She felt the kisses again and again, her lips quivering in temptation. The fingers locked around his hands suddenly dug into his skin gently and Namjoo suddenly clasped her lips around his. Her heart was drumming really hard and everything inside her rushed at the exhilaration. It was hypnotizing and the touch of him was almost dreamy.

Her lashes brushed against his face when she closed her eyes. The logic to reason things out and her ability to think disappeared. Overwhelming warmth from his hands further buried themselves into her face and Namjoo found herself kissing this stranger harder. Her nose dug into his face as she craned her neck back and felt her tongue grate against his teeth before it tingled against his. With her legs suddenly giving out underneath her she found herself falling into the couch; their lips drifting apart.

Kris quickly caught her only to kiss her again, his knee sitting beside her leg as he leaned over her. One of her hands coursed over his arm and landed on his neck before clutching onto his shirt. She was finally given the chance to breathe when his series of kisses travelled from her lips to her cheek.

Very slowly she felt him lean over her and without meaning to let out a shout of pain when he accidentally put pressure on her wound. Abruptly pulling away surprised their eyes met and Namjoo immediately let go of his shirt.

Through the mere silence as their eyes locked she felt his heart hitting his chest loud and hard. Quickly darting his eyes away he jumped off her and tried to say something, but only ended up grabbing his hand as if ready for some of punishment. Pressing her lips together nervously Namjoo felt her eyes go astray. She wasn’t sure what kind of situation this was, but she could feel her own heart racing wildly.

If she was in the right or wrong, she wasn’t sure. She wasn’t sure what had just happened, but she thought she knew what might have happened.

Neither of them moved or said anything which only made the atmosphere more awkward. If it prolonged, Namjoo thought she might have to stay frozen forever.

“Um…I…I’m hungry,” Namjoo stammered still flushed with embarrassment. “Can I have something to eat?”

“Sure! Yea,” Kris replied a bit too enthusiastically, which gave all his nervousness before turning and disappeared into the kitchen.

Finally able to gulp, Namjoo took in a deep breath and gripped her hand into a fist. As she bit onto her tongue to proceed to slap herself mentally she thought she could still taste him in .

Kris was gone for a long time leaving her to sit in silence and boredom. Namjoo thought that by now she couldn’t even feel the pain coming from her wound anymore. A few minutes later she turned to see Kris approach from the kitchen doorway with a cup of ramen in his hands. He slightly paused when he noticed that she was watching. Namjoo felt a strange splash of emotions spark through her when she caught the pink tint in his cheeks.

He was shy, she realized. To her Kris was like one of those very quiet boys at school who were too embarrassed in front of their crush to say or do anything and always ended up embarrassing themselves. Namjoo thought it was cute despite his height.

Biting his lower lip he awkwardly walked in and took to the stool in front of her, at first with refusal to make eye contact. Namjoo could feel her stomach growling at the sight of food ready to take the cup from his hands. Then as if in slow motion Kris rose his eyes up to look at her.

“Can I…feed you?”

Taken aback Namjoo felt tongue tied by the question…or perhaps request. No one had ever offered to feed her. Kris’ wanting to do it gave her strange emotions that she didn’t know how to react to.

In this kind of situation, what should she do? What was right or wrong?

He waited for her answer and a minute went by before he suddenly held out some string of noodles to her with the chopsticks he had. Namjoo stared at the motion; her heart breaking into pieces for some absurd reason she didn’t know. Naturally she opened to take a bite and slowly chewed.

Her eyes landed in a space between the noodles and Kris before she finally glanced at him and smiled to tell him she liked the noodles. A shy smile fell over his lips in reply and he offered her more.

A heartwarming daze danced around her as she continued to eat; her heart breaking into muddles of tears at how kind he was being. Namjoo had never recalled noodles being so tasty before and felt even regretful when she ate it all.

“Was that…was that ok?” He stuttered. “Do you want more?”

“I’m full,” Namjoo made sure to give him a smile, “thank you.”

“Are you thirsty? Do you need a cup of water?”

She shook her head and watched him get up to walk into the kitchen. Namjoo felt at peace for the first time and leaned back into the couch. Without realizing it she fell into a quick slumber.

|||||

A smile of never felt before happiness erupted on his face after dumping out the broth and tossing the cup. For once a person looked happy in his presence. It touched his heart and made him joyful.

Namjoo…she liked him.

Unsure how to express the explicit happiness he felt his insides become giggly. When he returned to the room he saw that Namjoo had fallen asleep sitting. Worried about whether she was comfortable or not he hurried toward her. Placing a hand at the back of her head he gently tilted her to the side to lay her down. She didn’t budge at all upon his touch and Kris felt that it was because she was comfortable with him.

Feeling proud he sat down on the stool and watched her sleep with his chin tucked into his palm. She was so perfect in his eyes he didn’t think she’d be able to do any wrong at all. Namjoo seemed like such a righteous person; his angel.

Kris wanted to kiss her again and feel the magic of her lips. He suddenly thought he was ready to die now. Meeting Namjoo was the best gift life had bestowed on him and he didn’t think he needed any more than her.

|||||

Namjoo finally awoke again when the sun’s rays hit her face and rose up confused about where she was. Kris’ face was buried into the cushion by the pillow she’d slept on. Events of yesterday flurried through her mind before worrying about whether to wake him or not. She decided against it and got up herself very painfully and slowly.

The echoing pain from the cut on her stomach made any movement almost unbearable. The sun barely blinded her when she walked out and after half an hour she finally made it to a hospital where she finally got stitched up. It felt like she’d spent two hours at the hospital before finally making back to the house she was staying at.

Dizzily exiting out of the cab she walked toward the gate in a daze. Yesterday had seemed like a nightmare and the more she thought about it the sharper the knife felt when it’d been plunged into her. Shivers crawled over her skin as she walked up the steps to change and throw her bloody shirt out.

All of it had been an ugly nightmare except Kris. When Namjoo turned to look at herself in the mirror she thought about the kiss she’d shared with him. Her heart gushed and melted at the thought of it. He was so nice and giving and all too innocent for his own good. Was that what swayed her?

Kris, Namjoo decided, was pretty handsome. A foolish smile swept her lips up and she reached a hand up to touch the tenderness of her lips. The spell of her thoughts shattered when the doorbell at the front gate rang.

Namjoo headed down the stairs and opened the door to cross the front yard wondering who it might be. Once she arrived at the gate she recognized Xiumin standing on the other side. Her heart pounded thrice as hard upon realizing she’d forgotten about him. All that time yesterday when she should have been waiting for Xiumin’s call, she’d spent with someone else.

Immediately guilty she unlocked the gate for him to which he stepped in without her invitation.

“Where were you yesterday?” He questioned. “I called and you didn’t answer.” He waited a second then added quietly, “I missed you.”

Namjoo found herself just staring at him before he wrapped both arms around him to bring her close. The warmth she felt in the haven of his arms made her heart tremor and she leaned against him.

“You look tired, is something wrong?” Xiumin asked walking back and forth between her fridge and the stove when they finally went in.

After making her sit by the table to watch him cook she found herself smiling dreamily at him. Xiumin was just so great, she thought.

“No,” she lied. “Xiumin, I like your back.”

He glanced at her and smiled then turned away to switch the stove on. “I’ll make the best omelet you’ve ever tasted.”

“We’ll see about that.”

“So,” he started, “when are you going to cook for me? I want to eat your food once too, you know, to see if it’s edible.”

“What kind of joke is that?” Namjoo questioned monotonously.

“It’s not a joke.”

Namjoo snorted at him and leaned her face against her hand as she continued to watch him walk back and forth in her kitchen. Xiumin knew so much and he was able to do plenty. How lucky she was to have him in her life.

Within a few minutes her omelet was ready on a plate in front of her. Xiumin took the seat across from her and crossed his arms on the table.

“So? How is it?” He asked expectantly.

“You’re not eating?” She wondered.

“I just want to watch you eat,” he told. “So?”

“You’re being cheesy.”

“My nature.”

Namjoo shot him a smile before taking a bite out of the omelet and spitefully commented, “It’s not even all that. And you were making a big deal.”

Xiumin reached over to lightly tap her on the head, “er. You know it’s better than what you can make.”

“Never said that.”

Quieting, Namjoo felt the atmosphere turn from friendly teasing into something of sizzling sincerity.

“Namjoo,” Xiumin started, “can I ask you a question?”

“Yea, what?”

His eyes dropped to the tabletop before looking up at her ready for their eyes to lock.

“Have you…ever considered us to be anything other than friends?”

Lifting her head up she glanced over at him. What did he want to hear from her? How would answering him allow her to be in the right and not the wrong?

“What happened in Hainan…I mean…you know…if you don’t want to talk about it…I think I’ll be ok too.” Xiumin told.

Namjoo recalled promising herself to tell Xiumin she liked him too the next time she saw him. Then suddenly she thought about the kiss she’d shared with Kris and the sudden attraction that had sparked her to him. She didn’t know anymore whether she was in the right or the wrong.

“I like you, Xiumin,” Namjoo blurted without much thought all of a sudden.

A smile splintered over his lips before he got off his chair and walked over to kiss her. A rush of wildfire emanated through her upon the touch of his lips and she reached up to put a hand at the back of his neck.

When he pulled away he commented, “I can taste the omelet in your mouth.”

A smile burst upon her lips before they kissed again and he wrapped his arms around her to hold her tightly. The level of intimacy erupted between them before she suddenly jumped up wrapping her legs around him. Immersed in the kisses she felt his lips inclining into helpless smiled as he blindly walked throughout the house, once bumping into the wall before they landed on the couch.

Namjoo could feel her heart thumping heavily as she sat on him and leaned forward pushing him back into the couch. That was until his head accidentally knocked into the arm of the couch and he let out a shout. Bursting into laughter she reached out to rub his head in comfort and leaned against him.

“Sorry,” she apologized.

Their laughs continued on for a moment more before Xiumin lifted her face up and away from him so he could peer at her. Her eyes became lost in his and felt his thumbs softly graze across her face soothingly. He smiled up at her with the crooked smile she knew him for.

“Namjoo,” Xiumin slowly started, “lets get married when we go back to Korea. I want to marry you.”

An unknown emotion warped through her as she stared down at him and her heart shattered into pieces as it pounded against her weak chest. The feeling soon became familiar. It didn’t take her long to recognize it as the same kind of feelings she’d felt when Kris had asked if he could feed her.

The lightly delightful smile that had been on her face earlier slowly died.

Marriage was a heavy word for her. Though she had spoken about it jokingly when they were having in Hainan, it wasn’t something she would do easily. Namjoo didn’t know if she was committed to wearing a ring on her finger to signify that she belonged to solely one person. Commitment, she knew, wasn’t something easy to come. It was full of struggles and obstacles; lots of arguments, tears, and happiness.

Namjoo liked things as they were.

In order to give Xiumin an answer, she just smiled and gave him a peck before getting off him.

“You’re not going in for work today?” She questioned.

“I planned to go in late,” Xiumin told standing up. “Dinner?”

“Ok,” she nodded and he gave her a peck before heading for the door.

Namjoo turned around to watch the door close and for some reason felt the urge to see him make it to his car. When she reached the gate Xiumin had already started the engine and turned to see her in time before he drove off with a wave. Waving back she stayed until his car disappeared around the corner.

Pivoting around to walk in she slightly halted and looked down when she saw a small bouquet of assorted flowers sitting on the ground. Her head immediately rose up and she looked around for Kris only to find herself sinking in disappointment when she couldn’t find him. Picking the flowers up she turned around to walk into the house. 

***Whew! I apologize for the very late update! I'm very busy nowadays and can only concentrate on one story, but I decided to take some time out of my time and write a chapter for this story. Please forgive me ;~; I'll work hard to complete this story 

***Namjoo is in a bind now! Notice that when she was with Kris she didn't think about Xiumin at all and when she was with Xiumin she had tiny thoughts about Kris. But she told Xiumin she likes him. To whom does her heart really go to now?