A/N: Sorry for not posting these days, I was on vacation in Italy so I didn't have a lot of time to be on wattpad. And now here i come back to see we reached 4K. Thank you all so much <3 Now enjoy this chapter and maybe another one later
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When I open my eyes the next morning, blinking, I forget for a brief moment what happened last night until the memories of the kiss come back to my mind. Sighing, I squint my eyes and I feel the blood in my cheeks heating up.
Carefully, I straighten up and remain sitting on the edge of the bed for a few seconds before I rise from the bed and walk to the small armchair that stands on the other side of the room. On it lies the dress I was already wearing when I was discharged yesterday. However, since all my clothes are still at home, I have no choice but to put it on again.
After I have freshened up and changed my clothes, I go downstairs to the dining room where Sunghoon, my mother and Teresa are already sitting at the table having breakfast. Just the sight of his back makes the blood in my veins freeze.
They seem to be engaged in serious conversation when Teresa notices me and lifts her gaze. "Dolores," she says in surprise, her thin lips forming into a smile. Their conversation falls silent. Sunghoon turns his head in my direction.
"Good morning," Sunghoon greets me cooly, pulling the chair next to him out from under the table to symbolize for me to sit next to him. I immediately comply with this silent request.
"Would you like some freshly squeezed orange juice?" he inquires of me, already reaching for my glass. I nod, so he pours the orange juice into my glass and sets it down for me. "What were you guys just talking about?", I inquire curiously and grab a churro, which I place on my plate.
While my mother chews her churro with her eyes downcast, Teresa gives Sunghoon a quick glance. Sunghoon, in turn, sips his orange juice silently. "So?", I ask again. "We plan to go to your house after breakfast and pick up a few things," Sunghoon breaks the silence and sets his glass down on the table, but keeping his fingers wrapped around it.
"Who is we?", I want to know. "Teresa, your mother, two of my people, and me," Sunghoon replies calmly. "I want to come too," I say firmly. "No way," my mother, of all people, says, shaking her head vigorously. She raises her tired brown eyes and looks at me piercingly. "Not while your father is in this house."
Just as I'm about to object, Sunghoon reaches under the table for my hand, which rests on my thigh. Immediately, I pause and look up at him. "I agree that you shouldn't come," Sunghoon says, glancing back and forth between my mother, Teresa, and me. "Besides, I want you to take it easy for a few more days anyway."
Sunghoon, of all people, is talking about me taking it easy after we almost slept together last night. A snort escapes my lips. "All right," I say reluctantly and, without giving it much thought, pull my hand out from under Sunghoon's so that his hand is now on my thigh. Goosebumps spread across my skin.
Immediately, Sunghoon pulls his hand away and turns away from me. After last night, the mood between him and me has clearly changed, a fact that does not seem to escape Teresa's attention, because while my mother has long since said goodbye to us, Teresa casts an analyzing glance at us over the rim of her coffee-filled cup.
Silently, I dip my churro into the hot chocolate. Along the way, I take a roll to spread with jam before reaching for the wild berry jam to unscrew it. However, all the effort is not enough to encourage the lid to move even a millimeter.
"Give it to me, or you'll hurt yourself", Sunghoon finally says with an annoyed undertone, holding out his hand in invitation. Sighing, I hand him the glass. With a single, short movement, the seal of the jam jar clicks and Sunghoon holds the lid in his hand.
Snorting, I snatch the opened jam jar out of his hand to spread my bun halves with the wonderfully fragrant berry jam. "Thank you," I say, trying not to be rude. Immediately I think back to our weekend at the beach house.
After breakfast, Sunghoon, my mother, and Teresa finally get ready to go get some of our things from home. I use the time alone to look around the huge house. A/N: Dolores turned into Dora the Explorer lmao
It has a huge, developed basement with a bar and a pool table. In the huge garden there is a covered swimming pool and a greenhouse with a magnificent extension. There is also another bedroom next to Sunghoon's bedroom, which I did not enter, and the three guest rooms.
During my exploration of the second floor, I finally stop in front of the last door, behind which I have not yet looked. Curious about what might be behind it, I open the door and can hardly believe my eyes when I realize what is behind it.
It is a studio equipped with two easels. The dark parquet floor flatters the white-painted walls, on which a few paintings hang. To the left is a huge shelf that still holds blank canvases of varying sizes and of the best quality, while an even larger shelf to my right obviously holds finished works.
Curious, I pull out one of the paintings and look at it. My eyes begin to sparkle because the painting shows the lake where Sunghoon told me about his mother and prepared the picnic for me. It is unmistakable.
Smiling, I run my fingers over the canvas. "What are you doing here?" a voice behind me asks. Startled, I whirl around, still holding the canvas in my hands.
With raised eyebrows, Sunghoon, who has his arms crossed in front of his chest, looks at me. He doesn't seem pleased with me being here. "I-I was just looking around and..."
Again, I look around the room with bright eyes. "You said to me in the art gallery that you don't paint," I say in amazement, holding up the canvas that shows the lake. Sunghoon's eyes skim the painting before he averts his gaze.
"I don't ," Sunghoon replies, shrugging his shoulders. "This is my mother's studio, and you shouldn't be in here." Ashamed, I lower my eyes, because immediately I feel bad that I came in here without asking. I put the painting back with the others and swallow hard.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snooped around the house without asking," I say and want to move past him to leave the room, but Sunghoon grabs my upper arm. Perplexed, I stop and look at him.
"Wait," he murmurs, and I feel him pull me closer to him. With my lips pressed together, I lower my gaze. Gently, Sunghoon grabs my chin and lifts my face so that our eyes meet again. Slowly, he approaches my face so that only a few inches separate us.
My breath catches as the scent of his expensive aftershave hits my nose. Sunghoon wraps a strand of my brown hair around his index finger before tucking it behind my ear. His grip on my upper arm loosens. He runs his fingertips over my arm, leaving a pleasant tingling sensation on my skin. A telltale goose bump spreads over my body.
"Sunghoon," I put in. That's as far as I get, though, as he pulls me even closer to his face by the chin. At that moment, footsteps approach the studio. Before our lips can even touch, I push Sunghoon away from me and turn to Teresa, who enters the room at that very second.
My chest rises and falls erratically as I try not to let on that I can barely stay on my feet with my soft knees. "Here you are," Teresa states. With raised eyebrows, she glances back and forth between us. "Am I interrupting anything?"
"Not at all," Sunghoon replies emotionlessly, now eyeing me cooly again. There is now no trace of the young man who was about to kiss me a few seconds ago. His mood swings are unbearable and occur faster than you can look.
"I'm going to unpack my clothes," I say and leave the room with my eyes downcast. Without waiting for them, I head to the guest room, where I spend my afternoon unpacking my clothes.
A/N: Teresa just cockblocked them... 🙄 (or him cuz he's the only one with a yea yk what)