Chapter 16

Made of Silver, Not of Clay

“Wake up!” A vaguely familiar voice sounded her awake. It projected a tone that was frightened, and yet considerably demanding.

But, she refused to open her eyes and watch a victorious look riding on the face of her capturer. It would kill her, mentally speaking, to know that she was vulnerable and incapable of saving herself. So she stretched an arm, outwards from her body and picked up leaves and dirt in her fisted hand. She realized she was on the ground, edging above what she could only deduct were his thighs. He sighed loudly in relief when she started to release the bearings of what was in her hand.

 She felt her head spinning and her back was aching so much that even if she tried she couldn’t open her eyes, almost as if they were stapled shut.

 She remembered why she was in pain. She had held in her tears determinately muzzled when she was pushed into the back seat of a car. When she fainted, she had fallen so abruptly that it had hurt her spine.

She was at the mercy of this man and she didn’t want to hear him. Every time he spoke she tried to focus on something pleasant; on the face of her blonde headed husband. But every time her capturer opened his mouth it was to Hyoyeon as if Kris was truly speaking to her. What type of silly heist was this in which she didn’t even feel slightly threatened?  

Instead, she felt the arms around her, warm and comforting; caring and worried.

But still she had to fight her way from his clutch. With her eyes still clamped closed, she tried to push him off, but he was too strong. This made her angry. She was too weak to release herself and she started to yell and cry.

“HELP!” Her voice resonated, alarming the neighboring birds. The intact waves of her echo, forced her fully awake; making her realize that she was in a vast, civilization ridden place. THIS did scare her, senseless.

She brought her hands to her face and sobbed relentlessly, stomping her heels on the leaves, like a child in the middle of a hysteric fit. “Where have you brought me? What are you going to do with me?”

“Baby, please. It’s me. Open your eyes.”

Hyoyeon stopped crying.

With his suddenly clear, velvety smooth voice, the small terror she was feeling vanished completely. She lanced into his arms and cried sentimentally.

“KRIS!!!”

“It’s ok. I didn’t mean to make you cry. It’s just me. I’m so sorry,” He murmured, placing his chin gently on top of her head. They were still on the ground, where the earth was damp and the leaves crinkled from the misty wind. Hyoyeon was stretched across his legs, and he held her tight below the crook of his neck, comforting her.

“I was so scared,” she continued to cry, dampening his shirt. “Why did you do this?”

“I’m so sorry. I was getting desperate, you wouldn’t talk to me. I didn’t know what else to do,” He held her cheeks in his palm and hustled to explain. “I was about to take the blindfold off, but then you went completely still. You didn’t look scared so I decided to keep quiet and tell you when we arrived. But when you fainted, I stopped the car immediately. Luckily we were already here.”

“But I still don’t understand what we’re doing here.” Hyoyeon scanned her surroundings. It was like an abandoned forest, wet with infinite trails of mud and puddles. The trees were tall and thin; their leaves a medley of saturated yellows and oranges. It seemed ghostly, yet strangely tranquilizing she had to admit.

“It was meant to be a surprise.” Kris scratched his head embarrassingly and helped Hyoyeon to her feet. “I guess I’m not very good with surprises.”

“Clearly,” she said with an emblem of satire, but she was calm. Her tears had faded; the only remnant of the bad moment she had gone through was her puffy red eyes.

“Please, don’t be mad at me anymore,” Kris grabbed her shoulders and pulled her into a desperate embrace. Hyoyeon responded by hugging him back even tighter.

“I try so hard to be angry at you. But call me weak, I just can’t stay mad at you for long.” Hyoyeon gave him a kiss on the neck; making him laugh and smile uncontrollably.

He raised her as high as he could, with his arms fastened along her ribcage and twirled her as she held on by his shoulders. The grin on his face was too wide and his heart too overjoyed watching Hyoyeon smile back at him. He hadn’t seen her smile at him like that in what seemed like an eternity. His heart wrenched thinking about those days.

“Kris!” she said wide-eyed, her voice astonished.

“What is it?” He put her down quickly.

“Wow,” Hyoyeon stood with her jaw hanging open. “Is that your surprise?” Hyoyeon pointed and walked absentmindedly behind him, towards a cabin. It was small and quaint. She hadn’t noticed before that there were lit candles trailing all the way into the open door of the lodge-looking home. It was beyond charming.

As she tilted her head she could see a round oak table set up with white candle lit centerpieces. It was decorated with ivory colored cloth placemats, expensive silverware and flower shaped napkins curving on the inside of tall wine glasses.

The further she walked, the more mesmerized she became. No one had ever prepared something so beautiful and well put together for her.

She was guided by a path of roses that led to the elegantly prepared table. “Is that the surprise?” She asked again; her eyes remaining glued to the sight in front of her.

“No. This is.” Kris spoke in his deep baritone voice and keeled to one knee.

Hyoyeon slowly turned to face him.

Her gaze became shaky as she let out a piercing gasp into her hands. “What are you doing?” She questioned, at the very point of tears, perfectly aware of what he was doing and in what situation she was in. She looked at the ring in his hand, resting comfortably in the cushion of a tiny trinket that was golden plated and red in color.

Her eyes balanced between Kris’s kneeling form and on the ring; feeling her heartbeats pound like clashing gongs inside her chest. It was hard to think but, why had she been so stubborn? She questioned to herself. It all finally made sense.

“ Hyoyeon, we got married in a courthouse, my father chose your wedding attire that day. Can you imagine that old man going into a department store and looking around for my wife’s dress? It’s not pleasing for me; I can only imagine what it’s like for you to have those memories,” Kris looked up at her, with tears rolling down her eyes. But it wasn’t from sadness. She was laughing. “The reason I want us to sign the divorce papers, is so that we can put all of it behind us and start over with no recollection of that dreaded, unplanned thing we called a wedding.”

“Kris it’s ok. I don’t even remember it anymore. We don’t need to do—,” Hyoyeon was cut off.

“Yes. Yes, we do. I know you. I know you would have liked to plan out a conventional wedding. I want to see the laughing glint in your eyes as you flash your ring to your friends. I want us to look at invitations and meal courses and party salons,” Kris listed, surprising her with his enthusiasm. “I love you, and I want to do all those things with you.”

Hyoyeon crossed her arms against her body to evade the cold, but she didn’t need to because the solid sincerity in his words was enough to keep her warm for the rest of her life.

“You have no idea how badly I want to see you walk down the aisle in your white wedding dress. I don’t care if the happiness is so big it kills me. I just want you to be mine; forever.” Kris took the ring from the box and slipped it on her finger. “When you’re in danger, I’ll jump in front of it to protect you; always. I want to grow old with you. I want everything with you. So, Hyoyeon when we divorce will you marry me or will you marry me?” he said, giving her no option to refuse.

“Kris, have I told you that I’m a woman, straight-up made of silver, not of clay. I don’t break easily. We’ll protect each other. And you’re right. I don’t want to spend my life just wishing. I want to walk down the aisle, and declare my love for you at the altar. Of course, I’ll marry you.” Hyoyeon jumped into his arms and clung to him, with both her legs wrapped around his waist. He held her tight and nuzzled his head in her curled golden hair; inhaling her perfume desperately. From behind, Hyoyeon eyed the ring on her finger very meticulously, hysterically happy.

He carried her into the cabin and then placed her down gently by the dinner table.

She took in everything carefully; admiring the fireplace made of marble, a strange contrast to the old-fashioned view from the outside. And it was lit, warming the place up both visually and physically.

“There’s another surprise for you in that room.” Kris pointed at a door hiding in between the kitchen and the living room. She walked slowly, like a drunkard, far beyond surprised to find a floor length blue strapless dress, lying on the bed.

The dress was beautiful and expensive; making everything in the room look poor in comparison. There were no words; she just stood there, hypnotized.

“I want you to wear it,” Kris whispered slyly from behind, interlocking his fingers below her stomach and startling her.

. . .

“Hurry up! I want to see already.” Kris whined from behind the bedroom door.

“Just give me a second,” Hyoyeon complained, struggling to zip up the dress.

The door opened too slowly for Kris’s taste, but when it was completely wide, his jaw dropped and his heart stopped. She was the very definition of angelic; a beauty incarnate. She looked like the human version of his favorite flower, the blue sapphire orchid. It was a blue that gracefully accentuated her curves and her chest. She had a half ponytail held in place by a silver coated rose pin; a striking, but delicate contradiction to her golden ringlet curls.

Kris found it hard to breathe. She looked ethereal, much so that he stumbled back in order not to touch her, afraid she would disappear. But, she moved to the window, away from the darkness, where a beam of light shined on her.

There her bracelets and her earrings glowed perilously, but the finest jewelry on her body was her eyes, shining like pendants made of bronze, almost golden as the small ray of sun illuminated them generously.

The rest of her body hid in the shadows, making Kris panic as he watched her eyes laugh mockingly at him, as if they knew something he didn’t.

Kris was so spellbound by her beauty, that he didn’t notice Hyoyeon gawking at him the same way he was doing to her, wearing a simple white buttoned up shirt with a black bow tied around his collar.

Kris quickly grabbed her arms and pulled her to his chest, squeezing her.

“Kris, I can’t breathe.” Hyoyeon spoke under a struggling breath.

He pulled away and wiped a tear. “I’m sorry.”

“Kris, don’t cry.” Hyoyeon bent her knees slightly and tried to look up at his face. He tried to bury it under his sleeve, but she brushed it away. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s not every day you see an angel.” Kris laughed, easing his melancholy state.

Hyoyeon laughed and threw herself into his chest, hugging him tightly, surprising him. Her laugh echoed in his ears; it was a laugh that was getting harder and harder to live without.

“Let’s stop the sappiness, tell me what else you have surprised for me,” Hyoyeon broke from his arms and scanned the room, breaking the silence.

. . .

They sat across from each other on the table.

Kris ate slowly, watching Hyoyeon. She ate fast, knowing that today without anything getting in the way; she was finally going to be his. There was no escaping it, not this time. She was nervous, but jittery and excited. Her first time was going to be special, the way she had always dreamed. The only thing getting in the way was the insane amount of food that seemed to have no end. It was like an all you can eat buffet. She wondered how Kris could have had so much time to cook and prepare all the lavishly placed goods.

“Hyoyeon, please eat slower, you’re going to get indigestion.” He warned.

“Kris, why don’t you eat faster? I know of better things we could be doing right now,” she said playfully, holding a chicken drumstick upright in between her thumb and forefinger, giving it a slow and tantalizing . Kris’s jaw fell open in understanding. ‘Yes!!’ his brain shouted, furiously excited.

“I’m done!” Kris threw his napkin on his dinner plate, and was at her side quicker than a bolt of lightning. She didn’t have to explain to him twice what she wanted. He picked her up bridal style and carried her into the room.

He shoved her into the bed and hovered above her. But Hyoyeon noticed that his eyes looked a bit droopy and his breath was very warm against her skin, suspiciously warm in fact.

She had a leg resting at each of his hips.

He gave her a trail of kisses along her neck, causing her to release a series of gasps. Her hands furiously tangled in his blonde hair and rubbed one leg against his thigh, simultaneously.

“Take off my shirt,” Kris whispered faintly, releasing yet another hot breath. His breath had somehow gotten a few degrees warmer, making Hyoyeon worry slightly, but she complied.

She undid the first three buttons before he fell on her. She felt a slight pain on her shoulder, but she managed to turn him over on the bed.

“Kris!” she called out to him worriedly. He groaned and she sighed in relief at hearing him conscious. She ed his whole shirt and ran her hands on his body. “Oh my god, you’re burning up. Kris we have to take you to a hospital.”

“No! I’m fine.” He protested weakly, trying to her dress.

“Baby, please, you look pale and you’re beginning to sweat.” Hyoyeon snuck away from below him and tried to help him up.

“Baby?” he smirked at her with half-opened eyes. “You’ve never called me like that before. You must be very worried for me. Call me like that again.”

“Kris this isn’t time for games. Please listen to me.” Hyoyeon grew even more distressed, but amidst it all, couldn’t help the flush on her face due to Kris’s continuous flirting.

He tried to stand, but he was cold and trembling. Hyoyeon had to help him walk.

They almost made it out of the cabin, but Kris unexpectedly tore himself from her arms and dashed to the bathroom. Hyoyeon could hear him vomiting and took this opportunity to go into the bedroom where she looked about frantically for something more comfortable she could wear. She found a small bag with their clothes and slipped out of her dress, putting on a pair of jeans and one of Kris’s black hoodies. When she went into the bathroom, she found Kris grumbling and wriggling on the floor. She helped him up and dragged him out into the living room area.

“Guess what? I’m all better now.” Kris tried to weasel himself out of her arms and back into the room. “Let’s get back to where we left off.”

“Better, my . I’m taking you to the hospital. Direct me or I’ll drag a doctor here myself.”

Kris sighed; his energy wasted. He got into the car complacently and looked about with droopy eyelids.

. . .

“There’s a clinic up the road,” A stranger kindly pointed for Hyoyeon.

“Thank you very much.” Hyoyeon rolled up her window and drove fast up the hill and into the parking lot of said clinic. Kris was sitting on the passenger seat, with his head shifted downwards, hurling into a small bucket.

. . .

She sat on a cushioned bench, and rested her elbows on her thighs with her hands interlocked under her chin. She was praying that Kris didn’t have anything too serious.

When she saw the doctor approach the corridor, she fumbled to her feet and rushed to him.

“How is he?” Hyoyeon’s voice came out shrilled.

“He’s going to be fine. It was just a mild case of salmonella poisoning, probably from a poultry he ate.” The doctor placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“But how come I didn’t get sick? We ate the same thing.” Hyoyeon queried curiously.

“Like I said it was a mild case and some bodies are able to resist certain bacteria much better than others. I wouldn’t worry too much,” he said winking in reassurance.

“Will I be able to take him home tonight?”

“Of course. Just make sure he takes the medicated fluids I’m going to prescribe. He should be fine in a couple of days.” The doctor went away carrying his clipboard at his side. Hyoyeon went to the front counter and picked up his prescription. She finished signing all the paperwork and then headed to Kris’s room.

“How are you feeling?” Hyoyeon leaned with her legs crossed below the doorframe, pushing the curtain aside.

“Devastated, you were supposed to have your special day. You were supposed to be mine, fully mine, TONIGHT and I ruined it,” Kris looked away from Hyoyeon, engulfed in a sadness that was heartbreaking to look at.

“I am yours.” Hyoyeon walked inside and lay on top of him, placing a hand under his chin. “Hey look at me,” She whispered turning his face to hers. “There will be plenty of time when you come back. In fact I might be the one surprising you this time.”

“I’ll be looking forward to it.” Kris wrapped his arms around her body and gave her a kiss on top of her head; her words healing him instantaneously.

“Hyoyeon, tell me not to go and I won’t.”

She looked at him brazenly. “No, I can’t be that selfish. If this contract is signed, a large part of the profit will be going to the Youth Outreach programs we’re sponsoring. A lot of them haven’t received funds in over months; children are depending on this deal. You have to go.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry. I’m the one being selfish now.”

“Let’s go home. You need to sleep.” Hyoyeon helped him up and fastened her arm around his waist.

“You’re letting me sleep with you right?” Kris probed, less like a question and more like a demand.

“Yes.” Hyoyeon rolled her eyes playfully, giving him a gentle peck on the chin.

_______________________________________

I went over this chapter so many times that I think I actually made it worse in the process, but I didn't think I could do anything else, so there it is. I hope you liked it.

Oh and that drastic change I wrote about a few chapters back, it’s coming, and you’re going to get a glimpse of it in the next one. The chapter is finished, it just needs extreme revision.

Also, sorry as you have noticed I keep interrupting their y time (lol!) I apologize. I’m saving that chapter for later. Anyways, thanks again to those reading this story, the commenters, and the subscribers. Thank you, very, very, very much!!!!!!!!!! : ) Enjoy.