Hyo Min’s POV

“Where are you taking me?” I asked my husband curiously as I watched him pack some of our warm clothing into one bag.

He managed a small smile at me before continuing packing.

“You’ll see. We’re going to have fun today.”

Fun. It’s been ages since I last knew what that word means.

 “But why do you need to pack all these things? Are we going somewhere far? Or cold even?” I couldn’t help but ask when he slipped in one of my favourite jackets.

“Hyo Min-ah, don’t you like surprises? Don’t worry. I’m not taking you to any weird place,” he smiled amusingly at me.

I wasn’t left with much choice except to trust Joon and follow whatever he has planned. I just hope it wasn’t something I didn’t know how to do. Like maybe, ice-skating...

“You’re kidding me.”

“Wae? What’s wrong with ice-skating?”

I shook my head nervously at the half empty skating rink. Yes, this was what I was afraid of.

“I can’t ice-skate. I can’t even skate.”

Joon’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Jinjja?” his face broke into a huge grin as he slung his arm across my shoulder. “This is great. So you don’t have any choice except to lean on me for support!”

I shot a bewildered look at him, trying to figure out if he was serious. He just stared at me with his famous blank look.

Yes, he was. Dead serious.

“You’re not going to let me fall are you?” I asked him worriedly.

Despite the strong front he has put up all these time, those abs and muscles; I wasn’t afraid of him being weak to support me.

But I was more anxious about his clumsy self. He tends to rush into things and ends up getting embarrassed instead.

Only this time, if he did anything wrong; he was going to pull me down with him.

“Yeobo!” he called out cheerfully. “Have faith in me! You will be completely protected in very good hands,” he said confidently as he my back gently.

“Even if you fall, you’ll fall on top of me,” he muttered.

“I heard that.”

“Don’t worry!” he said quickly. “Come on, let’s put on our shoes.”

“Joon-yah, how do I tie this up? The laces seem to be complicated,” I complained as I fumbled with my skating shoes.

“Ah, jinjja. You don’t even know how to do that?” he asked me in disbelief.

I scowled at him disapprovingly as I said,

“I’ve never done this thing in my whole life, remember?”

“Ah wae-yo? Didn’t Jun Ho bring you here even once?” he continued to grumble as he knelt down in front of me and tied the laces up.

“He knew I was afraid of it! He didn’t like forcing me to do something against my wishes,” I defended my long gone boyfriend and crossed my arms unhappily.

“Really? Well, maybe he’s scared too secretly inside. Okay, all done,” he told me happily as he stood back up again swiftly in his own shoes.

“He wasn’t scared! He was probably even braver than you are!” in my frustration to stand up, I’ve forgotten I was already secured in the skating shoes and I nearly toppled over if Joon hadn’t managed to grab hold of my arm in time.

“Whoa. Easy there,” he said as he helped me to steady myself. “Okay fine. I’ll prove to you who’s the braver brother. Come on.”

Slowly and carefully, he pulled my hand along and guided me towards the skating rink.

I could practically hear my heartbeat thumping out loudly as we neared the slippery surface. Without thinking, I gripped on tightly to his hand and hang on to it for dear life.

“Joon-yah, promise me something.”

“Sure. What is it?” he asked me with a kind smile.

I gazed into his playful yet caring warm eyes and for the first time ever, I was finally convinced that I had nothing to worry about. That I knew I could put my life in his hands and he would guard it safely without any doubt.

And then, surprising myself even, I leaned in close to him and kissed him softly on his left cheek.

“Hyo Min...” he was stunned by my sudden action too but his smile had become wider than ever.

“Don’t. Let. Me. Fall.”