Daehyun and you walked now hand in hand down a seemingly straight road, the sun setting into a sea of pastels, the pink and purples and blues all slowly fading into an assuring black, but it didn’t faze you. Since Daehyun has said those words, you were worried a little, but he seemed like he was serious about protecting you which made even the darkness look like nothing in your eyes. Daehyun’s grip on your hand wasn’t tight, but it was assuring. He led the way and he kept looking back at you and just grinning. He looks in his element while you were way out of yours.

                “Are we there yet?” you asked, and Daehyun sniggered and commented on how you sounded like a kid on a road trip, but you just shook your head and laughed it off as he looked around the area, glancing down at his watch and checking the time.

                “We have about maybe another thirty minutes. Why? Need to use the bathroom? Hungry?” he asked, getting ready to pull off his backpacks, but you shook your head.

                “I was just asking.” you told him, and he let out a small ‘oh’ before shrugging and trekking onwards.

                Daehyun seemed to shine against the sun. His skin was dark and the sweat that rolled down his face was more charming then it was unpleasant. You wondered if later in life if you settled down with him if you could run a farm or an orchard with him. He had said he was a southern boy and that might be cute to see him in overalls and a wife-beater, wading in the river and catching fish for dinner. You smiled to yourself because brining up marriage to him might be a mistake when he warned you might not even make out of this trip alive.

                He fell back in line with you after another few minutes of brisk walking, and he kept turning his head towards the sky and gaged the darkness that was looming over you two. He clung tight to your side and you saw his eyes were wide as if to take in as much light as he could. When he looked behind you and saw that night was almost there, he whimpered and you gave his hand a squeeze.

                “Are you afraid of the dark?” you asked, and it was a dumb question when you looked at the way his body was reacting. He nodded his head though and picked up the pace as he ducked down his head some.

                “Out here, yeah. If I’m in a house, I’m fine generally because I know… mostly… things won’t hurt me. Out here it’s so much more different, and I can only hope she’s home.” Daehyun said, and you sighed a little.

                “I thought you said that the place that we’re going is safe.” you said back, and Daehyun sighed out as well and fumbled over his words a little.

                “It is- but- it’s an irrational fear of mine. Even if I know something is safe I just- it’s hard for me to come to terms with a lot of things. I like holding hands because it’s a sign to me that someone is next to me. And I have a hand . But, there are just small things that I need for comfort.” Daehyun explained, and you hummed in agreement. Some things for him were just a safety blanket, and that was okay. What wasn’t okay though was that it seemed like he wanted you to run now, but you were firm in walking.

                “If you think it’s irrational, let’s help you get over this.” you said to him, and he gnawed at his lip as his eyes shifted around, finally landing on you and on your lips. He leaned in for a quick kiss and you smiled into it, letting him relax some before he let out a deep breath and blinked a few times.

                “I think as long as you’re beside me, nothing can hurt me.” Daehyun said, grinning. You poked his nose and just laughed at him, wondering where you went right in life to get such a sweet guy, and Daehyun looked down at his watch again before squinting in front of him. “Ah, there’s the house! And a light is on!” Daehyun said, his voice carrying down the road. He jumped up and down and broke out into a sprint, leaving you behind to just smile on and watch him. He waited for you at one point though because he didn’t want to let you straggle in the event something happened.

                Before you approached the door, Daehyun told you to go behind a bush and hide, because he didn’t know what would happen since this was country territory and people did have guns. You weren’t worried though. You could smell something sweet from inside and a girl singing, her voice like an angel. You complied with him though, and he walked up to the door and knocked three times before taking a step back and he started talking in Korean at first, and then he quickly switched to English from just out of embarrassment.

                “Ah, Sunhwa, it’s Daehyun. I’m here with a friend of mine and I was wondering if you’re even home and if you’d be willing to let her and I spend the night. I also have a few questions about someone. Please, open up.” he said, and there was the sound of utensils being put down from the inside and dainty heels clacking on a wooden floor as they ran to the door and it was unlocked.

                A girl, no older than her mid-twenties, flung open the door and let out a sigh of relief as her smile seemed to light up the night. Daehyun smiled back with just as much radiance, and you watched as the two embraced one another and the girl seemed to hold him close while his grip was loose. He did looked over her back though and towards the bushes, mouthing to you that it was okay to come out now, and still scared, you emerged from the bushes as she let go of him and looked over to you, her gaze light and smile still bright.

                “Is this your friend?” she asked, still sizing you up before turning to Daehyun. He rubbed at the nape of his neck and you saw him blushing.

                “G-girlfriend. She took me in for a while and now we’re kind of on a trip of sorts.” Daehyun said, and Sunhwa rolled her eyes and motioned for the two of you to get inside. Daehyun grasped at your hand but missed as you walked in behind him, not wanting to be rude when intruding on someone’s house. He glanced over his shoulder at you and whispered that she was okay, but you still felt a little out of place as she made her way back into the kitchen.

                “Take a seat you two. I was just making myself some dinner. Anyways, it’s odd that you two would choose to be more or less homeless as a vacation.” Sunhwa said, stirring at a pot of noodles and checking the time on the oven. She opened it and it smelled of cinnamon. Daehyun’s mouth was watering you noticed and she saw him too, but rolled her eyes again and just giggled. “Has he still been a big eater since he’s been with you?” she asked, and you guessed she was talking to you, so you nodded, cracking a smile and speaking in a small voice.

                “Ah, he’s cooked according to what portion he wants most of the time and other than that I don’t think he eats too much. The again, I don’t cook big portions. You never go hungry, do you?” you asked to Daehyun, turning to look at him with a worried expression. He looked back and smiled gently. He looked like he wanted to kiss you again, but he just went to go and talk.

                “No babe, never. Though,” Daehyun turned again to look at Sunhwa, who was leaning against the counter while the two of you sat at stools that were on the opposite side of it. “Sunhwa always did cook enough to feed me and whoever I brought in. Which, speaking of…” Daehyun stopped and got off the stool and rounded the counter, taking Sunhwa by the arm gently and walking into the living room. You took no hint to move, so you stayed and just listened as in he sat her down, telling her to take a few deep breaths before he sat down himself and started talking.

                You heard him say something about Junhong, presumably about how you had found him dead and there was a gasp, some hiccups, and then the chair shifting. He had gotten up and was by Sunhwa’s side, her arm and shushing her, telling her to breathe deeply and calm down, but it was useless as she gasped in for air to get to her lungs and tears flowed down her cheeks, but she still remained flawless in your eyes. The idea that Daehyun and her may have been in a relationship before though made her just a little less pretty.

                “What did you do to him?” she yelled, and Daehyun shushed her again, pulling her into a hug and kissing her head to try and get her back to being rational.

                “We just found him. We put him in a barrel and tried to seal it up as best we could. He looked like he was about a week passed and there was no sign of Yongguk. Sunhwa, we’re probably going to keep him in case we run out of food, so please don’t call the police.” he murmured, but Sunhwa let out a cry before shoving him off an he landed on his , making a gruff noise of pain before she picked up a book that was beside her and threw it at him.

                “Food? Are you crazy Jung Daehyun? And you expect your girlfriend to eat that as well? Remember what happened to Jieun when she ate… when she ate away at some of the flesh and muscle that Yongguk had literally sawed out of his leg? She got AIDS and died.!” Sunhwa screamed. “You have no idea if Junhong and Yongguk did anything and he transmitted it! He used condoms with you but Junhong was young and he might have started sharing needles too! You ing idiot! Are you going to take that risk?”

                You felt your throat constrict and you weren’t even mad at her for throwing something at Daehyun. It smacked him in the chest and he sat back on the floor with eyes wide and he looked like he was in a state of shock. She had leaned back now in the chair and ran a hand though her hair before huffing.

                “Look, I know you had to do it before, but you’re smarter now. You should know that if worse comes to worse, I am here and I will feed you. I will give you both a roof over your head if it rains and I will feed you if you are hungry. Daehyun, please, have some common sense.”

                She shook her head and got up from the chair and went back to look at the food on the stove and she opened the oven again, letting the smell of cinnamon fill the air once more and make everything in the immediate area warm and comfortable. She stirred something on the back burner and tapped a spoon on the lip of it before making her way towards the fridge and pulling out some grapes.

                “Do you like fruit?” she asked as she the tap, preparing them before you even gave her an answer. You nodded though, and she smiled back. Her hair was red like an autumn sunset that set the skies ablaze and her overall aura was that of a mother, but it was something like she abused her child but around friends she was nice. Something was off about her, but Daehyun has brought you to her, and she might have had a past and you were picking up on that, but now, she was feeding you and Daehyun was still sitting in the living room, curled into a ball now and talking to himself, probably reprimanding his choices and how he endangered you. Feeling sorry for him, you excused yourself and walked into where he was, looking around the room and realizing how old everything seemed.

                The armchair’s leather was faded and there was dust on a lot of old books. The vanity that was in the corner was antique and there was a dial radio as well and no TV set to be seen. You guessed that maybe Sunhwa was one of those girls who had the ultimate housewife fantasy and she was living it out alone. Maybe she had a boyfriend or a husband who just wasn’t around at the time? You didn’t know as you stepped onto wooden floors and crouched down beside Daehyun, putting a hand on his back and rubbing it. His breath caught in his throat and his head jerked up to look at you. His eyes were wide like you had seen when you first met him and his cheeks were flushed.

                He wiped at them and you could tell he had been crying by the way he was sniffling, and you guessed you were wrong about him not crying anymore, because small things seemed to break him down. Maybe he had learned how to cry out on the streets because holding everything in was never good for any one person. He tried to force a smile though, and you got down to sit next to him and he just crawled into your lap, letting his head rest on your thigh and he wrapped his arms around your waist and held on for dear life. You just ran your hands though his tangled locks and you could feel small particles of dirt in it.

                “I’m so sorry.” he breathed out.

                “You were just reverting back to old instincts. It’s like letting a domesticated animal out into the wild again after rescuing it. You’re bound to remember what it life was before and all of your actions might seem irrational and extreme, but it’s not without good reason.” you told him. “And I’m glad you got tested and used necessary precautions before you and I, well, did it. Did you know Yongguk had AIDS?” you asked him, and Daehyun buried his face into your side and nodded.

                “I even told the lady at the clinic to test me like, four times to be sure nothing came up positive. I wanted to keep you as safe as possible from my previous life, and now I’m dragging you into it. Do you just want to go home?” he asked, and you just played with his hair and shrugged, leaning over some to kiss his cheek and smile against it.

                “Do you want to, or do you want to make the most out of this adventure?” you asked him back. Daehyun shrugged in turn as well.

                “Not if it means you get hurt.” he replied, and before you could say anything else, a timer went off and Sunhwa called out.

                “Okay lovebirds, time to get off the floor and eat! Daehyun, I even made some cinnamon apple pie for you and I have some peach jam as well from the tree if you want to spend the night and have toast in the morning. Your girlfriend can as well if she wants.” Sunhwa said, smiling still and you felt a chill run down your spine as she turned around and looked at the two of you with a knife in her hand from where she was peeling an apple. Daehyun looked ecstatic though as he grabbed a plate off the counter and started to portion out some pasta for himself, making light talk with Sunhwa as she finished preparing and apple and putting it in a bowl.

                You were behind Daehyun and made your plate while eyes shifted towards the other woman again and again, making sure you watched her every move, but she was just talking with Daehyun as he took a seat at the small table in the nook near the kitchen. He smiled wide and set down his plate before getting up again and grabbing silverware, setting the table and getting napkins as well. When you went to sit, he was quick to get your chair and pull it out for you, pushing you in snug and he did the same for Sunhwa as well.

                “Because you’re the beautiful host, I have to treat you respect.” Daehyun said, laughing a little as Sunhwa giggled and blushed.

                “Are you sure you’re just not trying to impress your pretty friend here with your nonexistent manners?” she joked, and Daehyun tapped her lightly on the shoulder and sniggered.

                “I do too have manners! Right?” he asked, looking over towards you, and you stiffly nodded, unsure of what the feeling was that you had in your chest, but it was a mix between raging jealousy and absolute distrust of the redhead. She seemed too nice for your liking, and her house was eerie as well, but it was again you had to remind yourself that Daehyun had brought you here, and he was in tears no more than a couple of minutes ago thinking about how he potentially threatened you and how he just wanted to go home if it meant you were hurt in any way.

                “Yes, Daehyun, you do.” you said back, smiling. Sunhwa eyed you and giggled, waving her hand dismissively before clasping her hands together and taking a moment of silence to pray. Daehyun sat with his hands in his lap and waited for her to finish, but his eyes were open whereas hers were gently shut, moving in a quiet mantra to God above, thanking him for a home, a meal and friends you saw , and then she smiled before laughing a little and then she crossed herself, feeling satisfied with her grace. You looked to Daehyun, who was now picking up a slice of apple and downing it in two bites.

                “You should really learn to taste your food before you swallow it.” Sunhwa said, and then she looked a little guilty. “When was the last time you ate?” she asked, and she looked to you for the answer because Daehyun’s mouth was already full. You swallowed your own bite before looking a little sullen.

                “He last ate sometime last night when I damn near forced him too. He’s really conservative about our resources and he pretty much refuses to eat unless I pin him down and cram it into his mouth.” you said, sounding harsh, and Daehyun had stopped chewing and looked a little guilty.

                “I bet he likes that, the pinning down part I mean.” Sunhwa joked, and your face turned bright red before Daehyun spoke up.

                “Let’s not talk about that at the dinner table.” he said, and under it, he placed a hand on your leg and just touched it for a brief moment as to tell you that you’d discuss it later. You didn’t want to though because it seemed like Sunhwa was someone you should be concerned of, and that lest you learn anything of her she’d slit your throat and use your blood as the pasta sauce for the next time she cooked. The beef tasted a little like pork and you wondered if she was on some kind of new fad diet.

                The three of you sat in the quiet for a little while, only hearing the crickets outside and the house would pop and creak every so often as a pipe shifted and there were the skitters of mice or squirrels in the walls from time to time, but it wasn’t anything too out of the ordinary.

                “So, Sunhwa, why is your house so antique looking? It’s a nice change of pace from all the modern stuff.” you said, genuinely curious, but also, you wanted to break the silence. Sunhwa picked up and apple slice and took a small bite out of it before setting it on her plate, which looked like it was barely touched.

                “It’s just as you said, I like to slow down and I can do that out here. Normally, when I go into the city, it’s always so hustle and bustle that it annoys me a little. Though, I guess a little city girl like you couldn’t understand it.” she said. It was almost borderline belittling.

                “No, I think I can get it. Out here, the air is a lot less dense and it’s a lot more tranquil. The wind actually has room to blow.” you replied, and Sunhwa cocked and eyebrow.

                “I didn’t know people like you thought about things like that.” she said, and Daehyun now ad pushed away from the table and got up, wiping his hands on his pants and bending over to pick up the napkin that had fallen on the floor.

                “Thank you for dinner Sunhwa, but I think my girlfriend and I will be taking our leave soon and we might just spend the night under the peach tree if you don’t mind.” Daehyun said, and you looked to him, and then to Sunhwa, and she was grinning. It wasn’t malicious, nor was it one of happiness, but it seemed so forced, so faked that you thought her skin would crack and some sort of puppet would reveal itself. She nodded though, and went to pick up Daehyun’s plate, but he took it to the kitchen himself and he seemed urgent in his movements. You followed along.

                “Are you sure you don’t want to have a bed in the house Hyunnie? You know they’re always nice and soft and you might-“

                “Stop it. We need to go. Now.” Daehyun said, and he grabbed you by the hand, pulling you out of the dining area and he picked up your bags that were set by the door and he just left. Sunhwa walked behind you and when you were out the door, she stood in the doorway and just cocked her head, smiling and waving. Her nails were long and it reminded you of a witch, and you felt uneasy as she chuckled.

                “Bye bye darlings.” she cooed, and Daehyun didn’t look back as he walked down a dirt pathway and you could see the outline of a tree in the near distance.

                “What’s wrong with her?” you asked in a whisper, but he didn’t say anything. His grip on your hand was tight and his look was fixed, and his breathing was heavy. He seemed on edge, and it wasn’t until you stopped walking did he turn around to look at you and there they were again. His eyes were big, and he swallowed. Daehyun coughed a little before giving you a look of panic and you knew then that something was wrong with Sunhwa and you needed to be walking constantly or something would happen.

                He wasn’t running, but you knew he wanted to, but his legs were wobbling too badly to go any faster than a brisk pace, and even then his feet kept failing him and his knees buckled from time to time and you asked him again what was wrong with her, and Daehyun took in a deep breath.

                In the middle of the night, Daehyun started singing at the top of his lungs. You had recalled never hearing him sing any louder than something that could be heard over the shower and he’d hum to himself from time to time and when he was waiting, but now, as you seemed to race away from some sort of eminent danger even though you weren’t sure what it was, Daehyun sang, and it was loud. Some birds were startled and began to fly off and you saw a family of bunnies start hopping away as his voice resonated across the field, and it was then you saw where you were, and you didn’t think there was any danger anymore as Daehyun’s face turned up into a smile, and he looked back at you, his voice now coming down, and then he laughed a little and stopped singing altogether. He looked at ease now, and you just stared on.

                “Scared you, didn’t I?” he asked, and you wanted to be mad, but you settled with smacking him on the chest and pushing him down to the grassy earth, letting spring blossoms catch his fall. He didn’t care though as the dirt got onto his hands and he smiled up at you. You loomed over him and bore down into his eyes, wondering what was going on through his head. You knew what was going on through yours though. You were pissed off, but completely and utterly infatuated with Daehyun as he lay back down, staring up at the night sky and playing connect the dots with the stars. “Come, lay down beside me. Sunhwa said she’ll leave the door unlocked and we can take a shower in the morning if we want to. She’s got a couple of errands to run.” Daehyun said, and you nodded, sitting down next to him with your knees to your chest.

                “Why’d you do that?” you asked, and Daehyun snorted a little and shook his head.

                “To see how you’d react in an emergency. And didn’t I say lay? Come on, relax. Sunhwa isn’t dangerous. I asked her to act like that when I was talking in Korean earlier.” Daehyun said, and you rolled your eyes at him as you lowered yourself down to the grass, looking up to the sky as well and feeling very small all of a sudden. Daehyun was quick to grab your hand and hold it as usual.

                “Did I pass your test?” you asked, and Daehyun squeezed your hand and let out a delighted hum.

                “With flying colors.” he replied, and you laughed a little.

                “You’re quite the actor yourself with how you looked running out here. Or, I guess stumbling.” you told him, and he chuckled. “I don’t suppose Junhong being dead is another test too?”

                “No, that’s real. Regrettably.” Daehyun sighed out. You curled up against his side to give him some comfort, and the night air was chilly as well. He too turned to face you and held you close, taking in a deep breath of your scent before sighing with content. He nuzzled his face into your hair, and he hugged you tightly, tangling his legs with yours now and getting comfortable before yawning. “I don’t want to be without you.”

                “What makes you say that?” you asked, and you were glad he couldn’t see the blush on your face in the dark, but the stars were so bright that if he looked he could maybe make it out if he tried really hard.

                “Because there are moments like this that are so wonderful in my opinion, and there are other times like when we have breakfast together and the time we took your cat to the vet and we had to sedate it because it was so rowdy, and the rest of the day it was walking like it was drunk around the house and you just cooed at it the whole day it seemed.” Daehyun said, and you laughed.

                “Don’t remind me of my embarrassing behavior.” you said, and Daehyun laughed back.

                “It’s cute, not embarrassing.” he replied, and you shook your head, but didn’t press on.

                You heard Daehyun yawn and he was now holding you like a child would cling onto its precious stuffed animal, and you had to stretch a little to let him know he was holding you a little too tight, and he quietly apologized as he sat up for a second and rummaged around in his bag.

                “What are you doing?” you asked, and Daehyun was still poking around before he just said ‘ah’ and pulled out a blanket, making some other stuff spill out in the process. He groaned and shoved it all back in the sack before he zipped it up and placed it above him. He moved your bag to where it was near your head, and you remembered when you first met him and let him in your home you wondered if he used the backpack as a pillow, and you were right as he opened up the blanket and draped it over the two of you, making sure you got the bulk of it.

                He pushed your backpacks together and flattened them out as best he could, and even though they were filled with boxes of food and shampoo and other things, it was better than nothing as you and he tried to find a comfortable place to lay your head down. He nuzzled up close to you again and was back to entangling your bodies together, sighing once more before it turned into a yawn, and Daehyun looked so cute as the little puffs under his eyes seemed to relax and his lips pursed. You kissed him, and he just smiled.

                “We need to get some rest.” Daehyun said, and you giggled.

                “I know, but I was just thinking about how adorable you are and I was going to go crazy if I didn’t kiss you.” you said back, and Daehyun opened his eyes again and looked into yours.

                “You seriously thought you were going to go crazy if you didn’t kiss me?” he asked, and you ran a hand through your hair. A shower in the morning really sounded good right now because it could be styled with the sheer amount of grease it had in it, and it had that sickly sheen that let everyone know you hadn’t washed it in a while.

                “I mean, I’m being a little overzealous with my wording, but, you know…” you replied, and Daehyun smiled. You saw how tired he was and felt bad that you were keeping him up, but he didn’t mind as he pushed you to lie on your back and then he sat up, looking down at you now and brushing your cheek with the back of his hand.

                “Well, if that’s not the most romantic thing you’ve ever said to me, then I don’t know what is.” he said, leaning down to kiss you now, letting his lips linger on yours for a little bit before he pulled away for a breath, but he kissed you again, and you felt him smiling against your lips. Above you, you saw the stars, and Daehyun looked majestic as ever against the backdrop of the night sky. His eyes seemed to shame the space overhead because when he looked at you they were brighter than the sun and they twinkled more than the stars that hung above your head, and while you felt small, with Daehyun beside you, life wasn’t so bad, and being small wasn’t too terrible either.

                “What’s the most romantic gesture I’ve done in your opinion?” you asked, and Daehyun tapped on his chin and seemed to think hard about it.

                “When you cleared out a drawer for me. I think that probably made my heart swell the most because then I knew you really wanted me to stay.” Daehyun told you, and you hummed at his response, thinking that was a good enough answer. “What about you? What’s the most romantic thing I’ve said and done?” he asked, and you shrugged.

                “You cook me breakfast every morning and have told me you love me, and I may be easy to please, but those are pretty big in my book. I’m not looking for grand gestures, but the small ones really leave an impact. Even if you still burn the toast sometimes and you cook my eggs wrong, I think it’s a really nice and cute and loving thing to do for me. Your girlfriend.” you said, and the way girlfriend left your mouth made Daehyun seem to giggle like a child. “What?”

                “I’m just still on cloud nine that you and I are a thing. I waited a year to finally talk to you and I must have been blessed by all my lucky stars that I’m dating you, and now we’re in a field under the stars, talking to one another like in those stupid movies where there’s really cool camera shots and it makes the sky go at like, a million miles an hour and you watch the stars move, you know?” he asked, and you saw he looked a little embarrassed at his rambling and he probably didn’t mean to say all of that because it was well, a little dorky, but you nodded.

                “Yeah, I do. Sometimes I feel like my life is like that when I’m beside you. Like a movie where everything turns out alright. I want to live in the apartment with you for a really long time and I’ll buy and apron and cook you lunches and dinners and we’ll just, be a couple. A happy couple living a simple life and who knows, maybe we’ll move out to the country? We could have a white picket fence and live 50’s style!” you said, and Daehyun looked a little confused.

                “I didn’t go to school in America so what… is 50’s style?” he asked, and you just laughed at him. “I’m serious!”

                “It’s like, housewife and really gaudy furniture and just, really… it’s – I like it. Anyways, I’m just fantasizing, no need to make a big deal out of it babe.” you explained to Daehyun, and he blinked a couple of times before smiling again and he started kissing all over your face. They were big, obnoxious kisses that left you pushing at his chest to make him stop, but you relished in it as he made you laugh by tickling at your sides and your face hurt from smiling. Daehyun’s laugh echoed across the field and it seemed to make the stars shine a little brighter now as his whole face was just eminent with elation. He wouldn’t stop kissing you until both if you were out of air and deeply breathing, smiling at one another while Daehyun straddled you now, his hands placed on either side of you head.

                “Your skin is so perfect for my lips to be on.” Daehyun said to you, bringing his hands to cup your face and you were ashamed at how hot it was from the blush. He didn’t seem to care as he kissed your nose and ran his thumbs over your cheeks. “Everything about you is completely and utterly flawless to me. When you’re hard on your looks, it makes me feel bad, because I want to make you feel as beautiful as you are, and I will kiss you a billion times a day if that’s what it takes.”

                “You don’t have to do that.”

                “But I do.” Daehyun said, his voice stern. “I want to worship you like the goddess you are and you have gifted me with allowing me to stay in your presence.” Daehyun said, and you went to cut him off, but he kissed you again. “Don’t say anything. Shut up and let me love you for once because you really, and I seriously mean you deserve all the love I can possibly give you and so much more.” Daehyun told you, and the blush on your face extended down your whole body as he pressed his body to yours, breathing in deeply and letting out a shaky breath. “Lay with me like this forever.”

                Saying anything back now would be a mistake. You wrapped your arms around him and rested your hands on the small of his back, feeling his chest press against yours when he breathed and you could hear him whisper the sweetest words in your ear. They were sweeter than the chocolate he gave you when you first met, and Daehyun seemed like he was perfectly at ease in the moment and you were too as you held onto him tighter, turning your head to kiss him on the cheek. Daehyun though, turned his head last second and caught your lips, and he kissed you back lazily, his eyes struggling to stay open anymore and you just giggled about it.

                “You need to roll off me and get to sleep Daehyun. You’ve had a stressful day and I want you to be rested when we wake up.” you told him, and he groaned a little as he got off from on top of you, flopping down onto the grass and stretching out his long limbs. He reminded you of your cat when he did certain things, and you guessed that played a big part in the reason you like him so much. Daehyun yawned and moved onto his side, putting an arm around you and pressing you back against his body. For someone who kept claiming he liked being pushed around, he sure enjoyed being the big spoon when it came to cuddling. You didn’t care too much though. He was comfortable, and you leaned back into him as you pulled up the blanket over the two of you again.

                “I want to stay up until you fall asleep.” Daehyun said once he was situated, and it was low and in your ear and the hot breath sent a chill down your spine, and he felt goosebumps rise up on your arms and he just laughed, running a hand up and down it to try and calm your skin. “I don’t want to waste a moment with you.”

                “You’re not wasting anything if you’re sleeping next to me. Plus, I like watching you sleep. But, since my back is to you, I suppose another perk is getting you to be quiet for even just a little while.” you joked.

                “Sorry.” Daehyun said back a little dejected, but you scoffed some and snuggled up to him.

                “I was kidding, my little prince. I just want you to sleep because I don’t want you to get sick or be fatigued. I saw how much you ate at dinner and your stress will kill you Daehyun. Please, be more mindful of your health.” you said to him, but this time, there wasn’t more than a mumble in response, and the pattern of his breathing was even in your ear. He had slept with you more than enough times now for you to know he was out, and that made you feel better now as he slept peacefully with you in his arms.

                Something about him when he was out of the house changed. He seemed more confident in himself but he was at a lack when he thought about protecting you. It was like he could punch out someone if he wanted to but then his next thoughts would be about what if they get up and hurt you. You wanted to assure him it was all going to be okay now, and that when you both woke up, you could take a shower or a bath together and maybe even have some breakfast if Sunhwa would allow, because now that you knew it was an act, you trusted her, but only a little bit more. She still scared you and something just didn’t seem right about her or her house, but Daehyun, it was all up to him and his better judgment.

                You were feeling sleep creep up on you now, yawning and letting yourself sink down more into the grass. You weren’t sure how green it was, but you took to the old saying the grass is always greener on the other side, and there was no doubt, because in the city, there wasn’t even grass to really compare beside the fake patches you saw here and there. It was comfortable, and not too far away there was the peach tree that Daehyun told you about, and in the night you saw small, round silhouettes of them against the cosmos that shined bright above you. The moon wasn’t even full and it was still radiant as ever. There were a few howls of wild dogs in the distance and the hoots of owls off from near the forest that was on the opposite side of the road. Night in the country was so much more calming then the noises heard in your apartment back home.

                There was only the occasional car that drove by, and even then it was quiet and almost peaceful. There wasn’t any obnoxious honking and no house fights late at night could be heard from a caught cheating husband and a wife who had enough; a single mother and her crying children; an elderly man and his too old dog as well barking at something it thought it saw and him yelling at it to shut the hell up, even though it only riled it more. There was none of that out here, and all there was, was nature and Daehyun. He had always smelled like freshly grown grass and rain right after it fell. He was an earthly person you guessed, and that’s why you might seem like an angel in his eyes, but there was one thing he’d always be more than you, you thought. Daehyun went with the flow, and he was natural in everything he did. Daehyun was worth everything you were doing. More than you, he was worth something.