Gentle Forest

Chapter 120

As soon as I regained consciousness, I heard the clear chirping of birds. Along with it was the familiar rustling of leaves. It seemed I had passed out again after some frantic activity.

Feeling the unmistakable vibe of morning, I shifted my hips against the dull ache. Despite vividly feeling the aftermath of sex, my body felt remarkably fresh. Aiden had obviously cleaned me up thoroughly. There was no lingering semen or unpleasant body odor. I was wearing a white T-shirt and shorts, and the only disappointing thing was that Aiden wasn't beside me.

Sensing movement nearby, I wobbled out of the silk bed. As soon as Aiden, who was fussing over something, noticed me, he scooped me up into his arms.

"Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah. I think I slept really deeply."

It was a struggle to hug Aiden, who was almost 20 cm taller than me. Instead, I burrowed into his embrace and asked,

"How long did you go on after that?"

"I didn't. Not anymore."

"Did you pull out immediately?"

The nodding face looked innocent and uncharacteristic of Aiden. Whether he stopped or not, it didn't matter since I had been unconscious anyway. I was nestled against him, enjoying his baby-like, comforting scent, when I lifted my head at the delicious smell.

"I smell ramyeon."

"Are you hungry?"

"Yeah. I feel like my stomach is glued to my back."

Following Aiden's lead, I saw a portable table set up in advance. Sitting down gingerly, I found freshly cooked ramen in front of me, along with a crisp salad, grilled sausages, and fresh fruit. Clearly, Aiden had prepared the ramyeon for me.

"When did you prepare all this?"

Checking his phone's clock, Aiden replied, "I knew you'd wake up around this time." Having spent countless nights together, Aiden knew my waking hours perfectly. After only snacking on wine and dessert the night before, my mouth watered at the sight of the food.

"It looks really delicious."

Instead of sitting across from me, Aiden nestled beside me, blowing on some noodles before feeding them to me with a spoon.

"Thank you, Aiden."

I expressed my gratitude belatedly and fed him a grape in return. He blushed as he accepted it, looking adorably cute, making me smile even through my sleepy eyes. After the wedding and the first night together, it felt like our bond had strengthened. Contrary to my previous belief that strong love was enough, I found myself deeply immersed in every step of the wedding and honeymoon process.

As I gazed at my sparkling ring, Aiden called me.

"Seowon, look."

He showed me a photo Minhyuk had sent of Joy. Her eyes were red as if she had been crying, and she looked like both Aiden and me. Joy was always adorable, but as her father, it stirred complicated emotions in me. I spoke with a tone of concern, "I don't know how much longer we can keep this from people."

"Keep what?"

"Joy, she really looks like both of us. And it's not like you and I look like brothers, so we can't say she's a sibling."

"You don't have to hide it."

"It's just that talking about it is fine, but having to explain everything in detail is a bit inconvenient." As I spoke while biting into a sausage, Aiden gently patted the back of my head without rushing me.

"I'll handle any inconvenience, so only talk about it when you're with me."

"No, I can handle it."

"When Joy reaches school age, it'll be hard to keep it a secret."

"That's true."

Aiden and I were still students ourselves, so talking about Joy going to school felt surreal. Even though I felt a twinge of guilt every time my dad sighed heavily, happiness couldn't be measured by age. Whether I became Aiden's boyfriend, his spouse, or Joy's dad at forty or fifty, it would always bring me the same happiness. It felt like just yesterday when Aiden first came to our house, yet the seasons had changed several times already. I fiddled with my wedding ring and looked up at Aiden. As I leaned on his shoulder, barely chewing my food, he seemed to think I was cold and covered me with a blanket.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Aiden asked, unable to hide the tremor in his eyes. Sometimes he acted so brazenly, yet at other times he was adorably flustered. It pleased me to know that my gaze still made him tremble.

"I don't want to go home."

It wasn't that I disliked home. It was a feeling similar to when I had wished Aiden wouldn't leave the forest and go back to America. That sense of isolation, as if only the two of us existed in the world. The laziness of not having to care about anything or anyone else. The warmth of our bodies heating the unusually cool forest for summer. The sunlight split into hundreds of rays by the dense leaves....

"Should we stay one more day?" Aiden whispered. I shook my head and leaned into him more deeply.

"One day is enough."

There was a time when the idea of living in the forest forever had been unbearable. Even though I had adapted, it didn't mean that the monotony of identical days wasn't tedious. If he hadn't come in the heat of a typical midsummer day, perhaps I would have never experienced a different kind of happiness in a parallel world that seemed almost the same.

"It's our honeymoon, though. Is this really enough?" Aiden asked hesitantly.

"Enough?"

"Maybe we should be somewhere nicer...."

Aiden's face showed uncertainty, but I couldn't imagine a more perfect honeymoon than this.
"It's not about where we are; it's about being alone with you," I said, deliberately caressing his thigh gently. Aiden's face lit up with a blissful smile, and until the corners of his mouth slowly returned to their place, everything felt perfect.

It genuinely felt like I had the whole world.

He kissed me on the cheek before turning his gaze back to the table. There was still a
mountain of food left to eat. By the time we had filled our stomachs and stood up, the day had warmed a bit. I stretched long and wrapped my arms around Aiden's waist as he stood tall like an ancient tree.

"We still have some time before we need to leave...."

He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and gave me a mischievous look. It annoyed me that he was hinting at doing it again when I was already sore.

"Again? Again?" Before he could answer, I playfully beat his chest. But the words that reached my ears were surprisingly calm and refreshing.

"Let's go for a morning walk."