You Are My Future

Chapter Sixteen

This is surreal.

Ji-pyeong was somehow now standing on her street squinting up at a gray stone building with black trim on a tree lined block of East 92nd Street.

The late afternoon sun was glinting off of his brushed back hair as Mi-Rae looked up at him. Ji-pyeong looked far too elegant for a man taking a day off in his beige linen suit. A white t-shirt seemed to be his only acquiescence to playing hookie. Her eyes traced down to his long fingers which were poised over the handle of his roller bag and attaché.

Han Ji-pyeong was about to move in with her.

"I can't believe you're actually here."

The emergence of a dimple assured her that he was indeed. Ji-pyeong looked down at her, smiling.

"It's good to be here."

His fingers found hers as Ji-pyeong looked back up at the stone facade. For the first time since she had proposed it early this morning, Mi-rae felt a ripple of nervousness. Her building was far from the toniest on the block. But she had fallen in love with its nineteenth century architecture and large bay windows. And it was as far away from Brooklyn as she could get immediately after her divorce. Mi-rae had neither the time nor the down payment to search for anything else since making partner.

It definitely is not a penthouse suite.

Mi-rae stood on her toes to rest her chin on his shoulder.

"I am only renting so if you don't like it, don't worry. We'll buy a place together someday."

Ji-pyeong's mouth dropped open.

"I am not that picky!"

She looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Aren't you though?"

Ji-pyeong tried his best to fight a conceding smile. Mi-rae grabbed his arm with both hands and hung on it flirtatiously.

"Did you brush your hair that way just for me?"

Ji-pyeong's eyes sparked with amusement at her playful tone. He wrinkled his nose teasingly.

"I am betting on you messing it up."

He winked at her. Mi-rae's cheeks blushed as her mind flooded with torrid scenes of the confessions of this morning. She tugged on his arm as he smirked knowingly.

"Come on."

They made their way to the steps just as the door above them opened. Mi-rae's heart swelled with affection as her silver haired elderly neighbor and a small Yorkshire terrier greeted them.

"Mi-rae!"

Alicia Blanca stopped as her hand flew to her mouth.

"Oh honey, you look exhausted."

Mi-rae grimaced at her neighbor's always reliably honest assessment. Mrs. Blanca ignored it and then touched Mi-rae's arm affectionately.

"I fed Loki this morning." Then she lowered her voice as if disclosing a grave secret. "By the way, he is running low on canned food and litter."

Then her eyes quickly shifted to Ji-pyeong. She took off her enormous Jackie O sunglasses and immediately appraised him with a coy smile.

"Oh hello."

Mi-rae swallowed.

"Ji-pyeong, this is my favorite neighbor, Alicia Blanca, and her dog, Roosevelt. Mrs. Blanca is Loki's other mother whenever I travel. Mrs. Blanca, this is ..."

What do I call him?

Ji-pyeong's eyes ticked towards her for a moment as she hesitated. Then he squared his shoulders. His dimples fully deployed as he extended his hand.

"Her boyfriend, Ji-pyeong Han. It's an absolute pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Blanca."

Mrs. Blanca looked at Mi-rae and then back at Ji-pyeong as she clasped his hand in delight.

"Well my goodness!  Aren't you a tall drink of water! Please call me Alicia."

Ji-pyeong smiled widely at her and bowed his head. Mrs. Blanca turned to Mi-rae. Her eyes were wide with glee.

"You sly girl, you never said a word! And here I thought you were always gone because you were working so hard!"

Mrs. Blanca extended her arms out to Mi-rae who quickly acceded to her embrace. She smelled like rose water and menthol. It was the scent of unsolicited advice and loving wisdom. Mrs. Blanca exclaimed as she squeezed her tightly.

"Oh this is such a relief! We are always talking in the building about how you're far too pretty and smart to be that single. And the clock is ticking away!"

Oh dear god.

Mi-rae's embarrassment was softened by the warm hands patting her back before she pulled away. She could feel Ji-pyeong's curious gaze on her.

"He's actually moving in today, Mrs. Blanca. I am glad that you're the first to know."

Ji-pyeong again smiled at Mrs. Blanca.

"I look forward to being a good neighbor."

Then he lowered himself down to her dog's height.

"It's good to meet you too, Roosevelt.

Mi-rae bit her lip at the sight of Ji-pyeong's tall frame folded into an impossibly small size as he patiently allowed the Yorkshire terrier to sniff his hand.

Does he know how adorable this is? 

Mi-rae dragged her eyes away from him as Mrs. Blanca leaned over and whispered conspiratorially as if Ji-pyeong could not hear everything that she was saying.

"He is so handsome. You two could have such beautiful babies."

Mi-rae tried not to wince.

Are you kidding me?

Mi-rae laughed nervously as her eyes darted frantically down to Ji-pyeong. His eyes remained resolutely focused on scratching behind Roosevelt's ears. But he was grinning.

I want to die.

Mi-rae smoothed her hair as she cleared her throat.

"Well let's not get ahead of ourselves, Mrs. Blanca. Let him move in first."

Mrs. Blanca clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth.

"You all work too hard these days and waste so much time. Trust me when I say it's not what you are thinking about once you get to be my age. You're just wondering why your grandchildren don't visit more often."

Ji-pyeong pulled himself up. He seemed like a giant now next to her small frail frame.

"Mrs. Blanca, once I am settled in, would you do me the honor of accompanying me to lunch? I'm new to the city and you're right that Mi-rae does work very hard. I could use a friend to show me around."

Mi-rae could not hide her delight as the elderly widow clapped her hands together in excitement.

"Oh of course! And I'll show you the best markets for everything. Tell me, do you cook, Ji-pyeong? Mi-rae can't at all! Far too much take out! That is when she's home for dinner at all."

Mi-rae shook her head in further embarrassment as Ji-pyeong's mouth quirked in amusement.

"My husband was a wonderful cook. I think cooking together is what kept our marriage strong for fifty nine years."

Ji-pyeong lowered his head as he regretfully prepared to disappoint her.

"I got by on boiling water in my university days. And I helped my grandmother a few times for holidays but I'm afraid that's it."

He caught Mi-rae's eye and smiled as his hands slid into his pockets.

"But I'd love to learn. For her."

Mi-rae felt her stomach flip for the tenth time today as Ji-pyeong slowly looked away to face Mrs. Blanca again. He looked so content and comfortable in his own skin as he voluntarily shared a wish with this stranger. Mi-rae could not take her eyes off of him.

"Maybe you would be willing to teach me?"

Mrs. Blanca's eyebrows shot up.

"I would love to! Oh my goodness Mi-rae, hurry up and marry him."

Ji-pyeong leaned towards Mrs. Blanca as if she was now his co-conspirator in a plot. But he kept his eyes on Mi-rae.

"She really should hurry up shouldn't she?"

Laughter burst from Mi-rae as she folded her arms and looked at Ji-pyeong incredulously. He bounced on his heels and grinned.

Unbelievable.

Roosevelt began tugging on his leash in sympathy to her plight. Mi-rae's hands flew to her hips to regain command of the situation.

"Alright Mrs. Blanca, thank you for taking care of Loki as always. Let's get Ji-pyeong settled in and he can circle back on lunch and those cooking lessons."

Mrs. Blanca bid them farewell as Mi-rae then hooked her way through the crook of Ji-pyeong's arm. Her fingers curled into linen until they found the solid curve of his bicep.

"You enjoyed that."

A delighted sound instantly escaped from Ji-pyeong.

"Was it that obvious?"

Mi-rae ran up the stairs to open the door for Ji-pyeong as he carried his suitcase up and into a small foyer of black and white tile. She pressed the button to the elevator and then turned to face him. He was smiling at her mischievously. Then Ji-pyeong folded his arms and nodded his head at her knowingly.

"You hesitated because you didn't know what to call me."

Mi-rae felt her cheeks warm again. She decided that the best defense was to be just as blunt.

"Well, 'boyfriend' doesn't seem like quite enough."

A triumphant smile curved up Ji-pyeong's lips.

"No. It doesn't."

Then the ancient elevator doors groaned open. His hand unfurled, inviting her to enter first into the cramped space. Mi-rae moved to one side as Ji-pyeong maneuvered his suitcase inside. Then he leaned against the wall next to her as the elevator slowly ascended.

Mi-rae rested her cheek against the cool brass grating as she looked up at Ji-pyeong. After the last twenty four hours she felt like she could ask him anything.

"What do you want me to introduce you as?"

He paused. Ji-pyeong's eyes ticked up and down her face. Then his jaw clenched as his face grew determined.

"Husband."

She knew in an instant that he absolutely meant it. Mi-rae's heart thudded against her rib cage.

"How do you just do that?"

She whispered it. Ji-pyeong leaned towards her, his eyes searching hers.

"Do what?"

Her hand patted her chest three times in quick succession.

"Make my heart go like this so many times a day."

A puff of air escaped his lips. Ji-pyeong lifted his fingers and gently moved a strand of hair out of her face.

"I'm just being honest."

A corner of his mouth tugged up shyly as he looked at her. Mi-rae watched, mesmerized, as it coaxed the dimple beside it into revealing itself just for her. His eyes were soft with love.

"But I'm happy to hear that it makes your heart do that."

The doors sprang open as the elevator lurched to a stop on her floor. Mi-rae grabbed his hand just as it retreated from her. She threaded her fingers through his as she started pulling him into the hallway.

"By the way, I am pretty sure that this elevator is so old that it doesn't have cameras."

His mouth dropped open.

"Now you tell me?"

Ji-pyeong followed her without taking his eyes off of her.

"I already love living here."

Mi-rae's laughter peeled into the hallway as she drew him to the door to her apartment.

"This is us."

He nodded slowly as his eyes focused on her lips.

"Mrs. Blanca is across the hall. The third door is to the rooftop."

Mi-rae's tongue pushed against the inside of her cheek as she tried not to smile as she scolded him.

"You're not paying attention."

Ji-pyeong licked his lips before answering her.

"You're right. I'm not."

He reached for her waist. Then Ji-pyeong closed his eyes and leaned in. His lips gently brushed against hers as she felt that expectant tingle that happened whenever he kissed her. His upper lip softly claimed her as she sank into the plush cushion that he offered just below. But before Mi-rae could lure him deeper, Ji-pyeong retreated and then nodded to himself seriously.

"Okay." He exhaled. "I'm focused now. Tell me everything."

Mi-rae let out a breath too as his face was once again a foot away from her. She felt bewitched.

"That's not fair. Now you distracted me."

Ji-pyeong's mouth turned down in amused contrition. He stepped back and folded his hands behind his back. Then, his head tipped to the right.

"That's the door to the rooftop, right? What's up there?"

Mi-rae smiled at his practiced studiousness.

"A little garden and some tables and chairs. Some neighbors grow vegetables I think. I fell in love with it when I first looked at this apartment but I've only been up there once or twice since."

Because it felt so lonely. And I work too hard.

Ji-pyeong studied her face for a moment.

"Let's go up there together a lot then okay?"

He always knows.

Mi-rae nodded.

"So rooftop or apartment first?"

Ji-pyeong rolled his bag closer and tipped his head forward decisively.

"Apartment."

"Okay."

She bit her lip at how high pitched her voice suddenly sounded. Mi-rae turned around as she fumbled in her purse for her keys. Her fingers finally met metal. She took a deep breath as she inserted the key into the first latch and then the second.

Thank god the cleaning service came this week.

She pushed the door open and walked straight in. Mi-rae could hear his heavy footsteps and the wheels of his roller bag across the hardwood floor coming to a stop just behind her. Her eyes caught a flash of black fur darting quickly to the bedroom.

Get out here Loki, you coward.

Mi-rae walked a few more feet until she reached the cut out to the galley kitchen. Then she bit her lip and spun around.

Ji-pyeong was standing in the middle of the main room. His face was implacable. Mi-rae followed his gaze and tried to see her home through his eyes as if it was for the first time.

The afternoon sun was streaming through the large bay window that pushed out beyond the facade of the building. The darkly stained hardwood was punctuated only by a gray and white ikat rug. Mi-rae tried not to smile at how elegant her peacock blue couch currently looked now that it was not covered with her remotes, laptop, phone, a blanket, snacks, and a pillow dragged from her bed. A white marble coffee table was gleaming from just having been cleaned. Its pristine state concealed that she often ate there rather than at the small oval walnut table and two mustard Eames chairs in front of her.

Built-in bookshelves surrounded a large flat screen television. They were filled with the novels of her undergraduate degree in literature and the heavy law school tomes that had turned a passion for reading into labor; a monument to her past framed her present source of escape from her chosen profession. Photographs from her childhood and university days punctuated the colorful array of book spines. Just to her left was a large abstract painting vibrant with dark blues and red hanging above a vintage record player console; a gift from a college roommate watched over her father's treasured refuge from his own troubles.

Ji-pyeong was silent as he took it all in. Now her eyes were tracing the precise ebony shape of his head down to the outline of his broad shoulders as he stared at the bookshelves. Her fingernail scratched painfully at the side of her thumb.

What does he think?

Mi-rae worried at her lower lip. She was proud of what she had carved out for herself in the wake of the divorce. Mi-rae had not allowed a single item from that failed home to cross the threshold of her solitary new beginning. She had abandoned those possessions like lancing a boil. The only exception was her father's console.

Oh god his apartment must be so much nicer than this if it's in a fancy downtown hotel.

Her apartment was small. And she was not exactly an expert in interior design. A thumbnail slipped between her teeth as she waited for him to turn around. But Ji-pyeong's hand trailed along the photographs on the closest bookshelf instead. It stopped at the third picture frame and picked it up. She automatically deduced that it was of her and her father at a baseball game; she was eleven and living in Los Angeles. Mi-rae's throat tightened. She had told him that story the night that everything began to change between them. This was the first day that they would ever live together and Ji-pyeong already knew what it meant to her.

Mi-rae waited until he placed it carefully back on the shelf. Then she could not stand the suspense any longer.

"My love?"

Ji-pyeong turned around.

Their eyes locked. Then he strode across the room and pulled her fiercely to his chest.

Mi-rae sucked in a breath as his arms closed tightly around her. She pulled him even closer. He remained holding her silently for several moments.

"Are you okay?"

She spoke her question into the soft fabric of his shirt. His hands slipped up into her hair as she listened to Ji-pyeong exhale.

"Yes."

His deep voice vibrated against her ear. Mi-rae felt a twinge of shame that she had been worried about whether her apartment would be enough when he was clearly processing far more.

Mi-rae pulled back and her fingers reached up until they found his face.

"I am so happy that you are here."

"It is all so you." Ji-pyeong's eyes were filled with emotion. "It already feels like home."

A lump formed in her throat. Mi-rae's fingers spanned his jaw.

"Then welcome home."

Ji-pyeong blinked rapidly as he absorbed her words. Then his lips disappeared, fighting emotion.

"Oh my love, come here."

Mi-rae pulled him into her arms and hugged him tightly again. She raised herself up on to her toes and rubbed his back until she heard him exhale again. Finally, Ji-pyeong pulled away. His hand flew to his mouth as he cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry I ..."

Mi-rae seized both of his hands.

"Don't be sorry. It's a lot, for me too. In the best way."

Ji-pyeong nodded slowly as he swallowed hard. Then Mi-rae tilted her head until it coaxed a small smile from him.

"Would you like to meet my cat?"

Ji-pyeong's eyes lit up.

"Yes! Where is he?"

Mi-rae giggled as she pressed a kiss to his hands before letting go.

"Probably under the bed or in the closet. He ran into the bedroom as soon as we walked in. You may have to be patient with him but he'll come around eventually."

Ji-pyeong squinted at her cheekily.

"I may have some experience with that."

Mi-rae's eyes widened as a small gasp escaped from her lips. Then she shook her head and pushed at his shoulder as Ji-pyeong's smile broadened.

"A week! You waited a week!"

Ji-pyeong laughed as he tried to take her back in his arms despite her protests.

"But it felt like forever!"

He sounded so pitiful that she relented. Ji-pyeong smoothed her hair as he lowered his head to meet her.

"I used to be a very patient man." He let out a happy sigh. "Until I met you."

Mi-rae swayed towards him as she drank in every sign that he was as in love as she was.

"What are you talking about? You were so patient with me about everything that matters."

Mi-rae let out a shaky breath as she took in his handsome face looking at her as if she was what he wanted most in this world. She doubted that she would ever get used to it.

God I love him like crazy.

Mi-rae lifted herself up and offered a soft kiss. And then she grasped the hand that was resting on her waist and led him to the bedroom in search of her cat.

"Loki..."

She breathed a sigh of relief upon discovering that her cleaning lady had generously hung up the pile of clothes left on the bed in the wake of nervously packing for the Hamptons followed by a frantic trek upstate. Her white and dove gray pinstripe clad bed suddenly seemed too small after lying next to Ji-pyeong's large frame all night and morning in a king sized bed.

We are going to need a bigger bed.

The thought made her shoulders shift up to her ears in secret delight thinking about all of the things that she wanted to do with him in that bed.

Then a plaintive meow pierced the silence.

Mi-rae got down on her hands and knees and peered under the bed. Loki's yellow eyes stared back at her skeptically. Suddenly Ji-pyeong was next to her. The scent of sandalwood now in her bedroom made her bite her lip.

"He's not going to come out."

Ji-pyeong sighed.

"He's adorable. Do black cats really get adopted the least? That's so silly."

"Yep. I got him right after the divorce because I figured that we were both used to rejection."

Ji-pyeong looked at her. Mi-rae gave him a lopsided smile. And then he pressed a kiss to her cheek. That was the past. Now she was loved.

Ji-pyeong lowered himself onto his forearms.

"Nobody adopted me, my friend. I get it."

Mi-rae's chest ached at his reciprocal morbid humor.

"Oh my love."

Her fingers touched his arm. Ji-pyeong laughed sadly. Then he got down onto his belly and extended his index finger towards Loki.

"I'm Ji-pyeong. I love Mi-rae just like you do so I'm going to live here too. I hope we get along well."

Mi-rae grinned as she watched Ji-pyeong continue to offer his finger expectantly in the hopes that her cat would acknowledge him. Loki took one step forward and then paused; cautiously assessing this foreign creature that was a man for the first time. Ji-pyeong kept his finger perfectly still and waited.

Finally, he was rewarded with a brief touch of nose. Then Loki retreated immediately.

Ji-pyeong looked up at her.

"He can't resist a nose boop." Mi-rae patted his shoulder. "You're going to be such a good cat dad."

Ji-pyeong looked delighted. 

"I've never had a pet. I just talk to my AI like a madman when I'm alone instead."

Mi-rae gasped as she clutched at his arm.

"Wait a minute! Is that what you unplugged before we..."

Ji-pyeong chuckled.

"No way I was letting him listen to us."

Mi-rae burst out laughing. Loki crept back further into the recesses under her bed. Ji-pyeong looked shocked.

"What? They listen. And collect information! It sometimes says things that are eerie as hell, Mi-rae!"

She gasped for air as laughter shook her shoulders. But then a thought made her stop suddenly.

"Wait. Did you ever talk to it about me?"

Ji-pyeong's face betrayed the truth before he could deny it.

"You did! Oh my god!"

Mi-rae sat up with a bolt.

"I am going to ask it everything that you said!"

Ji-pyeong's eyes flew wide open in panic before he tried to project calm assurance.

"I'm sure it doesn't work that way."

Mi-rae cocked her head questioningly. Ji-pyeong ran his hand through his hair. Then he ducked back under the bed.

"Hey, Loki. She talked about me to you too, didn't she? Spill it."

Thank god he can't talk.

Mi-rae covered her mouth as laughter bubbled up again. Ji-pyeong turned over onto his side and eyed her suspiciously. His head fell softly into his hand.

"He will warm up to me eventually. And then I will know it all."

Mi-rae opened her mouth to respond but then her eyes made a discovery. They focused on where his t-shirt had escaped from the confines of his pants. A swath of his stomach just above the waistline was now revealed. Her fingers flexed against the floor. Even though Mi-rae had spent the early morning in his arms, she felt herself drawing closer to him like a moon orbiting a planet.

"I am wondering if I am ever going to let you keep your clothes on for more than a few hours straight again."

Ji-pyeong's eyebrows shot up in surprise. But she could be like this now — she could say what she wanted out loud to him no matter what she was thinking. And it would make his eyes flash with want like they were right now.

Then her phone rang from the other room.

"Ignore it."

He growled it like a command.

Mi-rae nodded silently. Then she reached her hand out and touched his stomach.

Ji-pyeong sucked in his breath as her fingers splayed across his belly. Her phone rang on and on. But all Mi-rae could think about was if her fingers reached up, the hard swell of his chest would be hers again. And if they delved down, then she would soon have him inside of her. She felt like an addict — constantly chasing the way that he made her feel.

Finally the phone ceded to silence.

Mi-rae leaned forward and pressed her lips to his exposed skin. Ji-pyeong still smelled like the soap that they had used together in the shower. A warm pang of desire pulsed through her.

I want him now.

The phone began ringing again.

Dammit.

She squeezed her eyes shut willing it to stop. Ji-pyeong's fingers slid into her hair — this time he pleaded silently with her not to answer. Mi-rae again obeyed; kissing the shallow between two ridges of abdominal muscles while her hand slid under his shirt to explore his chest.

Finally there was silence again.

Mi-rae rolled Ji-pyeong onto his back. She inched up towards his lips, her skirt shamelessly riding up. His hands quickly took advantage — his palms sliding up the back of her thighs as she made her way up to him.

Again, the phone rang.

Mi-rae's forehead dropped down to his chest as he sighed loudly.

"Fuck, three times in a row? We should probably check."

But everything inside of Mi-rae rebelled against the intrusion. Ji-pyeong was in her bedroom and they had taken the damn day off. Erskin Dusk could be live on CNN right now and she did not care. Mi-rae clutched the lapel of his jacket fiercely.

"I will be right back."

Ji-pyeong stared at her. And then he nodded solemnly.

Mi-rae dragged herself away with a sigh and stood up. Then she ran her hand through her hair as she stalked into her living room until she found her purse.

Don't even look at who it is.

Mi-rae searched the bag until she located her phone. Then she pressed her thumb against the off button for longer than necessary.

When she turned around, Ji-pyeong was standing in the doorway to her bedroom. His jacket was off and his arms were folded across his chest. Her eyes traced where the fabric was strained.

God a t-shirt looks good on him.

"Who was it?"

Mi-rae shrugged as she started walking towards him.

"I didn't look."

Ji-pyeong tilted his head in surprise.

"Because it can wait."

Mi-rae pulled her shell off just before she reached him and dropped it to the floor.

"But I can't."

Ji-pyeong's arms fell to his side as a look of amazement passed over his face. Mi-rae could feel herself grinning as she closed the space between them. She had never been this bold in her life. But Ji-pyeong made her feel a kind of confidence of which she had not known herself capable. And it only seemed to make him want her more.

Mi-rae gave him a gentle shove backwards.

Ji-pyeong's mouth dropped open. But then the corner of his mouth tugged up. And his eyes flashed in a way that told her to do it again.

And so she did.

And then Mi-rae stepped into the space that it created as a flash of black ran past them. A puff of amusement escaped from Ji-pyeong. But Mi-rae focused only on what was between her and what she wanted.

She reached for the button of his pants. Mi-rae looked up at him as she slipped it free and lowered the zipper as his arms remained passively at his sides. Ji-pyeong was still as he watched her. Then she moved her head coyly into his line of sight until he raised his eyes to meet hers.

"Am I being too demanding?"

It was a question to which she already knew the answer.

A sly smile made its way up Ji-pyeong's lips as his hands then curled around her shoulders. He lowered her head towards her.

"No such thing."

Ji-pyeong's voice was low — she felt each word. Mi-rae surged up and kissed him, hard. Her hand plunged down until she had a firm grasp of what she wanted. Ji-pyeong whimpered into her mouth. And then she crowded him backwards until they reached the bed.

When he ran out of space, Mi-rae caressed the seam of his mouth with her tongue as her fingers slid possessively down the length of him. Ji-pyeong remained passive — allowing her to wile her way into claiming what she wanted. She slipped between his lips as her fingers moved back up. Then his hands were suddenly on her face, drawing her in deeper. The ache inside was now an all consuming need to have him.

Mi-rae pulled away with a gasp. She yanked at his shirt until he complied by taking it off. Her eyes greedily took him in. And then she pushed Ji-pyeong down onto the bed.

For a moment, he looked up at her in awe. And then she began to unzip her skirt.

A dark look took hold in his eyes. He lifted himself up onto his elbows.

"Leave it on."

Mi-rae's fingers stilled at her waist. She was standing above him and yet she did not know who was in charge.

And it was thrilling.

Suddenly, Mi-rae was back at the park on that day —  with sun and green all around them as he teased her until she blushed. She had wanted him then. And she wanted him now. His bare chest and stomach beckoned to her eyes until the open fold of his pants dared her to do more than just look.

Mi-rae quickly shed her underwear as he shimmied off the rest of his clothes. And then she climbed onto the bed, sliding her thighs on either side of him. Ji-pyeong was so beautiful like this, challenging her to do whatever she wanted but demanding what he wanted too. Her fingers feathered a path down his abdomen in anticipation.

Ji-pyeong looked up at her, his mouth slack with want as his hands slid under her skirt. He shook his head like he was lost in the pull between them.

"Do you know how many times I thought about this at work?"

Mi-rae leaned down towards him as his fingers fanned across the back of her thighs.

"Thought about what?"

Her hand closed around him. Ji-pyeong squeezed his eyes shut.

"You."

The way he rasped it made her ache for him even more. But Mi-rae waited until his eyes opened again. She could not resist doing to him what he had done to her.

Mi-rae tilted her head as her thumb rubbed over the tip of him.

"Be more specific."

Ji-pyeong let out an incredulous huff as his head fell back.

"Mi-rae..."

She leaned forward until her hand planted flat next to his head. Mi-rae was within an inch of his lips.

"Tell me."

Ji-pyeong slid his hands up and gripped her backside.

"I wanted to slide my hands under your skirt."

Mi-rae pretended to gasp.

"At work? Scandalous, my love."

His teeth sank into his lip as he shook his head incredulously at her cheek.

Mi-rae narrowed her eyes.

"What else?"

He sighed and dug his fingers into her. Mi-rae guided the tip of him to her; rubbing him along where she ached for him. Ji-pyeong's eyes were pleading with her to let him in. Mi-rae allowed a sweet tease of him to slip inside of her ever so slightly. The wet promise made Ji-pyeong inhale sharply.

"Fuck."

Her thighs tightened around him. She watched his eyes close as his brow furrowed with collapsing restraint.

And then it came tumbling out.

"That night we ended up alone in the conference room ... before we were together ... for thirteen minutes..."

Thirteen minutes?

She licked her lips as a thrill of discovery coursed through her.

"I could not stop thinking about pushing your skirt up and touching you ....being inside of you... right there. On the table. Against the wall...That's why I had to leave. I was losing my fucking mind."

My god.

Mi-rae drew closer to his lips. His eyes were desperate as his hips arched up. She could not hold out any longer. Mi-rae wanted to consume all of him.

"Pl—"

Her kiss breathed in his plea as she sank onto him. Mi-rae slipped inside of his mouth and filled the ache between her legs all at once. Then she gathered his head in her hands to kiss him deeply as she began to move her hips.

Ji-pyeong kissed her back desperately; his mouth hot and demanding as his hands clutched roughly at her skirt. His urgency made Mi-rae suddenly push herself up. She braced a hand against his chest. It was intoxicating — the way she could move along the length of him as she pleased. His dark hair was now in his eyes, his stomach muscles contracted every time he met the roll of her hips. She could not get enough of him. The way he clenched his jaw and watched her moving wantonly made Mi-rae feel beautiful. And wanted. And strong. As if by claiming what she wanted while he watched was as much for him as for herself.

And so Mi-rae closed her eyes. And arched her back. And quickened her hips as his hands seized the fabric of her skirt into his fists and held on. She focused only on the way he fit deep within her — the wet sweet drag of him, how slanting her hips could welcome him further and further as she moved increasingly with abandon.

The abiding ache bloomed into tiny bursts of pleasure as he filled her. Mi-rae climbed each one greedily. She wanted more of it — more of him, more of how only he could make her feel. Her head fell back. Soon Mi-rae heard Ji-pyeong cursing under his breath from far away; she felt the hot rush of him coming inside of her. It made her feel triumphant. She rolled into the wave wracking his body over and over, reveling in the feel of him losing himself because of her.

Then his hand slipped down.

Oh god .... his hand.

Mi-rae closed her eyes and braced herself as his fingers demanded her surrender in return. The knowing circles replaced the center of her existence. And then she was being pulled down into his arms. And Ji-pyeong was holding her close as pleasure tore through her. He whispered more confessions in her ear — how long he had waited to have her on top of him, how much he loved to watch her, how good it felt as she came all around him. His confessions were as honest as his fingers were determined. She gasped and shook. His words, his touch-- it was almost more than she could take. If his arm were not so tight around her Mi-rae was certain that she would break apart. She clutched at his neck as a final piercing burst of pleasure forced her mouth open into a silent scream.

She collapsed onto him. Mi-rae turned her cheek against his chest and let out an exhausted breath through the hair covering her face. Ji-pyeong kissed the top of her shoulder and then his arms flopped dramatically onto the mattress.

"My god. How are we still alive at this point?"

She started giggling as his chest vibrated with laughter. Mi-rae was drunk with love; her limbs felt disconnected from the rest of her body.

"I'm not sure that I am."

He chuckled as Mi-rae then slid off of him.

Ji-pyeong turned his head to look at her. His hair was tousled and clinging to his forehead with sweat. As much as he was devastatingly attractive with it swept back, Ji-pyeong was decidedly hers when it was like this. Mi-rae lifted her fingers to touch the dark fringe just above his eyebrows.

"I messed it up."

Ji-pyeong grinned. Then he caught her fingers and pressed a kiss to them.

"I love you so much."

Mi-rae leaned in and pressed a kiss to his lips.

"I love you too."

She lingered even as she pulled away, her feet rising in the air and swaying back and forth.

"This really wasn't fair. I am still kind of dressed and you... are not."

Ji-pyeong glanced down at himself and then huffed a laugh.

"I am not complaining, believe me."

Mi-rae giggled again as she pulled the duvet to cover him. And then she narrowed her eyes.

"So, thirteen minutes, huh? That's very exact.

Ji-pyeong's lips folded into one another as he looked down shyly. Then he hooked his arm around her waist and pulled her against him. His nose rubbed against hers before he answered.

"Yes. Thirteen minutes. You were on the phone and leaning against the conference room table in a black skirt. I was pretending not to look. And I swear that I was living minute to minute. That's how long I lasted alone in a room with you."

Mi-rae inched even closer, devouring every word. It still seemed wonderous that she could have that effect on such a man.

"Then I went straight to the bar at the Carlyle and talked that poor bartender's ear off. I was absolutely freaking out over how I was going to get through that game the next night."

Mi-rae thought back to how she had laid in this very bed consumed with thoughts of him. And then her fingers were back in his hair just because they could be. She could spend the rest of her life listening to how Ji-pyeong had thought of her too. Her fingers brushed across his forehead and then trailed down his cheek.

"You lasted a lot longer than I did just now. I didn't even let you unpack."

Mi-rae pretended to frown in apology. Ji-pyeong made a small sound as his arm curved around her waist. He looked pleased.

"I loved it ..." He trailed off as he seemed lost in thought for a moment. "I love that about you."

Then Ji-pyeong raised an eyebrow.

"Although I'm not sure if I made the best impression on Loki."

He winced. Mi-rae hugged him and laughed.

Then there was a buzzing from the floor below. Ji-pyeong buried his face in her neck and groaned.

"Always with the fucking phones!"

He sat up with a sigh.

"We better check what's up."

Ji-pyeong leaned over to retrieve his pants and shirt. He looked up at her after reviewing his phone.

"There's a text from Sam. He says Chris has been trying to get a hold of you. Something about the New York Times."

Mi-rae pushed away a bolt of nerves.

I have nothing to hide.

"Ugh. I will call him."

Mi-rae stood up and hurriedly retrieved her underwear. She walked over to her mirrored dresser and pulled out a black shirt and lounge pants. As soon as she had changed, Mi-rae began shifting her clothing to clear three drawers. When she turned around, Ji-pyeong was lying on his stomach. His arms were hugging a pillow and he was watching her. Loki was now sitting in the doorway in turn observing Ji-pyeong.

"Hey, look who's curious."

She lifted her chin towards their visitor. Ji-pyeong turned and gave him a small wave. Loki twitched his tail but otherwise remained stoic. Mi-rae fought a smile as she tried to focus.

"Okay, these three drawers are yours. We can sort out more space when you bring the rest of your things. Please move whatever you need to in my closet. This is your apartment too now so don't be shy."

His eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled. Mi-rae felt a tingle go down her spine.

"This is real isn't it?"

Ji-pyeong looked at her.

"Isn't it great?"

Mi-rae let out a breath and nodded silently. Then she walked over to him and messed up his hair a little more before walking back to the main room.

Mi-rae stepped in front of her favorite bay window. Her street was quiet on this Friday afternoon but for a dog barking. It was the same view she had looked at so many times before and yet everything was different. The love of her life was lying in her bed. He loved her just as much back. And he was staying. The hope that bloomed within her chest that night she had sat next to him was now her life. 

Mi-rae took a deep breath as she prepared to emerge from their cocoon of the last twenty four hours. Then she dialed her mentor.

Chris picked up on the first ring.

"Hey. Sorry to bug you. Did you get some rest?"

Mi-rae bit the inside of her cheek.

You could call it that.

"Yes I feel so much better, thank you."

"Listen, Marjorie Weems wants to do a feature on you. It's for the Times Sunday edition. She wants to interview you initially by phone today and then do an in person and shoot at the firm tomorrow. The executive committee really wants you to do it."

What the fuck.

"A feature about me?"

"Yeah about you."

Chris huffed a laugh.

"You must have been sleeping all day. Ever since Ji-pyeong's speech, we are getting requests for you like crazy. I've held them off but I think you need to do the Times now, Mi-rae. That's a huge circulation for a Sunday story. You get to control the narrative. Plus, I want to hear associates talking about you like you're a legend. I want clients begging for your time. This is career making stuff — milk it."

Mi-rae laughed.

"This is crazy."

"So you'll do it?"

Mi-rae ran her hand through her hair. A whisper of caution made her pause.

"Nothing personal, right? Nothing about Ji-pyeong?

"When I spoke with Weems, she was totally focused on how you investigated Dusk. Not even a mention of Ji-pyeong other than the credit he gave you. I think we're good. You can exhale, Mi-rae."

His voice was kind and reassuring. She did exactly that.

"Okay, I'll do it."

"Terrific! I'll have Kate send you all the details. Does 5:30 work for you for the call and then 9 am for the shoot tomorrow?"

Mi-rae pulled the phone away and glanced at the time.

That's in an hour.

"Yep, that works. Thank you, Chris."

"Nothing to thank me for. It's all you. See you tomorrow."

Mi-rae folded the phone against her chest. Last weekend she had offered her resignation. Two days ago she had prepared for the worst. That was what life had taught her to expect. And yet she had believed — in him, in herself. And now she was standing on the precipice of a professional height she never imagined. And more importantly, she was happy.

Mi-rae walked back towards the bedroom in a daze. Then she heard Ji-pyeong talking.

Is he on with Sam?

She padded her way across the hardwood until she could make out what he was saying.

"...and then she teased me for wearing white linen to a baseball game. I spent like an hour agonizing over that outfit!" He huffed incredulously. "Whatever, I still think she liked it."

Oh my god.

Mi-rae's hand flew to her mouth to stifle the sound that she was about to make.

He's talking to the cat.

Loki was sitting inside of Ji-pyeong's suitcase watching him as he unpacked. Mi-rae crept closer. Ji-pyeong paused and tentatively reached a hand out to scratch Loki's head. The cat peered up at him warily but allowed the liberty. Then Ji-pyeong put his hands on his hips and sighed.

"Do you think I need to shop for more casual clothes? I thought that she liked my suits."

Now both hands covered her mouth in delight.

Ji-pyeong held up a white suit and assessed it with a critical eye. Then he turned to look at Loki. His silent companion remained agnostic on the sartorial dilemma.

Mi-rae wrapped her arms around herself. She felt warm all over just watching him. He had made millions out of nothing. Brought a fraud to his knees. Took her breath away constantly. And now he was standing in an untucked white t-shirt and pants with rumpled hair talking with absolute sincerity to her cat.

You really are something, Han Ji-pyeong.

Seeing him be so content and knowing that she was the reason just compounded her own joy.

I just want to call him husband now too.

Mi-rae blinked at the turn in her own thoughts. She loved him beyond reason. And she felt closer to him after a month than she did to her ex husband even at their best. She already knew that he would be by her side no matter what. Mi-rae shook her head as a giddy smile stretched up her face.

"Almost unpacked?"

Ji-pyeong turned and smiled back at her.

"I am. And check out who helped."

He gestured towards the black cat now walking along the edge of his suitcase like it was a tightrope. Ji-pyeong shielded his mouth from his direction and whispered.

"He even let me pet him."

Mi-rae feigned surprise. Then Loki stretched from the corner of the suitcase and slid his cheek along Ji-pyeong's leg.

"He's marking you as his territory right now, my love."

Ji-pyeong stroked the top of Loki's head.

"I'm petty like that too, Loki."

Mi-rae giggled. Then Ji-pyeong looked up at her.

"So what's up with Chris?"

Mi-rae smoothed her hair.

"The New York Times wants to do a story on me for Sunday's paper."

Ji-pyeong rushed over to her and subsumed her in a hug so enthusiastic that her feet left the ground. He made a sound like a bear as he squeezed her. Mi-rae closed her eyes and absorbed his love gratefully.

When he set her back down, Ji-pyeong immediately took her face in his hands. His thumbs swept over her cheeks.

"You are amazing. And everyone should know it."

Mi-rae believed it. Because Ji-pyeong always told the truth.

"But I feel terrible doing this on your first day here. I have to do a phone call with them at 5:30 and then follow up and photos at the firm tomorrow."

Ji-pyeong stepped back and shook his hands in the air.

"Oh please. I'm fine. And I have a buddy."

Ji-pyeong tilted his head back towards Loki.

"Plus I have to start making arrangements back home anyway."

"Well, then can I take you on a date tonight? It's my turn."

He grinned.

"Absolutely."

Then Ji-pyeong froze.

"Wait — what are you going to wear tomorrow?"

Mi-rae's mind went blank.

"Oh god. I don't even know what's clean at this point."

Ji-pyeong cocked his head and thought for a moment.

"May I make a suggestion?"

Mi-rae nodded eagerly.

He held up a finger asking her to wait and then dashed into the closet. Ji-pyeong emerged holding up her red suit.

"This."

Her mouth dropped open. It was the deep red suit that she was always afraid to wear. She ran her fingers down the length of a sleeve.

"I love that suit. I bought it at Bergdorfs when I made partner. First time I ever set foot in that store. But I've never had the guts to actually wear it."

Ji-pyeong jerked his head back in surprise.

"Why not?"

Mi-rae rubbed her arms nervously.

"It's just so ...bold. You don't think it's too much?"

Ji-pyeong looked at her for a moment. Then he lowered his head to make sure that she was listening.

"Mi-rae, you were meant to stand out."

Her throat tightened.

Ji-pyeong stepped closer to her.

"Besides, red is your color."

Then he pressed his lips to hers.

*********

"Okay so what toppings?"

Mi-rae took a sip of wine and prepared to explain the orthodoxy of New York pizza to Ji-pyeong.

"My love, you live in New York now. It is important to understand that we do not fuck around here with toppings. The choices are cheese, pepperoni, or sausage. That's it. Anything else is bullshit."

Ji-pyeong raised his eyebrows and leaned back in his chair, amused by her passion.

"Okay... pepperoni then?"

Mi-rae winked approvingly.

"Good choice."

Ji-pyeong huffed a laugh as the waiter arrived to take their order. When they were alone again, Ji-pyeong leaned his elbows onto the table.

"So what kind of music are we seeing tonight?"

"Indie rock."

Ji-pyeong furrowed his brow.

"What does that mean? 'Indie rock'?"

Ji-pyeong looked adorably bewildered.

"It means they are not on a major label so they can sound however they want."

"Are those the kind of records that you have?"

"Mostly. Except for Taylor Swift. With whom you already seem intimately familiar..."

Ji-pyeong was concentrating so intently that he missed the import of her comment. It reminded Mi-rae of when Ji-pyeong was learning how to keep score. Then a realization dawned.

"My love, have you ever been to a concert?"

Ji-pyeong leaned forward and scrunched his nose in that way that now made her heart clench with fondness.

"Is it terribly uncool of me if I say no?"

Mi-rae reached across the table and grabbed his hand.

"No! It just makes it all the more special that I get to share it with you."

Ji-pyeong smiled as he played with her fingers. He was wearing a black button shirt over a black t-shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Their table was in a corner ensconced in cozy darkness. A candle within a red glass bulb illuminated Ji-pyeong's handsome face; the flickering light cast playful shadows. She watched him as he looked around the bustle of the crowded restaurant. The din of conversation, the low music, and the frenzy of the waiters filled the exposed brick room with the infectious steady hum of a Friday night out.

Mi-rae let her eyes savor every detail of his face from his forehead to the curve of his lips. He caught her looking but she did not retreat. Rather, she let her eyes dip lower before taking a sip of wine. Ji-pyeong's mouth quirked.

"This is our first proper date out."

"My love, you rented out a winery. That was a proper date. I am just taking you out to pizza."

Mi-rae huffed a laugh at herself as his eyes danced with amusement. He shook his head in disagreement.

"But there are actually other people here! Do you know how many times I walked by restaurants filled with people just like this in Seoul on a weekend night and just went home?"

She squeezed his hand. Then Mi-rae leaned forward and whispered.

"I felt like shouting to everyone on the subway that you're mine."

Ji-pyeong's eyes lowered for a moment before meeting her gaze again. He looked so pleased with her adoration. Mi-rae passed her thumb over the back of his hand before slipping away to raise her wine glass to her lips.

"Speaking of Seoul, I have talked your ear off so much about the interview that I haven't even had a chance to ask about when you think you'll head back."

Ji-pyeong crossed his legs and leaned back in his chair.

"That depends on you. When can you come with me?"

Mi-rae felt a rush of excitement.

"I was going to propose that! It's a great window to take some time off with no active deals right now. We could take that trip we talked about and then go there?"

Ji-pyeong nodded, suddenly lost in thought as he turned his wine glass around and around. Then he looked at her.

"And when do you want to get married?"

Mi-rae blinked hard.

Ji-pyeong asked it nonchalantly — as if they were still talking about pizza toppings. A small smile curled up his lips as he watched her absorb his bluntness. It was a challenge posed with affection. Mi-rae marveled at the warm certainty that spread from her belly. A month ago even modest questions about the future filled her with panic. Now the answer that immediately came to mind might even surprise him.

Mi-rae took a sip of wine as she pretended to think it over. Then she set her glass down carefully and met his expectant gaze.

"Oh I don't know. Tomorrow? Next week?"

Ji-pyeong's eyes widened as he froze. Then his jaw clenched and he pulled his chair closer. His face was so determined that now her stomach did actually flip. To be the focus of his intensity was thrilling.

"I don't know if you're kidding or not ..."

Ji-pyeong's eyes searched hers as he trailed off. Then his voice lowered.

"But I absolutely would."

Mi-rae tried to fight a smile and lost. This was the safest game of chicken she had ever played.

"I am not kidding."

Ji-pyeong's face filled with wonder. It was a high that she wanted to chase by making him even happier.

"You are the love of my life. What else do I need to know?"

The waiter arrived just then with their food. Ji-pyeong stared at Mi-rae as she carefully chose the best slice for him, separating it gingerly so that it did not lose its share of cheese. Then she slid it onto his plate with the spatula. Mi-rae plucked two napkins from the dispenser and then offered it all to him. Ji-pyeong looked down at the pizza like he did not recognize what it was.

"Do you want Parmesan or red pepper?"

Ji-pyeong shook his head in a daze. Then he fell back in his chair, adorably flustered. His hand unfurled in the air as if he was about to say something and then flew to his mouth. Finally it dropped to his lap.

"Mi-rae, are you really serious?"

She folded her hands onto the table. Mi-rae had never felt more so.

"I am. We can do it whenever and wherever you want."

Ji-pyeong's fingers fluttered to his throat as he processed her answer.

"I just did not expect ... I thought that you would need a lot of time to..."

Mi-rae reached for his hand again.

"Because of before?"

He nodded silently as she threaded her fingers through his.

"We know more about the kind of partners we'll be after this last month than many people do after years of dating. Now that I've found you, I don't want to waste time. I just want to hurry up and start my life with you."

A puff of air escaped his lips as Ji-pyeong stared at her in disbelief. Mi-rae laughed softly.

"I have never seen you like this. You're actually speechless."

Ji-pyeong shook his head slowly.

"I ... I am just not used to actually getting what I want."

He said it quietly — as if to the universe as much as her. Mi-rae squeezed his hand. But she was enjoying his shock too much to stop now. 

"So which is it? This week here? Or would you rather do it back home when we go to Seoul?"

Ji-pyeong snapped to attention. Then he rolled his sleeves up further and leaned his arms on the table.

"Here." He stared at her intensely.  "As soon as possible."

Mi-rae bit her lip at his swift certainty.

"Are you sure you don't want to do a bigger thing? This is the only time that you'll be doing this if I have anything to say about it."

She winked at him as he blinked rapidly at her teasing. Then Ji-pyeong shook his head vigorously.

"I am sure. To be honest, I wouldn't have many people to even invite back home. We can do a dinner or something to celebrate in Seoul but..."

Ji-pyeong lost his train of thought again. Then he leaned forward.

"All I need is you and someone to make you officially my wife. Because that's how it already feels anyway."

His words pierced her heart. Tears swiftly pricked behind her eyes; sharp and sweet.

Mi-rae had experienced a carefully planned wedding during which someone had made promises about the rest of her life in front of a hundred people. The dress, the flowers, the venue had all been perfect. And in the end, none of it had mattered. This man had already offered to sacrifice everything for her when no one was watching. She did not want to wait to call him her husband.

"That's all I need too."

A small burst of nervous laughter escaped from his lips. Ji-pyeong's eyes were now dancing in the soft candlelight. He looked as if he could still not quite believe the turn in their conversation.

"Are we really doing this?"

Mi-rae grinned at him while she nodded.

"All we need to do is apply for a marriage license online and then you can get married in twenty four hours at city hall."

She picked up her glass of wine and raised an eyebrow at him.

"After that adorable 'husband' comment, I looked it up this afternoon just in case you asked. You know how I like to be prepared for your questions, my love."

Mi-rae winked again as she took a sip. Ji-pyeong's mouth dropped open as he stared at her. And then he looked up at the ceiling as a beautiful smile curved its way up his face. When Ji-pyeong met her eyes again his dimples deepened even further.

"You're fucking incredible you know that?"

Mi-rae laughed as her cheeks grew warm. Then she leaned back and sighed as she looked at him. Ji-pyeong was happy. And it was because of her. And she really was going to spend the rest of her days making him so. Nothing in her life had ever felt more right than deciding to elope over pizza.

"I'm really glad that you think so because I am just stupidly head over heels for you, Han Ji-pyeong."

She patted his hand.

"Now eat your pizza. It's the best this side of Houston Street and it would be travesty for it to get cold."

He smiled and then dutifully picked up a slice. But Ji-pyeong looked immediately puzzled as the end flopped dramatically over in his hand. He rushed to stop the cheese from sliding off. Mi-rae laughed and held up her hand to stop him.

"My love, like this."

Mi-rae picked up a slice and folded it lengthwise. Then she took a bite. Ji-pyeong followed suit and then closed his eyes, enraptured.

"God that's good."

They turned their attention to eating until they finished their first slices. Then Mi-rae carefully cleaned her hands with a napkin.

"Okay so that means that this trip is actually our honeymoon?"

Ji-pyeong's next slice hung in the air for a moment. He cocked his head to the side.

"I guess it does. How about I plan that and you deal with city hall. It can be your last act of giving me legal advice."

Now he winked at her as she smiled.

"Deal. I haven't taken a vacation in years so I am up for anything."

Ji-pyeong smiled impishly.

"Based on the last day, I'll be sure not to plan anything that requires us to do much ..."

Mi-rae narrowed her eyes at him.

"You better eat up. You're going to need to keep up your strength."

Ji-pyeong immediately raised his slice to his lips and resumed eating as she giggled. The remaining triangles on the tray above them quickly disappeared in a comfortable silence. Ji-pyeong ordered them another glass of wine and then he settled back in his seat. He watched her in a way that signaled that he was thinking about something intently.

Ji-pyeong tented his fingers together. Then he nodded to himself as if he had made a decision.

"So on our fifth date, we planned our elopement. That will make an even better story to tell our children."

He raised an eyebrow provocatively. Mi-rae's lips paused on the rim of her wine glass. A bolt of nervous energy coursed through her.

Of course he guessed what I was going to say.

"Is that what you were about to say last night? I hope you didn't stop because you thought I wouldn't want to hear that."

She took a large gulp and then set the glass down before meeting his eyes. Ji-pyeong tilted his head curiously at her.

"We should talk about what we want before we get married, don't you think?"

Mi-rae swallowed and then smoothed her hair.

"Yes, we should."

She took another sip of wine. Then Mi-rae folded her hands in her lap.

"Yes, that is what I was going to say. And yes, I was not sure about how you would feel about it."

Ji-pyeong nodded as he played with the stem of his wine glass.

"To be honest, I never thought about having a family before. I've always thought about fatherhood as simply the absence of something. And I never imagined myself as equipped. How could someone without parents possibly know what to do?"

Her heart clenched. Mi-rae knew what it was to see life only through the prism of what was missing. Ji-pyeong looked at her for a moment as his eyes filled with emotion.

"But then when we were in the Hamptons and I was sitting across from you. And Chris was talking about his daughter. And for the first time in my life, I felt it ..."

He paused as his voice grew hoarse.

"I want that with you."

A lump formed in Mi-rae's throat. Ji-pyeong looked so vulnerable and hopeful all at once. She felt a wild impulse to take his face in her hands but the table was in the way. Instead, Mi-rae looked down at her hands folded in her lap as she tried to maintain her composure. Then she looked up at the man that she had imagined having children with more clearly than the one she had been married to for five years.

"I never relished the idea ...before. I saw what happened to my friends and their careers when they had children. They got marginalized, pushed out. And then I just assumed that door had closed when I got divorced. I was almost relieved. I never had a mother and I felt a little like a failure as a daughter. I thought maybe it was better that way — like maybe I wasn't built for it."

Ji-pyeong stayed silent and waited for her to continue. Mi-rae took a deep breath.

"But then I was driving so much this past week. And I found myself daydreaming about us. Even before I read your letter— just vague vignettes really. About having a child with you. And adopting a child with you. Those thoughts play in my head every time I reread what you wrote."

Ji-pyeong's brow furrowed and he shifted in his seat.

"Adopting?"

"Yes." She said it slowly as worry crept in. "I just pictured both somehow ..."

She trailed off nervously. His expression was so inscrutable that Mi-rae felt another ripple of trepidation. She rushed to fill the silence.

"I was so lonely growing up that I'd like to have at least two children. At some point we could try for a baby but also perhaps adopt? We both lost parents. I just ..."

Her hands twisted in her lap as Ji-pyeong stared at her stone faced.

"It just popped into my head that way and has ever since. But maybe that's all a terrible idea..."

She stopped talking as Ji-pyeong's lip began to tremble. Then his fingers touched his forehead as he suddenly battled his emotions. Ji-pyeong quickly looked away as the back of his hand covered his mouth.

Oh no.

"Oh my love. I am so sorry that I upset you. I didn't mean to, please forget it."

He shook his head but said nothing. Mi-rae reached across the table but his hand was now just out of reach.

"Ji-pyeong?"

Ji-pyeong let out a breath. When he met her gaze again, his eyes were rimmed in red. Her heart clamored to touch him.

Finally he spoke.

"I didn't think it was possible to love you more than I already do. But every day you keep proving me wrong."

A desperate ripple of relief washed over her. Mi-rae opened her mouth to answer but then Ji-pyeong sniffed and stood up. He took out his wallet and left a hundred dollar bill on the table. He seized her hand.

"Can we get out of here?"

Mi-rae nodded in a daze as her fingers reached for her purse. She followed him as if she was outside of herself as Ji-pyeong strode out of the restaurant. A wave of warm humidity washed over her as they emerged out onto the street. He did not stop until they reached the awning of a closed store. Then Ji-pyeong spun around and hugged her to his chest with an urgency that made her lose her breath.

Mi-rae felt his chest rise and fall quickly. Then he finally took a deep breath and exhaled. She stared at a white sign screaming "clearance sale" in red block letters as her mind raced.

I should not have mentioned adopting.

Mi-rae felt her eyelashes drag against the black cotton of his shirt as she blinked to get her bearings. Finally, he pulled away and curled his hands around her waist. The steady warmth of his hands calmed her heart.

"I'm sorry but I was about to lose it in there. I just needed some air."

Mi-rae nodded as she stared up at him. There was a single tear sliding down his cheek. She reached up and wiped it away with her fingers.

"I am so sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."

He shook his head vigorously.

"You didn't. Quite the opposite."

He caught her hand and pressed it to his chest.

"I was just overwhelmed." His voice was hoarse. "That isn't a part of me that I ever thought anyone would choose to share in."

The crease returned between his eyebrows as he fought another storm of emotion. Mi-rae felt like her heart was breaking into a hundred pieces. Her hands reached for his face as she rushed to soothe him and, in turn, herself.

"Oh my love. It's part of who you are. You have so much to offer a child who has gone through what you have. It should be a part of the life we build together."

Ji-pyeong bit his lip as another tear escaped despite his best efforts to fight it. He pulled her close again and sought a haven in her hair. Mi-rae gathered the cotton of his shirt in her hands and held him tight. A car horn blared and someone yelled in reply. But still she held him together until the heart beating against her ear steadied.

Finally, Ji-pyeong kissed the top of her head and pulled away. His eyebrow arched.

"I really have been kind of all over the place since this afternoon. I am sorry that I freaked out when we were talking about something so important."

"You have nothing to apologize for. And we're not supposed to call it 'freaking out,' remember?"

Mi-rae tried to coax a smile from him. Ji-pyeong huffed a quiet laugh. She ran her hand down his arm.

"My love, what if we just walk for a little while?"

Ji-pyeong gave her a small smile and nodded. Mi-rae pivoted to slide her arm through his. Then she leaned her head against his shoulder. It was quiet for a weekend night; many must have fled the city during a hot summer weekend. The narrow and winding streets with names instead of numbers invited them to wander. This part of the city seemed to be painted with a different brush — gray and black lines intersected chaotically in short frantic strokes.

Mi-rae and Ji-pyeong walked in silence for two blocks. She looked up at his profile often as Ji-pyeong took in the neighborhood. They were now one of those couples walking down the street arm in arm that used to send a lonely pang through her. She hugged his arm a little tighter as he smiled at her out of the corner of his eye.

"This feels like a different world than where I've been in the city so far. I like how it feels like we could get lost."

His voice was quiet now. The playful assertiveness of dinner had melted away.

"So why don't we do that tonight instead?"

Ji-pyeong looked down at her, surprised.

"What about the show?"

Mi-rae's hand found his. Between her apartment earlier and just now, it was clear that Ji-pyeong's emotions were catching up with their decisions.

He has a lot more to say.

"We'll go another time. Let's get lost together."

Ji-pyeong stopped. Then he leaned down and let his lips answer for him. When he pulled away, Ji-pyeong looked at her as if he was trying to memorize every detail of her face. Mi-rae squeezed his hand as they then resumed walking.

They reached the corner of the next street. After they crossed, Ji-pyeong's fingers tightened around hers.

"I have no memories from before the orphanage."

Mi-rae lowered her head to listen.

"All I know is that I was left there as an infant. I have no idea who my parents were. I wanted to know when I was a child. I made up such stories in my head. My entire family died in a tragic accident like a comic book hero. Or my mother must have been a beautiful woman who fell in love with someone that she wasn't supposed to like the shows one nun used to sneak watching when we were practicing our handwriting. Anything to explain why I was there and no one came for me. But now after volunteering with orphanages ... well I can't imagine what my mother must have gone through. I hope that she was able to live the life that she hoped for...after."

Ji-pyeong cleared his throat as he turned up a side street. Mi-rae held his hand a little more tightly.

"I didn't have a lot of friends as a child. And I was obviously never chosen for adoption. Each time a couple came to visit I would brush my teeth ten times, comb my hair until it shined, and make sure my shirt was tucked in. But they always chose someone else. Every time. It made me so angry. What was so wrong with me? Why couldn't it be me?"

Her stomach dropped at the pain in his voice. But Mi-rae forced herself to stay silent for a little while longer.

"There was one nun in particular. She always smelled like camphor oil. She blamed it on my sharp tongue and temper. I guess that's something that people have never particularly enjoyed about me. She used to call me a 'sullen child.'"

Ji-pyeong huffed a bitter laugh as he shook his head.

"So I decided to choose myself. I focused on beating everyone at everything that I could — school, baduk, soccer, go stop, investment competitions. You name it, I had to win. And then that became my career — assessing risk, finding weaknesses. Never losing. And making money. So that I never had to depend on anyone again."

Mi-rae watched his jaw clench. She tried to imagine him as a teenager on his own. The thought of it made her grab his arm as if she could soothe the boy that he had been.

"Maybe that nun was right. I have been successful in life but I still don't really have friends. When I was looking at your photographs today it really hit me. Do you know that for years I didn't have photographs of anyone else other than myself in my apartment? Isn't that ridiculous?"

"Oh my love."

Mi-rae squeezed his arm as she remembered the dark outline of his head staring down at her picture frames. Her chest ached.

"I took one with my grandmother on my birthday a year ago. She made me a cake even though she couldn't see. That's the only one I have in a frame in my apartment now."

Ji-pyeong looked straight ahead as the cords in his neck tightened.

"I always just figured that there was something about me that made me hard to love."

Mi-rae stopped her feet from moving. The pain of being passed over by his childhood love was thrown into even sharper relief. Mi-rae gripped his shoulders and turned him towards her.

"I fell in love with you in five days. It was never about you."

Ji-pyeong looked at her. And in his face she saw the toll of years of rejection. It made tears spring to her eyes. He stretched his neck as if talking out loud was now a struggle. Then he swallowed and seemed to steel himself.

"No one ever loved me when they were supposed to. Life never afforded me that luxury. But it did teach me that being chosen to be loved is a powerful thing."

Ji-pyeong's voice cracked. Mi-rae moved closer to steady him.

"Only two people have ever chosen to love me. Grandmother and you. And both times it changed my life. I want to have children with you. But I also want to do that for a child, with you."

Ji-pyeong hesitated again but then he steadied himself.

"Thank you for saying it— I don't know if I ever would've had the courage."

Mi-rae raised her hand to his cheek.

"Then that's what we will do."

Ji-pyeong turned his face into her touch. Mi-rae stood on her toes to now whisper her heart to him.

"Mrs. Blanca was right. The children that come to us ... they will be beautiful. And we will love them like we love each other."

Ji-pyeong let out a shuddering sigh as his head shook in disbelief.

"I never thought that anyone would love me like you do."

Before Mi-rae could answer, Ji-pyeong gathered her all at once into his arms and kissed her. His lips were tender and hungry all at once— like Ji-pyeong was trying to capture something. And so Mi-rae poured all of herself into him as he moved them backwards. Finally, she felt him stop at the wall behind them. Mi-rae wrapped her arms around his neck and showed him how she would choose him everyday for the rest of their lives.

And for a moment, the city was only for them.

But then there was a low whistle. And laughter. Mi-rae clutched at Ji-pyeong's shirt as she buried her face in his chest.

"I still hate teenagers."

His voice rumbled deeply. Mi-rae laughed softly as she peered up at him. Ji-pyeong was glaring at the people she could hear walking past them.

"You look so grumpy, my love."

A hint of a smile flickered across Ji-pyeong's face as he continued to glare.

"Well they should have better manners."

Mi-rae laughed again and pulled him away from the wall by the hand. Ji-pyeong stared at the group of teenagers until they disappeared around the corner.

"You're going to be the disciplinarian. I can tell."

Ji-pyeong narrowed his eyes skeptically at her.

"I talk a big game but I'll eventually give them whatever they want. And you know it."

Mi-rae smiled at his self awareness as she pulled him along by the hand down the street. She took a deep breath and then decided to be as honest as he had been.

"Well I have no idea how to be a mother. I never had one. So I really hope that I don't fuck it up."

Ji-pyeong put his arm around her and pulled her close as they crossed the street.

"It's like you said. We will love them like we love each other. That's a better start than I ever got."

They were quiet for about a half a block and then Ji-pyeong's hand slipped down her arm to hold her hand again.

"Looking back, what did you appreciate most about your father?"

His voice was quiet. Mi-rae looked up at him but his head was bowed, preparing to listen. She lovingly traced his profile with her eyes for a moment as she gathered herself.

"He was kind."

Her father's face wearing a blue and orange baseball hat filled her head.

"And he encouraged me to be whatever I wanted. It never occurred to me not to be outspoken. I realized later that was a lot rarer than you would think."

Ji-pyeong chuckled.

"I wish he could have talked to the nuns about that. It would've saved me a lot of writing out apologies on the blackboard over and over."

Mi-rae leaned her chin on his arm as she squeezed his hand.

"The way your mind works....the way you hold nothing back is what made it impossible for me that first week. I was done for. I love that about you."

Ji-pyeong's tongue lodged into the inside of his cheek. He looked absurdly pleased.

"Is that right?"

His eyes ticked down to her. Ji-pyeong was clearly eager for more praise. Mi-rae offered it freely.

"Yes. Even more than those impeccable suits of yours. Or the way you stalk down a hallway with your hands in your pockets."

A burst of giddy laughter was her instant reply. Ji-pyeong stepped ahead and turned to face her just before they crossed the next street. Then he slid his hands into his pockets slowly with a smirk.

Ji-pyeong leaned towards her. All of a sudden it felt like he was towering over her. Mi-rae did not know whether to smack him on the shoulder or push him back against a wall.

"Let me get this straight..."

Ji-pyeong raised an eyebrow as his elbows extended out for emphasis.

"My hands in my pockets are a thing?"

Mi-rae crossed her arms, now trying desperately not to blush.

"Come on. Like you didn't know."

Ji-pyeong's eyes widened with an innocence that was almost believable.

"I really don't know what you're talking about. This is the first I've heard of it."

He was losing a battle not to grin.

Mi-rae's cheeks now felt like they were on fire. Then she caught the sign for a bar that she recognized just beyond his shoulder. It offered refuge. She decided to turn the tables.

"Whatever."

She rolled her eyes as she walked past him to cross the street. Mi-rae bit her lip to keep from smiling as he chased after her.

"Where are you going?"

She glanced over her shoulder at Ji-pyeong just before pushing her way through a red lacquered door. His hands had retreated from his pockets to perch expectantly on his hips.

Mi-rae felt a petty thrill. 

"To get a drink. Are you coming?"

Mi-rae walked inside before he could answer. Her eyes were still adjusting to the warm glow of candles in the darkness when she felt a hand wrap possessively around her waist. Then Ji-pyeong's breath was hot on her neck.

"Your red lipstick drives me absolutely insane."

My god.

She felt a pulse of want course from the center of her body. Mi-rae turned around and closed her hand over his fingers as they curled into the jersey of her tank dress. A shock of ebony hair had fallen across his forehead in his rush to follow her. His gaze was piercing.

"I'm sorry that I teased you."

Ji-pyeong lowered his head apologetically.

"Now you know my weakness too."

She had no choice but to give in. But Mi-rae glanced to the side as she pretended to consider his offering anyway. Her fingers tangled into his and then she tugged him towards the bar.

"Buy me a drink. The clock is ticking on your time as my rich trophy boyfriend."

Ji-pyeong huffed a laugh. Then he cocked his head as he followed her.

"Wait, doesn't trophy boyfriend mean that you should be buying drinks for me?"

Mi-rae pretended to consider the dilemma as she sat down at the bar.

"I think as long as you keep looking like that then the job is whatever you want to make of it."

Ji-pyeong burst out laughing as he sat next to her. He called the bartender over with one hand as he folded the other arm onto the bar.

A chaotic thought then entered her head. Mi-rae opened her purse and retrieved her lipstick.

"I'll have a Manhattan please and she'll have...."

Mi-rae pretended not to hear him as she read over the cocktail menu. And then she slowly rolled the tube of lipstick up.

Scarlet pierced the air.

Mi-rae could feel his eyes on her as she raised it to her lips and slowly dragged it across her lower lip. She uncrossed her legs and let her thighs fall slightly open. The black jersey of her dress strained across her lap.

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

Ji-pyeong growled it in their native tongue.

Mi-rae ignored him. Then she pressed her lips together dramatically before turning her attention to the bartender.

"I'll have a Negroni please. Thank you."

The bartender nodded as she felt Ji-pyeong inch closer. Mi-rae focused resolutely on returning her lipstick to her purse. Only then did she lean her elbow on the bar and finally meet Ji-pyeong's gaze as her head fell into her hand.

He was staring at her lips. Then his eyes dropped down to her thighs.

"You are diabolical."

Ji-pyeong leaned forward.

"Don't think for a second that I am going to let that go."

Mi-rae held his gaze defiantly.

"Oh I'm betting on it."

His teeth sank into his lower lip as he fought a smile. Then Ji-pyeong shook his head.

"What am I going to do with you?"

Mi-rae grazed his leg with the toe of her converse as she crossed her legs again.

"Oh I'm sure you'll think something."

They stared at one another.

As she watched his jaw clench, Mi-rae held her breath
wondering if Ji-pyeong was going to take her home right then. Then the bartender returned with their drinks. Ji-pyeong cleared his throat as he braced his hands against the bar.

He held up his drink to toast hers.

"To getting married."

He raised his eyebrows playfully as he smiled. It made her feel well loved even as a tingle of excitement ran down her spine.

It is just going to be like this between us.

Ji-pyeong could make her feel safe and dizzy all at the same time. She squeezed his arm and then clinked his glass before taking a sip.

Wait a minute.

Mi-rae held her hand up urgently.

"Did we actually decide on a day?"

Ji-pyeong swiveled back and forth in his stool as he took a sip.

"I think we got too carried away about children. We are ever the planners."

Mi-rae shook her head and laughed softly.

"We are the two most risk averse people I know and now look at us."

His eyes lingered on her as set down his drink.

"I still think that we are. We are just grabbing on to what we've found."

Ji-pyeong looked at her seriously for a moment. Then he shook his head as if to get his bearings.

"I gotta thank Chris for recommending this drink. It's become my favorite."

Ji-pyeong paused abruptly.

"Won't Chris and Sam be hurt if we don't tell them? They were willing to do anything for you, Mi-rae. And they mean a lot to me now too."

His thoughtfulness made her feel as warm as the liquor in her belly. Mi-rae sat up straight as she took another sip.

"We will need at least one witness. We should ask them to be there. But if I tell Chris now he will want to make it a whole thing and next thing we know we will be getting married at the Hamptons with a hundred people you don't know. And then that could bring media attention. I'd rather save all that for after we get back. Chris can throw his party then and GenOne will be old news. What do you think?"

Ji-pyeong nodded thoughtfully before he raised his glass back up to his lips. Mi-rae indulged her eyes in watching how the base of his throat moved as he swallowed.

"How about we get married on Friday? That will give us time to get everything squared away to travel. You can schedule a meeting with them so they have time blocked out and then we wait to explain it that morning."

Mi-rae felt a wave of relief.

"That's perfect. And should we plan a month of leave? Two weeks for a trip somewhere relaxing and then two weeks at home? Is that too much? Not enough?"

Ji-pyeong leaned against the bar.

"A month, if you can swing it. I was thinking of taking a leave of absence from SK while I figure out how to attack what they proposed for me to do here. I need to run the possibilities through some models and talk with them all at length."

Mi-rae clapped her hands together.

"I have not taken a vacation in years. And the firm is ecstatic that I'm about to be in the Times. Let's make it a month."

Ji-pyeong looked down at his drink for a moment as if he was overcome with excitement. Then he touched her knee softly as he leaned closer.

"I may take some more time than that before I kick off something so big professionally. I didn't wait this long to find you only for us to both be working like crazy as newlyweds. I want time with you."

Ji-pyeong smiled at her. Then he folded his arms as if preparing to negotiate.

"So how do you feel about dogs?"

Mi-rae laughed at the sudden question. Then she thought of him kneeling down with Roosevelt this morning and her heart felt like it was growing three sizes again.

"I love that you asked me about children before dogs!"

Ji-pyeong chuckled.

"I love dogs. I just didn't think I could pull one off with the hours that I was working."

He unfolded his arms. And then the floodgates opened. Ji-pyeong's hands started flying in the air as plans excitedly tumbled out of his mouth.

"I'd like to get a dog. And I'd like to grow some vegetables on that roof. And learn how to cook. Go to some museums. Travel a lot. Especially before we have kids. I don't know..."

Ji-pyeong's eyes met hers as he trailed off.

"I have made all this money and ... I just feel like I haven't really lived."

Mi-rae let out a breath. He leaned forward as his nose wrinkled, unsure.

"Does that all sound very boring and directionless? Were you hoping to marry a CEO right now?"

Mi-rae seized his face between her two hands and swiftly kissed him. Then she swayed back against the bar as if in disbelief.

"So you really are going to learn how to cook for me. Are you sure you're not a figment of my imagination?"

Ji-pyeong huffed a laugh. But then his eyes looked hungry for more confirmation.

"I think that is exactly what you should do. And I think you'll be in an even better place to take your career in a new direction after that kind of time."

Ji-pyeong smiled. And then he pulled her closer to him by her leg.

"You never know. I may stop wearing those suits all together for a while."

Mi-rae gasped.

"Don't you dare!"

Ji-pyeong ducked his head as he laughed. Mi-rae could not stop looking at him. As attractive as he was at his cockiest, her soon to be husband was irresistible when he was embarrassed.

Ji-pyeong drained his drink.

"Another or keep walking?"

Mi-rae took a last sip. The remaining large ice cube grazed her lip.

"Keep walking."

Ji-pyeong called for the tab. Then he offered Mi-rae his arm as they walked back outside.

Mi-rae hugged his arm close as they wandered up the next street without discussing in which direction to walk. She looked around them avidly, wanting to remember every detail about the night: the way Ji-pyeong kept stealing glances at her; how his arm felt so warm and steady at her side; how they talked about some of the most important decisions of their lives in one breath and then teased each other in the next. Mi-rae saw beauty in the graffiti that they passed. She imagined trying each new restaurant with him. The sticky humidity did not bother here. Instead this summer night felt magical; bright with colors and alive with possibilities.

Even the city feels different with him.

They talked about everything that they saw. They pointed out things in shop windows that they liked for a future home that they dreamed they would someday buy. Ji-pyeong asked questions about the old churches and secret gardens that they passed. This was a city in which she had lived for almost twenty years. She was getting married for the second time. But Mi-rae felt like she was walking in the footsteps that she had trod so many times before in a new world. Ji-pyeong made every corner that they turned feel like she had never been there before. And then she could not wait to go around the next one and see it through his eyes too.

As they reached Greenwich Village, Ji-pyeong eyed the eclectic storefronts curiously.

"You were right. Every neighborhood does feel like a different small town."

Mi-rae looked up at him. A month ago they had walked side by side in this city awkwardly for the first time.

"I said that a very long time ago."

Ji-pyeong smiled at her fondly.

"Well I was always paying attention."

The sound of music drifted from far away as Mi-rae looked up at his beautiful face. Ji-pyeong's hand slipped out of hers and circled around her waist as they crossed the street into Washington Square Park. Green trees soon gave way to a large plaza teeming with people.

"I used to spend a lot of time in this park in college. I guess there was a time when I did just go to the park."

Ji-pyeong looked around at the motley assembly of street performers and then up at the white arch brightly lit as a fountain pierced the night air.

"I'm trying to picture college Mi-rae."

Mi-rae looked down at her tank dress and black Converse sneakers.

"Pretty much the same as now. Except my hair was a lot longer. But same Converse shoes. Still mouthy and competitive."

Ji-pyeong smiled at her and then dropped a five dollar bill in the hat of someone playing a saxophone. He squinted back up at the arch soaring above them.

"It looks like something just dropped here from Paris."

"Oh have you been?"

Ji-pyeong shook his head.

"Not yet." He squinted at her. "Want to take me someday?"

"Absolutely."

Mi-rae stood on her tiptoes to brush her lips against his cheek.

"In the meantime can I buy you a gelato?"

"Yes."

Ji-pyeong answered so quickly that it made Mi-rae laugh.

"This way."

She grabbed his hand and led him to the corner of the park until they arrived at a small cart with a green umbrella.

"Go find us a bench and I'll grab it. What do you want?"

Ji-pyeong reviewed the flavors and chose swiftly.

"Strawberry. On a cone."

Mi-rae's shoulders shrugged up in delight. Even his choice of ice cream seemed adorable to her as she watched him walk away. The sounds of a string quartet now wafted across the park from far away to fill the sudden silence left by the saxophone. Ji-pyeong's hands slipped back into his pockets as he looked again at the arch as he strolled. The absentminded way that he did so now brought a smile to her lips. The bold, black-clad outline of Ji-pyeong in this place where she had spent her college years on a blanket consuming books took her breath away.

Ji-pyeong found an empty bench and sat down. He stretched his long legs in front of him as his arms unfurled across the back of the bench. Ji-pyeong looked so decidedly content as he took in the humming energy of the park that she felt a compulsive need to capture it. Mi-rae slipped her phone out of her purse and took a photograph.

She felt herself smiling as she looked at the image of Ji-pyeong in her phone and then back to the man with whom she had planned so much tonight.

A week from today he will be my husband.

"Next."

Mi-rae dragged her eyes away from him and turned to order. As she walked towards Ji-pyeong holding two cones, their eyes locked. He sat up and smiled at her as she closed the space between them. The mournful moan of a cello and the rhythmic shimmering of the fountain accompanied her.

She extended her arm out to hand him his cone. Ji-pyeong's fingers grazed hers as he accepted it. He looked at her thoughtfully for a moment, ignoring the slow drip of his gelato.

"I love getting lost with you."

A lump formed in her throat as she gently cleaned his hand with a napkin.

"Me too."

Then Mi-rae sat down to fill the space left open by his arm. She took out her phone and opened the camera app again.

"Here."

Ji-pyeong stopped in the middle of licking his cone. He looked confused. Mi-rae pushed her phone towards him again.

"You have the longer arm. Take a picture. I want to start filling the shelves with us."

He blinked hard. Then a wondrous smile curved up his lips. Ji-pyeong curled his hand around her bare shoulder and drew her against his chest as he stretched his hand up high above them.

Mi-rae looked up at her face next to his staring back from the screen of the phone. She did not think about how her hair was out of place or how her lipstick had faded. Instead, Mi-rae marveled at seeing their two faces side by side for the first time. Then she heard the camera click to capture them forever.

Mi-rae grabbed the phone to look at the result while she felt Ji-pyeong's chin come to rest on her shoulder.

"Let's take another one. You're not looking at the camera."

"Nope, I like that one. I'm looking at you like I have been all night. That's how I want to remember the night we got lost and planned our life together."

Mi-rae's heart stuttered in her chest. Her hand pressed flat against it and tapped three times.

"You did it again."

Ji-pyeong let out a puff of air against her skin. Then he kissed her shoulder softly.

"Good."

Mi-rae turned her face towards him. She could smell his cologne and it filled her head with all kinds of thoughts.

"I have been looking at you all night too."

Mi-rae then swiped to the left. The photograph of Ji-pyeong sitting alone appeared.

"Hey!"

Ji-pyeong gasped and stole the phone from her hand.

Mi-rae turned her body to face him and laughed as Ji-pyeong stared at the photograph in one hand while holding the remains of a bright pink cone in the other. He handed back her phone and raised an eyebrow questioningly.

Mi-rae shrugged.

"That photo is for me."

His eyes ticked down to her lips and then back up to meet her gaze. Their warm brown depths were mesmerizing.

"You're very sneaky."

Ji-pyeong slid his palm along hers until his fingers slipped into the spaces meant for him. The music drifted even further away. A tingling warmth spread as she looked down at their hands. Her thumb passed over his knuckles back and forth slowly.

"Hurry up and finish so that I can take you home."

Mi-rae leaned into his chest and kissed him. His lips were cold. She sought the warmth just beyond until she tasted strawberry on his tongue. Then Mi-rae pulled away and stood up, tugging on his hand. Ji-pyeong grinned and tossed his half eaten cone in a trash can. He took hers from her hand and did the same. They walked with their fingers tangling together until they reached the corner of Fourth Street to hail a cab. Ji-pyeong seemed to commandeer one instantly as if by sheer force of will.

The hard plastic stuck to Mi-rae's thighs as she slid her way across the backseat. There was no air conditioning. The cab driver was playing a pulsing rhumba. Ji-pyeong was forced to speak loudly over the music.

"East 92nd and Madison, please"

Mi-rae immediately took up all the space next to him.

"I like hearing that address come out of your mouth."

He gave her a shy smile.

"Then I think I'll stay."

And then Ji-pyeong leaned back, his hand gently guiding the small of her back until she was pressed once more against his chest. He lowered the window and the wind whipped against them as the cab sailed up Third Avenue. A rainbow of awnings and neon signs streaked across as Mi-rae watched the world go by from the solid haven of Ji-pyeong's chest. The propulsive music seemed to will the traffic lights to remain green as they cut a swath up the island of Manhattan.

But then the song came to a flourishing end as trumpets blared. A slower ballad came on the radio. The strumming of guitar made Mi-rae lift her head to look up at Ji-pyeong. She felt the yearning in the singer's voice as her eyes traced the plush pink of his lips. Ji-pyeong looked down at her and then his eyes focused ahead on the back of the driver's head.

You better kiss me this time.

Finally, Ji-pyeong leaned down to press his lips to hers. He lingered before pulling away. Ji-pyeong's face was alight with triumph.

"I can't tell you how good it feels to kiss you in the back of a cab."

Mi-rae laughed softly as she touched her fingertips to his lips.

"You were so cute on my shoulder after though. I couldn't resist holding your hand while you slept."

He sat up as his eyes widened in shock. The cab began moving again.

"You held my hand?"

Mi-rae nodded, smiling.

"I finally worked up the nerve to be honest after you almost kissed me. But by that time you had passed out. Your head ended up on my shoulder and then your hand was just right there so..."

Ji-pyeong ran a hand through his hair and exhaled.

"God I wish I had known that the next morning."

Mi-rae laughed and kissed him again. Then Ji-pyeong peered out the window for a moment. His hand came to rest lightly on her thigh.

"You know, one of the benefits of living here is that cab drivers can't understand what we are saying."

Mi-rae narrowed her eyes as his fingers began feathering up.

"What are you doing?"

Ji-pyeong's mouth quirked. Then he raised a teasing eyebrow.

"I warned you before that I wasn't going to let that go."

Ji-pyeong kept his eyes on her face as his hand slipped under the hem of her dress.

Her hand gripped the cotton of his shirt.

"And you called me diabolical?"

She hissed it in his ear. But Ji-pyeong's lips only curled into a sly smile.

"You just have to hold out for .... thirty more blocks."

His voice was low and teasing. Then he pulled her thigh over into his lap as he eyed the front of the car. He carefully ensured that her skirt was still covering her. Then his fingers traced up as his lips moved to her ear.

"Because I am not stopping for a siren this time."

Fuck.

A small desperate sound escaped from her. Mi-rae bit the side of her mouth hard to silence herself. Ji-pyeong turned and looked out the window to detract attention from what his hand was doing beyond the driver's line of sight.

His fingers began to draw lazy circles as they moved back and forth along the length of her thigh. It pulled her into a heady trance — half wanting him to move up no matter the rules of decorum while also enjoying his slow seduction.

But then his fingers dragged into her flesh more assertively. She did not care if the driver realized what they were doing. It was New York City — he must have seen far worse. Propriety was not enough of a deterrent as she craved his hand between her legs.

Mi-rae's fingers pulled at his shirt.

"Do whatever you want."

She breathed it in his ear. And then Mi-rae watched the cords of his neck tighten as he tried to keep his face calm. Ji-pyeong's eyes ticked down to her as his fingers travelled over the curve of her thigh. And then she closed her eyes as they dared to move up the inside of her thigh.

Ji-pyeong's fingers moved at the same slow pace of the music— carefully claiming new territory before retreating back over and over as the guitar's rhythm dictated. She felt that endless ache inside of her build with his gentle teasing.

Finally, he reached the edge of her underwear.

She lowered her head into his shoulder as he discovered the wet welcome awaiting his fingers. Rather than feel shame at what he had wrought with his teasing, Mi-rae shifted to chase his fingers— to let him feel what he had done. She held her breath as he rubbed tentatively over the damp cotton. Mi-rae's lids squeezed further shut with the strain of control. Her teeth drew her lower lip sharply into her mouth as she awaited her fate by Ji-pyeong's hand.

Yet he remained agonizingly on the other side of that barrier. Instead of slipping under, his hand curved into a tight fist. And then his knuckles buried themselves against her. She could not help but gasp. He moved in slow circles; as if Ji-pyeong had discovered the secret of how she touched herself when she thought of him. Mi-rae could only clench from within to chase the all consuming grind of his hand. The friction of his knuckles, the way he pressed harder as the fabric rubbed against her made her teeth catch her tongue painfully.

The music grew quieter just when she needed it to be louder. A bead of sweat ran down her neck. Mi-rae pulled at his shirt as she struggled to keep her hips still. Her forehead pressed plaintively against his shoulder as if Ji-pyeong could help her when he was the cause of her undoing. His hand moved on and on and on and on —- it was a knowing god between her thighs demanding that she submit to blissful ruin.

But then he suddenly slipped away. Her body cried out in protest. Ji-pyeong's arm gently urged her up as he leaned forward.

"It's number 28-30."

Just a moment ago they were in midtown. Now they were on her street. Mi-rae blinked rapidly to get her bearings as she drew in a ragged breath. She felt delirious. The taxi slowed to a stop and Ji-pyeong handed over a wad of cash from his wallet without counting it. Then he grabbed her hand and burst out of the cab.

Together they ran up the steps and then Mi-rae stabbed the code urgently into the keypad for the front door. The elevator doors mercifully opened immediately. Ji-pyeong grabbed her by the waist and crowded her against the wall as his hand fumbled for the button to the third floor. His face was an inch from hers. His eyes now looked black with want.

"You were driving me crazy."

Mi-rae gasped.

"I was! You—"

Ji-pyeong did not wait for her to finish. He kissed her roughly. His hips pressed her against the wall as his hand palmed her breast in an instant. Mi-rae sank into his arms as she tried to keep up with his wild demands. It was like Ji-pyeong was doing everything he had ever wanted within the small confines of four walls.

Mi-rae's mind raced with the possibilities of how soon she could have him as he pressed his need for her into her thigh. But then Ji-pyeong suddenly ripped away from her lips with a gasp. He swallowed and held his hand out as if to keep himself away as the elevator slowed.

"Mrs..." Ji-pyeong heaved a breath. "Blanca."

Oh god. Right.

Mi-rae nodded at his warning. Then she yanked open her purse to find her keys as the doors opened. Ji-pyeong spun around to find an empty hallway.

"Oh thank god."

They rushed to the door. Mi-rae quickly unlocked it and then pulled Ji-pyeong inside. She pushed him against the wall and started unbuttoning his pants as his hands froze helplessly in the air. In a moment, she was on her knees and taking him into her mouth.

"Fuck."

Ji-pyeong rasped his surrender. Then she heard his head thud loudly against the wall. Mi-rae could not help but smile as she closed her lips tightly around him. The time for teasing was over.

Mi-rae thrilled in taking him as deep as she could all at once. His fist pounded softly against the wall just once beside her ear. Her hands soothed his thighs; caressing up to his abdomen as she tasted him on her tongue. Everything was hard and strong under her hands. And in her mouth. And yet all of him yielded to her.

Her lips and her touch strove to remind Ji-pyeong of all that he deserved — to feel good, to be adored, to be chosen every day. Mi-rae lost herself to showing him how much that he was loved.

"Mi-rae..."

He slipped away from her lips. And then his hands were seizing her shoulders and pulling her up. Mi-rae suddenly found herself against the wall instead. And then his shirt was off. And Ji-pyeong was kissing her — his lips greedy and demanding. He broke away only to yank her dress over her head impatiently. Then his mouth claimed her again — messy and wet— as he pulled her by the waist through the living room.

But Ji-pyeong stumbled as he caught the corner of the couch.

"Ah!"

Mi-rae fell into his chest as he caught her. She dissolved into giggles against him. His head dropped to her shoulder.

"I'm still learning my way around."

Their laughter peeled into the darkness. Mi-rae reached for his face. Even in the darkness she could still feel his cheeks give way to the deepening telltale sign that he was happy. Her heart swelled with love for him. And then it spilled from her lips.

"How I love you."

She pulled him into a kiss; slow and sweet. Then Mi-rae grabbed his hand and guided him to the bedroom.

They fell across the bed as their limbs tangled together again urgently. Mi-rae quickly climbed on top of him as soon as she dispensed with her bra and underwear. She guided Ji-pyeong to her, biting the inside of her cheek as he pushed his way through the sweet ache of their prior lovemaking. Mi-rae sank onto him with a roll of her hips as his hands filled themselves with the soft curves of her breasts. The wet drag of him at the center of her mirrored his lips as he took her into his mouth. Mi-rae greedily watched the swell of her breasts fill his mouth as he claimed her. Her fingers slid into his hair to cradle him closer as she took him inside of her over and over. She wanted to fill the soft wetness of him as much as he did her.

Everything about the way Ji-pyeong was touching her made clear that she was his — the demands of his hands on her breasts, the insistent pull of his lips, the way he pushed his way deeper with every thrust of his hips. No one had ever wanted her so much. And yet he was restless. His arm suddenly hooked around her waist. And then she was on her back and he was inside of her again. His hands slid under her to plunge even further as his lips lavished her neck. Mi-rae breathlessly let him have his way. With the trust between them came the freedom to offer herself to him entirely. Ji-pyeong recklessly sank his fingers into her backside and lifted her body up to meet his. The force of his hips drove her just past the far edge of the bed.

Ji-pyeong had never made love to her like this. It was like something was breaking free inside of him. Her eyes widened in the darkness in awe. Mi-rae clutched at his shoulders just to hold on. And then she closed her eyes and let her head fall back into the nothingness below. Blood rushed to her temples until she found a cradle offered by his hands. But it was a deceptive harbor. For Ji-pyeong was as inevitable as a current pulling her down under the surface. She gave herself over to him, drowning in the long and ebbing pleasure that washed through her body. His hips began to stutter as he gasped against her neck. Ji-pyeong's words of worship spilled into her ear as furiously as he lost himself inside of her. Mi-rae arched into him as he spent himself. The hot slide of him pulsing within her offered yet more pleasure that her hips greedily chased. Tiny raptures reverbated as their pace slowed and slowed until his body finally gave out completely.

Oh my god.

Mi-rae blinked hard, stunned. They were slick with sweat and too exhausted by their efforts to move.

"I love you."

Ji-pyeong mumbled it quietly against her skin. Then he pressed a final kiss to her neck and slipped away.

Mi-rae let out a deep breath as she stretched her arms above her head. A rush of air conditioning swept in to cool her damp skin. Goosebumps raised up. Mi-rae had never felt so completely and thoroughly satiated in her life. She flexed her toes through the soreness in her calf muscles. Sex was something else entirely with him. She was someone else entirely in his arms.

Is that the fifth? Wait no. The sixth?

Mi-rae covered her face with her hands as she lost count of how many times they had become a part of one another since he had unlocked that hotel room door. Each time had revealed something new about the way that they could be. Ji-pyeong was in bed as he was in life — selfless and demanding, thoughtful and challenging, patient and passionate. All of the beautiful contradictions inherent in his nature were why she had fallen in love with him.

Mi-rae pushed her hair off of her face and shifted towards him. Ji-pyeong was lying on his stomach and his eyes were closed. She was about to reach up to brush away the hair clinging to his forehead when her fingers paused in the air.

He's asleep.

Mi-rae's hand flew up to her lips instead. The wide expanse of Ji-pyeong's back was rising and falling steadily. Now that her eyes had adjusted to the night, his wild tangle of hair was the darkest thing in a room softly lit by the streetlights into shades of purple. His peaceful features silently professed innocence of the liberties he had taken in the taxi, and the elevator, and their bed. Mi-rae curled her knees up towards her chest as she watched the man who would soon be her husband sleep. Her throat tightened as she remembered how many times Ji-pyeong had been overcome with emotion today.

He must be exhausted.

She quickly planned how to do her best to let him sleep while she headed out early for the photo session in the morning. Then Mi-rae rose to take care of him. She donned a tank top and pajama pants from the dresser before walking around to what was now his side of the bed. The duvet was carefully folded by her hands over his body. Next, Mi-rae gingerly slid a pillow under his head. Her fingers froze in the air just above him as he stirred, his head burrowing into the depths of the pillow. But then Ji-pyeong sighed in his sleep and stilled.

Loki startled her as he suddenly jumped up onto the foot of the bed. His yellow eyes pierced the indigo of the bedroom.

"He's pretty great isn't he? I told you so."

She whispered it as Loki kneaded his paws into the duvet. He remained noncommittal.

"We're going to keep him, ok?"

Finally, Loki curled into a ball at Ji-pyeong's feet in agreement. And then his yellow eyes slowly disappeared.

She was the last one awake. Mi-rae hugged her chest as if that could stop it from breaking open as she looked down at Ji-pyeong. She had often cried herself to sleep in this room after her divorce. Over time, tears eventually gave way to staring at the ceiling in the middle of the night, lonely and depressed. And then she had become numb, filling her solitude with billable hours and rationalization. Now Mi-rae was overcome by a deluge of emotions — love, gratitude, and abiding wonder that this man loved her enough to move across the world to marry her after a month.

They had finally reached a kind twist in the rope of fate. Ji-pyeong now shared a home with someone who loved him for the first time in his life. And she was loved by the kind of man who would stay by her side. It was almost enough to make her believe that the universe could be just after all. Mi-rae pulled the duvet up and around his shoulders reverently, her heart full with all the ways that he made her so happy.

Then write him back.

The thought whispered from within her as if it had sprung from the sacred stillness of this night. And as soon as it did, Mi-rae was determined to answer his beautiful words with her own. It had been their way from the beginning— he posed questions and she always answered. And it was what Ji-pyeong deserved.

Mi-rae crept over to her desk. And then she frowned.

I don't have any nice stationery.

She shrugged practically. The content of her words would have to suffice. Mi-rae quietly slid a legal pad out of the top drawer. Her fingers eventually found the shape of a ballpoint pen amid the highlighters, binder clips, and post-it flags. Then Mi-rae padded out to the living room and sat on her sofa as she turned on a single lamp.

Mi-rae folded her legs under one another and pulled a pillow onto her lap. She placed the legal pad onto it. The blue parallel lines invited her to organize her thoughts as they always did. Mi-rae carefully wrote out a numbered list of everything that she wanted to say to him.

Then Mi-rae paused and huffed a laugh. She shook her head at her fastidiousness.

Just write to him like you've always talked to him.

Mi-rae may not possess his latent talent for poetry, but Ji-pyeong seemed to relish her frankness like few others.

She took a deep breath. And then Mi-rae flipped over to the next page. Her pen poised over the fresh sheet of lined yellow paper.

She smiled as she then began to write her first letter to Han Ji-pyeong.

"My love..."

********