When the Clock Strikes|Pi Han Ul x Reader|

(S02) Chapter 42

“Tomorrow morning,” he continued, his breath brushing the side of my neck, “when you open your eyes, I’ll be there. And I’ll hand you a phone—with them on the other side of the video call. Smiling. Breathing. Safe. I promise.”

I turned slightly, catching his eyes. “Promise?”

“Promise,” he said, without even blinking.

I stared at him, trying to gauge the weight of that word in his mouth. And then, slowly, I smiled.

“If you break the promise,” I said, poking his chest, “I’ll hunt you down.”

He grinned. “I believe you. I’ve seen you furious. It’s… terrifying.”

“Good.” I leaned my head back on his shoulder. “You should be terrified.”

He wrapped his arms tighter around my waist. “I’m not. Not of you.”

A beat of silence passed.

“Then what are you afraid of?” I asked.

He rested his forehead lightly against the side of my head. “Losing this.”

“This?”

“You. Us. Peace. Whatever this feeling is.”

I turned, shifting to face him, the water sloshing gently around us. My hands found his face, cupping his cheeks, brushing his wet hair back.

“You’re not going to lose me,” I whispered. “Not unless you do something very, very stupid. Like… throw out the last packet of ramyeon or forget my birthday.”

He laughed, leaning forward to press his forehead against mine. “Noted. Never touching the ramyeon.”

I kissed him again, gently this time. A kiss that said thank you without needing the words.

He deepened it, hands moving up my back, holding me like I might vanish into the steam. My fingers slid into his hair, and for a moment, everything else disappeared.

There was no danger. No past. No blood. No memory.

Only this bathtub.
His heartbeat.

And me, finally remembering what it felt like to be loved in silence.

He pulled away first, just barely, his nose brushing mine.

“Let’s stay like this,” he whispered. “Just for a little while longer.”

“Okay,” I whispered back, closing my eyes.

And so we stayed.
Wrapped in warmth.
Floating in something soft.

In the quietest place we’d ever found—
Each other.
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The water turned cooler by the time we pulled ourselves out of the tub, skin wrinkled, bodies loose with comfort. I wrapped myself in the towel he handed me, hair dripping, cheeks flushed from warmth and maybe something more.

Han Wool ruffled his hair dry and glanced at me with that soft grin he’d been wearing all day. “You look like a sleepy cat,” he murmured.

I raised an eyebrow. “And you look like someone who owes me food.”

He laughed, wrapping an arm around my shoulder as we walked out of the bathroom together. “Fair enough. I’ll make you something.”
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The apartment was quiet, sun bleeding through the large window in lazy streaks. It smelled faintly like wood, like peace. I sat on the little couch, wrapping the towel tighter around myself, watching him as he moved into the kitchen.