Chapter Twenty Five

There was a soft knock on the door. Lily got up out of hers and Briley’s bed to see Choongjae standing in their hotel room. He reached out his hand and without a word, she took it and followed him out. They went down the elevator in silence, hand in hand, and made their way out of the hotel.

“I didn’t wake you, did I?” he finally asked as he sat down. They were back down by the river and he guided her to sit down in front of him, using his chest as her backrest.

Lily leaned her head against him. “No. But even if I was sleeping, I’d rather be out here with you.” She wrapped her hands around the strong arms Choongjae had wrapped around her. “How did you get into our room?”

“Dongwan and I came over at the same time. Pilkyo wasn’t far behind, either, I think. Nik let us in before we knocked. I don’t think any of us are ready for this week to be over.” He brushed his lips against her neck and nuzzled closer. “This week has gone by too quickly.”

Lily flushed. “Has this all been a dream? Will I wake up tomorrow in my bed at home and realize this was all just part of my hopeful imagination?” She suddenly squeaked when she felt a pinch to her hip.

“Still wondering if it’s a dream?” Choongjae gave her a mischievous grin. Lily turned to look at him and was about to answer when he pressed his lips to hers, effectively stopping whatever complaint she had meant to say. They kissed slowly under the moon and the stars. It wasn’t rushed.

They laid out together a listened to the breeze and water going by slowly. “This feels so nice. Kind of like the perfect end to one day and start to the next. It’s summer, but it’s still cool tonight.”

“It’s only perfect because you’re here. Anywhere and anything is perfect as long as you are by my side,” the man said, barely over a whisper.

“How are you so cheesy, but I still can’t help but fall for it?” Lily asked, turning onto her side to face her boyfriend.

“It’s a gift,” he chuckled, kissing her forehead. “But it helps that it’s true. All of it. If I could, I would be flying you home with me instead of going back alone.”

Lily nodded and rested her head on Choongjae’s chest again. It was silent for a bit, Lily having an internal conversation with herself. She finally broke the silence. “I’m going to do it.”

Choongjae turned his head to get a better look at his girlfriend. “Do what?”

“I’m going to take the job Nik offered me. I told her I wouldn’t let her know until December, but...I can’t imagine our relationship in a permanent state of long distance. That is...if you’re still ok with that?” She smiled when he nodded excitedly and kissed her. “I can give my boss a good notice, and start saving up and packing and figuring things out…” she trailed off, letting her thoughts wander.

“You have just made me happier than you could ever imagine.” They fell back into a comfortable silence, both lost in their own worlds, excitedly thinking about the future.

Back in the hotel, Briley was surprised by a body jumping on her in the bed. She nearly screamed until she realized Dongwan had snuck in.

“It’s too early to end the night,” he told her. One glance at the clock beside her told her that it was already almost one in the morning.

She rolled her eyes, not that Dongwan could see with the lights still off. “So what’s the plan?” Briley asked as she began running her hands through tham man’s hair that was still laying on top of her. “Or did you come jump on me just to see if you could give me a heart attack?”

Dongwan laughed. “The heart attack was just a bonus. I figured we could walk around and see if there was any twenty-four hour place we could grab a bite at and just spend the rest of our time left here together.”

“That sounds good. Though, you know, that will mean you have to get off me.” Briley leaned up and kissed his forehead before he sighed and rolled off. She got up and headed out of her room, trailed by her boyfriend.

“You’re already dressed?” Dongwan cocked his head sideways as they slipped shoes on.

“Yeah, Lil and I didn’t feel like waking up to get ready, so we showered and decided to sleep in our clothes for tomorrow. Well, try to sleep. I don’t think either of us had completely fallen asleep yet.”

Dongwan nodded in understanding. None of them wanted this night to end. They had grown so close over such a short amount of time. He smiled, though it didn’t fully reach his eyes, and he grabbed hold of his girlfriend’s hand and led her to the elevator. They walked for over half an hour until the found a small diner that was open all night.

After they were seated, Dongwan pulled Briley to sit in the booth with him. They ordered a few appetizers and cuddled in the booth until the food showed up.

“Nik offered both Lily and me a job in Korea,” Briley said after they had finished eating. Dongwan nodded, watching her expectantly. “I think I’m gunna take it.”

“I know,” Dongwan smirked after taking a sip of his water. “Well, I was hoping you would, anyways. It seemed like you would want to. Finally all three of you women would be able to always be close.”

“Four,” she corrected him. “There are four of us, now. Nik has officially adopted Hyemi as her younger sister, and Lily and I have adopted her as our older sister.”

He laughed. “You girls really do make family quickly, don’t you?”

“Of course. How else would I have gotten you?” She winked playfully.

“I think I’m the one that has you,” Dongwan countered. He pulled her close and pecked her on the forehead. They then settled back down. Dongwan paid the bill and the two headed back out to walk around town, hand in hand, enjoying their last bit of alone time before they had to be separated.

The door was propped open when Pilkyo walked into the girls’ room. He stood in the doorway, not sure if he should walk in unannounced or at least knock so that he didn’t startle the Texan.

The decision was made for him when Nik came out of the room she had shared the previous night with Hyemi. Nik bit her lip and smiled anxiously. “I can’t sleep,” Pilkyo announced, still standing awkwardly in the doorway. “Can I come in?” he finally asked.

Nik continued staring at him for a moment before nodding and motioning to the couch. “Want me to fix some tea to help you sleep?” she asked once they were sitting side by side. Pilkyo shook his head. “Want a massage?” she offered. Instead of waiting for him to respond, she slid off the couch and pulled him down with her. She smiled when Pilkyo laid out on his stomach, resting his head on a small pillow from the couch. She quickly pulled out her phone to put on some soft music and closed it back up.

Nik sat up on her knees and began running her hands along his shoulders and back, working the muscles and trying not to grin too big when Pilkyo would let out a satisfied groan. After a few minutes, the Texan got frustrated with the shirt’s constant movement so she made the man take it off so that the massage would go smoother. She worked like that for over an hour, starting at his back and moving to his neck, arms, legs, and feet. She motioned for him to roll over, and moved to kneel by his head to start there and work her way back down.

“Are we just going to sit here in silence for the rest of our time together?”

“I put on music,” Nik smirked as she motioned to her phone then continued the massage, pulling his arm towards her to work on it and doing her best to not look like she was totally checking him out.

“You know what I mean. We have less than twelve hours before our flight.” The vocalist pulled his arm free and sat up. “Are you seriously completely content sitting here in silence?”

“I am, and do you wanna know why?” Nik waited for Pilkyo to shrug in an annoyed fashion. She bit her lip, worried about expressing too much, but deciding to finally just lay it all out for him. “I am getting to sit here and take care of you. You may not think much of it, but if you haven’t realized, touch is my number one love language. So not only am I getting to sit here and hopefully relieve any pain you may have, relieve any tension in your body, but I am getting to be affectionate and express my how I feel about you without actually saying anything.” She let out a shaky breath.

“And how do you feel about me?” he asked quietly. Nik shrugged and looked anywhere but his eyes. “I like you. You know I like you. I don’t know why you still refuse to acknowledge this.” Pilkyo frowned, then reached out to make her look into his eyes. “Is this really because I haven’t ‘officially asked you out’?”

Nik chuckled and looked away. “It has nothing to do with the fact that I am still single.” Pilkyo scoffed. “It has to do with, when it comes to true emotional stuff, I am just not one for words. I don’t like words. I prefer to show and do to express how I feel. Words are embarrassing and hard to figure out.”

Instead of pressing the subject more, Pilkyo decided to try speaking her language. He braced his back against the couch then pulled Nik into his lap, wrapping his arms around her and nuzzling his head into her neck. They sat like that, curled up and wrapped together, for almost half an hour, when Pilkyo finally had to break the silence. “For someone that has issues with words and prefers action, you sure seem to be set on being single unless I actually ask you out.”

Nik let out a slight growl and bit his shoulder playfully. “Just because I don’t like confessing does not mean that I am willing to assume something.”

“Fine, look at me.” Pilkyo adjusted the Texan in his lap and reached into the pockets of his shorts to pull out a small black box. He waited until Nik was attempting to maintain eye contact. “I already told you that I like you. I think you feel the same.” He opened the box to reveal two necklaces, each on a leather cord instead of a metal chain. There was a clay charm on one of the cords in the shape of a flat heart with 정필교(Jung Pilkyo) painted in black, obviously written by the man himself. He then handed another clay heart and a tiny paintbrush and black paint to the woman in his lap. The singer took the cord with his name inscribed and secured it around Nik’s neck and let the charm fall against her sternum. “You already have mine, may I have yours?” he motioned to the paintbrush and blank clay heart.

Nik uncapped the paint without a word and dipped the brush in. In her neatest writing possible, wrote her full given name. After blowing on it to dry, she slipped the cord through the hole at the top and put it around Pilkyo’s neck. “You’ve had mine.”

Pilkyo ran his fingers along the edge of the heart now sitting against his chest and smiled earnestly into the person who was truly stealing his heart. “I feel ridiculous having to ask this, but since you’re so stubborn, I guess I have to.”

“Look who’s talking. You are easily just as stubborn as I am,” Nik interrupted.

“Oh my gosh, I’m trying to ask you to be my girlfriend. Can you just…” Pilkyo was silenced by Nik kissing him quickly. “Nik, I was trying to…” Kiss. “Will you…” Kiss. “Be my…” This time He was able to put his arms out and catch her before she interrupted him. “Be. My. Girlfriend. Please. You are making me crazy.”

Once her shoulders were released, Nik leaned in and kissed him again. “You were crazy long before you met me.” She kissed him again before he could argue. “And I guess, since you asked so nicely…” She watched Pilkyo roll his eyes. “Yes. of course.” Nik rubbed their noses together and kissed him once more. “As long as you promise you won’t change your mind once you get back home.”

He could see the fear in her eyes. “That would never happen. I promise. From here on, I am yours.”

“And I am yours.”