chapter 0.48: Fine, as you wish

They sat across from each other at the small kitchen table.

The same table where, just the night before, they had shared their first accidental moment—awkward, quiet, oddly intimate.

Now, the kitchen was dimly lit by moonlight that spilled gently through the tall window, casting soft silver shadows across the obsidian tiles. The breeze stirred the velvet curtains faintly, and the cool glow fell delicately over Jin's damp hair and sculpted face. Beads of water clung to his jawline. His black shirt hugged his lean frame, and the soft leather gloves he wore glimmered faintly in the low light. Tied around his wrist, a ribbon—deep crimson-black—subtly hinted at something personal, something not yet spoken.

He sipped his iced coffee slowly.

And said nothing.

Rina, across from him, cradled her own glass in trembling fingers, her eyes flickering downward. Her heart hadn't slowed since he entered.

She could still hear the teasing lilt in his voice from earlier.

And he wasn't done.

**"So..."** Jin broke the silence at last, his tone smooth, quiet, almost sweet. His crimson eyes gleamed with mischief, and a crooked, knowing smile played on his lips.

**"My dear future wife... why were you waiting for me?"**

He tilted his head.

**"Did you want to sleep in my room tonight?"**

Rina froze, the glass nearly slipping from her hand.

But Jin wasn't finished.

**"Strange,"** he continued, eyes narrowing playfully, **"I could've sworn someone once told me they would never let me sleep near them... or touch them..."**

He raised a brow dramatically.

**"Something about burning me to death, wasn't it? Do you know who that might have been?"**

Rina's face flushed a deep red. Her lips parted, but no words came out.

"I... I don't know," she mumbled finally, her voice weak and quiet, barely audible. Her golden eyes refused to meet his. She was staring intently at the rim of her glass as though it were suddenly the most fascinating object in the world.

Jin smiled wider.

Not cruelly.

But with a smug, boyish charm that made her want to throw her glass at him and hide under the table all at once.

**"Mm-hmm,"** he said knowingly, then leaned back slightly in his chair, his arms crossing over his chest.

He let the silence linger just long enough before adding:

**"What about the kiss, then?"** he asked softly, voice dipped in velvet and irony.

Her breath caught.

**"Do you still want it?"** he mused aloud. **"And if so—"** he leaned in just slightly, just enough to make her stomach twist, **"—what kind of kiss are we talking about?"**

His smile widened, mischievous and utterly merciless.

**"Do you want it slow and deep?"**

**"Or maybe long... breathless... the kind that makes you dizzy and drags you into a haze..."**

**"Maybe messy—"** his crimson eyes sparkled—**"—with saliva and heat and a little bite?"**

Her jaw dropped. Her hand flew to her face.

"J-J-Jin!!"

But he kept going, that impish grin still on his lips.

**"Oh, and by the way,"** he said, tapping his chin as if just remembering,

**"You'll be the first girl I ever kiss."**

He looked straight at her.

**"So... choose wisely, wife-to-be."**

Rina wanted to die.

There was no other explanation for the heat rushing up her neck, the trembling in her fingers, or the utterly mortifying chaos in her mind.

She, Rina Amberhart—the cold, sharp, famously untouchable girl—was being teased into emotional and verbal ruin in a kitchen... by her *husband-to-be.*

She wanted to run.

She wanted to scream.

She wanted to slap herself.

Instead, she gripped her glass tightly and stared down at the table, cheeks blazing, and said nothing.

A pause.

Then, a soft, trembling voice broke the silence.

**"Jin..."**

He blinked, still smiling.

**"Hmm?"**

She didn't look at him.

Her eyes stayed fixed on her lap, and her voice came out small and awkward and utterly sincere.

**"I was wondering if... you'd want to come to the academy."**

He tilted his head.

She stumbled through her words, her tone unsteady.

**"I-I mean... maybe it'd be good if you... joined. You know\... the academy. With me."**

Her hands gripped her dress nervously.

**"I thought maybe… if you came, you could meet my friends. And—maybe—make friends of your own."**

Silence.

She finally, slowly lifted her eyes to meet his.

His expression had changed.

Gone was the teasing mischief.

His face was softer now. Eyes gentler. Thoughtful.

For the first time, he didn't immediately reply with a sarcastic jab or playful smile.

Instead, he said, in a quiet voice:

**"You want me there?"**

She nodded.

Slowly. Shyly.

He looked at her, really looked at her, and something subtle shifted behind those crimson eyes.

His fingers tapped lightly on the glass in front of him, his gaze distant for a moment—as if turning over her words in his mind.

Then he spoke again, voice low.

**"Alright."**

She blinked.

"...Really?"

Jin smiled faintly, a small but genuine smile this time—not sharp or mocking, but soft around the edges.

**"If you want me there, Rina..."**

He looked at her again, and this time, it was different. Warmer.

**"...then I'll go."**