Page 81 of A World Apart
“I’m sure,” she said before entering in a combination on a number pad she’d revealed by sliding up a discreet panel on the door.
“Oh,” I said, dumbly, as the door audibly clicked and Becka pushed down on the handle and stepped through.
“Come on,” she beckoned, and I followed, my head on a swivel as I tried to take in the sumptuous, yet not bougie foyer. It was obviously fancy, but not obnoxious. The owners had nice taste. I slipped my bag off my shoulders and left it neatly by the front door.
“We’re here!” Becka called, making me jump.
“Becka, what…” I trailed off, trying to make sense of her face. She wasn’t looking at me, she was looking straight ahead, a smile stretching her face so wide I could count her teeth.
I turned my head to follow where she was looking, but it was like I was moving in slow motion, because when I saw him, I felt the breath halt in my throat.
“Jihoon.”
Chapter 26
He moved towards me, fluid grace in every movement of his body, mesmerizing on a stage, devastating in real life.
When he was mere inches from me, he stopped, looking down at me with a smile that restarted my stalled heart.
“Kaiya,” he murmured, reaching forward and taking my wrist in his warm hand. I felt myself being tugged forward. Powerless to resist, I allowed myself to be pulled into him. I curled my arms around his waist and buried my face into his chest, the warm smell of him, that clean laundry and soap smell making my head spin. I inhaled, shuddering slightly, pushing against the sense of being completely overwhelmed. I could hear his heartbeat, the warmth of his skin heating my suddenly cold fingertips as I grasped at him, a drowning person clinging onto a life raft.
“Jihoon,” I rasped, too overcome to say anything else.
“It’s me,” his voice rumbled through his chest as I remained pressed so close, and I took a shuddering breath, trying very hard to pull myself together.
“You got her?” I faintly heard Becka say from somewhere behind me.
“I have her,” he rumbled against me.
I hadn’t realised until this moment how much I felt for Jihoon. It was a staggering realisation and one I hadn’t known I’d needed to process.
I took several deep, calming breaths and tried to re-centre myself, and all the while Jihoon was rubbing soothing circles on my back.
It could have been minutes or hours by the time I had worked up the mental fortitude to straighten my back and take a half-step away, just enough that I could tip my chin up to look at Jihoon. He smiled down at me, his eyes shining, the natural mahogany colour of his irises deep enough to fall into, if I wasn’t careful.
“Hello.” My voice came out barely louder than a whisper.
He smiled broadly. “Hello.”
“How are you here?”
“Well, I got on a plane, and then took a taxi from the airport−”
I lightly slapped at his broad chest.
“So feisty,” he grinned. “We had a last-minute cancellation after our vacation, so we had the weekend free.”
“The whole weekend?” I gaped at him. “Where’s Youngsoo?” I looked around, as if the manager might just pop out from under the foyer table.
“In Korea.”
“You’re here alone? Do they know?”
Jihoon huffed a little laugh. “Yes, they know, I didn’t run away. I just told them I was coming to have some alone time.”
“Alone time,” I said sceptically.
“We are allowed to travel solo,” he said, and then amended with a tilt of his head, “sometimes.”
