Forbidden Desire

I ended up smiling when I saw his smile; it was inevitable for me. I leaned my head back, resting it on the back of the seat, and nodded because I knew there was no place in the world I wouldn’t go with him. He seemed even happier, and it was amazing how just a few seconds near him could heal any wound.

He left, and the moment I saw him walk away from the mansion, I breathed a sigh of relief. I needed some time to think and to get away from all of this. Although I didn’t know where he was taking me, I was calm; I trusted him blindly, something I only felt with him.

I cracked the window open a bit, and as I took a deep breath, I smelled the sea before noticing we were on a road along the ocean. The view was beautiful, and the sunlight on this spring day made everything even better. I was lost in the view, but when I looked back at Jihoon, I simply couldn’t look away.

He was focused on the road, driving with one hand while resting his perfectly sculpted face on the other. It was impossible not to be completely mesmerized by him; every detail of him was more beautiful than the last-the tone of his skin, his full lips, his eyes, the strands of his orange hair dancing in the wind, perfectly reflecting the sunlight. The tattoo on his neck, which I could only partially see, made me wonder if he had other tattoos more hidden.

I don’t even know how long I stood there, admiring every little detail of him until I was caught, and he shyly smiled, bringing the backs of his hands to his face in an attempt to hide how embarrassed he was.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, smiling, and I simply told the truth.

“You’re beautiful…” I admitted with a smile.

He flashed a huge smile and moistened his lips before quickly closing his eyes in a shy gesture.

“You are too…” he responded warmly.

Whenever he got shy, he would touch his own face with the backs of his hands, as if checking for a fever, which always made me laugh. He tried to distract by putting on some music, and we started singing like two fools when “Dandelions” started playing. The song suited the situation so well that I found myself laughing at a part of the lyrics, and he, as always, noticed.

“What’s up?” he inquired, noticing my amusement.

“This part, ‘I’ve never felt so alive and free…'” I trailed off, chuckling.

“What about it?” he asked, genuinely curious.

“It’s like that every time I’m with you,” I confessed with a smile.

He smiled back warmly and took my hand, intertwining our fingers. It was so warm and comforting that I closed my eyes for a few seconds and then continued enjoying the gentle breeze coming through the window.

After some time, we finally arrived at a place where there were several children running and playing, but they stopped as soon as they saw the car approaching.

“It’s Uncle Jihoon!” one of them exclaimed excitedly.

The children started jumping, and one of them ran to tell the others.

“Uncle Jihoon’s here!” another shouted, spreading the news.

My heart rejoiced at how happy those children were, and the moment he got out of the car, they surrounded him, and a girl who must have been about 5 years old jumped into his arms. I got out of the car and watched everything with a silly smile on my face.

“Wow, you’re growing up so fast!” Jihoon remarked, hugging the girl tightly.

He held her and started tickling her, and she was laughing so much that her eyes became even smaller.

“Uncle, did you bring it?” she asked eagerly.

He looked around, pretending not to know what she was talking about, and smiled.

“You know I don’t know… I think I forgot,” he teased.

“It’s okay, Uncle, the important thing is that you came to play with me,” she replied sweetly, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

She kissed his cheek, and he melted. My heart was completely melted seeing how much the children were completely in love with him.

“I brought your doll, princess, and also brought stuffed animals, balls, cars… Will you help me distribute them to your friends?” he asked kindly.

She eagerly agreed, and he looked at me.

“And will you help me?” he added, turning to me.

I nodded, and we opened the car doors to access the toys. We started distributing them, and those laughter echoing through the environment made me so emotional that my eyes became wet with emotion. When we had already distributed the toys, the children got distracted playing, and Jihoon approached me, intertwining our fingers, and I rested my head on his chest while watching the children having fun.

I looked around, trying to understand if this was some kind of school.

“What place is this?” I inquired, feeling a pang in my heart.

“It’s a children’s shelter,” he replied solemnly.

I looked around, feeling my heart tighten.

“So they’re all…?” I couldn’t bring myself to finish the sentence.

“Orphans,” he confirmed, his expression mirroring my sadness.

The little girl from before approached again, seeming to analyze me with her big curious eyes.

“Uncle, I loved my doll… She’s pretty like your girlfriend!” she exclaimed, pointing at me.

I smiled as Jihoon buried his face in my neck.

“Jane is indeed very beautiful, but she’s not my girlfriend,” Jihoon clarified gently.

The little one crossed her arms as if she didn’t like that information, and one of the straps of her dress slipped a little on her arm, making her indignation even funnier.

“Why not?” she demanded, her curiosity piqued.

“Because she doesn’t want to be,” Jihoon explained simply.

I looked at him perplexed for throwing all the responsibility on me.

“Give him a chance, auntie… He’s nice, handsome, and will buy you many dolls,” the little girl urged, making me laugh.

“Yeah… Now that I think about the dolls, you’re right,” I replied, amused by Jihoon’s embarrassment.

She smiled satisfied and ran to the arms of a lady who came to greet us.

“Mr. Kwon, it’s always a pleasure to have you here… The children were already missing you!” the lady greeted Jihoon warmly.

“Come on, Maggie, I’ve told you not to call me Mr. Kwon… It’s Jihoon,” he said, smiling back at her.

She smiled and nodded.

“I’ll prepare things for the workshop,” Maggie said simply, heading off to the designated area.

“So, actually, I think I can’t stay today because my friend is having some problems and needs to talk, so…” Jihoon trailed off, looking apologetic.

Maggie seemed a little sad and looked around hesitantly.

“Oh, what a pity, the kids were so excited…” she remarked.

“No problem, Ji, we can stay, I… I want to know more about the children,” I interjected, wanting to spend more time with Jihoon and learn about his world.

His face lit up when he heard me, and Maggie clapped her hands in celebration of him staying.

“Then I’ll get the sheets and colored pencils ready,” she said before disappearing into what seemed to be a small school.

“Kids, let’s paint?” Jihoon suggested, earning cheers from the children.Content from NôvelDr(a)ma.Org.

The children followed Maggie inside, eagerly anticipating the painting activity.

Jihoon guided me as I admired the green, well-kept grass of the place. The children seemed healthy, clean, and well-groomed. Maggie and a few other people who worked here deserved praise for creating such a nurturing environment. When I entered, I saw the children sitting at tables forming a small circle around a bench that had a doll. I looked at the walls, which had several drawings stuck to them, and many of them seemed to be Jihoon’s due to the orange hair.

“I’m glad Uncle showed up because I’m tired of painting dolls and fruits,” one of the children remarked.

“Matthew, mind your manners, my son,” Maggie gently scolded.

“But it’s true, aunt… When Uncle comes, it’s more fun because he makes faces for us to paint,” another child chimed in.

“What if today, instead of me being the model, we use this beautiful lady?” Jihoon suggested, gesturing towards me.

The children cheered, and I felt shy.

“Me? No…” I laughed nervously.

But Jihoon pulled me to the center where the doll was and sat me down there.

“Uncle, do you want to paint too?” the girl from before asked Jihoon, handing him paper and crayons.

He accepted them with a smile and sat next to her while everyone else started painting. I couldn’t stop smiling seeing the little ones so happy and so focused while drawing.

“Look, Uncle, how beautiful mine is turning out…” the girl proudly showed her drawing.

He kissed the top of her head, making her squint her eyes in a cute way as she received the affection from him. He seemed focused, alternating his gaze between the sheet in front of him and my face. I couldn’t take my eyes off him for a second and only diverted my attention from him when one of the boys came up to me proudly with his drawing, which had only a few lines but made me smile foolishly.

“Here, auntie, I’m done!”

“Wow, it looks very nice!” I praised him.

“It’s because you’re pretty, auntie!” the boy exclaimed shyly.

I laughed when he hid his little hands behind his body, seeming shy. I had a smile that wouldn’t leave my face as the children, one by one, came to show me their drawings. In one of them, I had hearts in my eyes, and I found it so funny that I decided to ask the girl who wouldn’t leave Jihoon alone.

“Why do I have two hearts in my eyes?”

“Because that’s how you look at Uncle… All silly…” she replied with a mischievous grin.