Anytime Ever After [IU & KimSoohyun Fanfic]

13. sage's own battle

"I missed you." As she extended her arms towards him for a hug. Sage obliged and gave it to her, then joined her in bed.

"Why are you still awake? Aira is already in dreamland." Sage asked as he put her arms on her shoulders.

"I was waiting for you to come back. We did not talk all day and this is the only time that I get to spend time with you. So you drank with Hans?" she replied as she leaned her head on his shoulders.

"Yep, just a couple of drinks, nothing much. I showered before I came here, which I think was a good call." He explained while rubbing her arms gently as if soothing her.

"Want to tell me what's wrong? You haven't drunk in a while and I know something is up. I will listen if you want to talk about it but if not, it's fine."

Sage was silent for a moment. He was having a battle with himself whether to tell her or not. He's a guy and the last thing that he would admit would be his insecurity. But Alex knows her too well. She would surely know if he's lying and he doesn't want to lie to her.

So he decided to just admit it to her after heaving a deep sigh.

"I did not like seeing how some of those men acted in front of you. They surely were taking advantage of the situation." He uttered in a hushed tone as if ashamed of himself for feeling that way.

"I noticed it as well. Despite me smiling at the camera and being cordial, I was already feeling uncomfortable, so our feelings are still mutual. We truly are in sync." Alex blurted to lighten up the mood.

She already sensed Sage's restraint from seeing how those men treated her because of how tightly his jaws looked. He would look down and make a deep sigh every time he could not tolerate the sight he's seeing. She just wanted to get things over with but she couldn't do anything but to endure.

"Are you jealous, love?" She asked him while looking at him in the eye.

"No, I'm not. Jealousy is when you consider the other person a threat that may cause a rift in your relationship. But I never thought of them as one and I am sure as hell, I won't lose you because of them." He declared confidently.

"Wow! Confident! But the last part about you not losing me because of them is a fact." She replied reassuring him

"Don't get me wrong. I am confident because I know you and I trust you. If I still lose you, then the only reason would be me and no one else. That is why I drank to ease myself from this irrelevant feeling. I don't want to give you a cold treatment just because I was insecure for a moment." He gulped at the last sentence. Then he added,

"I know it's a part of our job and after a couple of drinks, I realized, I should just get used to it, because at the end of the day, they could only look but... they can't touch." He said sweetly and playfully at the same time.

"Do you want us to announce our relationship?" Alex mumbled in response.

Sage was shocked to hear it from her and looked at her incredulously.

"I mean, I don't mind the public knowing about us. I am happy about you being understanding but I don't want you to feel that way every time. And I think that would ease your mind while you are enlisting. At least no one would dare to make moves because they know we are in a relationship." She replied while looking at him seriously.

After seeing how serious she looks, Sage then hugged her as a response. He could not believe that she would be willing to announce their status to the public despite their status in the industry. He also doesn't mind if they go public because he joined the industry because of her, and he can let go of it if he had to, but seeing how much she has grown in the industry, going public would affect her career and he doesn't want that. He wants to be there for her when she reaches the epitome of success.

Then after a moment, he let go of her and looked at her in the eye.

"Not now, my love. Let's keep this little secret of ours as long as we could because I don't want public pressure to take its toll on you while I am there in the military. I can't protect you from anything. If we announce, it has to be when I get back so that we could weigh the storm together. Let's wait a little longer. I'm fine." Sage reassured while stroking her hair with utmost care.

"Are you sure?" she asked one last time while cupping his face.

"Yes, I am. It's enough that you love me, I would never doubt that, and you don't need to do anything more just to appease me. You're already doing your part. These issues are mine, and it is my responsibility to resolve them on my own." He declared simply as he leaned on her palm to feel more of her.

"I love you, Mr. Sage Kim, bear that in mind," Alex responded as she initiated to close the distance between them through a kiss.

The kiss started slow until it became passionate and rough. They have no work tomorrow so they could go for the next level but Sage controlled the pace as his intensity started to subside.

"We have an early flight tomorrow and I don't want you to wake up late. Let's be contented with this for now. Maybe next time?" He then hugged Alex closer to him as they shared the blanket. "And I love you too Ms. Alex Lee."

The couple then closed their eyes together with each other's tight embrace realizing that they could endure the storm together as long as they have each other.