SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA

Jinmo laughed as they pulled out of the busy airport. “It was raining in the States, and it’s raining here, too.”

Jinyi chuckled as she looked around.

Jinyi watched the scenery with a measure of fascination. Something about the buildings in South Korea, even in Seoul, was different. Jinyi could see glimpses of history in some of the buildings. A history that her father had told her about at times. She was thrilled to actually see some of it for herself.

Jinmo drove around a little, to let Jinyi get her bearings in the city.

“Even though most of our family lives in small towns, I thought it best that you stay here in Seoul for now.”

Jinyi nodded. “Whatever you think is best, Jinmo samchon”

Jinyi liked the area.

Jinmo finally stopped in front of a small building, which looked to be about three stories tall. Jinyi looked up at it and her stomach went into a terrible fit.

“Since it’s raining so badly I’m going to drop you here,” Jinmo said. “I’ll just find a parking spot in the lot around back.”

Jinyi took a deep breath as she got out of the car. She glanced up, only to be bombarded by the heavy downpour. She closed her eyes and reveled in the feel of the rain on her face. She took another deep breath as she pulled the hood of her light jacket up over her head and walked swiftly inside the building.

She could see the bottom of the elevator under the rim of her hood as it was closing.

“Wait,” she called out in English before she thought as she hurried towards it. She caught the edge of the door and slid inside at the last moment— and slammed into a solid wall of warmth. “Oh.” She tried to take a step back, but stumbled and lost her balance. She grasped the man's shirt to catch herself.

“Careful,” the man said in English.

The husky male voice reverberated through her. Strong arms encircled her waist, preventing her from falling. A thrilling jolt of energy shot through her at the stranger’s touch.

With shaking hands, she tussled with the hood of her jacket, until finally she was able to push the covering off her head.

She scanned her eyes upwards, past the black cotton shirt, past the strong chin, past the full mouth, to the intense, shining dark eyes.

Jinyi's heart skipped a beat. parted in surprise. She could not explain the rush of sensation that assailed her at that moment, leaving her breathless.

“Hello,” he said. The man’s smile was stunning, naturally sensual.

Jinyi's breath caught in . “Hi.”

“My name is Jung Jihoon,” the man said with a slight bow of his head. His English was almost perfect, except for the adorable, y accent.

“I— umm, Ahn Jinyi,” she said with a slight bow of her head, knowing that it was proper manners to bow when introducing oneself.

“You’re English,” he said, his voice a velvet caress. “Are you visiting?”

“No,” she breathed. “I— I’ll be – living here.”

He merely nodded as he watched her. “Which button for you?”

Jinyi blinked. “Umm—,” she glanced back up at him. “Oh – Umm, Three, please.”

“Three.” The smile returned to his generous mouth. “apartment three twelve would be yours, then.”

Jinyi's brows rose. She nodded. “How— did you know?”

“Floor three has only two apartments,” he said with a gleam in his eye. “I own one of them.”

Jinyi glanced quickly at the elevator panel. Sure enough, number Three was already lit up. She returned her gaze to him.

“So, then,” she her lips timidly, “we’re neighbours.”

“Aparently, yes.”

 

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Jinyi's breath was shallow and fast, her heart was racing. Her mind could barely fathom what was happening.

The fact that she'd been in Korea less than 2 hours, the fact that she was moving to a new country after the death of her father, the fact that not 20 minutes ago she'd felt a deep anxiety as her uncle was driving through Seoul, none of this was anywhere near her thoughts. All she could think, sense or feel was this very masculine man in front of her. This man that had caught her from falling backwards. This man who still had his arm circled around her waist.

What seemed an eternity passed as they waited for the elevator to reach the Third floor. Jinyi sincerely hoped she was hiding all the turmoil that was going on inside of her.

Jinyi tried several times to speak but her voice didn't seem to want to work properly, so she just closed and tried her best to smile non-challantly.

Jinyi glanced up quickly at Jihoon, swallowed hard and then moved her gaze away.

Jinyi was not short at five feet, eight inches tall, but Jihoon still managed to tower over her. His shoulders and chest were muscled nicely. His beautiful, silky black hair was cut rather short in the back, but the front was long and neatly feathered to one side.

Jinyi had a sudden image of his hair falling into his eyes when he arose first thing in the morning. Her heart flip-flopped. She shook her head to clear the image.

She glanced up absently. He was smiling down at her.

Her eyes went to his mouth. A beautiful mouth, sumptuously full lips which created charming curves at the edges when he smiled.

A kitty mouth! Jinyi thought, He has a kitty mouth!

It was difficult to tell how old Jihoon was. He had slight laugh lines at the corners of his eyes and mouth, but they gave no true indication of his age.

Jinyi took a deep, unsteady breath, inadvertently inhaling his scent. He smelled incredible. Cologne mixed with his own natural masculine odor. She suddenly felt dizzy.

Suddenly Jinyi came to her senses and her eyes widened as she realized she'd been staring at him.

Then, a shiver ran down her spine as she noticed that Jihoon's gaze was wandering over her face. His eyes came to rest lastly on . Her lips began to tingle.

She jumped when the elevator dinged. The doors slid open.

Jihoon finally let go of her waist and led her out of the elevator with his hand on the small of her back. “I do believe some of your furniture was delivered yesterday.”

“Oh,” Jinyi's voice was very breathy.

She vaguely remembered Jinmo mentioning that he had sent some of her grandmother’s furniture.

She glanced around the cozy hallway. There were several doors on this floor, but only two with numbers on them.

“That’s all storage,” Jihoon explained.

“Oh, I see.” She could not think of anything else to say.

“Three twelve,” Jihoon stopped at her door and glanced down at her.

Jinyi stared at the door.

Apartment Three twelve.

Thanks to Jihoon's overwhelming proximity, everything had faded into the background for a wonderful few minutes, but now – Now it all suddenly came rushing back without warning. Reality hit her again.

This was her new home. Her new home without her father.

Despite the warmth emanating from Jihoon's hand at her back, she felt a lump rising in .

“Do you have your key?” Jihoon asked patiently, his voice caressing her senses, strangely comforting.

“Oh, yes,” she said, shaking herself mentally.

She juggled the straps of her handbag as she attempted to it. In her distracted state, she inadvertently tipped it over and everything spilled onto the floor in an unsightly heap. Horrified, she knelt down and began hurriedly stuffing things back into her bag.

Jihoon knelt close to her and began gathering up some of her personal items.

Jinyi took a gulp of breath. Everything seemed so overwhelming in that moment.

She had promised herself and her father that she would be strong. Why was she succumbing to emotion again?

She could not help the tears that began to fall. She tilted her head down and began weeping quietly, hoping Jihoon would not see. To her chagrin, he noticed immediately. He placed the items he held into her bag and then tenderly lifted her chin.

“It’s all right,” he cooed soothingly. He pulled her to him and her hair. He held her as she sniffled into his shirt.

When her tears subsided somewhat he leaned back and smiled down into her face.

Jinyi looked up into eyes that were glowing with warmth and caring.

That's when it dawned on Jinyi. So much had happened in such a short amount of time. And then Jihoon's presence must have sent a jolt through her spiritual and mental being, shocking her system so badly that it loosened all of her emotions.

Jihoon did have an overpowering spirit, so she felt satisfied with that explanation.

“It’s scary, huh?” he asked softly.

She nodded as she wiped away her tears. “Yes.”

Somehow, instinctively she knew that she could trust him.

Jihoon stood up and offered her his hand. “Let’s go inside. It is getting late. Thirteen hours difference. Have you eaten?” he asked gently.

“I— ,” Jinyi stuttered as she accepted his hand.

The elevator doors slid open as Jihoon pulled Jinyi to her feet.

Jinmo stepped out of the elevator. He did not look up immediately.

“Pouring down out there. I must say, Vincent was none too happy about the rain.” With an effort, Jinmo pulled the sullen looking cat from under his jacket. Vincent looked at Jinyi unhappily and emitted a long, low meow in protest.

Jihoon looked down at her with a strange, uncertain glint in his eye, and then he glanced back up at Jinmo.

Jinmo looked up then. “Oh, sorry, didn’t realize.” He bowed.

Jinyi smiled through her tears. “This is my new neighbour, Jung Jihoon. Jihoon ssi, this is my samchon, Jinmo.”

Jihoon bowed in return and then held out his hand to her uncle. “Jinmo, good to meet you.”

Jinmo chuckled as he shook Jihoon’s hand. “I'm glad. Jinyi was worried about not having any friends.”

Jihoon raised an eyebrow and glanced down at her.

Jinyi chuckled despite her tears. She glanced to the side as she wiped the last of her tears away.

Having settled her emotions, Jinyi turned towards her door. “Well, first things first,” she said with a deep breath, “I have to actually enter my new apartment instead of fudging about in the hallway.” She reached down and grabbed her key. “Let’s see what sort of furniture you sent for me, Jinmo samchon.”

“So, you do know how to form a sentence containing more than three words,” Jihoon grinned down at her. “I wondered if you could speak properly.”

Jinyi chuckled. “I assure you, Jihoon ssi, one day you'll regret wondering that.”

Vincent meowed loudly.

All three burst into spontaneous laughter.

“Apparently, Vincent agrees,” Jihoon chuckled.