ELVEN | K.TH

14

TAEHYUNG

Where...am I?

My head hurts. I can feel the morning light on my face, but something doesn't feel quite right as I shift my body. There's warmth, when there shouldn't be.

I push open my eyes.

I see Rinei, inches in front of me. Her eyes are closed, lips slightly parted and breathing quietly.

And I think I'm dreaming.

But she feels so real when I graze my hand against her cool, pale cheek. Under the sheets, her leg is curled around mine. Her head is rested on top of my arm.

She's so close. I catch her scent, sweet and hypnotizing. It almost drags me back to sleep.

It must be a dream. It has to be.

With a soft sigh, I place my hand against the small of her back. Her shirt is hiked all the way up to her stomach, and I fix it for her with two fluid motions.

She'd always been a messy sleeper. Even when she was young.

My arm wrapping around her shoulders, I press her into my chest. It had just been so long since I'd wanted to hold her like this that I couldn't remember.

Even if it's a dream, it is a beautiful one.

She makes a small noise in her sleep. It's muffled against my shirt, and I can't help my smile as she throws an arm over my waist, latching onto me like a baby koala. Rinei tugs herself closer, pushing her face closer to mine.

My eyes find her lips.

No.

Kim Taehyung.

It's only a dream. It wasn't real. No matter how much I wanted it to be, none of this really was.

Because it would be impossible for me to be sharing the same bed with her in the first place. Because Rinei didn't love me the way I loved her.

But even if this was a fantasy, I would taste her lips when she would let me.

So instead, I press a kiss on her cheek.

Her skin is soft, slightly cool. There's a sweet scent in the air, and I breathe quietly as I force my eyes close again. I don't want to wake her.

If she woke, would this dream end? Would I be back in my room in the Elven Palace, the sunlight cold on my cheeks?

I did not want this to end. Please.

My hands tighten around her waist. And I beg, not knowing who I'm pleading to.

So let me stay like this.

Let me stay, as long as you'll let me.

________________________________

RINEI

There's a soft, gentle breathing. Everything feels the same as usual— the morning sunlight, the sheets tangled up in my legs. But is that...

Is that mine?

My eyes scrunch open, before closing again. And I repeat that for a couple more times before I finally force myself awake.