Chapter 28 – Eumag, Bulkkotnori, Mapeom. (Music, Fireworks, Magic.)

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#since1765

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Dolce Vita Cliff

Suburban Seoul, Gyeonggi Province

Kwon Jiyong led Kim Taeyeon towards a flat land space that was elevated from the ground. It was a one-mile hike from the pension house. The cliff where they stopped provided a whole view of the land below, from Dolce Vita, to the lake, up to the pension garden. Looking up, the sky was clear, giving full access to the stars and the moon.

“This is really beautiful,” said Taeyeon in amazement, her head up towards the sky. “I have no other words...”

Jiyong stepped back so that Taeyeon was in front of him. And then, he hugged her body from the back. At first, she felt the woman's muscle tense up, but she eventually relaxed at his touch. He was so happy. Their position was the most comfortable for him, like their bodies belonged like that.

“This is my favorite place in the whole world,” Jiyong explained, his mouth close to her ears. To his delight, Taeyeon even held his two hands that was embracing her.

“I get Dolce Vita for myself at least once every two months. I stay here in this very spot all night, just looking up at the stars. It relaxes me. I've always wanted to share this place with someone special. I'm so glad it's you.”

“I'm envious that you have your own personal paradise right here in Seoul.”

“I have another one in Jeju Island. I built and designed a cafe just as beautiful as this one. They can be your personal paradise too, because what's mine is yours.”

Taeyeon beamed widely, flattered at what Jiyong just declared. She felt the man let go of her body. When she looked back, Jiyong pointed her towards the comfortable chairs on their side. Clearly, the spot was really meant for leisurely pastime for couples, because the two chairs were positioned close to each other, and even tilted towards one another.

When they have sat down, Taeyeon now rested her eyes on the wonderful scenery below. Dolce Vita was lit, so were the trees and bushes surrounding it. The lake was illuminated by the stars and the moon. Add to that the presence of Kwon Jiyong, and Taeyeon truly felt like she was in heaven.

When she looked at Jiyong, she saw that he was looking up the sky. The night lightened up his face, and she saw the cuts on his face. Observing him closer, she now noticed that he also had wounds on his hands, and his eyes were puffy and drooping.

“You look tired. Did my grandpa ask a lot from you?” she worried, cupping Jiyong's face on the side of his chin.

“Nothing I can't handle and won't do if that means having you back in my life,” Jiyong answered, smiling at her. He held her hand gently.

Taeyeon then took the opportunity to own his hand. She let go of his face, and now took both his hands to observe them closely.

“Goodness, these hands of a world star don't deserve manual labor,” she cried, caressing the cuts and callouses in his hands. “But I'm touched that you went through such difficulty for our elders.”

“Not just for them, but most especially, for you,” Jiyong declared, grinning mischievously. Taeyeon couldn't help but smile shyly as well. Now it became Jiyong's turn to caress the side of her face. “What about you? Did my gramps make you do too much?”

“I had a lot of help. And it didn't matter, because I'll do anything for you.”

“Why?” Jiyong asked, teasing a little bit. In truth, he was egging Taeyeon to incriminate herself, and probably confess her inner thoughts.

“Because you're my partner!” she replied indignantly, catching on the man's mischief.

“Just your partner?”

“Of course, what else? We were brought together to save The Great Republic, right?” Taeyeon reminded sarcastically, hissing at Jiyong. Then, she playfully recited, “Daehanminguk...”

She was glad that although reluctant, Jiyong joined her in raising her two hands, and they both shouted, “Manse!”

After their patriotic chant, they put down their arms, laughing together. That's when Taeyeon shivered a little bit, because the suburban fall wind blew past them.

“Come here, I'll keep you warm,” invited Jiyong, putting all his effort to pull her chair closer to his. Once it was already side by side his chair, it gave him the liberty to put his arms around Taeyeon. “Warm enough?”

“Ah, this feels so good,” Taeyeon answered, resting comfortably in Jiyong's arms. It was still cold, but there was no greater feeling than being embraced by the man she trusted the most.

“Hey Tae...”

“Hmmm?”

“I'm so sorry.”

“For what?”

“For everything,” Jiyong promptly responded, tightening his grip around her body. She wanted to look up, but Jiyong's firm embrace told her the man preferred for them to hug like this.

“For making you lie. For asking you to hurt our families. For all that you had to go through because of me. And above all, for hurting you because I didn't know you already broke up with Baekhyun.”

That's when Taeyeon found the strength to pull herself apart from him and look up. She completely forgot about the unspoken topics, because she got caught up with reuniting with him. Now, she remembered that there were a lot of things to talk about, most important of all: Baekhyun and Audrie.

“Jiyong...”

“Why didn't you tell me? Why did you allow me to say and do those hurtful things to you?” Jiyong inquired, sounding stern, yet kind.

Taeyeon didn't shy away in staring at him. She smiled slightly and responded, “Blame it on my fantasies and ideals.”

To her surprise, Jiyong wore his familiar childish smirk. In a mocking tone, the man asked, “You fantasize about me?”

“Yah!” she yelled, slapping his arms.

They laughed together next, and Taeyeon flushed. She looked away from him, and Jiyong just continued to giggle teasingly.

“Shut up now,” she begged.

It took a while, but finally, the joke passed, and they both basked in the silence. Taeyeon was just staring back on the beautifully-lit pension when Jiyong spoke again.

“Audrie and I broke up.”

This earned him another surprised gaze from Kim Taeyeon.

“R-really?” she nervously asked, sounding too hopeful. Her stomach squirmed with an uncomfortable anticipation.

To her discomfort, Jiyong didn't answer her. Instead, he asked back, “So you and Baekhyun are done? For good?”

“He's not the prince charming I'm waiting for,” she answered honestly. Again, desperate and expectant, she probed, “You and Audrie?”

She held on her breath while waiting for the answer. Even without acknowledging it, her tense body let her know how much she hung on that hope, that wish, that answer, she'd been dreaming about.

Finally...

“Done forever,” Jiyong replied.

That's when Taeyeon sighed deeply, realizing that she'd been holding her proper breathing for a while now. Her stomach fell freely, and they squirmed with a different kind of sensation – Excitement? Happiness? It was everything but bad. She couldn't help but smile.

“Wow,” was all the word she came up with.

“I'm glad you're over him, because you deserve someone better,” Jiyong continued talking. Taeyeon looked back at him, and eye-to-eye, he declared things that confirmed the jittery sensations swirling around Taeyeon's insides.

“You deserve a real Prince Charming. Someone who would do anything for you, someone who's always there, someone who'd make time and effort, someone who'd respect you, preserve you, and love you. You deserve someone who can offer you the perfect world.”

“Where is that someone?” she muttered uncontrollably, surprising herself. “I really want to meet him.”

To more of her surprise, she watched Kwon Jiyong hold out his hand to her, as if expecting a hand shake.

“Hello Kim Taeyeon, my name is Kwon Jiyong,” the man said in a projected voice. Taeyeon stared at his hand, in disbelief. “I am that someone, but I'm not Prince Charming yet. I'm almost there, though.”

“Almost is good enough,” she remarked, taking his hand.

They shook hands for a long time, and neither let go. Until their hands pulled one another closer. And closer. And closer.

Kwon Jiyong's heart beat raced, because the woman was only a breath apart. He could almost feel her luscious lips, and smell her sweet breath. Every inch of him wanted to jump forward and own that beautiful mouth. He'd been dreaming of doing so for the longest time. Their first kiss, their first kiss... He couldn't believe it took four months to finally get a kiss. He got nervous. He wanted the kiss to be perfect, ideal, and dreamy. He wanted to meet every bit of Taeyeon's fantasies. It should be sweet, slow, passionate, warm, and romantic.

His guts got the best of him. And next, his mind, followed by his heart, and finally, his body.

“No, it's not,” he spoke, stopping their hands from shaking awkwardly, and freezing his face so that they wouldn't get any closer than a breath apart. “I'm sorry honey, but I won't kiss you just yet, no matter how much I want to.”

“Why not?” asked the disappointed Taeyeon.

“Normally, I never cared about my morals. But having you in my life, and being next to you, made me want to be the most deserving man f