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MC felt a little silly for wanting to ask him to stay with her overnight.
Jihyun, she had quickly learned, had a strained relationship with sleep. He is often plagued with guilt-ridden nightmares and the memories of those terrible eleven days they first spent together two years ago. Besides, she knew how busy he was in addition to that, with memory card after memory card of pictures to sift through and edit, as well as develop. If she ever forgot, he would soon receive a call from his ever-greedy agent and she would be reminded of it.
However, for every condition that impeded his sleep, she would also suffer a version of it, usually with the same background reason, and the only cure seemed some company to cuddle overnight in the large, cold bed. Her heart ached for him not to go, and if she can understand his mind processes well by this point, she hopes he can understand hers too and would not deny her request.
Alas, she feels as if his denial would hurt her too much, and so she has not expressed her desire. He had been sweet enough to follow her into what she suspects that was the master bedroom and get her settled down in it, but no mention of staying through the night. That is, aside from a few instances of eyeing her wistfully, but shifting his gaze away whenever she managed to catch him.
This was venturing into new territory in her relationship with him and MC understood his nervousness. She felt the same way about the whole thing, after all.
It was her first time spending the night at that apartment, and it was not something that was planned between the two of them. Due to a torrential storm pouring outside and Jihyun noticing how sleepy she had become after their date, he was stubbornly insistent that she was welcome to stay the night, if she so preferred, with the slight underlying implication that an affirmative was something that he preferred.
Eventually, she acquiesced. He had reassured his girlfriend that he would be close by, right next door, if she needed anything and that no, she could not just sleep on the chaise seat in the living room because they were uncomfortable and he would feel better if she got a good night’s sleep on a proper bed, even if it meant ceding his own.
That earned him a reluctant but content smile and an assent from MC, and on she went to lay down on the sheets that smelled like his cologne and the tobacco he swore he did not smoke. She did not bother asking him where he would sleep tonight, knowing he would tell she not to worry about it.
Instead, she swallowed her pride, went for it and caught his wrist before he could turn the bedside lamp off and leave the room.
“Jihyun, I… Can you stay with me tonight, please?” Her voice comes out in a whisper and she is pretty sure that she must look pathetic. “I won’t be able to sleep unless someone is with me.”
The young woman musters the courage to look up at him. Her heartbeat quickened when she found his usually downtrodden, depressive features brightened and softened in the dim, warm light of the lamp. A quick smile graced his flummoxed features and she felt a little more at ease knowing he was not terribly offput by her childish request.
Jihyun sat on the edge of the bed and his hand moved, so that her hold was no longer on his wrist. With that, her palm was then pressed against his. It was warm and soft against hers, which was fascinating considering how emaciated he often looked at first glance.
“I’ll stay.” The mint-haired man responded, a small and indulging smile gracing his feature.
Both are reluctant to let go of each other’s hand until the chiming of the grandfather clock in the foyer interrupted the moment. It was quite late, they realized, and the rain made the house feel darker and more cavernous than the usual inviting and bright environment. The man was still wearing the beige suit jacket he usually put on whenever it was asked a more sportive look out of him.
MC settled a little more comfortably in bed, raising her midsection slightly for a late-night conversation. Her stomach filled with butterflies as she shyly watched him strip down to his underwear and get ready for bed.
Not for long, though, as Jihyun soon felt self-conscious about his exposed form and slipped into the bathroom connected to the room for a few minutes, emerging in grey sweats and a black T-shirt she is sure smelled like his cologne. She would have to remember to snag those for herself one of these days.
She is sitting up in the bed by now, her knees bent to her chest as her boyfriend climbed in next to her and got settled. It was a little odd, trying to figure out what to do next in a scenario that is weirdly intimate. In her mind, her thoughts are on a double course: here was what she thought would be appropriate and then what she wanted to do.
Fortunately, MC did not have to ruminate on it long. Jihyun laid back and reached a hand out to her shoulder, nudging her back a little.
“Come here, please?”
His voice was soft and whispery, it coated her brain and made she melt inside, all her worries floating away now.
She gave him another smile and sidled up to him, her limbs finding their place next to his warm body, her head finding its home against his shoulder, her face tucked into the crook of his neck.
“Thank you for staying, Jihyun.” She whispers.
He is a timid man, MC knows this, and she does not expect him to answer but she feels him smile silently against her skin, and that is enough.