The peaceful sanctuary of the five minutes we had begged from the universe dissolved all too quickly. The fragile silence of the morning was abruptly shattered by the sharp, rhythmic ringing of my phone on the nightstand.
I winced at the noise, a heavy sigh escaping my lips as I reached out from under the warm duvet to grab the device. The screen illuminated with Sanvi's name.
I swiped the screen and pressed the phone to my ear. Before I could even mutter a sleepy hello, Sanvi's highly amused, teasing voice filled the line.
"Good morning, officer," Sanvi chirped, her tone dripping with mock innocence. "Look, I know you spent an absolutely great, unforgettable night, and I am deeply sorry to bother the ultimate romance, but reality calls. Our international flight is technically scheduled for later, but we have a massive checklist, and we absolutely have to leave for the airport at exactly 9:00 AM. It's time to wake up, Sana."
I sighed again, running a hand over my face as the cold weight of departure settled heavily back onto my shoulders. "Yeah, yeah... I hear you. I'm just getting up now."
Disconnecting the call, I turned my head to look at Woonseok. He was still hovering close, his dark eyes watching me with a look of pure, unadulterated reluctance. He had clearly heard every word of Sanvi's loud reminder.
"Mr. Idol, get up," I said softly, giving his broad shoulder a gentle nudge. "I really have to go and get ready now."
Woonseok didn't want to move. He groaned softly, burying his face deeper into my pillow for a fraction of a second before letting out a long, dramatic sigh of defeat. He slowly sat up, his messy obsidian hair falling wildly across his forehead in a chaotic, breathtaking display of bedhead.
"Fine, I am getting up," he grumbled playfully, his voice incredibly deep and rough from sleep. He turned his gaze down to me, his expression softening into something intensely warm. "You go get ready and take your time. I'll handle breakfast while you're occupied."
I nodded, offering him a grateful smile before slipping out from under the covers. Running to the bathroom, I quickly freshened up, washing away the traces of sleep. I wanted to look nice but comfortable for the long journey ahead. I pulled on a simple, elegant off-shoulder top that exposed the curve of my collarbone and paired it with a pair of classic, comfortable jeans. I undid my tight braid, letting my long hair fall in loose, soft waves around my shoulders, securing a few strands back with some simple hair accessories.
When I finally stepped out of the bathroom and walked down the hallway toward the kitchen, the sight that met my eyes made my heart stop entirely.
The bright morning sun poured through the kitchen windows, illuminating Woonseok as he stood by the stove. He was casually moving between the counter and the pans, completely focused on cooking breakfast for us. The global superstar, the man who performed on stadium stages, was currently domestic and serene in my temporary world.
I unconsciously touched my hand to my chest, my heart fluttering wildly. Oh my mind... look at this view, I thought to myself, completely captivated.
I quietly walked up behind him, stepping into his space, and spoke in a quiet, emotional whisper. "You know, Mr. Idol... if you keep doing things like this, I'm never actually going to leave you. Do you even know what it feels like for me to see you like this?"
Woonseok spun around instantly at the sound of my voice. The moment his eyes locked onto me in my off-shoulder top, his gaze darkened with an intense, possessive heat. Without a word, he dropped the spatula, stepped forward, and wrapped his powerful arms tightly around my waist, pulling me flush against his chest.
He leaned down, his face mere millimeters from mine, his warm breath fanning across my lips. "Yeah, I know exactly what it feels like," he murmured, his voice a low, intoxicating rumble. "It feels like I'm your completely obsessed husband who loves his wife so much he can't bear to let her out of his sight for a single second."
My eyes went incredibly wide, and a furious, burning crimson blush rushed across my face down to my neck. My thoughts scrambled into a chaotic mess. I was just thinking about how surreal it is to see an international idol making breakfast for his fan... but he... he's talking about being an obsessed husband!
Woonseok chuckled darkly at my flustered reaction, his eyes dropping to my lips. He began to lean in, his intent to kiss me entirely clear.
"Ahem."
A loud, pointed, and thoroughly amused cough echoed from the entrance of the kitchen.
We both froze. I snapped my head around to see Sanvi and Anvi standing at the doorway, completely dressed and ready to go, their luggage handles gripped firmly in their hands.
Sanvi had a massive, wicked smirk plastered across her face. "Oh, wow. I think we just terribly disturbed the lovely couple," she teased loudly, exchanging a laughing glance with Anvi. "It's totally okay, guys. We can just turn right around and go back inside our room. Take your time!"
My face burned hotter than a furnace. Flustered and completely embarrassed, I hurriedly took a step back from Woonseok, trying to smooth down my top. "Sanvi, stop it!" I stammered, desperately trying to regain my composure. "Come on, look... Woonseok made breakfast for all of us. Come sit down."
Woonseok let his arms drop slowly, a look of minor, comical annoyance crossing his handsome features as he glanced at my friends. He turned back toward the stove, and I caught the incredibly low, grumbled whisper he muttered entirely to himself.
"I think before we even get married, we are already getting heavily used to the kids' disturbance."
I blinked, turning my head toward him swiftly. "Did you say something, Woon?"
Woonseok instantly flashed me a perfectly innocent, dazzling smile that completely masked his inner grumpiness. "Nothing, Butterfly. Nothing at all."
I shook my head with a smile and quickly began helping him set the plates, placing them neatly across the large dining table. Once we all sat down, Woonseok deliberately pulled his chair incredibly close to mine, his thigh brushing against my knee throughout the meal.
As I took a bite of the perfectly prepared food, the warmth of his care filled me. I looked at him sideways. "Thank you so much for this, Woon. It's amazing."
He smiled gently, pressing a brief kiss to the side of my head before letting me eat.
As the minutes ticked away, the underlying anxiety of the clock began to creep back. I turned my attention to my friends. "Sanvi, Anvi, are you guys entirely packed? Is all the luggage ready? It's already 8:30 AM. We strictly have to leave at 9:00, okay?"
Anvi nodded, swallowing a bite of toast. "Yeah, don't worry, Sana. Everything is completely locked, labeled, and waiting by the front door. We're all done."
"Okay, perfect," I said, setting my fork down as breakfast came to an end. "In that case, you guys go ahead and call the taxi to the main lobby, and I will—"
"Butterfly, don't worry about a taxi," Woonseok interrupted smoothly, his voice cutting through my words with absolute authority. He gripped my hand under the table, his fingers squeezing firmly. "I will drive you. Please let me drop you off."
I turned to him, my heart aching at the sheer hopefulness in his eyes, but I knew the harsh reality of his life. I reached up, touching his arm gently, my voice soft but entirely firm. "I know, Mr. Idol. I know you want to be with me until the very last second. But the airport is absolutely not safe for you. If a single reporter or a crowd of sasaengs catches sight of you there with us, there will be so much chaos and trouble for you and your agency. Please, for my peace of mind, stay here."
Woonseok stared at me, his shoulders slumping as he realised the undeniable truth of my words. He let out a deeply sad, defeated sigh. He hated the constraints of his fame in moments like this, but he respected my concern.
He glanced up at the digital clock on the wall. "Fine," he murmured reluctantly. "But there are still twenty minutes left before nine."
Before I could reply, he stood up, tightly grasping my hand in his. He guided me away from the dining table, leading me down the hall into a quiet, secluded back room of the penthouse, shutting the heavy wooden door firmly behind us to lock out the rest of the world.
The sudden silence of the room wrapped around us. I sat down on the edge of the small bed, looking up at him.
Woonseok didn't stand over me. Instead, he slowly dropped down to his knees on the floor directly in front of me. He reached up, taking both of my hands in his large palms, staring up at me with an expression that was a devastating mix of profound adoration and deep, aching sadness.
A bittersweet smile touched my lips, a tear threatening to spill over. "Hey... Mr Idol, if you behave like this, how on earth am I supposed to leave you?"
"I know, Butterfly," he whispered, his voice cracking slightly as he leaned his forehead against my knees. "I know you have to go. But how can I just let you walk out of here?"
He stayed like that for a beat, just holding onto my hands as if anchoring himself. Then, he suddenly pulled back, his eyes blinking as if remembering something vital. "Wait here a second."
He stood up quickly, walking over to a sleek cupboard in the corner of the room. He unlocked a small drawer and pulled out a heavy, velvet-lined jewellery box. He walked back to me, the small box resting securely in his palm.
With deliberate slowness, he popped the latch open.
Inside, resting against the dark velvet, was the most breathlessly beautiful pendant I had ever seen. Crafted from shimmering white gold, it featured a brilliant, intricately detailed star. Wrapped perfectly within the center of the star, protected by its gleaming points, was a delicate, small butterfly with encrusted diamonds that caught the morning light.
I stared at it, completely confused and overwhelmed, my voice trembling. "Woon... what is this? It's... it's so beautiful."
Woonseok smiled softly, lifting the chain gently from the box. He stepped closer, gesturing for me to tilt my head. I lifted my hair as he carefully leaned over, wrapping the cool chain around my neck and securing the clasp at the back. His fingers lingered on the skin of my nape for a long, warm moment before he stepped back to look at it resting against my collarbone.
"I specially had this commissioned and made just for you, Rashi," he explained, his eyes burning with a deep, emotional intensity. He reached out, his thumb gently brushing the metal piece against my skin. "This butterfly is you. And this star surrounding it? That's me. Protecting you, guarding you, and staying with you always. No matter how many thousands of miles are between us, no matter the distance or the time zones... you are always with me, and I am always protecting you right here."
A hot, emotional tear finally escaped my eye, tracking down my cheek as my heart completely overflowed with his love. I didn't care about being embarrassed anymore. I threw my arms violently around his neck, burying my face into his shoulder as I hugged him with every ounce of strength I possessed.
"Thank you, Woon," I sobbed happily, tightening my grip around him. "Thank you so much. I promise you... I will never, ever take this away from me. I will wear it every single day."
Woonseok wrapped his iron arms around my back, lifting me slightly off the bed as he held me against his soul, sealing our promise in the quiet safety of the room.
The weight of the beautiful white gold pendant rested perfectly against my collarbone, its cool metal a sharp, grounding contrast to the burning heat of Woonseok's hands. He was still on his knees on the floor directly in front of me, his large palms framing my waist, pulling me so close that our breaths tangled in the small space between us.
His dark eyes, completely filled with an intense, unyielding devotion, flicked down to my lips. Slowly, deliberately, he began to lean in again, his grip on my waist tightening. The world outside this room ceased to exist. He was going to kiss me, and I was completely ready to lose myself in him one last time before the clock struck nine.
"Sana! Anvi just checked the app! The taxi will be downstairs in exactly ten minutes! Make sure you have your phone and passport!"
Anvi's loud, echoing voice pierced through the heavy wooden door, instantly shattering the fragile, romantic spell wrapping around us.
We both froze mid-air, our lips mere centimetres apart.
A breath of shocked laughter escaped me. Despite the underlying sadness of leaving, the sheer timing of my friends was hilariously predictable. I let my head drop forward, giggling softly against Woonseok's shoulder.
Woonseok, however, did not find it funny. His eyes closed in absolute, pure exasperation. His entire jaw clenched, and his shoulders slumped as he let out a long, deeply irritated groan against my neck.
"Seriously?" he muttered to himself, his deep voice muffled against my skin, dripping with a raw, comical annoyance. He pulled back just enough to look at the closed door, his eyebrows furrowing into a fierce pout. "Do they have some kind of built-in radar for this? Do they explicitly calculate the exact second I am about to kiss my girlfriend?"
I laughed harder at his grumpy expression, gently patting his cheek. "Shh, stop it."
I turned my head slightly toward the door, calling out loudly so they could hear me over the heavy wood. "Okay! I got it! I'm completely done, I'll be out in just a minute!"
"Don't rush," Woonseok grumbled under his breath, his hands sliding down to wrap securely around my wrists, refusing to let me stand up from the bed. "Tell them the taxi can wait. Tell them I'll buy the taxi company if it means I get ten more minutes."
"Woon, be serious," I smiled, though the ache of departure was rapidly blooming in my chest again.
I looked down at his face—his messy obsidian hair, his sharp jawline, and the intense, possessive look in his eyes. My heart swelled with an emotion so immense it felt physically overwhelming. I leaned down, closing the final distance myself, and pressed a soft, lingering, and deeply emotional kiss directly to his lips.
When I pulled back, I didn't let him speak. I threw my arms completely around his neck, hugging him with everything I had, burying my face into the warm crook of his shoulder.
"I'm gonna miss you," I whispered fiercely, my voice cracking as a sudden wave of reality hit me. "I'm going to miss you so much, Woon. You have no idea."
Woonseok's arms locked around my waist instantly, lifting me slightly off the bed as he squeezed me back with a desperate, crushing strength, holding me against his chest as if he could physically prevent me from flying away.
"I came here thinking this was just going to be a short holiday from my exhausted life," I confessed softly, my fingers tangling into the soft fabric of his shirt. I thought of the endless stacks of books, the heavy pressure of my syllabus, and the routine duties waiting for me back home. "I felt so drained before I got here. I never, ever thought life would give me this much happiness. To go from being just a fan in a crowd... to standing here as your girlfriend? Wow. It's completely crazy."
I pulled back just enough to look at him, my left hand moving up to gently touch the small, diamond-encrusted butterfly pendant resting against my chest. The metal was warm now, heated by my own skin.
"This is always going to remind me of you," I said, my voice suddenly filling with a bright, childlike excitement—the raw, unfiltered joy of the fan who still couldn't believe her luck. "Every single time I look in the mirror, every time I touch it, it's going to remind me that this isn't a beautiful dream my mind made up. This is my reality. Woon, you don't know how proud and incredibly happy I am to be an idol's girlfriend! It still feels like a total fairy tale... but it's not. It's real. You are mine."
Woonseok stayed completely still, kneeling on the floor, looking up at me as I spoke. The initial annoyance and grumpiness completely vanished from his face, replaced by an expression of such profound, raw vulnerability it stole my breath away. His dark eyes glittered with a thin sheen of emotional tears, completely captivated by the pure, unpretentious joy radiating from my face.
"Sana," he breathed, his voice deep, raspy, and thick with an emotion he could barely contain.
He reached up, placing his large, warm hands over mine where it rested against the pendant. He squeezed my fingers, his gaze locking onto my eyes with a deadly, unwavering seriousness.
"If being an idol means I got to attract your eyes in that crowded stadium, then I am thankful for my career every single day," he whispered fiercely, his thumb stroking the back of my hand. "But remember what I told you last night. To the world, I am the star. But to you? I am just Woonseok. The man who belongs to you. The man who is entirely, utterly obsessed with you."
He stood up from his knees, his massive height instantly commanding the space as he stepped onto the bed, pulling me up with him until we were standing toe-to-toe on the mattress. He wrapped his arms completely around my lower back, pulling my hips flush against his.
"You wear that necklace, and you don't ever dare to think of this as a dream," Woonseok commanded softly, his forehead dropping gently against mine, his hot breath fanning across my face. "This is the solid truth of our lives now. You are going back to India, yes. You are going back to your studies, and I am going back to my schedules. But our hearts stay right here, locked together."
He tilted my chin up, his dark eyes burning into mine. "I am going to text you every single hour. I am going to call you the second I step off a stage. And the very moment I get a break in my schedule, I am boarding a plane to India. I don't care about reporters, I don't care about crowds. I will come to you."
A tear finally spilt over my lashes, and Woonseok instantly leaned down, kissing it away from my cheek with infinite gentleness.
"I love you, my beautiful Butterfly," he murmured passionately against my lips, his voice a solemn, eternal vow. "Now, give your idol one last proper kiss before we have to open that door."
I didn't hesitate. I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck, pulling him down to me as our lips met in a deep, slow, and devastatingly romantic kiss—a beautiful, physical promise that no matter how much distance lay ahead, our reality was completely unbreakable.