64: Moonlit Bliss

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As Jiyoung pulled away, her eyes met with his resolved yet gentle eyes. She inched closer and closer to Shinji's face, him doing the same to hers, as they slowly closed their eyes.

And before he knew it, Shinji felt Jiyoung's soft lips press against his.

*****

As their lips parted, their eyes locked in an unbreakable bond, the moonlight pouring into the room making the moment even more magical.

Shinji's heart swelled with emotion as he gazed into Jiyoung's eyes, seeing the vulnerability and tenderness that she had kept hidden for so long. With a gentle touch, he wiped away the tears that had escaped her eyes.

For a few moments, they sat there, wordlessly communicating their affection for each other. In that stillness, everything felt perfect, as if time had frozen just for them. And as they basked in the glow of their connection, they knew that nothing could ever come between them. Not even the stinging pain in Shinji's back from his injury.

As the minutes ticked by, Jiyoung and Shinji held each other in a tight embrace, savoring the fleeting moments they had together. They were both reluctant to let go, each craving the warmth and comfort of the other's arms.

But as much as they wanted to stay cocooned in this blissful moment, Jiyoung's duties as Shinhwa's Chairwoman demanded her attention. With a heavy heart, she slowly pulled away from Shinji, her reluctance mirrored in his eyes.

Despite the bittersweet separation, there was no hint of displeasure between them. Instead, there was a shared desire for more.

Jiyoung wished Shinji well and stole one final glance at him. Her cheeks couldn't help but flush when she finally realized the implications of what they did. Vivid images of their kiss flooded her mind and she quickly closed the door, red-faced.

[A/N: Initially wrote this as Jiyoung giving Shinji another kiss, but rewrote it, lol. I felt like it was too fast for her and kinda out of character, considering this was probably her first romantic experience (At least outside of going on dinner dates).]

As Jiyoung left the room, Shinji lay back on the bed with a gentle expression on his face, his mind still lingering on the moments they had just shared. But, this slowly began to shift, morphing into a nervous smile.

"Now, how am I going to tell her that I'm planning to go back to the WAA..."

He knew that their time together would be cut short if he left, and after what just happened, the thought of being apart from her was almost unbearable.

An exasperated sigh released from his mouth. He was thinking about this for quite some time 'cause him returning was long overdue. He was certain that he'd get an earful from them too.

"Especially those idiots from the Student Council... Heh, but I bet they're missing me now, though," he murmured to himself, and he closed his eyes with a sigh, allowing himself to drift off to sleep.

...

The next day, Shinji was woken up by the sunlight that filled the room. As his mind came back to last night, a broad smile spread across his face.

Despite the lingering sensation of slightly searing pain in his back, he walked with an extra pep in his step. Of course, when clinicians saw this, they reprimanded him accordingly. With some protests, Shinji was forced to go back to his bed so as to not overexert himself and exacerbate his injury.

And so, that led to a week-long "bedrest". But, contrary to his expectations, it wasn't as boring and awful as he anticipated. At least, this was better than the previous bedrest he got from fighting those Klein Brothers.

Every day, he received at least one visitor, usually Jiyoung, Subin, or Seongha, and surprisingly, even Jiwoo paid him a visit. But, now that he thought about it, it doesn't seem that surprising. After all, he always was such a kind soul.

Now, speaking of Jiyoung, during one of her visits, Shinji decided to just "f*ck it" and tell her about the whole WAA thing. When she got the news, he couldn't help but feel guilty when he noticed the gloominess in her eyes, but that gloominess alleviated slightly when he assured her that they would meet again soon.

The week passed in what felt like a blink of an eye, and Shinji was finally allowed to leave the Medical Ward. Furthermore, the discomfort in his back had significantly subsided, reducing to a mere annoyance instead of the excruciating pain he had previously experienced.

After Jiyoung walked him out of the building, he went straight to his house. As he arrived, he immediately packed his bags, gaining the attention of his companion, Scotus.

{"What're you doing, pap- sir?"} Scy chirped.

"I'm packing our bags- Wait, sir? Why 'sir'?" Shinji stopped and questioned, not hearing his usual nickname.

{"It's punishment for you! You always get into fights, and always worry me. I'm not going to call you 'Papa' for a week! No, a month!"} the winged baby retorted, pouting.

"I- Alright." he conceded.

Scotus then added, his head peeking in front of Shinji, {"Are we really going back to the school?"}

"Yeah, as sh*tty as it is, we kinda have to. Tch, I need to get myself some earbuds. I might go deaf from their scoldings..." he answered with a sigh.

While Shinji was annoyed that they were going back to WAA, Scotus was feeling ecstatic.

{"Yay! I can see my friends again! I've missed Uncle Cass too!"} his winged companion happily cheeped.

[A/N: Poor Thorne, not getting any love from Scy.]

Despite his initial plans to delay his departure, he already got ready in just a day. Shinji finished relatively fast since he packed lightly. Most of the things that really took his time were because of Scotus' toys and other belongings.

As he was finishing readying up, someone caught his attention.

"Oi, is it true that you're going back to that school?" a familiar voice said.

Shinji just smiled, saying, "Yep."

"Che, you better come back soon, okay?"

His smile widened as he replied, "Trust me, sis. We'll see each other real soon."

Though Shinji's tone made his words really believable, his grin said otherwise, which just infuriated Subin.

"Alright, if you say so, assh*le."

'Looks like she doesn't believe me. Well, she's in for a nice surprise.' Shinji thought with an eye smile.

*****

Gimme stones, please?