“Hey, darling, hey.”

My eyes flutter open as a masculine voice awakens me from my comfortable slumber. My gaze instantly looks at the hand that is interlaced with my own and I am quick to smile. My head is still pressed against his chest and I am joyous as the heat from his body envelopes me.

“Taekwoonie?” I mutter out questioningly, wondering how he would feel about the strange nickname.

He chuckles softly and I feel his thumb the back of my hand. My eyes roam over his arms but they are fast to come back to his hand as I let my fingers tighten around his palm playfully.

“If I don’t go back, Hyuk will wonder where I am since it’s getting late…” Taekwoon mutters sadly.

I groan and squish myself against him, my hand not bothering to let go of his.

“Can’t you just stay here? I don’t want you to leave.”

He chuckles again, his arm comfortable as it snakes around my waist. He’s quiet for a moment before he answers, “I wouldn’t mind having you all to myself for one night.”

I giggle a bit, feeling strangely happy as he agrees to stay down in this dark medical ward.

“Mm, Taekwoonie!” I mumble while I nuzzle my face against his chest.

His fingers stretch open and I do the same to lay my hand flat against his. It’s in this moment I notice a black ring on his index finger. I admire the glossiness of it, surprised something like that has stayed so shiny in his line of work.

“Taekwoonie,” I begin with, “What is this ring from?”

It’s suddenly quiet, his fingers still as my question lingers in the air.

“It’s my Dad’s… He gave it to me, but if I see him again I’m going to give it back.”

His voice is unusually quiet as melancholy suddenly fills the air.

At this point, it occurs to me that Taekwoon isn’t one to explain his past… Even as a child he was unusually quiet.

“What do you mean?” I enquire, suddenly curious.

“Well… He, along with my mother, disappeared before the decimation… And he gave me both of their weddings bands to hold onto; my mother’s is in my desk in my office.”

“Your mother’s wedding band…?”

He nods, “I remember how special it was to both of them; it’s silver and it looks like a small silver bow tied round her finger when it was on.”

He moves my hand with his, the back of my hand in his vision as he caresses his thumb over the back of it. My bare wedding ring finger is in plain sight and I blush when he makes a point to rub his thumb over top of it.

“He couldn’t make it red to symbolize their love, so he had a red emerald set in the center of it.”

My mouth parts for a moment and I move my eyes from our hands to his face. There is a sad smile on it as we lock gazes and I try to comfort him as best as I can.

“Hopefully, one day you can…”

I let melancholy take over my features as I think about this notion… He knows as well as I do it’s unreasonable to hope for such things in this world, but I can’t help but hope that one day they would return. One day he could meet with them. One day where I could stand with them as well and tell them just how incredible their son is…

He shakes his head lightly before bringing my fingers to his mouth, kissing each one of my fingertips softly.

“Darling, don’t worry too much about it…”

I give him a small smile as I enjoy the feeling of his lips pressing against my hand.

“I can’t help it,” I tell him.

Taekwoon smirks at me, “Then let me distract you.”

“What-”

He is quick to flip me on my back and I giggle loudly as his fingers trail up and down my sides.

“Someone’s ticklish,” he breathes as he plants his lips against my neck.

I laugh a bit, “Yah, Taekwoonie, stop it!”

I feel a wolfish grin take over his features and his fingers trail themselves along my sides once more, sending me into a fit of laughter.

He catches the noises with his mouth and all too quickly his kiss is sending chills down my spine.

“Taekwoonie,” I moan out as he lifts his lips to trail down my neck.

He moves them to my collarbone and I let out a breathy moan as a hand clasps one of my s.

I close my eyes and enjoy the feeling of Taekwoon’s hands on me. All too soon, the night that belongs to the two of us would be over but I can’t help but enjoy every minute that is to come.