As the two love birds sat under the shade of a huge tree, enjoying their cold treats their laughter could be heard all around.
Baek's booming laugh and Grace's small chirps like the delicate bird she was.
"Oppa can I have a bite of yours?" She asked him sweetly.
"You don't ever have to ask, okay?" He said and proceeded to scoop out some and feed her.
"Hmmm this is so good and so sweet!" She said while he continued to look at her as though she was the only thing to ever exist in his universe.
"You are more sweet, you know. Very sweet," he said in a husky tone and that brought the lovely blush back onto her face.
"Aahah oppa don't joke please. I get so embarrassed.." she said, trying to cool her cheeks in a futile attempt to hide the blush.
Slowly he took her hands in his, looked right into her eyes and said, "Don't ever hide yourself from me. Understand?" He ordered more than he asked.
"Yes," she breathed out and in that moment the two were lost in each other's eyes.
As the air between them got thicker and more charged by the minute, the sweet girl blushed hard and looked away first. Grace's heart was beating at a rapid speed due to the closeness she shared with her handsome and charming senior.
Being sheltered and homeschooled all her life, Grace didn't really have any knowledge about the attraction she felt towards her Baek oppa, but she knew he was definitely something else. He was different from the other boys she intersected with. He was something special.
Finally getting her heart to beat at a human speed, she gathered the courage and asked the pressing question that had been haunting her since morning.
"Oppa?"
"Yes my love?"
Yet again she blushed at the small gesture of being called love, but nonetheless continued, "Please tell me, how did you get hurt so much? Oppa don't lie to me okay?"
This left Baek in a fix. Looking into her intense gaze, Baek's heart wanted to confess all his sins to this beautiful doe eyed beauty but alas, he couldn't. He was too scared and too selfish. He didn't want to scare her away by telling her just how big a monster he was. She was his and he never wanted to jeopardize that.
He wanted to scream and shout and tell her how he had beat up a man half to death last night. He wanted to tell her that he was a bad man and that she was too good for someone like him. He wanted to tell her that he was a beast.
But as people rightly say, every beast has his own beauty, she was his and he wanted her all to himself.
He couldn't burden her sweet and untainted heart with the harsh reality of his life. He couldn't be so selfish as to tell her about the brutality of life and his father. He couldn't tell her about the rowdy men who paid to watch other rowdy men fight each other just for fun.
He couldn't tell her how he was one of those rowdy men and how he basically sold his body for entertainment.
How she had managed to evoke such powerful feelings in him, even he had no clues about but one thing he did know was that he was too much of a coward to let her go for her own good. He was too scared to lose her, too scared to be alone without her.
"There were some very bad people who I beat up last night. That's why there is blood and cuts on my body. Okay?"
"Omo!! Are you hurt anywhere else? Did they hurt you too much? Did you go to the police? Did you…."
She trailer off as he held her petite frame in his huge arms and pulled her in for a tight embrace. One that was full of love.
"Relax love, I am absolutely fine. I defeated those bad people. Nothing to worry about okay?"
"Okay.." her muffled voice came as she snuggled further into his chest.
They basked in each other's warmth a bit more before getting up and deciding to go for a walk in a nearby park.
As soon as they reached the park, Grace ran straight to the swings and began laughing like a little kid all while swinging with her full might. This made Baek chuckle and shake his head, still in awe of her.
"Do you want me to push this for you?" He asked to which she replied with a small and soft yes.
He pushed the swing sending her high up, eliciting cute squeaks and laughs from her mouth every time he did so. This was the purest form of pleasure he had ever experienced.
Even though Baek had been a part of the dark side of this world, with all the street fights and being in company of powerful but unethical men, he had prided himself with the fact that his body and soul were untouched. He had saved himself, not wanting the touch of an Ice Queen to taint him forever.
Ice Queens were the women who ran brothels near the site of every street fight. The fighters needed to release stress before the fights and celebrate after then and somehow using women seemed to them as a good idea. Not to Baek, never would he ever disrespect a woman in such a manner.
Another squeak brought him out of his thoughts and his attention was immediately back on to his beautiful little charming lady.
"Oppa can we go for a bike ride? Please??? I love your motorcycle and my dad never lets me ride one…. Please?????" She asked him, giving him her most effective and cute puppy dog eyes.
Baek had to melt, there was no other option for him. And melt he did.
Sitting atop his bike, helmets in place, the young couple drove off without a destination straight into their happy place. Together...