16 Comforting

Seeing her standing in front of sparkling lake while Jinhee's hair was blown by the cold air, Taehee felt that her image was surreal. A look of melancholy sat upon her, as she stared at the lake.

As if on impulse, Taehee stepped near Jinhee and wrapped her hands around Jinhee, pulling her into a warm hug. To her, it felt as if Jinhee could disappear into the thin air, and Taehee had to stop that from happening.

Feeling the warmth from her body bought contentment to Taehee, and she was not willing to let go of that. This was one thing that made her feel alive and refreshed.

"Jinhee, you smell so comforting," Taehee spoke out— tightening her hug on Jinhee. Jinhee's scent soothed Taehee to a great extent. It made her forget all of her trouble.

Taehee's euphonious tone along with his hug let a shivering yet pleasant sensation within Jinhee. It made her reluctant to part way from this.

Removing one of her hand from the hug, Taehee held a strand of Jinhee's hair and confessed, "It makes me want to capture you and keep you to only myself."

Taehee's odd words surprised Jinhee, and widening her eyes, Jinhee pulled away from the hug. Her eyes showed all the emotions Jinhee currently felt, and Taehee let out a chuckle.

"I was just kidding!" She exclaimed.

Jinhee nodded. However, the strange feeling within her when Taehee engulfed her into a hug or spoke those words to her was still there. The feeling something Jinhee couldn't explain properly in words.

Taking a step forward to stand beside Jinhee, a small smile appeared on Taehee's face, as she asked, "Aren't you going to wish me for my birthday?"

Turning her eyesight on Taehee, Jinhee blankly spoke out, "Happy seventeenth birthday."

Taehee's birthdays were memorable to the past Jinhee while for the current Jinhee, they were an obstacle that made her feel intense emotions. She needed to get better at controlling her emotions.

Softly pinching Jinhee's slightly chubby cheeks, Taehee vocalised, "Since you're cute, I'll overlook this matter and allow you to accompany me."

"I'm busy, so I apologize that I won't be able to accompany you, Taehee," Jinhee courteously said.

"You escaped from the party just to come stare at this lake and are waiting for your family to be done with the party. So, certainly you're not busy. Pushing me away like this hurts me, my little squirrel," Taehee expressed in a light-hearted tone.

Realising that Taehee called her little squirrel once, surprise filled Jinhee. Even in her previous life, Taehee did not use such a term while addressing Jinhee.

"They will worry if I leave, and don't call me that," Jinhee spoke out firmly. Allowing Taehee to address Jinhee by a nickname would only increase Jinhee's aches.

"I'll inform them about it, and let's not waste time anymore, little squirrel. The day you quit being adorable is when I'll not call you that." Taehee lips curved upwards teasingly.

Despite of the hesitancy Jinhee felt, Jinhee voiced out, "I'm sorry. You'll have to find someone else to accompany you. I've something up for later."

"You're so stubborn, little squirrel. I'm afraid this is the only way left now," Taehee whispered.

Before Jinhee could comprehend her sentence, a sharp pain went through her neck, and Jinhee felt herself losing consciousness.

'This Taehee is too sneaky.'

Watching Jinhee close her eyes and lose control over her body, Taehee took Jinhee into her arms and carried her in bridal style. Hugging her body close to Taehee's, Taehee placed a gentle kiss on Jinhee's forehead.

°°°

"Hyunnie, I got all the information you needed," Hwang Myunghoon spoke out.

Hwang Myunghoon, a male in his late twenties, was both Jaehyun's assistant and manager. Although he had a playful personality, his efficiency and talent was a rare case.

Jaehyun nodded in acknowledgement, as he received the documents from Myunghoon. His right hand flipped open the front hard cover of the document.

"Hyunnie, is this Jinhee the girl you'll be pursuing or is she the one chasing after you?" Myunghoon spoke out with a teasing undertone.

"She is the one, hyung," Jaehyun spoke out whilst his eyes scanned over the contents of the document.

"But the strange thing about this is I can only investigate about the basic information on Jinhee. There's many information removed, and a stronger influence is preventing me to investigate further," Myunghoon stated— wearing a serious outlook.

Creases appeared between Jaehyun's eyebrow as he took in Myunghoon's words, and he stood up from his chair. Walking towards the large glass window of his bedroom, he stared at the city underneath of him whilst his mind was plagued with various thoughts.

'Lee Jinhee, I will not let go of you this time no matter what the cost is.'