Hi! I hope you are doing great :) Thank you for the lovely words you leave in the comments section, they are much appreciated. Thank you wonderful commenters and subscribers, you motivate me :) I am sorry this chapter is a delayed update, but this chapter - so deceptively simple chose to write itself in a manner different from my imagination and this update has happened two rewrites later. I hope you like this chapter as well. Much love.

You Hold me, Right here, Right now..

You hold me, right here right now

She felt free. 
Shin Hye stood, arms outstretched, at the bow of the boat, letting the wind hit her full on her face. The boat raced ahead on the crystal clear waters of Miami, the sound of the motor was often interrupted by the voice on the mic. A guide was showing them houses owned by famous celebrities mostly from Hollywood. She laughed aloud at the irony of Yong Hwa and her, seeking privacy on islands where the main attraction is the guided tour that pointed out celebrity houses to tourists. 

Yong Hwa was standing on the deck watching her. To say he was mesmerized by the sight in front of him would be an understatement. He had sought to lean to a side, for, the impact of the vision was that dramatic. He might as well have been watching a photoshoot where the model in a gorgeous sundress, stood staring at the ocean, with her sunglasses on, her perfect hair, flying in the air. He had always found her beautiful, but today the effect was stunning. 

He slowly made way towards her, feeling suddenly unsure, like he was a fan approaching a star. She turned towards him as she heard him and smiled. To her, he looked like a star, in his plain white T shirt, black torn jeans and sunglasses. She blushed at how her first thought was that he looked hot. 

He lost his dazed expression on seeing her smile and blush, and promptly smiled back at her. She felt a weird sensation swoop into the pit of her stomach. This was weird, the guy in front of her was YongHwa, her dear friend, she was not supposed to have such a strong reaction to him, she thought, panicking a little when she saw him get closer.

He stood near her, facing the boat with his back leaning on the railing and one elbow rested on it for support. As casual as he tried to be, something about her confident stance earlier had set off an alarm in him and though he didn't want to show it, he was nervous. She was running her fingers through her hair, adjusting her sunglasses and smoothening her dress, the swooping sensation had intensified. 

The guide in his broken English announced that the passengers (which was,in this case, just the two of them) are requested to be seated for a short while due to choppy waters. Almost on instinct YongHwa took her forearm and slid his palm gently into hers and led her to the seats. 

They held hands through out the rough waters stealing glances at each other like new lovers. 
A spray of water splashed on them bringing them out of their reverie. They looked at each other and laughed. He pulled her closer wrapped his left arm around her, she rested her head on his shoulder. 
"Yonghwaya.."
"Hmmm"
"After coming here, We have spent more time in silence that talking to each other "
"Hmmm"
"Have we changed ?"
"Maybe shin hye Ya"
"Remember the time we were asked to keep quiet because the shot was going on and we didn't even realize?"
He laughed.
"Yes and we were the leads of the drama" 
It was her turn to laugh.
"Do you think that has ever happened before?"
"What?" He asked. 
"You know, main leads of the show asked to stop talking on a set"
They burst into unstoppable fits of giggles. 
"Must be rare"
He said and hi-fied her.

Just like that, they had overcome the awkwardness they were feeling. 
Was it a good thing though? Sometimes relationships that lay between love and friendship suffer due to the strong friendship that overshadows the possibility of love. However, the minute the love is acknowledged, there is no relationship better than the one based on friendship. 

That afternoon, Yong Hwa sat in the indoor jacuzzi of the mansion, enjoying the feeling of hot water jets hit his body. He checked his phone for the hundredth time, there was no reply from Shin Hye. She had said she would join him. He tried sending another message but got no response. He was getting impatient and wondered if he should just holler her name instead. Even though it felt good to be alone, he looked forward to sharing the experience with her. Everything felt better when she was around. He wondered why that was the case, after all he had always prided himself in doing things on his own. 

As he sent another message, he heard footsteps. He was amused by the sight that met him. Shin Hye had on an extremely large bathrobe and the most nervous expression he had ever seen on her. He laughed as soon as he saw her, she made a face, unhappy with his reaction. He wouldn't stop laughing though. She immediately turned to go back, miffed at his behaviour. He was, however, quick, he rushed out of the water towards her, his swimming shorts dripping water on the floor. 
"Hey" 
He held her elbow lightly. 
"Miane Miane! "

She turned around with the entire intention of making a scene but was momentarily stumped by the fact that he wasn't wearing a shirt. She let herself be led by him. He slid back into the jacuzzi waiting for her to join him. Truthfully, he looked forward to seeing her in her swimming costume, as Unfriend-like as it sounded. He kicked himself mentally at his not so noble thoughts and pointedly looked away, giving her time and privacy to get into the water after taking the robe off. 

His jaw slacked when he looked at her, even though she was dressed considerably modestly in a swim dress that included a small skirt. The overall effect was of her wearing a little black dress and it made him lose his mind just a little. 

"You look y" 
The words had slipped out before he realized. She turned a brilliant shade of pink both embarrassed and happy. He had never called her y before. A lot of times she had wondered if he even saw her as a girl. 
"Ya" She said disguising  her embarrassment splashing water on him as he was too far away to get beaten up.

Meanwhile, he was feeling  equally self conscious about his reaction and wondered if he had overstepped the boundaries. The first splash of water stemmed his train of thoughts. 
He was annoyed at hot water hitting his face and momentarily forgot everything as he tried to get hold of her hand, to stop her. Then the fight began. You'd think two hot people who were more than a little attracted to each other together in a small space filled with water would  be beyond petty things like water fights. That maybe true for others but not for the duo in question, it was their way of getting over the awkwardness that kept building up. She was trying to push him further into the water trying to ruin his hair and annoy him in one go. He was not going to let his precious hair be messed with. The fight had gotten more physical than expected and she found herself trapped between the jacuzzi wall and him. She didn't know what felt hotter, the jet streams hitting her back or the fact that he had his arms around her pressed to the wall. 

If the awkwardness had evaporated earlier, it had doubled now. She looked up at him, trying to breath as normally as possible under the given circumstances. He was staring down at her, unsmiling, eyes unreadable. She had planned on pushing him aside, instead, she found herself wrapping her arms around him. He took his time sliding his hand on the wall until he reached her waist, pulled her closer and interlocked his fingers behind her back. She lurched forward a little and found herself, staring at his chest. Unholy thoughts were swirling in her head. Only so as to distract herself she looked up at him again, which was a big mistake because she found herself staring at his lips. As if responding to her, he bent down, she didn't hesitate for even a second. Their lips met midway in a sweet kiss that ended quickly when they jumped apart almost as if overwhelmed by the sparks that flew in the short few seconds. 

She got out of the Jacuzzi grabbed the robe, put it on as quickly as she could but her mortification was not to end so easily, she found herself sprawled on the ground having slipped on some water on the floor. He was standing leaning on the walls of the tub taking calming breaths but rushed out instantly on seeing her fall, grabbing his own robe as soon as he got out. 

He helped her sit up. She hid her face in her palms feeling flustered and frustrated. Even though his heartbeats hadn't steadied itself yet, he realized it was probably time to switch to being a good friend and pacify her.
"Shin hye Ya"
He said gently, trying to remove her hands from her face. She was stubborn in her refusal to do so, shaking her head furiously. 
"Miane shin ah"
He held her shoulder softly. The tenderness in his voice calmed her. She peaked through her fingers like a little child. He smiled at her actions. He managed to pull her hands off her face which was still flushed. 
"Miane " He said again. 
"You don't have to be" She said in a small voice. 
He sat down next to her on the floor. 
"It's not even the first time we've kissed "

She rolled her eyes, "Is it even the same thing?" 
"Isn't it?"
She glared at him, "Of course it isn't, there are no real emotions when we kiss for broadcast " 
"My emotions were real" He trailed off as if reminiscing.
"Even the one with the girl in your music video?" She asked pointedly. 
Ouch. He hadn't thought of that.
"No. Not that. I didn't even know her. No feelings." 
He looked chastised. 

"So this isn't a drama" she started but stopped abruptly suddenly feeling unsure about what she wanted to say.
He smiled. 
"It's ok, come here " He pulled her into a comfortable hug. 
"Yonghwa Ya.."
"Hmmm"
"I don't want to go back to the real world" 
"Why"
"Do you?"
"No I like kissing you"
"Shut up" She hit him lightly while still enveloped in his arms. 
"No, really, I do"
"You planned this"
"Ouch, that's harsh shin ah"
"Whatever"
"Didn't you like it?"
"Yaa.. Yong Is this the time to be a narcissist? "
" I am just asking"
"It wasn't even a proper kiss" 
"Do you want a proper one?"
"Shut up"
"With a kiss ?"
"Ugh this guy"
"But you love me anyway"
"Yeah whatever" 
"You dooo"
"Ok ok shut up now"
"Shin hye Ya.."
"Hmmm"
"This feels good, being with you here. Thank you for coming"
"Ya.. Yong don't thank me"
"Why?"
 She moved a bit, he held her closer unwilling to release her from the hug. She smiled, she had no inclination to let go either. 
"Yong"
"Hmmm"
"Shut up"
"Ok"

She nestled her face into the crook of his neck. He shivered, she giggled realizing she had found hit his sensitive spot. She blew warm air making him pull away from the hug only to see her dissolving into tears of silent laughter. 
"Evil" He mumbled, as he sulked. 
She pulled him back into the hug much to his surprise. 
"Yonghwa Ya"
She said rubbing his back comfortingly.
"Why are you so sweet"
"Huh"
"I am not" He replied defiantly, still sulking a little. 
"Aigoo uri yong is still sulking"
"I am not" he pouted.
"Ok aigoo why are you so cute"
"I am not" 
She giggled. 
"If you say that again I'll kiss you"
"Is that a threat yong yong"
"Maybe"
"Really now, my cute sweet adorable kangsayee" she said in her best aeygo voice. 
"Yaa shin ah you are going to regret this"
"Ooh I am scared" she laughed out aloud.

He pulled back a little, watching her laugh made him happy. It was like fire crackers going off on a summer night sky. A beautiful sight. He sighed wistfully. He wasn't sure what he wanted but he knew he didn't want to be without her. It was a realization that had come a little too late but he knew for sure he had found his soulmate.