Chapter 2
Of Kisses & Heartbreaks
The first few chapters are always the hardest to write.
These days, my creative juices seemed to have dried out. The hot weather is exaggerating.
36 degrees! Say whuuutttt???!!!
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He chuckled softly and held out his hand, “This.”
She looked down at his hand. There was a piece of wet paper in his hands. The ink was runny and the words blurred, but she made out the typed letters.
That’s right, her AD. Then she noticed the small scars on the palm of his hand, white, small, barely-there scars. She must’ve been intently staring because he shut his hands and set them at his sides.
“Right, the guest house,” she said, looking up at him.
“Yes,” he said, looking down at her. Geeze, he was tall.
“You’re soaked, you really should come in,” the words were out before she a chance to process them.
His blue eyes shined, “I really shouldn’t, it’s late, I wouldn’t want to damage the floors.
The rain picked up again, and she looked up at him, sporting an ‘I told you so’ look. She laughed softly when he stepped inside beside her. Closing the door, she turned towards his body, that was being illuminated by the candles. There should’ve been nothing striking about blue jeans and a grey sweater, but when they were wrapped around a body like Jinwoon’s, the rules had suddenly changed.
“Anything to drink,” she offered, walking towards the kitchen, "Coffee, beer, water?"
“Coffee, please,” he said, following her.
“Cream and sugar?”
He blinked, “No thank you, just black.”
She reached for mug, “Where are you staying now?”
“A hotel somewhere.”
“Oh, a place provided by your company?”
“No. A relative's. I don't stay at the doorms either.”
“You don’t like it?”
Jinwoon sighed, and gestured towards the chair, as if to ask he was able to sit there. She nodded and turned around to grab a mug from the cupboard. He looked around the kitchen, light woods, big windows and silver appliances made the space appear large. The space seemed very open to him.
He studied her profile, her legs, her body, being lit up by candles. The flicker of the flame danced across her warm skin. Her legs were slender in her black spandex shorts, her hair was so dark, it appeared black, falling in soft raven rivulets to her waist. Her light blue hoodie swallowed her upper body, but he knew what she was hiding. Even if she was on the petite side, no one could deny the fact that Go Jun Hee had a nice rack.
“It’s beautiful, but I’d rather have a place to myself, space to call mine,” he said, wrapping his long fingers around the mug.
“Privacy,” she whispered, handing him a gray mug.
He took a drink of his coffee, letting it’s bitter and delicious warmth run down his throat, “I’m a very private man, Ms. Go.”
“I have no doubts that you are.”
He looked up into her piercing brown eyes, momentarily stunned by the depth of color. He had never felt the obligation to study a woman’s details, he was never enticed to just sit and admire simple beauty, but something about this woman sitting in front of him made him want to break all his rules.
There was an Air Force ensigna on the handle.
“I don’t suppose you were Air Force,” he murmured, letting his thumb run over the figure.
She sighed softly, ”No, I was not, my father was.”
“Was?”
Her lashes fluttered, “He passed, about six years ago.”
Guilt unraveled in his body, “I apologize, I had no intentions of that.”
“Absolutely nothing to be sorry for,” she raised a eyebrow slightly, “We should probably discuss the property.”
“Of course,” he murmured, running a hand through his damp hair.
She stood, retrieved a manila folder from a drawer, and sauntered back to her seat. “It’s a single story house located at the back of the main house. Two rooms and one and half bathrooms. I just had the lighting and appliances updated, so you shouldn’t have any problems,” she paused to look up at him, “The walls were just painted, so you could move in as early as tomorrow morning.”
She pointed at one of the clauses in the contract, “Rent is due by the fifth. Furnishings are included, you can choose to redecorate however you’d like though.”
He looked at her lips, mesmerized by the way her pouty lips formed every word that escaped , “Where do I sign?”
She looked up at him, “You’re taking it?”
He blinked at her, “Gladly.”
After he signed the paperwork, he stood and walked to sink and washed his mug. He turned and saw Jun Hee coming towards him, slightly agape, “I have never seen a man house trained that well.”
Jinwoon wasn’t one for laughing often, but she had a quirky sense of humor, and he couldn’t resist the urge to laugh. The lights had switched on in the house, breaking the trance they were both held in, but the thunderous roars of the storm were still raging on.
“I should get going,” he said, his eyes dimming once more, “Thank you, for the hospitality and the property. It’s been a pleasure.” He started to walk out when Jun Hee followed suit. Thunder and rain was crashing around them, lightning illuminating the darkness of the woods surrounding for brief moments.
She couldn’t let him leave in this weather, she hardly knew the man, but she felt a sudden sense of protection. Before she filtered her thoughts, she reached out to touch his arm, “It’s not safe for your car in this weather, you shouldn’t drive.”
He turned to face her, “I don’t have a car.”
She gasped, “You walked here?”
He laughed at the comment, causing his beautiful eyes to crinkle at the corners, “No, I have a motorcycle.”
It was official, Jinwoon was the definition of every woman’s bad boy fantasy, “That’s even more dangerous.”
“I can’t stay here, I wouldn’t want to intrude your home,” he said, his eyes shining.
She sighed, “I would feel immensely at fault if tomorrow morning I’d see you or your bike in the Korean Times.”
He felt his lips twitch up, “You’d be willing to take in a man you hardly know for the sake of your conscious?”
Her nose scrunched up, “Is that bad?”
He studied her face for a moment, taking in every detail. Switching from a man to a soldier, an observer, taking mental notes of every aspect, every groove, every point of this flawless face. Her brown eyes, shining in light, the small scar on her bottom lip, the faint freckles on her nose, her dark eyebrows. The cupid’s bow below her button nose.
“Not bad at all,” he whispered.
She smiled at him, making his heart swell, “The guest house is this way.” Follow behind her down the hall to the back door that lead a path to the guest house.
Once they entered, the pale blue walls, the door to each room, he didn’t mean to intake every detail, this is who he was, this is who he was made to be. She switched on the lights to a room with a medium sized bed in the middle of it. The the comforter was white and fluffy, mounted with several pillows. The walls were covered in black book shelfs, from the floor to the cieling. He walked over to one shelf and traced the spines with his finger tips.
He turned to her, “Some of these aren’t in Korean.”
She smiled at him, walking towards his body, “You’re right.”
Never in his life was he enticed as he was now, studying the face of a goddess. He felt the walls he had spent years building around his heart shake, he felt guilt creep in on him. He felt the memories of Nicole ease their way back into his mind. He had wanted to fall in love, get married, even have kids, but that’s not a life he could choose any longer. His hands closed and gripped at each other, feeling the rises of skin there. The scars were a constant reminder of what he’d lost nine years ago, of what he let go.
The mask he wore to hide lowered, “Is it possible to use the washer?”
“Yeah, sure, of course. When did you ever see a tenant ask for permission to use it?” She turned towards the door, “The washroom is down the hall, first door on the left. Detergent and all that is in the big cabinet by window.”
Jinwoon looked odd, he seemed at a loss, “Thank you.”
She forced a smile, “No problem.”
“Goodnight, Jun Hee,” he said, his voice becoming cold again, distant.
“Goodnight, Jinwoon,” she said, shutting the main door of the guest house.
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