Let Me Love You

Letting Go

A/N: I'm going to get these two chapters up before I start doing my last two lessons. Now that I remembered where I put them, it will be easier to do it this way. 

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Dongwook emerged from his bathroom rubbing his head with a towel. Rowoon was on her side, arms bunched under her head as her shoulders rose and fell steadily. Even in the dimness of his room, he could see the pristine bandage on her forehead. 

Joombas had pulled security footage and would be sending it to KOZ. The police were once again involved, not that they weren't before. Now it had to do with assault. Things were getting way too heated, and everyone was really one edge. His phone had blown up with messages from people who had known them, asking if they were all okay. How did he respond to those? 

Rowoon hadn't surprised him by staying with him. He'd expected it in fact. It wasn't the first time this had happened, nor was it the second. Any time something physically had happened to her, she had stayed with him. It was as if he was the salve that made it sting less. 

He slid into bed behind her, molding his body to hers in a very familiar way. She smelled of his soap and shampoo, something he hadn't smelled on her in a very long time. Her skin was just as soft as he remembered, her body just as firm. He had to inhale deeply then exhale sharply to keep his own body from reacting.

He remembered the first time he'd shared her bed. They had been way past curfew while in school in Japan. Jiho had somehow made it back to his room, but they hadn't. Rowoon had managed to sneak him into the girls' dorm and to her room. All she had had for him to sleep in had been a pair of sweat pants she had stolen from him previously. They had slept curled on that twin size bed all night, tangled around each other in any way they could find. He had barely made it out safely the next morning. 

It had only been the beginning. When they'd returned to Seoul, Rowoon had had her own place. He'd spent so much time with her it had been amazing his family knew what he had looked like. He'd slept better when he had been with her. He had even thought he had been writing music in secret, but she had found his notebook and had told him to pursue it. She had been his biggest supporter. 

Rowoon turned over in her sleep, wrapping herself around him. Dongwook sighed, burying his nose in the top of her head. They had always slept like this despite how painful it could be.

He didn't know why she wanted to stay with him. For three days, she had been shuttled to and from Hyuk's house. Hyuk had taken excellent care of of her, and she'd wanted him. He could only imagine how Hyuk was feeling. 

Rowoon had always gone after the guy. No one had really pursued her. He figured it was due to her nasty temper. She said it was because of her mother. It was probably a mixture of both. The two women could be obstinate. Throw her sister in the mix, and hell froze over. The men of the Park family were smart enough to stay out of those situations. But Do Eul had a bad habit of picking the wrong place and the wrong time to talk about something. Like her dating life, or lack thereof. 

Hyuk was actively pursuing Rowoon, much to everyone's either delight or chagrin. No one he knew would take in a woman without ulterior motives. Hyuk wasn't a saint, but Dongwook knew he'd never force Rowoon to do something she wasn't ready for or unwilling to do. He may be aggressive in his tactics, but he was very tenderhearted. 

One of Rowoon's hands came up and covered his eyes. "Quit thinking so had and go to sleep."

He laughed and adjusted his head. "How'd you know?"

"I've known you for nearly twenty years. I know when you're restless." She touched his thigh gently. "Your legs have been moving for some time now."

"You could have stayed with Hyuk," he blurted. She shook her head. "Why?"

"I didn't want to."

"He likes you."

"I know."

"So give him a chance."

She sighed and rolled over, facing away from him. Dongwook propped himself up on his elbow and waited. 

"I don't want it to turn out like us," she muttered. "I don't want to live with what ifs. What if we had stayed together? What if I could kiss him again? What if we'd done what parents had wanted?"

"You have those thoughts with us?" Her silence was his answer. "So have I, but then I'm reminded of the hell I put you through when I couldn't tell anyone what I wanted to do with my life. You kept that secret for me, from my family, your family, Jiho. From everyone."

He remembered all too vividly. Rowoon had been in college when he had been living in his little goshiwon. They had stayed there many nights, Rowoon always making sure he ate. She had been the only one he had trusted with everything. Not even Jiho had known his true feelings. Feelings of being alone, lying to his family about his heart's desire, and just being broken because he couldn't do much for the woman who had given him everything. 

Rowoon had had it tough. Every time they had gone out with friends, she had either paid for them or he hadn't shown up. He had never wanted to embarrass her, and that had been all he'd done. 

He still remembered the night he'd told her to think clearly on their relationship. Her work load had picked up and she had been looking at internships. He hadn't wanted to hold her back. Even then he had known how good she had been at her job. 

The day she'd gotten the internship at SM Entertainment they had seriously discussed where they had been going. She had been on a fast track to make a name for herself. He had barely held a job, making just enough to pay his bills. She was getting ready for her master's and had been accepted into a school in London. He hadn't been able to spoil her like she deserved. 

They had made the difficult decision to break up. He could still see the tears threatening her eyes as they'd set their couple rings on the table before them. A year and a half of dating was behind them; now all they had to do was figure out how to be friends again. 

Dongwook, now in the present, gently cupped her cheek and turned her mouth to his. He lowered it slowly, lips pressing against those oh so familiar to him. She returned his kiss, but it lacked the passion and fire it had once smoldered. Now, it was just a kiss of familiarity, one they knew how to do but didn't set fire to his blood as it once had. 

"You're the only one I've ever slept with," he muttered as he pulled back. 

Rowoon laughed, not in his face but at a thought floating around her bright eyes. She rolled onto her back, fingers caressing his cheek. "You mean our drunken escapade?"

He pushed her shoulder. "Why do you still call it that? It was the first time for both of us. Yes, we were drunk but it meant something. Still does."

She nodded, smile still plastered on her bruising face. "Me too."

Dongwook rolled closer and wrapped his arms around hers. "Get some sleep. It's been stressful."

Rowoon turned into his shoulder again, burying her face in his neck. He listened to her breathing even out, her hand loosing up in his. 

In the still of the moment, he reached for his phone.