emotions | love alarm

14 ~

Chapter Fourteen

"Are you gonna go?" Sun-oh asks as he plays with her hair.

They were currently on her balcony floor, enjoying the breeze that cooled them down from the heat of the day. Her eyes look at Sun-oh and she shrugs, "I'm not sure."

"Why are you not sure?"

She leans up from her place on his lap and looks over to him, their faces quite close to each other. She looks down and tucks in a curl falling out of her bun before glancing back up at him. Ae-ri thought he looked beautiful in the fading light of the evening, his eyes warm and brown, his skin glowing softly.

"Because you're not gonna be there," she says quietly, her hands fiddling with a thread on her shorts.

Sun-oh feels his heart run ablaze and takes a gentle breath to avoid making the mistake of pressing a kiss to her mouth. His eyes run over her face before he holds her hand and squeezes it, "I'll be fine. You should go have fun," he replies with a soft smile.

Ae-ri exhales before shrugging, "I have more fun with you."

Their eyes meet at her words and she doesn't try to hide the vulnerability in her gaze. Words that had yet to leave their lips, speak fluently though their eyes and this time he doesn't fight the urge to caress the skin on her neck, or the curve of her cheek. She leans towards his touch, her eyes shutting softly in order to melt fully into his tender caress.

Her skin is soft against his fingers and he feels her swallow when he cups her cheek softly; her eyes flutter open and he tilts his head to look at her directly, his heart beating harshly against his chest when she shifts her face to press a kiss against his thumb.

"You're stunning," he whispers as he tugs on her bottom lip.

Ae-ri's body flushes hot and cold at his words and she opens her mouth to speak after a moment, "And you are ethereal."

***

Sun-oh felt lonely for the first time in months.

He had managed to convince Ae-ri that meeting up with her friends was the way to go but now he was alone and had no one to talk to. Her parents were still out, the assistants were tidying up and making dinner for the small get together they would be having later.

It had been about two hours and Ae-ri said she would be coming home soon but he didn't know how to insinuate her absence hadn't affected him.

Sun-oh also didn't know how to feel about the moment they had shared on her balcony prior to her leaving. Their dynamic was still the same but he knew he felt much differently than her about what had occurred. He couldn't help but linger on the feel of her mouth against something as small as his thumb and it made him burn with desire for more of what he refused to have.

He looks out form the circular opening on the second floor and shivers when he hears her voice. "I had fun, thanks for sharing time with me," Gabriel smiles at her warmly.

She nods and smiles back. "It was definitely a good time, I forgot how much I-" Ae-ri continues speaking with her back turned to Gabriel; Sun-oh feels his heart sink when he sees the scene before him unfold.

Gabriel takes a breath and jumps on the balls of his feet before slipping his hand around to Ae-ri's waist, his other hand coming to her jaw, and his mouth pressing against hers softly. Sun-oh feels the world collapse around him, his breath leaving his lungs as his heart drops to his stomach. His vision turns slightly blurry and when he sees Ae-ri relax against Gabriel's touch, her hands coming up to his, he sinks down to the floor, covering his mouth.

***

Ae-ri shuts the door to her room behind her, deeply confused by Gabriel's actions and even more confused at the desire to cry. She didn't like the kiss and pulled his hands off her body as soon as the shock wore off and her body relaxed enough to reply appropriately. He understood yet she knew he felt embarrassed when she told him she didn't feel the same way he did.

She had yet to see Sun-oh but for whatever reason, her heart kept trying to reach his.

She drops her things on her bed and knocks on the connecting door to their rooms, before entering. "Sun-oh, you would not believe what just-"

Ae-ri stops talking upon feeling the off energy in the room and looks around to find him quickly. She finds his figure on the seating area on his balcony and jogs over to him, kneeling in front of his chair when she reaches him. Her hands come up to his face, her thumb slipping over his irritated cheeks, his eyes refusing to meet hers.

"What happened? Did someone do this to you-"

"-Ae-ri-"

"-Is it Jo-jo? I haven't been on social media, but-"

"-Ae-ri, please-"

"-What do I do? How can I help you?" She breathes out, holding his face with one hand and clutching onto his forearm with the other. Sun-oh shivers as she presses a kiss to his hand and feels fresh waves of pain flush through him.

"Please just leave me alone," he pleads carefully, his eyes still not meeting hers.

Ae-ri feels ice run through her veins at the raw pain in his voice, his eyes filled to the brim with frustration and disappointment. She doesn't move for a second but then leans forward, "What?"

"Leave me alone," he whispers, tugging her hand off his face.

Her heart turns numb at his words, her mind trying to figure out what caused his change in behavior. She opens her mouth and closes it just as he sighs out shakily, wiping his eyes. Her stare shifts from the wall behind him to his eyes and he recognizes the unwavering determination in her gaze.

"What did I do?"

"Nothing."

"Tell me what I did wrong."

"Ae-ri, please."

"I'm not leaving you alone until you tell me what I did-"

"-you kissed him," he interrupts, his voice cracking in between words.

Silence fills the space between them, Ae-ri confused at his confession; she didn't know why that would have upset him as much as it did. Sun-oh composes himself long enough to clear the tears from his face and shakes his head, "Forget I said anything-"

"-why is that making you this upset?" she whispers.

He avoids her gaze, afraid that if he looked at her he wouldn't be able to conceal the need he had for her. She tugs on his hand, only for him to pull away and she feels her heart drop. The air between them seems to still.

"Why is that making you this upset?" she asks again, more quietly than last time.

Sun-oh looks into her eyes, letting the months of suppression bubble up to the surface. Every single desire, every single touch he had wanted to give her he doesn't attempt to hide. Ae-ri feels her throat close up and he knows she's received the message.

"You know why," he whispers, his eyes looking into her golden ones for a second longer before he gets up from the chair and leaves her alone with her thoughts.