He loved her, of course. But even better than that, he chose her, day after day after day.

I suddenly woke up and screamed through the silence of the night.

I kicked out the hand that was grasping my ankle as I thrashed frantically on my bed. I was sweating nonstop as I recalled what happened in the movie that we just watched. It was the part where the demon dragged the woman from her bed by her ankle and down the hall.

“Jae!” I screamed his name, as tears flooded my vision.

Then suddenly a low laugh in the dark room and my fear quickly changed to raging fury as my eyes adjusted to the darkness enough to see Jae standing at the foot of my bed laughing.

“You’re a jerk!”

I sounded weird – between a sob and a growl.

“I’m sorry,” he said as laughter rocked his words.

I looked at the clock on the bedside table – I was only been sleeping for less than 2 hours.

“You’re not sorry, you jerk,” I said as I twisted up on my pillow. “Why would you do that? It wasn’t funny!”

My back was pressed tightly to the bed and I’d hooked my feet under the comforter – an illusion to keep them safe.

“I thought it would be funny, Angel,” he admitted. “I didn’t know you would really get so scared.”

“Well I did. I still am.”

“You called my name,” he said curtly.

“You’re the only one here with me,” I defended. I didn’t need to tell him I was scared out of my mind and the first thing that came to me was to call him. “You’re so lucky I didn’t pee on my bed or else I’ll really hurt you.”

He chuckled again. “It was pretty funny though.”

“Glad I entertain you for the night. No go back to your couch,” I said sarcastically.

“Think you can sleep?” he asked seriously.

I frowned. “Probably not right away. My heart still beats fast,” I muttered. “I’ll be worrying about my body parts being latched onto and tugged until morning. I’m paranoid that way and thanks to you – you made it even harder even more.”

Jae bent down and tugged on my comforter, ripping it from my knuckled grip.

“I’m joining you here then,” he said.”

“What? No you’re not!”

“Get over it, Angel. You just said it, you won’t be able to sleep,” he said as he swung my blanket over his shoulders before kneeling on the edge of my bed. His hand found my ankle and with his knee, he pried my ankles apart.

“What are you doing?” I asked in panic.

“I’m sleeping with you.” He wasn’t asking for permission; It was an order. My heart fluttered into my throat. “Nothing will be grabbing you anymore,” he promised as he crawled up the bed between my legs. “I’ll be over you.”

He lowered himself and my stomach tightened as he settled over me.

“This doesn’t feel friendly, Jae,” I whispered tremblingly. “You’re kind of heavy and I’m not having with you.”

“It’s friendly, Dara,” he argued, sounding annoyed at what I just said. “I just want to be close to you. Tell me I can be close to you like this.”

His breath washed over my face, lips inches away from mine. My body called to his – burning in response to his nearness. I’d never felt anything like it before – violently bitter-sweet.

I breathed out loud.

“You can stay,” I said quietly and hesitantly.

He lowered his face into the nook of my neck. I felt him settle his lips against the hollow in my throat and I stared up at my ceiling.

Oh, boy.

Now, I wasn’t afraid of body parts being tugged anymore. I was more afraid of my response to his nearness. It wasn’t friendly no matter what he said. This felt intimate.

Jae moved his hand down my body, over my ribs, waist and hips then hooked the underside of my leg. He lifted it, wrapping it around his waist and my breath caught in my throat as he wiggled closer.

I felt the warmth of his waist against my most intimate, untouched part and gasped.

“Jae…”

“You’re tense, Angel,” he murmured, not letting me get a word in edgewise. “Relax, will you? It’s just me. It’s just us. You can trust me.”

He kissed my collarbone before raising his face to meet mine. His eyes were sincere and my heart felt tight in its cage.

“I will never do anything to hurt you, you know that, right? I just like being close to you,” he whispered.

“I…I like being close to you too, Jae,” I admitted quietly. “But this feels so much more than friendly.”

“No,” he said as he shook his head. “I’ve done more than friendly and this isn’t it.”

“Okay.” I nodded and sighed.

My defenses shattered and I put my arms around his neck, pulling him down to me. I pressed my lips to his cheek and his body shook as he closed his eyes.

“Jae,” I whispered, waiting for his response.

“Hmm?” He sounded rough.

“I want you to know something,” I said softly and cautiously as he pulled back only enough to look down at me. Even in the darkness of my room, I could see him – his skin – and in that I found both temptation and heaven.

“What is it, Angel?”

I ran a hand through his hair, letting it settle against the nape of his neck. I was nervous. My heart was pounding painfully and I was sure he could feel it.

“You’re now one of my best friends, Jae,” I whispered and he sighed, bowing his forehead to mine. “I love you,” I continued and I felt him stiffened. “I don’t want anything to happen that could ruin us.”

He sighed and I wasn’t sure if it was in relief or not. But he slid his arm beneath me, pulling me tighter to him. He held on my legs around his waist and pressed himself as close as he possibly could against me. There was only one way we could get closer even more at that point and I wasn’t willing to thread those waters with him.

Because if we ever did, I feared we would both drown.

“Sleep tight, Angel,” Jae murmured. He lowered his head, brushing his lips over mine ever so lightly.

It wasn’t a kiss because it was too light but it rocked my heart and tore through my entire body. As gentle as the friction had been, I felt it in the tips of my toes.

I closed my eyes and begged for sleep to take me as Jae nestled into the nook of my neck, settling himself against me. As he fell into sleep, his breathing evened and he became heavier over me, but at the moment, I didn’t mind.

As a matter of fact, I liked feeling him there against me because I felt safe, protected and loved all at the same time.

Although he hadn’t spoken the words back to me, I knew Jae loved me. I could feel it. I didn’t know exactly what that love of his entailed yet, but it was still love nonetheless.

I lay awake for hours, just listening to him breathing, letting my fingers trace small movements over the smooth skin of his back.

At that point, I knew his breathing was my favorite sound in the world.

**

My phone rang loudly against my nightstand table, waking me up. I peeled my arm from around Jae’s back and stretched for my phone. I glanced at the screen and my heart dropped.

Aunt Kim Young-Ae.

“Auntie?”

“Hi Dara,” she sounded tense and I was instantly alert.

“What is it?” I asked, suddenly tensing, Jae lifted his head. His brows furrowed and he watched me intently. All traces of sleepiness were gone from his face.

“I’ve been meaning to call you, Dara,” she sighed. “I just didn’t know how to tell you yet.”

“What happened?” I asked as I held my breath.

“I met with your parent’s loan agent,” she said and I nodded to myself. It made sense that Aunt Kim Young-Ae would have contact with the agent. I’d signed her name onto everything of my parents because I was too far away to maintain proper contacts. She’s been helping me deal with all of it back in Busan. “There’s no money left to cover the debt and if the house doesn’t sell within 3 months, the bank will be forced to foreclose.”

My throat felt tight with emotion.

“They…they can’t do that,” I cried.

“Do what?” Jae whispered. “What’s going on, Angel?”

I pushed at his chest but he refused to move and I flopped back against my pillow, feeling desperate and beaten down as Aunt Kim Young-Ae spoke on the other line.

“I’m so sorry, Dara. I didn’t want to tell you this because I know you have too much to worry about there. I know you’ve been so stressed lately but you still need to know.”

“It’s okay, Auntie,” I said sadly. My voice shook. “I-I’ll figure something out. Thank you