Chapter 106 – How You Fold the Morning
POV: Jaeheon Kang
It was the way she handed him the scissors.
No words.
No explanation.
Just the faintest raise of her eyebrow as she returned to trimming her roses.
He took them.
Carefully.
As if they might shatter in his grip.
They were in the garden today—if the sprawling marble courtyard with cascading vines and imported soil from Provence could still be called that.
She didn't speak much outside.
Something about the wind stole her voice.
Or maybe she simply liked watching things grow in silence.
He didn't mind.
He didn't need her words anymore to know her moods.
Not when she leaned closer when her guard lowered.
Not when she pressed a kiss to the side of his neck after a particularly long work session.
Not when she let him stay in her space long after most would've been asked to leave.
Sometimes, she gave him orders.
Sometimes, she gave him choices.
But lately—
She gave him mornings.
And mornings with her were not gentle, but they were precise.
Like now.
He trimmed the dead leaves carefully.
She watched him out of the corner of her eye, saying nothing.
When he finished, she set down her gloves.
"You're not completely useless," she muttered.
He smirked. "High praise."
"I only offer reality."
"You kissed me yesterday."
"I did."
Then, after a beat—
"I might do it again. If you behave."
He stood still. A little too still.
Trying not to show how fast his heart suddenly moved.
"And what counts as 'behaving'?"
She didn't answer.
She simply turned and walked back toward the house.
He followed her.
Because that, he'd learned, was her way.
She never beckoned.
Never waited.
But she always left the door slightly open.
When he stepped inside, she was already seated at the long dining table with her tablet in hand.
He stood behind her, quiet.
Then—
A faint motion.
She leaned her head back, just enough for him to bend.
He kissed her hair.
She didn't pull away.
So he kissed her temple.
Then her cheek.
And this time, she turned—just slightly—
And let him kiss her mouth.
No fireworks.
No breathless passion.
Just stillness.
And the slow burn of something finally allowed to exist.
When he pulled back, she whispered—
"You're still my testing boyfriend."
Jaeheon smiled against her forehead.
"Then I hope I pass."
"You haven't failed yet."
It wasn't love.
Not quite.
Not yet.
But it was something.
And whatever it was—
She wasn't letting it go.