41. Conversations

Yonghwa sighed on the side of her neck. This was a bold move for him and he expected her to jerk away and snap a witty remark.

But Seohyun only just sagged in his arms.

He smiled and whispered, “You are so beautiful tonight…”

“Just tonight?”

He chuckled softly, “Always.” Yonghwa could feel the tension in her body and the moment her hand touched his, he knew she was about to pull away so he gathered his courage and managed to shake his head as he whispered, “No… I want to hold you. Let me, please…”

“Okay…”

Her voice quivered. It was understandable since he took her by surprise. He studied her by the mirrored wall, her face reflected by that glow of the mural. Something by the way her eyes moved through the lights made his chest tighten. It felt like she was starting to fade away from him and he needed this— to hold her close.

To know she was here.

That thought brought back the very same tightness. When he could no longer resist it, Yonghwa dropped his lips on her hair, almost like a kiss, mostly just inhaling her sweet scent as he closed his eyes.

There was no hurry, no Euna needing her milk or new diaper, no work to finish.

Nothing, just the two of them hidden in the darkness, away from the crowd outside.

Yonghwa opened his eyes and saw her reflection once again. Her eyes were closed, lips slightly open and he could feel by the way she was breathing that she hadn’t relaxed yet. This woman making him feel so much then nothing at all. Seohyun took a deep breath and he chuckled realizing she was trying her best to feel at ease with the way he was holding her. And of course, he should help her— the only thing he knew best.

Lazily, his fingers caressed her stomach. She flinched so he spoke, “I don’t feel the mommy tummy.”

She laughed tapping his hand to stop him from moving any further, “My exercise was effective then.”

“Err, there’s something in here we need to work on,” he patted her stomach lightly but she caught his hand and forced him to release her. Chuckling, he caught that hand and held it instead, “Arasso…” Yonghwa waited until she finally relaxed before speaking softly, “Hmmm… It’s good that Yuri agreed to look after Euna tonight. At least you have a break…”

Seohyun sighed realizing that there was no longer any reason to fight this. She nodded with another sigh, “Of a few hours…”

He chuckled, “Are you regretful that it’s only a few hours?”

“Not really, I’m even starting to worry.”

Yonghwa was actually feeling that as well. What if Euna would go on her crying fits again? She had been used to her Yuri Imo but Seohyun was always around. The only thing that was keeping him from worrying too much was that Yuri hadn’t called yet. And to quell their worry, he asserted softly, “We haven’t even been gone for more than two hours,”

“I know I shouldn’t worry but I haven’t been away from her this long,” she mumbled quietly almost fretting.

“Baby steps,” he whispered dropping his chin on her shoulder.

“Hmmm…” she closed her eyes as she nodded. Finally, she was starting to feel more comfortable. They had been like this longer than she thought it would be. Somehow, she could feel that this conversation he had been initiating was to relax her. Despite slowly feeling the comfort, the butterflies in the pits of her stomach were fluttering endlessly.

“You must be tired taking care of her…” Yonghwa murmured against her ear.

Ignoring the shivers that shoot right through her, she replied, “It’s fine. Ajumma let me sleep in the afternoons. She’s really a big help.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

She remembered how she argued that she didn’t need help. Looking back now, she couldn’t have made it on her own. Yonghwa— despite his silliness, despite everything, he would always be her warrior.

It was no surprise that she had fallen.

Seohyun closed her eyes and sighed, forgetting that realization and revealing instead, “One day she found me in Euna’s room crying.” She confessed just to divert her mind, just to stop the silence. All too suddenly, Yonghwa released her and gently turned her to him. Seohyun could very well tell the worry in that frown he was wearing.

She made ajumma promise not to tell him and this was exactly why.

Yonghwa could not make out of her face. The sight of her that afternoon she called him crying was pushed back to his recollection. His hand left her shoulders and he cupped her jaws, “When was this?”

Seohyun shook her head, “You need not to worry. It was a few days ago. Some days Euna doesn’t want to be put down so I have to just cradle her even when she sleeps. Sometimes I get scared when she cries so hard so I just carry her. And that afternoon, I just crumbled… I was so tired.”

“I wish I can do more,” Yonghwa dropped his hands on his side when Seohyun took a few steps back and she leaned on the glass wall. He, too, moved and rested his hips by the couch behind him resisting the urge to held her close once more.

“You’ve done more than you can imagine. You have no idea…” she smiled rubbing her arm. Now that he was no longer holding her, she could finally feel the cold.

“You look really tired sometimes. You could use a break, just like this.”

She laughed softly, “Ajumma said this won’t last for long so I just have to enjoy every bit of it—from the tears to the sleepless nights.”

He smiled, “That’s good to hear. But if you need anything though do not hesitate to tell me.”

“Anything?” She laughed then shook her head.

He grumbled at her tone as if she was making fun of his seriousness so he muttered, “Tell me… anything…”

She took a deep breath, unconsciously tucked her hair behind her ear, then wet her lips before speaking rather softly, “I need you to stop asking me to sleep with you, its stressing me out.”

Yonghwa laughed as he walked closer to her. This woman.  Stopping in front of her, he took her hand and gently caressed her palm with his thumb as he spoke seriously, “As much as I want to, Seohyun-ssi…”

“What does that supposed to mean?” She frowned ignoring the goosebumps his touch was creating.

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