ѕρєℓℓ мαgι¢ \\ ραяк נυη нσ \\ ∂αℓмαтιαη

San

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Little did Simon know that Lee Jin had her ear pressed to the door, listening to his confession, though not directly to her. She sighed at his words and slid against the door to the floor, sitting down on the cherry wood as she contemplated her next move with him. She had been in love with him just the same, ever since they first met.

But Simon left before she could get the chance to get anything going, so how would her leaving now be any different than that. They’d be even. That was all.  

She had to restrain herself from marching back in there and telling Simon exactly how she felt, spilling all of her feelings to him, bringing up what he had just said even though she knew she wasn’t meant to hear it. It was hard for her to not go in there; it was hard for her to even leave her post at the door.

But she knew now that Simon wouldn’t sleep. He was too worked up now that he had figured out she was leaving. He had too much running through his mind; the thought of sleep wasn’t even in the question. She knew he’d lay there and stare at the ceiling for hours and hours on end, waiting patiently for time to pass until he would get up a couple hours later and at least act like he slept to humor her.

He wasn’t even sure if he could do that. Now that he knew, he wanted nothing more than to be around her, nothing more than to hold her, nothing more than to say it to her face that he loved her…  But what could he do? She expected him to sleep, and he couldn’t lie to himself, he was rather tired.

Simon’s eyes closed, but he never fell asleep. They flickered behind his lids as he listened to the TV strain to make a sound through her room door. He knew she was just sitting out there on the couch, mindlessly staring at the TV, perhaps a thousand things running through her mind as well. He looked over at the clock now, it had only been forty five minutes since he went in there, there was no way he could go out there now and convince her that he was rested.

Another fifteen minutes past, making it an hour total time spent in silence contemplating his thoughts. But something was different now; the television was louder, obviously trying to drown something out. He got up in all of his half glory and walked over to the door, opening it slightly to peer out.

He couldn’t see her face, but he knew something wasn’t right. Her breaths weren’t even, and she was burying her face in her knees. He could tell by the way her back was arched, the way her hair cascaded over one shoulder. She was crying, he knew, but he couldn’t go out there. He knew she hated it more than anything for people to see her cry, for people to know that she was so weak.

But what could he do? Just sit there and let her cry without any kind of comfort? It killed him inside to watch her; she was taking this leaving about as well as he was. She didn’t want to leave, she wanted to stick by him, she told him herself, but now what? His breath barely choked her name out, but it wasn’t loud enough for her to hear. 

In part, he was thankful for that. He was completely unprepared for what he might have done had she heard him and turned around, prepared to have a fit at him for seeing her cry. But in the other part, he was so upset. So upset about what was happening, upset that she was so upset, upset for himself.

The aura in the home was completely dark and sad. He felt as if there wasn’t a single shining light that provided any kind of relief.  But the more he peered through the crack in the door and watched her heave for air, trying to keep her sobs down to ‘not wake him up’, the more he felt bad, the more he felt like he should be there for her.

He closed the door immediately after that, having made up his mind and pulled his pants back on, buttoning them, but leaving the belt hanging in the loops. He opened the door, almost soundlessly, and made his way deeper into the main room. She didn’t know what hit her as she was being lifted into the air, his strong right arm under her knees, his equally strong left supporting her back as he lifted her off the couch.

Turning, Simon plopped himself down on the couch, bringing her into his lap to cradle her against his chest, letting her cry. But as soon as he did so, she stopped, choked down her sobs and brushed away her tears, ceasing her hyperventilation to breathe evenly, acting like he hadn’t just witnessed her crying her eyes out.

“It’s okay,” he whispered into her hair, “you can cry in front of me, I know you’re upset.”

“You should be asleep,” she replied quickly, keeping her voice sharp and even. He sighed again, his lips pressing tenderly against her head as he continued to cradle her. The skin of his bare chest was warm against her body. Not only was it warm, but it was soft and inviting, the way his body curled around hers was inviting. She felt protected, safe, the way she always had with him, the way she always wanted to make him feel.

“I think it’s better if we talk about this, I have a lot to say to you,” he commented, his lips still pressed softly against her head. She knew what he wanted to say already, she had heard him say it when she left her bedroom. It wasn’t much to say, but it held enough meaning to be considered a lot.  

But she knew there still wasn’t much to talk about or there wasn’t much she had to say at least. “Jin,” he whispered, causing her head to pull back and look up at him. His hand came up, using the pad of his thumb to brush any remaining tears away from her face. She looked at him with tearful eyes, wanting to hear everything he had to say. “You know, there’s more that I’m upset about you leaving over than just feeling like I don’t belong. You’re the only woman who reached out to me while I’ve been here, been a part of Dalmatian. There aren’t enough words I can say to you to express my gratitude. But it’s more than just that, you know what it is,” he whispered, leaning down to brush his nose against hers.

She waited for it. She waited for him to say it, but he never did. Before he said it, she could feel his warm, moist lips descend on hers, covering them, caressing them so sweetly that she practically melted in his arms. Sure, they had kissed before, but she was neither sober, nor very aware of the feeling he put into the kiss, the passion that came with his sweet lips, the warm emotion she could feel radiating from his body.

The kiss was gentle, but needy. Transferring all of the emotion he felt towards her through her lips. Words didn’t need to be spoken when they pulled away, if they pulled away. She breathed deeply through her nose, trying to collect her head that he so easily made her lose.  

When their lips did part, she could still feel his warm breath against them, and his eyes remained closed. Hers shut tightly, their foreheads lovingly pressed against each other. “Simon,” she whispered.

“I love you, Lee Jin,” he replied. “You can’t leave because… because that would simply destroy me. It would destroy every loving fiber of my being because it all belongs to you.” His lips brushed on hers again, but only momentarily before she pushed away from him, her hands flat on his chest.   “Please tell me you love me,” he whispered, his hopeful eyes staring into hers. He wanted nothing more than that, he wanted nothing more than those three little words that would mean the world to him coming from .

And the biggest smile broke out on his face, a smile of relief and happiness when she replied. “I love you, Park Jun Ho,” she whispered, looking deep into those cute doe eyes of his.  His lips covered hers again in a sweet kiss, as if confirming it, making it true and widely known, even in just the confines of her small apartment.

Tears filled her eyes again, but for a different reason. She wasn’t upset, she was completely overjoyed. The only thing she had wanted to hear from him for a long time, and she finally did. She wanted to jump up and down and throw a party, but instead, she continued to sit on his lap and enjoy his soft kiss, and her hands came up to lightly cup his jaw.  

“Be my wife,” he whispered after pulling away, his arms securely around her waist. She had to think about what he said for a moment before giving him a curious look. “I don’t have anything to put on that dainty hand of yours right now, but please? Make me the happiest man alive,” he said, brushing the tip of his nose against hers.  “Have my cute Japanese babies,” he whispered, causing her to laugh. He always had to throw something like that in there.

She chuckled slightly through her tears, her hands still cupping his cheeks as she nodded. “I will,” she whispered with another laugh before her arms wrapped around his neck. Her arms encircled her waist, holding her tightly, never wanting to let go.

Marriage, it’ll happen in a day.