Ji Hyo was happy. She couldn’t remember when she’d last felt truly contented and weightless—carefree—like she was feeling now. It had been a while since she spent time with Haha and Gwang Soo outside filming and she was surprised to learn that she was actually enjoying hanging out with them so much, that she’d missed this random gathering. What she’d planned to be a brief meet-up session to shut Haha up about her ignoring him turned to be more than six hours hang out session with a combination of food, soju, and mindless conversation between the four of them.

She found herself sitting next to Jong Kook halfway along the meeting; she didn’t know how it’d happened. Ji Hyo had started the night sitting next to Haha while Gwang Soo sat next to Jong Kook (she’d suspected the arrangement was to avoid an awkward moment between the two ex-lovers, but, oh, well). Then she’d gone to the restroom and just sat next to Jong Kook when she returned. It hadn’t been her intention—she hadn’t done it on purpose. The seat had been empty, and Ji Hyo had completely forgotten that it wasn’t where she’d been sitting the whole time. It was purely instinctive, like it was a natural thing to do. Like it was where she belonged.

The three men also didn’t comment on that fact, either because they simply didn’t notice or they didn’t want to embarrass Ji Hyo, it was beyond her. But they continued with their banter smoothly without a glitch. They even oversaw the moment Jong Kook put his jacket on Ji Hyo’s lap because she complained that she was cold and her jacket was still draped on the back of the chair where Gwang Soo was now sitting.

They disbanded at around eleven at night. Haha and Gwang Soo had come in the same car and left immediately because Gwang Soo had filming starting early in the morning. Jong Kook insisted on driving Ji Hyo home despite her protestations. He still had to drive back to Anyang, and it was silly if he had to drop her off first at home when she could call a taxi.

“I’m only ten minutes away from home, Oppa.”

“Then I’ll only be delayed for ten minutes. Not a problem. Come on, Ji Hyo-yah—humor me.”

And just like that, Ji Hyo caved in. They rode in silence; Ji Hyo, who’d had too much to drink and was now feeling the aftereffect of the soju, leaned her head against the window to let the glass surface cool her heated skin. Her head was light and a little bit hazy. Jong Kook concentrated on the road and said nothing, thinking she was asleep.

“You can drop me off in that playground, Oppa.” Ji Hyo suddenly pointed out to a dimly lit area a couple of blocks away from her parents’ house. “I need to clear up my head for a while. I drank too much—I’ll never hear the end of it from my mom if she finds out.”

Jong Kook frowned; he doesn’t like the idea of Ji Hyo being on her own in a dark area, no matter how safe she thought it was. Yet, he was afraid he’d be offending her if he voiced that thought.

“I can hear you thinking from here, Jong Kook Oppa,” Ji Hyo said, a hint of a smile was in her voice. “Say it.”

“Let’s just go straight to your house, shall we? We can sit in my car until you sober up a little.”

She chuckled. “I’m not drunk, Oppa. Just a bit tipsy. And what do you think it would look like if someone spots us sitting in your car in the middle of the night in front of my parents’ house?” He said nothing. Then out of nowhere, Ji Hyo said, “Come join me in the playground then.”

“Huh, what?” Jong Kook didn’t think he heard right.

“You’ll be home really, really late tonight, Kim Jong Kook.”

Jong Kook went agape for a second, glancing sideways at Ji Hyo to find the woman looking at him in what he could only describe as a seductive look. He swallowed hard, his mouth suddenly felt dry. “Are—are you sure?”

“Just stop talking and park already.”

Tipsy my , Jong Kook thought but still obliging. She had to be drunk. But her words were not slurred, and she could stand straight without his help before Jong Kook could even get around the car to assist her. His heart skipped a beat when she took his arm and linked it with hers. Ji Hyo leaned her head on his upper arm, pressing her side to his.

“Ah, you’re warm,” she sighed contentedly.

“Are you cold? You can wear my jacket, too,” he offered, not knowing what else to say. Jong Kook was utterly confused at the sudden change of attitude. He felt her shake her head against his arm.

“Let’s play on the jungle gym to warm up.” Ji Hyo pointed her finger at the colorful jungle gym in the middle of the small park.

“This is almost midnight, Ji Hyo-yah.” He bit his inner cheek when his eyes caught her pout. Oh Lord, don’t do this! “Let’s just walk around to clear your head.” He just smiled at her response of calling him an old bore. But they walked anyway; arms in arms, in silence again.

“This is kind of weird, don’t you think?” Ji Hyo broke the silence after some time. From the sound of her voice, Jong Kook knew that she was fully sober now.

“What is?”

“This—you, me, in an empty park alone, and we aren’t even filming anything.” She glanced up at him and found that he was looking at her, too. “In another world, we could be a couple walking home after a good date night.”

Jong Kook braced himself as he replied carefully, “We can make it a reality—in this world.”

She made an amused noise. “Been there, done that. Look where it takes us.”

“That wasn’t real. It doesn’t count.”

“And it is now?”

His heart was practically racing now, thumping wildly against his ribcage that it felt as if it was bursting out of his chest any time soon. He didn’t know what to do. Was it an invitation? Or was it a still half-drunk Ji Hyo speaking? Jong Kook was at a loss; he felt like he was standing around thousands of eggshells and that one wrong step would shatter everything between him and Ji Hyo. He broke out of his reverie when Ji Hyo elbowed him.

“Yah, Kim Jong Kook-ssi, I’m asking you a question.”

“What was that? I wasn’t listening.”

“Obviously.” She rolled her eyes. “Is it now—real, I mean?”

It’s now or never, Jong Kook, he thought. “No,” he said softly, adding, “Not yet.”

She unlinked their arms, and Jong Kook felt empty all of a sudden. “You’ve been too invested in my problems, Oppa. You must have mistaken pity with feelings.”

“I’m an adult. I know what I’m feeling.”

Ji Hyo knew she shouldn’t have asked, but her traitor of a mouth decided to speak on its own accords before she could hold her tongue, “And what is it that you’re feeling?”

“Love.” Jong Kook’s voice was trembling. He took a step closer to Ji Hyo. “What I’m feeling for you is love.”

“Oppa…” Ji Hyo took a step back, regretting having brought up the topic. This hadn’t been what she’d had in mind when she asked him to join her in the park. Ji Hyo already had even too many things on her plate for her to chew without having to delve into this kind of situation.

“I love you, Cheon Seong Im.” Jong Kook ignored the look of a plea in Ji Hyo’s eyes. He was in too deep to backtrack; he decided to just take a dive. “I’m so in love with you.”

Ji Hyo froze on her spot at the confession. Her heart leaped inside at Jong Kook’s profession of love—but she couldn’t determine whether it was because of joy or dread. She reacted a little too late, though, because a split second later Jong Kook was already standing inches away from her with one hand on her waist. She stared at him with wide eyes as Jong Kook was looking back into her eyes with such intensity and desire that they turned almost black.

Jong Kook lowered his head slowly, his hand pulling her closer, and Ji Hyo’s breath caught. Her brain screamed as she blinked and her eyes got a glimpse of Jong Kook’s lips, remembering the felt and taste of them against her own. This isn’t happening, oh my God!

“Ji Hyo-yah,” Jong Kook whispered, sending puffs of warm air to Ji Hyo’s face as he was giving her time to push him away. She didn't. “I’m going to kiss you.”

“Oh!” was her only reaction before Jong Kook swiftly closed the distance between them.

Ji Hyo saw stars the moment their lips touched. It was just like the first time they’d kissed—only better. Every cell in her body sprang alive the moment their lips touched, begging for more. There was no more space between them save for the layers of clothes they were wearing, and Ji Hyo didn’t know who pulled who closer first—he had his arms around her waist, securing her in his embrace, and she had hers clutching the collars of Jong Kook’s jacket. All she knew was that she wanted him closer to her, and he wasn't.

She shivered when she felt Jong Kook swipe his tongue on her lips, teasing, asking permission to go deeper. Ji Hyo had never felt more alive. Every cell in her body sang; she felt fire starting on her lower belly, a fire that spread quickly as she opened and let Jong Kook deepen his kiss. At the first touch of his tongue against hers, Ji Hyo melted. Her knees buckled; hadn’t it been for Jong Kooks strong arms keeping her standing, she’d have fallen onto the ground. She was lost in the feelings of Jong Kook—the smell of him, the taste of him, the feel of his body against her, everything!

Somebody moaned, and Ji Hyo didn’t know if it was Jong Kook or herself that made the noise, but it sounded so needy, and it made the fire in the pit of her stomach go ablaze. She grunted in protest when Jong Kook suddenly pulled away, leaving her bereft, but then he started trailing light kisses on her jawline, down to her neck and… “Oh!” Ji Hyo’s hand scrambled to grab his hair for purchase, pulling him closer as she tilted her head to give him more access to her neck. More! MORE!

Then she heard voices talking from afar, and her eyes sprang open (when had she closed them?!). Ji Hyo suddenly became aware of where they were. She went rigid. What were you thinking, you stupid, stupid woman!? As the voices were getting closer, and there were footsteps, too, Ji Hyo pushed Jong Kook away, ignoring the sudden feeling of loss and longing of being in his embrace again.

The man was in a daze. “Wha—…?” he didn’t finish his sentence, noticing the voices, too. He saw the look of horror in her eyes; his heart sank, realizing what he had done and where he had done it. They stood there in silence, not knowing whether they should leave or stay there and wait until the people passed by.

Jong Kook pulled Ji Hyo’s hood for her, making sure it covered her face. They waited. The footsteps grew faint, farther away from where they were until they could no longer hear anything. His arms shot forward to steady Ji Hyo as she wobbled, losing the strength in her legs.

“That was…” amazing. Ji Hyo shook her head, “reckless.” Mind-blowing. “What were you thinking?!”

Her voice was shrilly, and Jong Kook knew her well enough to know that she was panicking. “I wasn’t, sorry,” he apologized, adding quickly, “But I’m not sorry I kissed you.”

“You had no rights kissing me like that.”

“I didn’t hear you protesting a while ago,” Jong Kook pointed out. “You kissed me back.”

“I…” she couldn’t finish her sentence. “That wasn’t supposed to happen,” she settled in the end.

Jong Kook sighed. “Are we going to argue again? Because I don’t want to—I’m tired of arguing.”

“Then you shouldn’t have kissed me. Or—or said stupid thing like you love me.”

Then you shouldn’t have kissed me back, Jong Kook had wanted to say but it would only get them nowhere. “I do love you,” he said instead. “I’m not going to hide it from you. I love you, Ji Hyo-yah.”

“But I don’t.”

Jong Kook smiled sadly. “That’s your prerogative. I can’t force you to love me, Ji Hyo, just like you can’t make me not love you.”

Ji Hyo wanted to cry. “I don’t…” she didn’t know what to say. A small sob escaped and Ji Hyo’s hand flew to cover . She didn’t pull away when Jong Kook came closer and pulled her into a hug.

“We’ll take it slow, okay?” he whispered into her hair.

“What if I never learn to love you back?”

His heart shattered a little at this. But he calmly replied, “And so be it. I’m not forcing you to love me back, no. You don’t even have to like me. We can be just friends if that’s what you want. I’ll even leave if that’s what you need.” He felt her grip the front of his jacket at this. Jong Kook pressed his cheek against her head. “Your not loving me back doesn’t change the fact that I love you, Ji Hyo-yah—that I’m in love with you. Okay?” She nodded against his chest, accepting the warmth and comfort he was giving to her freely. Jong Kook tightened his hold on her. Baby steps, Jong Kook-ah, baby steps.

A/N: And here you go... I've got a feeling that I'll be getting a lot of hate after this chapter. Sorry about that--blame the sh*t that's been happening in my life lately that I decided to torture these two instead of being an adult and take care of my problems heads on. 

Anyway, should this chapter be marked M? It is still kinda PG leaning to T rating, right?