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The Drawer

Moonlight streamed into Ji-pyeong's room as he and In-jae cuddled together in bed. They lay in comfortable silence as In-jae rested her head on his chest and Ji-pyeong absentmindedly stroked lazy circles on her back.

"What are you thinking of?" she asked sleepily.

Ji-pyeong opened his mouth to respond, then shut his mouth again.

In-jae felt his hesitation, and lifted her head to look at him. "What is it?" she asked.

He smiled at her and replied, "It's nothing."

She peered at him closely then narrowed her eyes at him. "It's not nothing."

He took a deep breath and she sat up beside him, holding the blanket close to her body.

"It's just, I don't want you to run away again," he said softly, and her heart softened. She took his hand and said, "I promise, I won't run away."

He looked at her, then said quietly, "I cleared a drawer for you."

In-jae stilled as her mind quickly absorbed what that meant, and that familiar feeling of fear was creeping into her heart again.

Ji-pyeong took one look at her and knew instantly what was happening, so he squeezed her hand tight.

"I'm not saying move in with me or give up your place," he hurriedly explained, trying to reassure her. "I mean, of course I would love to have you here all the time, I love falling asleep with you and waking up with you and having breakfast with you--"

He stopped and shook his head, "Never mind, forget it, it was stupid."

As she watched Ji-pyeong hang his head with a sigh, In-jae felt something that was stronger than her fear. Her heart ached as she realized that even after all this time that they had been together, Ji-pyeong was still afraid that she would leave him. That her fear of losing her independence would overshadow the love she felt for him. And while it was true that she was still afraid sometimes, that fear was getting smaller every day because her love for him was also growing every day. She hated that she was making him feel this way, that he seemed to not know just how much she loved him.

So In-jae took a deep breath and said, "I guess it is time I stopped borrowing your shirts."

Ji-pyeong's head came up quickly as he stared at her, wide-eyed in shock. "What--"

"And it would be nice not to have to drop by my place just for a clean set of clothes," In-jae continued without meeting his eyes, tapping her chin.

"In-jae--"

"Plus I would get to stay over on weeknights, so it's more fuel-efficient to just take one car to work," In-jae said, pretending that she couldn't see Ji-pyeong gaping at her incredulously.

Finally, she looked at him and said, "But I think I'm going to need some closet space too, because my dresses need to be hung, not folded."

"I'll give you absolutely anything you want!" Ji-pyeong crowed as he grabbed her to him happily, and In-jae laughed at his delight.

"I love you, Han Ji-pyeong," In-jae said, smiling at him and leaning over to give him a kiss.

"I love you too, Won In-jae," Ji-pyeong replied, his dimples deep as he smiled at her so brightly.

Then he looked at her seriously as she reached over to brush the hair out of his eyes. "Thank you," he said simply, and she smiled.

In reply, she cuddled up to him again and rested her head on his chest. "Now go to sleep. I'm not going anywhere," she assured him, hugging him tight around the waist and throwing her leg across his under the covers, relishing the feeling of his bare leg against hers.

Ji-pyeong held In-jae close and kissed the top of her head. "Thank goodness for that," he murmured as he held her tightly in his arms, and they both fell asleep with a smile.