Ryeowook

I was planning of having a picnic by the park with Donghae but when I told Sungmin about my plan on the phone the other day, he quickly reminded me that I was married and that if anyone ever saw and took pictures of me and Donghae, I could end up ruining this whole marriage deal. Sungmin’s right and I’m so thankful I told him about him. I never even thought about the possibility of the media lurking around!

So, here I am, in my old apartment. I’m dusting and cleaning since the apartment hasn’t been touched for a while now. I cooked a whole table full of traditional Korean food earlier on knowing that one of the things Donghae loves most about coming back is getting to eat Korean food. Donghae’s safely arrived in Korea last night and he attended a family event earlier on. About a few minutes ago, he texted me that he was leaving and that he’s on his way. I’m really excited. I feel bad that I ditched Kyuhyun for Donghae, I really do. But come on…. It’s Donghae! He’s back and… And I missed him so much. You can’t blame me. I see Kyuhyun every day.

After I’m done cooking and cleaning, I grab my cell phone. I want to text Donghae and ask him where he is but I don’t know how, my fingers scrolls down to Kyuhyun’s name. Biting my lips, I press onto his name and type a message asking him how the event is going. I mean, the least I can do after ditching him is to check up on him right?

How’s it going, Kyuhyun?

I press my lips together when I notice how serious I sound. Deleting the message, I type another one in a more cutesy tone but then erase it again. I don’t want to sound like I’m too free either since I told Kyuhyun that I had something urgent to attend to. I sigh, my fingers dancing on my screen as I try to think of something appropriate to send to Kyuhyun.

Hey Kyu, how’s the event going? Hope it’s going fine!

Well there, that sounds friendly enough right? And I’m smiling at how I’m calling him Kyu for the first time. It’s cute and I like that nickname. Giggling, I hit send and randomly play with my phone until it vibrates signalling a text message received.

You owe me a huge dinner.

I smile, quickly typing back to him. It can’t be that bad.

A kid just tried to eat me.

I laugh out loud at this. My poor Kyuhyun! Immediately, I stop laughing and my eyes widen. “My poor Kyuhyun?”

I touch my forehead, realizing what I had just thought. Oh god, my poor Kyuhyun? Clearly, I am taking this whole pretend marriage a little bit too far. Before I can even think any further, another vibration from my phone startled me.

Wish you were here with me.

My lips spread into a gentle smile unknowingly and right at that moment, I wish I’m there with Kyuhyun too. But the doorbell suddenly rings and I jump out of my seat. I scramble to the door and pull it open.

“Donghae!”

There he is, standing right in front of me. His hair is falling down into his eyes handsomely and he’s switched his usual contacts for his geeky black spectacles that I’m usually a er for. Donghae grins wide and holds his arms wide and I jump into them, hugging him tight.

“Donghae! I missed you!” I squeal.

It’s funny because I can feel tears prickling in my eyes. I’m so happy to see Donghae again that my emotions are all over the place. Donghae hugs me back, laughing as he picks me up and spins me around. I want to stay in his strong arms, I really just want to be with Donghae forever. He finally releases me and softly puts me down onto the ground.

“Hey Wookie!” Donghae greets me, pushing a strand of hair out of my eyes. “You look good today, babe.”

I blush and pulls him into my apartment. It’s his first time here and he stands in the living room, taking a look around. I feel myself suddenly embarrassed at the thought of having him look at my apartment like this. I live in such a tiny simple apartment whereas his, back in America, is so huge and elegant.

“It’s not much.” I quickly say, not knowing why.

Donghae gives me a reassuring smile. “It’s cozy.”

I nod and then ask him to take a seat while I make a drink for him. I bring the drink to the living room where he’s seated and he pats the seat next to him on the couch. I take a seat next to him, unable to wipe off the silly smile of my face. Donghae is here! Donghae is here! Can you believe it?

“I’ve missed you, Wookie.” Donghae tells me, hanging his arms around my shoulders as squeezes me.

I nod. “You have no idea how happy I am to see you back, Hae.”

Donghae takes a sip from his drink as he turns to look at me tapping my nose. “You’ve been smiling ever since I arrived.”

“I’m just really happy, Hae!”

Donghae smiles affectionately, cupping my cheeks. “It’s good then. I’m happy to see you too, Ryeowook.”

My heart skips at Donghae’s touch. I reach up and touch the hand that is cradling my cheeks and our fingers intertwines. Donghae brings our hands together to his lips and kisses our joined hands, looking into my eyes so intently.

“It’s really really good to see you again, sweetheart.”

***

“How was the event just now?”

I ask as I help Donghae scoop more rice onto his plate. He’s onto his second serving and with every bite he takes out of all the food that I made, he keeps and telling me how much he had missed my cooking. I’ve missed cooking for him too. Donghae loves trying new food and it’s always fun cooking something for him. He’s a sweetheart when it comes to complimenting my cooking.

“It was okay.” Donghae shrugs.

“Did you get to meet your family?” I ask.

Donghae nods and asks me about how work has been. Once we’re done eating, we head back into the living room, plopping down on the couch. I find his hands and interlace my fingers with his, loving how my hand fits so perfectly against his. Donghae my hands with his thumbs as he tells me about his life back in America. Seconds turns into minutes and minutes turns into hours and soon, I don’t even know how long we’ve been sitting there, just holding each other while we catch up on each other’s life.

I sigh, realizing that the sun is slowly starting to fade, the sky outside turning orange. Donghae is spooning me on the couch, his fingers playing with my hair while my fingers traces random patterns on his chest. I’ve missed this. We used to do this all afternoon back in America. Our apartment faced the sea and we spent our afternoon cuddled up in our loveseat on the balcony after work, watching the romantic sunset.

 My heart drops as I stare outside of the windows. It’s impossible to see the sunset here since there’s a lot of other buildings surrounding my apartment building. I’m not in America, I’m in Korea. And the fact that Donghae has to go back, has to leave again is making my heart feel so heavy. I don’t want him to go. I want Donghae to stay, stay with me until the end. I look up to Donghae who is humming sweetly in my ears. His eyes catches mine and they disappear as he smiles handsomely at me.

“I don’t want you to leave.” I croak, my voice breaking halfway.

Donghae smiles, nuzzling my neck warmly. “You know I have to.”

“It’s not fair.”

Donghae chuckles and tips my chin with his fingers. His eyes meets mine intensely and he bends down, his lips meeting mine. God, yes. I’ve been wanting this. Donghae presses his lips against mine and I moan, giving him permission as he parts my lips with his tongue. Donghae kisses me gently, sweetly and my body shivers from how wonderful his lips feels against mine. It’s not rough, it’s not hot and heavy, it’s not… It’s not like how Kyuhyun kisses me.

And suddenly, I’m pulling myself away from Donghae. I try to catch my breath as I search Donghae’s face. Why did I think of Kyuhyun? And why do I have this weird feeling in the pit of my stomach? I feel guilty, suddenly. Like, I’m cheating on Kyuhyun, on my husband. But I’m not