Friday

                                    

                                          



Se-ri opened her eyes and the digits of her alarm clock greeted her like an angry red warning: 5:47 am. Three hours and thirteen minutes until all hell would break loose over her brother's indictment. 
                          
I do not want it to be today yet. Her head throbbed slightly. Se-ri turned over and squeezed her eyes shut. But that wasn't even the worst part. Justice for Jeong-hyeok's brother would mean the immediate end of this. 
                          
 Nine months. It was hanging over their heads like a guillotine. Se-ri sighed into her pillow. It was a sacrifice that was both impossible and imperative. She could not imagine being without him for almost a year; they were just discovering one another. And yet Se-ri could not contemplate the rest of her life without Jeong-hyeok. It was the only strategic choice to ensure a future together; a necessary paradox. 
                          
So much for going back to sleep. Se-ri propped herself up on an elbow. Jeong-hyeok was still asleep with his arm stretched over her. She had never woken up next to anyone before — not even as a child after a nightmare. It was wonderfully strange not to be alone. 
                          
 And he wants to always be beside me. Se-ri's eyes pricked with tears as his words came flooding back to her. Jeong-hyeok had told her that he loved her as she had drifted off to sleep. If he wasn't still next to her, Se-ri would have assumed it was just another dream. Until now, life had been a solitary walk among those who should have loved her. And yet this wonderful man had been there for her before they had even met. 
                          
It wasn't that the depth of his feelings was a surprise to her -- Se-ri always suspected that his reticence was a consequence of his character. But now his caution was imbued with new meaning. Jeong-hyeok was choosing to reshape his life and she was at the heart of it. The time he had taken only underscored the sincerity of his intentions. Se-ri wondered how she could be worthy of such devotion. 
                          
She tilted her head and studied his face. It felt clandestine; to have the freedom to observe him like this.  God he is a beautiful man.  In a matter of days his profile had grown from being the subject of her fantasies to the center of her world. His hair had fallen across his forehead; it reminded her of the Jeong-hyeok who had towered above her in a leather jacket.  Who knew that we would end up here.  Se-ri smiled to herself.  I had been listening to his song earlier that day. The universe certainly has a sense of humor. 
                          
Se-ri could not help but reach out and touch his hair with her fingertips. Her exploration revealed a furrowed brow. He worries even in his sleep. She lightly smoothed the crease away with the pad of her thumb. Se-ri wanted to bear some of that burden as he did so effortlessly for her. She had sensed that restlessness in him at the club. And so over the last few days she gently tried to remind him that he still had a choice. And now he is writing music again. 
                          
 But who do I want to be? There was no doubt that becoming chairwoman and CEO of Queens would make their lives more difficult. And yet he had said nothing on the subject other than asking her to think about what she wanted days ago. The problem was that Se-ri wanted many things: to be loved, challenged, respected, and accepted. Whether stepping into her father's role was the best way to achieve that remained opaque. When her brother screamed in her face yesterday, Se-ri was overcome with a desire to beat him — to prove that she was a Yoon after all. But where was the line between winning and happiness? 
                          
Her eyes drifted down the line of his jaw and the column of his neck. Practical thoughts began to dissipate. She knew what it felt like to press her lips there now. Se-ri tingled all over again as the memories of last night flooded her mind.  Oh my god. Se-ri pulled the covers up to her nose as she curled her legs against her chest. How many times had she thought of him in this bed as she chased a release? How many moments over the last week had she ached to do more than kiss him? Last night he had finally touched her. And now she didn't want to stop. A need rose up in her just remembering the feel of his hands between her legs.