Air Touched - A Dragon Tribe Origin

Chapter Fourteen - Jae

After he parted ways with Ijn, Jae took a stroll around the city to help clear his head before returning back to the palace. He entered through the private gate on the side, and walked into the west hall to head straight to bed. Hyun sat on a bench reading a book right in front of the entrance, clearly waiting for Jae's return.

His father glanced at his watch and raised both of his eyebrows. "You're earlier than I thought you'd be. Did you not hit it off well?"

"We got along fine," Jae said, trying to stay as casual as possible. He would not give his father a reason to gloat, because as soon as Hyun learned just how well he got along with Ijn, he would definitely never hear the end of it.

"Why back so early, then? Weren't you bragging about how you'd be late?" his father pressed.

Jae leaned against the wall and gazed down at him. "She had to head out early. We didn't talk about what we're going to do next, but I'm sure her dad will be contacting you to set up some kind of second date."

"I wasn't told she'd be having a curfew." His father frowned.

"She was tired." Or that's what Jae's guess was. In all actuality, he'd been the one to cut the date short. Once she finished explaining all of the technical intricacies of painting to him, they experienced another stretch of awkward silence. He wasn't the type of guy who always had to be talking or entertained. However, it was important for him to feel comfortable in the slower points in life. If they were going to sit quietly, he didn't want to feel like his skin was crawling which is what happened at the end of the night.

He blamed it on her being tired, or overwhelmed, and he accepted it since it was only the first date. Things couldn't always go perfectly. Next time would be better. He liked her enough to look forward to a next time—and perhaps sneak in another kiss. 'Cause wow that was something else!

After a few seconds of quiet, his father echoed, "Tired. I see. What did you think of her?"

Shrugging, Jae stood up straight again. "She was cool. Look, I know you're wanting all of these details about her and how I feel, but it's kind of too soon to say if it's one true love or whatever. I want to see her another time. Can that be enough to satisfy you?"

"For tonight."

With a groan and a roll of his eyes, Jae made his way toward the stairs. "Fine, for tonight. I'm going to bed before you change your mind."

"You should check in with your mother too. She's worried about you," Hyun called after him.

Jae paused at the base of the steps and gazed down the hall at him. "She's awake?"

"Briefly, yes. You could get a few words out of her, I think. Either way, it would help her rest easy to know you're back."

Nodding, Jae made his way up to the next floor and to the master suite. Like always, he knocked first, then walked in. He stopped in the doorway when he saw that his mother's eyes were not only open, but her attention was fixed on him. "You're up!"

"I..." She swallowed and opened her mouth to try again.

He rushed over to her bedside. "It's okay, you don't have to say anything. I bet you want to hear all about the date, right?"

She gave a small nod, exhaling a slow breath and settling into the blankets a bit more.

"It went really well, but don't tell Dad that, because he'll totally make fun of me and you know how much I hate when he's right about anything."

A small chuckle escaped her lips and she raised a finger as if she were going to bring it to her lips. Her hand never got that far. It only got a few inches above the blanket before she had to put it back down again. Seeing her so frail was always hard. Sometimes, watching her while she was awake was not so much exciting as it was heartbreaking. At least when she slept, he didn't have to watch her struggle so much to do simple things.

Jae forced himself to smile, to keep the mood light, knowing it would help more than letting his worry show. "She's great. She was able to joke with me, and we danced. Wow, she's a great dancer, which is good because I need to be with someone who will keep my reputation solid."

Another laugh. Making her laugh made his whole world better. Happiness would heal her a lot faster than being depressed would.

"All of those years of dance lessons paid off. I thought you were crazy for suggesting it, but the ladies are swooning over me now." He let out a sour laugh. "Okay, they're not swooning, exactly. Sun says it's because I can't keep my mouth in check. I'm trying. I don't mean to be difficult, you know?" He sighed. "I dance for you."

She opened her mouth, a word catching in her throat.

Jae closed his eyes. "I do it because I want to, too. It's one of the few things I remember from when I was little and you were healthy, though. Dancing. It's fun, so it's all good. Don't feel guilty or like you pushed me into it or anything. When I dance with the girls, they love me. I need to learn how to talk to them. It's a lot harder than throwing a compliment their way."

A small nod.

"Ijn liked my compliments, which is a relief since some of them would make Dad want to slap me on the side of the head." He laughed, running his fingertips over his lips. "But she was kind of giving me the same kind of compliments. Like, she wasn't saying how attracted she was to me, but her body language gave off the vibe. What she said...she is definitely into me. I think? I don't know, how can you tell?" He frowned, replaying all of his conversations with Ijn and trying to understand what might have been going on through her head.

"If a girl lays on the sex appeal, I mean, is that what that means? That she's interested? Or was I reading too much into it and she didn't know what she was doing to me?" Jae shook his head. "She kissed me, so that has to mean she likes me to some degree." He noticed his mother's hands tense in her lap. "Don't worry, I'm not going to let it go too far regardless of if we both might want it to. I'll take it as a good sign that we're so attracted to each other, and just keep it penned up until after the wedding. Then I'll make you a grandma a few times. Sound good?"

His mother probably did not want to hear about his future sexual endeavors. Unfortunately, he didn't have too many other people he felt he could talk to about much of anything. His father was too critical, Sun too judgmental, and all of his other older brothers either didn't have time, or sided with their dad. Hyun's word was law, after all. Getting on his bad side only meant bad things would come.

Another reason his mother was such a great ear was because she couldn't talk back. Selfish, and perhaps a bit cowardly too, but he liked knowing he could say anything to her and have her be unable to chastise him or repeat the information.

He kissed her forehead. "I'm kidding, anyway. I promise, I'm being careful. Because if I'm not, I'm going to mess this up again. Then what? Dad's right, I don't think he or I will be able to find another girl I'll actually like. I'd rather not be with anyone if I can't be with someone I can fall in love with. It's not worth it. You know? We're going to be together for a long, long, time."

"Love you," his mother whispered. Her eyes drifted close.

"Love you too," he whispered back.

Jae left the room to go to bed. The day was finally done, and he was tired of thinking.