She quickens her steps and she hears the pitter pattering of the drizzle getting heavier, while the man followed behind her.

In silence.

The rain has woken Kyuhyun up abit and he realize that there was only two of them left. He eyed the girl in front of him, quickening her steps and tottering along the road.

His girl. She was his girl.

He had loved laying on the bed and staring at her back while she was doing her make up or on the couch when she was preparing breakfast. He had always tried to suppressed the desire to leap up and hug her from the back whenever it was and he always ended up succumbing to it. She was just so huggable. Squishy and comfortable, her soft scent on her neck as he finds himself snuggling up towards her.

And it is still like that. After all these years.

He misses her.

She knows he had been following behind her in silence.

And she is not going to break the ice.

She didn’t know he was coming to Jeju. When she enquired causally about who will be there, Yonghwa didn’t mentioned his coming and his presence brought surprise to all the staff there too.

She quickens her steps and hear the footsteps behind her becoming urgent too then,

‘AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH’

The car was inches away from her as she felt herself in the air swishing as the raindrops fall upon her face and then, something soft.

And warm.

‘How many times must I tell you to look before you cross the road?’

He chided, her in his arms. She was skinnier than the last time he held her, like a feather. Weightless.

She was stunned for that moment, and hurriedly stands up from his embrace. She glanced up and meet his eyes. The eyes that she had forgotten. That had her forgotten.

While she was waiting for the lift to the suite, she heard a commotion over at the reception.

“I am sorry Sir, but we are full for the night.”

“I don’t mind a smaller room but I just need somewhere for the night. I missed my flight and a thunderstorm outside where do you expect me to go?”

“I am sorry Sir, but we are really filled for the night. Reservations are already accounted for a week ago.”

“Aish, don’t you all have spare rooms or anything?”

“I am sorry Sir but we cannot do anything for you.”

He was going to flare his temper at the reception when he felt a hand tugging at his sleeves.

“I am sorry Madam. His my friend and I will help him with it. Sorry for the trouble.”

Seohyun apologizes and darted a look at the man.

“You are 31 yet you act like a baby.”

He looks at her, shocked.

“Yonghwa said that this suite is for me but it’s way too big and I only need the room. Since your company paid for it, you can sleep outside at the living area.”

She threw him a sentence and walk towards the room.

He settled down on the sofa and shiver in his wet clothes. The storm was getting heavier and there was no heater in the living room.

She reappeared, peeking her head from the door crack.

“Do you have anything to change into?”

He shakes his head, and her head disappeared into the room again. She re-emerged with towels, a blanket and a shower robe.

‘Take this.’

She was tossing around her bed as she thought of the man, separated a door away. 5 years since they were in such close proximity.

She must be crazy letting him share the suite, but she knew how he was flu-prone. He was drenched in the rain just now. He was shivering.

Anyone would do the same right?She reassures herself.

She tried to shift her focus to something else. Like her little boy coming over to Seoul. Her kyukyu baby. Her life, everything.

Then,

His warm arms around her when she fell just now.Her security blanket.

‘Pfffffffffffffft’ she tossed around her bed, trying to get rid of the thoughts in her head as she stares at the thunderstorm outside.

He settles himself down on the couch in the bath robe and cocooned himself in the blanket that Seohyun brought over.

They were now so close to one another, it was as if he could smell her scent.

A door apart.

8 years ago, they were together when there was a thunderstorm too.

He smiles, as he glanced towards the door of the room.

He remembered when they were dating, there was once a huge thunderstorm and they were having dinner two blocks from his apartment. It was raining so heavily that transport services were halted and they had to run back to his apartment.

(8 years ago)

‘Go shower!’

‘But I didn’t bring any clothes to change today, didn’t know I will be staying over. Can I don’t shower pretty please? I didn’t really sweat today too; the thunderstorm is making me feel sleepy already.’

He pinched his nose, ‘Shower! You smell...’
She was drenched from the running and he didn’t want her to catch a cold.

‘Ya ya ya you Cho Kyuhyun! I smell?! Then why do you still smell me everywhere just now you erted old man!’

‘Because I like you even you are smelly hehe. But if you don’t shower, I won’t allow you in bed. Choose!’

‘Since when did I say I want to be in your bed. I wanted to sleep on the couch you erted old man.’

He went into his room and threw her his shirt and his boxers.

‘Take this and go shower!’

She came out; her brown locks plastered on her back smelling like vanilla and cinnamon.

‘You smelled good. Like pancakes.”

“I smell like you.”

“Isn’t that good? We are one aren’t we?”

“You are so cheesy.”

She made a face at her boy as she wringed out the towel that was covering her shoulders and felt an intense gaze from behind.

‘Well, they were all wet…”

She wasn’t wearing her undergarments, and her upper body was faintly visible from his sheer white shirt she was wearing as a one piece pajamas. She wasn’t wearing anything under his boxers too, but he didn’t have to know. She laughed as she climbed towards the boy, covering his eyes with her hands.

‘Your eyes are popping out.’

‘Ya, you are the one who didn’t wear your…! Ya! I am a normal boy! It’s dangerous don’t you know!’

‘Okay, keep your eyes close till I ask you to open… wait for a moment… okay!”

He opened his eyes, half hoping that she would not have covered herself again but to find her head popping out from his white comforters. Only her head, with a smile imprinting her victory.

He laughed. She was always this silly, but always so adorable. In his eyes.

‘Well I bathed like you said, so off you go to the couch. The bed shall be mine!’

‘But it’s my house! I want to be on the bed also!’

‘Ya you were the one who said it was dangerous. Shoo shoo shoo get out get out get out!’

She climbed out of bed, revealing her upper body as the boy flushed but opened his eyes bigger for a better look at his girl before she pushed him out using her body but stopped suddenly when she felt something poking her underneath. She looked down, and was shocked to find him poking through his boxers.

‘Ya! You… Ya!’

Her turn to flush, knowing that the boy was by her simple actions. She ran back to her safety shelter; the white comforters as the boy cursed silently for his little friend betrayed him.

‘I… I will go and take a cold shower. I will sleep in the couch outside tonight so go sleep now…’

He mumbles as he opened the door to the bathroom.

Seconds later, he came yelping out, ‘Ya you… you are not wearing your… not wearing anything under my boxers?!’ as he realized her pink unicorn hanging in the bathroom.

‘Oops, you found out. It was wet too! Ya… stop thinking about other things and go shower!’

He look at the head popping out from the comforters as an evil smirk floated on his face.

‘That means we are indirectly… since we share the same boxers now…”

He felt his little friend down there getting all squirmy and excited and she noticed it too.

‘Ya you erted old man!’

He came out from the shower, a cold one to appease the little friend and the fire raging intense in him every time he sneak a peek at her matching pink unicorn bra and with ruffles and ribbons hanging in the bathroom. It was silly and cute, yet and y at the same time.

He realized the bed was empty but the white comforters are gone. Where did she go? He thought.

He walked out to the living room and saw her lying on the couch, her legs propped up on the arm rest, the white comforter sliding down revealing her y milky white legs and the hem of his boxers. He is going crazy but he couldn’t help but feel amazed at how she is so alluring even in deep slumber.

He sigh as he went forward and carried her in his arms and placed her softly and silently on the bed. She stiffened, and opened her eyes, registering her surroundings and looked at you.

‘Oppa weren’t you tired? I can make do on the couch; it’s pretty comfortable for me. You are so much taller it wouldn’t be comfy for you.’

‘Ya you are my girlfriend. How can I sleep on the bed while you sleep on the couch! Does that even make sense?’

He chided her lovingly, her sleepy face and lightly pinching her cheeks, his favorite chubby hamburger cheeks.

‘But, you need to sleep don’t you?’

‘I will just make do on the couch. Don’t worry and sleep okay?’

He stood up after gently kissing the space between her brows. As he turned away, he felt a tug at his shirt.

‘Let’s sleep together on the bed Oppa.’

She flushed, looking for an answer in her boy.

He look at her, surprised.

‘But…it’s dangerous’

She smiled and replied by patting the other side of the bed, signaling the flushed boy to lie down beside her.

He approached her cautiously, slide under the comforters that she had kindly held up as a welcome and laid stiffly beside her, staring at the ceiling.

She smiles at his dorky reaction and laughed.

‘You are like a log.’

‘Do you want me to be a log, or I could be a beast.’

‘Well, I loved beasts. Tigers. Leopards. Jaguars.’

She but was shocked when the boy suddenly turned and faces her as she felt his arms circling her waist. She held her breath as she heard him chuckle.

‘Tiger? Leopard? Jaguar? I am only a koala bear now and you are the one like a log now. A tree trunk.’

She stared at his face as he slowly close in, his lips touching hers.

‘Don’t worry, I will not do anything. We promised to wait till marriage didn’t we?’

She smiles, as he held her closer to him. She laid her head on his chest, his steady constant rhythmic heartbeat was soothing and she slowly loosen up, cuddling and snuggling up towards her favorite boy.

Just as he was about to fall asleep, he heard her mutter.

‘Can’t you control… your… underneath?’

He smiles as his little friend continues to stand up in glory.

‘Well, he is angry for being trapped and not getting any fun. Forgive him and forget about him as I can’t do anything about it. Your fault anyway. Just go to sleep.’

She smiles and snuggled closer towards him as he held her tighter in his embrace.

His favorite vanilla cinnamon pancake girl.

He crept into her room, he couldn’t resist. How he missed that peaceful and angelic face.

She had changed so much, but certain things don’t change. She was a girl who needs lots of security even she sleeps so she will cling onto whatever there is on the bed. She used to snuggle up to him and cling herself towards him, telling him that he was her personal human bolster.

He brushed her hair that falls covering her face and stares intently at the woman he first loved, and he doubt he had ever stop loving her. He watches her twitch in slumber and wonder why he had bear to leave her five years ago.

He loves her. And he knew she did before, but he wasn’t sure of it now. He knew how she must have hurt when he left. He knew her to well to know how much it hurts.