“I hate this.” You grumbled as you ducked under Heejun’s arm. A kiss to your temple momentarily made your heart flutter and you quickly looked anywhere but him. “Not this… I love that you’re picking me up. I just hate the internship. Thank you.”

“I also hate your internship.” Heejun agreed as he led you along. The one good thing about your job was that you didn’t have to move a whole lot, so your feet weren’t too tired to move. However, because you had been sitting still, you were feeling a bit stiff and you had a headache.

“How was work?” You asked, sinking your hand into one of his. Heejun shrugged.

“It was… I feel awful that I had a better day than you did. How much longer do you need to do this?” His arms slipped around your waist as he leaned back against the bus stop. You closed your eyes and breathed calmly for a few moments. His breath hit against your neck. It was warm, but slightly moist. When he inhaled, you felt a cold chill. It wasn’t so bad, though. It made you know for sure that he was there, holding you.

“Another two months, I think. Unless they decide they want to ‘continue with me’.” You answered. Heejun scoffed.

“Continue with you? As if that’s their choice. You don’t want to continue with them! In two months you’re gone!” Heejun grumbled, then paused. “I’m sorry I’m being grumpy. I miss you. Do you have a lot of homework to do tonight?”

“I have… An essay that needs work.” You sighed, playing with his fingertips. “But… I could… Maybe I could work on it tomorrow? I am really tired.”

“Weren’t you going to study with your friends tomorrow? You said there’s an exam next Friday you need to study for.”

“Why do you know that? Can I just drop out of college?” You sighed and opened your eyes as you heard the bus approaching. “Ignore that. I’ll study. It would be nice if we could just spend some time together.”

“It would be. Is there anything I can do to help you? Then maybe we could study together.” He clearly wanted to help, but doing your homework together while you were at his house was almost the worst way you could think of to spend an evening. The only thing worse would be to spend an evening without him doing it all on your own. You still smiled at the offer, stepping aboard the bus and tapping your card.

“You’re sweet, have I told you that?” You asked, plopping into an empty seat. Heejun sat down beside you and patted his shoulder.

“Just for you. Do you want to sleep?” Heejun was the perfect man, you decided. Rather than saying anything out loud, you leaned on his shoulder and closed your eyes. His hand found yours, and his fingers easily slipped between yours. It was at that moment that you decided Heejun was probably your soulmate.

The bus had only just started moving when you heard a soft buzzing. Heejun shifted slightly, and the buzzing became louder. It was his phone. You opened one eye, half noticed the name on the screen, but decided to close your eyes again as Heejun answered the call.

“Hey Dongwon, I’m with my girlfriend.” He said it as soon as he picked up. You noticed he didn’t sound quite as defensive as he did before. Maybe he was too tired to be spiky. You could hear Dongwon’s voice on the other end of the line.

“Oh, how is she? There was something I wanted to ask her actually.” Ask you? What could that possibly be? You begrudgingly opened your eyes and looked up at Heejun. He kissed your forehead softly but kept the phone firmly in his hand.

“She’s sleeping. What is it?” His thumb brushed over the back of your hand as he spoke, smoothing your skin and tracing something like an oval over it. You closed your eyes again and listened. You were tired, but you weren’t quite sleepy.

“I see… I looked into what you… I looked into it, anyway. It’s definitely not legal, but proving that would require some sort of contract. It looks like you’ll need some kind of paper trail before you can take action.” Take action? Your face felt warm suddenly. Had you been complaining that much that Heejun felt like it was necessary to take legal action against the place you were interning at? Sure it , but doing anything would leave you with a mark on your resume. If you complained about an internship, who would hire you after you graduated?

“Heejun…” You started, but Heejun quickly motioned for you to be quiet.

“Business emails count, correct?” He asked.

“Yes, they’re not considered hearsay because they’re business records.” Dongwon confirmed. You patted Heejun’s chest, shaking your head. He made another shushing motion.

“Alright, gotcha. I’ll tell her you said hi when she wakes up.” He gave you a wink. You pursed your lips and tried to avoid his eyes. The way his lips tugged into a smile was dangerous. If you looked, you wouldn’t be able to protest.

“Tell her to drop by the café. I want to meet our sister-in-law.” At those words, your previously just warm face shot up to burning hot, and your heart leapt up into your throat. Sister-in-law?! Heejun chuckled, and you ducked your head against his shoulder in the hopes that he couldn’t catch your flustered expression.

“I’m glad someone’s on our side. I’ll take her once this all blows over, I promise, but she needs to pass her exams next week first.”

“I feel like I’m going to catch cooties just talking to you, Jun. We’ll fix this.” And with that the call ended. You continued in your effort not to look at Heejun, your face felt far too warm and your heart was beating just a little too loudly. Your hand shifted, and you realized he’d squeezed your hand. So he’d noticed anyway. Damn. There was no hiding from him. You sighed and gave it up.

“Heejun…” But how could you ask him that when he was just trying to help? Here he was doing the right thing, but you had to tell him to stop because society doesn’t like it when people do the right thing. Not when business and money is involved, anyway.

“Mhm?” His voice sounded melodic, and you felt weak.

“I’m sorry. But I can’t… I can’t take legal action against a company just because… I know it’s not fair and all…”

“I never said I was going to take legal action.” There was an eeriness to his voice. You felt compelled to look, but found him simply smiling at you. The bus passed by a streetlight, and his eyes flickered in the darkness. Maybe it was the yellow light, but for a second his brown eyes looked strangely gold.

“Oh… Then why did you…” You didn’t get to finish the sentence.

“Ssh… You’re tired.” His voice was like a lullaby. The words seemed to draw out on their own. “It’s been such a long day. Go to sleep, my sweet.”

Your eyes closed again. The bus, though rocking on occasion, was pleasantly warm. Heejun was warm, and his shoulder wasn’t uncomfortable. Your head slumped again. The last thing you felt before the warm darkness enveloped you, were his fingers between yours. Safety.

 

It was dark when you woke up. For a fleeting moment you felt panicked, unsure where you were. Then, as your eyes became accustomed to the darkness, you discerned the familiar pillars of the bed. The curtains that hung between them looked black, but you knew them to be dark blue. You were alone, and the mattress beside you was cold. Where did he go?

The floor was cold under your feet. Feet? He’d taken off your socks. You sighed and forced yourself to step onto the cold laminate. In daylight, it looked very much like oak wood. Just like the bed, you found yourself thinking as your fingers fleetingly touched the right front pillar of the bed. It spiralled upwards, with delicately carved flowers you didn’t quite recognize sprouting from the top. Maybe hosts made a lot of money, but still… This bed could not have come cheap. You pushed the thought aside to ask Heejun about it later.

As you got closer to the door, you heard the distant sound of talking, though very quietly. Then music so quiet you couldn’t distinguish what it was supposed to sound like aside from the occasional note. Light shone from underneath the door, illuminating your feet in a pale blue light, then flickered off again. Pushing open the door confirmed what you’d been expecting. Heejun fell asleep watching TV on the couch.

You tiptoed over and sought for the remote. On the screen, someone rambled on about the weather. Another cold front was supposed to come in, it looked like it was going to be a cold winter. Finally your fingers found the remote, it was on the floor next to the couch. Heejun must have dropped it. You blinked against the brightness of the map displayed on the screen, then turned it off.

On the couch, Heejun shifted. You held your breath, barely daring to turn your head in fear that it would somehow make a noise. Heejun had to his back and was breathing quietly. He didn’t have a blanket over him. You felt a wave of guilt. Yeah, it would be awkward to sleep in the same bed with him, but… He didn’t belong on the couch. This was his apartment. And he deserved… You sighed and got up, heading back to the bedroom to fetch the blanket. That was the least you could do.

Heejun stirred when you put the blanket over him, even making a soft noise, but didn’t wake up. You slipped into a nearby chair and watched him for a few moments. The rhythmic rising of his chest was a sight to behold. Between the bleached blonde hair, you could see the dark roots of his original hair colour.

“Black hair looks better on you.” You said it out loud, but quietly. Heejun just continued to breathe. How could he look so handsome just lying there? You almost preferred him when he was asleep. When his eyes were closed, you didn’t feel so nervous to look at his face. He had very pretty lips. Rosy, soft, full. You had to close your eyes for a moment, trying not to yell at yourself for the flurry of feeling that came with looking at them.

Even asleep, Heejun was too dangerous. It would be better to go back to bed. You got up and gave him one last look. Your heart dropped. His eyes were open, and he was looking back at you. Your first instinct was to make a run for it, but because that would be stupid, you quelled the thought and coughed.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“Come here.” He compelled you with his eyes. You stepped closer and watched him sit up and stretch himself out. People don’t just get to look good when they’re waking up! What was this dark magic? You stopped in front of him. Heejun lifted the blanket and patted beside him. “Sit. You’ll get cold.”

“Says you. Please don’t sleep without a blanket again.” You tried to nag as you sat down. Heejun pulled the blanket over you and wrapped his arms around you. His scent overwhelmed you briefly and you shivered. Warm.

“You don’t have to worry about me, but I appreciate it.” He whispered far too close to your ear for comfort. Your fingers twitched uncomfortably.

“So… Black hair looks better on me?” He continued, touching his lips to your ear. You squeaked and covered your mouth out of reflex.

“I thought you were asleep.” As if that was any kind of protest. Heejun laughed and his arms tightened around you. His chest was warm against your back. You closed your eyes and tried to focus on breathing again.

“For future reference, I’m a light sleeper. And I can recognize your voice from a mile away. How could I possibly stay asleep?”

“Can you not pretend to be asleep next time? It’s embarrassing.”

“What’s embarrassing? If you were thinking something strange…” You didn’t miss the way his fingers pressed against your sides, “that’s your brain, isn’t it?”

“I wasn’t thinking anything!” You were just a little too quick to defend yourself. The abrupt, short exhale was so familiar that you knew exactly how he was smiling at that. The smile of a man who knew he was right, and ready to drag it out as much as he possibly could. You directed your gaze to the wall in front of you, trying to avoid talking more.

You could not have been prepared for the wet warmth on your neck. Lips have this noise they make, after the initial pressure of a kiss is relieved. The sound reverberated in your ear as his lips pulled off your skin. Then it came again, slow and deliberate. Closer to your ear. Your toes curled, and your spine twisted at the rippling sensation of his skin pressing to yours. He breathed and exhaled, and continued on. You didn’t remember your ear being so sensitive, yet you inhaled sharply when his lips wrapped around your earlobe.

“Heejun…”

“You didn’t eat dinner, did you?” His voice lulled, breaking the spell. You leaned back against him and turned to look at him. He’d slipped back into a casual state of being, for now. Almost like nothing had happened. You shrugged and placed your hands over his.

“I wasn’t that hungry, and by now I’d rather wait until breakfast. Did you eat?”

“I’m only hungry for you.” He winked and patted your hand. “Just kidding. I ate before leaving work. But I could go for hot chocolate. Do you want some?”

“Hot chocolate?” Right now? At nearly four am?

“I make really good hot chocolate. European style. Not like hot cocoa that they sell on the streets.” He sounded just a little bit indignant. You raised an eyebrow at him, then nodded.

“What’s so special about European hot chocolate?” You asked, shifting so he could get up. Heejun pulled that special smile of his, the one that made you want to sink into the ground because of how heartbreakingly cute he was, and held out his hand to you.

“I’ll teach you.”