SNUGGLED INTO A COMFORTABLE POSITION

Yun Jinghan lifted his eyes from documents he was perusing and checked the time. Luo Jingyi sent a message this morning saying she wanted to give her a decision when the conference ended. At the same time,  begged not to let K5 shadow her. He was reluctant about the other request but he agreed.  

Estimating that Luo Jingyi would be free by now, he reached for his phone on the desk and called her but it went unanswered. Giving up, he went back to work but after an hour later, hearing no words from her, he began fidgeting.  

"Where could she be?"

Yun Jinghan walked to the stairs leading to the second floor and left his hotel room. He went to see her. He had mixed feelings about it.  

He buzzed many times but the door never opened. He called the hotel manager to bring him another keycard.

When the manager appeared, Yun Jinghan took the white card from him and ran it against the sensor. Pushing the door open, silence greeted him.  Yun Jinghan strode to the bedroom but the room was empty. There was no sign of her.

"Where did she go?" he wondered. As he was getting out in search of her, he found a woman standing outside.

"Is this Dr. Luo's suite?" She asked, giving him a once over. 

Yun Jinghan nodded. His eyes fell to the bag that the woman held. It was Luo Jingyi's.

Seeing this, the woman explained. "Dr. Luo forgot her bag when she left."

Yun Jinghan gestured to the woman to pass the bag but she was a bit hesitant.

"I'm her fiancé." Yun Jinghan informed her.  

"Oh!" She muttered and handed it to him.

Yun Jinghan thanked her and returned to the suite.  He immediately called K5. His heart was restless. 

….

Throwing her heels, Luo Jingyi puttered barefoot on the sand. She felt dizzy so she plonked on the ground, setting aside what she had in both hands.  Looking far beyond, there was a myriad of emotions in her eyes. There was sadness, disgust, fear, and anger. 

She was mad about meeting Madam Wen. Meeting Madam Wen reminded her of the past. No matter how much she wanted to forget, her disgust towards the royal family never faded in her heart. It also caused her fears to appear. 

Struggling with her emotions, she stood on her feet and tossed her cardigan aside. She walked forward. 

Standing next to his car,  Yun Jinghan watched the video feed K5 sent to his phone. He ordered his men to search for her starting from where she was last seen. The image showed her exiting the bar with a plastic bag in her hand. She was drunk and was wobbling but she kept on walking. When two men approached her, she took out a bottle and threatened them that if they came closer, she was going to kill them with it. She managed to save her herself from getting harmed. 

Yun Jinghan didn't know what to feel at that moment.  Whether glad that she was still aware of what's happening or mad for not pushing for K5 to guard her behind her back. At the same time, furious at the Wen Family. Luo Jingyi was calm and collected all the time. Hence he had a suspicion that whatever Madam Wen told her, changed her moods. Too bad that the CCTV camera at the coffee shop was broken so he has no way of knowing what happened. 

Pocketing his phone, he followed her trails.  Yun Jinghan scanned the beach. The array of lamp posts illuminated the place but he couldn't see her shadow at all. As he neared the edge, a cardigan, cans of beer and an empty of alcohol spawned on the sand caught his attention. His eyes flew to the left side and there he saw her figure, knee-deep in water as she wobbled further away from the shore. 

Panic set in his heart. He sprinted to her as he shouted her name. Grabbing her from behind, Yun Jinghan hauled her to the shore like she was weightless. His voice was five decibels higher. "What are you doing?!" 

Luo Jingyi was startled at the fierceness of his voice.  "I just wanted—to swim." 

Seeing her teary-eyed face, his heart ached. In a gentler tone, he said, "That was dangerous."

She swayed when he deposited her on the ground. He held her on the shoulders, guiding her back to where she left her things. 

Yun Jinghan removed his jacket and put it on her. "It's cold. If you're going to sit here longer, put this on." 

They sat on the sand at an arm's length from each other. 

Yun Jinghan rubbed his clammy hands on his trousers then blew air out of his lungs.  Reaching a can of beer, he cracked the lid open and chugged its content. He wanted to flush his tensed muscles and calm himself. 

If he had been a minute late, she would have been washed away by the tide. What would he do then? His chest tightened just thinking of the what-ifs. 

"If you want to go for a swim, you could have called me. What if.. what if you drowned?" 

Luo Jingyi looked around, searching for her bag. "Huh? I don't have my phone."

Then she looked at him. "But even if I—called, you wouldn't come. You said you do—do not want to see me for three days." She complained, hiccupping in between.

He sighed at himself. The woman was drunk.  There was no point in scolding her. 

"Come here." He hooked his arm on her waist, pulling her closer. No protest was heard. 

Luo Jingyi snuggled into a comfortable position on his chest. "Let me sleep."