Far From a Fairytale

Chapter Twenty-Four~ Deserts of Downtown: Queens Valley, Tasting Tour

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 💎 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Kareena and Jin stood in the dark, her forehead leaning into his back as the rest of her body moved in rhythm with every step he took. She couldn't wrap her head around why he would do something like this. Was it to make her forget? Or to mess with her head so much she couldn't focus on the fear at hand?

"I wasn't judging you, Miss Acharya," Jin told her, breaking the silence. "Everyone has fears. Some are worse than others, but everyone is different."

Kareena felt at ease the next thing he said even made her laugh. "I do believe you bruised my hand, but I'll have my doctor send you the bill." Whether it was meant to be a joke or not, it made Kareena giggle, causing Jin to turn red. Something he's done more times on this night than in his entire life.

"Is this how you deal with your fears? Close your eyes and pretend they don't exist?" She mumbled into his back.

Jin's insides froze, but his feet kept moving. His lips tightened, not answering. Did it always take this long to get to the kitchen?

Letting out a sigh of relief when he reached the kitchen, his body became less tense. Swiftly making his way to the drawers to look for a candle, he was just as happy when he pulled out a flashlight, immediately turning it on.

Upon seeing the lighting from the corner of her eye, Kareena moved out from behind Jin's back.

Looking down, she couldn't bring herself to face him, not with the bright red blush that he could now see on her face.

"Th-Thank you." She muttered out, continuing to look at her white shoes.

It wasn't until she felt a finger underneath her chin that she was forced to meet his cool gaze. As her head lifted, her eyes continued staring a hole into the ground, her blush getting deeper from the sudden touch.

"Look at me, Miss Acharya." he told her, obligingly, she met his eyes. Upon seeing her saddened features, he continued, ignoring the rapid beating of his heart. "Never look to the floor when speaking. It's a sign of weakness."

Kareena felt a shiver shoot around her body like lightning. The tone of his deep voice with the mixture of their surroundings made the hair on the back of her neck stand.

Several seconds had passed and Jin's finger was still placed underneath her chin. Why wasn't he moving? Why wasn't she moving? Both of them had able bodies.

Time stood still, both bodies frozen in the moment. Finally finding his voice, Jin spoke. His hand moved from her chin to her cheek. Causing her to blush underneath the impact of his large hand.

"Miss Acharya, thank-"

His words, and hand, dropped abruptly when bright lights spontaneously flickered on around them, causing Jin to drop his hand, and Kareena to squint underneath the harsh lighting.

When the lights returned, so did Jin's cold demeanour. "You are welcome to leave now." The way he spoke made it sound like an order.

Looking around, Kareena nodded. Everything was finished, except for the clean-up. About to offer to do it, she stopped when Jin put a hand to stop her.

"If you are worried about the cleaning, I have someone that takes care of it."

Kareena looked down at her feet. It seemed like he wanted to get rid of her. Taking the message, she nodded and headed for the door.

As she touched the doorknob, her mind wandered, was this all he was doing for his birthday, work and a bowl of soup? Maybe I should- oh, but what if he doesn't want to? I should still- he is trying to get me to leave- but