27. Monroe #2
When we finally pull into the ridge overlooking the mountain, Jin cuts the engine without a word. The silence rushes in around us, filled by the low hum of cicadas and the occasional sigh of the wind through trees.
The world feels suspended somehow, like time has stopped for us.
We climb onto the hood of his car. The metal is warm beneath my bare thighs from the drive. I bend my knees and wrap my arms around them, turning my gaze to the amazing view.
Busan is stretched out below us. With the sun dying, the city lights have started to shine. Farther out, the bridges carve silver paths across the water. The ocean itself looks like a mirror cracked with golden veins.
Minutes pass with us sitting in silence, breathing in the warm, sweet evening air. I rest my chin on my knees and enjoy how the wind blows through my curls.
It’s almost overwhelming, the difference a year has made.
The last time I sat here, the future seemed so precarious. So uncertain. I wasn’t even sure if I would live or die, marked for death by the tattoo on the inside of my wrist.
Now, everything feels so limitless.
I turn my gaze to the ink on the inside of my wrist and smile. It’s been altered since that first night in the alley—Jin had a friend add more ink to the symbol, so that now it means fearless in the face of death.
Fitting considering everything I’ve been through.
But, most of all, the mark reminds me I’m a survivor. How one fateful night changed my world forever, and I’m here to tell the tale. I’m sitting by the man who helped bring about that change.
When I glance sideways at Jin, a few subtle things catch my attention.
He slides his fingers through his hair for what feels like the twentieth time. He shifts like he’s restless, his breath uneven. His hands disappear into the pockets of his leather jacket like he needs to give them something to do.
The closer I watch, the more I notice how even his throat bobs from a tight swallow.
For Jin, a man of discipline and stoicism, it’s all alarming.
Is he… nervous ?
The realization fills me with a tender fondness. As if I couldn’t love this man any more. The sight of him nervous, knocked even a little off his usual game, is possibly the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.
I’ve barely started pondering why he could be when he speaks.
“You’re probably wondering why I brought you all the way up here,” he says, his voice strained.
I smile slightly. “It’s crossed my mind.”
He huffs out an unsteady breath like he’s trying to laugh but can’t. “I figured it would be a good place. One of the best views in Busan.”
“I remember the night you first brought me here,” I say gently. “It feels like yesterday, even if it was a year ago.”
“I remember too. I remember… what I was thinking that night.” He pulls one hand from his jacket, his long fingers flexing restlessly in his lap.
His gaze finally finds mine as he glances over at me, a dark intensity flickering in his eyes that I can’t place.
“I was supposed to kill you. It was supposed to be simple. It should’ve been over quick.
“But then… I watched you,” he sighs unevenly. His fingers sift through his messy strands again. “You were unlike anyone I’d ever seen. You were real. You were good. Too good to be true. Definitely too good for someone like me.”
My heart twists, aching for the boy he once was. The man he’s grown up to be, where love and happiness were never a reality.
“Jin…” I whisper, not even sure what I want to say.
He shifts on the hood, turning slightly so he’s facing me more fully. His hand finds mine where it rests on my kneecap. Our fingers lace together, his palm warm and a little sweaty. It finally sinks in that he really is nervous.
Seo Jin-tae is nervous.
He never gets nervous.
“I couldn’t do it,” he admits. “I couldn’t hurt you. Even when every part of me knew it was what I had to do. My standing in the Baekho Pa relied on it. I didn’t know it at the time… but I was already in love with you.
“You’re the most special person I’ve ever met, Tokki-ya,” he says, his thumb absentmindedly brushing circles over my knuckles. “You’ve shown me life can be more than what I told myself it would be. More than brutal violence and ruthlessness.”
The air swells around us, charged with so much emotion, I’m holding my breath. Jin reaches into the pocket of his leather jacket and pulls out a small velvet box.
“I want that life,” he says, opening the box to show me the ring inside. “I want it with you. The mornings and nights and all the smaller moments in between. The happiness that we can bring each other for the rest of our lives.”
My heart stutters inside my chest as I’m struck speechless.
Inside the box, cradled in dark velvet, is a simple and elegant engagement ring—a pear-cut diamond on a slim, delicate, white-gold band.
“So… what I’m saying is…” he drags a shaky breath into his lungs, “I would like your hand in marriage. Will you be my wife, Tokki-ya?”
I react before I can even fully process the question. My arms fly out, wrapping around him, nearly knocking the box from his hand. Laughter rings out of me as I bury my face in the crook of his neck.
“Do you really think I’d say no?” I choke out. “Yes, Jin-tae. Yes, a thousand… a million times over!”
He laughs with me. The tension bottled up inside him releases all at once. He holds me tighter than he ever has, like he’s afraid I’ll disappear.
When we finally pull apart, he slides the ring onto my finger. It fits like it was made just for me.
I lift my hand and smile at how the diamond gleams in the golden light of sunset.
“You realize what you’ve done, right?” I ask with another laugh. “You’ve made me the happiest girl in all of South Korea. No, scratch that. The happiest girl in the whole damn world.”
He draws me into an eager kiss then. Passion overflows between us as we revel in the feel of each other’s warm lips and how amazing it is to connect like this. It’s a kiss full of promise and the unexpected love we’ve found.
We smile at each other once it ends and we realize what’s happened.
We’re officially engaged!
The city lights blink in the distance as if in celebration. The stars come out on the darkening sky and do the same, twinkling from thousands of miles above.
A perfect moment to what’s become an unforgettable night.
We pant in the dark as I ride Jin, sliding up and down on his dick.
We’re slicked in sweat, trading kisses as he slides in and out of me and pleasure buzzes through us.
I thrust my tongue in his mouth, my fingers tangled in his hair, grinding my hips to switch up the motion.
His dig slips in deep and feels so fucking good buried inside me.
Jin holds me close and kisses me passionately. His tongue meets mine in violent lashes and knocks me into another dimension of bliss.
That’s the thing about Jin—he’s so controlled until he’s not. Then he’s all fire and passionate and nights like these only hammer the point home.
We came back to his apartment after his beautiful proposal. He suggested we not bother with any real lights, instead opting to light a few candles around his bedroom. I’d smirked as his dark room was lit with a warm, soft glow.
“I thought you didn’t do candles?”
He gave a shrug. “What can I say? Things change.”
From there, the flames on the candle weren’t the only thing burning—so was the passion between us.
Except, instead of so many other times where we’ve been impatient and explosive, tonight we’ve been slow and unrushed.
We’ve been making love at our leisure.
I arch against Jin as he reaches between us and starts rubbing my clit. My head tilts up toward the ceiling, exposing more of my throat. He takes this opening, swiping his tongue at the delicate column of skin and licking his way up.
A shudder racks through me at the warm, wet feel of his tongue and rough pad of his fingers all at the same time.
The girth and length of his dick buried inside me.
It’s sensory overload as I rock against him, inching closer and closer to the edge.
Jin recaptures my lips, kissing me fiercely to distract from what else he’s doing. His wide palms dance across my hips and thighs and reach around me. He cups the globes of my ass and lifts me up and then down on his dick.
I moan freely into his mouth, my knees planted on either side of him. We pick up speed, our gyrations going faster as he fucks me on his cock, getting us both off. Soon his hips are driving up too, meeting mine half way.
“Fuck yes, Tokki-ya…” he grunts. “Take my cock like you were meant to. I’m going to fill you up with my cum.”
I rest my forehead against his as we shatter together and our orgasms vibrate through us like a powerful earthquake. The vibrations start in my pussy and then spread through the rest of my body in deep tremors that have me slumping against Jin’s chest.
He’s no less effected—he’s heaving ragged breaths, dripping sweat, every muscle corded and tense.
We’re suspended in time ’til the freeze wears off, then we’re collapsing beside each other in bed. I roll over to face him, sleepy and content and curious all at the same time. Jin’s already waiting for me, stretching a long arm to pull me even closer.
“Jin…” I mutter. “We’re engaged.”
“Surprised?”
I giggle before I can stop myself, looking up at the ceiling. “Honestly? A little! I didn’t expect you to ask so…”
“What, Tokki-ya? Tell me.”
“Romantically?”
“Your mother gave her blessing.”
“Wait… hold up. You got my mother’s permission?” I ask, pushing myself up on my elbow and quirking a brow at him.
He shrugs, folding an arm under his head. “I wanted to ensure she was in support of it. Her opinion means a lot to you. And to me. She will be my mother-in-law.”
“You… you… softie!” I can’t contain myself as another excitable giggle escapes me and I descend on him with small kisses all over his face and throat.
At first, he tries to push me away, like he’s too cool for such gushy affections, then he just accepts it. He gives in with a light chuckle as I wrap my arms around him and kiss his jaw and then bury my face in the crook of his neck.
“So, I might have a soft spot,” he admits in his own flat tone Jin sort of way. “Your mother and you have a talent for winning people over. I tried very hard to fight against it, but I’ve realized there’s no winning.”
I giggle again. “Face it, Jin-tae. You secretly love it.”
“Maybe so.” He kisses the top of my curly head. “But that’s because you’ve made it easy to become obsessed with you. I can no longer survive without my little rabbit by my side.”
My small smile remains on my face as I snuggle in his arms and the candles flicker around us in the dark room. “I guess it was a self-fulling prophecy. You marked me in the alley that night thinking it was for death, but really it was just for yourself. For us to be together.”
He considers what I’ve said, then makes a throaty sound of agreement. “I wouldn’t change any of it.”