Stay With Me (SWM #1) | A Taekook Series

20) relax

"Ugh! Why don't they have ice cream at the HQ? Ice cream is a basic human need." Jeongguk groans, scooping up the last pasta shell in his bowl. "Thanks for the pasta though, Tae." He keeps the bowl on his bedside table.

"No worries. It's the least I can do," I prop my legs up on the side of the bed and look up at the ceiling, stretching my neck. My body feels stiff and numb after today's advanced combat training (which I really suck at).

"You look tired," I find a sympathetic smile on Jeongguk's face when I look at him.

I rub my eyes and yawn before answering. "Well, I've been on my feet since this morning. Running, jumping, wrestling, shooting and what not,"

"Mhm? C'mere," Jeongguk taps the space in front of him on the bed. Confused, I raise my eyebrows. "C'mon, sit down in a way that your back is facing me," After some clueless eye-blinking I do what he says.

Jeongguk's hand land on my shoulder from behind "You did well today," He says, slowly massaging my shoulder. "Jin Hyung told me you've been improving, I'm so proud of you."

I'm so proud of you. His words put a smile on my face. The commanding officers aren't that cheerful to even tell you that you did it right. They only yell when you're wrong. They don't praise you when you're right, cause that's what you are expected to do, it's nothing special.

Jeongguk's hands are slow and impactful. He puts pressure through his palms and squeezes my shoulders. It feels so good after all the exercising we did today. I moan in satisfaction.

"Thanks, Gguk. I really needed that," I say, offering him a kind smile.

"The massage or the compliment?"

"Both," I chuckle.

"No worries," His hands move in slow circles across my back. It feels like he's smoothening out all the cramped and aching muscles.

"Hey by the way, there's a library at the HQ. It's on the fourth floor. You like reading right? Go check it out whenever you have time," Jeongguk says.

"That's fantastic! Do you like to read?" I ask.

"Eh, not that much." He shrugs. His hands gently move closer to my neck, his fingers rubbing points with the perfect amout of pressure. "Um...gimme some book reccomendations please. Anyways I'll be stuck here for a while now,"

"Okay...but what genre do you like? Sci-Fi, Romance, Memoirs, Murder, Contemporary, Historic Fiction-"

"Whoa whoa whoa hold up Mr. Booknerd. I don't know...what's your favourite?"

I hesitate a bit before answering. "I like reading Romance..."

Even though I can't see his face, I am able to picture his goofy grin crystal clear. "Ooooh...so someone likes reading romance huh,"

"Hey! I like Sci-Fi and Non-fiction too but-"

"But you prefer Romance the most." Jeongguk finishes on my behalf.

"Yeah," I agree in a small voice. I look down at my lap, unable to meet the goofy expression Jeongguk has. Why in the world am I blushing?

After a minute of silence, when my pink cheeks come back to normal, Jeongguk speaks again. "Well I like watching Murder-related k-dramas...so probably Suspense and Thrillers are my thing. You know, knives and fights and guns and blood-"

"Okay I get it! Let me think of some short and engaging book for you," I say, remembering all the murder mysteries I've read.

"Yes. They have to be short. That's the most important criteria," Jeongguk nods.

"I know, I know. We need to find something to keep your impatient ass in one place," Whoa. Impatient ass? You're behaving too freely with Jeongguk now.

Jeongguk laughs. "Yeah I do have an impatient ass. You know me well, Tae." I smile at that. His thumbs move up and down my stiff neck, releiving my muscles. My body feels tired, but in a good way. Its like yay-I-did-something-good-today kinda tired.

"A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, We Were Liars are some good suspenseful books I've read....but honestly I think you need a break knives and guns. I'll reccomend you some books that I guess you'll like reading- Aah that spot, yes!" I get interrupted when Jeongguk presses his thumb below the nape of my neck.

"Mmm, you're so good at this," I say and hear Jeongguk chuckle softly. "So yeah. The Midnight Library is a nice book. I started viewing my life in different way after I read it. Then...My Brilliant Life, it's a book by a Korean author by the way, is also facinating. Well, it's kind of sad but still. And then The Shadows Between Us..."

I go on and on listing names of book and Jeongguk eagerly listens to everything. I come up with as many books as I can so that the massage keeps going on.

After I'm done with my long, long list of books, Jeongguk says, "Cool then, I'll ask someone to look for these in the library."

Without thinking, I lean back. Jeongguk sets his arms on top of my chest as I sit between his legs. I feel the rhythmic thumping of his heart. Taking deep breaths, we just sit there, letting the silence do all the magic.