Saturday morning, and Hyemi woke up – yet again – in Changsun’s bedroom, his arm tightly embracing her body as they cuddled closely. She’s been resting at his place for three days straight, spending his supposed days off with him while she actually had no school nor work to go to.

They haven’t put a status on their relationship and neither did she want too, not for the moment anyways.

What she had loved during that time was simply enjoying his company with nothing to worry about and no disturbance whatsoever. They haven’t even left the apartment with the kitchen filled with leftovers from take out food, the living room in its own mess and even his bedroom was nothing but untidy.

For Changsun, he doesn’t remember when was the last time he felt so stress free; even during high school, he wasn’t that spontaneous because of the weight of being the next in line to own the family’s company on his shoulders.

The sun from the window behind them was stretching his rays and created faint heat through their limbs, leaving a comfortable sensation.

From her back facing him, she turned around within his embrace and found him with a smile as he softly greeted her good morning. She wrapped her leg around him, pushing herself closer and kissed him as a reply. He caressed her cheek, loving the way she looked in the morning with the sun hitting her tenderly. From her cheek, his fingers trailed further back as they entangled themselves in her dirty blond short hair, letting the softness tingle his skin.

“Do you know how beautiful you look right now?”

She giggled in complete shyness as her cheeks blushed at his compliment. His smile grew bigger at her reaction and leaned closer to her until his lips were pressed on hers, kissing her ever so gently. Without even a second to waste, she kissed him back, their lips slowly dancing together. His hand slid down her back until he held her leg, making a delicate turn to lay on top of her without breaking the morning caress. She wrapped her arms around his neck, one hand running through his hair at the back of his head, enjoying the little moment a little too much.

They were pretty much caught into each other, the sparks from last night pricking with a ticklish warmth in their skin.

“Daddy? Hyemi? What are you guys doing?”

Eyes wide open, breaths stuck in their throats, they completely froze in their position as they turned their heads to the side, spotting Matilda with an intrigued look on her face.

It took them a moment to realize that a little girl was about to catch them in the act. Hyemi quickly pushed Changsun away from her, covering her body with the thick blanket with Changsun falling off the bed and grabbing onto the pair of pants that was on the floor as he dressed himself back up from behind the mattress, hiding his body from his daughter.

As for Matilda, she was still looking at both adults waiting for an answer.

She didn’t even realize what she had just interrupted, too preoccupied to know why Hyemi was with her father in his bed, on a Saturday morning.

“S-sweetheart, wh-what are you doing here?”

“Hmm, it’s Daddy’s turn to spend the week with me. Mom just dropped me off… Unnie, what are you doing? Did you spend the night?”

“W-would you be mad if I said yes?”

“No. But… why in his bed?”

“I-I am afraid of the dark… Your father kept me company.” Changsun tilted his head towards Hyemi, surprised about the quick reply she gave to the little girl. He turned back to look at Matilda, nodding his head rapidly as he agreed to the lie. “Y-yes! She wanted me to keep her company…”

Matilda was blinking her confusion as her eyes traveled from one person to the other.

“Are you two a couple?”

“Yes.” - “No.”

Both answers jumped at the same time, making the little girl even more confused. Hyemi and Changsun glanced back at each other, taken aback by each other’s answers before going back to look at Matilda.

“Hmm… I’ll be in the kitchen…” She walked out and closed the door behind her, leaving the other two back alone, sudden tension roaming around. Changsun went back in bed just as Hyemi sat up, holding onto the covers, her gaze down at the sheets while he was looking at her. “I should get dressed.”

“Aren’t we going to talk about this?”

“Talk about what?” She lifted her head up to look at him, her heart beating at a fast pace out of anxiety.

“About us… What-what are we? To each other?” She let out a sigh, turning her body so she could face him just as he inched closer to her, waiting for her answer. “I don’t know… The past three days were amazing but I don’t think we should be labeled as a couple; we’re not-”

“Then why can’t we be one? I like you and I know you like me, why don’t we just give it a try?”

“Changsun, I don’t-”

“Please Hyemi. Let me take you out tonight.”

His plea squeezed her heart. She wasn’t ready to give a status to whatever relationship they were in; she was satisfied with how things were and didn’t want to change them. But she knew that she couldn’t escape this impending question, it was going to bite her right back sooner or later and now that it did, she couldn’t push it away. “I won’t let you down this time, I promise.”

He approached her further, stretching out one arm to have his hand gently her cheek as he kept his eyes on her, desperate to hear a positive response on her part.

Her mind blanked the moment he started kissing her once again, her heart stuck in as she let herself fall into his touch, always struck by the rush of flickers that traveled through every inch of her body.

From her lips, he trailed his kisses to her cheeks and down to her jaw and neck, all the while he started whispering sweet nothings. Her breath was getting heavier, her eyes were closed and she could feel herself warming up to his touch, the cold tension from earlier turning around into heat.

“I’m n-not ready to date-”

“Non sense. I’ll change your mind tonight, just say yes, please.”

She had finally given up and now, she was getting ready for her surprise date with Changsun, the level of stress just about to explode the thermometer.

She was way nervous than the first time and this for the simple fact that she was afraid. A part of her was excited, but at the same time, she feared that the end result would be the same as the last time. She liked the man by a lot and she didn’t want things to be in ruins before they have even started.

Her heart stopped beating the moment she heard her doorbell ring.

She took several deep breaths, calming her nerves, and walked her way to the front door. She opened it in one swift movement, and found Changsun in casual clothes with a bouquet of flowers in his hands and a loving smile on his face.

“Hi.”

“H-hi.” She felt like a teenage girl who was talking to her crush, all giddy and flustering feelings dancing around in the pit of her stomach, making her cheeks blush in sudden shyness. He stretched out his arm, gifting her the flowers. She thanked him, her beam glued to her face as she smelled their perfumed scent and made him enter her apartment while she made her way to her kitchen, wanting to place the bouquet in a vase.

While she had her back to him, he took this chance to watch her, his eyes wandering up and down her body, flattered by her appearance. “You look beautiful.”

She turned around to look at him after having placed the vase in the middle of her kitchen table, thanking him for the compliment. “You don’t look so bad yourself~”

“You’ll have to thank my 6 years old guide for that.”

“Really now? Did this ‘guide’ tell you to buy me flowers?”

“No, this I thought on my own.”

“I’m so flattered~” He chuckled at the playfulness she was displaying in front of him, his heart thumping strongly. She slowly strolled her way back to him, meeting him halfway. Her arms were behind her back, her head down on the floor, still feeling timid for an unexplained reason.

She doesn’t remember being this way in front of a man before; actually, she knew she never acted like this before.

There was some kind of thrill to her strange state of mind and it didn’t bother her. She was looking more into their night, anticipating what he had planned despite how disastrous it was the first time. He lifted her head by her chin and kissed her lips lovingly, the innocent touch making her heart jump once again against her chest.

“W-what are we doing tonight?”

“Well~ my guide informed me of a special event that is going to happen tonight and she advised me to take you there.”

“And what is that special event?”

“It’s a surprise.”

Her smile turned into a pout, trying to show her disappointment in a teasing manner. He chuckled at her facial expression before leaning back to kiss her once again, this time lingering a little bit longer. “We should get going; we wouldn’t want to be late.”

“No, we wouldn’t~” She was still attached to his lips, unable to pull herself away and break their kiss, a smirk seeping through. From holding her waist, his hands trailed to her back, caressing up and down hastily. “Trust me, you don’t want to be late. Actually, it’s not something you wouldn’t want to be late too.”

“Tell me where we are going and then we’ll leave.”

“In this case, we can always stay inside~”

“It sounds very tempting but the longer we stay the more impatient I’ll get, so let’s go!” She abruptly pulled away and grabbed onto his hand before taking her purse from her other hand and dragged Changsun out of her apartment while the man was left into a fit of laughter, entertained by her excitement.

The ride to the event in question was made with endless questions on Hyemi’s part, still trying to figure out where Changsun was taking them to spend their evening.

He had suddenly parked his car in what seemed to be an isolated area, suddenly striking his date with fear. They both got out of the car, her arms over her chest as she hugged herself close while her eyes analyzed the area that was completely dark, hence she couldn’t see much.

“Hmm, Changsun? Where are you taking me? You’re n-not going to kill me, right?”

“You think I’m Gapdong or something?” His chuckle turned into a full blown laughter at the way she had stared at him, her face suddenly becoming pale with her eyes wide open in fear and shock.

“Hyemi, don’t worry, we’re in the parking lot. What I want to show you is on the other side. Just– try to listen to the music that is playing. You’ll get your answer.” She did as she was told and paid close attention to the faint music that has been playing. Slowly, a smile appeared on her face, turning her frown upside down. “The circus? That’s the surprise?”

“Mhmm.” She jumped on him out of happiness, thanking him just like a child would thank their parents after receiving what could’ve been the best gift in the world. With her arms around his neck and her legs hanging in the air, he tightly embraced her by her waist, content to see that she was happy about the choice, hoping that it could overthrow the dinner disaster of last time.

Standing back on her two feet, she hugged him once again before pulling away and grabbing his hand to once again drag him across the parking lot, her inner child taking over.

Once the tickets were paid and the food was bought, they were sitting at the best spot that could be found, giving them a perfect view of the upcoming spectacle. She was holding her hot dog down on her lap and stared at it before lifting her head up and turning to her date, softly thanking him.

“To tell you the truth, I’ve always wanted to go to a circus show… I almost went to one, when I was a kid, but it never worked out. Being here is practically a dream come true, so thank you. I don’t know how or why, but just… thank you.” She kissed his cheek before placing her lips against his, letting themselves fall into their little romantic moment before she pulled away.

Just then, the show was starting making her go back to the inner child that was coming out of her, the excitement overflowing her being.

While she had her eyes in the front, he had her eyes on her, completely loving the adoring look she had at that moment.

It was warming his heart in such a peculiar way, it didn’t feel uncomfortable at all. In fact, it was such an overwhelming feeling, he didn’t want that sensation to go away. He loved how it made him feel.

Nothing else seemed to be important but her happiness.

“So, I did good tonight?”

“Hmm, well there was that slip up with that phone call but I’ll let it pass since you missed three days of work. But yea, you did great tonight.”

They were standing at her door, their night over. She was playing with the hem of his shirt as she looked down on it while he softly gazed at her, his hands resting on her hips.

“Hyemi.”

“Hmm?”

He tilted her head upwards by her chin and placed an innocent kiss on her lips. He had barely pulled away when she cupped his cheeks and pressed their lips back together, slowly deepening the new kiss. Her back rested against her door, his grip tightening on her hips before wrapping them around her body. They were slowly getting themselves caught up into their little heated moment, ready to move onto the next step just on the other side of that door until an unfamiliar ringtone caught their attention.

Breaking away, Changsun cursed under his breath as he picked his phone out to look at the caller ID even though he knew who was calling.

“I should take this… It’s Minyoung. It could be about Matilda.”

“Y-yea, sure, go ahead.”

She tried to steady her breathing while the man answered the call, his body still dangerously close to Hyemi. She rested her head on his shoulder as her arms slowly slid around his waist into a lazy hug, her chest still heaving up and down from the lack of air. She wasn’t paying attention to his conversation, to busy inhaling the perfume he wore as it sent endless chills down her spine.

He hung up with an exasperated sigh out of his mouth and placed his cellphone back in his pocket.

“Is everything okay?” She hasn’t moved her head from the spot but simply turned it to the side, her nose lightly brushing against his neck. Her soft mumbled words made Changsun look down, his arms back around to embrace her by her shoulders. “Yea, its just that I have to go now… She’s going to be spending the weekend away with her husband so I have to pick up Matilda, or she’s going to be spending another week at her mother’s.”

“O-oh…”

“Sorry I have to cut this short.”

“It’s okay. It’s for Matilda, right?”

“Mhmm.”

She gave him a goodnight kiss before reaching out for her purse to fetch her keys. She was ready to walk inside her loft when Changsun stopped her.

“What’s wrong?”

“Was I able to change your mind?”

“Take me to brunch tomorrow and we’ll see~” He chuckled as he shook his head, and leaned back to kiss her cheek, greeting her goodnight. “To brunch then. Be ready by 10 am, I’ll come and pick you up.”

“Goodnight Changsun.”

“Sweet dreams Hyemi.”