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Chapter Text

The kiss had been transcendental. It had been all consuming, the scent of Ik Jun right there and the heat of his breath and the wet moisture of his lips and his hands cradling her head with a gentle force.

But nothing compared to the look they shared after. Their eyes gazing deeply into the other’s, promises unspoken that while this would change everything, it would change nothing important. Her eyes had trembled slightly as the adrenaline from her bravery started seeping away, and he had of course noticed instantly, jiggling her cheeks to tell her she had done well.

Ik Jun had pulled her into his arms for a hug, though awkward with the car console between them, and she had drawn herself as tight to him as she could have. Their respective arms tightening on each other’s backs, holding on for dear life, even as they knew that there would be many more for they would never willingly choose to part again. But bodies, forty-year-old ones at that, could only hold awkward positions for so long, and they had to sit back in their seats.

A beat of silence passed, only the raindrops striking the car could be heard, for neither of them dared to take a breath with the tension in the car.

And then.

Laughter. Simultaneous. Both burst into laughter at the same time, the sort that was hard enough to make your cheeks hurt or do an ugly snort or clutch your belly as you struggled to breathe.  

Ik Jun turned to her, but she knew her cheeks were bright red, so she motioned forward yet again.

“Look forward.”

“Yes ma’am.”

He held his hand out in the middle nonetheless, and she took it. They sat there in amiable silence, watching the rain, smelling the coffee, and holding each other’s hands until calmness returned.

It had been a long day for both of them, and the fatigue was setting in despite recent events, so he drove her home. Ik Jun parked his car at her lobby and told her to wait as he rushed out of the car. Only when he arrived at her side of the car, opened the door, and motioned grandly for her to step down, did she realise that he was trying to be chivalrous. She descended into giggles once more, aware that his cheesiness was only going to be taken to new levels from now on, not that she was complaining.

“Oh no, Ik Jun. This is so weird.”

He motioned her out more insistently, and even held out a hand to help her down before closing the door.

“It is,” he admitted. “But I can finally do this…”

Ik Jun stood there, arms cast wide open, waiting for her to come into his embrace. She went willingly, wrapping her arms around his waist as tightly as she could, half burying her face in his chest. His own arms enclosed her in a hug that was a thousand times heightened than even the one they had shared in the car. They settled into each other, as if they’d both been waiting for the day they were allowed to do this, and perhaps they had. And for herself at least, it felt like coming home.

All her senses were blocked by her awareness of him, nothing else in the world was real except for him in that moment. He whispered into her ear, and even in the softness, she could feel the vibrations through his chest.

“Song Hwa-ya, thank you for giving us a chance.”

She hugged him impossibly tighter.

“Thank you for being patient.”

Their hug came undone naturally, each stepping back, though their hands trailed down the other’s arms until they lingered at the palms. The new partners looked down at their joined hands, giving an experimental squeeze, eager to confirm that this was indeed real instead of a beguiling dream. They remained transfixed, only just barely aware of time passing by.

“You should go in.”

“Mm, let me know when you reach home.”

They parted and turned to go their separate ways. She, into her lobby and up to her apartment; him, back into his car for his journey home.

Like Orpheus turned back to Eurydice, afraid that she was no longer there and eager to see her, Song Hwa turned back to watch Ik Jun. But he was there, at his car, watching her – solid, real, and waiting patiently. She smiled brightly at the surety that was Ik Jun in her life.

“Ik Jun-ah, goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Song Hwa-ya. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Chapter Text

Ik Jun burst into Song Hwa’s office, a greeting right on the tip of his tongue; but it fell away when he realised that the office was unfortunately empty. The lights were still on, and her bag still within, so he figured that she had probably gone for a short walk and some coffee while she waited for him to finish his late shift. Eyeing the comfortable sofa, he contemplated if he should risk sitting down on it and falling asleep. He was exhausted, of course he would be after a long surgery and a visit to the ICU, all the while readjusting to his busy schedule after almost a month off in recovery. The thought of his girlfriend waiting for him to have dinner had given him the extra boost of energy he had needed that day. Except, now his day was over, and the exhaustion was seeping back in.

The sofa beckoned to him, and he acquiesced. He had always let himself into her office, it being almost a sanctuary for him, a place to recharge in her presence. Now though, just as their relationship had changed, so too had the meaning of her office to him. He no longer had to tamp down his feelings towards her, nor had to guard his heart so as not to hurt hers. The knowledge that she accepted him fully and wholeheartedly had transformed this space into one that he no longer had to wait for her in, but rather in which he could take rest and solace in. And so, even if the original owner of the room was not around, he allowed himself to claim space within it. Before he knew it, his guard had been fully let down, and he fell into the arms of slumber.

His consciousness somewhat lost in the deep recesses of sleep; a sweet voice cut straight through his focus as it called out.

“Yah, Lee Ik Jun. Bab meokja.”

A soft touch on his bare arm stirred him further awake, and he opened his eyes to see Song Hwa’s fond and soft smile staring at him. He couldn’t help but think that he could certainly get used to waking up to her quiet voice more often, but he shook that thought from his mind, knowing that he’d got this far by going slowly and steadily, and at that pace he would remain.

Her eyebrows raised in a quiet question of how his surgery had gone, and he smiled in positive response as he motioned towards the fridge to inform her that their food was within. By the time he finished washing his face and sat back down next to her, their simple convenience store sushi spread had been neatly arranged on the table. He noted that despite not having said a word to each other since she woke him, they still worked in tandem – things running as smoothly as a well-oiled machine or as comfortable and perfectly fit as a well-worn jumper.

His fatigued mind, half wrestling off the last vestiges of sleep and half recalling memories of past relationships, supplied him with a series of what ifs…
What if they had to put in more of an effort to be romantic, after all, relationships weren’t supposed to be this easy right; they shouldn’t be acting like an old married couple when they were new lovers.
What if they had dated when they were younger; they would have sweetly catered to each other like all his previous dates had, feeding each other, and whispering sweet nothings into the air as they gazed into each other’s eyes to build that chemistry.
What if he had accepted her very first invitation on his birthday all those years ago; they would have had a thousand more occasions like this one but with the novel excitement of getting to know each other for the first time.
What if ‘slow and steady’ would steal away even more time than they themselves had from their relationship; they would regret not having pushed themselves out of their comfort zones more than they had already done so.

“Let’s do what other couples do.”

He proposed a simple act of feeding each other. And regretted it almost immediately as he watched her micro expressions while he explained. Still, he soldiered on bravely until she broke. Song Hwa let out a laugh, the sound he loved best, clear, and ringing into the room like a bell. It was enough to chase away the final few sleep demons that were clouding his brain and making him second guess their dynamic. The embarrassment overtaking him, he hid his face in his hands, as did she. Not caring that they were acting like children, they descended into giggles; being in each other’s presence meant that the age, the worries, and the responsibilities all fell away.

Song Hwa tried to humour his request nonetheless, and he fell a little deeper in love with her. Even if she failed miserably. His skin itched at the wrongness of it all. They couldn’t do those cute cringey things that new lovers who were beginning to know each other for the first time as a couple could. No, they’d known each other far too long for that. They’d seen each other at their bests and worsts, and they knew that the lovey-dovey act wasn’t truly representative of the other. Their thing were the small acts of understanding here and there, the naturally adorable way she could be when she didn’t even try compared to his overeager attempts to make her laugh, the way he could be at peace with her and her be juvenile with him.

They couldn’t do what other couples did, but they could do what they did.

They continued with their dinner as usual, talking about everything under the sun.

He took half of his wasabi and put in on her tray knowing she had a penchant for strong flavours and spicy things. She picked out the nigiri flavours he didn’t enjoy straight from his plate, and actually replaced them with different ones from her own tray. He pre-emptively stirred the miso soup for her after she’d eaten a strong flavour and was going to need to drink it. She ate slowly without having to be reminded, knowing that he enjoyed spending time with her.

He need not have worried after all. She knew him, he knew her. They didn’t even have to consciously think about it for the knowledge to show.

After all those years of having been friends, the context and understanding was a solid foundation for them to continue to build their new version of their relationship on. If they had chosen to be together, there was no need to fit into the classic dating stereotype. He knew that Song Hwa and him were a couple, and that was all that mattered.

Chapter Text

When she had first told the other boys about her and Ik Jun dating, they had scoffed in disbelief. Jeong Won had even said that the two of them did all those date-like things together all the time anyways.

She supposed that was somewhat true, but somewhat not.

Most times, there had been an excuse – her having the biggest and only solo office, the rain being a friendly tradition, them needing to confide in each other about a problem in a way that only they would have understood. In the end, the two of them must have really been gravitating to each other the entire time. No wonder Seok Hyeong had been so slow on the uptake if the pair of them had been going on in denial for so long that the others had been desensitized.

However, the present time was the first time that she allowed herself to truly indulge, to wholeheartedly drop her defences and let her feelings towards Ik Jun show. Their first real date together, and she no longer had to hold herself back any more.  She could be as obvious as she wanted to be, the weight of having to be guarded and present a calm front was entirely gone.

If she wanted to serve him food first before eating, she could. If she wanted to smile brightly at him and laugh loudly at all his jokes, she could. If she wanted to sing loudly to serenade him, not caring that there were others in the room who would tease her for her skills, she could. And it was all worth it just to see the pure joy and fondness in Ik Jun’s face as she allowed herself the liberty to truly be with him.

It was supposed to have been their first solo date, but as she had listened in to his call with his sister, yet another boundary that they had been crossing for a long time, she had come to a realisation. They had shared many dinners before, and there would be many more to come, so it was perfectly fine if Ik Sun joined them, as was the case when Jun Wan called.

Not to mention that it delighted her to be in the company of Ik Jun’s loved ones. The little snippets and stories of their old life in Changwon that they didn’t usually reveal to outsiders, the old banter between the two boys, the teasing of his younger sister; all of it felt like she had a special access pass into Ik Jun’s slightly chaotic yet loving family. A family that he cared for so much and protected so dearly, and one that he was willing to share with her. It was as close to perfect as a dinner could have been, missing only her dear sweet U-ju’s company.

It didn’t matter to her if there were two, three, or four people on her date with him, because at the end of the day, she knew that her attention would be on him, and his on her. And nothing proved that more than her performance in the noraebang. She barely registered the others’ over the top grimaces at her singing, looking straight past them into Ik Jun’s eyes. Ik Jun, who let her sing an entire song, solo, no matter how high it was or how much belting was required. It was a song that she wanted to perform to him, a cheesy serenade for the man looking at her adoringly as if she were as skilled as an award-winning musical actress. No one else existed in that time, just her and the man she had only just begun to admit was the love of her life.

Perhaps they had actually been dating for a long time already; the only difference now was that they both knew it.

Chapter Text

A life as a top surgeon in a busy Seoul hospital meant being inexorably busy. And it was no exception for neither him nor Song Hwa. They had a thousand and one things on their schedule, surgeries planned far in advance, makeup consultations crammed double time into the week, routines that each of them had developed with their colleagues to follow. It meant having to keep up their standards and reputations in the hospital. It meant having to get creative when it came to finding time for each other on top of preexisting responsibilities, both work and familial.

He had lamented slightly at the fact that their ‘first’ date had been interrupted which had of course prevented him from being able to give Song Hwa a simple parting kiss that night. Unlike how easily the two of them got on, it was tough to go on dates or take big steps in their relationship since they simply could not afford the time to do so. They made do nonetheless. The best part about being in a mature adult relationship with his best friend was knowing that they could simply talk about their relationship openly and communicate honestly.

There were more ways to love than going on dates.

He loved that he was finally able to show all his small signs of appreciation constantly throughout their time together now. No longer having to censor his thoughts and feelings allowed him to write little greetings on her coffee cups and sign off with a heart, gaze at her freely when he was singing his lines during band practice, and have his voice take a fond turn when he said her name. It meant reciprocal showings of further trust in her sharing even more about her life and family with him, coming to him with her worries and triumphs, trusting that he would pick up after her scatter-brained self when she rushed off for a call, letting herself reveal her weakness and fatigue. The small acts that each of them had begun before they were dating had started to take on a more meaningful and deliberate role as their relationship grew.

He loved when even if they weren’t able to go on official dates, she doubled down on their night drives agenda. No matter if their schedules matched up or not, one of them would stay back just a little longer in the hospital from time to time, all to be able to have a simple meal with each other before they took a short aimless drive around Seoul. They would alternate driving the other home, leaving one car in the hospital carpark, if only to be able to spend another hour with each other in conversation, one hand on the wheel and another in loosely joined palms. The easy intimate farewells were worth the inconvenience of having to catch a taxi to work the next morning – the soft voices wishing each other goodnight, the hugs in their lobbies, the shy pecks as they parted.

He loved when she got defensively stubborn about her overpacked schedule which left her barely any free time other than to eat. She would argue that she wanted to do everything, and although he understood, he still expressed his worries to her. It was testament to their burgeoning relationship that she started to listen to his nagging more; becoming even more transparent about her schedule with him, leaning on him and admitting whenever he made a particularly relevant point. She still stuck to her schedule, with a few compromises here and there. Her stubborn determination endeared her to him when she even brought up both their calendars to go as far as to book out a weekend that the two of them would most definitely have free for their next ‘proper’ date.

He loved how they both agreed to be professional and not cross boundaries in the workplace. While they were slowly indulging in figuring out new dynamics in their relationship outside of the hospital, he knew too well that the hospital gossip mill was not the most forgiving place. He wanted her name to stand for her achievements alone, not her choice of partner and all his complexities. They didn’t need public displays of affection or to act any differently than how they always did in order to be sure of their feelings for one another. Instead, it was their little secret, the inside joke that they shared, and which made them smile all throughout the day. They would catch each other’s eyes as they passed by in the hallways and their looks would soften just so in acknowledgement, they would have double conversations when eating with other colleagues in the cafeteria through silent micro expressions, and they would unthinkingly tap each other three times when their hands were on the other’s shoulder to simulate the words that they weren’t anywhere close to saying out loud but that they unconsciously wanted to communicate anyways. Best of all, he would occasionally let himself slip and break the rules if they were alone in her office, where they would sit closer and closer each time, their hands finding each other and intertwining inconspicuously.

Their relationship was just for the two of them. It didn’t matter if and when they could go on dates or take further steps. At the end of the day, through actions small or large, he loved her.

Chapter Text

New relationships came with new territories and new habits.

One thing that she had found occurring more and more was entering her office to find Ik Jun sleeping, or on the verge of falling asleep. One reason for it may have been the fact that he was almost always at her office nowadays; another may have been that she had finally allowed herself to properly look at his face and learned to recognise the signs of weariness in him. No matter the case, she would take the time to stop and regard him for a short while.

She wondered what he would look like sleeping more peacefully in a comfortable bed. She questioned if he would be as fidgety in his sleep as he was in his waking hours. She was curious about his routine of preparing and waking from slumber. She remembered all those times she had seen his late-night look of let-down hair and silver rimmed glasses. She imagined what it would be like to see him wake up in the morning.

There were a lot of things she realised that they hadn’t known about each other and that she was eager to explore slowly. For example, Ik Jun would show her his quiet side, one that she had seen before, but never truly understood to be his private self until now. She could pick up on small tells of his when he was upset or worried about something, and he would willingly drop his guard and let her into his inner musings. Most of all, she realised that all these years, he had been lonely in a crowd; and she was glad that he had begun to rely on her just as she did on him. It was a privilege to be able to check in on him without crossing a boundary that they had now willingly erased between them.

That particular midday, the sun bright and high in the sky, she had walked in to find a familiar sight at an unfamiliar time.

She had pushed her ponderings aside, content to focus on the man in front of her just as he was. The heavy bags under his eyes, the lack of texts from him throughout last night or this morning, and the glasses in his hand told her that Ik Jun must have had a very long night in the OR. Reluctant to disturb his peace, but knowing that if he wanted to sleep, he would be lying down, she plopped down next to him, subconsciously mirroring his position on her sofa. He remained quiet still, and she had waited for a few seconds before checking in on his surgery since he was that exhausted. After his affirmative response, she had paused for a while to consider if she wanted to add to his burden with the news of his ex-patient, before realising that if he was already worried, she may as well be truthful and let it all be over at once. That was what part of their relationship was, to sit beside each other in rest, trust that the other would let them share both the good and bad in their life, and be one another’s sanctuary amidst their chaos.

The new territories for them to manoeuvre presented itself only a few days after, during a joint night shift. When previously they would have each done their own thing, most likely her studying further and him taking a video game break, things were different now. They no longer needed it to be raining as an excuse to spend time sitting across one another, drinking coffee, and having deep chats. Even if they were in the hospital, she would have been a fool to turn down the opportunity to luxuriate in his company.

It had been late at night, and she had taken the risk of switching off all the main lights except for the soft yellow lamps and playing some soft music in the background. They had sat across the sofa facing the other, coffee in their hands. There were no more hooded replies, or quick avoidant looks; rather, it was confident flirting, and open lovestruck gazes. They’d taken the cue from the cloudy sky and dim lighting and opened up their conversation to deeper topics that they’d previously skirted around as friends.

As the night progressed, their phones had been blessedly silent; just as they too fell quiet as the drowsiness overtook them. Her arm propped up on the sofa backrest, and leaning her head on her arm, her heavy lids fell shut, the last sight being her lover across her. A stray thought flitted through her mind that their evening had been almost exactly like what Ik Jun had wished for that last night shift before his accident.

Her eyes shot open at the intrusive worry that he was hurt. His brows had furrowed as he watched her before he presumably came to understand.

“I’m fine.”

“I was just remembering our last night call before your accident. How you wanted all the night calls to be like this.”

“What I wanted, was you.”

He had moved closer on the sofa, sitting straight back on it, and then scooting down as if he were relaxing on an inclined bed. He looked at her straight on, and then at the empty place next to him. She would never get over how he always seemed to know just how to make her feel better. Sitting flush against him, she entwined their hands, placing them hidden between their legs in case anyone did decide to look into the window of her office door. The confirmation that he was alive and healthy right next to her had given her the courage to close her eyes once again.

“Ik Jun-ah; for our next date, let’s go camping again.”

“Mm. You really love camping huh…”

“Yes, but truthfully…I want more quiet nights like this with you.”

Chapter Text

Song Hwa had already been unloading her gear onto their assigned platform by the time he arrived at the camping grounds slightly late.

Nothing about that day had gone according to plan. First, although the two of them had booked out the weekend for their ‘proper’ date in advance, Wang imo had succumbed to a stomach bug that took her out of the equation of caring for U-ju for the past few days. Song Hwa had taken it in stride, telling him that she always loved having her U-ju around anyways and who was Ik Jun to deny her time with her favourite Lee. Second, having then adapted and prepped for another family camping trip like they had done previously, Mo-ne’s family had invited his son out that morning for an impromptu games-filled weekend away. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Ik Jun had agreed and had been looking forward to his once again solo date with Song Hwa when the final straw broke. While driving U-ju to Mo-ne’s house, his son had been excitedly gesticulating and dropped his juice all over the seats of his car. That meant an extra hour of texting his girlfriend a quick update on his son’s lack of attendance, checking in on Wang imo’s health, sending his car to the dealership to get the leather interiors professionally cleaned and catching a taxi to the camping grounds.

His heart had been beating fast with the adrenaline of the day and his brain buzzing with frantic thoughts of what else he needed to take care of, but the sight of Song Hwa competently setting up the camping equipment felt like a weighted blanket of comfort. The high-octane energy slipped out of him as he quietly watched her, savouring the grounding that she brought to his life. He was once again reminded that she didn’t need him to take care of her, instead they would fill up each other’s shortcomings for being with her felt like coming home where he could simply be.

“Song Hwa-ya. Tell me what to do.”

She whipped around at his sing-song voice and flashed him her special smile.

“Oh, Ik Jun. You’re finally here. I’m almost done with the tent; you can set up the firepit. You remember how to do that right?”

“Mm, I can help set up the other tent first though.”

“Well…the last time you took the same amount of time to set up your tent as I spent setting up mine and the entire camp, so I figured I’d just set this one up and we can share.”

He blinked at her, unsure if he’d heard her incorrectly. Surely not, when her voice had been so matter of fact.

He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. They hadn’t even shared a deep kiss again apart from some light kisses here or there since the night she had confessed and asked to date. The physical transition between friends and lovers was one they were taking at their own pace and according to the situation that called for it. And now, here was his girlfriend informing him out of the blue that they’d be sharing the same tent overnight. What was a man to do but to hope?

His expression must have shown some mischief however, for her cheeks coloured and she quickly dug out two sleeping bags and held them up.

“That’s not wha- I brought two sleeping bags. Just, if U-ju isn’t here then it’s not like we have to be cautious and we are dating so…”

“I’m not complaining.”

Her cheeks coloured impossibly darker, and she refused to meet his eyes. Perfect timing, for the smug smile he had been controlling burst forth on his face along with a laugh. After almost two years of having waited for her, he was more than used to being patient; but Song Hwa wasn’t, and it was her time to lead the way.

Truth be told, their ‘second’ date was not much different than any of the other times they had spent together. It was still the same company, similar conversations, and subtle acts of caring for each other.

But being truly alone and free from any prying ears and external judgements meant that their conversation could meander from topic to topic without caring where it took them. They would start discussing one thing, be distracted by a thought, jump into a whole other conversation, only to end up back where they started once again. The detours were plentiful, especially as they reminisced about old times and their friendship, and they were finally able to share their true intent behind why they each had made certain choices. Bit by bit, the naked truth was revealed as they spoke about first loves and heartbreaks, regrets and satisfactions, choices both intentional and unintentional, and how they came to be the persons they were in the present day. It was intimacy in its furthest form – the individual versions of their histories fitting together like puzzle pieces until their joint narrative was finally laid bare, unveiling how their lives had been inextricably linked because of what the other meant to them. Perhaps that was why they had shifted so easily together once they gave in to their desires in the present, most of the obstacles in their way had been their own doing. Which meant that the future was theirs to claim. A future that they each had no doubt would include the presence of the other.

Song Hwa more than proved that point much later in the evening, after all their conversations had tapered out to small updates. She was the one to ask after his son, the one to invite herself to the other family’s camping day, the one ready to present themselves as a full family unit even to outsiders. She’d answered him when he asked about her private matters like her breast exam and her mother’s neurology appointment, and all without any more hesitation on her part. She was the one who was fighting off sleep valiantly just to spend more time with him where before she had drawn a clear boundary. All these small things that spoke largely to him that she was now unashamedly his and he, hers.

He had sent her off to bed, his circadian rhythm not quite ready yet, but he was content to sit in the non-silence of nature and appreciate how she had invited him into her sanctuary.

He nursed another beer as he processed the evening. It was certainly a far cry from the previous time they had gone camping, when he had had to put on a brave face even while he was hurting inside at the apprehension of what would become of them and the bittersweetness of having her so close and yet so far. It was funny how he could barely even remember that feeling now despite being in almost the exact same situation. He smiled, thinking back to their newfound story; there was no before Song Hwa and after Song Hwa, for she had always been there. He had finally found closure for his journey up to this point, and there was no more misplaced guilt or regrets tainting his memories. He had peace in the past, pleasure in his present and a prayer for what was to come.

And even if he knew that she was not but a hundred meters away from him that instant, he missed her achingly. He was done waiting for his night owl self to fall tired, being as he no longer had to love her from afar, he knew he would prefer to join her in the tent and let himself while away the time with a more beautiful view than the starry night sky.

Ik Jun turned down the camp and entered the tent as quietly as he could so as not to disturb the sleeping, curled up figure within. But the sound of the zipper and the rustling of his sleeping bag must have stirred her awake because she hummed half-lucidly and turned towards him. She blindly sought him out while he settled before she snuggled close into his side, an arm draped over his chest comfortably. He let out a quiet laugh, kissed the top of her head, and pulled her closer, stroking her hair until her breathing evened out once more.

He must have had fallen asleep because the next thing he had become aware of were her attempts to shimmy out of his embrace. She quietened his groan with a quick peck on the lips and whispered a quiet apology and a promise to wake him for breakfast before she left.

True to her words, she woke him an hour later once breakfast was ready and waited for him to down his coffee before even beginning to converse with him. Their routine differences didn’t matter when they knew each other that well. Especially when this was not the first morning that they had spent together in their lives.

But it was the first morning since they’d previously spent the night in each other’s arms. So after they had finished their breakfasts, and were sitting back to let their food digest, Song Hwa furtively moved her chair as close as possible to his, so that she could rest her head on his shoulder. He laced their hands together, warmth against the morning cold. They leaned on each other even as he continued his teasing grumbles about getting older such that sleeping on a wooden platform was not sufficient for a good night’s rest.

“You were sleeping just fine when I left in the morning.”

“Only because you were with me. The hour after that was terrible.”

She let out a peal of laughter and turned her head to kiss him. They shared a simple kiss before moving back, this time with his hand around her and drawing her as close as possible with the chairs in the way.

“Ik Jun-ah, next time, we can just have a picnic in my living room and sleep in my bed okay? No more wooden platforms for the city boy.”

“I knew it! I knew you had an agenda with the one tent.”

“Yah. We’re forty-two, not fourteen. Is it a crime to want to cuddle with my boyfriend?”

He startled at that, sitting forward to face her properly. She furrowed her brow at his dramatics.

“You know…that’s the first time you’ve called me that. Boyfriend.”

She shot him the smile she reserved for him and his heart burst out of his chest. He leaned forward to capture her in a tight and long-lasting hug, one they couldn’t often afford to have. Once they parted, they settled back into their chairs, quickly becoming hooked to the feeling of being pressed up against each other’s sides.

Silence befell them as they watched the white clouds pass over the blue sky.

“Somehow I always imagined you would be more…of a popular boy when it came to dating. You know you don’t have to hold yourself back anymore, right?”

“Be what? Forward? Pushy? I was popular with the girls because I actually listened to what they wanted. If I’m being honest, there’s a whole reservoir of want and longing hidden inside me, but I’m letting it flow out slowly and steadily. We don’t need to rush Song Hwa-ya; I’m already so happy just being with you.”

She nuzzled her head deeper into his shoulder, her fingers tracing over the veins in his hand that held one of hers. They sat in silence yet again, enjoying the morning bird calls and the warming sun. She stilled atop the radial artery of his wrist and searched for his pulse.

“Slow and steady. Just like your heartbeat… But not like our first kiss?”

“Excuse me. I seem to recall that you were just as enthusiastic.”

Her fingers remained insistently on his wrist, but if she noticed his pulse quicken at her teasing reminder of that night, she didn’t show it. Instead, she spoke slowly, as if testing the waters.

“Yeah. It was…hot. I think about it quite a lot.
At night.
When I’m in bed.”

Her fingers slowly released their pressure on his wrist and instead trailed up his arm as she leaned forward to face him. Her expression was coy, and her cheeks flushed, but the twinkle in her eye told him that she had felt her effect on him.

He waited, caught in her thrall, and watched as her gaze dropped down to his lips. Finally, she leaned in, and the spell broke as he surged forward to meet her in a fiery kiss. They kissed as if they were trying to get closer to each other, as if the slight physical boundary they had crossed last night had opened pandora’s box of their desires, as if they’d danced this dance a thousand times before. Her hand came up to grasp his neck, fingers curling through his hair as she used him as leverage to propel out of her chair and settle atop his knees so that they could kiss unencumbered by the armrests previously between them. One of his hands dropped to her waist to steady her and he felt her shiver at his touch. The tension between them was building as was the momentum.

Somewhere in the distance, two crows cawed out loudly.

The two adults broke apart at the reminder that they were currently on public camping grounds. Song Hwa cleared her throat and swiftly returned to her chair. They both sat back stiffly in their chairs, chastised, and trying desperately not to burst into embarrassed laughter.

“Is U-ju returning for lunch? Do you have to cook for him this weekend?”

“No, he’s returning sometime after dinner. Mo-ne’s appa had said they’d be back around 7pm… Although for future reference, a better distraction would be talking about Jun Wan or the other boys.”

“Mm? I was only asking because if we start packing up now, we can be at my house in an hour and a half.”

He turned to look at Song Hwa and saw that she was wound as tight as a coil. She gave him a questioning yet encouraging nod. He said nothing, but sprung out of his seat, reaching out his hand to help her out of hers.

The packing went slower than expected, disrupted by their little flirting dances around each other; she ‘accidentally’ brushed his arm whenever she had to pass, stealing kisses along the way while he ‘helped’ with the tear down by stripping to his simple white shirt and heaving the heaviest objects into the cart with his bulging biceps. Their momentum hadn’t even been broken by the traffic jam on the highway, where the standstill gave them the opportunity to furtively catch the fire building in each other’s eyes as their imaginations ran wild. By the time they arrived at Song Hwa’s apartment, and the camping gear put back into her storeroom, the anticipation was at an all time high.

It could have been the 2-hour build-up of tension from when they had first left the camping ground, or it may have been the culmination of 22 years of attraction finally being fully indulged in; but by the time their lunch food delivery arrived some hours later, Ik Jun and Song Hwa had worked up quite the appetite.   

And that was the best part, for at the end of it all, it always came back to the two of them who loved spending time with each other; eating meals, drinking coffee, enjoying the rain together, and doing everything that they had already been doing…with just a little bit more.