Unveiling beauty " Ambw"

Caught in the middle

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Ki pov • 2012

As the harsh trill of an alarm filled the early morning silence, I felt a groggy stir beside me. Blinking against the drowsiness, I tried to orient myself. "When did I get an alarm?" I thought, straining to recall details that refused to surface.

Two masks abandoned on the sheets caught my eye. I closed the distance between us, pulling her in by the waist, securing her against me.

A muffled chuckle bubbled up from beneath the blankets, the sound oddly comforting in the disarray. She shifted to face me, and I gently lifted the blanket that obscured her features.

Her reaction was instantaneous. A surprised yelp escaped her as she pushed me off the bed.

"Fuck," she muttered, her gaze darting between me and the evidence of our intimacy scattered across the room. "Fuck, fuck, fuck."

"Nani," I began, but she seemed locked in her own thoughts.

"This... it actually happened, didn't it?" She sounded more bewildered than anything else, her eyes scanning the room as if searching for an escape route.

"Fuck! Is Ha-na home? I've never done something like this before. I feel so... so..."

"Honey! What's all that noise?" The unmistakable tone of Ha-na echoed through the closed door.

In a frenzy, Nani leapt up to secure the lock on the door. "I... I thought I saw a mouse!" She shouted back hastily.

"We better get this place cleaned up soon. Eomma is coming home." The sound of Ha-na's retreating footsteps followed her announcement.

Once we were alone again, Nani clamped a hand over my mouth. "This isn't right... this is all wrong," she whispered, the confusion evident in her voice.

I held her gaze, my heart heavy. "Do you regret last night?" I asked, looking at her as if searching for her answer.

The silence that followed was punctuated by her muffled exclamation into a pillow. "Why are you always the one I end up making a fool of myself with?" She bemoaned, her voice muffled by the fabric. "Why do I like you so much!"

"Of all the people I could have taken home... it was you!" She added, her voice laced with a mix of incredulity and frustration.

"Should I take offense or feel flattered?" I responded, the corner of my mouth quirking into a smirk.

She offered me an exaggerated roll of her eyes as she took the undershirt I held out to her, crossing her arms protectively over her chest.

Capturing her attention, I asked earnestly, "So, what is it about me that you like so much?"

"I can tell you I don't like your lack of commitment," she replied, her tone guarded as she placed on the shirt.

"But what if my hesitation is protection? What if it's something associated with who I truly am, and my restraint is just a way to keep you safe?" I asked.

She scoffed at my vagueness, "What? Are your parents in a Korean gang or something?" Her sarcastic comment hung in the air before she continued, "Yeah, I can see that now." Despite her joking tone, she followed up with a more serious inquiry. "Anyway, protect me from what?"

Caught off guard by her straightforwardness, I fumbled for an answer, "That's... complicated."

Trying to lighten the mood, I offered, "I don't know, I'm just saying, after all, it's all hypothetical." I glanced out the window, avoiding her penetrating gaze.