This is the fourth story in the Undone series.
This is Jung Hoseok's time to shine.
He is taking control of a new project at Stellar Design, and he has decided it's time to take control of his love life as well. He is weary of being alone, and he...
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Hobi rolled over and cursed the sun that streamed through the window.
Unlike most mornings it was not that it was so bright it hurt his eyes, or that it was so high that he knew he had overslept.
Today it was for the simple and disappointing truth of what it announced – the night had ended.
He turned toward Izzy and sighed as she scooted toward him, burying her face in his chest and shielding her face from the brightness.
He had a moment’s hope that she had changed her mind, that she would take one more night, then one more.
But then he felt a tear on his bare skin and it burned the truth into him. Their time was over.
He kissed her head and held her close to him for a long time.
Izzy burrowed deeper against him. She could not stop the tears. Her body was sore and she was sure she would bear the marks from him in the days to come.
For one crazy moment she bargained for more. Maybe it would not hurt....
Her thoughts trailed off as a phone rang somewhere, hers or his it did not matter. It was a call back to the real world.
She raised her face and looked at him. She caught his sadness before he could hide it and one again she was so very tempted.
“Good Morning beautiful,” he said, followed by a kiss that captured her all over again. She had to stop this.
“ Hobi,” she said.
“ Shhhh….” He whispered. “ I know, we had an agreement.” He was fighting for any reason to delay their parting.
“But breakfast. You have to eat right? I’ll even get it to go.” He had no idea what he was saying, but she was not leaving so he barreled on.
“ I’ll take a quick shower and go down to the café and grab us breakfast and you can shower while I am gone," he bargained.
He looked so damn cute all she could think of was breakfast and lunch and dinner and all the things that happened on Sundays between lovers.
Only, they were not lovers, could not be, had agreed to that. She had to get back in control.
She nodded at him and he kissed her one last time.
“Thank you,” he whispered as he searched her eyes. Then he smiled and slipped out of the bed, gathering things for the shower and giving her a good view of his backside in the process.
She could tell he was planning on drawing the day out as long as he could. She was trying to remember why she was supposed to say “no”.
She heard the shower start and smiled as she heard him humming through the door.
She slipped out of the bed and began to look around the room for her things.
Her body tingled again as she found her discarded clothes, memories of his hands and mouth all too fresh.
Where on earth was her top? The last piece of clothing was proving difficult to find.
Then she saw it peeping from the bottom of the pile of things he had thrown off the bed. How like Hobi to have all those pillows and plushies to make his bed a cozy haven.
She dug through the pile, trying to place things in some order, her heart aching thinking of Hobi alone tonight, putting on clean sheets and making his bed perfectly neat.
It would be like she had never even been there.
She was trying to push back the tears as she reached her sport tank, yanking it up and throwing it on the bed with the rest of her clothes. But as she threw it, she stared at what lay beneath it.
She crumpled to the floor and took the battered plushie in her hands. Bear. Hobi still had Bear after all this time. Not only that, he kept him close to him.
She swallowed hard and remembered the last time she had seen the worn toy.
She had arrived in New York the night before, eager to see Hobi. In fact, she was much more excited about seeing him than she was about the promotion she had suddenly been offered.
There had been an awkward reunion with him and Olivia at the airport and a strained dinner to follow. Izzy picked up the undercurrent between the other two, but neither answered her questions.
It was only much later that night that a very drunk Olivia spilled everything to Izzy, in turns making Izzy furious and heartsick.
In the end she vowed to tell Hobi everything, crying he deserved to know.
Olivia told her she was being stupid, that he would never understand and would hate both of them. Besides, Olivia slurred, he was taking the 6:30 am flight home.
From the look on her face Izzy could tell immediately that was information Olivia had not meant to share.
Izzy frantically tried to reach Hobi but he did not answer the phone. Olivia refused to tell her where he was staying that night.
Olivia laughed at her and told her it was useless, that it was over.
“Face it Izabelle, this is the way it is supposed to be. He is better off this way, and so are we. Don’t ruin this for him,” she said, giving Izzy an awkward hug before heading to her room, falling into bed to sleep like the dead until late afternoon the next day.
Izzy had only unpacked one bag before the three of them had left for supper. She stood looking at her bags, trying to remember which one held what.
She opened the largest one and dug thru for a change of clothes. Fumbling in the dark she felt the brush of a fur covered head worn soft by time. Bear had always been there for her. There had been no question he would make the trip to New York.
She crawled into the strange bed and curled Bear’s soft body tightly to her own.
Her mind was racing as her body rocked, trying to self soothe.
Around and around she chased the problem until she knew she had to see Hobi before he left.
