She had just finished another conference online. Her back ached after being hunched for hours on her couch, definitely not made for work conference. She cursed the global pandemic once again because she had to work from home instead of working on her comfy office chair.

“I need another karaoke session.” She exhaled, throwing her headphones to the coffee table in front of her.

A set of hands massaged her tense shoulders, making her groaned.

“You’re a blessing.”

“Just returning the favor.”

“After what you did this morning? You owe me hundreds of massages.”

“It’s not my fault you’re weak.”

“Would you like to be karate chopped, Mr.?”

“Whoops, wouldn’t want to be on Ms. Lawyer bad side after all, aren’t we?”

“Good boy.”

The hands on her shoulder stopped the wonderful thing they’re doing, and she felt him sitting beside her on the sofa.

“What did you say?”

Oh no.

“You didn’t hear anything.”

“Say that once again.”

“You heard wrong.”

“Oh really?”

.

She tried to flee the couch, but she was no match for his fast hands. His tickles were the bomb, and she had been subjected to it once. She had no intention of trying it again.

“Oh God, stop! Ahahahaha, stop it, oh sheez! Ahahahahaha”

“Who you’re calling a boy, huh?”

“Damn it! Ahahahahaha, stop!!”

“Do you think a boy can make you bit your pillow early in the morning?”

“Alright, I get it, I get it, stop! Ahahahaha, you’re manly! There!”

“You missed the important part.”

She didn’t want to pass out from being tickled so she complied immediately.

“My manly man, Lee Jooheon. Stop. Tickling me!”

She took much deserved breaths after the tickle monster stopped his attack. Oh God, not anymore. She laid against the opposite side of couch, away from the man and his wicked hands.

“You lil piece of ”

She hurled herself at him, trying to give him the same treatment.

You can tickle, I can, too.

Pity she was half his size so instead of getting her hands on his sensitive armpits, he folded his hands over her body, turning her body outward of his and encased her inside his arms. Her hands were rendered useless as his were holding them over.

“Yha, Lee Jooheon.”

“Baby.” He whispered,

“Let me go. You ought to have a taste of your own medicine.”

“Do you want a repeat of this morning?”

“What?! You monster!”

She was still recovering from multiple rounds he subjected her poor body to this morning. She could never look at her kitchen aisle the same way again.

“Then stop squirming. You’re not helping me be a gentleman here.”

That stopped her from moving to get free.

She snorted, “What a nonsense. It was no gentleman who attacked me against the front door”

His chuckles sounded child-like on her ears. What an irony.

“How’s the back burn?”

“You’re not helping your case here.”

“Alright I’m sorry, hahahaha”

He put both of her wrists in one hand, and rubbed his hand over her back for awhile before gathering her into his arms once again.

“Does it get prolonged again? You’re awfully sensitive when it does.”

“When has it doesn’t? I hate divorce cases, argh!”

He put his arms around her waist, letting go of her wrists. She could feel his breath on her upper torso as he put his head on her neck.

“It’s scary. Poor the children.”

“Yes, poor the children.” She closed her hands over his arms, caressing it, both giving him comforts and comforting herself.

She spent quite a moment enjoying him being her personal teddy bear before talking again.

“Don’t you have somewhere to be tonight?”

“I have to direct Shownu hyung’s farewell song before he goes to the army tonight.”

“He will go to the army tonight?”

“No, the song recording, I mean. His enlistment date is still 6 months away.”

“Oh kay.”

She was looking at the night view outside her unit before her view changed to her man’s chest.  He had turned her body around.

“Are you that eager to get rid of me?”

She laughed, before hugging him again, putting her hands around his waist.

“You have works to do, and I miss partying.”

He hugged her back, “No club without me. Gangnam clubs were hella dangerous for lone girls.”

“Who said I was going to a club?”

“Then where are you going?”

“Karaoke.”

“Karaoke?”

“Yeah, I can dance all I want without worrying it would be too noisy for the neighbors or having to do karate chop every 5 minutes like I would have to do in a club.”

He laughed before letting her embrace go.

“So that was what you’re doing back then”

“I didn’t recall meeting you before the church, and I certainly wouldn’t invite you to karaoke with me. I’m a horrible dancer.”

“No, not that.” He tried to stop laughing before continuing his sentence. “I was passing by when I heard our song being played loud in one of the karaoke rooms. I was expecting a bunch of teenage girls singing their lungs out when I peeked in. I saw you dancing alone to it, instead.”

“Wait, I only did that once when I got here…You were in that karaoke?”

“Yeah, twas a month after our promotion concluded. Singing other singers’ songs were one of my ways to relax. Imagine my surprise when I saw you at the church. I thought you were a sasaeng.”

She looked at him like he sported a third eye.

“Then I was confused because you clearly had no idea who I was when my mother introduced us.”

“Well, I’m sorry for not knowing your group before I met you,” she shrugged.

“But you chose our latest song for your dancing time. I thought you were a fan.”

“I kind of just went inside and asked for the attendant to play the song for me to dance. She chose that song.”

“The attendant is probably a fan of ours.”

“She probably was, as she held my hand and said “please listen to my Oppa song”. She was lucky I did like it.”

“What a fate, huh.”

She looked at his face, seeing the freckles up close and thinking out loud, “Yeah, what a fate.”