Chapter Text
Time seemed to stand still while Hyunjin’s lips were on yours. When he eventually did break the kiss, reaching up to trail one fingertip down the side of your face, you stared at him, eyes wide, painfully aware that you were some horrifying shade of bright red. He pressed his forehead to yours and closed his eyes.
You were convinced that your heart was going to beat out of your chest.
“We… should probably talk, I think,” you managed to get out as you caught your breath.
“Likely so,” Hyunjin replied quietly, opening his eyes, pulling away and letting you out of his hold just a bit.
“I–” You started.
“I should have said something sooner,” he said quickly, beating you to the punch. “I was trying to be respectful. I know you just ended things with Aiden. Less than a month ago, at that. I didn't want to be that person who swoops in without even giving you a chance to take a breath.”
“It’s okay,” you told him, biting your lip. “I appreciate that. I really should have said something, myself. But I wasn’t sure how you felt, so I didn’t want to say anything at all and be wrong in my assumptions,” you babbled, somewhat conscious of the fact that you were prattling on nervously as you wrung your hands in your lap.
Shut up, self. Oh my god just stop. Shut up and let him talk or something.
“I’ve been burned before by assuming someone was into me... So I kept telling myself we’re just friends, that's all,” you continued anyway. “And I didn’t want to mess everything up, but I really care about you a lot, and I hope you–”
He kissed you again, wrapping his arms around you tightly, and you snaked your arms lower, around his torso, your heart racing again as he nipped lightly at your lip, continuing to place long, languid kisses on you, bringing a hand up to thread his fingers through your hair. When he moved away again, you looked at him sheepishly.
“Was I rambling a bit too much for you?” You giggled.
“You seemed like you needed some grounding,” he smiled again, letting you go fully to lean back, tracing your features as he continued to study you. “Red is a good color on you,” he added, and you covered your face with your hands, letting out a groan.
“Oh stop.”
“Don’t,” he said, reaching for your hands, pulling them away so he could look at you. “Why are you hiding?”
“I don’t really know,” you admitted, letting him take your hands in his. “Habit? I’m not really used to this sort of treatment.”
It was true. It had been a very long time since anyone had paid you this sort of attention. Aiden hadn’t really been the romantic type. You already guessed that Hyunjin was quite different.
“Well,” Hyunjin said, squeezing your hands. “If you’ll have me, I’d like to continue giving you this sort of treatment… if that’s okay with you.”
“What are you saying?” You raised an eyebrow. You felt you knew what he meant, but you needed to hear it, flat out.
“I want to be with you,” he admitted. “I have for a while, in all honesty. But your situation was…”
“Complicated, I know,” you finished. “But I’d been so far checked out of it for a while. I guess it wasn’t fair of me on either account. I strung him along, and I kind of… delayed this talk,” you sighed. "I'm so sorry."
“You were in a difficult spot,” Hyunjin told you. “Trust me, I noticed. It's more than okay."
“God, how embarrassing,” you looked down, making a face. “I never did thank you, by the way, for what you did, dragging Aiden out of here like that. I think he’ll stay away.”
“I should hope so,” Hyunjin said sharply. “I meant what I said on all accounts."
“Huh?”
“I told you,” he caressed the back of your hand, tracing the mark he had left on you. “That I was going to protect you. And I meant that.”
“So what now?” You wondered aloud.
“Well,” he said, clasping your left hand between his own gently. “I know that we’re together all the time, but I would like to take you on a proper date.”
“Hyunjin,” you said hesitantly. Had he even thought about the fact that you were mortal? “What about my–”
“Your mortality? I know. Trust me, I know.” He frowned. “Your time is finite. It’s something I’ve been dwelling on. But I still want you. I promise.”
“Okay,” you said gently. “If you’re sure.”
“Are you?” He asked.
“What?”
“Are you sure that this is what you want? That I’m what you want?”
You moved closer to him again, fitting yourself into his arms and resting your head on his shoulder. He was quick to wind his arms around you once more, holding you close.
“Definitely.”
—
Between the excitement and energy you were feeling from your newly established relationship with Hyunjin, and the brain fog that continued to plague you, finals were on you before you knew it. Hyunjin had graciously agreed to review and edit your term paper for grammar and readability and you were so thankful for his help. You weren’t entirely sure some of the later paragraphs you’d written made sense. But he was patient, working long hours with you to make sure it was well-polished and ready to turn in on time. When you finally hit the submit button on the website you were supposed to turn it in to, you felt as though a weight had been lifted. You’d worked so hard.
Naturally, this meant you’d be livid if you got anything less than an A.
Meanwhile, you were still in a tizzy over everything else. Part of you felt like all of the information you’d studied and absorbed over the semester had just vanished. Despite this, Hyunjin insisted that you keep to a schedule during finals week that was similar to what the two of you had done during your midterms. Since it had worked so well at keeping your stress levels low, you agreed again to humor him.
“Cramming isn’t going to help you,” he reminded you the Friday before finals week as you sat, firmly glued to your study room chair, reviewing your notes for what seemed like the millionth time.
“You and your logic,” you muttered. He laughed softly and moved his chair closer to yours, reaching out to rub your back comfortingly. You moved your chair right next to his, closing the gap so you could lean your head on his shoulder, and he wrapped an arm around you, kissing the top of your head.
“I need to tell you something,” he said suddenly.
“Huh?”
“I know this really isn’t the time considering you’re stressed about school,” he said cautiously, “but I wanted you to know that Soren gave me an ultimatum. He wants to meet you on the 11th– the Monday after next. If we don’t show, well, I can’t see you anymore.”
“The 11th it is,” you mumbled, trying to ignore the queasy feeling you felt. What if Soren found out somehow, about your power? What if things went south? Being in a houseful of vampires didn’t really strike you as a great idea, considering you were a walking meal-- even if Hyunjin had marked you as his.
At least I have the concert to look forward to on the other end, I guess.
“It’s just a quick meeting,” Hyunjin assured you. “He knows nothing about you. I think this is mostly for his benefit, anyway. He knows I’m a good judge of character, I always have been… well, for the most part. I do know that you are an amazing person. That’s not the problem, though.”
“Let me guess,” you said glumly. “The problem is that I’m a living breathing human, and he’s still scared I’ll blab to everyone about all of you.”
“Bingo. Not to mention he’s concerned that I’ll fuck up again. But I’ve been extremely cautious around you, since that first… incident.”
“Ugh,” You grumbled, resting your head on the table in front of you instead. Hyunjin resumed rubbing your back.
“Let’s change the subject… we haven’t talked yet about that date I wanted to take you on.”
“Nothing fancy,” you said quickly. “Please. It’s not really my speed. Especially for a first date.”
“So no Ruth’s Chris?” He chuckled. “I’m joking,” he clarified as you grumbled under your breath.
“Absolutely not, don’t be ridiculous,” you finally spoke up. I mean, we can do steak if you want, but a fancy place like that is going overboard. Plus, it’s expensive as hell. I looked at the menu online once just for funsies, and whew. If you're going to pay fifty dollars for a steak that cow had better be doing the dishes afterwards, too."
“Maybe for our first anniversary,” he mused, grunting as you elbowed him.
“I’ll consider it.”
“So what did you have in mind, then?”
You pondered for a few minutes.
“Oh! Let’s go bowling. And then pizza after.”
“I’m terrible at bowling,” he said with another laugh. “You really have no idea. It's shameful."
“Me too,” you sat up to grin at him. “It’d be so fun. Whoever has the worst score can buy the pizza.”
“I’m buying the pizza,” he told you firmly. “Regardless. I’m the one who asked you on this date.”
“Okay, well we will just have to out-terrible each other at something else later on,” you giggled, “because I think that would be super fun to have a contest like that. Biggest loser buys dinner. Mini-golf?”
“Also bad at that,” Hyunjin wrinkled his nose.
“I’m pretty sure I might be worse,” you nudged him. “Won’t know til we try. So. Bowling and pizza, yes?"
"You got it," he said, kissing your cheek.
"Cool, we should research pizza places."
“Don’t you have studying to do?” He laughed and pointed to the pile of books and papers in front of you.
“Yeah…” You sighed, handing him your study guides and scooting away so you couldn’t see the answers. “Here, quiz me. Please.”
“I can do that. But I think we should start your finals week schedule this weekend, so you don’t work yourself into a panic before Monday even gets here.”
“But–”
“No buts. You can have allotted study time every day, but you’re also going to get lots of relaxation time in…” He paused. “Is that okay with you? You don’t have to, of course. I just know this was helpful before. I’m not trying to force you into anything, I promise.” His last words came out in a rush, as if he really thought he was being pushy.
“Oh I know,” you told him. “You’re absolutely right. For what it’s worth, I appreciate you looking out for me.”
“Why wouldn’t I? I do like you an awful lot,” he winked at you. “In case you were unaware.”
“I had heard rumors,” you giggled.
He leaned over and kissed you softly.
“They’re all true.” He shuffled the papers he was holding. “Okay, are you ready?”
“Yeah. Hit me.”
“Okay. According to behavioral psychologists, which of the following treatments is most likely to extinguish disruptive behavior in preschool children?”
—
True to his word, Hyunjin gave you four hours per day to study over the weekend, and throughout finals week. The rest was spent in the same fashion as during midterms, with one alteration– instead of sitting on opposite ends of the couch as before, Hyunjin held you close while the two of you watched TV, and you were more than happy about this development. You’d been feeling exceptionally touch-starved since things with you and Aiden had turned sour. In sharp contrast, you and Hyunjin couldn’t seem to keep your hands off one another– and you weren’t complaining. His presence had already been a comfort to you. But as you lay there one evening, watching Parks and Rec for the umpteenth time as Hyunjin cuddled you under a blanket, you felt truly happy. It was a nice change from recent months.
As the week wore on, you were increasingly anxious to get to Friday– both because it was the day of your hardest exam-- Dr. Chambers’ class, and your date with Hyunjin.
You finished the exam quickly that morning, double and triple-checking your work, and were the first to hand it in, ignoring Dr. Chambers’ eye roll. He knew you were an overachiever, you’d made that clear throughout the semester.
But does he have to be such an ass? Can’t wait to have him again down the road. Yuck.
You rushed home after, desperate for a nap before you had to get ready for your date. You’d made Hyunjin stay over at his own house that day, worried that all the days he’d been spending with you were going to make Soren even more irritable.
A few hours later, after your nap and a quick shower, you stood in front of the full length mirror in your room, at a loss for what to wear. Light makeup and hair were done, but the outfit situation had you perplexed.
It was just Hyunjin. You were close friends.
Who also now happened to be dating.
After pulling out and discarding half a dozen outfits, you texted Nyla and Dany as you paced across your room, still in your underwear.
You [4:38pm]: Guys I don’t know what to wear on this date
Nyla [4:38pm]: Clothes
You [4:39pm]: Ha ha ha very funny smartass
Dany [4:39pm]: Where did you say y’all were going again? Bowling? Aren’t you terrible at bowling? We always get you the bumpers when we all go haha
You [4:40pm]: So is he, that’s the point. It’s going to be so fun. And funny, for that matter
Dany [4:41pm]: Jeans. Maybe a cute sweater? And chucks
Nyla [4:42pm]: Seconded. No need to dress up. Except maybe UNDER your clothes. ;) And in THAT case, you should definitely wear that cute lacy black set you got last time we were all out shopping.
You [4:42pm]: NYLA!!!
Nyla [4:43pm]: What? Just thinking ahead.
You [4:44pm] We haven’t done… anything yet really.
Dany [4:45pm]: What is he trying to pull an Edward Cullen on you or something? "Bella stop taking your clothes off!" LOLOLOL
You took a moment to cackle at the fact that Dany had just made a Twilight joke about Hyunjin-- and she had no idea what he was.
You [4:45pm]: No, we just… haven’t made that step. We haven’t even been on an actual like. Labeled date yet.
Nyla [4:46pm]: Your self control is legendary. If I were with a guy that hot… let’s just say there’s be no way I wouldn’t have jumped his bones yet
Dany [4:46pm]: Right???
Dany [4:46pm]: You know we’re not pressuring you right? Just messing. You do you.
You [4:47pm]: Yeah I know. :p
Nyla [4:48pm]: She’s probably been doing herself for a while Dany ;)))
Nyla [4:48pm]: Needs some vitamin D… the real kind
You [4:49pm]: Nyla!!! OH MY GOD.
Dany [4:50pm]: Is she wrong
You [4:50pm]: … No. But I have to go get dressed now he's gonna be here in like 10 minutes
Nyla [4:51pm]: Don’t do anything we wouldn’t do
You [4:51pm]: I’m not even touching that one. Bye nerds, talk to you later
You took your friends’ advice, throwing on one of your nicer pairs of jeans, pairing it with a deep green fuzzy sweater. You waffled on the chucks, and decided at the last minute to put on boots instead. After looking at yourself in the mirror, you sighed and changed the boots for the chucks, after all.
Why is this such a big deal? He’s seen me when I've just woken up, and when I’ve been dirty and all banged up. It’ll probably be fine.
The doorbell sounded and you raced to the door, peeking through the peephole to see Hyunjin standing there. You unlocked the door to let him in, and he immediately pulled you in for a kiss.
“You look pretty,” he whispered against your lips. “Then again, you always do.”
“Flatterer,” you laughed, pulling away from him to grab your coat. You were glad to see he hadn’t really dressed up either, just jeans and a button-down similar to the one he’d worn at Thanksgiving.
“It’s not flattery if it’s true,” he laughed. “Are you ready to go?”
“Yeah, sure.”
You and Hyunjin departed for the bowling alley. You were surprised that it was him who suggested getting the bumpers, but you wouldn’t allow it.
“No sir. That would decrease the comedic value of this whole affair.”
“You’re silly,” he shook his head, grinning. “But that’s valid.”
The following couple hours were filled with a lot of laughter as the two of you teased each other. You decided to go for worst out of five– and Hyunjin won.
Or lost, as it were.
“Okay,” you giggled as the two of you put up the bowling balls and returned your shoes. “You really are the worst bowler I’ve ever seen. Congratulations, or something.”
He swept you up into a tight hug, planting a firm kiss on your lips, before releasing you and taking your hand as you made your way back to his car.
“You’re lucky I like you,” he looked at you sideways with a small smile. “All this teasing…”
“I know,” you snorted. “Still not sure why, but I’m not knocking it. As for the teasing, that’s something you’ll have to get used to.”
“Don’t dish it out if you can’t take it,” he winked as he opened the passenger door for you.
“Bring it on,” you replied, raising an eyebrow.
You’d decided on a newer pizza joint, instead of your standard one, just in case Dany and Nyla had any ideas to peek in on you and Hyunjin. You didn’t think they’d do that, but all the same, you also liked to try new places, so this was a win-win.
“I’m excited to see the concert with you on Tuesday,” he told you as you waited on your pizza. “I noticed you put a lot of Andrew on the playlist you made me, and he’s really good.”
“He’s even better live,” you told Hyunjin as you munched on a mozzarella stick. “You’re in for a treat.”
“I can imagine. I know you’re excited.”
“Are you kidding? I’m psyched. This is the perfect way to de-stress after all the craziness lately.”
“Do you have plans this weekend?” He tilted his head. You immediately got butterflies- it was so different for your significant other to want to spend so much time with you.
“Mani-pedi date with Dany and Nyla tomorrow morning, but otherwise nothing since Annika said I still can’t work yet. Why, did you have something in mind?”
“Movie marathon?”
“Deal. But-- in pajamas, and there has to be junk food.”
“You drive a hard bargain.”
“Take or leave it.” You giggle-snorted, and he laughed. “What movies?” You asked as an afterthought.
“How about… Marvel. Starting at the beginning of the MCU? We can go in chronological order.”
“Ah yes, the best order. Sounds like a plan.”
The rest of the date went by quickly, and before you knew it you were home again, and he was bidding you goodnight, encouraging you to sleep early as he knew you hadn’t slept well all week.
Naturally, this meant that the two of you were texting until you did fall asleep.
Hyunjin [9:00pm]: What kind of junk food this weekend? I’ll go shopping tonight
You [9:01pm]: I already ordered grocery delivery for tomorrow afternoon. Assortment of chips and candy, a couple different dips for the chips, soda, Oreos, Chips Ahoy
Hyunjin [9:02pm]: What kind of chips?
You [9:03pm]: Cheetos puffs, sour cream and onion, salt and vinegar, and some regular Fritos and non-flavored chips for dipping purposes
Hyunjin [9:04pm]: Cheetos puffs?? When crunchy is superior?? Are you mad?
You [9:05pm]: Excuse you, puffs are clearly the best!
Hyunjin [9:06pm]: I suppose you are entitled to your wrong opinion...
You [9:06pm]: I added a bag of crunchy to the order, just for you. :p Goober
Hyunjin [9:07pm]: You’re so good to me
You [9:08pm]: Never would have guessed that the way to a vampire’s heart was through crunchy Cheetos
Hyunjin [9:09pm]: You learn something new every day. Hah
You [9:10pm]: Ok. I'm getting sleepy. Do you want to plan to be here tomorrow around 5? I know that’s kind of early still so if you want to start later we can.
Hyunjin [9:10pm]: 7? I need my beauty sleep. And I need to feed before I come over
You [9:11pm]: Beauty sleep. Says the most handsome man I’ve ever met. Ok, silly
Hyunjin [9:12pm]: Am I really? :o
You [9:12pm]: Uhhhh. Yes. Duh. No contest. :)
Hyunjin [9:13pm]: If only I could blush. You’re too sweet.
You [9:14pm]: Only as sweet as I mean to be. Either way I’m right so deal with it. <3
Hyunjin [9:15pm]: I’ll let you have your opinion about my being handsome but your Cheetos stance is still questionable at best
You [9:16pm]: Psh. Ok. Goodnight. I’ll see you tomorrow
Hyunjin [9:17pm]: Sleep well and have sweet dreams.
—
The weekend passed in an enjoyable fashion, between the time with Dany and Nyla and the movies with Hyunjin.
But all too soon, it was Monday, and you were absolutely dreading the meeting with Soren.
“He’s probably going to touch you… at least kiss your hand in greeting,” Hyunjin warned that evening as he drove the two of you out to the clan’s house, just outside the city. “There’s really no way around it, I don’t think. He’s not great with boundaries at times.”
“Super,” you mumbled as you stared out the window. “I guess there are worse things though.”
“You may be right.”
He pulled up to an enormous house situated in the middle of a large piece of land, with nothing else around it, and you thought for a moment about making another Twilight joke, but kept it to yourself.
You were trying your best to stay calm, but the fact that you were about to enter a house full of vampires had you on edge. Not to mention what Hyunjin had just told you about Soren.
Hyunjin led you inside, and you clutched his hand tightly as he showed you to the den, where a blonde vampire sat, clearly awaiting your arrival. He rose from his seat as you drew near, and Hyunjin dropped your hand, standing just behind you as Soren murmured your name in greeting.
“Well well, we meet at last,” Soren said smoothly, reaching for your left hand, bringing it to his lips to place a light kiss on your knuckles. He immediately noticed the mark, and turned your hand to get a better look.
“You didn’t tell me you’d marked her,” Soren told Hyunjin curtly. “She must be quite a good pet to have earned that.”
A pet? What was Soren talking about? You were Hyunjin’s girlfriend. Weren’t you? Wasn’t that what the two of you had decided? Hadn’t he told Soren? You immediately delved into Soren’s thoughts as he released you and took a step back to size you up.
You were met with a fair amount of disdain and judgment. Soren wasn’t happy that Hyunjin was spending all his time with a human, that was evident. But he seemed to be telling himself that you were Hyunjin’s human pet, nothing more.
And Hyunjin had yet to correct him, you noticed.
Regardless of what was on his mind, however, Soren retained a polite exterior.
“I felt it was prudent considering how I treated her to begin with,” Hyunjin finally piped up regarding the mark. “I owed her.”
“If you say so,” Soren said dryly, raising an eyebrow. He turned his gaze back down to you. “And is he taking good care of you? No more little… accidents, shall we say?”
“Yes, it’s been fine,” you stammered. “He’s been careful.”
“That’s what I like to hear. Very well,” he clasped his hands in front of him, deep red eyes boring into you. “You can keep her, Hyunjin. But don’t get careless. Remember what I told you.”
“I won’t,” Hyunjin replied quickly. "I remember."
“You may go,” Soren told the both of you. “Thank you for meeting me. I needed to lay eyes on you, at the least.”
“I haven’t told anyone about any of you,” you said hurriedly. “I would never. I swear.”
“Hyunjin told me you were a woman of your word. That pleases me. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” you replied, still nervous and somewhat confused by this whole encounter. Hyunjin still hadn’t spoken up about your true relationship status.
You decided to brush it off. Maybe this was… whatever Soren was envisioning. Then again, Hyunjin was too kind, too caring. He never missed an opportunity to remind you how he felt about you, especially now that the two of you had talked things out.
It’s probably fine.
Hyunjin took your hand again, nodding to Soren as the two of you walked away and out of the room. He stopped in the hallway, regarding you with a concerned expression.
“Are you okay? I can hear your heart racing.”
“Yeah, just… that was uncomfortable.”
“Well,” Hyunjin said, squeezing your hand. “It’s over now. Do you want to see my room before we go?”
“Sure,” you agreed.
You had been expecting something lavish, considering the look of the house. But Hyunjin’s room looked like a normal young adult’s would. It was a large room, however, with an enormous bed against the far wall, a pair of upholstered wingback chairs in the corner with a small table between them, and a large desk just inside the door. Art covered the walls, and you wondered how much of it was his own. You noticed that a fair amount of drawings were tacked up behind the desk, and flushed red as you looked closer. Several of them appeared to be of you.
“You’ve been drawing me again,” you murmured, your face and ears burning.
“It would be silly of me not to take advantage of being around such a pretty person all the time,” he told you, wrapping an arm around your waist, leaning to plant a kiss on your shoulder.
“Hyunjin…” you groaned. “You’re ridiculous.”
“Maybe. But that doesn’t change the fact that you’re beautiful.”
“Oh my god,” you covered your face with your hands.
“Own it,” he said, kissing a trail up your neck, spinning you to face him so he could pull your hands away from your face, nuzzing your nose with his own before he pressed his lips to yours in a light kiss.
“You are really something, you know that?” You asked him as he broke the kiss.
“So I’ve been told. Shall we get you home?”
“Yeah, let’s go.”
—
Hyunjin decided to stay over at your house the day of the concert, since you wanted to arrive early to make sure you got a good spot near the stage.
You spent most of the day in bed yourself, having slept poorly after your meeting with Soren. You still weren’t sure what to make of the fact that Hyunjin hadn’t told Soren about you yet, hadn’t corrected him since he was so obviously wrong about your dynamic.
Wasn’t he?
You dragged yourself out of bed around 3pm, wandering to the kitchen to make coffee. You found a note from Hyunjin on the counter.
Went to feed. Back soon.
You shrugged and continued making your coffee, fixing yourself some scrambled eggs and toast to go with. A short while later, Hyunjin returned, striding into the kitchen, stepping up behind you to wrap his arms around you, resting his chin on your shoulder as you drank your coffee and sorted out the day’s mail.
“Are you excited?” He asked.
“Yes,” you answered simply. “I still need to figure out what to wear. Did you manage to find what you needed?”
“I did. I figured better safe than sorry, considering it’ll be a packed venue.”
“That makes sense.” You turned and stood on tiptoe to kiss him on the cheek. “Is that what you’re wearing?” You tugged on the sleeve of his black hoodie he was wearing over dark jeans, grinning inwardly at the stereotypical dark clothing.
“Is it appropriate? I haven’t been to a show for this artist… I hadn’t even heard of him before you came along.”
“Oh yeah, definitely. I think I’ll wear jeans too, and probably just a t-shirt and cardigan… I guess. I know it’s cold outside but it’ll be warm inside. I’ll just run fast between the car and the building,” you laughed as he raised an eyebrow.
“You’ll catch—“
“I will not catch a cold,” you cut him off. “Promise.” You squirmed out of his grip and slipped out of the kitchen to go get ready.
You were buzzing with anticipation as you waited for the show to start. You and Hyunjin had gotten there just before the doors opened and were some of the first people inside, so it was easy for you to secure a front and center spot.
Once the show started, you let yourself get lost in the music, the energy of the crowd around you as you sang your heart out to all the songs you knew and loved. It was just what you had needed after the chaos of the last few months.
During the encore, Hyunjin slipped an arm around you, tugging you to him, and you spent the remainder of the show pressed close, your arm around his waist, leaning against him.
Afterwards, you had insisted on going out for pancakes, as was your tradition after a late movie or show. You arrived home well after 1am, and although you were tired, you were still riding the high from the show, so you sat on the sofa with Hyunjin for a while, chatting and reliving the experience you’d just shared.
Eventually, Hyunjin wound up pulling you closer, leaning down to kiss you, strong arms wrapping around you as he did so, and you were lost again, but this time in the way he handled you so gently, each touch and kiss so soft, so caring.
It didn’t take long, however, for the kisses you shared to turn hungry, needy. Hyunjin let his hands wander lower, down to your waist, hooking thumbs through the belt loops of your jeans and pulling you onto his lap to straddle him.
You followed his lead, pressing hot kisses along that perfect jawline, down his neck, as his hands crept under your shirt and up your back. Even though his skin was cool, every touch felt like fire in your heightened state.
He met your lips again with his own, nipping your lower lip, pushing his tongue into your mouth, and you returned every gesture, absentmindedly shedding your cardigan, tossing it on the floor as he moved to kiss your neck, trailing the tip of his tongue over the sensitive flesh, and you whimpered, rolling your hips against his, noting that he seemed to be just as affected as you were.
The next thing you knew, his hands were pushing your shirt up, up, and it was over your head and on the floor. You quickly helped him out of his hoodie and own t-shirt, adding them to the pile, pressing yourself close to him as he continued to pepper your neck with kisses, moving lower now, hands ghosting up your sides as your own hands traveled down his to rest on his hips.
But then, suddenly, he was stopping you, holding a hand up as you moved to kiss him again, and the moment was gone as quickly as it had come.
“We should stop,” he managed to get out, his voice low and rough. “I didn’t… I shouldn’t have…”
You moved off his lap to sit beside him, embarrassed now, reaching down to grab your shirt, putting it back on, cursing yourself for getting so riled. You already knew what he was going to say, without reading his thoughts.
“It wasn’t fair of me to say I’d take things slow with you and then do all this,” he murmured, tugging his own clothes back on as well. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have started that. I’ve been trying so hard to be respectful, but I wanted… I wanted…”
“It’s okay,” you said softly, taking his hand, lacing your fingers with his. “I let myself get carried away too. It’s been a while since… well. Yeah.”
Hyunjin was probably right– it was too soon for either of you to be thinking about taking things all the way physically. The conversation in which he’d suggested taking things slow had been short, but you had agreed. You had gone quite the opposite way in your last couple relationships, and sometimes you wondered if that was also why they’d gone south so quickly.
Then again, Hyunjin was different from anyone else you’d ever dated, in a myriad of ways.
“I don’t want you to get the wrong idea about what I want out of this relationship,” he sighed. “I know I’ve been very physical… I’ve always got my hands on you…”
“I didn’t think that’s all you wanted.”
“Good. Because I care about you,” he looked down at you with a soft smile. “So much. And I respect you. I don’t want to push you into anything considering what you just got out of. The last thing I want is to move too fast and somehow ruin everything. We have time.”
“So let’s take things slow then, for real,” you told him. “It’ll be okay. I’m not concerned about it.”
“Okay,” he said. “I’m–”
“Don’t apologize, Hyunjin. It takes two to tango.”
You leaned against him, slipping your arms around his torso to lay your head on his chest, and he kissed the top of your head.
“Hyunjin?”
“Hmm?”
“No matter what,” you said quietly, “I’m glad I have you.”
“You definitely have me,” he replied. “And I’m not going anywhere.”