Author's Note: And another one!
Nine
In the morning when I wake and the sun is coming through
Oh, you fill my lungs with sweetness, and you fill my head with you
When the evening pulls the sun down, and the day is almost through
Oh, the whole world it is sleeping, but my world is you
"What do you want to do today?" she asks when he comes out of the bathroom, wearing only jeans, no shirt, gorgeous in the stream of sunlight that pours through the windows.
She can't help stepping into him and tracing the lines of his chest with her fingers, even though she's showered and dressed already, even though her body is sore and loose and she doesn't really want to start another round. Earlier, she was spellbound by the graceful, focused movements of his lithe body in his morning labor of love: making her coffee. The patient, smooth pour of hot water from a drip kettle over coarsely ground coffee beans in a paper filter was mesmerizing. When his eyes found her, a smile lit his face, and his voice – like honeyed whiskey in the bright glow – drew her to his side, into his morning kisses. Everything started chaste, soft, and then she was pressed between him and the kitchen counter, the smooth rounded edge bruising against her flesh as he drove his body into hers. The sex was rough, fast, and remembering the wet sounds of their coming together and her breathless loud moans not an hour ago makes her blush now.
Jeong-hyeok chuckles, a low, soft sound, as if he can read her mind, and he wraps his hand around her fingers, leans in to touch his mouth to hers.
"What do you want to do, Se-ri-ya?"
"Hmm," she pauses, pondering, lips feathering against his again. "Be with you, outside." Fresh mountain breeze, golden sunshine, the smell of early spring, the music of the water's trickle into the pull of gravity. And Ri Jeong-hyeok.
He grins widely at her, one arm coming around her to pull her into him, and he's warm, still slightly damp from his shower. "Sounds nice. I'll think of something."
Se-ri disentangles herself from him, stepping away from all this naked skin – so distracting – and grabs a t-shirt from his duffle bag, thrusting it against his chest. "In the meantime..."
"You don't like me half-naked?" he asks with a playfully innocent pout.
She gives him an arch look. "I don't do halves very well."
He stares at her for a moment, lips parted, want flaring in his eyes, but in the end he closes his mouth, pulls the t-shirt over his head. Mm, the ripple of muscle at his stomach is so very lovely, and she has to stop herself from feeling it under her fingertips.
"Let's go on a picnic in Giessbach falls," he suggests when he's done, voice gruff because he's caught her looking – it makes her eyes flutter shut for a split second. "There's a short hike to the viewpoint, so you may want to change," he points out, looking at her flowery sundress like he wants to devour her.
"Yeah," she says, swallowing. "Yeah, I'll change."
Their journey to Giessbach falls starts on a ferry boat from Brienz. The lake is still and glitters like a bed of sapphires under the persistent plow of their ferry. It's such a beautiful, crisp day, and she holds the air in her lungs blissfully. The ferry is bustling with tourists and residents alike, so they forgo their seats in favor of standing on the deck. Beside her, Ri Jeong-hyeok is resting his hands lightly on the railing, gazing out over the water and the mountains. He looks peaceful, and he's a sight to behold in his worn jeans and dark gray hoodie. He's carrying all the supplies they bought at the local supermarket in a backpack, which is fastened at the front, just below the center of his chest.
When she tossed a pack of condoms into their groceries at the register, he raised one questioning eyebrow but didn't say anything. She wonders what he's thinking. This morning, the thought had occurred to her for the first time, and she'd opened her period tracking app in a panic, only to breathe out a sigh of relief at finding that today is the first 'fertile' day of her cycle, which is an overly cautious estimate. Jeong-hyeok hadn't asked about precautions at any point, but then again her lover is a man of few words. So she's learned to read his eyes, the curl at the corner of his lips, his sighs and the way he touches her when the intensity of his feelings is too much to contain in his bones.
As they stand side-by-side coasting over the water between the Swiss mountains, she slips her hand into his, drawing his gaze down to hers.
The smile she flashes at him is nostalgic. "I was on a ferry, just like this one, the first time I heard you play Mu-hyeok's song."
His eyes widen in surprise and then soften with tenderness. "Over ten years ago," he muses. "A decade." Of lost time. "We were so young."
She rolls her eyes good-naturedly. "Unlike the relics we are today," she scoffs.
His laugh is music when he turns to face her. He wraps his arms around her and pulls her against him, his smiling lips pliant against hers. For those few seconds, with the sun warming their bodies, and the sweet-smelling air alive between them, all is right with the world. "Do you know," he breathes, lips inches from hers, hand warm against her cheek, "how much I love you?"
She kisses him to hide the crippling swell of emotion at this unsolicited outpouring. "Love you, too," she murmurs as they part.
He keeps an arm around her shoulders as he releases her with a sigh. They're quiet for a short while, taking in the scenery, but with more weighing on both their minds. Out of the corners of her eyes, she sees him glance at her. "I hadn't thought about contraception," he says. It sounds like a self-reprimand, like he should have known better.
The truth is, she hadn't thought about it either despite their seemingly multiple attempts to procreate. She's been too caught up in him, in this addiction to his body on hers or in hers or both. Contraception was the last thing on her mind. "It's okay. We got lucky. It wasn't a risky time of the month," she tells him.
"Yeah, that's lucky," he echoes, his smile a little forced. He casts his gaze down in something akin to regret and lifts it back up with renewed vigor. "Maybe someday," he says without explanation, and she thinks of twin girls with pigtails and matching buttercup yellow dresses. They smile with his dimples and rush into his arms, giddy and giggling.
She resolved not to cry today, so she gives him her bravest smile, presses a kiss to his jaw and breathes him in. He's here now. That's all that matters. "Maybe," she agrees, latching onto whatever sliver of hope he seems to have found. Since she feels less brittle than she did last night, she asks him the one question that's been haunting her since she crash landed on him just under a week ago. "When are you leaving?"
"Next Saturday morning." His arm around her tightens like he's not quite ready to think of letting her go, and just like that her resolve weakens. She feels the hot burn of tears behind her eyes. She blinks them back, and the briskness of the air helps. One more week. It's not nearly enough. A lifetime is barely enough.
"Oh," she manages to say finally, and all her other words are in the silence she leaves between them.
"We have to leave after the program ends on Friday night. We're on the first flight out the next morning."
He has no choice. She knows. She understands, but she hates it with every fiber of her being. "I know. I was just hoping they'd let you stay a little longer. Nevermind, it's silly." She waves a hand dismissively. Bargaining for an extra day or two won't change things as much as she wants it.
"It's not silly," he counters fiercely, like every minute is everything. "Time here seems to go by so fast," he reflects, quieter now, more pensive.
As if on cue, their ferry starts docking. His other arm comes around her, hugging her to his chest. She returns the hug, sways in his arms for a minute, then eases away, pulls his head down and kisses him as people rush around them, towards the exit, in a hurry to chase the day. Yoon Se-ri is not in a hurry. She wants every moment to last a lifetime.
"Let's make it count," she whispers.
The hike up to Giessbach falls is short but steep, and she sheds her sweater five minutes into it as if he isn't distracted enough. She's wearing fashionably high-waisted sports tights that are white and textured lavender-lilac. They describe her every curve and crevice with maddening precision until his hands ache with remembrance of shaping those firm swells under his palms. Her white crop top bares an indulging stretch of smooth, tanned skin at her midriff. He's glad the trail is fairly empty, with only his lusty gaze following her every move. He doesn't think he'd take too kindly to other prying eyes.
Despite the stunning scenery en-route, Ri Jeong-hyeok can't take his eyes off of her. Their morning tryst – steamy as it was – did little to subdue the flame of desire burning inside him, so when there's a slightly difficult climb, he helps boost her up or keeps a hand at her waist, for safety. And because he really wants to.
Se-ri notices and teases him relentlessly for staring and for finding excuses to touch her.
He takes it with subdued humor, claims he's just helping to which she rolls her eyes, and he likes the banter. It makes him happy to see her in a lighthearted mood. She's so confident, so sexy, and even as she mocks his fascination with her backside, her gaze on his is sultry, promising.
It takes them half an hour to make it to the secluded clearing for their picnic. The view of the falls is more stunning than he remembers. Embedded in green jagged rocks, fresh water gushes down majestically from the mountain in one fell swoop. Everything in its path glistens with life, and its rhythm reminds him of Schubert's Auf dem Wasser zu Singen. A gentle water spray floats merrily in the air around them like fairy dust. She's twirling around, arms stretched out, taking it all in, and he's so smitten with her, it's not even funny.
"Is this what you had in mind?"
"It's so much more beautiful than anything I could have imagined," she says feelingly, gaze riveted to the waterfall.
He winds his arms around her from behind, and her body cants into his instinctively. She fits into him perfectly. His nose nuzzles her hair, coconut and vanilla – he'll never get tired of this. She's so much more beautiful than anything he could have imagined. "I'm glad you like it," he says instead.
"I love it."
They lay out their picnic blanket under the shade of a cluster of trees. She watches him make their sandwiches, neatly layering turkey, cheese, lettuce and tomatoes. She commends his diligence mischievously and feeds him berries with her hands. With a coy smile, she holds a raspberry to his lips, and he takes it and her index finger into his mouth. She gasps, eyes glazing over when he sucks on her finger with tight, slow pulls. He releases it with a light kiss on her fingertip, and she lowers her hand to her lap, her gaze locked on his.
"What's that look?" she breathes.
"It's the one that's wondering if the Swiss have laws against public indecency."
"Ri Jeong-hyeok-ssi!" She looks away with a shy burst of laughter and a tinge of color high on her cheekbones, busying herself by pouring white wine into paper cups.
He grins; it's not often that he can shock this woman into silence. He hands her a sandwich and picks his up. As they eat, she gives him more glimpses into the last three years: her evolving relationship with her family, Se-ri's Choice and Queen's Group, and life in Seoul. Her storytelling is animated, brown eyes dancing with mirth or solemnly downcast. She lights up when she tells him that Hye-ji, her eldest brother's wife, is pregnant and due to deliver next month. It's the first baby of the family, and Umma can't be more thrilled. He learns that her mother has become a key pillar in her life, a source of unconditional support and love. Seri's Choice is setting up its first overseas office, and she's been asked to join the steering committee of Queen's Group. He tells her he's incredibly proud of her, and she blushes, brushes him off like it's nothing but he can tell it means a lot to her.
Later, after four sandwiches, many berries and two cups of wine, he's lying on his back on the grass, his head cradled in her lap, staring at the sky through a canopy of green. She toys with his hair, carding her fingers through the dark tresses, smoothing her fingertips against his scalp. It feels nice. He can't think of a single place in the universe he would rather be. He shifts his gaze to her face. She looks content, a small smile playing against her lips as she watches her hands dishevel his hair.
"What will we do?" he asks into the companionable silence.
She doesn't answer at first, but she continues to caress him almost absently. For that minute, all the sounds are louder: the rush of the water, the rustle of the leaves, the bustle of small creatures, the chirping of songbirds. Then she says, "I want to help her."
Part of him is not surprised. The other part is confused by her serenity, her certainty. "Why?"
"Because I wish it was you."
It's Monday morning. The sky is overcast, and there's a tentative drizzle over the horizon. Ri Jeong-hyeok is secretly glad the weather is abysmal because he doesn't think he can do this when it's sunny. Tension curls in his spine as his team walks down the street towards the academy. It's a fifteen minute walk that they take together after breakfast. There's nothing unusual about it. Except that today is the day.
Yesterday he spent two hours on a call with a "Mister Kim", which he's sure is an alias, an unequivocal John Smith if he's ever seen one. Se-ri was sitting beside him, listening intently, but he refused to mention her name even though she had given him Mister Kim's number.
He's my contact in the underworld. After you came to Seoul, I thought someone like him could come in handy someday.
She wasn't wrong. He hates that she has a nefarious contact, but he has to admit Mister Kim proved to be a very resourceful individual. The plan he laid out is simple. In a couple of minutes, Park Min-ji will announce that she forgot something at the hotel. She will suggest running back to the hotel while they wait for her on the sidewalk, chattering away. Just as she'll round the corner, a black van with no license plates will obstruct her and a man will grab her in plain sight. Witnesses will be crucial to ascertain her innocence, to keep her and everyone safe. The van will speed off, and she'll be gone without a trace. Mister Kim said in this timeframe he can fake a disappearance but not a death. The death will have to come later. For now, Park Min-ji will go missing, a mysterious kidnapping. Meanwhile, Mister Kim will prepare her new documents. By Thursday evening, she will become a documented Chinese citizen. By next week, she'll be in Seoul with Se-ri. It's crazy what a significant amount of money can buy.
He had met Min-ji alone yesterday in the academy under the ruse of training. He'd given her all the details she needed to know and had warned her not to mention Yoon Se-ri to anyone, whatever happens. She was terrified, but she nodded with conviction. She thanked him profusely, and then she cried as he walked her back to Hotel Interlaken in the evening. He couldn't find it in him to comfort her because he needed comfort too. It still hurts in his gut every time he remembers the brutal honesty of those six words Se-ri said to him at the Giessbach falls.
Because I wish it was you.
"Ya! I forgot my music book at the hotel," Park Min-ji announces to the group, snapping him back to the present. She's right on time, and he feels slightly more at ease. "I'll just run back to get it."
"We'll wait for you here," Jeong-hyeok says, and the rest of the group nods in unison, coming to a stop beside him as Min-ji starts on her way back the same road they'd just taken.
"We should have lunch at that steak place today," Kim Hyun-woo suggests, his young round face excited. It makes Jeong-hyeok sad that a mediocre steak is the highlight of this kid's week. The unfairness of it all is especially hard to stomach today.
One of the instructors laughs. "I love those fried potatoes."
As the rest of the team weighs in on the food, a piercing scream fills the air, and they all whip around in horror. It's exactly how he imagined it. She's yanked into the open van without preamble, and the door is slammed shut with finality. He runs towards the van at full speed, but he's too late. It's already out of sight, and the others are behind him, yelling and desperate.
"What are we going to do?"
"They took her! They took her!"
"We can run after her!"
"There's no way we would make it."
"Maybe we can get a taxi."
"The closest taxi stand is ten minutes away."
"We need to get to the academy to call the police," Jeong-hyeok tells them and starts jogging purposefully towards the academy. They all follow, still whispering amongst themselves. Kim Hyun-woo starts to cry, and the long whines after each intake of breath make everything seem so real.
Se-ri is in Niels' office when they burst in. Their gazes meet and hold for a split-second, but they exchange a world of information. The tense set of her shoulders visibly relaxes as Niels comes to his feet, alert to their nervous energy.
"What happened?" he asks.
Jeong-hyeok steps forward. "Park Min-ji was taken by a black van, no number plates, just five minutes from here. We need to call the police."
It's a flurry of activity from there. They call the police, and the mayhem begins.
A/N: Reviews are love x