silhouette | jhs ✓

33. Hold Me Tight

He nodded, humming before leaving to give her privacy.

Seren switched out her shirts, throwing the other one in the hamper that was beside her vanity, and quickly left the room to follow Hoseok to the breakfast he had prepared for her.

"Here, and I want you to eat it all, please." Hoseok instructed, handing her the plate of warm food and a cup of water.

It was caramelized spam with a runny over-easy egg that sat above the pillow of white rice.

Her stomach began reverberating, reacting to the compelling scent that percolated in the air, making her appetite grow tenfold.

"Yes sir." Seren playfully mumbled, setting her plate down on the table to satiate herself.

"How did you make the spam? I thought I didn't have any spam?" Seren questioned with a full mouth.

"You didn't," Hoseok informed flatly, chewing his food. "I bought some."

Her chewing slackened, trying to process what Hoseok was telling her. "What do you mean? Like you left this morning and went to the store?"

He nodded, sipping his sprite. "Yeah, you didn't have much food, so I thought I should update the things in your fridge." His eyebrows rose at a concerned angle from the carbonated drink.

She set her chopsticks down, lifting from her chair to see her fridge.

Hoseok turned over in his seat, watching her open her fridge.

If she was being completely honest, the fridge was at its most full since her aunt had passed.

There was a case of Sprite, a new case of water, a dozen of eggs, pre-made kimchi, practically everything she could think of. It was in that fridge.

"Hoseok, how much did this all cost?" Seren asked, astonishment in her voice as she opened the freezer.

Of course, there was more.

"You bought frozen food, too?" Seren scoffed, baffled by the amount of food in her refrigerator. "You even bought me sweet corn ice cream?" She asked incredulously, picking up the wrapped corn.

"Your freezer only had dumplings and a single ice tray that wasn't even filled." Hoseok lectured, slightly chuckling. "I'm serious about you eating more. Just in general, I don't want you to be malnourished."

She shut the freezer, shaking her head. "You can't just- I mean... you've done so much since you got here. Too much." Seren stated, walking over to him. "I feel so bad. I know you said I'm not a burden, but I feel like one-"

"Seren, please stop." He grabbed onto her hand, standing up from his chair. "You're not. I promise you, you're not. I chose to fill up the fridge, and I also chose to stay here with you because I care so much about you. Not because I pity you, or because I feel bad. None of those are the reasons why I do what I do."

His hand went below her chin, raising her head. "I want you at your best, I love you too much to just leave you here alone, with no food, and defenseless against what you're going through."

Her throat was parched, staring up at Hoseok with marvel in her eyes. Her lips slightly parted, staring into his eyes, her cheeks shaded a bright red when his words had entirely processed in her head.

He loved her?

She had a feeling that those words would come out sooner rather than later, especially with all the things he was doing for her to keep her safe.

"I- I know you're doing this because you love me..."

"No, Seren." He said. "I don't think you understand what I said. I love you, sincerely, deep in my heart, I love you." His voice was gentle and slick, eliciting a flutter in her unnerved heartbeats. "I think I've loved you since the night we were in my jacuzzi, I just had no idea if it was too soon, so I never said anything."

"Really?" She asked, her eyebrows raising.

"Yes, really." He confirmed.

"Yesterday, when we were on the couch, I thought about that. I thought about how I was certain I fell in love with you when we were in the jacuzzi together." Seren revealed, placing her hand above his shoulder. "It wasn't just because you looked so good without a shirt on, by the way."

Hoseok quietly chortled, placing his hand above her back.

"I just don't want you to feel forced to be here." Seren hesitated, shrugging.

"Trust me, I wanna be here." Hoseok embraced her, placing her head on his shoulder. "And last night was probably the most peaceful rest I've had in years."

"Why do you say that?" She asked, pulling out of his shoulder.

"It just felt nice knowing you were there. And how you would curl up into me during your sleep." He kissed her head, leaving his lips there.

"I'm sorry, I fell asleep while you were in the shower." She mumbled an apology, kissing the side of his neck.

"It's okay, I'm glad you got some rest for once." He giggled at the butterflies that her single kiss granted his body. "I didn't have the heart to wake you up this morning, either. You looked so peaceful, I just told myself I'd hurry so I'd be here when you wake up."

Her shoulders dwindled, sighing into him. "I'm so happy you're here with me. It helps knowing I have you."

"I'm happy you trust me enough to have me here." He whispered in her ear, his warm breath caressing her skin.

She found it ironic that the first time they met, he was helping her pick up the mess she made with the drinks that fell on the floor. She remembered exactly how she felt when he did, and how no one else was there to help, simply staring at the bedlam she created.

Regardless, he helped her. How he continued to help her, and be there for her just like the first day they met.

Seren hugged him tighter, shutting her eyes.

☾