That Night in Italy

Chapter 8

WARNING: This chapter contains sexual content. Please skip if you are a minor or uncomfortable in reading explicit material. 

The couple headed for the beach. It was early in the afternoon and Hyun Bin suggested to take advantage of the cloudy weather to stroll around.

He folded his pants up to his knees before wrapping an arm around Ye Jin's waist as they walked by the shoreline, with the seawater occasionally crashing to their feet.

"What do you wish to do when we get back, Bin?", Ye Jin looked up at him.

He sighed. She tried to sound calm but he could easily sense the foreboding tone in her voice. "Go on a date maybe?", he attempted to lighten her spirits.

Ye Jin nodded.

"Go to the gym", he grumbled. "Lose all the weight I gained."

Ye Jin pressed her fingers firmly against his abdomen.

"It's alright. It's still there.", she comforted, making him chuckle.

Ye Jin drew a breath. "A month is still long, right?", she mellowed. "I hope it doesn't pass by too quickly."

Hyun Bin held her hand, halting their tracks and pulled her into his arms. "Promise me something."

She raised her head and stared at him.

"Promise me that you'll be honest with me", he whispered as he caressed her cheek before hooking a finger under her chin. "Just tell me not to go and I won't."

Ye Jin did her best, but her tears stubbornly made its way into her eyes and there was nothing she could do to keep them from falling. She casted her eyes down, away from his, and kissed his hand.

"I know that it's bothering you. ", Hyun Bin continued. "It pains me, too."

No. She didn't want him to go.

The last 4 days she had with him, as short as it may seem, had felt like nothing but a dream. She never knew that she would finally be able to hold him like this, kiss him freely, and love him intimately as she has.

The thought of him leaving already hurt her before.

When he let her know about it the first time, she found herself bursting into tears as soon as she came home to her apartment.

She had tried so hard to show him her level-headed and practical alter ego, pushing him to take it but the only thing that saved her ass from revealing what she truly felt were the brief acting classes she took way back in their school's theatre club.

After that, the dam was left open. Seeing him or anything that reminded her of him would send her crying. She was annoyed of it and honestly had to thank her incredible ability to hold back her tears most of the time.

She thought that the pain would maybe cease after a while and that she would hopefully learn to accept his departure, but that wasn't the case.

When Hyun Bin agreed to go with her to Italy during the night of Jin-Ah and Jin Woo's wedding, she bawled her eyes out again in the confines of her hotel room, thinking that this trip with him might be the last time they get to hang out before he leaves.

Jokes on her. They did way more than just hanging out.

Forget about accepting that departure, she will never be able to do that now.

But then, his aspirations are far more important to her than her selfish needs.

She's not going to be the clingy girlfriend that would stop him from pursuing his career, or anything he wanted in life.