CHAPTER 11

I don't know how we ended up here

I don't know but it's never been so clear

We made a mistake, dear.

And I see the broken glass in front of me

I see your shadow hanging over me

And your face, I can see...

- Low Shoulder “Through the trees”

“Are you okay?”


His soft voice caressed her ears, bringing her back from her trance. She blinked, gazed at his worried face and for a moment she forgot the man who took advantage of her. The man who she thought she knew yet she was wrong. The man who suddenly came back to her life and flawed the life that she thought was perfect and strong.


How could he look at her with those innocent soft eyes? How could he touch her with those gentle hands as if he had all the right in the world do such thing? And how… how could such a stranger like him could make her feel warm and needy inside?





She was burning from both lust and sin… yet she wanted more. The desire inside the pits of her stomach was too unbearable that she knew only Kwon Jiyong could quench it.






And just then the crease on her forehead slowly vanished as she felt his cold finger brushing against the side of her face. Her gaze landed on his pale lips and this time her brow arched as she wondered… worried… how long had he been waiting for her.






“You’re freezing…”






She mumbled. Restraining herself to reach for his hand and make it warm. She felt him squeezed her glove-clad hand. He was not even wearing gloves, was he that mad to actually wait for her in this cold night? And thinking of the things he had done so far… Probably he really was.






He just smiled at her, pulled back his cold hand and put it inside his pocket.






“So how about that movie I was talking about?”






He didn’t bother letting go of her hand, making it clear that he won’t take no for an answer… as if she will. Not when she already made this far.






Taking her silence as her approval… he curved out another smile before he tugged on her hand as he started with his tracks.





Her eyes immediately widen as she realized that he was walking. And before they could even go further, she stopped which made him to stop as well. He then looked at her in wonder.






“What’s wrong?” he asked.






“I thought we’re going to watch a movie?” She asked, her brows were starting to meet and her cheeks started to blush from the night’s cold wind.






“Yes, we are” He simply replied.






“Let’s take my car. It’s freezing.” She was about to turn around but he pulled her hand to stop her. She looked at him in confusion until she saw him pointing at the bus stop on the far end of the street.






“The bus is about to come. We should hurry up jagiya.” He said with a smile and she flinched upon hearing that familiar endearment, he took the opportunity and tugged on her hand as he started to walk again.






Dara’s brows furrowed in mixed disbelief and confusion, the next thing she just found herself running… tailing behind him as he held her hand as he too was running towards the bus stop.





“Jiyong! What… why are we doing this?!” She yelled. Then lowered her voice as she realized they were passing through one of the crowded street of the city.






He looked back at her, still wearing that wide smile on his face. His eyes twinkled like an excited child as he gazed playfully at her.






“The bus is here..!” He yelled back wantonly as his other hand pointed the bus stop once again. And just like what he said, the bus had arrived.






“Oh God, Jiyong wait..!” She couldn’t help to raise her voice once again






Dara could only run behind him, matching his pace… afraid she would stumble once she tried to stop. It was a complete madness… she had never done this, nor expected herself to do such thing. There she was, wearing a stiletto and her tight pencil cut skirt running, trying to catch a ride on a bus when she had a car waiting for her on the parking lot of the museum. Her short brown curls brushed against her cheeks, completely freed from its neatly groomed state from awhile ago. Her other hand dangled on her side as she clutched on her bag. And her heart raced from running and as well as from the unfamiliar excitement that was sparking inside her.






Just then, the horror in her expression from a while ago slowly changed as her lips slowly curved into a wide grin… her eyes rounded in pure thrill until she heard herself chuckling and panting at the same time.






It was funny and ridiculous at the same time that she couldn’t help herself but laugh. And it didn’t take a while for her to hear him laughing as well. The people on the street looked at them as if they were crazy. Who wouldn’t, if they saw two adults laughing and running at the same time in this cold night? Impossibly trying to catch a bus which was at the far end of a busy street?






Dara never felt this crazy yet good before. The cold wind felt like tiny needles against her skin yet she didn’t mind for excitement kept her warm inside.






She gazed up the velvet sky… watched how the bed of stars moved before her eyes. As if she was under a river filled with diamonds as they sparkled above them. Just then, still with a wide smile on her face, her gaze landed on the back of Jiyong’s head. The smile on her face slowly faltered as she realized who was the person giving her this amazing feeling…






Was she really doing this with him?






Was she really in deep bliss right now… with him?






And to answer her questions, Jiyong slowly turned back to her. Warm smile was still plastered on his face and for a moment, she was lost...






Her blood pounded against her ears… her heart beat as if she ran a hundred miles… it became hard to breathe as she felt the heaviness of her chest and her stomach churned as if she swallowed a bucket of cold ice.






She heard herself gasp… her eyes blinked as she felt a warm arm curled around her waist, felt herself being lifted off the ground; and the next thing she felt was his hot breath against her ear, hard chest against hers and strong arms wrapping around her frame.






“We made it jagiya…” She heard him whisper followed by his soft chuckles that tickled her ears.






She was too drowned from the wild poundings of her heart and the unexplainable tremors inside her guts that she didn’t realize that they manage to catch on the bus… that she didn’t realize that her arms were wrapped around Jiyong’s body as well… that their bodies were glued with each other despite the roomy bus.






Her eyes were locked with his… his handsome face was near to her that she thought he was going to kiss her, with that, her gaze landed on his lips… it was paler from before probably because of running. She could feel his hot breath caressing her lips… tempting… drowning her yet again.






Her eyes slowly fluttered close, her body slowly leaned against his and all she wanted to do was to feel those lips against hers, fill his warm body more… and be enveloped in his arms the whole night…






“Are you okay jagiya…?” His deep voice brought her back from her insanity. His hand came to the side of her face, caressing her old skin with his thumb.






She immediately opened her eyes, got welcomed by his unreadable eyes and when she heard the soft murmurs of the other passengers, she completely woke up from her trance.






She pushed away Jiyong and looked around; saw the passengers looking at them with a slight smile on their faces. Her cheeks immediately blushed, this time not because of the cold wind but instead reality sunk in to her and shame completely filled her body.






Yet the shame was short-lived as she felt something landed on her shoulders and warmth suddenly enveloped her body, only to realize that he had placed his coat over her back. She glanced up to him and saw him smiling down at her.






“You must be cold” He said as he rubbed her sides, totally not minding the eyes of the passengers. Dara stayed glued on her spot, gawking at Jiyong who kept rubbing her sides to make her warm… as if he himself was not freezing.






He started guiding themselves on an empty seat. Clearly, he still didn’t care about the curious gazes of the passengers around them… he didn’t care what they think of them, probably two lovers who were deeply in-love with each other? He wished, or that right now, he was with his future sister-in-law and lastly, he definitely and selfishly didn’t care if she had someone else in her heart.






“What are you thinking about jagiya?”






She watched as Jiyong took off the glove on her hand and laced his fingers through its spaces and held her tight, for a moment she felt how cold his hand was before her warmth had drained it.






“Nothing…” She plainly said as she looked away and stared outside the window.






Jiyong smiled and squeezed her hand… still couldn’t believe that she was now here with him, holding her hand just like what he had been dreaming to do with her before. It didn’t escape his eyes how she smiled earlier… heard her chuckles clearly and he thought his heart would burst from so much bliss. Watching her from last night and even until earlier, seeing her sad had truly bothered him.






“Did you like the flowers?” He asked expectantly, only to receive silence in return as Dara kept her gaze outside the window.






Jiyong’s eyes fluttered in sadness… the smile on his lips slowly faded as his bright expression sheathed with sorrow. Yet, he gladly took her silence, forced his thin lips to curve out a slight smile, his gaze landed on their joined hands.






He was trapping her…






Yet in his twisted, uncaring and selfish mind… it felt so warm and right…






They spent their bus ride in silence. Jiyong kept his tight hold on Dara’s hand while the latter continuously drowned herself in her thoughts… and even until they arrived in the theater, still… Dara kept her silence and at the same time didn’t pull her hand away from Jiyong’s tight grasp.






They ended up watching “50 First Dates” when Jiyong saw how Dara’s eyes sparkled and gaze turned towards one of the movie’s poster when he asked her what she wanted to watch. And he almost let out a chuckle, too overwhelmed about what was happening; there he was… a 23-year old bachelor, dream guy of almost all the women as some said… having his considered first date, giggling like a high-school boy inside… and it was all because of a woman, who was apparently had someone else in heart.






--






Her cheeks blushed from the scene… couldn’t remember when was the last time she watched a romantic movie in a theater, or even watched a movie alone. Now, she couldn’t help but blush even for just a small sweet scene. She was grateful for the dimness inside the theater yet she still couldn’t help but to look away, and upon doing so her gaze landed to Jiyong and for a moment she was once again caught in a deep trance.






He was seriously watching the big screen, that he didn’t even notice her watching him. And despite the dimness of the place, she could still clearly see the side of his face… observed how much pointed his nose was… or how plump his lips were. Those lips… those lips that had kissed her for already several times before… the lips that had called her in such heart-softening endearment a couple of times before. And just like that, she had once again felt warm inside her chest, spreading through her veins, burning her cheeks even more.






Slowly, as if he finally felt her gaze, Jiyong glanced at her. His eyes were clear with wonder and his lips that she had been observing a while ago were all pouted in curiosity. With that, she gasped and immediately looked away.






Jiyong smile upon seeing Dara’s reaction. He didn’t say anything but instead he raised his arm and let it wrap around her shoulders where then, he felt her stiffened. He leaned down to her, smelled the sweet scent of Jasmine in her hair before he snuggled through her hair and blew hot breath against her ear.






“What are you doing Jiyong? Stop it we’re in a theater.” Dara said with a gasp as she straightened on her seat. Jiyong smiled kissed her ear before he spoke.






“Being with you is the only way I could have a full and happy life. You’re the girl of my dreams… and apparently, I’m the man of yours.”






Jiyong uttered the lines of Adam Sandler’s character in unison before he nipped on Dara’s earlobe. Dara let out another gasp, her hands curled tightly on her knees and the hotness inside her chest spread through her stomach this time. Truly, he had been invading her dreams recently, waking her up in the middle of the night with her body glistening in sweat and insides trembling in hotness.






He rubbed the sides of her shoulders as he continuously nipped and licked on her earlobe. Dara raised one of her hands and placed it on Jiyong’s knee who on the other hand groaned against her ear when he felt her squeezed his knee.






She couldn’t believe it… she knew he was totally aroused by now, she could hear it from his deep groans, and she didn’t know if it was a good or bad thing for she herself was confused as to what she was feeling herself.






Her breathing started to become heavy, his hand found its way down her waist caressing its way towards her breast and when she was about to let out another gasp, his other hand came and guided her face towards his and sealed her lips with his even before she could let out a sound.






Dara’s eyes widen yet she wasn’t able to control the moan that escaped her throat, which Jiyong’s mouth had caught and swallowed. His tongue quickly slipped its way inside her mouth… invading, curling against her own tongue. Finally, she was lost… she wanted to forget everything… the disappointment towards her fiancé, her own shame against herself and her hatred towards the man who was now giving her the best kiss she could ever feel.






She closed her eyes. The sound from the movie continued to play behind them as their mouths continued to feel each other. He held her face securely, cupping it before his hand trailed towards the back of her head, lacing his fingers through her brown locks and tilted her head to the side to deepen their kiss.






She couldn’t believe she was doing this… couldn’t believe that she wanted more. And when she was once again letting herself succumb to the scorching need she could feel inside, Jiyong suddenly pulled out from their kiss, leaving her dazed and wanting for more.






His hold on her hair loosened and trailed his hand back to cup the side of her face. She was panting… her mind was floating from lust and how wrong it could be, how shameful it could be, she wanted him to satiate it. His eyes were dark and his expression twisted as if he was in pain.






“You’re really driving me mad jagiya…” He whispered against her lips in a deep husky voice before he pulled away and flopped down on his seat, panting.






Dara was left dumbfounded. She gaped at him for a while before she gasped as reality sunk in to her and realized where they were. She immediately gazed around, alarmed that people may had probably seen them and to her relief, the people were still busily watching. Yet her relief was short-lived when Jiyong suddenly grasped her hand and abruptly stood up from his seat.





She looked at him with creased forehead and furrowed brows, confused as to what he was planning, just then he spoke, with his deep husky voice yet again.





“Up… come on jagiya…”







Her eyes widen… felt the tightening in her chest as she imagined what he had in mind as he gazed at her with those dark, lust-filled orbs. And even before she could fully decide what to do, Jiyong had roughly tugged her, pulled her up from her seat and dragged her as he made his way outside the theater.