Starfall. |Lee Know

Twenty-Eight.

Dabin tiptoed to where Minho was standing. He was behind the counter, very focused on decorating some cake with strawberries and cherries. The sight of him in the kitchen with that apron over his dress shirt will always be new and breathtaking to Dabin no matter how many times she witnesses it. Dabin thought she would be blessed if that became an everyday scene when they got married.

Reaching exactly behind him, Dabin prepared herself for the jumpscare she was going to give him.

"You'd better not," Minho uttered calmly, startling the poor girl behind him.

"You scared me!" She snapped, placing a hand over her chest.

Minho chuckled. "Karma." He said and let go of the strawberries, wiping his hands with a napkin before turning around to face his fiancee. "You wanted to startle me fir-" Minho's words stopped rolling off his tongue once his eyes fell on her.

Although he always loved her in blue, she looked extremely beautiful in that green summer dress. She looked so simple, so natural, so naturally beautiful to be true.

He blinked multiple times, not finding his words.

"A-Are you okay?" Dabin questioned when she noticed he was lagging. Her question was genuine.

"No." He replied right away. His reply was genuine too.

Dabin's concern filled her face. She examined Minho's face to finally notice the redness in his cheeks and ears. "Did you get a fever?" She placed her hand on his forehead then his cheek. "You are not that feverish." She mumbled.

"Believe me, I am." He almost whispered.

Dabin looked at him weirdly. He was weird. She was about to ask what happened but didn't have the time as she yelped from how he lifted her off her feet by her waist and sat her down on top of the counter. He inched closer until he was trapping her with his hands that rested flat on the countertop at her sides.

That was extremely close and Dabin was sure she too was having a fever by then. They were face to face and her heart was about to leap out of her chest.

"Princess Dabin," Minho talked in a low voice that made Dabin shiver and her hairs stand. "Walking into my house with this green dress is an act of terrorism. I might have no choice but to arrest you on the spot." He whispered.

Dabin understood the compliment. Although she was hell nervous and shaking, she wanted to tease back. But how could she when that man ahead of her still manages to steal her breath away like that every time she's with him? He was her fiance and soon-to-be husband but still, she would find herself trembling, stuttering, and melting away whenever he was that close.

They had been spending time alone lately in his palace, where they became more familiar and comfortable with each other. They would hold hands while walking in the garden, hug while watching a movie, and kiss when they bid their goodbye. Nevertheless, Dabin would still find it hard not to be nervous around them.

But she tried.

Dabin lifted her trembling hands and wrapped them around his neck delicately. She breathed in and closed her eyes, inching her face closer to his to rest their foreheads against each other. That was better. She could handle it as long as her eyes were closed and she couldn't see his handsome face or his kitten eyes looking back at hers.

"So," She talked ever so softly. "Wearing a dress is terrorism, while wearing that light blue dress shirt, opening the top buttons, rolling the sleeves up, and cooking for me is not?" She questioned.

"Hmm." Minho hummed and moved his hands closer to her body, placing them delicately on her hips. "Although I didn't dress like that or cook for the show, I'm glad you enjoyed it." He whispered. "It's a relief that I didn't listen to your brother when he said I didn't need to put on a show for you."

Dabin jolted and immediately opened her eyes then pushed Minho away a little. "Where's he?"

How could she forget! He was at Minho's palace.

Minho chuckled. "He left a few minutes before you arrived. I had to feed him half of our food and kick him out."

Dabin sighed in relief. "Hoo. I thought he would show up out of nowhere."

Minho smirked and tilted his head. "And what if he showed up? What's it you are worrying about?" Pulling her to the edge of the counter, closer to his body, he whispered. "Did you forget you are my fiancee? And we are allowed to spend as much time as we wish together. Alone. Whenever we want, wherever we want, and no one has a say in it."

Dabin closed her eyes again. That man was going to be the death of her. How could he always be that sweet talker? And then her brother tells her Minho never dated or had a lover before and even his previous fiancee wasn't someone he chose and his relationship with her was a formal one. How exactly is she supposed to believe that when he spares no effort in making her heart skip a few beats with every single word he utters?

"When will you stop closing your eyes like that when I look at you?" Minho questioned with a smile. He knew why she was doing that. She was obviously shy and nervous and it made him confused how she never noticed how much he himself gets nervous and shy around her.

"When you stop flirting! You are making it hard for me. Whenever I look at you when you are talking like that, I feel like I might pass out again." She let out honestly. "I feel like I'm always being childish around you and that's really embarrassing."

Minho chuckled. He leaned his head down to rest it on Dabin's exposed shoulder. He closed his eyes and breathed in. He didn't miss how Dabin shivered from the skin-to-skin contact on her shoulder but he didn't dwell on it.

"And I feel like I might pass out from just being that close to you." He sighed. "So, stop thinking of being embarrassed because you are not alone in this. I'm not doing this on purpose. I just tell you whatever comes to my mind without thinking if it's considered flirting or not. So, you can stop being so calculative and let it all out to me too." He pulled away and opened his eyes to find her finally looking back at him. He cupped her face and smiled lovingly. "You can tell me whatever you feel and I promise I will never judge you or your feelings."

"Promise?" She questioned.

"Promise." He assured, caressing her face gently. "Tell me what you feel right now."

Dabin was the one to cup his face and pull it closer. "I feel like I'm the luckiest human being ever for having you. I used to hate how things were going in my life and blame everything on how I was raised up but now I feel thankful for all I had to go through. I'm thankful for how I was raised up because that's what made me get close to you and understand you. I'm thankful that my brother is your age and your friend cause that's how I met you. I'm thankful for Christopher's early coronation because that's how the Royal Ball was set. I'm thankful for Changbin's prank that made me wear that blue dress so that you can notice me." Dabin counted her blessings while looking at him with all the love in the world. "I now understand how blessed I am. I'm not cursed. I'm not a jinx. I'm not an ugly duckling. I was just waiting patiently for my time to shine. I was waiting for my prince charming to come and rescue me. And here you are." She popped his nose playfully. "That's how I feel now." She paused to breathe in and gather her courage. "And I feel that I love you."