Irene watched Joonmyeon looked through her closet, trying to find a certain item. When he found the striped shirt, he then went to hunt down a pair of shorts before he was satisfied with the simple outfit and handed it to his girlfriend, who raised her brows. “So… are you going to tell me why you looked through my closet or do I have to be surprised?”

He smiled, stuffing his one hand in his pocket and the other to rub the back of his neck, “It’s kind of silly but I wanted to wear couple outfits to the airport…”

           Irene felt her heart flutter before she gave cute pout, cooing at her boyfriend, “You’re so adorably cheesy.” She gave him a peck on the lips.

           Joonmyeon took hold of her waist and pulled her close, kissing her a bit longer. When he pulled away, she smirked, “That was nice. I wouldn’t mind if you did that more often.”

           Joonmyeon smirked before pulling away quickly, hiding his blush. “So, um… do you have everything you need for the weekend?”

           “Yep, clothes, toiletries, charger, and a book,” she held up an old copy of a magical book, shrugging her shoulders. “Do you want me to bring anything else?”

           Joonmyeon has been at Irene’s apartment many of times to be able to snoop around a bit, not much but to satisfy a few curiosities. He glanced at the top dresser drawer where she stored her under garments and once pulled out a sheer mesh camisole. He would have been lying to himself if he hadn’t thought about it, but he felt committed to not do anything of the sort until much, much later.

           It still wouldn’t hurt… Just in case…

           “Should… I um…” Joonmyeon showed his distress on his face when he was trying to force the words out. “Bring… something?”

           Irene tried to think of if he needed to bring anything specific, clearly not thinking the same, “I guess your own clothes… your own toiletries… your own charger…”

           “Protection…?

           Irene’s brows hugged in confusion. Why would he need—oh…. She bit her lip and found herself squeezing her legs, wondering how long the man’s been thinking about that. She thought it about from time to time, yet these days she didn’t have a huge need for it.

           Plus she concluded that from her boyfriend’s bashful expression, he was either really nervous or unsure.

           She shrugged, pretending to be thinking about it. “If you want, but I don’t think we have to do anything of the sort.”

           Joonmyeon mirrored her expression, “But… I thought you wanted… to…”

           “I’m sorry, have I been pushing you into thinking that?” she asked with an incredulous expression on her face. She didn’t think she was, believing the biggest thing she probably did in seduction was sit on his lap.

           “No!” Joonmyeon reached out to put his hands on her shoulders, “No! It’s just… usually when couples go on trips… they do that sort of thing.”

           She placed a hand on his wrist, keeping a reassuring grip. Her expression was serious as she tried to be comforting, “Joonmyeon. If you don’t want to, then we don’t have to. I’m fine keeping your pace.”

           Unable to believe her, he let the first thing slip out on his tongue, “You and Sehun had lots of when you dated.”

           Joonmyeon felt nails dig into his wrist, but he tried to look unphased by it, watching her face flit through emotions, unsure where to settle. “Are you… comparing yourself with my ex-husband?”

           “No,” he lied.

           “Oh my gosh, you are!” Irene took a step back, staring at him. “I’ve been wondering why you seemed a little odd after you met him, but you’ve been comparing between you two!”

           Joonmyeon blushed, like he’s been caught, “Well… okay, sometimes, but Irene… he’s Oh Sehun, one of the country’s most recognizable models! I’m… just a doctor.”

           “Oh, dear lord,” Irene sighed, throwing an article of clothing on her bed to show how frustrated she was. “So, let me get this straight: you, Dr. Kim Joonmyeon, who’s been faithfully dedicated to your late wife to her dying day, who’s been treating me like an absolute princess and selflessly has been truth to me about pretty much everything, are comparing yourself to Oh Sehun, my ex-husband who cheated on me during our marriage for four years, placed his career before me, and rarely showed me affection?”

           Joonmyeon pouted and looked away, knowing she was clearly right. He was being a bit ridiculous at trying to compare himself to her cheater of an ex-husband. “When you put it that way… yes…?” he winced.

           “Unbelievable,” she mumbled before throwing another article of clothing for the heck of it. “Just because Sehun and I had lots of in college when we were young and stupid many years ago, doesn’t mean I want the same from you. I want what you, Dr. Kim Joonmyeon, are willing to give me at your own pace.” She took a step to poke his chest. “And if you think, even for a moment, that I’m comparing you to Sehun, then don’t. There’s a reason I divorced him and a reason I’m dating you.”

           Joonmyeon gulped and decided to just go for the biggest worry that’s been knowing at him for the past month, “So you’re… not settling…?”

           “No,” she glared, “What makes you think that? Because you’re not a model? Because we’re not having ? Because you’re not as rich?”

           Unable to come up with a real reason that he realized was really stupid, he took a step back. “I just… Henry was getting in my head.”

           “Well he can’t even hold a relationship for a week so don’t listen to him.” Irene threw another article of clothes on the bed before she took a deep breath and approached him, placing her arms around him, giving him a hug. “Joonmyeon, I like you for you and I can’t wait to further our relationship, but I don’t like it when your doubting our relationship.”

 🐱 🐶

           It was rather early in the morning for the dog to wake up. She found herself pulling her head into the mattress, wanting to hide from whatever light was on. She tried to cover her face, but she couldn’t feel for the blanket or pillow, so she used her hand instead. When that wasn’t sufficient, she growled in irritation, feeling the arm around her stomach tighten.

           “No growl,” he requested, “Just sleep.”

           “It’s too bright,” she groaned, turning into the warm body. She barely registered the tail wrapped around her when she realized why it was bright. She sat up quickly with a gasp, before looking at the window, and then the ray of sun warming her body. Apparently, she and the cat found themselves sleeping the wrong way on the bed, basking in the warmth.

           “The sun’s out!” she cheered, crawling over back to the right side of the bed to lean against the wooden headboard to look at the snowy wet world with amazement. She saw clouds in the distance, and she hoped they wouldn’t come back. She missed the warmth the sun provided, wanting to lay in cool green grass and watch the occasional cloud turn into an obscure thing. Then an idea popped into her head, and she crawled back to the Cat, shaking him.

           “Jongdae~” she sang, “Let’s go outside while the sun’s out!”

           The cat hummed, barely awake. “No… sleep.”

           “You can sleep after we go outside!” she begged, wanting to take the chance to roam the neighborhood. “Get up!”

           When the cat wouldn’t budge, his tail flickering to the side, Wendy pouted. She easily could have gone outside by herself, however she wanted the cat to be with her. She’s been fantasizing about nature walks while holding hands, and then she thought that maybe she should cut back on the romantic historical British fanfiction she’s been reading.

           The cat wasn’t responding to her shaking, “Up! I want to go take a walk with you! We can get some fresh air and we can hold hands!”

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