Chapter 41

Marley POV

We'd showered, cleaning away the sweetness from each other, the evidence of our afternoon sticky on our skin. It hadn't actually lasted long, both of us too keen to sink into each other so we'd given up on using the extras. The can of cream rolled under my hip at one point, causing a brief moment of mirth before we lost our train of thought again in each others bodies.

Afterwards, Sophia was still asleep and I was sitting at the table trying to finish a few emails while Tae relaxed on the couch. Every now and again he'd ask if I wanted anything to eat with a smirk while I replied something along the lines of the fact I was quite full for now. I wasn't sure we could finish the rest of the cream and chocolate up as a regular dessert with fruit without giggling.

My phone starting chirping, Abby was trying to reach me for a video call. I contemplated not answering it but that was just because I knew she'd ask me lots of questions. And I missed her chirpy voice and so clicked to accept the call, her face popping up.

"Marley," she screeched and Tae looked up, amused from where he was sitting on the couch.

"Told you I was the quiet sister," I said to Tae as I greeted her with a smile. "Hello Abby."

"Babe, I wasn't going to wait weeks like last time to get all the gossip. What have you been up to? When am I going to meet that delicious man of yours?"

I glanced up to see Tae pursing his lips together, trying to hold his laugh in. "I'm not sure he's ready for the crazy that is you just yet," I replied.

"Ah, don't hold out on me and details sis, how much time has been spent in bed, how much have you actually gone out?"

My tongue came out of my mouth slightly in exasperation, she really had no filter. "We're having a nice time Abigail."

Abby sighed. "Nice time translates into I'm not getting any extra information right now."

"It actually just means what I said. We are having a really nice time."

Tae stood up and used his hands to ask if I wanted him to come say hello. I shrugged at him. "If you want to," I answered, wondering if it was a bad idea.

"Oh, is he there now? No wonder you're not giving me details. Come say hello hunky man."

Tae was smiling as he came up behind where I was sitting and then leaned forward into the screen, wrapping his arms around my neck. "Hello, I'm Tae," he greeted, a head bow towards her.

"OMG, you're even sexier than I thought you'd be. And your voice! How do you keep your hands to yourself Marley?" she asked, hand coming to her chest and my cheeks went a little pink at her comments.

"She doesn't," he said, popping a grape in his mouth and grinning at the screen. He could see I was blushing and touched my cheek, leaning in to whisper "and you're not always quiet," to which my cheeks flushed deeper.

"You are both too cute," she shrieked.

"Abbs, you need to calm down please, Sophia is due up from her nap soon but she's still asleep."

"Sorry, I'm just so excited for you. Is Japan all you ever hoped for?"

"It is beautiful and Tae is the best person to be here with," I answered, looking up at him. He kissed the top of my head, clearly not worried about showing PDA in front of Abby.

"OK, seriously, you guys are all loved up. I couldn't be happier."

"Thanks sis and yes, I am very happy." I clutched his hand and squeezed it, hoping he knew he made me more than just happy.

"I'll leave you to catch up," he said. "Nice to meet you Abby. I'm hoping we can meet in person soon."

"Yes, I'm counting on that," and he bowed a farewell, mouthing to me that he'd go into our bedroom, blowing me a kiss as he walked backwards.

"You smitten kitten," Abby said when I finally looked back to the screen.

"What? Shush," I said, not able to keep the smile off my face.

"Oh babe, you're not still in denial are you?" She was leaning forwards, her face filling the entire screen.

"About what?"

"About your feelings? You both know you love each other. The question is, are you planning long term?"

"Yes." It was simple, we were. "But I'm not going to think too much about it if I can help it. We come back home in a few days and it could be like this for a while at least. It's complicated."

"You just need to marry him and have cute little babies together. Sophia needs some brothers or sisters."

"Abbs! We are not talking about this right now!" I hissed at her, as quietly as I could, aware Tae was in the bedroom but the door wasn't fully closed and her voice was like a jet liner.

"OK sis, as long as you're both on the same page, in the same book."

"The problem is we're not in the same library."

"OK, I'm lost," she laughed.

"Location, how can we possibly keep this up living and working so far apart," I asked quietly.

"It will work out if it's meant to be. That would be destiny right?"

"I guess," I answered, resting my cheek on my hand. "I hope it does because you're right, I'm smitten."

"Anyone with eyes can see that. I guess that's why you can't be photographed together, it would be very obvious."

"I think we've managed to avoid the worst of it so far but like I said, it's a complicated way to do love."

"You said love," she squealed, somewhat quietly for her.

"That's what it is and it's only getting stronger. You should see him with Sophia. She adores him and the feeling is mutual."

"Oh, I'd love to see that," she replied.

"Oh actually, there she is, waking up," I said, hearing Sophia stir but when I looked up, Tae had heard too and come out of the bedroom, pointing at her door with a question on his face. I nodded, wondering how that would go. He hadn't been the one to go get her up before but it had to happen at some stage. "Looks like you'll get to see sooner rather than later," I said under my breath as he walked out of the room with Sophia in his arms, talking softly to her, curls a little damp and messy from sleep. She had her thumb and Tinky up to her mouth and was cuddled in against his chest.

Abby let you a sigh as he walked past the back of the screen to sit down on the couch.

"He's a keeper," she said quietly, mesmerised as I was by the way Tae and Sophia melted into the couch together, how she wasn't letting go.

"That's the plan," I said softly, leaning in. "So, I'll go now Abbs, talk when I get back."

"OK, I know you have a lot more to tell me!"

I laughed. "OK Abby, love you."

"Bye Tae, pleasure meeting you," she called out, her mouth accentuating the word. "Bye Sophia girl," she called and Sophia popped her head up from the sofa.

"Bye bye Aunty Abby," she called sleepily before dropping her head back to rest against Tae and I stood up, to go join their pile on the couch.

We were getting ready for dinner out together, Ji-ho coming soon to babysit for us. Sophia was already asleep, the meal booked for 8pm and I was sitting in the bedroom, makeup on and attempting to do up a bracelet I'd brought with me from home. The clasp kept slipping out of my reach, one hand not enough to do it up.

Tae walked out of the bathroom, doing up the buttons on the cuffs of his shirt and my fingers stilled on their task, the bracelet sliding onto my lap. His hair was a little damp from a shower and tousled in such a way that it fell in waves around his ears and onto his forehead, partly obscuring one eye. I actually had the air knocked out of my lungs as he looked up to meet my eyes, probably looking ridiculous with my mouth hanging open. I closed it with an embarrassed smile and he looked confused.

"Oppa, I was just thinking you look amazing," I explained. He had worn fancier clothes in front of me but here, shirt unbuttoned a little at the top, tucked in to emphasis his waist and hips, hair damp and squeaky clean, he was incredible. Not to mention how full and inviting his lips looked and the way his eyes seemed to reflect all the light in the room when I looked at him.

"You took my words," he said, leaning down to kiss me. "Are you almost ready aein?"

"I am, I just need help with my bracelet," I said, holding it out to him. He sat down on the bed next to me, his long fingers surprisingly deft as he fixed it in place, lightly touching my wrist as he did then placing a kiss there. As with all his touches, I could feel it lingering, dropping my gaze to where his mouth had touched, wondering if I'd always react that way to his touch.

I stared at the bracelet, tracing it with my finger.

"You don't know what that means to me."

"The bracelet is important to you?" he asked, resting his hand on it.

"Yes but it's having you here to help me with the little things when we're together that I miss when we're not. I haven't been able to wear this bracelet in more than a year."

"I will do anything for you nae sarang," he replied, pulling me into his arms.

We'd booked a private room inside the restaurant attached to the hotel, deciding it was best in case Sophia woke up. I never knew before how many places could accommodate privacy if needed but we'd gone down and been shown to the room without even entering the main part of the restaurant, hearing it hum slightly from other patrons through the walls.

Opening up the menu, I could see they catered to international as well as local travellers, a beautiful selection of Japanese options as well as steak and pastas. I held the menu for a while, my eyes roaming over it, glancing to look at Tae every now and again. We were sitting across from each other in a companionable silence, his feet resting against mine under the table. Every now and again our eyes would meet and we'd both smile, before looking back at the menu. I couldn't help the jolts that happened whenever his eyes hit mine. I knew he changed his eye colour sometimes with contacts but I didn't know why he'd need to do that apart from for entertainment. The chocolate brown of his natural eye colour was beautiful and always enough to make my whole body react.

"What will you have aein," he asked, putting his menu to the side and taking my hand across the table, thumb caressing the back of it in slow circles.

"I know we're in Japan but the carbonara looks amazing. I do love sushi though."

"Shall we get some sushi to start and then you can have both? We can have dessert too if you want? Unless you've had enough sweet stuff for today?" He smirked, raising an eyebrow at me.

"I've definitely had the right amount of sweet stuff and if we are having sushi and the pasta, I couldn't fit it in anyway. But you order dessert for yourself if you are still hungry at the end."

"OK, I'll have some steak then and wait on the dessert. I will always prefer our kind of dessert."

"Me too," I replied, leaning close. The server knocked on the door before entering and we had time to drop our hands, just in case.

Tae ordered for us and asked for water and iced tea to be brought too. Since I'd told him about Matty dying from a drunk driver, he'd never ordered alcohol or drunk it in front of me. When the server left, I mentioned it, reaching for his hand again.

"You do know you can have a drink if you wanted? It's just my preference not to."

"I was never a big drinker anyway, I can have a coke or a wine, it's not a big deal to me."

"I'd kind of like to see you a little tipsy," I said with a laugh.

"Unfortunately you can see photos and videos of that online. The members have had a few drinks together over the years on camera and I was stupid enough to photograph the first time I got drunk."

"I'll be sure to look it up," I said with a smile, picturing an even more relaxed and smiley tipsy Tae, thinking how cute it would be.

Tae reached for my knee under the table, resting his hand there and rubbing it from time to time as we talked. When the server brought in our food and drinks, he kept it there, not visible as his long fingers snaked up my thigh pushing my dress to the side as he did. I shot him a warning look as it crept higher and he looked at me innocently in reply, his hand anything but innocent as it finally came to a holt under the the waist of my dress, resting on my hip.

"Thank you," he said as the server left and he put both hands back on the table, reaching for his cutlery. "Shall we eat sweetheart," and I could tell he was amused at the colour change in my face.

"Hmmmm, you are more than trouble," I replied as we began to enjoy the food.

The next hour went by quicker than I realised. We ate slowly, stopping every now and again to hold hands and had slid closer in the booth so he could put his arm around the back of my seat. It made it harder to stare at each other but that was more than made up for by the fact our hands were intertwined and legs pressed against each other. I don't think I'd ever felt like I needed to touch someone as much as I wanted to touch Tae. It was a constant and when we weren't, I felt bereft. It was disconcerting considering so much of our future looked like it would be spent apart.

The phone rang almost as soon as our plates were cleared and Tae picked it up, talking low and fast although I picked up the word Sophia and he made eye contact with me.

"Sophia has woken up with a temperature," he said, concern on his face as I instantly stood up and grabbed my bag. I was thankful we had decided to stay so close as we masked up, heading back into the lobby towards the lift. "Hyung said he would ring for a doctor," he reassured me but I was focused only on getting back to Sophia as he pushed the elevator button. He stepped close in reassurance, not touching me, it was too public but the moment the elevator doors closed, he pulled me into his arms.

"It'll be OK Marley," he said, lips pressed to my forehead.

"Tae, we left the restaurant without paying," I said, frazzled, my mind all over the place.

"They charge it to the hotel room jagiya, don't worry about anything else right now," he replied, squeezing me close.

I knew she'd be fine, kids had temperatures all the time and I had never worried as much before Matty died. But when he did and I was solely responsible for raising her, everything scared me. A little sniffle could mean days with little sleep for Sophia or myself, a temperature could be a sign of so many worse things. But I breathed in the calm of his arms circling me, reminding myself it was probably something minor.

As we raced into the suite, Ji-ho was sitting on the couch, a cool cloth pressed to Sophia's forehead and a tearful Sophia resting on his knee. "I have no way to tell how hot she is but I know it is much too hot. The doctor is on the way," he managed as I took her into my arms.

"Thank you so much Ji-ho. You feeling yucky baby girl," I asked, using the back of my hand against her very red cheeks. She was burning up, her hair a sweaty mess and the only sounds she was making were small, weak, grizzling noises as she whimpered. I began to strip her PJs off to cool her down.

"Tae, can you get me some more cold cloths, we'll have to keep swapping them out to cool her down."

"I'll go down to wait for the doctor, the front desk has been informed he is on the way," Ji-ho said, looking worried as he left the room.

Tae had disappeared at my words, back with more cold cloths that quickly filled with heat as I wiped over her body, swapping them out constantly for fresh ones that Tae stayed on top of. He looked very concerned and I was absorbed in getting her as cool as possible while we waited for the doctor. She kept saying "mama, mama," in her tiny voice and all I could do for now was more cool cloths and cuddles as I held her in my arms. She felt so small, her body a furnace against mine.

The door opened and Ji-ho walked in with a man who bowed a number of times in greeting, opening his bag as he approached us. Taking out a thermometer and a stethoscope, he set to work and she barely moved in my arms as he listened to her heart and waited to see how hot she was.

The language barrier was noticeable to me more than ever in those long moments, Tae knew some Japanese but some words needed the help of the translator app. Then he had to explain it in English to me and it all felt like it was taking too long before he was finally able to explain to me what the doctor said.

"Her temperature is very high and just on the edge of being too high although her breathing is OK. He thinks she has an ear infection. They recommend taking her to the hospital to have some fluids to help bring the temperature down. He also has some pain relief to help her sleep and some antibiotics."

"Won't going to the hospital be complicated? I don't think I can do this alone and it would mean people seeing us if you came with me."

"You're right of course," he nodded, turning to the doctor and speaking for a few minutes. The doctor nodded a few times and then asked some more questions before nodding again. Tae turned back to me. "I asked if there was any way we could get the fluids done here instead and he agreed that he could sort it for us and then return in the morning. But he said we must go to the hospital if things get worse."

I nodded, asking Tae to pass on my thanks. The doctor handed us some liquid pain relief and antibiotics which she took with no bother, asking for water when the taste hit her throat and drinking a little down before whimpering some more.

"The doctor has suggested a cool bath which she won't like very much but will help until the fluids arrive. He said a nurse can be on call either in our room or just a phone call away in the night." I hated to think what this was costing Tae but that wasn't even important right now, as long as she was getting the care she needed. I'd look at paying him back once I could think again.

Lifting her off my lap into his arms, we walked through into the bathroom. She was quite limp in his arms as I ran the bath, filling it enough to put her in, keeping the temperature low. Tae went back out to Ji-ho and to finalise things with the doctor as I took the rest of her clothes off and she started to cry more when I lowered her into the tepid water.

"No mama, cold," she said, her voice pitiful.

"I know it is baby but the doctor said you feel yucky because you're too hot. We need to make your body colder," I answered, using a cool cloth to wipe over her body, as she gave in, too tired too fight it.

I touched her skin a few times, thinking that maybe the pain relief was starting to work as she felt a little cooler, wrapping her in a towel before putting just her underwear back on. Tae poked his head in to say the nurse had dropped off the fluids, not IV ones like we'd have in the hospital which would work faster but ones we had to try to get her to drink. I hoped she would and that it would help, quickly.

Ji-ho had left while we were in the bathroom, along with the doctor so it was just the three of us in the lounge area when I sat her down on the couch between us. I didn't like how floppy she was, still definitely too hot and made a note of all the times we'd given her the medicine so I could keep on top of it through the night. If Tae wanted to know what life could really be like with a child, this would be the night for him to learn.

"Sophia, I need you to drink something else," and she shook her head, eyes closed as she curled up in a ball. "I know you don't want to but it will make you feel better. For every spoonful you have, I can give you one piece of candy, OK?" Bribery was designed for such a time as this but she shook her head to say no anyway and that alarmed me.

"Will you have a spoonful if I do Sophia," Tae asked and she opened her eyes to look at him. I frowned, unsure if he should be drinking it but he mouthed trust me and I did. Opening one of the bottles of fluids the doctor had left, he went to the kitchen to get a spoon, pouring it onto it. I had seen him put water on but Sophia was too bleary eyed to suspect anything and watched as he swallowed.

"Mmmmm, yummy, that's nice and cold," he said, over exaggerating as he swallowed. "Your turn," he said, putting a little on the spoon for her and holding it out as I helped her sit up. "Good girl," he encouraged as she made an attempt to open her mouth and he managed to drip most of it inside. Her face screwed up a little when she tasted it but Tae carried on. "It's good isn't it?"

She looked a little confused at why he'd say that when she clearly thought it wasn't but had obviously heard me earlier.

"Candy mama?" she asked and I jumped up to go grab it out of the snacks, handing her one.

"Oh, there's a wiggly snake here, that's your favourite. 2 more spoonfuls and you can have the snake," I asked hopefully and she opened her mouth a little as Tae quickly poured some more for her. This was going to be a long night if we needed to get all of it into her and I hoped it would work.

Switching a cartoon on in the background, we spent the next hour, trying to cajole her into having just a little more and bit by bit we got through half the bottle. By then, she was almost asleep again, we took turns changing quickly into sleeping clothes before I carried her through to her bedroom, curling up behind her under the covers as she nodded off.

"I'll clean it up and bring the medicines and water through for the middle of the night," Tae said softly, thinking ahead.

"Thank you Tae," I replied, resting my head back on the pillow with a sigh.

"Of course yeobo," he said and I stored the word away to look up when my brain could function properly. I could hear small noises coming from the lounge and kitchen as he packed things quietly away and then he walked in, climbing in behind me.

"I'll sleep here if it's OK," he said softly, wriggling to rest against me.

"You won't get much sleep though, she'll probably wake a lot," I answered, grateful as he brought his arm up over my side, holding me tightly.

"Marley, I told you last night, I'm not going anywhere. That means I'm here for all of it, the fun and the hard nights."

I turned my head slightly, a quick peck on his lips as his arms moved around the both of us, holding us close. The night was probably going to be messy but I could feel sleep starting to descend and gave into it, the safety of his arms like a fortress surrounding us, encircling us like we were his whole world.