Matchmaker Mayhem
Chapter 111: Sunrise Mischief & Unwanted Interruptions

Chapter 111: Sunrise Mischief & Unwanted Interruptions

The morning light filtered through the sheer curtains of the penthouse suite, bathing the room in a golden hue. The air smelled faintly of lavender and warmth, remnants of their steamy night before still clinging to the space. Ava stirred first, her body naturally shifting closer to the solid warmth of Ryan, who had somehow managed to wrap himself around her like a human blanket.

Ryan let out a lazy hum, tightening his hold around her waist, his lips brushing against her bare shoulder. "Mmm... morning, matchmaker," he murmured, voice still thick with sleep.

Ava smiled sleepily, stretching slightly, feeling deliciously sore in the best way possible. She turned her head, just enough to meet his half-lidded gaze. "Morning," she whispered, her voice husky from sleep.

Ryan smirked, his fingers lightly tracing down her spine. "So... any regrets?"

Ava rolled her eyes but couldn’t fight the smile pulling at her lips. "None."

His grin widened. "Good, because I was planning on keeping you in this bed for at least another hour."

She huffed, pretending to fight him off, but the way his fingertips ghosted down her side, making her shiver, was already making her lose the battle.

"Ryan," she warned.

"Hmm?" he mused innocently, pulling her flush against him, his body heat sinking into her skin.

She sighed, almost giving in, but then remembered—"We have a full day ahead. I should get up."

Ryan, still half-asleep, grumbled, burying his face into her neck, pressing lazy kisses along her collarbone. "No, you really shouldn’t."

Ava let out a small gasp, swatting at him weakly. "We have work to do, Kim."

Ryan sighed dramatically. "Fine. But only because I don’t want to be responsible for you getting fired from your own matchmaking event."

Ava snorted, shifting away from him, but before she could roll out of bed, Ryan suddenly flipped them over, pinning her beneath him effortlessly.

Her breath hitched as he leaned down, trapping her wrists above her head. "You know," he murmured against her skin, "I was thinking we could start our morning with a little... warm-up."

Ava’s heart pounded, her body already responding to the promise in his voice. "Ryan," she warned again, but this time, it was weaker.

He chuckled, his lips ghosting over hers. "You’re so cute when you try to resist me."

Before she could come up with a sharp retort, he kissed her senseless, slow and deep, stealing the breath right out of her lungs.

She barely registered the distant ringing of her phone.

And then—the loud, obnoxious knocking at their suite door.

BANG. BANG. BANG.

"Ava! Ryan! I know you’re awake in there!"

Mei.

Ava immediately went rigid, eyes flying wide as Ryan groaned loudly into her neck, clearly unimpressed.

"Ignore her," Ryan muttered, nuzzling against her skin, attempting to continue where he left off.

BANG. BANG. BANG.

"Harold and I have important matchmaking business to discuss!" Mei continued, completely unfazed by the fact that it was barely 7 AM.

Ava shoved Ryan off of her, scrambling out of bed like she was escaping a crime scene. "Oh my god, I hate her."

Ryan, not even bothering to move, let out a suffering sigh and sprawled onto his back. "I swear, that woman has a sixth sense for ruining my mornings."

Ava hurriedly pulled on Ryan’s oversized dress shirt, buttoning it just enough to look somewhat presentable before making her way to the door. "If I don’t answer, she’ll probably have the front desk open the suite."

Ryan groaned. "If she does, I’m filing a restraining order."

Ava barely cracked the door open, narrowing her eyes at her grandmother. "It is too early for whatever chaos you’re about to unleash."

Mei peered over her shoulder, eyes narrowing before a slow smirk spread across her face. "Oh, dear. Did I... interrupt something?"

Ava’s cheeks burned. "What do you want, Mei?"

Mei clasped her hands together, looking entirely too smug. "Breakfast. I thought we could all have a nice meal together before today’s challenge."

Ryan, still lying shirtless in bed, called out dryly, "By ’nice meal,’ do you mean forcing us into your matchmaking boot camp?"

Mei’s smirk deepened. "Oh, you know me so well, Ryan."

Ryan groaned again. "That’s what I was afraid of."

Mei finally stepped back, waving her hand dismissively. "I’ll give you both fifteen minutes to get dressed. If you’re late, I’ll assume you’re doing something scandalous and come back with the hotel staff."

Ava slammed the door shut.

Ryan let out a lazy chuckle, propping himself up on one elbow. "You’re lucky I like you, because I’m pretty sure she’s trying to kill me."

Ava exhaled, running a hand through her hair. "She’s a menace."

Ryan finally sat up, swinging his legs over the bed. "Guess that means our morning plans are canceled."

Ava arched a brow. "What morning plans?"

He flashed a devilish grin, standing up and tugging her against him, his hands resting on the small of her back. "I was going to keep you in bed for another hour... at least."

Ava felt her stomach flip, but before she could respond, Ryan leaned down, brushing his lips against her ear. "But don’t worry, Matchmaker. I’ll make up for it later."

She barely had time to recover from the goosebumps racing down her spine before he pulled away with a wink, walking toward the bathroom.

And Ava?

She was in serious trouble.

---

Later, at Breakfast...

Ava begrudgingly joined Mei and Harold at the hotel’s rooftop restaurant, where they were already halfway through their tea.

Mei eyed Ava’s slightly ruffled hair and flushed cheeks, her smirk infuriatingly obvious. "Rough morning, dear?"

Ryan, completely unfazed, took a sip of his coffee. "Oh, you have no idea."

Ava kicked him under the table.

Harold, blissfully unaware, began dramatically reading off today’s itinerary, complete with exaggerated hand gestures.

Ryan leaned closer to Ava, voice low. "I hope you know, I fully intend to continue where we left off tonight."

Ava nearly choked on her tea.

Mei sipped her drink with a knowing smile. "Young love is so entertaining."

Ryan grinned, clearly enjoying Ava’s struggle.

And just like that, Tokyo was already off to a chaotic, disastrous, and undeniably thrilling start.

---

Breakfast at the hotel’s rooftop restaurant was meant to be a peaceful start to the day. Unfortunately, nothing in Ava’s life ever went according to plan—especially not with Mei and Harold seated across from them, acting as if they were entertainment directors for a live-action romance drama.

The Tokyo skyline stretched endlessly behind them, bathed in the soft morning light. The crisp air carried the scent of fresh miso soup, grilled fish, and steaming rice, mingling with the robust aroma of Ryan’s black coffee.

Ava had barely taken three sips of her tea before Ryan leaned in, his breath warm against her ear. "You look tense," he murmured.

She stiffened slightly, already sensing mischief. "Because I know you’re up to something."

Ryan chuckled, his fingers grazing the small of her back under the table. "I was just thinking... since our morning was rudely interrupted, maybe we should finish what we started."

Ava’s hand jerked, nearly knocking over her tea.

Harold, completely oblivious, continued talking about the schedule while Mei raised an eyebrow knowingly, sipping her drink as if she were watching the most amusing soap opera unfold before her eyes.

Ava shot Ryan a glare. "Behave."

Ryan’s lips curled into a smirk as his fingers continued their slow, infuriatingly teasing path down her back. "I don’t know what you mean, Matchmaker. I’m simply concerned about your well-being. Stress isn’t good for you."

Ava gritted her teeth. "You’re insufferable."

Ryan tilted his head, feigning innocence. "And yet, you’re blushing."

Ava grabbed a piece of grilled salmon and shoved it into her mouth to avoid responding.

Mei, never one to miss an opportunity, finally put down her teacup and smirked knowingly. "So, did you two sleep well?"

Ryan, the absolute menace, didn’t miss a beat. "Oh, very well."

Ava choked on her food.

Harold, oblivious as ever, nodded sagely. "Good! Rest is important for mental clarity, especially in matchmaking. You’ll need your full strength today."

Ryan patted Ava’s back soothingly, though she suspected he was just enjoying her suffering.

Mei chuckled, giving Ava a pointed look before turning back to Harold. "Oh, I’m sure our Ava got plenty of rest."

Ryan, looking way too entertained, casually leaned back in his chair. "Actually, we had a rather... eventful morning."

Ava kicked him under the table. Hard.

Ryan barely flinched. "Ow. So violent."

Mei just grinned. "Ah, young love."

Ava let out a long-suffering sigh, wishing she could melt into the floor.

But Ryan? He wasn’t done.

He leaned in again, his voice low and dangerously smooth. "Since you’re already blushing this much, we should probably go back to our suite. You know... for stress relief."

Ava’s fork slipped from her hand, clattering loudly against the plate.

Harold glanced up. "You okay, dear?"

Ryan smirked, enjoying the absolute chaos he was causing.

Ava, through gritted teeth, forced a smile. "Peachy."

Mei, clearly relishing every second of this, sighed dreamily. "Ah, Tokyo really is a city for romance."

Ryan squeezed Ava’s knee under the table. "Oh, it’s just getting started."

Ava hated how much her heart skipped at that.

---

Ava all but stormed out of the restaurant, her heels clicking against the marble floor as Ryan easily kept pace beside her, hands in his pockets, looking like he hadn’t just spent the last hour tormenting her.

"You’re the worst," she muttered.

Ryan chuckled. "You love it."

She jabbed the elevator button harder than necessary, arms crossed as she tried to cool the heat still lingering on her skin.

Ryan leaned against the wall beside her, watching her with a slow, lazy smirk. "You’re flustered."

"I am NOT flustered."

Ryan tilted his head. "Ava, you literally just threw your fork."

She groaned. "That was your fault!"

Ryan stepped closer, his voice dropping. "I don’t remember forcing you to imagine me naked during breakfast."

Ava’s face went scarlet.

Ding.

The elevator doors slid open, and thankfully, it was empty. She rushed inside, pressing the suite floor button.

Ryan followed, too relaxed, too smug.

The moment the doors shut, he was on her.

Ava barely had time to react before her back hit the mirrored elevator wall, Ryan’s hands caging her in, his body pressing lightly against hers.

"Ryan," she warned.

He smiled. "You look beautiful when you’re all riled up, you know that?"

Ava swallowed. "Are you flirting with me in an elevator?"

Ryan’s thumb brushed against her jawline, his gaze darkening. "I was planning on waiting until we got back to our suite, but..." He dipped his head, lips ghosting over hers. "I’m impatient."

Ava’s pulse skipped, her hands gripping the lapels of his jacket.

His voice was barely above a whisper. "Let me make it up to you."

The air crackled between them, tension so thick it was suffocating.

She was seconds away from giving in when—

Ding.

The elevator doors slid open.

Ava jerked away, heart pounding as an older couple stepped in.

Ryan, completely unfazed, flashed his most charming, innocent smile.

"Good morning," he greeted smoothly.

Ava wanted to DIE.

The couple smiled politely before standing in the farthest corner, completely unaware of what had just been about to happen.

Ryan, ever the menace, leaned down again, his voice just for Ava.

"Looks like we’ll have to finish this in private."

Ava let out a strangled sound.

Tokyo was going to kill her.

And Ryan Kim?

He was going to make sure of it.