seemed to move on. But Jaehyun had a hard time forgetting.
“His panic attacks still occur though, specifically shortly before he has to show himself in public. He fears he’s doing something wrong and then obsesses about it. Only his group members seem to be able to calm him down. I feel so… helpless.”
That was also the reason why he had stopped doing vlogs or going live. Jaehyun had never been the most approachable idol, but one could still see that he cared about his fans and that they were important to him, giving them tids and bits of himself.
Now, he had entirely shut down, because he didn’t want people to think he was self-centered and selfish. It had grown so important to him what the public thought about him as a person.
“It has quite an impact on your relationship, right?” Seulgi asked you compassionately.
You nodded. “Shutting himself off of the public meant shutting me out, too. He barely texts or even calls me, because he’s afraid people can track his record. He’s taken down his private instagram, because he’s scared it might get leaked. He only wants to meet in the dorm, because he’s afraid someone could follow him. His entire life has come to a standstill, including the parts where I play a role. Where I can understand all this and try to make his life as easy as possible, not triggering his attacks, it’s just… so hard, you know.”
“I probably don’t have to tell you that being with an idol is never easy. We’ve known each other too long for that,” Seulgi elaborated, whisking the spoon in her cup of tea and placing it back on the table. “What I want to tell you is that you should put an end to enabling. You might not be aware of this, but enabling behaviors are common when the partner suffers from a mental health condition. If your partner has anxiety, you may feel like you are being helpful if you are working to prevent them from feeling any distress. However, when you enable your partner, it prevents them from learning how to better manage their symptoms. Communicate with him about your expectations and needs. He surely wants you to as well.”
“I can tell him that I still need to communicate daily to check up on him?” you asked carefully.
Seulgi moved her head up and down so eagerly, her sleek strands stuck to the fabric of her t-shirt. 
“I can tell him that I think going out will be good for him?”
Again, a nod.
“And I can also tell him that I don’t want him to hide his attacks from me?”
“Absolutely!” Seulgi raised a finger. “And there is one more important thing.”
You widened your eyes. “Which is…?”
“Practice forgiveness.”
You didn’t know what she meant by that, and you voiced your insecurity.
“He might be angry with you for not understanding his condition. There might be times where you will feel like whatever you do is wrong. You cannot do everything right, all at once. And you, on the other hand, might get frustrated with him too. You might develop feelings of resentment, believing he doesn’t work hard enough to cope with it.” You already parted your lips to object, but Seulgi shook her head. “I know you think that you will never feel this way. But you’re wrong. At one point, we all do. And when you’re going to think this, you’re going to feel guilty. Then, you have to forgive him and forgive yourself as well.” 
You already felt guilty for having been mad at him once when he had canceled on you. Aside from still hiding his attacks from you, he still hadn’t explained to you what you should do when he might have a panic attack as he wanted to avoid having you witness that at all costs.
“Practice forgiveness,” you repeated. “I see.”
“It helps you let go of pent-up tension and anxiety, and you don’t even have to enable for that. I specifically said ‘practice’, because honestly, forgiving is easier said than done and mistakes from the past get carried around way too long.”
“Seulgi…” You cocked up your brow. “You sound as wise as Taeyong. It’s eerie.”
“Of course. We’re the bestest of company friends!”
____
Jaehyun typically tended to keep his thoughts and worries to himself. It was a long, emotional ride until you got him where you needed him to be with you: straight-forward, raw and achingly honest. 
There were times you talked until the crack of dawn, and even though you were not fighting in the conventional way, you were still raising your voices and crying. First, because everything seemed so frustrating. Then, because you felt like a huge burden had been lifted off the both of you.
With Covid merging into its second, graver wave, life slowed down again. Not only for ordinary people like you, but in the idol world as well. Jaehyun didn’t have to go anywhere anymore except for when mc-ing for Inkigayo, and he was already so settled there that he didn’t have problems being on camera.
Amidst a once so bright and hectic life, Jaehyun found beauty in the silence and peace earth had currently forced him into, probably at the right time for him.
He let time fix the crack in his perfect facade.
____
And here you were again, out in public, in hats and masks, but he was finally willing to meet somewhere else outside of his dorm, even if it was only in the park nearby. You had willingly waited for him to come for you, to make this decision himself.
Today, it was warm and sunny, but not many people were roaming around outside, so it was the perfect opportunity to get Jaehyun to adjust to public life again.
He wanted you to behave normally, not always asking how he was feeling about certain things or walking on eggshells around him. If you didn’t treat him normally, he wouldn’t know what normal was anymore, so you gave it your best as you walked around side by side, and also hand in hand as no one, except for a few elderly people, passed by you every now and then.
As you witnessed how Jaehyun was staying relaxed, you could let go of all the worries now as well. It was almost like before. Almost.
That was until you sensed his fingers cramping around yours, and his breathing now coming in hitches.
“Yun-” You stopped in your tracks. Then, you also heard the noises, most likely coming from young people around the corner. 
“It’s okay,” Jaehyun calmed you down, and his hand loosened around yours. “Somehow… it’s okay. It’s going away.”
“Really?”
Taeyong had taught you the breathing method that he usually practiced when Jaehyun had a panic attack again. You had studied it together with him thoroughly in case it would happen when you were together. You were prepared, you were ready to accompany him through this.
“Really.” And then, his breathing became normal again. “It passed by. For the first time… oddly, it just withdrew.”
“How come?” You bent your head in question. 
Jaehyun shrugged, but a soft smile was coming forward on his lips. “I don’t doubt that you play a huge part in calming the atmosphere. In keeping me calm. And that nature has this kind of effect on me too. It’s… healing.”
“I’m not doing anything,” you said, not quite understanding where this enlightenment came from.
But neither was Jaehyun. “I assume… that’s the two places where I feel comfortable and relaxed the most. With you. With nature.”
You didn’t let it show, but it was the best and most genuine compliment he could have given you. All ‘I love you’’s and ‘I miss you’’s aside, this message rooted from deep within, from the bottom of his heart, and he meant it all.
“You want to continue walking?” you asked and squeezed his hand in reassurance.
“Yes.”
If making him feel better, feel more relaxed, would mean touring the park for hours, then you would willingly and happily do so. 
“I’m not sad about the US tour getting entirely canceled. I’m relieved even. Is that bad?” he suddenly opened up.
From the way Jaehyun worded it, it seemed like this was something that had been on his mind for a very long time and something that he hadn’t let the other group members in on. How would he be able to, when everyone had been brooding for weeks that the tour had suddenly definitely been canceled?
You shook your head. “If it sets your heart at ease, don’t ever feel bad for anything.”
“You sound like Taeyong. It’s eerie.”
You chuckled. “It rubs off.”
“But seriously… I’m relieved that I have more time to adjust to my new condition. To learn how to deal with it and live with it as the person I am now. The therapist says that I’m on the right path, and when I tell him about what happened today, he may acknowledge it as a milestone. I know people curse this entire lockdown that the pandemic brought along, but to me, it came at the right time. Life slowed down, and so can I. As idols, we barely have free time, and now, I have so much time in my hands, I don’t know what to do first.”
“Tell me about it,” you encouraged him. “I want to know about every single one of your plans. What’s on your long list? What did you always want to do and can finally convert?”
“I want to play more basketball. I want to play more piano. And you know what? I also want to write my own songs, compose songs again… yeah, that’s something I would want to do.”
Jaehyun was perking up and you really loved seeing this look on his face. Even through a mask his eye smile really stood out. And like his words, it was genuine and almost like before his world broke down. Almost. “Go on.”
“I also want to try simple things like baking. I’ve never baked in my life. Did you? Can you show me?”
“Of course.”
“Now?”
“Now?”
He nodded eagerly. “Now. We’re going to buy ingredients and then we’re going to bake the first cake of mine together.”
“Sounds like a good idea.”
If it made him happy, you’d do anything with him.
____
“Take them off.”
Swallowing down the lump in your throat, you unbuttoned your shorts and slid them over your bum, down your legs. Jaehyun gazed at your lacy, red underwear and slowly traced his fingers up your thigh, making his way under the seam of your panties. He pulled the fabric aside, baring you. You ran your hand up his chest and wrapped it around the back of his neck. 
By gently running his fingers down the side of your face, he forced your lids closed. Only seconds later, you felt his tongue gliding up your slit, causing you to gasp and your entire body to tense.
“Oh, Yuno.”
“Shhhh, it’s in the middle of the night.”
“I don’t have roommates or anything.”
“But the walls here are paper thin too, so better be safe than sorry and risk awkward stares from your neighbors.”
Before you could retort anything, he licked you up and down slowly, dragging his tongue over your clit. Your fingers buried themselves into the thick linen of your sheets as Jaehyun latched out onto your nub, sucking it gently into his mouth.
You arched your back up, your front teeth sinking into your bottom lip, biting hard into the flesh as you opened your eyes up and angled your neck to watch what he was doing to you. Jaehyun groaned and swirled his tongue around you, tugging your clit out between his lips and diving back in for more, repeatedly.
The pulse between your legs throbbed as blood collected in your nether regions, causing the warmth at your entrance to expand as you simultaneously grew wetter. You hadn’t deemed it possible as you had already had sex before, but apparently, Jaehyun had another mission tonight.
It was the first time in a long while that he was in the mood for sex again, and even though the past weeks had been hard in that term, you had patiently waited until he was ready again - just like him in the beginning. And today was the day.
Jaehyun pushed up one of your knees, fully opening you to him, and started to go harder and faster, more intense and more greedy. His tongue licked, his lips grabbed and sucked until he covered you with his entire mouth, massaging and draping over your clit until your cries only came out as hollow whimpers.
When he finally dived in, penetrating you with his tongue, you begged for release. “Please, Yuno, please…”
You bucked your hips, trying to get deeper and meet him, your breasts swaying back and forth in rhythm. Moving with him, you felt the tingling constantly building up more and more as his tongue worked inside of you, now having support from his hand as well.
“Oh god, Yuno, yes, yes, yes!”
Every muscle in your body contracted so tightly, your orgasm exploded, spreading through your entire body to the very tips of every limb. If your neighbors awkwardly stared at you after this, it would have been totally worth it. 
After the past, cloudy months, life seemed happy, normal for the both of you again in terms of personal matters. You spent as much time with each other as possible as the group barely had schedules, and to you, it felt like a relationship with someone who was not an idol. An ordinary guy. You wanted to enjoy it for as long as it still lasted.
“I’m so glad that you are much happier.” You tucked a strand of Jahyun’s hair behind his ear when he laid down next to you, but it got loose right away again.
He faced you from the side and brushed his thumb over your cheek. “Me too.” 
____
But life during the pandemic was hard on the entire band. 
At first, they had taken this idle state as an opportunity to work on their own, private projects, writing lyrics, composing, dancing and just doing the things normal young men did without the pressure of being idols. They discovered new hobbies, went to the gym and spent time with family and friends. They enjoyed having little to no obligations for once in their young lives.
But when month after month passed with no end to the pandemic in sight, with travel restrictions and with the entire world seemingly shutting down, they came to the realization that this state would probably not only be temporary. 
Before, during comebacks, the group headed to the salon at 1am, left for the broadcasting station at 4am and rehearsed there until 9am. Then, they continued filming content for a few hours and had to be at the live music shows around afternoon where they only finished later in the evening if they didn’t have fan signings events. All that with only a few hours of breaks in between. The next day, this process repeated. Every single day.
You weren’t surprised that they enjoyed this quiet and peaceful lifestyle at first. But you also weren’t surprised when they slowly grew restless. Those young men were born for the stage, it was not only their job, but what they actually lived for, why they had come so far, and a few advertisements here and there couldn’t fill the void that was steadily growing inside each of them.
They were worried about their future that had once seemed so prosperous. Worried about whether a future as this band was actually still in the books for them as they had given up everything for it.
But Jaehyun was one of the few who didn’t worry much.
Despite life having almost come to a standstill, he had gotten an offer he couldn’t decline in the middle of the year. As each member of NCT began looking and hoping to establish a career elsewhere, the opportunity just flew into Jaehyun’s lap.
Of course he had played with the thought of being an actor. But in the past, all his possibilities had gotten declined, because he was so involved in the growing international recognition of NCT, and that was where his newly awakened curiosity stemmed from. For the first time since joining the band, he played with the idea that there was something else he would like to base his future on, something he deemed more relaxed with less pressure on public appearance than the schedule of an idol.
It had taken Jaehyun much time, many angry tantrums and more convincing reasons to have his management approve as they were mainly worried about what his fan base might think about him openly forming a relationship with someone, even possibly having to act out kissing scenes. They wanted to keep him entirely in NCT for as long as possible, for all the fame and popularity he attracted.
But Jaehyun didn’t care, and he went through hell and back with his management until they reluctantly acknowledged that during these times, it was the only way to not let him drift into the background and finally let him officially accept the role als Cha Minho in Dear. M.
Filming began in October.
____
“No message from him today either?”
You felt Seulgi rubbing soothing patterns on your back as you stared at your phone that was placed in front of you on the table. It had been an entire week without Jaehyun calling you, and the only sign of life came through a kakaotalk emoji three days ago. Since then, you had been left on unread.
“When we got together, he promised me something.”
“I know. I haven’t seen him lately either though.”
“I’m aware he’s filming, mc-ing and simultaneously preparing for the comeback next month, but is it so hard?” you complained, turning to your friend. “Just shooting the person, who you’re apparently in love with so much, who should be the one you think of the most, one single text by the end of the day to tell them you’re alive and okay? I don’t get it.”
“Sometimes, it indeed is,” Seulgi carefully tried to explain. “Sometimes, during comebacks, we try to squeeze 48 hours of work into 24, and we use the free minutes in between to just come down and rest, do things for us without worrying about anyone or anything else. We need that. Sometimes, it’s much harder than it sounds.”
“Even during such times, he usually managed to do it.” You let out a rush of air, suppressing the boiling anger that threatened to come out with your following words, “Since he started filming, we barely see each other, talk to each other. When we do, he hardly has anything to share with me and I do most of the talking. It’s been two months, and for almost just as long I feel like I’ve been single again. Am I demanding too much?” 
Seulgi shrugged. “I’m sure that when you two talk, you can sort it out. I wouldn’t know either how it is to be an idol and an actor at the same time.”
“I asked him when I could see him again, but he didn’t even read that.” 
“You know what?” Your friend arose from your seat. “Put on your jacket, you’re going over to the dorm.” 
Your brows moved together to express confusion as you voiced your concerns, “I’ve never been over without informing him before.”
“Then it’s time. He sleeps at home every night, right? 
____
“No, Jaehyun isn’t here,” Taeyong told you upon opening the door. “He hasn’t been here in a few days. He sleeps over close to the set, because he’s got a few night shoots ahead of him.”
“Oh.” You dropped your head, feeling like ordered food that hadn’t been picked up, so embarrassed as well.
And Taeyong noticed, his mien softening. “You… haven’t known.”
“No.”
On your way here, your disappointment had gradually shifted to anticipation, a touch of happiness even as you had hoped to see your boyfriend again. Now, every little approach of making you feel better about this relationship got destroyed by his band mate breaking it down to you that he had been gone for a few days already without informing you.
But it wasn’t sadness that settled in instead, replacing shame. It was burning anger, starting off as a low flame in the pit of your stomach that was fastly growing and threatening to expand into a full wildfire so intense, you would feel it in the tips of your fingers. 
You weren’t worried that Jaehyun was cheating on you. This was something you had never considered to be stressed about, because if a man wanted to cheat, he would, and there was nothing one could do to prevent it. You had chosen to trust the man you loved, and you still did.
What worried you was that he might have let the importance of this relationship slip, neglecting it, neglecting you. And it hurt as hell.
“You know what I’ve been doing?” You drew your brows together at Taeyong’s randomness, your fists clenched as you silently remarked. “I was just finishing up a new song I composed. You want to be the first one to listen to it?”
You knew what he was trying to do. To be a good friend to you by suggesting that you didn’t need to have your time wasted after coming all the way here, and simultaneously being a good friend to Jaehyun by not disclosing to you further information about his whereabouts that might hurt you.
He was such a sweetheart, and you clearly understood more why Seulgi treasured their friendship so much.
Your fingers relaxed, dropping to your sides. “Sure.” You stepped into the dorm, and it was unexpectedly quiet. Most of the others must have all gone out. “How’s it called?”
“Dark Clouds.”
What a fitting title to your current mood as well.
____
“Everything okay?” Jaehyun asked you under his breath.
You nodded and pulled his face back to yours, the sweaty tips of his bangs tickling your forehead as your lips locked again in a hard kiss that left you both winded. His rhythmic thrusts inside of you jarred your body to every last fiber, and you tried to focus on all the favorable things he made you feel during this act despite your thoughts always drifting off.
Same hotel room, same short-lived night in the arms of your boyfriend. 
You knew it was only a few hours that you could spend with him before you had to sneak out again as the other actors and actresses resided in the building as well, and you should better enjoy the very limited time you had together. But today, you felt especially insecure about your relationship.
Still having him move on top of you, you hugged Jaehyun harder against your chest as though to make sure that you were still present and somehow alive, and he let out an affirmative groan that broke through the quietness of rustling sheets and heavy panting, only the dim light of the bedside lamp giving you the possibility to catch a glimpse at his satisfied expression that you couldn’t relate with.
“...yes,” he whispered into your ear, his fingers curling into yours which he then pressed into the pillow. “Almost there.”
Licking you all the way up from the hollow of your chin to your lips, for a moment, you had the feeling to finally be able to let yourself fall and relish this very rare moment. But as soon as you weighed yourself in the safety of his welcoming arms, your mind went astray again to rather unpleasant thoughts.
Perhaps, it was because you hadn’t seen each other in two weeks again and wished for a few hours more. Most likely though, it was because of the smile which he now directed at you. The smile of which you knew didn’t differ much from the one he directed at every crowd whenever he stood on stage and that you experienced in person less and less.
He was here with you, physically. But you still missed him dearly.
You were far from being on the same page as his body convulsed on top of you, and the pain that you felt emotionally nearly turned physical as you weren’t able to share this special moment with him, that was how much it affected you, growing into tears that started flowing the second his body came down next to you.
“That was amazing.”
Jaehyun wanted to pull you into an embrace, sliding his fingers between your thighs already to finish you off himself, and he was still so in the mood that your disconnection totally passed by him, even when you turned to the other side, brushing off his hand.
It was not until the tears dropped onto the sheets, leaving a dark stain, and with you arising from the bed that he sensed something wasn’t right with you. And he was quick to react by grabbing you by your wrist, making you stop.
“Hey…” His voice was soft, attentive - a rare occurrence lately. But it came too late. “What’s wrong?”
So many things were wrong. 
You considered yourself a fitting girlfriend for an idol in terms of tolerance, support and patience. But what you had gone through these past weeks, you didn’t wish upon your biggest enemy. The constant uncertainty, the minimum of communication, the lack of physical closeness. The sheer fact that your relationship had grown so unimportant to your boyfriend that whatever you did to prevent it, was to no avail.
It was like your boyfriend and the idol inside of him, who had been two different people in the meantime, couldn’t be differentiated anymore. It was like the Jaehyun who had jumped right into bed with a trainee after confessing his attraction to you was back. You could only desperately search for the person you loved in this idol’s eyes. 
The person you loved would text you more than a one liner per week to keep in touch with you. The person you loved wouldn’t toss the pictures you had taken together into the abyss of their phone. The person you loved wouldn’t call you over for a few hours at night only like an escort girl. The person you loved would do everything in their might to show you that you were different from everyone else.
You couldn’t find this person in Jaehyun. Not anymore.
You knew that your boyfriend was still there somewhere, somehow, but you hadn’t seen him in so long already, and you wondered whether he could ever take off this idol’s mask ever again or whether this was the person he had turned into now and would keep. But you wanted to be with your boyfriend, not an idol.
“I want to go.”
You cried silently as you fished for your underwear and slowly dressed yourself despite Jaehyun’s protests in the background. He held your hand, he hugged you, he shook you, desperate to make you stay, but his voice seemed worlds afar, a montone ring only audible in your ears.
On your way out, you hit over a vase, but you couldn’t care less about it as you were only fixated on collecting your belongings and storming out of the room before his muscular arms would wrap around you again, and you knew for sure that this time, you couldn’t withstand for that long but would fall back into his embrace again once he touched you.
“Please! Stay!”
Jaehyun luckily struggled with his clothes, giving you enough time to open the door and closing it shut behind you a second later. Your shoes in your hand, you ran to the elevator, only hearing his room open again before you were gone from the floor.
At this very moment, you were more relieved than sad.
____
By the end of the year, NCT looked into a brighter future upon releasing their second studio album ‘Resonance Pt. 1’ & ‘Pt. 2’ as a whole, reunited group and stood on the big stage again.
It all came back. The spotlight, the fame, the success. Everything was going well.
Especially for the perfectly restored idol Jaehyun.
____
2021
“Congratulations on finishing filming!”
You had baked Jaehyun a cake. It had three soft and fluffy layers with raspberry buttercream between each of them, covered with vanilla frosting and an elaborate writing that was exactly the first word you had just now directed at him. It was also similar to the first cake you had baked together. But Jaehyun barely spared it a glance.
“I’m so tired.” He directly threw himself onto your bed, the mattress giving in under him with a squeak.
“You don’t want a slice?” Your gaze shifted between him and the cake, and you were so dumbfounded by this passive reaction to your surprise gesture that you didn’t quite know how to properly react.
“No, I’m still on a diet.” You didn’t see him rolling his eyes, but you clearly sensed it. “You know.”
“Filming is over. Aren’t you supposed to eat whatever you can now?”
“But this appearance is what will get me famous. Like Eunwoo.”
This time, you were the one to roll your eyes, and you did it right in his field of vision. You were so tired of hearing sentences like “When this drama airs, I will become more known in the acting world, getting more important jobs” or “It’s my springboard, I have to continue working hard and cannot slack off.” 
With every sentence, he was indicating that the time before he had turned into an idol-actor wouldn’t come back, and the way he was behaving now still was proving it to you quite the hard way. There was no sign of Yuno anymore, and it had been so long since you had last seen him.
It didn’t feel like you were in a relationship at all anymore, and despite you doing everything in your might to change that, giving your all, giving your best, it was expected that your partner needed to meet you at least halfway. But Jaehyun didn’t even meet you at the starting point.
He simply didn’t care anymore.
Disappointed, but not surprised, you got a slice of cake for yourself and seated yourself at the table, quietly eating the cake while Jaehyun was playing on his phone, and you bit down every single tear that burned at the rim of your eyes. At least, he was planning on staying the night, but you knew that you only fooled yourself into thinking that this might save your relationship, clinging onto every last straw.
Your Yuno was still there, you knew that. He was just hiding behind this cold, indifferent idol that only seemed to care about himself. As long as you didn’t give up too, there was still hope that you could get him back.
“The 97-liners are going to a club tonight. They just texted me. Mind if I join them?”
This time, you didn’t try to conceal your disappointment. And your anger. “This is the first evening in two weeks that we’ve seen each other again, despite you being back for a few days already.” You spoke slowly and clearly, but not to get your point through, but to tame your pent-up anger.
“We saw each other at the dorm three days ago.” Jaehyun raised his eyebrows as though he really believed a sit-in with his band mates where he had rarely paid attention to you equaled a couple date. “Do you want to start this discussion again?”
“Hell yes I will!” You threw your fork back onto the table, your voice dripping with rage. “The past months, we’ve hardly spent time together! And no, I’m not counting the nights you sneaked me in and out of a hotel room like a prostitute! That’s what I am to you right now, aren’t I, Jaehyun?!”
“I told you I was busy filming, you knew I was busy filming!” He now sat up on the bed, annoyance drawn all over his face and his tone just as filled with fury. “I’m not only an idol now, but an actor as well! I will get busier! That’s my life! You knew before you got together with me!”
“I got together with a person who cared about me! About making this relationship work despite his job, despite his busy schedule! Not a celebrity with his head in the clouds who only cares about his career!”
Jaehyun sharply shot back at you, “Aren’t I supposed to make the most out of my life?! To live my dream, reaching for the stars?! Why would you want to be a hindrance?!”
“A hindrance?!” you shrieked in disbelief and pointed a trembling finger at him. “No! You don’t get to turn my words around like that! That’s not what I’ve been telling you, Jaehyun! You know I support your career endlessly! I’m your biggest supporter, your motivator, can’t you remember?!” Your finger then dropped to the cake and the writing on it that said ‘Congratulations’. “You don’t get to twist the story to your advantage, because you realize that I’m right!”
Jaehyun bared his teeth, the edges of his mouth turning up. That smile was not kind. Mean even, almost eerie. You shuddered at his slow, ice cold voice. “You think that you’re in the right alone, don’t you? Then try concentrating on your work with your girlfriend texting you all day long about unimportant stuff just to stay in touch. Try paying attention to learning the script and staying focused with someone at home blowing up your phone, because she doesn’t get enough attention. Try not growing dismissive and unattached to that person, because whenever you get a new message, a new call, it stresses you out, adding more pressure and strain to your already hard job. Try not starting to resent that person for all that. You think you’re in the right alone? Surprise! You’re not.”
There was no reason to be so nasty about it, using such hurtful wording, but Jaehyun was all that, every word like a dagger that bore into your heart. “Why haven’t you told me all that?” Your words, only like a whisper with water collecting in your eyes.
“Because, like every other girl before, you just won’t listen.” He was standing now, but made no move to get close to you, to pull you into an embrace and tell you that everything was going to be fine again, that you would work this out together. Instead, his following words were like a cold bucket of iced water that got poured over you all at once. “You just won't understand that every now and then, I can’t give you what every other guy could. Sometimes, the truth is that I don’t want to give it to you. Sometimes, I want to be a boyfriend. Sometimes, I want to be an idol. Right now, I want to be an idol and an actor, and most of the time, there is only room for two out of three.”
“I’m annoying you?” You felt like you got wrapped up in cotton, so sedated. “You don’t want me anymore?” 
“God, why wouldn’t you-!” He led his fingers to his temples as though he was getting a headache from your questions. “Sometimes, it’s not about you! This time, it’s about me, what I want! I can’t give you ‘the boyfriend’, because it’s not my priority right now! I’m still young, there is so much I can still venture, and I want it all!”
“But that’s not how it works when you have decided to be in a relationship,” you disagreed, tears now streaming down your cheeks, yet he still didn’t seem to care. “You can’t just call me when you need someone to warm your bed. You made a commitment, you have to nurture our relationship, care about it. What is the point in not doing so, in shoving it away when it’s not convenient for you, when it doesn’t fit your schedule? You don’t want it anymore?”
Your stomach churned, and you suddenly felt so sick, having it run hot and cold down your spine. Had you really been suffocating him, demanding too much and not adapting to his circumstances and needs? Perhaps, requiring to stay in contact every day when you were exhausted and overworked wasn’t what your partner needed. But if it was what you needed on your end, how would you ever find a common ground?
Of course you had silently thought about breaking up. So many times already, if you were being honest, and the amount of thoughts revolving around that topic was only increasing with each passing day. But now that the proposal had vocally slipped from your mouth, you wished you could take it back. 
You wanted him to deny it, to fight for you. But even now, he didn’t seem to care. For this Jaehyun, you wouldn’t willingly or happily do anything anymore. He had drained you of your perseverance, joy, goodwill, spirit and life, and had given you nothing in return. This Jaehyun didn’t deserve any of it. He didn’t deserve you.
“Why would you still want it?” was his monotone question in return.
You sank onto your knees now, your face buried in your palms. “Because I love you, Yuno. Don’t you… love me too?”
“I don’t know.” Again, no softness or feelings in his tone. “I don’t know anything anymore.”
When he walked out of the room shortly after, leaving you there alone in your puddle of tears, you realized you might have lost Yuno forever to the cocky, selfish Jaehyun.
____
Two weeks later, it was officially announced that the premiere of the first episode of Dear. M was going to be postponed due to emerging school time bullying allegations against the lead actress. 
Only shortly before, you had officially broken up with Jaehyun after tip-toeing around that topic for so long. Even then, he hadn’t seemed to care much and had only responded with a shrug.
When the news about Jaehyun’s postponed drama had first reached you, you wanted to call him immediately, knowing how hard he had worked for it. Just because you had split from someone for you both to lead a better life, didn’t mean you stopped loving and caring about this person.
But you didn’t reach out.
____
Jaehyun was struggling with a heartbreak and a scandal at the same time. The latter again, the first was new to him in that intensity. 
He knew it was best for you to let go of him as he hadn’t been able to give you what you were expecting from a relationship, and for him to not lose focus of what he still wanted to achieve in life. At first, he had only felt relief, as ruthless as it might sound, but it felt like a huge responsibility had been lifted off his shoulders.
Then, a few nights later, alone in his bed while scrolling through your old pics that he had kept buried in his phone, he had cried. And the night after that. And the night after that. Even now, two months later, this heavy feeling still laid itself around his chest, making it hard for him to breathe when he was alone, similar to his panic attacks in the past. 
Only with this feeling, there was no method to lessen the pain.
“I’m not a kind person anymore, Taeyong.” Jaehyun kneaded his fingers as he was sitting in the grass, the warm spring sun warming his face under the mask. “I don’t know what happened. This is not me. I dread video calls with fans, and it shows. I don’t direct nice words at other people anymore, and they notice. I don’t care about feelings, about hurt anymore. What’s happening with me?”
Taeyong fiddled with the camera in his hands that he had used to take photos shortly before. He had brought his friend to this botanical garden to stroll around in nature as for him, it always held a calming and relaxing atmosphere, and this was something he suggested Jaehyun needed. Some healing time in one of his favorite places to be, pure nature.
“You’ve let this life consume you,” Taeyong broke it down to him, the harsh truth, and settled in the grass next to him. “You got lost. You thought you were going to be a big star, that you didn’t need anyone anymore. You started to only care about yourself and neglected the people around you. And I’m not only referring to your ex, but also to us. You pushed them all away.”
“Lost, hm.”
In the end, he had really come so far. Lost in this world, in this part of him that he had wanted to keep caged and only let out when he was in the spotlight. The part of him that savored his position on stage a bit too much - it had fully taken control of him.
Jaehyun ruffled his hair that was glistening in the evening sun. It was true that he had made everything a priority except for the people who had always been there for him. Stardom had gotten to his head, but he just hadn’t wanted to lose focus when the breakthrough was so close.
… until it had gotten stripped away from him all over, and the people who were left were the ones who had always been by his side. Except for you.
Jaehyun was aware that he owed you a big apology like the one he had directed at his group mates only the day before. But he just couldn’t bring himself to, because for him, it wouldn’t change a thing about your situation despite holding so many regrets.
Jaehyun still wanted to become big, and there was only so much time he could sacrifice for a working relationship. He couldn’t give you what you wanted. And at one point, he didn’t want to as well. You deserved someone who was like the Yuno you had had a great time with, not the Jaehyun right now, hungry for success.
And as he had feared in the beginning, it had all come down to that: his life had ruined everything you had built together. People like him came to destroy, they didn’t come to stay. It just didn’t work out with ordinary partners, no matter how hard they tried, how hard they fought. At one point, they would all need to give up. Even now, he remembered Soyeon’s words.
There was no end to this pain like there was no end to the ocean’s waters. 
“How do you do it?” Jaehyun then asked Taeyong, and his friend knew directly what he meant without him having to elaborate further.
“Deep inside, I’m still only Taeyong. I didn’t lock that little boy away. I’m an idol, a composer, a leader, but I’m always also a son, a grandson and a friend. You have to embrace all of them. Don’t ever forget that.”
For Jaehyun, it was only so hard to be all of them at the same time.
If so, then he needed to let go of perfection - the sole thing he was made to identify with. If so, what would be left of him?
____
The school time bullying allegations surrounding the lead actress of Dear. M didn’t get resolved directly, and hence the premiere of the drama got postponed for an undetermined time.
Life slowed down for Jaehyun once more as he was also replaced as an mc on Inkigayo. And although some people in his group held grudges against him until now for the way he had acted so indifferent towards the band during drama filming, he entered his own redemption arc.
Jaehyun spent more time doing things for himself like playing the guitar, the keyboard or attempting to compose songs. He went to the gym with Xiaojun, accompanied Taeyong to his friend’s recording studio and even started playing basketball again with his non idols friends.
Still, he didn’t consider being in a relationship anymore at this point in his life. He wanted to learn how to love himself more, embrace all parts of him, the good and the bad, before he would find himself in the position to transfer this love to someone else.
Right now, he was practicing pulling up temporary shields to not let negative feelings consume him, getting out of bed every morning with positive thoughts despite cruel comments, and looking out for a bright future although there seemed to be never ending hindrances.
Jaehyun still believed in love, but it was also still not his priority.
____
By the time of the release of NCT 127’s third studio album ‘Sticker’ in September, Jaehyun was almost fully back on track with himself and his career. 
‘Sticker’ was the highest pre-ordered K-pop album in one day and got sold over 2.4 million times within a week after its release. On top of that, ‘Sticker’ also became the highest ranking K-pop album on the chart in 2021, followed by the release of the repackaged album ‘Favorite’ that didn’t fall short in terms of success, making it the best selling album from the company. 
But Jaehyun still wanted more. He didn’t only want to be an idol. As an idol, his success was limited. In five or ten years, he couldn’t and possibly didn’t want to be one anymore anyway when the contract ended and his band mates all decided to go their own ways, so Jaehyun considered getting a foot into any door before time ran up.
If they wouldn’t air ‘Dear. M’, then he would find something else, no matter how hard he would need to fight for it. And Jaehyun fought like a tiger. For every offer, magazine shoot, ambassador position, another drama, movie, the release of a solo song - to no avail.
So Jaehyun didn’t quite understand why they let him take on one of the lead roles in the remake of the movie ‘Bungee Jumping of Their Own’. Out of all romcoms which he had gotten offered that would make a great start to kick off his acting career, the management had decided that he would do this specific movie that immediately drew attention for its content.
But Jaehyun wouldn’t complain. He would adapt. Perhaps, not debuting with a romcom was exactly what he was looking for. Having to deal with such an extraordinary plot would get him some great recognition as a debut actor who didn’t go by the stigma of an idol rookie actor playing the dreamy playboy. His natural talent and hard working attitude would not get overshadowed by his looks, letting people see past his perfect outward appearance.
It was a great opportunity, and Jaehyun took it, positively looking into the future, full of hope.
____
Jaehyun didn’t want to continue anymore.
Yet, he stood on the stage of Gocheok Sky Dome and sang in front of all these people who were attending the first concert in the ‘Neo City - The Link’ tour when inwardly, he only wanted to disappear. 
Witnessing how his band mates were jumping, singing and laughing around him and none of this merriness transferred to him, Jaehyun believed that he couldn’t feel anything anymore. But he needed to play along, jumping, singing and laughing with them.
Since the cancellation of ‘Bungee Jumping of Their Own’ due to the author’s religious beliefs and his management confessing that they had only used this news for clout, there had been more than one occasion where Jaehyun had thought about quitting all this, even standing on the big stage.
He had the looks, but they only wanted him to be the poster child of his band. He had the talent, but it didn’t get supported. He had the determination, but he was chained to a tight contract for a few more years.  
What was it worth living for if you couldn’t live your dream?
He was currently feeling so lost again. And that was also the name of his solo stage’s name that night, ‘Lost’.
He had written it at a time when he was feeling lonely. He still did. Throughout the downs of the past months, he had wished that you were there to take him into your arms and comfort him like back then during his Itaewon scandal. But Jaehyun also knew that he didn’t deserve you thinking about him, and didn't deserve an ounce of your forgiveness.
Yet, he poured all his feelings into this song, hoping that somehow, they would reach you. That you would be scrolling through the internet later that night and stumble upon videos and articles, listening to the lyrics and knowing exactly that he was singing about you, even though you weren’t physically there.
….
“It's been a long time since you're gone
Still filled up with the scent of your warmth
And staring at a blank wall
Drawing what's been natural”
….
It had almost been a year since your break up, and for the most time, he had been blind to the truth. If you didn’t have supporters on the path to success and just dropped everyone along the way because you see them as baggage, who would be waiting for you once you’ve reached the greatest of heights? Who would stand at the top, cheering for you as you sprinted the last meters, sharing your happiness? And who would, at the same time, wait at the bottom to catch you when you fell just to help you up again?
….
“The days are empty and without you
It's just me on my side
But when my arms are around you
There's nothing else to crave”
….
Jaehyun tried so hard to bite down his tears as his feelings seemed to bristle all at once. On stage, he was so vulnerable, all eyes and cameras on him only, every tone heard, every expression monitored. But that was the only way that you could see him, hear him out, so he endured all of it. Jaehyun had so many regrets, but he also knew he was too late.
….
“But I need to say (Oh, I feel so lost)
‘Nobody else,’ but need you to stay
By any chance, it might've been too late, too late”
….
If you didn’t forgive him, then he only wanted to make sure that you acknowledged what he was singing. What he was still feeling after all.
But curtain call, and another two concerts passed by without another word from you.
____
2022
In January, NCT 127 won the daesang at the Seoul Music Awards. They were at the peak of their career.
But to Jaehyun, it still meant nothing.
In 2023, Taeil would be joining the army. Taeyong possibly after that, and with their leader gone, Jaehyun wasn’t sure whether they would stay with this constellation, shift entirely or each member going on doing their own thing. He probably only had one year left.
But Jaehyun didn’t even know what his own thing was. He was good at singing, playing instruments, composing, writing lyrics and even acting if he said so himself, but none of that seemed to get him to the same level as Taeyong, for example, who had released one solo demo after another on his Soundcloud. Of course Jaehyun had accompanied him and had been supported by him, but after long writing and composing sessions he felt even more confused than before.
With all of his solo projects getting either indefinitely postponed, canceled or beaten down by his own management, Jaehyun felt disheartened and discouraged. Like a failure, and even his perfect visuals couldn’t get him out of this slump except for pulling off a few grimaces when he got asked to do aegyo in fancalls once again.
He dreaded his current life. And he didn’t care about perfection anymore. From one day to the other, he just stopped caring about that. He was aware now that, even though it seemed like it from the outside thanks to his good looks and his public image, with everything real he had done and gone through:
Jaehyun was far from being perfect. 
He had never, ever been. He had been forced to play this certain role since debut, and it had restricted him from living his best life, who he truly was and wanted to be.
He was a liar, and he was deceiving everyone, playing the charming prince when someone else inside of him, someone more real, begged to be set free, released into the world for everyone to see. Perfection was a curse and there was no one to lift it.
“You want to come to the studio with me?” Taeyong peeked through the door, but Jaehyun just pulled the blanket over his head and turned to the wall. 
“No.”
He couldn’t quite remember the last day he had seen more than this room, most of his free time getting spent sleeping since the end of the promotions. Jaehyun was kind of grateful, no, more relieved, that there were no plans for a comeback soon or any kind of bigger job for him, so he could spend all of his time in his bed, far away from the spotlight.
The spot next to him on the mattress gave in, and Jaehyun rolled his eyes as he noticed his friend getting seated next to him on the bed. 
“I liked the cocky, reckless Jaehyun from before more, even though he wasn’t a very nice person,” Taeyong said quietly, his fingers draping over the duvet where he assumed his friend’s shoulder to be, continuously rubbing soothing patterns into it. “At least he was woke. Alive. Lively. Most of all, I liked Yuno of course. Aside from being determined and full of light, he was also kind. This Jaehyun…” Taeyong paused. “This Jaehyun scares me.”
The sheets rustled, but Jaehyun made no efforts to show himself to his friend. Taeyong didn’t remember when he had last come out of his room either except for using the bathroom. Lately, Jungwoo usually brought food into the shared bedroom which he had mainly left untouched in the beginning. With time, Jaehyun’s appetite hadn’t increased, but at least he was now willing to eat half of each dish. 
Taeyong also couldn’t remember the last time he had heard Jaehyun shower. And he must know, because when they had left him alone in the bathroom the week prior, they had to call for Johnny to break the door open, because Jaehyun had spent too much time locked in it, worrying all of them. In the end, he had only laid in the tub and blandly stared at the tiles for hours until the water had all run cold.
“Yuno is dead,” Jaehyun muttered under the blanket. “His dreams all shattered. He doesn’t have a future.”
“Then Taeyong is dead, too.”
“What are you saying… Without Taeyong, there is no NCT.”
“Without you, there is no NCT either.”
“But what can I contribute as an artist?” Despite his voice only coming out muffled, Taeyong suspected underlying frustration in his tone. “Apparently, I’m not a good enough singer, not a good enough rapper, not a good enough composer, not a good enough actor, not good enough… not good enough in anything! There is always someone a bit better. I’m just average, except for my face, perhaps. But even by that, there are people others deem as equally traditionally handsome. What do I have to offer, what can I contribute? I’m not like you.”
“You think being me is a free ride to everything? Almost all of my solo projects get ditched, postponed or entirely dropped. Yet, I continue on. It’s not our fault we don’t get supported, we all are aware of that,” Taeyong clarified. 
“Why do I feel like the mistreatment isn’t as grave elsewhere?” Jaehyun stated his conception.
“The grass always seems greener on the other side. But trust me, it isn’t.” Taeyong continued, “And don’t even talk about you being average. You might not be the leader, but you’re the axis. You’re the one who grasps the balance, never wavering. To us, you’re in the middle, and the middle is responsible to keep the balance going. The middle is not average, the middle is a jack of all trades. It’s a very important position. What you just haven’t found is the identity for you as an individual artist.” Taeyong paused. “Your efforts will never betray you. All your efforts will pay off. Even if it’s not with this company. Even if it’s not now.”
Jaehyun remained quiet. He had heard Taeyong say this motivational sentence so often, but the last part was new. He pondered over it, and then came to the realization that it scared him, that he had been beat down and didn’t know how to get up again. 
“I still want it. I don’t want to give up on being an idol just yet. It’s everything I’ve worked so hard for.” Little Jaehyun also had had a dream back then, and the Jaehyun now was shattering everything he had pathed the way for. “Yuno is not dead. He’s only hiding.”
“Then let him come out. Let him live,” Taeyong urged him. “You don’t have to. Let Yuno take over again, let him enjoy the things he likes, the things he’s worked so hard for, just a bit more. Let him take over again and let this Jaehyun rest for just a bit. We have to be patient, savoring what lies in front of us now. We all dream big, but perhaps, it’s just not our time yet to take over the world. Perhaps, we’re not ready yet.”
Now, Taeyong’s patting motions felt soothing, not heavy anymore. What Jaehyun hadn’t considered was that probably, all of his members felt his way. 
He wasn’t alone.
The next day looked much brighter to him as he sat up in the morning and joined Taeyong for breakfast in the kitchen.
____
But coming out of this slump wasn’t easy for Jaehyun. He wanted to, he really did, but it was just so hard. On some days, he was laughing and joking and being productive, and on others, he simply didn’t get up, canceling meetings and schedules.
When one evening, he was sitting motionlessly at the edge of the bathtub again, too tired to get dressed in more than his boxers, droplets falling from the tips of his wet hair to his shoulders and too exhausted to even shave, he heard a knock on the door. 
“It’s occupied.”
“... Please let me in.”
Jaehyun’s head shot upwards and his eyes widened. This couldn’t be… Within a second, he was by the door, the knob shaking under his grip as he struggled with opening it, but when he finally succeeded in doing so, he was looking into a pair of eyes he hadn’t seen in more than a year, but had dedicated an entire song to,
You. 
When you looked back at him at that moment, you didn’t recognize Jaehyun at all. The person who stood in front of you looked like him, but he had nothing in common with the one who you had separated from last year. 
So exhausted, so broken. So… lifeless.
You wanted to pull him into an embrace, wrap him into everything he lacked and you could share: happiness, independence, success and brightness. Where Jaehyun’s life had probably gone downhill, yours had been thriving, in your personal and work-related matters.
But you didn’t physically force yourself onto someone who was struggling. Instead, you smiled and made your way into the bathroom. You urged Jaehyun to sit back down on the tub’s edge with a curl of your finger. He followed your motion silently, and despite his lifeless interior, when you shifted around to him, you saw a glimmer in his eyes - short-lived and only barely visible, but it had been there. He was still there.
Only now, his eyes fell upon the set of fresh clothes you were carrying around. He didn’t even need to ask. He knew it was all Taeyong’s doing with the friendship you had been maintaining behind his back, and he couldn’t even be mad about it. He had decided to let you go, but Taeyong hadn’t. 
“Lift your feet,” were the first words you directed at him, and willingly, Jaehyun heaved his right one up, and you dropped to your knees, pulling the sock over his raised foot, then over the other until both were covered.
Jaehyun shivered from the touch, not because your hands were cold, but because he hadn’t let anyone come close to him emotionally, but also physically lately. And because your touches set everything free he had been trying to keep hidden and under control ever since your separation, buried in a casket in the very pits of his iced heart. Now, the lock was on the verge of bursting, and he didn’t know how much he could still take.
You were here, you were so beautiful, and once again, selflessly supportive. He didn’t deserve you. But he let you continue. 
Jaehyun let you ruffle his joggers, draping them around his ankles after slipping one foot after another into each leg, and let you pull it all the way up to his waist to fix it around his thinned middle with the band. You had brought along a plain t-shirt to dress him in as well, and Jaehyun willingly raised his hands without you needing to tell him to do so. 
Goosebumps crossed all over his skin where your fingers grazed over his exposed body, and it was the first human touch he didn’t despise one bit after all this time. The opposite even, it made him feel alive, because it made him feel something. 
At one point, when you helped Jaehyun get into the hoodie that came after, he caught himself wishing you wouldn’t stop dressing him. His entire body was engulfed with such a warmness that he thought his heart was going to explode. It was so overwhelming, he could barely take it.
“When did it all go so wrong?” were the first words he whispered, and despite you having prepared yourself for it, it still caught you off guard that Jaehyun suddenly started crying when you had expected yourself to fold first.
He still hadn’t gotten up from the tub, so you knelt once again, leaving a towel draped around his shoulders to catch the droplets falling from the strands of his hair while his tears, big and round, dropped on his new joggers, staining the fabric. You took his hands into yours, and they felt so thin and so cold as though all strength had left them for a long time already. His shoulders were shaking as he made sounds so painful, it broke your heart all over again.
Jaehyun was wishing that you two hadn’t broken up. That he hadn’t changed so much back then, rendering him blind to everything beautiful he had been surrounded by, the main attraction being you. He was also wondering whether he would still sit here in this mental and physical state if you had been with him all along instead, supporting him with love and hope.
But then he realized that yes, he would have. Because a relationship couldn’t have saved him from becoming the new Jaehyun he had turned into and destroying everything around him, even himself. Love wasn’t the thing to protect you and get shattered in the process, but to catch and heal you. He had never wanted any of that. Until now.
And now, he realized too, it was definitely too late as his gaze fell upon the golden band adorning your ring finger, with a small, shimmering stone on top of it. 
You broke through the silence first. “I listened to ‘Lost’.”
“You did?” Jaehyun furrowed.
“More than once. Over and over again.”
He smiled mildly as he looked down, locking eyes with you. “Back then, I really felt that way.”
“Now, you don’t anymore?”
“I’m still lost. But now, I wouldn’t ask you to stay anymore when I was the one responsible that we weren’t able to work out.”
“Don’t say that,” you told him, your fingers squeezing his. “Perhaps, I always wanted too much. I should have been open to adapting our relationship, my needs to what was possible for you, what you could have given me. Perhaps, we both should have instead of enforcing our own demands.”
He concluded, “I demanded too much of you.”
“And I was too willing to happily give you every part of me, and in the end I lost myself.”
“So you were lost too.” You wanted to withdraw your hands, but Jaehyun held the right one in place, the tip of his thumb outlining the ring’s stone that rested there, almost like a threat to him. His view lingered, then shot back at you, and the look in his eyes was almost as lively as in the past, almost fierce, challenging. “But now you’re here. Why?”
“Because Taeyong asked me to.” Your breathing hitched, and you prayed he wouldn’t notice. “H- he thought that maybe I could be of help when… when nobody else could.”
“Why else?”
“Be- because the oth-”
“I don’t care about what the others said,” he made himself clear, his tone even surprising him as he had lately seldomly overheard it being so strong. “Why did you decide you wanted to come here?”
“I…”
“You…?” Jaehyun held his breath.
“Because I don't want to see you like this!” you finally spilled, your fingers curling into his, not separating. “I want to see you determined, bright, laughing, joking, and full of joy! I want you to see the world, to do the things that make you happy! I want you to fulfill all your dreams! You deserve being an idol, actor, everything you’ve been working so hard for, Jaehyun! I don’t want you to watch it all go down the drain, because life decided for you to take detours, throwing hindrances at you. I believe in you. I believe that one day, you will have all the success, live your dream and be thoroughly happy. I want you to have all that!”
Jaehyun swallowed, hard. “Even if it’s not with you?”
“Specifically, it shouldn’t be with me.” Tears blurred your vision just like his, but you didn’t care. “I shouldn’t be in any of your dreams. You should build your future around what you, and only you, want.”
“In the entire idol world, you were the only thing that was real, my connection to the real world. I have lost you, and look what I have turned out to become.” His voice was shaking, and as you wiped your tears, you saw that he hadn’t stopped shedding some either.
“That’s not true.” You smiled, the corners of your lips tasting salty. “Yuno is your connection to the real world. Yuno is still there. Right now, I see him, and I feel him. Don’t cage him, let him see the world. But don’t drop this Jaehyun either. He’s strong-willed and powerful. Find the right balance between the two of them.”
“You believe in me nonetheless?” A little sigh of relief escaped from Jaehyun’s lips as he awaited your reply.
Through the tears, you kept your positive, earnest expression. “Jaehyun, I will always believe in you. But you need to believe in yourself too. You can do it.”
That was when Jaehyun realized that it might not only be a slump, and that he needed to see a therapist. If he wanted to be thoroughly happy again, he didn’t need love. Love didn’t propel him forward. He needed long term professional help again.
“Thank you.” Merely a whisper from Jaehyun. 
Gratitude, but also a goodbye, you both knew it as you still rested on your knees and Jaehyun on the tub’s edge, and you stayed like that for only a bit longer.
____
“It's been two and a half years since I came to Japan.”
Jaehyun stood on the big stage again and savored the spotlight, surrounded by over 70.000 people. 
The bright smile on his lips was honest and accompanied him throughout the entire evening. A total of 220.000 in the biggest venue in Japan on three days still couldn’t fill the parts inside of him that he had lost along his way here, the hole in his heart was just too big. But it had gotten temporarily fixed with the love of his family, friends, members and, of course, his fans. 
He wasn’t perfect anymore, and he didn’t need to be. He didn’t want to be. He owed it to no one.
But until Jaehyun would be rid of that imagine, it would take time - if he would ever get this far after all these years living up to it. But he didn’t put himself under so much pressure anymore to maintain being someone he wasn't deep inside.
Jaehyun knew that the path to the person he had ideally laid out to be was still long. Perhaps, the damage that had been done was too grave to ever reach him - a mix of Jaehyun and Yuno that was patiently waiting at the very top of the mountain - but Jaehyun would try his hardest to reach this new version of him, the best of both worlds. Even if he would miss his aim, he wanted to leave the part of his life behind that beat him down till he was too emotionally damaged to continue.
Everyday, he got up. Every day, he fought with himself. Sometimes shorter, sometimes longer. But every day, he chose to get up. 
And when one day, he felt too mentally or physically exhausted to put up a fight for longer, he gave up. But only for one day. Once in a while, it was alright for him to let himself rest, to let his heart rest. He owed it to himself. These days, he and his therapist officially called ‘rest days’. The other days, when he actually got things done, were called ‘sunny days’. 
“I only went back and forth from the hotel to the practice room, to the concert hall. I didn't realize it, but after seeing you guys I realized it! And I feel alive. Thank you for making me feel alive!”
This time, these words were no lies.
Where idol duties and fan service had been such a hard burden to him before, because he just hadn’t felt anything toward them anymore, he was now letting all the love stream into this hole the past months had left. And almost, but only almost, his heart felt close to getting entirely patched up again during these moments. Only a tiny part was still missing.
Perhaps, one day, Jaehyun’s heart would be whole again. Perhaps, it would entirely stay this way, incomplete. Perhaps, the ‘rest days’ would pile up until they prevailed over the ‘sunny days’. Perhaps, he would see his therapist more often then. But if, on the ‘sunny days’, he always felt like this, then he was sure that every morning, it would be worth it to put up a fight, no matter the outcome. At least he would have tried.
Jaehyun had it all again. And he felt so alive.
“Even though I wrote ‘Lost’ when I was lonely, I am happy now!” he told the crowd, and they cheered.
When he was singing ‘Lost’, he didn’t think about you anymore. 
He thought about his dark phase and how the ‘sunny days’ were much more fun. And he thought about how on ‘rest days’, he feared that they would stay and that he would never see the ‘sunny days’ again. But then, he closed his eyes and captured the moment. The music, the atmosphere, the crowd, his life.
And chose to stay.
Right here, on this stage. As an entirely changed man. On a sunny day even when it might be raining outside.
____
In June, Jaehyun flew to Italy to attend Milan fashion week and was officially chosen as Prada’s ambassador shortly later.
At the end of the month, ‘Dear. M’ was finally released and got him the attention with his acting debut, his performance critically acclaimed.
In July, NCT 127 celebrated their 6th anniversary, and Jaehyun’s message to his fans came from the bottom of his heart, every syllable seeped with sweet, almost painful honesty,
Thank you to Nctzens who have been with us for 6 years.
I’ve said this during the live, but as time goes by, I feel like we have gotten closer and more comfortable with each other compared to the previous year.
I always think that I am here because of you guys' presence.
Thank you for always supporting us, let's stay together for a long time.
….
In the same month, Jaehyun was on Elle Korea’s August issue.
By the end of August, Jaehyun also released his own, original project on NCT lab.
And there was much more to come.
Everything Jaehyun had worked so hard for eventually came around. 
His efforts were starting to pay off.
____
2023
Of course you had regretted your separation from Jaehyun, from the very first moment on. 
But that love hurt. And love wasn’t supposed to hurt. It was supposed to tend and to heal. To fill the little parts in your heart that were still open and incomplete, maybe even bleeding. But it wasn’t supposed to rip it all open, deepening the wounds. 
Loving Jaehyun had been pretty and ugly just like the idol world was equally pretty and ugly. 
As a girlfriend, you were tough and steady. As Jaehyun’s girlfriend, even you had eventually succumbed to this world he used to love so much. You didn’t want it to swallow every good part of you like it had done with Jaehyun, so you had let him get eaten by the sharks.
You had so many regrets. 
If you had been there, would it all still have turned out the way it had? You didn’t know despite Taeyong always trying to convince you of the opposite. What had happened to Jaehyun had no relation to you, and if you hadn't left, he would have dragged you down with him. He just hadn’t been ready yet, and to fully become the person he wanted to be, he had needed to let go of you, too.
So you had worn a fake engagement ring on the day you had gone to the dorm to get him dressed. 
The tears shed in the bathroom had not only been tears of sadness upon seeing him so broken in front of you, but also because you needed to walk all over his feelings, and over yours too, suppressing every lingering love you still held for him. And only on that day you had realized that it still was so much, you cried yourself to sleep. 
But watching Jaehyun become the person he had always wanted to be made up for all the pain you carried in your heart until now.
In the videos online, you didn’t see the Jaehyun from back then anymore, the mean one and the broken one, that was clear. Jaehyun and Yuno, they had both merged into a person who knew themselves really well, what they wanted, what they needed and what they could give to others. That person radiated confidence and was full of light.
You could also see that clearly when you got out of the car, scanning the venue and looking for him until you saw him walking in your direction from across the street, raising his arm to give you a sign to wait, he would come to you.
Today, Jaehyun had finished filming for another project, and despite the coldness that lingered out in the open, you had decided to wait outside, because you were so impatient to finally see him again.
You just didn’t know how he would react after Taeyong had confessed your little stunt to him. Taeyong also wouldn’t tell you. But you were prepared for everything after Jaehyun had arranged this meetup. For him to curse you out, to say how disappointed he was, to tell you to never meddle with his life again - you were prepared for everything.
Except for what would actually come.
Outwardly, he hadn’t changed much from what you perceived except for the color and style of his hair. But you knew that his heart was entirely different from when you had last seen each other. And it made your heart thumb a bit faster, getting you all nervous.
You couldn’t quite read his expression as Jaehyun was apparently cold as well and hiding half of his face in the security of his parka’s hood as he greeted you, “Hi.”
“Hi,” you greeted back, a small cloud forming from your breath as you scanned him from head to toe.
“Let’s go.” He nodded with his chin. “I want to take you out. You’re ready?”
You stilled, your eyes widening with a little shaking of your head. You were taken by surprise. “Taking me out? Right now?”
He nodded again, and gradually, the corners of his lips tilted up to a warm smile that melted your heart as he showed more of his face. His eyes were genuinely smiling with him. “Right now. We’ve lost so much time, I don’t want to wait a day longer.”
You were too stunned to reply. Him standing in front of you after such a long time and asking you out seemed so surreal to you. It made you nervous and excited, a touch of falling in love all over again like in the beginning. “I thought you hated me,” you eventually blurted.
“Why would I feel so?” He cocked a brow.
“Because I lied to you.”
“Nobody lied to me,” Jaehyun concluded calmly. “I talked myself into believing what I saw without asking. Nobody told me you were engaged, none of us mentioned it. I’ve decided on my own will to move on from you upon seeing the ring. By all means, it could have been a normal one.”
“And..?” You gulped. “Have you? Moved on, I mean.”
“I did.” 
Admittedly, this answer hurt like hell. You should have expected that after almost two years. You only brought out a nearly silent, “Oh.” Then it wouldn’t be a date like you had hoped for, but only a catch up between two acquaintances.
But Jaehyun also added, “That doesn’t mean we can’t get to know each other again. Learn about us again. About our lives, habits, aims, dreams… And see if they align.”
“Align…?” You blinked. “For…?”
“I’m dating to settle, to marry.” Again, he was hiding half of his face in the collar of his parka, so you couldn’t interpret his expression.
You still smiled though. So he did want to take you out on a date. You really wanted to get to know him again as well, the person he had become as his career was rising, the person who truly wanted you to be in his life again, who had whole-heartedly decided on you. 
This person was more mature, having determination and sternness in their soft, brown eyes. They wanted career, the spotlight, the fame, because that was where their passion stemmed from. 
You opened your mouth, but Jaehyun stepped forward, grabbed you and pulled you hard against his chest. You instantly closed your eyes when he wrapped his arms around you and shivered, warmly, when he pressed a kiss into your hair. “Before you answer, you should know that I missed you. So much.”
“I missed you too.” And then, you finally said, still in an embrace. “Okay. Let’s try again.”
Jaehyun was holding you close in position, and from his tone alone, as you were quietly resting against his chest, you swore the tips of his ears turned pink and he scrunched up his nose cutely as he said, “If you’ll find yourself in a position to love this Jaehyun in the future, I promise to you that I won’t ever disappoint you again.”
You already did. You had never stopped. But you kept it to yourself for now.
Amidst the cold, you were feeling warm in his arms. And amidst the clouds, you felt the sunshine on the tip of your nose. Today was, despite the cloudy weather, a sunny day.
You weren’t scared of loving this Jaehyun. 
____
NOW
Hey y/n.
I never wanted to be an idol.
Back then, if I had to choose between becoming famous and starting a family of my own, I would have decided on getting married and having children. I would have wanted to be like my dad. A good dad, always there for my children whenever they need me, passing on advice and insights like I have experienced with my own parents.
That would have been my answer if I were still a teenager.
But dreams change. Just like people.
I cannot start a family at the peak of my career anytime soon. And that’s the problem. I love my life, my job. It’s just this world that I hate. This world that forbids me to have both, you and everything I’ve worked so hard for these past years.
But I want this all, I want this so bad, even more than pursuing the dream of children of my own at this moment.
I want to stand on the stage, sing, make music, and be an ambassador, a model, an actor, all of that. I want to have an impact on people, I want them to see me, acknowledge me and everything I succeed in doing. It’s what’s giving me life, the motivation to continue. This is what I’m currently thriving for. 
I want this so bad. 
But I want this all with you.
Life is a process of changing and growing, you don’t follow one path from birth until the end. There are detours, forks and hindrances. But as long as you have determination in your heart and confidence in your eyes, everything is possible.
I want to start over again with you. I have the energy, I have the passion, I have the drive to do it. And I believe in it. I believe in us.
It’s not only the bad times where I should feel like needing you. It’s when I feel like that I’m at my happiest, when I actually don’t need someone by my side, I wish that you were here to share my feelings, too.
I want to laugh with you, celebrate with you, cry tears of joy with you. And if you could even be there when times get bad, when I hit rock bottom again, I promise I won’t pull you down with me. I will let you hold me, hold me tight and make it better. And I will rise from the ashes again just like the sun rises every day.
I can’t do this with anyone else. It has to be someone in particular. 
It has to be you.
I don’t know where I will be in five or ten years as the future is never set in stone. I might still be an idol, an actor, an ambassador, a model, all at once, or none of them, perhaps a father already. And if I’m neither, I’m still a son, a grandson, a boyfriend or a husband.
But above all and always, I will be Yuno, and I will be Jaehyun.
And I want to be yours. 
Always.
2K notes · View notes
soobluv · 1 year
Text
STILL MY FAVORITE STORY❤️❤️❤️
His Love in Her Force
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Pairing: undercover detective!Jaehyun x ballerina!reader
Genre: fake marriage au, hate to love, action, drama, fluff, romance, small town au, slow burn, smut, suspense
Word Count: 28k (it's worth it if you like slow burn, promise)
Summary: Fleeing from a ruthless stalker, you are forced to participate in a witness protection program at the other side of the world, pretending to be the wife of a taciturn undercover detective from now on. Despite all differences, you slowly start to settle with your new life as a married couple - until your newfound happiness is stripped away from you all over again.
A/N: Loosely inspired by a friend's friend case that went viral where I live. Jaehyun goes by several names here (Jay Jung, Jung Jaehyun and Jeong Yuno).
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Imagine leaving everything behind. 
Your home, your friends, your family.
Life as you knew it, vanished overnight, and you had to start anew at the other side of the world.
People easily let such a wish slip when their ordinary life got too exhausting. But what many truly meant was that they wanted to take a break from their daily routine and relax a few weeks under the tropical sun. 
They could always come back to the security and comfort of their stable home, and that was why only the minority was serious and courageous enough to actually go through with the plans of starting anew somewhere far away.
And then, there were people like you. The ones who didn’t have a choice.
“Mrs. Jung, please put up your table, we’re starting to descend,” the stewardess told you.
Mrs. Jung. That was your new name now. 
You had no relation to this surname that you had gotten assigned to only sixteen hours ago through a fake ID and passport at the airport. It sounded so foreign and disturbing to your ears. 
This “Mrs. Jung” wasn’t you, yet you had to slip into her role and pretend to have been someone else’s wife for a significant part of your life already. It was a role you didn’t deem yourself to be suitable for at all.
You were a young, single woman who lived her childhood dream of being a ballet dancer. After having attended different dance academies around Asia and Europe, you had settled with your first engagement, the Korea National Ballet, back in Seoul for the meantime where your family was residing.
A week ago, you had gotten the confirmation letter that you were accepted into the Dutch National Ballet after having studied there the year prior.
Your life was finally everything you had been working so hard towards since you were little.
And then, your future had gotten stripped away from you. Just like that.
“Mrs. Jung?” The stewardess passed by again. “The table.”
“Oh sorry,” you quickly apologized and put it up to properly lock it.
You then proceeded to stare out of the window, the plane having brought you to a continent you had never set foot on ever before. Narrow streets, tiny houses and small forests passed by you in a blur of earthly colors as the plane slowly angled downwards to start its final descent. 
You hated your new life already.
_____
“My duty here is finished,” the officer, who had been accompanying you all the way to the US, told you. “I’ll be taking the next flight back. But no worries, a driver is already waiting for you and will escort you to your new home. You must be relieved, you’re almost there now, Miss.”
“Relieved, detective?” you mocked and crossed your arms in front of your chest. “I’ll be exchanging the life of a successful ballerina for the one of a housewife, stuck in the nowhere on the other side of the world, because you couldn’t do your job right. What in the hell should I be relieved about, tell me?”
“Listen, Miss.” He lowered his voice as though there were other people besides you in this domestic charter flight. “Detective Jeong is one of our best people for this job here, I heard. So when it’s about life or death, there is no other place you’d rather be at the moment. He surely wants to be elsewhere as well, so that makes you two people that have to arrange themselves with this situation.”
“Jeong?” You raised a brow. “Isn’t his name Jung also?”
“Your fake name applies to the both of you of course. It’s a fine, but grave detail to his real one, also for easier spelling. Don’t ever use it in front of anyone though.”
You barely listened to him. “I don’t care. I don’t care about any of this.”
“I’m sorry this happened to you, really.” He sounded almost empathetic. Almost. 
“Don’t be, I know that deep inside, you aren’t. You think you did a good job, detective. If you wouldn’t have sat on your asses all day long and laid out all my collected evidences properly instead, I wouldn’t even be here on this stupid plane, in this stupid country!”
“I already told you there is nothing that we can do anymore, Miss. Stalking cases, where the suspect hasn’t done any harm yet, are always hard to handle since not everything can be considered solid evidence. That’s the thing with social media.” He was tired of leading this conversation, but you weren’t, because you knew you were right. “Besides… The judge hasn’t even passed the sentence yet.”
“But they’re close, and we all know what the sentence will be, otherwise I wouldn’t be here! And it’s only because my father pays such a huge amount of money that you’re willing to get me into this program and away from him.” Your heart was full of hostility, and you let him feel every single bit of it. “Otherwise I would possibly be dead by tomorrow.”
“Again, I’m sorry this happened to you, Miss.”
“Screw your half-assed apologies! I’ve lost my trust in the police a long time ago!” you yelled at him. “You’d rather want a woman dead than get a stalker behind bars!”
And, once again, replied with, “I’m sorry, Miss.”
You didn’t want to hear any more of this, so you remained quiet for the rest of the landing approach and just bid an annoyed farewell to the detective when you disembarked the aircraft. By the exit, after you had picked up your luggage, you were welcomed by the announced driver. 
“Hello, Mrs. Jung. I will accompany you to your new home,” he greeted you. “Welcome to Connecticut. Follow me please. Here, let me help you with your luggage.”
You tagged along with a distance of two steps until you got out of the airport and into his car. The ride distanced you from the airport and thus from the next city as well. While you were hoping to cross another town soon, no such thing happened.
“How far is it?” were the words you finally brought out after half an hour of driving. “It’s been quite a while and all I’m still seeing is… green.”
“Oh, it’s still an hour, Mrs. Jung.”
“An hour?” you squealed and sat straight up from the backseat. “Where are we driving to? Maine? This was Connecticut already, how far into the province are we going?”
“Where your persecutor won’t find you that easily, Mrs. Jung.”
You swore to god, if he called you “Mrs. Jung” again, in every sentence… But it was the first time someone used the word “persecutor”, and it kind of caught you off guard to have someone not talk down on your case.
You leaned back in your seat and closed your eyes to relax after such a long flight that also included a layover. It worked out a bit too well in the end though, sleep eventually engulfing you with the mundane sound of the car rolling over the road in the background.
You only woke up much later when the car had already come to a halt. At the outside, when you groggily opened your eyes, you saw two figures talking to each other in front of your side window. One of them was the driver who had brought you here, the other though, you could only make out the outlines of as he stood with his back turned to you, but it was definitely a much taller man.
“Couldn’t you have gotten someone else?” the unfamiliar man spoke. 
“Since when do detectives in your position get to choose the person they will protect?” the driver asked back.
“It’s just… that she’s…” He faltered.
“A young dancer at the peak of her career?”
“Don’t go there.”
At that moment, he turned around to you and your eyes met. You didn’t know who was more shocked to see the other. So that was him, your “husband”. How dare he speak about you like that! As though you were happy over this situation!
Your eyes were wide open now and you aggressively unbuckled your seatbelt. Opening the door, you stepped outside, getting greeted by the driver right away.
“You’re awake, Mrs. Jung! May I introduce you to your husband Jaehyun? Around here, for better pronunciation, he’s known as Jay.”
The unfamiliar man, obviously going by the name of Jaehyun/Jay, said nothing to you, not even during the entire time your eye contact didn’t break. You felt him clearly examining you from head to toe though, but not in the way a guy checked out someone he was interested in.
No, he was eyeing you from head to toe like he was inspecting a piece of leftover meal that he was unsure of whether to still eat after finding it in the very back of his fridge seven days after preparing. He was full of disgust, and his off-putting behavior was masking how ridiculously good he looked at the same time. 
In the end, he decided against the meal and shifted back to the driver. “She’s looking even gaudier than in the pictures.”
“Excuse me?!” You clenched your fists. “What do you mean?!”
But he ignored you. “She’s looking like a Christmas tree, drawing attention to her wherever she goes. So flamboyant.”
“This is called fashion! People in Seoul wear such outfits!” you retorted, upset that he was still treating you like you weren’t there and simultaneously insulting you. 
The driver just patted his shoulder. “I’ll get going.”
When he had driven away, you were left alone with Jaehyun or Jay - if that was even his real name, but you supposed it wasn’t, a fake name like yours and your both’s surname most likely as well. 
You stood there kind of awkwardly in the small driveway of the house you needed to call your new home from now on. Judging from the outside, admittedly, it looked like a cozy country style bungalow, spacious enough for two people and with no other houses in the immediate radius. 
You would have liked it very much for a short vacation if you wouldn’t have to share it with a stranger who apparently didn’t have the hots for you anyway.
“Let’s go inside,” he barked with suppressed anger, and you wondered why he was already behaving so hostile towards you. 
But at least, the feeling was mutual since he was a policeman as well. Starting from the day they had laughed at you when you called 911 shortly after the physical stalking had started, you had vowed to hate every single one of them.
When you stepped through the entry door, heaving the luggage up the stairs yourself, because Jaehyun was not gentleman enough to help you, you were positively surprised. 
The interior was bright and modernly furnished. There was a huge kitchen, open to the living room that looked equally comfortable and cozy with a soft couch. Additionally, there was an entire wall filled with books only at the opposite of the window facade by the entrance.
“The bathroom is over there.” Jaehyun stood next to you and pointed with his finger to one of the two doors behind the kitchen. “And that is the bedroom. No worries, it’s all yours, I’ll sleep on the couch.”
“You better do so,” you murmured and went straight to the bedroom, dragging your luggage behind you.
“You’re not allowed to go outside all alone. Either I accompany you or you ask for my permission and tell me exactly where you go and for how long.”
He spoke like a robot who had memorized an instruction, and who knew, perhaps he was even one. This already felt like jail. Whether you were here or at home, leaving either wouldn’t be safe for you. It didn’t make any difference except that you hated it here. And him.
Jaehyun cleared his throat. “I’ll prepare dinner.”
“I’m not hungry.”
You shut the door behind you and looked around in the room before you let yourself fall onto the huge bed and stared at the ceiling. Minutes later, you found yourself crying so hard like you had never cried before in your life. 
Your entire body shook, and you sobbed so loudly, you feared that Jaehyun might hear it. But you actually didn’t care. You would gladly let him know that he wasn’t the only one feeling miserable in this situation you two were in, even though you voiced it differently.
Missing your parents, grandparents, friends and everyone else dear to you, you now realized that you were all alone. You hadn’t been allowed to keep your phone in case you’d be tracked down and thus weren’t allowed to get in touch with anyone from your former life either in case someone accidentally revealed your whereabouts.
Another part of you mourned the end of your career that you had been working so hard towards and that hadn’t even really started yet. This same part hated your father for putting you into this program, but loved him at the same time to go through these lengths to ensure your protection. 
But the biggest part of you hated the man who had laid his eyes on you a year ago and vowed to never leave your side again in the most controversial ways. 
The man who had ruined your life. 
This was what he had wanted for you - cornered, shut off, frightened. When admiration turned into hatred, there was no space for happiness anymore. You had never felt more agonized. And lonely.
And with this feeling, after your sheets were all wet from too much crying, you slept in long after night had fallen.
____
The ringing doorbell woke you up, and judging by the misty light that flowed into the bedroom from the outside, it must not be past nine in the morning. You must have slept for over fourteen hours.
Opening your eyes in a slow manner, it took you a few moments to adjust to your surroundings. At first, you were happy to have woken up in your home again - until you realized it quite wasn’t and reality dawned on you, a dreadful feeling instantly weighing down on your heart that nearly caused you to bawl right there and then again. 
You grabbed a pillow and put it over your face to drown out the noise that was coming from the door. If anything, it was Jaehyun’s responsibility to open it as he was closer to the source, and you weren’t even sure whether you were allowed to let strangers in. 
But the string of constant noise just wouldn’t subside, and jet lag was hitting you hard.
“Goddammit!” you yelled in annoyance, jumped out of the bed and stormed into the living room.
But there was no sign of Jaehyun, the couch neatly made, so no one was even able to suspect that someone had slept on it the night before. You tiptoed to the window close by the entrance door to get a look at the person standing outside. 
It was an old, asian woman with gray hair. 
The moment she spotted you by the window, she quickly hurried over and excitedly signed you to open the door. In her hands, she presented a bag, dangling it in front of your vision. You neither had the time nor the patience to put up with her right now, but since she had spotted you already, there was no chance that you could still avoid her.
“Yes?”
You opened the door, not paying attention to your disheveled hair and the clothes from the day before. Whatever she wanted, you hoped that she would finish fast.
“My, my!” she called out in delight. “You must be Mrs. Jung, having arrived yesterday, right?”
You nodded, still not having adjusted to that name. At least you were fluent in English. “Yes, that’s me. May I help you?”
“I brought you a set of dumplings as a welcome gift. Here, take them. According to the villagers, they taste the best in my restaurant, Mrs. Jung. I’m sure they only say it because I’m running the only restaurant here, though.” She winked and then laughed as you took the package into your hands, slowly waking from your petrification. “Far away from your home country, I thought you needed something familiar, and food always manages to lift the mood, am I right? I must know, because when I immigrated here from Vietnam, I also felt lonely.”
This old woman’s surprising genuine gesture seemed so sweet to you though, you had to gulp big time to hold back your tears that were still present from before. Amidst a sea of turmoil, she radiated so much warmth and grandmotherly love, it made your chest tighten and soothed your pain at the same time, and you regretted your malign thoughts from earlier.
“Thank you so much,” you said wholeheartedly, softly.
“Grandmother Anh!” The two of you simultaneously spotted Jaehyun hurrying in your direction while crossing the front yard. “What are you doing here so early in the morning?”
“I wanted to drop by and bring you a set of dumplings as I remembered your wife must have arrived by now,” she explained and pointed at the bag in your hands. “Freshly made.”
“Thank you so much, grandmother Anh!” He wasn’t paying attention to you. “It wasn’t necessary for you to come all the way up there though!”
She waved aside. “A short trip up to here hasn’t hurt anyone yet, right?”
“You want to come inside for a cup of tea?” you offered her as you deemed it suitable for a situation like this despite not knowing whether you actually had tea. It earned you an angry gaze from Jaehyun though, and you wondered what you had done wrong.
“No worries, dear, I have work to go after now, and I’m sure you want to have some time to adjust yourself to your new living situation. Thank you for the invitation though. And don’t forget to step by my restaurant!”
When she was gone, you retreated to the inside, but as soon as the door closed behind you, Jaehyun threw a fit.
“What the hell were you thinking?” he yelled at you. “Oh, I know! You weren’t even thinking! Opening the door for someone you don’t know, even though you’re currently in a security program, are you nuts?!”
“Of course I’ve looked through the window before!” you shot back at him angrily. Stranger or husband, nobody was allowed to talk to you this way, and in contrast to the day prior, you had enough energy now to give him hell back. “If it was a suspicious looking man, I wouldn’t have let him in, but this was a nice grandma! My stalker is still in detention until the court decision, so he won’t come here so easily, and I doubt he has accomplices in the middle of the american nowhere when he’s just a simple korean man!”
“Listen up here, I’m trying to teach you a point,” Jaehyun pressed through gritted teeth, urging you to move backwards until your feet hit the baseboard and your back rested against the wall. “You know why you’re not allowed to use the phone or the internet? You log yourself into your social media account, congratulations, you just disclosed your location and he’ll appear here once he’s free. You call a friend while being connected to a local radio mast, congratulations, you’re now in danger again, because he’s hired a technician to track your steps. The same goes for people. One tells the other who they’ve seen here, words spread, someone knows someone who knows someone who knows him. Or one of them takes a picture, it lands on the internet, and things on the internet stay on the internet. It will then only be a matter of time until he comes across it. How do you know what he’s capable of? Because he’s ‘a simple korean man’? You’re smarter than this!” For the time he paused and inhaled deeply. “I’m here to prevent all this from happening, to prevent him from finding you, so you have to follow me. Since you’re not known by anyone yet, I have to run a background check, and we still have time to study our story so that they’re going to match. Until then, you’re gonna stay quiet and inside.”
“I didn’t ask you to be my protector!” you defended yourself, his closeness flustering you still. “No one from the police has ever helped me anyway, so stop acting like you care about my wellbeing!”
“Care about your wellbeing?” He revealed his pearl white teeth when he scoffed. “I don’t care about your wellbeing. It’s just that I want to get out of here as fast as possible and you’re just something that holds me back if I don’t take care of it. So you play by my rules or you go back now.”
“You-!” You swallowed the rest of the sentence.
With a slip to the side, you escaped from his fearful presence and crossed the living room in a hurry to lock yourself inside the bedroom again.
Only hours later, when hunger got the better of you, you dared to come out. The dumplings laid on the dining table where you had dropped them off earlier, and you couldn’t ignore the gurgling sounds your stomach was making anymore. 
Jaehyun was sitting on the couch, typing something into his laptop and minding his own business without looking up to you. You were grateful for his ignorance as neither of you wanted to back off from your argument earlier, so you took half of the dumplings and retreated back into the bedroom from where you didn’t come out for the rest of the day.
At night, you cried yourself to sleep again.
____
“Let’s go grocery shopping.”
You were very much surprised when Jaehyun offered to take you on a short trip to the supermarket two days later. Yesterday, you had only been living off leftover dumplings and hadn’t felt any appetite, even until now. This was your very first interaction since the argument.
“I don’t want to,” you blocked it off.
“It’s weird and actually more suspicious when everyone now knows that you’ve already arrived, but don’t show yourself. We have to blend in, that’s how it works here in the countryside. And I have already done a background check on everyone, they’re clean. Besides…” He hesitated. “You should start eating properly.”
You didn’t care about his reasoning as you didn’t want to go out at all. Staying inside, hiding and being left alone sounded like the proper activity according to your mood, but Jaehyun wouldn’t budge, so you had no other choice than to finally dress up and accompany him against your will.
You hadn’t seen anything from the village except for your own house so far, so you got a bit excited when you finally stepped out onto the streets. The sun was shining brightly that morning, and it was kind of comfortably warm already for early spring. 
When you did a 360 degree turn, you silently noted that the village was located on the slope of a hill, your house placed on the highest point and the other houses stretching a few hundred meters apart from each other along the main street and scattering into narrower ones. 
The view and the location were splendid, you had to give credit for that. You weren’t the kind of person to seek this kind of tranquility as you were more a fan of a buzzing city, but somehow, you didn’t find it so bad here. 
The houses were all so small and looked so cozy, embedded and blending in with nature, and the village overall was surrounded by trees and the greens of the connected grasslands that reached to the very top of the mountains.
“If we should come off as a couple, you have to stay by my side.”
You hadn’t noticed how Jaehyun had gone ahead already and quickly fell into his step. You were kind of grossed out by the idea that he would suddenly want to take your hand or do something else that young couples usually openly showed to prove their affection towards each other, so you kept your arms close to your body. But luckily, he didn’t seem to be fond of such a thing right now as well.
As you were walking down the street leading to the village center, Jaehyun told you, “I’ll be starting my work tomorrow. I’m a police officer here, so I’ll be gone for the majority of the day.”
“You work?”
“In contrast to you, I have to.”
“I see,” you noticed curtly. It wasn’t like you minded. No, you rejoiced even!
“But don’t get the wrong idea,” he reminded you as though he was reading your thoughts. “It doesn’t mean you can do what you want and go wherever you want.”
You rolled your eyes. “I understood the first time already.”
“Very well. We’re here,” he then declared when you stood in front of a store, not bigger than a 7/11.
“That’s it? That’s the grocery store?”
“Yeah. What did you expect anyway?”
Yeah, what exactly did you expect to discover in this small village? You sighed. “Let’s go inside.”
A high-pitched voice directly greeted you from the inside. “Mr. Jung! Is this your lovely wife? I can’t believe I finally get to see her! Welcome, Mrs. Jung!” A middle-aged man approached you from the counter, took both of your hands and shook them excitedly. “I’m Mr. Jones. Please help yourselves. You’ll find here everything that you need. My store might be small, but it’s rich in its ingredients.”
You felt Jaehyun’s stares in your back when you carefully greeted him back with a, “Nice to meet you, Mr. Jones” before you went back to his side like the obedient wife you were supposed to play.
Jaehyun was wandering through the small aisles and put one grocery after another into his shopping basket. From afar, he truly looked like a caring husband. But you knew better. 
“What do we want to cook for dinner?” he asked nonchalantly, almost kindly.
For the first time, his voice wasn’t filled with anger or tension that you would also find in your own tone whenever you opened your mouth to speak to each other. In front of the people, you had to conceal your negative feelings towards each other. 
“Hmm…” You looked through the shelves, Jaehyun tagging along. “I’m kind of craving fried rice.”
“I’d rather have steak.” He put the meat in the basket. 
Of course he’d get what he wanted. But you didn’t want to back down either and bought the ingredients for your own cravings.
“Mrs. Jung, please make sure to step by again,” Mr. Jones told you when he packed your groceries. “We always have fresh fruits, you’ll love them!”
You nodded, totally not in the mood for smalltalk with strangers.
Back at home, you waited until Jaehyun had finished preparing his steak before you cooked your own dish. You ate in silence, him on the couch, you in the bedroom, both of you then cleaning after yourselves in silence, too. 
And that slowly became your arranged routine. Silent and separate, yet still together physically.
____
You had spent the past days inside the house mostly, reading, watching TV and staring at the ceiling. At home, you barely had time for these trivial things as you were always practicing, even during your free time. But your free time now was endless, and simple leisure activities prevented you from falling back into this deep, black hole that engulfed you every night, luring out your tears.
You didn’t want to go out, you didn’t want to talk, you barely wanted to eat.
When you felt like this at home, you would just start dancing, but now, you didn’t even have that. Your life was dull after you had been ripped off your passion and your entire future. You didn’t know whether, if you’d ever return, you could catch up again.
At this point, you were asking yourself whether this life was actually worth living. But if you were to give up now, it only meant your stalker had succeeded. This was what he wanted, and you wouldn’t give him this.
As you were lying on the couch that evening again, staring into space, you heard Jaehyun coming home and immediately shot up to go back into your room. You wanted to spend as little time around him as possible.
But he didn’t let you go far. “Mr. Jones saw you in the driveway this morning as he drove by.”
“...And?”
“You know for sure that this isn’t allowed,” Jaehyun hissed sharply. “I prohibited it.”
“But why?” you genuinely wanted to know. “I was only catching some fresh air, nothing to fret about.”
He didn’t show any compassion. “If you want some fresh air, open a window, but, under no circumstances, are you allowed to leave the house when I’m not there. Think about what would have happened if it was someone else driving by, not Mr. Jones!”
“You’re totally nuts!” you yelled now. “And paranoid! That man doesn’t even know I’m here, so technically, I can roam around freely if I want to!”
“This is why I didn’t want you,” Jaehyun growled, his voice full of contempt. “The moment I saw you in the car, I knew what kind of person you would be. And I was proven right. You’re so reckless and neglecting in regard to your own life. On top of that, you’re so audacious as well, and I actually despise people like you. You didn’t even need this program, you’re only here because your father wanted to protect his little princess!”
You froze, and Jaehyun turned stiff in the same breath, your eye contact not breaking despite the interruption. Almost simultaneously, it became clear to you both what he had just said, and the extent of his hurtful words.
Jaehyun opened his lips, his eyes wide in shock. “I-”
The ringing doorbell broke through the distressing silence between the both of you and Jaehyun crossed the living room to hurry to the entrance door.
“Hello Mr. Jung!”
“Grandmother Anh, what a surprise!” he greeted her, still a bit overwhelmed, but trying to downplay the situation. “What brings you here?”
“I was wondering whether you and your wife already have plans for dinner and whether you are interested in joining me and a few other villagers at my restaurant this evening?” she asked politely, trying to get a glimpse of the inside. 
“My wife is doing fine, only still adjusting. There is just so much work to still go after inside the house, so we barely have time at the moment. I’m afraid we have to decline.”
“That’s unfortunate,” the old woman commented. “But I still hope that you can make time this evening and join the dinner. We would be really pleased!”
“I’m going to ask her, alright?”
“Actually I wanted to ask her pers-…”
“Grandmother Anh?” you popped up behind Jaehyun and interjected. “I would happily join the dinner along with my husband! Thank you so much for the invitation!”
“Oh dear, I’m so glad! Then I’ll be going to prepare something nice for you two then, alright? See you later!”
When she was gone, you didn’t resume the topic from earlier, but instead said, “She probably heard it. She probably heard everything and was anxious about what was going on in here. Perhaps, she even thought we were physically fighting, so I had to show myself to let her see that everything is okay.”
“You could have just politely declined,” Jaehyun interposed.
“That’s not the point,” you explained calmly, walking around in the living room and pulling the curtains together. “The whole point of us being here is that we will pretend to be a happy couple, not drawing any suspicion on us. Doing grocery shopping every few days together just doesn’t do it. Didn’t you yourself say that words spread fast here?”
He didn’t want to concede it, but Jaehyun’s following words were his own gesture of acknowledging your believability. “So, what do you suggest we should do?”
Perhaps, he also realized at that moment, that he was missing something that you had been contributing from the very beginning: the ability to not only think rationally, but also compassionately. 
And that sometimes, your reckless acts originated from this character trait of yours, being a person who relied mostly on emotions and urges. He opened his mouth to say something, but quickly closed it again.
“We’re going to show everyone how happy we are as a couple. That it was a usual lovers’ quarrel, that we don’t physically fight, and that you don’t keep me locked up or whatever. And since you’ll be there too, it’s safe. Satisfied?”
You weren’t fond of all that, of the thought of going out, meeting people and pretending you were living the happy life of a married couple. But you had no choice.
You didn’t admit this openly, but this was your only way to survive this hellhole and eventually return to your old life one day.
____
You were more anxious than excited to finally step out of the house again. When you stood in front of the restaurant later that evening, you barely brought yourself to crack a smile. How were you supposed to pretend to be happy when all you wanted was to cry?
“Stop.” Jaehyun held you back when you already wanted to enter through the front door. “Didn’t you forget something?”
You cursed inwardly, having hoped that he had forgotten about it. Why had you even mentioned such a thing as holding hands to prove the nature of your relationship? You would rather not, but you also saw that it was necessary to come off as a true couple and not two strangers who had just met. Even though the latter was true.
So you placed your hand in Jaehyun’s for the first time. It felt surprisingly warm and tender, and so different from the attitude he always showed you. How could someone so grouchy and cold have such tender and warm hands?
Jaehyun’s fingers enclosed around yours, and the unexpected feeling he caused you to experience currently didn’t have anything to do with the fear of getting touched by him. By far not. Not even something close to it.
You were so flustered that you barely noticed how he led you into the restaurant, right towards a large table on which a handful of people were already seated, and all their heads turned to you.
“Oh my, it’s the Jungs!”
You directly spotted grandmother Anh who approached you from behind the counter, taking your hands into hers and out of Jaehyun’s grip.
“Welcome! Dear, let me introduce you to the other villagers,” she addressed you. “Mr. Jones already told me that you two met, but these are…”
She proceeded to list four names that you forgot right after again, and you then took one of the two left free seats at the table along with Jaehyun while the old woman was bringing in one dish after another.
“Please help yourselves!” grandmother Anh then announced after she had sat down well. “Dig in!”
The entire table was filled with different dishes from the region, but also asian food. You felt your mouth watering after having lived off your humble cooking skills ever since your arrival.
“You see, this is a special restaurant,” grandmother Anh explained to you. “I’m not specialized on Asian or Western food. Basically, I can cook anything by order.”
“That’s true,” a middle aged woman next to you answered, Mr. Jones’ wife. “Mrs. Anh started off with an Asian restaurant, but since she’s running the only food place here, the requests started to pile up.”
You swallowed the last bite of delicious fried rice - your go to comfort food - before you responded, “No matter Asian or Western, your food is very delicious, grandmother Anh.”
“I’m so happy you like it, dear!” She smiled from ear to ear. “Hurry, eat up before all the others do!”
You nodded, and for the first time since you had gotten here, you didn’t only feel hunger, but also appetite as you reached for fried chicken, more fried rice, baked potatoes and steamed vegetables all at once. 
When you were training - which was usually all the time - you hadn’t had the pleasure to eat such delightful food as you had to follow a very strict diet to remain your figure. Just a few grams more would have gotten you kicked out of every academy. Of course you stole a secret bite of fast food and sweet treats here and there, but tonight was the first time you could actually eat without compunction.
“... And you left everything behind for your husband, even your job?” Mrs. Jones casually dropped when the dinner slowed down and everyone was finishing off. “That’s so courageous!”
Before you had come here, you had studied both of the roles that had been assigned to you very thoroughly. Jaehyun was the cop who had found a new job here, and you, his wife, had followed from Korea to settle with him in rural Connecticut. That was the part of the script that bothered you the most as this was something you would never ever consider doing in the first place. Giving up your dreams for a man - they wished!
“The things women do for the love of their life, hm?” you only brought yourself to say reluctantly, dripping with hidden sarcasm.
“My husband also made us both move from Vietnam to here,” grandmother Anh clinked herself into your conversation. “He was always dreaming so big, dreaming about living the American dream. I wasn’t fond of the idea, but I was even less fond of living a life without him. So I followed him.”
“Where is your husband now?” it blurted out of you, and you regretted it right at that moment already when her face fell. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to-”
“It’s alright, dear,” she brushed it off in understanding about your unawareness. “It’s been five years without him, and I still miss him dearly. With my experience, I can put myself in your shoes very well. You feel lonely and depressed very often, hm? A new country, new people, an entirely new environment, and a husband who’s not home for the majority of the day. It’s hard to adjust.”
Those feelings had nothing to do with Jaehyun, but with yourself only, so you confirmed them with a nod. 
“How about you join our female poker round every wednesday?” Mrs. Jones then proposed. “It’s grandmother Anh, the girl sitting over there named Rosie, and me.”
When the girl heard her name, she briefly raised her head and smiled at you.
“Poker?” you asked carefully. “I’ve never played poker before.”
“You’ll learn it in no time!” Rosie encouraged you. “I’m pretty sure we aren’t playing it accurately either, but we’re having lots of fun and drinking lots of wine. You’ll love it!”
Poker with two elderly women and a girl around your age that you had barely interacted with before didn’t sound like your usual pastime activity back there in Korea. But at least there would be alcoholic drinks, and it would help you avoid this dark hole for a little while, you assumed.
“I’m afraid my wife might not be able to join,” Jaehyun then cut you off at the moment you wanted to excitedly accept their invitation. The three women looked at him in the same confused manner as you. “She’s really busy with work around the house and chores.”
“I’m sure I’ll be done by wednesday, that’s how fast but thorough I always work,” you affirmed to the women, avoiding Jaehyun. “So I’ll join you for sure.”
Jaehyun opened his mouth again, but it perhaps dawned on him that when he objected now, he’d look more like a husband mistreating his wife. The fact that he was known as a police officer didn’t affect the situation positively. 
“Okay,” he then gave in. “I’ll let you ladies have fun.”
“Oh it’s going to be so fun!” Rosie exclaimed and clapped her hands together. 
You were really looking forward to something now as well, for the first time since you had gotten here.
____
“Go, yell at me,” you provoked Jaehyun when you walked through the front door of your house after the dinner.
But he didn’t. Instead, he hung up his jacket, totally muted, put his phone on the kitchen counter and walked straight into the bathroom, locking the door behind him. Whatever, if he didn’t want to talk about it, then you didn’t need to talk about it either.
With dragging steps, you then moved over to the kitchen yourself to get something to drink before your eyes fell onto Jaehyun’s phone.
Your front teeth sank into your bottom lip as you stretched out your hand in the direction of the device. You knew it was wrong, you knew what consequences it would all bring, yet you couldn’t hold back. The temptation was too strong.
Your fingers glided swiftly over Jaehyun’s display as you typed the name of your stalker into the search bar. And the first article that popped up was the one reporting about his release. 
Dated today. You knew it. You just knew it.
You cursed under your breath as you read through the comments that were almost all defaming him and the acquittal following everything he had done to you. When it had gotten public that a popular ballerina had been stalked, the media was quick to cover the story. Before, no one had cared about it. 
The majority of people having your back in the comment section were only a drop in the bucket. But it still was soothing somehow.
When you went back to the search results, you found an article about you retiring from the Korea National Ballet. It wasn’t a big one, but had still gotten covered by a local newspaper after your absence from the performances had been noticed, and they were quick to link your decision with your stalker not getting a sentence because the state of evidence was too insufficient. 
Your fingers trembled, because now, as soon as he picked up these news, he would start searching for you and carry out his threat that he had sent to your home through a letter a week before you had started your new life here,
I will come for you.
“You know for sure that this isn’t allowed,” Jaehyun scolded strictly next to you, and you flinched, nearly letting the phone drop before he snatched it out of your hands. “Didn’t I already tell you that with today’s technology, every time you go online, you leave traces? You want that? Having him here?”
“I didn’t log into any social media or anything,” you defended yourself. “I just… looked him up, and hundreds of other people pulled up that website also, so.”
“Even that is not-”
“He’s free,” you interrupted him, your breathing only coming in hitches as you realized what it meant for you. “As of today, he’s free again, and he’ll come for me. Like he wrote in that letter.”
You shut your eyes, ready to get yelled at, but Jaehyun didn’t say a word again. With the phone in his hand, he went into the bedroom - your room - and you followed him. You didn’t know what this meant. Had you gone too far tonight? 
“What are you doing?”
He jerked something out of the closet, and at second glance, you recognized the thing in his hands as your suitcase which he then threw at your feet.
“Go pack. You’re going home.”
You blinked in confusion. “What?”
“If you don’t give a damn about your life, you don’t deserve to stay here. So you should go home.”
He was so cold and indifferent about it, it made you shudder. And that stare of his. You hadn’t seen it before. This was serious.
When you had first come here, you would have rejoiced and would have willingly accepted a flight ticket back. But with this knowledge, the thought about setting a foot on Korea’s grounds with your stalker on the loose raised your hackles. Then, this entire nightmare would start all over.
Hesitantly, you brought yourself to admit that this was where you were the safest now. On the other side of the world, by the side of a detective. 
“Please…” you started.
“What am I supposed to say?” Jaehyun asked, overly annoyed, not breaking eye contact. “You defied my orders. Again. You think I didn’t know about this? I knew before you did, before the media did. It’s because of your reaction that I wasn’t supposed to say a word. Now look at what it has done to you! Will you ever get a good night’s sleep again?”
“I’m sorry!” You had never said that to him before, so this was a huge step for you. But you meant it. “I couldn’t resist. I had to know.”
“Of course you had to. You always have to meddle. Did something positive ever result from your meddlings? Perhaps, your meddlings have even brought this upon you!”
You stared at each other and Jaehyun’s face fell when it dawned on him what he had just said. Once again.
“You’re not better than any of them,” you hissed. “Yet, I’m not going anywhere.”
You picked up your suitcase and threw it back into the closet. When you turned around, Jaehyun had left your room already, so you quickly closed the door in case he would return and hid in the safety of your familiar four walls until the next morning. 
____
When wednesday finally came around, you were still feeling some sort of anticipation that Jaehyun’s hurtful words hadn’t been able to entirely tear down. You had only interacted with him when it was truly necessary since the day he wanted to kick you out, otherwise avoiding him at all costs. At least, he hadn’t prohibited you from going today.
“Remember to only share the most necessary things about us,” Jaehyun repeated again as you walked along the streets to grandmother Anh’s restaurant. “And not more. Don’t invent anything, just dodge the topic. If someone wants to take a picture, prohibit it. But luckily, people here aren’t so obsessed with social media.”
“It’s so easy for an emotional klutz like you to say such things,” you grumbled. “But it’s something entirely different when people put pressure on you, especially when you’re in such a small group.”
“Whatever,” he shrugged it off. “Just dodge everything you can dodge.”
You rolled your eyes. You hadn’t wanted him to come with you, but one of his conditions was to still accompany you everywhere once you stepped outside of the house, so you had no choice but to walk with him all the way there. 
“I’ll pick you up at ten, okay?” Jaehyun confirmed, and you nodded. “If something happens-”
“What should happen? We’re in the middle of nowhere and I’m just playing poker with the three less suspicious people on earth. Give it a rest already.”
“If something happens,” he continued unbothered, “or you start to feel uneasy… even if you only want me to pick you up no matter the reason, even if you’re only a few minutes away…” He reached his hand into his pocket. “Take this, just in case.”
He held up a black flip phone in front of you. One which you had only seen in action way back then in primary school, and which you deemed antique by now, because you were only able to send text messages and make calls with it. That kind of phone.
You took it into your hand and opened it up. The black and white display only showed one number when you pulled up the contacts list. You proceeded from the assumption that it was Jaehyun’s.
“It’s curbed, so you can only call me. Shortcut is one. The card has fifteen bucks on it, but I doubt you’ll spend it all unless we talk to each other for six hours straight. So don’t even think about calling someone you know from back home.”
Perhaps, a tiny part of him did care in the end. At least more than any policeman back there in Korea throughout the span of a year.
“Okay.” He cleared his throat. “See you later then. At ten.”
What you had wanted was an apology. But this was nearly just as good and his very own way of saying sorry, you saw that now.
Jaehyun turned his back to you and slowly walked back while you stored the phone away in your purse and entered the restaurant through the front door.
Not much later, you found yourself laughing among the other three women, having forgotten about your miserable situation for the evening as you hadn’t had so much fun in a long time already. 
Poker had faded into the background and you were getting to know about the other women more than playing cards. And while you were talking, you emptied one bottle of wine after another.
“So tell me,” Rosie urged, “how did you and Jay meet? It’s so rare having such a young couple deciding to live with us so secludedly!”
“We’ve met when we were both still in university,” you revealed, having studied this part of your new identities very carefully so that your stories would match. Yet, you couldn’t help but to spice it up a bit. “Through mutual friends. We couldn’t actually stand each other at first. I hated his guts, and he hated mine. But we slowly warmed up, and the rest is history.” 
“At first, I couldn’t quite read him as well,” Rosie admitted. “So I found his character very off-putting. But Jay is actually really warm-hearted and caring.”
No way she was talking about Jaehyun. You suppressed a laugh.
“That’s true!” Mrs. Jones nodded. “When he came into the hardware store earlier today, I was there too, talking to Mr. Alden. And he was searching every shelf high and low for an MP3 player. You know, one of these old things that you can only listen to music with which no one uses anymore. Mr. Alden didn’t have one of these of course, so he ordered it for him. He looked very stressed about it, but in a desperate and not angry way. More like a gift he needed promptly.”
An MP3 player? What would he need it for? In your world, your husband wasn’t capable of showing or even bearing feelings at all. Why was it then, that these people had a whole other picture of him?
“One time, at my father’s pharmacy,” Rosie added, “he asked what my father could recommend if someone suffered from a stomach ache. Apparently, his wife, so you, was in pain one night, and he wanted to be prepared for the next time this could occur. So, I would say you truly have a dedicated husband.”
You frowned. You had indeed suffered from a stomach ache one night, searching through the shelves and ending up making tea instead as you hadn’t found any medicine. That you had found it the next day, you had blamed it on your absent-mindedness.
“Mr. Jung surely has a warm heart despite his stoic demeanor. Otherwise he also wouldn’t have helped me when I had fallen on my back. That happened only last week. He carried me all the way to the doctor’s,” grandmother Anh continued.
There had truly been a day when Jaehyun had only come home much later than usual, and he was commonly very strict in keeping his routines. You hadn’t asked him about it though and had shrugged it off again. That was how indifferent you always were at home. Perhaps, you then realized, you should start doing exactly that: communicate. 
You couldn’t continue living with a person you openly despised and didn’t care about. Jaehyun had said a few awful things to you, but the phone in your purse and what people were telling about him were proof enough to you that he was, indeed, different from the cops you had encountered until now.
Most likely, he wasn’t so awful and you had only failed to see. Jaehyun had given you a few second chances. Now, it was your turn to give him one.
“Why the long face?” Rosie pulled you out of your thoughts. “Let’s celebrate the start of your new life here! Grandmother Anh, I’m going to open another bottle, alright? The night is still young, cheers!”
You heard it pop for the second time.
____
You woke up the next morning with a headache. You didn’t know how you had gotten home or when, but the last time you had gotten so drunk, it was in the academy in the Netherlands. These village people’s alcohol tolerance was really on a whole other level!
A glimpse at your phone told you that it was midday already, and you suddenly were sitting up straight in your bed. But since you had no business anywhere anyway, you fell back against the mattress.
You then slowly drifted off to sleep again when the doorbell interrupted your nap. That was the downside of living in such a small village. People just came over whenever they wanted.
“Have you just woken up?” Rosie asked you.
A bit embarrassed, you scratched your head. “Maybe…”
“It’s been a tough way home, hm?” she laughed. “Jay also didn’t quite know what to do with you.”
“To do… with me?” you repeated with widened eyes.
“Oh my!” Rosie covered her opened mouth with her hand and giggled. “You can’t remember a thing?”
You shook your head. “Nothing.”
“You were so drunk after our fourth bottle of wine, you slept in right there and then. Jay had to carry you in a piggy back out of the restaurant and all the way home up here, and you didn’t even bat an eye.” She chuckled again. “And then, you only cried, ‘I wanna go home, I wanna go home!’ while he constantly replied, ‘You’re gonna be home soon’. And you said again, ‘But not this home!’”
“Holy!” you gasped. “I really can’t remember!”
Everyone knew about the drunken truth, and Jaehyun had also certainly known that you didn’t mean this home when you had said you wanted to return. If the alcohol had gone to your head much more, you would have probably revealed your true identity by accident! You suddenly felt so defeated. You had put yourself in danger. Again.
“Make sure to reward him properly for all the convenience with a nice meal or otherwise, okay?” Rosie winked and handed a paper bag over to you. “And start out by giving him these painkillers for his back pain. My father doesn’t recommend using it on a daily basis. Perhaps, change your mattress to a less soft one as they probably stem from that.”
“But our mattress is not soft,” you commented naively and accepted the painkillers when it suddenly crossed your mind that he didn’t even sleep on the bed. “It’s probably only because he naps on the couch so often,” you briefly corrected yourself. “I’ll have an eye on it.”
After Rosie said goodbye to you, you closed the entry door behind you and directly went into the bedroom to prepare something before Jaehyun came home.
When he eventually walked through the front door a bit later that day, he didn’t say a thing about the night before, but calmly took off his jacket and went to sit on the couch without greeting you. 
Communicate. Your start. “Can you come to the bedroom real quick, please?”
Without a complaint, he arose again and followed you. When you opened the door, you presented a room to him with your clothes and other stuff all gone, the bedding freshly exchanged.
“This is your room from now on.”
Jaehyun blinked in irritation, and it was not the first time that you witnessed him turning so startled. You continued to take him aback. “I don’t understand…”
“I’m sorry,” you apologized to him quietly and bowed. “For having caused such havoc last night, being a burden to you again. When Rosie told me what happened because I can’t remember a thing, I realized that I put us both in danger again, now with my habit of drunkenly telling the truth. It wasn’t my indication to do so, and I will look after my alcohol consumption much better from now on. As I will do with everything else, of course. I will be obedient and follow the rules.”
He slowly turned around to you, his expression not quite distinctive enough for you to read. “Okay.”
“And because of your back pain, Rosie dropped by earlier with the painkillers. But I know it’s all because of me too. So, here, have the bedroom. It’ll be much better if you sleep on the bed as the mattress is not as soft. I’ll take the couch, I’ll be fine.”
You both stood there, quiet for a while. Until Jaehyun broke the silence himself. “There is a mattress.” 
“What?”
“Here.” He crouched down, put his hands in the compartment under the bed and pulled out a small mattress that had been kept there apparently. “It’s too small for me, but for you, it should be fine. Let me carry it to the living room for you, okay?”
You smiled and nodded. “Thank you. And thank you for the stomach medicine as well.”
He opened his mouth to return something, but seemed to get too flustered and closed his lips again. It was familiar to you.
“I’m sorry too.” You turned keen-eared. What had he just said? Jaehyun’s ear tips turned red as he looked to the side. “I- I didn’t mean it. You’re not… you know.”
He didn’t elaborate what he referred to. But he didn’t need to. You knew what he had exactly apologized for, and accepted it. All the things, little and big. About you being a princess, about you always meddling. And about you having brought this upon yourself.
Your husband wasn’t a man of many words, but he had silently accepted your apology too by starting to sleep in the bedroom that night and leaving the new mattress to you. 
You hadn’t been much of a great wife either, and you silently promised to him to be a better one from now on.
____
You were alone the next night, Jaehyun working overtime as one of his colleagues had spontaneously wanted to change shifts, so he had to take up on two in a row.
That was why, even by 1am, you still weren’t able to sleep. In your pajamas already though, you wandered up and down the living room, your thoughts swimming. You had kept the lights turned off as you went back to your mattress every now and then when you felt ready to finally fall asleep, only to fail once again.
You had gotten so used to having Jaehyun sleep in the room next to you that now that he was gone, you couldn’t fall asleep at all as you felt so defenseless. You were not paranoid about your stalker having gotten here, but with Jaehyun around, you had been able to fall asleep with more ease.
All by yourself though, you felt at your own fear’s mercy.
THUD
You froze on the spot. What in the hell was that?
You were currently facing the window, but the noise came from the other side of the closed door where the bedroom was located. Believing that your hearing might have fooled you, you held in your breath and listened closely.
Thud.
Again. This time, not that loudly, but it was clearly the same noise as before. You almost didn’t dare to make a move. It was in the middle of spring, the weather was warm and the moon was shining brightly. This was not the background noise of a thunderstorm.
Thud.
No, you hadn’t been fooled by your own hearing. There was definitely something going on in the bedroom that should not be going on, and Jaehyun was not here tonight! Restraining your breathing volume, you tiptoed to the kitchen area, hoping the parquet under your feet wouldn’t audibly give in.
THUD.
Louder. Your heart was racing, but you told yourself over and over again that you couldn’t afford losing your nerves now. Perhaps, it was an animal trying to get in, perhaps the wind pressing a branch against the glass, but perhaps also someone trying to break in. 
It couldn’t be him.
… right?
He was still in Seoul, you had obediently followed Jaehyun’s rules, you had left no traces. There was no possibility that he could be here.
… right?
The faults you had made hadn’t been that grave. You were now obediently following the rules.
… right?
As your gaze fell upon the kitchen counter, you reached for the phone Jaehyun had given to you and dialed the shortcut. The phone was shaking in your trembling fingers as the display lightened up and you saw it trying to connect to Jaehyun. 
But he didn’t pick up. You tried again and again. But he didn’t pick up even after the fifth attempt. You nearly wanted to cry. What was a police officer husband good for when he wouldn’t even come to rescue you? 
Whatever, you didn’t need him anyway. You were a strong, independent woman, you would take matters in your own hand. Literally. So you grabbed the pan that was lying on the stove and headed for the bedroom door. 
At this moment, you didn’t know what was louder. Your own heartbeat, your own breathing or the thudding that came from the bedroom. Perhaps, all at once, and the only thing that kept you going right now was the thought that you just didn’t want to die here, all alone, on the other side of the world, without having seen your friends and family again. 
BAM.
“Hey!”
You flinched the second you stretched out your hand to press down the door handle as the lights suddenly turned on, and a sharp scream escaped your lips as you were sure your life was flashing before your eyes. The pan fell onto your feet, missing your toes by a hairbreadth, as a pair of strong arms wrapped around you from behind.
Then, you realized that you were crying as you twisted and turned, trying to escape. “Let me go! Let me go!”
“It’s me!” a familiar voice then came through to you. “It’s Jaehyun! It’s me!”
His voice, his scent. This all suddenly embraced you as it dawned on you that indeed, it was him. You had just not known what it was like to be held by him which had startled you so much as you had never had any physical contact before.
In his arms, your chest was still heaving up and down heavily, but he held you closely and tightly, with no intention to let you go now as tears continued to stream down your face.
“It’s okay,” you then heard Jaehyun whisper, his voice close to your ear. “I’m here now.”
He only let you go after you had stopped trembling and crying out loudly, and only reluctantly with a deep sigh from your part. You didn’t know where that had exactly come from though.
As you then turned around to him, you clenched your fists and hammered against his chest. “You idiot! Where have you been?!” you yelled at him. “I’ve called you five times, but you didn’t pick up! What do you have a cell phone for!”
Jaehyun didn’t hinder you from letting out your anger. Only when your strength was slowly subsiding as exhaustion settled, he enclosed your fingers and explained to you calmly, “I’m sorry. I didn’t hear it ring as I was in the car with my colleagues, and when I got out, I was already here and saw that you have called five times.”
“I- I… I heard,” you stuttered, but you didn’t quite know how to explain your situation. What if he would think you had only imagined it and didn’t take you seriously? 
But Jaehyun did exactly that without you having to explain yourself. “My colleagues are currently searching the property high and low. I came here the moment I left the car.”
“I heard a thudding noise coming from the bedroom. As though… I don’t know. Someone was trying to get in. Through the window… I don’t know, there was definitely something!”
“Okay, let me check.”
You were hiding behind Jaehyun as he slowly pushed the door open and got in position. Then, he switched the lights on and you saw, as you peeked from behind him, exactly nothing. With slow steps, Jaehyun crossed the room and positioned himself in front of the closet. As he drew the door open, as expected again, you only found clothes inside of it.
“All clear inside here,” he then confirmed and approached the window to open it, calling outside, “What’s up out there?”
“All clear out here!” you heard someone yell in the distance.
“All clear in here as well!”
“You want us to stay put?” 
Hesitantly, Jaehyun turned around to you, and then back to the window. “It’s okay, for tonight, I got this. Thank you.”
“Alright.”
Your teeth sank into your bottom lip as you stood by the door and felt embarrassment crawling up your cheeks. “I’m sorry. I was so sure…”
“Don’t ever apologize for such things,” Jaehyun cut you off, and you faced him with insecure eyes. “You were scared, and your feelings are valid. Nothing else matters.”
The majority of people would have brushed it off. But Jaehyun had taken you seriously the moment he saw you all alone, so scared.
Only later that night, when you were ready for bed again, it sank into you that this was probably what the other women had talked about when the topic revolved around Jaehyun last week. Finally, even for only a short moment, he had shown you this part of him as well.
“Where is my mattress?” you then asked when you came out of the bathroom.
“In the bedroom,” Jaehyun deadpanned. “Come.”
You raised a brow, but willingly followed him to the bedroom where you found your mattress lying next to the bed. 
“Tonight, you can stay here. Just…” You heard him gulp. “... just… in case you feel unsafe and scared again.”
He made it sound like you had requested for it, which you surely hadn’t, and you both knew. It was Jaehyun’s manner of offering you some kind of security and solace, just because he wanted to, not because you had asked for it.
“Thank you.”
“And next time when I have the day off, I’m going to show you how to shoot with a gun.”
“... what?”
For the first time since you had come here, you didn’t cry yourself to sleep. You didn’t know whether it was because of the shock that was still lingering or because of someone else sleeping right next to you, even though not on the same bed.
“Jaehyun?”
“... Hm?”
You had your back turned to the side of the bed and were facing the wall from your small mattress, eyes wide open while listening to Jaehyun fiddling with the blanket just two feet away from you.
If you had faced him at this moment, you didn’t know if you would still have said what you were about to say.
“I take it back. You’re better than all of them combined.”
He knew what you meant, and despite his missing audible answer, you were sure he had gratefully acknowledged it.
When Jaehyun’s breathing rhythm became quieter and more regular, you could finally relax as well, a foreign nervousness falling off your shoulders and letting you drift off to sleep shortly after.
You felt so safe like never in your life before.
____
“What exactly happened with that man, if I may ask?” 
You were standing in the backyard, Jaehyun getting the gun prepared while you watched him.
“I thought you had all the background info about me before I got here already?” 
“Not the details. I only know about a guy who’s stalked a popular ballerina in Seoul. She dragged him to court, but the judge decided that the evidence was too insufficient and that he’d most likely get free. Since the ballerina claimed he had threatened her again, she was put in this program voluntarily.”
“I didn’t claim that he threatened me,” you disagreed. “He sent a letter. With a death threat. To my home. But the judge said it cannot be proven that it’s from him.”
“I only told you what I heard.”
Yet, he had still taken your fears from the night before seriously. You wondered whether, if Jaehyun had been responsible for your case back there in Seoul, you would still be here now.
“It started with a simple bouquet of roses after every performance shortly after I joined the Korea National Ballet a year ago,” you started. “I just returned from the Netherlands and it was my first engagement as a professional ballerina. At first, I found it flattering to already have such a dedicated fan. He’s a man in his early thirties, neat, groomed and very polite. Until he made his intentions clear and I rejected his advances. That’s when he stopped being polite.”
“That’s where it usually starts,” Jaehyun noted.
You nodded. “Admiration turned into obsession with bouquets that got even bigger and more pompous. With letters that claimed his unconditional love for me. With presents that I’m too embarrassed to talk about. Then, obsession turned into harassment. With phone calls from different numbers over one hundred times a day. With a date’s car tires all slashed. With fake online profiles of mine where manipulated nudes popped up. Back then, I still thought I could handle this all by myself. I’m a grown up woman. I’m responsible for myself.”
“When did it change?” Jaehyun questioned. “When did you report everything to the police?”
“When I started getting texts like ‘Better pull the curtains together when you sleep’ right after I went to bed and ‘Home sweet home’ with a picture of me entering my apartment building. I never disclosed my home address to anyone.”
Jaehyun was lost for words.
“And what did the police do? Nothing. Because they had too little conception of such things, they told me. The guy never signed his gifts, never showed up physically again as well. Presents, calls and letters aren’t a crime. And they didn’t take the phone calls as well as texts seriously enough to track the source as they claimed they wouldn't be able to do it.”
“I’m sorry.” Jaehyun released the gun’s safety catch, and you heard it in his voice that, in comparison to the detective from the plane, he was sincere about it. “There are detectives who care and detectives who don’t care. After all, we’re all normal people. But they were clearly people who didn't care enough.”
“I’m not alone with this situation. There was a case where the stalker waited under the girl’s bed. Another one waited in her roommate’s closet. Another one waited for her right on the streets. And they all ended up dead. I don’t want to join them. I’m only lucky to be here, because my father had the money to. These other girls weren't so lucky. But I want to be lucky and strong for all the girls who couldn’t be and can’t be in the future.”
“What do you mean?”
“I will come back home,” you responded determinedly. “I will come back home and get him imprisoned. This time, forever.”
“I haven’t encountered a woman like you until now,” Jaehyun concluded after some beats of silence passed by in which his gaze didn’t divert from yours.
You furrowed. “Like me?”
He nodded and held up the gun. “So fearless.”
You took it as a compliment and smiled. You hadn’t heard such kind words out of his mouth until now. But then again, this was the first proper conversation you two shared since you lived together.
“Here.” Jaehyun showed you how to properly hold the weapon. “Make sure this finger is here and this one here. Right now, it’s not locked anymore. If you pull the trigger…”
“... it will shoot.”
“Yes. Here, let me lock it again and then try releasing the safety catch yourself.”
You took the gun from his hand after he was done and placed it in your own palms. Positioning your fingers where Jaehyun had shown you, you weren’t able to get it right on the first attempt.
“Your index finger must be here.” Jaehyun touched it and moved it around. “And your thumb… right. Here. But a bit lower for a better grip.” He gently motioned this finger down as well. 
Where you had loathed his touches before, you still minded them. But oddly, not in the same, negative way. No, better say in a way that made you wish he would have his fingers placed on yours for a little bit longer and one that made you crave for more than these little touches.
“You wanna know how to aim at your target?”
Excitedly, you nodded and heard Jaehyun chuckle. For the first time, very genuinely. It was like last night had broken the ice between you two that should have melted weeks ago already.
“Hello? Someone home? It’s me, Rosie!”
“Quick.” Jaehyun took the gun from your hands and hid it behind his back.
“We’re outside!” you called out and saw Rosie turning around the corner a moment later. 
“Hey you two! What a beautiful sunday, right? I hope next week, the weather will be just as beautiful, because then… drum roll please… we’re going to hold our annual spring festival!” She lifted up her hand and presented a few colorful flyers to you. “Please come, okay? There will be boots, an animal competition and a stage for karaoke!”
Immediately, you were hooked. “Of course!” But then, it crossed your mind that you were only allowed to go outside with Jaehyun’s confirmation and instantly fell back into silence, unsure whether to face him.
“You two have fun together. I have volunteered to patrol that day, so I’ll be kind of there anyway.” 
Jaehyun had indeed given you indirect permission!
“Oh, it’s going to be so cool, trust me!” Rosie clapped her hands. “Okay, I’m going to inform the next house! I’m telling you, the people coming into the village center less than you are the Schmidts! See you next week at the latest, alright? And you, we’ll be seeing each other tomorrow at poker, okay?”
You hadn’t known that you were invited again, that you had gotten welcomed with open arms and accepted into this community. But it made you very happy, and you nodded.
“Of course. See you tomorrow.”
Later that day, Jaehyun placed a small object on the table that you hadn’t seen in quite a while. Since primary school, to be exact.
“This is for you.”
“What’s this?” you asked, even though the answer was quite clear. 
You were sleeping in the living room again, but somehow, since the night you had spent by Jaehyun’s side, you felt a bit more lonely than before. You weren’t crying yourself to sleep at all anymore, yet the feeling of loneliness still lingered. 
And it was not the kind of loneliness that made you long to hear a family member’s voice, it was more than that. This, you were sure of.
“An MP3 player,” Jaehyun announced and crinkled up his nose. “I figured, if you were to spend your time here with no connection to the outside world aside from the TV, you might as well spend it with your passion.” He placed a pair of earphones next to the device. “You can use it to listen to music only or to dance. Just as you please.”
You looked at Jaehyun, and saw it clearly now. With the person who had made you feel so unwelcome the day you had landed in this unfamiliar country, he had nothing in common anymore. 
This was not only a side of him, this was him. 
The man Mrs. Jones had talked about who had searched the shelves high and low for exactly this device. The man Rosie saw buying stomach medicine and the one who had helped grandmother Anh when she had fallen. 
This man had finally shown himself to you too in all his aspects.
You didn’t know what had made Jaehyun accept you for who you were to him, but somewhere along the way, he had settled with this arrangement.
And you were getting adjusted to your new life as well, you realized as your features softened. 
“Thank you.”
____
When the day of the festival finally came around, you stood with Rosie in front of grandmother Anh’s booth and tasted her dumplings together.
“My dear girls, you need to try these too! I experimented with another filling, so please give me feedback.”
The old woman shifted another plate in your direction, but you and Rosie waved aside in unison.
“Granny, we’re so stuffed already!” Rosie said. “And you don’t even want us to pay! Leave these for your actual paying guests.”
“Alright, alright! But I’ll make them for our next poker night! And then, you’ll tell me how they taste!”
“Okay!” you agreed. “We’re going to Mrs. Jones’ booth now, grandmother Anh. See you later!”
Linked with Rosie’s arm, you made your way through different booths, passing by people from neighboring villages as well as the stage, until you reached Mrs. Jones at the other side of the festival ground.
“Hello my favorite girls!” she greeted you cheerily. “Look what I have! A cotton candy machine! You can each have one for free!”
“Are you sure you can operate this?” Rosie skeptically raised a brow. “When people serve these, they look so professional, but you haven’t ever used one before, or am I wrong?”
“That’s not true!” the woman whined playfully. “Don’t be so rude, Rosalind Richards, or I’ll have a talk with your father!”
“Guess I’m not one of her favorite girls anymore!” Rosie whispered to you, and you chuckled while Mrs. Jones prepared the cotton candy for each of you.
In the end, the outcome wasn’t even that bad, she only needed to practice a bit more. With the cotton candies in each of your hands, you and Rosie walked over to watch the animal competition. 
People had brought their dogs and walked with them up the stage where they demonstrated different tricks. You and your friend were standing there for the entire time, eating your cotton candy and watching the dogs show off what they had practiced for. When the competition was over, you rode a few rounds on the small ferris wheel and visited the other booths, only finishing your tour when the sun was already setting.
Your last stop was a shooting gallery where you met Jaehyun overlooking the situation. He had been here since the morning, so you assumed he was off duty now as he wasn’t in his uniform anymore, standing at the sidelines, joking with another colleague. 
You had never seen him effortlessly interacting with other people in daily situations before, and for the first time, you perceived him as the normal man that he was outside of your fake marriage. Casually standing there, talking, laughing. A normal man whose dark hair was blowing in the wind, his sleeves rolled up, his arms folded in front of his chest.
A perfectly normal man who was also very attractive. 
As his head slowly moved to the side, your gazes met, and you gulped, somehow embarrassed that you had gotten caught, although it was only natural to look at your partner. 
Jaehyun was a man you could have easily felt attracted to if you had met under normal circumstances, not as your fake husband and your taciturn protector.
You had only failed to see clearly until this day.
“Oh look, it’s your husband Jay!” Rosie then finally noticed as well. “Let’s go over to them!”
A smile spread across Jaehyun’s face and he lifted his hand to wave at you. When you approached his group though, he got called over to the booth and took a rifle in his hand. Apparently, he had lined up to shoot.
“Oh let’s watch him!” Rosie urged.
“Jay is our best shooter,” one of his colleagues said proudly. “Look closely.”
He was leaning over the booth’s counter, his rolled up sleeves revealing his muscular arms and veiny hands. His entire body was tensed up, every single nerve concentrated on bringing down the targets. The air was almost static due to the tension as even other people stopped to watch.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Before you could even process what had happened, Jaehyun had shot down all three targets at the first go, and the spectators were rejoicing. 
“Wow!” Rosie exclaimed. “What was that? I couldn’t even follow the happenings!”
Indeed! You watched Jaehyun giving back the rifle and having presented the prizes in the back of the booth which offered everything, from giant plushies, different toys to knick-knacks. Knowing Jaehyun, he would probably take a pass on that, so you were quite surprised when he chose something from the knick-knacks.
You couldn’t see what it exactly was, but as he shifted around to you, Jaehyun approached you with a keychain dangling between his fingers. It was a yellow elephant that wore a red tie. It looked hella ridiculous and childish - but not to you. 
Stretching out his hand, Jaehyun held it out to you, and you were stunned, not exactly knowing where to turn your attention to: the gift or Jaehyun who looked at you with a gaze you had never seen on him before.
As you didn’t move, you felt Rosie’s elbow poking into your back, pulling you back to reality. No, you shouldn’t behave like a dumbfounded twelve-year-old, this was officially your husband after all!
So you raised your hand and took the keychain between your fingers. It was a plush knick-knack that probably wasn’t valuable at all. But Jaehyun had chosen this one among everything he had been offered to give it to you. And you would treasure it dearly.
You smiled. “Thank you.”
“It’s late. Let’s go home?”
You nodded and said goodbye to Rosie before you followed Jaehyun across the festival ground. You had trouble keeping up with his steps among all these people, so Jaehyun did what every other good husband would do: he reached for your hand and kept it in his until you had left the premises.
That was only for the show in front of all these people, you kept telling yourself the entire time. You had to prove to them that you were a happily married couple, and such couples did things like these.
The keychain, which you had attached to your purse, dangled with each step you took as you raised your voice, “Jaehyun…”
“Hm?”
“Why are you here?” you wanted to know. “You know my story, but what about yours? Is this your department?”
You spent every day alongside this man, yet knew nothing about the true him. At first, you hadn’t cared either. But the more time you spent by his side, the more it irked you that he was still such an enigma.
You thought he’d stonewall, but he gave you a clear answer, “I’m the NYPD, as a matter of fact.”
“Oh, I see. New York, hm.” You nodded. “And… why are you here?” 
The way his fingers cramped up around yours made you freeze despite having to keep up with his pace while walking. You had hit a sensitive nerve, you immediately became aware of that.
“I’m sor-”
“You really want to know?” he asked back. 
��Yeah.” You shrugged. 
“I did something a good detective should have never done.”
And with this sentence, he wasn’t about to tell you more. He didn’t need to express this, you were able to read the atmosphere. But that only kept your thoughts spinning. What was something so terrible that a detective could do that got him transferred to another area of responsibility?
You didn’t believe that Jaehyun was a bad person. 
He was cold at times, but an entirely cold person wouldn’t have let you sleep on the bed while they were enduring back problems. He was grumpy at times, but an entirely grumpy person wouldn’t have warmed up to the point of letting a smile slip every now and then. He pretended not to care at times, but a person who entirely didn’t care wouldn’t make sure that the people around them would be well and healthy. 
He was crude at times, but an entirely crude person wouldn’t have held your hand until you were home.
____
“What are you doing?” Jaehyun asked you when he came home from work that day and found you sitting at the edge of the bathtub with the bathroom’s door wide open.
“Dyeing my hair.”
“Pink? Red?” he asked.
“Magenta. It was quite an adventure until I had the base, but I think I’m there now,” you explained while you stirred the color in the small bowl in your palm. A huge amount had already been put on your head.
“Isn’t it too…” He stopped.
“Too flamboyant?” You intentionally used the word he had described you with the first time you had met. “Probably. But, just in case someone will ever make a connection between me and the ballerina from Seoul, they will dismiss the thought immediately since my English is almost flawless and my hair doesn’t match the color.”
Jaehyun seemed to ponder about it, but then confirmed your way of thinking. “I think you’re right.”
“Besides…” You smiled mildly. “Ever since I was little, I was never allowed to alter my appearance. A ballerina has to look perfect where perfect means we all have to look the same. Same hair, same makeup, same figure. It’s kind of nice to try something new after all this time.”
“Okay.” Jaehyun held up a plastic bag. “Grandmother Anh gave me these dumplings when I dropped by her restaurant today. I’ll prepare them for dinner, okay?”
“Alright!”
“Hurry up, they’ll be done in a few.”
“Got it.”
You quickly finished dyeing your hair and wrapped it all up with a shower cap before you went to the dinner table where Jaehyun had not only prepared the dumplings, but also different side dishes such as rice and vegetables.
You hadn’t known that he was such a good cook, but thinking back, Jaehyun had always prepared more extravagant dishes in comparison to you who just threw rice and vegetables together.  In fact, you had never quite learned how to cook.
This was the first time that you and Jaehyun ate dinner together and the first time that he had cooked for you, too.
“You look ridiculous,” he commented while he scooped rice on each of your plates. But was this a chuckle that had accompanied his voice?
“It’s not quite done yet. Wait until it’s washed out and dried. I’ll be the only pink-haired ballerina walking on this earth!”
You threw your hands in the air, almost tipping over a bowl, but you didn’t mind. Somehow, this was a very good feeling - to finally make your own decisions for your own body, your own appearance. It was only a minor change, but to you, it felt like you could conquer the world. 
“Enjoy the meal!” you announced and then dug in. 
By the first bite you could tell that Jaehyun was not only a good cook, but an exceptionally good cook. This, you also told him, which turned him all flustered. He then asked about your day to which you answered that you had thought of finally picking up dancing again after much struggle.
“Why did you struggle?”
You lowered your head. “Because the last time I danced, it only brought me misery.”
You were at your last bite, but suddenly didn’t feel like finishing anymore. Before, you had felt something like easiness, even happiness almost for quite a constant while. Now, your thoughts got thrown back to your stalker who was roaming around in freedom.
“If it’s your passion, you shouldn’t lose sight of it. Because you don’t know whether you will still be able to enjoy it whenever you want in your future.”
You didn’t know what he meant with that, but he wasn’t keen on explaining either as he gathered your plates and brought them over to the sink the moment after.
It was the first evening in a long while that you peacefully enjoyed without a burdened heart. You wouldn’t mind this becoming your routine.
Later that evening, when you had washed out the dye and dried your hair, you hid in the backyard of your house where no one could see you with earplugs in and the MP3 player attached to your body, picking up some ballet moves again.
Sheltered from the whole outside world, you tried to let the fact sink in that you were safe here and that no one would come to make your life miserable after a performance. Here, you could actually be at peace again.
And then, you danced until it turned dark.
When you returned to the inside, Jaehyun had accidentally fallen asleep on the couch with a book on his chest. On tip-toes, you sneaked up to him and wanted to take the book out of his hand to put a blanket over him when something suddenly urged you to halt.
The first two buttons of his white shirt were open, and right there, between the first and second one, you spotted a scar.
Of course. A detective always went hand-in-hand with danger. He was your husband, you saw him every day, yet this was the first time that you noticed this visible mark on his chest. How many more dangers had he encountered so far? How many more bullets had he caught during his young career? You knew nothing about it.
You stretched out your hand, determined to touch the spot, but snapped out of your trance-like state just before you laid your fingers on him. In your head, you scolded yourself. What in the hell were you thinking, behaving like such a creep?
You tried to calm yourself down when suddenly, Jaehyun’s hand snatched forward and wrapped around your wrist before you could even blink. You got bent forward over the backrest with his other arm then enclosed around your neck, his eyes full with surprise as he brought your face close to his.
“You’re so beautiful.” Barely a whisper from him.
You stared at each other for a moment in near disbelief, and you didn’t know where the ground and where the ceiling was anymore as everything around you seemed to rotate. Your whole body felt so hot as though you were suffering from a fever, but your heart beating out of its usual rhythm told you that the reason for your body reacting this way was nowhere near something rational things could explain.
A part of you wanted to break free, another part wanted to look into his soft eyes just a bit longer.
“It’s you!” With a sigh of relief, Jaehyun let go of you and fell back down on the couch. “I wasn’t able to recognize you at first because of your new hair! I thought it was a thief or something!”
“Ha.” You couldn’t even explain the sounds coming out of your mouth anymore, and thus decided to remain quiet about it. “I’ll go take a shower.”
“Okay. I’ll go to bed then. Good night.”
When the door fell close behind you, you leaned against the bathroom’s tiles, trying to calm yourself down once again. But even when you placed your palms on your cheeks a few minutes later, you were still hot all over.
Staring at your face in the mirror over the sink, you gritted your teeth, having tried to fight against this feeling for so long. But looking at your reflection, you came to the realization that this was the expression of someone who had lost this fight a long time ago.
You had never wanted this to happen, because you wanted a way out of this fake marriage someday. 
Now, it seemed like the exit door was blocked by your own feelings.
____
“Can I tell you something?” Rosie asked you the next time you gathered to play poker. “Because you’re my friend now, I want to be honest with you.”
Mrs. Jones was currently giving out the cards, and while you collected them, you nodded. “Go ahead. Is it my hair? You’ve been staring at it forever. I like it though.”
“I love the color, but it obviously looks like you did it yourself. Why didn’t you call me? I could have helped!”
“I’m sorry, it was an urge, I’m very impulsive. So, what is it then?”
“To be honest, in the beginning, you and Jay didn’t quite radiate the happiness of newlyweds to me. You were so distant and cold towards each other,” Rosie laid out her first impression. “I thought it was because of the cultural difference. I know from grandmother Anh that in Asia, public display of affection is not very common and you both immigrated from there. But it was like…” She halted. “Like you were strangers. Not familiar with each other at all. As though you had just met.”
You didn’t know how to properly react to this revelation, and Rosie wanted to apologize right away before grandmother Anh stepped in to support her, “I second that. You tried so hard to conceal it and pretended to be a happy couple, but my old eyes can see beyond that. When he bought the music player for you though… I knew that something had entirely changed between you two.”
Between you two?
You had only assumed that for you things had changed since the day of the festival. When he had looked a little too good that day. When he had smiled a little too genuine. When he had held your hand a little too long.
But never for him either.
“Everything has changed,” grandmother Anh continued. “You look so in love, just like when my late husband was courting me back then.”
You pressed your lips together to a fine line and you tried so hard not to blush, but to no avail as you looked into everyone’s eyes and encountered a smug grin from each side. 
No, you were wrong. The day of the festival was the day you had assumed first, admitting it to yourself the day you had picked up ballet again. But something had changed for you before all that. Slowly, continuously. And it was still in process.
“See?” Rosie teased. “This is how Jay looked as well when I told him exactly the same!”
“Quit joking,” you replied briefly, but your voice only came out as a whisper while the hotness wandered further to the very tips of your ears. “You’re giving out cards now or what?”
“Let me tell you something!” Mrs. Jones now meddled too, not wanting to be left out. “After so many years of marriage, I haven’t seen my husband getting so stressed about buying a gift for me, not even on my birthday!”
But you hadn’t even talked to each other regularly back then when Jaehyun was looking for the MP3 player for you. 
It just didn’t make sense to you.
Or were you just in denial because it couldn’t actually be possible? After everything that had happened between you two, Jaehyun had grown fond of you from the very beginning already, even before you? 
“Oh dear, why are you making such a face?” Grandmother Anh sounded worried as your hands still laid on the table, not touching the cards you had been given while everyone else had already picked up theirs. “Are you not feeling well?”
You were certainly not feeling well. Your stomach had turned upside down, and you suddenly felt like you couldn’t breathe, on the verge of a collapse. While it had become so obvious to everyone around you, you had been left in the dark this entire time.
“I need to get fresh air.”
You arose, pushing the chair under you away with your legs and hurried to the entrance door before you thought you were going to run out of air entirely now. But even the outside didn’t make a difference, and you were supporting your arms against the wall while breathing in and out heavily.
After a while, you heard the entrance door open and close again, and judging by the shoes that you could see from your position, Rosie had followed you to the outside. 
“I called Jaehyun to pick you up.”
“What?!” Your eyes widened and you felt your stomach turn. In your hot ears, you heard it ringing while simultaneously, your loud heartbeats tried to steal the show. “I’m all fine!”
“Yeah,” she chuckled. “But I thought you’d rather want to be with your husband today than with us, and this is a good excuse to leave the round. Just pretend to be a little dizzy.”
“Rosie!” you called her out while the next moment, you heard fast footsteps approaching in your direction. “I’m not coming to your birthday barbecue anymore next week!”
“I know you’re lying.” She winked.
“Are you okay?!” Jaehyun came to a halt in front of you, totally out of breath and beads of sweat visible on his forehead. He only needed a brief moment to take a breather before he faced you, his features drawn with apprehension, his eyes mirroring pure concern. 
The next moment, his palms were on your cheeks, and he gasped, feeling your heat burning against his skin.
“You’re all glowing and hot!” Jaehyun stated in shock. “Do you have a fever?”
“I-I’m… I’m all fine!” you tried to brush it off, but his hands cupping your face possibly made it only worse as you felt like melting from within.
“Jay, you need to take her home, okay?” Rosie persuaded him. “The gathering is over. Have a good night!”
With these words, she turned around and closed the door behind her, leaving you alone with Jaehyun. Despite having been alone with him so often already, with all this new knowledge, everything was different now.
You were jittery and all nervous around him, having problems looking into his eyes, and he noticed of course - but for all the wrong reasons.
“Come, we’re going home! You’re sleeping in the bed tonight, no questions asked. I’ll get a few more blankets so you’ll have it all warm in case you’re catching a fever. Tomorrow, you’ll be doing fine again, no worry. It’s probably the change in weather since it’s been unusually hot these past days for spring.”
You hadn’t ever seen him so talkative and openly expressing worry, and it somehow took you by surprise. Goosebumps raised all over your arm as Jaehyun’s hand slid down your side and his fingers intertwined with yours.
There were no other people aside from you out here at this hour, there was no need to pretend being a couple - yet, he held your hand as you walked all the way up to your house in silence.
It didn’t feel real to you.
But the night sky was your witness.
____
A few days later, long after nighttime had fallen, you were lying on your mattress, still wide awake like the nights before. 
You hadn’t noticed until now, but your life wasn’t so dull anymore. You weren’t on the verge of depression anymore in contrast to the first month in your new home. You had made new friends, had picked up your passion for ballet again, trained during daytime, and spent the evenings with Jaehyun, cooking, eating and then watching a movie or taking a stroll on the hill behind your house together. 
It was an entire different life from the one you had lived back at home in Seoul, but nothing you enjoyed less. No, which you enjoyed even more, if you said so yourself. 
A warm feeling embraced you every time the clock approached the hour your husband would return home, and even though you saw each other every day, it was like seeing him for the first time, your heart almost jumping out of your chest whenever he walked through the door, greeting you with a smile.
You were able to clearly name that feeling now that made you so excited, you were barely able to sleep at night while Jaehyun was lying in the room next to you, sleeping peacefully.
Or… could he not either?
There were noises coming from the bedroom. You sat straight up on your mattress, feeling a rush of hotness wash over you with your heart beating out of its usual rhythm. Flipping the blanket over, your naked feet touched the wooden floor, but you didn’t bother slipping into your shoes.
You tiptoed to the bedroom to make sure that your ears hadn’t misled you, but you swore you could hear him walking up and down in there as well. With a trembling hand, you placed your fingers on the handle, but before you could even think about how in the hell you could explain what you were doing in front of Jaehyun’s bedroom in the middle of the night, only dressed in your light pajamas, the door suddenly opened from the other side.
Jaehyun was just as shocked to see you as you were shocked to see him. You wanted to stutter something about sleepwalking, but as you made eye contact, you realized that he wasn’t expecting an explanation from you.
He wasn’t expecting anything as he closed the last remaining gap between you two, his hands cupping your face again, this time to pull you against his chest. 
And as his lips met yours, you now were assured that he had lied awake every night like you as well. 
____
With hasty movements, Jaehyun unbuttoned your pajama top all while not letting his lips slip from yours, his fingers rather fumbling, but knowing exactly and precisely what they were doing and the carelessness most likely stemming from pent-up anticipation, because he was finally getting what he had wanted all along:
You.
You felt him smiling into the next kiss that came rather sloppy in his hurry as your shirt glided from your shoulders, the palpable traces along your skin getting replaced by Jaehyun’s fingers that drew down the same path in a feathery-light manner. 
He was holding himself back until it almost hurt, you felt it as his fingers’ grips were first tight, then froze and softened lastly. But you didn’t want him to hold back. You had both been holding back for way too long already.
Both of your hands slung around Jaehyun’s neck as you deepened the kiss until it almost became hard for you to breathe, that was how wildly and hungrily you were craving for each other. With a little jump, you also hooked your legs around his waist, feeling him supporting you instinctively from the bottom with a strong grip.
You moved from the door frame to the bed where Jaehyun seated himself down and placed you on his lap, but you had no intention of moving away as your fingers vanished under his shirt and pulled it over his head in one swift motion.
But Jaehyun’s lips didn’t find their way back to your mouth. Instead, they traveled down the side of your neck, eliciting a moan from you in the process, and stopped by the raising of your breasts. You threw your head back, your nails digging into the flesh of his shoulders, leaving red marks as he took your nipple between his lips.
Sucking sounds mixed with the audible rhythm of your heavy breathing, thwarted by suppressed squeals whenever he bit into it, pulling it between his teeth and teasing you until you couldn’t take it anymore. So Jaehyun then wrapped his arms around you and flipped you both around.
“You have no idea for how long I’ve been holding back,” he told you with an expression on his face that you had never encountered before as he was hovering over you. 
Lust, desire, and so much… passion. 
Yes, you for sure had had no idea. But you luckily did now. 
Strands of your red hair had gotten disheveled, partially disturbing your view, and he brushed them off, smiling. For a short while, you shared a moment of loving understanding, and your heart thumbed so fast against your chest, you were scared he was going to hear it.
There was a distinct feeling growing inside of you that didn’t want to admit. That you couldn’t confess, not even to yourself. Because you knew, this was only temporary.
“Then show me,” you challenged him.
“Very well.”
His grin widened, revealing his teeth even in the semi-darkness when his mouth came back down on yours, his hands roaming across almost every single inch of your body as though he wanted to keep a map of your body in his mind. As though he shared the exact same thought with you:
That this was not permanent, struggling with holding himself back to prolong the experience and going through with the act as fast as possible because he had been looking forward to it for so long already.
Jaehyun’s lips left yours, passing by your neck and tracing down to your stomach where he placed butterfly kisses around your navel, and you shuddered from the soft touches that you had been missing out on for a very long time already.
Your hands disappeared in the thickness of his hair as his lips further approached your nether regions, and you gave him credit for still being so patient when release was so close as it made you almost go crazy in contrast.
Tender warmth covered your core, the fabric of your pajama bottoms being the only barrier between the two of you, and you craved for nothing more than to feel his tongue inside you right now, feel how it dipped into your wetness, his mouth doing the same as he had done to your breasts before.
But Jaehyun’s patience had reached its limit. There was nothing left of it anymore.
After several moments of internal conflict, Jaehyun decided to not withhold anymore and to go for it instead. At the end, he had the entire night, and he would make use of every single second he had left.
The mattress gave in under you when he hooked his fingers into the waistband of your pajama bottoms after he had removed his own boxers, the feeling of his weight then carefully pressing back down on you, now the both of you entirely naked. It felt so surreal to you as you locked your gazes, and you needed a moment to process this situation, to let the fact sink in that this was indeed real.
Then, as though he had just done the same, Jaehyun eased between your thighs and started to enter you. The night was still so long, but it felt like he didn’t want to lose any time, and neither did you. You hadn’t noticed how wet you had gotten throughout the foreplay which had made his entrance so easy, almost imperceptible.
Your pupils rolled to the ceiling as he adjusted and you finally felt him inside you fully. You couldn’t quite remember the last man you had been intimate with, even though it had happened only shortly before moving here, but somehow, Jaehyun had clouded your memories of every other man in your life who wasn’t him at this point.
As a matter of fact, on the contrary, you now knew that you had never desired another man this much. Every fiber of your body was longing for him so badly that despite him being right here, it ached so much not to have him even closer. And that wasn’t even physically possible.
“What’s wrong?” Jaehyun asked suddenly, having noticed your conflicted expression and coming to a halt.
You shook your head. No, nothing was wrong. Everything was perfect, it was almost unbelievable.
“I-... I…” You were so overwhelmed by your feelings, the words nearly slipped carelessly out of your mouth. Luckily, for you though, you were able to swallow all of them. Instead, you said, “I’m just so happy.”
The corners of Jaehyun’s lips tilted up, and he took this moment of sweetness to tenderly peck your lips and confess, “Me too. I’m happy too.”
Soft moans fell from your lips as he started moving inside of you again. His motions were deliberate and powerful, and you enjoyed every single thrust of his. Jaehyun was so excited, but put you first still, and you appreciated that.
There were times, his thrusts seemed insatiable as he rammed into you nearly in a trance, seeking for his release, but despite you enjoying these rough phases very much as well, he always calmed down and feeded you with slow, sensual pushes that put you on the verge of being delighted and desperately wanting more.
His lips were wet and warm against your lips when his hips got a rest on top of yours, and you were quick to hook your ankles around his waist when he picked up his pace for the nth time, but this time being the last that would finally bring the long awaited release, you both knew at that moment.
Jaehyun’s chest glistened with a paper thin layer of sweat, and your eyes wandered along his neck to his face where you watched him in awe changing his features to a more tensed one, working towards your orgasms. Your fingers slithered up his arms that were propped up to the left and right of yours, and you held tightly onto him, breaking your eye contact to not let his hard work go to waste and concentrate on yourself.
You bit into his arm as you came, and he let out a groan, whether it was because of your bite or because of him reaching his own heights as he released into the sheets next to you, you didn’t know. But at that moment, as you slipped out of this world for a few seconds, you wished that you could have this for the rest of your life.
Especially for - no, because of - what followed after.
Your grumpy and always stoic husband rolled onto the space next to you to take a rest, a smile spreading across his face that just wouldn’t vanish anymore as he turned his head aside and looked at you. And you genuinely felt the same. 
Instinctively, you moved over to him, and he stretched out his arms to pull you onto his chest where you laid yourself down. You didn’t say anything for a long time until you felt him pressing his lips on your forehead.
Now, you truly felt like you had arrived at home.
There, it was so warm, and so comfortable that you wanted to stay forever.
____
Rosie’s birthday barbecue took place the next day where the festival had been held weeks prior. If anything, you knew by now that her father, the pharmacist and major apparently, technically built this village. Aside from the pharmacy, he owned several other stores here.
Unfortunately, you had come all by yourself. 
Jaehyun had left early in the morning already, rudely awakened by a call from his supervisor, so you weren’t able to fully concentrate on celebrating Rosie’s big day right now as you wished, but for reasons that couldn’t wipe that grin from your face.
Your thoughts revolved around Jaehyun as well as around what had happened the night before - several times in different positions as though he had feared he was running out of time to do all this to you.
This morning, you had woken up with your limbs entangled and strands of your hair in his face, but he hadn’t complained. Instead, after getting the call, he had pulled you closer to him, lying in bed with you a few minutes more and even kissing you goodbye when he had walked out of the door.
You flushed when you recalled the memories.
“My, my! What’s that?” Rosie called you out as she took the seat next to you. “What’re you blushing for? Long night with your husband?”
“Rosie!” you called out indignantly, totally shocked, but she only laughed.
“Come on, nobody heard! Lucky you!”
You shook your head and shifted a small box in your friend’s direction. “Open it.”
“What are you doing?” Rosie feigned upset. “I told you to not get me anything!”
“Well, the gift shopping area in this village is very limited, but I didn’t want to come empty-handed.”
You could tell Rosie was very excited as her fingers fiddled with the ribbon that held the gift wrap together. As she untied it, a small, flat box was revealed.
“It’s not much, but where I come from, these are very trendy now, and I’m more of a personal gift giver than buying something random. My husband had to order them from the internet, but the rest was made by me. I hope you like it.”
Rosie stilled her motions. “Did you just say ‘my husband’?”
Did you? You gasped nearly inaudibly. You had never referred to him like this before, and truth to be told, you hadn’t even intended to do so now. It had just slipped somehow.
Your friend giggled. “Your husband always refers to you as ‘my wife’, and I found it odd that you hadn’t until now. Perhaps, it took you longer to get used to it, right?”
“...Right.” You kneaded your fingers in uncertainty.
“Are you kidding?!” Rosie then squealed as she opened her gift fully and pulled out a pearl bracelet. “It’s so cute!”
It was made of freshwater pearls in different colors that you had beaded yourself with all the colors Rosie liked the best. You had never seen her wearing jewelry, so she apparently didn’t want to bother taking them on and off.
“It’s an elastic band, so you don’t have to close and open it every morning. You can wear it all the time or take it off and put it on easily.”
Rosie pulled it over her hand and held her wrist against the sunlight. “Such pretty colors! Thank you so much! I will cherish this all my life! It’s a token of our friendship!”
She cuddled you a little bit too tight for your liking, but you didn’t mind. You hadn’t seen such an openly pure reaction to your gifts ever when you had given presents to your friends or family all along. And they had been more expensive and impressive than what you had given to Rosie.
Here, life was much easier. People seemed to be content and satisfied with the little things life had to offer, that was why they had chosen to stay in the countryside. You admired this mindset as people in the big city always thrived to achieve more and to be better than everyone else. 
You wanted to be more like Rosie and the villagers.
“Okay, let’s eat now! The meat is ready!”
You really wanted to enjoy the barbecue, and more often than not, you earnestly did. But watching Mr. and Mrs. Jones' banter-like but loving interactions, along with many other married and dating couples, made you long for something which you had never expected to be missing. 
“What is it, dear?” Grandmother Anh then asked you as most of the people were slowly finishing their meals and moved on to play with the children or to talk with each other. “You look so somber.”
You, among only a handful of other guests who were still eating, had remained in their seats. Next to you, there was an extra plate with food that hadn’t been touched yet.
“Grandmother Anh…” You turned to her, your eyes expressing exactly what was going on inside of you. “Is it possible to miss someone so much, your heart hurts even though you had only been together in the morning?”
Because that was how you were feeling now. You wanted to be around Jaehyun all day, all night, not missing out on his presence even a single moment. Where you had loathed his existence before, it was all you could think about now and how you’d probably die of a heartache if he was ever gone.
You had never experienced something close to this.
“Oh dear…” Grandmother Anh squeezed your arm and smiled compassionately. “I miss my husband starting from the moment I open my eyes in the morning. And I even felt like that when he was still with me. We weren’t separated for a single day, and I know that even now, he’s with me.”
Because they loved each other wholeheartedly. You couldn’t say the same about what Jaehyun felt for you.
“But why are you so upset right now, dear?” she asked you. “He’s here now.”
“... what?”
You looked up and spotted Jaehyun walking down the street in your direction. You suppressed the urge to blink a few times in case this wasn’t real. But grandmother Anh had just said so, and he would be standing right in front of you not too long from now.
Suddenly, you were all nervous and excited like a child on the first day of school. Jumping out of your chair, hitting the table’s edge in the process and flushing to your cheeks, you didn’t quite know what to do at first. You wanted to run towards him and jump into the safety of his arms like this morning, but were too shy to do so.
What if he rejected you?
What if last night and this morning were an exception?
What if he had returned to being the reserved and taciturn Jaehyun from the beginning?
These were thoughts that were running through your head when you were standing there awkwardly to welcome him.
“I…” you then started when he stopped right in front of you, his mien not quite expressive enough for you to read. “I saved you some meat and potato salad.”
You didn’t know what you were saying, you were only trying to downplay this awkwardness that had weighed down the lighthearted atmosphere of the party as Jaehyun also clearly didn’t know how to behave after your intimate encounters.
“Are there n-”
But your words got stuck in your throat as Jaehyun stretched out his arms and cupped your glowing cheeks with his palms. It was almost magical how instantly, you were able to calm down. Then, he pulled you towards him, covering your lips with his as though he had been waiting all day only to do that.
As he kissed you there, in front of everyone, chastely, but also deeply, you knew that this wasn’t an act. This was not staged for the villagers to believe that you were a truly married couple.
This was honest. His feelings were real.
“God, I’ve wanted to do that all day,” he admitted, tucking a strand of your hair that had gotten loose behind your hair. “I thought time would never pass.”
And you were on the same page.
You were still on the same page when the front door of your house closed behind you later that evening and Jaehyun shoved you against the door, devouring all of you with an open mouth and his tongue, his fingers locked with yours in a tight grip, pinned against the wall above your head.
You were still on the same page when he bent you over the kitchen counter, not even showing the slightest patience by undressing you clothing for clothing as he just dragged your pants down and pushed into you from behind with a long-suppressed groan that made you scream in excitement.
You were still on the same page when you laid your palms flat on the surface in the illusion of getting support, moving along his length to meet his thrusts whenever he pulled out to just slam back into you full-force, because you couldn’t take being apart from him for even a second.
You were still on the same page when you were shaking from past-orgasm spasm, his cum dripping down your hips as he had released on your back, and he carried you on his hands to the bedroom with the words,
“I’m not done yet.”
It was raw.
And it was real.
____
For the fifth morning in a row, you woke up next to Jaehyun. And every time, it still felt so surreal to you that you wanted to give yourself a pinch to make sure this was real. But whenever you turned to his side, his arms tightly wrapped around you, and looked into his eyes that were so sincere and clear, you didn’t mind if this was a dream after all if only you wouldn’t wake up from it.
But today, his expression was clouded, and you could tell something was bothering him gravely that he couldn’t let go of.
“What is it?” you asked him, barely awake yet, but irritated that he wasn’t cuddling with you as usual. “Did something happen?”
It was odd. The fact that you could live with a person for so long and still know nothing about them. That was what Jaehyun told you the next moment.
“What do you mean?”
“That you don’t know my biggest secret yet. And that it might make you hate me.”
You feared that your whole world would teeter under your feet the further he spoke about what he had to confess to you. At this point, you loved him so much, you didn’t know what could possibly make you hate him. After all, he was a detective, and one of the good ones.
The last thing he would have done was kill an innocent person.
… right?
Jaehyun’s struggles were almost palpable for you as he inhaled and exhaled deeply, the muscles on his chest straining and never seeming to relax anymore as he withdrew into a deep hole of silence.
Minutes passed without him crawling out of it, and you sat up yourself, leaning against the headboard while Jaehyun was leaning forward, not facing each other. You wanted to hug him from the back to give him comfort, but also sensed that this would only restrain him from crossing over the final line he was so close to reaching.
And he really wanted to pass it.
“I could never hate you,” you told him. “I l-...” You gulped. “You’re a good person. What would ever make me hate you?”
“Not even knowing that I ruined someone’s life?”
There it was. The elephant in the room that rendered you totally motionless and emotionless. Ruining someone’s life was a wide term and could come in many shapes and forms, each that had a different impact on the victim, and the culprit. 
You desperately wanted to know Jaehyun’s dimension, and you knew he desperately, finally wanted to tell you.
“Explain to me. Has it got something to do with the scar on your chest?”
“Yes. As a detective, my job is to protect the victims. But I failed to do so once when I purposely hurt them.”
“How so?”
Jaehyun bent further forward, and you perceived how he lifted his hands to ruffle his hair in aggravation before he continued, “Last week, at Rosie’s birthday party when I got called to my supervisor, I told you it was about my case.”
You nodded. You hadn’t pushed the topic, because if Jaehyun had wanted to talk, he would have come forward. And now, it was apparently the time.
“This case has brought me here to this witness protection program. I’m clearing my name and serving my sentence, because I hurt a victim. The trial is long finished since the victim decided not to press charges, but hurting a hostage is not seen as a peccadillo among the police nonetheless. After I got suspended for a few months, I got sent here to prove myself again while working in another unit and eventually return to the NYPD.”
You had a hard time processing what Jaehyun tried to get into your head. Inwardly, you were repeating every single syllable until they settled.
“I ruined a life. That hostage, a woman… I shot at her,” he pressed bitterly through gritted teeth. “There, you have it. The reason to hate me.”
Your brow arched. “I don’t quite understand. Why did you shoot at a hostage?”
Being nosy was one of your characteristics, but the best part of it was that you never judged a situation before you got all the details, and you hadn’t collected enough details to waive Jaehyun’s action as something bad yet.
“The kidnapper was holding her hostage with a gun pointed at her head.” 
It was difficult for Jaehyun to speak about this situation, you could tell from the way he expressed himself, with hitches and deep breathers in between, but you gave him all the time he needed.
You lifted your hand and touched his back in a reassuring gesture, scared he would shy away, but still wanted to try. Instead of retreating, you felt his muscles relaxing under your palm, and you exhaled in relief, letting him know you were there for emotional support, no matter what was to come.
And what was about to come was really hard to digest.
“Instead of shooting at the kidnapper, I shot at the hostage’s leg. Of course I didn’t want to hurt her on purpose, but at this moment, it was the best thing that I could do. I could see it in his eyes. He really wanted to pull the trigger, that was how ruthless and brutal he was. As soon as I would shoot at him, he would shoot at her. So I had to do the last thing a policeman is supposed to do, and aimed at the hostage instead.”
Your forehead was in creases. You couldn’t grasp the entire situation as it sounded just so absurd to you. As a ballerina in the spotlight, you had never gotten in touch with this dark side of the world.
But Jaehyun was a good person. So good, that he omitted the entire story from you.
“You shot at the hostage, because an injured hostage is useless to the culprit,” it suddenly became clear to you. “You’re not a bad person, Jaehyun. That’s very courageous. And honorable as you did everything to save the hostage.”
His shoulders shook, and you were irritated whether he was laughing or crying. Until you noticed that his shaking was actually trembling, and that he was uttering indistinct sounds. Only moments later, you realized that he was, indeed, silently crying.
You just weren’t sure whether these were tears of guilt or tears of relief for finally coming clear with you.
“The scar… it’s from a bullet, right? Did he shoot directly at you after that? Is that how you got it?” 
“Even if, at the moment I pulled the trigger, he let go of the culprit and shot at me, I didn’t save her life.”
You felt a tight knot in your stomach. “Jaehyun… that woman… is she still alive?”
It didn’t sound like she didn’t survive the entire incident, but you wanted to hear it from him. Almost instinctively, he nodded with much hesitation, and relief washed over you. 
“But at what cost?” he broke through your thoughts. “That woman… one of her legs was rendered useless. I hit der at such an unfortunate spot-”
“But she still has her life,” you interfered. “And you risked your own life for her. You were ready to die for a victim. But she’s still alive, and you as well. That’s all that matters.”
“All that matters? Here’s the thing you’ll hate me for…” He sucked in a rush of air. “She was a professional ballerina. Just like you.”
You didn’t know what to say. Perhaps, it was best to not say anything at all now.
For a ballerina to lose the ability to use even one of her legs was the most unfortunate thing that could happen. All your life, you were trained to rely on your legs. They were your pillars that carried your passion, your career. You were dependent on your legs. You hadn’t learned how to use anything else to get through life.
You leaned forward and replaced the palm of your hand on his back with both of your arms. Gentle, you snuggled up against him and held him in your arms, resting your head in the crook of his neck and closing your eyes, listening to his silent cries.
“Jaehyun. Still. You didn’t ruin a life.”
Everything happening in the past weeks suddenly made so much sense to you. Why Jaehyun had been behaving so hostile upon seeing you for the first time, why he hadn’t wanted you to think so lowly about your safety, why he had wanted you to pick up your passion again, why he had bought you the MP3 player…
“You saved hers.”
Reluctantly, he placed his arms over yours. You really felt his insecurity, but your support was unwavering, and you let him know.
“And you saved yours as well. No lives were lost. You’re a good detective.”
At that moment, you assumed that you were the first person he actually opened up to. And the first person who actually truly understood his deepest feelings.
“Thank you.”
Jaehyun turned to you and kissed you. It tasted of tears and despair. 
And a bit of wishful thinking.
____
“I’m still in therapy because of it,” Jaehyun spoke the day after when he was ready to pick up the topic again. “Well, when I’m in New York, I mean.”
It was constantly warm outside nowadays, you two sitting on the slope of the hill behind your house, and you couldn’t wait to finally embrace summer fully in this part of the world where you had never experienced this season before. 
Your hair was glowing in the bright sunlight. Jaehyun liked to compare it to a pink rose when you woke up in the mornings and he ran his fingers through the strands.
“That’s good,” you coaxed him, showing full support ever since his confession. “I think it’s always good to speak with a professional about traumatic experiences. They will never go away at some point, but we all have to learn to live with them.”
You stood by your opinion that Jaehyun had had no other choice and actually had made the right decision in this situation. You respected him for that, and you had learned that the hostage, who had attended the trial of course, thought so as well as she had voiced during the process.
It was only the inner demons Jaehyun was fighting now, and you would help him get every single one of them caged.
“It’s odd.”
“What is?”
You stretched yourself, enjoying the warmth. “The fact that I know about your most traumatic experience, but not even where you were born.”
“I was born in Seoul, as a matter of fact,” he clarified instantly.
“The city where I live?” you called out in surprise. 
Jaehyun nodded. “I lived there with my mom until I graduated from high school. Then I went to New York because my dad has been working there, and pursued a career as a policeman.”
You pulled grass between your fingers, the mild breeze playing with the tips of your hair strands. “Why did you want to join the police?”
“I’m good at solving cases. And I really want to help people, but didn’t have the patience to go to med school.” Jaehyun looked up, smiling softly against the wind. “Why did you take up ballet classes?”
Yeah… why? You shrugged. “It was something I was passionate about ever since I was a little child.” Your reasoning was not as extensive and detailed as his, but for you, it had always been enough.
And for Jaehyun as well. He turned his head against the sky and basked in the sun. “That’s great. Anything else you want to know?”
“Fair enough, since you knew every fact about me before I even set foot in this country. Do you have siblings?” you jumped at the chance. 
“No.”
“Favorite food?” 
“Nothing specific. I like anything.”
“A country you’d like to visit one day?”
“Japan.”
“A country you have visited and is your favorite?”
He smiles. “I’ve only been to South Korea and here, so… Here.”
“Can you imagine going back there though?” you then asked. “To Seoul, I mean.”
“Absolutely not.”
You didn’t know why his answer hurt you. Disappointment seeped deep into your heart at the realization that your real home and his real home were separated by an entire ocean if you were ever to go back. 
“Do you miss your home?” Jaehyun then returned.
Did you still?
You weren’t so sure about that anymore. You missed your family and your friends, as a matter of fact, and not a day passed in which you didn’t think about them. But not as much and as hurtful as in the beginning where tears had kept you up all night. Your sadness had stepped back, making space for a feeling that was much greater.
But you didn’t want to tell him that.
“Yeah, I do.”
Jaehyun shifted his head back to you. “I can imagine that.”
He kissed you then, right at your favorite spot in the entire village, his fingers entangled in your rosy hair. You felt so happy, yet so regretful as you hadn’t had any memory of a moment where you had been at such a high in your life back there in Seoul.
There, you had everything. The spotlight, your family and your friends. But despite everything, right here and now was where your heart was going to burst because you didn’t know how much bliss it could still grasp.
There were so many more questions you wanted to still ask him.
How his life back there in New York was. How he imagined life when this was all over. Whether he had someone he held dear back home.
But you swallowed all of them down. You were scared of the answers.
You didn’t need to know every little detail about a person’s life to fall in love with them. All it took was to know how they treated others, how they treated you and their outlook on life, nothing more.
Not even their real name.
The rest would fall into place.
Deep down, you had accepted your new life with every aspect it offered itself to you, and whenever you thought about the village and its people, a certain warmth enclosed your heart that nearly made you teary-eyed.
You didn’t want to leave anymore. That was now clear to you.
____
Call it intuition. Gut feeling. A woman’s instinct.
Whatever it was called that you were experiencing that day, it would be right. Your whole world crashed when Jaehyun walked through the door after work that day.
“You have to leave,” were his first words as soon as he spotted you. “Now.”
“... what?”
With widened eyes, you watched the sweat drops on his forehead slowly rolling along his temples. Had he run all the way here? And why did he seem so anxious as though he was trying to uphold a friend? You had never seen him like this.
“Go pack your things. You have five minutes.”
“Jaehyun…” You stood up from the couch. “I don’t understand, only last wee-”
“It’s all settled,” he interjected calmly but curtly. “The day I got called to my supervisor, you remember? They told me I was free to return to the NYPD. My job here is done as they finally found someone else for you. I can go back home, to my old life.”
“That means…?” You halted. You wanted to cover your ears. You didn’t want to hear.
But Jaehyun broke the hard truth down for you. “You’ll be moved to another city, get assigned another fake husband, exactly. The driver will be here in a few.”
You were flabbergasted at how factual his way of delivering the news to you was. “You only stayed with me to deal with your bad conscience, right? Because I’m a ballerina as well, and for protecting me, you would pay your debt? Now that the time is over, you want to get rid of me?”
Of course you hoped he would deny everything you had just accused him of. But he didn’t. This was like a nightmare.
“This program works like that,” Jaehyun explained to you like you were some twelve year old, with much repulsion written all over his face. “You move from one city to another, from one husband to another. You brought this upon yourself.”
Here was the deal with anger. You didn’t feel how it got implanted into you. You couldn’t feel it grow and feed on your pain. Suddenly, it was there, and you didn’t have any control over it until, from one moment to another, it made itself aware verbally and physically.
You wanted to scream, grab for the nearest vase nearby and throw it against the wall, yelling at him how much of an asshole he could be, leading you on this entire time. But sometimes, people were stronger than anger.
And so were you.
He had never led you on. You had always been aware of the rules. He didn’t owe you anything.
“Is that all?” you only brought out dryly, the vowels stuck in your throat. 
You didn’t want to cry, you didn’t owe him a single tear in return, not a single word anymore, because you had known all along that this was about to come eventually. 
This… all this wasn’t real. This wasn’t your life. And the next one wouldn’t be your real life either.
You didn’t know what your next fake home and fake husband would be like. You didn’t know for how long they’d stay this time. All you knew was that you didn’t want them. You didn’t want anyone else other than Jaehyun.
“That’s all.”
But he didn’t want you anymore.
You just wondered how he could stand there, as stoic and taciturn and as cold as when you had first met. 
What had happened to the Jaehyun that woke up next to you every morning, playing with your hair, snuggling up against you and kissing the nape of your neck? The Jaehyun that showed you a different side every night, making you feel so special and loved? The Jaehyun that had let you into his deepest secrets?
Perhaps, he was just so good at his job. No wonder they wanted him back in the NYPD.
Your fingers grabbed just whatever piece of clothing they could find, regardless of whether you had picked up everything that belonged to you or not.
When you rolled your suitcase to the door a few minutes later, you had digested the first waves of shock and were only barely able to hold back your tears. You had expected that the end would come in little steps, with signs that would indicate the last days were approaching, giving you time to adjust, prepare and linger around.
Now, it was like ripping off a band aid. 
As you turned away from him, who had not moved since, tears were burning behind your eyes, but you didn’t want to lose your dignity in front of him. You wanted to defy him again, show him that you were just as strong as him and that it all didn’t bother you. That you had only played the role of a wife so perfectly, you had not only fooled the ones around you, but him as well - just as he had done with you.
But in contrast to Jaehyun, for you, it had meant everything to the point you had wished that this was your real life.
This, you couldn’t lie to yourself about. And it was the thing that hurt the most.
When the car pulled up the next moment, you expected Jaehyun to still say something to you, but he just stood there, with an expressionless face, watching you getting into the vehicle. Your eye contact didn’t break, even though you wished so. You just couldn’t tear your gaze away from him as you still hoped that he would raise his voice and beg you to stay.
And you would have.
But he didn’t.
When the car reverted, he just stood there. When you drove along the main street, he just stood there. Even when you were almost out of his sight, he just stood there.  
“You’re going to Phoenix this time, Miss!” the driver, the same as from your first day, told you, looking through the rear mirror. “I’m sure you’ll like it there!”
No, you wouldn’t. 
This was the most miserable day of your life, and still in the car, you broke down in tears.
You would have given everything to sit down with Rosie, grandmother Anh and Mrs. Jones just once again, playing cards and drinking wine. You would have given everything to go shopping with Rosie and hear her lighthearted laughter again. You would have given everything to eat grandmother Anh’s dumplings and get her advice again.
You would have given everything to just spend another day in the village, appreciating what you had had and saying goodbye to everyone.
But even this, he had pried out of your hands, rendering you so defenseless and vulnerable.
You hated him.
And whenever your gaze fell upon the key chain of the yellow elephant wearing a red tie on your purse, you cried even harder, wanting to rip it off and throw it out of the window.
But no matter how much you wanted to hate him and talk yourself into it, you couldn’t bring yourself to truly feel so.
You didn’t care about your old life anymore. You didn’t care whether you could never go back. You didn’t care about your career, about your future.
You were willing to give all of this up forever just to spend another day in the life that had been such an illusion, but had made you the happiest so far.
“Uhm… Miss…”
____
Klick.
The sound of the safety catch of a gun getting released.
“You’re late,” Jaehyun announced into the semi-darkness as he took the weapon back into his hand. “She’s not here anymore. She just left.”
“I know,” a voice he had never heard before, answered back. “I actually came for you.”
“Oh. Be my guest then.” Jaehyun chuckled with sarcasm. “I wasn’t sure when exactly you’d arrive since my people couldn’t find the flight you boarded, but this is what I call perfect timing as I just left the door open. So, how did you find us exactly?”
He shrugged. “You know… it cost me a fortune and a few private detectives, but I was always watching her, even during detention. I always knew where she was. That I’m only coming now is because I thought that eventually, when she sees that I’m free and behaving, she’d come back.” His voice cracked. “But she didn’t.”
Jaehyun remembered the night you had claimed to have heard someone roaming around in the bedroom or garden. So there had been truly someone among you, a private detective most likely. He hated himself at that moment for not having been able to protect you better. 
“You know what happened to the former guy she dated?” 
The stalker stepped into the light that flooded into the room from the window, and as Jaehyun looked into his face, he encountered a man who he, and probably every other person, would deem harmless at first glance. He looked like a normal office worker, not intimidating or even dangerous at all with his slicked back hair and wide glasses.
“They packed their things and went away as soon as they met me,” he illustrated, almost boastful with much pride in his voice. “One of them didn’t want to back off, so I had to slash his tires. That was when he got the message.”
“Lucky you that I’m not one of these guys. I’m not scared of you.” Jaehyun grinned. “I’m her husband, and I’m going to protect her at all costs.”
“She doesn’t belong to you!” he then yelled, throwing around his arms. “She belongs to me! … But… she’s always running away from me… She never comes back to me. Why would someone do that when you’re destined to be together?”
Despite the semi-darkness, Jaehyun saw the insanity coming forward in his eyes that gradually slowly took power of his entire body. He wasn’t familiar with stalking cases personally himself, but had read quite a few things prior to your arrival.
Clearly, this guy followed the delusional disbelief of your both’s romantic destiny despite you having made it clear several times that no such thing existed at your side. Yet, his obsession with you had made him want to continue being a part of your life and change your mind at all costs until it turned unhealthy and dangerous for you, watching you and following each of your steps. Admiration had quickly turned into the sadistic urge to torment you, because if he couldn’t have you, nobody could.
And now, you didn’t even deserve to live if it wasn’t with him.
“I’m not going to run away like the other guys,” Jaehyun spoke calmly. “I’m here to set an end to this, because she deserves to live freely and happily. And I want to give this to her.”
“No!” he screamed, sweat dripping down his temples, and only now, Jaehyun saw the blade glistening against the dim light. “She can only be happy with me! With me only, not with someone else or even alone!”
Jaehyun lifted up his arms and aimed the gun at him. He flinched. “She’s happy with me. How does that sound, asshole?”
Suddenly, he laughed. “If you shoot at me, you’re going to jail, and you’re not going to have her either.”
“I don’t care,” Jaehyun spoke calmly and the guy raised his brows. “I don’t care if I might go to jail because of this, because no one else before cared enough. I don’t care if I have to give my life for hers, because my life is not worth living if she’s dead. I don’t care if I have her or not. I just want her to be far away from you and live her life to the fullest, because she deserves it. Because this is what love is.”
“Oh, you fool.” He laughed again, this time like a maniac. “She has you in her force. That’s what she usually does.”
“Maybe.” Jaehyun’s finger enclosed the trigger. “But that’s what love also is. Forceful.”
The stalker raised his hand, the huge knife between his fingers fully visible now as he prepared himself to dash forward, but the second he moved, your voice echoed through the house.
“Stop!”
You stepped into the living room, totally out of breath, but lucky to have convinced the driver to turn around before it was too late after he had empathized very much with you during your breakdown in the car and told you the entire truth.
“It’s okay,” you breathed, having reached the premises only seconds ago. “I see it clearly now. I can’t be with you, Jaehyun. I can’t run away from my feelings either.” You smiled mildly and stepped closer to the stalker. “I see where I belong to.”
Jaehyun couldn’t believe what he had just heard. “What-!”
“I know we didn’t have a great start,” you said, your gaze not wavering from the guy who had made your life on earth a living hell, yet you tried to conceal that you were trembling all over and sweating in fear as this was the only way to save Jaehyun. “While you only wanted to protect me, I always tried to defy you. I felt caged, imprisoned and really unhappy. It was only later that I realized that you did all that because you cared. About my safety… about me.”
Jaehyun saw that you were directing these words to your tormentor, but he also saw that they were not lies. They were only directed at the wrong person.
“Yes, yes!” the guy blurted. “That’s totally it!”
“Will you now please put away the knife? I will willingly come with you.” Then, you finally spun around to Jaehyun. “Please put the gun away as well.”
“But-!”
“Please!”
Hesitantly, he did as he had been told, so did the persecutor. He knew where you had come from as the guy wouldn’t have done the same, but still didn’t find the thought to be so weaponless appealing. 
After the stalker had placed the knife on the kitchen counter, he turned around to you with a bright smile on his face, but it got wiped out very quickly - with your knuckles rolling nearly in slow motion over his cheek and continuing along the bridge of his nose. He lost balance and was thrown against a chair, folding like a piece of paper as he collapsed against the furniture.
Your fist had met his face full-force, and you stilled the seconds after, having totally caught him off guard - and yourself as well.
“The knife!” Jaehyun then screamed, reaching for his gun once again.
But as your fingers moved to reach for the weapon, your hand got slapped away and the blade vanished in front of your eyes and back into the possession of the stalker. Only this time, the knife was not the only thing he claimed to have taken control over.
The sharp blade slightly buried itself into the side of your neck as he had rendered you motionless by having you in a choke with his other arm wrapped around your middle. All your twisting and turning didn’t benefit you in any way as he was much taller and stronger, and you could only watch all the color drain from Jaehyun’s eyes as he looked back at you in horror.
“What wishful thinking, I’m such a fool,” the stalker whispered into your ear, blood streaming down your side, and the pain slowly overshadowed the shock you had initially felt. “If you can’t have someone yourself, all you can do is kill the person.”
You heard it click as Jaehyun was now pointing his gun at you. “Not before I kill you first.”
And then, there was pain.
____
When you were in the hospital, you dreamed of Jaehyun.
He was holding your hand at night, not leaving your side. It was tender and warm, just like the first time he had held your hand when you had joined the dinner with the other villagers. You could even hear what he was saying to you. Many words you had been longing to hear for so long.
Too bad that these were only fever dreams.
Because instead, when you woke up three days later, there was Rosie.
… Rosie!?
But you weren’t able to bring these words out as your throat was dry, so the syllables only came out as rasping sounds. She was quick to serve you a glass of water before you were finally able to ask,
“...Rosie? What happened?”
“Jesus!” she let out in wonder. “You can’t remember a thing?”
You shook your head. “Do you?” And then cocked your brow. “... what do you know exactly?”
“Jay told me everything. About you. About the program.” Your eyes widened and you prepared yourself to sit up, but Rosie gently pushed you back against the pillow. Only then you noticed that you couldn’t have made it further anyway. Your entire middle hurt. “It’s okay, lay still. Nobody can harm you anymore. He’s dead.”
“... dead?” You barely believed your own ears. 
Rosie nodded. “Jay’s bullet hit you, but it was only a graze, barely visible, but enough to take the stalker by surprise so that he suddenly let go of you. But… he was on top of you the next moment… with the knife.” She struggled to find the right words. “When I arrived after the reinforcement you called before… there was so much blood, and Jay was holding you in his arms… he was screaming… wailing. He thought he’d lost you, and so did I.”
You got stabbed?!
That would explain the immense pain that turned more distinct with each bypassing second, and you were so close to calling a nurse to pump some more morphine into you.
“W… what happened to… him?” you asked, though a part of you already knew the answer.
“Jay shot at him. He died on the spot.”
You didn’t blame yourself for feeling so much relief at this moment. For the past year, this man had robbed you of all your happiness and freedom. Now, it was all over. You were safe and free. You had every right to be happy.
But you weren’t.
“Where is…” Suddenly, you stilled as a dangerous thought crossed our mind. “Is he-”
“He’s fine.” The corner of Rosie’s lips tilted up. “Even now, you’re only thinking about him. He’s outside. Should I call him in?”
“Yes, please. And Rosie?” You reached for her hand, squeezing it. “Thank you for coming. It means a lot.”
She squeezed your fingers back. “Even though this life of yours wasn’t real… I know our friendship is.”
She was so right.
When Rosie left, Jaehyun didn’t come in right away. You waited for at least five more minutes until the handle moved downwards and the face you had been longing to see all along finally appeared in your room.
“How are you doing?” he asked, and it made you shudder how distant he sounded as opposed to the look in his eyes. 
They were telling a whole other story, and you wondered what was holding him back from running over to you and finally taking you into his arms. 
“Fine.”
The pain in your stomach really did feel fine when the pain in your heart was a much graver one.
“Don’t lie to me. You got stabbed right through. It’s not like it’s nothing.” He lowered his head. “And it’s my fault. Again.”
You saw where he was coming from after everything that he had been through. Your mind was still working only slowly as it hadn’t been able to make the connection right away, but now, it was all clear.
“It’s thanks to you that I’m still alive. I’m very grateful.”
Eventually, the pain in your stomach would pass, leaving only a scar. You couldn’t imagine what the stalker would have done to you if Jaehyun wouldn’t have been there. You counted yourself very lucky to still be alive.
“Thank you, honestly.”
He acknowledged your feelings with a nod, though you weren’t entirely convinced that he thought the same about you. And as he didn’t move away from the door further in your direction, you finally grasped that he just wasn’t there by your side yet. Not only physically, but also emotionally.
At some point, everything happening in the past months had been real for him too. But now that he could have it all, he was getting cold feet. You didn’t know why, but you knew that it wasn’t your fault, and it certainly wasn’t in your power to lay out all the reasons as to why he shouldn’t feel this way.
He just wasn’t ready.
“You’re going back to the NYPD, right?”
“Yeah. Tomorrow already, as a matter of fact. I have things to take care of.” He scratched his head in nervousness. “You’ll be okay?”
Oddly, you could affirm his assumption.
You’d return to Seoul and to the Korea National Ballet. If you’d had a talk with the academy, you were positive that you could also still join the Dutch National Ballet as originally planned. You had your old life back, and it would all fall into place.
Your future, everything you had worked so hard for, laid in front of you again.
And without Jaehyun. 
Again.
“I’ll be okay.” Despite these insights, you smiled through your pain. “Really.”
“Okay.” Jaehyun’s smile was equally painful. 
Perhaps, he had wished for another outcome as well. But whatever was holding him back was more powerful than everything he’d ever felt for you, and you wished that you could share his pain again, telling him that he didn’t need to go through this all alone.
But you knew, this time, he wouldn’t let you.
Rosie was there for you after he had long left, comforting you throughout the entire night. She was also there when you got discharged two weeks later, bidding you farewell at the airport and showering you with so much love a friend could possibly feel for another. 
“We’re going to meet again,” you promised her.
“I’ll come visit you,” she promised you too.
And with that, you returned to your old life.
____
The curtain call was your favorite part of each performance. Then, all the burden and pressure fell from your shoulders and you could finally breathe again, showering in the spotlight and relishing the applause.
Today was the first time that you stood on the stage of the Korea National Ballet again after the events in the States and thus, your first curtain call after such a long time.
Your hair had returned to its natural color, and despite the fact that you hadn’t changed at all from the outside, you knew that on the inside, you were an entirely different person. Nothing would be like before ever again.
“Good performance,” your instructor remarked and moved on to tell the same to the others as well.
You hadn’t danced an important position, only moving in the background as your instructor had been sure that you had let things slide in the months you were away. Before, you would have gotten angry, practicing day and night to lose the remaining weight and catch up with the others. Yes, you surely had let things slide, but to you, nothing of this was important anymore.
The Dutch National Ballet hadn’t wanted you back, and you couldn’t hold it against them. You were glad to have been able to pick up some kind of engagement again. Until you were back at the top, a lot of time would pass.
You just weren’t so sure anymore if you wanted to climb up that high again.
You took off your tight shoes in the dressing room and rubbed your wounded feet, your thoughts drifting off. You had seen him again. In the audience, sitting in the first row and watching you. Usually, you didn’t let your eyes wander through the people, but this time, your role had given you enough time to do so.
Not your stalker, but Jaehyun.
He had sat there, in a black tuxedo, and had watched you with the same gaze that he would share only with you during your time together.
You knew immediately that this wasn’t real. He wasn’t here. He couldn’t be here. 
Because lately, you saw and felt him very often. Next to you on the bed when you were waking up, walking close to you as you strolled through the streets, and in the mirror whenever you lifted your head after washing your face. 
This was what it was like when you couldn’t let go of a person you had once loved so much.
“There is someone waiting for you in the lobby,” another dancer told you in passing.
“Who is it?” 
“Said his name was Yuno.” She shrugged. “Wears a black tuxedo and waits by the stairs.”
“Okay.”
You didn’t know a person named Yuno, so you didn’t hurry changing your clothes and took your sweet time, until a sudden thought crossed your mind. This was how it had started out with your stalker as well! 
But it couldn’t be. He wasn’t alive anymore, and here, nobody would give you the same attention as you were only a background dancer. You sucked in a rush of air, halted, and then continued your way.
You’d be fine.
Just as you had promised Jaehyun.
“Mister…” you called out when you came around the corner. You didn’t know his surname, so you faltered, only able to watch him from behind as he stood with his back to you.
“Jeong. Mister Jeong.”
“... Mister...”
Your voice was stable, in contrast to your inner feelings as a storm broke free deep within you. You hadn’t seen him in so long, and you wanted to cry, scream and slap him all at once.
“I saw your performance.” He smiled. “You’re marvelous. I wanted to bring you a bouquet of flowers, but thought it would be a bit too tactless…”
“You’re late,” you interrupted him.
“I know,” he agreed. “There were a few things I had to take care of.”
“Things that took you three months?” You folded your arms across your chest. “I thought… I thought you moved on.”
“Is that what you think of me?” He looked hurt. “Have you moved on?”
Not a single bit. Every night, you lived through every moment you had spent together in the States. As much as you had wanted to, you hadn’t been able to move on.
Almost unnoticeably, you shook your head.
“You want to know what I did during this time?” He stepped closer to you as the lobby was emptying, and you didn’t retreat. “I visited the ballerina. She’s doing well. She’s a counselor now, helping people who are as handicapped as her. She said it’s fulfilling and that she’s very happy, and she thanked me again for saving her life. Hearing it from her personally takes a huge burden off my heart.”
Despite your controversial feelings, you smiled. “That’s good to hear. I’m happy for you.”
“And I finished my therapy sessions,” he continued. “For a long time, I thought I was the person bringing harm to people. I’m a detective, why am I only bringing harm to people I desperately want to protect? It just didn’t get into my head. My therapist said that not everyone is made for this life and I should focus on finding a partner who is as equally courageous and fearless as me. Who shares my views on life, who doesn’t back down and looks danger right into the eye. Only then, when I have a partner who can take care of themselves, I don’t have to fear for two lives, but only for one. For mine, because my partner will be fine by themselves.”
Then, he smiled too as you recalled, “I slapped the hell out of that asshole.”
“Yeah, you did. You also defied all my orders. You always know how to take care of yourself. You don’t run away when it’s getting dangerous. And you didn’t hesitate even for a single second when you found out that I lied that day. You came back right away to help me. If there is a woman suitable for me, then it’s you.”
You chewed on the inner flesh of your mouth to keep the growing smile from showing. You still didn’t know what exactly this all meant, but you were eager to hear it from him soon.
“But I didn’t come here to tell you this only.”
You tilted your head. “What did you come here for then?”
“I came to pick up my wife,” was his answer that nearly made your heart jump out of your chest.
You stared at him, lost for words and mouth agape.
“I’m sorry that it took me so long. I wanted to get everything cleared and settled. I wanted to be emotionally ready for a new path in my life, with you by my side. I… I mean… If you hate New York and want to stay in Seoul instead,” he hemmed and hawed, “I would be happy to cross the ocean again as long as you’ll be waiting for me at the other side. But if you want to come back to the US, I’ll be fine with that as well. In Seoul, New York or Connecticut… I can call any place my home as long as you’re with me. This time, as my real wife.”
You felt tears gathering in the brims of your eyes. “As… as your wife?”
“As my wife.” He nodded. “You want me to repeat that again?”
“Yes, please.” You blinked, your shoulders starting to tremble.
“Perhaps, you rather want to read it,” he dismissed softly and reached into the inner pocket of his tuxedo to pull out a sheet that he carefully unfolded and handed over to you.
You read attentively.
MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE APPLICATION
of
Jeong Yuno
and
….
There it was. His real name. Your real name. 
This was real.
You looked up to him, the tears now streaming down your face, and you desperately tried to dry them with the back of your hand.
“If we get all your papers together, we can apply tomorrow and be officially married by next week.”
You could barely see through the blurry curtain of tears. 
“This time, for real?” 
you asked as Yuno, as his real name was, took your hands into his, and it felt just like the first time when you had walked along the streets of the little countryside village.
“This time, for real,” he promised.
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