Chapter 239 - Being Normal

The rays of the sun broke in through the large, glass window. Mirae was snuggled against KJ's rock hard chest, sound asleep. Her arms were hugging him tightly while she, too, was cooped up in his embrace. Both of them were sleeping peacefully until the bright sun woke them up. 

Mirae opened her eyes to find herself drooling on KJ's t-shirt. Since they were taking gradual steps to build their relationship, she stopped putting up her pillow barrier on their bed. Even though she tried her best not to roll over into his arms in her sleep, strangely, she did not mind waking up like this at all. 

KJ was stroking her head. 

"Morning wifey," he greeted sleepily. Mirae was too busy focusing on his morning look. How does someone look so good with bed hair? 

"Wifey," KJ called out to her.

"Huh?"

"You're drooling," he pointed out. Mirae quickly snapped out of her reverie and hastily wiped her mouth, red in the face. 

She was too shy. Her earlier boldness disappeared and she shied away from meeting his gaze. KJ chuckled at his wife's blushing face. She looked so cute at that moment, that he could not help but pinch her cheeks. 

"I didn't know you could be this cute," he laughed softly. She turned even redder. He leaned in closer to kiss her but she held up a palm on her mouth. 

"I have morning breath," she mumbled when he frowned. KJ laughed and removed her hand. 

"Doesn't matter," he whispered before swooping in to steal a kiss. She felt him lightly grazing her lips, teasing her but not deepening the kiss. He was still being careful, not wanting to make her uncomfortable but he had to restrain himself with great difficulty. 

He pulled back. Mirae was flushed even with the small peck. He was looking at her as if he had not seen anything more beautiful. His eyes were full of love and passion. The strong emotions were almost engulfing her but she did not feel overwhelmed anymore. 

After she saw KJ unconscious last night, she felt as if someone was squeezing her heart. He was so pale that she was at a loss what to do. All her training and logic ran out of her mind. If Song Tamlin was not nearby, she would have passed out herself. 

"How are you feeling now?" she asked, her voice trembling. 

"I'm fine," he replied. Last night was a nightmare for him. The few short minutes when he thought he was too late to save Mirae again almost killed him. If anything had happened to her, then KJ would have had the entire city burnt down to find Junhyung. 

Mirae got up and checked his temperature. Thankfully, he did not have a fever. She took off his IV drip before they went to bed. 

"Your vitals are fine," she said as she helped him straighten up. "But the doctor told you to rest for a few days. It's Sunday today so I'll be home. And you can take the week off from work. The songs for Six X are complete anyway so they'll be fine and-" 

KJ held her hand and pulled her down to sit beside him. 

"Today is our first day as a couple," he pouted. "I'm not spending the day in bed. Unless you join me." 

He flashed her a seductive grin. Mirae momentarily lost focus before snapping out of it. 

"Fine, you can help me with the housework," she said. "Since you sent all the servants and cooks away."

She stuck out her tongue at him. "Now go and freshen up," she scolded him. "You need to take your medicines after breakfast." 

KJ playfully protested a little before Mirae forced him to get up. After half an hour, he was dressed up, while Mirae took a shower inside the bathroom. 

Remembering his wife's disastrous cooking skills, he went downstairs to prepare breakfast. When Mirae came downstairs, he was setting the china on the table. 

"You're supposed to rest!" she said angrily. 

"I can't let you cook," KJ said. "Your cooking can make me more sick." 

She glared at him. KJ sighed and held her by the shoulders to make her sit down. 

"I like to work," he said. "I can't rest on a bed all day long. Besides, I wanna spoil my wife. It'll make me feel healthy again." 

His shamelessness was making Mirae's wretched heart thump so loudly that she was afraid he would hear it. He winked at her and placed the bread and omelettes on her plates. 

Mirae, still embarrassed by his flirty words, quickly nibbled on her breakfast. She kept on peeking at him every now and then as he slowly chewed his food. 

"Where's Jade?" KJ asked. He realized he had not seen the cat since last night. 

"Somi offered to take care of him," Mirae replied. "Since the servants are away and you were unconscious, she figured taking care of both you and Jade would be too much for me. So she took him in for the weekend." 

KJ nodded. Jade was smart so he should not trouble Somi and Hyun Jung much. 

"I should get on with some chores," Mirae announced as soon as she was done with breakfast. 

"I'll help," he said at once. Despite Mirae's protests, KJ insisted on helping her. He was adamant. Finally, Mirae caved in. 

First was the laundry. Mirae had stacked up all the dirty clothes in a basket while KJ separated the white clothes and put in the detergent. Mirae put the clothes in the washer and turned it on. 

"There, that should-" 

Suddenly soapy bubbles splashed on her face. KJ laughed as he blew the bubbles towards her.

"Hey!" she protested, playfully grabbing his wrists. But he pinned her hands to her side and pulled her close. His body was pressing against hers as he pinned her against the washer. 

The tension between them filled the air as KJ wiped the soap from her face. Mirae felt slight shocks on the spot he was touching. He leaned in closer. She closed her eyes as she felt his breath on her face. 

"Wifey, the carpet needs vacuuming," he whispered. Mirae opened her eyes to see him grinning at her. He was playing with her! 

She pouted in anger, trying to push him away but he took her by surprise and stole a quick kiss from her. Mirae, red in the face, slapped his arm. 

"Focus!" she scolded him as he laughed heartily at her reactions. 

His naughty antics continued for the rest of the day as he kept on stealing kisses from her amidst the chores. Mirae tried very hard to focus on the houseworks but KJ made it almost impossible for her to do so. 

By the time they were finished, it was almost dinnertime. KJ heated up some lasagna for themselves. As soon as they were done with dinner, Mirae went upstairs and slumped on the couch in their bedroom, too tired to get up. Thanks to KJ's pranks, it took her longer than usual to finish the chores. 

When he came upstairs with some wine, she threw daggers at him with her eyes. KJ sighed and put the plates down. 

He sat on the couch and took her feet in his hands, massaging them. "I'm sorry," he snickered. 

Mirae sat up. "It's alright," she sniffed. "Today was fun." 

KJ stared at her, feeling incredulous. "All we did were chores," he said. 

"Still," she said. "It was fun. We didn't have to worry about any dangers. We were… being ourselves, you know. Doing normal things." 

KJ reflected on her words. She was right. Whether it was this timeline or the original one, for the first time, they were doing completely normal things together. Without any worry or dangers. They let themselves loose and just enjoyed the moment. 

He poured some wine for her and another glass for himself. He handed Mirae her glass. 

To his surprise, she leaned on his shoulder, completely relaxed as she sipped on her wine. 

"You know, last night when I thought that Junhyung had kidnapped you," KJ began. "I thought I'd die. If he had even harmed a hair on your head…" 

The anger boiled up inside him again. Mirae could feel his body shaking. She held his face and turned it to face her. 

"Forget about it," she told him firmly. "Whatever he tried, he failed." Song Tamlin even messaged me and assured me that those men were taken care of! So relax."

"I won't let him go," KJ vowed. "So far, I've been overlooking his activities. But he tried to hurt you. I can't let it go." 

He looked so tortured that it was almost breaking Mirae's heart. His vulnerability was evident and he could not conceal it from her. For the first time, he was pouring his heart to her. Sitting with her was not KJ, the Nation's Idol. He was just Jiwon. 

"Jiwon, I'm here," she reaffirmed. Her eyes were a little misty but her words were final. She was there. With him. 

Before he could restrain himself, KJ crushed his lips onto her. It was not his teasing kisses but a deep one. He was putting his unsaid feelings into it as his hands buried into her hair. Mirae m.o.a.ned as his tongue entered her mouth, tasting her hungrily. She did not realize when he pulled her onto his lap. 

He felt her, grinding on his lap as their lips kept on exploring each other's mouth. He could feel his little friend getting excited. 

"Mirae," he gasped, breaking off. Their breaths were coming short as they struggled to breathe. Mirae felt something poking at her private area. It took her several seconds to realize what was happening. 

"Oh," she mumbled. She quickly got off his lap. Even though her mind was screaming to continue, she still wanted to wait until the right time.y letting their relationship grow naturally. 

KJ, too, had the same thoughts. He did not want them to jump into this relationship like they had in the last timeline. He had seen the consequences once and had no intention of repeating those mistakes. 

"Let's just go to sleep," he suggested. Mirae merely nodded, grateful that he wanted to take it slow as well. 

KJ had washed up and already lay down to sleep. After a few minutes, he felt Mirae settling beside him. But instead of edging away as usual, she cuddled against him, putting her hands around him. He grinned and let his wife settle into his arms.