Daniel had jitters crawling up his body as he waited, impatiently tapping his feet and glancing at the door every few minutes for any signs of Minhyun. He had sent his friend to the police station to find any leads regarding Madam K’s threat (praying that it was only a fake), before heading straight to Hani’s house once his mother answered his calls and informed him of their whereabouts. He barged through the door a while later, calling out his girlfriend’s name loudly in panic before his mother managed to stop him from causing a commotion when she appeared from the kitchen with Jisung and Jaehwan tagging along. He made sure to check on his mother and granny’s condition first before asking and searching for any signs of Hani.

Mrs. Kang had to hold her restless son by the shoulder and slap him lightly on the cheek to stop him from pouring questions relentlessly. He was breathing normally again when they explained that Hani was out of harm’s way and was currently sleeping in her room upstairs once she had taken her medication. Only when Daniel had composed himself did Jisung clarify that Hani had requested to be discharged, after the doctor’s confirmation that her condition is improving and she could continue recovering from home. “We told her to wait for you, but Hani really wanted to come home because she felt stuffy staying too long in the hospital,” he said, giving Daniel a comforting pat on his back.

“I called Jisung to come and pick us up from the hospital, since I knew that we couldn’t disturb you,” his mother added, handing him a tall glass of water to cool down.

Daniel guzzled down the water and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, before giving the glass back to his mother, “Someone could’ve at least called or texted me,” he groaned, rubbing his temples.

“We were planning to but Hani said she wanted to call you herself,” Jisung said, justifying that he had given Hani back her phone as instructed, “I guess she forgot to because she just ate her medicine and fell asleep as soon as we reached home,” he gave him a reassuring smile once Daniel’s tensed shoulder had started to loosen up.

Daniel nodded in understanding and quickly rushed upstairs into Hani’s room the second they finished their explanation. He slowly and quietly twisted the doorknob despite feeling anxious and only when he laid eyes on his girlfriend sleeping soundly on her bed, peaceful and unharmed, did he realize that he had been holding his breath yet again. He kneeled at the side of her bed and held her hand, sighing heavily as he caressed her hair, “Thank god, I was so worried,” he whispered, giving a long kiss to her forehead before resting his head next to hers as he watched her steady breathings.

They were currently seated in the living room of Hani’s house, listening to Seongwu’s rambles as he reenacted the scene of his heroic contributions in making Daniel’s plan to put an end to all of Madam K’s evil schemes a success. His audience included their small group of friends, Hani’s grandmother and Daniel’s mother who seemed to be the only two people interested in his narrative. “How’s my acting? I rehearsed all night for this,” Seongwu asked, his head held up high as he fixed his necktie and pushed the glasses up on his nose.

“So, you’re not a real lawyer but just pretended to be one?” Granny tried to summarize Seongwu’s thirty-minute tale into one sentence. The boy nodded enthusiastically, thrilled that someone was actually paying attention to his nonstop chatters, he thought that his acting was rather dramatic and exceptionally convincing. He agreed that their strategy was flawless in both planning and execution, from the opening scene of catching Madam K off guard with her contract loophole, to the highlight of his special appearance as a ‘fake’ lawyer, and finally ending with the police’s unpredictable appearance.

“Technically, not yet. I’m a law student, but I haven’t graduated yet,” Seongwu laughed, scratching his non-itchy head sheepishly.

“I barely said a word!” Sungwoon snapped out of the blue, dissatisfied that his contribution was excluded entirely from Seongwu’s story, despite his small and wordless role. He swore that he had at least one important dialogue when they rehearsed the night before, but was left confused and tongue-tied when Seongwu dominated their carefully rehearsed roles.

“Hyung, we’ve talked about this,” Seongwu shrugged his shoulders at Sungwoon, “Your character is just my driver slash secretary that’s supposed to carry my bag around and hand me things. Of course you don’t have any lines,” he rationalized, choking on his coffee when he received a smack on his shoulder from the smaller yet older male.

The ringing of the doorbell brought their chat to an end as Daniel rushed towards the door to open it. He had been on the edge, waiting for an hour for any news from Minhyun and feeling like he could blow up at any moment from the overflowing tension as the clock ticks. He was glad to see Minhyun by the front door, bringing the report on his investigation, “Madam K’s threat was fake. It was just her desperate attempt to scare you,” the boy spoke as he stepped into the house. Daniel didn’t need to ask the question because Minhyun already knew the first thing that the younger male would be saying as soon as he set eyes on him, “The police guaranteed that she won’t be causing anymore trouble. So you can relax now,” he added as Daniel pulled him into a tight hug and expressed his gratitude repeatedly with a broad smile. Aside from Seongwu, everyone in the room agreed that Minhyun was actually the hero that day.

***********************************

Hani had a small heart attack when she woke up from a deep sleep that morning. There was an additional yet strangely comfortable warmth enveloping her aside from the thick blanket covering up to her waist. She could hear steady breathings on her nape and shoulders, and feel something soft nuzzling against her hair along with an arm resting lightly on her waist, fingers delicately intertwined between her own. She didn’t have to turn around to identify who was currently dozing off next to her because she had grown accustomed to the comfort, that the absence of this feeling for the past few months was unusual instead. Nevertheless, she carefully rolled over and faced him –their fingers still laced together, because aside from her boyfriend’s presence beside her, she was also longing to see his face.

How is it possible for someone to hold such a strong influence on her, that just by looking at him tugged at her heartstrings as her lips curved into a small smile? She suspected he came straightaway after finishing his business just as promised, from the lazily rolled up sleeves to the first two unfastened buttons of his white dress shirt. Hani’s free hand went up to smooth his messy hair that was styled perfectly yesterday, shifting to brush her thumb softly on his cheek as she left a soft peck on his lips. It’s quite puzzling how he was still sleeping soundly despite everything that was going on around him. Maybe whatever business that Daniel had to take care of yesterday drained his energy, she thought. More importantly she was grateful that he returned to her side safe and sound. Her hand remained on his cheek and she took a moment to study his features as she recalled the conversation she had with his mother yesterday.

-

“Hani, do you love him?” Daniel’s mother asked. The question wasn’t intended to interrogate the love of her son’s life, but rather to reaffirm their relationship and feelings towards each other. The mother had posed the same question to her son after he told her the entire truth behind their relationship, and he had said yes without any second thoughts. It was difficult for the elder lady to comprehend the truth behind Daniel’s secret part-time job, but she definitely understood his sincere feelings towards this girl just by listening to how he described his girlfriend and watching the determination on his face to reunite with her.

Hani exchanged glances with her grandmother who smiled and patted the back of her hand encouragingly, before responding with a soft yet confident nod. It was clear to her how her son fell in love with this girl, she is indeed attractive but she is also respectful and genuine in her speech and actions. “Then give him a second chance. To make up for his mistakes. He treasures you a lot,” his mother pleaded.

“She’s right dear, I can see that he’s really sorry for what happened between you two,” Granny agreed, the side of her head lovingly. “I may be old-fashioned, but I’m convinced you both are meant to be, because even when you're a thousand miles apart, fate brought you two back together,” she added in a lighthearted manner. Even without his mother’s persuasion and granny’s traditional beliefs, Hani had already made her decision. And it was final.

-

Hani had left her boyfriend asleep in bed and stood by the window, staring blankly at the thin blanket of snow without a single footprint outside. It was almost the end of winter but the weather was still freezing cold accompanied by strong winds. She softly rubbed the side of her arms in an attempt to keep herself warm when she felt a pair of arms quietly wrapped around her smaller build from behind, “It’s cold here babe,” Daniel whispered in Hani’s ear as he stared out the window, curious of what kept her attention unwavering. Thankful that she didn’t push him away, he covered them both in a warm layer of fleece blanket to keep her from the cold air as he rested his cheek at the side of her head and sighed in content, “This is nice.”

It was very nice indeed, Hani thought. Daniel was holding onto her securely with just the right amount of pressure, not too strong but softly, in his own intimate way of expressing protectiveness and affection towards her. The romantic gesture was eagerly tempting her to lean against his broad chest, after successfully melting not only her body but also her heart with the warmth radiating from him. She flinched when his fingers accidentally brushed over her lower right stomach, grazing against the freshly bandaged stitches she received from t