Grace looked up from the food and at the man who just stepped out into her clear view, only to regret her decision almost instantly. Her lips parted and a barely audible gasp escaped past them while she stared at him.
She couldn’t help but think just how similar her current view was with the one she witnessed when she went to find Davian on her first day here.
"What are you doing?" She asked the man as she pulled herself out from the momentarily trance and narrowed her gaze. But it wasn’t easy at all for her to keep her gaze focused on his face when his body was on obvious display.
Instead of feeling embarrassed, he just made his way toward her and asked, "Ms. Blackwood, in my hurry, I forgot to bring clothes to change into. I can’t possibly walk out of your apartment in just a towel. So if you don’t mind, can I use your washing machine to wash my dirty clothes?"
"Are you planning to sit here while your clothes will wash and dry?" She demanded, hardly believing the situation she somehow ended up in.
The man lightly shrugged his shoulders in response and Grace noticed the way his muscles moved. Since her gaze already left his face and dropped to his shoulders, it was impossible for them to not wander farther south and take in those well-built muscles, smooth skin, and the tattoos that were covering the left side of his chest.
He also had a tattoo on the right side of his waist, but a little bit of it was hidden under the towel that was the only piece of fabric he had on his body at the moment. She also noticed some tattoos on his arms and the backs of his hands.
Before she could have looked any closer to make out the actual designs of those tattoos, she heard him speaking which pulled her gaze back to his face, and there was no questioning whether or not he noticed her gaze wandering over his body.
"Do you want me to leave while looking like this? What if someone saw me?"
She would have loved to throw him out of her apartment at that very moment, but the thought of someone from her team seeing him like that kept her from making that decision. The last thing she wanted was to entertain her team members’ stupid questions and speculations.
Letting out a sigh, she led him to the laundry room and helped him to set his clothes for quick wash and then for drying. Seeing the machine showing a timer of 1 hour and 30 minutes, she couldn’t help but let out a sigh.
Returning to the kitchen, she focused all her attention on the food, ignoring the man who had followed her there.
"Ms. Blackwood, have you cooked all these dishes? It smells really amazing." He complimented while taking a seat on the counter opposite her while she neatly placed the kimbap on a plate.
"Want to join me for lunch?" She asked as eating alone with him being present there didn’t seem like too good of an option.
He immediately nodded his head in a positive response. "I will love to. Thank you, Ms. Blackwood."
"How do you know who I am?" Grace asked as she head to take out extra plates from the cabinet.
"Are there actually people who don’t know who you are?" He asked in return, forcing her to finally look up at him. It was such a mistake because seeing him up close, with his wet hair sticking to his forehead and his entire upper body on display, it was impossible for her to not get distracted all over again.
[He’s so Divine!] 2025 squealed dramatically, forcing Grace to look away from the man.
"Shouldn’t you introduce yourself to me then? You don’t have nice etiquettes, kid." She spoke while taking out freshly steamed dumplings and placing them in another plate.
"I’m Rune and I’m not a kid." The man immediately introduced himself, but not without a clear hint of disapproval toward her calling him a kid.
"Really?" Grace asked, faking surprise. "How old are you then, Rune?" She picked up the plates and started heading toward the dining table to place them.
"I’m almost twenty-two." He quickly replied while he too carried other dishes and helped her in setting up the table. Once everything was set, the two of them settled down opposite each other to enjoy the delicious meal that was awaiting them.
"Only twenty-two and you want to protest about being a kid. Don’t you know that I’m four years older than you?" She asked as she picked up a pair of chopsticks and decided to taste the dumplings first.
In response, she only heard him sighing. The two of them ate the lunch mostly in silence, and all that time, Grace made sure to keep her gaze fixed on the food.
After finishing the lunch, they cleared up the table and he was nice enough to wash the dishes. Meanwhile, she helped him dry the dishes and put them back in the cabinets. All this time, she got more than enough peeks at his muscles and tattoos which intrigued her even more.
Once they were done, she made herbal tea for the two of them and settled down in the living room, going through recent news on her tablet. Before she realized it, his clothes were dry and he quickly changed into them.
"Thank you for the help, Ms. Blackwood. I also enjoyed the food and the tea." He said while holding out his hand for a shake.
She reached out to shake his hand, and the moment her hand slipped into his, she felt a sudden warmth enveloping her and a weird but sweet sensation washed over her. At the same time, the jade bracelet on her wrist started glowing all of a sudden.
[Master, look at his ring!]
2025 suddenly shouted through the mindlink and it was only then did Grace notice the jade ring that Rune was wearing on his index finger. And it was a very familiar looking jade.