CHAPTER 2

It became a habit for the duo to sneak out every time they had a free time. Khun used to work out in the gym or go out to have coffee with s when he had free time but this time, he would run away with his new secret girlfriend. Since he had a car, it was easy, but at the same time it was risky. Sometimes they would meet at a hidden place or at some non-celebrity friend’s apartment. Some days they couldn’t escape and all they can do is call each other constantly. They were so in love, it was so obvious to their respective groups. Sulli would overhear Victoria talking sweet over the phone. Chansung would catch Khun smiling while reading a text.

“Hyung, are you and Victoria going out?” Chansung asked one day.

“Yeah. Why?”

“Aren’t you worried though?”

“No.”

“Oh. So, how far have you gone?” A playful smile played on Chansung’s lips.

“Kissing. Now no more questions.”

Chansung exulted in awe as Khun left to avoid further grilling.

After another taping of their show, Victoria and Khun went to the beach. It was supposedly Victoria’s short vacation since F(x) was about to have a comeback soon. Khun had 2 free days to spare before 2pm’s next event. They ran away, after a few weeks of short dates and meetings. Khun has been planning for this runaway trip ever since they both started filming. He had rented a cute cabin for an overnight stay, and they both knew they were going to make good use of that cabin tonight.

They were wrapped in disguise while they played in the beach. Although there was no crowd, they still had to be safe. Khun took photos, Victoria splashed water, they etched their names on the sand and went snorkeling. They wanted to rent the jetski and try parasailing but again, they wanted this to be a private thing, no one had to know that they were there.

“Appa! Look at me, I’m a bird!” she said, wading in the water, spreading her arms. Khun watched her from the sand. He smiled and took a photo.

“You’re a cute bird.” He said amusedly, admiring his girlfriend’s perfect body.

“You’re a frog, I’m a bird.”

“Nope, I’m a frog, you’re the princess.”

Victoria stopped flailing in the water and walked towards Khun.

“If you kiss me I’ll become a prince.” He said slyly.

“I don’t want to.” She pouted.

Khun chuckled and kissed her forehead.

“It’s okay you’re still my princess.”

Sometimes she didn’t know what cheesy was and what wasn’t. But when it was coming from Khun, everything sounded so magical. She was annoyed at how easily he always wins her over by his sweetness.

After their dinner, Victoria took a shower while Khun put out the campfire they had set up in the backyard. Afterwards he went inside and sprawled on the couch. Today was tiring, he thought. Victoria came out of the shower all fresh and damp, with a bathrobe on.

“Are you sleepy?” she asked.

“No.” he replied, quickly getting up from his position.

“It’s okay if we sleep early.” She said, getting in bed already.

Khun got in the bed beside her. Before he knew it, she squirmed closer to him and hugged him. Khun smiled and hugged her back, smelling her sweet-smelling damp hair. The aroma reminded him of summer. As he hugged her he felt that she was wearing nothing under her bathrobe. He wasn’t really expecting anything to happen immediately but it was as if it was a ringing alarm calling for him to do the deed. She was being so touchy as she cuddled and all, so he only had one thing on his clouded mind.

“Thank you for today.” She whispered with a smile.

“Thank you too. For being with me.” He whispered in return, his eyes closed.

He had one arm wrapped around her as she hugged his chest. Khun longed for this to happen for way too long he felt like all his patience and loneliness the past years have paid off.

“I love you.” She whispered ever so silently.

Khun slowly opened his eyes and faced her. Gently, he pressed his lips against hers.

“I love you.” He said in return, and kissed her passionately, as if his survival depended on . Piece by piece, clothes slid off. The moonlight shone through the window glass, as if it stood as a spotlight for two bodies exchanging body heat, getting lost in the sheets. It was, for both of them, a moment to remember for the rest of their lives.

2:46 AM and they were both still awake, lying on the bed, tangled in the sheets, talking endlessly, laughing nonsensically, whispering seductively. He would run his fingers on the surface of her skin, tracing her curves. She would watch him, like admiring a piece of art—a statue masterpiece. He never got tired of looking at her bare body. So perfect, so much better than what he had imagined. He put his hand on her cheek.

“I’ve always wanted to do this.” He said.

“ert.” She chuckled meekly.

“No I’m serious. Do you know that John Mayer song Your Body Is A Wonderland?” he asked.

She shook her head and bit her lip.

“Well it’s a beautiful song about making love. And I kind of wanted to incorporate it tonight.” He said boyishly. He couldn’t hide his excitement over it.

“So you want to sing while we do it?” she said, thoroughly amused at how cute he could be even at this hour.

“No I’m shy.” He murmured and buried his face in her neck. She laughed heartily and held his face close to hers.

“You don’t have to be shy with me. If there’s anything I can provide you with as a girlfriend, it’s trust and unconditional love. No matter how stupid or ridiculous you look or how angry you make me, I’ll still think you’re the iest creature alive.” She said in her bedroom voice.

“Really? If I start singing right now when we have will you judge me and laugh at me?” he asked, with puppy dog eyes.

“I would.” She grinned.

He pressed his lips against her ear and semi whispered the lyrics to Your Body Is A Wonderland in y English.

“We got the afternoon…we got this room for two.” He began. She had no idea what it meant but it gave her chills down her spine.

“One thing I’ve left to do…” he continued, holding her closer now.

He faced her and the tip of their noses touched.

“Discover me, discovering you.” He sang silently and kissed her once again. Then he started joking around again.

“One mile onto every inch of your skin like porcelain.” He lifted up her arm and caressed it while making a goofy face at her. She couldn’t help but laugh. That attractive laugh of hers.

He put his mouth against , enough to kiss but not quite.

“One pair of candy lips and your bubble gum tongue.” He sang into her half-open lips. He gently got on top of her.

“If you want love, we’ll make it.” He crooned in perfect tune and from there on they made good use of the bed while Khun sang their background music.

The next morning they had to get up early to avoid incoming vacationers. The sun had just risen and they were frantically packing up, their respective managers already ringing their phones non-stop.

“My other bra is missing.” She panted, rummaging through her baggage.

“I’m sure it’s in there somewhere. We have to go now.” Khun mumbled, and opened the door, motioning her to hurry up.

Like ninjas, they scurried to the car before any unnecessary witness saw them leaving the cabin together. They got inside the car in no time.

“You don’t have to drive me all the way to my dorm. You can just drop me off at the bus stop near our area.” She said, in fear of being seen by her manager.

“No I’ll drive you home.” He pressed as he drove in higher speed than usual.

“What are you going to tell your manager?” she asked him, her face dim with worry.

“The truth. I’ll just leave you out of it.” He replied in a cool and calm manner.

“Should I do the same? If my manager finds out about last night he would really be angry and tell the higher officers.” She almost whimpered.

“Tell him you spent the night at your friend’s house. Someone he knows and trusts.” He suggested.

“Oh. It could work. I’ll just have to call Zhou Mi oppa and make him a scapegoat.” She said, dialing her phone.

Khun’s eyebrows met while he stared straight ahead of the road.

“Oppa who?” he asked.

“Zhou Mi. You know, Super Junior M, the one from China? We’re close friends and my manager knows him well too.” She said nonchalantly, as she kept texting.

“Why would it be normal for your manager to know that you’re staying overnight at Zhou Mi’s place?” he asked suspiciously. She knew this tone of voice.

“Aigoo because we’re close friends since before. My manager trusts me with him.” She said in a slightly annoyed tone.

“Alright.” Khun said flatly, hiding and restraining from a fit of jealousy. He doesn’t know himself why he is jealous constantly. It’s a known fact that attractive people have a higher level of jealousy than ordinary-looking people because they have more insecurities. Victoria was a jealous monster inside too.

“I’m kind of scared though.” She said after a brief moment of silence.

“Of what?” he said.

“I mean, in our company…in girl groups, they watch us very closely. And make sure that they keep track of everything we do.”

“O…kay.”

“They even check each of us when we have our periods.”

Silence.

“What does that…” Khun started but his voice trailed off.

“It means that we can’t have relationships and we most especially cannot have . And get pregnant.” She explained in a serious tone.

Khun gulped.

“It’s okay, we’re careful.” He assured her.

“We didn’t even use a last night.” She pointed out.

“I didn’t know we’d do it.”

She didn’t want him to feel pressured and scared so she held back and told herself internally to just keep calm.

“It’s okay. Let’s be protected next time.” She said, smiling at him to ease her obviously stressed boyfriend.

Deep inside, Khun let out a sigh of relief. He thought his girlfriend was going to go ballistic after their first night. The magic of it still lingered, it was too special.

“Glad there’s a next time.” He smirked.

Victoria let out a chuckle and lightly hit him on the arm.

“Wasn’t last night enough?” she asked, her nose crinkling.

“We only did it thrice.” He said sadly, as if he was too deprived.

Victoria cringed. It was so strange talking about this in broad daylight, out of the bedroom.

“Stop it, what happens in bed stays in bed.” She told him off.

“Wae? It’s healthy to talk about it!”

“Stop it.”

“I mean, your s were wow—“

“Stop it.”

“And the way you liked it from behind---“

“Stop.”

“And then when you showed flexibility!”

Victoria laughed as she started hitting him as he drove. He protected himself with one arm and held the wheel with the other.

“Stop!” she pleaded, half laughing, half groaning in embarassment.

“I’ve never seen anyone bend like that in mov—“

“Aaaaahhh shut up.” she hit him harder on the arm and covered her face, that is now pink.

Khun chortled like a little boy, evidently happy that he had recalled every detail of last night.

“Okay, okay I’ll stop.” He forfeited.

Victoria calmed down, regaining her posture and poise. After a few seconds of tame silence, Khun started to mimic how she moaned.

“I’m getting off.” She said, and as she was on the verge of taking her seatbelt off, Khun laughed like a hyena and held her arm.

“Alright I’m stopping I’m stopping.” He guffawed. She shot him a deadly look and pouted. He had to hold in his laughter. It was too much fun, seeing her like this, all cute and embarrassed.

“I don’t moan like that.” She mumbled to herself, her voice barely audible.

As nervous as they were prior to getting scolded by their managers, they were happy in that ride, oblivious to the outside world. The only thing that was relevant was the both of them. Khun wanted to tweet about everything but he had to restrain himself if he wanted this secret relationship to work.

As they pulled over Victoria’s dorm, they gave the area a quick and thorough scan for lurkers. The coast was clear. Good thing the car windows were heavily tinted.

“You got your alibi ready?” he asked her.

“Yes.” She replied coolly.

“Good. It’s okay to go out now.” He said, cautiously looking outside.

“Okay. Bye, see you soon.” She smiled.

Khun was about to lean in for a kiss but then stopped midway.

“Wait…is it safe to kiss?” he asked doubtfully.

“One quick one.”

They leaned in towards each other gave each other a quick smack on the lips.

“Call me tonight.” He said as she got her stuff ready.

“Okay.” She mumbled, not looking.

“Call me.” He repeated, holding her hand.

“Alright.” She said, unlocking the door, and trying to free her hand from his grip but he didn’t let go even as she opened the door. She turned to him.

“Promise me.” He said, his eyes glistening like a handsome prince.

“I promise, I’ll call you as soon as I have the time.” She guaranteed.

And as painful and sad as it was, they went their separate ways as their private getaway ended