Hae-Yeon

 
“Jungkook?” I gasp, twisting my torso a little more to look at him.

“You don’t want to wake up Haewon, do you, Sarang?” He emphasizes his words by softly grazing the back of his hand over my forearm, and I only lightly shake my head in response, not realizing that he wouldn’t know what I just did.

My mouth is wide open in astonishment, and my eyes are glued to his face. It completely takes me by surprise when he mouths a ‘good’ and loosens his grip around my waist, wordlessly telling me that he sensed even that little shake of my head which I thought I did ever so subtly.

I rise from the recliner and allow him to get up too, and he holds his hand out to me. I look down at his hand and back up at his face, and he smiles, pushing his hand out a little more.

“Will you be my cane, Sarang?” His question makes my heart melt into a puddle within my chest, and my eyes suddenly grow moist with a film of tears.

“Yes, I will.” Smiling, I hold his hand, wrapping my fingers around his palm as we walk out of the nursery.

“To my room, please,” he requests me once we’re out the door, and I oblige as if in a trance.

When we’re inside, I lead him to his bed and release my hold on his hand. Jungkook sits down on his bed while I bring the chair closer to his bed and sit down on it, facing him.

“How did you know?” I ask him, wanting to put my curiosity to rest by feeding it the answers it is craving for.

“You wouldn’t be mad or anything if I told you, would you?” He asks me with an adorable pout on his lips.

“I promise, I won’t be mad. I’m just curious,” I smile, observing everything about him and feeling my heart beating differently when I’m around him.

“Taehyung told me,” he reveals timidly.

“What?” My eyebrows shoot skyward in shock and surprise. “Taehyung knows? How?” I fire my questions in rapid succession.

He then tells me how it all happened, and how he knew about it just this morning. As the information unfolds, I don’t feel let down or anything because Taehyung did the right thing by holding the truth back all these days. Today, it just happened to burst out of him when he was agitated. But I’m thankful it did because, if not for Taehyung, I don’t think Jake and I would have ever met each other so soon.

“I should thank Taehyung, really,” a chuckle escapes my lips, and Jungkook chuckles too.

“I need to thank him too. He writes everything for me. Even the letters,” Jungkook explains, and it also justifies the lousy handwriting in all the letters.

I would let that all pass though.

“I had no clue until you gave me the cardigan,” I admit, lowering my head a little and smiling big to myself.

“I wanted it to be something very personal, something that would mean a lot to just you and me and not to anyone else. The cardigan was the only thing I could think of. It truly means a lot to me, Sarang,” Jungkook gently reaches out to place his hand on my knee, and then he locates my hand, taking hold of it thereafter.

“I’m so happy we finally met. This feels like a dream,” I’m unable to contain my happiness, and I even feel a few distant happy tears forming in my eyes once again.

It truly feels like a dream come true to sit inside the same room and have such an intimate conversation with him on a pleasant night as tonight. And who else would I want such a thing to happen with other than Jake?

“I can’t even begin to tell you how I feel right now. This… I don’t really know. This is a wholesome feeling, Sarang. Do you mind if I keep calling you Sarang?” He questions me with raised eyebrows; his eyes rounding innocently.

“I don’t mind, Jungkook. I’m Sarang just for you,” I curl my fingers around his fingers when he begins to swipe them back and forth over my knuckles.

“That feels so personal and intimate… You’re Sarang only for me,” he repeats, smiling proudly. “I would love to call you that. But I will also try my best to call you by your real name, Hae-Yeon,” his fingers slip through the gaps in between mine, causing a shudder to run up my spine.

“How would you like me to call you? Jungkook or Jake?” I ask him softly, interlocking our hands together and resting them on his thighs.

“I’m Jake to the world, and I’m Jungkook to myself and those close to me. You could call me however you wish to call me. I’d be okay with anything,” he states calmly.

“I’d like to call you Jungkook then.”

“Very well,” Jungkook nods appreciatively, and then he rises from the bed, making me do the same from my chair. “Sarang,” he calls me.

“Yes?” I hold his hand securely.

“I want to see you,” he voices out his request, and I do not understand what he means by that.

Is that a wish?

When I remain silent, he explains his point.

“I see with all my other senses. And I’ve been imagining you within my mind all these days. Now I really want to see you,” he explains, causing another mighty chill to go up and down my spine.

“I hope I don’t disappoint you,” I chuckle nervously, gripping his hand a bit tighter without realizing it.

“You never disappoint. Now, may I see you? I’m sorry, I’m a little impatient when it comes to you,” he lets go of my hands and uses his hands to push all the hair out of his forehead.

“Sure,” I return my hands to my side and stand like an awkward potato, not knowing what to expect now.

Jungkook brings his hands to my face, and I reflexively lean backwards, avoiding his touch, despite the entire reason why I’m standing in front of him right now is to allow him to see me with all his senses, which, of course, includes being touched and felt by him.

“Are you leaning back? Is something wrong?” Jungkook’s smooth voice cuts through the silence in the room, and I shake my head, not knowing if he would have known that I just said no with my head.

“I- I’m sorry. Nothing is wrong. I’m right here,” I take his hands which are now resting on his sides and bring them to my face.

My body instantly freezes stiff under his touch.

Jungkook lets his hands crawl up to the top of my head, softly ruffling my hair and rubbing a tuft of hair between his index finger and thumb.

“Your hair feels so soft,” he whispers in a voice much deeper than his usual, and I lightly gulp, giving a smile.

He steps closer and dips his neck a bit, inhaling deeply. “Strawberries? Smells delicious,” he detects the fragrance of shampoo on my hair with a nod as he takes a step back while I die in silence from having him this close to me.

“I want you to be vocal.” Jungkook asserts, and I say a soft ‘okay’ with a few quick nods of my head, which, of course, he can feel now because his hands are on my head.

Letting out an amused chuckle, he moves closer, exhaling and inhaling at a steady pace while my breathing already seems strained, and I lost control of the beats of my heart a long time ago.

He lets his hands drift to my forehead, to my temples and over my eyebrows and eyes where my eyelids fall shut in defense.

“I knew you’d have beautiful big eyes,” the way he says that while delicately caressing my closed eyelids and eyelashes causes a weirdly nice feeling within my chest.

His hands then move down to my cheeks while his thumbs trace the contours of my nose, stroking and feeling up every detail on my face. His palms stay on my cheeks while his thumbs move down to my upper lip, causing my lips to part slightly and then to my lower lip, delicately rubbing over my sensitive lower lip from side to side.

My body shudders, and low moans begin to build up at the back of my throat. Yet, they’re too shy to make their way out.

Never before have I been touched like this, not by a man, not by a woman, not by anyone, and what I’m experiencing right now feels like something that I could get totally addicted to—a dangerous and powerful drug.

Being the first time experiencing the touch of a man—the manliest man—my whole body and all my senses are going crazy already.

But I soon realize that it makes no sense to keep my eyes closed and deny my eyes of the beautiful sight of his face. So I quickly open my eyes and notice the smirk of his inviting lips.

“Your nose is pretty,” Jungkook states with a smile. “And your lips are so....soft and tender.” He adds with a mischievous smirk.

I smile.

“Mhm…” is all that I manage to hum when his thumb leaves my lips.

His hands stroke the sides of my neck so delicately yet with a firmness that sends high-voltage electricity sparking through my nerves.

Jungkook hums deeply in approval as his hands glide down over my shoulders, his thumbs dipping into the hollow over my collarbones.

Every hair fiber on my body stands on its end, and my nipples perk up when his hands slide past my shoulders and down my arms and hands. His palms and fingers take in every detail as they finally reach my fingers, and he takes them in his hands, softly tracing over my fingernails with the pads of his fingers.

“What color have you painted your nails?” He asks me, bringing my hands to his nose and inhaling the smell.

“I don’t grow out or paint my nails since I work with babies,” I respond, and he nods his head a few times.

“What color would you like to paint them if you were ever to do that?”

“Um? Sea blue?” I answer, making it sound more like a question.

“I don’t know how sea blue looks...never seen…” he laughs softly. “Is that your favorite color?” I answer his question with a soft ‘yeah’.

Nodding, he sniffs my hand very gently. “Your hands smell really nice...like roses?” He quirks a brow, and I feel my guts churning seeing the emptiness in his eyes which seem so alive and attractive yet completely curtaining his vision with nothing but blackness.

“That’s my hand cream,” I chuckle lightly, and he laughs too, scrunching his nose a bit, his attractive lips forming into an adorable toothy, bunny smile.

Jungkook continues his exploration by running his hands back up my arms and to my shoulders once again. He then moves them down my chest while I hold my breath and keep my wide eyes down on his hands that are traveling down my body.

My chin is down, and I’m so drawn into the way his hands move innocently over my breasts that I don’t right away notice the way his breathing pattern changes. Only after noticing it do I realize that I have been holding the air in my lungs for a while now.

I blow the air out when his hands move to my waist, gently tracing my curves with his flattened palms. He then takes a step closer to me and moves his hands to the small of my back, and I hold my breath once again.

Jungkook allows his hands to traverse the expanse of my back by moving his hands up my spine, and I miserably fail to keep up with anything that’s going on around me anymore. I don’t even know if I’m alive.

The touch feels ticklish even with my shirt on, and more so when his hands reach my upper back. His hands then trail down my sides to feel the curves of my hips and then to my bottom.

Jungkook pauses his movements for just a heartbeat before he lets his hands trace over the curve of my ass all the way to the bottom. He keeps his hands stuck in place for a whole five seconds while I keep my gaze dead set on him, completely malfunctioning on the inside.

He, finally, decides that he is done seeing me. Removing his hands from my bottom, he moves them to my back and wraps himself around me in a warm and tight embrace. I hug him back, resting the side of my face beneath his shoulder. My hands settle on his back, and my heart is overjoyed by how natural and heavenly it feels to be in his arms.

All the days and nights of longing to be with him culminates in this beautiful moment that makes my heart swell with joy.

“You’re so beautiful, Hae-Yeon,” he says in a muffled, low voice, his hands gently caressing my spine. “So soft and feminine. I already liked you so much, and now, I can’t even describe the way I just fell in love with your curves,” Jungkook pulls back to face me, his face pink, and his smile wide and blushy.

My face feels hot, and I bet I felt an entire zoo squirming inside the pit of my stomach when I heard him appreciate my body.

It is definitely the first time I’m hearing body-positive words, and that too from someone I absolutely adore, who literally saw me with his two hands.

“Thank you, this is the first time I’m hearing something nice about my body. You’re making me feel weird in the stomach,” I try to stifle my shy giggle, in vain.

“Expect to hear it a lot because I know I’m going to keep telling it all the time…” Jungkook softly fondles my arm. “Weird feeling? I hope it’s the good kind of weird. Because that’s what I’m feeling right now,” he confidently wraps his hand around my waist and pulls us a little closer.

My hands fall on his naked chest, and I delicately feel his soft and warm skin with my fingers. It feels as though my heart is beating in every inch of my body, and a knot forms inside my stomach.

“It is the best kind of weird, Jungkook,” my voice lowers to a whisper, and I fight another moan when the front of his hips press into mine.

He suddenly leans closer and whispers directly into my ear, “I just learned something more about you, and it is eventually going to cost my sleep tonight.” He gently squeezes my waist, making my mouth fall agape.

“What is it?” I ask him cluelessly, but he doesn’t answer that.

Wordlessly, Jungkook guides us both to the bed, and he sits down on it while I’m a little hesitant to do that.

“Please sit near me, Hae-Yeon,” he places a hand on the spot right next to him on the bed.

I do as he asks of me, and he holds my hand once again.

“Are you sleepy?” His thumb resumes making circles on the back of my hand.

“Not really. I think, knowing that you are Jake has already cost my sleep.” I answer truthfully.

“Sarang, are you not weirded out by my blindness?” His ethereal voice resonates in the space between us, and my eyes flick up to meet his eyes.

“Why would it weird me out, Jungkook? I have always liked you immensely, even before we met, and above and beyond what words could explain. I already knew that the moment I met you, I would like you even more no matter what. Your thoughts, your words, your music, and your company in general have given me reasons to smile and exist. Nothing else matters to me,” my fingers lace through his, and I hold his hand tight, admiring the way our hands fit so perfectly.

“Thank you, Sarang.” His blackberry eyes glimmer in the dark, and his lips stretch into a sweet smile. “I was afraid you’d be repelled or sympathetic. But my heart kept telling me that you wouldn’t do any of that,” he slowly raises our joined hands to his face level and presses a kiss to the back of my hand.

The contact sends shivers spiraling through my nerves, and I have no idea how I’m surviving all of this.

We both remain silent for a little while more, but it is a comfortable and natural silence that envelops us and not a forced one where we do not know what to say to each other. Jungkook does not let go of my hand, but a long yawn leaves him after a while.

I’m not feeling an ounce of sleepiness, but I know that he’s in need of some precious sleep now. However, when I try to untangle our fingers, he grabs my hand and turns his head my way.

“Can I lay my head on your lap?” His question hangs in the air in total silence.

The silence, however, is only on the outside. Inside me, I can literally hear my blood coursing through every vein in my body, and my heart does a massive backflip like never before.

“Sure,” I say softly, and in the few seconds that follow my consent, Jungkook slips on the cardigan and lays his head on my lap, lifting his legs and placing them on the bed thereafter.

“So, is the challenge complete? Or do you need a photograph?” He questions me with a wide grin, making me chuckle and lightly caress the embroidered pattern on his left chest.

“Could there be a better way to complete this challenge?” I ask him with a smile, and he laughs softly in response.

He turns around to one side, and as if it is a natural response, my hand moves to his shoulder and starts to offer comforting strokes. Jungkook remains completely silent, and his tense shoulders relax quickly, telling me that he has fallen asleep.

I take the privilege to thread my fingers through his dark locks and push them out of his face. The soft movements and gentle touches make him swiftly plunge into a deep slumber.

After a while, I carefully rise from the bed, and before I move back to the nursery, I take a moment to look at his gorgeous sleeping face. His closed eyes give off a heavenly and ethereal aura which is further accentuated by his silky hair strands that flutter ever so gently. It almost feels to me as if the photograph of him is recreated within his room tonight.

Everything about tonight feels magical and dreamlike, and it would take me an entire lifetime to get over the way he made me feel tonight.

The steady but soft breathing movements of his body clad in the warm cardigan put me at ease, and the sight of him makes sure my smile is unfading, and if falling in love feels like this, then I have no doubts that I am falling. Fast and deep, but strongly and surely.
 

This is one of my most favorite chapters in this story!
💕

Published on : 09/22/2023