Jinri was distracted by a particularly loud sigh from behind her as she stood, admiring her reflection in the mirror, dressed in a white tank-top and a monotonously grey pair of old sweatpants but holding several dresses in her hands. Sehun was sitting in an armchair in the corner of the room, eyes gazing downwards, fixed on his still loose tie.

“What do you say? This one or this one?” She asked, turning to face him. She held two dresses which she had bought while still in New York. It had taken her quite a while to pick them from the mountain of clothes could currently be described as.

“What’s the difference?” Her husband however seemed less than impressed.

“In color, in texture, in pattern and in design as well as in every other aspect?” She blinked, surprised before she threw him a bland look.

“They’re the same length.” He raised an eyebrow.

It took a moment to register in her mind and when it finally did, she burst out laughing. “Oh, so that’s what you notice. Tell me, honey. This one or this one?” She commanded, holding the dresses up once more.

“That.” He said, pointing to the one on the left.

“This? You kind of have a thing for little black dresses, Sehun.” She asked, turning it over for inspection.

“You’re the one who buys them.” He scoffed and turned his attention back to his tie, continuing to brood in silence. Jinri looked closely at the dress he had picked. It was simple, form-fitting with a heart-shaped neckline. If she remembered correctly, it reached her mid-thigh and complemented her figure nicely. Her train of thought suddenly skidded down another path. Once she concluded it was the right one, she grinned, throwing the dress on the bed and successfully capturing her husband’s attention.

“Nice try. You want me to lie low so you can keep your hands on me all night long but I’m going to wear this.” She proclaimed as she came out, holding a sequined dress in her hand. “Everyone will notice me and I’ll stick to your side the entire time so that you get to suffer from too much social interaction.”

Sehun groaned, his head falling back to thump against the back of the armchair. Jinri on the other hand simply laughed, delighted.

~•~

It was hard to say exactly how they arrived home that night. They had driven and he must have been the one to do it because Jinri was hardly in the right state for it. Sehun himself had served a glass of champagne at midnight but in all honesty, he was more intoxicated by her presence than by the alcohol. A simple whiff of her perfume and all his senses went haywire. At the touch of her lips, the entire world melted away. That was the conclusion he reached just before a loud clatter was heard, his movements were suddenly obstructed and a small squeak sounded against his lips. Jinri smiled then giggled and stumbled once more to the side, making him tighten his grip on her waist in order not to let her fall over.

“You backed me up into a table.” She whined against his lips, amused as she clung to his neck with her arms.

Sehun gazed down at her. His gaze was on her lips full, red, bruised from his kisses and stretched into a smile. Before long, he leaned down to capture them into yet another kiss but before he could do that, the front door burst open downstairs. They pulled apart abruptly, staring at each other with wide eyes until a booming voice echoed through the large, empty house.

“Jinri!” There were different reactions from the two spouses. At first, they both frowned. Then she smiled and dashed towards the staircase, leaving him to curse the day he allowed the idiot into his life. He took a moment to gather his bearings, knowing that no one would appreciate it if he lunged for his throat the moment he caught sight of him before following his wife.

Climbing down the stairs with a scowl on his face and his hands in his pockets, he found Jinri and Jongin face to face, a bottle of champagne between them. Jongin explaining to her how he had been unable to bear the thought of it ending up in the wrong hands and had the wonderful idea of sharing it with her because they were like brother and sister.

A rather ashamed Soojung stood behind him, throwing them both looks of apology. But only Sehun caught those as Jinri was very busy acting idiotic right along with Jongin. Clapping her hands, she jumped up and down in a childish manner. He still wished he could murder her self-proclaimed best friend. But in the end, seeing her so happy made everything including having to deal with him worth it.

~•~

It was a cold day in January, approximately two weeks since she came home when she decided to give in to her lazy side and sleep in. She awoke briefly when the warmth of her husband’s toned body left the bed but then once again allowed herself to be swallowed up by unconsciousness as blankets were tucked around her and a kiss was laid on her forehead.

Almost three hours later, she stood in the middle of the kitchen, still dressed in her black night gown, leaning against the counter with a glass of orange juice in her hand. Having nothing planned for the rest of the day, she resumed at watching the large snowflakes descend from the dark sky. Usually, she was there to see him off in the mornings. They would both be awakened by either his alarm clock or her annoyingly accurate sense of time and they would have breakfast together.

Now, Jinri knew that only by interrupting their routine one day she wouldn’t ruin their relationship, wouldn’t lose the ground she’d been so keen on keeping the last time. Rather, the feeling coursing through her veins at the moment was more likely to be attributed to longing. She missed him. And before she even knew what she was doing, she was reaching for her phone.

Can I call you?

All of her current wishes could fit in a simple text message so she hit send and waited for a response. Much to her surprise, it came in an instant, almost as though he’d had it written before she’d even thought of sending her own.

Meeting. Are you alright?

Smiling, she hesitated before typing her next words, knowing that her reasons for bothering him, for all they were innocent, were foolish and even naïve only serving to make him worry in vain.

I wanted to call you. She finally typed, her finger pressing on the send button before she could change her mind. Once again, the answer came quickly. She briefly wondered how much experience her husband had when it came to texting but then pushed the thought away. Sehun didn’t need to be experienced in anything. He was naturally good at nearly everything.

Do you want to come over? I can pick you up in 15 minutes.

Biting down on her lower lip, she gazed at the screen longingly. There was nothing she wanted more at that moment than to see her husband. Regardless, the last thing she wanted to do was bother him, distract him and keep him from doing his job right and she knew that, by making a sudden appearance in his office, she would do exactly that.

You don’t have to do that.

But she couldn’t lie to him, not even when he was miles away. Despite her internal battle, she had a feeling his answer would have been the same, no matter what she would have told him.

Be ready in 15 minutes, then.

~•~

When Jinri entered his office that afternoon, she was wearing a long-sleeved, beige sweater that complemented the color