Chae Min regrets it as soon as the words come out of .

"I think I love you."

She lock eyes with Young Do. He looks fixedly at her but he does not say a word. Chae Min's heart is pounding too fast at her own confession. The silence hanging in the air is making her lose her mind. She is not sure what love actually means, she has always believed that she is to young to understand it. 

'Why isn't he saying anything??????' she thinks, dread taking over. 'Omg, he isn't going to say it back. Why did I say it oh shi-'

Her thoughts are cut off, he leans in and kisses her. She drops the pair of chopsticks she is holding. They clanged as they fall and hit the marble floor. 

Curse Young Do and his way of sudden kisses. Always catching her off guard.

She stands up immediately and so does he, refusing to stop and leave her lips. Chae Min wants to pull away but there is just something different this time. His kisses seem desperate and thirsty of need. It is an understatement to compare them to a lone wanderer on the desert who has just found water. He wraps his arms around her body, pulling her close to contact. She slithers her hands on his broad back, exploring it. 

Eventually, they come to the point where they have to break for air. Young Do palms the back of her head and she leans forward so their foreheads touch. With only little distance between them, they breathe in each other's breath. Warm. Moist. 

Chae Min feels his chest heaving up and down rapidly and she matches his pace. Breathing in as he breathes out and exhaling as he inhales. They are literally sharing the same breath. This moment feels almost magical, their bodies moving as one. 

She breaks into a smile and opens her eyes. Staring right back at her is a pair of perfect...ly shaped eyebrows??????? She giggles, Young Do has a pretty long forehead. He pecks her softly at her amusement.

"I need-" Young Do does not finish his sentence. He pulls her in again for another round of tongue battle. His reaches down to her , he grabs her cheeks, one in each hand and fondles them. A big red light pops up in her head. 

'Oh no.' she thinks frantically. ''This can't go that far.'

❋   ❋   ❋   ❋   ❋   ❋   ❋   ❋

Young Do places Chae Min down gently on her bed. He is rather surprised at this turn of events. Five minute ago they were having dinner, then they made out and somehow he carried her bridal style all the way upstairs to her room. A voice all the way at the back of his head is warning him that things are progressing too fast. But it will take all of him to stop right now.

'How can someone be so beautiful???' He thinks, staring down at Chae Min. She sits quietly at the edge of the bed. Her eyes waver in the dimly lit room. Those rare brown eyes that he fell for the moment they met his. 

He bends down and cups her chin, bringing her lips to a kiss. He deepens the kiss slowly, the taste of is so familiar now. Young Do leans in and she falls onto the bed. His body falls with hers and he is comfortably on top of her, feeling her body heat. As he is about to take things to the next base, he hears a soft whimper.

Surprised, Young Do instantly gets up and away from Chae Min. She is stiff from head to toe, frozen. This does not feel right. 

"Are you okay?" He asks, his tone filled with concern.  He is standing and taking in the view of her lying in bed. This ought be an scene but he knows the fun ends here. Damn it. 

Chae Min sighs but doesn't move an inch. 

"Don't tell me, you're a.." Young Do is unable to finish his sentence. She springs upright at that, she closes her legs subconsciously and stares at her hands on her lap. 

"But that can't be, you grew up in -"

"What??? Stereotyping at its finest ugh." Chae Min says, defensive. 

"I don't understand this situation." he said.

"What situation?"

"Well, let's put it this way, no girl has ever reacted the way you did when we kiss." 

"Looks like you have plenty of experience in kissing, huh?" The scorn in her voice undeniable. 

Young Do recalls the first time he kissed her. She ran away, she got mad and she cried. Why was it again? Then, it hit him harder than a brick.

"No way,"he gasped. "That wasn't your first kiss, was it?"​

'Her first kiss.' He remembers now. And he wants to jump off the window. 'I was the one her first kiss. . How I can be so stupid?!?!' 

Chae Min finally looks up with tears in her eyes and says, "I have never had -"

Young Do kneels down and embraces her tightly. He is so mad at himself. For everything. He had completely forgotten that she never even kissed a guy before, let alone any other ual experiences. How could he actually doubt her innocence? He did not take her seriously enough when she cried last time because he kissed her. He was such a douche. In fact, he still is. 

"I know, baby, I know." He whispers. Young Do caresses her soothingly. "I'm sorry. Really. I'm so sorry." 

They stay like that for a long, long while. She never hugs him back but he keeps his arms wrap tightly around her. Her chin rests on his shoulder, the pressure of her head weighs but doesn't cause discomfort to him, as if their bodies were made to fit each other's. He pretends not to hear the occasional snivel Chae Min lets out. He ignores her tears landing on him, drenching his shirt and soaking into his skin. 

"I'm fine."

"You're not. And I'm a fool."

"I am. And yes you are."

Chae Min pulls away and wipes her face with the back of her hands. Young Do awkwardly watches her do so. He is about to offer her his hanky but he realizes that he is wearing her father's clothes. He cringes a little at the thought of how inappropriate it was to make out with her in her father's clothes.

Another reason to go to hell other than making an angel cry today.

"You should get some sleep." He fears that Chae Min may never let him touch or go near her again. After much hesitation, he wipes a spot she missed on her cheek with his thumb. Thankfully, she does not move away nor hit his hand away. She just blinks blankly at him, her lashes are half dried. 

"Yeah." She says. "Okay." 

Young Do tucks her in quietly. He gets up to leave but when he reaches the door, a small voice calls out to him. 

“Hey."

He whirls around almost promptly. Was he hallucinating? Did Chae Min call for him? 

"Yes?" 

"Are you going home?"

"Should I not?"

"That's up to you."

Young Do's heart breaks a little at her tone. She sounds slightly indignant but at the she cannot mask the sadness in her voice. For the first time ever, he realizes how lonely Chae Min actually is. He is literally the only person in Korea that she can trust other than her family. He almost broke that bond tonight because of his self centered-ness. 

He backtracks and kneels down beside her bed. Reaching out a shaky hand, he carefully caresses her forehead. He uses his index finger to repeatedly one of her eyebrows. His mother used to do this every night when she puts baby Young Do to bed. It is the most comforting gesture he knows.

"I'm not gonna leave you alone in this house, alright? So don't worry and sleep."

Chae Min shuts her eyes briefly. But they snap right open. 

"Where are you going to sleep though?"

"Hmm, maybe the couch?"

"I heard its a pretty uncomfortable place to spend the night."

"How did you know? Hahaha, I'll be fine."

"Every time my dad pisses my mom off, that's where he'll have to sleep." Chae Min lets out a tiny laugh. "We are basically in a similar situation, aren't we?"

Young Do knows this is not the right time to be fantasizing about being married to her but those thoughts are taking over his mind involuntarily. It is possibly his current ultimate life goals. Well, what more is there to ask for if you can wed such a beautiful and pure girl right? He is certain that nothing will compare.

"Do you.." Chae Min says, after not getting a response from him. "Want to get in bed with me?"

He gasps. She quickly adds, "Of course, not that we are going to do anything. I just kinda want you to lay next to me."

She does not have to tell him twice. He immediately joins her, adjusting the comforter before lying down. There is an awkward distance between the two of them. Young Do is still figuring out what to do when he feels her touching his forearm. She inches downwards so that their hands intertwine and link together perfectly. He casually slide closer to her, making body contact.

"You know, I moved to USA before I finished kindergarten in Korea. It was absolutely horrifying to suddenly be surrounded by people who look so much different and speak a totally different language." Chae Min begins. "I barely remember what kind of a kid I was before going there. All my memories are me sitting at the very corner of the room in elementary school, crying whenever anyone approaches me."

He tightens his grip, holding onto her firmly. He waits patiently for her to continue. He knows she is mustering up her courage to tell her tale.

"It got better in middle school. I picked up the English language and people got tired of jeering at me. I was still pretty lonely though. I didn't have a best friend or a clique to belong to. That's why I made it a tradition to come home at least once a year." she says. "I needed something to look forward to. And then there's high school."

Chae Min sighs, unable to hide the hurt in her voice. He inches closer to her, not paying attention to their sweaty palms.

"I befriended a beautiful girl, she was popular, plenty of friends and tons of guys went after her. But she had her eyes on this dude, who sort of liked me instead. Dun dun dun duuuuun, plot twist?" She snorts painfully. "Of course, things escalated quickly. She ing hated me and made sure everyone in school did too. Life was hell, unthinkably horrifying. It became so bad that the guy also decided it was best to stop liking me and finally got together with her." 

Young Do feels a massive amount of anger building up. He wants to fly to USA now and ruin them, ing bastards. Well, in fact, he can them over with just a few phone calls, no biggie. How dare they hurt his girl?! He imagines Chae Min's life back there - friendless, rejected, unhappy, scared, an outcast. The urge to crush them is real!!

"You know what made it so much worse though?" She continues. "It was the fact that I thought he genuinely liked me, for the first time in forever, I felt wanted. And so like a fool, I developed feelings for him too. Then all my hopes came crashing down so hard I almost drowned in my little pool of depression."

He hears a tiny sob. Replacing his right hand that was gripping hers with his left, he slides his right arm under her, resting her neck on it and grabs onto her. Pulling her closer to provide protection.

"I'm alright. I managed to distract myself by watching dramas and tv series. Yes, pathetic, I know but they really do help. Even though the plots are always so unrealistically fake." Chae Min half weeps half laughs. "And one day I decided to changed my attitude 360°. I forced myself to get over it, tried to be cheerful, got a damn makeover, learnt not to give a flying about what other people think, I started doing things that I wanted to, spoke my thoughts out loud, not giving in to people, never to take anyone's and basically just be true to myself."

"Yes." Young Do replies. "You became this wonderful and amazing person that deserves the world in her hands."

"Hahaha thanks." She punches her free fist into the air. He restraints from squealing at her adorableness. "I needed to prove them motherers wrong. Show them I'm not a weakling anymore."

"You never was one. You were just too nice and naive, people took advantage of you."

"Maybe."

"Hey."

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad you shared this with me." He says, rubbing his thumb against her skin.

He feels like he understands her more now. Why she's always so chill and laid back about things, how she never shows her true emotions, the way she views things. The walls she built up around her heart, the barrier that keeps her safe and guarded. She was in so much of pain, Young Do is determined to never let her ever go through anything bad again.

This girl is possibly as ed up as he is inside.

"Mhmm."

"I want you to know that it is all over now. It is in the past. I'll make you happy for the rest of your life."

"..." She stays silent.

"I promise."

"Do I dare to believe you, Choi Young Do?" 

"You should. Because I will."

"The hell with it then. Make sure you don't break your promise or I'll kick your balls again." Chae Min says, earning a laugh from Young Do who recalls the night he fell hard for her. It must have been that kick. "Thank you, oppa."

They embrace each other, holding onto each other like magnets. The hug lasts long enough for her to fall asleep. Young Do feels her grip loosen but he hangs on anyway. Her breathing slows into an even tempo. It is peaceful just listening to her.

Young Do plants a sweet kiss on her forehead. 

"I love you too." he says.

Omg guys, I know how late this update is. And I'm so so so sorry. I hope you liked this chapter though. I felt that it was time to give Chae Min her well deserved back story. Young Do has a dark past, his mother abandoning him and turning him into an . But Chae Min had it equally as bad, her parents were not there for her and she was pretty much bullied throughout her whole life. They both have scars in their heart. Can they heal each other and really learn to love? Stay tuned to find out! 

ps. I promise (cross my heart) that the next chapter will not take as long as this did. Pls forgive me, lovelies! Love you all! Muacks! :)