coffee

SIXTEEN - bail

When he came back home after she bailed him out, totaling an exact amount of $453656 won to do it, the first thing he wanted to do was take a nice and long, hot shower.

As soon as he got out and dressed himself in a set of new pajamas she had surprised him with (yay, he was super excited and loved to get new clothes), he walked up to her open door and rapped on it lightly, peeking in curiously over at her.

It felt so good to have him there again. She smiled. "Come in, silly. You don't have to knock when the door's open," she joked lightly with him, making him grin softly.

Jeongguk made a beeline for her, sliding next to her on his side, grabbing her waist and pulling his body in closer to hers, his face buried in her shirt by her lower back.

"Excuse me!"

He began to crack a smile as he then proceeded to squeeze her sides, her reaction making him laugh even more.

"'Excuse me'! Not 'ex-squeeze' me'!"

"Yah, I know," he laughed, leaning in close again, kissing her side. "But I love you."

"Jeongguk, we've gone over this," she joked, being funny as she continued, "Just because you love me does not mean you get to squeeze me every time I say excuse me."

"That was a weird phrase. 'Squeeze me every time I say excuse me.'"

They both laughed, and when he kissed the side of her torso again, down by her tummy, Yerim gasped, swatting him away. "Omo! Stop!"

"Yerim, there's a shirt between my lips and your skin! I'm not trying to seduce you or anything."

She laughed, loosening up some more as she tuned back to her laptop. "You're right. I'm sorry, Jeony. I'm just a little wound up right now, if you get what I mean," Yerim apologized, and he smiled softly, nodding and lying his head in her lap, his floofy hair floofing the opposite way as she pushed his bangs back. "Also, you should show some forehead. You look so nice like that..."

"Oh, and as if I don't normally?" he said defensively, then laughing, his face in her stomach. "I'm kidding, baby."

She smiled, "I know," and continued to stroke his face and his soft, silky black hair as she watched him in awe. She absolutely adored him. Those eyes, and that smile, and just him — he was everything for her.

"So... I was thinking," he prompted once his face got serious again, looking up at her from down below, his head still nestled in her lap as she continued to play with his baby hairs she couldn't normally see well, but since his hair was tousled and mussed, her eyes could pick out each individual short strand, so delicate in her fingers.

"Hmm?" she brought herself to say out loud, after she had been so focused on adoring him.

"I know this is a change again. And I'm sorry, I really am... would you be willing to move back to America again with me, or at least just stay a little while, I guess?"

Yerim thought for a second, a little bit taken aback by his sudden remark about wanting to move to the states again. Maybe he wanted to just be out of his childhood hometown, and overall just general area. "Hmm... I mean, I'll have to think on the moving part. I guess I wouldn't be leaving anything behind, really, though."

He nodded slowly, looking off to the side as he played with the hem of her pj top. "Yeah."

"How come you wanna move?"

Jeongguk sighed. "I just want to get away from all this stuff. I don't know. From my childhood and my past and just leave everything behind."

She frowned when he said that, his comment making her upset. Yet again she wished she could trade her past with his, somehow, and make his life and everything going on in his mind go right again.

The therapist part of her led her even more to believe that she could indeed actually make a difference. She just had to figure out how. Could she technically be her own boyfriend's therapist? Was that even possible?

Probably not, because you could be 'biased' or something for some reason.

"Well, Jeongguk... if that's what you wanna do, then I'll buy a place with you back in America. I want what's best for you, honey."

"I don't want us to do something just for me."

"This isn't just for you! Remember, I want what you're comfortable with. I want what you want."

"I don't believe in one-way relationships, Yerim —"

"Gguk! We're moving to America, alright?"