Salty and Sweet
Title: Salty and Sweet
Pairing: Song Jae Rim/Kim So Eun
Genre: Angst, Romance
Rating: r
Summary: Beautiful reconciliation
They sit side by side in the back of the car while the driver naviagates through the weekend traffic in Seoul. It is quiet in the car. Too quiet, and she smoothes out her skirt that drapes delicately over her lap, careful not to crease it. She purses her lips together, a habit she picked up when she's concentrating. He is sitting on his side of the back seat, looking out the window and watching the cars pass by. He bites his lower lip, the way he normally does when he's upset, or more specifically, when he's pouting. In an act of conciliatory grace, she reaches for his hand, to hold it and when he doesn't resist, she rests their hands on the space between them. He doesn't pull away, but then again, he doesn't acknowledge the new arrangement either.
She's seen him upset, but not to this degree and she's afraid of what might happen should he decide to unload his pent up emotions at her. She's dated some pretty volatile guys before, but she didn't think she'd have to worry about Jaerim. He's as easy going as it comes and the only sign of anger she's seen was of him overacting, when the producers of WGM announced that they would be having a magazine shoot and provided them with samples, which included a spread she did with Seo Kang Joon, her former agency colleague. As they sat at the table on that day, Kang Joon sitting in front of them, he pitched a fit. Fabricated for the cameras, yes, but still, there was a bit of hurt in the moment, which she recognized immediately, but shook off by saying her husband wasn't jealous.
Today is a different story. It's not a situation that was thought up by producers or something they could run with as actors on a virtual show. Today, it's real life and she doesn't really know if he'll be the same "good sport" he's always been or if she'll see a different side of him as her current boyfriend. It's unnerving. Will he shout? Or stomp off? Or quietly seethe? She doesn't know and she's a little nervous that she's seen every side of him except this side, the angry side.
The car pulls up to his apartment and he gets out from his side of the car, comes around, and helps her out of the car by extending his hand to her. Once they're both out, he thanks the driver and takes her hand, so they can go up to his apartment. He's not pulling her along and she's definitely not fighting it, but he's supporting her because of her injured ankle. They calmly walk to the elevator, step in, and once at his apartment, he punches in the security code so they may enter. As she takes her shoes off, he walks into the apartment, looking around to see if his sister is around, while she slips into a pair of house slippers he's bought for when she visits and stays over. She sits on the couch and waits for him to sit near her, which he does once he knows his sister is definitely not in the house.
In a calm, but stiff voice, he finally says, "I'm upset, with you."
She doesn't know how to respond to him other than to mirror his muted tone. "Tell me why."
"I don't think it's appropriate for you to be fawning over other men when I'm in the room. No. I don't think it's appropriate for you to be fawning over other men when you have a boyfriend."
What in the world was he talking about? "What are you talking about?" she asks, trying to remain calm and not begin shouting or crying.
"Tonight, at the press conference and opening."
"Who are you referring to?"
"Lee Wan-hyung. Seo Kang-suk-sshi."
"Are you kidding me?" her voice raises a few decibles, but she takes a deep breath to regain her composure and she lowers her voice once again. "What was I doing that made you angry?"
"Casually touching their arms and talking in a high tone."
"What high tone?"
"The high tone you usually use with me when you're being affectionate. Oh, and that flirty head tilt."
"You're crazy."
"I'm not. I recognized it immediately. You did the same thing to me before we started dating."
"I don't do that."
"Really? Should I call someone to confirm?"
"Call someone? Who are you going to call? There's no one."
"I'll call your mom and sister. They know exactly what I'm talking about. They've seen you do it numerous times."
"You're not dragging my family into this stupid discussion."
"Stupid? You think that me being upset about my girlfriend openly flirting with other men is stupid?!" It's his turn to raise his voice a little, before he returns to his hushed voice. "You not admitting to it is stupid."
"Why would I admit to such a thing? I wasn't flirting!"
"You were."
"Was not."
"Were too."
She takes a deep breath in and exhales slowly, eyes closed. "So say I was flirting..."
He cuts her off, "You were flirting."
"Gah!" she exclaims in frustration. "Say I was flirting... why would I do that with you in the room? It makes no sense."
"I don't know, but you did it anyway."
"Look, I wouldn't dream of flirting with other people when I have a boyfriend, even if he acts like a child throwing a tantrum. I don't do that."
"Could've fooled me."
She inhales deeply again, trying to suppress her irritation over his insistence that she was flirting. "Okay, so then show me what I was doing."
He stands up, "Stand over there."
She does as she's told and he begins play acting what he believes to have seen. "Lee Wan-oppa," he says in a high voice and patting her arm playfully.
Her eyes narrow and she says between clenched teeth, "I did not do that," and she sits back on the couch.
"You did. I was right there when you did it."
"Oh my God. This is so frustrating. YOU are so frustrating."
"Then apologize," he says, taking his place on the couch.
"I'm not apologizing. I did nothing wrong."
"Fine."
"Fine." They sit side by side, seething, and she knows that they are both staunchly stubborn. An apology won't be happening anytime soon. "Look, I'm going home. I'm not staying here if we're just going to be mad at each other. It makes no sense."
She gets up to leave and he reaches out to grab her wrist and prevent her from leaving. "Wait."
"What?"
"Before you go..." She's hopeful he'll end this argument and let it go. "Just know that..." In her mind, she's already forgiven him. "You were flirting tonight."
"Arrgh!" she says, pulling her hand away from him and stomping toward the bedroom with a slight limp. She throws herself on the bed, her house-slipper clad feet hanging off the edge. On her back, she looks up at the ceiling and she can feel tears gathering at the corners of her eyes, a stray one falling down toward her ear. She turns on her side and lets the tears fall quietly, trying hard not to begin sobbing. She seriously was not flirting with their co-stars. It was her way of being collegial and establishing a comfortable environment with co-stars.
He comes into the bedroom and sits beside her. "I wouldn't have gotten mad if your behavior with them isn't the same that led to us dating." She is so irritated with him, she can't even answer. "I felt jealous. I still feel jealous."
"I wasn't flirting with them. I'm just more open these days," she said miserably into her hands, avoiding his eyes. "And why would I flirt with them when we're together? Do you think I'm not happy with you?"
It's his turn to be quiet. He guides her to sit up and reaches down to wipe the eye make up that's begun to run and smudge. "I'm just really sensitive that people might get the wrong idea."
"But everybody knows we're together," she says, between tears.
"What do you mean? Everybody knows?"
"Everyone knows, oppa. How can they not?" He pulls her into his arms and her tears dampen his shirt.
"Sorry," he says. "I've been getting jealous a lot recently."
"Why?" she asks softly into his chest. "You have no reason to be jealous."
"I know. I just get jealous sometimes." She looks up at him, her eyes and the tip of her nose red from crying, and she can tell that he feels horrible about making her cry, but she's just happy it's over. "Why don't you go and take a shower and let's go to bed. You'll feel better after a shower."
She nods and gets up to retrieve clothes from a drawer he's reserved for her and when she stays over. She goes in to the bathroom, showers, brushes her teeth, and removes her makeup. She emerges from the bathroom clean and feeling a lot better than she did 20 minutes ago.
He's already turned down the sheets and kisses her head before walking into the bathroom himself to shower and get ready for bed. She climbs under the covers, on her side of the bed, but not before bringing Leon onto the bed with her. The feline purrs when she scratches his cheeks and situates him between their pillows. He obediently lies down where he's placed.
"Leon, is he always so childish when he's jealous?" The cat purrs and rubs his head against her hand, looking as if he's agreeing to the question. "You don't act that way when Cuni comes over. Come to think of it, your dad acts jealous, just like Cuni..." She laughs to herself. She's dating the human manifestation of her cat. He looks like a cat and now she knows he acts like her cat. "Well, your dad has nothing to worry about."
She hears the shower turn off and continues petting Leon. After a few more minutes, the door opens and he turns the light off in the bathroom.
"What are you two talking about?" he asks, climbing into bed and nuzzling his face into Leon's fur, but not before he turns off the overhead light so that they are lying in the dark and by the warm light of the lamp on his bedside table.
"Nothing."
"Don't lie," he says, lying on his back and reaching for her hand, while Leon proceeds to stretch out between them.
"I just asked Leon why you act like Cuni."
"What do you mean?"
"Cuni gets jealous and starts acting childish when he doesn't get attention. Just like you."
"No way."
"It's true. Don't you remember that one day during WGM filming when he was sitting on my lap and you reached in to touch him? He hissed at you when you moved in closer to me."
"No, he didn't like me poking my finger in his face."
"That's not it. He was jealous because you were sitting close to his mom. I was probably talking to you like I talk to him and he got territorial. Then he didn't want me to touch him, remember? He went back into the bedroom and sulked until we had to go home and even then, he wouldn't go back into his carrier."
He's quiet and she's on the verge of laughing. "I'm not like Cuni," he mopes.
"You are."
"Am not."
"Are too."
Leon senses tension in the bed and gets up.
"Where are you going, Leon?" Soeun asks, but before either of them can grab him and keep him on the bed, he jumps down and crawls into his cat bed near the heater.
She scoots close to him and brings her head to lie on his pillow. "Cun-ah?" she says trying not to laugh and remembering the filming they did in Jeju-do when they were on the airplane ride and he role-played as Cuni. "Cun-ah? It's mommy." He's sulking and turns his head away from her, so she moves closer to him, until her body is flushed against his. She brings her arm over him. "Cun-ah? Give mom some attention."
He turns over suddenly and rolls atop her, straddling her and holding her hands down to either side of her head. "I'm not Cuni," he says, speaking softly against her ear. "Cuni wouldn't do this," he says and leans down and kisses her deeply on the mouth, so much so that she moans slightly into the kiss, while their tongues dance and she is shifting beneath him. He lets go over her wrists and she immediately brings them up to cradle the back of his neck, pulling him closer so that she can dictate the pace of the kiss, which she's elevated to desperation.
He pulls away and plants a trail of kisses from her mouth, to her cheek, and then down her neck, kissing the delicate bones of her clavicle. "And Cuni wouldn't do this either..." he says gruffly, as she throws her head back to give him access to make her feel good. He moves off of her and lies beside her continuing to kiss, while the heat between them burns up until they have to do something about it. Soon, they give in to their desires, forgetting the silly reason why they had fought earlier with each kiss, each touch, and each removed article of clothing, until they rid themselves entirely of the tension and jealousy they had accumulated over the course of the evening. He dictates the speed and urgency at which they move, and she allows him to get out whatever frustration he's pent up.
Later, lying in each other's arms, she mumbles before falling asleep, "We should fight more often..."
"I prefer not to fight," he says sleepily, "But you're right. That was amazing."
"Can we recreate that intensity without being mad at each other?"
"I don't know," he says, as she sees his eyes closing because of the weight of his heavy eyelids.
"Well, I want you to sell your bikes," she says quietly. "They're dangerous."
His eyes opening suddenly. "What?"
"You heard me. Now that we're dating seriously, you need to have safer transportation. Bikes are dangerous and I don't want something to happen to you. Do you want me worrying about you constantly?"
"Where is this coming from?" He asks, sitting up, the sheet falling to his waist and revealing his bare upper torso, still dewy moist from their coupling.
"I don't approve of them," she says, sitting up to face him, and holding the sheet at her chest.
"But you liked riding in Jeju!" he counters, frustrated at her sudden shift in mindset about his beloved bikes.
"That was then, but now we're dating for real. They need to be gone."
"No."
"Yes."
"No, jagi, please..."
"I'm not changing my mind," she says.
"And I'm not changing my mind."
She leans in and kisses his cheek, but he turns his head. He doesn't see that she's smiling at his reaction, which is what she had hoped to accomplish by starting the argument. She straddles his legs and sits atop him, turning his head to meet hers, then kissing him on the mouth.
"Shiro", he says, but soon, her persistence pays off and he kisses her back.
"Shiro?" she asks.
He kisses her deeply and shakes his head. "Not anymore." He wraps his arms around her bare torso, the sheet falling away until they are skin-to-skin, while her arms rest on his shoulders.
In no time, they are engaged in another round, staying in the same position they start out in, with her controlling the pace and taking advantage of the fact that their lovemaking can go on longer now that they've had a first round. It's just as desperate and raw as the first time, but she is clearly in charge and she moves as if she has a point to make. Their already sweaty bodies heat up again and once their lovemaking ends, they collapse on the bed, side-by-side on their backs, with the sheets crumpled at the foot of the bed.
"You don't have to sell your bikes," she says, breathlessly.
"What?"
"I just wanted to see if we could recreate what happened earlier. Apparenty, we can."
"Are you serious? You picked a fight with me so we could make-up like that?"
"Uh-huh. It was good, right?"
"That's beside the point."
"It was good, right?" she asks again and this time, he can't deny it.
"Yeah."
She looks over at him and he sits up to grab the sheets to pull over them. "I really don't like this new apartment," she says.
"Don't even try, jagi. I know what you're doing..."
She laughs and curls up to him, his arm pulling her toward him. "Good night," she says.
"Good night," he kisses her on the forehead and settles in. "And please don't snore tonight."
"I don't snore."
"Yeah, you do. Like a bear. I feel like I'm sleeping in the zoo."
She shakes her head. "Now look who's trying to pick a fight..."
He laughs and in no time, he's fast asleep.
Before she can succumb to slumber, she vows to settle this snoring business in the morning. Yes, they'll deal with this before they get out of bed. Or not.
Pairing: Song Jae Rim/Kim So Eun
Genre: Angst, Romance
Rating: r
Summary: Beautiful reconciliation
They sit side by side in the back of the car while the driver naviagates through the weekend traffic in Seoul. It is quiet in the car. Too quiet, and she smoothes out her skirt that drapes delicately over her lap, careful not to crease it. She purses her lips together, a habit she picked up when she's concentrating. He is sitting on his side of the back seat, looking out the window and watching the cars pass by. He bites his lower lip, the way he normally does when he's upset, or more specifically, when he's pouting. In an act of conciliatory grace, she reaches for his hand, to hold it and when he doesn't resist, she rests their hands on the space between them. He doesn't pull away, but then again, he doesn't acknowledge the new arrangement either.
She's seen him upset, but not to this degree and she's afraid of what might happen should he decide to unload his pent up emotions at her. She's dated some pretty volatile guys before, but she didn't think she'd have to worry about Jaerim. He's as easy going as it comes and the only sign of anger she's seen was of him overacting, when the producers of WGM announced that they would be having a magazine shoot and provided them with samples, which included a spread she did with Seo Kang Joon, her former agency colleague. As they sat at the table on that day, Kang Joon sitting in front of them, he pitched a fit. Fabricated for the cameras, yes, but still, there was a bit of hurt in the moment, which she recognized immediately, but shook off by saying her husband wasn't jealous.
Today is a different story. It's not a situation that was thought up by producers or something they could run with as actors on a virtual show. Today, it's real life and she doesn't really know if he'll be the same "good sport" he's always been or if she'll see a different side of him as her current boyfriend. It's unnerving. Will he shout? Or stomp off? Or quietly seethe? She doesn't know and she's a little nervous that she's seen every side of him except this side, the angry side.
The car pulls up to his apartment and he gets out from his side of the car, comes around, and helps her out of the car by extending his hand to her. Once they're both out, he thanks the driver and takes her hand, so they can go up to his apartment. He's not pulling her along and she's definitely not fighting it, but he's supporting her because of her injured ankle. They calmly walk to the elevator, step in, and once at his apartment, he punches in the security code so they may enter. As she takes her shoes off, he walks into the apartment, looking around to see if his sister is around, while she slips into a pair of house slippers he's bought for when she visits and stays over. She sits on the couch and waits for him to sit near her, which he does once he knows his sister is definitely not in the house.
In a calm, but stiff voice, he finally says, "I'm upset, with you."
She doesn't know how to respond to him other than to mirror his muted tone. "Tell me why."
"I don't think it's appropriate for you to be fawning over other men when I'm in the room. No. I don't think it's appropriate for you to be fawning over other men when you have a boyfriend."
What in the world was he talking about? "What are you talking about?" she asks, trying to remain calm and not begin shouting or crying.
"Tonight, at the press conference and opening."
"Who are you referring to?"
"Lee Wan-hyung. Seo Kang-suk-sshi."
"Are you kidding me?" her voice raises a few decibles, but she takes a deep breath to regain her composure and she lowers her voice once again. "What was I doing that made you angry?"
"Casually touching their arms and talking in a high tone."
"What high tone?"
"The high tone you usually use with me when you're being affectionate. Oh, and that flirty head tilt."
"You're crazy."
"I'm not. I recognized it immediately. You did the same thing to me before we started dating."
"I don't do that."
"Really? Should I call someone to confirm?"
"Call someone? Who are you going to call? There's no one."
"I'll call your mom and sister. They know exactly what I'm talking about. They've seen you do it numerous times."
"You're not dragging my family into this stupid discussion."
"Stupid? You think that me being upset about my girlfriend openly flirting with other men is stupid?!" It's his turn to raise his voice a little, before he returns to his hushed voice. "You not admitting to it is stupid."
"Why would I admit to such a thing? I wasn't flirting!"
"You were."
"Was not."
"Were too."
She takes a deep breath in and exhales slowly, eyes closed. "So say I was flirting..."
He cuts her off, "You were flirting."
"Gah!" she exclaims in frustration. "Say I was flirting... why would I do that with you in the room? It makes no sense."
"I don't know, but you did it anyway."
"Look, I wouldn't dream of flirting with other people when I have a boyfriend, even if he acts like a child throwing a tantrum. I don't do that."
"Could've fooled me."
She inhales deeply again, trying to suppress her irritation over his insistence that she was flirting. "Okay, so then show me what I was doing."
He stands up, "Stand over there."
She does as she's told and he begins play acting what he believes to have seen. "Lee Wan-oppa," he says in a high voice and patting her arm playfully.
Her eyes narrow and she says between clenched teeth, "I did not do that," and she sits back on the couch.
"You did. I was right there when you did it."
"Oh my God. This is so frustrating. YOU are so frustrating."
"Then apologize," he says, taking his place on the couch.
"I'm not apologizing. I did nothing wrong."
"Fine."
"Fine." They sit side by side, seething, and she knows that they are both staunchly stubborn. An apology won't be happening anytime soon. "Look, I'm going home. I'm not staying here if we're just going to be mad at each other. It makes no sense."
She gets up to leave and he reaches out to grab her wrist and prevent her from leaving. "Wait."
"What?"
"Before you go..." She's hopeful he'll end this argument and let it go. "Just know that..." In her mind, she's already forgiven him. "You were flirting tonight."
"Arrgh!" she says, pulling her hand away from him and stomping toward the bedroom with a slight limp. She throws herself on the bed, her house-slipper clad feet hanging off the edge. On her back, she looks up at the ceiling and she can feel tears gathering at the corners of her eyes, a stray one falling down toward her ear. She turns on her side and lets the tears fall quietly, trying hard not to begin sobbing. She seriously was not flirting with their co-stars. It was her way of being collegial and establishing a comfortable environment with co-stars.
He comes into the bedroom and sits beside her. "I wouldn't have gotten mad if your behavior with them isn't the same that led to us dating." She is so irritated with him, she can't even answer. "I felt jealous. I still feel jealous."
"I wasn't flirting with them. I'm just more open these days," she said miserably into her hands, avoiding his eyes. "And why would I flirt with them when we're together? Do you think I'm not happy with you?"
It's his turn to be quiet. He guides her to sit up and reaches down to wipe the eye make up that's begun to run and smudge. "I'm just really sensitive that people might get the wrong idea."
"But everybody knows we're together," she says, between tears.
"What do you mean? Everybody knows?"
"Everyone knows, oppa. How can they not?" He pulls her into his arms and her tears dampen his shirt.
"Sorry," he says. "I've been getting jealous a lot recently."
"Why?" she asks softly into his chest. "You have no reason to be jealous."
"I know. I just get jealous sometimes." She looks up at him, her eyes and the tip of her nose red from crying, and she can tell that he feels horrible about making her cry, but she's just happy it's over. "Why don't you go and take a shower and let's go to bed. You'll feel better after a shower."
She nods and gets up to retrieve clothes from a drawer he's reserved for her and when she stays over. She goes in to the bathroom, showers, brushes her teeth, and removes her makeup. She emerges from the bathroom clean and feeling a lot better than she did 20 minutes ago.
He's already turned down the sheets and kisses her head before walking into the bathroom himself to shower and get ready for bed. She climbs under the covers, on her side of the bed, but not before bringing Leon onto the bed with her. The feline purrs when she scratches his cheeks and situates him between their pillows. He obediently lies down where he's placed.
"Leon, is he always so childish when he's jealous?" The cat purrs and rubs his head against her hand, looking as if he's agreeing to the question. "You don't act that way when Cuni comes over. Come to think of it, your dad acts jealous, just like Cuni..." She laughs to herself. She's dating the human manifestation of her cat. He looks like a cat and now she knows he acts like her cat. "Well, your dad has nothing to worry about."
She hears the shower turn off and continues petting Leon. After a few more minutes, the door opens and he turns the light off in the bathroom.
"What are you two talking about?" he asks, climbing into bed and nuzzling his face into Leon's fur, but not before he turns off the overhead light so that they are lying in the dark and by the warm light of the lamp on his bedside table.
"Nothing."
"Don't lie," he says, lying on his back and reaching for her hand, while Leon proceeds to stretch out between them.
"I just asked Leon why you act like Cuni."
"What do you mean?"
"Cuni gets jealous and starts acting childish when he doesn't get attention. Just like you."
"No way."
"It's true. Don't you remember that one day during WGM filming when he was sitting on my lap and you reached in to touch him? He hissed at you when you moved in closer to me."
"No, he didn't like me poking my finger in his face."
"That's not it. He was jealous because you were sitting close to his mom. I was probably talking to you like I talk to him and he got territorial. Then he didn't want me to touch him, remember? He went back into the bedroom and sulked until we had to go home and even then, he wouldn't go back into his carrier."
He's quiet and she's on the verge of laughing. "I'm not like Cuni," he mopes.
"You are."
"Am not."
"Are too."
Leon senses tension in the bed and gets up.
"Where are you going, Leon?" Soeun asks, but before either of them can grab him and keep him on the bed, he jumps down and crawls into his cat bed near the heater.
She scoots close to him and brings her head to lie on his pillow. "Cun-ah?" she says trying not to laugh and remembering the filming they did in Jeju-do when they were on the airplane ride and he role-played as Cuni. "Cun-ah? It's mommy." He's sulking and turns his head away from her, so she moves closer to him, until her body is flushed against his. She brings her arm over him. "Cun-ah? Give mom some attention."
He turns over suddenly and rolls atop her, straddling her and holding her hands down to either side of her head. "I'm not Cuni," he says, speaking softly against her ear. "Cuni wouldn't do this," he says and leans down and kisses her deeply on the mouth, so much so that she moans slightly into the kiss, while their tongues dance and she is shifting beneath him. He lets go over her wrists and she immediately brings them up to cradle the back of his neck, pulling him closer so that she can dictate the pace of the kiss, which she's elevated to desperation.
He pulls away and plants a trail of kisses from her mouth, to her cheek, and then down her neck, kissing the delicate bones of her clavicle. "And Cuni wouldn't do this either..." he says gruffly, as she throws her head back to give him access to make her feel good. He moves off of her and lies beside her continuing to kiss, while the heat between them burns up until they have to do something about it. Soon, they give in to their desires, forgetting the silly reason why they had fought earlier with each kiss, each touch, and each removed article of clothing, until they rid themselves entirely of the tension and jealousy they had accumulated over the course of the evening. He dictates the speed and urgency at which they move, and she allows him to get out whatever frustration he's pent up.
Later, lying in each other's arms, she mumbles before falling asleep, "We should fight more often..."
"I prefer not to fight," he says sleepily, "But you're right. That was amazing."
"Can we recreate that intensity without being mad at each other?"
"I don't know," he says, as she sees his eyes closing because of the weight of his heavy eyelids.
"Well, I want you to sell your bikes," she says quietly. "They're dangerous."
His eyes opening suddenly. "What?"
"You heard me. Now that we're dating seriously, you need to have safer transportation. Bikes are dangerous and I don't want something to happen to you. Do you want me worrying about you constantly?"
"Where is this coming from?" He asks, sitting up, the sheet falling to his waist and revealing his bare upper torso, still dewy moist from their coupling.
"I don't approve of them," she says, sitting up to face him, and holding the sheet at her chest.
"But you liked riding in Jeju!" he counters, frustrated at her sudden shift in mindset about his beloved bikes.
"That was then, but now we're dating for real. They need to be gone."
"No."
"Yes."
"No, jagi, please..."
"I'm not changing my mind," she says.
"And I'm not changing my mind."
She leans in and kisses his cheek, but he turns his head. He doesn't see that she's smiling at his reaction, which is what she had hoped to accomplish by starting the argument. She straddles his legs and sits atop him, turning his head to meet hers, then kissing him on the mouth.
"Shiro", he says, but soon, her persistence pays off and he kisses her back.
"Shiro?" she asks.
He kisses her deeply and shakes his head. "Not anymore." He wraps his arms around her bare torso, the sheet falling away until they are skin-to-skin, while her arms rest on his shoulders.
In no time, they are engaged in another round, staying in the same position they start out in, with her controlling the pace and taking advantage of the fact that their lovemaking can go on longer now that they've had a first round. It's just as desperate and raw as the first time, but she is clearly in charge and she moves as if she has a point to make. Their already sweaty bodies heat up again and once their lovemaking ends, they collapse on the bed, side-by-side on their backs, with the sheets crumpled at the foot of the bed.
"You don't have to sell your bikes," she says, breathlessly.
"What?"
"I just wanted to see if we could recreate what happened earlier. Apparenty, we can."
"Are you serious? You picked a fight with me so we could make-up like that?"
"Uh-huh. It was good, right?"
"That's beside the point."
"It was good, right?" she asks again and this time, he can't deny it.
"Yeah."
She looks over at him and he sits up to grab the sheets to pull over them. "I really don't like this new apartment," she says.
"Don't even try, jagi. I know what you're doing..."
She laughs and curls up to him, his arm pulling her toward him. "Good night," she says.
"Good night," he kisses her on the forehead and settles in. "And please don't snore tonight."
"I don't snore."
"Yeah, you do. Like a bear. I feel like I'm sleeping in the zoo."
She shakes her head. "Now look who's trying to pick a fight..."
He laughs and in no time, he's fast asleep.
Before she can succumb to slumber, she vows to settle this snoring business in the morning. Yes, they'll deal with this before they get out of bed. Or not.