Onyx: Forever

by J. S. Lee

  Sungmin was the first to wake, sitting and cracking his back before he glanced over and saw I was awake. “You’re up early,” he whispered. I just nodded.

  “I’ll go make breakfast. We have a few hours before we need to leave.”

  Although they had all paused their promotions and didn’t need to be anywhere until late afternoon, Youngbin had requested that we say our goodbyes at the house, while Sungmin had Atlantis put out a statement requesting that fans saw him off outside of Atlantis.

  We saw him off at the house. Onyx went to the company to see him off there in front of the cameras. I wasn’t sure if the fans listened – probably not – but I did as requested. I sat in my room, watching the music video of Youngbin saying goodbye, and once it was finished, I dried my eyes and promised myself those were the last tears I was going to cry over him.

  This sucked, but this was normal here. I knew he was going to the army when he finished his twelve weeks of basic training. I knew that during that time, he wouldn’t be allowed access to his phone. And I knew he was proud to be serving his country.

  He’d also looked goddamn Fine with a capital F in his uniform.

  But today, the house felt abnormally quiet and I didn’t want to be reminded of that. The weather was starting to cool off and it would have been perfect for a walk along the river, but I was craving noise and people.

  I grabbed my bag and headed down to the main street, flagging down a taxi to take me to Hongdae.

  If such things were possible, Hongdae would have been my spirit animal. I lost myself in the thrum of people, avoiding the group that was covering Jewel in my Heart and moved along to the guy who somehow had an enormous crowd for a truly awful rendition of BlackPink’s Kill This Love.

  I sat down on a wall, people watching. If I hadn’t been in such a rush to get out of the house, I would have brought my camera with me. For today, it was nice to be lost in the crowds, nothing more than a pregnant tourist.

  Eventually, I continued walking through the area until I found a quiet café overlooking a manmade pond. I wasn’t in the heavy tourist area, but it was still busy enough for me to let my mind drift as I drank my juice and ate an obscene slice of cheesecake to make myself feel better.

  I had started walking, not really sure where I was heading, but I had decided that when I found a taxi rank, I would use one to get home. It was almost rush hour and where I was, it was several subway lines and I was not in the mood for that, even if I did have a guaranteed seat.

  The rank was empty when I got there. Knowing it wouldn’t last that way for long, I took shelter under a tree, keeping out of the bright sun. My phone rang and I pulled it out of my bag, surprised to see Xiao’s name flash up.

  “Hello, tián xīn,” he greeted me in his deep voice. “Youngbin has gone now.” I nodded, although I knew he couldn’t hear me. “I wanted to see how you were doing?”

  I loved Xiao for that.

  “I will be fine,” I promised him. “I went to Hongdae and watched some groups, and then I-”

  “Excuse me?”

  I turned as a man in a suit walked up to me. At the same time, a town car pulled up in front of me. “Hello?”

  “Are you waiting for a taxi?” he asked in English.

  I glanced at the car before nodding. “Thank you.”

  “What’s that?” Xiao asked.

  “I’m just getting a taxi,” I said, getting in the car. As I shut the door, another man in an impeccable suit got in the other side. “Excuse me? I’m clearly in this taxi.”

  “This isn’t a taxi,” he replied. “Mr. Yoon would like to speak to you.”

  While Mr. Yoon could have been anyone, it was a firm bet it was either Jiwon’s father or grandfather, but I didn’t want to speak with either of them. “No, thank you,” I said, firmly, turning to open the door so I could get out.

  The first man appeared, pushing his way into the car and making me slide over to the central seat. “Stop pushing the pregnant woman around!” I snapped. “I don’t want to speak to Jiwon’s grandfather.”

  “Hello? Kate? What’s going on?”

  Before I could raise the phone to my ear and let Xiao know what was happening, the man on my right snatched the phone from me, hanging up. “Hey!” I objected, trying to grab it back as it started ringing again.

  The other man held my wrists while the first calmly cancelled the call and handed it back to me. “Open the door!”

  “We can’t do that,” the first man informed me.

  “Like fuck you can’t,” I snapped, trying to climb over one of them to get to the door. All of a sudden, I was flung backwards. The car’s tires squealed as it pulled away. I stared out of the window, horrified at the lack of reaction from anyone until it occurred to me that I had willingly gotten into the car.

  My heart was pounding but I refused to let myself have a meltdown. “FYI, kidnapping is illegal in almost every country in the world,” I informed the two men in suits I was sandwiched between.

  They ignored me.

  I sucked in a deep breath. Mr. Yoon was going to be either Jiwon’s father or grandfather, I calmly reminded myself. I’d been on the phone with Xiao who, hopefully, had heard something. Or maybe that was a bad thing? They were due on a show.

  Even if Jiwon’s grandfather, didn’t like me, he was a respected businessman and… “Are you taking me to Busan?” I asked.

  “No.”

  It was the only word they said, but it was the truth. They stayed in Seoul, taking me to a tall building in Yeouido. The car pulled into an underground parking lot and drove up to an entrance.

  Six men in suits were waiting for me when I got out of the car. Despite the situation, I couldn’t help but be amused at that. I was five months pregnant. What were they expecting me to do?

  It was clear I was to follow them. I folded my arms, irritated that amongst everything else, they had confiscated my phone and turned it to silent when it rang almost constantly. We took the lift to the thirtieth floor and I was led through an empty reception to a walnut door.

  One of the men knocked on the door and then opened it, indicating that I should go in. I went in, unsurprised to find Jiwon’s grandfather waiting for me, and marched straight up to him. “You’ve just kidnapped a pregnant woman.”

  “I’ve not kidnapped you,” he corrected me. “I just wanted to have a conversation with you. Would you like a drink? It’s not good for a baby for you to get your heartrate up.”

  I stared at him in disbelief. “Yes, because the leading choice for peace and zen is kidnapping.”

  “Why don’t you sit?” he said, offering a chair to me.

  I folded my arms and glowered at him.

  “Very well,” he said, nonplussed as he sat in the other seat.

  “Is this where you tell me that you don’t want me to be with your grandson and offer me a ridiculous amount of money to leave your grandson?” I asked him. “Because you can add as many zeros to that figure as you want, and the answer will still be no.”

  “My dear, the only figure I will be offering you is a zero. I don’t need to pay you. All I need to do is expose you to the media and let the fans rip you to shreds.”

  The ice in his voice sent a shiver down my spine. “What do you want?”

  “I’ve had enough of Jiwon’s childish games. It’s time he took his place in the company before he damages it more than he had done with his ridiculous behavior.” He tapped at the arm of his chair, as though he was waiting for a response from me.

  I shrugged. “I can pass on the message, but he’s not going to do that.”

  Jihun smiled. There was no warmth to it. “I’ve been looking into you.”

  “Congratulations,” I said, rolling my eyes. I wasn’t a perfect person, but I’d never broken the law. I’d never gotten straight A’s at school, but I’d still gone to college and graduated. My debt was my student loan and there had only been one month since graduating where I’d had to beg my mom to help me out o
n the repayment. The worst he was going to find were the photographic evidence of some drunken nights out on Facebook, and some filtered versions on Instagram.

  “I must admit, I had expected to find more skeletons in your closet.” I folded my arms and gave him a pointed look. “In fact,” he continued, “you wouldn’t be the worst marriage choice for Jiwon. You need some refining, of course.”

  I ignored his backhanded compliment, staring at him in confusion. “You’ve just threatened to expose our relationship to the world for Onyx’s fans to destroy me, and yet I’m wife material?”

  “I think the term ‘wife material’ is a little…” he tilted his head, searching for the word. “…generous.”

  “Then make up your mind. What do you actually want from me?”

  “I told you,” he said as he gave me a generous wave of his hand. “I want you to tell Jiwon to give up this nonsense with Onyx. I know his contract is up for renewal next year. I don’t want him to accept it. I want him to leave and-”

  There was a commotion outside the door, and then Jiwon burst in. He had makeup on, but his clothes were his usual casual choice which frequently had JongB calling him a fashion terrorist when he didn’t think Jiwon was listening.

  Jiwon stormed straight over to me, grabbed my hand, and then started pulling me towards the door. Four men stepped into the room, blocking him. Jiwon turned on the spot and sent a murderous look at his grandfather. “Let us out.”

  “This would have been a lot easier if you’d have answered any of my calls,” Jihun announced getting to his feet and walking over.

  “Then why the hell didn’t you take me instead of my girlfriend?”

  Without any warning, Jihun backhanded his grandson across the face, the sound echoing like a whip around the room. “This woman is not your girlfriend. She’s the piece of fluff your company found for you to stick your dick in without dating scandals. And I’ve had enough of your behavior. It’s time you left that group and returned to Yoon Industries.”

  Jiwon straightened, tugging me behind him as Xiao and Sungmin appeared in the doorway. “When you put it that nicely, no, you can fuck off.”

  Despite everything, I was still surprised to hear him speak like that to his grandfather. Not that I wasn’t inwardly cheering him for it. Jiwon’s grandfather, smiled at him with cold amusement.

  Jiwon turned, and with his hand still clamped around my wrist, glowered at Jihun’s men. “Move.”

  I wasn’t sure if it was because Xiao and Sungmin were there, or because Jiwon looked like he was about to put his fist through the chest of anyone who tried to stop him, but they parted like the Red Sea.

  I hurried after him. Both Sungmin and Xiao waited until we had passed them before closing up ranks behind us. Nobody said anything until we were in the elevator heading back down. Instead of the parking lot, someone had parked the car on the street. And by parked, I mean they pretty much abandoned it with the engine still running.

  “Jiwon!” Sungmin barked at the last moment.

  Jiwon paused and looked back over his shoulder. Whatever he saw, he let go of my hand and Sungmin stepped forward to take it. “What-”

  “Not now,” Sungmin told me as we left the building.

  The car had gained some attention. Looking at the people in suits, it was probably because of how it had been left, rather than who had left it there, but there was enough of a crowd that Sungmin had made the right call. We hurried across the sidewalk and quickly got in the car.

  It was only when we were moving, Xiao driving – that explained the parking skills – that Jiwon turned around from the front passenger seat. His normal golden skin had been replaced with something tinged with gray. “Katie, are you…?”

  “I’m fine,” I said. Seeing the various looks of disbelief, I patted myself down, before my hands settled on my stomach. “We’re both fine, I promise. They didn’t touch me or roughhouse me.”

  Sungmin pulled me to him, holding me tightly in his arms as his chin rested on the top of my head. “What happened?”

  “I went to Hongdae to distract myself. It got late and I figured I’d get a taxi back to avoid the rush hour subway. I thought I was getting into a taxi.”

  “How could you mistake a car for a taxi?” Jiwon demanded, angrily.

  I sat up and scowled at him. “I was on the phone, at a taxi rank, and when some guy asked me if I was waiting for one when a car pulled up in front of me, I assumed that was a taxi.”

  “You shouldn’t have been out by yourself,” he said, glowering at me.

  “Why?” I snapped. “Did you think your grandfather was going to kidnap me?”

  “Enough,” Xiao said, calmly. “Nobody expected that to happen and Kate is unharmed.”

  “What did he say to you?” Jiwon demanded, still irritable.

  “Not much more than what he said to you,” I told him. Sungmin pulled me back to him and I relaxed into him. “He wants you to not re-sign your contract with Onyx and there were some mixed messages about me being a suitable wife.”

  “That makes no sense,” Jiwon muttered.

  I nodded. “You’re telling me.” I stared out of the window, surprised that we seemed to be heading home. “Don’t you guys have a show?”

  “It’s a radio show and there’s no point in going to it now. It will be almost finished by the time we arrive,” Sungmin explained, pulling out his phone. I glanced down at the screen, watching him tap out a message to the group chat explaining that we were fine and taking me home.

  “What do you know about your grandfather’s business?” I asked Jiwon.

  Jiwon turned around to look at me and shrugged. “Nothing. I quit school to become an idol. I’ve been doing that since I was a kid.”

  “Then why would he even want you to go run the family business? He might as well ask me to do it because we’ve got the same experience.”

  “I don’t know, and I don’t care. I have no interest in leaving Onyx, and even if I did, I would not go work for him.”

  제26 장

  Not By The Moon

  I spent what was left of their promotion convinced that Jiwon’s grandfather was going to make another guest appearance in my life. For the first few days after, Sungmin barely left my side, and then, there was always one of the other guys in the house for a few hours every day.

  For those first few days, I’d also been unable to leave the house unless Sungmin was with me. That had gotten old very quickly and after I had politely pointed out that I was a pregnant nobody and I had no intention of getting into strange cars by myself, I had been able to go for walks by myself.

  I appreciated the concern and the fact they were all trying to look out for me, but I refused to let myself feel like a prisoner. It was already hard enough being in a strange country with nobody I knew that wasn’t my boyfriends or Holly.

  Which was why I was beyond ecstatic when I received an invitation to Atlantis Entertainment’s annual Halloween Party. Once I’d established that fancy dress costumes for pregnant women were of slim pickings and narrowed down to zero when adding in the fact they had to fit a tall American pregnant woman, I had made my own.

  I left my bedroom, walking down the hallway to the living room like I was on a runway. I was rewarded by mouths dropping open or massive smiles. I gave them a curtsey as best I could considering my ‘dress’ was a disco ball.

  “How are you going to get to Atlantis in that?” Sungmin asked. He was dressed as The Phantom of the Opera. He’d used the mask to hide his scar.

  “It has a clasp at the back and I’ll put it on when we get there,” I beamed, having already considered that. It wasn’t that big, but it was solid and it wasn’t safe to wear in the car. In all honesty, at twenty-nine weeks, I was enormous, and the bump was touching the inside of ball. Getting in and out of a car was going to be fun anyway.

  CX was dressed as Jon Snow. That didn’t surprise me one bit. He came over to me, peering at my eyes. “You’re glittery.”

/>   I nodded. As well as the metallic silver eyeshadow, I’d put a sprinkling of glitter in my hair and on my face too. I glanced over at Jiwon, finding him watching me with curious eyes. He was the hottest Aladdin I had ever seen, but he had his chest on full display, so I wasn’t complaining.

  JongB was completely hidden behind a Venom outfit, beside him, Xiao was not in a Hello Kitty outfit which I’d half expected him to be. Instead, complete with a head he was holding in his arms, he had opted to dress as Cony, the rabbit from Line Friends.

  The only one missing was MinMin, but he had been filming a CF – a commercial – for some moisturizing cream and still wasn’t back. He’d said it was going to be a late shoot and he didn’t think he’d be able to attend. “Can we go now?” I asked, impatiently.

  I’d been doing my best to hide it around the others when they were home, but the truth was I was getting tired again easily and I knew that if we didn’t go soon, I wouldn’t go at all. I wanted to try to enjoy a couple of hours before I needed to go to bed.

  I also only had about three hours before Baby Gem would start breakdancing on my bladder or kickboxing my uterus, and those kicks had slowly become more painful at times. According to the doctor, it was completely normal, and no kicking was more worrying.

  “Someone is eager to party,” Xiao grinned.

  “Yes, and this party better have food.”

  “I think you’ll be happy,” Sungmin chuckled, leading me out to the car. Once there, I flicked the clip and stepped out of the dress, as gracefully as I could with Baby Gem front and center.

  The advantage to the party being at Atlantis meant that the red carpet didn’t exist. Idols and actors could enter through the underground parking. Seriously, the architect who had invented that needed a city named after him or something.

  With a little help from MinMin and Sungmin, I got back into my giant bauble and we entered the building from below. The party was being held in a function room on the top floor that I had never been in before.