Chained by Expectations | Park Sunghoon

Thirty-three

Haneul woke up shortly after falling asleep in a cold sweat, haunted by a bad dream. The nightmare was a disconcerting blend of the recent events with Heeseung and flashbacks of her mom scolding her. She panted, tearful eyes wide open as she glanced over at Sunghoon, who was still sound asleep beside her. Carefully, she got out of bed, her heart racing, and made her way to the kitchen to pour herself a glass of water.

Sunghoon was woken up by the sound of clattering glass coming from the kitchen. Groggy and disoriented, he felt around in the bed, realizing it was empty. Sitting up, he rubbed his eyes and made his way to the kitchen. "Hey," he said, slightly startling her. "Sorry," he apologized, not meaning to startle her. "Are you okay? Why aren't you in bed?" he asked as he approached her.

"Yeah, I just had a bad dream," she mumbled, taking another drink of water. "I'm sorry if I woke you. Please go back to bed; I'll be there in a minute," she said sweetly.

"I can wait for you," he said, pinching her cheek to lighten the mood. Haneul drank the rest of the water, puffing her cheeks and glaring at Sunghoon, causing him to chuckle. "Cute," he said, looking at her.

Haneul lifted both of her arms as she swallowed the water. "Carry me," she said with a straight face. Sunghoon raised an eyebrow. "What are you, a baby?" he asked, making her pout, but she let her arms fall to her side.

In a swift movement, Sunghoon picked her up, throwing her over his shoulder, causing her to shriek. "The correct answer was yes, you're my baby," he said, giving her butt a playful slap as he walked back to her room. "Sunghoon!" she squealed, laughing as he spun around with her over his shoulder. "Wait! I'm getting dizzy!" she screamed, her laughter getting louder.

Sunghoon gently slammed her onto her soft bed, watching as she had a fit of laughter. She quickly got up, lunging at him and pulling him down on the bed as well. He couldn't help but also laugh as the two playfully fought. Haneul hit him with a pillow, managing to get on top of him. She playfully held the pillow over his face, as if she was going to suffocate him. "That's what you get for taking So-he as your date," she said, causing Sunghoon to flip them over now.

"I told you that I went there to be with you. Why would I take her?" he asked with a serious face now. "Now, stop mentioning her when we're together. It leaves a sour taste in my mouth," he said as he got up off of her.

There was a brief silence before Haneul gently placed a kiss on his lips. "Is the taste gone?" she whispered against his lips. Sunghoon just nodded his head no, which caused Haneul to place another kiss on his lips. This time the kiss lasted a bit longer. "What about now?" she asked again.

"No," he said, pulling her closer by her waist and sitting her on his lap. This time, it was him who attacked her lips hungrily. Their lips moved in sync as they fought for dominance. Sunghoon's hands rested on her waist before running down her waist and down to her butt, giving her a hard squeeze, causing her to moan into his mouth.

After a few minutes of their intense make-out session, Haneul pulled away, panting and trying to catch her breath. She pulled Sunghoon in for a hug, nuzzling her head into the crook of his neck and giving him light kisses. His hands trailed back up to her waist, giving her a slight squeeze before falling back into the bed and throwing the covers over the two.

"Let's go to bed, okay?" he whispered, giving her a light kiss on her temple. She nodded her head as she lay on top of him. A few minutes passed before she spoke. "I think my dad will be upset," she whispered, breaking the silence.

"About?" Sunghoon asked, thinking that she might be referring to the incident that happened at the banquet with Heeseung.

"Us," she said, tracing circles on his chest. "Us?" he questioned, confused. "Yeah, he's not too fond of you after everything you did," she confessed, catching him off guard, but he couldn't help the small smile that was forming on his face. "I'm not either but I just can't seem to stay away from you." she whispered.

"You'll have to go talk to him," she said, looking up at him, catching the giddy smile on his face, which caused her to let out a slight giggle. Sunghoon squeezed her in a hug. "I'll go talk to him," he said, giving her a kiss.

The next morning, Sunghoon woke up before Haneul, admiring the peaceful state she was in as she slept. He couldn't help but smile at the sight of her, her features softened by the morning light filtering through the curtains. Leaning down, he gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek, not wanting to disturb her peaceful slumber.

Soon, Haneul began stirring under the sheets. She rubbed her eyes and yawned, hiding her face in his chest. "Good morning," she mumbled, her voice still husky from sleep.

"Good morning, love," he replied, a warmth in his voice as he pulled her up slightly, so she was laying on him. "Are you feeling better now?" he asked, tucking stray hairs behind her ear.

She huffed a little, her morning hair slightly tousled. "Yeah, I think so," she said, her eyes still heavy with sleep. As she became more awake, she also began trying to tame her hair, a small smile forming on Sunghoon's face as he watched her morning routine.

Sunghoon and Haneul made their way to the kitchen after waking up fully. Sunghoon insisted on ordering breakfast for the two, wanting to take care of everything so that Haneul didn't have to worry about a thing. She had suggested they have a lazy day and stay home, which Sunghoon agreed to, although he knew he would have to leave around noon to take care of some work-related matters.

As they sat on the couch, contemplating what to do for the day, they heard the doorbell echo through the apartment. Haneul quickly got up, anticipating that the food had been delivered. Sunghoon remained on the couch, watching the drama on TV, but he soon got up as he heard Haneul scream.

"YAH!!" she said in between laughter. "Ms. Kim Haneul, have no fear; your knights in shining armor are here," Jay said in a deep, heroic voice, entering the apartment with Sunoo, who had food in his hands and was laughing at Jay's joking manner. "Put her down," Sunoo laughed.

They all walked into her apartment as Sunoo shut the door, but they stopped in their tracks as their eyes landed on Sunghoon standing in the hallway. Relief washed over Sunghoon as he realized it was just Jay and Sunoo coming to check on Haneul. However, a slight feeling of jealousy lingered in the pit of his stomach as he observed Jay's hand placement on Haneul's thighs, helping her maintain her balance.

"Oh, we didn't know you had a guest," Jay said, clearing his throat as he carefully put Haneul down.

"Okay, well, I'm glad that you're not eating all of this by yourself," Sunoo said, referring to the takeout order he was holding. "Jay and I brought you food, but it looks like you already..." Sunoo handed Haneul the food they ordered. Awkward tension filled the air, evident to Haneul and Sunoo.

"You guys should join us," Haneul suggested, attempting to cut through the tension. Both she and Sunoo sensed the death stares Jay and Sunghoon were exchanging.

"Yeah," Sunoo said, looking between the two. "We wanted to eat this ourselves anyway, so it works out, right, Jay?" Sunoo nudged Jay.

"Yeah," Jay agreed as he followed Haneul into the kitchen. Haneul took Sunghoon's hand, leading him to the kitchen. The four sat at the tall table, eating breakfast in an awkward silence. Sunghoon stole glances at Jay, who looked at Haneul and then at Sunghoon. Sunoo observed everyone, unable to contain his laughter.

"You're actually jealous?" Sunoo said, pointing at Sunghoon between laughs. "You're jealous of Jay," he said, laughing.

"I'm not," Sunghoon defended, his face slightly getting hot. Jay couldn't help but smirk, putting away the act.

"Look, Sunghoon, you don't have to worry about me," Jay finally said, putting his hands up in defeat. "I see her as a sister, an ugly one at that," Jay joked, causing Haneul to throw a paper towel at him. "I'm joking!" Jay defended. "But seriously, no need to be jealous. I know I'm handsome, and I could easily get any girl that I want, but her," he pointed at Haneul, "I really don't want her," he grimaced jokingly.

"Yah!" Haneul said, threatening to throw something else at him. "As you can see," Sunoo said, laughing, "brother and sister," he added. Sunghoon couldn't deny that he felt a little embarrassed but, at the same time, relieved. He placed his hand on Haneul's thigh, giving it a light squeeze.

"Now, can we please eat comfortably? The silence is killing me," Sunoo exaggerated as he took a bite of food.

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