Love & Romance ~ A study of Intimacy

Chapter 18

As if fate agreed, Lee left his room once again to take care of his dinner dish. Perfect.

"Lee?"

"Hmm? What is it?"

I stood from my seat and walked over to the kitchen island, setting my hands on it and staring deep into his eyes. I wanted him to be perfectly attentive and not be able to pull away from this situation. This was serious, at least to me.

However, as I stared, I could feel the organization in my brain begin to scramble. What would be the first thing I say? I didn't want to be blunt and throw him off but I wanted whatever I had to say to him first be important enough for him to understand.

I thought of Jasmina and Gerald. When Jasmina was uncertain of Gerald's feelings, she tried to ease into the conversation the fact that she loved him. However, Gerald did mention that she could have been more forward. I pressed my lips together into a fine line before speaking at last.

"Do you like me?"

I needed to hear him say an answer. Whichever answer he would give would help us figure out what was wrong. There was no use in asking what was wrong unless you knew the source first. Lee seemed surprised by the question, but slowly lowered his head and closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. I waited until he eventually looked back up at me with a nod.

"I do, Amelia. I've liked you for a while, actually. I just didn't... I didn't want my feelings to get in the way of our relationship. I mean, I'm your manager and - - "

"Yoon Ho."

Lee stared wide-eyed at me, most likely for using his actual first name. I didn't want to offend him, but I could tell he was going to ramble so I had to stop it. Now was not the time to dance around with it.

"I like you too, Yoon Ho."

Yoon Ho stared, speechless, as I rubbed my thumbs along his hand nervously. It was true though: I liked him a lot. He was there to support and care for me that I imagined us becoming closer. Maybe the idea was unrealistic to others, but to someone who understood how love worked, I wasn't surprised to have fallen for my manager. After all, who wouldn't? He was sweet and kind and beyond handsome.

I smiled at Yoon Ho, feeling my own blush match his.

"You work so hard for me and care for me, more than any manager should... We've done so much together and I can't ever thank you enough. You helped me achieve my greatest dream of being a writer... It was almost a given that I would grow to love you, Yoon Ho."

I was surprised at myself. I said I love. I felt myself silently gasp at the word, but as I reflected on it, I accepted it. We had been together ever since I graduated from college and he was there, constantly checking up on me and helping me with whatever I needed. It wasn't enough just to say that I like him.

I loved him.

Yoon Ho stared at me, slowly bringing his free hand to the middle of the table, and gently cupped my hands into his. I felt his hands softly shake, like he was afraid that something would break this moment and reveal it to be a dream, but his smile spoke volumes of his joy.

"Amelia... you have no idea how happy I am right now..." I smiled and giggled before walking around the island and stepping up to him. While I had been close to him before, as I stopped in front of him, I could feel a shift in the balance between us. We had crossed the threshold of us simply being manager and talent to being people who loved one another.

"I may have a clue." With a soft lift up onto the balls of my feet, I wrapped my arms around Yoon Ho's neck and hugged him close. He smiled and gently pressed his forehead against mine, wrapping his arms around my waist at the same time.

"Hehe, this is not what we came here for, but screw it."

"There's nothing wrong with a break once in awhile, hehe" My smile couldn't fade away from my mouth as I giggled at his reply. My heart began to flutter deep in my chest and make every part of my body feel light and fluffy. This was the romance I wrote about, dreamed about, dissected about and studied about.

I felt every positive emotion run through me about my love. I was living in a fantasy romance story and this was a pinnacle moment in the plot. A part of me didn't want it to end the night like this, though.