Dragon's Butterfly (Hiatus)

Pawn 017

Park Sandara

The rays of the sun woke me up as it hit my face, and I opened my eyes. I felt like I was being held tight by someone’s arms, keeping me secure—

My eyes widened as I looked at the face just inches from mine. Oh HOLY COW.

I think I forgot how to breathe.

Jiyong’s face was so close to mine, I could feel his breath fanning my face. My heart thudded loudly in my chest and I prayed he wouldn’t hear it.

Right now, with his face right in front of me, I couldn’t help but stare at him. He had long, soft eyelashes, a nose that seemed to belong to a Greek statue I’d seen in a museum before, high cheekbones, pale peach skin . . . and his lips. I gulped, feeling the blood heating my cheeks.

Oh my God. What on earth am I thinking?!! Ottokae??!!

I tried to wiggle free from his arms, hoping I would be able to breathe and calm my erratic heart. It was in vain, though. He grunted and held me tighter to him.

OH HOLY COW. His face was closer to mine this time, probably just an inch. One wrong move and I could kiss him.

My eyes widened and my cheeks burned at that thought. Ottokaeeee?!!!

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to sleep again. It was difficult to focus, what with the fact that his face is so close to mine I swear if I just dare twitch—

“Sandara?” I heard him mumble sleepily. I froze, holding my breath. He sighed quietly, his warm breath fanning my face.

“Wake up, you,” he whispered quietly. I felt something caressing my face. When I cracked one eye open, I realized it was his finger.

He smiled at me, his eyes soft. “Morning,” he mumbled. “How’s the sleep?”

This time, I opened both of my eyes fully but I immediately regretted it. His brown orbs were hypnotizing me.

“Uh . . . it was g-good,” I stammered, my thoughts muddled. “T-thank you for staying, Jiyong.”

His lips twitched a bit and he then let go of his arms around me. “Get up—we’ll eat some breakfast, and then I’ll take you to Bom’s.”

I rose up from the bed, blushing, and proceeded at the bathroom. When I looked at my reflection in the mirror, I couldn’t recognize myself. The girl had bright eyes, hints of red on my face . . . and argh, messy hair. I washed up my face and tried to shake off the emotions that were slowly overpowering me.

The breakfast was quiet at first. I wanted to talk to him actually, but I felt too timid and awkward to even formulate a question.

“Um, Jiyong?” I finally asked him. “What . . .  what am I going to tell Bom?”

He put down the cup of coffee he was holding. “Hmm . . . it would be very dangerous to tell your cousin what happened to you, considering it’s a gang activity.”

I shuddered as I remembered what happened yesterday . . . before Jiyong saved me. Jiyong, seeing my reaction, held my hand in his gently. My fears suddenly vanished and my heart beat faster than normal.

“Just tell her you got lost, Sandara,” he told me. “And then I found you. It was already dark and—considering the fact local and foreign gangsters are lurking on every nook here in Seoul—I took you to the headquarters.”

“But how about my wounds?” I’d realized that when I accidentally hit my bruised lip with my finger.

He cussed crisply, hitting his forehead with the palm of his hand. “Damn, I forgot about that one. Just leave that one to me, I’ll do it.”