Day 8: Sharing

As the hour was nearing closer to dusk, you and Hyunjin were in the garden, accompanied by some cricket song and the scent of summer air enveloping you. You were sitting in silence, but not an awkward one this time—you were cross-stitching while Hyunjin was scribbling some things in that little notebook of his right next to you on that bench. When you looked up, you noticed his brows were creased as if he was having a staring contest with the page in front of him.

“What is it that you’re thinking about so deeply, my lord?”

“I can’t find a word that rhymes with orange,” he kept tapping his fountain pen on his notebook, “Maybe there isn’t any.”

You scanned your memory to aid him in his quest and blurted out without thinking. 

“Porridge, storage, courage, hemorrhage…”

Hyunjin looked at you all dumbfounded as he was racking his brain out for the past ten minutes just to produce absolutely nothing.

“Just how can you come up with rhymes this quickly?!”

“I was told you are very fond of the art of poetry, so I have been studying a dictionary.”

For the first time ever since you met him, you noticed some softness in Hyunjin’s eyes. His usually sharp features were all relaxed while looking at you.

“For–For me?”

“Why, yes. We ought to take an interest in what makes the other happy.”

He jotted down the words you just uttered, and asked somewhat apprehensively.

“Do you have something like that?”

“Like what, my lord?”

“A craft. Or something you are… fond of.”

“I am very fond of cross-stitching,” you showed him the hoop in your hand, “In case it wasn’t obvious.”

“Ah, of course,” he chuckled sheepishly while scratching his nape, then attempted to change the subject, “Are you not going to give me the advice of the day?”

“Did you mean sermon by any chance?”

His expression suddenly fell. You didn’t mean to aggrieve him; you genuinely wanted to poke fun at the incident to convey that it was now a laughing matter for you. That all was forgiven. Hyunjin managed to surprise you once again, yet quite pleasantly this time around.

“I wholeheartedly apologize for my behavior back then. That was…” he was clearly struggling to find the words, “That did not suit me at all.”

“It’s fine,” you squeezed his hand over the table, “I mean it. Water under the bridge.”

He smiled in relief. If smiling suited one person in the entire world, that would be Hyunjin. Even when it was dark, he somehow managed to brighten up the entire place with those dimples of his, which were only visible when he smiled from the heart.

“So?” he looked at you with big eyes, “What does a true man do for his lady?”

You inadvertently chortled at the way he was looking at you so innocently as if he was a puppy asking for forgiveness for the mess it caused. 

“A true man isn’t afraid to please his lady. In every way he can,” you told him while busying yourself with your embroidery, “You should regale her. Humor her. Make her smile. Disgracefully laugh even. Using terms of endearment for her would be the first step.”

A shadow passed through Hyunjin’s face all of a sudden. He scooted closer to you, and to your complete astonishment, held your hands in his.

“Can you find it in your heart to forgive me?”

You didn’t understand where that was coming from as you had just told him everything was fine between you.

“I told you, my lord, it’s water under th—”

“Not–Not for that,” he shook his head, “I never asked you your name.”

His eyes… You had never seen his beautiful doe eyes this remorseful. Your heart sizzled in your chest, and it hurt so much that it would have been preferable if someone poured boiling hot oil over it instead.

“You can call me whatever you wish, my lord.”

He smiled to himself somewhat abashed. Then he momentarily checked his pocket watch and immediately jumped to his feet in panic.

“Going out again?”

“It’s–It’s not… It’s not that I want to go. I just… I have a prearranged commitment. I’m supposed to meet my friends today. We had promised that—”

“It’s okay,” you reassured him, “I hope you have a pleasant evening.”

While he was making his way inside, Hyunjin stopped dead in his tracks and turned around at the last second.

“Thank you, darling.”

To say that you were electrocuted would be a massive understatement. Not only was it completely startling, but at the same time… You felt something in your heart that was desperately trying to fly. You didn’t know for how long you stayed on that bench after your makeshift husband left.

On his way to meet his friends, Hyunjin caught a glimpse of something colorful at some haberdasher. Without giving it much thought, he walked in and bought a bunch of floss in different colors. Teals, baby pinks, pastel blues… Quite happy with his purchase, he headed to the downtown tavern, whistling along the way.

Man did he get drunk that night. Rather than trying to drink his troubles away, he got the pleasant kind of intoxicated for once. Laughter, friendly banter, an overall good time that catalyzed his cheery haze.

He knew how drunk he was when he returned home, but he still wanted to give you the floss before collapsing on his bed. Although it was pretty late, on his way inside he noticed the dim lights coming from the bathhouse. It was a pretty peculiar incident as no one in this house bathed at this hour. Succumbing to his curiosity, his feet dragged him towards the window adorned with the brightest candle lights. 

And when he peeked inside, Hyunjin was a changed man.

The bathhouse was basically a heated indoor pool. There was a lot of vapor inside fogging the scene, but he was still able to discern that it was you. Completely naked and submerged under the warm water.

The only naked body he had seen until that day was his own. Now that he was in the presence of yours, it was simply…

Beautiful.

Your head was resting against the edge of the bath, and your eyes were closed. You seemed to be breathing heavily for some reason. Were you in distress? Did you need some help by any chance?

“Hyunjin…”

Did he hear that correctly? That couldn’t possibly be true. He must have been so drunk that he was hearing things, right? 

Right?!!

“Hyunjin, please…”

No, it wasn’t a coincidence. You said it again. All of a sudden, he felt himself get uncomfortably hard under his slacks. He unfortunately knew how good it was going to feel if he touched himself, but he couldn’t abuse his body. He wasn’t supposed to. It was a sin. It was the impure thoughts in his head and the lust in his heart that was the sin.

“Touch me, Hyunjin,” your voice reverberated through the hall, “Call me darling again.”

Touching you. Like he did that day. Would that cause the same tremors in you as he felt under you? If he touched you, would you feel like you were dying, too? Would you… Would you be willing to commit unspeakable sins with him? Because he was more than willing to knock on hell’s door with you.

But…

You were his wife for an entire month, weren’t you? Which meant… which meant if he acted on lust, it wasn’t going to be—

“Oh, god, Hyunjin!!!”

He couldn’t help it. He couldn’t help his body folding in half when you moaned his name like that. Untouched. He couldn’t help the groan that escaped his throat, either, which instantaneously alerted you.

“Hello?”

He ducked under the window and bolted towards his room, trying to camouflage himself between the trees and bushes. His heart was about to burst through his ribcage when he finally threw himself into the safety of his room.

When you looked towards the window, on the other hand, there was no one, but that sound that caressed your eardrums just now was eerily reminiscent of the young lord’s voice.

Hyunjin never knew it was possible to see a demon dream while wide awake, but from that moment on, he was painfully aware of how much trouble he was in. 

It was going to be simply impossible not to have a violent visceral reaction just to hear your beautiful voice uttering his name.

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