January Rain

Jeong Hyeok stared at the menacing sky through the glass pane, the clouds obscuring to a dark gray before him, dusky tufts of precipitation clouding the Swiss sky. Donning a black turtleneck and overcoat, he came prepared for the biting cold that enveloped the January air. However, the looming torrent of rain that plagued the previously cloudless sky, was something he did not anticipate.

He turns back into the furniture store, where Seri is talking to the shop owner about a velvet couch she wanted in their Swiss wooden home, their sanctuary hidden within the Alps, the place where they consummated their love eternally, the place where he came alive under her touch.

It was the first year after they got married, when he became a professor at his old university in the land where they could love each other freely, where only the heavens above knew of the vows they made to each other, where their hands, adorned by the rings he gifted her years ago, were forever intertwined.

Walking up behind her in the store, he doesn't say a word, but even still she feels his presence, the solid weight of his build forever shielding her no matter where she was, even when they were apart.

"...and we'll have it delivered in a week, ma'am, is that ok?" the store owner says, before shaking Seri's hand and giving them a wave before they head out.

Seri turns back to him and when she sees the expression of worry on his face, asks

"What's wrong Jeong Hyeok-ssi?"

"We should head home, it looks like a storm is approaching," he states in his usual quiet tone, the rich baritone of his voice filling her ears until the world around her is drowned out with everything but him.

And then bashfully, while rubbing the back of his ears, which have turned a shade of pink only known to her, he states:

"And I forgot an umbrella."

Seri belts out a peal of melodic laughter, finding it comical that he's still bashful after all these years. She knows in his mind he doesn't want her to get caught in the rain, his worry about her safety for even the most commonplace things inundating her, the emotions streaming through her like a downpour stronger than the storm he fears.

She would often think about it, when she had been living in Seoul, how his stare would melt her, reducing her to mere ashes, how his fierce protectiveness would ignite a desire in her soul, one that she had caged for so long. But with him, she allowed herself to be set free, flocking to him whenever she got the chance, finding comfort in the sturdy arms of his embrace.

"Wah, Jeong Hyeok-ssi, I can't believe you didn't bring an umbrella! What will we do if we get caught in the rain?" she questions, always teasing.

She was the only one to ever elicit a reaction out of him, the only one who was able to break his stoic façade, allowing him to roar like the raging waters of a broken dam until the force overcame him. The six-foot-tall ex-military Captain turned into a spluttering mess, his pouty lips jutting slightly as she always found a way to put him on the defensive.

Even when they were alone, in their quiet home in the Alps, when the sheets were strewn off the bed, she would make him come alive, brushing corners of his taut skin with featherlight grazes. He would hold himself in noble restraint, most times, denying himself pleasure so she could always reach hers first. But when she touched him there, made a soft fist around him, his hips bucking into her palm, he choked out a growl from deep within his chest, a sound only meant for her.

But this time he doesn't defend, simply gazing at her reverently. He murmurs a remorseful Mianhe, his lips turning up into a small smile as he watches her have her fun at his expense.