"Honey, are you in there? Jin Young is here already."

            "I'll be down in a minute!" 

            Ella limped around her room, grabbing everything she needed before scurrying out the door and down the stairs. Jin Young was sitting in the living room, flipping through the channels on TV, obviously killing the sweet, sweet time she was taking to get down the stairs. She wasn't doing it on purpose, really. The feeling of not having a cast on her leg, weighing her down, was a sensation she wanted to savour. 

            Okay, so she was milking it. Try living in a wheelchair for over a month...

            "Okay, I'm ready, Jin Young-sshi. Let’s go!" 

--

            "So, how was your day?"

            "Well, I woke up early, went over to a friend's house, and had to wait for almost an hour because she was taking her time." 

            Ella grinned at him, shooting him a peace sign. 

            "Things in life should be taken slow. Only when you get taken out of the fast lane, do you appreciate the little quirks in life." She winked at him and made her point by walking even slower than she already was.

            Jin Young scowled at her. Ever since Sandeul came back, everything was as it should have been. No more depression, no more pain. All smiles. Except for one person.

            "Oh, come on! Loosen up! Live a little. We walk together almost every day, but I bet you don't even look at your surroundings. Enjoy the fresh air, the trees, nature! Heck, go on a swing! You're too uptight. So boring," she muttered. As fast as her healed leg could take her, she trudged forward, leaving a silent Jin Young behind.

            'Boring, huh? I'll show you boring.'

--

            "Ella!"

            "Tell him to wait for bit. It's his fault for coming early anyway." She limped around in her room, pulling out her clothes for their daily walk. Jin Young had shown up at an ungodly hour, before sunrise, and had the gall to rush her. 

            'Seriously, he's going to get a piece of my mind when I'm done.' She rushed down the stairs and glared at him, sending imaginary daggers at his face. 'Take that, you bully.'

--

            "Stop pulling! Yah! My leg hurts!"

            Jin Young raised an eyebrow at her.

            "Yah? What did you just say?" He glared at her and took a step forward.

            "Hehe, sorry?" She nervously backed away and tried to make a run for it. Considering the fact that she was still adjusting to walking, she didn't get very far. He easily pulled her into an embrace and chuckled into her ear.

            "You're going to have to move faster than that if you want to escape from your master," he whispered.

            Shivers ran down her spine. It had been so long since he had addressed himself as her master, yet the sound of it made her feel an emotion she never thought she would experience again. An emotion she had only ever felt for one person before, but he wasn’t with her anymore.

--

            They arrived at the same park and walked down the same path they had walked countless times, but today felt different. Somehow, she felt nervous, more nervous than she had ever felt before. Maybe it was because they left early and was straying from their norm, or it was because of Jin Young. 

//
[MC Tales: I think it's the boy... just saying...]
//

            Hand in hand, they strolled along the familiar path. She prayed her palm wouldn't get clammy from her nervousness.

            He hadn't done this before, hold her hand. Usually they would walk side by side with a safe distance between. Not too close, but never too far. 

            Her heart beat faster as he caught her staring at him. She blinked several times, clearing awkwardly before looking ahead at their path. It was then, that she noticed rows of flowers lining the trail.

            'Those weren't there yesterday...' she thought, looking back to see when they had started to appear. She had to squint to see where it began. 'Apparently I'm the one that doesn't pay attention to my surroundings.' She smacked head lightly, cursing herself. They were there from the start.

            "Seems like you finally noticed them, huh? I was up all night working on this. Do you like it?" He smiled at her, a soft smile. Not one of his usual smirks that he had given her all this time. A genuine smile.

            She nearly tripped over in shock. Was he really smiling at her? Did he really plant all those flowers? Who let him do that? And...why?

            They continued forward, admiring the flowers and the sunrise. Other people were now walking the trail for their morning exercises, smiling happily at the bright flowers that had appeared over night. Jin Young seemed to have put smiles on many faces already, including her own smile.

            "Let’s go this way today," he said, taking her off the trail. He led them to the children's park; a place he had refused to ever set foot on, claiming it was too childish and would ruin his image. Yet, here he was, dragging her to the swings. He sat down on one and turned to her with an all too familiar smirk.

            "Can you push me?"

            She shot him an incredulous look.

            "Please?" he pouted.

            Her jaw dropped. Was he serious? She couldn't even hold her own weight properly let alone push his weight around. Despite her body screaming with resistance, her conscience dragged her towards him. 

            The task was a circus act of its own. She somehow managed to push him forward lightly, duck out of the way, all while trying to balance on her good foot, arms flailing about. Her foot began to throb and she bit her lip to keep from crying. She only closed her eyes for a second of rest when she felt herself being lifted up and placed gently onto the seat.

            Her eyes widened when she was pushed forward on the swing. His touch was gentle against her back, brushing ever so softly with each push. It made her skin tingle; goose bumps crept onto her arms. Oddly enough, his absent touch made her yearn for more and she found herself waiting for the swing to sway back to him. 

            'Better yet, why not stop swinging completely? Wait, what am I thinking?'

            At that moment, her phone vibrated with a text. She fished it out of her pocket and opened it to find that it was from Sandeul.

            (Ella! If the chance comes, go for it. Don't hold onto the past, we'll be the best of friends forever. -Deul P.S. you have my blessing =])

            'Chance? Blessing? What the heck is he talking about?' She was about to text him back when she noticed the swing was stationary and that a shadow was now hovering over her. 

            "Jin Young-sshi...?"

            He stood in front of her, his expression unreadable. She shifted uncomfortably under his gaze and made a move to stand up, but he put a hand on her shoulder. Instead, he kneeled down to her eye level.

            "This won't come to you as a surprise since I've told you this once before, but it's something I need to tell you again." He paused and pulled something out from his pocket. "I know you've been through a lot this year with Sandeul, what with the break up and depression and coma, but, you guys weren't the only ones going through it. No, you guys were never alone. I was there. All this time, I was there for you. When you got hit, I was there for you every day. I'm sure you heard from the nurses already. Everything you had felt, I felt with you. When you had suffered through recovery and finding Sandeul, I was there right next to you. What I'm trying to say is I like you. Will you give me a chance?"

            Her heart hammered against her chest, loud and clear.

            'So this was what he meant by his blessing.'

            She stared at him, momentarily getting lost in the warmth of his brown eyes. His breath against her ear brought her back to reality.

            "Did you hear me the first time, or do I have to come closer?" he mumbled, brushing his nose against her jaw.

            Her heart nearly stopped. Warmth rushed to her face and she pushed him away, ducking her head to hide her red cheeks. She could hear him chuckling softly, but he didn't move. He knelt there on the hard rocks, patiently waiting for her answer. 

            He watched her face scrunch up in thought as she fought her mental battle. It was going to be a tough decision for her, he knew that, but he was willing to wait for the rest of his life for her answer. 

            After one last look at her phone, she put it away and let out a shaky breath. 

            "So…" 

            She held up a hand to silence him and finally looked up.

            "Ever since the first time I met you, we never got along. In your eyes, I was the girl that ruined something of great importance to you. Then you went and wrote a slave contract. So I became the girl who was your slave. You put me through some tough times, but I handled them as best as I could. Soon after, I started going out with Sandeul oppa. The tasks started to become less frequent. There were even days where we didn't even speak. Then, you confessed one day. I went from being the girl you hated the most to the girl you confess your love to. It seriously made me question what goes on in your head," she paused, taking a breath to organize her words. "Then, things changed when I got into that accident. The tables turned and you were there, taking care of me, waiting on me. When I woke up, you didn't question me, nor press on further for an answer to your confession. Even when I begged you to help me find Sandeul, you did. Without question. Without a second thought. And now, here you are, taking me on walks every day to help me, heal me. You’ve never left my side." She slowly slipped her fingers into his, watching the smile spread on his face. "I've given it much thought, and..." 

            He leaned in, waiting for her answer.

            She didn't say anything. Instead, she let her actions speak for themselves. Swiftly, she leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on his cheek.

            He closed his eyes, memorizing that exact moment for all eternity. 

            "Can you repeat that? I seemed to have missed your point there," he smirked. She lightly smacked his arm and leaned forward again. This time, she made sure he got her answer. 

            Quiet boldly, she grabbed his shirt and pulled him in, kissing him square on the lips. 

            "So, did you get that now?"

            "Y-yeah, loud and clear," he stuttered, trying to catch his breath. He didn't know Ella had it in her, but she was a feisty one when she wanted to be. "So, does this mean we're a couple now?"

            "I thought you said you got it..." She shook her head at him.

            "Just making sure so that I can do this." He held up the item he had taken out of his pocket and unfolded it. The words "Slave Contract" caught her eye and she grew confused. What was he going to do with that?

            Without hesitating, he ripped it to shreds and dropped them onto the rocks.

            "We won't me needing that because now, you're bound to me in a special way, a way that doesn't need documents."

            He pulled her up from the swing and hugged her tight. She giggled at his cheesy lines and hugged him back. 

            At last, they were finally together.

            "Let’s pick up the papers before we go...litterbug..."

Not exactly a day after, but hey, I updated~ Well what d'ya know...within a week hahaha The next few chapters are going to be shorty ones, like me

COMMENT REPLIES

@ kmn007: only 2 nowwww. let the countdown begin. andandand, Jin's first, happy? 8D
@ hai_young: hehe, seems like it's happy ending for all of them, despite deul ending up single...friendship is still good, right? *worstreasoningever*

See you in the next Chapter!

-greenninjapanda GNP-