At Long Last

Reunited

A quick tour of the house was done when Jeong Hyeok had moved all their belongings to the bedroom.

The room on the ground floor holding the grand piano was still being hidden as a surprise gift, though Se-ri hadn't really thought of when she should be revealing it.

There were other...more pressing things on her mind.

Jeong Hyeok was still surprised to say the least, by the fact that Se-ri had gone ahead to buy a house in Lungern, though it was increasingly obvious to her that his surprise over her latest big-list purchase was of the pleasant sort.

"What do you think of this place, Ri Jeong Hyeok-ssi? In terms of the interior decor?" She asked, as he slowly looked at the windowsill area where their framed photographs were placed.

"I wouldn't have done it differently myself. It's very relaxing and unpretentious."

She smiled a heartfelt smile. "I'm glad you like it."

A few seconds of comfortable silence ticked by, before Jeong Hyeok picked one of the photo frames up.

"This is..."

It was the photo he had snapped of her back on Sigriswil Panorama Bridge, when Se-ri had been on the brink of taking her own life.

He regarded her with slightly widened eyes; from what he remembered, she wasn't exactly fond of this shot.

"Well...it was meant to be my end, but ironically, that was our beginning, wasn't it?" Se-ri replied. "That was the point when it all began for us."

There was something about the way she had put it, that led Jeong Hyeok's heart to clench painfully.

Looking at this beautiful woman standing in front of him, while feeling all the love and admiration in the world for her, made the thought of how she had almost committed suicide unbearably painful.

If she had really died at that point, he would certainly have gone through life without knowing true love, for there can be no other like her.

A life without Yoon Se-ri...that was unfathomable.

His fingers involuntarily tightened their hold on the frame.

"Thank you for saving me on that day, Ri Jeong Hyeok-ssi. You didn't just give me a new lease of life, you also taught me to love." Se-ri quietly said, her voice filled with emotion as she stared at the space that the photo had vacated on the windowsill.

His wistful gaze on her didn't go unnoticed, for she turned in his direction with a smile.

"Oh, just look at me!" Her smile grew into a bright cheery one, in what was a blatant attempt at concealing her feelings. "We've only just managed to see each other again. I shouldn't be harping on all these unhappiness-hmmm!"

Se-ri's words died abruptly mid-sentence, evaporating with a muffled shriek of surprise, as Jeong Hyeok gathered her into his arms, hungrily claiming her lips in a soul-searing kiss.

Her initial shock at being manhandled into a deep kiss led to a few fleeting moments of instinctive struggle, though that soon gave way to something else.

"Don't fight this..." His words were a lulling whisper against her parted lips.

Both could feel it...there was something unspoken in the air.

Something that commonly went by the name desire, clinging heavily to the air in their shared space.

Through the vicious cycle of trial and suffering, what was left were two raw, wounded souls in need of comfort.