Ash opened her eyes slowly when she smelled the delicious smell around her, she lifted her head slowly and saw that she was in the bed all alone with Akira. She smiled as she rubbed her face against the kitten. She got out of bed and saw her reflection in the mirror and jumped in surprise, her hair was a mess, she had straightened it but it was frizzy and puffy now, her bangs were wavy and she had drool on her face "SHIT!" she exclaimed as she slapped her forehead.
"I've got to do something about the way I look.." Ash whispered as she tried fixing her hair by running her fingers through it.
Her bag was outside, and so was the bathroom! so if she wanted to get her bag and go to the restroom, she had to face Myung Suk, who was probably in the lounge.
But Ash couldn't hear anything. Still, she couldn't take the risk, she saw a hoodie lying on the chair inside the room, she picked it up and hid her face with it and opened the bedroom door. She took small, cautious steps outside and there standing in front of her was Myung Suk, looking as handsome as ever,
"Ash! goodmorning!" He chirped, raising his hand for a high five, but Ash just nodded and muffled a tiny "morning!"
"are you alright? did something happen to your..face?" Myung Suk asked, worried
"hm?" Ash asked, and shook her head quickly
she pointed towards the bathroom and Myung Suk nodded, "oh right, don't forget to turn on the warm water.." he said as he tried hard to look through the hoodie, he was seriously worried that perhaps Akira scratched her face or something, Ash took another careful step when Aki ran towards her, shocking her and almost making her fall. But she was saved, by the one and only Myung Suk, who caught her in time and saw, what Ash was hiding, her face.
"are you alright?" He asked breathlessly, looking right into her eyes
Ash opened her eyes and nodded her head, "I..think so.." she whispered, her face was crimson red in colour now,
Myung Suk gave her a reassuring smile and straightened her, "you look really beautiful..I'd do anything to wake up next to you everyday.." he whispered as he quickly turned around to pick Aki up,
Ash couldn't say anything because she was no longer on this Earth, she was flying above the sky, far away in the galaxy, her heart was too tired of pounding so hard, her face was radiating enough heat to fry an egg on it..her hands were shaking and so were her feelings.
"Aki! you bad boy! you scared Ash..go inside and play with Akira.." Myung Suk scolded Aki and then let him go play in the room. He was too embarrassed himself, to face Ash, he was blushing too
As he stood up, he felt a strong hold around his waist and then warmth against his back
"Ash.." he whispered
"I.." she whispered as she tightened her hold and tears rolled down her cheeks
Myung Suk felt the tears as they penetrated through his shirt and he quickly turned to look at Ash, who was crying like a baby, he took a deep breath as he tried figuring out what happened and then he hugged her, "don't cry..I..love you.." he whispered in her ear
"you flirt! I love you too! I love you very very much!" she exclaimed enthusiastically as she hugged him back
Myung Suk blinked a few times to keep his tears from falling, as he struggled for air, not because her hold was tight but because her words were strong and they were tightening their hold around his heart
He took a deep breath as a tear fell from his eyes, so dramatic, he smiled.
Ash finally broke the hug and quickly turned around, embarrassed
"mom brought breakfast for us!" Myung Suk said as he took her hand and made her sit on the dining chair
Ash's eyes popped out when she heard that, "your mom? as in my professor? she came here? and I was asleep?" She asked, hoping Myung Suk says that he's joking but he was serious.
"she was really happy, she even told me that I made a nice move, whatever that means, because you're the one who made the move..running to my room blaming the wind.." Myung Suk teased Ash
Ash rubbed the back of her neck, "I've never slept this peacefully since I came to Korea..It has been years..your embrace was..warm and I felt at home..thank you for that and I'm sorry though, I probably have other sleep habits slash problems like drooling.." she said giving an embarrassed grin
Myung Suk smiled as her heard her talk, he didn't say anything, he just smiled and took a deep breath, as if taking everything in..the feelings and the happiness he was feeling at that moment. He looked out the window and whispered, "the weather's kind of gloomy today.."
"I better get going, after finishing my breakfast, of course..you probably have a lot to do except just entertaining me.." Ash said as she filled her mouth with food
Myung Suk gestured her to slow down and poured her some tea, "slow down Ash..you'll choke..also, I read, write, draw, play games and sometimes..study too...haha! I'm actually waiting for my acceptance letter from KAIST..I applied while I was at the hospital..two days ago probably?" Myung Suk said take a bite of his pancake.
"really?! That's great..oh that's amazing! how I've always wanted to go study there! what are you planning to study?" Ash asked, excited
"bioengineering..most probably..that's what I've always wanted to do.." Myung Suk said, cleaning something on Ash's face and quickly retaliating, when he realized what he was doing.
Ash was sitting stiffly now, she gulped, touching her face where Myung Suk had touched
"sorry there was..something..uh I apologize..I-" Myung Suk apologized but was interrupted by Ash, "It's alright! Thank you for wiping it for me!" she said a little too enthusiastically, probably because of the adrenaline rushing
There was silence for a while, no movement either. Then Myung Suk slowly leaned in, taking deep breaths, Ash's eyes widened as she figured out what was about to happen, she put her hand on her chest, in an attempt to control her heart from going crazy.
Myung Suk locked his eyes with her, their faces were a few centimeters apart, they could feel each other's heartbeat, Myung Suk made the most innocent face as he softly asked, "can I kiss you, please?" Ash didn't say anything, she didn't even move for a second and then, she leaned in to close the gap between them as her lips touched his, they were soft and shaking
but then she felt his smile, and then he playfully bit her lower lip. Without knowing Ash drew back, Myung Suk looked apologetic when he made eye contact with her, but Ash gave him a reassuring smile as she pulled him closer and wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist as her lips crashed over his. Myung Suk kissed back, picking Ash up and sitting her on the kitchen counter, they kissed for a solid 3 minutes, it was intimate, satisfying but too demanding for both of them, and too addictive.. They broke the kiss for air.
they laughed when they realized what had just happened, "you're a good kisser..is that what you're thinking of saying to me?" Myung Suk jokingly asked, just to break the ice
"no..I just want to say..finally! finally..it was about time.." she replied sticking her tongue out
Myung Suk laughed heartily, "oh you don't know how I controlled myself..I wanted to kiss you the moment I woke up and saw you sleeping on the couch in my ward..and then when I fixed your collar, when you walked into the coffee shop yesterday..the whole night! I wanted to kiss you when you fell into my arms this morning..but I'm a coward and..I didn't want to do it until you were ready for it.." Myung Suk whispered as he fixed her bangs and smiled
Ash didn't say anything because she was too shy to even look him in the eye.
~
"come over! I'll show you my place..and introduce you to my neighbour buddy slash soul sibling!" Ash said as she pulled Myung Suk behind her. He locked the car as he got pulled into the building and there he was, standing in front of Ash's apartment door, waiting for her to open the door.
"okay first of all, Jisoo, my friend was around so don't mind the mess and secondly, um..I hope you like it!" she exclaimed as she opened the door and *ting* the elevator door opened and out stepped Haneul.
Haneul stopped midway when he saw Myung Suk,
"Oh! Haneul!" Ash exclaimed as gestured him to come forward, and so he did go forward,
He bowed and greeted both Ash and Myung Suk and Myung Suk bowed back and smiled
"love, this is Haneul, my neighbour buddy slash soul sibling? and Haneul, this is..Myung Suk..my..boyfriend.." Ash whispered the last part because she was embarrassed and shy
"oh! the person you wanted to kiss?" Haneul exclaimed, a little more enthusiastically
Ash punched his arm, "yah!"
"it's a pleasure meeting you..I must say, you're definitely a blessing, Ash changed her hairstyle after a million years!" Haneul joked again, getting another hit on his arm but that wasn't going to stop him
Myung Suk laughed, "well, what can I say.." he joined in
"heyyy! by the way, where are you coming from? come over for tea.." Ash invited
"uh, I'm just coming back from a meeting, and no thank you, you should have tea with Myung Suk..I have to prepare lunch for my own girlfriend.." Haneul winked as he turned down the invitation
"okay, rude. bye." Ash stuck her tongue out and pulled Myung Suk inside
Ash bit her lip as she spread her arms, as if presenting something in front of a huge audience
Myung Suk looked around and softly smiled. "you've a beautiful place..but it's obviously not more beautiful than you.." he said in a low husky voice, which melted Ash's heart.
"Ash..? I better get going..you've to go back to work tomorrow, I'll let you prepare for that.." he said walking towards her
Ash slowly took a few steps towards him, with a sad face, "do you have to go?" she asked weakly
He held her shoulders and nodded, "if you feel blue..or a mean red..call me ASAP..I'll come running to hug you.." he whispered as he leaned in to plant a kiss on her forehead.
Ash closed her eyes and nodded slowly, taking a deep breath as his lips touched her forehead, "promise?"
"I promise.."
