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A combination of fear and excitement washed over Du-sik as Hye-jin ran towards him. All day he’d been hoping their paths would cross - to reimburse her for the tangerines, that is.
He stopped back to brace himself as she was coming quite fast at him now. An odd expression tugged at her face, an expression he had seen once before. That day at the clinic, with Hye-jin standing protectively in front of Mi-seon.
Oh no, he thought with cold certainly, she was going to kick him.
In the middle of his mental tally of all the things Du-sik had done to deserve it, an undeniably long list now that he thought about it, Hye-jin crashed into him with a whimper. Chest heaving against his, her cheek came to rest on his shoulder.
It dawned on him then that it was fear, not anger, that plagued her features at the clinic that day, and again moments ago as she ran towards him. In a moment of fear she ran towards him.
A protective surge ran through him as he lifted his free arm up her back, fingers splaying out against her hair. The flashlight handle crunched slightly under the iron grip of his other hand as he fought to calm the mounting rage in his chest at the thought something had frightened Ms. Dentist this much.
***
“What makes you think you can always barge your way in here uninvited?” Hye-jin muttered under her breath as Du-sik was already out of one shoe and working the laces of the other. It turned out that Cheon-jae had been the one trailing behind her in the alleyway, totally clueless to the fact Hye-jin was around the corner and three swipes of her finger away from dialing 112. There hadn’t ever been any danger, so he didn’t need to keep watch over her like this.
He turned around and cocked his head, “Oh, should I bust out the thermometer then?”
She trailed behind him as he waltzed through the apartment voicing protests that this was completely different, actually, when he came to a sudden stop causing her to slam into his back.
“You really should watch where you’re going, Ms. Dentist. I’m starting to wonder how you managed to live in Seoul so long without dropping into an open manhole.”
“I don’t th-“, she started when he cut her off again.
“I’m just relieved to see that it’s not only my kitchen that you leave this messy,” he said, laughing through the second half of the sentence as he nudged the empty mug she’d made tea with the ginseng wood Du-sik gave her.
She snatched the mug away from him, rinsing it in the sink.
“I didn’t know tea could be so bitter,” she said, nose wrinkling.
“I didn’t know porridge could be so sour.”
She slammed the faucet off and whipped around, “Come on,” she said, flicking her wet hands at his face, “let’s take a look at your arm.”
A mixture of Hye-jin and Mi-seon’s laundry was piled high on the living room furniture. To avoid any more judging comments about her housekeeping sensibilities she nudged him along into her room, perching on the end of the bed.
Du-sik plopped down next to her, surprisingly silent. She studied his face but couldn’t quite read the expression.
“Okay,” she said, drawing out the word, “let’s see.”
She slipped her hands under the collar of his flannel. Baggy as it was, it fell down his arm exposing the elbow. He peered down too, trying to angle his elbow so he could see but she slapped his leg.
“Stay still,” she cooed, inspecting.
When she looked up again he was still looking down at her, hair hanging in his eyes, as always. Without thinking she reached out to brush it back, then froze, remembering what happened the last time she forgot herself and reached out to wipe his lip.
Do I really bother him that much? She pondered, hand still frozen outstretched between them.
“Uh oh,” he half whispered, “you’re not about to have another biological crisis, are you, Ms. Dentist?”
Hye-jin froze, embarrassed. What was it about him? Why couldn’t she keep her hands to herself around him? Why couldn’t she stop crossing the line?
She stood suddenly, turning to leave the room when Du-sik reached out and curled his fingers around the strap of her purse, fingers sliding down the strap and tugging her gently back down next to him on the bed.
“Don’t,” his voice lowered.
She remembered something then. A hot tear rolling down Du-sik’s face and onto her shoulder. Her arms wrapped protectively around him, drunkenly swaying together. She slammed her eyes shut, trying to hold onto the scene that had been evading her memory the past few days. I’m not going anywhere, she had said, don’t worry, Chief Hong.
“Don’t go,” he repeated. Eyes still closed she froze, because she could tell he was much closer now.
It was Du-sik that closed the space between them this time, his lips pressing softly to her cheek. Still not daring to open her eyes, worried doing so would cause this to fade away just like the hazy memories of their drunken nights together had before, she slowly drew her hands into her lap, clenching hard into fists. And the fact she was so desperate to hold onto this moment, to the feeling of his breath trailing across her cheek as he pressed another kiss to the corner of her mouth, terrified her.
It was just Chief Hong. He meant nothing to her, she thought, eagerly anticipating the third press of his lips onto hers now.
And then Chief Hong was kissing her. Finally, finally, he was kissing her.
***
At first they did not move. Just breathing in and out against each other. Each exhale deepened the kiss a tiny bit more.
Du-sik’s restraint was crumbling away. He had used it all already, staying perfectly still as Hye-jin swept in and planted her flushed whiskey lips onto him that night, only allowing himself to close his eyes and enjoy the taste of her. Or again, when he thought his lungs would burst from trying to regulate his breathing as she bent down impossibly close as he laid on the couch, exhaling sweet breath on his face before pulling away again.
Don’t go, he had wanted to say, don’t leave me.
But here she was again, hesitantly pressed against his mouth. And the terror building inside of him was no longer because he wasn’t ready to be this close to her yet. No, this time he feared the moment she pulled away.
But she didn’t pull away. Instead, her breaths matched his. Deep breath in, deep breath out.
So he allowed himself to move. Slowly at first, parting his lips just so. Hye-jin’s breath hitched and he worried he’d taken things too far but still she did not pull away.
Don’t go, don’t go, don’t go.
But there was no stopping it now. No, he thought, there was no stopping it ever. Losing himself in Hye-jin was as inevitable as the tide that swept her shoe off the beach and into his lap. As the last of his will to hold back was washed out to sea he exhaled with a groan and crushed his mouth to hers.
***
This time when Du-sik’s hands touched Hye-jin’s face they were searing hot, not icy cold or clammy from the rain. He was running them through her hair, behind her ears, down to the nape of her neck and angling her head to the side as the kiss deepened. The first brush of his tongue against hers first made her stomach jump, then set her ablaze.
She unfurled her fists and let them slide around his waist, gripping at the back of his shirt and tugging it out from his waistband. Like a moth to the flame she needed to get closer to the hot bulb of his body, sliding under the back of his shirt and up the smooth expanse of his back and pressing her chest flush against him, causing them to tumble back onto the bed.
Underneath her Du-sik was shocked at first, then amused, reaching up to tuck her hair behind her ear, “I was joking earlier but I really do think you’re in the middle of a biological crisis now.”
Reflexively her hand raised to swat him for uttering the words “biological crisis” once again, but he catches her wrist in his hand. Wrapping his fingers around her wrist, he uses the grip to push her onto her back, rolling on top of her. A mischievous look crosses his face, dimples dancing on his cheeks. She watches, fascinated, as he pulls his bottom lip into his mouth, glistening still from where she had been just a moment ago. A flush crept up her neck at the idea.
An involuntary laugh escaped her as he continued to give her a teasing look that normally made her pulse with anger, a look that was now causing her to wriggle nervously underneath him.
“Ms. Dentist,” he says, lowering himself onto one elbow beside her, “I don’t suppose the town could find anything new to say about us than they already have if I’m seen walking out of here tomorrow morning, do you?”
She shakes her head, laughing again. For the third time, Hye-jin crosses the invisible line between them and presses her lips to his. This time, Du-sik kissed her back.