Lady Spring

“Pack my stuff?”

“I told you last night, Saeun. I can’t leave you here. There is a house the other members and I use for practicing and staying over sometimes, so you can live there. Just hurry up and pack the stuff you need.”

Walking around Saeun’s house like it was his own, Wooyoung said to her wearing only a towel around his waist. He used another towel to dry his hair while Saeun glared at him. She argued,

“Are you serious? This is my home, so why would I leave?”

“If you stay, that jerk is going to come back here and bother you! What are you going to do when he returns and threatens you? Even hit you? I can’t leave you here alone, so get packing. If you don’t start moving, I’m gonna pack for you myself! Do you want me to do it?”

“Min Wooyoung! You need to think about this! I can’t live in your practice room! Besides, I’m sure the other members will never agree to this. They’ll hate it.”

Wooyoung pondered for a while before grinning. He answered, 

“As long as you cook for them, I’m sure they’ll be okay with it. All of us get so tired when we get home, so no one ever wants to cook. Ordering every night gets really tiring too.”

“I’m not your maid!”

When Saeun yelled at him, Wooyoung frowned. He hung the towel he was using to dry his hair on his shoulder and walked up to her. Looking down at her with a serious look, he said to her in a calm voice.

“I’m giving you 10 minutes, Saeun. Pack right now.”

Saeun looked around in confusion. Wooyoung was right. She had no doubt that Junghoo was going to return, but even if she moved, it wasn’t going to change anything. Her cell phone number was going to stay the same and she was still going to be working in the same office. One call to her parents and Junghoo was going to find out all of these things easily. 

Besides, it should’ve been enough that Wooyoung helped her last night when her brother was here. How could she ask for more help from Wooyoung? On top of that, they should’ve both been thankful that Junghoo didn’t recognize Wooyoung. 

Saeun certainly didn’t regret sleeping with him last night. The area between her legs still felt like she was stabbed multiple times, and her waist throbbed unpleasantly. But whenever she remembered what happened between them last night… Saeun couldn’t stop blushing and smiling. 

Even if she never gets the chance to marry because of her family, especially her jerk brother, Saeun would always have the beautiful memories of making love with her first love.

“Yun Saeun, you’re thinking about something dirty, aren’t you?”

Saeun jolted and shook her head, but Wooyoung gave her a knowing smile.

“Your mind’s in the gutter, huh? What were you thinking about? You must be still in pain though. Especially down there.”

“I…I…I wasn’t thinking about anything! Just put some clothes on already!”

When she slapped his bare back, Wooyoung pouted.

“Anyway, if you don’t pack in 10 minutes, I’m just going to carry you outside like that. Well, actually, you now have only nine minutes left.”

“I said I can’t go!”

Wooyoung walked into her room. Saeun followed and screamed at him, but he nonchalantly dropped the towel, the one that was wrapped around his waist. He then bent down to pick up his clothes on the floor. Suddenly speechless at the sight of his naked body, Saeun stared. It felt like her head was going to explode. Every time he moved, his butt muscles contracted and flexed, and she couldn’t stop staring at them. On top of that… His…

“Yun Saeun, you’re such a pervert. Sneaking a look at my nude body.”

When he turned to tease her, Saeun turned around quickly and stuttered, 

“Y…y…you’re the weird one who dropped the towel! Y…you’re so strange!”

“Then how would I put on my underwear? Under the towel like a demure lady?! That’s silly. Anyway, if you aren’t packed by the time I’m dressed, I’m really going to just carry you out, got it?”

“How many times do I have to tell you?! I’m not going! I can’t!”

By the time she turned around to face him, Wooyoung was pulling up his pants. He was still naked on the top, but she felt certain she could act normal if it was just his upper body that was nude.

“Then should I live here with you?”

Wooyoung looked at her face with all the seriousness in the world. When Saeun blinked in surprise, he walked up to her.

“I can’t leave without you. I really can’t. I mean it. I won’t be able to work at all. I will be constantly worried that your brother was here to trouble you again. Is that what you want? For me to worry? Would it be better if I stay here with you all day and keep you safe?”

“Y…you can’t stay here. You need to work. You must be very busy!”

“You’re right. I’m really busy nowadays. But if I’m worried about you, I won’t be able to do anything. So what should I do? Should I live here with you?”

Why was he doing this to her? Saeun stared at Wooyoung quietly. She didn’t believe that Wooyoung genuinely liked her. It had to be just a brief and temporary interest. A whim and nothing more. 

So what will happen if she follows him to this place, and he loses interest in her? Was she to pick up the broken pieces of her heart and return to her home? 

No way. Just the thought of it scared her to death. She didn’t want to get hurt. That kind of pain… It was going to kill her.

“Wooyoung, just be smart about this. You need to think. What if a rumor starts about you dating me? That can’t be good for you or your group. And when you aren’t interested in me anymore…”

“I’ve dated four girls so far in my life. From high school till now, I had four girlfriends.”

Saeun’s eyes widened. As if he expected this reaction, Wooyoung nodded and continued,

“Yup. Four. The first one was in high school. I met this girl at an after school program. The next one was after I made my debut. It was another singer. After her, I met someone in university. And the last one was a fashion designer. She was older than me. I broke up with her about a year ago. I’m telling you that I’m not some playboy. And as you must know, whenever I was dating someone, there weren’t any messy rumors about it. So I want you to throw away your prejudice and just treat me as an ordinary boyfriend. Can’t you do that? Or do you only see me as a member of Strawberry Fields?”

Saeun raised her hand to touch his desperate face. Wooyoung leaned towards her hand like a puppy.

If she could have him… If she had the courage to give up everything and follow him… Only if she was ready to take on this risk even though she knew it might break her…

Just once in her life, Saeun wanted to live the way she wanted. 

She gulped loudly. She could feel his warmth on her palm. Wooyoung was gazing at her encouragingly as if he wanted to give her the courage she desperately needed. 

Or maybe he was daring her to take him.

With a loud sigh, Saeun announced, 

“Cooking is one thing, but you better not make me clean that place too.”