Note: Dialogues in Italics are spoken in English.

After bidding farewell to Eric Nam, Hae Rin continued on touring places around Europe. On one such destination, she was taken to a national park by the tourist agency. The agency divided the people into batches, providing each batch with a local guide and drove them to the park.

After walking nearly halfway through the huge park, the guide halted at the rest stop and informed the people to gather at the same place again in 30 minutes time.

The place was already crowded with all sorts of tourists. She grabbed something to eat and drink from the store and looked for a place to sit. A small group of people from her tour batch waved her over to join them, which she did.

A while later someone approached them, patted Hae Rin’s shoulder lightly and inquired if they could occupy the empty chair in their table. She looked up at the person and her eyes widened in disbelief. “Eric?” she whispered in disbelief while he grinned ear-to-ear.

Understanding that the two were acquainted by the looks they both had on their faces, one of the others occupying the table informed him that he can occupy the empty chair while Hae Rin simply stared at him. She snapped out of it when Eric pulled the empty chair closer to her and sat down.

“I’m glad to see you too,” he whispered closer to her ears, sending shivers down her spine. He then leaned back and started eating the snack he had bought. He even shared some of them with Hae Rin while she did the same too.

He told her about his trip and all the places he visited after they have parted ways. And when it was time for the group to continue with the tour, the guide announced that Eric would be joining them as well for the rest of the trip.

As the guide started to lead the group, he took hold of Hae Rin's hand and interlaced their fingers. He took a glance at her and seeing that she was okay with it, his face brightened and he held onto her tighter through the rest of the park.

They even sat down next to each other in the bus on their way back. Although the two didn’t really converse much on account of being exhausted from all the walking they did, they both were huddled together and before long, they even fell asleep, resting against each other.

Upon reaching their lodging, an agent was waiting for them at the reception, “Mr. Nam?” he approached them and when Eric nodded, “Mr. Nam, we are sorry to inform you that we were unable to arrange you a new accommodation since you made last-minute changes to your itinerary.” He then took a glance at Hae Rin who was standing beside him, “Would your lady friend here be kind enough to share her room?” Eric was taken aback by the suggestion and seeing his reaction, the agent got flustered, “Just for two nights, for your stay in this city. We will do our best in securing an extra room for you from your next destination onwards.”

Eric was about to reject it but Hae Rin beat him replying, “Sure, I wouldn’t mind.” Eric looked at her wide-eyed while the agent was visibly relieved. Hae Rin looked a bit bored and a lot tired. She let out a yawn, “If that is all, then shall we head to the room? I’m dead tired,” she then let out a multitude of yawns while the agent nodded.

“We’ll arrange for Mr. Nam’s baggage to be delivered to your room,” he informed them and left.

Hae Rin led the way to her room while a very confused Eric followed suit. Upon reaching her room, he stopped near the doorway, “Hae Rin, are you sure about this? I didn’t know this might happen when I changed the plans.” He continued to mumble some more.

“Eric, it’s just a day. The room is big enough. So, please close the door and come in already.” She nearly ordered him as she gathered her things need for a shower while he hesitating followed her instructions and walked into the room. “Would you mind if I take a shower first?”

Eric was taken aback by her question, “What? No, of course not. This is your room after all.”

“Make yourself comfortable. I’ll be back in a jiffy.” She headed into the bathroom, leaving him standing there awkwardly and when she returned a while later after taking the shower, he was still the same being awkward, only now he was sitting on the futon sofa with his luggage that has been finally delivered, arranged neatly by his side.

She chuckled at the sight, before letting him know that the bathroom was now free for him to use. He arranged his luggage into a corner of the room, gathered some things for him to freshen up and then headed into the bathroom. He came back some time later, clad in shorts and a t-shirt.

Meanwhile, Hae Rin was already done with her nighttime routine and was already on the bed, reading a book. After Eric was done with his routine, he once again glanced around the room, at his watch and then at the door.

“Is something the matter?” she asked, looking up from the book. In her eyes, he seemed like a little kid who got lost in a fair.

He scratched the back of his neck, “Um, I’m just checking if they have delivered the extra bedding I’ve asked. Maybe I should give them a call,” he walked over to the telephone.

“Eric, they are in the cupboards.” Eric thanked her, walked over to the cupboards, retrieved the bedding and started arranging them on the futon. “What are you doing?” she asked, observing him.

“Um, just getting the futon ready to sleep,” he stated as a matter of fact.

She chuckled, shaking her head, “Don’t break your back sleeping on it. The bed’s big enough. You can take the other side,” she pointed to the empty side of the double bed she was occupying.

“Are you sure?” he was still hesitating.

“Your mom has raised a gentleman,” Hae Rin mumbled in Korean, really liking how Eric respected her and worried about crossing the boundaries even when she was blatantly flirting with him, “I trust you, Eric.” His face brightened hearing that.

“Then kindly excuse my intrusion,” he said, getting himself comfortable on the bed beside her. “And thank you.” He said which she acknowledged with a smile and a head nod.

The two continued on, her reading the book and him fiddling with his phone for a while before they each turned off their bedside lamp and feel asleep. The next morning, they had a local sightseeing tour on their itinerary until lunch, after which the travel agent gave the rest of the day off to do shopping and other stuff.

Eric and Hae Rin strolled leisurely through the shopping district, doing window shopping mostly but also buying a few things here and there. Later in the evening, they dropped the shopped goods in the room, refreshed themselves and decided to spent some time at the nearby beach and even dine out that night.

Hae Rin hooked her arms with Eric as they bought some snacks at the convenience store and made their way to the beach. There were only a few people there. The two sat down on the sand, watching the ethereal beauty of the sunset skies.

They spent a few hours at the beach, chatting, flirting and simply resting against each other, being all lovey-dovey. She was the one who initiated most of their intimacies even though she knew she was being shameless after having rejected him before. They were clearly attracted to each other even though they knew things wouldn’t really work out between them.

After having their dinner, they both walked around some more with their fingers interlaced before they decided to call it a day. Upon reaching their room, Hae Rin took the shower first as usual and while Eric went in for his turn, mild music played in the background as she took care of her nighttime skincare routines.

Eric walked into the room a moment later, wiping his wet hair with a towel, just as she got up from dresser, having done with her routines. “Eric?” she called out and when he turned around, “Care to dance?”

He chuckled, “Sure, I’m an expert at dancing,” he commented and goofed around.

She laughed out loud at the silly faces he was making with the goofy steps, “Yeah, I can see that. But I meant, would you like to dance with me?” she extended her left hand towards him.

“With pleasure!” his eyes brightened as he took her hand and led her into position before they started swaying to the music.

Both of them were pretty bad at it but neither of them minded it. Simply having the other in their arms in such close proximity was all that mattered to them at that moment. When the song came to an end, neither of the two were ready to let go of the other.

When their eyes locked, she asked, “Can I kiss you?” and when she nodded, he cupped her cheeks before leaning in and gently pressed his lips against hers. She wrapped her arm around his neck and pulled him closer. They broke apart when they ran out of breath, panting heavily. They let out a chuckle as their eyes made contact before resting their foreheads against each other.

Eric’s hands combed through her hair as they waited for their breathing to stabilize, and when they did, they didn’t waste another second as they locked lips again and this time, she gently guided them both towards the bed.

When the back of her knees touched the end of the bed, she gently hopped onto the bed on her knees, all while not breaking away from him and she even got him to crawl on the bed. As they got more passionate, their hands gently roamed over their clothed body.

As they separated briefly to catch their breath, Eric’s hand landed on the zipper on her nightgown. “May I?” he whispered while she simply nodded. He brought the zip down very carefully and slowly pulled down her sleeves, all the while gazing at her tenderly.

Just as the gown slid down her body, exposing one of her bosoms, there was a momentary change in her expressions, before her body became motionless and rigid. Although Eric wasn’t sure of the reason, he was still quick to read the changes and immediately halted whatever he was doing. He pulled her long hair over shoulder to the front, letting it cover her exposed  before withdrawing his hand entirely.

“Hae Rin? Is everything alright?” he was concerned, “We can stop here, it’s alright,” he tucked some stray hairs behind her ears, before his hand cupped her cheeks. As if she snapped out of her distracted state, her hands shot up and wrapped around his wrist. Her eyes closed shut and she let out a sigh as she leaned into the hand that was cupping her face.

Her expression relaxed and a soft smile peaked out. She leaned in and pecked him on the lips. This time, she lent him a hand in undressing themselves, all the while having their lips locked and their tongues exploring each other’s mouth. When his caressing hand wandered near her belly button, she purposely rerouted it away from her surgery scars and as they made love, Eric consciously made sure to stay away from her lower torso.

Later that night, Hae Rin lay wide awake while Eric slept beside her. Now that all the distractions were away, her mind was back to playing the record of things like how she didn’t deserve this happiness, and how she has a son back home who was growing up fatherless because of her and a few other similar darker things.

She sat up, wanting to scream out loud and cry her heart out but instead, she felt voiceless and unable to breath. She understood that she was in the verge of a panic attack and so she wanted to get out of there before she woke Eric up but it was already late.

Eric sat up groggily but it only took him a second to realize what was happening. “Do you want my company or –” she nodded her head before he could even complete his question. “Is it okay for me to hold you?” he asked, moving closer to her while she nodded once again.

He wrapped his arms around her and held her against his chest as he whispered, “I’m here. I’ve got you. Can you take deep breaths with me?” she nodded and they tried taking deep breaths together until she eventually calmed down a little, then move himself into a better position to hold her. He whispered reassuring words to her as he ran his fingers through her hair and down her back.

Even after she seemed to have calmed down, he only loosened his hold but didn’t let go of her. “Are you feeling better now?” he asked, caressing her cheeks while she nodded. He continued to embrace her, and spoke kind things to her until he was sure she was alright and then eventually coaxed her to sleep while she holding her in his arms.

The rest of the trip, the two were like teenagers in love. Eric, being an extrovert himself, didn’t really mind the introverted Hae Rin. When they were on the bus, they always snuggled up against each other, even if they were each doing their own thing and eventually, they have even given up taking separate rooms while lodging.

The agent wasn’t pleased with the last-minute changes they requested but still accommodated the two with a room with a double bed for the rest of their trips. On most days, by the time they reached their room, they were way too tired to do anything other than just cuddle and sleep. Nonetheless, they had still had fun traveling together.

On the last day of the trip, the two left to the airport together, even though Hae Rin’s flight was way later than Eric's. Eric didn’t want to trouble her but Hae Rin couldn’t help but utilize what little time they had left to be spent together.

After completing all the check-in procedures and past the security check, the two grabbed something to eat, then strolled around the duty-free shops with their hands intertwined, purchasing a few more things for their friends and family back home.

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