As I have nothing to give you, I give you my heart (IU Verse Book#1)

Chapter 43

     Jihyuk covered his eyes from the bright sunlight pouring through the curtains as he stifled a yawn and turned away from the light. He removed his hand from his eyes and the first thing that he saw was Jieun, whose head lay delicately on his other arm, her hand on his chest, her bundle of hair occupying the space between them. She was snoring softly through her nose. He watched the rhythm of her chest as it rose and fell. His lips automatically drew a smile when he saw Jieun squinting her eyes in her sleep as a crack of sunlight hit her. She inched closer to him and hid her face in his arm, trying to block the light from hitting her face. Jihyuk reached his hand out and covered the light from hitting her.

     The sight of Jieun in the morning was one of his favorites. People often say that no one looks good in their sleep, especially in the morning, but he begged to differ.

     Jieun opened her eyes slowly, awake from her peaceful slumber. She blinked a few times before she opened her eyes properly. She was face to face with Jihyuk, who was already looking at her. When he saw that she had woken up, Jihyuk smiled a little and leaned in to press a kiss on her nose.

     "Good morning." "Good morning to you too," Jieun said as she smiled lazily up at him. Jihyuk peered at the clock on the nightstand behind him. He turned his head back and around and said, "It's 8." Jieun nodded as she stifled a yawn. "We should get up." She said, making no move to do so. Jihyuk closed his eyes and drew himself closer to her. He buried his face in her neck and said, "But it's Saturday." Jieun chuckled, allowing her hands to tangle themselves in his hair. "And?" Jihyuk looked up at her and pouted a little, "No one wakes up early on a weekend." He reasoned. Jieun raised her eyebrows. "I don't think we can call 8 AM 'early'." 

     "But it's early on a weekend." He said again. Jieun chuckled again and drew back a little to look at him properly. "But I had something planned for us today."Jihyuk removed his head and perked his eyebrows. "Really?" "mmhmm." She replied as she brushed a strand of hair from his forehead. "Where? Here?" Jieun shook her head. "Nope. We're going out today." "Out?"

     "I'm taking you out on a date." She confirmed. Jihyuk smiled a little. "What's the occasion?" Jieun shrugged and said, "You and I both worked hard on our things. I think we both deserved a little treat." Jihyuk's smile grew wider. "Where are we going?" Jieun perked her eyebrows at his question. "You didn't tell me where we were going on our first date." "Yeah, well, I have to know where it is to drive us there." Jieun giggled, "You're right." She gave him a grin as she said, "We're going to Jeju island." She paused. "Do you know where it is?" She added playfully. Jihyuk pretended to ponder her question. "Hmm. I have been there." Jieun hid her grin. "Really?" Jihyuk looked at her and said, "Yep. Did I tell you about a time where I was on the beach, and I saw this girl running towards the water? She tried to dip her toes and tested the water, and it was cold so she drew back and she managed to hit my body with hers. She almost fell in the water, but I caught her." He grinned at her. Jieun narrowed her eyes at him, but couldn't help the smile that was blossoming on her face at the fond memory. Jihyuk's playful grin faded as he tugged her closer to him. "Any particular reason why you wanna go there?"

     Jieun just smiled up at him. She leaned in to press a kiss on his cheek and remove herself from his arms. Jihyuk's arms stayed where they were, hovering around the space where her small body was previously in, and smiled a little as he got up as well. Jieun went into the bathroom to wash up first while Jihyuk made the bed. He checked his phone for any updates from his workplace, brushing his hair in the process. When there was no news or alerts for him, he checked the weather for today and saw that it was going to be sunny and cool; the perfect weather on a day out. His eyes scanned the date for today; October 23rd. He stared at the date and with a pang, he realized that today was his mother's birthday. He glanced at the bathroom door. Perhaps he could spare some time after their date to visit his mother.