Jieun was busy trying to make dinner when she heard her doorbell ring.  The deep instantly recognisable voice coming out her intercom was a little breathless, “I’m here.”  It was Jongin.  They had decided to eat at her place tonight.  Her manager had left her apartment 2 hours ago and she knew he wouldn’t be back until tomorrow morning.

Jieun pressed a button for the front entrance of the apartment to let him in.  It didn’t take long for him to come up to the apartment and ring the doorbell at her entrance.

The moment she opened the door, she was enveloped in a tight hug, a warmth she had not felt in a long time.  She could smell the dampness of Jongin’s shampooed hair, a light floral fragrance.  Jongin was a lot taller than her and his impactful hug on her nearly made her stumble backwards in surprise.  But Jongin had felt her falter and immediately pulled her closer to stabilise her.  He then settled to rest his head in the spot between her shoulder and her head.

“I’ve missed you,” he whispered all in one breath, which immediately blew a dozen butterflies into her stomach.  It was very dizzying to have Jongin so forthcoming with all his feelings all of a sudden. 

“Let me close the door first Jongin,” Jieun answered.  She wasn’t used to this kind of Jongin.  It had been a week since that night at the playground.  Apart from talking over the phone, they had not met up since their schedules were pretty much booked out.  But there was quiet understanding between them and that was that they wanted to be together.  Jieun had always thought it would be easier to push Jongin away, but her resolve completely melted the moment he had broken between her barrier and showed her his feelings.  And maybe it didn’t have to be any complicated than that.

“You’re so heartless.  Haven’t you missed me?”  Jongin asked, his face now examining hers with great affection like he hadn’t seen her for over a year.   Jieun pulled away unable to stand his intensity and locked the door behind them, before going back to the kitchen to continue preparing.

Having Jongin suddenly so affectionate and not being tease or giving her the cold shoulder was strange and also made her anxious.  She didn’t know how long this was going to last.  She didn’t doubt Jongin but there were so many other things that could go wrong. 

“Why do you look so anxious?” He asked, pulling her away from the kitchen area.  He held both of her hands in his and rubbed them gently.  “Tell me Jieun.”

“You are.  I’m not used to this.  Just give me some time,” Jieun answered not looking him in the eye. 

“I was being an idiot towards you.  I don’t want to play games anymore.  I just want to be with you.  We can take our time,” Jongin replied gently.  “And just so you know, I’m not going to give up so easily this time.  I let you go too easily last time.  You don’t know how much I regretted it.”

The look of regret was etched into Jongin like he was a lost child.  Jieun didn’t mean to have Jongin keep his feelings for her this long.  It made her feel guilty.

“You’re not going to ask me about Eunhyuk?”  Jieun said, knowing well that this topic would ruin the mood but she needed to get it out of her system.  She knew that Eunhyuk always left Jongin on an edge.

“That’s what on your mind?  No, I’m not going to ask about him.  You guys aren’t together anymore right?  That’s all I need to know,” He said with a definite voice but Jieun did not miss the slight frustration in his tone.

“Eunhyuk and I aren’t together,” Jieun answered.  She really wanted to explain everything to Jongin.  But she also didn’t want to step on Jongin’s toes.  Jieun was going to take it slowly.  Maybe one day they could talk about it with any hard feelings.

“Good, that’s all I need to know,” Jongin said as he examined what Jieun was cooking.  “You’re cooking up quite a feast.  Do you need help?”

“You just sit on the couch and don’t break anything,” she said