Jihoon hasn't slept well in years.
Not since he survived the accident that killed the woman he loved.
Yingyue never leaves her house.
Not since her parents died in a car crash two years ago.
Both crippled by their own fears, the two of them should...
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When Jihoon drew back, Yingyue stayed rooted to the spot. He grinned at her stunned expression.
"Surprised I read your mind?" he asked.
Instead of responding, Yingyue frowned, her lips turning down at the corners. The smile on Jihoon's own face fell quickly, too. Did he go too far? What if he was wrong? What if she wanted to be with someone perfect after all? Any sane person would pick a flawless diamond over a blackened piece of coal. As silence saturated the room, the drumming in his chest picked up its pace.
"What are you thinking about?"
Yingyue continued to scan his face, her gaze lingering on his mouth. She must have disliked what she saw because the furrows between her eyebrows deepened.
"It's just..."
She paused and with a narrowed gaze, continued her assessment of him. The weight of her stare settled in his gut, cramping his insides until he felt like vomiting. He swallowed down the urge and forced himself to speak.
"Y-yes?"
"Your lips..."
Yingyue suddenly moved and before he could blink, she tiptoed and once again pressed her lips against his in a kiss so gentle, it made him despair for all the years he'd gone without it. By the time the fog in his brain cleared enough for him to react, she had already stepped back, leaving him utterly craving for more.
"What—" The word came out high-pitched, so he cleared his throat and tried again. "What was that?"
"Giving in to instinct," she replied, a mischievous grin on her face.
"Giving in to..." When it dawned on him that she threw him the same line he used on her earlier, he laughed."You can't steal my line like that!"
"Why not? You said it yourself. I'm a bad girl."
"And you know what happens to bad girls?"
She raised an eyebrow.
He bent down and said in a conspiratorial whisper, "They get punished."
"Go on then," she whispered back. "Punish me."
With those two words, she set him afire. The blood in his veins might as well be molten metal. He burned. Groaning, Jihoon wrapped a hand around her neck. She gasped, singed by the heat emanating from his skin.
"You really want to be punished?"he asked, digging his fingers against her skin.
