[CONTENTID1]CHAPTER EIGHTEEN - DOOMSDAY[/CONTENTID1]
[CONTENTID2]

My eyes flutter open to beaming rays of sunshine. I drape my forearm over my eyes to block the light coming through the curtains and yawn, arching my back as I stretch. I turn my head and look at Jackson who's sleeping soundly with his arms and legs curled around my body. Being in a bed with him is always suffocating but in the best possible way. I stare at his face and smile, taking in his delicate features. He looks so peaceful when he's asleep, it's hard to think of how loud and boisterous he actually is. 

"Creep," he utters, his morning voice deep and throaty. It sends shivers down my spine. "Always watching me sleep." He always catches me but I stopped getting embarrassed about it a while ago.

"I don't always watch," I say, feeling a smile spread across my face. "Sometimes I molest you." He chuckles and opens his eyes, rubbing them before focusing them on me. We stare at each other for a few seconds, just smiling. "Good morning, babo."

"Good morning, jagi," he replies softly. "How did you sleep?"

"Fine," I answer truthfully. Ever since I've allowed him into my bed, my nightmares have become fewer and fewer. Now, I can go an entire week without waking up screaming and in a puddle of sweat. His presence mellows my anxiety. "I'm hungry. Let's go eat." 

"I can think of something nice to eat," he murmurs as he rolls onto me, covering my body with his. I can't help but giggle as he buries his face behind my ear, trailing kisses along my jawline and planting them all over my face and neck. "You. Are. Delicious." He kisses me in between each word and I grin, caressing his neck with my fingers. I wrap my legs around him and do the same with my arms. "I adore you." We've yet to have but we're in no rush, all we're focusing on at the moment is being there for each other. Neither of us want to jump the gun too soon.

"And I cherish you," I reply, pressing a soft kiss on his pink lips. "But I want food more than I want you right now." 

"You wound me, pet," he gasps, feigning hurt. I laugh again and hold onto him as he pushes himself off the bed, taking me with him. He carries me out of the bedroom and to the kitchen, placing me on the counter. "Hot or cold breakfast today?" 

I tap my chin in thought. He puts his arms on either side of me and leans in, briefly brushing his lips against mine. "Hot. I want pancakes." He fastens his mouth on mine and teases me softly, his teeth catching my bottom lip. Our lips then mould together and I hook my arms around his neck, pulling him closer. "I still want those pancakes." He chuckles, his breath tickling my face. He plants a chaste kiss on my lips and moves away, retrieving the ingredients he needs to prepare our breakfast. 

I hop off the counter and aid him. We chat as we cook together, something that has become sort of routinely for us. For the past few months we've been keeping this up: him unofficially moving into my room and Daehyun and Youngjae unofficially taking his place in his apartment that is shared with BamBam and Henry. I'm not delusional, I know that one could easily label the relationship Jackson and I share. We've yet to cross that bridge, however. For the time being we're simply addressing ourselves as Jackson and Hyerim - nothing more, nothing less. While our relationship has blossomed, the same cannot be said for poor Hyoyeon. Henry is simply not interested in her and I'm not sure if I'm the best person to make wingman. Try as she may, she just can't manage to get him to focus on her for more than several minutes at a time. He's too engrossed in keeping ahead of the army so that our plan is not interfered with by unnecessary complications, to pay her much attention. 

Jackson feeds me another piece of pancake and I chew it slowly, watching him. "So I was thinking..." I raise a brow and sip some of his orange juice, too lazy to get my own glass. "Why don't we get married?" I splutter the orange juice and he grabs a napkin, quickly dabbing my face and then moving on to the coated counter. "Are you okay?"

"I was until you decided to drop the M bomb on me," I cough, hitting my chest a few times. "Where the hell did you get such an idea?" He finishes cleaning the counter and throws the napkin away. 

"I don't know," he shrugs shyly. "I've just been thinking about us and I thought...well, we've known each other for, what, over two and a half years now?" I nod. "I know you don't want to label our relationship but you're my girlfriend. I'm your boyfriend, right?"" I blush and nod again. "Let's take the next step."

"The next step would be . , Jackson, not marriage," I reply and he scoffs.

"They can be a package deal." I sigh and take his hands into mine, brushing my thumbs over the back of them.

"Why are you in such a rush now? What happened?" I ask and he bits his lip, his eyes scanning my face. "Talk to me, oppa." 

He sighs. "I'm being sent to Hong Kong for a few weeks. Some kind of conference, I don't know. I just...it's the first time being away from you for real and I don't...I don't want you to forget about us." I smile and cup his face, pressing a soft, long kiss on his lips. 

"I could never forget about you or us," I assure him, his cheeks. It's true: he's engraved himself in my life. "We don't need a marriage to solidify our relationship. But to make you feel better..." I take off my engagement ring and then the necklace he's wearing, adding the ring to it. I then put his necklace back on him. "There. Now you'll always have a piece of me with you. An expensive piece of me." He laughs but the twinkle in his eyes tells me he's taking this very seriously, he appreciates it.

He grabs my face and passionately kisses me. "Thank you. I'll cherish it." His lips quirk up. "Or I'll sell it in exchange for some video games." I laugh and playfully hit his chest. "Actually, I should probably hide this from Kyuhyun." The other male is obsessed with games, especially video games, and will go to great lengths to obtain them. If he gets his hands on my ring, I'll never see it again. What I will see, however, is a brand new disc with 'Starcraft' written across it. 

"Yeah, that'd be a good idea," I agree, hoisting myself up on the counter again. "Now, back to the whole taking the next step..."

"Hmm?" He hums, smirking.

"I think I'm ready," I murmur against his lips and we both lean in. Before our mouths can connect, however, the phone goes off. Usually, that excites me because after months of begging, the generals finally agreed to letting me own one albeit it's not a mobile. It's a house phone but it's the principal that matters. Except right now, I want nothing more than to smash it for interrupting us.

"I'll get it," Jackson grumbles. He moves away from me and walks to the living room, returning to the kitchen with an annoyed expression on his face. "What do they want now?" He plays with my long hair as he listens to the voice on the other end. I've only trimmed it a handful of times over the last couple of years. Yìfán always liked it long and I guess I haven't broken that habit. Jackson seems to like it too so, for him, I'll endure just about anything. "What. The. ." 

"What?" I ask and he drops the lock of my hair between his fingers, turning his back to me. I grab onto his arm and tug it. "What, oppa?" He turns back to face me but now, on his face, is a dark expression. "What is it?"

"When was this? Oh my god. What do we do? Why? What the hell!?" I'm desperate to know who he's talking to and why he's freaking out the wa