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Karaoke

"Some things never change," Jung Hwan shook his head wryly as he cupped his chin in his hand and watched Deok Sun shaking the tambourine as she held the microphone in her other hand.

She caught his eye and grinned mischievously at him, and he narrowed his eyes and beckoned her over.

Deok Sun plopped down next to him and looked at him expectantly.

"You better not do the crab-leg dance," he said warningly.

"Well......" she drawled and he poked her side. "Deok Sun, that dance is for my eyes only," he said in a low voice, and she laughed. "Okay, okay," she pat him on the arm then quickly kissed his cheek before jumping back up to sing her heart out.

Jung Hwan spent the rest of the night watching Deok Sun, laughing at her antics but also keeping track of how much she'd had to drink. Thank goodness Deok Sun's friends didn't try to engage him in much conversation, as Deok Sun had already taken care of managing their expectations of him.

"This is my fiance Jung Hwan. He's nice, he doesn't talk much, don't be scared, he doesn't bite" was how Deok Sun had introduced him to them, in true straightforward Deok Sun fashion. He had given them his awkward tight-lipped smile, raised his hand in greeting, and that was that. He was content to just be Deok Sun's captive audience for the night, just as he had always been so many years ago when they hung out in Taek's room.

His ears perked up when he heard Deok Sun slurring through the song and she started to sway, so he got up from his seat and went up to her. "Okay, that's enough," he said gently, taking the microphone from her and giving it to one of her friends.

After taking her purse and saying their goodbyes, Jung Hwan helped Deok Sun to his car and drove her back to her apartment building near the airport.

"Can you walk?" he asked, and she nodded as they both got out of the car. He put an arm around her shoulder and walked her up to her apartment. Taking the keys from her purse, Jung Hwan let them in and helped Deok Sun to bed.

He left her bedroom door open as he made his way to the phone and called the base. After telling his commanding officer that he had a family emergency and would be back at the base the next day, Jung Hwan went back into Deok Sun's bedroom to get Deok Sun ready for bed. He removed her shoes and her coat, then tucked her under the covers.

He then washed up and joined her in bed. It was hard to believe that they could be together this way now, when Jung Hwan could still clearly recall the nights the entire gang slept side by side on the floor of Taek's room. Seeing Deok Sun in her pajamas late at night or first thing in the morning had meant nothing to him then. But now that they were engaged, it meant everything to him. Because it meant that she would be the last person he saw before he fell asleep at night, and the first person he laid eyes on in the morning.

"Jung Hwan," she murmured in her sleep as she rolled unto her side and threw an arm across his waist.

"Sshh..." he whispered, reaching out to stroke her hair gently to lull her back to sleep.

"I love you," she said sleepily, and he smiled.

He kissed her head softly, "I love you too, Deok Sun. I'm here. Just go to sleep."

She gave a soft smile in her sleep, and he wrapped an arm around her to pull her close.

As Jung Hwan drifted off to sleep with Deok Sun in his arms, he thought of how they had never slept together this way before, but now he couldn't imagine falling asleep any other way.