Unlawful Devotion

Nothing Without You

A kaleidoscope of stars and laughter and kisses colors the next couple of days that follow. Tae Gu makes her forget about the world that was running after them and memorizes every dip and curve of her body with his hands and lips. They trade their fears for incandescent touches that burn into their skin and warm embraces that can ward off even the coldest nights, and Chae Yoon knows that her little taste of heaven is not going to last.

Nothing in life has ever been fair. Everything she had and had accomplished so far was because of her hard work, but she never thought that even her own romantic relationship demanded blood, sweat, and tears. She previously had the notion that it would come easy. He loves her. She loves him. Happily ever after. She should have known that even love has its own consequences.

But when she looks at him, all of her worries fade away, assured by the devotion in his eyes and the warmth of his smile. He loves her the way she loves him, passionate, blinding, real, and the thought of having to part from him makes her chest ache. She tries to come up with other ways for them to disappear, only to be given a resigned sigh in return. It will escalate into a heated argument and will end the way all their arguments end.

He reminds her again and again that she needs to trust him that it begins to lose its meaning. She recognizes the determined look in his eyes, the tight grip of his hands, the bruising kisses of his lips and knows that all of them point to one thing: he is going to miss her when he sacrifices himself. After countless fights, she just chooses to surrender, knowing she's powerless against him, and allows the bitter tears to fall whenever he isn't looking.

The last day they had together started out like any other morning. She walks out of their bedroom to the wonderful smell of coffee brewing. She stops for a moment to appreciate the gorgeous sight of a shirtless Tae Gu in the kitchen, all sinewy muscles and faded scars on his skin, the latter he had shared their origins with her one night when they were tangled in each other's arms.

"You shouldn't look that good wearing my clothes."

His deep baritone breaks her out of her reverie and she gives him a loving smile in return. She saunters over to his side, feeling as if her feet were barely touching the ground in her dreamlike happiness, and he catches her in a warm embrace, accepting the kiss she presses on his lips.

"You're glowing," he observes fondly.

"It's because you make me happy," she tells him before giving him another kiss and sighing in satisfaction. She giggles when he begins dropping kisses on every patch of skin his lips can reach. Then, she notices the two cups of coffee he had prepared for them and takes one from the counter. "Thank you for this. Have I ever told you that you make the best coffee in the world?"

"Maybe not the world," he chuckles, lifting his own cup to his mouth after watching her drink hers. An unreadable expression crosses his face but before she can ask what was wrong, he continues to say. "I'm going out to meet a friend for an early lunch. I'll be back in the afternoon. The housekeeper is coming by again today and will keep you company. Will that be all right?"

"Of course," she smiles, lifting a hand up to caress his cheek. "Come back to me soon, okay?"

A smile she does not recognize passes before he presses a hard kiss on her lips. She didn't understand his response until a little later on. Because, unbeknownst to her, a plan had been set in motion the moment he dropped those sleeping pills in her coffee. A few hours later, she stops short as a wave of dizziness hits her, prompting the housekeeper to ask if she was feeling okay.

She mutters something about needing to lie down and stumbles her way to the bedroom. Once her head hits the pillow, she immediately succumbs to the inviting darkness and falls into the deepest sleep of her life. The next time she opens her eyes, she finds herself in a room she does not recognize. When she tries to lift her hands up, she finds them handcuffed to the bed.