Chapter 11

"Jaejoong Oppa, I." Yuri pulled away from Jaejoong & looked up at him.

From the helpless look she gave him, Jaejoong immediately understood.

"Darling, it's okay. I know it takes time & I will give you as much time as you need to learn on how to love me." He kissed the top of her head & her hair gently as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Honestly, in the beginning, I didn't care too much about you or the marriage. Now, I know that nothing is more important than you."

"Thank you, Oppa, for being so understanding & patient with me." Yuri said gratefully.

As they were getting ready for bed after a long day of sightseeing, the lights suddenly went off. The entire inn was in complete darkness.

"Oppa! Where are you?!" Yuri called out frantically. Jaejoong swiftly crossed the room to where Yuri's voice was but knocked into the table.

"Ouch! My knee!" He cried.

"Are you hurt? Here, let me take a look at it." Yuri blindly found her way over to Jaejoong & together, they sat down on the futon.

She lifted up his pant legs & attempted to find his bruise but couldn’t see a thing.

"Oppa, where did you hurt yourself?" Yuri lightly patted Jaejoong's knee, one at a time.

"Ouch." Jaejoong winced as pain shot through his leg.

"Sorry. Should I go ask for some ice?" Yuri said worriedly.

"No, it's okay. I will be fine." Jaejoong assured his concerned wife.

He lay down & pulled Yuri down with him.

"Let's get some sleep." He said, between yawns.

Yuri snuggled into Jaejoong's warm embrace & closed her eyes

Outside the inn, an owl hooted loudly which caused Yuri to tense up & grab onto Jaejoong's arm.

"Oppa, I'm scared." Yuri whimpered.

"Shhh, it's okay. It's just an owl." Jaejoong said soothingly.

Poor Yuri was shaking with fear & refused to let go of Jaejoong. She buried her face in his chest & held onto his waist tightly.

"It's so dark & creepy. When will the lights come back on? Oh no, there are a lot of haunted places in Japan. Could this be one of them?" Fear & desperation could be heard in her voice.

"Silly girl; this inn isn’t haunted. Now, calm down & try to get some sleep." Jaejoong told her sternly. He smiled to himself as Yuri relaxed her tense muscles & made herself more comfortable.

He could feel her heart rate returning to normal & her breathing slowing down.

"You weren't such a chicken when we watched that horror movie." Jaejoong , seeing that she wasn't afraid anymore.

"That was just a movie; this is real life" Yuri pouted & punched Jaejoong playfully.

He reached out to catch her fist & slowly brought it to his lips.

"You are so lovable when you are irritated." He said cheekily, before kissing her hand.

"Really?" She asked, & climbed onto his stomach, "Then you will love it when I do this." & then she took a big bite of his shoulder.

"You think you are so vicious now, do you? Well, I will show you the meaning of vicious." Jaejoong rolled Yuri under him & started to nibble on her ear.

Yuri giggled like a child & attempted to push Jaejoong away. She stopped struggling after a while & began to enjoy the sensuous feeling of Jaejoong's lips on her.

He playfully by kissing her everywhere except where she wanted to be kissed the most, her lips, "Oppa!" She whined, as his lips & hands roamed her body, ‘I can't let him do this. He's taking advantage of me.’ Her mind said.

‘He's your husband! He owns you! He loves you!’ The other voice in her head argued.

"Oppa, please stop?" She said, as he slide his hands under her blue oceanside, cap-sleeve henley top, "We are moving too fast." She gasped.

He pulled back & kissed her forehead lovingly, "I'm sorry I scared you, Yuri. I will make sure to ask for your permission next time." He said gently.

Yuri found a trace of hurt in his eyes & felt guilty for ruining their romantic moment.

"No, that's not what I mean." She desperately tried to explain, "I love you, Oppa. It's just that."

"Say that again?" Jaejoong turned around in disbelief & excitement, "I said I love you." Yuri repeated.

"I love you, too, sweetie." He was about to lean down to kiss her lips but decided against it.

Instead, he held back & watched her expression. Yuri was surprised & somewhat disappointed that Jaejoong didn’t kiss her.

She took the initiative & reached up to kiss him. Jaejoong gleefully responded to her kiss with passion.

They were so engaged in their act of love that they didn’t even notice that the lights were back on.

Five minutes later, the couple breathlessly crawled out from under the blanket & took in some fresh air.

"Now, what were you saying?" Jaejoong asked, as he got up to turn off the light.

"I was saying that I love you but I'm not really ready to give." Yuri tried to find the right words without hurting Jaejoong's feelings.

"Not ready to give your body to me, right?" Jaejoong finished the sentence for her.

"I promised that I will give you as much time as you need. I won't rush you into anything you aren't comfortable with."

Yuri nodded & closed her eyes, "I love you." She whispered, & fell asleep.