Nearly a week had passed since your first date with Seungho. You had seen him every day since. The two of you clicked in a way that you had only read about in books. Even when you just sat on the couch together, curled up in blankets, and talking late into the night, he was more than you could have ever dreamed.

Part of you felt like you had known him forever. You had never believed in soul mates, but you found yourself starting to think maybe they were real. The two of you had so much in common, but there was still an air of mystery around him. He kept you guessing in the best ways.

“Are you officially dating yet? I’m dying here!” Hyejin whispered. The two of you were re-stacking recently returned books. The library was relatively empty for a Thursday afternoon, but there were always carts full of books to be replaced on the shelves.

You thought for a moment. Were you and Seungho a legitimate couple? You hadn’t discussed it, but you were pretty sure he wasn’t seeing anyone else. And you definitely weren’t seeing anyone else.

“We’re not official,” you replied. “I think we’re on our way there though. I guess it’s time to have the ‘defining our relationship’ talk.” You scanned for the correct shelf, then pushed a book into place. When you turned, Hyejin looked slightly disappointed.

“Well what is he waiting for? What are you waiting for? Have you seen him? I love you girl, but he’s practically perfect. You need to lock that down.” She handed you another small stack of books, picking up a couple herself and locating their home on the shelves.

You smiled. “I’m sure we’ll talk about it soon. We’re trying not to go too quickly, but it’s difficult. I’ve never felt like this before. A relationship has never felt this right.”

Hyejin nodded, “That’s how I feel with Woobin too. But, you never felt like this with – “.  She paused, unsure you wanted to continue this conversation.

Shaking your head, you said “No, it was never like this with him. We cared about each other, but there was always something missing. For a long time, I thought he was the only one for me, so when he wanted to break up, I was devastated. As time has passed, I’ve realized it was never right. We were like two puzzle pieces that almost fit, but weren’t quite right.” You gazed into the bookcase in front of you, your mind going hazy.

“Hey,” she called softly. You turned to face your friend, focus returning. “You deserve this you know, to be happy like this with someone. It’s been a hard year for you, the universe owes you some happiness.”

A smile grew on your face and you nodded. “Thank you, Hyejin-ah. You deserve it too, you know. Woobin better know how lucky he is to have you.”

“Oh trust me, he does,” she said with a wink.

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After getting home from work, you had made a quick dinner before plopping down on the couch and flipping open your book. You snuggled into a warm, fuzzy blanket, wishing your apartment had a fireplace.

About an hour had passed when there was a knock on your door. You smiled to yourself as you got up to answer it. When you opened it, Seungho was standing there wrapped in his coat and snowflakes in his hair. He smiled at you, leaning in to kiss you gently on the cheek.

He pulled back and gave you a devilish smile. “Put your coat and boots on.”

“Why?” You pulled your coat out of the closet, slipping it on. You pulled your gloves out of your coat pocket and began tugging them onto your hands.

“You’ll see, just hurry!” He was bouncing slightly, reminding you of a little kid. You giggled, but shoved your feet into your boots, tightening the laces. You had barely stood up before he took your hand and was yanking you out the door. You flew down the stairs, and out into the snow. There was so much snow on the ground you could hardly believe your eyes. There had already been plenty of snow when you had come home from work, but it had clearly been snowing abundantly since then.

Seungho looked up at the sky, taking in a long breath. He scanned the empty street, clearly looking for something. “Let’s make a snowman!”

“A snowman? Seungho-ssi, there isn’t enough space here for a snowman!” You laughed. You could make one in the street, but it certainly wouldn’t last long.

He smiled and shrugged, “It’ll be small then.” He walked to a more open spot, bent down and began gathering snow. He slowly formed a mound about the size of a basketball. Seungho ran his gloved hands around it, making it more circular. “Why don’t you make the middle part while I work on this?”

You shook your head, but crouched down to start forming your own snowball. When it seemed an appropriate size, Seungho helped you lift it onto the one he had already made. You both packed snow in between the two to make it more stable. You jumped up suddenly, having an idea.

“Work on the head, I’ll be right back, okay?” Seungho nodded, a bit confused. You ran inside, back up the stairs, and into your apartment. In the kitchen, you found a half-eaten bag of chocolate chips and grabbed a baby carrot out of the fridge.

Back outside, Seungho was just finishing putting on the head when came out. You held your hands out to show him the finishing touches you had found inside. “You’re a genius!” he grinned.

You sorted through the bag, finding the two perfect chocolate chips. You pulled them out and gently pushed them into the snowman, making little eyeballs. Seungho bit the small carrot in half, then stuck one half into it for the nose. You scrunched your face slightly. “We still need something for the mouth.”

“Do you still have that licorice from last time?” he asked. You nodded in response and Seungho ran inside to find it. When he returned, he was eating part of a licorice string. He got it nice and short, curved it, and added it to the snowman.

“It looks like its wearing lipstick!” you laughed.

Seungho grinned, “It does, doesn’t it?” You both laughed at the little snowman, moving to stand together. Seungho put an arm around you and you leaned into him. You turned to face him. He bent down to press his lips against yours. They were warm and soft, melding with yours perfectly.

“Thank you for doing this with me,” he whispered when you had pulled back from the kiss. “I’ve wanted to do it when I got a girlfriend for a long time.”

You looked up at him with a smile, “Girlfriend?”

He blushed, stumbling over his words. “Y-yeah, I guess I should’ve asked rather than assuming.”

“I don’t mind it,” you responded. “If I can call you my boyfriend, I’m okay with it.”

Seungho pulled you into a hug and chuckled. You could feel his warm breath on your neck and it made your body tremble. “Let’s go inside and warm up,” he mumbled. You nodded, reluctantly pulling away from him.

He held your hand as you walked inside, letting go only to slide off your coats, gloves, and boots. He shook out his hair, spraying you with a cold mist. You pouted at him, making you both break out into laughter once more. Seungho plopped down on your couch and patted the spot next to him. You let your body collapse down and snuggle against him. His arms wrapped around you.

You grabbed the remote, flipped on the tv and looking for something to watch. You found reruns of a drama you liked. You were pleased that Seungho was content to sit like this. That there wasn’t always a need for words, that you could be silent together, but feel just as fulfilled.

Seungho was playing with your hand, weaving your fingers together over and over, when the leading lady in the drama began trying to seduce the male lead. Your mind instantly went to Seungho. You were pretty sure he was having similar thoughts when you felt him shift against you.

You looked up sideways at him and found him staring at you. His eyes were dark, full of an emotion you couldn’t read. His tongue flicked out over his bottom lip. Your mind was going a million miles a minute, but your body reacted on its own.

You surged towards him, connecting your lips with his. It was the most desperate kiss that you two had shared. Seungho pushed you down until your back hit the couch. He positioned his body over yours so that he wasn’t putting his weight on you. You weaved your fingers into his dark brown hair, pulling him closer, closer.

Not enough. You wrapped your legs around him, his body now flush against yours. He moaned into your mouth. It was your new favorite sound and it made your body ache. Your hands moved to his shirt, fumbling to undo the buttons. Before you could get more than a couple undone, his hands came up to hold yours.

Seungho pulled away, out of breath. He was still staring at you. His eyes so dark that it made your core burn. He shook his head slightly. “Too soon. It’s too soon,” he gulped down a breath of air, attempting to steady himself. He was still untangling himself from you. “I don’t want our first time to be like this. It should be special.”

It was difficult for you to breath. You had just thrown yourself at him and he didn’t want you. Rejection enveloped you in waves. You pulled away from him in one quick movement. Now standing, you wrapped your arms around yourself. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…I’m sorry.” You didn’t know where to look. You couldn’t meet his eyes.

The couch squeaked as he got up. You felt his warm hands cup your face. “Hey,” he waited for you to meet his eyes before continuing, “I’m not saying no, I’m saying not right now. I don’t want our first time together to be out of lust. This thing between us, it’s real for me. I want to do things right. I want to do you right.” He smirked and leaned in to kiss your forehead.

You smiled, letting your body relax against his. “Thank you, for caring this much.” His arms wrapped around you gently.

“I will always care about you. I will always do my best to take care of you and protect you.”

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A/N: Yes, Winter Rose is a song. The full song is here. I think it's cute :)