His Bride - A Minsung Story

十三

Jisung's POV:

It has been exactly 2 days, 8 hours, and 6 minutes since Minho showed me that secret room and since I've last seen him. Why am I counting? I'm not counting, what are talking about? I'm excited to have access to that huge library and I no doubt will attempt to learn where everything is, hopefully with the help of Minho. But unfortunately, every time I step into that library I'm reminded of Jinnie and my family that I left behind. I wonder if they're doing okay? Probably worried sick, all because of me.

I sigh and bury my head in a fluffy pillow, why do I deserve this luxury when my parents still live with barely enough food to eat? My mind isn't allowed to spiral farther when my belly grumbles loudly. I reluctantly lift my head from my pillow and look at the time which reads 23:01. By now all the maids and other castle staff have gone to bed so I'll have to find the kitchen if I want food. Whether I could actually cook or not was a whole different problem that I didn't want to think about. You see I'm a terrible cook, so hopefully they have something already prepared in the fridge.

I huff while I get out of bed, not like I'm sleeping anyway but that doesn't mean I want to leave my warm bed.....it's just soooo cozy. I quietly push my door open and let a smile spread across my features when it doesn't creak. I stand still in the hallway before taking a random guess as to where the kitchen is. If you couldn't already tell, I still haven't memorized this place. I swear the more time I spend here the more labyrinth-like it gets.

The second I smell something sweet I stop walking. Is someone else also awake? Well, only one way to find out. Follow that delicious smell. It turns out I wasn't too far from the kitchen, maybe I'm not as hopeless as I originally thought.

The door to the kitchen was slightly open and light streamed into the hallway. As I got closer to the door I slowed down and peaked into the room. I instantly recognized Minho as the one inside the room even with his back turned. For a second I was lost in a trance, he moved so gracefully around the kitchen like he knew where everything was by heart. It was strangely relaxing to watch him cook on the grill and oh my god, whatever is in the oven smells heavenly. I fixated on his back muscles as he picked up a heavy pot and the blush on my face once I realized that I was blatantly eyeing him was enough to break me from my trance.

I walked in the room and whispered in hopes of not startling him, "Hi." 

Minho turns around with wide eyes of pure horror but then relaxes once he realizes it's me, "Oh you scared me Jisung, what are doing up so late?" Concern laces his tone as he studies me, trying to figure out what's wrong.

I wave him off, it's cute that he's worried about me, "Nothing, I just can't sleep then I wanted to eat something and smelled whatever it is you're cooking. Seems like it was a coincidence we ran into each other." I let a smile take over my features because I'm genuinely happy to see him again after what's felt like forever.

Minho's features morph into a smirk and I try to keep the blush off my cheeks, "Well, you're in luck then. The cheesecake is almost done."

"Cheese-cake? That sounds horrible," I scrunch up my nose. Is it like regular cheese in a cake? In what world would that ever work. I cross my arms in disbelief.

Minho turns his back to me again when the timer goes off, "Trust me," He pulls the cake out of the oven and the delicious smell takes over my senses, "You'll love it."

He holds out a fork for me which I reluctantly take while I suspiciously eye the cheesecake. I point at the cake with the fork and raise an eyebrow, "Are you sure this is safe to eat?"

Minho lets out a small laugh that fills my body with warmth, it seems he always has that effect on me, "You're being so dramatic, just taste it already! Trust me, I'm amazing at cooking."

I roll my eyes as his ego starts talking. So out of pure defiance of trying to prove him wrong, I take a bite. It takes a second then the most amazing tastes fill my mouth. It has just the right amount of sweetness and warmth that I can't help but close my eyes in pleasure. I take a moment to bask in the absolute wonderfulness and when I open my eyes again I'm met with a cheeky-looking Minho that I totally forgot was there.

"So you like it?"

"Hated it."

"You sure?"

"Positive."

"So I guess you wouldn't mind if I threw it away?" Minho drawls out and starts to reach out for the cake but I quickly swat his hand away.

"Don't throw away perfectly good food!"

"So you admit it's good?" Minho leans on the counter and smirks knowing that he won. I cross my arms and let out a huff. Instead of giving him an answer I reach out with my fork to grab another bite but I'm not able to as Minho steals the fork away from me. 

"Hey give that back!" I race after the little fork thief, how dare he try to stop me from eating the cheesecake??!!!

"I think you've had enough!" Minho yells as he continues to run away from me. Oh that selfish prince! Sharing is caring!

"I literally had one bite!" I reach out towards him once I get within range but in signature Hannie fashion, I carelessly trip over my own feet and I let out a scream when I see the floor approaching quickly. In the blink of an eye, strong arms wrap around my waist and save me from smashing my face into the floor. Which I am extremely grateful for, can't be ruining my adorable face if you know what I mean.

Minho holds me in place with my back to his chest and I can already feel butterflies erupting in my stomach from our close proximity. I turn around in his hold with the intention of thanking him for saving me from falling, again, but I get distracted, you can't even blame because who wouldn't be distracted by the Lee Minho. When I turn around our faces are centimeters apart and our noses lightly graze each other. A strawberry-colored blush graces my face and I hold my breath when we make eye contact with each other. His beautiful brown eyes meet mine and I feel my legs slightly give out.

Minho reaches up a hand towards me in what feels like slow motion and gently pushes some of my hair away from my face, "You're beautiful."

My blush somehow gets darker and I break eye contact due to not being able to hold his sincere stare that make me feel all hot and tingly. This is way too many seconds of consecutively being flustered, especially since Minho is so close to me. If only I had the confidence in this moment to tell him just how ethereal he looks all the time.

Minho clears his throat and pushes me away in a blink of an eye. Like the moment didn't happen at all, "Sorry, I don't know what came over me."

I slowly nod, I wish he said he was serious, "That's okay, we should we eat some more cheesecake? Because oh my god you were right, this has got to be the best thing I've ever tasted in my life," I quickly change the subject and in my nervousness I let the answer slip out.

"Aha! So you finally admit it, I'm a good cook," Minho changes back to his playful demeanor.

"No, I said the cheesecake is good," I'm quick to defend myself.

"Whatever you say Jisungie," Minho hands me the fork again with a smile on his face. I stare at him in awe for a couple seconds both for the nickname and the first full smile I've seen on his face. If it's possible, he got even more pretty with how the smile brightens up his face. I shake off the nickname and decide not to bring it up in hopes that he'll keep using it if I don't say anything. Something about having a nickname makes me feel special, like Minho really does care about me. 

I hope that's true because I think I'm starting to fall for him.....and fast.

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Thank you so much for reading!!! Sorry for being a bit late but I hope you enjoy the fluffy chapter and get ready for the next one <3333. This book has actually been very fun to write so I hope y'all are enjoying it as much as I am.

*Alex <3*

Word Count: 1,496