APRICATE ; p.sunghoon

✤ | 12 - horseback riding

AERA'S POV

my eyes fluttered open as the bright sunlight fell over my face. i started to wake up from my sleep, my mind still hazy. grabbing my phone from the bedside table, i checked the time; seven a.m. i turned my face over to sunghoon's side, expecting him to be asleep.

my eyes widened when i saw him sitting on the couch, working on his laptop. to say that i was bewildered would be an understatement. because, first of all, why is he already awake at seven a.m. secondly, why was he working this early in the morning? thirdly, when did he even wake up?

sensing my gaze on him, he lifted his eyes from his laptop and greeted, "good morning."

'good morning'?? what am i? his business partner? oh god. looks like my fiancé is a loser grandfather.

to avoid shouting at the man on the very first day after our engagement, i made my way to the bathroom to get ready for the day.

i took a quick shower and wore a lavender cardigan, pairing it with straight-cut white coloured pants. after applying some perfume and pulling my long hair into a messy bun, i was about to head out, when suddenly my eyes landed on the engagement ring on my ring finger, the vivid blue coloured diamond shining.

growing up, i had to fight for the attention of my parents. even though me and jaeyun are very close, and i love him more than my own self, i was envious of him in my childhood. how he would always receive so much praise from my parents for doing a simple thing, or how they always asked for his opinions even in the most serious matters. i knew that the importance of his health and feelings were extremely important, given that he was the heir of the company. i understood it, trust me, i did. but, at the end of the day, i just felt like i was completely on my own. if i wanted to hear a 'you did so well!' from my parents' mouth, i had to get better grades than jaeyun, do the chores in such a disciplined way which sometimes made me question whether i was 'just a kid and allowed to do mistakes' like what they told jaeyun or if i was my parents' age, needing to be so perfect, a mentality that had cost me my childhood.

doing good in academics was not my own wish or goal, but rather, it was my parents'. and at the end of the day, it was the only thing that would allow me to get seen, to be appreciated. because academic or not, it was still a kind of validation. one that helped me forget my flaws and the darkness of my soul, and made me believe that i was worthy of being born.

i quickly pushed the memories of my childhood out of my head, as i walked into the room.

"i'll be going outside." i spoke as normally as i could, not wanting him to sense the tears that would fall down my cheeks anytime now.

but as unfortunate my fate was, he seemed to notice the underlying sadness in my voice.

"what happened?" sunghoon spoke suddenly, his voice carrying a hint of softness.

"nothing. what do you mean?" i replied, trying to be channel my usual cheerfulness.

"aera, don't make me ask again. what happened?" he asked again, this time a bit firmer than before.

"it's just that... everything's new and..." i trailed off, trying to come up with a lie. technically, it wasn't fully a lie, it did have some truth in it.

sunghoon sighed, getting up from the couch and walking closer to me, his hands inside his pant pockets.

"well, that's understandable. but if you ever feel a need to share your problems with someone, then i'll be there. always." sunghoon spoke in a serious manner before smiling softly at me. "do you want to go horseback riding? jaeyun once told me how eager you were to try it..." sunghoon spoke hesistantly, a hint of nervousness in his eyes.

my jaw hung open, "wait, really? you'll... take me to the horseback riding track?"

the track was in a very secluded place, and to go horseback riding, you'd need someone experienced in the sport. this criteria wasn't an easy one to fulfill given how busy everyone was with the yesterday's engagement and upcoming wedding preparations.

"yeah, i guess i could." sunghoon smiled at my reaction, his dimples prominent.

oh my god. sunghoon had dimples all this time?! gosh that's so cute.

and after eating breakfast together with the other families, sunghoon took me to the horseback riding track.

"this is sage. he's the one i usually take when i feel like going on a simple ride for relaxing." sunghoon petted the withers of sage as he chuckled, "but he can be a bit rough at times."

he carefully got on sage and offered his hand towards me, "come on." he pulled me by my hand, grabbing my waist in the process, as he helped me to sit in front of him.

he extended his hands from behind me, showing me the reins and started explaining it's role to me, his hot breath against my ear, "reins are used to give subtle commands or cues. various commands could signal a turn, ask for a slower speed, request a halt or rein back." showing me their practical use afterwards.

this was the first time i was in such a close proximity with a man, the thought and the sensation of his mouth over my ears making my mind hazy.

when all of a sudden, sage started to run, the sudden change causing my body to wobble. i might have fallen off right there if sunghoon hadn't steadied me. his two hands placed gently on my waist as he spoke, "be careful aera! or you'll get injured pretty badly."

surprisingly, he had kept his hands right there on my waist throughout the whole ride, often giving me instructions from behind on how to manage the reign during speeding up and down and slight turns in the track.

and i quickly got used to it, the adrenaline catching up to me as i giggled, a big smile capturing my lips, as sunghoon's occasional wholehearted laughs blessed my ears.

× author's note: ooooh guys seeee this is what i meant when i said that it's going to get interesting once they get engaged :smirks:

please do vote and comment if you enjoyed reading !!

with lots of love, reen <3