I watched Cinderella and the Four Knights a few months ago and couldn't stop thinking about it since. I kept creating scenes in my mind for Ha Won and Ji Woon and I just had to write at least one down. This one-shot doesn't have a super complex plot; it's just a few words about one of the scenarios I came up with. I haven't written anything in a couple of years and this also happens to be my first time writing a whole story in English (it's not my native language), but I hope you enjoy. Also, please let me know what you think (even if it's just to point out a grammar mistake ;).
"Ha Won, we're gonna be late," said Kang Ji Woon while giving a light knock on the door.
Getting no response to his call, he started pacing his way into the room. No Ha Won at sight.
Tonight there would be a dinner party celebrating Kang Seo Woo's birthday. He was back in town for a few days before hitting the road again and his manager thought this was a way to get publicity around him active. Ji Woon wasn't specifically worried about them being late — it wouldn't actually matter among all the famous people that would be there. He just found it odd that he hasn't seen Ha Won in a few hours when she disappeared inside her room after Hye Ji showed up with a lot of bags in hand.
Except Hye Ji had left about thirty minutes ago with Kang Hyun Min.
"Eun Ha Won, where are you?" He tried on a louder voice.
"In the bathroom," she finally answered. "I'll be right out."
He waited; shoulder slightly leaned against the wall beside the bathroom door and arms crossed. She had never been one to take long to get ready before. But when she came out a couple of minutes later he realized why the extra time. In fact, he had to look twice to make sure that was her.
Not only was she wearing high heels — which he had only seen on her once or twice before and not nearly this high — but also a black dress that made the innocent girl look she had going on that morning seem like a thing in the past.
The dress wasn't exactly super tight, nor did it have a front or back cleavage. But something about the contrast of the dark color against her skin and the way it clung to her curves tighter than the clothes she usually wore held a power over him he hadn't yet experienced. He felt like gasping for air.
"Ok. All good. Let's go," she claimed without looking at him, too busy stuffing a few things in her clutch bag.
He raised an eyebrow, now recovered from the reaction that went unnoticed by her, and detached himself from the wall; the hint of a playful smile on his face.
"I'm sorry. Have you seen my girlfriend anywhere?"
Ha Won looked at him in confusion. "Uh?"
Taking small steps towards her, Ji Woon added, "I mean, you couldn't possibly be her, could you?"
He stopped in front of her and put both his hands on her waist, caressing the fabric there. "The Ha Won I know wouldn't dare to look this tempting." He tucked a bit of her hair behind her right ear and leaned to continue on her left one, "In public."
Truth be told, he was kind of expecting to be hit after the tone of his teasing. They had been dating for almost three months now, but still hadn't gone anywhere beyond kisses and clothed touches. Eun Ha Won went back to living in the Haneul House after they got together officially once and for all and they spent quite the amount of time in each other's rooms. Even slept together sometimes. Slept. They were comfortable with each other and they sure loved each other, but Kang Ji Woon guessed that as the good girl she was she wouldn't want to rush things, so he let her dictate how far things went every time their making out sessions heated up. So far the further they got was neck kisses with one of his hands firm on her thigh and the other tangled in her hair while she sat on his lap, which happened last week — not that he was keeping track.
"We shouldn't let her know about this conversation, then", she whispered in his ear also, taking him by surprise.
She felt the grip on her waist tighten and smiled to herself. This had been the aimed point of the dress. Hye Ji had offered her a few more options among her drawings as a gift but she chose that one. It matched her tastes, with the long sleeves and the fact it wasn't flashy or super short, considering it went beyond the middle of her tights, but it was also sexy in a well behaved way.
She's been ready to step up the physical status of their relationship for a while now, but when things came down close to it, Ji Woon would always take a step back and act cautions. She appreciated the carefulness — refusing to think of it as lack of lust altogether — but sometimes she just wished for him to see her as more than a cute girlfriend he loved, but as a woman he desired.
Before Ji Woon could come up with a clever comeback, Ha Won moved her head so they were facing again, their mouths centimeters away. The kiss that followed made them both sigh. It wasn't their longest or their hardest, but the simplicity of it was alluring after the words previously exchanged.
"I like it," Ha Won said once the connection was broken, leaving him to wonder if she was talking about the dress or the kiss. "Don't you?"
"Yes." He kissed her again, more intently this time. Better to show her with his actions that yes, he had liked it, whether the dress or the kiss. Perhaps a bit too much.
"You know, everybody has already left," he mentioned without ending the contact.
Ha Won backed away almost immediately, eyes wide. "We should get going then."
He had to stiffen his arms around her to stop her from moving. "I didn't mean it like that. I meant as in there are only the two of us in the house."
"Yah, that's not funny! People are expecting us," she stated in a serious manner, but cracked at the end with a smile. She was just too happy to be mad. Actually ever since things turned out happily for them, she found it hard to be mad at anything at all.
He smiled too and cupped her face.
"See? You do think it's funny. And I'm sure we could have a lot of fun here." He got closer once more. Overall Ji Woon couldn't keep his hands to himself much when around Eun Ha Won, but tonight that habit seemed enhanced.
Ha Won grinned during the kiss and leaned in for a final touch of lips before finally breaking free. "Fun is a reward and you have to be good to deserve it." She walked towards the door.
—
Apparently, he had been bad.
Only this would explain the situation Kang Ji Woon was in right now with a drunk almost-passed-out Kang Hyun Min in one arm and a giggly Eun Ha Won on the other.
Ha Won wasn't exactly drunk, just a little altered from the couple of drinks she took. Ji Woon, on the other hand, didn't drink at all because he had to drive. He would've stayed with Ha Won for the night at the hotel the dinner party took place — like Seo Woo and Ha Won's best friend did themselves — but he couldn't risk his grandfather and the paparazzi making a fuss out of it. Hong Ja Yeong and Seo Woo weren't officially a couple, so no scandals would harm them, as she had the I-work-in-his-crew card to play as reason to stay near. Kang Hyun Min and Park Hye Ji decided to go home too, so Ji Woon gave them a ride since Hyun Min obviously couldn't drive himself and Hye Ji had the fame of being the worst driver ever. He stopped by her house to drop her and came to the Haneul House as the babysitter of his girlfriend and cousin.
"You know, we could do anything we wanted with him right now," Ha Won declared with a mischievous grin. They were in Kang Hyun Min's room, releasing his now fully asleep body on the mattress.
"What do you mean?" Ji Woon asked, pushing Kang Hyun Min more to the center of the bed. "Kidnap him again to go on another trip?"
"I was thinking more on the terms of drawing stuff on his face, but a trip would be nice."
He turned with a side smile and passed an arm on her shoulders while walking out to the small patio. "Don't get any ideas. Let's go."
Ji Woon had his hand on the door handle of her bedroom when she spoke again, "I want to go swimming."
"Right now?"
"Yeah." Ha Won faced him with those big innocent brown eyes.
"Don't give me that face."
"What face?" She asked with a smile, her body already out of his reach.
Ji Woon had no choice but to follow her.
Not that he would ever pick differently.
When he got to the pool, Ha Won was already in. She never swam without being properly dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, but the alcohol must have made her bolder for her to be now under the water with only her underwear. Her dress laid on the floor near the short ladder.
"Are you coming in?" She asked emerging from a dip to watch him take off his shoes and blazer. Ji Woon answered by sitting on the border, "Nah."
Ha Won didn't argue, too relaxed swinging her arms all around. Then, she laughed.
"What?"
"Remember that time, I had just started living in this house and you were being a pain in my ass, so I came here to play a prank on you about us swimming naked together?"
Not willing to admit he had spent the rest of that day thinking about what she had said, he just laughed along.
"You threatened to 'steal' me." She rolled her eyes.
"And I did."
"I was never Kang Hyun Min's to begin with," her voice was sassy. "As a matter of fact, I'm not even yours; I'm my own person."
Is that right?
Ji Woon smiled dangerously as he jumped in the water, careless about his expensive clothes getting wet. He stopped at a palm distance, but remained still; a smirk on his face.
Eun Ha Won gave him a defiant glare.
"Care to say that again?"
"Which part?"
He raised his hand to touch the side of her neck. His thumb brushing her lips.
He was being delicate.
Like a snake before attacking.
"The one where you state you are not mine."
"Oh. That? I'm not y-"
A sudden kiss silenced her words before she could finish. He pulled back after a few seconds, much to her dismay.
"Wanna try a second time?" He teased.
Ha Won opened her mouth to say something, but he didn't wait for her answer, claiming her lips once more.
Her hands tightened on the fabric of his shirt. This was a different type of kiss than the last one: not a mere peck, but a deeper, growing one. His hands had never touched her skin so directly as of now and they were eager to cover each part of her back and waist. She hoped they would keep getting lower and lower.
When they went out of breath, Ji Woon put his forehead on hers, looking as intense as ever. "I'm yours."
She grinned. "I know."
Ji Woon scoffed. Ha Won wasn't saying it back. No point in clearing the obvious up. He knew she was his too and that the words from before were just part of their usual teasing.
He lowered his head to her neck to start distributing small kisses. The rational part of his brain warned him that he should stop. He knew she wasn't drunk per say, but he also didn't know how clear her mind was. The last thing he wanted was for her to wake up the next morning with the consequences of something that couldn't be undone.
But then his own mind got clouded when he felt her fingers slowly work on unbuttoning his shirt and before he knew he was leaving hickeys on her collarbone. Her warm and difficult breath hitting his shoulder being the only thing he could process.
She moaned. The sexiest sound he had ever heard.
That was it. If he didn't stop now, he wouldn't for the rest of the night.
With a tortured growl, he stepped away from her.
"We better stop." He took a deep breath to cool down. "You are drunk and-"
"I'm not drunk." Ha Won sounded almost outraged. "You know that. Especially after this cold swim."
They stared at each other for a moment until she broke the silence in a small voice, "it's ok if you don't want to. But don't make excuses."
"What? You think I don't want to be with you?" She stayed quiet. "I just don't want you to regret it after, that's all."
"I will never regret it if it's with you," she said. No trace of uncertainty in her voice.
With a sigh, Ji Woon looked at her carefully.
After his mom passed away, trust was never a word in his dictionary. He was alone in life, angry at everything and everyone. But then she came along in odd circumstances, the ever so positive Eun Ha Won. She had experienced the worst of the world in the same way he had, but she still managed to keep a smile on her face. He hated that at first. Shouldn't she be mad just like him? He never got the answer. Instead, she showed him that he was the one who should be doing better, trying harder, understanding more. He came to trust her as she cleared the darkness out of his chest. Ha Won gave him a new life. And he couldn't help but love her for that.
Now, with only a few pieces of clothes separating them, there she was. Looking at him like he was the most trustworthy person in the world when he hasn't even done for her a third of what she's done for him.
It was about time that debt started being paid.
Ha Won was caught by surprise with the sudden move of his mouth on hers, but she welcomed him willingly. It was an intense kiss, slow and provocative, threatening to set them on fire without further ado. Ji Woon wasn't holding back anymore. The next thing she knew her legs were circling his waist and her back was being pressed against the nearest pool border.
"I've wanted you for every second of every day ever since I met you." He punctuated his words with bites going from her left shoulder to her jaw, until it ended on her lower lip. With one hand tangled in her hair, he moved the other one to grab her ass in a not so polite manner. "Don't you dare doubt that."
She wanted to reply. She wanted to give him a smartass answer. But she couldn't. Her head was too light from his words, his hands. So Ha Won did what she could manage at the moment: she kissed him again.
And again.
And again.
The path to his room wasn't a hard one to find after that.