The Moon on a Frozen Lake

5: Spring

Yingyue knew Jihoon was trying to reassure her, but somehow, she was a little disappointed. Was she really the only one feeling this attraction, then? She forced herself to smile. "Understood. I won't worry, then."

"Unless," he tilted his head, eyes narrowing, "you want me to, of course."

Her heart clenched, but then she saw his now-familiar cheeky grin. "You're teasing me again."

"You said you enjoyed it." Jihoon bit his lower lip, a soft chuckle escaping his lips.

She laughed, too. "I do."

"Then, I have no choice but to deliver. Now--" he nodded at her food "--finish your food before it gets cold."

Jihoon stayed to watch her eat. Braving a bout of self-consciousness, Yingyue asked if he'd already eaten. From that, he delivered an enthusiastic review of the meat bun he had on his way back. One of the many things she liked about Jihoon was his ability to carry on a conversation with minimal participation from her. He talked about anything and everything, from the flowers he spotted during his run to the people he observed while waiting for their food. Without her even realizing, she was down to her last spoonful. Jihoon, being his usual attentive self, handed her medicine and water as soon as she finished.

"Thank you," she murmured, swallowing her pills.

"You're welcome. Hope you had a nice meal."

"I did."

Standing up, he picked up the breakfast tray. "Then, I'll go for a quick shower. I should have gone earlier, but I didn't want your food to be cold. After that, I'll be all yours again."

All mine. He said that, too, last night.

Yingyue couldn't help but smile. "Sure, anyway I also need a shower."

"Want us to shower together, then?"

She nearly dropped the glass she still held. "No need!"

Noting the near-disaster, Jihoon took the glass from her grasp. "No? I can help you scrub your back and shampoo your hair."

Not a bad idea, actually.

Wait, was she seriously considering it? Obviously, he was joking. Yingyue shook her head. "No, no. I can do it myself. Thank you very much."

"If you want, I can wear a blindfold."

How he can say these ridiculous things yet still keep a straight face was beyond her. Biting the inside of her cheek, Yingyue replied, "Oh? Then what use will you be, then?"

He made a squeezing movement with one hand. "Supposedly, your sense of touch gets better when you can't see. How about it?"

Laughing, she randomly grabbed something from behind her and threw it his way. To her horror, in addition to a pillow, a lacy black bra flew from her hand and hit his face. She remembered removing it before going to sleep and carelessly casting it aside. Now, it came back to embarrass her.

For a minute, they stared at each other. She with horror and he with surprise. Yingyue felt heat crawling up her neck. "Ack! Please, pretend that never happened!"

Setting down the tray, which he had held away from his body just in time for it not to be hit by her missiles, Jihoon picked up the slip of fabric by his feet. "Oh, you mean this?" Her bra dangled from his forefinger. "This pretty little thing that nearly blinded me?"

"Kang Jihoon!" She strode towards him. On the way, she caught a glimpse of herself from the mirror. Her face was tomato-red.

Beaming with amusement, Jihoon took a step back. "Yes, Miss Hu?"

"Give that back," she half-screamed, half-pleaded.

He waved the thing like a flag above his head. "Should I?"

Oh, so that was how he was going to play it? He was really going to make fun of her predicament? If there was one thing Jihoon should know about her, it was how she always, always fought back. Clenching her jaw, she ran his way and jumped to snatch her underwear from his grip. Instantly, pain shot through her body. She cried out, landing against his chest.

At once, Jihoon wrapped his arms around her, cradling her body to his. "Oh my god, Yingyue! Why did you do that?"

Clearly, what she did was idiotic, but why did he sound so angry? It was his fault. "How else was I supposed to get my bra back?"

"You crazy girl!" One of his hands pressed on the back of her head, while the other remained around her waist. "What if you undid your stitches?"

He was warm, so warm.

Soon, the beating of her heart drowned out the throbbing of her wound. A new emotion replaced the pain. It whispered frantically into her ear, urging her to snake her hands up his chest, pull his neck down, and...

With a shake of her head, she came to her senses. She shouldn't get too carried away. Yingyue willed herself to break out of his embrace. "Don't worry. I'm okay. It hurt a little but I'm fine now."

"Are you sure? Maybe we should check your wound?" Although he let her go, he still hovered around her like a distressed hen. His thick brows wrinkled with concern, his lips forming words in a pout.

He was so cute. What was she supposed to do?

Despite the fluttering in her chest, she kept her voice stable. "Of course I'm sure. I'm fine. Really!"

"Okay, then," his eyes lingered on hers as if he was still unconvinced, "but if you need me, just holler, all right? Promise, I'll come running at once."

That sounded like a cheesy line from an old love song. She should be cringing. If he was any other man, she'd be scoffing. But, there she was grinning from ear to ear, thinking she could get used to having him around.

Why? What was it about him? What made him so different?

At that moment, it hit her.

Because he was Kang Jihoon.

The man in her dreams. The man of her dreams?

Ah, she was so done for.

So done for.

☽ ☾ ☽ ☾ ☽ ☾ ☽ ☾ ☽ ☾ ☽ ☾

Author's note:

Things seem to be progressing fast from Yingyue's end. She's catching feelings fast. But what about Jihoon? Do you think he feels something, too?

Thank you for waiting! The good news is the next chapter is halfway done. Hopefully, I can post that fast. Hope you all have a great month ahead. It's my birthday in exactly 4 days. I wish time would pass by slowly because I don't want to grow older. T.T