Jaguar

You and YongHwa enjoyed a wonderfully romantic night. To your complete and utter surprise he had led you along the Haeundae beach where he had arranged for a candlelit dinner for two just under the beautiful sparkling Diamond Bridge. That alone would have been more than enough, that in itself had set a new benchmark for YongHwa's romantic surprises but just when you thought he could never outdo even himself in this situation, something spectacular had then  happened. The fireworks took your breath away, even when you were already struggling to regain your breath from the sight of the gorgeous set table for two on the sandy shore.

You knew YongHwa couldn't have possibly arranged the fireworks just for you, but the fact that he had timed it all so well, that he had kept it a secret up until this moment just to make everything all the more magical, your heart wasn't sure whether to stop beating right there or to burst from your chest. You felt elated, there was really no words for it. When you turned to look YongHwa in the eye, his childishly grinning face matched exactly how you were feeling inside, that joyous bubbling sensation. He gripped your hand tightly in his and then raised his eyebrows back to the sky where you both stood under the bright and colourful explosions that was the beginning of the holiday celebration, a tradition you found later that Busan had only started the year before and at which time YongHwa vowed in himself to take the woman he loved there as a surprise one year. It just so happened that would be the following year, and that woman would be you.

Both of you exchanged suitable oohs and aahs as the firework display upped the excitement and ended on its intense grand finale. Faint applauds and cheering could be heard from up on the bridge and all along the water's edge, though nobody had ventured under the bridge where you and YongHwa now walked to your dinner table and took your seats. It seemed that this particular part of the beach had somehow been reserved for just the two of you. Wondering how YongHwa had managed to achieve all this you stared with open mystification at the out-of-this-world handsome, cute, sweet and proven-to-be romantic surprise genius.

You never could have guessed that YongHwa had this side to him when the two of you had first met. He had seemed so cold and aloof, more concerned with his own image and that of his band members but certainly no interest in anything else. Oh right, his guitar. Just those things. But here he was, showing you a side to him that you couldn't have even dared dream up in your own fantasy world where you had so often visited before meeting him in person. And it wasn't like this was the first time, YongHwa had shown you this sweet, doting and thoughtful side to you time and time again. There were just times, it seemed, that he may really well seemed to have outdone himself. Like now. There was no topping this...

"So, I hope you intend to keep this effort up as we continue to date," you said coolly looking down at your menu the waiter on standby had passed graciously to you. "If you slip, you're in for it." You casually turned the page, looking up to give YongHwa the meaningful eye.

He cocked an eyebrow at you, also perusing his menu. "And what exactly does being 'in for it' involve? Would I like it? Does it involve leather and whips?"

Your mouth popped open. "YongHwa!"

He grinned then, and breathed in a deep satisfied breath that irked you a little. There he goes, being all egotistical again. As he turned the page to the drinks section he met your expression lazily. "Well, does it?"

You racked your brains for something clever to quip back at him. Pretending to be engrossed in the main course section of the menu to buy yourself some time, you smacked your lips together. "It may be a bit heavier than that, Mr Jung YongHwa."

"Care to give details?" he leaned across the table, letting his menu fall flat on the table as he gazed attentively at your gradually burning face.

You cleared your throat. "I don't think you want to know," you snapped half-heartedly.

"Oh I really think I do," YongHwa countered. His eyes flashed at yours, causing you to raise your menu a little higher and look around to the waiter for support.

"Madam?" the waiter was instantly at your side as you hailed him with your eyes. Great service. You would be sure to leave him a nice big tip.

"I'm ready to order," you said with relief as YongHwa slumped back into his seat and broodingly took up his menu again. He looked over it with dark disinterest, but his face was somewhat pouty and he refused to look up from it while you asked the waiter about which of the two dishes you were deciding between would be more to your taste. The waiter was full of detail, making sure to talk you through each dish passionately and perfectly. It was borderline unnecessary, and you noticed YongHwa's jaw muscle flexing slightly as you added your own questions about what he was explaining to you. Still, YongHwa did not look up from his menu until he himself had ordered and the menu was taken away from him. Then his steely gaze was turned uncomfortably on you, his fingers steepled under his chin as he rested his elbows on the table and openly gazed at you with no shame whatsoever.

"Why are you staring?" you asked uncomfortably. That stare always made you feel self conscious when you were out and about with YongHwa. If you were alone together you may have been able to distract him better, or match the stare. But out in the open there wasn't much you were willing to do to counter the stare.

YongHwa's expression didn't change as he continued to stare at you, drumming his fingers against each other. "You're mine, can't I stare at what's mine?"

You raised an eyebrow but didn't reply to this question. It didn't particularly dignify nor have an adequate answer so you settled for silence instead.

To your relief YongHwa's eyes moved of their own accord, from your face down your neck to the middle of your chest and his expression softened when his eyes came back to yours again. There was a spark there that you had begun to recognise appearing when he was touched by something. "You're wearing the necklace I designed for you." He reached out across the table and scooped thick gentle fingers against your collar bone, letting the weight of the pendant sit on his fingertips as he admired the guitar and two hearts that he had given to you on your first proper date.

"Neh," you smiled at him as he withdrew his hand slowly. "I wear it most days. Don't you notice?"

YongHwa chuckled and slouched back in his chair, just looking at you with that spark still in his eye. "I notice everything you wear, ________. Every single day, every single thing. But do you know what I think you would suit best?" When you shook your head, looking at him curiously he leaned in towards you again and beckoned his hand to get you to do the same. When you did lean in also, he looked around as if there might be anyone in earshot, despite the fact it was just the two of you alone on this little portion of Haeundae beach and that was not something to worry about. He paused for a moment, looking into your eyes, and then looked beyond you as if envisioning exactly what he had in mind with a wistful gaze. "I think you would look the best... in nothing at all."

You smacked him instantly on the shoulder and withdrew with disgruntled embarrassment at such a thought. "YongHwa! Ani, Mr-"

"Oppa."

"Mr-"

"Oppa."

"Oh you're seriously not-"

"Oppa."

"-going to do this again?!"

"I'm your oppa."

"Mr Jung YongHwa!"

"Sir!"

"Oppa!"

"Sir... your meals..."

"Oppa!"

Both of you turned around in surprise to see the tan waiter back again, holding two silver trays of steaming food and refreshing drinks. He was looking at YongHwa in confusion, as it had seemed YongHwa had been asking him to call him "Oppa" when he had made his announcement. It seemed YongHwa had gotten a little carried away with his insistence, he hadn't instantly distinguished the change in voice. You smirked and put your hand over your mouth as YongHwa cleared his throat and awkwardly gestured for the waiter to come forward and place the meals on the table. "Hemmm, kamsahabnida. You did a good job." As the waiter bowed and hurriedly his heel to disappear over the hill and out of sight YongHwa gave a wavering smile and pretended not to notice the atmosphere as he avoided your gaze and went about meekly serving up the food. Like the gentleman he was, he set out your cutlery for you, took the silver lid from your dish and loaded it promptly onto your plate with practised ease. He then went about arranging his own plate and nodded to you to begin eating. You grinned at him as you brought your first chopstick full to your mouth, and he finally met your eyes and smiled knowingly. The two of you laughed together.

After an amazing meal on the beach, in which you had talked and joked and enjoyed the romantic time with YongHwa, the two of you strolled through the fish markets on your way back from the main street. You noticed the vast array of coffee shops along the road, in fact you didn't think you had ever seen so many competing coffee shops in one place and you couldn't for the life of you, if you had to, decide which one you would choose.

The fish markets were certainly an interesting place. YongHwa pointed out to you some of his favourites, listing the meals which he adored which featured the different types of sea life. Many of the fish and other sea creatures seemed to still be alive, just barely conscious or half frozen. They popped slow mouths at you as you passed, cold silver eyes staring at you as if blaming you alone for the state they were in. You were glad you were passing through here now, after having finished the meal rather than before, because it was making you lose your appetite rather fast. Your meal felt heavy in your stomach and you swallowed with difficulty as the strong stench of fish clung to your nostrils. It was certainly an overpowering smell. When you looked up at YongHwa however you noticed his nostrils flared as if in welcome to the fishy aroma, something which was only proven as he breathed deeply and looked around at the markets stalls with great excitement. How could he be so excited about food after having had such a big dinner? Seriously, was his stomach bottomless? And how could he stand such a fishy smell?

You watched him fondly from the corner of your eye as he bowed respectfully to the elders who were selling the fish, telling them how delicious their catches looked and getting excited over anything particularly big and juicy and fishy that the two of you passed. You gagged and he drooled. At one point you were gazing thoughtfully out to sea, when you felt a tug at your arm and turned to see YongHwa holding an enormous silver fish beside his head, micking its expression and popping his mouth in sync with the fish's lips. "Kissss meeee, ________," he cooed in a creepy kind of voice. "Kissss meeee and I will turn into a handsome  prince!" He stuck the fish in your face and you shrieked and made a quick escape. YongHwa tried chasing you with the fish but the elder at the stall was quick to lose her temper and yelled at him to bring the fish back. YongHwa did as he was told, apologising profusely to the grumpy adjumma and then meekly came to find you sniggering behind a pillar a few feet away.

"Pabbo," you said teasingly and he pouted and pushed you ahead of him to keep walking.

"Ka," he said, quietly. "Just go."

It didn't take long for the two of you to reach your hotel again, slipping slyly past the reception desk so the receptionist didn't have the opportunity to steal any decent looks at your faces and made quick progress up to your floor. YongHwa flicked the key card into the slot by the door handle and allowed you to enter first before he slipped in after you and dead locked the door behind him.

It was suddenly very quiet in the hotel room when the door closed behind you. An unexplained awkwardness settled on the room as you moved towards the couch at the end of the large luxurious bed and slipped off your shoes, putting down your bag. You heard YongHwa exchanging his shoes for slippers behind you, but somehow you didn't want to turn around to face him. This was your first night alone in a hotel room with YongHwa. Though the two of you had been intimately alone together many times before now, you had never fooled around together at night... near a bed. Your saliva became hard to swallow as you realised how the situation was beginning to really look.

Lovers in a hotel room, sharing a bed... could only really result in one thing. The thought made you nervous. It wasn't that you didn't dream of certain moments with YongHwa. It was more the fact that, out of any man you had ever loved, ever dated... he was by far the most important, the one you had ever had the strongest feelings for. Your first time with him had to be perfect... It had to be right. You had to feel in yourself that he would appreciate you completely. All in all, you knew you were building it up too much in your head and this frightened you. It made you want to postpone the occasion as far back as possible. But at the same time... a large part of you really wanted him so badly. A part of you was itching to know all of him, to have all of him. It was only natural. You had dreamed of having all of him even before you had met him, before you started dating. There couldn't be anything more enticing than exploring all of Jung YongHwa...

Your eyes fell on the overly large bathtub that overlooked the bed, as the bathroom was all open with wooden shutters. Really?? Even the bathroom was open to the rest of the room? You couldn't even hide your body when you wanted to bathe? You realised you shouldn't be worrying over such things around your lover but it wasn't like you or YongHwa had laid eyes on each other's bodies yet. You hadn't seen each other . A thrill ran through you, quickly followed by fear at the idea of total exposure... your hands flew involuntarily over your chest as if protecting yourself.

YongHwa noticed you sitting rigidly at the end of the couch, your arms crossed protectively over your chest as if you were trying to cover yourself up. "Kwenchana?"

You looked to him quickly and blinked big eyes at him, slowly removing your arms and placing them on your thighs. Every movement you made now felt so forced, so unnatural. You didn't really know how you were supposed to be behaving. You imagined you must have looked like a robot the way you were moving now, and that only seemed to be making YongHwa stare at you all the more. "Neh... ah..." you tried to look for a way to change the subject. There was a television in front of you, yes that seemed good enough. You quickly located the remote control and flicked it on. "I wonder what the weather will be like while we are here," you said, as casually as you could.

"I already checked the weather before we came, remember? I wanted this trip to be amazing for you. If the weather was going to be crap I wouldn't have brought you this time," said YongHwa slowly. Of course, you and him had discussed all that before you had come here. The weather, possible activities, how long to stay for... YongHwa came over to sit next to you, staring at you but you didn't turn around, just stared pointedly and nervously at the television screen. "Are you sure you are okay?"

"Neh..."

From the corner of your eye you saw YongHwa continue to stare at you as he sat beside you. You caught a movement and then YongHwa had taken you by the hand, both his hands clasped gently around yours. He the back of your hand with his thumb. "Come on," he sighed after a while and made to get up with a stretch. "We have an early start again tomorrow, we should get some sleep."

You looked up at him finally, and noticed he was looking at the bottle of wine still sitting in the tin bucket of ice on the counter near the television unit. The ice had now turned to water as it had been left there all day while you and YongHwa were out exploring. He was thinking about it, and you knew then that he had other hopes for the evening rather than getting an early night. Your heart warmed as your eyes came back to YongHwa as he moved your suitcase to your side of the bed and went around to put his own on the other side. He ped his luggage and began fishing around for his bed time essentials, throwing his sleepwear onto his pillow and retrieving his tooth brush and face wash. It was perplexing to see, as you had never spent the night with YongHwa before. No matter how late the two of you had ended up staying up together, he always had to make his way back to the CN BLUE dorm so nobody would question his whereabouts overnight. Excluding the odd drunken night of course... though that was an unplanned spectacle. That night when YongHwa basically stayed over your apartment after fighting with HanJu and spent most of the night throwing up in your lounge room. Well, those were memories you preferred not to think about too much.

You stood up clumsily and watched YongHwa retreat into the bathroom to clean his teeth, he then meekly half closed the door as he changed into his sleepwear. While he was changing he poked his head around the door and offered you a childish grin, only to disappear again. You could still see him moving around as the wooden concertina which sat around the over sized bathtub was still open and displaying a portion of the bathroom. While YongHwa was busy with his bedtime ritual you slipped out of your day clothes and quickly threw on your cute pink lace night-dress which was perfect for the hot summer nights, though leaving your bra on for support. Feeling fresh and airy you busied yourself around the room and quietly opened the wine bottle to pour out two glasses of red wine. Thankfully it wasn't a cork top and was fairly noiseless to open.

YongHwa emerged from the bathroom and went about tidying his luggage while you washed your own face and did your teeth. Although you weren't sure why you were bothering with your teeth as you had just opened the wine...

"_________?" YongHwa's voice drifted through the wooden slats uncertainly.

"Neh?" you tried to sound casual, and then quickly spat out your toothpaste without making too much noise. You dabbed the hand towel at your mouth and tip toed to the door, peering cheekily at YongHwa as he stood at the counter with his hands at his sides, looking at the two filled wine glasses in confusion.

He turned around when he heard you chuckling and gestured at the wine. "Did you....?"

"Neh."

YongHwa's eyes instantly lit up. "You want to have some wine?"

"Neh."

YongHwa, perplexed, offered you a glass of already poured wine and led you onto the balcony where the two of you admired the night city lights along the shore of Busan. You could see Haeundae beach from there, and the surrounding beaches which continued into the distance. Everything looked so pretty at night. You clinked your glasses together and drank deeply. The wine gave you a comfortable warm feeling which sat not only in your chest and your belly but also in the very core of your being. You were cosy and contented, your confidence returned. With the potency of the aged grape working in you, meeting the buzzing whir of your mind and putting a blanket over it, you felt yourself settling into that drunken peacefulness. Your previous inhibitions melting away with the smooth blend at the tip of your tongue.

"You've got a very red tongue," observed YongHwa, when the two of you had finished the bottle between you. His eyes were looking more heavy lidded than usual, a permanent smile fixed to his gorgeously plump lips. Your own slightly unfocused eyes stared at them as if stupefied.

"Do I?" you asked, and stuck out your tongue to try and look at it but struggling.

YongHwa chuckled softly then reached a hand behind your head and pulled you close to his own. "You do... here, keep still. I'll try get it off for you..." His mouth came towards yours but in your half-drunken state his offer didn't make enough sense for you to follow through with his suggestion.

"And h-how do you plan on doing that!" you exclaimed indignantly. "It's not like anything else you can clean you know! I doubt it even needs cleaning... It's a tongue after all!"

"Just stop talking and let me do it."

You were intent on him understanding the lack of logic behind his words. "I don't think you get it," you continued, pulling away again with your finger up in the air to catch a break. "A tongue is a naturally wet thing that sits in your mouth and cleanses itself. There is no way you can clean it any more than I can myself!" At the end of this groundbreaking argument, you hiccupped.

YongHwa suppressed a smirk. "Okay, yobbo, I understand what you are saying. Alguessoyo." He paused a moment, looking at you curiously. "I wonder... ani... you might get mad at me..."

You narrowed your eyes at him. "Moh? What are you thinking that might make me angry?"

He moved his lips from side to side, mulling over his thoughts. Weighing up the outcomes. "Well.." he trailed off uncomfortably, cleared his throat and tried again. "Well I was just wondering what else...."

You stared at him. Part of you had an inkling at what he was trying to get at, the other part of you didn't want to acknowledge it or was too tipsy to piece it together.

"You said.... a naturally wet thing....." YongHwa trailed off again and then at no help from you he slouched back in his chair and lifted his face to the sky instead. "Aishhhhhh... never mind. That was terrible anyway...."

"What are you....?"

"Ani, never mind!" YongHwa became passionate now, his arms waving in the air and his hands in your face in an attempt to distract you from what he was trying to say. An awkward silence followed this.

"Well I guess it's time we got to bed...." you suggested slowly. In the silence, you felt that you were regaining your mind. It felt that you were sobering up and you began to think of your day ahead tomorrow. The nervousness did not hit however, which would have normally followed this trail of thought. The wine was still happily working against that.

"Ani." YongHwa said curtly without looking at you.

You turned to him in surprise. "Moh? Why not? It's late and we have to get up at-"

"I don't want to go to bed." YongHwa still hadn't turned to you. His Adam's apple jolted noticeably in his throat. He looked as if he were a schoolboy on stage delivering his first public oral presentation in front of the whole school.

You looked at him with large eyes, your mouth open. What had gotten into him? He was acting rather strange indeed. If he didn't want to sleep, what could he possibly want to do at this hour? "Then what do you...?"

YongHwa had turned to you slowly and taken your hand as you spoke. His eyes finally found yours, and he silently held them there for a long time. They were powerful, but not in the controlling sort of way. Their power came from a different kind of energy. In those eyes there was a strong sense of longing, in fact it was also like a form of pleading. They were hungry eyes, you had glimpsed this hunger many times but this time it was different. It was harder to ignore, and there was no looking away, no laughing it off, no distracting this particular silent appeal. There was also conviction in this hunger, like a jaguar who had eyed its prey and decided it was not going to lose. Furthermore, you found quite strongly and unexpectedly in yourself, you didn't want to escape this jaguar. You were quite happy to be the prey. Neither fight nor flight was in your vocabulary this time.

Firm fingers enclosed around yours, but they did not linger there. Slowly YongHwa brought his hands up your arms, caressing your shoulders and then the back of your neck as he leaned further and further in towards you and the heat from his body surrounded you. He brought his lips delicately to yours, his eyes intently gazing onto yours, until your lips finally met and he closed them. When you could no longer admire his eyes watching you with his dewy chocolate stare your eyes fluttered close in turn. You melted into YongHwa's kiss, as you have done so many times before. Yet this time it was deeper, and you knew it was not going to end solely at this kiss. Nor was it going to end at the caressing, the touching, the embracing.... And for the first time since you had become intimate with Jung YongHwa, you were completely okay with it.

The wine had calmed your nerves, it had banished your insecurities and your assumptions. You were surprised at yourself for making YongHwa wait for so long, and yet, a part of you was also proud of yourself. With YongHwa's unrelenting patience yet continuing desire for you, you knew that he was completely serious about you. As if to further prove this point, YongHwa began kissing you more fervently, more desperately. Kissing you was not enough for him, touching your skin gently with his fingertips and the palms of his hand was not enough either. His touch became stronger, clumsier, he moved suddenly on top your lap and held himself over you, his hands on either side of you as he leaned down to at your tongue, bite at your lips. A groan escaped his lips and his hand wondered down from the back of your neck, trailing slowly and somewhat uncertainly down to your chest. When you didn't stop him, his movements became more confident as for the first time he touched every inch of you. Aside from one very important place, which was now apparently the forefront desire in his mind as his hand found its way in that direction also. You caught your breath at the surprise and at your reaction combined with the reality of where he was touching had YongHwa's lips trembling against yours.

With the trembling of his lips, his body soon began to tremor, and YongHwa was gradually losing more and more control by the second as he moaned and began to rub against you. You threw your head back, your hands under his shirt, planted enthusiastically around his well toned back and exploring lower and lower to his famously acclaimed perfect backside. It felt so good under your hands... to think you were running your hands over Jung YongHwa's bum. It was almost too much to believe. But you knew it wasn't going to end at that for unbelievable experiences tonight. At the feeling of your hands pressing firmly against his rear, pulling him desperately towards you as he continued to grind himself mindlessly over your groin, both of you allowing sounds to escape your lips between the kissing and the .... YongHwa decided it was then and there that he was going to finally allow himself to lose control over you and show you the extent of his feelings towards you. He knew he would find evidence in the bedroom of your feelings returned to him and he was excited at the prospect. So with that, YongHwa suddenly jerked up from you, grabbed you forcefully and pushed you towards the bed.

He was about to fling you onto it when he quickly stopped and cupped your face in his hands. "Is it okay to do this?" he asked breathlessly, gazing at you with such tenderness you wish you could have captured it with more than just your memory. He looked so beautiful and gentle all at once it was too much to bear. He your cheek with his thumbs as he held your face there in his hands. "You can tell me if you need more time..."

"YongHwa," you said, placing your hands over his and holding them there. "I don't think I can wait any longer."

YongHwa growled at you. "Yah, that was supposed to be my line! You're the one I was waiting for! Do you think you need permission to throw me onto a bed? I'm ready any time!"

"Don't make yourself sound so easy," you scowled at him, dropping your hands from his and pouting at the floor grumpily.

YongHwa grabbed at your hands again, he placed them on his heart and looked you squarely in the eye as he said, "I'm only easy for you, baby. You make me weak and you make me strong at the same time." He paused and let his words sink in before he continued.  "Weak in that I will do anything for you and never put up a fight, you know what they say about guys like that right? But I am also strong for you. Strong in that you turn me into an animal that wants to devour you, and if anyone gets in my way they don't stand a chance."

His hands crept to the shoulder straps of your bra under your shirt and he pulled them down your arms. "So baby... you turn me into an easy man. No other girl can do that to me." He undid the clasp of your bra and let it fall under your shirt to the floor. Under your shirt, you were bare. The material was tight and it was thin, and you felt a small peep of embarrassment at your outline and how much of you YongHwa could see, but mostly you felt excited. It was y.

YongHwa looked down and regarded you, taking a moment before pushing you back on the bed. He leaned over you and whispered, "Take off my shirt baby, so I can take off yours." And your fingers trembled with anticipation as you did so, for a glorious sight was awaiting you as you slipped off that shirt from his back. You were given a short while to admire the glowing abs and pecs that belonged to Jung YongHwa as they hovered above you and sent your mind whirling into a dizzy mess. You wanted to put your face on them, kiss them, taste the salt of his skin. And just as you were about to do so, YongHwa was reaching for your shirt and slid it slowly from your back.

You could hear his shuddering breaths, see the tremors in his hands. His eyes were fixed intently in one specific place that he was waiting to be revealed to him as the shirt finally slid from its place of obstruction. And with that sight, something in YongHwa erupted. Something hard shifted against your leg as YongHwa dived forwards at you and the bed bounced under the impact. The rest of your clothes were off in an instant and the rest of what followed I'm sure you know full well. YongHwa was finally able to exercise his ownership over you, and you had never felt so indulged in your life.

End Chapter Twenty Two