I haven't moved from my spot at the window even though it's been several hours since the police left. And I'm still steaming over the attitude of Detective Kaplan, which didn't get any better as time went on while we waited for Technician Browers to complete his investigation of what was found. I wasn't surprised when the initial assessment he gave was that it was a small camera hidden in the cat and koi fish statue. He thought it was a type of nanny cam like the ones I've heard of in teddy bears to spy on what someone was doing. He couldn't confirm if it was still active, or how far reaching it would be with a receiver. That could only be determined once he got it back to the Police Laboratory. But just knowing there was a camera watching my every move has me shaking, the knowledge that it has been in my home for several years...the first statue that Leeza had gifted me.
Technician Browers had gathered up all the broken ceramic along with the camera, after pictures had been taken of how it looked before he bagged it. He also bagged the other statues, which had fallen and cracked on impact, but didn't break. I'm just relieved that all of it is out of my house!
I've been reflecting on when I received that statue from Leeza years ago...shortly after Jeffrey had started pursuing me...and the more I think about it, the angrier I become...
...It's a Tuesday evening after work, and I'm tired, wanting nothing more than to find a bite to eat and go to bed. But as I'm taking a quick drink from the bottle of beer in my hand, I hear someone knocking on my door. By the rhythm of it, I know it's my bestie Leeza. I set the beer down to answer before she starts knocking obnoxiously, the way she always does when I don't open the door within a certain time frame, which tends to change with her mood.
I throw the door open just as she raises both hands again, poised to rap her knuckles in the staccato beat of whichever show's theme song she's into at the time.
"What's up, Leeze?" I ask, chuckling at her surprised face. I can tell she didn't expect me to open it that quickly.
"Not much. I was bored and thought I would come and bother you for a hot minute."
I step back to allow her into my small studio apartment in Queens, a few blocks away from the subway that takes me to work every day. I watch as she bends over and picks up a non-descript white box that was hidden from sight just around the corner of the door before she enters. I leave her to close it as she kicks off her shoes just inside while I walk back to grab my beer, taking another drink before turning and grabbing a second bottle from the fridge. Tossing it to her as she passes by, she catches it with one hand, heading straight through.
These types of drop-in visits happen at least once a week, the routine always the same. As she settles on the futon, she opens the bottle, quickly drinking half of it in one go.
"Hard day at the office, honey?" I quip in a syrupy sweet voice as she emits a long belch from the airy suds she sucked up as a result from the toss.
"Oh, hell yeah, baby, it was the roughest!" she winks at me before tipping the bottle again, draining it. I grab her another, walking over to hand it off, settling at the other end of the futon facing her. She leans back, dropping her head to rest on the back of the futon, staring at the brown water stains above us.
"Wanna talk about it?" I ask, serious this time, knowing by her mood it had to have been a hard day for her as well.
"Nah, not really, but thanks for asking, Nae. I got lonely sitting in my dismal tiny apartment and didn't want to be alone so thought I'd come be lonely in your dismal tiny apartment...yeah," she says, turning her head to look at me for a moment before rolling it back to stare at the ceiling again. "How's work been for you? You look tired."
"God, I'm exhausted! I'm working so many hours that I've forgotten what it's like to have a life!"
She lifts her head and looks at me again. "Nae, you never had a life. You've always been a workaholic, even in university! You live for long hours and hard work!"
"That's not true, Leeze! I had a life...once. Sure, maybe it was when I was like three or something, but I still had a life!" I smile, but it drops quickly. "But in all seriousness, there are times I wish I could just let go and be normal, but you know I'm not built that way."
"You're right, you're not built that way. You're a nun in a gorgeous woman's body!" She stops and looks back up at the ceiling. "Hey. Why don't we go to the club tonight...meet some hot guys and let loose for a while? It'll be fun. And it wouldn't be as crowded as it usually is on Friday and Saturday nights," she tries for the umpteenth millionth time, cajoling in tone but knowing my answer before I give it.
"You know how I am around crowds, whether it's large or small. I can't handle the attention like that," I shake my head, taking another drink from my bottle. I hear her sigh deeply.
"Yeah, I know. I don't know why I bother asking..."
"You know, I don't know why you do either. You know my answer is always going to be the same." I tip the bottle up again, getting tired of the same conversation we have every time we get together. "Hey, have you eaten yet?"
"No...I was too tired to cook anything. You?"
"Nope. I got home right before you came. Wanna order a pizza?" I ask, twisting to grab my phone from the charger behind me, ready to order our normal.
"How about something different? Chinese, or Mexican?? Or even legit Italian. I can only eat pizza so many times a week, and I'm already at my quota for this week."
We argue back and forth about what type of food to order, finally deciding on Mexican from the little joint around the corner from my apartment a half hour and two more bottles of beer each later. We walk our tipsy selves down the two flights of stairs and around the corner to pick up our order, giggling and weaving the whole way. Somehow, we manage to make it back to my apartment without losing anything, digging in with gusto and another beer, satisfied only when nothing is left of either the food or the beer.
"So, what's in the box?" I ask, having to move it as we pull the futon out to make the bed, ready to settle in. More often than not, on nights like this she'll also stay over, getting up early the next morning to head back to her place to get ready for work.
"Oh, that! I forgot about that. It's an apartment-warming gift for you. I couldn't wait and just wanted to give it to you a bit early," she says as she climbs on the now-made bed, sliding her feet under the covers as she leans against the pillows piled up the wall.
I walk into the small bathroom to run the brush through my hair, braiding it quickly before coming out to change into my pajamas. I see the box sitting on my side of the futon next to her, waiting for me to open it. Once I'm changed, I settle on the bed facing Leeza as I slide the box closer, carefully pulling the top open. Moving the white tissue paper out of the way, I pull out the white ceramic statue. Turning it around, I take in the details etched into the porcelain of the scales and whiskers, the little individual hairs of fur on the cat, the glassy eyes of both animals looking at me.
"Thank you, Leeza! I love it!" Setting it down on the bed, I lean over and give her a tight squeeze.
"Really, no need to thank me. It's nothing really special, but when I saw it, I knew it was for you," she says, lightly squeezing me back. I set it carefully back in the box, not wanting to break it by accident as I start packing up my apartment in a couple days to move into the larger two-bedroom place, a luxury apartment that I finally got into. I settle into bed, turning off the light, quickly going to sleep with Leeza by my side...
When I blink, I'm back in my apartment looking at the skyline of Manhattan, the quiet voices of Jae-sung and Jimin talking behind me. I'm so angry from that memory of Leeza that the shaking has now become a calmness as I spin on my heel to stride into the bedroom, shutting the door carefully. I pull my dress off, grabbing workout clothes and yanking them on. Going into the bathroom, I brush out my hair, pulling it into a high ponytail, then sectioning and braiding that into three braids.
I grab a pair of ankle socks, slipping them on before opening the door to stride to the fridge, pulling out a bottle of water. Grabbing my apartment key off the keyring, I slide it into the zippered pocket built into my sports bra worn under the loose-fitting racer back tank, then put my tennis shoes on before I leave the apartment without saying a word. I stride to the stairway, needing the motion of running down twenty-one flights swiftly to get my muscles warmed up so by the time I reach the second floor, I'm ready to go.
I'm so focused on where I'm headed and what I need to do that I don't realize that both Jimin and Jae-sung have followed me down and into the building's gym. I grab a small towel from the pile just inside the door, beelining straight for a treadmill in the corner that looks out over the street in front of the building. Turning it on, I start with a faster speed than normal to really get my muscles warmed up, then crank it and run my anger out for twenty solid minutes, allowing the sweat to flow down my body. After the twenty-minute mark, I slow it down again for the cool down for five more minutes before turning it off and taking a long drink from my bottle, my chest heaving.
The anger is still flowing through my blood like molten lava. As I dab at the sweat on my forehead, I walk over to the heavy hanging bag at the other end of the room while pulling my tank off, irritated by the clinging wet material. Grabbing up a pair of gloves and slipping them on, I start with a few simple jabs, moving into combinations, then using it to practice the various kicks I learned through my classes. Soon I'm seeing both Leeza's and Jeffrey's faces in the bag, and for each kick or punch I land, the anger increases. I can't get the anger out fast enough, the sounds of frustration increasing with each move. Soon I'm screaming at the top of my lungs as I fall to my knees on the mat, holding my gloved hands to my head and breathing heavily from the exertion I just put my body through.
Not giving myself any time to recoup, I'm back up on my feet, pounding the living sh*t out of the bag again, desperately trying to exorcise the pain and betrayal I feel.
I'm so lost in the anger that when I feel a hand touch my shoulder, I round on the person, following through with a right hook.
I freeze when I see Jae-sung heading to the ground, his hand holding his jaw. He lands with a loud OOF on his *ss, surprise written all over his face as I stand there in shock at the realization I hit him.
I drop to my knees again, one gloved hand stretched out in his direction, the other covering my mouth. When he sits up, hands hanging off his knees, I'm finally able to speak.
"Oh my god, Jae-sung oppa! I'm so sorry...I didn't realize it was you...I was just... Oh my god, I don't know!" I stutter, still in shock.
"I knew you had some strength, little sister, but didn't realize it was that much," he says slowly, rubbing his jaw while moving it a bit to make sure nothing is broken. "I admit that hurts. But I also learned a lesson not to surprise you. What's going on with you? Why the anger?"
I watch as Jimin comes over with my tank in his hands, sitting down next to me on the mat as I struggle to get the gloves off. He pulls my left hand to him, removing the glove and rubbing my reddened knuckles. Then he gestures for my right hand, and I shake my head. Grabbing my hand in his, he takes the glove off, the look on his face turning dark when he sees I've opened up a few of the stitches, blood quickly seeping through the coverings.
"NaeYeong..." he growls, unhappy with what he sees. I raise my gaze to his, the last remnants of my anger draining away until it's only a small ball stuck in my throat. I draw my legs up to my chest, resting my chin on them, sad tears filling my eyes. None of us say anything for a few long, drawn-out minutes.
"She knew..." I whisper, the first hot tear sliding down my cheek.
"Excuse me?" Jae-sung asks quietly, a frown on his face. "Who knew what?
I look from him to Jimin, then stare behind them at the wall as I think about the memory again.
"Leeza...she knew all along. When she gave me that statue, she knew what was in it..." I see the shock cross both their faces.
"How do you know, love?" Jimin asks just as quietly as Jae-sung had. So, I tell them about the memory, every detail, every nuance.
"Sh*t..." both Jimin and Jae-sung say at the same time when I'm finished.
"Yeah, I know," is my only response. "And now I don't know what to do with this information. I feel so f*cking betrayed by her, it almost feels unreal..."
I cover my head with my hands, closing my eyes, wanting this to all just be a bad dream that I'm going to wake up from soon. After a moment, I look up, angrily wiping the wetness from my face. I look at the men again, and I notice the spot where I hit Jae-sung is starting to turn a deep red and swell.
"C'mon, let's go back upstairs. I think we need to put some ice on your jaw, oppa. I have a feeling I'm going to be doing a lot of explaining and giving some serious apologies when Anaïse gets home... And truly, I'm so very sorry for hitting you." I cast my teary eyes downward, upset with what I did, my shoulders slumping when I hang my head.
I see fingers tuck under my chin, lifting my head as tears land on the palm and run down the wrist attached to them. When I look up, Jae-sung has moved closer, his gaze looking deep in mine. "Nae dongsaeng, I believe we both have learned a lot from this situation. I'm proud of you for defending yourself in this way, and I feel better knowing you will be able to take care of yourself and the little one if it's warranted. And I'm sure Anaïse will understand when we explain what happened and why. Please, don't cry..."
With his words I can't seem to stop the waterworks, and Jae-sung looks to Jimin helplessly. He sits back out of the way as Jimin moves closer, gathering me in his arms, stroking my head and back as I cry my heart out at the pain I feel about Leeza's duplicity and the pain I have caused. Soon the tears dry up and all I do is hiccup into his chest. I look up at him.
"Let's go upstairs, love," he whispers to me as he caresses my cheek with his thumb. I nod my head and we stand up slowly. As we walk out the door, I feel my legs suddenly get weak, and I have to stop, leaning heavily against the hallway wall. The men stop to look at me when I groan as I slide down the wall slowly.
"Jimin-ssi, can you get the elevator please? I think she overdid it," Jae-sung says as he picks me up easily in his arms, carrying me the rest of the way. "Little sister, did you eat today?"
"No, she didn't, Jae-sung hyung," Jimin answers for me as I weakly shake my head. "We heated food up, but then she never had the chance to eat it with everything that happened."
"We need to get something in her," he declares as the elevator arrives, and we step on. "Sh*t, I just realized I didn't grab my key from the bedroom for the apartment..."
"I have one in the pocket of my bra..." I say quietly, my eyes closed in weariness. "Jimin...?"
"Yes, love, I see it..." I feel his warm hands sliding across my skin near the pocket, then the key is being removed just as the elevator glides to a slow stop, the ding announcing we've arrived at our floor loud in the quiet car. Soon we're in front of the door, and I hear the key being pushed in, the scrape of metal-on-metal echoing in the hallway, then the tumblers clicking. I feel the difference on my skin as we enter my safe zone, and I sigh as I get placed on the couch with throw pillows propped behind my upper back and head, and my shoes carefully removed. When the blanket is settled over me, I open my eyes slightly.
"I'm sorry," I whisper once more, and Jimin crouches down next to me, his hand caressing my face as he searches my gaze. Leaning forward, his lips carefully settle over mine as my hand slides up his arm to grip his shirt, not wanting him to move away.
"Do you have any broth or soup, little sister?" Jae-sung asks from the kitchen, looking in the fridge. Jimin pulls back reluctantly at the question.
"There might be a can or carton of something in the pantry, but I can't guarantee it. Or did I already pack things up from there...? Perhaps some of the broth from the kimchi-jjigae would do if there's nothing else found," I say softly.
"That might be a bit too spicy for your stomach, especially since you haven't been able to keep much down lately," Jae-sung replies as he closes the fridge door and heads to the front closet.
"I'll get you another cup of tea, my love. Perhaps that will help if you drink it first. I asked our mothers earlier what they did during their pregnancies, and that's what they both suggested trying first," Jimin says. I nod, snuggling into the couch as he moves away after one last caress and kiss. I feel my eyelids drifting down, listening to the various sounds coming from the kitchen area as both men move around.
I'm semi-conscious when my right hand is picked up and the bloody coverings are removed, the wounds cleaned. I hear Jimin and Jae-sung talking quietly about the stitches, then a few snips of a scissor and, some tugging on a few of them, then warmness wiping the drying blood from my hand, followed by cool cream getting applied before new gauze coverings are taped in place.
"Thank you," I sigh quietly as my hand is placed under the blanket and a soft kiss is pressed lightly to my forehead. "And..."
He pauses as he gets ready to turn for the kitchen, crouching back down to look at me. "Yes, love?"
I look him in the face, a sheen to my eyes, wanting to convey everything in my heart, but only able to get out two little words.
"I'm sorry."
A confused look crosses his face when I say them.
"What are you sorry about, my love?"
"I'm sorry that because of me, you're dealing with this too. Both you and Jae-sung oppa. You could be back home getting ready for whatever it is that you had planned after the concert. Living your life, worry free. Instead, you're having to deal with my drama, my crazy...and that's not fair to you." A tear slips out from the corner of my eye as I hold his gaze. He captures it on the end of his finger, staring at it sitting there, a perfect drop reflecting us and our surroundings in a miniature bubble. He tips his hand up and watches it as it rolls down to his palm, getting smaller and smaller until there's hardly anything left by the time it settles in the center of his hand, which he places over his heart. Then he looks at me.
"My love..." He starts as he lifts the blanket and picks up my hand, placing it against his chest over his heart. I feel it beating steadily beneath my palm as he settles his on top of it. "My heart... You are my heart, Nae. Yes, perhaps my life would be more worry free if I wasn't here with you. Yes, perhaps I wouldn't have this drama, what you call your crazy in my life right now. But I also wouldn't have love. I also wouldn't have a child on the way. I wouldn't be happy like I am now, even with everything happening. I would just be going through life, alone. Sure, I would have the other members and my family. But I would still be lonely. Your presence has filled the place that loneliness had a hold of. With your love. You are a gift to me, Nae. A very precious gift. And you are giving me even more of a gift," He sets his free hand on my stomach under the blanket. "I wasn't sure if I would ever have this in my life. I feel blessed every day for you, for our baby, for our life together, even the craziness of it right now. So please don't be sorry. The day I first saw you in the café, my life changed for the better. I love you, Nae, and I can't imagine my life the way it was anymore."
He leans forward, kissing me with all the emotion he tried to express with words.
"Now rest, while I make your tea, my love," he says, looking into my eyes before kissing the tip of my nose then forehead as he gets up. I move my head to watch him as he goes back into the kitchen, then my gaze moves to the windows. I contemplate his words, my eyes drifting closed again as I do.
*************
It's been a few hours since my meltdown in the gym. Surprisingly, Jae-sung found a can of soup stuck way in the back corner on a high shelf, and while it didn't have the greatest flavor, it did help give me some strength back. While I ate, I made him hold an icepack to his jaw, trying to help the swelling go down. I was dreading when Anaïse would come home, because the red was starting to turn into a dark bruise, and there would be no way to hide it from her, even if I wanted.
Darkness has descended outside the windows again. I realize it's the last night I would be spending in this apartment. Sitting on the bean bag, I stare out at Manhattan's lights thinking about how in twenty-four hours I would be headed to the airport and getting on a flight back to Seoul... I'm feeling a mix of things with that thought. Happiness, sadness, excitement, apprehension...all these emotions are warring within me with the overall melancholy winning.
Jimin brings another cup of tea over, holding it in front of me to get my attention. I look up and smile, accepting it but setting it on the windowsill instead. I scoot over to the far edge, tapping the bean bag for him to settle on it with me. Once he's down I roll back toward him, half on him with my leg and arm draped over his body and my head resting on his shoulder. I moan lightly when his arms wrap around my body and he pulls me closer.
"How are you feeling, love?" he asks into my hair after he places a kiss there.
"Kind of sad," I reply quietly.
"Why sad?"
"Because I realized this is the last night here... I'm happy and excited for what's coming next. But also scared."
His arms tighten some more. "There's no need to be scared, Baby. I'll be there with you."
"I know, and that's what makes me excited and happy. It's just...it's such a big change from what I know and what I'm used to and that's what scares me... But I'm ready."
"Good. Because I am too..." He presses another kiss to my hair as I sigh.
As we sit there staring out the windows, my fingers lazily trace circles across his torso, moving down toward his hip and back up again a few times. Soon though, my hand slides under the hem of his shirt, touching bare skin, continuing the stroking. I hear rumbling in his chest when he groans quietly each time I get close to his hip. He slowly brings his hand up to stop mine from moving as it gets close to his hip again. I look up at him, and his eyes are closed, his breathing coming out a bit faster.
"Love," he breathes carefully, "you need to stop that, otherwise we'll need to go in the bedroom, and you still need to drink your tea so you can eat..."
"I'm alright with going in the bedroom," I whisper, trying to move my hand from under his.
"Baby...I would prefer that more than anything, but we need to eat first. We're just waiting for Anaïse to get home so we can..." he says in a tight voice before he looks down at me. "Seriously, we need to eat first, because I want you for dessert again..."
My body flushes at his softly spoken confession.
"I hope she hurries up then," I pout as I lay my head back down on his shoulder. He curls his fingers around mine, his thumb rubbing along the back.
"Liar..." I feel him chuckle at my words. "You're scared to have her come home and yell at you."
I don't say anything right away.
"Well yeah, I am. Wouldn't you be if you hit her boyfriend??" I look up at him again, only to realize that she's standing behind us with her hands on her hips, a deep frown on her face.
"Excuse me? What did you say??" she asks as I scramble to my feet in shock and surprise.
"Oh my god, Anaïse!" I squeak out, bowing several times. "I didn't hear you come in!"
"That's apparent... Now, what were you saying about hitting my boyfriend??"
"OPPA!!" I call loudly, noticing he's nowhere to be seen and their door is closed. I look back at her as she lifts an eyebrow in question, folding her arms across her chest, waiting for my answer. I'm thankful for the fact that I don't see her weapon in the holster on her hip.
"It was an accident! Honest!!" I say loudly, holding my breath. I hear the door to their room open, and Jae-sung walks out.
"Babe, I didn't hear you come in," he says as he walks up behind her. Enveloping her in a hug from the back, he leans his good cheek against her head.
"So, is someone going to tell me what I want to know? Accident or not, why did you hit my boyfriend, NaeYeong??" Anaïse asks once again, a hard look on her face as she starts to tap her foot.
"Babe, it really was an accident. I came up behind her and surprised her. I put my hand on her shoulder while she was having a meltdown during a workout, and she was in the zone...she turned quickly and followed through with a right hook. Took me down in one swing," he explains as he turns her around in his arms, making her look at him. She gasps as she sees the bruise on his jaw, but thankfully the swelling has gone down. She lifts a hand to carefully cover it. "It could've been a lot worse. She was wearing boxing gloves when it happened. And she didn't break anything which, with the power behind her swing, she could've done if she'd been bare knuckled..."
She turns to look at me again, tears in her eyes, but no longer anger showing on her face. Just tender concern. "Why were you having a meltdown?"
I shake my head, tears filling my own eyes as I look in hers before dropping my gaze to the floor. Jimin's hand snakes out from where he's still sitting on the bean bag next to me, wrapping his hand around my leg to get my attention. When I look at him, he opens his arms for me to crawl into his embrace. As Jae-sung pulls Anaïse to the couch to sit, I settle back on the bean bag with my husband. When I try to sit next to him like before, he pulls me onto his body so I'm straddling his lap instead as the tears track down my face. His arms pull me in close as I lay my head on his chest, relaxing into him as Jae-sung explains what happened after she left the apartment with the others. When he tells her about my meltdown, Anaïse looks over at me, so I tell her what caused it and the memory of Leeza giving me the statue. I see her gaze soften as she notices how upset I am about it. Then Jae-sung finishes with having to bring me back up and checking my hand, how I opened up some of the cuts, ripping the stitches out so they had to remove them. By this time, my tears have dried up.
When I shift slightly to move off Jimin, his arms tighten around me, holding me in place.
"No, love, I need to have you close right now," he whispers in my ear. He moves his hips a little, and I can feel him against me, so I just nod my head and relax.
I continue to enjoy sitting where I'm at with my love's arms around me while Anaïse talks about the rest of her last day with the force.
"What the hell was up with Detective Jack*ss anyway? Does he hate women in general or is it just you and me?" I ask as I sit up to look at her, still straddling Jimin's lap. His hands grip my hips as I settle mine on his forearms. I look down at him and notice his eyes are squeezed closed tightly, his breathing shallower than before. I move my hips minutely and watch as his breathing hitches. He grips my hips tighter, pushing me down on him as he moves his own hips up. A smile curves my lips slightly at the feel of him rubbing me, and I squeeze his arms lightly, causing him to open his eyes to look up into mine. I'm thankful that the bean bag is turned at an angle so Jae-sung and Anaïse won't see what's happening when they look our direction.
Jae-sung kisses Anaïse's temple then gets up, going into the kitchen to take food out to heat up. I let go of Jimin to twist my body around, picking up the cup of tea from the windowsill, gulping the cool liquid quickly until it's gone. In the process of twisting, I'm able to rub my body on his even more, and he starts to pant quietly while watching me. I look back up to Anaïse, who I see is watching Jae-sung instead of us.
"Yeah, he's the poster child for the Male Chauvinist Pig Club, one of the most sexist men in the department, and I complained to my Sergeant about assigning him to your case. But apparently he volunteered, for whatever reason. I think it's because he really does hate me. So, I'm sorry about that," she says, looking at me, then getting up to help Jae-sung in the kitchen. "And after that verbal slap you gave him, I'm pretty sure he hates you too. I don't know what will happen with your case now. I don't expect him to be thorough, if he bothers with it at all."
I can hear the sorrow in her voice as she stands next to Jae-sung. He quickly wraps her up in his arms, comforting her before letting go so she can grab bowls and utensils. I take the opportunity when they aren't looking to move my hips against Jimin, rubbing both of us in the process.
"Like I told you before, I wasn't out to have Jeffrey charged for my assault and r*pe for me, but to stop it from possibly happening to anyone else. But he's still in custody, right? It's just Leeza out there, doing god knows what?" I ask, raising my gaze to hers as she stops what she's doing to give me her full attention when she answers.
"When I checked before I left tonight yes, he's still in custody. He's had surgery to fix things and sounds like he's supposed to be released to jail in a couple days. But now that I'm no longer with the force I won't be able to get information easily, if at all. I do have a couple people who said they would keep me apprised to what was happening on the case, but I don't know how long that will last." I nod my head, acknowledging that I may never know what the end result is.
"At least I won't be here to deal with the fallout if it doesn't go the way we hope," I murmur to myself, giving a small shake of my head. I lay back down, resting my head on Jimin's shoulder, sliding my hand between us and under the waistband of his pants to encase him in my grip, my thumb sliding over his sensitive flesh.
"Nae, you need to stop..." he whispers to me.
"Meet me in our bathroom in a couple minutes," I respond, letting him go and sitting back up. Slowly I stand, keeping my eyes on him before walking to the bedroom and closing the door behind me. Walking into the bathroom, I close that door as well, leaning against the edge of the sink counter for what feels like an eternity before I hear the outer door closing softly, then the bathroom door opening slowly moments later.
As I watch, Jimin walks in carefully, watching me watch him. He closes the door behind him softly, trying not to make any noise. He places his hands on the door, leaning on them, waiting to see what I will do. Pushing away from the counter, I step to him and lift up on my tip toes, capturing his lips with mine. I kiss him deeply, my tongue sweeping into his mouth when he opens it. My hands find the waistband again, this time unbuttoning and moving the zipper down, then slowly pushing his jeans out of the way as I wrap my hand around his hard-on.
"I'm hungry," I whisper against his lips, then drop my heels so I'm looking up at him as a smile curves his lips up. "I think I'm going to start with a snack..."
I drop my eyes down first, then dropping my body to the floor as I kneel in front of him, tasting him with a quick lick of my tongue, then taking him in my mouth. When I look back up, he's leaned his head back on the door, biting his lip as he watches in the mirror behind me.
It doesn't take long for him to climax, and I feel a little unhappy that I didn't get to enjoy him longer. But when he looks down at me, he sees my sulk and caresses my cheek saying, "I promise I'll last a lot longer later, when I get to enjoy my dessert. You got me a little wound up out in the living room, love, and I was barely holding it together then. And the feel of your mouth around me...and the sight of you down there while I watched in the mirror..."
My lips part as I feel my temperature rise while he explains, the heat curling through my bloodstream and pooling low. We stare at each other, other thoughts coming to mind which are cut short when we hear knocking on the bedroom door. Shaking his head, he moves to put himself together again so we can go out. I sigh knowing I'll have to wait until later, feeling a little miffed that I didn't get to feel him doing...
I shake my own head, trying to get the thoughts out, otherwise I may just have to spend some time in here by myself taking care of...
Damn, I really need to stop!
Looking up at Jimin again, I see a big smile on his face, making his dimple pop out.
"What are you smiling about?" I grouse, crossing my arms in a huff.
"You...because I can see what you're thinking about just by your expressions. It's telling its own story, and Baby...you had one hell of a narrative that you had to put a stop to."
He pulls me gently up by placing his hands under my arms, brushing the outside of my br*asts in the process.
"Come on, let's head out," he kisses my forehead. I sigh again, and he chuckles when he hears how exaggerated it is. I follow him out, wiping my mouth on the back of my hand unconsciously as we enter the living room.
Jae-sung and Anaïse both look up as we come back in, and when her eyebrow lifts up, I realize why and my hand drops to my side as my face turns a deep crimson. The smile on her face that she's trying to stop shows me she knows exactly what we were doing, which doesn't help my embarrassment. When Jae-sung turns to get something out of the fridge, I shrug my shoulders at her and give my own grin back, making her shake her head as she starts to blush.
We all grab food then sit down to eat and I tell them the plan for my family coming in the morning to empty out the apartment. When the food is gone and dishes done and packed, everyone helps move all the boxes from around the apartment into one central spot in the living room, separating them for going to Seoul with us, or going to my family's places. It's no surprise that the staying pile is far bigger than what's going.
I quickly make a list of what needs to be completed when I wake up in the morning, like finishing the last couple loads of bedding from both bedrooms, or the towels after everyone have taken their showers... I stifle a yawn as I stare at the list. Rubbing my eyes to help with focusing, I lean against the end of the counter as my lids start to droop and my body suddenly feels like it's running on fumes. Shaking my head to clear it of the cobwebs, I try focusing again, but my thoughts scatter.
Looking at the clock and seeing it's only eight, I sit down on the couch. Leaning my head back to take a quick break, I close my eyes for just a brief second...
*************
...And as I slowly come to, I'm confused about where I am. The last thing I remember is sitting down on the couch, but that's not where I'm at. I can't see anything in the darkness as I lay on my side. I roll over onto my back, and my body bumps into something warm and solid. I move a bit to face that direction more. Lifting my hand, I touch what I bumped into carefully, grazing bare skin. As my hand moves up, I follow the contours of the body I'm against, until I reach a neck. Lightly skimming over it, my fingers brush a jawline then across a cheekbone. I pause there when I notice the darkness is not as oppressive and absolute as before. I'm starting to see lines of shadows, and areas that are lighter than others. I move my fingertips again, this time to the plump lips that I see contoured in shadow.
"My Jiminie..." I breathe out, barely above a whisper, wonder in my voice. And hope. That I won't wake him with my voice in the darkness. But I feel the need to touch, to allow my hand to roam. I need the contact, the physical touch to ground me.
My fingertip caresses slowly across his bottom lip, his soft breath bathing it with each exhale through his slightly parted mouth. The tip of his tongue peeks out to run across where my finger plays, pausing my caress, my gaze focused there. I'm surprised when his tongue swipes again then his lips pucker into a light kiss on my fingertip. When my eyes rise to look at his, I'm shocked to see they're open, watching me in the dark.
He shifts more toward me until he's on his side, facing me. He brings his own fingertips up to caress my bottom lip, his touch gentle. They feather across my jawline to my ear, his thumb sliding against the skin of my cheek when his fingers tangle in my hair. He leans closer to me, his lips grazing my own as my hand falls to touch his chest.
It's a slow seduction of my senses, his touch feathering across my skin, slowly working their way lower as his lips follow. My own fingers caress and meander on their own, finding all the dips and contours that they wanted to follow earlier. In the end, we make slow love to each other that lasts for several hours, falling asleep contentedly in each other's arms, ready to be awake in a few more for the busy day ahead.
My parents show up shortly before eight. While we wait for everyone else to show up, I go through my list one more time, checking things off as I go. It's odd seeing all the boxes stacked up in the living room just waiting to go. Reminds me of when I moved in. Finally, my brothers, Ha-eun, and the children show up shortly after eight-thirty. Thankfully, JiYeong brought his truck and enclosed trailer from work for us to use.
Once he is parked behind the building near the loading area, the guys start taking the larger furniture down. Mother, Ha-eun, Anaïse, and I take the shelving down and start cleaning as the rooms are emptied, making sure nothing is left behind.
Within a few hours, everything is out of the apartment, including our luggage and the boxes that will travel to Seoul with us. As my family heads to my parents' place to drop off everything they're taking, Jimin, Jae-Sung, Anaïse and I go to the building management's office to drop off my keys. It feels like a bittersweet ending to my four-year residency there. Then we're headed to my parents' place as well. As I stare out the window next to me, watching the buildings and houses pass by, I have a thought and before I can censor it, I blurt it out.
"What are you going to do with your car?" I see her attention is drawn to me as she looks up in the rear view mirror.
"I have a co-worker who has wanted to buy it for a while."
"Please say it's not Detective Jack*ss..." I implore. I hear her chuckle as her mouth curves into a smile.
"Oh, hell no! Even if he wanted to buy it, I would never entertain the thought!"
"So why is this co-worker wanting to buy it?"
"Because his son is getting ready to go to college away from home soon, and he always said if I ever decided to sell it, let him know first. So, I told him yesterday, and he gave me an offer that I really couldn't refuse."
"Really? If he was looking for a car for a while, why didn't he just look elsewhere? Why wait for this one?"
"I think he saw I was getting burnt out, and because he knows how I take care of her, he felt comfortable with the purchase. If he got it from someone else, there would be no guarantee that it would be worth what he pays. He wants something reliable."
"Oh...well that makes sense then." I turn back to the window, my gaze contemplative as we near my parents' street.
"I have to meet him at the DMV at two-thirty this afternoon to switch everything over. He said he would drop me off wherever I need to be afterwards." I look back at her in the mirror.
"That's really nice of him. He could've made you take a taxi."
I look ahead through the windshield at the street I grew up on. It feels like it's been ages since we were here, though it's only been four days. I try to commit to memory every tree, every leaf, every line of the brownstones marching up one side of the sleepy looking street then back down the other side, their wrought iron fences a stark contrast to the sandy colored stoops and stairs, and the red-brown facades of the buildings sitting behind them.
Jimin threads his fingers with mine, squeezing gently to get my attention. When I turn to him, he sees the sadness on my face. Leaning over, he places his lips to mine, his other hand sliding into my hair to hold me there while he explores my mouth for a moment, then places his forehead against mine.
"I love you, NaeYeong. I know this is a sad day, but soon we will be home, together, and this will feel better," he says, knowing exactly what I'm feeling and what I need to hear. I simply nod my head at his words. I look at him as Anaïse parks the vehicle, then we are climbing out. He draws me into the circle of his arms, wrapping me in his love.
"I love you, Jimin. I know things will be better once we're home and I get used to the idea of the change. But truly, I'm excited to start our new life together." When I look up, he captures my mouth in a brief, but fierce, kiss again.
"Come on, love, let's go in and see what still needs to be done," he says as he grabs my hand and leads us all up the stairs to the front door.
"Hey, should we see if Jungkookie has time to do a quick video call with Joo-won?" I ask before I open the door.
"I'll text him and check," Jimin replies, pulling out his phone as he kicks off his shoes.
"Auntie NaeNae! Come here and see what we drew!" I hear the girls chorus from the table where they're sitting with Ha-eun and Joo-won. After I remove my shoes and drop my bag on the bench, I walk over as Jimin follows while texting. When I reach them, I kiss each on the top of their heads then look down at the papers in front of them. After the appropriate oohs and aahs, I look up at Ha-eun.
"How are you feeling, unnie?" I ask since we didn't get to really talk earlier at the apartment. "You're looking so much better than on the way home from Busan."
"I'm feeling good. JiYeong took really good care of me those first couple days, then when the girls came home, they've all been helping me around the house, making sure I take it easy. That has helped tremendously. That's also why I'm up here with the kids instead of downstairs moving things around," she says, brushing a stray wisp of hair from HaYoon's face, tucking it behind her ear as she starts drawing a new picture.
"Speaking of, I should go down and see what still needs to be done..." I say, looking back at Jimin, Jae-Sung and Anaïse, who are all waiting for me. I walk around to Ha-Eun and give her a hug from the back, placing a quick kiss on the top of her head. "When it's done, we'll sit and talk a bit more. I have some pregnancy questions for you, if you don't mind."
"Of course I don't mind! I look forward to it," she looks up at me, giving me a wide smile and squeezing my arm before I walk away.
The others follow me down the stairs to the garden level where I see things sitting in the living space, waiting to be put away. Walking into the bigger bedroom in the back where I hear noises and voices coming from, I see my brothers wrestling with the couch to put it in the corner near the back door, along with the desk and low bookcase. As I stare at them, I have to grin at how my father is shaking his head giving directions to my brothers. It looks like a three-ring circus, the clowns being led by the ring master, causing me to break out in laughter at the sight. They all stop to look up at me doubled over.
"That's right! Laugh it up, little sister!" JiYeong grumbles loudly in my direction, a frown pulling his eyebrows together.
"Why don't you get over here and do this if you think you can do any better, NaeYeong!" HaeYun complains, giving me a look that tells me if I don't stop laughing, I may regret it. I lift my hands up in surrender, the grin still plastered on my face, my shoulders shaking in silent laughter as I try to hold it in.
"Hey now! I never said I could do it better! In fact, I never said a word!!" Laughter continues to shake my body occasionally as I stand there and watch as they go back to it, grumbling between themselves about me. When my father takes a break in giving directions to allow them to actually do what he wants, I ask him my question.
"What do you need us to do? And where is eomma? Do you know if there's anything she needs us for?"
He turns around to look at us, surprise etched on his face that we're all standing behind him.
"She's downstairs in the studio, moving a few things around so we can use part of it as a storage area. Why don't you go down and ask her," he says with a smile before turning back and barking another instruction out to my brothers, who sigh deeply before complying, patiently putting the couch back where they just moved it from.
Turning to the others, I just shrug and they follow me back out the door. When we make it down to the studio, I see Anaïse staring at the space, taking it all in. That's when I realize this is the first time she's been to my parents' place, so I start explaining the floors we've been to. I stop in the middle of the explanation to stare at the dark bathroom, the thoughts of what happened in that room just days ago stopping me up short. Jimin puts his arms around me from the back, pulling me out of my headspace.
"It's okay, love, no need to go there," he whispers in my ear, placing a small kiss on it.
"Well, the memories aren't all bad," I whisper back, preferring that memory to the later one as I rub my *ss on him slightly. He kisses my ear again in response then steps back away from me.
I walk over to Mother to ask what needs to be done and she gives each of us jobs, making the work quick to finish. Once that's done, I take Anaïse for a tour of the house to give a visual of the explanation I had given, with the men following behind. When we're in my room, I grab a few things to put in my luggage for the trip home. By this time lunch is ready, and we all settle down around the table that has been made larger to accommodate everyone.
After lunch, Anaïse and Jae-Sung leave to head to the DMV to meet up with her co-worker. We sit with the rest of the family in the living room, talking. I take my time asking Mother and Ha-eun pregnancy related questions, which the men end up joining in on the conversation and give their ideas from the outside perspective. Both Jimin and I are soaking in the information, happy that we may be able to combat the more unpleasant effects of it until it passes.
When Jimin gets a text, he lets us know that Jungkook is up and ready to do a video call, so Joo-won, Jimin, and HaeYun go sit at the table to do that while we continue talking until Anaïse and Jae-Sung come back.
The day is spent in conversation and food until it's time to leave for the airport. We pile in several cars and head to the airport, making good time despite it being a Friday night in New York City. When we arrive and get things unpacked where we need to be, we finally say goodbye, and the waterworks commence with promises to call several times a week. It isn't a long wait until it's time to board, and we settle into our seats. Several hours into the flight, Jimin and I both wake up, ending up in the bathroom, joining the Mile High Club once again.