CHAPTER 10 *

It was an odd thing, the way the whole house changed with Jihye  out of it. There was a freedom that could be felt. And Chan wasn't entirely sure it was only him that could feel it. By the looks of it, both Jaehyun and Aerum  even seemed freer. Their smiles weren't forced or absent. And he loved seeing them like that.

"I love you, daddy," Aerum 's tiny voice chirped as he sat on the edge of her bed, tucking her in after Aera and Minhee  gave her a bath and dressed her in her pajamas.

"I love you so much, my beautiful girl," he cooed, smiling as he leaned down to give her a kiss on the forehead.

He felt her wrap her little arms tightly around his neck as she gave him a light kiss on the tip of his nose. His heart swelled for his little girl, the love of his life.

"Sweet dreams, babygirl," he told her as she dropped her arms and snuggled back into the bed with her stuffed dog, Mr. Snuffles.

"'Night, daddy," she sighed as he stood up from her bed. When he turned around, he saw Aera  standing in the doorway, smiling at him.

"Oh, hi... Aera ," he said, startled that she was there, but he also felt himself react favourably to her presence in the way he usually did.

"Goodnight, Aera ," they heard Aerum say.

"Goodnight, baby angel," Aera said to Aerum , walking over to her, placing a kiss on her cheek.

Chan  walked toward the bedroom door and Aera  followed him, shutting off the light, leaving the soft glow of Aerum 's princess night light to light up the room.

"Hi," Chan  greeted Aera  quietly.

"Hi," she said, biting back a smile, ready to reach out to him.

But both of their eyes registered Minhee coming out of Jaehyun 's bedroom and they quickly turned away from one another.

"Is Jaehyun in bed?" Chan  asked Minhee  quickly.

"Yes. He is waiting for you," Minhee  said with a nod.

"Alright. Thank you," he said, clearing his throat. Minhee  nodded again, moving down the hallway passed the two of them.

"Hey... uh..." Chan  stammered, causing Minhee  to stop in her tracks and turn to face him.

"I need to, uh... is it okay if the three of us talk? I want to talk to you both," he told them with a master plan stewing in his brain.

"Uh, sure," Aera  said, giving him an odd look.

Aera  wondered what he would possibly need to talk to both of them about. But then she remembered that, yeah, they were technically his employees and there might be stuff he actually did need to talk to both of them about. But she still was left to wonder what about.

"Of course, Mr. Bang ," Minhee  said obediently.

"Just, uh... finish up whatever you're doing and meet me down in the kitchen," Chan  told both of them.

"Of course," Minhee  said, nodding her head.

"Thank you," he said and she turned around, bustling off toward the bathroom, most likely to clean up from bath time.

"What do you need to talk to us about?" Aera  whispered as she followed him down the hallway toward Jaehyun 's room.

"I'll tell you in the kitchen," he told her with a small smirk.

"Ohh-kay," she said as he turned into Jaehyun 's room.

"Hey, buddy," he said, smiling at his son.

"Hi, daddy," Jaehyun  greeted him, looking incredibly tired.

"I'll see you in the morning," Chan  told him as he leaned down, giving him a kiss on the forehead.

"Yeah. Soccer tomorrow," Jaehyun said, smiling as his eyes drooped with sleep.

"Soccer tomorrow," Chan  chuckled, nodding his head.

"I love you, Hyunie ," Chan  told him as he walked toward his bedroom door.

"I love you too, daddy," he said, turning over to go to sleep.

Chan  shut off his light and walked out of the room, half expecting Aera  to be waiting there for him, but she wasn't. He made his way down to the kitchen, finding both girls sitting at the breakfast table. Minhee  almost looked scared, like he was about to lecture them or something. But Aera  was as confident and sexy as ever. And with Jihhye  gone, he wanted nothing more than to take her to bed with him at the end of the night.

"I just wanted to run something by the two of you," he started off.

"Okay," Aera  said, while Minhee  sat there staring back at him.

"I really want to take the kids to Amusement Park," he told them, hoping that the tension Minhee  seemed to be feeling would die off.

"Oh, that would be so much fun!" Aera  said, immediately perking up. Minhee  let a smile work over her lips, making Chan  feel less awkward with her around.

"Yeah. I want the kids to be able to get out while we're here in Australia and with Jihhye  always working, it's been kind of hard. So I want to do this," he told them both, avoiding eye contact with Aera  as he talked about his wife.

"So what do you need from us?" Aera  asked curiously.

"Well, obviously I would like you both to come with us. But I would also need some of the logistics worked out. Like the 'mum' sort of stuff – like lists of stuff we'd need to bring for like an all-day Amusement Park adventure. I'm no good at any of that stuff," he told them, getting down to business.

"Minhee , you're really organized," Aera  pointed out, smiling over at her.

"I am. I can help you with that, Mr. Bang . When were you planning on making this trip?" Minhee  agreed, her eyes darting from Aera  to Chan .

"I was hoping sometime within the next week," he told her.

"Yes. I can help," she said, smiling pleasantly at him.

"And I would be happy to help as well, Minhee ," Aera  told her.

"Great! You girls are the best," Chan  said happily, feeling elated that he would get to actually do something extra special for his kids.

"I've never been to Amusement Park," they heard Minhee 's timid voice, causing them to both look over at her.

It was an odd thing when Minhee  conversed about her life, because she rarely did. She acted so professional and put-together most of the time.

"I haven't either," Aera  added.

"I used to live here, so I've been there quite a bit," Chan  chuckled, remembering his younger years.

"Oh, yeah. You and your boy band," Aera  teased, causing him to smile widely at her as a blush crept up his cheeks.

"Hey, we were more than just a boy band," he protested and Aera  giggled at his response.

"You guys want some wine?" Chan  asked the two of them on a whim.

"Sure," Aera  told him, perking up even more.

"Minhee ?" He asked. She hesitated, looking even more uncomfortable than usual.

"Jesus drank some wine, Minhee ," Chan  told her, trying to hold back a laugh. She was shut up so tight. She needed to loosen up.

"One glass would be fine," she answered quietly.

"Good girl," he snickered, getting up to retrieve the bottle and the glasses.

The more wine Aera  drank, the more talkative she got. It was actually kind of hilarious. And Chan  loved being able to talk with her so freely. Not as freely as he would if they were in the pool house with one another, but free enough without Jihhye 's presence around the house. Minhee  was still pretty quiet, but he could see her cheeks getting red as she drank – a tell-tale sign of a drunken state.

Every time Minhee 's glass would get close to getting empty, Aera  would pour more in it. Chan  figured Minhee  was going to stop her the first time she did it, but she just eyed Aera  and kept drinking.

"So Minhee , do you have a boyfriend?" Aera  asked her. Chan  already knew the answer. Being as religious and conservative as Minhee  was, there was no way she would let a boy into her life.

"Do you?" Minhee  countered her question quickly, without answering.

Chan 's eyes shot to Aera , so intrigued by the question. Would she say yes or no? He knew he wasn't her boyfriend, but he wondered if she would acknowledge him as one just for fun – like a little inside joke between the two of them.

"No, I don't. You?" Aera  answered and countered back to Minhee  immediately, eyeing Chan  out of the corner of her eye. He smirked at her, shaking his head slightly.

"I don't," Minhee  told her, looking down at her hands.

"Have you ever had a boyfriend?" Aera  asked, continuing the conversation.

"That is quite personal," Minhee  said, her eyes shooting up to Aera 's as he pursed her lips together.

"Well, you don't have to answer if you don't want to," Aera  chuckled, taking another sip of her wine.

"No, I have never had a boyfriend," she answered quietly.

"And you know what, Minhee ? That's okay," Chan  told her, trying to make her feel less awkward.

"It is. Who needs 'em anyway?" Aera  giggled and Chan  could tell she was getting a little drunk. Minhee  giggled at Aera  and he knew she was feeling it too.

"How many boyfriends have you had, Aera ?" Chan  asked, feeling exceptionally curious about it.

"Oh jesu—uh, jeez," she giggled, catching herself from taking Jesus' name in vain for Minhee 's sake.

"I don't know. I had a few in high school. And a few in college," she chuckled, shrugging her shoulders.

"Boys are just a distraction," Minhee  added, causing Chan  and Aera 's heads to turn quickly in her direction.

"Hey, I resent that," Chan  laughed, feigning offense.

"You are. You most definitely are," Aera  giggled, looking over at Chan , causing him to cock his eyebrow at her.

"I focus on my school work. I will look for a husband when I am through with school," Minhee  continued talking.

"But what about fun, Minhee ? Boys are a lot of fun," Aera  said, sneaking a sly look in Chan 's direction.

"I will not have sex before marriage," Minhee  stated matter-of-factly.

"Minhee , there's a lot more to boys than just sex, you know," Aera  told her. Minhee  shrugged nonchalantly as she took another sip of her wine.

"Or... um, do you... are you like... into girls?" Aera  asked awkwardly.

Chan 's eyebrows heightened as his lips formed into an 'O' at her question, not really knowing how Minhee  was going to react to a question like that.

"No. Absolutely not," she said as her cheeks blushed a deep shade of pink.

"There isn't anything wrong with it. I just... I don't want to offend you either way," Aera  told her. Minhee  nodded, not speaking anymore on the subject.

"Okay, changing the subject... So yeah, Amusement Park will be fun," Aera  said awkwardly, sending Chan  a wide-eyed look.

"Yes, yes," Chan  said, clearing his throat, feeling just as awkward.

Moments later, his phone rang and he saw his wife's name flash across the screen.

"It's Jihye . Excuse me, please," Chan  told them as he got up from the table to take the call in the other room.

"Hello," he answered once he reached the living room.

"Chan , hi," he heard his wife's voice.

"Jihye  it's—half past one in the morning in Korea. What are you still doing up?" He asked, looking at the clock that read ten-thirty.

"Working. I've been working non-stop since I got back," she told him. His jaw clenched with her words.

"That's why I called," she continued.

"Of course it is," he grumbled. She didn't call to see how her family was doing, she only called because of work.

"Chan ," she sighed.

"What, Jihye ?" He growled.

"I... it's going to take a little longer than planned," she told him.

"A little longer than planned?" He shot back at her. He could feel the anger growing in his chest.

"I am working day and night here, Chan . I am trying my best," she snapped.

"Well, your best isn't good enough, Jihye ," he snapped forcefully.

"Chan —" She started to say, but he pulled the phone away from his ear and hung up on her.

Aera  and Minhee  sat at the kitchen table for a few moments in an awkward silence after Chan left to take Jihye 's phone call. Aera  felt really bad for even suggesting that Minhee  was a lesbian. Although there is nothing wrong with it, in her opinion, there were some people – especially some really conservative, religious people that would take great offense to it.

"Aera, can I ask you something?" Minhee  asked quietly.

"Uh, sure," she told her.

"What do you and Mr. Bang  do when you go into the pool house during the mornings?" She asked quietly. She couldn't even look up at Aera  when she said it. She just looked down at her hands folded neatly in her lap.

Aera 's heart fell into her ass. She was frozen in apprehension – just about gasping for air. Oh god, oh god.

"Uh..." Aera  stammered, at a loss for words.

"And I know he still goes with you to bring Jaehyun  to soccer and you don't come back for hours," she added. Shit, shit, shit. They were about to be caught by the Virgin Minhee . Aera  needed to think fast.

"Uh... we've been... we've been planning Jihye ... uh, Mrs. Bang' birthday party... you know it's coming up at the end of the summer," Aera  said quickly, hoping it was enough to sate Minhee 's curiosity. When she nodded her head, Aera  felt relief flood her system.

"He didn't want to throw one, but Jihye  insisted. So yeah, don't say anything to Mr. Bang  about it because he's pretty bitter about it. He will just be put into a bad mood over it. It's been a struggle working with him on it," Aera  said, coming up with a seemingly perfect lie. Minhee  nodded, looking as though she bought the idea of it.

Aera 's heart rate was slowly starting to come back down when Minhee  took another swig of her wine, dropping the subject. Holy shit. That was a close one.

When Chan  walked back into the kitchen, Aera  looked a little shell-shocked and he wondered if it was because she heard him and Jihye 's fight.

"I think I need to go to bed," Minhee  said, finally finishing off her glass before Aera  had a chance to refill it.

"Are you sure you don't want another glass?" Aera  asked, smirking at her, trying anyway.

"I've had quite enough, thank you," she said, smiling lightly as she got up from her chair, stumbling just a little.

Aera  bit back a laugh as best as she could until Minhee  exited the room.

"I can't believe she drank as much as she did," Chan  chuckled.

"Me neither," Aera  said, smiling to herself as she took a sip of her wine.

"You kept refilling her glass. That was brilliant," he said, completely amused by it.

"Chan , we need to talk," Aera  said, her face growing serious. His eyes met with hers as his smile dropped from his face.

"Uh-oh. What does that mean?" He asked her with a tiny smirk on his lips.

"Come here," she said, getting up from her chair.

Chan  pulled himself out of his own chair and followed her out of the kitchen and onto the back patio, wondering what the hell she seemed so weirded out about.

"What is going on, Aera ?" He finally asked her.

"You need to throw a birthday party for Jihhye ," she told him, only confusing him further.

"What? Why?" He asked, his eyebrows knitting together as he looked at her.

"Because I told Minhee  you were," she said, seeming hyped-up about something.

"Why would you tell her that?" He asked, still unbelievably confused.

"Because she asked me what you and I do when we go into the pool house in the mornings," Aera  explained finally.

"Nuh-uh. She's seen us?" He gasped.

"Yeah and I had to come up with something fast. Thank God she has lived a sheltered life and believes things people tell her," Aera  sighed.

"Oh my god," Chan  said, stepping back slightly to think about what she just told him. Minhee  saw them going into the pool house together.

"Maybe we should... slow down with each other," Aera  stammered. Chan 's eyes shot up to hers and she couldn't do anything but avoid looking at him.

"Aera ... no. I-I don't want to," he told her.

"Chan , we're gonna get caught," she said, finally looking into his eyes.

"We'll have to be sneakier," he told her. They could make it work.

"Chan ..." She sighed.

"Aera , it'll be fine," he said, trying to reassure her.

"What if Jihhye  saw us going into the pool house?" She countered.

"Jihhye 's not here and won't be here for a while," he told her, disregarding that train of thought altogether.

"Chan ..." She said again.

"Aera ," he replied as he grabbed onto her arms and moved her away from the view of the French doors.

"I need this, do you understand?" He said, gently pinning her between him and the exterior of the house. He needed her to know what she meant to him, how crazed he'd be without her.

All it took for him was to see her head nod and his lips were on hers for a hungered, frenzied kiss. When he pulled away, they were both breathing heavily.

"It seems like you need it too," he said, looking deeply into her eyes.

Her eyes stared back into his as he waited for any kind of response from her.

"Do you need this, Aera ?" He asked finally.

"Yes," she breathed quietly.

Chan 's heart flourished for her as he leaned in, kissing her lighter and more lovingly than before.

"Will you come upstairs with me tonight?" He asked her.

"In your room?" She choked out.

"We can use one of the other rooms if you want," he offered, hoping she'd say yes.

"No. It's fine," she told him and a smile formed for her on his lips.

"Good," he said, kissing the tip of her nose before he grabbed her hand and led her into the house with him.

Having Aera  in the bedroom he shared with his wife – even though it was just a rental home – was strange, but it was also adventurous and sexy at the same time. And it wasn't like Jihye  made love to him in that bed, not since the summer before anyway.

Chan  closed the door behind them carefully before he grabbed Aera  in his arms, pinning her against the wall as he kissed her. His hands moved swiftly along all her curves, appreciating every inch they touched. When it wasn't enough, his fingers slowly started to peel away her clothing as his mouth moved over every body part he exposed. Her soft moans were only adding to his desire and he wanted nothing more than to be inside of her, filling her with pleasure.

Aera 's fingers came down, pulling up the fabric of his shirt and he let her pull it off of him before their lips met back up and her arms wrapped around his neck. Chan  grabbed onto her hips, pulling her tightly against him. He walked her backwards toward the bed and once they got to the mattress, Chan  stumbled slightly and they both toppled onto it. Aera  let out a loud giggle as they did, which made Chan  laugh.

"There's all sorts of gravity in here," he chuckled.

"Yeah, we can blame the gravity," she giggled as she began to kiss him again.

When they were finally naked with each other, when he wanted so badly to push inside of her, he remembered one tiny little, shitty detail.

"Fuck..." He breathed, closing his eyes tightly.

"What?" She asked, looking up at him.

"All the condoms are in your room and in the pool house," he told her with a sigh.

"Uh... well. Um, I'm on birth control," she told him quietly. He stared down into her eyes for a few moments. Well, hell...

"I mean, are you sure?" He asked her.

"I think I would know if I was on birth control," she giggled, biting at her lip.

"No, I mean, are you sure you want to do it without a condom?" He laughed at her silliness.

"Oh. Ha. Yeah. I mean, you don't have any diseases, right?" She asked – which in hindsight, it might have been something she should have asked before they slept together the first time.

"No. You?" He asked her, quivering an eyebrow.

"None," she told him.

"So, we're good then?" He confirmed.

"We're good," she said with a nod.

Chan  quickly slipped atop her, looking down into her bright brown eyes, realizing she was just about everything he was looking for in a partner. She was everything that Jihhye  was not and the realization of that hit him hard. To keep from showing any emotion, Chan  slowly pushed inside of her, burying his face into the nape of her neck.

"Oh my god. It feels so much better without a condom," Chan  moaned lightly.

"Does it?" She giggled.

"Oh god, yeah," he moaned, feeling the pleasure shooting through him from just the single movement he was making.

"Then why are we using them?" She chuckled.

"Good question," he asked, looking down into her eyes once he was fully inside of her.

Chan  leaned down, giving her one last passionate kiss before he began the act itself. Once he got his rhythm going, he had her moaning louder than she probably should have been in a house where his children were fast asleep in their beds. Luckily enough, both of their bedrooms were far enough away that they wouldn't hear anything due to the thick walls of the old house.

"Chan . Oh, god," she whimpered as the pleasure engulfed her.

"Good?" He questioned as he kept up his rhythm.

"So good, so good. Don't stop," she moaned, biting her bottom lip as her eyes closed. Chan  loved watching her. He loved seeing the pleasure on her face. Pleasure he was giving her.

"You feel amazing," he groaned, letting her know how she was making him feel.

"Oh my god, Chan ," she moaned in a high-pitched voice as her body contracted lightly from orgasm.

"You feel so good, Aera ," he groaned, keeping up his break-neck speed as he felt the tingling of orgasm hitting him.

"Oh, Chan ," she whimpered, digging her fingertips into his bare back as he kept up.

Moments later, he lost himself in her, letting out a large breath before he collapsed down on top of her beautiful, naked body.

"Oh my god," she breathed out heavily.

"That was amazing," he said as his chest heaved with exhaustion.

Chan  resituated himself on the bed so he wasn't completely crushing her, but he stayed in her arms, their naked bodies pressed perfectly together. The safety and security he felt with her was priceless and before he knew it, he fell asleep in her arms.