Coming home means slipping on your favourite t-shirt or his –maybe even some pants if you feel like it, and eat takeout for dinner on the couch. A re-run of some old drama on TV would play in the background, only this time Jinwoo wasn’t home to hop on, taking his usual space next to you.

A week since he rushed out just when you were about to step foot into this place that seemed too big for one person –you understood what he’d meant when he asked you to move in. Jinwoo wasn’t much of a talker and to this day you still have a hard time adjusting to the things he would throw at you once every blue moon.

You’d always figured he was the shy type and maybe it was just how he is around any girl. So you braced yourself to be the one that would make the first move, but you were wrong. He’d sputter it out like nothing, asking you to be with him and looked you dead in the eye, almost drowning you in the soft brown of his. You felt stupid for missing it, but out of anything you should know about Jinwoo is that when he wants something, the boy would work for it until it’s his, just like he did with you. Even with how guarded he was, you’d always find a voice mail or two wishing you a good day ahead, random food deliveries in the middle of the night when you’re too worn to whip something up and many other surprises that he manages to squeeze in through his tough schedule.

Tonight would be a perfect example. You were just as caught up with work, staying late nights in the office and as much as you hated coming back to an empty home, it was the only thing you wanted to do. You knew he was home the second the door rams onto the sneakers he’d left scattered by the front which would normally annoy you. But the smile that erupted on your face betrays you, almost stumbling over the things you dropped when you burst into the apartment looking for him.

The sound of the shower running fleets through the bedroom and it must be his lucky day since the clothes he’d strewn all over the floor fails to faze you. If anything the smell of him you’ve come to miss fills the room once again and the excitement pits in your stomach, practically sticking yourself to the bathroom door because you just couldn’t wait any longer.

When he finally comes out, you were already throwing yourself onto him, almost crushing the both of you onto the steamed bathroom floor.

“Holy crap–” He rasps a startled laugh and you feel his wet hair sticking to your flushed cheeks, “I’ve missed you too.”

Jinwoo turns to place a chaste kiss by your jaw and he pulls back to see you with a tired smile. You spot the red that rimmed his wide eyes, and he blinks away the fatigue in his gaze.

“I know, I look like hell.” He shakes his head lightly, chuckling to himself and you snort a reply because really who looks this good after days of no sleep.

“Get some rest, hm?” You scrunch your nose, already disapproving the next thing he was about to say.

A muffled no escapes him when he hides his face into your neck and you find yourself giving in, the dampness of his skin pricking yours as you wrap your arms around his shoulders.

“You smell really good.”  Jinwoo clearly took his time to breathe in your scent, burying his nose into your hair and you couldn’t help but let out a laugh.

“Yah –you literally smell like me.” You retort, catching the whiffs of strawberries in his hair, “Did you use my shampoo?”

He doesn’t reply, instead he lets out a string of silent giggles tangled in the strands of your hair.

“Kim Jinwoo, what’s so funny?” You pull away, fingers gently pressed on either sides of his exposed waist.

“I’m really tired and you’re really pretty.” He shoots you a boyish smile, a rather disorientated stare and you’ve long forgotten how exhausted you are as well seeing him this way. Honestly, working overtime was not your cup of tea and you looked worse for wear.

“Yes, you’re tired and you’re seeing things.”

Considering how he’s probably not going to listen to anything you say, you tug his wrist to pull him along towards the closet.

“Are you planning to stay half as well?” You weren’t complaining or anything, but your boyfriend was half-dead so it was probably best to push aside having other thoughts.

//

It’s strange what exhaustion can do to you, or the presence of a loved one or the combination of both, to be exact. Despite the bags that hung under his eyes, Jinwoo was nowhere near convincing when he tells you that he hasn’t had a wink of sleep for the past three days. His laughter bellows through the apartment at everything you seemed to say, and you must admit it rubbed off on you.

Three hours later it had only gotten worse.

He’d found his socked feet to be rather amusing, almost slipping on the floor when his drowsy legs forgot its function. You couldn’t remember how but he managed to make you skate with him throughout the apartment at wee hours of the morning.

And when your legs finally gave up on you, you crashed into him and the two of you were a giggling mess on the wooden floor.

“We’ll wake the neighbours, Jinwoo-ah.” You were whispering, still trying to catch your breath.

He laughs once more and you peer up at him, chin on his chest. Jinwoo looks up as he runs a hand over his forehead, the other resting on the back of your neck. Even from this angle, he still looks beautiful.

“Alright, alright.” He finally sighs, chest moving as he chuckles softly. You feel his fingers on your shoulders, and he nudges you forward to face him.

“I’m tired.” He mumbles, blinking slowly when he scans your face inches from his.

“About time.” You roll your eyes playfully and he looks at you almost like he was curious, you wonder what it was that ran through his mind.

“I’m not seeing things you know.”

“Hm?”

“Tired or not –” Jinwoo gets up, just enough to place a kiss on your forehead, “You’re still pretty anyway.”

//