Page 32 of When Worlds Collide
“These are life changing. I hope you’re prepared.” His eyes twinkled as he held out one of the little parcels to me.
The paper bag was warm in my fingers, and even though we were surrounded by people on all sides, the warm, nutty smell of cinnamon and sugar enveloped me, a comforting sense of nostalgia for something I’d never eaten before.
I took a cautious bite. The crispy outside crackled slightly as I bit down, before giving way to soft, chewy dough. That alone I could have cheerfully eaten all day, but when I got to the gooey centre, my eyes closed in delight. Molten sweetness filled my mouth in a rush of sugary-sweet, cinnamon-laced goodness.
I moaned around a mouthful, swiping a finger across my lips without shame.
“You like it?” Jihoon grinned at me, but with my mouth stuffed, all I could do was nod vigorously.
I didn’t have the words to describe the confectionery joy I was experiencing at the moment, so I just cracked open one eyeto look at him, groaned again and nodded my head in a slow, appreciative way. His shoulders shook, and he held a hand over his mouth to hide his own mouthful.
The moment reminded me of that day we’d spent wandering around a street market in West Hollywood. Normally, remembering that cinnamon bun would have my mouth watering, but this hotteok might actually be better.
Once I’d finished my bite and swallowed, I took a breath and exhaled a warm puff of cinnamon scented air that misted in front of me. The cold December day made us all dragons.
We’d started walking down the street again, heading back in the direction of the parking lot and Jihoon’s driver. It had started to drizzle and neither of us wanted to stay outside any longer.
“If you’d given me one of these earlier, you could have convinced me to move to Korea months ago.”
“Is that all it would have taken?” He looked at me sideways under the brim of his hat. “You’re going to love my halmeoni then. She makes the best sweet treats.”
The mention of a grandmother stopped me in my tracks for a moment before my brain caught up and I took a few swift steps to reach his side. Aside from his aunt and uncle, he’s never mentioned extended family before. I’d assumed…
Jihoon didn’t have a good relationship with his parents. They hadn’t supported his decision to apply to any of the entertainment companies. In fact, they’d been so vehemently opposed that they’d shipped him off to live with his aunt and uncle in New York when he’d been eleven. They'd used the time he’d been away from Korea to travel abroad for business. When he had gone against their wishes to apply – and been accepted – to ENT, they hadn’t made their disapproval a secret.
Even now, with as successful as he was, they would still prefer he had followed in their footsteps. He went home for the bigger holidays, but I’d always gotten the impression it was tense between them.
With all the people around us, the sound of many chattering voices and clashing songs thumping out of speakers from different stalls in a competing cacophony of noise, this was not the time to ask him. I made a mental note to put a pin in the subject.
It had started to rain in earnest by the time we made it back to the main road. The heavy, cold kind of rain that smacked you in the face before drenching you. The kind of rain I hadn’t seen since I’d left London ten months ago. For a moment, the sudden downpour shocked the sense right out of me, and I stood in the middle of the pavement, shoulders up to my ears as my brain tried to kick-start itself.
Jihoon turned back around to stare at me.
“What are you doing?” He had to call out to be heard over the pounding rain. All around us, people were running to find cover, be it bus shelter, or doorway, but I just stood there, absorbing the rain. I began to laugh, the sensory overload of the noise and sudden wet assault rebooting my brain.
Jihoon stood so close to me I could see the rain dripping off his nose to fall into the face mask he still wore over his mouth. But even though we were in the middle of the street, in the middle of the day, he pulled it down, gasping slightly.
“Kaiya?” He didn’t care about the rain. He only cared about me. The evidence of his love warmed me from the inside more effectively than any hotteok or cinnamon bun ever could and, impulsively, I leaned up on my tiptoes at the same time I grabbed the lapels of his jacket, pulling him down. I pushed my lips against his, feeling how he hesitated for a moment, either in surprise, or realisation of where we were, and I thought he would pull away, but then I felt the strength of his arms wrap so tightly around my waist they could have held me up all day. He kissed me back, his mouth moving hotly against mine in a clash of lips and an exchange of breath, and for a moment, we were an island amidst oceans.
I pulled away, breathless, but grinning, knowing my eyes shone with all the feelings for him that he already knew I felt. And in his, I saw it reflected right back at me.
We’d gotten back to the hotel, dripping everywhere. My socks squelched in my shoes as we walked down the corridor to our room, and it was with some relief that I followed Jihoon into the room, shedding my shoes and socks the moment the door closed behind me.
Jihoon had already kicked his off and, after shrugging his jacket off, walked round the corner. I dimly heard the water cascading into the tub in the bathroom and, feeling mischievous, I followed the noise, shedding layers as I went, leaving them where they fell, until I turned the corner into the bathroom wearing only my underwear.
Jihoon looked up as I entered, and then did a double-take as he noticed my near-nakedness.
“Room for one more?” I asked, innocently.
He straightened up, not bothering to hide the way his eyes slowly roamed over my skin. “I was running it for you, cheonsa.”
“It looks big enough for two.” I reached behind me to unclasp my bra, before letting it slide down my arms and to the floor. He watched it fall before flicking his eyes back up to meet mine. He slid his hands into his pockets in a casual stance that was unreasonably sexy.
I was particularly interested in the way his trousers clung wetly to his legs. Jihoon did not skip leg day. In certain fan-groups, Jihoon’s thighs were legendary and honestly, I completely got it.
“My eyes are up here, Kaiya.” He smirked.
“I wasn’t looking at your eyes.”
