Chapter 96: Chapter 96

Ye Jun

We kept going like that, back and forth, me snapping stuff and him firing right back but always gentle, his hand finding my thigh two more times until I stopped flinching and just leaned in every time. “You’re impossible,” I said at one point, shoving the empty plate away and stealing the last of his toast. “Acting all sweet after I basically ruined the whole night with my drama queen exit.” He laughed and bumped my shoulder. “You didn’t ruin anything. I liked holding you. Still do.” I rolled my eyes but my face got hot and I couldn’t look at him. “Yeah yeah, save the greeting card lines for someone who buys that crap. I’m just here for the free breakfast and maybe round two later if you stop being so… you.”

After we finished eating I felt restless as hell, so we moved to the couch in the living room because the bedroom still felt too charged from last night and the light in here was softer, less like it was judging me. I paced a little at first, picking at my nails while he flopped down and patted the spot next to him. “Sit, Ye Jun. You’re gonna wear a hole in the floor.”

I dropped down but kept fidgeting, knee bouncing, because the tattoo under my shirt felt like it was burning again just from thinking about it.

We talked in circles for what felt like forever, me deflecting every time he tried to bring up last night and him refusing to let me brush it off. “Seriously, we can just forget the sobbing part,” I said, voice cracking a little even though I tried to cover it with a snort. “Pretend it was gas or something dumb.” He shook his head and grabbed my hand mid-gesture. “No pretending. You let me in a little. I’m not forgetting that.” I yanked my hand back but not hard, sighing loud. “God, you’re annoying. Fine, whatever, it meant something, happy now? Can we move on before I regret every life choice that led me here?”

“You’re the one who said snacks and no sex last night,” I snapped at one point, stealing the remote from his lap just to have something to hold. “Now you’re all ’that means something’ like I proposed or whatever.” He laughed and snatched it back, fingers brushing mine. “I meant it. I like the real you, even the crying version.”

My chest did that tight thing again and I picked at my nails harder, staring at the floor. “Yeah well, the real me has baggage that’ll make you run, so maybe stop liking it so much.” We went round and round like that, voices overlapping, me sighing dramatically every two seconds, him bumping my knee with his until I finally cracked.

I stood up fast, restless energy making me pace again, and before I could overthink it I said, “Okay fine, you want it real? I’ll show you the tattoo. Right now, in the daylight, no hiding, no grinding like last night. Just… look at it if you want.” My hands were already grabbing the hem of my shirt, heart hammering because this was it, the part where he’d see Si Woo’s name and everything would crash. But Ohm sat up and caught my wrists gently, not hard, just holding them still. “Hey, stop.

You don’t have to show me.” I blinked at him, shirt half-lifted, relief flooding in so fast it made my knees weak but fear still there underneath because what if he didn’t care because he was just being lovely and this was all pity? “What? You… you’re refusing? Like, you don’t want to see it?” He pulled my hands down and tugged my shirt back in place, eyes soft but steady. “I don’t need to see it to know you’re you. It’s your skin, your past, whatever. I’m not here to judge some ex’s stupid mark. I just want to be with you, tattoo or no tattoo. We’ll deal with it if you want, but only if you want. I’m good either way.”

I stood there staring, relieved like a weight lifted but still scared because he was being so lovely about it, no disgust, no questions, just him saying he didn’t care and that made my eyes sting all over again. “You’re serious? You’re not even curious or grossed out or anything?” I asked, voice all shaky and sarcastic at the edges. “Most guys would be like ’ew lover ink’ and bail.” He pulled me down onto the couch next to him and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, hugging me sideways.

“Most guys are idiots. I’m not. Sit here and stop spiraling.” I muttered something rude under my breath but I leaned into the hug anyway, face buried in his neck for a second while we sat there, me picking at my nails again but slower now. The conversation looped back into banter after that, me calling him a sap and him firing back that I was a dramatic escape artist, but it felt different, lighter, like he really didn’t care about the tattoo and that scared me more than if he had freaked out.

We stayed on the couch like that for ages, talking over each other, me stealing the remote again and him wrestling it back with laughs, until finally I checked the time and said I should me home before someone noticed I was gone all night. “Come on, I’ll drive you,” he said, standing up and stretching so his pants slipped lower and I had to look away fast. He showered first and I did.

I followed him to the car, still in his sweatpants because mine were somewhere in his room and I wasn’t digging them out right now, and the whole ride we kept the banter going, windows down, me yelling over the music about how he drove like an old man and him yelling back that at least he didn’t try to jump out windows. But under it all my head was spinning because he’d refused to see the tattoo and been lovely instead, and it made me want to both cry and laugh at how ridiculous this all was.

When we pulled up to my house he parked and cut the engine, turning to me with that look again. I unbuckled and leaned over before I could stop myself, grabbing his face and kissing him hard, sucking on his bottom lip while he kissed back just as messy, tongues sliding and hands in hair. It wasn’t soft, it was desperate and real, the kind where we were both breathing heavy when we pulled apart. “Next time,” I said against his mouth, voice rough, “we’re having sex for real. No crying, no bolting, just you inside me like we planned.” He grinned and kissed me again, sucking my lip back. “Deal. Next encounter, no escape plans. I’m holding you to it.” We hugged tight right there in the car, me clinging a little longer than I meant to, then I got out and he waved as he pulled away, and I stood there watching the car disappear with my lips still tingling and my chest all twisted up in the best worst way

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep