Later that evening

The flicker of flames and shadows from a large bonfire glows over the small group gathered around on the beach. The sun had been slowly setting and now only a tiny sliver of red streaked across the sky taking with it the heat of the day. The smell and sounds of grilling meat made them hungry as Manager Bang carefully tended to the slices of Jeju black pork. Several shells of abalone simmered on hot coals next to them.

Ji Chang Wook eyed the food impatiently; but, he knew Bang Chigu would smack him with that spatula if he asked one more time whether the food was ready. So he nestled closer to his love, sighing contently as he held her in his arms. She glanced back to look at him and he sneaked in a quick a kiss.

"Doing well?" he asks softly

She nods with a sweet smile for him, then turns back around and leans her head on his shoulders. Nearby, the roar of the ocean and calls of sea birds making their way home provide a lulling backdrop to the beauty of Jeju bathed in twilight.

It had been a perfect day.

Their friends were chatting nearby while they sat beside the fire in companionable silence, enjoying the closeness. But he could also feel her shivering slightly as a breeze whipped by and he held her a little closer. The beach could get chilly with the wind blowing from the east despite the summer month.

"Here," Bang Chigu's girlfriend tosses him a spare blanket and he smiles gratefully before wrapping it around JiHyun and himself. 

"Mmmmm.... that's nice and warm" she nestles even closer and Chang Wook suddenly realizes the peril of his position.  She was sitting tucked in between his legs as they lounged lazily on a beach rug. But with every move she made, a certain part of him was paying close attention and memories of his dream from last night came intruding.

Hold it, Internal Chang Wook whispers urgently. Think of the Aegukga national anthem; think patriotic thoughts, no think of JiHyun's Appa.

Ok, that seemed to do the trick; but, he didn't know how much longer his sanity would last. 

He was a man and he was no saint. From almost the moment she had caught his eyes his thoughts had wandered to impure territory. She smiles at him and he goes there, she walks by leaving behind the scent of her perfume and he goes there. She drops a pencil and picks it up and he definitely goes there. Such were the joys of being a man.

Even worse when you are a man in love.

All his instincts wanted to claim her. A kiss made him want more;  holding her was a sweet torture of caresses and promises. They loved each other and he was not a patient man once he knew what he wanted.

Only two things stopped him.

One, was JiHyun's father. Meeting the ex-marine had been nerve-wracking; but what stuck in Chang Wook's mind was Abounim asking him how he planned to take responsibility for Ji Hyun if anything should happen while he was away in the military.

Two, was the thought that JiHyun's father was right. Chang Wook didn't know what the next twenty-one months would bring. He prayed and hoped that he would come home safe and healthy. But in the event that he didn't... 

Well, in the event that he didn't...
He ruthlessly shoved that thought aside.

He would come home to her. Come hell, high water or Cheorwon winters.

But he didn't want to tie her to him by taking away her innocence. For now, their love should be enough. But when those twenty-one months was over, well, he was not going to be a patient man then.
 

JiHyun could hear the loud beating of her heart and she wondered if Chang Wook-Oppa could hear it too. The sound of his breathing and the warmth of him surrounding her as they sat cocooned in the blanket seemed magnified.

She experimentally stretched a little closer wondering if he was as affected. His breathing hitched.

Hmm.

She nestled even closer. She could feel his arms around her clench a little before it felt like he was going to pull away. She wrapped her fingers around his wrist, not letting him move.

"JiHyun... sweetheart. Don't, no don't move. Give me a minute." his voice sounds almost as if he is in pain. She could feel something behind her, and if it was what she thought it was well...

She hadn't had a good look last night. She wasn't even sure if he remembered it. All day she had been waiting for him to say something about last night but he hadn't.

Chang Wook-oppa had been very naughty. But not naughty enough, she sighs. She shivers slightly at the memory.

Last night the boys had been at it with the soju and beer. JiHyun had joined them for a bit but she wasn't one to drink beyond her tolerance so she had let the boys do their thing and laughed amusedly at their drunken talk. This excess of drinking was apparently a rite of passage for men heading to the military.

To no one's surprise, especially not hers, the boys had to be helped back to their rooms. She and Seulli-unnie had propped and prodded them off to bed and she had been left in charge of tucking Chang Wook-oppa in.

He had followed along willingly as she helped him, one of his arms slung over her shoulder. When they reached his bed, she leaned down to let him fall onto the mattress; but he held on tight, toppling her down with him.

"Ji Hyun-ah. Stay," his eyes looked unfocusedly at her as they lay face inches from each other.

"Shhh... you need to sleep it off, Oppa. Let me get you some water and aspirin," she made to rise but those strong arms refused to budge.

"No... just you," he closed his eyes and she smiled. She wasn't planning to protest. She gazed instead at his sleeping features, lovingly taking in the straight line of his nose, his soft lips. The dark lashes against his skin now tanner from the Jeju sun.

After a few minutes it seemed as if he had settled in; his breathing had gotten slower. They'd never spent the night together before unless you counted their all-nighters on the set, and she was planning to savor every moment. Ji Hyun stared at his full lips now in rest. So often it was in movement, talking, pouting... kissing. She peeked at him. He was asleep.

She moved closer. Her lips brushed his. Just one kiss.

Strong arms wrapped tighter around her. With a soft moan his lips pressed back, molding closely to hers, the kiss becoming fiercer, more consuming. She could taste the beer from earlier, his hands, tongue and lips driving her wilder until they were tangled in each others arms desperately trying to get closer.

His fingers found the soft skin under her shirt and roamed wildly causing her breath to hitch and her heart to pound even faster. She shivered at the sensation until she couldn't take it anymore and sat up to shed the layers wanting to get it out of the way. She turned to help him with his.

....except, he was now laying peacefully, eyes closed.

"Oppa...?" she whispers. But no, he truly was asleep. The soju must have done him in. One arm still lay outstretched towards her.  She sighed and slipped her top back on before settling down next to him, wrapping her arms around him until she fell asleep feeling his gentle breath next to hers.

A soft kiss on her head brings JiHyun back from her memories and she can't help but sigh again. She really thought that would be the moment he made her his. But, perhaps this was for the better. It seemed he hadn't remembered anyway. How funny it would have been to be the only one to recollect such a momentous event.

But, the next time they did it, oh she would make sure he would never forget it.

JiHyun smiles her deadly smile.

Ruelie - I Get To Love You
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