With October's arrival, the weather grew colder by the day. Gusty wind tirelessly flung sharp raindrops into people's faces. But while passersby huddled and rushed to wrap themselves in scarves, cursing the early cold, Suho and Jia were blossoming into their own spring.
Jia was still busy with photoshoots—she finished her workday at nine, sometimes ten in the evening. Yet, when she ran out of whatever studio she'd been at, her face glowed with a genuine smile. She was in such a hurry that she didn't wash off her makeup, and her hair often still had glitter and hairspray in it—Suho loved combing through the tangled strands with his fingers while holding her in his arms in the back seat of his car.
At first, Jia had been against the idea, insisting that Suho would be inconvenienced by picking her up at different times and from different locations. But Suho, not wanting to miss any opportunity, held his ground until he won. And once she agreed, he threw himself into executing the plan with impressive enthusiasm.
Whenever Jia had a shoot scheduled, Suho came to pick her up. He'd drive across the entire city, sit through traffic jams, or drop everything and rush out of the house in a second. He didn't think about the inconvenience or the time spent on the road. When Jia opened the door and got into the car, his thoughts narrowed to one thing—Choi didn't want their evening to end.
But at moments like these, time seemed to slip through his fingers: parking not far from Jia's house, Suho knew in advance they had anywhere from fifteen minutes to half an hour to be alone together.
"Sorry, I need to go before Mom starts worrying," Jia would hug him tightly goodbye and touch his cheek with her fingertips. Suho didn't understand exactly how things worked in her family, or why Mrs. Yoon worried so much about her adult daughter, but he didn't rush to ask. He just held his breath, pressing his cheek to Jia's palm, then let her go.
Jia would leave the car, each time taking something with her that made the space feel empty and cold without her. And each time, Suho felt a knot tighten in his stomach, an uncomfortable ache. When he got home, he'd head straight for the shower to get rid of that feeling.
He didn't want to push. After a couple of awkward moments when Jia gently stopped him, Suho understood that she wasn't ready for anything more yet. No matter how brave she tried to be or how she tried to laugh off the awkwardness.
So they spent their time quietly, cuddled up together in the back seat of the car. Jia would rest her head on Suho's shoulder while he warmed her perpetually cold hands. Sometimes she was so tired she didn't have the energy to talk, and they just sat in silence. In those moments, Suho allowed himself to slowly press his lips to her cheek or the spot behind her ear. But not her lips. Jia would tense up whenever Suho's lips got too close to hers.
Suho understood he shouldn't push. Even if Jia had said that day that she wanted… It seemed she didn't fully understand herself what exactly she wanted, or in what way. This was thin ice for both of them, and Suho was trying not to rush.
Minseok, after extracting the few details he could, declared with expertise that they were more like an elderly married couple. Suho didn't even raise an eyebrow at that. If Jia wanted to cuddle, to sweetly intertwine their fingers, and play with his hair, then Suho was ready to turn into a giant teddy bear, just to make her comfortable.
He could see the dark circles under her eyes, showing through the layers of makeup. And secretly, he was glad that with him, Jia could rest.