🔞I May be Falling in Love // Hwang Hyunjin🔞

🖤Chapter 42🖤

"Thank you." I whisper gently to my father, a grin growing onto the corner of my lips.

"What for, sweetheart?" As he looks up at me, his face brightens.

"For bringing me back under your wing and attempting to be the father I've always wanted," I say, a tiny lump forming in my throat.

I start crying and leap into my father's arms. He hushes me and pats my back while I continue to sob. "I'm sorry for not being there for you when you needed me."

"All that matters now is that you're here." I whimper, and we continue hugging until the sound of a knock at the front door disturbs us. 'What is he doing back here?' I think and stride towards the window next to the entrance where I spot Felix on the other side of the glass.

"You're back so soon?" I joke as the door opens and motion for Felix to come in.

He rushes in and greets my father right away. His confidence obviously impresses my father, but I observe how wobbly his knees are and how scared his voice sounds, which makes me giggle knowing how nervous the poor boy is. Felix takes a step away from him and smiles as he looks my direction. "I brought some brownies and thought we watch a movie or something."

"Of course." I respond by taking the container Felix was holding, grabbing a brownie out of it and tasting it. The flavour is a delightful combination of chocolate and espresso that is neither too intense nor too weak.

"Wow, Felix, they are amazing." As I swallow the last of my brownie in one huge mouthful, my eyes widen.

He smiles and offers one to my dad to which he accepts and also has a similar reaction that I had. When I glance at Felix, I can see he is quite proud of himself for making a good first impression.

"I'm going for a stroll and may spend some time with the neighbours; please stay in the living room." My father demands as he grabs his coat and walks out the cabin's front door. Felix and I laugh at each other and take our places in the armchairs facing the screen.

"What do you want to watch?" I enquire as I launch the Netflix app on the television.

While I click through the various movie genres on Netflix, he raises two fingers to his chin as if he is contemplating what to watch. I rapidly scroll through my recently viewed since I binge-watched far too many kdramas and left the majority unfinished so I could begin the new ones.

"Wow, finish your damn shows!" Felix  bursts out laughing.

After a few minutes of browsing, we came across Deadpool, which none of us had considered, but as soon as Felix saw it, he started urging me to play it. I wouldn't have said no in any case, but I let him plead for a little longer since he continues offering to make more brownies, and who can say no to brownies? The movie started, and I was already sleepy, but now that I'm resting comfortably in an armchair, my eyelids feel heavy and slowly close shut.

"Audrey, are you up?" Felix's quiet words jolt me awake, and my eyes open swiftly. "I'm sorry!" He instantly begins apologising for waking me up.

"I'm sorry I fell asleep; I didn't realise how exhausted I was." I respond, rubbing my eyes.

"How about you get some rest?" Felix gets to his feet and walks over to my armchair.

"It's not even dark yet, and it's far too early to sleep." I fight back and sit up straight in my chair.

Felix grunts, and like a bolt of lightning, I am yanked from my chair and carried to my bedroom, bridal style. "Felix, please put me down!" I scream, attempting to break free from his grip.

Felix grins, and I surrender as he lays me on my bed. "Now go to sleep." His tone is calm, and he begins to walk away. He comes to a halt in front of my door and says, "I'll make you and your father some food for when you wake up." Felix smiles and shuts my door, leaving me alone in my darkened room. I groan and relax, falling asleep within minutes.

"Wakey, wakey." Felix's velvety voice whispers into my ear, and I carefully open my eyes to see Felix sitting on the edge of my bed besides me.

"What time is it?" I enquire as I gently sit up, seeing how dazzling and full the moon is outside my window.

"It's 7 p.m., and I just completed dinner." Felix says as he extends his hand to me. I grasp his hand and he pulls me out of bed, assisting me in walking out of my room while I fight to wake up. That's when the most beautiful scent enters my nose, and I immediately recognise it as garlic. As I walk into the kitchen, I observe my father taking a fresh pizza from the little oven and notice the source that makes my sense of smell go crazy; garlic bread.

"This looks incredible." I yell and rush into the kitchen to get three plates.

"Felix is a fantastic cook, and we got to bond a little while you were sleeping." My father makes an announcement, which worries me. What did he and Felix discuss? My mind is always asking me questions, and I beg to God that my father did not treat Felix harshly because he is too sensitive.

"Eat up!" Felix exclaims, startling me out of my reverie, and we all eat in awkward silence...

The silence dominates the air, and I feel compelled to speak out since it is now preventing me from eating. "What did you two talk about?" I question both of them, alternating my gaze between the two.

"Well, I wanted to know about the guy that my daughter is going to be hanging around all holidays." My father begins, and I look at him with wide eyes that clearly indicate, 'Shut the fuck up.'

"That's not the case." I speak out before Felix has a chance.

"There's nothing to be concerned about, Audrey; your father didn't threaten me, which is a bonus." Felix laughs, and my father joins him. I try to laugh along with them, but instead find myself walking laps around my own head, wishing I was awake to hear what they were saying. Especially if Harley was mentioned.

"Tonight is supposed to be a massive blizzard. Why don't you spend the night here, Felix? It's too dangerous for you to go back to your cabin." My dad offers while I take our plates up to the kitchen to wash up. When his statement is finished, I freeze and realise there are only two bedrooms in this cabin and no sofa for Felix to sleep on; sleeping on an armchair would be a nightmare.

"Dad, where would he sleep?" I turn to the pair and enquire.

"I trust you both in your room... As long as the door remains open." On his final sentence, he clears his throat.

I turn to Felix, hoping to see him reject the offer, but he nods and looks at me for assurance, and I remain still but manage to smile at him. This is going to be very awkward...