Main Characters in the Story:

*Kim So Hyun as "Athena" Myung-hee Park

*Tom Hiddleston as Himself

Minor Character in the Story:

*Brenna D'Amico as Marilyn Rivera

Chapter XXIII: I Missed You.

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"Open the door!" Marilyn whispers, hands on her hips like an upset mother.

"Why can't you do it?" I ask her.

Her eyes widen. "It's your house, idiot!" She pulls out one of the kitchen chairs and sits down, ready for our little show to begin.

I am so desperate to avoid this that I actually resort to puppy eyes.

They work about this as well as trying to break a boulder with a feather; her glare burns into me like something unholy.

Hesitantly, I walk over to the door with confidence in my features and fear in my eyes. I take a deep breath and open the door for Tom.

"I thought you'd never let me in, love." He says. He hooks his glasses onto the collar of his bleached button-down shirt.

You could say that. "What are you doing here? You didn't tell me you were coming to visit." My voice couldn't sound any more enthusiastic. I am thrilled to see him here, but now I couldn't have been a worse time.

"I know. That's the point of a surprise." He grabbed me by the hips and pulled me into him, gazing into my eyes with crinkles at the sides of his from an ecstatic smile. "I missed you, darling." He leaned down to place a kiss on my lips.

So much panic enters me in that one moment; it could be classified as an anxiety patient's nightmare. I don't know what to do. I don't want to kiss him. My conscience is stabbing me as he moves in closer. Such a high intelligence and the reaction I can come up with has to be the dumbest thing I have ever done. I turn my head to the side and dodge the kiss in a heartbeat. "I kissed someone else." I blurt out nervously.

His lips barely touch my cheek as he takes a second to register what I just said. "You what?" The anger I anticipated all this time isn't even there. It's more of a confusion and anything.

"I…" I turn my head slowly to look at him with fear. I don't even want to see the hurt on his face. "I… I… kissed someone else. Another guy, I mean. I... I-I never kissed Marilyn. Banchang-goleul beosda, {Rip off the Band-Aid,} I tell myself. Gidalyeo eodiseo dangsin-eul delyeoganeunji boja. {Let's wait and see where this takes you.}

The awkward silence does not even last five seconds before Marilyn buds in. "I'm sure as hell hope you didn't!" She says in shock. "I know I can get drunk, but I don't get that drunk."

"So you lied then." Tom states. He still has a stone-cold poker face on, and an emotionless voice to match it.

I bite my lower lip, the nerves chewing at its skin more than I am manually. Finally, I tore away from him and stepped back. "Tom, I am so sorry! I don't know what came over me! He was just… I was… I felt lonely! I missed you! He reminded me of you a lot. A lot."

"Who was it?" He asks me.

I felt my tears starting to fill up my eyes. "What does it matter?! I messed up, Tom! I made a promise to you, a promise." Here I go. The never-ending babble. My nerves and guilt are getting the best of me, and I can already tell I am going to look like a fool soon, but I cannot stop. If I stop, that gives him a chance to tell me how heartbroken he is. If I hear him say that, or anything similar to it, I don't think I could live with myself. I can already feel the pressure of sadness building up in my chest. "Speaking of promises… You will probably want the ring back. That bloody ring, I have tainted it. I know I have." My accent in saying the word 'Bloody' is a bit rusty than I expected.

"Bloody?" He smirks.

"Why would you even think of giving it to me? A child, that's what I am. You gave something expensive to a disloyal good for nothing-"

"Did you like it?" He asks as if I am not even in the middle of a self-loathing rant.

"Mwo? {What?}" I stop in my tracks and turn to face him. I hadn't even realized I had been pacing until now.

"The kiss. Did you like it?"

I thought back on the kiss. I did like it at the time but after a while, the memory was revolting to me. I won't be lying when I say. "No. Of course not. It was weird. It was not… you."

He held a hand out onto me, a questioning eyebrow raised.

I am not sure what kind of turn this is taking, but I take his hand and let him pull me in.

He took our hands and held them to his heart. He placed his free hand on my hip and leaned it for the sweetest, deepest, and most electrifying kiss. He kept it short, not losing the sight of the situation here. "It didn't feel like that?"

His kiss, as it always does, takes my breath away. I stare at our hands. "Far from that." I reply softly.

He smiles kindly, warming and healing my once-breaking heart. "Then there's nothing to worry about. You're still mine. I have no competition. Keep the ring. As long as I love you, and you love me, that kiss is void. Understand?"

Thinking back on the breakdown I just had, my lips slowly stretch into a silly smile then wipe the tears from my eyes. I started quietly to myself. "Talk about a mountain out of a mole hill, right?"

He chuckles. "I'd say. I was planning on taking you for a coffee or something." He looks at Marilyn. "I hope you'll be joining us. I think this is the first time we meet in person."

All the confidence drains from Marilyn's face as soon as the fact registered. "Holy crap, you're right. Oh my God, you're right…"

I watch the realization slowly grip her, hoping to everything I have that she does not scream.

"Well… Tom freaking Hiddleston, oh my God… well, shit. You're definitely taller in person. And… wow. Definitely ginger now."

He runs the hand that isn't intertwined with mine through his hair subconsciously. "I'm afraid so. Future role called for it."

"It looks good on you, man… wow. You're hotter in person, too."

"Araso! {Alright!}" I cut this short before my fearless friend decides to take things further. "I think that's enough for that. You mentioned coffee, Tom."

"I did. Let's go." He stands at the door and gestures for us to head out first. "By the way, a kiss? Really, love?" he raises a questioning eyebrow at me.

"Shut up." I kiss him on the cheek as I pass him. "Your girlfriend's an amateur, remember?"

"Mm."

I am the first to get to his car, sliding into the front seat and pulling the door shut. Soon enough, everyone is in the car and buckled up. He speeds down the street, which I find it unusual. He is pushing the speed limit, and this isn't a safe place to do that. Which can only lead me to believe the obvious.

That kiss is not void.