Seungjin had been cold with me when I had first moved out. He was suspicious and probably influenced by Sejin. Our relationship had turned positively arctic when I’d disbanded Bright Boys, but had started to thaw out as I’d moved him into Zodiac and a sub-unit group.
Unfortunately, we seemed to be stuck in a permanent state of winter, because whenever he started to warm up to me, I’d do something—whether it was my fault or the company’s—and the ice age would set in again.
Judging from the dark looks he kept sending my way, he was still pissed at the abrupt ending of our meeting the other day.
“When is your next comeback, Seungjin?” Sonha asked.
From across the table, Seungjin shot me a pointed look. “Holly pushed it back.”
My chopsticks hovered over the plate in front of me. The reason I had pushed it back was because one of the members of Zodiac had worked himself to breaking point, and if I hadn’t, he’d have ended up hospitalized—or worse.
Something that, not only was Seungjin aware of, but had agreed with the whole Zodiac that they would take a break for a couple of months, so they could all get some rest.
And of course, that decision was now my fault.
“And now you are trying to damage Seungjin’s career?” Park Sonha asked.
“Yep. That’s exactly my plan,” I muttered under my breath, not bothering with honorifics.
“Excuse me?” Sonha asked, scowling at me.
I gave her a fake smile and, this time with honorifics, practically yelled at her. “Seungjin and his sub-unit will be having a comeback next month. Zodiac will have a full album release in the spring.”
Sonha’s eyes narrowed further. “I’m not deaf.”
“They’re going to LA to film the video just after Christmas. Perhaps you’d like to go with them. I’d be happy to buy you a ticket out there?”
“Holly,” Woojin warned as Seungjin looked mortified.
The warning wasn’t because of Seungjin, although realistically, Sonha wouldn’t be able to go anyway. It was because he’d picked up on my subtle suggestion of only buying a one-way ticket.
Taking a sip of my drink, I tried to shake the irritation off me. When it came to Park Sonha, I was easily wound up and found sarcasm a reliable ally. She was the reason my mom had moved to Chicago and I couldn’t forgive her for that.
“How are plans for the Halloween Party coming along?” Woojin asked.
I licked my lips and focused on my plate, trying to work out how to answer that without upsetting everyone at the table.
The truth was, terrible.
It wasn’t until I had started to find caterers that I realized a meeting with a party planner a month before Halloween was ridiculous. This wasn’t an album launch or an award show. This was an event which happened every year, like Christmas. And things like caterers and room decorators booked up early. Why wait so late to get in touch—unless someone had told them to.
Considering how much money was going to get thrown into this party, I was skeptical that the party planner we always used would suddenly decide to cancel their work with us just because I was running late.
Yes, it was bad form on my part, but there was something suspicious about this.
And seeing as this was the company Sejin always used… I had drawn my own conclusions.
“I think it will be one of the best parties yet,” I told him.
“Isn’t the Halloween party Sejin’s job?” Sonha asked, shooting me a glower.
“This year Holly is giving Atlantis the best party we’ve ever had,” Woojin said, proudly.
I was no longer hungry.
“Such an odd party,” Sonha said. “In my day, there was no Halloween. I don’t understand the craze to dress up as a monster and party. It’s very unbecoming.”
“I’m not going to be a monster, halmeoni,” Seungjin told her. “I’m going as Ne Zha.”
“And who is that, dear?”
Jun had been obsessed with that film. And unless I was mistaken, Ne Zha was part demon, which meant he was a monster…
But he was also rather mortal looking and spent half the film wearing only pants and showing off his sculptured (computer generated) abs off. Which meant Seungjin was going to be wandering around the party topless.
Ew.
Huh… if my first reaction was ew, maybe I was starting to see Seungjin as my annoying baby brother.
I spent what was left of brunch listening to Seungjin tell his grandmother about the plot to Ne Zha and how, as part of the 1SO: Fire sub-unit, it would make an excellent theme for their comeback video.
By the time we’d finished, I made a hasty exit. I’d had enough of my grandmother for this month. These meals were for her benefit. With Seungjin at Atlantis, it was the rare opportunity she got to see him. Woojin insisted I came along to ‘try to get to know her better’.
I much preferred the occasional lunches I had with Woojin at Atlantis. He always seemed less … judgmental … when she wasn’t there.
Instead of heading home, I went back to Atlantis. Although it was a Saturday, the building was busy like it was a weekday. With all the idols and actors, there was normally someone working, so they were usually about. About sixty percent of the office employees worked the usual Monday to Friday, but the rest were in on a Saturday, and a smaller number on the Sunday.
Entertainment didn’t stop. If anything, it was busier at the weekend.
H3RO had something scheduled in the morning, but at some point in the afternoon, they would be free. Kyun and I were going to meet Ha Jeonggu in the early evening, opting for a restaurant in Gimpo. It was far enough away that fans would be unlikely to on the lookout, but close enough that it wasn’t too much of a drive.
Until then, I had a party to organize.
In the comfort of my office, I kicked off my shoes and took a seat on one of the couches, curling my feet under me as I read through the many emails decorators had sent me. There were a number of companies in Seoul who specialized in decorating venues to a specific theme, and unsurprisingly, all were politely explaining that they would be unable to decorate the top floor of Atlantis.
I rubbed at the back of my neck, trying to work out a pain from being hunched over my iPad at an awkward angle. Maybe the function room would be fine without decorating?
Feeling the need for inspiration, a trip to the room the party was going to be held in was needed. I walked over to the door, opened it, and found Minhyuk, about to knock.
“Oh,” he said, surprised.
“Minhyuk? What are you doing here?”
“I said I would help with the party planning. Kyun said you were here doing that before you went out on your date later.”
Kyun had asked me not to tell the others what we were doing later. I had a feeling that he was worried about what Tae would say, so I had promised I would let him be the one to tell the others when he was ready.
“I’m just heading upstairs to the function room. Want to come?”
Minhyuk’s gaze fell to my feet. “Don’t you need shoes?”
“I’ll be right back,” I said, hurrying into the office and slipping my heels back on and took the elevator to the top floor.
The elevator opened out into the function room. It was a large room with a stage. One of the walls between the elevator and the stage was made up almost entirely of windows, or large glass doors. Rain was currently lashing against it.
Inside, the room was full of comfortable seats. When the function room wasn’t being used as that, it was an area for staff and idols to chill out, with access to the roof terrace for fresh air—when it wasn’t raining.
“I can’t not decorate this,” I muttered, wandering out into the empty room. It was the kind of place that needed decorating and I’d seen plenty of photographs to know it could look unrecognizable in here.
“What’s the matter?” Minhyuk asked as we followed my aimless route.
“Inhye spent the week contacting all the room dres
sers in the city… and the surrounding areas. No one is available to dress this room. One could do it the weekend before, but then I need to keep the room out of use.” I perched on the arm of a chair and looked around. “Maybe I should just do that.”
Minhyuk slowly spun on the spot before looking at me. “Why don’t you use the set designers? I saw the rainforest set they did for Cupcake’s second comeback this year. If it wasn’t for the fact I was chatting to Seorin the night they wrapped, I would have thought they’d been filming on location.”
I stared at the genius in front of me, my mouth open.
OK, technically, Minhyuk wasn’t a genius. But right then, he might as well have been.
I jumped up and kissed him. “I don’t suppose you have any ideas for catering?” I shook my head. “Let’s head back to my office. I need to look at the schedule the set designers have this month.”
When I’d moved into the Vice Chairwoman position, the set design team was one of the teams whose existence I’d questioned. Atlantis was a growing company and we’d officially made it to the Top Five. If things continued as they were, we were likely to be pushing our way into the Big Four.
But an inhouse set design team was very extravagant. The smaller companies definitely didn’t have one—employee numbers were kept to a minimum.
Right now, if they could pull this off, they would be getting a Halloween bonus.
I hurried into my office and settled onto the couch, grabbing the iPad from where I had left it. As I hurriedly brought up the information I needed, Minhyuk stayed standing, moving behind me.
Just as I was typing out an email to the design team manager, his hands settled on my shoulder, slipping underneath the collar of my dress. Before I could ask him what he was doing, he started massaging.
The email was temporarily forgotten about as my head lolled to the side. “Oh, that feels good,” I moaned.
Minhyuk climbed up behind me, his legs hanging either side of me as he sat down on the back of the couch. “What about the chefs in the canteen?”
“I mean, if you want to massage everyone, you can, but please finish what you’ve started first.”
“I mean to cater your party. It’s not like it’s a seven-course meal. It’s a party. You need finger food. The bar is more important.”
The bar was the one thing I had taken care of, thankfully. I’d been getting to the point where I was going to bribe them into making everyone’s drink a triple; if everyone was drunk, they wouldn’t remember how bad the party was.
Turning, I looked up at Minhyuk. “How set are you on staying in H3RO?” I asked. “Because with ideas like that, I will make you a member of the executive board.”
“Although I like the idea that maybe then I’d be able to go out in public with you without being hounded, I just re-signed a seven-year contract with H3RO.” He gave me a cheeky grin, biting his tongue.
“Then I will just have to keep stealing you away like this.” I turned my attention back to the iPad to finish my email.
As I brought up a new email to contact the catering manager, Minhyuk’s hands moved closer to my neck, making me moan in pleasure. My head rolled back, and then Minhyuk’s mouth was on my throat.
I closed my eyes. “Minhyuk-ah, I don’t think you realize how good that feels,” I groaned. “If you keep doing that, you’re going to—oh!”
Before I could finish what I was saying, while still sucking at a very sensitive spot on my neck, Minhyuk’s hands slid down, into my bra.
He definitely realized.
Moving the iPad to the side before I dropped it on the floor, I relaxed back against him. Under my bra, his fingertips and the hint of a nail scratched at the tips of my nipples. It was the lightest of touches, but it was maddeningly tormenting. I arched my back, needed him to be firmer, all while enjoying sensation.
“Minhyuk, I need more,” I told him when the teasing became too much.
His hands slipped out of my dress, and I was about to grab them and put them back when he moved. There was a dancer’s grace to the twirl Minhyuk pulled off as the next thing I knew, he was straddling my lap.
“Hey,” I said, softly. “Are you sure you want to do this here?”
Minhyuk gave me a half shrug. “Does it matter?” he asked before kissing me.
As his tongue teased at my lips, I winced internally and pushed him back. “Does it matter to you? You went to a lot of effort to candles and—”
Cupping my face, Minhyuk shook his head. “Holly, it’s fine.” He lowered his head, reclaiming my lips.
Switching the voice in the back of my head to silent, I lost myself in the kiss. Minhyuk was a grown-ass man. I was already turned on and if he wanted sex here, I was not about to deprive either of us.
As his tongue entered my mouth, his hands slid down my body to my waist, settling above my hips. Without breaking the kiss, he slid off me, holding my waist firmly. Lifting me, he laid me down on the couch.
The dress I was wearing had a pencil skirt to it—tight and restricting. Although Minhyuk was in no hurry to help me from it, I pulled the skirt up over my hips. No sooner had I done that, Minhyuk had climbed between them. I wrapped my legs around his waist, holding him close.
As he rubbed up against me, he groaned into my mouth.
The sound was intoxicating.
Wanting to hear more, I reached for his waistband, tugging the button open and his zipper down. Just as my hand wrapped around his cock, there was a knock at the door.
Illusion
I tore my mouth from Minhyuk’s. “Just a minute!” I hollered.
Minhyuk pulled back, his eyes wide with panic. “Holly?”
“Did you lock the door?” I asked him.
Instead of answering, he leaped off me, flinging himself at the other couch.
I jumped up to my feet, pulling my skirt down, just as someone knocked again. I had been so distracted with the damn set designers that I hadn’t thought to lock the door. Then again, I hadn’t been expecting Minhyuk to make a move.
Just as I got to the door, it opened. “Kyun?” I blurted out, almost laughing in relief. “What are you doing here?”
Kyun cocked his head, his eyes narrowing. “We need to leave soon to get to Gimpo.”
“Is it that time already?”
“Why do you look so flustered?” He stepped forward, peering around the door. When his eyes fell on Minhyuk, he cocked his head in the other direction. “Have I just walked in on what I think I’ve just walked in on?”
“Yes,” Minhyuk grunted, irritably.
I scratched the back of my head as Kyun looked at me. “Yeah,” I said, softly.
“Fuck my life, I’ve become Jun.” He slapped his palm to his face, shaking his head. “I’ve become my own worst nightmare.” Slowly, Kyun backed out of the room, muttering something under his breath as he shut the door.
Suddenly feeling exhausted, I made my way back to the couch and sat down on it. “I’m sorry. I should have made sure the door was locked.”
“I think this is the universe punishing me for waiting so long,” Minhyuk muttered, refusing to look at me.
I got up and moved beside him. “Punishing you? There isn’t a time limit on this. If you weren’t ready, I would wait as long as you needed. I think the problem is not communicating with the others.”
Minhyuk gave me a sour luck. “I don’t particularly want to announce to them that I’m going to lose my virginity.”
“No,” I agreed. “But we should tell them that this is our time and they need to leave us alone.”
“I don’t want them to be there at all.”
“Then let’s get away for a night.”
Minhyuk’s eyes lit up. “Book a hotel room?”
That wasn’t exactly what I meant, but I shrugged. “Sure. A place with just you and me. A place with no interruptions and a Do Not Disturb sign on the door.”
“I will book somewhere,” Minhyuk said, with a firm nod of his head. He got to his fe
et and started walking towards the door.
“Not tonight,” I hurriedly called after him.
He stopped and turned, his shoulders slumping. “Oh. You have that date with Kyun.”
“I can’t reschedule this, Minhyuk.”
“After next weekend. We will have finished promotions.” Minhyuk’s eyes lit up. “We can do something then, right?”
I nodded. “I’ll make sure to tell the others—”
“No need,” Minhyuk cut me off, looking serious. “Leave it all with me.” He walked out of the room, leaving the door open.
Moments later, Kyun walked in, rubbing at the back of his neck. “Sorry.”
Letting out a long sigh, I stood. Slipping my iPad into my purse, I walked with him out of my office. After stopping in the bathroom to check my appearance and straighten my dress, we went down to the parking lot.
This time, I drove.
As Kyun’s leg bounced up and down beside me, I was beginning to regret not picking somewhere closer. It was a long drive to make when you were nervous.
Eventually, we pulled up outside of the small restaurant I had found. According to Ha Jeonggu, he lived just outside of Gimpo, so this had felt like fairly neutral ground.
The family-run bibimbap restaurant was almost empty. The few people that were in didn’t give us a second look as we walked past them to a table in the back.
We’d arrived on time, but I had been hoping Ha Jeonggu would have been waiting for us. I’d not actually considered the possibility of him being a no-show after all the weeks of trying to see his son.
“He changed his mind, didn’t he?” Kyun asked, his gaze locked on the front door.
“I’m sure he’s just running late,” I said, stirring the oksusu cha—corn tea—I’d ordered while we waited. Kyun’s sat untouched in front of him.
Underneath the table, his leg started jiggling again. Just as I was about to reach over and put my hand on it, Kyun’s back straightened as he sat bolt-upright in his seat. “That’s him.”
I looked over, recognizing the man from the CCTV footage I had seen. He followed the hostess over to our table, not seeing Kyun until he came close.
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