BEHIND THE SCENES

chapter 145: take a hint

<OST: It's You - Chungha>

"Ya-" Byulyi reached a leg over and prodded Seokjin with her big toe. "Ten minutes has passed, get back to work."

"I'm sleepy..." Seokjin yawned loudly as he stretched on the couch. "Byulyi-ya... let me rest for five more minutes."

"You said that five minutes ago!" Byulyi got up from her seat and walked over to the couch, pulling at Seokjin's arms. "Get! Up! Now!"

"I don't want to-" Seokjin tugged at Byulyi's arms gently, but firmly enough for her to roll down onto the couch right next to him. He seized the opportunity and wrapped his arms around her tiny frame, locking her in.

"Ya!" Byulyi pouted as she struggled to break free from Seokjin's embrace. "Kim! Seokjin! The due date for this chapter is literally tomorrow! Let! Go! Of! Me!"

"Let's just stay like that for a while-" Seokjin's wrapped his arms even tighter around Byulyi and closed his eyes. "You need to rest too, Moon Byulyi."

"Ya-" Byulyi thrashed around. "I don't need to rest."

"I saw your nose bleeding earlier this morning," Seokjin said nonchalantly. "Stop pushing yourself beyond your limit."

Byulyi finally stopped thrashing around and lay in Seokjin's embrace for a few seconds of silence.

"You saw...?"

"Mmhmm-" Seokjin hummed as he snuggled his head along the groove of Byulyi's neck. "You know what nosebleeds are a sign of? They're a sign that you haven't been resting well enough. So listen to me, Moon Byulyi, and rest."

The tension built up in Byulyi's body slowly dissipated as she grabbed hold of Seokjin's arm around her shoulder, cuddled up closer to him and closed her eyes for a while.

"I'm sorry, Seokjin-ah."

"Sorry...?" Seokjin eyes fluttered open and he furrowed his eyebrows. "For what?"

"Just-" Byulyi sighed. "I'm sorry."

"Hey, don't say that-" Seokjin whispered as he turned Byulyi around to face him on the couch such that their foreheads met. "Tell me, what's wrong...?"

"Sorry for yelling at you-" Byulyi finally said as she looked into Seokjin's eyes. "And for rushing you all the time, and for stressing you to meet our deadlines, and for-"

"Why are you apologising for all that?" Seokjin chuckled a little, giving Byulyi a little kiss on her nose. "If you weren't like that, we'd be dysfunctional, Byulyi-ya. There always has to be one person between two people who is more responsible, am I right? I'm the one who should be apologising, sorry for being so layback most of the time and not sharing the burden of all the stress with you."

"Mm, I guess you're right-" Byulyi shrugged a little. "We both play our roles in this partnership. But I guess... sometimes I wonder if you've ever regretted becoming my business partner."

"What? No!" Seokjin let out a small chuckle. "Ya- why would you even think that way?"

"I don't know..." Byulyi sighed. "Maybe because our current story is coming to an end..."

"Ah-" Seokjin shook his head as he gently stroked Byulyi's cheek with his thumb. "Not at all, Byulyi-ya. People say couples tend to fight when they start working together... and it's true to a certain extent. But regardless of that, I still really like having you as both my business partner and my life partner because I spend more time with you doing what we both enjoy."

Byulyi finally let out a relieved smile. "Me too."

"Alright, so stop thinking unnecessary things and rest up-" Seokjin turned Byulyi around and closed his eyes, snuggling up close to her on the couch before planting a light peck on the back of her neck. "We still have a story waiting for us to finish."