My Possessive Secret Lover

Chapter Six: Aquariums and Would-be Dates

Aria wakes up with a pounding headache, under assault by a blazing stream of light. She cracks an eye open to find Lucas standing over her bed, glowering at her with an unimpressed expression.

“Wake up,” he tells her, rolling his eyes when she turns away from him, pulling the covers back over her head.

“I told you she wouldn’t wake up,” Lucas says to someone in the room. Aria assumes it’s either Sola back from her mission, or her mother who wants her to eat something.

“You’re obviously not trying hard enough,” a deep voice chuckles and Aria’s eyes spring open in disbelief. She stills her breathing and listens intently, hoping she’s guessing wrong.

“Is she okay?” Jihyun asks, “I think she stopped breathing.”

Aria shoots into an upright position, scrambling to throw the covers off of herself. She spots Jihyun casually leaned against the doorway, arms crossed loosely over his chest and a small grin playing at the corners of his lips.

“Good morning,” he greets her in a teasing tone.

“What’re you doing in my room? What is he doing in my room?” She turns to Lucas, “Who even let him into the house?”

“He kind of just walked through the front door,” Lucas shrugs, “He’s apparently really angry that you stood him up.”

“What’re you talking about?” Aria asks, eyebrows scrunching in confusion.

“You can’t have been so drunk that you forgot I made plans with you today?” Jihyun asks with a raised brow.

Her eyes widen as memories of last night resurface and Aria blushes in embarrassment, “I’m sorry,” she mumbles, “I may have forgotten.”

Jihyun sighs overdramatically but sends her a playful grin, “I foresaw your horrible manners and that’s why I’m here, to pick you up,” he elaborates, “For our date,” she gives him a look, eyes disapproving, so he adds quickly, “Our friend date.”

“Okay, yeah sure,” she replies with a chuckle, “Just give me like twenty minutes to get ready.”

“She’s lying, give her at least an hour to get ready,” Lucas rolls his eyes, “We’ll be waiting downstairs when you’re done.”

Both men stroll out the door, Lucas shutting it behind him as they leave. Aria takes a moment to wake herself up before rushing into the bathroom to shower. When she takes a look at her reflection, eyes baggy and hair a tangled mess, she groans to herself.

“Of course you look like a troll,” she mutters to herself, “God forbid you wake up looking pretty in front of a cute guy.”

She sets to work brushing her teeth and taking a quick shower before wrapping a towel around her waist and attempting to tame her unruly locks of hair.

Finding an outfit proves to be tricky, she doesn’t know what she’s supposed to dress for and she doesn’t remember enough of Jihyun’s outfit to guide her. So she settles on a warm cream cashmere sweater and jeans, throwing on the salmon coat she’s fond of in case it gets too cold out. She puts on a little bit of makeup so she seems more alive and less like a tired hag, and trots downstairs.

She finds Jihyun and Lucas seated at the kitchen counter talking to her mother over mugs of coffee. When Jihyun sees her, he lowers his cup and smiles, “You look pretty.”

“Thank you,” she replies in a shy voice and tries to ignore the looks her mother gives her.

“I got you flowers but then I got angry at you for standing me up so I gave them to your mother instead,” Jihyun tells her.

“They’re very pretty,” her mother grins, “Your loss, honey.”

“Where’s dad?” Aria asks, taking the mug of coffee Lucas hands to her.

“Still out on business,” her mother says with a sad smile, “He might fly in tonight.”

“No wonder you got in here so easily,” Aria eyes Jihyun with a playful grin.

“I know when to pick my battles,” Jihyun replies with a smirk.

He lets her finish her mug of coffee before ushering her out the door as her mother wishes them a good day. With her back already turned, she misses the matching grins both Lucas and her mother share.

Now that she’s fully awake, Aria takes in Jihyun’s appearance from the corner of her eyes. He’s sporting a simple denim button up and black jeans, sunglasses perched atop his head and shoulder bag slung across his torso. He looks so normal that it immediately strikes a reaction in Aria and she feels her cheeks inflame. The shirt he’s wearing also hugs his shoulders in a way that’s too enticing and she finds herself screaming on the inside.

Aria has to consciously repeat the fact that she’s supposed to be engaged, like a mantra so that she doesn’t allow herself to give into his pretty smiles and alluring eyes.

Jihyun seems to catch her staring, smirking when he meets her eyes. He leads her to an inconspicuous little black car outside her yard, opening the door for her as he holds his hand out.

“Is this the part where you kidnap me?” she asks playfully.

“Most definitely,” he tells her with a grin, “Might even tie you up if you’re good.”

“Jihyun,” she warns as she gets into the car, rolling her eyes when he gives her a sheepish smile.

“Sorry,” he chuckles, “Force of habit. I’ll stop now.”

They drive into the city, to a section of town lined with expensive coffee shops and diners. He pulls into one of the parking bays and runs over to Aria’s side of the car before she can even open the door, opening it for her and offering Aria his hand.

“So you do have manners?” she jokes, taking his hand in his, shivering at the warmth of it in contrast to the cold air around them.

“Har har,” he replies, shutting the door and turning to the line of shops across the street. He’s about to put his hand on the small of her back, arm already outstretched, when he rethinks the action and simply holds it out towards the stores.

“After you,” he says, allowing her to lead them. He watches for cars, eyes trying not to linger too long on Aria’s form lest his thoughts run away again. He vividly remembers the skip of his heart when he’d seen her in the outfit she’s wearing, all cozy and soft. He wants to take a hold of her hand, misses the warmth of it, but manages to reign in his urges.

Once they find a cozy little café, they find a booth towards the far end and coated in warm lighting. A soft piano rendition of some cheesy love song plays in the background and the atmosphere is too dreamlike, too cozy for Jihyun to think clearly. He blames his flirtatiousness on the clouded state of his mind.

They order food, a burger and fries for him and a wrap for Aria, when Jihyun speaks, “So tell me something about yourself?”

“What do you want to know?” Aria asks. And that’s how they launch into a long winded conversation about their interests. He finds out about her favourite foods, her favourite colors, her favourite movies. Mostly, she speaks about her animals. Her eyes soften, lips tilting up at the corners and Jihyun can’t help stare at her.

When she asks about the elephant, Jihyun knows she picks up on the underlying tenseness in the way he holds up his shoulders, “My mother was really fond of them,” Jihyun tells her, “They were her favourite animals.”

A moment of silence passes before Aria speaks, “Is your mother…?”

The question trails off but Jihyun already knows what she’s implying, “Yeah, she’s dead,” he sighs, “She died when I was little. Car accident,” he elaborates.

“I’m so sorry,” she mutters in a sad voice, hand falling over the one he has placed on the table, thumb gently stroking over his hand.

“You remind me of her,” he tells Aria, his eyes still trained on their hands.

“How so?” she asks curiously.

“You’re both really stubborn,” he looks up with a chuckle, eyes playful, “And also too forgiving for your own good.”

“How do you know I’m too forgiving?” she asks with a raised brow, the edges of her lips quirked up.

“You’re here having lunch with me,” he grins and he means for it to be a joke but her eyes soften at his words and they stir up something foreign in his chest.

She moves the topic of conversation then, onto his favourite animals and such and Jihyun knows it’s to pull his mind away from earlier so he lets her.

When it’s time to leave and Jihyun gets up to pay, Aria puts up a fight about at least splitting the bill until he reminds her that he’s taking her out for her birthday and he will in no way let her spend anything today.

“You can pay me back on my birthday,” Jihyun offers with a grin, “I expect a full course meal, complete with lobster.”

“Yeah, okay,” she scoffs with a chuckle, falling into the booth again with a petulant huff. He tells her to wait for him before he sets off towards the counter.

“Your girlfriend’s really pretty,” the cashier says when he approaches the till, “You guys look cute together.”

Jihyun doesn’t have it in him to refute the cashier’s words, so he just thanks her and wanders back to Aria with a slight blush on his cheeks.

“Why’re you blushing?” she asks with narrowed eyes, “Did you flirt with the cashier? Did she give you a discount?” Her words are playful and she’s openly waggling her eyebrows but Jihyun’s stomach drops at her words.

“Stop doing that, you look possessed,” he chuckles with a roll of his eyes, grabbing her hand and ushering her out the door.

She doesn’t let go of his hand at first and Jihyun almost doesn’t believe his luck, until they run into someone who knows her and she immediately lets go like she’s been burnt.

The person is apparently an avid fan of her documentaries and they speak for a few minutes, the person hardly paying him any attention. When they’re alone again, Aria smiles and offers him an apology but her hand remains steadfastly in her coat pocket and Jihyun’s shoulders slump in defeat.

They walk around town for a bit, aimlessly wandering through the bustling streets until the late afternoon. Jihyun surprises himself with how much he enjoys the simplicity of their day and he suspects that a lot of it has to do with the comforting warmth of Aria’s presence beside him.

He’d planned an admittedly extravagant day, lined with the most expensive foods and a shopping trip in the city but Aria convinces him to stroll passed the little street stalls instead. He buys them both coffees when her hands become too cold to properly grasp the little items that pull her attention and then later he gets her a pair of warm white gloves, muttering about her dressed inappropriately for winter. She stares at him with an amused grin that makes his heart jump and his palms clammy, so he shoves them into his pockets and pretends to be distracted by a pair of fluffy earmuffs.

The sun begins to set and Jihyun’s been anticipating this part of the day since he’d come up with the idea last night, so he turns to Aria, fully intent on persuading her to leave the crowded streets.

Only, the sun is setting and soft orange hues are streaming in through the gaps in the buildings and they stream cross her face and hair, so that her skin looks a deep rich shade of orange intermixed with brown and she just doesn’t look real.

His breath catches in his throat as he stares at the way the sunlight glints in her eyes and Jihyun feels the overwhelming urge to kiss her. She looks so happy and content, staring up at him with innocent expectation and he hasn’t had anyone look at him the way she does in a long time. He doesn’t notice that the want on her face mirrors his.

“What’s up?” she asks in a chirpy voice, sniffling lightly.

“I have something planned for this evening,” he tells her in a soft voice, “I think you’ll like it.”

Aria spends the next fifteen minutes it takes to drive there, badgering him about where he’s taking her. She lists off a stream of ridiculous situations, their scenarios becoming more outrageous as she spews them out.

Eventually, Jihyun pulls up to a large parking lot, devoid of cars for the moment. When they get out the car and Aria spots the large open mouthed shark head statue at the entrance, she squeals in delight.

“The aquarium?” she asks excitedly.

He simply nods, smirking when she doesn’t bother to hide her happiness. She grabs his hand in a sprout of energy and tows him inside the large building.

“Isn’t this place supposed to close now?” She asks in disappointment, eyeing the sign on the door that splays out the aquarium’s open hours.

“I know the guy that owns the place,” Jihyun shrugs, “The aquarium is ours for the night. A lot of the behind the scenes stuff happens just after they close, so I thought you’d like to get some hands on experience with the animals.”

She stares at him with wide, hopeful eyes, mouth almost gaping, “Is that even allowed?”

Jihyun nods silently, grinning when she gasps happily. He tugs her over to the man standing behind the counter, giving him his name before the assistant ushers them underground, where the aquarium starts.

They’re led through a long, dark tunnel and Jihyun can feel Aria thrum with excitement next to him. They’re left alone when they reach the aquarium, the assistant telling them that the shark feeding will begin at six.

Jihyun nods his thanks, turning to the excited girl next to him who stares into one of the smaller tanks.

“They’re so pretty,” she gasps softly and Jihyun walks up behind her to peer at them over her shoulder.

“You’re prettier,” he can’t resist saying and he when he glances down he spots her rolling her eyes. The small tug of her lips tells him that she’s not offended and he counts it as a win.

They continue to walk further into the aquarium, stopping at every tank so that Aria can gawk at the fish and read every single placard. Jihyun doesn’t mind, enjoys the way her eyes light up even in the dimly lit room.

The aquarium doesn’t feel real, with its dimmed blue and yellow lighting and the way the water makes everything spin. The fish swimming all around them just consolidate that fact and Jihyun finds himself enjoying their time together as much as Aria is.

They spend at least an hour watching the turtles and Jihyun has to physically pull her away from them so that they make it in time for the shark feeding.

When they reach the shark tank, Aria squeals in delight and immediately assaults the handlers with a barrage of questions. Jihyun stands back and watches, at some point zoning out so that he only vaguely registers a few words.

She’s not allowed to go into the cages with the divers to gather samples but they let her inspect the information they’ve gathered and then they launch into another conversation about sea conservation.

Aria’s face brightens and her eyes seem to sharpen as she speaks to the assistants. She looks completely in her element, confident and assured as she listens to what they say and offering opinions of her own. Jihyun feels a swell of pride as he stares at her.

They leave not long after, muscles aching after the amount of walking they did. When Jihyun drives up to the thick wrought iron gates of her home, Aria turns to him with sleepy eyes.

“Thank you for today,” she mutters in a tone so low that it comes out like a whisper.

“My pleasure,” Jihyun replies, voice as quiet.

The air around them is warm and comforting and he finds himself leaning towards her as his eyes flit down to her lips. Her eyes are hooded, exhaustion plain on her face, but she doesn’t pull away. She stares up at him with a contented expression, expectation in her eyes and Jihyun wants to lean in further and close the gap between them.

But he doesn’t. Something in him tells him not to cross that line, not to put her in that situation so; instead, he lifts his hand to the top of her head and ruffles her hair.

“Sweet dreams,” he mutters, pulling back and for a split second he sees disappointment flit through her eyes before it’s gone, replaced with a look of such apparent guilt, that he feels ashamed at having even considered putting her in such a conflicting situation.

It’s made entirely worse when there’s an angry rapping on the passenger side window and when Jihyun looks up to see who’s mistreating his car like that, he shrinks back into his seat when he sees Sola glaring at them through the glass.

“I’d better go,” Aria sighs, “Thanks again for today.”

“Don’t let her bully you into staying away from me,” Jihyun sighs, eyeing the cold look on Sola’s face.

Aria chuckles but doesn’t reply, simply steps out of the car and into the cold night air.