Page 18 of When Worlds Collide (Between Worlds #2)

Jihoon scoffed. “He is an actor, but he is also with ENT.”

Ahh. Perhaps I’d seen him in something.

“And why are we in his apartment?”

Jihoon turned his back to the view and leaned casually against the railing. “He is letting us stay here, while he is doing his mandatory service. I thought you’d be bored of living in the hotel.”

My eyes widened. “We’re going to live here?”

He smiled over at me, his expression soft. “Now you have a fixed address. For your Visa.”

Reality slammed into me with the reminder of my 90-day tourist Visa window. I’d allowed it to slip to the back of my mind as I’d eased into life here. It had been more of a vacation, so far, not much like real life at all.

I hadn’t really allowed myself the time, or freedom, to consider what came next. Now that I was faced with the ‘next’, I was embarrassed to admit – if only to myself – that I may have briefly entertained the notion that perhaps I might move in with him. In his apartment.

But that was completely out of the question; he shared an apartment with Seokmin and Sungmin, so obviously, I wasn’t going to bunk with the three of them.

“A fixed address,” I mumbled, turning my head to look back out at the crowded view.

“What about Lee and Ace?” I asked, using their more commonly-used nicknames, still a bit shy over the way my mouth moved around some pronunciations.

“That part is very easy,” he grinned at me. There was still a giddy-air surrounding him.

“Brr,” he said suddenly, with a dramatic shiver as a cold wind whipped through our hair. “Let’s go back inside.”

He closed and locked the sliding door behind him as we walked back through to the wide living room.

Now that I knew whose place we were in, I started to notice little bits and pieces that hinted at its occupant.

There was a built-in unit of shelves with what were clearly awards displayed haphazardly on them, along with seemingly-random items. There was a historical looking hat, which I recognised as a ‘gat’ – I'd seen enough K-dramas to pick up a thing, or two.

I also saw an ornate looking box and a pair of scuffed shoes.

None of it made any sense to me, but I supposed it had some significance to Cho Hyungsoo.

“Hold on,” I stopped so suddenly in my tracks that Jihoon bumped into me, and I would have stumbled, were it not for the strong arms that wrapped protectively around my waist, but I paid that no mind – almost.

“I know him!” I pointed at a group photo of two young men and a beautiful young woman, all dressed in ornate Hanboks and standing in front of a trailer, the kind you see littering the Hollywood film lots.

“I know him too, and her,” I said in sudden realisation. “I’ve watched this drama! That’s the one where the prince loses his memory and falls in love with the daughter of the bad guy who killed the king!” Truly, sometimes you had to take notes to keep track of who was who in K-dramas.

Jihoon made a humming noise. “That’s Hyungsoo,” he pointed at the man who was holding up two fingers in a ‘peace’ sign. Suddenly, I knew exactly who’s apartment we were standing in. Now that I was looking at him, I recognised him from several different shows.

“Wow, he’s super famous! I can’t believe you know him!”

Jihoon pulled back slightly to look at me, a frown pulling his eyebrows together.

“Jagiya, you realise who your boyfriend is, yes?”

“Yeah, but he’s like, super famous.” I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from bursting out laughing at the affronted look that creased his beautiful face.

“Yah!” he burst out, “I’m super famous, Cho Hyungsoo is only a little bit famous,” he pinched his thumb and forefinger together.

“If you want to admire someone, I’m standing right in front of you,” he tapped his chest with his finger, and it was so caveman I couldn’t help the laughter that poured out of me.

“Oh baby, you’re so adorable right now.” I pinched his cheeks, and he allowed it for all of half a second before he gently batted my hands away, making a sound of disgust in his throat, but I saw the twinkle of amusement in his eyes, even if it was a side-eye.

“You drive me crazy, jagiya,” he murmured, all softness now that my giggles had quieted.

“I even love the way you laugh at me; it makes your cheeks pink. It’s so cute.

” I held my hands to my cheeks, and sure enough, they were warm as I stared up at him, suddenly breathless under the intensity in his eyes.

He took one step towards me, closing any distance there might have been between us, until I only felt that quiet thrum of energy that vibrated in the space between our bodies.

A soft sigh escaped my parted lips, and my tongue darted out to run across my bottom lip.

Jihoon’s eyes seemed to darken as they flicked down to watch.

“What is his name?” he said so quietly I had to focus on the words to make sense of them.

“Who?” I asked, dazed.

He leaned forward, his lips skimming the corner of my mouth, his breath skirting across my lips. I reflexively parted them.

“The actor. What was his name?”

“Hmm? I-I can’t remember.”

Then, he straightened, and the look in his eyes was mischief and seduction in equal parts.

“There, now you are only looking at me.” He reached out one hand and put the photo frame down on its face.

Damn sexy magic.