Dead End | Jun-ho

19 | Déjà Vu

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Another wave of shivers flourished around her body. Aera adjusted the blanket around her shoulders with her free hand, the other being... occupied. "I saved the most important questions till last. Also, because I feel like you're not going to answer them." A small sigh escaped her lips.

He quickly raised his eyebrows, giving a small smile to himself. "I can't give anything major away, it's part of the agreement. But anyways, go ahead darling." Jun-ho rubbed his finger up and down on the back of her hand.

Her breath hitched at the nickname, "Am I supposed to know you? It's just when we first met it sounded like you'd known me from somewhere else. I don't recognise... your voice."

"You don't know me, Aera." Jun-ho bluntly said, barely answering her burning question. And with that, it also felt like the romantic tension between them had burnt out. It was almost impossible for them to have a moment together where one of them didn't have raging anger built up inside them; they certainly weren't opposites.

"But you know me?" The girl pushed on. The other questions were fine, they were unnecessary and didn't really need to be answered, so his answers were enough for her. These last three she had saved for a reason. Aera had built up a false expectation he would even in the slightest give her an answer. She knew he wouldn't. However, if she didn't ask, she wouldn't know.

Silence seemed to be his answer, as she suspected.

She quickly snapped back, wanting to quickly finish the conversation so she could go to bed. "Fine, then who are you?" Irritation growing in her voice, although she tried her best to suppress it.

She clenched her jaw, an outburst of emotions sure to come through at any point. It was hard to keep her anger in when it was so frustrating she couldn't know everything she wanted to. For one of the first times in her life, the girl had conformed to doing something. In the real world, she probably would have laughed in his face and walked all over him. I mean, Aera had partially done that in the beginning, but the attention from him had caused her to become a different version of herself which she didn't even know she had. However tempting her old ways were, she wanted to change.

"Someone who helped you." Jun-ho confidently spoke, a hint of undertones in his voice: regret and guilt.

Her hand removed itself from his warmth, the cold soon hitting her delicate skin. Their strong sense of togetherness had withered away. All this change for that; blunt answers after blunt answers.

Aera shook her head, set on the motivation of change. She scrunched her nose, taking in a deep breath. "Why me?" the girl calmly said, a soft tone improving her aggravation.

Jun-ho raised a brow, "What do you mean?"

He knew what she meant.

"I don't understand what happened a couple of days ago, in the bathroom. But it was me. You showed up out of nowhere, for me. Why? There are tons of people in this place, in the exact situation I am in. See, this is where I question your motivation because if you did happen to have a good heart underneath all of this, you would have saved everyone. But I'm the only one that's here. So why? Why am I that special enough to be saved? Why am I not still out there like I should be? Dead even? Why is it me?" Aera couldn't see but she moved her face away from the feeling of his direct gaze, looking to the side.

He wished he could tell her.

He should tell her.

She'll find out eventually.

Once again silence embraced them both, as the man stayed wrapped up in his own thoughts.

"It would be nice if you would answer...
Jun-ho." saying his name sent a shiver down her spine.

He struggled for words, thinking of anything to say. But nothing came out.

Stillness.

And then movement.

Aera stood up, the draping blanket delicately falling off her shoulders and onto the seat. As she continued to look away, the blindfold was taken away from her tired eyes. The girl placed it onto the arm of the chair, "Thank you for at least answering some."

She wanted to keep peace between them, no matter how frustrating he could get. Three more days and she could get out of the wretched place. Aera wouldn't benefit from them constantly having a war zone between each other.

Without looking back, she walked inside without another word. Jun-ho watched as she slid the door open, closing it behind her. Climbing into the bed, her head hit the pillow and she laid still in complete tranquillity.

The man stood up, walking to the end of the balcony. He rested his arms on the glass, gazing out at the moonlit sea. It was calming to just stand there, considering the amount he had going on right now: constant orders and arising problems; buried emotions he couldn't seem to let go of.

Jun-ho smiled to himself, watching as the deep blue waves lapped over each other, every wave different from the last. He understood why she liked nature so much; it was why he brought her outside in the first place. Admitting it himself, it could get heavily overwhelming in the place. He felt for her though, Aera had experienced both being a player and a guard, it couldn't get much worse than that.

His overwhelming thoughts came back to him once again when a wave crashed against the rocks below, startling him. It was like the peacefulness had suddenly lifted and he was back to reality again.

Tell her.

He shook his head, shutting his eyes tightly.

He couldn't.

He wouldn't.

She would never understand.

Jun-ho found solace in the tousles of his hair, brushing it back. The man rested his arms behind his head for a few short moments. Stretching, he decided to head inside.

Before doing so, he picked up the blanket and the piece of fabric he'd used as a blindfold.

As quietly as possible, he slid the door to the side and walked into the instant warmth. The man hadn't realised how cold it was outside.

Closing it behind him, Jun-ho glanced at Aera's still frame. Once the door had been closed shut, the naturistic sounds could no longer be heard. His senses turned towards the sounds of her peacefully sleeping; she had been tired all along.

Jun-ho could tell she was already asleep, her breathing in perfect motion. The man walked over to her; head smushed into the pillow yet with delicately shut eyes. He knelt down beside her.

For the third time, he was sitting right next to her, watching her sleep. He didn't intend for it to be creepy, the man just liked to make sure she was safe and okay. Aera deserved to be saved, she was worth it. And he was so glad it had worked out so far, getting caught was pushed to the back of his mind as all he could focus on was her.

Two strands of hair were tucked behind her ear by his hand, and a gentle kiss was placed on her forehead. "Goodnight, Aera."

Déjà vu

She awoke in that moment, watching as he turned the light off and walked out of the room, wishing she could have got even the tiniest glance of his face. A small smile crept onto Aera's lips, feeling a wave of emotions rush over her.

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