The roads were quiet and empty. Only the warm lights of the street lamps illuminated their walk, away from the castle. To be honest, neither of them weren't sure where their legs are leading them to.
Seri fumbled with her phone, swiping left and right on her gallery. For the past twenty minutes, she had been constantly watching the photos of edelweiss flowers she randomly took a shot earlier.
With every gentle grip of his hands, Seri would quickly swipe to the next photo, her eyes fixated to the screen.
Jeong Hyeok had been holding their hands ever since they departed from Spiez Castle after sharing that hug that utterly meant a sweet thank you to him.
"Ri Jeong Hyeok-ssi?" Seri asked after finally finding that voice in her throat that would not sound so tense. She then received a deep hum of acknowledgement from him.
"You can let go now"
He turned to face her and for a second, she was positive his eyes were gazing so differently. Her breath hitched when she found him almost leaning in, effectively closing their distance.
But then, the grip on her hands was released. A cold sensation suddenly touched her face as she realized Jeong Hyeok had brushed the canned beer to her flushed skin.
"Your cheeks are burning, Seri-ssi" he said in a tone of concern, still looking at her, now in a closer proximity.
She stood frozen in his up-close view. Her sight wandered his face and realized how expressive his eyes were, how prominent his nose were, and how tempting those parted lips could be.
A slight nudge of the cold can swiftly woke Seri up from the unfamiliar haze, now processing his look of concern.
Jeong Hyeok knew her flustered state very well. He clearly saw his effect on her, the same way she had on him, as it took all the sane nerves in him to hold back rather than pulling her closer for a longing kiss.
Instead, he settled in asking her, "Are you okay?"
How she managed to not give in, remained an unsolvable puzzle. Seri evaded his eyes and scanned the surroundings in an attempt to chicken herself out.
She eventually saw the convenience store they went to earlier and walked towards it for dear life, leaving Jeong Hyeok standing alone on the street. She immediately went for the fridge and got herself the coldest water it could offer. After paying at the counter she drank it in one go and left the store to look for him, realizing he hadn't followed her.
A familiar figure was sitting on the same bench at the park, the moonlight perfectly highlighting his broad shoulders. Seri walked hesitantly to him, tapped his shoulder and sat beside him quietly. She noticed he had opened the first can of beer already.
"I thought you left, Seri-ssi" he smiled, whilst making sure his voice had that hint of subtle hurt.
"Why would I" she retorted then proceeded to hold out the water bottle for him to see.
He chuckled and opened the plastic bag to reach out for another can of beer. He held one out for her, offering the drink.
"Do you want some?" He asked. Before Seri could retrieve it from him, Jeong Hyeok pulled it back closer to him, his eyes narrowing suddenly, much to her confusion.
"Just one can. I don't want to drag you from this bench to your hotel again while you speak of flowers and wallpapers" he added, then finally gave the can to her.
Seri suddenly felt the pang of humiliation. Just what on earth did I do again? she thought. Embarrassed, she still managed to take the can from him and open it cautiously, the sound of it fizzing open startled her in her seat.
"Ri Jeong Hyeok-ssi, I didn't remember anything at all on that day. I sincerely apologize if I caused you trouble" Seri faintly said in absolute remorse as she drank from the can and stared at the center of the park.
"Well, you said you'd open a flower shop" He started. Seri smiled and wearily released a sigh, "That again? Dan and Seung Jun were already getting tired of me drunk-talking them about--"
"Peonies?" he said, finishing her. They both laughed.
As their laughs subsided to silent chuckles, Jeong Hyeok took another drink, throwing back his head in the process before mustering the courage to look at her again,
"You're likeable, Seri-ssi, whoever said that to you clearly needed a check up from me".
"Whatever you say, Doctor Ri" she replied in between chuckles, as she sipped from the can.
This time, it was her turn to stand up and walk towards the public piano warmly illuminated by the street lamps. She was unsure if she could touch some keys considering that it was around 10 in the evening already.
And yet, she still found herself striking the Re softly. The tune sounded seemingly louder than usual as it echoed through the empty park.
She switched to Sol, paused for second, then struck the Sol again as she glided her fingers from La, to Ti, then Do. It was the most basic melody from the starting excerpt of Jeong Hyeok's piece that he exactly played earlier in the afternoon.
Since it was solely based on her memories, some of the notes sounded so off already, much to his amusement. Seri couldn't care less albeit to her, it still had that tune she kept on guessing.
He stood up from the bench and walked to her side, sitting quietly beside as to not disturb her playing. By the time she softly stopped, Jeong Hyeok placed both of his hands and played the bridge of the song, the sound of the basic notes doubled as it enveloped the cold air into a mix of melody and harmony.
They were lost in their own moment, not even the occasional brush of the chilling wind could remind them of how late the night was. As the song came to an end and Jeong Hyeok's fingers finally settled and rested on one of the keys, Seri turned to look at him, to which he responded with a soft glance to hers.
"Did I took the responsibility well, Seri-ssi?" He playfully asked, eliciting a warm smile from her.
"Yes you did. Thank you, Ri Jeong Hyeok-ssi. I would fly myself into a tornado if it would meant that I'd get to repeat this for forever"
"Which part would you exactly repeat?"
He softly moved an inch.
"I-- well when we"
He leaned closer.
"When we what?"
Seri couldn't talk much when the tip of their noses were a hairsbreadth away. He waited.
"We...we should go" she replied in a whisper.
Seri stood up from the seat and slowly walked. She clearly wanted him but the idea of their 'friendship' getting thrown out of the bus and her spending the next days alone, bothered her mind. Pull yourself, this is just you, she thought.
Unbeknownst to her, Jeong Hyeok didn't want to repeat how their moment was ditched earlier by her immense flight response to the situation. It was as clear as the day that the two knew this wasn't the right time to part ways yet.
He decided to go for it, anyway.
He walked forward, making her cautiously glance at the sound of his footsteps against the grass, then eventually turned around to face his presence.
There's nothing much when she turned, because the moment she did, his face was the only thing she could ever see.
He cupped her face, his other hand went to the small of her back to pull her closer, finding her lips with his.
They both sighed at the contact, the tension finally getting released.
Seri rested both of her palms from his chest, trailing it to his shoulders then wrapped her arms around his neck as he passionately kissed the soul out of her.
The kiss was soft and sweet, then eventually turned fervent, as if making up for those subtle times they brushed off the spark. Jeong Hyeok wrapped his arms to her waist as Seri went to run her fingers through his hair.
Time seemingly stopped for Jeong Hyeok and Seri as they finally parted for what felt like forever under the navy hue of midnight. He rested his forehead on hers, still not ready to let her go from his arms.
"I'm guessing that favor is returned already" Seri said, catching her breath.
Jeong Hyeok let out a chuckle in a raspy voice as he managed to echo through her ears under their very close proximity.
"Well returned."
---
"Where would you like to go?" the Uber driver asked to the two certain people in his backseat. On cue, they both replied in unison,
"The hotel"
The driver glanced to them, confused.
Jeong Hyeok coughed as he was hesitant in giving an exact name. He turned to look at Seri, noticing how their shoulders were the only ones in contact with each other. She straightened in her seat and casted a glance back to him, unable to say as well.
"What hotel?" the driver asked again.
Seri's eyes were awkwardly darting from the driver's back profile to him before finally speaking something,
"You said the store didn't have soju...?"
"Right, right. They- they even asked me what's that", Jeong Hyeok immediately responded, making sure this very normal conversation of theirs would be heard by the driver.
"Well, I have one in my suite" Seri casually added.
"Oh--" this time, he was caught a bit off guard. She continued,
"There's this movie I wanted to watch and..." he then decided to play along.
"My, that sounded so interesting, Seri-ssi." Jeong Hyeok nonchalantly replied, in exaggerated amusement.
Seri could only shut her eyes tight from the second-hand embarrassment. She didn't even get to tell him the plot, let alone the title. Is he really this bad in lying? she quietly judged to herself.
She took in all the air she could muster before she can finally continue,
"Well, yes. Do-- do you?"
"Of course! Let's watch it together...what's it about?"
She could only part her mouth in exasperation before watching him wistfully then turned her attention back to the window.
To be honest, they looked stupid.
Jeong Hyeok leaned to the back of the driver 's seat and casually told him the Baren Hotel.
At this point, the driver simply scoffed at them on the rear view mirror, then proceeded to punch the address on the screen.
A couple of minutes passed and Seri was still watching the window, quietly admiring the buildings they'd pass by when suddenly,
... she felt a warm hand slip to hers, gently interlocking it with her fingers.
The faint reflection of hers from the window caught a smile.
It was a thirty minute travel. They haven't talked after that but still held hands anyway. Jeong Hyeok noticed her head bumping on the window and realized she had dozed off.
Jeong Hyeok reached for her head and cradled it towards his shoulders. He felt her snuggle closer to him and tighten her hold on his hand. He smiled and held hers as he let his eyes watch the road in front.
The car finally parked at the entrance of the hotel. As soon as they were out, Seri led the way. They entered the elevator and found the lift all to themselves. She pressed the 23rd floor and stood with him hand in hand.
Comfortable silenced passed for a few seconds when Seri felt the pad of his thumb caress the back of her palm.
"You know, the last time we were alone in here, I knew you were definitely checking me out"
Seri let out a laugh.
"You're thinking too much, Ri Jeong Hyeok-ssi"
12th floor.
A group of businessmen and staffs entered the lift, immediately packing the whole space. Jeong Hyeok and Seri found themselves scooting towards the back, giving space to the people and at the same time, letting them crush their backs to the wall.
Seri was starting to get pushed to the opposite side, breaking their hold on each other as a few mutters of excuses and pardons filled the space. Before she could take one more step, Seri felt a masculine arm wrap her shoulders and pull her back.
The door finally closed as the murmurs of the lift settled to cold silence once again. Jeong Hyeok caressed her shoulders, keeping her in place close to him.
As the floors went up, the people soon got out one by one. The space was beginning to empty out and so does their close contact. By the time it reached 20th floor, where the expensive, mostly empty suites were, the elevator was filled with only the two people again.
Still under his partial embrace, she said,
"You know, the last time we were alone here, I never once thought to myself that I'd love to be wrapped in your arms"
Jeong Hyeok let out a chuckle, the vibration of his deep voice reverberating through Seri's ears resting near his chest.
"Really? Is that so, Seri-ssi?"
The door finally opened to 23rd floor. She scoffed once again, thinking that she should've just kept those thoughts in her mind. She proceeded to exit first, with Jeong Hyeok still smiling behind her.
He tried keeping up with her pace, suppressing the grin in his face. Seri noticed his lively mood and turned to him with narrowed eyes before shutting her lips to a tight smile.
"Back then you were so dead-serious I thought you'd murder me right there on the lift"
"Really? Was it that bad? Maybe that's why Eun Dong had a hard time approaching me" Jeong Hyeok knotted his eyebrows.
They finally arrived at the door of her suite. Fumbling with her bag to find the keycard, Seri asked. "Eun Dong? Who's that?".
Watching her trying to access the lock, he went on to tell.
"He's an intern. Gwang Beom and Ju Meok were fond of him and tried to introduce him to me"
He received a low grunt of frustration from Seri, now struggling to scan the card as the screen repeatedly flashed an error in detection. Jeong Hyeok took the card gently from her hands and continued,
"I had just finished a 14-hour operation that time when they approached me at the physician's lounge". The door eventually made that beeping noise as it finally unlocked itself.
"Well that's a bad timing" Seri said, reaching for the knob. She gestured him to go inside as well. He went on, "Yes, but I'm pretty sure I nodded my head while I looked at them. I was fighting my sleep at that time because of their sudden visit."
Jeong Hyeok was standing near the entrance as Seri walked passed her, "Feel free to take the couch, Ri Jeong Hyeok-ssi". He instinctively sat at the living room as his eyes wandered the suite.
"Eun Dong must've freaked out. Staring with half-lidded eyes? Your face would look pretty much annoyed already from that!" Seri added, giggling while rummaging through her fridge for soju.
"I noticed that too. So I always checked up on him from time to time. The ER could be very stressful, especially since he's under Gwang Beom. That boy could clearly choke Eun Dong from his orders alone."
He could hear Seri laugh from the kitchen as her footsteps got nearer to the living room. "Gwang Beom must be a tough one" she said, emerging from the kitchen holding two bottles of soju.
She placed the bottles at the center table as Jeong Hyeok helped in adjusting it nearer towards the couch.
"He is. He doesn't talk much but he could handle the entire ER smoothly and competently."
Seri took out the pack of chips from her bag that she bought earlier and added it to the table and went on to say, "He resembles you then"
Jeong Hyeok smiled at this and his face immediately went serious. It wasn't exactly dead-serious though, more like, trying to be one.
"What's that movie you said earlier, Seri-ssi?"
"Oh that" Seri immediately replied and grabbed the remote to turn the tv on.
"It's, The Negotiation" she added, now searching for its poster on Netflix.
They finally settled as the screen started to show the stunning Ha Chae Yoon in her dress, coming from an interrupted blind date. She swiftly moved her way through the crowd and flashed her badge to the cop then proceeded to enter her team's van.
Jeong Hyeok and Seri were sitting with comfortable distance between them, while picking on the chips from time to time.
As the scene progressed to Min Tae Gu finally opening up about her sister's death to Ha Chae Yoon on the screen, Seri had snuggled to Jeong Hyeok's arms as he immediately went to wrap her in his warmth.
The chips ran out by the time, and the two only had a remaining small amount of soju in their glasses.
~I actually did want to get a drink with you
The moment Min Tae Gu said those unforgettable words on the screen, Seri finally felt the courage to ask, the same way Min Tae Gu had confessed to Ha Chae Yoon on the last minute before his inevitable death.
"Ri Jeong Hyeok"
He hummed in response, waiting for her to continue.
"What exactly are we now? I don't really know where to draw the line anymore"
"Honestly, me neither. All I know is that I am finding myself wanting to get to know you more and more, Seri. I really do."
She smiled on his shirt. At least for now, both knew they'd still have plans on meeting up with each other even after they go back to Seoul. And so was she,
"So do I. You're actually quite interesting and... charming. Maybe I'll pay you a visit to your hospital soon."
This made him look at her with absolute worry.
"What--? Why? Are you--how do you feel?"
Seri stifled a giggle and quickly added to dismiss him,
"Oh no, not like that of course. I just want to see a certain someone named Doctor Ri if he's available."
"Well then, my office is always welcome for you, Chairwoman Yoon"
---
A/N
Hi! It seemed like Jeong Hyeok and Seri are getting more comfortable now :))))
Thanks for the votes and comments! Also...The Negotiation, heree wieeee. It's only the first day of their four-day trip to Swiss and...aaaa
See you on chapter 8 !!! :)))))) As always, votes and comments are very much appreciated. Stay Safe!!