Seospicy.

Felix has never been this nervous in his entire life. Not during culinary competitions.

Not even when he proposed to you. Yet somehow, standing here now in front of the sliding doors leading to the reveal hallway feels infinitely more terrifying.

His hands stay clasped tightly in front of him, fingers rubbing anxiously together while he tries to properly breathe despite the violent pounding of his heartbeat. Because on the other side of those doors is you. The woman whose voice became his fiancée in less than a week.

Felix swallows hard and shifts his weight slightly, trying not to bounce nervously in place. He wonders what you’re doing right now. If you’re nervous too. If you’re pacing the room or fixing your dress for countless of time like he does. Because in a few seconds, everything is going to change. Because after days of imagining your face and your eyes and the way your lips curve when you smile— He finally gets to see it for real.

Felix closes his eyes briefly, inhaling deeply. Then exhales. Again. And again. The nerves twisting through him right now aren’t about whether he still wants this. He wants this more than anything. It’s the opposite that scares him.

What if you look at him and something shifts? What if he doesn’t fit the version of him you created in your head? The thought unsettles him because no matter how emotionally connected you two are, physical attraction still exists in the real world outside the pods.

All of a sudden, Felix feels painfully aware of every tiny insecurity he normally ignores. Does his hair look okay? Should he’ve picked a different suit? What if you think he’s ugly? What if—

The producer’s voice cuts through his spiraling. “Ready, Felix?”

He laughs softly under his breath because he’s not ready. Not entirely.  But still, he nods. Because no amount of fear could possibly make him turn around now. Not when it’s you waiting on the other side.

-

FELIX: I genuinely can’t believe this experiment worked. Like… of all places to find my future wife? Behind a wall on reality television? [laughs] But somehow it happened. And I think that’s what makes this moment feel so overwhelming. Because now it’s real and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared about meeting face-to-face for the first time. [nervously chuckles] What if I don’t fit her expectations? [thinly smiles]

-

You think this might be the most nervous you’ve ever been in your entire life. You stand directly in front of the sliding doors leading to the reveal hallway, trying very hard to keep yourself composed. Trying and failing, more like. Because your palms are sweating so badly you keep wiping them against your dress every few seconds only for them to immediately become damp again.

“Oh my god,” you whisper under your breath. Your chest rises as you inhale deeply through your nose, forcing yourself to breathe slower.

You’re okay. You’re fine. This is Felix. The same Felix who makes you laugh until your cheeks hurt. The same Felix who listens carefully when you talk about painful things. The same Felix who promised to love you unconditionally through a glowing wall while your entire heart shook in your chest.

It’s Felix, your fiancé.The words send another nervous wave crashing through your stomach.

In the pods, you only had feelings. Voices. Emotional connection. Out here, reality exists again and despite trying to calm yourself down, your thoughts keep spiraling anyway. What if he looks at you and hesitates? What if you disappoint him? What if he expected someone prettier, more elegant—

“Nope,” you mutter quickly to yourself, cutting the thought off before it can claw at you.

You straighten your shoulders slightly and inhale again. Because no matter how scared you are, one thing remains painfully true beneath all the panic: You want him.

Maybe that’s why this feels so overwhelming because Felix somehow slipped past every defense you built around yourself over the years without even trying. A man you’ve never seen before somehow became one of the safest places you’ve ever known.

Then suddenly, a mechanical sound echoes through the hallway. The doors begin sliding open and your entire world changes with them.

-

YOU: I still can’t believe this worked [softly laughs] Like genuinely… I came here thinking this whole thing was a bust already. [laughs] and now somehow, I found someone who aligns with me so naturally it scares me. Felix feels… [softly smiles] Like a star that just fell right onto my lap.

-

Felix inhales deeply the second the doors begin sliding open and there you are, standing at the other end of the hallway like something pulled straight out of a dream he’s been building in his head for days.

For one suspended moment, the entire world goes quiet. Felix just stares because somehow, you’re even more beautiful than anything he imagined. Soft lights glow around you while your eyes immediately find his, widening slightly before your entire face breaks into the brightest smile he’s ever seen. And instantly, his own lips curve upward so hard his cheeks ache.

Felix doesn’t hesitate. He half-jogs down the hallway toward you before you can even properly start walking his way, laughter bubbling out of him from pure disbelief and happiness.

You’re laughing too now, nervous and overwhelmed while continuing to mutter soft, breathless little oh my gods under your breath as he gets closer and closer.

The second he reaches you, his arms wrap around you instantly, pulling you flush against him like he’s been waiting forever to do it. And whoa— You’re real.

Before he can even process the feeling fully, Felix instinctively leans in and kisses you. Just this overwhelming pull dragging him straight to you the second he touches you. The kiss lands a little stiff at first from nerves, then soften and deepens almost immediately beneath shared relief and disbelief and emotion overflowing too fast to contain properly.

And god, it’s everything he hoped it would be. More, actually. Kissing you feels strangely familiar like finding something he didn’t realize he’d been missing.

When Felix finally pulls back, breathless and smiling, his arms stay tightly around your waist while yours loop instinctively around his shoulders, holding him just as close. You feel exactly the way he imagined it would feel. Exactly the way he wanted it to feel.

Felix presses his mouth close to your ear, overwhelmed emotion making his voice smaller than usual. “You feel like a dream to me.”

A soft laugh escapes you immediately against the crook of his neck, warm breath brushes the skin there.

He leans in closer, lips grazing your ears as he whispers again, “I’m never going to let you go.”

Your arms tighten slightly around him at that and then softly, with that smile still lingering in your voice, your murmur, “I hope not.”

Slowly, reluctantly, the two of you pull back just enough to properly look at each other. Your hands slide down naturally until your fingers lace together between you.

Felix swears he could stare at you forever. Because you’re looking at him the exact same way he’s looking at you — bright-eyed and stunned and full of disbelief that this person is finally real.

You blink at him slowly before your free hand lifts carefully toward his face. Your fingertips brush lightly against his jaw, almost hesitant. Like you’re still making sure he exists.

“Did you just walk out of a fairytale?” you ask, voice so low it’s almost a whisper.

Felix not sure if he heard you right. “Mmh?”

“You literally look like a prince charming,” you answer softly.

Felix laughs quietly, cheeks immediately warming. His hands lift to cup your face gently between them before he leans down and kisses you again. This one slower and full of intention. Everything unspoken spills into it naturally — the pod conversations, the vulnerability, the fear, the certainty, the impossible feeling of finding each other through a wall.

When Felix pulls away this time, his forehead rests lightly against yours while he breathes softly through a smile. “I love you.”

The words leave him effortlessly because he’s been planning on saying it to you because it only feels right to him to do it in person. Yet he can’t deny that saying those words out loud terrifies him a little.

Your expression softens immediately into something unbearably tender. “I love you too.”

The answer comes just as naturally and a second later, your eyes widen slightly like it’s only sink into you just now. The wight of those words. “Did I just say that?”

Felix bursts into laughter immediately and you follow suit a second later, burying your face briefly against his shoulder in embarrassment while he holds you tighter, grinning so hard his face hurts.

Because this is real.

You are real.

-

FELIX: It was too perfect [shyly laughs] And she’s so beautiful. [shakes head in disbelief] Like actually unfairly beautiful. But more than that… It still felt like her. [smiles] I couldn’t be happier that it’s her. She’s genuinely too good to be true.

-

You can’t stop staring at him and honestly, you think your brain might’ve stopped functioning the second Felix walked through those doors. Because how is he real? How is this the same man whose deep voice murmured softly to you through speakers at midnight? The same man who joked about seven children and kangaroos and tiny chef hats?

He looks like something out of a fairytale. Lean and solid and devastatingly beautiful under the warm lights of the reveal hallway, blond hair falling perfectly around his face while his eyes stay locked on yours like he still can’t believe you’re real either.

Prince charming. That’s genuinely the only thing your overwhelmed brain can come up with right now. And absurdly enough, that deep voice does not match this face at all.

You let out a small disbelieving chuckle under your breath, still staring at him while your fingers remain tangled together between you.

You shake your head immediately, smiling helplessly. “My prince charming…” You murmur almost to yourself.

However, Felix’s expression changes slightly, nervousness flickering across his face again as one of his hands slips free from yours and moves toward the inside pocket of his suit jacket. He softly smiles while pulling out a small velvet ring box.

And despite already saying yes in the pods. Despite technically already being engaged, seeing it happen here in front of you feels entirely different.

Felix opens the box carefully before taking the ring out first and then slowly, he gets down on one knee.

No part of you ever genuinely believed moments like this would happen to you. Not like this and definitely with someone looking at you the way Felix is looking at you now. With so much affection, so much trust, so much hope — it almost makes your knees weak.

Felix glances up at you with the softest smile before asking, “Will you still marry me?”

In that moment, all your fear suddenly disappears because the answer feels easy now. You know that even if those doors had opened and he looked completely different. Even if he looked nothing like the version you imagined—

You still would’ve chosen him. Over and over again. Without hesitation. Without doubt.

Your eyes sting warmly again as you smile down at him and in conviction, you answer, “Yes.”

Felix’s entire face brightens and the smile that spreads across his face looks ethereal in its happiness as he carefully slides the ring onto your finger. And somehow, that tiny weight settling there makes everything hit you all over again.

You’re engaged.

Felix lifts your hand carefully afterward, holding it so gently and then presses a soft kiss on the ring perched on your finger.

“Oh my god,” you whisper shakily.

Felix laughs softly before standing again and immediately pulling you back into his arms.

This hug feels warm and full, like something inside him finally relaxed hearing your answer in person. And then he kisses you again. And again. Small kisses between laughter and smiles and shaky breaths like he physically can’t stop touching you now that he finally can.

You kiss him back just as desperately. Because every emotion you’ve been carrying for days suddenly has somewhere real to go.

When Felix finally breaks away, he leans close to your ear again to whisper, “I can’t wait to marry you.”

The words hit you right in the chest Because even now, part of you still feels like this can’t possibly be real. “Please keep holding me tight,” you mumble softly against his neck as you tighten your arms around his shoulders. “So I know this is real.”

Felix lets out the softest laugh and then unexpectedly, his arms tighten around you even more and suddenly your feet are off the floor.

You squeal immediately, clutching onto him as he spins you around in a slow circle, laughing breathlessly while dizziness and happiness crash through you all at once.

His laughter vibrates against you warmly before he finally sets you down carefully only to kiss you again immediately afterward like he still can’t get enough. Like neither of you can quite believe the other actually exists.

Eventually, the staff gently signals that your time is almost up. Reality creeps back in too quickly. Reluctantly, the two of you slowly separate just enough to properly look at each other again.

Your fingers remain tightly intertwined with him. “I’ll see you again soon,” you tell him softly.

Felix smiles instantly at that and leans forward to place one more kiss against your lips. And another against the ring on your finger. Then slowly and reluctantly, he lets your hand go.

The two of you begin walking backward toward your separate waiting rooms, neither able to fully stop looking at each other. Every few steps, one of you glances back again. Then both of you do. Again and again. Until you’re both laughing softly at how ridiculous you probably look.

Still, you can’t stop smiling at him. Not even for a second.

By the time you reach your doorway, you lift your hand toward him in a small wave.

Felix immediately does the same, smiling so warmly your chest tightens all over again. Then the sliding doors close between you.

The second they shut, you completely collapse backward onto the tiny sofa inside the waiting room. Your hands immediately fly to your face, feel the blood rushing in your cheeks.

“Oh my god.”

Your voice echoes through the empty room while your heartbeat still refuses to slow down.

Because against all logic, you really did just meet the man you’re going to marry.

-

YOU: The emotional connection between us is so strong that seeing him in person honestly didn’t change anything. It just confirmed everything I already felt. [Shyly laughs] And yes, obviously I think he’s attractive. And now I’m just really excited for the vacation. [smiles] I’ve been emotionally respectful for five whole days. [mischievously grins] And I think my fiancé deserves to get taken advantage of a little. [laughs]

-

The hotel suite is beautiful. But honestly, Felix barely notices it at first because he’s too busy watching you.

The second the two of you step inside, your entire face lights up with quiet wonder as you slowly take in the room around you. It’s spacious, the furniture are all cream-colored, rose petals scattered on the bed while massive windows stretch across almost the entire wall overlooking the ocean outside.

You wander farther inside almost instinctively, fingertips brushing lightly against the flower arrangement on the coffee table before you disappear toward the balcony doors.

Felix follows without even thinking about it like his body already naturally gravitates toward wherever you are.

The sliding doors open softly, letting in warm evening air carrying traces of salt from the sea below. Most of the sunlight has already faded now, leaving the sky painted in deep shades of blue and orange while the ocean glimmers faintly in the distance beyond the resort lights.

You step closer toward the metal railing, leaning against it slightly while staring out at the view. “It’s so beautiful,” you murmur quietly to yourself.

To Felix, you are the only beautiful view he sees. Especially with the way the wind pushes softly through your hair while the fading sunset casts warm light across your face, and suddenly he feels that same overwhelming disbelief all over again.

You are his fiancée.

Slightly shaking his head in disbelief, he steps closer behind you before slipping both arms gently around your waist and you immediately melt against him like you belong there.

Felix rests his chin lightly against your shoulder while the two of you stare out toward the ocean together. The warmth of your body against his feels grounding somehow after how surreal the last few days have been. You continue quietly admiring the view beneath your breath while his arms tighten just slightly around you.

The silence that settles between you isn’t awkward at all. It’s the kind of silence that feels intimate rather than empty. Felix thinks he could stay like this forever honestly. Just holding you while the world slows down around both of you.

Then after a while, you slowly turn your head slightly toward him. Your eyes meet his from over your shoulder. And there’s that look again. That warm disbelief. That softness that seems reserved only for him now.

“I still can’t believe all of this,” you honestly share, voice so small yet heavy with disbelief. “It feels like a fairytale.”

“Well, you deserve it,” he assures you, playfully touching your nose with his. “Everything and more.”

Then he leans in, capturing your lips in a slow kiss. The kind of kiss that feels less overwhelming yet somehow even more intimate because of it.

Your fingers lightly curl around his forearms while you kiss him back immediately, smiling softly against his mouth halfway through it.

Felix smiles too because kissing you already feels dangerously addictive and the craziest part is this is only the beginning.

-

FELIX: I’m really excited for this part. [laughs] Because in the pods, we connected emotionally first. And I love that we got to build that foundation before anything else. But now… [smiles] I get to actually spend real time with her, getting to know her better… [slyly grins] physically.

-

Dinner on the balcony somehow feels even more surreal. Maybe because now there’s no wall between you anymore. Just you and Felix sitting across from each other with the glow of the candlelight that’s swaying along with the sea breeze while the distant ocean hums softly somewhere beyond the darkness.

The trip to get here exhausted both of you enough that the second the food arrived, neither of you even tried pretending to be elegant about it. Somewhere between the casual chat and feeding each other, the atmosphere softens into something warm and intimate.

At one point, Felix insists on making you try a combination of food from his plate. “Trust me,” he says confidently while holding the fork toward you.

“You’re literally a chef. If this tastes bad, your whole reputation collapses.”

Felix dramatically gasps. “You wound me.”

Still, you lean forward and take the bite from the fork anyway and he’s right, it’s incredible.

“Oh, yeah,” you mutter while nodding in approval.

Felix grins proudly and for a moment you just sit there quietly looking at him while your chest is flooded with happiness. Because everything feels perfect right now. The suite. The ocean breeze. The food. The view. Him. Especially him.

Eventually the plates empty out, leaving only half-finished glasses of wine between you while the night deepens around the resort. You sit curled slightly sideways in your chair while Felix sits close enough that your knees brush occasionally under the table.

It’s hard not to notice the way he cannot stop looking at you. At all. Every time you glance up, his eyes are already on you, soft and focused, but enough to make your stomach flip embarrassingly hard. And he’s always touching you too like he’s afraid that you’re just fragment of his imagination if he weren’t.

Now his hand softly rubs up and down your bare arm absentmindedly while he stares at you like he’s still trying to process that you’re real. “Beautiful,” he murmurs quietly.

Your heart stumbles immediately and you tilt your head slightly to the side, a teasing smile pulls at your lips. “The view? The suite? Me? You?”

Felix softly laughs before shaking his head. “Everything’s beautiful,” he admits, gaze softens as he stares at your face. “But mostly you.”

He says it so naturally like it’s simply factual. Then his fingers gently catch beneath your chin afterward, guiding your face toward him before he leans in and kisses you tenderly. The kind of kiss that melts through you instead of overwhelming you.

When he pulls away, you can’t stop yourself from smiling at him immediately afterward.

Felix smiles too, almost helplessly, before his hand drops lower toward your side. The back of his fingers brush lightly against the exposed skin beneath your cropped top. The touch is gentle, tender even. But the way he looks at you while doing it suddenly feels intense somehow. Like he’s actively holding himself back from touching you more.

The realization sends heat rushing straight through your body. So softly, flirtatiously, you ask, “So… what’s next?”

Felix’s eyes flicker toward yours immediately. The corner of his mouth lifts into a half smirk. “We can do whatever we want.”

You keep your composure and lean a little closer across the small space between you, faintly biting your lower lip before asking innocently, “Whatever?”

Felix immediately breaks into a sheepish grin. It’s adorable and dangerously attractive. Still, despite the obvious tension thickening quietly between you now, his voice remains gentle when he answers, “We don’t have to rush anything just because we’re engaged. I want you comfortable.”

Your expression softens at that. Especially with the way he gazes into you with his small, doe eyes.

“I’ll only move at your pace,” he adds with such warmth that keeps sneaking past every defense you’ve ever built.

You softly smile at him and glide your hand up his arm. “I really said yes to the right man, huh?”

Felix’s smile turns sheepish once more and you lean forward, capturing it in a tender kiss. And he tastes so sweet, sweeter than any desserts.

-

YOU: Yes. I definitely want to use this vacation to get to know Felix better. But also… he’s ridiculously hot [slyly grins] I just can’t wait to tear his clothes off and jump his bones. [shamelessly laughs]

-

The bathroom is almost as big as the suite itself and the warm lights creates this soft haze as steam slowly fills the air from the tub you’re currently preparing near the window overlooking the dark ocean outside.

Felix honestly doesn’t know how he’s supposed to act normal right now. Because suddenly domesticity with you feels dangerously intimate.

You sit on the edge of the tub, one hand steadily control the faucets to find the perfect mix of hot and cold water. Your toiletries scattered beside his on the counter already like the two of you have known which side to take. His chest suddenly overflowed with warm feeling.

Felix stands by the sink unpacking his toiletry bag, dressed only in black boxer briefs while the hotel bathrobe hangs loosely off his shoulders. His hair is slightly messy from the humidity already beginning to gather in the room. Meanwhile his brain is trying very hard not to short-circuit every time he looks at you. Which is difficult. Very difficult.

Felix pulls his toothbrush from the bag before pausing abruptly. He rummages through it and realizes that he only packed a toothbrush, but no toothpaste.

“Hey, can I borrow your toothpaste?” he asks, turning slightly to the side.

You glance over your shoulder briefly while dipping your fingers into the bathwater to check the temperature. “No.”

Felix turns toward you immediately with a betrayed expression. “No?”

The second he sees the tiny smile tugging at your mouth, realization hits him. You don’t mean it. You’re joking.

You burst into laughter almost immediately afterward and walk toward him. “Of course you can borrow mine. What’s mine is yours now,” you warmly say.

You said it so simply, so matter-of-factly but it hits him square on the chest. Especially with the way you lean closer after and press a featherlight kiss against his jaw.

Felix exhales softly at the contact automatically, one of his hands settling instinctively against your waist.

Your palm rests against his chest for a moment afterward. Your eyes steady on his. Then, your hand glides downward, fingers lightly trailing over the toned planes of his stomach. Your eyes flick down as you’re following the trail of body hair that leads you lower and lower until it disappears beneath the waistband of his boxer briefs.

“I like this,” you murmur so softly it almost like a whisper.

Felix completely stops functioning for a second. His face grows warm while his heart hammering inside his chest. Because the look you’re giving him right now is soft and playful and seductive enough to make his brain completely blank out.

And your hand is still there, resting lightly against the waistband of his boxer briefs while you stare up at him through your lashes with the faintest smile curling at your lips.

Felix swallows hard while your smile widens, clearly enjoying his struggle. Then after letting him suffer for another second, you finally pull away.

“The tub’s ready,” you announce casually like you didn’t just nearly kill him.

You don’t wait for another response though. Instead, you turn toward the tub and he watches through the mirror as your fingers slowly untie your bathrobe. Not long after, the robe slips from your shoulders and then falls soundlessly to the floor.

All of a sudden, every coherent thought leaves his body entirely. You’re beautiful. Devastatingly so. His eyes drift helplessly over the curve of your back, the soft lines of your body illuminated under the soft bathroom lighting while you step carefully toward the tub.

One foot first, then the other. And slowly, you lower yourself into the water with a soft sigh.

Felix stares at your reflection in the mirror for one suspended second too long before dragging both hands over his face.

Lord, give me strength.

-

FELIX: I’m just a man at the end of the day [grins] I’m trying to be respectful. But she’s… [sighs] she’s beautiful. Insanely beautiful and she knows what she’s doing… [shakes head] [sucks air through his teeth] I need everyone to understand that I’m fighting for my life in there. [laughs]

-

You sink deeper into the warm water with a soft sigh, trying very hard to act normal. Because Felix is still standing there by the sink looking unfairly good in nothing but messy blond hair, sculpted abs on show, black boxer briefs, and a bathrobe barely hanging from his shoulders like it’s fighting for its life. Meanwhile you’ve been waiting for him to join you for what feels like forever now.

“Felix,” you call out impatiently.

He glances at you over his shoulder immediately, amused already. “Hm?”

“Get in.”

A soft chuckle leaves him at your tone. But he still doesn’t move fast enough for your liking.

You dramatically stack your hands together against the edge of the tub before resting your chin on top of them, staring directly at him now.

“Come, get in already,” you coax sweetly.

Felix laughs at your impatience, finally turning fully toward you this time. His fingers slip toward the opening of the bathrobe first, slowly tugging it from his shoulders.

You’ve already spent the entire evening trying not to stare at him too much, trying to behave like a normal fiancée instead of someone one step away from climbing him like a tree. But the second the robe falls away completely—

Oh.

Oh, wow.

You physically stop yourself from gasping out loud. Your eyes stay locked on him shamelessly now while something sparks within you and throughout your body. Because he looks even better than you imagined. Toned stomach. Dainty waist. Lean muscle softened just enough to still look gentle instead of intimidating.

He’s beautiful. Completely unfair to exist in real life.

He notices your stare immediately and doesn’t seem bothered by it in the slightest. If anything, his mouth twitches upward slightly at the corners. And goodness, that unwavering confidence is the sexiest part of him.

Without breaking the eye contact, his fingers hook into the waistband of his boxer briefs. And despite trying very hard to maintain composure, your eyes widen just slightly while you watch him slowly push the fabric down his hips.

You don’t even pretend not to look anymore. Your gaze openly sweeps over his body while your brain quietly short-circuits. Every part of him is perfectly sculpted. Especially that part. Soft and hard at the same time somehow. And the sheer size of it — makes you gulp air instinctively.

When your eyes finally meet again, there’s undeniable heat lingering there between both of you now.

Felix absolutely senses that too. Still, he says nothing. He keeps looking at you with that same confidence while stepping into the tub. The water shifts gently as he lowers himself in slowly across from you, careful not to send water spilling over the edge.

Then, he’s here. With you. Warm skin. Damp hair. Soft eyes fixed entirely on you.

Felix settles comfortably against the opposite side of the tub before lifting his gaze toward yours again. The smile he gives you immediately makes your stomach flutter. It’s loving, but definitely not innocent anymore.

You reach for your champagne glass first before lifting it slightly toward him and he mirrors the gesture automatically. The delicate clink of glass echoes softly through the steamy bathroom. Then both of you quietly sip your drinks while looking at each other over the rims of your glasses.

And with the look Felix gives you, you’re pretty sure you’re in trouble.

-

YOU: I think it’s wise to take things slow. But have you seen him? [Widens eyes] I genuinely can’t. And god knows how long it’s been since— [stops] [shyly covers face with both hands] [looks at the camera] You’re going to see some real action tonight [laughs]

-

Felix is trying very hard to stay calm. Very. Hard.

Which would probably be easier if you stopped looking at him like that. Or if you weren’t currently half-submerged in warm water looking soft and flushed and entirely too comfortable wrapped in steam and candlelight. Or if his entire love language wasn’t physical touch.

Because now that you’re finally here with him — real and tangible and within reach — keeping his hands to himself feels nearly impossible. So naturally, one of his hands slips under the water until his fingers gently find your leg, rubbing softly along the side of it.

The touch is absentminded at first. Affectionate. But the second you smile at the feeling, his chest warms instantly.

“I like how physical you are,” you murmur softly, toes rubbing at the inside of his thigh.

Felix grins immediately. “Yeah?”

You nod. “I can tell physical touch is your thing.”

A playful look flashes across his face. “Oh, I’m very physical.”

You chuckle warmly at that, shaking your head slightly like you already know exactly what kind of trouble he’s going to be.

His fingers continue gliding slowly along your leg before gently lifting your foot out of the water. He doesn’t hesitate, but leans down and presses a soft kiss against your ankle. The gesture feels strangely intimate, tender in a way that makes his chest ache unexpectedly.

He lowers your leg carefully back into the water afterward and continues rubbing the side of your shin.

“If you’re very physical,” you mutter, placing your champagne flute down on the edge of the tub. “Then why are you over there?”

His brain barely processes the question before you’re already moving toward him. Water shifts around both of you as you carefully crawl into his side of the tub, and he instinctively braces a hand against your waist to steady you.

Then unexpectedly, you turn around and settle yourself directly against him instead. Your back presses flush against his chest while warm water ripples around both your bodies.

Oh, no, this is dangerous. Very dangerous. Yet, his arms wrap around you automatically anyway like there was never any other option.

You tilt your head slightly toward him afterward, murmuring softly, “It’s so much better.”

Felix smiles, mostly because he’s trying very hard not to completely lose composure right now. So instead of letting his hands wander where he desperately wants them to, he settles them carefully against your stomach instead. His fingers rub slow absentminded circles against your skin while he tries to focus on literally anything else besides the feeling of your body pressed against his. Which is impossible because the slightest of movement makes him more aware of you. The warmth of your skin. The softness of your body against his chest. The heat slowly building between both of you that has absolutely nothing to do with the water temperature anymore.

You sink deeper into him comfortably, like you belong there. Then your hands settle over his.

And when you turn your head to look back at him, your eyes say everything without you needing to speak. Want. Curiosity. Invitation.

The look pulls him toward you instantly like gravity. Felix leans in without thinking and kisses you. The kiss feels different. Deeper and hungrier. Your lips part softly beneath his, and the second you kiss him back, something inside him unravels a little further.

Your fingers suddenly tighten around one of his hands, slowly guiding it upward and placing it on your breast. It amazes him that your soft mound perfectly fits his hand. Like it was made for him.

Instinct takes over immediately. His palm cups you gently while his thumb strokes your hardening bud under the water. A low moan escapes you into his mouth that nearly destroys whatever restraint he has left. He kisses you deeper instinctively, his mouth opening against yours while his fingers knead softly at your breast.

Your hand tightens around his wrist and when his tongue brushes against yours, you immediately meet him halfway, kissing him back with enough intensity to make his head spin.

Everything suddenly feels hot and dizzy and overwhelming all at once. Your lips crash against his again and again while water shifts around both your bodies with every movement. And somewhere in the middle of it, Felix realizes things are escalating very, very quickly.

-

FELIX: What was I supposed to do with that? [chuckles] It’s like fire meeting gasoline. Nothing can stop this kind of chemistry [mischievously grins]

-

Your mouth crashes against Felix’s again before either of you can properly think about slowing down. But to be honest, you can’t stop kissing him. Not when he kisses you so passionately, so hungrily and so affectionately all at once. Every time his mouth moves against yours, your body melts deeper into him automatically.

It feels dangerous how naturally the chemistry comes between you. Because yes, maybe you planned on taking things slow. Maybe you told yourself emotional intimacy mattered more. But right now, with Felix’s hand cupping your breast in the warm water while his mouth keeps finding yours over and over again—

You realize the physical attraction might actually be just as intense. If not worse. And from the way he touches you, kisses you, breathes against your mouth like he’s trying not to lose control entirely—

You know he feels it too.

Your lips part from his eventually, both of you breathing slightly heavier now. But the second you pull away, Felix immediately chases after another kiss. You laugh softly against his mouth at the eagerness. Still, you let him steal one more kiss before gently pulling away again just enough to murmur teasingly against his lips, “You said you’d follow my pace.”

Felix’s eyes darken immediately. A smirk pulls at the corner of his mouth. “That’s right. Yeah,” he says, almost breathlessly.

You hold his gaze the entire time as your fingers slide down to take his free hand gently into yours. Then slowly, you guide it to where you want him the most, placing it on the heat between your legs.

The second you let go, Felix understands immediately. Your want, your need and he’s more than happy to comply. The sharp inhale he takes against your lips sends satisfaction curling warmly through your stomach.

Because now it’s your turn to watch him struggle as your own hand drifts lower next, finding his length easily under the water. Warm and hard already at your touch.

Felix exhales sharply the second your fingers wrap gently around him.

You smirk softly at the reaction before leaning close enough to murmur near his mouth, “Try to match my pace then.”

And with that, your hand starts moving and Felix’s head drops slightly against yours as a quiet groan escapes him immediately, restraint visibly cracking apart with every slow stroke of your hand on his cock.

-

YOU: I was just testing him [innocently smiles] To make sure he could follow my pace. [shamelessly smiles] And I must say… [bites lips] he was doing pretty well.

-

By the time the two of you finally leave the bathroom, steam still clings faintly to Felix’s skin while both of you remain wrapped in hotel bathrobes, damp hair messy from the shower and from each other’s hands.

You barely make it two steps into the bedroom before Felix grabs you again and immediately, instinctively, you cling to him. Your arms wrap around his shoulders while your legs hook around his waist without hesitation, laughter bursting out of you as he lifts you effortlessly into his arms. Warmth blooming inside his chest at how naturally you fit against him already.

He carries you toward the bed while your face presses briefly into his neck, both of you grinning helplessly like idiots in love. Then he drops you gently onto the mattress.

The second your body bounces against the soft bed, an excited shriek escapes you.

Felix bursts into laughter, completely smitten. “You’re too cute,” he says through his grin.

Then he climbs over you and another thrilled sound leaves you the second his body settles above yours.

Your legs immediately wrap around his waist again, pulling him down closer until there’s barely any space left between your bodies. Then your hands cup his face and tug him into another kiss.

And god, Felix could stay here forever. Just kissing you slowly while your bodies press together through thin layers of fabric, your fingers slipping into his damp hair while his hands settle against your waist possessively.

The chemistry between you feels almost overwhelming now that nothing is separating you anymore. Every kiss grows deeper. Every touch lingers longer. Every breath feels shared. And eventually, impatience wins.

Felix breaks the kiss only long enough to tug roughly at the belt of your robe. You laugh breathlessly against his mouth as the fabric loosens beneath his hands and the robe parts open completely beneath him.

Only then he pulls away. He takes a moment to properly admire you and your breathtaking body against the white bedsheets while warm bedside light traces every curve of exposed skin beneath him.

For a suspended second, Felix simply stares. His chest aches strangely with it. Not only in lust. There’s something else too. Something almost disbelieving.

Your eyes eventually meet his and beneath the want, the desire, Felix catches something else flickering briefly underneath it. Insecurity.

One of his hands rises gently to cup your jaw. His thumb brushes softly against your cheek while he looks directly into your eyes. And with complete sincerity and admiration laced every word, he murmurs softly, “How did I get so lucky?”

Your entire expression softens. Your lips curve into something small and soft. Almost shy.

And quietly, like you still can’t quite believe it yourself, you whisper back, “How did I get so lucky?”

Felix smiles at that. Because nothing feels better than hearing his feelings echo back to him. The certainty. The affection. The way you look at him like he’s something precious too. It makes his chest feel unbearably full.

So Felix leans down and kisses you again, slower. Like he’s trying to pour every overwhelming emotion he has for you into the kiss itself. And beneath him, you kiss him back exactly the same way.

-

FELIX: It honestly feels really nice finding someone who’s so compatible with me. Not just emotionally. [shyly smiles] But physically too. With her, everything just feels… right and easy. [smiles] I’m genuinely obsessed with her already.

-

You’re getting impatient again. Which honestly shouldn’t surprise you anymore. Because Felix keeps kissing you like he’s trying to ruin your ability to think properly, and every second spent with fabric between your bodies suddenly feels unbearable.

Your fingers quickly find the tie of his bathrobe, tugging at it with barely concealed urgency while he kisses you breathlessly above the white hotel sheets.

Felix laughs softly against your lips at your impatience. “Baby—”

“Need this off,” you mumble immediately, hands still working at the robe.

He warmly laughs at that and eventually, taking pity on you, he pulls back just enough to shrug the robe off completely himself. The sight of him bare beneath the soft golden bedroom light makes heat curl low in your stomach all over again.

God. He’s beautiful.

You instinctively part your legs wider for him as he settles himself between them again, still standing at the edge of the bed while leaning over you. His hands brace beside your head before his mouth finds yours again immediately.

You kiss him back just as eagerly while one of his hands slips lower between your thighs again, thumb circling softly on your clit that make your breathing uneven almost instantly. At the same time, your own hand wraps around him again, stroking him slowly while he softly groans into your mouth at the contact.

The tension between both of you climbs higher and higher with every kiss. Every tease of his fingers on your clit. Every pump of your hand on his cock. Every quiet sound swallowed between your mouths. Until eventually it feels impossible to deny what’s happening anymore.

Reluctantly, Felix finally pulls away from the kiss, forehead resting briefly against yours while both of you breathe unevenly. “Give me one second,” he murmurs softly against your lips.

You nod immediately despite the disappointed little sound threatening to leave you.

Felix softly laughs at your expression before pressing one quick kiss to your mouth and disappearing toward the bathroom.

The second he’s gone, you slowly sit up in bed. The bathrobe still hangs messily around your shoulders, barely clinging there anymore so you shrug it off completely and let it fall carelessly onto the mattress behind you.

You look up just as Felix returns holding a condom loosely in one hand while looking at you with an expression so soft it almost catches you off guard. Like he still can’t believe you’re real.

You smile slowly up at him before teasingly say, “I thought we were on a plan for baby number one out of seven.”

He breaks into laughter. “Already trying to trap me?”

“You proposed first,” you point out innocently.

Still smiling, Felix steps closer before gently catching your chin between his fingers. He leans down and kisses you softly. Then against your lips, he murmurs, “We’ve still got lots of time to plan all that.”

And somehow, hearing him talk about a future with you still makes your chest ache every single time.

“And for now, I want you just for me,” he murmurs, softly yet seductively.

Felix kisses you again afterward, slower this time, like he’s savoring the moment instead of rushing through it and you kiss him back just as softly. Because suddenly this feels intimate in a way that scares you a little. In the best possible way.

-

YOU: I absolutely understand the vision now [nods] [grins] I’m just saying [shrugs] I suddenly can’t wait to have all of his seven babies. [laughs]

-

Felix lets the kiss linger for another second before finally pulling back just enough to lift the condom between two fingers. But before he can finish, your hand gently wraps around his wrist as you take the foil packet from him with a soft smile.

“I’ll do it for you,” you murmur sweetly.

Felix immediately melts a little at that. Honestly, he would probably let you get away with almost anything when you use that tone on him. So without question, he hands it over.

But instead of opening it right away, you rise to sit on the edge of the bed and set it aside onto the mattress beside you. Then your hand wraps around his cock again.

His head immediately tips back slightly at the feeling of your soft, lithe fingers wrapped around his sensitive length.

You only smile in response before leaning forward, soft lips press little kisses against his stomach first. Then his left rib. Then his navel. Then lower. And lower. Every kiss feels teasingly unhurried, like you know exactly what you’re doing to him.

Felix forgets how to think altogether as he watches you with parted lips and increasingly uneven breathing while your mouth continues its trail of kisses down the length of his cock. The slow stroke you give him afterward nearly makes his knees buckle.

You smile before pressing another soft kiss on the tip and decide to tease him by landing a kitten lick just before you pull away completely.

“Are you trying to make me lose my mind?” Felix breathes out helplessly.

Instead of answering, you take him into your mouth. Just an inch but it’s enough to let him feel the soft, warm feeling of your mouth around him.

“Baby…” he hisses, eyes locked on the way your lips wrapped around him.

You giggle softly against him in response, and the vibration alone nearly destroys him. But then you begin to suck him and whatever thought he had immediately dissolves.

Felix’s hand instinctively finds your hair the second you guide it there yourself, fingers tangling into soft strands while you take more of him into your mouth and suck gently.

A sharp breath tears from his chest. “Oh fuck…”

The feeling of your mouth around him makes his head spin almost instantly. His fingers tighten in your hair a little too hard before he catches himself, breathlessly muttering apologies while you continue looking up at him through your lashes with entirely too much satisfaction glowing in your eyes.

“I’m actually going insane,” he says repeatedly under his breath, almost laughing from disbelief between breaths.

The smug little smile you give him around him only makes things worse. Eventually you pull away slowly, and Felix genuinely thinks he sees stars for a second.

Only then do you finally rip open the foil packet and this time, you carefully roll the condom onto him while he watches you with a softness that almost surprises himself. Because somehow even this feels intimate with you.

When you finish, you glance up proudly. “All done.”

Felix smiles helplessly before leaning down to kiss you immediately. “You did such a good job,” he murmurs warmly against your mouth.

Your smile against his lips nearly ruins him all over again and as the kiss deepens, he slowly lowers himself with you until both of you collapse gently back against the mattress together. His body presses fully against yours now, skin against skin. The weight of him makes you wrap your arms around him tighter instantly, fingers digging softly into the muscles of his back as if trying to pull him impossibly closer.

Felix kisses you slowly through every breath, every little sound, every shift of your body beneath him. And when he finally guides himself between your legs, he still takes his time. He rubs his cock between your folds in slow, teasing motions.

The feeling makes you whine softly into his mouth, your fingers tightening against his shoulders immediately.

When he glances down, his length is already coated in your essence so he pushes into you slowly. Just enough to make you sharply gasp against his lips. But instead of pulling away, your legs open wider for him instantly, silently encouraging him closer, deeper into you.

Felix groans softly at the feeling while carefully easing himself fully into you inch by inch until there’s no space left between your bodies at all.

The sensation nearly overwhelms him. The warmth. The tightness. The way your body welcomes him so perfectly it almost feels unreal. Then your legs wrap around his waist and the movement pushes him deeper still.

“Fuck,” Felix shakily breathes out against your cheek.

For a moment neither of you moves. You just stay there together breathing each other in while your bodies slowly adjust. Then your fingers brush gently through his damp hair, pushing strands away from his forehead while you look up at him softly.

“How do I feel?” you whisper.

Felix’s eyes close briefly. A helpless smile pulls across his face before he looks back at you again. “Exactly how I thought you would.”

You tilt your head curiously. “Meaning?”

Felix’s thumb strokes softly against your cheek. “Right,” he softly murmurs. “You feel… right.”

Your entire expression softens at that and then a playful little spark returns to your eyes almost immediately afterward. “And now,” you murmur sweetly, “let’s see if you can fuck me right.”

He laughs breathlessly against your mouth before confidently says, “Oh, I definitely can.”

And with that, Felix begins moving, slowly and steadily. Every thrust deep enough to make both of you feel each other intensely, completely.

Your fingers clutch tighter and tighter at him the longer it continues. One hand grasping desperately at the bedsheets while the other digs crescent-shaped marks into his shoulder. And oh, every little sound you make pushes him closer to losing himself completely.

The tension builds quickly between both of you after that. Too much sensation. Too much emotion tangled into every kiss and touch and in the way your bodies rubbing against each other. Until finally your whole body tightens beneath him all at once.

Felix feels the exact second pleasure crashes through you. You gasp sharply against his mouth while your body trembles around him, completely unraveling beneath the overwhelming intensity of it.

Felix holds you through it, kissing you tenderly, whispering little praises against your lips while you slowly come back down from your high.

“So good for me… so beautiful… coming for me like that…” he murmurs in between little kisses he places on the side of your face.

When your eyes finally open properly again, you look up at him with dazed eyes and completely wrecked affection. You grin as you playfully murmur, “The hell with it. Let’s have seven kids.”

-

FELIX: There’s absolutely no doubt the physical connection is just as strong as the emotional one. Maybe stronger [shyly smiles] And yeah… I’d say I was very right about my choice.

-

Morning arrives in warm sunlight and the distant sound of waves drifts faintly from outside the balcony doors.

For a moment, you don’t even remember where you are. Then you open your eyes fully and find Felix already looking at you. And instantly, warmth spreads through your chest.

He’s lying on his side beside you, hair messy from sleep, one arm tucked beneath the pillow while the other rests lazily around your waist. His expression softens immediately when he notices your eyes fluttering open.

“Hey, beautiful,” he whispers quietly, voice impossibly deeper in the morning.

You shyly smile before snuggling closer to him instead of answering right away.

Felix immediately makes a soft sound of approval and opens his arms wider for you without hesitation. Like this is already routine for him.

Your cheek presses against his bare chest while sleep still lingers heavily behind your eyes.

The room is warm. Felix is warm. Everything feels safe in a way you’re still getting used to. And honestly, you could stay here forever.

As you close your eyes again to steal another few seconds of sleep, you feel Felix’s lips brush softly against your bare shoulder. Then another kiss trails lower along your arm. And another.

His arms tighten around you afterward, pulling you impossibly closer while he lets you drift there comfortably against him for another moment.

Eventually you finally lift your head slightly, peeking up at him through sleepy eyes. “Good morning,” you murmur softly this time.

Felix looks at you like your existence alone already made his entire day. “Good morning, baby.”

The tenderness in his voice makes your chest ache a little and then somehow both of you lean in at the exact same time. Your lips meet halfway naturally in a slow, almost lazy kiss. When he pulls away, it’s only to tilt his head before kissing you again and again. And again. Tiny affectionate kisses that make you softly giggle against his mouth.

“I could get used to this,” he mutters softly between kisses.

You smile at that and Felix kisses your smile too.

For a little while, neither of you says anything afterward. You just stay tangled together on the bed, staring at each other with soft sleepy affection that feels almost dizzying. Your fingers drift gently through his blond hair while his hand absentmindedly trails down your spine.

Neither of you can stop smiling and every time your eyes meet, another helpless grin appears like both of you are still stuck in a dream state. Then, as if he physically can’t help himself, Felix leans in again and gives you another long lingering kiss. One that leaves warmth buzzing softly through your entire body afterward.

When he finally pulls back this time, he brushes his nose gently against yours. “So, what do you want to do today?” he asks softly.

You hum thoughtfully for approximately one second before answering, “Stay here and lock you in this room with me.”

Felix bursts into deep, sleepy laughter. He’s pulling you even closer as he simply answers, “I’m down for that.”

You laugh too before wrapping an arm around his waist more tightly. “But we should probably go outside eventually.”

“Mmm,” he hums, too comfortable to even talk.

You trace lazy circles against his chest while thinking. “We could do a boat ride and maybe go swimming?” you suggest.

Felix presses a sweet kiss on your temple. “That sounds nice.”

But despite saying that, neither of you actually moves. Instead, you snuggle closer into him and he tightens his hold around you like he has no intention of letting go anytime soon either.

The two of you remain tangled together in bed while sunlight slowly fills the room brighter and brighter around you. Neither one of you ready to break the softness of the moment just yet.

-

YOU: Last night was… fun. [smiles] We definitely did some very deep [snorts] exploring of each other. Waking up next to him this morning felt really nice too. But yeah. The exploring part was also very nice. [giggles]

-

The boat cuts smoothly through the ocean while sunlight dances across the water in endless glittering waves.

Felix sits beside you near the back of the boat, one arm stretched comfortably along the seat behind you while the wind tousles both your hair every few seconds.

The farther the boat takes you from shore, the prettier everything becomes. Open sea. Endless blue sky. Warm sunlight spilling across your skin. And despite the breathtaking view around him, Felix keeps finding himself looking at you instead.

You’re currently rambling about how unreal the water color looks while squinting toward the horizon, your sunglasses perched slightly crooked on your nose from the wind.

Felix smiles helplessly to himself.

“What?” you ask immediately after catching him staring again.

“You’re just too cute.”

You snort at that. “I’m literally talking about water.”

“Exactly.”

Felix leans over immediately to steal a quick kiss while you’re distracted laughing.

You squeal softly into it, hand pushing weakly against his chest while he grins against your lips.

“Ugh, you’re so obsessed with me,” you say with feigned annoyance.

“I am,” he simply retorts.

The rest of the ride passes easily after that. Your hand resting absentmindedly over his thigh while Felix occasionally presses lazy kisses against your shoulder or cheek whenever the mood strikes him. He could get addicted to this frighteningly fast.

Eventually the boat slows near a beautiful open stretch of water far from the shore. The sea here looks impossibly clear beneath the sunlight. Once the captain announces it’s safe to swim, Felix immediately stands and starts peeling off layers of clothing. His t-shirt is the first to go and his shorts next, leaving only his black swim trunks behind.

You’re currently struggling beside him trying to pull your denim shorts off carefully without accidentally dragging your bikini bottoms down too.

“Need help?” he asks, already smiling.

Without waiting for your response, Felix gets behind you, hands at the ready one each side of you.

You softly chuckle at his eagerness in helping you. “Yes. Why not?”

Felix steps forward, closing the last few inches of gap between his chest and your back. His hands tugging at the waistband of your denim shorts while you hold the straps of your bikini bottom. His hands move carefully and affectionately, making sure not to accidentally tug the wrong thing down.

He crouches to help you get rid of the shorts completely. “There.”

You finally straighten afterward with triumph and turn toward him fully. “Thank you,” you sweetly mutter.

Felix genuinely forgets how to breathe for a second. Because seeing you in that pink bikini affects him even more than seeing you naked earlier. Maybe it’s the sunlight against your skin. Or the tiny smug smile on your face after successfully winning the battle against your shorts. Or maybe it’s simply you and this impossible attraction between you that only seems to grow stronger every hour he spends around you.

Whatever it is, Felix suddenly feels dangerously distracted again.

You catch the look on his face immediately too. “What?” you ask suspiciously.

Felix shakes his head once like he’s clearing it. “Just trying very hard to behave myself.”

You gently catch his chin in your hand and turn his face to the side, but somehow, his face turned back toward you again. And you laugh at that.

Felix reaches for your hand before leading you toward the edge of the boat together and the ocean stretches endlessly around both of you now. He glances toward you one last time. “Ready?”

You nod instantly.

And together, hand in hand, the two of you jump. Cold water crashes around Felix the second you hit the sea, laughter immediately bubbling out of both of you beneath the surface.

When he resurfaces, you’re already pushing wet hair away from your face while laughing breathlessly nearby. And god, he’s gone for you. Completely.

The next hour passes in easy happiness after that. Swimming beside each other. Splashing each other. You cling onto his shoulders at one point while Felix effortlessly keeps both of you afloat, your legs wrapped loosely around his waist while you laugh about absolutely nothing important.

Everything feels easy and natural. And Felix realizes somewhere in the middle of it that spending time with you like this might honestly be his favorite thing in the world already.

-

FELIX: I’ve only physically been with her for, like… three days. But it genuinely feels longer than that. We’re just really attuned to each other. [grins] And I know it sounds insane because this whole experiment moves so fast… [softly smiles] But I really do feel like I met the right person.

-

The sea breeze feels cooler now after swimming for so long under the sun.

You sit beside Felix at the back of the boat with a towel draped around your shoulders and another one spread beneath both of you over the seat. Your legs are tangled together lazily while the boat gently rocks against the water. A half-finished plate of fruit sits between you along with two cold drinks sweating under the afternoon heat.

Felix is currently talking about something the captain mentioned earlier, sunglasses pushed up into his damp blond hair while sunlight catches against the freckles scattered across his skin.

You can’t stop staring at him and eventually he catches you doing it too.

“What?” he asks with a grin.

You smile a little sheepishly. “You’re such a good swimmer.”

Felix brightens at the compliment. “Yeah?”

You nod. “You looked way too comfortable out there.”

He laughs softly before leaning back against the seat. “I used to swim a lot growing up in Australia.”

Your attention sharpens into curiosity. “With your family?”

Felix nods. “Yeah. We’d go to the beach all the time.”

The second he starts talking about them, you hear immediately hear the warmth in his voice. The affection. The ease. He talks about family memories so fondly, like love was always something freely given in his life.

Hearing it feels strangely foreign to you. Beautiful. But foreign. You quietly pick at a strawberry for a second before blurting out the thought that’s been lingering in your head since yesterday.

“You think I’ll fit in?”

Felix freezes, head tilted to the side. “Huh?”

“Your family,” you mumble sheepishly. “Do you think they’ll like me?”

His brows pull together in confusion.

You shrug lightly, trying to sound casual even though your stomach suddenly twists with nerves. “Because you know, I’m meeting them soon.”

Felix still looks genuinely confused. Almost offended on your behalf somehow. “Baby,” he says carefully, reaching for your hand immediately. “Why wouldn’t they like you?”

You avoid his eyes briefly. “I don’t know.”

The truth is, you do know. Because deep down, some part of you still expects rejection before acceptance. Still waits for the moment people decide you’re too much or not enough all at once.

His hand tightens gently around yours before he lifts it toward him. “I like you. A lot,” he pauses to tuck a strand of hair behind your ear. “And if I like you, I know my family will too.”

Before you can answer, he presses a soft kiss against your knuckles.

The gesture makes something warm ache inside your chest immediately. And even though the reassurance settles some of your nerves, it doesn’t erase them completely. Still, it helps.

Felix tilts his head slightly and then carefully, he asks, “What about your mom? Will she like me?”

You immediately let out a nervous laugh. “That’s actually terrifying to think about.”

Felix laughs too at first until he realizes that you’re not joking.

“I’ve never brought anyone to meet her before,” you admit and saying it aloud suddenly makes the reality of all this hit harder. The wedding. The families. The outside world waiting for both of you after this vacation ends. “I honestly don’t know how she’ll react.”

You glance toward Felix again and immediately notice the concern appearing across his face now too. Which naturally makes you want to tease him a little.

“My mom is very hard to impress, by the way.”

Felix looks at you for a second. Then without hesitation, he calmly says, “I’ll try my best to earn you.”

The sincerity in his voice catches you completely off guard. Not win her over. Not impress her. Earn you. Like loving you properly matters more than anything else.

Your chest aches so suddenly and intensely that you don’t even think before leaning in and kissing him.

Felix immediately kisses you back, one hand sliding gently against your jaw while the boat rocks quietly beneath both of you.

When you pull away, your forehead lingers against his. “You shouldn’t worry,” you murmur. “What’s not to like about you?”

Felix smiles at that. A small warm smile that makes him look almost shy despite everything. Then he leans in again and gives you another long lingering kiss while sunlight dances endlessly across the water around the two of you.

-

YOU: There’s still a lot to think about. A lot waiting for us after this. And honestly, it’s scary if I think too hard about it. [softly sighs] But for now… I just want to focus on him. On us. I kind of just want to enjoy this vacation with Felix while I still can. [smiles]

-

Felix is halfway through buttoning the cuffs of his shirt when production knocks on the hotel suite door.

A staff member pokes their head in with a bright smile. “Get dressed and head down to the beach in thirty minutes, please.”

And just like that they leave without further explanation or details. Which honestly unsettles Felix a little more than he wants to admit. Because usually, no information means surprise and surprise on reality television rarely means peace and relaxation. Still, as long as it has nothing to do with losing you somehow, he figures he can survive it.

Especially when he turns around and sees you stepping out of the bathroom.

“Wow.” It slips out before he can stop himself.

You laugh softly while smoothing your hands down the sides of your black dress. “Do I look… okay?” you nervously ask.

Felix just stares at you helplessly for another second. The dress hugs you perfectly, elegant and simple while your hair falls softly over your shoulders. And somehow you still look at him like he’s the pretty one in the relationship.

“Okay?” he asks in utter disbelief. “Baby, you look incredible.”

Your smile turns shy around the edges. “Thank you.”

Felix walks over, hands automatically finding your waist. Then he leans down and presses a careful kiss against your cheek as to not to ruin your makeup.

You smile warmly at the gesture before slipping your fingers through his hand and just like that, the nervousness settles a little because you’re here.

The two of you walk down the softly lit pathway together afterward, palm trees swaying gently in the evening breeze while distant music grows louder the closer you get to the beach. Eventually the path opens into a beautiful patio area set up near the sand and when he thinks you two are the first to get there, Felix notices a couple sitting together on one of the outdoor sofas.

Recognition hits almost immediately. “Shane?” Felix blurts out.

The man instantly breaks into a grin and stands up. “Felix!”

At the exact same time beside him, you let out a low surprised shriek after recognizing the woman sitting next to Shane too. “Oh my god.”

Everything suddenly clicks into place. Felix laughs warmly while pulling Shane into a quick friendly hug. Introductions happen immediately after that. You excitedly greet Shane’s fiancée, Laura, while everyone talks over each other at once, still processing the fact that these are actual faces attached to voices from the pods.

Soon, more couples begin arriving. More familiar voices. More shocked reactions. More introductions. And slowly it dawns on Felix exactly what this is. These are all the couples who made it out. Everyone who got engaged. Everyone currently vacationing in the same hotel just like you and him.

The realization feels surreal because just a week ago all of you were dating blindly through glowing walls and now everyone’s here holding hands with their future spouses in real life.

Eventually the chatter quiets when the female host finally enters the patio.

“Welcome to your vacation!” she begins with a bright, teeth-baring smile.

Everyone cheers and smiles and applauds and the host lets it settle before continue talking. “How’s your romantic getaway so far?”

There’s laughter immediately. A few teasing comments. Some very guilty-looking faces around the group. Felix and you look at each other at the same time and immediately burst into laughter.

“I'm sure you have recognized everyone in here,” the host continues, briefly looking at everyone before staring back at the camera. “But gentlemen, we want you to meet the ladies. And ladies, we want you to meet the gentlemen that you did not propose to.”

The host goes on, introducing each couple properly one by one, including you and Felix. She takes another moment of break before speaking again. “Congratulations to all of you on your engagements.”

The cheers erupt again and Felix tightens his hold on your hand as he looks at you. And it feels like a pinch-me moment still. You and him, engaged.

“You guys fell in love and chose somebody to marry you without ever seeing them. You've had no distractions, nothing to get in the way. Here you have the chance to develop your emotional connection into a physical one,” the host says with a soft smile lingering on her face.

But the smile dims a little and her tone turns serious when she talks again. “When you go back home, will the realities of the material world, your looks, your age, your background, affect the way you feel about each other? How are you guys going to integrate your lives? How is all of that going to come together with your fiancé?”

Felix feels your eyes on him even before he looks at you. He understands the wavering gaze, the way you tightly hold his hand on your lap, the fear that everything might change the moment you both step out of this bubble.  

“Your wedding are just four weeks away,” the host reminds with a steady yet firm tone. “Will you say 'I do' to the person you chose to marry or will you walk away from them forever?”

She looks at the camera as she asks the one question that sums this whole experiment, “Is love truly blind?”

While Felix keeps nodding along politely and soothingly rubbing the back of your hand, internally he’s having a tiny crisis. Because suddenly this feels very real again. He’s going to marry you soon.

Still, the host eventually lifts her glass with a smile and offers a toast. “To love and happiness and to all of you enjoy this moment!”

Everyone lifts their glasses as well before finally taking a sip and the host tells everyone to enjoy the rest of their vacation before leaving the patio.

For a few seconds afterward, everyone just kind of sits there processing. Until suddenly Jim stands up dramatically, grabs a bottle of liquor from the table, and announces, “Alright, everyone. Let’s get this party started.”

Instantly everyone bursts into cheers and laughter. And just like that, the party started.

-

FELIX: It was honestly really nice finally seeing everybody outside the pods. And everyone here is very attractive [chuckles] But it is weird now realizing we’re all technically getting married… after dating each other first. [laughs] Reality TV is insane.

-

The patio grows louder as the night gets late. Music drifts through the beachside space while drinks keep appearing in people’s hands and conversations overlap from every corner of the party.

The second you spot Morgan across the patio, you nearly spill your drink trying to get to her. “Morgan!”

She turns around instantly and lets out a scream just as dramatic as yours before practically launching herself at you.

The two of you immediately crash into a hug. Then another one. And somehow another after that too.

“Oh my god, I missed you,” Morgan groans dramatically into your shoulder.

“I missed you too!” You pull away only slightly before grabbing her hands again like you need to confirm she’s real. It feels oddly emotional seeing everyone again outside the pods. Especially the girls you spent every single day with.

Morgan squeezes your hands warmly. “It feels weird without Daria though,” she says softly.

“I know,” you sadly mutter, a little ache settles in your chest at the thought of it. “She’s literally the sweetest person ever.”

Morgan nods immediately. “Seriously. I can’t believe she didn’t end up with anyone.”

You sigh softly before taking another sip of your drink.

Then suddenly Morgan’s entire expression brightens mischievously. “But can we talk about your man?”

You immediately laugh. “What about Felix?”

Morgan leans closer dramatically. “He is not what I expected him to look like.”

That makes you laugh even harder. “What were you expecting exactly?”

“I don’t know!” Morgan bursts out laughing too. “Like… some huge muscular guy with a thick beard.”

You nearly choke on your drink laughing. “A thick beard?”

“Yes!”

“Oh my god.”

The two of you dissolve into louder laughter together while nearby people glance over curiously. “I thought the same thing at first,” you admit eventually while wiping tears from your eyes.

“Right?!” Morgan says triumphantly.

“But he’s actually a very gentle person,” you continue softer now, unable to stop smiling when you talk about him.

Morgan immediately melts. “Awww.”

“And we’ve been getting to know each other better and…” You shrug shyly. “So far he’s very much my dream man.”

Morgan immediately narrows her eyes teasingly. “So far?”

You burst into laughter again.

“No no no,” she says dramatically. “What do you mean so far?”

You shake your head while laughing. “I don’t know. He’s just… He’s too good to be true.”

Morgan’s expression softens immediately afterward. She reaches over and squeezes your arm gently. “I think you guys deserve each other. And I’m really happy for you,” she sweetly says.

Your chest warms instantly at the sincerity in her voice. Before you can answer, Morgan pulls you into another hug anyway and you happily let her.

When you finally pull apart again, you lift your drink toward her. “To finally winning the battle over Jim?” you tease.

Morgan snorts into her drink before clinking her glass against yours. “To hot fiancés.”

You snort loudly. “Yes. That too.”

The party continues afterward, everyone slowly mixing together more comfortably now that the initial shock has worn off.

At one point you end up chatting with Jim near the table full of snacks. He looks exactly how you imagined he would. Messy hair. Tattoos. That careless confidence dripping from him naturally. Though admittedly… He’s smaller and shorter than you expected. Which immediately becomes too funny not to mention.

“You know,” you say casually while sipping your drink, “the women’s lounge literally ran out of wine because of you.”

Jim bursts into loud laughter immediately. “I’m not sorry,” he jokingly says.

You laugh before lightly nudging his shoulder. “Well. Thank you for choosing my best girl.”

Jim immediately grins. “Trust me, the pleasure is all mine.”

You clink your glass with him and take a small sip.

Once Jim swallowed his drink, he looks at you and casually asks, “How’re things with Felix?”

Your smile appears automatically. “We’ve been really good.”

And just hearing yourself say it out loud makes warmth spread through you again.

Jim nods knowingly and laughs to himself before speaking. “You know, when Felix talked about you back in the men’s lounge, that man did not hesitate about you for even a second.”

Your chest tightens, a soft smile pulls at your lips at that.

Jim takes another sip of his drink before continuing. “Honestly, I kind of figured he’d be the first one engaged.”

That makes you laugh. “Really?”

“Oh yeah.” Jim points toward Felix across the patio where he’s currently laughing with Shane. “One pod date and that guy was gone for you.”

The affection in Jim’s tone catches you off guard a little. “And I’m genuinely happy it’s you he ended up with,” he adds sincerely.

You smile softly at that and then immediately ruin the emotional moment on purpose. “I’m just relieved I didn’t have to deal with your drama in the women’s lounge for longer.”

Jim immediately doubles over laughing. “Okay, fair enough.”

“You had those girls fighting for their lives.”

“I’m charming. What can I say?”

“Menace.”

Jim cracks up again while you laugh along with him and somewhere across the patio, Felix catches your eye. The second he sees you smiling, his own expression softens too. Like he’s automatically drawn toward you even from across the room.

And your stomach still flips a little every single time.

-

YOU: It was honestly really nice seeing the girls again and finally putting faces to the voices from the pods. I must admit that some of them are pretty hot [giggles] but like… whatever [dramatically rolls eyes] [laughs] I already got the best one anyway.

-

Felix ends up gathered near the bar with most of the guys while everyone slowly settles into easy conversation now that the initial awkwardness has disappeared.

Rob is currently leaning against the counter with a drink in hand, looking way too entertained already. “So,” he says, eyes narrowing mischievously at everyone. “How’s everybody been behaving?”

Immediately the group erupts into laughter because absolutely nobody believes anyone here has been behaving.

Jim lifts his glass casually. “I stayed up until four last night.”

The boys immediately explode.

“No way.”

“Brother.”

“Four in the morning?!”

Jim only shrugs innocently while trying and failing not to laugh at everyone’s reactions.

Felix is already grinning into his drink when Stefan suddenly groans dramatically beside them.

“I accidentally pulled my back yesterday.”

The entire group immediately starts yelling over each other.

“Nooooo.”

“Stefan!”

“Already?!”

Stefan points defensively at everyone while laughing. “It was from the luggage!”

Nobody believes him for even half a second. The guys howl even louder afterward while Stefan collapses into embarrassed laughter himself.

Felix wisely decides to stay quiet during all this. Because if he keeps his head down long enough maybe nobody will ask him anything. Unfortunately, that strategy lasts approximately ten seconds. Then suddenly everyone turns toward him together.

“What about you, Felix?”

“Oh yeah.”

“You’ve been suspiciously quiet.”

Felix exhales through his nose while trying not to smile too hard already. “I mean… we agreed not to rush things just because we’re engaged.”

A few of the boys nod approvingly.

Felix continues smoothly, pretending he doesn’t notice everyone leaning in now. “And I told her I’d move at her pace.”

Rob immediately elbows Felix hard in the side. “Just tell us already, man.”

The entire group bursts out laughing instantly.

Felix finally cracks too, dropping his head while grinning helplessly. “Okay, listen,” he says through laughter. “I just didn’t know she was apparently an F1 racer.”

The boys immediately lose their minds again.

“And now?” Jim asks dramatically.

Felix shakes his head with mock exhaustion. “Now I’m struggling to keep up with the pace she set.”

The reaction afterward is a genuine delight. Half the guys double over laughing while Jim nearly spills his drink all over himself.

“THAT’S MY BOY!” Jim yells dramatically before throwing an arm around Felix’s shoulders.

“You look very happy for someone suffering,” Shane points out.

“That’s because he likes it,” Rob immediately says.

“Unfortunately, yes,” Felix admits shamelessly.

The group howls again. Then Jim lifts his glass high into the center of the circle. “To Felix surviving his fiancée.”

Everyone cheers loudly before bringing their drinks together for one giant toast beneath the beach lights.

And despite all the teasing, Felix can’t stop smiling afterward.

-

FELIX: I think what we have is more than just sex. She’s genuinely become my best friend really fast. We talk about everything. We laugh all the time. Being around her just feels easy. But also, there’s a difference between sex being good… [slyly grins] and sex being so fucking fantastic.

-

By the time you and Felix stumble back into the hotel suite, both of you are warm from alcohol and laughter and hours spent socializing.

The second the door shuts behind you, Felix lets out a dramatic groan. “Oh my god.”

You barely manage to hold in your laughter before he drops backward onto the bed face-first, arms spread out dramatically across the mattress. “I shouldn’t have drank that much,” he mutters into the sheets before rolling over to lay on his back.

You shake your head fondly before climbing onto the mattress beside him. Well, not exactly beside him. On top of him.

You straddle his waist easily while Felix immediately makes a soft sound beneath you, his hands instinctively finding your hips. His cheeks are slightly flushed from the alcohol, blond hair messy from the humid beach air and too many hands running through it tonight. And when he looks up at you with those slightly dazed eyes, your stomach flips embarrassingly fast.

God. You really like this man. Your hands settle against his chest while absentmindedly playing with the buttons of his shirt.

Felix watches you quietly beneath half-lidded eyes, thumbs rubbing lazy circles against your thighs.

“Since you finally saw all the girls tonight…”

“Mhm?”

“Did anyone catch your attention?”

His grin immediately widens. “Why? Are you jealous?”

You genuinely pause to think about it for a second. Then honestly answer, “No. Not really.”

Felix bursts into soft laughter beneath you.

You shrug lightly and confidently say, “I know what I bring to the table.”

“That you do,” he murmurs immediately, expression softens as he looks up at you again.

“If you’re asking whether I want to make seven kids with anybody else though…” He shakes his head once. “No. I only want them with you.”

The way he says it playfully and sincerely at the same time makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Felix slides his hands higher along your waist and gently pulls you down closer to him until your faces are only inches apart. Then he kisses you. Softly yet passionately.

You kiss him back instinctively while his hands settle comfortably against the small of your back. When you finally pull away, you stay hovering close enough that your noses still brush together every few seconds.

One of your hands drifts upward to cup his jaw gently and notice the way his eyes stay fixed on your mouth. “Are you trying to get lucky tonight, mister?” you murmur teasingly.

Felix slyly smiles at you. “I’m already lucky.”

His arms tighten around you, pulling you even closer against him. “I’m engaged to you.”

You scoff immediately even though your heart does another stupid flip again from hearing it. “You’re good,” you mutter.

“Yeah?”

“Mmh. So good.”

Then you crash your lips against his again before he can get smug about it.

-

YOU: I know I said that a few of them are attractive. But I genuinely can’t imagine feeling the same level of physical attraction I have with Felix with anyone else. There’s just… [seductively smiles] A lot of chemistry there. Like. A dangerous amount, actually.

-

The hotel room is dim except for the warm bedside lights casting gold across your naked form, and every bouncing movement of you on top of him pulls another shaky breath from him.

There’s heat in his gaze, unmistakably so, but something softer lives there too. Affection and admiration. The kind that squeezes on your chest whenever he looks at you too long.

His hands roam across your body slowly, reverently, like he’s memorizing every inch of you through touch alone. Up your waist. Along your sides. His palms eventually meet the softness of your breasts. Every touch of his fingers over your hardening nipples draws a reaction from you, another breathless laugh or soft sound that only makes him smile wider beneath you.

“How would I turn away from this, mmh?” he murmurs, voice rough with awe more than anything else. “When you look this good. Fucking me this good, mmh?”

You only grin knowingly at him before continuing to move against him in slow teasing motions that make his head fall back against the pillow briefly.

“Baby,” he groans quietly, laughing under his breath afterward like he’s already losing his mind a little.

Felix keeps his eyes on you. No matter how much watching you rolling your hips back and forth, clenching around him and quivering in places, tirelessly chasing your high — have him tethering on the edge. He holds back as much as he can.

Not long after, he watches the exact moment the pleasure taking over your body. The way your eyes screwed shut, head falls to the back, the way you let out a stifled scream and how he finds it cute and sexy at the same time. Oh, he’s down bad.

The smile is permanently etched on his face at this point as he gently runs his hand between your breasts and rests it there, feeling the way your heart beating fast under the layer of flesh and bones.

“How come you’re so cute coming around me like that?” he teases.

You giggle at that, completely unapologetic and land a gentle slap on his chest. “Shut up!” you say rather affectionately.

He lets you relish the high as he indulges himself in touching you, noticing that you’re much more sensitive now under his touch. He gently pinches on your nipple and you lewdly moan in reaction.

When your eyes are on him again, he can see that the desire burn brighter now as you begin moving again, moving your hips back and forth, ever so slowly that it surprises him once more how tightly you’re wrapped around him.

“We’re going straight to next round, I see,” he teases with his deep, rough voice.

You smirk and nod. “Touch me, baby,” you whine, needily.

Felix is more than happy to comply. He squeezes on the flesh of your waist before gliding them up to your chest, kneading on your breasts. One hand stray upward, meeting your mouth. He swipes his thumb across your lips before jamming it into your mouth and you immediately suck on it.

“You’re so fucking hot,” he absentmindedly mutters, eyes wide and heavy with lust.

You smirk with your lips wrapped around his thumb and keep smirking when he pulls it out. With his thumb now coated with your saliva, he uses it to tease on your erected nipple, rubbing over it in circular motions.

“Fuck, baby,” he mutters breathlessly in so much awe. “So fucking hot. So fucking perfect for me.”

He feels you clenching from his words and that’s it, his self-control begins to slip away. He moves his hand to your shoulder and then pulls you down. You immediately melt against him while his arms wrap tightly around your waist, holding you close enough that there’s barely space left between your bodies anymore. Then he kisses you deeply again, warm and lingering, like he’s trying to pour every feeling he has for you into it.

When he breaks the kiss, he looks at you with this dazed little smile. “How am I supposed to behave,” he mutters absentmindedly, “when you look this good?”

You smile at that, hands sliding into his hair while his settle firmly on your hips as he starts bucking from under you, meeting your thrust halfway. And every now and then, he just can’t stop himself from kissing you again in slow and messy kiss. The kind that keep turning into soft laughter halfway through because neither of you can stop smiling.

Eventually the sex turns intensely intimate, like it’s more than just physical fulfilment now. It’s him and you, bonding and connecting in a way that is never done before. And somewhere in the middle of it all, Felix looks at you with sincerity shining through the desire clouded his eyes.

“I love you,” he whispers quietly and the words still hit him hard every single time. Because of how real they are. So real that it scares him a little sometimes.

You brush your thumb gently across his cheek before whispering it back without the slightest hesitation this time. “I love you too.”

Felix smiles like hearing those words from you might honestly become his favorite thing in the world. He pulls you closer after that until you’re practically folded into his chest while both of you laugh softly into another kiss while continue moving in sync and not stopping until the two of you are falling apart around each other.

-

FELIX: Told you [mischievously smiles] The sex is fucking fantastic.

-

Waking up tangled together in bed and kiss Felix first thing in the morning is already starting to feel normal in the most dangerous way possible. At the same time, he keeps reaching for your hand absentmindedly, keeps kissing your shoulder while walking past you, keeps looking at you like he still can’t believe you chose him.

The strange thing is it doesn’t feel strange at all. It feels like the two of you have been around each other for years instead of days.

And today, the production team set up a cooking session for the two of you so Felix can showcase his skill and teach you. And in the process, they get the footage the need for the show.

The two of you are standing side-by-side in an open kitchen studio overlooking the ocean which sounds romantic in theory. In practice, however, you’re holding a knife like this is the first time you ever do so.

Felix notices immediately and asks, “You okay there?”

You narrow your eyes at the cutting board dramatically. “I suddenly forgot how cooking works.”

He laughs softly beside you and the sound sends a kaleidoscope of butterflies fluttering in your stomach. “You’re doing fine.”

“No, I’m not,” you honestly share. “I’m nervous because this is your area of expertise

Felix shakes his head before stepping closer behind you. “It’s not a competition, baby.”

His arms slide gently around you as he carefully adjusts your grip on the knife. “Okay,” he softly murmurs patiently near your ear. “Curl your fingers in a little more so you don’t cut yourself.”

You obediently follow his instructions while trying very hard not to get distracted by how warm his chest feels against your back.

“There you go,” he praises softly almost immediately.

You glance over your shoulder suspiciously. “You praise me for everything.”

“Because you’re cute.”

“That’s not helpful.”

“It helps me.”

You snort while Felix grins shamelessly behind you. Despite your nerves earlier, the entire cooking session becomes easy after that because Felix never once makes you feel stupid. Never takes over. Never acts like you should already know things. He just patiently guides you through everything, gently correcting you when needed and celebrating every tiny success in gentle affection. He makes you feel safe and comfortable and you actually find yourself enjoying it. A lot.

Felix beams proudly after you successfully dump the ingredients into the pan without spilling anything.

“That’s my girl,” he says proudly.

Eventually the dish is finished, plated nicely enough that you almost feel suspicious about it. You immediately shove the spoon toward Felix first. “I give you the honor to be the first to test it.”

His eyebrows lift. “Why? You don’t trust yourself?”

“I trust myself less than I trust you.”

Felix laughs again before taking the spoon from your hand and tasting the dish thoughtfully.

You stare at him anxiously the entire time.

“Well?”

He keeps chewing slowly on purpose now, clearly enjoying your suffering.

“Felix.”

His lips twitch.

“Now, don’t go Gordon Ramsay on me.”

He bursts into laughter while still trying to finish chewing, shoulders shaking beside you.

“First of all, rude,” he laughs breathlessly.

“So it’s bad?”

“No!” He points at the food dramatically. “It’s actually really good.”

You squint suspiciously at him. “Be honest. Don’t be biased.”

“I am being honest!”

Still unconvinced, you grab another spoon and taste it yourself. And he’s right, it’s actually good.

Felix immediately slides an arm around your waist and pulls you against his side while watching your reaction proudly. “See? I’m being honest,” he says smugly.

You slowly nod while taking another bite. “We did a good job.”

Felix grins brightly. “We did.”

Then he looks down at you with that unbearably warm expression again. “You’re amazing.”

Your chest tightens a little and it’s not because the compliment is huge. But because he says things like that so easily. Like loving you is the simplest thing in the world.

You smile softly up at him and say it back to him, “You’re amazing.”

Without thinking much about it, you wrap your arms around him and pull him into a hug. Felix melts into it instantly, hugging you back tightly enough that giggles spill out of you.

When you pull away slightly, you look up at him, fingers lightly smoothing the fabric of his white linen shirt. “I really mean it, you know. You’re amazing.”

Felix’s widen as he playfully says, “And I really meant it too.”

“You’re amazing because you never made me feel like loving me is difficult,” you share sincerely, heart tightening as you let your vulnerability shows. “And you never seem scared to show how much you care.”

For a second, he only looks at you and then slowly, a smile blooms on his small face. The kind that feels warm all the way down to your bones.

“Well, it honestly isn’t that hard,” he murmurs softly. “And I really do love you.”

And hearing it still makes your heart stumble every single time.

-

YOU: It’s really nice being with someone who isn’t scared of showing his feelings. [softly smiles] And I know reality’s going to hit us soon. [sighs] We’re going to go back home eventually. Meet families. Merge our lives together. Deal with actual real-world problems. But I just… I hope we stay like this. I hope none of that changes who we are with each other.

-

The hotel bar is booked by the production team for the last group gathering of the vacation.

Felix keeps your hand locked with his the entire walk there like yours is an extra limb of him. The second the two of you step inside, Jim loudly points toward them from across the room.

“There’s the honeymoon couple.”

Felix immediately laughs while you groan beside him. “Oh my god. We’re never escaping this nickname.”

“Nope,” Morgan says brightly while handing you a drink.

Soon enough everyone gathers together near the center of the bar, drinks already in hand while production encourages everyone closer for a group toast. The atmosphere feels completely different now compared to the first night at the beach party. Like everyone finally settled into the reality that they’re all actually engaged now.

Rob raises his glass dramatically first. “To somehow surviving this experiment.”

“And to surviving Jim,” Shane adds immediately.

The entire group erupts into laughter while Jim protests loudly.

Felix grins before lifting his own drink too. “To love being blind.”

Everyone cheers after that, glasses clinking together in a messy chorus before the night properly begins. Afterward people naturally split off into smaller conversations scattered around the bar.

At one point Felix finds himself leaning comfortably against the counter beside Rob and Sonya while you stay tucked warmly against his side, your arm looped through his.

Sonya is in the middle of telling a ridiculous story from the pods while Rob keeps interrupting dramatically every thirty seconds. “You did not say that.”

“I absolutely did.”

You’re laughing so hard beside Felix that you nearly spill your drink, and without even thinking about it he reaches over to steady the glass in your hand before kissing your temple absentmindedly. The motion feels automatic now and apparently everyone else feels the same with their partners because no one even reacts to the affection anymore.

Across the room Jim has Morgan tucked practically into his lap while Shane keeps stealing kisses from Laura in between conversations.

At some point Felix catches himself looking around the room quietly. All these people. All these relationships that somehow came from talking through a wall. It’s kind of amazing and unbelievably, it worked for him too.

“I just can’t seem to fit the face to the voice,” Sonya says, laughing to herself as she looks at Felix in utter confusion.

You gently place your hand on her forearm and say, “I know right?”

“Like… did you expect this,” Sonya says, hands gesturing at Felix as she talks to you. “…When you said yes?”

You snort and briefly glance at Felix, “Honestly, no,” you jokingly say, feigning serious expression. “I felt like I got catfished a little.”

Felix stares at you in disbelief, shaking his head and then holds the side of your face. “No, baby. You expected this,” he says, the tone soft and coaxing. “I’m your prince charming, remember?”

Your expression softens instantly afterward, lips pulling into a wide grin. “Yes, you are.”

Then, because you’re slightly tipsy and affectionate tonight, you lean up and kiss him right there in the middle of your sentence.

Rob immediately groans dramatically beside them. “Yeah, okay, alright.”

“Get a room,” Sonya says while laughing.

Felix only grins against your mouth before kissing you once more anyway just to annoy them further.

-

FELIX: I’m kind of sad to get back to the real world. I want to. I’m excited to introduce her to family and friends. To be a part my life, but… I kind of don’t want to go home either [laughs] I like our bubble. I want to keep her to myself and not share her. [laughs] Yet.

-

You end up on one of the vacant sofas near in one corner of the bar with Laura, both of you finally taking a breather from the noise and energy of the party.

Felix is across the bar now with Jim and Shane, already laughing at something loudly enough that you can hear it over the music.

You smile into your drink at the familiar sound and Laura notices immediately. “Oh, you’re so in love,” she teases.

You snort softly before taking another sip, not having anything to say to either deny or confirm. Your happy face shows everything.

Laura tucks one leg beneath herself on the sofa before asking, “So… how’s it really been with you and Felix?”

You think about it for a second and honestly answer, “It’s been great.”

You glance toward Felix again briefly before continuing. “I think what shocked me the most is how… in sync we are.”

Laura nods slowly while listening. “Like emotionally?”

“Emotionally, physically, personality-wise…” you shrug lightly but a small smile tugging at your lips. “Everything just kinda fits.”

Laura hums thoughtfully before taking another sip of her drink. Then suddenly her expression turns mischievous. “You know everyone’s betting you two are the success story of the season, right?”

Your laughter escapes immediately. “Oh my god.”

“It’s true!”

You shake your head while grinning into your glass. “Well,” you say playfully, “let’s hope so.”

Laura watches you for a second like she’s genuinely happy seeing how relaxed you look talking about either Felix or the relationship. Then casually she asks, “So how’s the physical attraction?”

You nearly choke on your drink because it’s so sudden.

Laura bursts into laughter immediately while you cough dramatically into your hand. “I need details!” she laughs.

You shake your head while recovering but your cheeks heat anyway. “I mean… we agreed to take things slow.”

Laura lifts an eyebrow knowingly. “And?”

“And then things just…” you gesture vaguely. “…heated up eventually.”

Laura laughs into her glass. “That’s really cute.”

You smile before nudging her leg lightly with yours. “What about you and Shane?”

Laura’s expression dims just slightly while she looks down at her drink. “It’s…” she exhales quietly. “I’m still figuring things out.”

You stay quiet, letting her continue if she wants to.

“The Shane I knew in the pods…” she pauses thoughtfully. “And physically being with Shane now— I’m still trying to make those two versions connect in my head.”

You nod slowly. You kind of understand what she actually means. Because from everything you saw in the women’s lounge, Laura had a hard time letting go of Jim after he chose Morgan instead.

So carefully, teasingly enough not to make it heavy, you ask, “What, are you attracted to somebody else?”

A beat later, you playfully add, “Jim, perhaps?”

Laura immediately laughs into her drink. “Oh my god.”

“So that’s a yes.”

She shakes her head but still smiles afterward. Then honestly, she answers, “Yeah. Jim is probably more my type physically.”

You already guessed that and maybe that’s what this whole thing is really testing. Reality versus expectation. Fantasy versus what’s actually in front of you.

So gently, you tell her, “Laura, I’m sure you said yes to Shane for a reason and I think you just got to focus on that, on building your relationship with him.”

Laura nods and then takes a small sip of her drink.

“I think you should go on your own pace. Not to rush things and you know, talk and communicate your feelings. I think that’s very important,” you say with utmost cautiousness, not wanting to sound like you’re preaching.

Laura nods slowly afterward, thoughtful now. “You’re right.”

You’re just about to take another sip of your drink when suddenly a warm hand settles on your shoulder. You already know it’s Felix before you even look up.

“Are you two talking about me?” he asks, one brow raises higher than the other.

You tilt your head innocently. “Why? Is your ear burning?”

Felix immediately laughs while Laura points accusingly at you. “Yes. She’s obsessed with you and can’t stop talking about you.”

“Oh really?” Felix asks smugly while dropping down beside you on the sofa.

You groan while he automatically slides an arm around your waist anyway and without effort, conversation picks right back up again. Like the three of you have known each other for far longer than a couple of weeks.

The party continues around you while Felix absentmindedly rubs slow circles against your waist the entire time he talks.

And god, you kind of wish this night never had to end.

-

YOU: I feel really lucky because the moment Felix and I got together… [softly smiles] Everything just kind of fell into place. I honestly don’t want this vacation to end. Like… at all. [laughs] I think we should all just stay here forever. No responsibilities. No stress. Just the beach and the sun and kissing my fiancée twenty-four seven. [grins]

-

Long after the party ends and the hotel quiets down, Felix finds himself wide awake beside you. Maybe it’s because tomorrow means leaving this strange little paradise behind. Or maybe it’s simply because every time he looks at you, he feels too much all at once to sleep properly.

Whatever it is, he’s not surprised when you suddenly lift your head from his chest and whisper, “Want to try the pool before we leave?”

Felix immediately smiles. “Yeah. Sure.”

Which is exactly how the two of you end up sneaking through the quiet hotel hallway in the middle of the night trying not to laugh too loudly.

The resort is mostly asleep now, the pathways lit only by dim golden lamps and moonlight reflecting off the water nearby that somehow makes everything feel even more intimate. Like the entire place belongs only to the two of you for a little while longer.

By the time you reach the swimming pool, Felix lets out a soft breath of relief seeing it completely empty.

The pool glows blue beneath the night sky, water shimmering softly under the lights beneath it. Without much thought, Felix pulls his shirt over his head first before tossing it onto one of the loungers nearby. Then he immediately turns toward you, catching you unbuttoning your shirt.

You already know the look on his face “I can take it off myself,” you say with an amused tone.

“I know,” Felix replies easily. “But I want to do it.”

Your expression melts immediately into that smile he’s quickly becoming addicted to. So you let him.

He gets behind you, slipping his arms under yours, hands reaching to the front of your shirt. Slowly, carefully, his fingers working open the buttons one by one before taking it off from your shoulders. Like he enjoys even the smallest acts of taking care of you.

Once he’s done, he quickly folds your shirt before placing it beside his own on the lounger. Then he steps into the pool first, hissing softly at the cold water until it reaches his knees. Afterward he turns and holds a hand out toward you.

Without hesitation, you take it and let him guides you into the water, one hand steady against your waist while you step down into the pool beside him.

“Cold,” you whisper shakily.

Felix warmly laughs at that. “I’ll make you warm,” he teasingly says.

Slowly the two of you drift toward the edge of the pool until your back presses against the cool tiled wall. Felix settles between your legs naturally, chest pressed against yours.

And goodness, you look beautiful like this with your hair slightly damp, eyes soft under the pale moonlight, skin glowing blue from the water around you.

Felix stares a little too long before softly murmurs, “You’re so beautiful.”

A smile blooms on your face and before he can stop himself, he leans forward and steals a quick kiss from you just because he can. Then his hands settle comfortably at your waist while the two of you sway lazily together to the slow rift of water.

For a little while neither of you says anything. Just listening to the quiet of the night around you.

Then Felix sighs softly, “I can’t believe vacation’s already over.”

Your lips curl into a dramatic pout. “No.”

Your arms slide around his shoulders, pulling you even closer to you. “Let’s just stay here forever.”

Felix smiles against your jaw before pressing a light kiss there. “I’m down for that.”

Then another kiss on your lips, a slow, lingering kiss that leaves warmth spreading through his chest afterward and he wishes — God, he wishes — that maybe real life can wait a little longer.

-

FELIX: If I could stay in this vacation forever with her… I would. [grins] Unfortunately that’s not how life works. [wistfully sighs] We’re going to go home soon. Real life’s going to happen. But I have faith in us. In what we’ve built together. [smiles] I think we’ll figure it out alright. [nods]

-

The water laps softly around the two of you as you stay tangled together near the edge of the pool. Your legs are wrapped around Felix’s waist under the water now, arms looped loosely around his shoulders while his hands rest securely against your thighs.

The night feels impossibly quiet. There’s only sound of water, your breathing and his. And being this close to him feels dangerous sometimes. Because the closer you get to Felix, the more terrifying it becomes to imagine losing this.

Your fingers drift lazily through the damp hair at the nape of his neck while he watches you with heavy-lidded eyes, completely relaxed beneath your touch.

He really is beautiful. Even more up close. The bluish pool light catches the freckles dusted across his cheeks and nose, and without thinking about it much, you lift your hand and gently begin tracing them with your fingertip.

Felix smiles immediately. “What’re you doing?” he asks softly.

“Connecting the dots.”

He chuckles quietly while letting you continue. Then your finger pauses beneath his eye where the tiny heart-shaped freckle sits. You lean in and press a soft kiss there.

Felix’s smile widens instantly afterward, so fond it almost makes your chest hurt. For a moment he only looks at you quietly and softly, he asks, “Is there anything that makes you nervous about living together?”

The question settles between you and so far, living with Felix has felt weirdly easy. Of course there are a few things about him that don’t align with you, but it’s nothing that you can’t tolerate. No moments where you suddenly realized you couldn’t coexist together.

So you answer honestly and shake your head lightly. “Not really.”

Felix’s expression softens a little at that, but then you continue, a little too honest. “I think what makes me nervous is us going back to reality.”

And that’s putting it lightly. Because the truth is you’ve been dreading it since the moment the final day of vacation started.

You glance away briefly before continuing. “When we go home…” Your fingers absentmindedly smooth against the back of his neck. “We’re both going to be busy. And I know you work crazy hours sometimes. We probably won’t get to see each other as much as we want.”

The thought alone makes something heavy settle in your chest. “And I just…” you sigh softly. “I don’t want us to lose this.”

Immediately Felix’s hands tighten slightly against you reassuringly. “We’ll just have to be intentional about it. Like… proper time management. Putting work down when we need to.”

You nod in agreement. “Yeah.”

Felix brushes away a strand of hair to the side of your face. “We have to make an actual ‘us time’.”

His thumb tenderly caresses your cheek as he adds. “No matter how busy things get. We have to make time for us.”

You nod slowly at that and somehow hearing him say it so confidently eases something inside you a little. Before another thought settles, he leans forward and kisses you, lingering enough that your head quiet down for a moment.

When he finally pulls away, his forehead stays resting against yours while both of you breathe the same cool night air. And then softly, almost like he’s admitting something fragile, he murmurs, “My life is so much better with you in it.”

Your chest aches immediately. The good kind of ache. And you’re sure it comes from being loved too gently. Too sincerely.

Then, Felix softly whispers, “I appreciate you.”

And god, nobody has ever loved you this loudly before. So you kiss him first this time and then whisper it against his lips. “I appreciate you.”

And Felix smiles into the kiss like hearing that from you means everything.

-

YOU: Throughout the whole experiment, we had no phones. No internet. No distractions. My entire focus was just… Felix. And when we go home, there’s going to be work and people and responsibilities. [softly exhales] So yeah, that worries me a little. I think my biggest concern right now is whether he’s actually going to say ‘I do’ at the altar. [nervously chuckles] If he says no? I’d be very shocked. I’m going to be… very disappointed. And very devastated. [sadly smiles]

-

✨ LOVE IS BLIND: PART THREE is available on Patreon ✨

Please support my writings by kindly reblog, comment or tip me on my ko-fi!

The email comes in quietly. Just a soft ping somewhere between the clutter of unread messages and half-finished drafts.

Hyunjin almost ignores it. He’s slouched in his chair, one leg stretched out under the desk, the other hooked loosely around it, pencil spinning lazily between his fingers while his screen glows with a half-done sketch he hasn’t touched in the last ten minutes. His mind isn’t there. It hasn’t been all morning. Not since—

He exhales through his nose, stopping the thought before it finishes and the ping comes again.

This time, he glances at it and the subject line catches his attention:

Final Submission Deadline – Product Testing Program

The pencil slips from his fingers, rolling across the desk until it bumps against his phone with a dull tap. For a second, he just stares at the screen and considers not to open it. Like maybe if he just let it sits there, unread. It won’t be real.

At one point, he caves in with a sigh and clicks it open.

Dear Participants,

This is a reminder that the final product evaluation must be submitted by the end of this week. Please ensure all testing sessions are completed and documented accordingly. Late submissions will not be accepted and therefore, will not receive full compensation and ineligible to enter the drawing for main prize.

Hyunjin slowly leans back in his chair as the weight of it settling somewhere uncomfortable in his chest. The test program ends this week and then… that’s it. No test schedule. No product testing. Just— done.

His jaw shifts slightly as he reads the email again, like maybe the words will rearrange themselves into something less absolute. Instead, his mind drifts to you and all the times he’s shared with you and with it, the chances he let slipped away.

His tongue presses against the inside of his cheek because to him it means more than just a test. More than the compensation and the mere promise of a free vacation. More than he’s comfortable admitting.

Hyunjin huffs out a quiet breath, dragging a hand through his dark locks before leaning forward again, elbows resting on the desk as he stares at the email.

“One more,” he mutters under his breath.

One more test. One more night. One more excuse. And then what?

His gaze flicks to his phone and he hopes that you’d have sent him something. But nothing. Nothing after that night. But that’s how you are. Clean lines. Clear boundaries. He used to like that but now— now it just irritates him.

Hyunjin reaches for his phone, unlocking it without thinking, thumb hovering over your name and thinks that at least, he has a reason to text you now.

So when are we going to do the final test?

He stares at the message for a second. It’s casual and normal, but… detached. So not what he’s actually thinking and wanting to say. Still, he hits send.

The message goes through instantly, delivered and Hyunjin grabs his pencil back, trying to continue working but his mind won’t quiet. He thought this would be simple and fun. Something temporary, but somewhere along the way, it stopped feeling that way. And the next thing he knows, the end is here — looming, inevitable and he finds himself dreading it. Because once it’s over and so are you. Or at least, the version of you he gets to have like this.

Hyunjin manages to force himself to work, mostly because he needs the distraction. An hour passed in a blink of an eye and he allows himself a break, or rather, a chance to check his phone. His fingers work fast to open the messaging app and the last message he sent you just… sits there. Delivered and seen, but no reply. Which is worse.

Hyunjin refreshes and refreshes it again, like that’ll somehow speed things up. Your chat stays exactly the same. No answer.

He exhales, pushing himself up from his chair. “Alright, guess I’m coming to you,” he mutters.

And at least now, he has a reason to see you.

-

Once the elevator doors slide open, Hyunjin makes a turn to the right, toward your office and he notices right away that you’re not on your desk. He continues walking as he spots Gabe is there, hunched over her laptop, fingers flying across the keyboard like she’s in a race against time.

“Morning,” Hyunjin calls out.

“Mm,” she half-heartedly replies without looking up.

That’s new. He arches a brow but doesn’t comment, instead making himself comfortable by perching on the edge of your desk. He takes a look at your things on the desk and impressed by how organized they are. His fingers reach for a bowl of candies without asking, fishing one out, unwrapping it lazily before popping it into his mouth.

He patiently waits as he sucks on the sweetness of caramel in his mouth, letting the silence stretch, only filled by the rapid clicking of keys and the occasional frustrated sigh from Gabe.

When she finally stops, she looks up and just like that, her expression brightens, like she’s remembered her manners. “Oh—hi, when did you get here?” she says properly this time, smiling.

Hyunjin shrugs, chewing slowly. “Long enough.”

“So, what are you doing here?” There’s a playful lilt to her voice as she asks it. Then her eyes light up, her smile brightens. “Wait—are you here to tell me you’re taking me as your plus one for the hotel voucher?”

God, she makes this too easy. Hyunjin grins and leans back slightly, slipping into the lie without hesitation. “Actually, my friend just got married. I gave the voucher to him as a wedding gift.” he says, dragging it out just a little.

Gabe’s smile falters. Just a little. “Aww… what a shame,” she mutters, deflating.

For a second, Hyunjin almost feels bad. Almost. “I’ll make it up to you with a lunch. My treat,” he adds quickly.

That works to make the smile on Gabe’s face widens and brightens. She perks up instantly, eyes lighting again. “Really?”

“Yeah,” Hyunjin answers without the slightest of hesitation.

She holds his gaze and grins. “I’m holding you to that.”

He raises a hand, putting it over his chest dramatically. “Please do.”

Hyunjin pushes himself off your desk then, wandering over to hers like this was his plan all along. He mindlessly plays with little figurine on Gabe’s desk and then too casually, he asks, “Where’s Miss Perfect Planner?”

Gabe props her chin on her hands, elbows on the desk, clearly slipping into her favorite mode now—gossip. “She got called to the CMO’s office about fifteen minutes ago,” she says.

Hyunjin pretends to be busy playing with the figurine to care. If only Gabe is clever enough to notice, there’s a flicker behind his expression before he smooths it over.

“Ah,” he hums.

Instead, Gabe leans in slightly, lowering her voice like she’s about to share state secrets. “I wonder what they’re talking about in there.”

Hyunjin lets out a small, dismissive chuckle. “Work, probably.”

Gabe scrunches her nose. “Yeah… probably.”

When he thought she’s about to drop the conversation there, she takes a sip of her coffee, eyes narrowing slightly in thought as she adds, “Could be something else...”

Hyunjin laughs again, lighter this time, like it doesn’t matter. Like it doesn’t bother him at all. “Wow. You’re really invested in this.”

Gabe holds his mug with both hands and then shrugs, unapologetic. “I like a good story.”

Honestly, Hyunjin can’t ignore that possibility too. But you can’t be, right? You’re all about rules and professional, you couldn’t be talking about something other than work with Seungmin.

“Anyway, what did you come here for?” Gabe asks, snapping Hyunjin out of his thoughts.

Hyunjin opens his mouth, ready to lie again but he stops when he hears the clicking sounds of heels against the floor. He turns his head to the side and there you are.

You step in, mid-thought, mid-motion and pause when you see him sitting there like he’s been waiting. Your brows knit together slightly, confused. Caught off guard, maybe.

“Oh, there you are,” he says easily, getting off Gabe’s desk.

Before you can question him, Hyunjin closes the distance, his hand landing lightly on your shoulder as he steers you away. “I need to talk to you,” he adds, already walking.

“About what?” you ask.

“The invitation design we talked about the other day,” he lies smoothly, still steering you away.

He opens the door to the empty meeting room and you don’t resist as he gently pushes you inside. Then he steps in after you.

The second the door shuts behind him, you turn on your feet to face him and still convinced that it’s about work. “What design are we talking about? I don’t think—” you stop talking when you see his grin.

Your face drops instantly into annoyance and flatly say, “Don’t joke about work.”

He shrugs, completely unbothered. “But it’s fun seeing you like that.”

You glare, arms crossing over your chest. “Then what do you need?”

He leans back against the table, hands resting along the edge. “Did you get my text?”

“Yes.”

“And…?”

“I was in a meeting.”

Right. Hyunjin nods slowly. “With Seungmin?”

“With the CMO, yes,” you correct him.

“What kind of meeting?” he asks it casually, but the intention is not.

Your eyes narrow just slightly. “That’s not your business.”

There it is. The line. He decides to let go. “Did you see the email about the test program deadline?”

“Yes.”

“And?”

You nonchalantly shrug. “I’m not worried because we’ll finish it on time.”

Hyunjin studies you for a second before asking, “And when are we doing the final test?”

With a tilt of your head and a playful glint in your eyes, you tease, “Ooo, someone’s impatient.”

Hyunjin is thrown off for a second because that’s not what he expected. He recovers quickly, a grin sliding back into place. “Of course, I am. We’re going to win that free vacation, remember?”

You nod like that makes sense and think for a second. “How about tomorrow then?”

“No.

His answer is too fast and rather, suspicious. He quickly schools his face to remain calm, not willing to let it show that tomorrow is too soon for him. That he’s not ready for it. And that he actually doesn’t want it to end soon.

“Didn’t you just say we need to finish it on time?” you ask with eyes slightly narrowed.

Hyunjin opens his mouth and then closes it. Then scrambles to explain, “Well—yeah, but… It’s the last one. It should be special.”

You let out a long, tired sigh. “I don’t like the sound of that.”

He scoffs. “Why not?”

“Because you’re the one planning it.”

He grins at that, stepping closer, hands finding your arms without hesitation. “You’ll like it this time.”

You roll your eyes. But you don’t pull away from the idea. “When, then?” you ask.

Hyunjin thinks quickly, but carefully. Since they only have to submit within the duration, he can definitely push it to the final date. “This weekend,” he decides.

You take a second to consider it and then nod. “I’ll see you then.”

And just like that, you’re turning toward the door.

Hyunjin straightens slightly as he calls after you. “It’ll be special,” he assures you.

You open the door, glancing back over your shoulder and offering him a faint smile. “Can’t wait,” you flatly say.

The you step out of the door and Hyunjin stands there for a second with a smile slowly rises on his face. Because you said can’t wait. But the way you said it? Yeah. You’re not the only one pretending.

-

The days slip past him faster than he expects. Everything feels… suspended, like he’s just waiting for something to arrive and then, it does.

The weekend is here and by the time he pulls up in front of your house, the late afternoon sun is dipping low, casting everything in that soft golden light that makes things feel warmer than they actually are.

He cuts the engine, reaches into the backseat, grabbing what he needs—a backpack slung over one shoulder, a paper bag hooked in his fingers.

For a second, his gaze flicks to the door. He still has your spare key. He could just walk in. But, no. Tonight deserves more than that.

So he steps out, shuts the car door, and walks up to the front door like he doesn’t already know this place inside out. Then knocks on it. Once. Twice.

He doesn’t have to wait long for the door to open and there you are, leaning against the frame, casual, like you’ve been expecting him—but not this early.

Hyunjin’s grin comes easy as he lifts the paper bag in his hand and cheerily announces, “Dinner’s here.”

It earns him exactly what he wants— that faint, reluctant smile tugging at your lips. “You’re early. That’s new,” you say, one brow lifting.

He shrugs, shifting the bag in his hand. “I’m full of surprises.”

You don’t even bother entertaining that. Just step aside, opening the door wider for him.

Hyunjin steps in, crossing the threshold and dropping his things in the living room without much thought before following you toward the kitchen.

You stop there, turning slowly, hands braced against the counter behind you. “So, what’s for dinner?”

Hyunjin watches you for a second. Then smiles. “There’s something you have to do first.”

A flicker of confusion crosses your face. “What?”

He jerks his chin toward the chair. “Sit. Wait here.”

You sigh immediately, suspicion written all over your face. “If this is another one of your experimental cooking techniques—”

“It’s not,” he cuts in quickly. His grin widening as he adds, “It’s worse.”

Your eyes widen in horror and that’s enough to make him laugh. “Relax,” he quickly assures you, shaking his head. “Do you want dinner or not?”

“Yes. And I’d like to have it now,” you say in a firm, impatient tone.

“Then sit and I’ll tell you when it’s ready,” he simply says.

Another sigh escapes you, in defeat this time. “Please, hurry.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He steps closer before you can move, hands finding your shoulders easily, guiding you back into the chair. You let him even if you roll your eyes while doing it.

Hyunjin lingers behind you for a second longer than necessary, bending down just enough so his mouth hovers close to your ear. “Sit still and be patient,” he murmurs.

Before you can stop him, he presses a quick kiss to your cheek and triumphantly grins when he sees your surprised, slightly flustered expression. He quickly straightening himself, grabbing his things and heads toward the back.

When you see him walk past the kitchen, you shout, “You don’t want to mess with a hungry girl.”

He chuckles under his breath, stopping for a second to shout back, “I’ll keep that in mind.”

He continues walking toward the back door. Toward whatever ridiculous, over-the-top plan he’s cooked up this time. And as he steps out into the backyard, Hyunjin can’t help the small smile tugging at his lips. Because if this is how it ends, he’s making sure it’s anything but forgettable.

-

The sun hangs low, dipping toward the horizon, painting everything in warm gold and soft orange. Hyunjin gets to work, setting everything up for his special night. He lays the picnic mat first—right in the middle of the yard where the view is best. The projector takes him a minute to set up, adjusting the angle, stepping back, squinting, stepping forward again until the image lands cleanly against the blank wall of your house. He leaves the garden lights off and instead, he flicks on the back porch light, letting it spill softly into the yard.

He steps back once more, scanning everything and a quiet breath leaves him.

“Not bad,” he mutters.

Satisfied, Hyunjin turns and heads back inside. He walks into the house like he has springs on his feet but he abruptly stops on his track when he sees you’re not in the kitchen where he told you to wait. He pauses, glancing around briefly before moving toward the living room and finds you curled on the sofa, a book in your hands, completely at ease like time moves slower around you. His steps slow without him realizing and admires the sight for a bit. Because you look… soft like this. Untouched by everything that’s been circling between the two of you.

When you notice him, you stretch—arms lifting above your head, back arching slightly as you set the book aside. “Is it ready?” you ask.

He doesn’t answer right away. Just walks up to you, a smile already tugging at his lips as he holds his hands out.

You slip your glasses off first, putting it away along with the book. Then place your hands in his with no hesitation at all

Hyunjin helps you up, his grip steady, one hand lingering around yours even after you’re standing. “Come on,” he says.

He doesn’t let go. He leads you through the house, toward the back door with that quiet anticipation building with every step. Right before opening it, he stops and turns slightly toward you. “Don’t be too surprised.”

You tilt your head, putting on an exaggerated, almost mocking expression—wide-eyed, smitten. “Wow, I’m already impressed,” you say dryly.

He knows you’re teasing but it doesn’t matter. You’re cute even when you faked a delighted expression. He smiles anyway, then turns the knob and pulls the door open. “After you.”

You step out first and stop right there on the porch, taking in the picnic setup in the middle of the backyard, the soft light, the sky melting into evening hues. You turn your head slightly, glancing at him.

“The forecast says it’s going to rain tonight,” you inform.

Your tone is light, matter-of-factly but he catches that quiet, reluctant approval underneath. “Nope, not going to let you ruin it,” he decides, taking your hand in his and then guides you down the steps, toward the mat, steadying you without making it obvious. He waits until you’re comfortably seated before taking his place beside you.

When you look at him again, there’s that question in your eyes. “This what you meant by special?”

Hyunjin grins, proud and completely unashamed. “And by special, it means…” he says, gesturing loosely around, “…romantic.”

He pauses for effect and then proudly declares. “That’s the theme for tonight. Romance.”

Your lips part slightly, probably ready to protest, but he cuts you off immediately. “Now—for dinner.”

He reaches for the brown paper bag, setting it between you both like it’s something grand.

And then ruins the illusion completely as he pulls out a burger and hands it to you. Then another for himself. He rips open the bag, dumping the fries right into it without ceremony before grabbing two soda cans from the side.

When he looks back at you, you’re staring at him. Unimpressed. “Burger and lukewarm soda? Really?”

Hyunjin just smiles. Unbothered. “It’s not about the food. It’s about who you’re eating it with.”

He gestures upward and continues talking, “Together. Under the stars.”

You follow his gaze, looking at the sky and… there are no stars. Just fading light and clouds slowly gathering. “There’s no starts because it’s going to rain soon,” you point out.

He gives you a small shake of head and ignores that. “And I prepared a movie.”

“Oh, no,” you groan immediately.

“I found the dirtiest, nastiest porn on—”

You don’t wait for him to finish, but rise from the mat.

Hyunjin quickly stops you, grabbing you by the wrist and stopping you from leaving the mat. “I’m joking,” he says, half-laughing.

You sit back down with your lips curl into a pout.

“I actually have something worse,” he says proudly. Then, quickly add, “But on theme.”

“Romantic?”

“Very.”

You relax slightly at that and then glance back at the food. “Can I eat now?”

He holds up a finger. “Wait.”

Hyunjin pops the tab on your soda first, handing it to you, then opens his only for it to fizz violently, foam rising too fast. “Ah—hurry, lift your can!” He mutters in a rush.

You do, confused.

He rushes to clink his can against yours in a rushed, uneven toast. “To—whatever this is—”

“To a romantic night,” you correct with lack of enthusiasm.

“Yes, that,” he says and hastily takes a long drink before it spills over.

Hyunjin catches the way you let out a small soft, amused chuckle before sipping yours and the soda feels warms as he swallows it down. He leans back slightly, looking at you, then at the sky, then at everything he’s set up around you both.

It’s simple, a little chaotic, far from perfect but, it feels like it might be. And Hyunjin has a feeling that tonight is going to be a beautiful night.

-

Hyunjin barely registers the movie anymore because you’re right here next to him. Close enough that your knee brushes his every now and then, close enough that he can hear the quiet rhythm of your chewing, the small hums you make when you take a sip of your soda.

He pops another fry into his mouth, glancing at you as you do the same—bite of burger, sip of soda, repeat, like some unspoken rhythm the two of you have fallen into.

“It’s good, right?” he asks, mouth half full, already knowing the answer.

You nod, chewing.

Hyunjin leans back slightly, smug. “Of course it is. You’re eating it with me.”

You nod again, like you’re entertaining him, like you might actually. “Could be that,” you say lightly.

And then you swallow, tilt your head just slightly, and ruin it. “But I think it’s mostly because I’m hungry,” you cheekily add.

His cheeks puff out, full of food, as he stares at you in disbelief. “You never let me win,” he mumbles around the bite, a soft, offended whine slipping through.

You just grin and it’s unfair. The way you look tonight—relaxed, softer, brighter than he’s used to seeing you. It throws him off in the best way.

After a moment, he swallows and gestures vaguely. “You done?”

You nod, brushing your fingers together.

Hyunjin moves immediately, gathering the wrappers, the empty containers, shoving everything into a plastic bag. Then he pauses, digging into his bag again. “Wait,” he says, already pulling out wet wipes.

You don’t argue. You just sit there, letting him take your hand and gently clean your fingers.

The gesture is simple, but something about it says otherwise.

“Thank you,” you murmur with a soft smile.

He shrugs like it’s nothing, even as something quietly flips inside his chest. He wipes his own hands next, then straightens, clapping once. “Alright, time for dessert,” he announces.

Your brows immediately lift in interest and that alone makes him grin.

He pulls out the container, flips it open with a little flourish, and offers it to you. Chocolate-covered strawberries. The chocolate glistening, melting from the warmth of spring night.

Your face lights up, already reaching for one. “They look so good,” you beam.

Hyunjin watches you take a bite, watches the way your expression brightens instantly, the delighted hum of approval that slips from you.

“And they’re so sweet too,” you murmur.

And God—he could live in that expression. Right there. That ease, that warmth. He leans back slightly, studying you and then carefully says, “You’re tame tonight.”

You lick a bit of chocolate from your thumb, slow and absentminded, then sigh softly.

“Maybe because it’s the final test tonight,” you honestly answer and then briefly glance at him. “This nightmare is almost over.”

Hyunjin lets out a loud, dramatic gasp. His hand clutching at his chest like you’ve just offended him.

You laugh and the sound is crisp, almost melodic and he feels something fluttering in his stomach.

“I’m just relieved we’re finishing on time,” you say with a soft sigh. Then, a second later, you look at him and add, “And safely.”

“You’re forgetting that one incident on out first test,” he mumbles, then bites into his strawberry.

You laugh again and this time, with your mouth full of food. “It wasn’t that bad.”

“My mouth was numb for hours,” he insists.

“You’re so dramatic.”

He huffs, but he’s smiling. He always is, around you. Without thinking, he reaches over, thumb brushing the corner of your lips.

“Hold still,” he murmurs.

You do and even lean in close enough so he can wipe the smudge of chocolate away and then, without breaking eye contact, licks it from his thumb.

“You should admit though that this has been fun,” he says, too casually after what he’s just done.

You take your time finishing the strawberry, like you’re thinking, like you’re deciding whether to give him the answer he wants.

He leans in slightly, gaze locking onto yours, challenging you to lie to his face.

A soft chuckle slips from you and you finally admit, “Yeah, it’s been fun.”

A grin slowly rises on his small face and he leans back onto his elbows, stretching out. “We should do it again sometime.”

You shake your head immediately, laughing. “No.”

He turns his head, slightly offended by the immediate rejection. “No?”

You keep shaking your head.

He tilts closer and his tone flirtatious as he asks, “Not to the test program… or no to the sex?”

You lean in then, daringly close an inch or two between your faces and Hyunjin tells himself to stay cool.

Your lips curve into a sly smile and say, “No to you.”

He gasps again, louder this time. Scandalized. But he recovers quickly, grin slipping back into his plush lips. “At least you said yes to the sex.”

You scoff at that but you don’t argue. And he takes that as a win.

“Feed me,” he says, nudging the container toward you.

You stare at him. “No.”

“Come on, romance me for once,” he whines.

You roll your eyes but you reach for a strawberry anyway. You hold it by the stem as he opens his mouth, waiting. You shove half of it in and he bites down, the sweetness bursting across his tongue, chocolate melting after it—and before he can even finish, you pop the other half into your own mouth.

You lick your fingers clean and chuckle when you look at him. “There’s chocolate on your lips,” you say.

He leans in immediately. “Clean it for me then.”

Your hand lifts but he’s quick to catch it, lowering it. “Not with your hand.”

You pause for a second to finally get what he demanded and to his surprise, you go ahead with it. You lean in closer and closer until your breath brushes his lips. You gently hold his chin, keeping his head turned slightly to the side and then land a soft lick, tongue barely grazing but enough to clean the smudge of chocolate on the corner of his mouth

Hyunjin doesn’t want to miss this chance. He turns his head to meet your lips and crash them against yours. He takes the hand holding his chin, pulling you in and deeper. You don’t fight it, but melt into it. He feels the way you give in, the way your body leans into his instead of pulling away.  And oh, your lips are so sweet, so soft, so… fucking addictive. And he chases it again and again. And again.

His hand slides along your side, feeling the warmth of you through the fabric, the subtle curve beneath his palm. You shift closer, and suddenly the space between you disappears entirely. He moves without thinking, guiding you down onto the cushion, hovering over you as his mouth finds yours again.

The movie? Forgotten.

The dessert? Left behind.

It’s just you and him.

Until all of a sudden, you break the kiss and look at him with a questioning look on your face. “Did you drool?”

He looks at you, eyes blinking innocently, caught off guard. “What—”

A drop hits his cheek, cold and wet, and for a second, both of you exchange a look. Another drop lands on the top of his head. Then another.

“It’s raining,” you mutter.

Chaos erupts. You scramble up, grabbing the edge of the picnic mat, dragging it toward the house while he fumbles with the projector, nearly dropping it in the process.

“I got it, I got it—!” he assures as he’s forgetting the bag of food still sitting there, on the process of getting soaked by the rainwater and runs for it.

You don’t got it, he absolutely does not got it and by the time you both make it inside, slightly breathless, a little damp, the rain has already picked up outside.

You turn to him immediately. “I told you it was going to rain.”

He breathlessly laughs, unbothered and you try to stay annoyed, but you break, laughing with him.

The sound fills the room, mingling with the sound of the rain outside and eventually, the hilarity slowly fades. The silence returns. Not the awkward kind, but the kind that sets the sparks alive between you and him.

Hyunjin looks at you, at your hair slightly damp, strands clinging together. Your lashes stuck together from the rain. The wet marks of rain on your powder blue dress. You look softer like this, like something he can hold close and treasure all night.

Your voice drops, quieter now. “Guess the romantic night is over.”

“Not really,” he mutters, stepping closer and before you can say anything else, his arms wrap around your waist, pulling you in, lifting you effortlessly off the ground.

You gasp in surprise, hands instinctively grabbing onto him and Hyunjin just grins as he carries you toward the guest bedroom.

-

A laugh spills out of you as Hyunjin tosses you gently onto the bed and you land with a soft bounce.

“Wait, that’s not romantic at all,” you complain between breaths.

He climbs over you immediately, caging you in, one knee sinking into the mattress beside your hip, hands braced on either side of your head. A grin blooms on his face as he simply retorts. “It is in my head.”

He leans in, a hand reaches for your chin. His thumb lightly tracing your lower lip, pulling it down and that’s when he kisses you again. He feels the hint of chocolate and rain on your lips, and the way your laughter fades into it, adding a different kind of sweetness into it.

His mouth moves against yours, deeper, hungrier. His hands begin to wander, impatiently so, finding the seams of your dress, the zipper at your back. He fumbles with it as he’s having a hard time to split his focus in two: kissing you and unzipping your dress.

You break the kiss with a low breath, reaching behind you to help, your fingers quick and practiced where his aren’t. Soon, the zipper gives, the fabric loosens, and suddenly the space between you feels thinner.

You push at his shoulders, just enough to flip the dynamic for a second, fingers working at ease as you unbutton them. When you part it open, you gasp.

“What?” he asks immediately, a flicker of panic cutting through the haze.

You sit up slightly, eyes narrowing as you lean closer to his neck. “You have a mosquito bite.”

“What?” he says, still puzzled. His hand cluelessly rubbing over his neck.

“This one is even bigger,” you say, fingers moving to his shoulder, tracing lightly over the raised skin.

The soft gaze and the genuine concern make something warm curl in his chest. He has to bite back a smile. “Now that you’ve pointed it out. I can feel it itching,” he mutters playfully.

Your hand doesn’t stop rubbing over it and you say, almost sweetly, “Good. I hope it itches so badly.”

“Hope it itches so badly,” he repeats with a quiet laugh and then retaliates.

He dips his head into your neck, pressing ticklish kisses, teeth lightly nibbling on your skin, and you immediately squirm beneath him, laughter breaking out again.

“Hyunjin—stop—!”

He doesn’t stop. Not until your laughter softens, until your body settles again under his, until the space between you crackles with sparks again. Then his mouth finds yours again and just like that, the heat returns. Stronger.

His jeans become the next obstacle as your hands fiddle with the button but not long after, the sound of zipper opening echoes between you, obscenely louder than it should. He flips to the side, removing the whole thing until he’s bare beside you.

Before he can react, you get on top of him, body pressing from above him, warm and soft all over. Your mouths automatically locked again in a kiss, hands going all over your back and eventually meeting the strap of your bra. He works slowly as he unclasps it and he feels your low gasp against his mouth when it snaps open.

You break the kiss to sit up, taking the bra off of you, exposing your bare chest and soft mounds to him, only to him. For a brief moment, you just sit there straddling him, a smirk tugging at your lips as you look down on him, a seductive, dangerous smirk.

You lower your mouth on him again and Hyunjin is more than eager to welcome it, a hand settles on the back of your neck. The rest of your body follows after, slowly molding into his shape and your crotch somehow burrowing deeper, seeking heat though there’s the flimsy layer of your underwear separating them in between.

The hand on the back of your neck moves, tracing down your spine and resting for a bit on the arch of your back, fingers edging the elastic band of your underwear before slips them inside. He doesn’t stop himself from fondling on your ass cheeks, feeling the flesh gives in to his greedy touches.

Impatient, he yanks your underwear down just as far as his arms let him and they stuck somewhere around your thighs. He brings his hand upward, fingers running between your ass cheeks and a little lower to the source of heat. He sighs against your mouth at the feeling your wetness welcoming his fingers. And oh, it’s just good to know that he’s not the only one wanting this, burning from this.

You pull away just enough to give an inch or two between your faces, allowing him to see your expression shifts as he pushes two fingers into you — the way your brows furrowing just slightly, the way your face tenses just for a fraction before it loosens, the way your mouth falls open with a breathless gasp escaping it.

He continues, pumping his fingers in and out of you, drawing your essence to flood and eventually drips onto him. As if drawn by the heat, he pulls away only to reach down between your bodies, hand wrapping around his semi-hard and put it between your legs. You instinctively close your thighs around it and he feels it, your wet, hot cunt pressing against his shaft.

Through his half-lidded eyes, he notices the way you’re watching his face for reaction as you cross your legs together around the ankles to give him that tightness he seeks. He doesn’t hold himself back from letting a groan slips out of his mouth and you quickly capture it with a kiss, a haste, deep kiss.

It’s just you and him now. Skin to skin. Heat meeting heat. Your bodies fit together like they’ve already learned each other, like this isn’t new anymore—and maybe that’s what makes it more intimate. More dangerous. More… real.

Then Hyunjin moves, subtly moving his hips enough to rub his length against your wetness. Hands gripping each side your hips, keeping you still as his moves turning into pulsating motions. He loses himself in it for a moment. In the way you respond, in the way your hands braced on each side of his head, in the way you lowly moan into his mouth.

This alone feels so much to him and he doesn’t want to stop. If he could, he would stop the time and stays in this—

But then, you break the kiss with a gasp and shift, dropping to his side. Eyes dazed and a little unfocused as you mutter, “We should start.”

Right. It’s a test. He stops for a second, trying to redirect his focus to the main reason why the two of you are here in the first place. “Yep, I’ll get on it,” he says.

Hyunjin exhales, dragging a hand through his hair before sitting up and reaching to the bedside table. The product sits there, waiting. Unopened.

You settle back into the bed after removing your underwear and then watch him with a small, knowing smile tugging at your lips. “You must be excited for this.”

He glances at you, already tearing into the packaging. “Very.”

You softly giggle under your breath. “Do you even know how to put it on?”

He flips the box over, reading the instructions with exaggerated seriousness, brows slightly furrowed like he’s studying for an exam. “Tucks the two little wings under the labia—"

“Give me that,” you cut in with a light laugh, taking it from his hands before he can overthink it.

He allows himself to watch you for a moment, the ease in your gestures, the quiet confidence as you put the device on you. Then he busies himself too with the condom, practicing the same cautiousness as he puts the thin rubber down his length. He checks once more before rejoining you on the bed.

There’s a beat where you just… look at each other.

You’re the first one to break into a soft laugh. “You did a good job,” you praise, eyes briefly glancing down at his length.

“We did a good job,” he corrects you with a smirk.

You laugh again and put a hand on his neck, bringing his head close. “Good job, you two,” you playfully mutter before crashing your lips against him.

Soon, it’s your bodies tangling in heat again, slithering against the bedsheets, limbs around each other. When he finally pulls back just enough, your legs part instinctively for him, welcoming, and something sparks within him from the silent invitation.

He glances down at your wetness, glistening and tantalizing him the longer he looks. He uses his fingers next, brushing over the device still attached to you, right on the clit with the little wings tucked under the labia per instructions said on the manual sheets. There’s a small, discreet button there and he presses on it.

You gasp softly as the device starts to vibrate, the sudden sensation catching you off guard

“Just testing,” he cheekily says with a crooked grin.

“Well, it works just fine,” you say, already pulling him back into a kiss, like you’re trying to distract him from his own mischief.

As your lips move together again, he finally gives in to the pull between you. He uses his fingers first, two digits barely pumping, just enough to draw more essence out of you. He lets the moment stretch, letting you melt into his touch before finally shifting.

Without looking and relying more on instinct, Hyunjin aligns himself with your entrance. He pushes just barely yet you gasp against his mouth as the blunt head of his cock pressing into you. It’s not the first, but each time, it feels like it. He still finds himself overwhelmed by the feeling of being inside you.

He takes his time despite the urge to feel you all at once. He knows better to not force you, to treat you gentle. With utmost care and patience. He eases into you little by little, hands braced on each side of you, lips continuously placing kisses on your skin if not on your lips.

He notices the way you glance down to where your bodies joined, how most of his length has disappearing into you, wrapped tightly in your velvety walls and sigh, a breathless, arousing sigh.

Out of instinct, your legs parting wider like an unspoken permission to enter you further and he takes it. He allows himself to move forward, pushing the remaining length into you until he’s fully sheathed in that delicious tightness. Until he feels the device pressing against him and the buzzing sensation it offers. He gets it then, the purpose of the product. How it offers the same sensation to both of you, at the same time.

Hyunjin lingers there for a second, letting the closeness settle, letting you adjust, letting himself feel the warmth, the connection, the faint hum of the product caught between you.

“Oh,” he breathes against your lips, a grin tugging through it. “Yeah… I feel it now.”

You smile an almost shy smile, but it barely lasts before he’s kissing you again, deeper this time, his body beginning to move with slow, steady intent.

Your back arches beneath him, instinctive, giving him more depth, allowing him to launch deeper into you, and he takes it easily, like his body already knows how to find that rhythm with yours.

The room fills with the soft sounds. Warm breaths. The quiet, building tension that wraps around both of you and pulls tighter with every movement. He loses track of time of everything.

Until the rhythm breaks. Something off. He stills, frowning slightly as the device slips out of place, disrupting the moment in the smallest but most irritating way.

“Wait,” he mutters.

He adjusts it, making sure he puts it on properly and resume. He wills himself to forget that small inconvenient, not wanting to ruin this perfect moment. His hips moving in rolling movements now, like he’s swimming into the depth of ocean, the depth of you and the rhythm picks up, the tension climbs higher.

Then, the device slips again.

You slowly sit up on the bed, fixing it for both of you. You lay back down after and wrap your legs tighter around him, not letting anything to go wrong, to go out of place. You hastily kiss him as if you try to erase the seconds of interruption off his memory. In a way, it does.

“You can move now,” you mutter against his lips.

Hyunjin doesn’t want to waste time by lingering on it. He moves, thrusting into you carefully now. Not too slow. Not too fast either. He realizes that his purpose slightly shifting from pleasing you, to testing, to making sure that the device stays where it is.

But on the third time it slips again, you both can’t ignore the interruption. The frustration. He exhales sharply, pushing himself up slightly, trying to fix it again but it doesn’t stay, doesn’t cooperate, doesn’t work the way it’s supposed to.

And just like that, the moment breaks. You both pause, breathing uneven, the heat still there but tangled now with annoyance and disappointment.

Hyunjin stills completely, then slowly pulls back, the space between you returning inch by inch.

You look at him, a little apologetic. “I can’t— it’s not… I don’t think we can continue.”

“Yeah,” he says with a small nod.

“I’m sorry,” you meekly mutter with a gentle hand on his arm.

“Hey, it’s not you,” he cuts in with a soft smile, shaking his head. “It’s the product.”

He lets out a quiet huff of a laugh, running a hand over his face. “Wow, that’s—” he can’t even find the word to say, but know that he doesn’t want to ruin it further. And yet—

“What a letdown,” he says with a humorless laugh.

Silence settles after that. The kind that doesn’t quite know where to go next.

Hyunjin looks at you and for the first time that night, he realizes he didn’t plan for this part where it doesn’t go as he imagined it in his head. The part where the night turns into a big disappointment. And he has no idea what comes after.

-

The bathroom light feels too bright as Hyunjin stands there for a second too long, palms braced against the sink, staring at his own reflection. His hair’s a mess, his lips still a little flushed, his breathing not quite steady yet and yet the room behind him feels… empty. Like something got cut off halfway through, like a song that never reached its chorus.

So that’s how it ends?

The final test. The last night. The one he kept building up in his head like it was supposed to mean something bigger, something more —and it fizzles out because of a faulty product.

He lets himself feel it for a second. The disappointment. The irritation. The quiet, stubborn frustration that it didn’t go the way he imagined. That it didn’t feel the way he wanted it to. Then he exhales again, straighter this time, like he’s forcing himself to let it go.

It’s just a test. Right?

Still, he lingers for one more second, eyes flicking up to his reflection again, like he’s trying to catch whatever thought keeps slipping just out of reach. Then he pushes off the sink and heads out.

His feet halt to a stop, hand lingers on the knob of the bathroom door when he finds you still there, sitting at the edge of the bed with his shirt draped over your frame, fingers working through the buttons like you’re in no rush at all.

This is rare. You usually leave the second the test ended. Like staying longer than necessary would complicate something neither of you wants to address, but not tonight.

You glance at him over your shoulder, still buttoning up, and say casually, “Since the test finished early—”

You pause to huff out a laugh. “No pun intended.”

His lips twitch despite himself and finally let go of the door knob, body turning fully facing you now.

You don’t look embarrassed. If anything, you look… lighter. Like the awkward ending didn’t stick to you the way it did to him. “I was thinking,” you continue, finishing the last button, “we could just… continue the movie?”

It’s just a suggestion but to Hyunjin, it feels like a second chance. A second chance that falls right onto his lap.

You fold a leg under you as you shift and casually say, “Well, I think we should just watch the movie from the start.”

“Yeah,” he says quickly—too quickly. Then clears his throat, trying to smooth it out. “Yeah, we can— I’ll set the projector again.”

You nod at that, already pushing yourself off the bed. “I’ll get the snacks.”

And just like that, you’re heading for the door.

Hyunjin watches you go, the faint sound of your footsteps fading down the hall, and only when you’re out of sight does he let the smile fully settle on his face. Because tonight isn’t over yet and maybe it doesn’t have to end like that.

He falls into preparation right away. He sets the projector on the small shelf mounted to the wall behind the bed. He turns it on, aligning the screen on the blank wall. Once he’s done, he moves to smooth out the sheets, fluffs the pillows to make it cozy, comfortable. The room still holds traces of what happened earlier but he pushes past it, focusing on small, tangible things. By the time he’s done, the bed looks almost untouched.

He hears your footsteps before he sees you and when he turns, you’re already there in the doorway, balancing a bowl of sliced fruits in one arm, a bottle of wine and two glasses in the other.

“Careful—” he starts, already moving toward you.

You barely get a step in before he takes the bottle and the bowl from your hands, steadying the rest as he nudges the door shut behind you with his foot. You both climb onto the bed after that, settling into opposite sides like you’ve done this a hundred times.

You pop open the cork and pour the wine one glass at a time. The earthy, aphrodisiac smell of wine instantly filling the room. You hand the glass you have filled to him and then pour another for yourself.

Hyunjin puts the bowl on his lap, a brow raised in question as he looks into the sliced fruits inside. “Do you have better snacks?”

“These are healthy late-night snacks,” you simply reply. To end the argument, you pick up a grape and then shoves it into his mouth.

For a second, he just looks at you in disbelief. Then he bites on the grape and chewing on it, smiling as the sweetness flooding his mouth.

You put the bottle of wine away then lift your glass slightly, a small tilt of your head. “To romantic night part two?”

He lifts his glass and smiles as he repeats the words, “To romantic night part two.”

The glasses clink quietly and almost at the same time, you both take a sip, exchanging a warm gaze after. Hyunjin almost forgot about it. He quickly reaches for the remote and then presses play.

This time, you both actually watch as the movie flickers across the wall, soft light dancing over your faces as you settle deeper into the pillows. It’s surprisingly easy how the conversation flows between scenes, between sips of wine and bites of fruit. You comment on the characters. He disagrees, dramatically. You shove a slice of fruit into his mouth mid-argument just to shut him up. He laughs around it.

At one point, you glance at him, eyes narrowing slightly like you’re studying something. “You must’ve taken a lot of girls to do this.”

“What?” he asks while refilling his wine.

“This,” you gesture vaguely toward the movie, the wine, the setup. “Watching romantic movies. Dates like this.”

Hyunjin scrunches his nose immediately. “Nah.”

You look at him like you don’t believe a word of it.

So he adds, quieter this time, “It’s my first time, actually.”

Your brows lift. “With a girl?” you joke.

He huffs a small laugh. “First time watching a movie with a girl and actually paying attention.”

That earns a snort from you. “Wow, lucky me,” you flatly mutter.

He grins, but it fades quicker than usual. Because the room goes quiet after that. Not uncomfortable. Just full, content.

You shift, sinking deeper into your pillow, eyes fixed on the screen for a moment before you speak again. “Since you know all about my dating history…” you start, voice lighter than the words that follow, “what about you?”

He already knows where this is going and usually, he’d quickly shift the conversation to something else. Yet, he doesn’t do it. Instead, he lets you.

“When was the last time you were in a relationship?”

He doesn’t hesitate, but he doesn’t really answer either. “A long time ago.”

It’s vague. Intentionally so. And you understand right away that he’s reluctant to share more than that. Your eyes narrow slightly, a teasing edge returning. “She must’ve done a number on you, huh?”

He doesn’t respond, doesn’t look at you. Just takes a sip of his wine instead.

You don’t push like the good person you are. But you sigh, slumping lower on your pillow, and when you speak again, your voice is quieter. “I get it, though,” you murmur, eyes still on the screen but they’re distant. “Some experiences just… mess with you.”

Hyunjin looks at you then. But you don’t look at him.

“It makes you question everything,” you continue, almost to yourself. “Like… if you’re just not someone worth staying for.”

His chest tightens at that. Like you’re hearing the voices that haunt him whenever emotional feelings show up.

“Or if it’s too much to ask,” you add, voice dipping just slightly, “to be loved properly.”

There’s a long pause. You sink further into the pillow, letting out a small, humorless laugh. “Sometimes I wonder if I even allowed to want love at all.”

Hyunjin’s mouth is open but nothing comes out of it. Because for once, he doesn’t have anything clever to say, to tease you or to at least, lighten up the moment. Just the weight of your words, hanging there between you, heavier than anything that happened earlier tonight.

He can’t focus on the rest of the movie after that and when he finally turns his head again, you’re curled slightly into yourself, sleeping soundly like none of it ever left your lips in the first place.

Hyunjin watches you for longer than he means to, soft and peaceful, untouched by the things you just said, and something shifts in his chest again, something heavy and unsettling. He can’t help the thought that creeps in.

Do I even deserve this? Do I have anything real to give you?

He exhales slowly, like he’s trying to push the thought away. He doesn’t let himself linger on it and reaches for the duvet, pulling it gently up to your chest. His fingers brush your hair back from your face, almost reverent.

God. You’re beautiful like this. Too beautiful. Too easy to want something more with.

He knows he shouldn’t. He knows this ends soon. But still, if there’s one thing he wants to do for the last time, it’s this. He leans in and then innocently, softly presses his lips against yours, a quiet, fleeting kiss that doesn’t ask for anything in return.

When he pulls back, he lingers close for a second, eyes tracing your features like he’s trying to memorize them. “Goodnight,” he whispers.

He reaches for the remote, turns the movie off and the room suddenly falls into darkness, lit only by the faint glow from outside.

Hyunjin settles back beside you, the space between you smaller than before and as sleep finally pulls him under, it’s your face that follows him there.

-

Hyunjin slowly opens his eyes, the ceiling coming into focus as his body stirs, still heavy with sleep. For a second, he doesn’t move, just lies there, listening and realizes that there’s no soft breathing beside him. No warmth pressed into his side.

He turns his head and your side of the bed is already empty. It doesn’t surprise him anymore, he’s gotten used to it—but still, something in him pauses there for a second, eyes lingering on the faint crease your body left behind.

Then, slowly, a smile pulls at his lips as he recalls last night. The picnic, the rain, the way you both scrambled to get back inside and that darn product. The way you two continued to part two. The movie, the wine, the way you fell asleep mid-thought like the weight of everything finally let you rest.

He exhales softly through his nose, pushing himself up and he immediately spots the shirt you wore last night, draped carelessly over the chair, exactly where you must’ve left it. He reaches for it without thinking, fingers brushing over the fabric before he lifts it, bringing it close to his nose. He smiles because it smells like you now.

He puts the shirt back on the chair, doing it carefully like the scent of you would vanish if he drops it. Then heads to the bathroom after that.

He washes up, brushing his teeth, splashing water over his face until the last traces of sleep are gone. He changes into something more comfortable, running a hand through his hair one last time before he steps out.

He enters the kitchen and walks straight into you. Well—not literally. But close. You’re sitting at the dining table, a laptop open in front of you. A plate of breakfast in one hand, fork in the other, like you’ve been up for hours.

You notice him immediately and smile. “Morning.”

The gesture is simple and sweet. He lets himself savor it before returning it. “Morning.”

Hyunjin moves like he belongs there—because at this point, he kind of does. He grabs his cereal, takes the milk from your fridge without asking, pouring the two into a bowl. He brings it to the table, sits across from you.

For a while, there’s nothing but comfortable quiet. He continues eating but his eyes are glancing at you once in a while, catching you enjoying your avocado toast while reading something on your laptop. This version of you is also soft, but last night, you were much softer.

“You fell asleep last night,” he teases between spoonful of cereal.

You don’t even look embarrassed. You just nod, taking another bite before answering, “I was really sleepy.”

He hums, thinking that’s it. But then you add, almost absentmindedly. “Probably the best sleep I’ve had in a while.”

Something in the way you say it pulls tight in his chest. He doesn’t react but shoves a spoonful of cereal into his mouth, chewing a little slower than before. “Mm.”

Another moment later, you finish with your toast and now nursing a mug of coffee. Then you turn slightly toward him.

“Are you ready to give your feedback?”

Ah. Right. The evaluation form. Hyunjin exhales through his nose, then picks up his bowl and drinks the milk straight from it before setting it down with a quiet clink. “Yeah.”

He scoots his chair closer until he’s right beside you, shoulder almost brushing yours. The setting is intentional, allowing him to see your laptop screen and noticing that the evaluation form is already open. Of course it is. You’re always prepared.

“Okay, comfort rating?” you ask.

He doesn’t expect you to go right into it. He leans back and thinks for a second. “Five.”

You nod, typing it in. Then add your own. Four.

His head snaps toward you. “Change mine to four too.”

You shoot him a look. “It’s not a competition.”

He glares right back. “We’re a team. We should have matching answers.”

You sigh—but there’s no real annoyance behind it. Still, you obey and change his answer into four. “Stimulation rating?”

“Six,” he says, this time without hesitation. “It has potentials.”

You nod, typing. You write the same number for your answer. “Describe your experience while using the product,” you prompt.

He leans forward slightly, resting his elbows on his knees. “It is promising. The concept’s good. But it doesn’t stay in place. Keeps slipping off during use.”

You hum in agreement, typing it all down. Then adding your own touch.

He notices the way you refine things, polish them and make it sound better than it came out of his mouth.

“Additional feedback?”

“Adjustable wing size. More vibration levels too.”

You type. Then add your own after. Great material but the design needs further improvement.

Hyunjin nods, approving.

“Final comment?”

He takes a second before answering this one. “The intention is good. There aren’t many good couple vibrators in the market. But this one needs a lot of improvement.”

You glance at him, then nod, fingers moving again. “Give me a second,” you murmur, already editing, refining, making it seamless.

He watches you, clicking his tongue softly. “You’re scary good at this.”

You flash him a quick, smug smile. “I know,” you confidently say.

A moment later, you turn the laptop toward him, letting him take a good look at it before submitting it.

Honestly, he barely scans it because he knows that you’re good at this, better even so he gives you two thumbs-up. “Approved.”

You smile faintly, turning the laptop back to you.

It hits him then. This is it. One click. And it’s done. He leans back slightly, exhaling through his nose, watching as your finger hovers over the trackpad.

All of a sudden, you stop and turn the laptop toward him again. “You do it.”

“What?” he asks, puzzled.

“I’m letting you do the honor,” you say, making a dramatic gesture toward the laptop.

He huffs a laugh and stares at the screen, at the looming end. And to be honest, he’s not ready for this to be over. Not for everything to just… go back to normal.

Beside him, you look fine and calm. Like this is just another task on your list. And maybe, to you, it is.

Hyunjin swallows. Then, because he’s him, he lifts his hand dramatically, blowing on his fingers like he’s about to perform surgery. “Blow on them for good luck,” he says.

You stare at him for a second and burst into laughter. But you lean in anyway, softly blowing over his fingers.

And just like that, he clicks on the button and a small notification pops up. Submission successful.

Something in his chest just… caves. And then drops. He leans back in his chair, quietly processing what he’s just done.

You close the laptop with a soft sigh and push it aside. “Such a shame the last product was a disappointment.”

He nods, but it’s not what’s bothering him. Not really. Before he can think too much about it, your hand reaches for his.

You squeeze gently, smiling at him. “Hey, we did well.”

And just like that, he lights up again. He squeezes your hand back and says, “Yeah. We did.”

He lifts your joined hands slightly, confidence slipping back into his voice. “And we’re going to win that free vacation.”

You chuckle and give the smallest nod at that. “Yeah… free vacation.”

But the way you say it makes him realize how distant you already seem to him.

-

Hyunjin doesn’t expect anything when he drops into his chair after returning from a meeting. Just know that he has to finish his design soon but first, he checks his emails. There, a notification sitting neatly at the top of his inbox.

Test Program - Transfer Fund Receipt.

Hyunjin clicks it open, eyes scanning the details and then his brows lift at the sum of money he received from the test program. The number is… generous. A slow grin spreads across his face, tongue pressing against the inside of his cheek as he leans back in his chair. His mind jumps to you immediately because you must’ve gotten yours too.

The thought comes easy, but the decision— the decision comes easier. He’s already pushing his chair back before he can question it—already on his feet, already heading out of his office.

It’s just to confirm, just to ask whether you have received the money and nothing more. Not that he wants to see you or anything. Or that annoyed expression on your face that he grew fond of. No, not really that. And yet, the balls of his feet won’t stop bouncing as he rides the elevator down to your floor.

The elevator doors slide open and he’s about to turn toward your office when he spots you in the pantry. His feet pivot the other way, walking up to you as you’re standing by the coffee machine, phone in hand, brows slightly drawn together like whatever you’re reading matters more than anything else around you. Including the coffee that’s already done.

Hyunjin watches for a second, sighing when you don’t even notice him there standing next to you. He reaches past you without a word, pulling the cup out of the machine before it overflows or goes cold, placing it neatly on the counter in front of you.

That’s when you finally look up and there it is — that tired, faintly annoyed expression you always pull when you see him. That one thing he’s secretly missed of seeing.

“Thanks,” you simply say and then drag the cup toward you, phone shoved into the pocket of your blazer.

“You’re very welcome,” he replies with a bright grin, leaning against the counter facing you. “Got your compensation yet?” he asks casually.

“Yes,” you answer without looking at him.

Something about it makes his grin falter just a little, but he smooths it over quickly. “Pretty nice, right?”

“Yes,” you answer again, reaching for a sugar packet, tearing it open and dumping it into your coffee.

He watches you stir and the way you avoid looking at him. But still, he won’t back down just yet. “What are you going to do with it?” he asks, tilting his head to the side and teasingly add, “A whole carton of chia seed, perhaps?”

You snort softly but you answer seriously. “I’m thinking of getting a bigger bookshelf.”

Hyunjin immediately blows a raspberry and gives you a thumb-down. “Bo-ring!”

“It’s my money. I can do what I want with it,” you calmly say but the glare you give him as you reach a pack of creamer is sharp and cutting.

He scoots closer and loosely crosses his arms in front of him. “I have a better idea,” he says in a whispered tone, conspiratory.

“Not interested,” you flatly say.

He clicks his tongue at you. “At least, hear me out first.”

You don’t say anything but grab a spoon to stir your coffee with.

He leans in just slightly and still in whispered tone, he says, “Why don’t we spend it together? On a fancy dinner? You know, celebrate our…” he trails off for a second to find the right word to say. “…success.”

You scoff and finally turn your head his way. “You mean… splitting the bill?”

He scoffs back and retorts, “No. It means celebrating our excellent teamwork.”

You shake your head immediately and flatly reject the suggestion. “No.”

“Fine,” he amends quickly. “My treat then.”

He notices the way you pause and your stirring slows just a little, seriously considering it like it’s a business deal instead of an invitation for a dinner.

He presses, softer this time. “I can get us a reservation at Farfalle.”

Your eyebrow perks up at the mention of the renowned Italian restaurant. “When?”

Hyunjin holds himself back from smiling yet. “This Friday.”

The lights in your eyes dim just a little and then you sigh. “No, I can’t.”

His brows knit together. “Why not?”

You take a sip of your coffee before answering, like you’re buying time. “I have something to attend Friday night.”

“Something?” he echoes, narrowing his eyes slightly. “What something?”

“Work-related.”

The answer is vague. Too vague. He leans in closer, grin creeping back, but there’s an edge to it now. “Or, you could take me with you,” he smoothly says.

You glance at him and he holds your gaze.

“We get to celebrate. None of us have to spend money on it,” he proudly says like that’s the issue here. “It’s a win-win.”

You shake your head. “You can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s invitation only.”

He doesn’t miss a step. “I’ll be your plus-one then.”

That’s when you hesitate and he feels something tightening in his chest as he waits. He kind of already guessed the answer in his head, but needs you to say it.

“I’m the plus-one,” you finally answer.

Hyunjin’s grins falter for a second because his mind doesn’t even consider other possibilities. It goes straight to one name. Seungmin.

“Let’s have dinner some other time, yeah?” you say, taking your coffee and stepping past him like nothing just shifted.

Hyunjin nods, accepting it. “Yeah, sure. Just text me when.”

You move to leave and he tries so hard to not show how annoyed he is, but something pushes him to move. He reaches out, takes your cup from your hand and takes a long sip until half of it gone. He lets out an exaggerated gasp and then hands it back with a grin.

“Thanks for the coffee.”

You stare at him in disbelief but he doesn’t wait for a response.

He turns and starts walking like the decision makes itself before he can think it through. And, Gabe is right where he expects her to be. Head down, fingers flying across her keyboard, a phone wedged between her shoulder and ear.

Hyunjin walks straight over with determination. A plan. He doesn’t interrupt as Gabe talks into the phone and just waves his hand at her, letting her know that he’s here.

Gabe looks up, startled at first—then her face lights up almost instantly. “Oh—hey!” she lowly mutters, making a small wave of hand.

He patiently waits until she finishes talking and puts down the phone. Then a hand on her desk and put on a sweet smile like he didn’t just storm out of the pantry with something sour sitting in his chest. “Hey, you remember that lunch I owe you?” he asks.

Her brows lift, pleasantly surprised. “Of course I do.”

“Good,” he says, pushing off the desk. “I’m taking you now.”

The surprise on Gabe’s face settles into something brighter—excited, even—but before she can say anything, he’s already moving.

“Wait—now?” she asks, half-laughing as she glances around.

Hyunjin doesn’t give her time to process. He reaches behind her chair, grabs her jacket, and drapes it over her shoulders in one smooth motion before she can even stand.

“Hyunjin—” she starts laughing a little more now, flustered.

He picks up her purse next, handing it to her like it’s all already decided. “Let’s go.”

“I—hold on, I should tell—”

“The place is going to be packed. We go now or we don’t go at all,” he cuts in smoothly.

Gabe hesitates and her eyes flick instinctively toward your desk. She pushes her chair back slowly, half-standing. “I should at least let—”

Right on cue, you walk in with what he safely assumes a new cup of coffee since he’s drained half of what you made earlier.

Hyunjin doesn’t hesitate. He reaches for Gabe’s wrist and gently tugs her along as he closes the distance between him and you.

You barely have time to register what’s happening before he’s right there. “What is—”

“I’m taking your assistant for lunch,” he cuts in with a grin. Not exactly asking for permission.

Your eyes flick between him and Gabe, confused. “Right now?” you ask.

“Right now,” he confirms easily.

Gabe lets out a small, awkward laugh beside him. “I was just about to—”

But Hyunjin’s already moving again, turning and pulling her along. “Don’t wait up,” he tosses over his shoulder and keep dragging Gabe with him before you can say anything else. Before he can second-guess it.

-

Hyunjin and Gabe made it right on time before the restaurant gets flooded with people and orders alike. They secured a table near the window and the second they’re seated, Gabe is already losing her mind.

“Oh my god, I’ve been wanting to come here forever,” she gushes, practically bouncing in her seat as she flips through the menu with bright eyes, bright smile. “Do you know how hard it is to get a table here?”

Hyunjin only smiles, leaning back in his chair. “Order anything. It’s my treat.”

Her head snaps up, eyes wide. “Anything?”

He nods, amused. “Anything.”

And just like that, she’s completely absorbed in the euphoria. No suspicion. No second-guessing. Just pure, unfiltered excitement.

Good. That makes this easier.

When the food arrives, it’s… a lot. Stacks of fluffy pancakes, glossy with syrup and topped with sunny-side up egg with crispy bacons on the side. The other are on the dessert side — the pancakes basked in caramel, sliced mangoes on the side and whipped cream piled like clouds.

“Wait—don’t touch anything,” Gabe quickly says, already grabbing her phone.

Hyunjin snorts under his breath, watching as she leans over the table, angling her phone this way and that. Click. Click. Click.

“Here. Let me take the pictures for you,” he kindly offers.

“Yes, please!” she lights up.

He takes her phone, patiently snapping a few photos while she poses—smiling, tilting her head, adjusting her hair, holding a plate of pancakes with her hands.

“Let’s take one together!” Gabe excitedly suggests.

Hyunjin doesn’t argue. He leans in just enough as she holds the phone up, both of them fitting into the frame. He hands the phone back. “Are they good?” he asks, lifting his drink and have a sip with a straw.

“Very,” she grins, already scrolling through them.

“Let’s eat before they get cold,” Hyunjin says with a smile.

Gabe eagerly nods, picking up her fork and knife, hesitantly cuts through her pancake like she’s tearing through an artwork. She stabs a piece with her fork and eats it. From her delighted expression, he can tell she likes it.

Hyunjin picks up his fork as well and starts digging into his own and waits for the right moment to casual drop a question.

“How is it?”

Her face lights up instantly. “So good.”

“Yeah?”

She nods quickly, mouth full, then swallows just to say it again. “So good.”

“Worth the hype?”

“Absolutely.”

“Glad you like it.”

“Thank you for this. Seriously.”

He waves it off. “Don’t mention it.”

She does anyway, a few more times after that and he lets her enjoy it and only when she’s settled, that’s when he slips it in.

“So,” he says, cutting into his pancakes like it’s nothing. “I heard Miss Perfect Planner got something on Friday.”

Gabe nods immediately. “Yeah, probably the dinner.”

He keeps his expression neutral. “What dinner?”

She pauses mid-bite, like she just realized she’s about to explain something. Then shrugs. “You know—there’s this business magazine…”

And she’s off. There’s talking and explaining, a lot of rambling. Something about rankings, features, recognition—words that blur together because Hyunjin’s only half-listening. He nods where he should and hums when it sounds right. And waits until she comes to a point.

“There’s this list—30 young leaders. And guess who made it?”

He doesn’t answer. Doesn’t have to.

“…Seungmin.”

There it is. Hyunjin presses his tongue against the inside of his cheek and continues to casually shoving food into his mouth.

Gabe keeps going, energized now. “Do you remember when she got called to the CMO’s office?” she asks.

He nods.

“Well,” she leans in slightly, lowering her voice like it’s gossip, “I checked her schedule after that.”

Of course she did.

“And she had dinner blocked off for Friday.”

Hyunjin keeps his eyes on his plate. “Okay.”

“So I’m pretty sure—like, pretty sure—she’s going to the gala dinner.”

Oof, he missed something in her ramble. He finally looks up and asks, “What gala dinner?”

Gabe pauses chewing, then quickly swallows. “The one for the 30 young leaders thing. They’re hosting this big event to celebrate them or something.”

Hyunjin doesn’t respond right away but chewing on the pancake that tastes like Styrofoam now. He washes it down with water. “So you’re saying that Seungmin is taking her to that event?”

Gabe doesn’t confirm right away but grabs her phone. She types something quickly, then turns the screen toward him. “Here. Look!”

It’s an Instagram post for the upcoming event held by the business magazine. Annual Gala Dinner honoring the Top 30 Young Leaders.

The date and time match perfectly. Hyunjin stares at it for a second longer than necessary. Then nods once. “Yeah.”

Gabe pulls her phone back, completely unaware. “See? I told you.”

She goes back to her food like nothing just happened, humming softly as she bites into a strip of bacon. Then, mid-chew, she glances at his plate. “Can I try yours?”

“Yes,” he answers too fast, too eager and doesn’t even realize it until he’s already pushing the plate toward her.

She grins as she digs into his food. “Thanks!”

Hyunjin leans back in his chair, hands resting idly in his lap. He doesn’t touch his fork again.

Doesn’t even look at the food. Because suddenly, he’s not hungry anymore.

-

Hyunjin knows he shouldn’t be doing this. He knows it the moment his fingers tighten around the steering wheel, the moment he ignores the turn that would take him anywhere else—anywhere that isn’t you. It’s not his place. It’s not his business. But it feels like it is.

So he drives and the city blurs past him in streaks of color and light, but he barely registers any of it. His mind is somewhere else—already at your house, already replaying the image of you in his head, already building excuses before you can even ask.

I’m just here to collect my things.

It’s simple and harmless. He repeats it in his head often enough that he almost believes it. By the time he turns onto your street, something in his chest loosens. He gets that same familiar sense of relief, like he’s pulled into a place that knows him, that lets him in without question. Like home.

Hyunjin exhales slowly as he parks, fingers tapping once against the steering wheel before he kills the engine. He lingers there, dragging it out, slowing time down in the only way he knows how.

When he finally steps out, the evening air greets him softly, carrying a faint scent of the last of spring days. He shuts the door with a quiet click and walks up to your place with an ease that feels practiced.

The spare key opens the back door without much problem and he lets himself in. The house is exactly the same—and not. He slowly moves through the hallway, footsteps muted against the floor. His gaze drifts instinctively to the guest bedroom as he passes, the door slightly ajar. He pauses just long enough to glance inside. There’s a faint, clean scent in the air of fabric softener and he guesses that you must have changed the sheets. The room already feels like his and that realization sits strangely in his chest. He swallows and keeps moving.

The kitchen is empty when he reaches it, the silence settling around him in a way that makes everything feel suspended. He leans a hand against the counter, glancing around like he expects you to just appear.

You’re probably upstairs. Getting ready. For whatever’s waiting for you tonight. His jaw tightens slightly at the thought, but before he can go any further down that line, he catches movement in his peripheral.

He looks up and for a second, Hyunjin forgets how to breathe, how to think. You stand at the top of the stairs, framed by the soft light behind you, and it hits him all at once how the dress clings to you in all the right ways, how the cut traces your shape like it was made for you, how the color pulls something out of you that makes it impossible to look away. Your hair is swept up, neat and elegant, with a few loose strands softening everything. You look—

He almost moves without thinking, almost walks right up to you, hand already half-lifted in his mind, already imagining the way you’d place yours in it, the way he could just… take you and keep you, have you selfishly for himself tonight.

By the time the thought finishes, you reach the bottom step and reality snaps back into place. You jerk slightly when you see him, surprise flashing across your face before you let out a small, disbelieving laugh.

“God! Hyunjin!” you shriek and shake your head, recovering quickly, “you could’ve told me you were coming.”

Hyunjin forces himself to breathe and just get it together. “I—” his voice comes out tighter than he wants, almost mechanical, “I came to collect my things.”

It sounds flat. Even to him. But you trust the lie anyway, accepting it, moving past him toward the kitchen like it makes perfect sense. Your scent hits him, soft and intoxicating in a way that makes something in him lean closer without permission, makes him drawn to you.

By the time he realizes it, he’s standing behind you as you reach for a glass. He shifts quickly, leaning against the counter to ground himself, to make it look casual.

You step back, turning slightly as you pour water into the glass, and glance at him with a teasing look. “Afraid I’ve been eating your cereal, huh?”

He huffs out a quiet laugh, shaking his head.

“I assure you that I have no interest in your cereal,” you state like it matters, like any of this is actually about the damn cereal.

He watches you take a sip. And then, before he can stop himself, he blurts out, “You look beautiful tonight.”

It comes out softer and honest. Too honest.

You lower the glass, a small smile touching your lips. “Thank you.”

It does something to him. Something dangerous. So he pushes forward, keeps it light, keeps it moving. “Where are you actually going?”

You don’t answer right away. You move toward the dining table instead, picking up your phone like it’s more interesting than the question. “To some… boring event.”

He lets out a faint scoff, but his gaze doesn’t soften. “You look a little too prepared for a boring event.”

“It’s the dress code,” you barely glance at him as you talk and type on your phone. Then, almost absentmindedly, you add, “It’s a gala dinner, after all.”

And there it is. The confirmation. His jaw tightens as he says his name. “With Seungmin?”

It slips out sharper than he intends and you freeze for a second. Then, he sees how you weren’t expecting him to know.

“Yeah,” you say eventually, like it’s nothing. Like it’s easy.

Something in him snaps into place. Hyunjin closes the distance in a few quick steps, stopping right in front of you, forcing you to look at him. “Are you… getting back together with him?”

You let out a quiet laugh, trying to brush it off. “It’s for work,” you say, not quite answering his question.

He doesn’t believe you and asks again. “Are you?”

This time, you hesitate. Your expression shifts, slipping into that reserved, guarded version of you. “It’s not your business.”

The words land hard. Hyunjin shakes his head, something restless, something frustrated building under his skin. “How can you just—let him back in? After everything?” his voice tightens, broken in places.

Your brows knit, confusion flashing across your face.

“He hurt you. He made you feel like you weren’t enough, like you didn’t deserve—”

The shocked, disbelief look on your face cuts him off like he’s crossed a line he wasn’t supposed to even see. Your hand presses against his chest, pushing him back just enough to put a safe space between you. Like you’re drawing a line and tells him to stay behind it.

“That’s enough,” you firmly say, leaving no room for anything else.

Your phone rings and the sound slices through everything. You answer it without looking away from him, your voice clipped as you talk but focused somewhere else.

He doesn’t need to hear the other end because he knows, he hears a car pulls up outside.

You hang up, shove your phone into your purse, and look at him. “Do what you came here to do and don’t even think of taking that spare key with you,” you warn and then turn, heading for the door.

And Hyunjin—

He could stop here. He should. He’s never had any problem doing so — staying behind the line because it’s easier, uncomplicated, untouched by anything real. But tonight, he can’t.

He moves before he thinks. His hand wraps around your wrist, stopping you just before you reach the door. You turn, startled, and the next second you’re pressed back against the wall, his presence closing in around you.

“Don’t go.”

It’s not a suggestion. Not a tease or a witty remark. It’s something else entirely.

“Let go,” you say, but there’s something unsteady under it.

He doesn’t let go but closing the last inch of gap. “Please, don’t go.”

You open your mouth but he doesn’t let any word out. His lips crash into yours, urgent, desperate, like this is the only language he has left. The kiss is everything he’s been holding back, everything he shouldn’t be feeling, everything he doesn’t know how to say.

You fight it at first but eventually, your resistance softens and breaks. Your purse slips from your hand, hitting the floor with a dull sound he barely registers.

He kisses you through it all—your anger, your hesitation, the mess of it—and when your phone starts ringing again from inside your purse, he only pulls you closer, like he can drown it out, like he can keep you here if he just—

Then, the knocking comes and a voice, Seungmin’s voice, calling for your name.

Reality crashes back in and Hyunjin pulls back just enough to look at you, breath uneven, eyes searching yours. “Stay,” he says again, softer now, but somehow more desperate.

You don’t answer. You just stare into his eyes like you’re trying to see past everything he is, into something deeper.

He leans in, forehead resting against yours. His voice fragile now, fraying around the edges. “Stay.”

Another knock. Another call of your name, louder and urgent this time.

You shift and he senses that you’re about to slip away. Out of frustration, desperation — the words just come out of his mouth.

“I’d love you better.”

The words hang there, raw and hopeless.

“Better than he did.”

Something flickers across your face and he can’t tell what it is. Hope. Doubt. Fear. All of it. He can’t tell.

“You don’t know what you’re saying,” you talk so low it’s almost like a whisper.

“I do,” he insists, voice breaking at the edges. “I know I would.”

You hold his gaze for a moment that stretches too long and he thinks— Maybe. Maybe you’ll stay.

But then your hands press against his chest, gently and that’s worse than anything. “I’m sorry.”

The apology is soft, almost merciful. And final. You step to the side and pick up your purse from the floor.

This time, he doesn’t stop you as you get the door and he stays there, listening as Seungmin’s voice greets you rather sweetly and asks if you’re ready. You don’t answer but grip your purse tighter and then steps out of the house.

The door closes yet Hyunjin stay there, standing and listening to your footsteps, to Seungmin’s voice, to the way your footsteps eventually fall into a shared rhythm as you walk away from him. Each step quieter than the last until there’s nothing but silence.

And the sound of his heart breaking.

-

Hyunjin doesn’t remember the drive home. Not the traffic lights, not the turns, not the way the city folds into itself at night. It’s all blank like his body moved on instinct while his mind stayed behind, stuck in your hallway, stuck on your voice, your eyes, that quiet I’m sorry that keeps echoing like it refuses to fade.

His apartment greets him in silence and he doesn’t bother with the lights. The door shuts behind him with a dull click, and for a moment, he just stands there like he’s waiting for something to catch up to him.

It does. All at once. He exhales sharply and moves, shrugging off his jacket, tossing his keys somewhere he won’t remember later. His steps are restless, carrying him straight to the kitchen like there’s only one place he knows how to go.

The cabinet door swings and he takes whatever’s closest. A bottle of whiskey he plans to have for special occasion. It’s not a special occasion but the situation calls for a hard liquor like this. The cap twists off with a rough jerk, and he brings it straight to his lips, no glass, not even a small sip but a long, burning swallow that hits his throat like punishment.

Good. He wants it to hurt. He moves to the couch, dropping onto it with a heavy exhale, one hand dragging over his face before reaching blindly for his headphones. They slip over his ears, and he turns the volume all the way up to drown out everything. Or at least, that’s the plan.

It doesn’t work because his mind is louder. It cuts through the music, through the noise, through everything. He sees it again in the back of his head. You—standing there, framed in the doorway, your eyes searching his like you were trying to find something real in him.

Stay.

The way your lips parted. The way you almost. Almost did.

“I’d love you better.”

His own voice, raw and exposed. God!

Hyunjin lets out a short, humorless laugh, the sound swallowed by the music blasting in his ears. He tilts his head back against the couch, bringing the bottle up again and taking another long drink. It burns worse this time. Or maybe he just feels it more. Because it doesn’t matter how many times he replays the moment, it always ends the same.

Your gentle hands on his chest, pushing him away. “I’m sorry.”

He squeezes his eyes shut, jaw tightening as the memory hits again like it just happened seconds ago instead of hours ago. He exhales shakily, dragging a hand through his hair.

Why did he think—

Why did he actually think—

That you’d choose him?

A bitter laugh slips out, harsher this time, cutting through his chest. He brings the bottle to his lips again, swallowing hard, chasing something that won’t come but it just settles in his chest, heavy and weighing him down.

Because the truth is for a second… For one stupid, reckless second, he believed it. Believed that you’d stay. Believed that what was between you was enough to pull you back, to make you choose him over everything else, over Seungmin. The name alone feels like acid that burns his tongue.

Hyunjin lets out another quiet, broken laugh, shaking his head as he stares at nothing. “I’d love you better,” he mutters under his breath, repeating it like it’s something foreign now, something ridiculous.

Who is he kidding?

He takes another drink and this time, he doesn’t even flinch at the burn. Just lets it drag down his throat, lets it sit heavy in his stomach, lets it do nothing at all. Because no matter how loud the music is, no matter how much he drinks, no matter how many times he tries to replay it, the pain doesn’t dull. It stays exactly the same.

And the worst part? He still sees the way you looked at him. Like you almost believed him. Like you wanted to. That’s what’s going to ruin him. Not the rejection. Not even the way you walked away. But that one fragile, fleeting moment where it felt like you might not.

His grip tightens around the bottle and for the first time since he walked in, he doesn’t take another drink. He just sits there, listening to the music he can’t hear and thinking about you anyway.

-

Hyunjin wakes with a headache, the kind that pulses quietly but insistently, like a reminder of everything he tried to drown the night before. For a moment, he just lies there, staring at the ceiling, letting the light seep in through the curtains.

He lets out a long exhale and makes a decision — he’s not going to think about it. About last night—what he said, what you said, the way it ended—he tucks it away somewhere out of reach, like shoving a mess into a drawer and forcing it shut.

Out of sight. Out of mind. Yeah, that’s the plan.

He gets up and lets the routine takes over. First is the bathroom, a few splashes of cold water to his face, brush his teeth, then slip into something comfortable. The kitchen is next. Breakfast is cereal and milk. Same as always. He moves in autopilot and that’s okay. If he just keeps moving, he won’t have to stop and feel anything.

He sits, takes a bite and slows. The spoon lingers in the milk, circling lazily. Because, of course, this reminds him of you. The way you looked at him across the dining table, watching him eating his cereal like he’s doing something fundamentally wrong just by existing.

“That milk and cereal ratio is insane.”

“Do you even taste the cereal at that point?”

Or worse—

“You know that’s basically sugar and food coloring, right?”

He lets out a small breath through his nose, something almost like a laugh but not quite. He’s barely started his day and he’s already failed on following the plan.

How is he supposed to do this? How is he supposed to walk into work and act like nothing happened—like he didn’t stand in your house and ask you to stay, like you didn’t look at him like that, like he didn’t—

He exhales sharply and drops the spoon into the bowl with a soft clink. He leans back in his chair and he knows he said he wouldn’t think about it. So why is it the only thing sitting at the front of his mind?

He sighs and forces himself to move again, deciding that his phone will be the ultimate distraction. He picks it up, thumb scrolling through notifications that piled up overnight because he was busy drowning his sorrow with alcohol and then hunched over the toilet bowl at the end of the night until there was nothing left to throw up.

He winces when he recalls his bad decision. “Yeah, great night,” he mutters to himself.

He scoffs when he opens his emails because apparently, some people have the nerves to send work emails on the weekends. He flicks past them and his thumb pauses when he notices the familiar pharmacy company email address.

His chest tightens instinctively and for a second, his mind jumps to irrational fears. Did they find something wrong? Did he mess up the submission? Are they asking for the compensation back?

He knows it’s ridiculous, but his heart still picks up as he taps the email open. This time, he promises himself that he won’t skip anything but reads everything, line by line.

Congratulations!

It’s literally the first word in the email but his mind jumps somewhere else entirely— somewhere tropical with lots of sunlight, ocean, exotic cocktails and far away from everything that feels heavy right now. He reads the rest and it confirms everything as they attached the details and instructions on how to claim the prize.

Hyunjin won the free vacation. He won. The free vacation. For a moment, he just sits there, phone in hand, the quiet stretching around him as it sinks in.

A grin slowly blooms on his face, small and disbelieving at first. Then wider and wider until it turns into a full, triumphant grin.

His fingers move before he can stop them, opening your chat because, of course, that’s the first thing he does. Because who else would he tell? Who else would understand what this means—what it took, everything the two of you did to get here?

His thumbs hover over the screen and then stop, his grin falters and fades. Because reality catches up. Because last night exists, whether he wants to ignore it or not. Because you— You’re not his person to share things with anymore. If you ever were.

Hyunjin stares at the screen for a long second, something tight pulling in his chest. He hates it. Hates that the first instinct—the only instinct—is you. Happy, sad, frustrated, drunk—it always comes back to you.

He lets out a quiet breath and locks his phone, setting it down like it suddenly weighs too much. You probably got the email too. Right? Maybe you’re already reading it. Maybe you’re smiling about it. Maybe you’re—

He cuts the thought off. No. He’s not doing that. He shouldn’t care if you claim it, or deciding to go. He shouldn’t care about any of it. He picks up his coffee instead, taking a slow sip, letting the bitterness settle on his tongue.

This is a win and it’s supposed to feel like one.

But sitting here now, in the quiet of his apartment, with your absence louder than anything—

It doesn’t feel like a win.

It feels like an escape.

-

Hyunjin earned this. He deserved this. That’s what he’s been telling himself as he packed his things and the whole taxi ride to the airport. More than that, he needs a few days away from everything that’s been sitting too heavy on his chest.

He repeats it in his head like a script as he steps onto the plane, boarding pass still in his hand, eyes scanning the cabin until he finds his row.

Wow. First class. He huffs a quiet breath through his nose, almost amused. The pharmacy company spoiled him too much.

He adjusts the strap of his backpack as he’s taking it in, then steps forward and settles in like he belongs there. Because he does. His bag goes into the overhead compartment then he drops into the seat, leaning back slightly, testing the comfort. It’s soft, spacious, too nice for how restless he still feels.

Then, his eyes flick to the empty seat beside him which he believes booked for you. Because it was supposed to be a couple trip. He looks away, not giving the chance for the thought to settle, doesn’t let it grow into anything bigger than it needs to be. Maybe it’ll stay empty the whole flight. Maybe no one booked it at all. Maybe—

He exhales quietly and shakes his head to himself. It doesn’t matter whether you’re coming or not. It’s not his business. Not anymore. He forces his focus elsewhere, adjusting the seat, loosening his shoulders, trying to sink into the moment instead of everything he’s been carrying.

A flight attendant approaches, offering him a selection of drinks and he settles on a glass of champagne. He takes it without hesitation. “Thanks.”

The glass is cool in his hand, the bubbles rising lazily to the surface. He stares at it for a second before taking a sip even though it feels a little too celebratory for how he actually feels.

Still, he drinks again. Because he’s supposed to celebrate it. For winning, for getting the one thing he wanted since the start of the test program and worked hard on it. He leans back further into the seat, exhaling slowly, letting his head rest as he brings his headphones up and slips them over his ears. The world dulls immediately, replaced by music. The kind of sound that doesn’t demand anything from him.

He closes his eyes for a moment, letting himself settle. He tells himself he’ll relax and that he’ll enjoy this. He doesn’t look at the seat beside him again, doesn’t think about who could be there. He doesn’t let his mind wander to what it would’ve been like—

No. He doesn’t.

Instead, he sinks deeper into the seat, exhales slowly, and get ready for take-off.

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Product Evaluation Submission Participant Product Testing Program Product Name: VIBE – Hands-free Couple Vibrator Product Code: VBH-0810 Participant 1 ID: P-260319 Participant 2 ID: P-260320 Date of Evaluation: Friday, April 17. 1. Rate Comfort (1–10) Participant 1: 4 Participant 2: 4 2. Rate Stimulation Intensity (1–10) Participant 1: 6 Participant 2: 6 3. Describe Your Experience Using the Product The product shows strong potential in concept and intention. The vibration is present and noticeable, offering a decent level of stimulation. However, during use, the device fails to remain securely in place, frequently slipping out of position. This significantly disrupts continuity and overall experience. While advertised as suitable for various body types, the fit does not adequately accommodate movement, leading to repeated interruptions. 4. Additional Feedback The material quality is good—soft, body-safe, and comfortable on contact. The design requires improvement, particularly in stability and fit. Adjustable wing sizes or a more adaptive structure may enhance usability. Additional vibration levels and customizable intensity settings would improve user satisfaction. Overall construction is promising, but functionality does not yet match the intended experience. 5. Are you satisfied with the product? (Rate 1-10) Participant 1: 4 Participant 2: 4 6. Would You Buy This Product? (Rate 1-10) Participant 1: 4 Participant 2: 4 7. Would You Recommend This Product To Others? (Rate 1-10) Participant 1: 3 Participant 2: 3 Final Comment The product has a compelling concept and fills a gap in the couple-oriented category. However, execution falls short due to design limitations that affect stability and consistency during use. With refinement—particularly in fit, adjustability, and performance—it has the potential to become a strong contender in its category. Submission Status: ✔ Successfully Submitted

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