The manor was too quiet.
Even the wind outside felt distant now, like the world had been cut away from them.
Ji-ho stood near the doorway for a long moment, listening.
Nothing followed them in, but Bella was cautious needless. Listen to any sound movement. But when there was none, only then did they finally breath a little.
Ji-ho sat heavily on the ground, one hand braced against the dirt as he tried to catch his breath. The night air clung damply to his skin, but it did nothing to cool the ache spreading through his body. He rolled his shoulder slowly, jaw tightening the moment a sharp crack echoed from his back.
Bella, still leaning weakly against against the wall, lifted her head at the sound.
Her breathing remained uneven from the fight, strands of hair stuck to her damp forehead, but the trembling in her hands had begun to settle. For a second she simply watched him beneath the lantern glow, the way his posture stiffened, the way he tried to hide the pain by lowering his head.
Another quiet crack.
Her brows pulled together.
"Ji-ho…"
"I'm fine," he muttered instantly, before she could even move.
Bella pushed herself off the wall anyway.
The moment she reached him, he straightened too quickly, trying to wave her off, but the movement only made him suck in a sharp breath through his teeth.
"See? How very convincing you are," Bella murmured softly.
Ji-ho let out a tired sigh. "Bella!"
"No." She crouched in front of him before he could protest again. "You fought an two huge men by yourself like you had something to prove. At least let me help you."
Despite himself, the corner of his mouth twitched faintly.
Bella carefully reached for his arm, slower this time, giving him the chance to pull away if he truly wanted to. He didn't.
Her fingers slid beneath the sleeve of his robe, gently feeling along the tense muscle near his shoulder. The second she pressed against it, Ji-ho's body flinched.
"That bad?" she whispered.
"It is nothing."
"That answer usually means the exact opposite."
The lantern above them swayed softly in the wind, washing warm gold over his face. Up close, she could see how exhausted he truly looked now that the adrenaline was fading. The rebellious prince who always carried himself like steel suddenly seemed painfully human.
Bella swallowed.
"Lean forward," she said quietly.
Ji-ho looked at her with hesitation. Pride fought visibly in his expression for a moment before exhaustion finally won. Slowly, he obeyed.
Bella moved behind him, placing both hands carefully against his back. Her touch was gentle at first, unsure, but steady. She could feel how tense every muscle in his body was beneath her palms.
"You're exhausted your body," she murmured softly, her fingers slowing against his shoulders. "Your muscles are practically begging for relief."
Ji-ho exhaled quietly, his head dipping forward a little more as if even holding himself upright had become tiring.
A quiet breath escaped him that almost sounded like a laugh.
Bella began rubbing slow circles into his shoulders, trying to ease the stiffness little by little. Ji-ho's head lowered slightly after a while, some of the tension finally leaving him beneath her hands.
He looked up at her as she helped him massage his muscles, neither eager to speak.
The manor around them felt larger in silence.
Too many empty rooms.
Too many shadows.
And yet, all of Ji-ho's attention was suddenly in one place.
Her hand still near his skin.
Her breathing still uneven.
Her eyes still too close.
"You did good today. So good that I felt proud to be your teacher," Bella said quietly as she looked up at him.
You could see the pride trying to hide itself behind Ji-ho's calm expression. Even with the exhaustion weighing on him, there was a quiet satisfaction in his eyes.
That was the first time Bella had openly praised his combat skills.
And somehow, hearing it from her mattered far more than anything had in his life at that moment.
Still, Ji-ho only looked away slightly, pretending the compliment had not settled warmly beneath his ribs.
"I didn't have a choice," he said coolly.
But the faint lift at the corner of his mouth betrayed him completely, as Bella saw through it.
"That's not true."
A pause.
Ji-ho looked at her fully now.
"It is," he said. "When it comes to you."
That made her stop.
Not because it was loud.
But because it wasn't.
It was calm.
Certain.
Dangerously honest.
Bella pulled her hand back slightly, like she suddenly remembered where they were.
"This place? Are you sure it's safe," she whispered.
"It is."
Bella stared at him for a beat before letting out a dry scoff.
"That's not reassuring."
A faint breath left him, almost a laugh, but not quite.
"You're still here," he said. "That's enough to make it feel like it is."
That line landed heavier than it should have.
Bella looked away first.
Then back again.
Like she was fighting something she didn't want to name.
The silence that followed felt strangely soft after everything that had happened. No fighting. No running. No danger clawing at their backs for once.
Just the sound of wind brushing through old wood.
Bella slowly lowered herself onto the ground beside one of the pillars, exhaustion finally catching up to her. She pulled one knee close to her chest as she tipped her head back toward the sky.
The moon hung above them in full silver glow, bathing the abandoned manor in pale light. The stars stretched endlessly around it like scattered diamonds across black silk.
For a moment, Bella simply stared.
And breathed.
Ji-ho noticed the way her expression changed, softer now, quieter somehow and after a brief hesitation, he moved beside her. But not too close.
But close enough.
His eyes lifted toward the night sky as well.
"The moon here feels different," Bella murmured after a while.
Ji-ho glanced at her briefly. "Different?"
"Bigger." She squinted upward slightly. "Sadder too."
A faint smile touched his lips. "You think the moon is sad?"
"I think it watches everything." Bella rested her chin against her knee. "People falling in love. Kingdoms collapsing. People losing each other." Her voice softened. "It probably gets tired."
Ji-ho looked back toward the sky.
"In this kingdom, people say the moon carries memories."
Bella turned slightly toward him. "That sounds painfully poetic."
"It is."
She huffed a small laugh under her breath.
For a while, neither of them spoke again.
Then Ji-ho's voice broke the quiet unexpectedly.
"The songs you sing…"
Bella blinked. "Hm?"
"I hear them often."
Her brows slowly lifted. "Wait… what?"
"During training." His gaze remained forward, calm as ever. "During your walks through the palace gardens. Sometimes outside your quarters."
Bella stared at him now.
"You stand outside my door?"
"I do not enter."
"That is somehow worse."
A tiny hint of amusement flickered across his face before disappearing again.
"I never understood the words fully," he admitted quietly. "But they always sounded…" He paused briefly, searching for the right thought. "Lonely. Beautiful too."
Something in Bella's expression softened instantly.
"Oh. Well they are."
She looked back toward the moon.
"They help me," she said quietly.
Ji-ho listened.
"When things get hard,when I get home sick… music becomes my escape, so does drawings and traveling to new place. But music is what makes me whole when I feel lost I guess." Bella shrugged faintly. "Some songs just stay with you. Like they understand something about you nobody else does."
Her voice grew more distant now. More nostalgic.
"My mom loved this artist Andrew Belle." A faint smile appeared on her lips. "Especially All Those Pretty Lights. Honestly, she loved all his songs at that time. She used to play them around the house while cooking or cleaning."
Ji-ho stayed silent, letting her continue.
"Then there's my favorites of his currently, Down, Pieces and Enemy. Other favorites of mine, Lana Del Rey, Aurora, Cat Burns, Owl City, Coldplay, twenty one pilots…" She gave a tiny laugh. "Basically anything that feels like driving home at night while your heart is falling apart."
Ji-ho looked at her carefully.
Bella's smile weakened slightly after that.
"When I was little," she said softly, "my parents used to dance in the living room every Saturday night." Her eyes stayed fixed on the moon now. "Those were the good days. Before everything became… complicated."
The wind moved gently through the open manor.
"I still listen to those songs sometimes because…" She swallowed lightly. "For a few minutes, it feels like I still have her with me when I need her."
Ji-ho's gaze lingered on her longer this time.
Then quietly:
"Will you sing one for me?"
Bella immediately groaned under her breath. "Absolutely not."
"You sing when alone."
"That is because nobody is supposed to hear it."
"I would like to."
She narrowed her eyes slightly. "You're very persistent for someone barely holding his spine together."
"That is not an answer. Please sing one song for me. Please."
Bella sighed dramatically, shaking her head.
"Today is your lucky day. I don't usually give a live performance."
Ji-ho's mouth curved faintly with a smile.
Bella looked back toward the moon one last time before finally giving in.
She drew in a small breath, almost like she regretted agreeing already, then softly, almost shyly this time, she began to sing.
"Somebody said that you know when you know…"
Her voice slipped into the night air so softly that Ji-ho almost thought the wind itself had carried the words to him.
"That's all I got so I got with the flow…"
Bella was not singing loudly. She did not need to.
There was something raw about it. Gentle. Unpolished in the most human way possible. Like the song lived somewhere deep inside her rather than being performed for anyone.
Ji-ho found himself completely still even though he didn't understand the language he felt it in his body and blood.
The moonlight brushed against her face as she sang, silver catching along her skin and loose strands of hair. Behind her, the dark manor and endless night somehow made her voice feel even warmer.
"Nobody died playing safe on the ground…"
A faint breeze moved through the broken halls.
Her voice moved with it effortlessly.
Soft.
Melodic.
Almost haunting.
Ji-ho had heard court musicians before. Noble performers. Royal singers trained for years to sound perfect.
But this…
This felt alive.
"We'll only fly if we don't look down…"
Something tightened quietly in his chest.
Because Bella did not sing like someone trying to impress people.
She sang like someone trying to survive herself.
Then came the chorus.
"Down… down… down…"
The words floated through the night like a lullaby wrapped in sadness.
Ji-ho lowered his gaze briefly, exhaling slowly as her voice settled around him like warmth after winter.
"No we won't look down…"
For a moment, the exhaustion in his body disappeared.
She sang the remaining lyrics of the song Ji-ho listened attentively to every word.
The final words faded gently into the night air.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Ji-ho simply sat there beside her, the silence around them suddenly feeling fuller somehow, like the song had left something behind between them.
Then unexpectedly, Bella heard him mumble quietly beside her.
"Down… down… down…"
She turned toward him instantly.
Ji-ho avoided her eyes at first, clearly trying to focus on remembering the sounds rather than the meaning.
"No we… won't…" He frowned slightly. "Look… d-down."
The words came out uneven, tangled awkwardly by his accent and unfamiliarity with the language.
Bella stared at him for half a second before a laugh escaped her.
Not mocking.
Warm.
Soft.
Ji-ho looked mildly offended. "You are laughing at me."
"You sound adorable." She said in English.
"I do not know what that means."
"It means, I find you enduring."
He sighed quietly as Bella tried to suppress another smile.
Then, to her surprise, Ji-ho repeated the chorus again anyway, slower this time.
"Down… down… down…"
Bella looked at him for a moment before softly joining in beside him.
"No, we won't look down…"
Their voices blended together beneath the moonlight, hers smooth and melodic, his lower, rougher, unfamiliar with the words but trying anyway.
Ji-ho stopped midway through the next line, brows pulling together in concentration before he gave up entirely.
"What does it mean?"
Bella looked at him.
"The song?"
He nodded.
For a second she stayed quiet, trying to gather the feeling into words.
Then she looked back toward the sky.
"I think…" She exhaled softly. "It's about trust."
Ji-ho listened carefully.
"Like…" Bella searched for the thought. "Sometimes life becomes terrifying. Everything feels uncertain and you're scared to move because you think if you do, something bad will happen."
Her fingers tightened slightly around her sleeve.
"But the song basically says you can't keep staring at fear forever." Her voice softened. "You'll never fly if you keep looking down the entire time."
Ji-ho's eyes stayed on her now.
Bella gave a tiny shrug.
"It's about letting yourself jump anyway. Loving anyway. Living anyway." A faint smile touched her lips. "Even if you're terrified."
The wind moved softly between them.
Ji-ho absorbed every word like it mattered.
Then quietly:
"That sounds like you."
Bella blinked slightly.
"You always sound like you're carrying sadness when you sing," he admitted. "But also hope."
Her expression softened instantly.
Ji-ho looked at her for a long moment beneath the moonlight before speaking again.
"You have a beautiful voice, Bella."
His tone was calm.
Certain.
Not teasing.
Not playful.
Beautiful.
The word settled somewhere dangerously deep inside her chest.
But Ji-ho was not finished.
"It matches your soul."
Bella's breath caught slightly.
Because he said it so naturally, like it was simply the truth.
"It's about letting yourself jump anyway. Loving anyway. Living anyway." A faint smile touched her lips. "Even if you're terrified."
The words lingered in Ji-ho's mind.
Ji-ho stayed quiet.
Too quiet.
Bella glanced toward him slowly, only to find him already watching her, not with curiosity this time, but with something more. Something thoughtful.
Like he had taken her words and hidden them somewhere inside himself.
The wind moved softly through the manor ruins, carrying silence with it.
Then finally:
"Does that mean you will give me an opportunity?"
Bella blinked. "What?"
Ji-ho's gaze did not leave hers.
"You said we cannot keep looking down forever." His voice remained calm, but there was something unbearably sincere beneath it now. "That sometimes we must jump anyway."
Realization hit her instantly.
"Oh my God," Bella breathed, half shocked, half flustered. "Were you turning my emotional music speech into a confession?"
Ji-ho tilted his head slightly. "Perhaps."
Bella stared at him in disbelief.
He repeated her words quietly this time.
"Loving anyway. Living anyway." His eyes softened. "Even when terrified."
The teasing response Bella wanted to give him died before it reached her mouth.
Because Ji-ho suddenly looked far too serious.
Far too honest.
"I want you, Bella. More than I have ever wanted anyone in my life."
The words came without hesitation.
No pride.
No games.
Nothing hidden behind them.
Bella's breath caught softly.
Ji-ho continued before she could respond.
"I tried convincing myself it would pass." His voice lowered slightly. "That eventually these feelings would weaken."
He looked away briefly, almost frustrated with himself.
"But they do not, no matter how many times you push me away."
Bella's chest tightened.
Ji-ho let out a quiet breath, his expression softening again as he looked back at her beneath the moonlight.
"When I think about the future…" he admitted quietly, "every version of it has you beside me."
Her heart stumbled painfully at that.
"All the possibilities I see…" His voice grew quieter now. "There is not one where you are absent."
Bella swallowed hard.
"I want you with me constantly," he confessed. "When I train. When I eat. When I wake." A faint smile touched his lips. "When I survive another terrible fight."
Her eyes burned slightly now, though she did not know why.
Ji-ho moved a little closer without realizing it.
"I look for you in every room first."
Bella's breathing had become uneven again.
"And I wish," he said softly, "that you could see yourself the way I see you."
She wanted to speak.
She truly did.
To argue.
To tease him.
To say something sarcastic to escape the unbearable tenderness in his voice.
But nothing came out.
Because the terrifying part was, she understood exactly what he meant.
She had started imagining it too.
Him beside her.
Always.
Ji-ho continued speaking softly, almost desperate now beneath all his restraint.
"If you would only allow me the chance, Bella, I swear I would spend every day proving-"
She kissed him.
Ji-ho inhaled sharply against her mouth, stunned for only a heartbeat before his hands found her waist with desperate restraint, like he still could not fully believe she was real.
The kiss deepened slowly.
Not rushed.
Not careless.
It felt like every unspoken thing between them had finally broken loose at once.
Bella could feel how hard his pulse was racing beneath her fingertips.
So was hers.
The ruined manor disappeared around them. The wind, the shadows, the distant ache in her body from the fight, all of it faded beneath the warmth of his mouth against hers.
Ji-ho kissed her carefully at first.
Then like a man losing control of himself
Her hands grabbed his face before she could second guess herself, and the moment their lips crashed together, every unfinished word vanished between them.
The night seemed to disappear around them.
The moonlight.
The ruined manor.
The cold wind.
None of it mattered anymore.
Her fingers slid into his hair as his forehead rested briefly against hers, both of them breathing unevenly now.
"Bella…" he whispered softly, almost ruined by the sound of her name alone.
The way he looked at her after that nearly undid her completely.
Not hunger alone.
Wonder.
Bella could feel the warmth of his breath against her skin, the way his fingers tightened slightly as she moved closer. The kiss deepened naturally, neither of them willing to pull away even for a second.
Ji-ho whispered her name again and again, softly.
When Bella shifted onto his lap, Ji-ho let out a sharp breath against her lips, his hands instinctively tightening at her waist.
The sudden closeness made heat rush through both of them instantly.
He looked overwhelmed by her.
Completely.
Bella could feel the nervous tension in him beneath all the restraint he tried so hard to maintain, and somehow that tenderness affected her more than confidence ever could.
Ji-ho tried to resist but the way Bella moved seductively on his crouch made him my able to think straight that all he said was in mumble.
"You can stop me," she whispered softly.
Ji-ho shook his head almost immediately.
"I do not want to."
His honesty made her chest ache.
Every touch after that felt dangerous.
Ji-ho reacted like a man trying desperately to stay composed while she slowly unraveled him piece by piece.
The moment her fingers slipped beneath the fabric at his waist, his head dropped slightly against her shoulder, a quiet, broken sound escaping him before he could stop it.
When her hands reached for his member he winced under her breath unable to contain the surge of pleasure swarming around him.
Bella felt warmth rush through her instantly at the realization that no one had ever touched him like this before.
That trust.
That vulnerability.
It made her softer with him.
Not cruel.
Not teasing.
Careful.
She gently rubbed it before exposing it to the moonlight.
She knew when she first held it that the size was different from what she had imagined. She always thought that the Asia men where on a smaller size of intimacy from what her former roommate and friend group talked about when the gossiped about their nightly rendezvous, but he was big.
Thinking about how this boy had never been with a woman before but only wanted her. Is aroused by her, made Bella's legs curl in pleasure.
He moaned at every stroke and the way she kissed him was different now. Like she had aphrodisiac in her saliva.
She nibbled on his tongue as she came closer to realize. It sent shivers down his spine, as his seed spread all over her garment.
He tried to apologize for what he had done. The cloud of shame was already swarming in but Bella lefted he right hand slightly half way in between them as she checks the thickness of his seed.
"You really don't touch yourself much, do you?" she murmured gently. "Your load is thick."
"What?!"
"You seed." She tells him.
He didn't really understand what she meant.
Ji-ho held his palms within his face, ashamed but Bella held them down.
"It's nothing to be ashamed of."
"I can't believe I did that to your clothes." He told her while trying to avoid her gaze.
"It's natural. It means you're healthy. Healthy is good." She smiles at him to drive away the awkwardness of the moment.
She then asked him, "Does this mean, you don't want to continue? Cause we can stop-"
"I do. I may not know what I'm doing," he admitted quietly. "But I want to learn you properly."
You could see the cunning smile behind Bella's face, "Alright then. But I might not be the right teacher for this." She tells him seductively.
Bella rose slowly to her feet before moving a few steps away from him.
Not far.
Just enough for the moonlight to find her fully.
Ji-ho's eyes followed her instantly.
Bella lowered herself carefully onto her knees across from him, her fingers trembling slightly as they reached for the ties of her garment. For a brief moment, she hesitated.
Not out of fear.
Out of awareness.
Because Ji-ho was looking at her like she was something sacred.
The realization made warmth spread beneath her skin.
Slowly, she untied the first layer.
Then the next.
The manor remained completely silent around them except for the quiet rustle of fabric slipping against skin.
Bella did not rush.
Every movement felt deliberate now.
Intimate.
Her eyes never fully left his.
And Ji-ho never looked away.
Not once.
For a moment Ji-ho forgot how to breathe.
Not because of desire alone.
Because no one had ever looked more beautiful to him than Bella did in that moment.
Bare before him.
Trusting him.
Choosing him.
A quiet ache spread through his chest so suddenly it almost hurt.
Bella slowly stepped free from the remaining fabric on her until nothing lingered them anymore.
The cool night air brushed against her skin, but beneath Ji-ho's gaze, she did not feel exposed.
She felt wanted.
His throat moved as he swallowed hard, eyes tracing her carefully like he could not decide whether touching her would ruin the perfection of the moment.
Bella's expression softened slightly at the sight of him.
"Do you want to admire from there?" she asked quietly, voice gentler now. "Or would you rather come closer?"
Ji-ho opened his mouth slightly, but no words came.
He looked completely overwhelmed. Like devotion itself had stolen his voice.
Bella's heart tightened unexpectedly at the sight.
Slowly, she held her hand out toward him.
Come here," she whispered.
Ji-ho moved toward her carefully, almost uncertainly, like approaching something he feared might disappear if he reached too quickly.
His had this dream countless times, but not like this. He never imagined that he couldn't move.
But none of those fantasies had prepared him for the reality of Bella looking at him so softly.
So openly.
When he finally reached her, his hands hovered near her waist for a brief moment before touching her gently, almost reverently.
Like he was afraid to break her.
Ji-ho lowered his gaze for a second, visibly trying to steady himself before looking back at her again.
And when he finally spoke, his voice came out quiet.
Completely sincere.
"You're so beautiful that I could worship you all my life."
Bella felt her breath catch slightly.
Not because of the words alone.
But because he sounded like he meant every single syllable.
A slow smile touched her lips as she stepped closer into his hands.
"Well," she whispered softly "you could start now."