Chapter Text
Going up two flights of staircases was taxing on its own but even more so now that she was carrying a tray full of semi-solid food. Munyeong cursed at the ineptness of design that was the famous cursed castle, sure it was wonderful to look at but entirely too uncomfortable to live in.
They should seriously consider moving out sooner than they had initially decided.
She arrives at the room panting from exertion, and uses her shoulder to push open the door.
Kangtae who was nodding off in a sitting position looks up when the heavy door creaks and moves to help her
‘Sit back down will you, I got this’ she snaps at him, annoyed
She waits until he settles and places the tray on his lap. Attentively gauging his reaction.
It not a lot, just some porridge, a bowl of broth and some Ginseng tea, but he looks at her with such incredulity that one would think she’d gone all out and made him a 7-course dinner.
‘What? Did you think I was going to feed you some instant Ramyeon in a cup?’ she asks crawling over the bed to sit next to him.
Judging by his sheepish look she could tell that was exactly what he had expecting, she laughs at him.
‘Did you make this?’
‘De, I called Juris mom, she told me what to do’
‘For me?’
‘Ya, Of course, it’s for you!’ she says, in a mildly offended tone
She was already miffed that he hadn’t immediately dug in and had instead resorted to asking rather dumb questions. She admits that it was a little unseemly, her cooking instead of ordering takeout or just sticking to pouring some hot water to a cup, but he looked too conflicted for it to be just surprise,
Wondering what was had him acting a tad stranger than that was his usual, she thrusts the teacup at him and he takes it with shaky hands she does not approve of, while he was a lot better than he was yesterday he had long way to go yet.
‘Drink this, the old lady said it’ll settle your stomach’ he nods approvingly
‘Is it too hot? He shakes his head no
‘Do you like it? She presses on, and he smiles at her over the rim of the teacup, making her heart flutter
‘I love it and I love my new live in cook’ he comments
She blushes at this, her cheeks warming at the familiar rush of blood that seemed to happen far too many times when he was around.
‘Stop being so cheesy’ she remarks, pretending to be casual about it
‘I cant, its who I’m now’ cue sly fox smirk
‘Stop flirting with me when you can’t do anything about it’
‘Who says I can’t?’ he says wiggling his eyebrows suggestively at her and if he didn’t look like a wrung-out dishtowel, she would have bought it
‘Ya, I don’t want you to faint on me again, eat before this goes cold’
‘I didn’t faint’
‘Fine, fine, you swooned. Does that make you feel better?’
He only glares at her in response. She smiles cheekily at him, spooning up some Jook and offering it to him, he happily accepts a mouthful
‘This is really good’
‘You think so?’
‘Mmhmm, you should cook more often’
‘Ha don’t make a habit of it; I’m only doing this because you’re sick’
‘Really? I should get sick more often then?’
This earns him a smack; there was no way Munyeong would take a repeat of last night’s events, not ever if she could help it. She hits too hard and immediately feels bad when he yelps
‘hey don’t hit a sick person’
‘Stop talking and eat’
‘You have a terrible bedside manner’
‘Deal with it’
‘I love you’
‘You better’
She spends the rest of the afternoon lazing on the bed with him. They argue over what movie to watch to pass time, and she holds out until he plays the sick card and then reluctantly agrees to let him pick one, knowing he would probably fall asleep anyway.
She also doubles a pillow and lets him snuggle up to her, his head nestled in the crook of her neck and an arm thrown over her middle, locking her in place.
Kangtae was awfully needy when sick she notes, much like a child, she doesn’t mind though, she loves being held by him and they’re much alike in this regard, always craving warmth and soft touches.
He’s already dozing by the time the movie loads, and predictably lasts barely 10 minutes into it, soft snores fanning against her neck, fatigue catching up now that he was warm and full.
She is least interested in watching the 2 leads wander about an island discussing a shoddy escape plan, so she shuts the computer and shimmies along the bed frame taking him with her so that she’s now lying flat on her back propped up by a pillow, taking extra care to not jostle him but he is already far too gone to notice a shift in position.
She presses a kiss on the crown of his head, fondly caressing his broad back.
To Munyeong, before, intimacy had always been sexual, she had been with men before, nights filled with lust filled amorous advances that she barely remembered come morning but none of that had left her with the satiety that simply being with Kangtae brings her.
It wasn’t that they didn’t have sex, gods no, unpinned Kangtae was extremely welcoming of her affection and rather creative in the bedroom, frequently taking lead often making her question his previously virginal status, she was almost certain he isn’t as innocent as he claimed to be.
But here was something wonderfully intimate about simply lying in the arms of a lover, bodies as close and intertwined as possible, listening to their heart beat. Their relationship had taught her that intimacy was not only physical, it was also a sense of belonging, a space where your soul is fed.
Lying down like they were, his much larger frame almost completely enveloped her smaller one, she is taken with the sudden realization that what she had missed most being away from him for a week was simply his warmth. She lets herself savor it.
Her grumbling stomach was what eventually made her leave his embrace, she regretfully disentangles their limbs, Kangtae doesn’t wake but mumbles something in distaste at the loss of his pillow but settles when she presses a kiss to his lips, she kisses him again, because she can and leaves in search of something to eat.
Thankfully she had made a lot of food that morning and she gobbles up whatever’s left.
Kangtae hadn’t been lying when he said it was good, apart from the fact that the soup was a little watery, everything tasted good. She licked her lips in satisfaction.
And then to stretch her limbs after lying down most of the day she decides to take a walk.
Because it was located in the middle on nowhere and above a hill, the land surrounding the cursed castle was mostly free of life, except for a few annoying deers that sometimes strayed from the forest and ended up in their yard, Munyeong hasn’t seen any other living thing around.
Sometimes she and Kangtae walked up the little path that lead to summit of the hill they lived on and watched sunsets, but she didn’t want to walk that far without him so she mostly stayed close to the house.
It was that time of the year when spring slowly bled into summer and the air was sweet and warm, she stood enjoying a breeze and guilelessly watching the horizon when Kangtae came bounding down the front steps.
She turns back in surprise when he calls out to her and he stops in front of her, out of breath.
‘ya why are you running around’ she says, eyeing him suspiciously
He does a weird hand gesture indicating he'll answer when he can breathe again, gasping for air.
She takes in his appearance, apart from all the huffing and puffing he looked well, his color was back and he had a crease along his cheek, that and his sleep tousled hair making him look cute.
‘Did you sleep well?” she asks tracing the sleep lines on his face once he was upright
He nods before pulling her onto a crushing hug.
There it was again; he hugged her like he thought he wouldn’t be able to again anytime soon, did he expect her to disappear or something? She wonders
‘I thought you left’ he whispers into her hair answering the question she hadn’t asked
‘Where would I go’ she says, hugging him back and he melts into her hold
She lets him hold on for a bit and when he still doesn’t let go, she lightly pushes at his chest, wanting to look at him, he pulls away a little still keeping her within his arms
‘Okay, what’s with you today? Not that I’m complaining but you’re acting weird’
‘What I’m not allowed to miss you now?’
‘Ya, you know that not what I meant’
‘I’m sorry’ he says and walks away from her
By now she’s quick to catch on and grabs his hand almost as a reflex
She’s had enough of this, he has been acting strange since before she left for Seoul, if his reaction that day hadn’t been an indication, the way he acted after she left was obvious enough.
Yesterday he had begged her not to leave, and now he had hugged her like her as though she would vanish if he let go
‘Moon Kangtae what is it? She asks, a little forcefully
When he doesn’t speak, instead opting to look away, she pulls him along to sit on the front steps of their home, he complies but keeps his eyes forward. She leans her hand on her knees and sits facing him
‘Come on, talk’ she prods.
He sighs in response and she’s pleased having broken through the shell
‘I’m sorry’ he begins, when she doesn’t say anything in response wanting him to elaborate, he turns to look at her
‘I’m so sorry I yelled at you that day’
‘Did you think I wasn’t coming back because we had an argument? She asks, incredulous
‘No...’ he says slowly like he was talking to child
‘I thought you wouldn’t comeback because you finally realized how I’m not worth your time’
Munyeong was aghast. This was the last thing she expected him to tell her.
She had apologized to him thinking that he was still mad about her yelling at him, but instead was this what he’d been stewing in for a whole week? It was no wonder he got sick.
For the first time in her life she was at loss of words.
She was hurt that he would think what she felt for him was so infinitesimal that she would leave him at all, but she also felt guilty that she had somehow planted that thought in his head.
Had she really made him feel that small?
Tears pricked her eyes, he was looking away again and she opened her mouth to speak, but nothing would come out, she didn’t know how to fix this.
Twisting the knife further into her heart he continues
‘People keep leaving me, I’m just waiting for you to run too’ he turns to her, giving her that smile of his that she hates so much, one that twists his mouth and does not reach his eyes.
‘I guess I’m just really that boring’ he chuckles without a trace of humor
So that’s what this was about, Sangtae Oppa leaving them.
Moon Sangtae had literally become a sensation after the success of their book and had kept really busy, meeting with one author after another. A few weeks ago, he had officially moved in to the rooftop home he had once shared with his brother stating that adults didn’t live with their little siblings.
Kangtae had been far too accepting of the change in living circumstance, putting on a brave face which had, as it seems, managed to convince even her, he had overseen everything himself, cleaning and helping him settle in, but the move had reopened old wounds, and Kangtae had probably been reliving his abandonment issues.
She mentally kicks herself for not having foreseen the incoming fallout. And curse their luck, she had to be busy the week following the move and leaving Kangtae to his own devices when he was still bitter about the change was probably not the best idea.
She inches closer and hugs him from behind, he sits stiffly for a moment before giving in and grabs to hold of her arms around him.
‘Why would I leave, you’re the only home I know’ she tells him holding him closer, she tires to put what words can say into that hug, hoping to make him understand.
She can hear the wheels turn in his head, and her words are somehow enough, he sniffles and pulled her into his lap, holding her by the waist.
She lets out a little yelp but quickly regains composure holding on to him, she’s gotten used to him grabbing at her.
‘Who’s cheesy now’ he jokes despite his teary eyes
'I learned from the best’ she replies looping her arms around his neck and kissing him.
He kisses her back, just as fervently and when they break apart, the anguished look in his eyes has fallen away to elation, and he gives her a smile that leaves her just as breathless as the kiss.
fin.