Evenstar

63. Tree of Life

(The painting pictured above is Tree of Life by Gustav Klimt, 1909)

Dae Eun woke up the next day alone in bed. She was shocked when she realized she had fallen asleep on her husband. She hurriedly stood up and almost tripped on her nightgown. When she saw her image on their full-length mirror she almost cried. She still had on makeup but it was blotched in places where she had lain on the pillow, her hair was a mess of pins that were partially pulled out, and she was nearly naked but unbathed. She had wanted to look fresh and alluring for her husband, instead he had to deal with an unkempt woman with a bird's nest on her head. She rushed to the bathroom before he returned and took a long warm bath, brushed her teeth, gargled with mouthwash, and blow-dried her wet hair. In the rush she had forgotten to bring her clothes, and she stepped out of the bath wearing only a towel.

"There you are. I wondered where you went off to." Taehyung took his wife in his arms and kissed her. "Good morning, Mrs Kim. I cooked you breakfast." It was actually past noon and he had fried eggs and sausages for her. She must have been so tired because she lay unmoving in his arms when he woke up at 10 AM.

"I'm sorry, Oppa. I fell asleep..." She hugged him and was glad that he was smiling.

"It's okay, baby, we were both tired. You smell wonderful." Taehyung kissed her again and moved her to their bed. He felt her hands move under his shirt, caressing his back and he deepened his kiss until he heard her moan. He trailed kisses on her chin and down her neck and found that her towel had come undone. She was completely naked beneath him and he admired how beautiful his wife was. Her skin was soft and smooth and her eyes were looking at him with so much love. He had waited a long time for this.

"Do you want to?" he asked. He wanted to make sure she was ready.

Dae Eun smiled at him and nodded, oddly not embarrassed of her nakedness. He was her husband now and she was his. He couldn't help but smile too and kissed her lips tenderly. With her consent, Taehyung moved lower and cupped her breasts, gently suckling each peak, feeling their texture with his tongue, teasing with his teeth. He heard his wife gasp and he continued until she started moaning softly again. He looked up to see if it was in protest but her eyes were closed, her mouth partly open, her hands gripping the sheets. He was doing well, and he moved lower to her stomach and her navel, raining soft kisses on her cool skin. Then he heard a loud growl and he stopped.

"Baby, you're hungry." Taehyung leaned his ear on her tummy and it was definitely complaining. He wrapped her in the towel again. "Let's eat first, Gongjunim."

"But Wangjanim..." All Dae Eun's senses had awakened and she didn't want him to stop.

"After we eat, Gongjunim. I don't want you to faint." Who knew how long they would take, and he didn't want his wife to be more uncomfortable than she had to be. He lay beside her and kissed her lips again to assure her, and she moved to lie on top of him.

"I love you, Mr Kim. I'm really sorry for last night."

"It's okay, we have all the time in the world, Mrs Kim." He patted her bottom and asked her to get dressed.

She decided to wear leggings and one of his white shirts, and they both went to their kitchen to have brunch. She was touched that he cooked breakfast for her, and they both enjoyed it with tea, freshly-squeezed orange juice and an assortment of fruits that she had stocked in their ref. Before they were done his phone vibrated. It was his eomma.

"Your family is about to head home." Taehyung said. They had to see them off.

Dae Eun stood up to get dressed and called her appa, telling him to wait for them. When she had put on a cotton dress, they both went down two floors and greeted her family. They exchanged hugs and kisses and promised to be in Geumsan soon, then they went with them down to the lobby and watched them board their vehicles and head out of the gate. When they were on their way back to the elevator, the receptionist informed them that their gifts had arrived and asked if she could send them up to their apartment. They said okay and headed up to see how June and Anne were doing. They were still in their pajamas and, like them, were having brunch. Taehyung invited them out for dinner later, since they were both leaving Seoul by tomorrow morning.