o 2 8 ;

“Are you sure you didn’t steal this yacht?”

Joonmyun, who was carrying two empty wine glasses back to the white table on the yacht deck, froze in his tracks at my nonchalant question.

“What do you take me for?” he asked in bewilderment.

I shrugged. “Just checking. I wasn’t aware you had this kind of luxury.”

He carefully placed the glasses on the square table. I watched him as he expertly popped open the wine bottle and poured our drinks.

“There are still a lot of things that you don’t know about me,” he said with a smile, pulling out a chair for me. “Come, let’s talk over dinner.”

I gladly did as I was told and he gently pushed forward my chair as soon as I sat down. I waited as he took the seat opposite of mine and unfolded the napkin for his lap. I followed what he did, all the while my eyes never leaving his face. I was half amazed, half curious. I’ve always known that Kim Joonmyun is this mysterious guy who’s full of charms, yet until that day – I didn’t realise just how enigmatic he can be.

“Dig in, Chorong,” he gestured to me kindly. “If you don’t like the food, I can always try to cook something else for you.”

I stared at him in shock. “You cooked this?”

He chuckled softly. “Why, yes. Is it really that surprising?”

“Amazing,” I blurted out before I could stop myself. “Sorry,” I said quickly, my cheeks flushing with embarrassment. I then chose to keep my gaze down on the cutlet in front of me.

“Don’t be.” He reached out for my hand and it gently. “Eat, or you’ll get indigestion.”

He pulled his hand away and started cutting into his own food. I slowly picked up my knife and fork, copying his every move and took the first bite of Joonmyun’s cooking.

I had to admit – it tasted really good.

“Is it nice?” he asked me anxiously as soon as I swallowed it down. “Is it okay for you? Should I – “

“It’s fine, Joonmyun,” I assured him with a small smile. “It’s really nice. You’re a good cook.”

He grinned at my compliment. “Then you should finish up everything.”

He leaned forward and started to cut the chicken up for me as he blabbered on and on about how and where he had found the recipe.

“It’s my first time trying it...” he carried on talking like he was in some kind of speed quiz. “I didn’t know how it would turn out – “

“Joonmyun,” I interrupted him in a slightly louder voice, and thankfully, he stopped. “Eat, or you’ll get indigestion.” I smirked. “Thanks, but I can do this myself.”

“Okay,” he breathed out. “Yeah...I should really stop doing this. I don’t know why I’m behaving this way. I’m not usually – “

“You’re nervous,” I stated it out for him calmly. “The nervous 12-years old you would stutter, but the 21-years old you just keeps on blabbering non-stop.”

He broke into a smile.

“I’m only nervous around you though.”

I held up the knife I was holding onto. “Don’t go there. Yet. There are still some things we need to talk about.”

He lets out a small laugh. “With the way you’re holding the knife like that, I wouldn’t dare lie to you about anything. So ask away, and I would do my best to answer your questions.”

“Okay,” I took a small sip of my wine. “What’s your relationship with Nana?”

I had planned this question over and over again in my mind. I’ve tried to come with all sorts of approach, but nothing as direct as this. It seemed like when he was there in front of me, staring at me so intently – I couldn’t think of anything else except for the goddamn question that’s been haunting me day and night.

 I was a little surprise though that Joonmyun didn’t appear to be taken aback like how I had imagined him to. In fact, he calmly dabbed the corner of his lips with the napkin and rested his forearms on the table, after pushing his plate away.

“To tell you about Nana, I would have to tell you about my parents.”

I held his gaze steadily.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

Joonmyun smiled and nodded his head.

“I’ve known Nana ever since we were both kids, way before I knew you. Our parents are close friends and we were closer. We grew up together, before she had to move away when we reached middle school.”

“So, when we met...you had just been separated from her?”

“Yeah...you can say that. But don’t get me wrong, Chorong. We’re just close friends, and nothing more than that. Well at least, that’s how I see her.”

“What do you mean by that?” I asked curiously.

He inhaled deeply.

“As cliché as it sounds, our parents had made an arrangement for us when we were still young – that we would get married to each other when we’re both adults.”

I started to put the pieces together in my mind.

“You disagree.”

“Yeah. I outright refused to. She’s the closest friend I have and she’s already like a sister to me! I don’t see her beyond that.”

“Did you...” I carefully arranged my words. “Did you fall out with your parents because of this?”

Joonmyun sighed quietly. “We had many disagreements between us. But yes, this is one of the major reasons I walked out on them.”

I didn’t realise I had been gripping onto the wine glass so tightly.

“Nana...she likes you though. Right? She actually agrees with the marriage arrangement.”

“The day you saw us...” Joonmyun spoke slowly. “I was trying to tell her that it could never work out between us. That no matter what she does or feel for me, it won’t make a difference, because...” he stared directly into my eyes. “...I’m already in love with someone else.”

When I didn’t say anything, he gently took my hand and laced his fingers through mine.

“Chorong...” he said softly. “I’m sure you’re aware of my feelings for you and I just want you to know that I’m not going to force you into making any decisions now. You can take your time. I’ll wait for you.”

I simply stared back at him, unblinking.

“Chorong,” he laughed nervously. “I’m trying my very best not to stutter or mess up my words here, so can you please say something?”

Something suddenly clicked inside of me.

“Things are not going to be easy for us, isn’t it?”

“I know Chorong, but I’m willing to work it out with you. We can make it work together.”

I was terribly confused. I know that I actually feel something for Joonmyun, or at least I care about him – but something was holding me back and I didn’t know what it is.