Hour Before Dawn

Chapter 14

Bin heard his alarm go off and quickly reached for his phone on the night stand to turn it off right away. He felt his girlfriend stir beside him so he slowly and carefully got out of bed, hoping to not wake her up. He headed for the bathroom to take a shower before he starts his work day.

He walked out of the bathroom while drying his hair, noticing that Ye-jin was already up and their bed was already made. He hung the towel and got dressed, leaving his polo shirt on the hanger to put on after breakfast.

Ye-jin was quietly stirring his cup of coffee when she felt a familiar set of arms slip by her side, enveloping her in a tight but gentle embrace. Her lips immediately curved up into a smile as she felt her boyfriend rest his chin on her shoulder while his hands met right on her lower abdomen where her brace ended.

"Good morning," she said softly.

"Good morning, Yejie," he said while his arms were wrapped around her. "I wanna stay home today."

She giggled at him before answering. "Beanie, it's Monday."

"I wanna stay home," he said again, sounding like a child who didn't want to go to school.

"Well, if you stay home, you get to stay with me," she said with a smirk.

"Oh you are such a tease," Bin said with a chuckle. "You know that I have a meeting today, so you know I can't not go to work."

"I know," she said with a smile. "That's why I had to say it."

"And it's working because I wanna stay home even more now."

"But, you can't. I'll be here when you get home," she said with a smile, turning her head to kiss his cheeks.

"I'll hurry home," he replied. "Mmmm coffee always smells so good, especially yours."

"YOU smell good," she said when she turned her head again, inhaling his scent.

"What a good morning it already is," he said with a smile, kissing her cheeks before resting his chin on her shoulder again. "Can I help you with anything?"

"I'm good, babe. Here's your coffee, you can go ahead and have a seat at the table," she replied. "I'm just making my hot chocolate, then I'll come and join you."

Bin gave her arms a rub and another kiss on her cheeks before making his way to the table with his cup of coffee. On the table were cinnamon french toasts, syrup, butter, bacon, sunny side up egg for her and his preferred scrambled eggs.

Since arriving home from Florida, he has rearranged her kitchen cupboards and pantry to have most of what she would need for cooking and baking at a level where she would not need to bend or reach high up. The rearrangement has made it easier for Ye-jin to use the kitchen even when she was home alone.

That has become their routine since he went back to work. His alarm would go off in the morning and he would take a shower while Ye-jin stays in bed, but by the time he steps out of the bathroom, the bed would be made and she was nowhere to be found in the bedroom. She would be in the kitchen, making their breakfast and preparing his snacks and lunch for work while he gets ready. Bin would walk out of the bedoom in his undershirt and pants, joining her for breakfast before he leaves for the day.

Both were early risers so no matter how frequent he told her to try and sleep in, Ye-jin would already be up by the time he's out of the bathroom.

If it was up to him, he would do everything he could for her, especially because he noticed a change in her. She has been quiet a lot lately, though he could tell she still tried to be her usual self. He wanted her to rest as much as she could but knowing her, that's not what she would want.