by J. S. Lee
ONYX: Unity
Onyx, Book 4
An Atlantis Entertainment Novel
J. S. Lee
Axellia Publishing
Onyx: Unity
Copyright © 2019 J. S. Lee
All rights reserved.
First edition, October 2019
Published by Axellia Publishing
Print ISBN: 978-1-912644-95-7
eBook AISN: B07WCGXMBQ
Cover design by Natasha Snow Designs;
www.natashasnowdesigns.com
Onyx logo by Shezna Love
Edited by C. Lesley
Proofread by S. Harvell
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, distributed, stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval systems, in any forms or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, without express permission of the author, unless for the purpose of a review which may quote brief passages for a review purpose.
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locations are used fictitiously. Other characters, names, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblances to actual events, locations, or persons – living or dead – is entirely coincidental.
CONTENTS
CONTENTS
DEDICATION
THE ATLANTIS ENTERTAINMENT UNIVERSE
K-101
제 1 장
제 2 장
제 3 장
제 4 장
제 5 장
제 6 장
제 7 장
제 8 장
제 9 장
제 10 장
제 11 장
제 12 장
제 13 장
제 14 장
제 15 장
제 16 장
제 17 장
제 18 장
제 19 장
제 20 장
제 21 장
제 22 장
제 23 장
CHAPTER TITLES
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
CHARACTER BIOGRAPHIES
ATLANTIS ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
WAYS TO CONNECT
DEDICATION
To my Atlantians.
You’re the reason I write.
You’re the reason Onyx became real.
THE ATLANTIS ENTERTAINMENT UNIVERSE
New Adult Reverse Harem
(As J. S. Lee)
H3RO
Idol Thoughts
Idol Worship
Idol Gossip
Onyx
Onyx: Truth
Onyx: Heart
Onyx: Love
Onyx: Unity
Coming Soon
Onyx: Forever
Young Adult Contemporary Romance
(As Ji Soo Lee)
Zodiac
The Idol Who Became Her World
The Girl Who Gave Him The Moon
The Dancer Who Saved Her Soul
Coming Soon
The Leader Who Fell From The Sky
C. L. Coffey & J. S. Lee
New Adult Reverse Harem
The Goddess of Fate & Destiny
Cursed Luck
Coming Soon
Stolen Luck
Twisted Luck
Chosen Luck
K-101
For those of you unfamiliar with K-Pop / K-Dramas / Korean culture, here’s a short handy guide:
Names in Korean are written family name then given name. It’s not uncommon to use the full name when addressing a person – even one you’re close to.
김영빈 is the Korean way of writing Kim Youngbin.
윤지원 is the Korean way of writing Yoon Jiwon – pronounced like Gee-one
임종섭 is the Korean way of writing Im Jongsub (JongB)
공민혁 is the Korean way of writing Gong Minhyuk (MinMin)
렌용식 is the Korean way of writing Ren Yongsik. However, as Yongsik goes by his stage name, CX, it would be written 시엑스.
Xiao is a little different he is Chinese. It would therefore be spelled out phonetically in Korean. (For those curious, it would be 샤오 which is really hard to write phonetically but would be pronounced she-yaow – run it all together to make one syllable.)
Surnames (Family names)
As the western worlds combined, we ended up with a lot of variation in surnames. In Korea, although there is variation, you will find a lot Kims, Lees, and Parks. To try to keep things as easy to follow as possible, I have tried to make sure that all characters don’t have the same surname unless they’re in the same family – like Holly. However, in reality, this is most often not the case.
BTS, for example have Kim Namjoon (RM), Kim Seokjin (Jin), and Kim Taehyung (V). They all share the same family name, but they are not related.
Oppa (오빠), hyung (형), noona (누나), and oennie (언니)
This one gets a little confusing at first. The first thing you need to know, in Korea, age is a very important thing. It’s not uncommon for you to be asked your age before your name because you need to be spoken to with the correct level of respect (known as honorifics). To show this, there’s actually several ways to speak to address a person and it usually depends on your age (an exception to this might be in a place of work where someone younger than you is more senior to you). But I’ll keep this simple and limit myself to terms used in the book.
Traditionally, oppa, hyung, noona, and unnie are terms used to describe your older sibling – depending on what sex you are and what sex they are. If you are male, your older brother is hyung and your older sister is noona. If you are female, your older brother is your oppa, and your older sister is unnie (technically, 언니 when Romanized is oennie, but unnie has become a more standard way of writing this). However, this can often be transferred to people you are close to. A girl will call her older boyfriend oppa. An idol will call his older groupmates hyung.
Sunbae (선배) and Hoobae (후배)
Along the same vein, sunbae (senior) and hoobae (junior) may be used as an alternative when using experience as a basis, rather than age.
Other
Comeback: this is an odd one for most people. Your next single isn’t just your next single. It’s a comeback – and it doesn’t matter if you’ve waited two months or two years.
Kakao: Kakao is a messaging app similar to Whatsapp or WeChat.
SNS: What we would call Social Media, Koreans use the term Social Networking Service. Included in this would be V Live, an app which allows Korean idols to communicate with their fans (a bit like Instagram Live)
화이팅: Fighting, or ‘hwaiting’ is a word commonly used as encouragement, like ‘good luck’ or ‘let’s do this’.
Maknae: a term used for the youngest member of a group.
‘Ya!’: The Korean equivalent to ‘Hey!’
제 X 장: Chapter (pronounced jae X jang)
AAA Pass: Access All Areas Pass. Usually reserved for artists and key members of staff – this is the pass that will let you backstage and in areas like the green room.
Character Bios are also available at the back of this book
More terms and information is available on Ji Soo’s website:
www.jislooleeauthor.com/k101
제 1 장
I Won’t Let You Go
I always thought people were exaggerating when they said they were going out of their mind, but after two weeks of house arrest and almost no company for most of the day, I was sure I was close to sitting in a corner, rocking.
I was B O R E D – BORED.
I had been released from the hospital with a two-week prescription of antibiotics, thanks to a deep cut on m
y palm, and whisked away to Holly’s apartment. I knew there was no real way that I could stay with Onyx, not with the media shitstorm which was happening, but I hadn’t expected to be locked away in an apartment building by myself.
Although ‘someone’ (it had to be Jiwon, considering it was from his phone), had released the messages between him and Anita, fans were still upset about the photos of me and Jiwon. If Anita was public enemy number one, I was number two.
I picked up my phone and checked the social media sites. It was almost a compulsion to check them regularly. I’d had to set my profile to private and had been completely avoiding my photography pages. As soon as my name had come up, I had been bombarded with messages.
At first, the majority hadn’t been particularly pleasant. Even with my limited Korean skills (my speaking was much, much better than my writing), I could tell a lot of people were cussing me out and telling me to die.
Despite the ‘leaked’ messages, there were a lot of Onyx’s fans who didn’t believe it. There were even more who were happy to tell me they didn’t believe that Jiwon would ever pick me, but it was all my fault Onyx was caught up in this scandal.
Surprisingly, it was the international fans who were nicer.
Most of them, at least.
Mixed in with all the hate messages were supportive ones: So what if he’s dating her? I just want Jiwon to be happy, and if this woman makes him happy, who cares? Or She’s pretty. I can see why Jiwonie would want to be with her!
But I was stuck in Seoul, and the international fans were in every country but South Korea. And, as Holly had pointed out, with my pale skin and blonde hair, I was kinda noticeable in Seoul. For my own protection, as much as it was damage control for Onyx, I had agreed to stay with Holly.
Or, at least, I was staying in Holly’s apartment. Holly was working extremely long days. Aside from the scandal with Onyx, she had been muttering about her brother leaving more steaming piles of crap behind, and she was also trying to launch a new boy group and a new girl group. Plus, she had six boyfriends to look after.
Unfortunately, Onyx didn’t have the same luxury. Holly had insisted they carry on with their promotions, as much as they could with MinMin being injured.
I flopped down on the couch to watch the television upside down. It had taken a week of being there before Holly had bought a new television for the living room. I was already bored of it. At least my Korean was improving. Perfect for translating the messages which were being sent to me…
I rolled off the couch and walked to the kitchen, pulling the refrigerator open. Holly was going to buy groceries on the way home, and the shelves were as empty as they had been the last time that I had looked an hour ago.
The only good thing about Holly’s apartment was that she had her own gym. It wasn’t huge, but it had the basic machines and some weights – which was probably a lot more than most apartments had. The squishy curves I had been adding to while I had been flying around the world and not thinking about my diet were now a thing of the past. Exercise and television. The only things I had to occupy myself.
I caught my reflection in the stainless-steel refrigerator door and pouted. My hair was artificially blonde. It was light naturally, but I had been lightening it further – until the tour had started – and now I had roots.
I wanted a trip to a salon.
But if I was allowed to leave the house, the first place I was going, was to find Onyx.
Thankfully, none of us had a phone ban, and I was constantly messaging the guys, and them me. A few video calls… but it wasn’t the same.
I glanced at the clock on the oven and sighed. Holly had left that morning saying that she would send a car for me at four to bring me to Atlantis. It was currently two and I had been clock watching since she had left. Even after a particularly long workout, a bath, some preening (it was going to be the first time I saw the guys), and a few drama episodes, time was taunting me.
My gaze drifted to the backpack I had left by the door for later. Inside was a potential ticking timebomb. Something which would either make things better, or act like a nuke and completely destroy everything.
My phone bleeped at me and I launched myself across the room, back onto the couch where I had left it.
MinMin: Rehab would be much better if you were the one doing it with me, Kateniss.
The car accident hadn’t left MinMin with broken bones, but the glass had done some damage. The surgeon had told him it would likely need physiotherapy and he had been right. MinMin was spending several hours a day doing exercises in an attempt to get back to the same dancing skills as he had before the accident.
Kate: Much as I want to be there to see you, I’d rather you had a professional helping you. I wouldn’t know where to start, and honestly, I would be wanting to keep you off your feet more than I would want you on them.
MinMin: You say that like it’s a bad thing…
Well, no…
Kate: The sooner you’re back on your feet, the sooner I’ll get you off them – I promise. We just need to get your stamina up.
MinMin: There’s nothing wrong with my stamina. Come over and I’ll show you…
I was ready to reply when an alert went off on my phone. There was a new post from one of my favorite K-pop news sites – it was American and liked Onyx. There was a new post about them. K-Black Gems Picket Atlantis Dorms.
By the time I had finished reading it, I was ready to throw my phone off the balcony. K-fans – Korean fans – were camping outside of the dorms Onyx lived in, with signs demanding Jiwon left Onyx.
I closed my eyes and took several deep breaths. There was nothing I wanted more than to be with Onyx, but not at this price.
The hell with it. I was supposed to be at Atlantis shortly anyway. I would go now, speak to Holly before any of Onyx could stop me, and break my own heart, but end all this madness.
After showering earlier, I had pulled on a pair of shorts and a baseball jersey. Nothing special, but I didn’t have anything smart. What I was wearing wasn’t important. The message that I was going to deliver was.
I pulled on my shoes and walked over to the door, scooping up my bag before pulling the door open.
With a small squeal, I dropped the bag, stumbling backwards, as Jiwon suddenly appeared.
When you stepped off the elevator on Holly’s floor, there was a small waiting room and Holly’s front door. It was completely private. He hadn’t really just appeared, but fuck me, it had scared me. I wasn’t expecting anyone there, much less a member of Onyx who was forbidden from coming over here.
I didn’t even realize he knew where I was staying.
“I knew it!” he exclaimed, glowering at me.
“Hello to you too,” I gasped, one hand clutching at my chest above my pounding heart. I caught my breath and then reached over and punched his shoulder. “What the fuck, Jiwon?”
“Don’t ‘what the fuck?’ me, Kate,” he snapped, pushing past me. “Not when I should be what the fucking you?”
“That… that doesn’t make any sense,” I told him. I closed the door and then turned back to him.
“You were going to Atlantis, weren’t you?” he demanded.
“Oh,” I said with a soft sigh.
“I fucking knew it!”
I held my hands up. “Don’t,” I told him, firmly. “Just don’t. They are standing outside your dorms with signs demanding that you leave Onyx. Just because you’re dating me!”
“We’re all dating you!”
My hands dropped, balling into fists. “And yet they’re not asking for anyone else to leave the group. I know how much Onyx means to all of you. I know how messed up your family life is because of Onyx. So if you think I’m just going to stand here and let things get screwed up because of me-”
“And what about how much you mean to me?” Jiwon demanded. He stepped closer to me, glowering down at me. “It’s not just Onyx that I love.”
My breath caught in my throat at those
words. Despite being boxed in by him, despite the frustration radiating from him, despite the fact his expression was dark, I could see the truth of his words in his eyes. “Onyx is your life,” I told him, meeting his gaze despite my apologetic tone.
“Yes,” he agreed, gruffly. “And so are you.”
Before I could say another word, he was pressed up against me, pushing me back against the door. “I missed you,” he murmured. Wasting no further time, he kissed me.
I wasn’t about to stop him. I had missed him too.
Instead of using words, I allowed my tongue to tell him in other ways. Jiwon’s hands caught mine, linking his fingers through mine before he suddenly pushed them back against the door by the side of my head. He pulled back, glowering down at me. “Don’t think about pulling this shit again, Katie. If you don’t want to be in this, then so be it, but make sure you’re making that decision because of you, not because of me or Onyx. We’re stronger than that, and you’re better than that.”
“And I’ve seen how strong fans can be,” I felt the need to point out, even though I agreed with what he was saying. “I wasn’t going to do it because I wanted to, but because I felt I needed to.”
Jiwon’s expression softened. “You don’t need to.”
The look he gave me was enough to send an ache and longing straight between my legs. “I’ve missed you,” I whispered.
Heat shot through his gaze, searing me to my core. “Really? Because your actions were about to say otherwise.”
OK, he was still pissed. I couldn’t fault him for that.
I caught my lower lip between my teeth and pushed my chest out, rubbing up against him in the process. “Really.”
“How much?”
I gave him a coy smile. “Why don’t you find out?”
Jiwon let go of one of my hands, dipping his between my waistband and into my panties, sliding a finger along me. “Fuck,” he ground out, closing his eyes. The look he gave me when he opened them was almost primal. As was the growl in the back of his throat.
