Stay Another Day

Chapter One: Dreams

It really was too bad that he lived in North Korea.

As a result, Se-ri was determined to coexist with him sans the inevitable K-drama awkwardness between the male and female lead. She scoffed. They were above that; well, they had to be above that. After all, he was engaged to Seo Dan – he had been very clear about that.

And, at some point, she would be back in Seoul, back to her glorious Gangnam life with Balmain, Pilates and organic oatmeal.

They were merely passing through each other's lives.

There was no point in dwelling on his thoughtful gestures; they were purely and perfectly platonic. Being with him was comfortable, the way she felt around a close friend. Albeit a six-foot friend with a body sculpted by years of military training. Still, a close friend.

He had been the first to draw the line. Not to be outdone, she swore she'd build her own metaphorical wall over that metaphorical line. Just you watch, Jyeong-hyeokssi.

And then there was her dream. So much for drawing the line. Her subconscious was a dirty traitor.

She took a deep breath and left to join him in the kitchen.

* * *

As was his habit by now, Jeong-hyeok poured her some coffee and slid the cup and saucer towards her. She smiled her thanks.

After the failed attempt to send Se-ri to China by boat, it was going to be weeks until they could try the same plan again. Longer still if they had to wait for the patrols to die down. For now, Jeong-Hyeok knew the best way to keep Se-ri safe was by keeping her indoors, by his side and away from prying eyes.

But with her need to ham up her role as his fake fiancée, keeping her out of the spotlight had been near impossible. He almost regretted introducing her as his fiancée. Almost.

Without realizing it, the two of them had fallen into a familiar routine.

If she was awake just before he left, she'd ask him about his plans.

"Oh. Don't forget to tell that Pyo Chi-su to submit those evaluation papers," she had reminded him, looking cross. "He missed the deadline last week and you had to work overtime."

"Don't worry, it won't happen again," he'd assured her, wondering how this woman had somehow become so entangled in his daily affairs.

"What will you do today?" he asked.

"Well, I cleaned the bathroom yesterday so I might do the kitchen," she said. If she was honest, Jeong-hyeok was tidy so there wasn't much for her to help out with. There was something quaint about sweeping the floors with a straw broom rather than vacuuming with her Dyson. Besides, it was a character-building exercise. She'll make sure to include that in her future autobiography.

"Then I think I'll finish reading North and South," she said.

"How are you liking it?" he asked, trying not to sound too eager.

"It's a romance."

"Yes."

"It's not something I'd expect you to enjoy."

"What kind of books did you think I'd like?

"Well... depressing ones."

He smiled that small, boyish smile.

But today, mortified by what had just happened, Seri was unusually subdued and appeared to have a newfound interest in the cup's faded floral design. She'd been using the same white and blue cup since she arrived. Only now did she notice that the flowers weren't daisies, they were edelweiss.

They stuck to a safer topic: the weather.

It was certainly colder now. The morning air was crisp and lately, he's had to wear gloves on his bike rides home. His instinct was to offer his bedroom, but he wasn't sure if that was crossing the line. Still, he wanted to make sure she wasn't freezing at night.

"I'm fine, it's not too cold," she assured him.

He nodded and made a mental note to buy a gas heater on his way home.

In the last few weeks, he'd made more trips to the market than he had in the entire year.

He was a man of very basic needs; his essentials could fit in a small bag. So he was astounded by how many things women required. He found shopping mind-numbing, looking at an unnecessarily wide variety of the same thing.

Over time, he got better at guessing her size. It was just a nanosecond, a flick of a glance over her figure. Sometimes, he wasn't even aware of it. Never in his life did he think he'd be standing at a market stall trying to decide between a pink or yellow women's sweater so he got them both.

"This is your third time here, have you found out her size?" the shop attendant had asked.

"Yes. She's about this size," he answered confidently, holding his hands out to demonstrate Se-ri's waist size.

The attendant had given him a pitying look. Useless, thought the middle-aged woman.

Nonetheless, the minor indignities were worth it. He enjoyed Se-ri's delighted reaction whenever she opened the bag and found little reminders of home. She was trapped indoors all day - he felt it was the least he could do.

For a moment, they stood in companionable silence in the kitchen.

"Did I... say anything while I was asleep?" she tried to sound as nonchalant as possible.

He froze mid-sip and peered at her from over the cup.

He wasn't going to bring it up; he didn't want to embarrass her. But earlier he had quietly made his way to the kitchen, careful not to wake her. He was brewing coffee and thinking about reports and training exercises when he heard it.

A quiet moan. And then another.

At first, he thought Seri was in pain and nearly took the four steps to reach her.

"Ri Jeong-hyeok-ssi," she moaned again.

He was about to answer until-

"Yesss..."

She was still asleep.

"So good..."

His eyes widened as realization dawned. Jeong-hyeok remained rooted on the kitchen floor, unsure of what to do next.

"Hmm. Right there..." came the soft, feminine moans from the mound of soft blue bedding on the living room floor.

His ears turned bright red.

Should I wake her? he wondered.

Well, you certainly can't just stand there listening like a pervert, he told himself.

She moaned again.

He cleared his throat. "Yoon Se-ri," he called out, his voice uncertain.

"Ohh, Jeong-Hyeok-ssi... that's so bi-"

"Yoon Se-ri!" he had practically bellowed before she could finish her sentence, startling her from the deepest slumber.

Now, he looked at the woman in front of him, standing across the kitchen counter. Her eyes pleading for the answer she hoped to hear.

"No," he lied. "No, nothing I could make out anyway."

The relief on her face made his heart flutter.

"Good," she said, nodding as she picked up her cup with the long sleeves of her sweater. "Good. I was just worried I might have said something wrong and embarrassed myself, you know?"

He looked at her for a moment, a hint of a smile on his lips.

"I understand," he said in a soft voice.