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The piercing bronze sunset shone through the blinds and lit the sparsely decorated hotel bedroom Chan and I had been staying in for the past few weeks. He assured me that we wouldn’t need to live like this for much longer. Feeling like we had no place we belonged has grown dull and burdensome on my shoulders and I could see the same effect on him with just a glance to his tired, bloodshot eyes.
“Sit upright, please.” I spoke quietly, as not to disturb the silence of the room. He did so, and I fetched the eye drops from the bag at my feet with the rest of my makeup. He noticed this and tilted his head back without me needing to ask. I carefully applied a few drops to his eyes and gave him simple praise for not twitching like he used to.
“I’m just glad I won’t need to wear a mask tonight.” He said lowly, continuing to scroll on his phone for some entertainment while I “worked my magic on him” as he called it. Nothing about our lives felt magical to me.
He sat on an ottoman at the foot of the bed while I stood over him applying as little makeup as I could to hide the old scars and healing bruises on his face and neck. He didn’t try too hard to protect himself, no matter how badly I pleaded. He knew that no matter what, I’d always be there to clean and patch him up, and even to kiss him better afterwards, just as “the perfect passive girlfriend all his associates wished they had” I was supposed to be.
His medium brown hair was already dry from his shower earlier, so I went right to curling it. Gentle waves, then tousled to soften them and blend it together. All too often he needed to hide it under a cap or a hood, so I took my time to make him look that extra percent more handsome. Today was a special occasion after all, a meeting with the boss and the other members and nothing more. “I’ll be in an out in a flash, you’ll barely miss me” He had even winked, trying to convince me not to worry when he first told me about it. It worked; I always trusted him too much.
“Can you pout for me?” It was more of a command than a question, with lip tint in hand. He gave me a doe-eyed expression as he overly puckered his lips. I burst out laughing, and his own laugh, either at me or at his own behavior, didn’t help while I struggled to compose myself.
“Sto-Stop it Chanie!” I teasingly pushed his shoulder, and he eased off his contagious laugh. He finally gave me the pout I meant, and I applied a thin layer of color, blending it with my littlest finger and smiling when it looked even better than I’d expected it to.
Finished with his makeup, I let him put on his tie and accessories while I put my things away. He was barely able to reach mid rank, yet we had no permanent place to call home; we barely had enough to get by as we have been. Still though, I’ve been able to find some comfort in Chan himself; they say home is where the heart is, and mine is with him, come rain or snow.
“Can you grab my rings from the bathroom?” He asked suddenly, fumbling with the buckle of his belt, with the sleeves of his plain white button-down shirt still undone. I did as he asked quickly, handing them to him after he finished latching his prized white gold watch with a sharp click.
He kissed my forehead in thanks as I handed the rings to him which slipped on to his fingers easily. I then did up his sleeves for him; rolling them up to the elbow, accentuating how this shirt was tailored for him specifically.
I took a step back to eye him, arms on my hips in pride. The handsome Lee Chan - glowing in the streaks of sunlight coming from outside - is a prince in every sense of the word except title. I felt beautiful just for being beside him, as if it could rub off on me.
“You know I can’t stand it when you stare at me like that.” Chan stole my attention away from my thoughts of him, to the man himself. His arms wrapped around my diaphragm, and he rested his chin on my head with a soft hum. I was happy to let him hold me, it seemed to heal him as much as it did me. His chest was warm against my cheek even through his ironed shirt, like being wrapped in a blanket fresh from the dryer, but with subtle smell of his body wash instead of fabric softener.
I’d prefer Chan over any blanket, no doubt.