Idol(s): Kim Jong In / Kai (EXO)

Genre: Comedy, Romance

Inspiration: I’ve had a number of people express their desire for the main characters Kwon Ji Won and Kai from my friendship-focused genie stories Three Wishes and Genie get together romantically. I’ve written a romantic comedy one shot set in a realistic alternate universe for them before called The Big Question and this is just another one that you could say is sort of a part two to it. It was intended to be a one shot but it ended up being longer than I’d anticipated so will be a “three-shot” instead. Additionally, this story is a standalone. You do NOT have to read any of my other stories to read and understand this one.

Synopsis: It’s the day before Kai’s birthday and Kwon Ji Won has no plans and no gift for her boyfriend. Luckily he’s willing to pardon her neglect on one condition: she plays his servant for twenty-four hours.

Individual Story Link: King’s Play

Posted: 16 August 2016, 20:00 EDT

Word Count: 5,626

~//~

“What did you think?” Kai’s mother asked after the show had ended. They were waiting along the curb just outside the Seoul Arts Center while the valet person retrieved his father’s car.

“I think the music and acting were great, but nothing can beat the original. And no one will ever be able to replace Jamie Bell as Billy Elliot.”

“You can be such a snob sometimes,” Ji Won deadpanned. She thought the musical was amazing, much more fresh and enjoyable than the film she’d had to watch over a dozen times.

“I agree,” Kai’s father muttered next to her. He and Ji Won shared a chuckle at the remark unheard by the subject.

The four drove to an upscale Italian restaurant when Mr. Kim’s car finally pulled up. It was one of Kai’s favorite places to eat but he and Ji Won never got to indulge unless his parents took them out. That’s how pricey the place was.

“So Ji Won, I hope things between you and Jong In are well.” Mrs. Kim delicately sliced her chicken into bitable sizes. Before bringing a piece up to , she passed a chastising look Kai’s way and added, “I’d hate to think my son did anything to upset you recently.”

That was a strange speculation to make. If anything, she’d probably upset Kai for being negligent.

Not missing the pointed look from him through her peripheral vision, as if daring her to say anything that wasn’t complimentary, Ji Won sweetly replied, “Things between us are great, Mrs. Kim. I really think I’m the luckiest girl alive to be dating someone as amazing as Jong In.”

Kai leaned over the table towards his mother with a playful smirk. “You hear that, Mom? Straight from Ji Won’s mouth, she thinks she’s the luckiest girl alive to be dating me.”

“Careful there, Son,” his father quipped in. “If your head gets any bigger, your neck might not be able to support it.”

Ji Won had to muffle a snort of laughter. Mr. Kim was no stranger to his son’s cockiness and liked to do his part to keep him humble.

“Hey, birthday boy here, or did you already forget?”

“No, you’re right.” Mr. Kim glanced at his wife beside him. When she lightly nodded, he put down his fork and knife and reached into the pocket of his suit jacket to pull out a small white envelope that he held out to Kai. “I believe this is exactly what you asked for.”

Kai curiously placed his silverware down to take the envelope and slide a slip of paper out after opening it. Ji Won used this moment to take a sip of her wine and glance over his shoulder to read what it said. The wine nearly went down the wrong pipe and she had to cover to smother a cough. It was a check for ten thousand dollars. What did he need that kind of money for?

Kai smiled gratefully. “Thanks, Dad. I’ll definitely pay you back.”

“I appreciate the thought, but please don’t. I think of it as an investment in my son,” Mr. Kim’s eyes briefly flickered to Ji Won before returning on Kai, “and his future.”

Lunch ended after a lively recollection of Kai and Ji Won’s Christmas. They’d spent a week at a cabin in the mountains which ended up nothing like advertised. There was no internet, the fireplace was wood-powered so one of them had to get out of bed each night to refuel it, and they’d had to share it with a family of mice.

“But once Ji Won stopped screaming each time a mouse ran by –”

“Hey, I wasn’t the only one!”

“We actually had a good time,” Kai concluded on their way out of the restaurant. “The town had a lot of fun things to do and we met some interesting people.”

Kai then sent Ji Won a crooked, mischievous smile unseen by his parents. She knew exactly what it was for. Without internet, they’d found other ways to occupy their time at the cabin that took care of their heating problem and didn’t involve them walking on the floor where the mice would run by. Ji Won had to bury her blushing face in Kai’s chest while they walked hand-in-hand to the parking lot so his parents wouldn’t see.

“You always have to make it obvious what you’re thinking about, don’t you?” he whispered into her ear. Ji Won lightly smacked him, making him laugh.

“What’s so funny?” Mrs. Kim asked as she stepped into the front passenger seat.

“Nothing Mom,” Kai said with a lingering smile. He followed in after Ji Won into the back seat.

“Are you cold, dear?” His mother had noticed her red face and seemed to think she was suffering from cold burn. She turned up the temperature dial on the dashboard, then directed her attention at Kai through the rear view mirror. “You’re still meeting with my fortune teller today, right? We’ll drop you off.”

Ji Won crossed her arms suspiciously at Kai. “I thought you didn’t believe in fortune tellers.” He shrugged.

“Well he’s started believing because he personally asked me for Madame Cho’s number.” Mrs. Kim clapped her hands together. “It’s a good thing too. Your birthday is an auspicious day to have your fortune told.”

Something was off. Kai was not one to “put his future into the hands of an eccentric woman weaving stories about a person’s future with tarot cards for illustration” as he liked to describe it. He always had some contemptuous remark when she went to a fortune teller with her friends.

***

“Jong In, Ji Won, I’ve been expecting you.”

Madame Cho greeted them with a theatrical and ominous voice when the two stepped into her eclectic establishment filled with smoke from the bouquet of incense sticks in one corner and decorated with various foreign antiquities. She was dressed in a colorful traditional Korean hanbok and her hair was pulled tightly back into a low bun that made her features look hard and severe.

She gestured for them to sit at the table in front of her and spread a deck of tarot cards into a fan. “Before we begin, what question do you hope to get answered?”

Kai turned to Ji Won. “Well, since we’re here together, why don’t we ask about us? Like how compatible are we?”

Ji Won readily agreed with a nod. Finally, she was going to find out just how great of a match they were. It was best predicted when both parties were present and she could never convince Kai to agree to go. She’d been waiting for this day for a very long time.

“Please pick three cards,” Madame Cho instructed with a grand flourish of her hand.

“Why don’t you do the honors, Ji Won?” Kai suggested.

Ji Won approached the task with grave seriousness. She passed her hand over the cards and let her eyes dance over the intricate geometric patterns on the backs until she eventually decided on the three that she felt calling to her.

Madame Cho flipped each over one by one reading their names as she did, “The Devil, The Fool, and the Lovers reversed.” She hummed in deep thought and clicked her tongue disapprovingly.

Ji Won panicked. “What? What is it?” The Lovers seemed like a good card for a couple to get, even if it was upside down. But surely it couldn’t be that bad, right?

Madame Cho pointed first to the card in question, The Lovers. “I see that at least one of you is unhappy in this relationship, perhaps feeling lonely, disregarded by the other. But you stay with them because of a sense of duty, responsibility, or commitments made.”

Ji Won wriggled uncomfortably in her seat. That could only be referring to Kai. She’d forgotten his birthday so he probably felt hurt and ignored. And it was he who’d asked her to move in with him. He probably couldn’t break up with her because he’d feel bad kicking her out.

Her finger glided along to the card with the half man, half goat figure with black wings and horns. At its feet was a man and woman shackled to each other. “The Devil represents addiction and temptation. In a relationship it can mean spending too much time with one another, and not in a healthy manner. There might be more physical intimacy than usual, but you communicate less and don’t bond in other, more emotional ways.”

They had been having more lately. That was basically all they’d done during their Christmas vacation. Ji Won had thought nothing wrong of it. In fact, she’d thought it meant they were very compatible. But should they have spent that time doing other things instead, like enjoying nights out on the town? They had after all paid for the shoddy cabin to get out of the busy, polluted Seoul and explore the rural area more. So why hadn’t they done that?

A horrifying thought dawned on her. What if they were only able to connect physically? What if they could no longer do the other things healthy couples did, like talking to one another about their problems, their aspirations, about random things, or doing things together as a couple outside of the home. Kai was always asking her to join him in his morning workouts. What if that was him trying to find another platform for them to bond on because he felt otherwise unfulfilled in their relationship? 

The fortune teller tapped on the final card, The Fool. “However there is hope.”

Ji Won nearly jumped out of her seat with zealous relief. There was still a chance for them to work.

“There is potential for new beginnings, ones that would make you both happy.”

Ji Won had a grin that went from ear to ear.

“If the two of you can decide to part ways wholeheartedly and move on towards better, more empowering relationships.”

Her hopes plummeted with an explosive crash.

“So…” Kai leaned back in his chair and lazily crossed his arms, an entertained grin adorning his lips, “to answer our question, we’re a train wreck waiting to happen unless we jump off right now.”

Ji Won’s head jerked to him, tears dotting the corners of her eyes. How could he say something like that so coolly, like this was all a joke? She’d always imagined a fortune teller predicting a long and happy future for them because she’d thought them a match made in heaven, but the ugly truth was that they were dysfunctional and wrong for one another. Even worse, she would never be happy again because she knew she wouldn’t be able to wholeheartedly move on from Kai if they broke up.

Overcome with a mixture of pity for herself, anger at Kai, and discouragement towards their future together, Ji Won stood up, mumbled something about needing fresh air, and stormed out of the building. A blast of cold air slapped her in the face, adding salt to her wound. She was a terrible girlfriend for Kai and now she was going to die cold, alone, and unhappy. At least Madame Cho’s place was on a deserted street and no one was around to witness her in her pathetic state.

“Ji Won!”

Kai had run after her and caught her by the shoulder. Tears were streaming down and warming her chilled cheeks as he swung her around. He sighed and placed his palms on either side of her face to wipe the liquid with the pads of his thumbs. He leaned in close and gently asked, “Why are you crying?”

“I don’t like it!” she blubbered between gasps of breath. “That wasn’t what our fortune was supposed to be! She was supposed to tell us how perfect we are together so that I could go to sleep tonight with a huge smile on my face and brag to my friends about it tomorrow and then never question again if we’re meant to be.”

Kai patiently listened to her complaints, even smiling one of his infuriatingly patronizing smiles because he likely thought her whining immature but amusing. “So,” he said once she was done, “does this mean we should break up?”

Eyes wide and heart drumming wildly, Ji Won immediately responded, “No!” She couldn’t lose Kai. But then she remembered who the unhappy one was in their relationship. Her gaze slipped to the floor and she reluctantly mumbled, “I mean, not unless that’s what you want. If you’re not happy with me…”

Kai almost snorted with laughter. Ji Won’s eyes filled with shock, confusion, and hurt whipped back up to him. How could he be laughing at a time like this? “Ji Won, would I have forced you to spend the entire day with me if you didn’t make me happy?”

Ji Won chewed her lip in thought. That made sense. No one liked to spend any more time with people they didn’t like than they had to. If he was only dating her out of pity, he’d have tried to keep their interactions to a minimum, right? “I guess not.”

“Okay, so if you want us to stay together and I want us to stay together, do you think we should let a stranger who knows zilch about us dictate our lives and tell us to do otherwise?”

Normally she would let a stranger command her life. Ji Won had once refused to wear black for a whole week that her horoscope told her it was an unlucky color for her. But at this moment she shook her head. She could go a week without wearing a certain color. She couldn’t go the rest of her life without Kai.

“Alright then, as I’ve said before, fortune tellers are whack.”

“If you thought that, then why did you want to go to one today?”

“To see it with my own eyes.”

There was a deviousness to the smirk on Kai’s face that made Ji Won think there was more to it than that. It was the same smile he’d had when she’d agreed to this whole twenty-four-hour slavery thing in the first place, and it brought forth those worrisome thoughts that today was all part of some master plan that would end with her the of the joke.

“Hey, I’m getting cold out here.” He nodded behind her. “I think there’s a coffee shop around the corner. Why don’t we warm ourselves up with a hot drink?” Ji Won graciously accepted his arm as he led them forward. “And maybe you can fix up your make-up before you start giving children nightmares.”

Ji Won swung her bag hard into his chest.

***

Thank god Ji Won had grabbed this particular purse which had her touch-up powder and eyeliner already inside. Her make-up hadn’t been ruined to the point of scaring kids as Kai had exaggerated. Nevertheless, it had definitely smudged after her tears, though not as bad as if it were a hot, humid, summer day. 

When she finally came out of the girl’s bathroom looking presentable again, she found Kai standing off to the side in front of the front counter, playing on his phone.

“Is something wrong? Did you already put in the order?” she asked, wondering why he wasn’t seated with their drinks. It was a slow day at this coffee shop so he should have received them by now. Even the cashier had a bored look as he rested his face on his propped up palm, waiting for something to do.

Kai slipped his attention to her and said matter-of-factly, “I was waiting for you. I can’t order unless I’m paying, and with it being my birthday and all…” He finished with a smug smile.

Ji Won rolled her eyes and approached the cashier.

“I don’t have to tell you what I like, right?” Kai threw over his shoulder as he walked past.

Kai always bought an iced Americano, even in the winter. For herself, she studied the menu on the back wall above and finally decided on a vanilla latte. Then as an afterthought, when she’d caught sight of a sign posted on the display case of the various desserts the shop served, she leaned across the counter to speak to the cashier privately and add something special to Kai’s order.

“Your drink, Highness,” Ji Won said with a grand bow some minutes later. She placed his Americano in front of him and took a seat opposite him.

Kai gave her an approving nod. “I like the gesture, but maybe with a little less sarcasm next time.” He took a sip of his drink and sighed contentedly.

Ji Won hid a smile behind her cup.  Just you wait. You’re going to love my next gesture. Who said she couldn’t have planned something for Kai’s birthday the day before if given the chance?

Kai leaned forward and studied her. “What did you do?” he asked interrogatingly.

She quickly dropped her smile. “What do you mean?”

“I know every one of your smiles and the one you were just trying to hide from me is the one you have when you’re about to get revenge.”

Why was he so damn observant? And when was the cashier going to execute her plan?

Kai dragged the Americano away from his lips and scrunched his nose at it. “Did you do something to my drink? Like spit in it?”

Thank god Ji Won didn’t have to lie. “No, of course not,” she said with exaggerated offense. “I would never defile food.”

Kai stared for a long moment before reluctantly giving in. “Yeah, I guess that’s true. Food has higher importance than even me.”

Ji Won shot him a big, indulgent grin. It was easy for Kai to infuriate her, but the opposite wasn’t as true. Very few things got under his skin and this fact was one of them.

Still, Kai eyed the cup suspiciously one last time before taking another sip.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the cashier came into view behind Kai. He was joined by another employee who must have been working in the back. She held a small cake with a sparkling candle in its center. Both wore animal ears – the cashier with wolf ears and the girl with cat ears. She’d even painted on black whiskers and a nose.

“Everyone, may I have your attention,” the cashier shouted to the other customers which included a group of girls, an elderly couple, and a family with two young kids. Kai turned around in his seat to see what the commotion was about while Ji Won hurriedly pulled out her phone and started recording. “It’s come to our attention that today is a very special person’s birthday.” His eyes fell on Kai.

Ji Won craned her body to capture his reaction. Eyes wide and mouth slightly parted, Kai looked stunned.

The cashier brought out another pair of animal ears, white bunny ones, and slid them on his head. He turned to the small crowd. “Would you all please join me in singing Jong In happy birthday?”

As the two employees started, “Happy birthday to you,” with the customers awkwardly joining, Kai finally turned to Ji Won. She smiled brightly from behind her phone. He looked ridiculous with the big ears, one flopping backwards and the other forwards.

Kai narrowed his eyes. “I knew you were up to something.”

Ji Won petulantly shrugged and joined in on the song. After the birthday chant ended, the cashier instructed Kai to make a wish and blow out the candle.

“Make it a good wish,” Ji Won excitedly said behind the screen of her recording phone.

“Oh I will, and if the birthday gods are looking down on me, my wish should be coming true very soon,” Kai said cryptically. He closed his eyes for a few seconds and then blew out the single candle.

Once the café finally quieted down, which required Kai willingly handing his ears over to one of the small children who’d thrown a tantrum because they’d wanted one, Kai and Ji Won indulged in the chocolate cake.

“That was a bold move to make given that you still have eight hours under my control left.”

Ji Won shoved a forkful of the decadent dessert into and shrugged. “I have no regrets.”

The only other thing to rattle Kai’s cage was uncertainty. He liked having control of a situation and being as perceptive as he was, it was always hard to catch him off his guard. It didn’t help that Ji Won was terrible at acting and Kai could easily pick up on her lies. So surprising him was rare but always rewarding. That’s why, when she’d seen the notice of the kid’s birthday event the shop offered, it came as a no-brainer to have it done for Kai. There was little time between making the request and the employees carrying it out during which he could figure out the plan and put an end to her chance at catching the embarrassing moment on camera.

“Well then it comes as no surprise that I want you to delete the video.”

Ji Won protectively held her phone to her heart. “No way!”

“It’s an order,” Kai shot back.

“You said I can have a pass for something I feel uncomfortable doing and I don’t feel comfortable letting a precious, happy memory that I want to share with everyone go to oblivion.”

“I wasn’t happy,” Kai deadpanned.

“I wasn’t talking about you,” she replied with a smirk.

A tight-lipped Kai exhaled through his nose. “Fine, then I’m changing the rules.” With a crooked smile, he tipped forward across the table. “You only get one free pass to not do as I say. If you use it on this video, know that you have to do everything I ask of you from this point on.”

“That’s not fair! I wouldn’t have agreed to this if you were only going to give me one!”

Kai leaned back in his chair and coolly crossed his arms. “It’s my birthday. I can do whatever I want.”

Face scrunching into an angry pout, Ji Won growled, “Fine. But just wait until my birthday when I return everything to you two-fold.” There was no way she was giving up the video now. Kai had made it clear the value he placed on it by revising the conditions of her servitude, so it would make for some good blackmail material in the future.

***

Defiantly crossing her arms, Ji Won huffed, “No way! I’m not doing this again. I had bruises on my for a week last time!”

With a laugh in his voice, Kai said, “I remember. I still crack up at that video of you falling on your last year.”

Ji Won glowered. What a hypocrite, demanding her to delete an embarrassing video of him all while keeping the multitude of embarrassing ones of her.

“And don’t tell me you already forgot that you have to do everything I ask of you from this point on.”

With a pout, Ji Won swiped the blades from his outstretched hands and moved to a bench. They’d arrived at the outdoor Seoul Plaza skating rink. It was almost five and already the sun was dipping downwards towards the horizon.

Ji Won straightened in her seat after slipping her skates on but didn’t make any effort to stand. She detested ice skating for so many reasons. She had terrible balance and could never quite get the hang of moving on the ice without holding onto the rails. When she ventured away from the safety of the rim after seeming to get the feel for it, she looked like such an idiot with her hands out before her and her sticking out while little kids whizzed by her looking like pros in comparison. The falls on the cold, hard ice were always so painful, and Kai always managed to have his camera at the ready during those embarrassing moments. He’d created a compilation of her falls from the previous year that he saved to the Cloud so he could view it on all his devices any time he wanted.

A figure blocked the last of the sun. Ji Won pulled her gaze up to find Kai crouching down in front of her. His fingers busied themselves on her laces. He’d undone her knots and was methodically going up along each shoe to tighten the strings before retying them.

“Sometimes I wonder what you’d do without me,” he said. His eyes drifted up to meet hers with a devil-may-care smile.

“I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you,” she retorted.

Kai’s smile faded with a sigh. He took her hands in his. “Alright, if you really don’t want to do this, we can leave.”

Ji Won took a moment to reflect on herself. Today was Kai’s birthday. It happened once a year. And as much as she hated ice skating, she shouldn’t be letting her attitude drag down the mood on his special day.

“No, I’m sorry. I’m acting like a total brat.” Ji Won shut her eyes and took a deep breath. I can do this. I can do this. When she reopened them, they landed hard and resolute on Kai. “Let’s do this.”

An indulging grin overtaking him, Kai brought her knuckles forth and kissed them. “Sorry coming from your lips? I must be dreaming.”

Ji Won rolled her eyes and stood up with a wobble on her skates. “I’ll just get acclimated to the ice while you put on your skates.”

Kai nodded and released her hands. Ji Won could feel his eyes on her as she shuffled forward. There was probably a crooked smile on his face as he watched and waited to see if she’d make it to the rink without falling flat on her face. She was pleased to say she had.

The first step onto the ice was always the hardest. Her fingers wrapped around the rim so tightly they turned white. Tentatively, she placed one foot onto the rink and checked for steadiness. When she felt ready, she brought her other foot forward. Her legs staggered and by reflex, her body huddled closer to the rink. A child half her size hurtled by and she could have sworn she heard him squawk like a chicken as he passed. This was going to be a long day.

Kai finally joined her, coming to an expert hockey stop in front of her that sent ice shavings her way.

“Watch it!” Ji Won snapped, as she gingerly bent down while still holding onto the rink edge with one hand and used the other to brush the cold flakes off her leggings.

Kai bent forward and simultaneously took her sweeping hand and the one holding onto the rim in his. She immediately yelped and with his pulling, landed clumsily in his embrace.

“What are you doing?!” she demanded.

“I’m going to finally teach you how to properly skate,” he magnanimously declared.

“But if I don’t hold onto the rim, I’ll fall and then everyone will laugh at me. Even you,” she pouted.

“I promise, I won’t laugh. Besides, you’re not going to fall because I’m not going to let you.”

There was no mischievous sparkle in his eyes, no hint of a smirk on his lips, no arrogance in his tone. Moments like these, when Kai was so gentle and caring, reminded Ji Won how reliable and protective he was beneath his abundant cheek and hubris. This awareness sent a shock of warmth through her which combatted the cold temperature.

“Okay, I trust you.”

Kai smiled and kissed her temple. “Good.”

The heat provided from their close proximity was suddenly stolen when Kai slid backwards to arm’s length. He still held a firm grip on her hands but Ji Won was already bending her knees to the ground.

“You need to stand up.”

“Uh-uh, the farther I am from the ground, the harder I fall.”

“I thought you said you trust me.”

Ji Won tipped her head up to meet the hurt in his eyes. “I do trust you. I just don’t trust myself.”

Kai squatted before her. “Well I trust you. So if you trust me, and I trust you, then it doesn’t make sense that you don’t trust yourself.” Ji Won hated it when he used circular logic on her. She didn’t know how to argue against him in those instances. “Now, let’s try this again. I’m going to stand up then pull you up with me. Okay?”

Ji Won nodded. “But do it slowly.”

Once both were upright, with Ji Won moving her hands up to his forearms for better support, Kai said, “Alright, now push your right foot forward against the ice.”

Ji Won pouted but Kai took no pity on her. With a sigh, she tentatively slid her foot as he’d instructed.

“Good, now the left.”

Kai slid backwards as Ji Won moved forwards and he continued to command her like a drill master, left, right, left, right. Eventually her fingers loosened their hold on Kai’s arms when she began to fall into a rhythm. She was hardly graceful in her skating, but Ji Won found herself actually sort of enjoying the activity.

That is until that kid from earlier skated past her again and did a one-eighty behind Kai so that he now faced her. He skated backwards with a smirk. “Hey old lady, my grandma skates faster than you!”

Ji Won scowled. “Why you little –”

“Min Woo!” Ji Won jerked her head to the side where she saw an elderly woman waving at the child. “Min Woo, time to go!”

Ji Won’s jaw dropped watching the woman who was at least three times her age glide gracefully along the ice and come to a stop at the rink exit. With one last victorious grin, Min Woo followed.

“Can you believe the nerve of that kid?” Ji Won ranted to Kai who’d watched the interaction with bemused interest. “Calling me an old lady.”

“Well you’re probably three times his age so to him, you are an old lady.”

Ji Won’s expression flattened. “And you’re older so that would make you an old man.”

Kai arched a brow. With a glint in his eyes, he picked up the speed in his backwards skating and dragged Ji Won along. She instantly panicked, resorting to sticking her bottom out to spread her weight and keep her balance. “Stop! Stop!” she wailed.

“I’m sorry. I’m an old man who’s losing his hearing. What did you say?” he mocked. He knew how to dish out insults but god forbid he was ever the subject of one.

“Kai, please, I’m going to fall!” Ji Won cried.

With a loud scrape that sent ice flying, Kai came to an abrupt halt. Ji Won scrunched her eyes close waiting for the painful crash she was sure was going to come. It didn’t. Or at least the impact wasn’t as “knock the breath out of her” as she’d thought it would be. She fell into the arms of her boyfriend who used the momentum of the crash to twirl in place.

When the circular motion subsided, Ji Won opened her eyes and looked up at the infuriating Kai with his content smile. “You really must be an old lady because you seem to have already forgotten that I’d never let you fall.”

Darn him. How did he manage to be aggravating and sweet at the same time? There were so many moments like this when Ji Won wished to both slap him and kiss him. More often than not, including now, it ended in a kiss. Normally she wasn’t a fan of public displays of affection, but as Kai dipped his head down to meet his lips with hers, she couldn’t protest. The kiss was gentle and loving and it felt as natural as breathing air that she forgot she was in a public rink with hundreds of other people.

“Well I think we’ve done enough skating for today.” Kai said when he pulled away much sooner than she would have liked. He leaned close into her ear. “I’ve got a hunger that only you can appease, if you know what I mean.”

Heat pooled in Ji Won’s cheeks as she stared into his mischievous dark brown eyes. He smirked, making her heart pulse uncontrollably. She hated to admit it, but that overconfident smile of his really turned her on.

Then Kai laughed and immediately that passionate heat building up in her turned ice cold with confused embarrassment. “You make it so obvious what you’re thinking. What I meant is that I want you to treat me to dinner.” He again tipped his head down to whisper, “We do have to replenish our energy before taking on any extraneous activities later.” He retreated after a quick nibble of the top of her ear.

This was one of those moments that ended in a slap. Frowning deeply, Ji Won smacked him hard in the chest. She nearly lost her balance doing so and it was thanks to Kai reflexively tightening his arms around her waist that she remained upright.

“Insubordination?” Kai said with dramatic disbelief. He narrowed his eyes. “Looks like I’m going to have to discipline my slave tonight.” One corner of his lips quivered ever so slightly upwards.

Ji Won rolled her eyes but mirrored that hidden smile. There was a silver lining to look forward to after all the suffering she’d endured today.

~//~

Author's Note