The room was dark after Shin Hye turned off the light and both of them were lying on the bed, staring into each other’s glistening eyes through the streetlight that seeped into the room.
Min Ho held her hand and played with the bangle around her wrist. “It looks so beautiful on you. Do you like it?” He asked, looking back at her.
“I love it.” Shin Hye smiled as she touched the bangle and slowly moving her fingers to her wedding ring. “I have a ‘timeless talisman’… and now I have another ‘inseparable love’. They will bless and keep us together… today, tomorrow and forever.”
Min Ho smiled before he leaned closer and planted a soft kiss on her forehead. “Forever…”
Shin Hye pulled back slightly and looked into his tired eyes. “Sleep.” She said in a soft whisper. “It’s late now. You will have headache again if you don’t have enough sleep. Your eyes look so tired.”
He shook his head and pouted his lips. “I don’t want to sleep yet. My eyes told me that they missed you a lot and can’t stop looking at you.”
Shin Hye chuckled softly. “Silly.”
“I’m serious.” Min Ho said as he pulled her closer to him. “You don’t know how much I missed you when you were not around. I couldn’t sleep at night and my head hurts so much that I couldn’t focus on my work at all. Hyun Jun just wouldn’t stop asking when you will come back and you keeps ignoring my calls.” He heaved a deep sigh as he gently caressed her jawline with his thumb. “Please don’t do this to me ever again.”
“I’m sorry.” Shin Hye apologized and buried her face into his neck.
Min Ho wrapped his arms around her and smiled again. “Running back to your parents’ house whenever you fight with your husband is not a right behaviour that a wife should have. No next time, arasso?”
“Arasso…” Shin Hye nodded with her lips pouted against his warm skin.
Before another silence could start, Min Ho spoke again. “Can I ask you something?”
Shin Hye pulled back slightly, looking at him and nodded her head.
Min Ho gazed into her eyes for a moment before he asked. “If… I mean… if I’m not the boy that you met in the Light House Orphanage, will you still marry me or… you will choose to ask Ok Taec Yeon for help?”
He knows this question was stupid and pointless but the ego side of him wanted to know the answer. It was not a competition but knowing that she might also choose Ok Taec Yeon over him, his mood turned sour.
Shin Hye held his gaze for a moment, as if she was thinking about his question and with a soft breathy sigh escaped her lips, she replied him. “If you are not my silver bangle boy, I think I might still accept your offer.”
“Why?” He asked, surprised with her answer.
“Two reasons.” Shin Hye said. “First, Hyun Jun. He wanted a mother so badly and it hurts my heart looking at the pitiful gaze in his eyes. He is stubborn and arrogant like you but deep inside, he was lonely. He was longing for a mother to love him.”
Min Ho nodded. It must be fate that Hyun Jun loves her so much and wanted him to marry her. If not because of him, he might not force himself to settle down and offer her the deal. This was the best deal he ever made in his life.
“Second?” He asked again.
Shin Hye bit her lip as her face slowly reddened. “Second… because of you.” She smiled shyly. “I don’t know how to explain it but the first time when I saw you at the school, my heart has already captured by you.” She gently moved her hand to his face and stroked his jaw. “You always said you were attracted to me. But you didn’t know I was attracted to you too.” She paused and smiled again. “You always have the ability to make my heart race, make my face blush, make me angry, make me jealous.”
Jealous? She didn’t know she has the best ability to make him jealous too. He tightened his arm around her and pulled her closer. “What about Ok Taec Yeon? Did he make your heart race, make your face blush, make you angry and make you jealous?”
Shin Hye looked at him and heaved a deep sigh. No matter how many times she told him how much she loves him, it still wouldn’t enough to stop him from being jealous. “Let me answer your question this way.” This time she sounded very serious and certainty spread across her face. “If I didn’t choose to accept for your offer, even if my father might need to declare bankruptcy… I still wouldn’t choose Taec Yeon oppa or marry him.” She paused and inhaled a deep breath. “If you still remember that day during the conference, he came to the school to look for me.”
Min Ho nodded. He remembered and that was the first time he felt jealous. He even went to Go Ara and tried using her to forget about Shin Hye.
“After we fought on the night I was hit by your car, I have already decided to take some time apart from him, taking a break from our relationship. We were in a cooling-off period when you offer me the deal.” She said.
“Why?” He didn’t know about this and she never mention about it before. He knows Ok Taec Yeon’s parents don’t like her but he didn’t know they already have a problem before they even meet.
Shin Hye let out another deep sigh. “Our relationship started during our university time. To be frank, I was too young at that time and I didn’t take our relationship too seriously. I don’t know how does it feel to be in love and thought being comfortable with each other is called love.”
“After we graduated, he moved to Seoul with his parents and we just maintained a long distance relationship. We were both busy with our career and didn’t have much time to really think about our future together.” She added with another long sigh. “But then my mother’s sickness got serious and we have to move to Seoul too. That was when our problem started to arise. Living in the same city gave us more opportunity to be together but it got worse when his parents wanted to meet me. They were not happy with my background, my education level and even the work I was doing. And he…”
“And he didn’t help you or stand by your side to support you. He didn’t protect you and just listen to what his mother said.” Min Ho cut her off and completes the sentence for her. He doesn’t need her to explain to him. Looking at the way he behaved in front of his mother during the charity ball, he will obviously choose to be an obedient son rather than a good boyfriend.
Shin Hye nodded and looked at him. “So even without you, we will never have a future.” She assured him.
Min Ho leaned closer until their noses almost touch and stared deeply into her eyes. “You don’t love him?”
She shook her head.
“You don’t feel anything for him anymore?” He asked.
She shook her head again.
“You are mine. And no one can touch you including him.” He said possessively.
Shin Hye leaned forward and initiated a kiss on his lips. “You should know it by now. I’m yours.” She whispered against him.
Yes. He should know it by now that she was his and it was only him that has ever touched her. That night was the most solid evidence she has proved to him.
“I’m sorry.” He apologized. His heart ached whenever he thinks about how he hurt her that night. “That night… I didn’t know it was your first time. Well… you are an adult and you have a stable relationship before we met. I just thought… at least I assumed that you probably been… with him or…” He paused and exhaled deeply. “Not that I complain because I was thrilled with the fact that you were still… a virgin. I was just… surprised.”
Shin Hye looked away when she felt her cheeks blushed talking about this topic. “I… I don’t easily give something so… precious to… to someone that I don’t love.”
Min Ho’s lips curled up into a wide smile. “Does it mean… you love me very much then?”
Shin Hye bit her lip and glared at him. “Do you even need to ask?”
A soft, satisfying chuckle escaped his lips before he leaned forward to her ear and whispered softly. “Did I hurt you that night?”
Shin Hye closed her eyes and quickly buried her face into his neck, hiding her embarrassment.
“Did I?” He asked again, teasing her. He loves to see her shy expression.
“A little…” She breathed against his neck.
Min Ho chuckled again. “I’ll be more gentle this time.”
Shin Hye’s eyes fluttered open as she pulled back and looked at him in a shock gaze. “What…”
But before she could even finish her words, Min Ho already leaned over to capture her lips. He gently pushed her flat onto the bed as he hovered on top of her. As his arms wrapped around her, he felt her hand pressing against his chest, trying to push him away. It didn’t take much effort to stop her from struggling because he was so much stronger and it only make him exhilarated and wanted to kiss her more.
He smiled when he felt her body relaxed beneath him and a soft moan escaped her throat the moment his lips trailed down to her neck, kissing and nibbling her throbbing pulse.
“Oppa…” Shin Hye mewled breathlessly as she tried to stop him. Her effort became useless when his lips moved to the soft flesh under her ears and making her trembled against him.
“Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?” Min Ho whispered before he took her earlobe in between his lips, sucking it softly. His hand travelled under the comforter, slowly inched up her nightgown, feeling the heat of the flushed skin.
“Oppa…” Shin Hye closed her eyes, trying to hold back the burning desire inside of her. There was a rush of breath escaped her lips, releasing a trembling sigh when he gently pulled the sleeve of her nightgown off her shoulder.
“You are very beautiful…” He whispered against her throat, hot breath tickling her neck as he pressed his lips to her skin, kissing her hungrily. “You smell so good.” He inhaled a deep breath against her soft skin, taking in the scent of her.
“O-Oppa… stop…” Shin Hye’s chest heaved rapidly still trying to fight him. “Don’t…”
“Wae?” Min Ho asked, mov