Onyx: Unity

by J. S. Lee

  CX pursed his lips, looking at the three other doors in the room.

  “There are enough bedrooms for us each to have one to ourselves,” I told him.

  “Pick a room, Yongsik,” Taeyoon all but growled.

  With his back to his manager, CX let out an exasperated sigh before turning and politely bobbing his head. I was left alone with Taeyoon as CX went to choose a room.

  “I don’t approve,” he said. “It’s not normal.”

  “Does this mean you’re going to split us up?” I asked. Maybe I had been watching too many dramas in the last two weeks, but I was expecting him to pull out a wad of money and offer it in exchange for breaking up with the guys.

  Taeyoon let out a weary sigh but shook his head. “I’ve been around these guys as long as they’ve been a group. They’re my family. I’m not going to do anything to hurt my family. I’m just going to hope that you’re not going to do anything to screw it up for them. Because you came close to it with those photographs with Jiwon.”

  I didn’t want to tell him it was something I constantly thought about. “Relationships work both ways and they want to be with me as much as I want to be with them. All of them. Instead of worrying about how I’m going to screw it up, maybe you could help us all out so that we don’t screw it up.”

  “Nobody is going to screw anything up,” Xiao declared, coolly, as he walked over to Taeyoon. “Which is why we should leave.”

  “We need MinMin,” Taeyoon said, folding his arms.

  “I’m here,” MinMin called. It took a few moments for his body to join his voice. His movements seemed to have slowed.

  “Are you OK?” Taeyoon asked. I wasn’t the only one to have noticed. “Your instructions were to rest.” His look of concern turned to one of irritation as he looked at me.

  “It wasn’t just Kate.”

  Taeyoon, MinMin and I turned and stared in disbelief at Xiao. Before I could point out that was maybe a little too much information for their manager to know, Taeyoon held his hands up. “You know, the only way this is going to work is if I don’t know anything. Whatever happens in this house, stays in this house; it’s none of my business.” Without waiting for a response, he turned abruptly on his heel, and walked out.

  My hands settled on my hips as I arched an eyebrow at Xiao. “Really? You really think telling your manager what the three of us got up to last night is a smart move?”

  Xiao shrugged. “For all Manager Taeyoon knows, we could have been playing Twister.”

  “We all know, including Manager Taeyoon, that no one was playing Twister last night,” MinMin informed him. He glanced up at his group mate with an unimpressed expression.

  “I don’t know,” Xiao mused, rubbing his jaw, thoughtfully. “I think I got a little twisting action from Kate’s tongue.”

  “Get out before your manager drives off without you,” I said, rolling my eyes. I waited until they followed Taeyoon out through the elevator before I flopped onto the couch.

  “Did you sleep with Xiao and MinMin?”

  I turned my head, finding CX in the doorway, watching me. I nodded, and then propped myself up. “Yes,” I told him, truthfully. I mean, it wasn’t like I hadn’t done things with him and Xiao before. When CX didn’t move, or say anything, I sat upright and fixed him a smile. “Did you pick a room?”

  CX nodded.

  “Did things just get weird?” I asked him.

  “No, I just…” he trailed off and shook his head. He straightened his back, sucked in a deep breath, and then a bold smile appeared on his face. “I came with a present. One that’s better than sex.”

  Images of last night flashed through my mind. “That is a mighty strong declaration, CX,” I told him, standing up. I walked over. “Because we’ve had some amazing sex, and I’m not sure it could be topped.”

  “Unless I’m offering you freedom,” he teased. Before he explained, he darted back into his bedroom. Curiosity piqued, I followed after him.

  I was immediately distracted by his bedroom. The wall was a pale grey, accented by olive green items – the bedspread, a rug, a few pieces of artwork including an enormous canvas painting of a dragon above the bed. I could see why CX had picked this one.

  The bed was big. Nowhere near the size of the thing in my own room, but certainly big enough for more than two people to have space. With a second glance, I realized the bedhead had dragons engraved into it.

  Yup; this room had CX’s name all over it.

  One of the walls was covered in empty shelves, surrounding a writing desk which already had the box CX had carried in on top of it. CX picked up the black plastic bag and turned to me. “Your freedom,” he explained, holding the bag open.

  I took a couple of steps towards it and looked in. Boxes of hair dye. “I could kiss you,” I told him.

  “I’m not going to object,” he informed me, dropping the bag onto his bed and walking over to me.

  I wrapped my arms around him, instantly feeling at home – like being in them was exactly where I needed to be. I tilted my head upwards as he slanted his to meet my lips. As comforting and familiar as his embrace felt, his kiss had my heart pounding and heat rushing between my legs.

  He pulled back, smiling softly. “You’re the most beautiful woman I know,” he told me. “I am so thankful to the Vice Chairwoman for letting us have this house because I know we can be together.”

  Although it made me smile at how he still referred to Holly as the Vice Chairwoman, his words made me happy.

  “But much as I would love to stay here, I was sent here on the condition I help you out. You’ve got a job to do and I don’t want to get you in trouble.”

  “I do?” I asked, uncertainly.

  “Have you checked your messages?” he asked instead of answering.

  I shook my head slipping out of his arms. “Not since last night,” I admitted as I left his room and walked over to mine. I could sense CX just behind me, so I wasn’t surprised by his gasp as we walked into my room. Leaving him to stare in bewilderment at the bed – MinMin must have made it after leaving it earlier seeing as the bedding was pulled straight – I moved over to the dresser and picked up my phone.

  Aside from the battery being low because I’d not plugged it in, there were several messages in the group chat as well as from the guys who hadn’t spent the night. There were dozens of notifications from various SNS and news sites. And, there was also a missed call and voicemail from Holly.

  “I hope you like the place,” the voicemail said. “Especially that bed! However, I need your help. I have a group who need some photographs taken and seeing as you’re not on the tour yet, I was hoping I could book you for it. Tomorrow. No, wait, it’s past midnight – today. I’ve got a studio booked and the original photographer cancelled on me, hence the short notice. I’ll send a car to pick you up at ten. Unless it’s not OK – in which case call me ASAP.”

  I quickly sent her a message to assure her I would happily do the work.

  “That bed is huge!” CX exclaimed when I turned back to face him. I nodded my agreement. “And you had Xiao and MinMin in it last night?”

  I arched and eyebrow but nodded again.

  The peculiar expression reappeared on CX’s face. I couldn’t quite place it. “Oh.”

  “Are you sure that doesn’t bother you?” I asked him, slowly.

  CX moved his attention from the bed to me. “No,” he said. And then, before I could comment further, took my free hand and started to lead me back to his room. There, he emptied the contents of the black plastic bag on his bed. “I did get blonde,” he informed me, holding up a box with the same color as the current shade on my head. “However, Holly suggested we get something else, because everyone is looking out for a blonde American with us, and if you’ve gone to black or brunette, it might give you a few days of anonymity and the ability to leave the house, before anyone realizes it’s you.”

  “What shades of brown do you have?” I asked.

&n
bsp; 제 7 장

  Let’s Get Loud

  I went with the darkest shade of brown. I toyed with the black, and it was only because of a passing comment from CX that most Koreans had very dark brown hair that was almost black (or would be if they didn’t bleach it), that I figured it might buy me some anonymity for a little bit longer.

  While we waited for the hair dye to take, we finished eating the breakfast Xiao had cooked but I’d abandoned when CX had arrived. By the time I had rinsed the dye out, scrubbed at the stray spots on my skin, and then showered and dressed, CX was calling me from the living room: the car was here to take me to Atlantis.

  I was in my leggings and a red vest top (jeans were out – honestly, they were uncomfortable after last night). I’d been tempted to carry on wearing Xiao’s t-shirt, but the last thing we needed was for someone to recognize it – which sounds crazy, but I’d seen images on Twitter of a mole and a dozen responses to it, identifying who it belonged to.

  I stared at my reflection one last time, not recognizing it now that my hair was the opposite color to what it had been only a couple of hours before. I needed to get on a tanning bed – it made me look pale.

  I grabbed my backpack with my camera gear in it and walked out into the living room. CX was waiting by the door. “Are you not staying?”

  “I have to get back to the dorm,” he pouted. “It’s not my turn to move in.”

  “That’s a shame,” I sighed. I followed him to the elevator, but before he could step in, he kissed me. There was something almost sad about it. I pulled away and cocked my head, questioning him without words.

  “I miss you,” he told me, simply. Then, he stepped into the elevator.

  I followed. Outside it was one of those day where it was sunny and warm, but only when you were in the sun and not in the shade. In the underground area of the garage, it was just cold. The ‘car’ was another minibus, and sitting in the driver’s seat, his lips in a thin line, was Taeyoon.

  I gave him a bright smile I know he saw in the rearview mirror, as I slid into a seat. I started to take the seat next to CX, but Taeyoon whirled around. “The seat in the back.”

  I blinked. “Huh?”

  “We need to drop CX at the dorm on the way and I don’t want anyone to catch a glimpse of you when we arrive.”

  I hadn’t made my mind up about Taeyoon yet, but I figured not upsetting him by rubbing the relationship in his face was a better way to stay on his good side. I moved to the back of the minibus and pulled the curtain closed for added precaution. They might have had tinted glass, but it wasn’t worth the risk.

  That was a point. At some point Holly had had the photographs released to the fan café – which was probably what all my notifications had been earlier. I pulled out my phone and checked.

  I was right.

  I started with the English-speaking sites. Their comments were almost always more positive than the Korean ones, and I figured I needed to prepare myself before checking them out.

  It was strange seeing myself on the news sites. Even now, after all the posts that had been made, including some with pictures from my personal Facebook page (at least I didn't have anything embarrassing), it was weird. I’d cleared my Facebook posts of the questionable college photographs after graduating. I guess you had to be a celebrity to enjoy seeing your photograph everywhere.

  Unless you were a celebrity caught up in a scandal.

  Even though I had given Holly the photographs myself, it was still startling to see them. Thankfully, most of the comments were positive. Some were calling me pretty, so that was a nice bonus.

  There were international fans who were sad Jiwon and I weren’t dating because they thought we had made a cute couple. There were international fans who were happy we weren’t dating because they didn’t want Jiwon caught up in a scandal – but they were nice about me.

  Of course, there were a few who agreed that I had been inappropriate around them (if only they knew) and could understand why Korean fans were upset but were disappointed that their favorite idols just couldn’t date and be happy. These were the comments I agreed with – in both respects – but I couldn’t like or comment on.

  The world didn’t know we were dating and nor could they, so yes, my closeness was inappropriate.

  It was going to be hard considering all I ever wanted to do when I saw them was touch them (and more besides), but I was going to try my hardest to keep a respectful distance from them. Even just being friendly, like I would with any of my male friends back home, was too much for this culture. I needed to respect that.

  I didn’t get a chance to check out the Korean sites before we arrived at the dorm. It was the hardest thing ever not to peek between the curtains and instead duck down into the footwell, but from the few glimpses I did get, there was no one outside the dorm.

  I realized two things as I watched the shutter door to the garage go up so that we could drive in. The first was that I did not need to be in the footwell or hiding behind curtains because the garage was secure and there was no way a group of fans would be watching CX get out of the minibus.

  The second was this was a new dorm building. I’d not been to the previous dorm, only ever having seen it on the news, but I knew the parking garage had a barrier and not a door.

  Taeyoon had played me.

  “What are you doing down there?” CX asked me, peering over the top of the chair so that he could see me.

  “Napping,” I sighed, feeling my cheeks heat up. Oh well. At least it was a good habit to get into.

  I brushed my hands through my hair, pushing it out of my face as I got back up into the chair and caught Taeyoon smirking at me in the rearview mirror.

  I stayed in the minibus while CX jumped out. “I’ll see you soon,” he promised me.

  And then we were driving to Atlantis. Instead of talking to Taeyoon, I turned my attention to the Korean news sites to prepare myself for what might be waiting for me at Atlantis.

  The comments weren’t as bad as I was expecting.

  OK, so Holly had been fairly confident this was going to work, but in the back of my mind, I must have had some real doubts. Yes, there were a few that declared it was all unforgiveable, but mostly, they were apologetic or forgiving towards Jiwon and Onyx.

  The comments aimed at me… well, they weren’t as nasty as they could have been, and it could just have been the translation app where my Hangeul skills failed me, but they were still sharp and implied I needed to learn about what was, and what wasn’t, appropriate or get my ass back to America.

  Of course, when we parked up outside of a warehouse, I remembered we were going to a set and not to Atlantis. I had no idea what was happening with my memory at the moment… At least I had checked the world didn’t hate us still.

  Holly wasn’t on the set. Instead, it was the manager for a group called 1SO: Fire. Holly had plans to debut a new boy group and it involved pre-debut units. It also involved a lot of the former members of Bright Boys who had been disbanded late last year.

  1SO, I discovered when talking to Oh Seokbeom, the manager, was pronounced Wonso, not 1 – s. o. It meant elemental. My guess (and it was a guess because Holly had been really closed-lipped even with me), was that there would be another three units. Maybe four if she decided something like spirit was an element.

  Needless to say, I wasn’t surprised to see a whole lot of fire in the warehouse. There was a fire engine on standby outside, with firemen talking to the special effects crew. It also meant the room was already warm, even with the air conditioning.

  While the crew set up what they needed, I moved over to the refreshment table and let out an excited squeal when I saw the selection of wagashi laid out on a plate. I had no skill at making them, but when I had lived in Japan, I would get them for a treat. They were candies, but there were several types. These were namahashi – small, in the shape of a flower, and made from rice flower with a sweet bean filling. “Wagashi wa korera ga daisuki,” I muttered un
der my breath.

  “You speak Japanese?” a female voice asked me in English.

  I had a wagashi half-way to my mouth. I lowered it and turned to look at the pretty woman. She looked around my age, probably younger. She was shorter than me, which, in Korea, didn’t mean much. Her hair was in a bob, barely brushing the top of her shoulders, and her eyes seemed huge behind the owl shaped glasses she was wearing.

  She wasn’t Japanese, but Korean.

  “I lived in Japan for a while,” I replied, in Japanese.

  “Oh, that will help Yokota out,” she responded, also in perfect Japanese. “He’s still learning Korean and he’s nervous, even if he won’t admit it.”

  I turned, seeking out a Japanese guy amongst the unit. I recognized Holly’s younger half-brother, Seungjin, straight away. The other three were new faces. Seungjin was eighteen if I remembered correctly. The youngest looked a year or two younger. My guess was the other two were somewhere between twenty and my age. No, younger. I was willing to put money on the eldest being Yokota.

  “Are you his manager?” I asked, turning back.

  She shook her head. “I am his tutor.” There was something in the way she was looking over at him that told me she wished she was more than his tutor. “I’m teaching him Korean.”

  “That sounds kinky,” I grinned, instantly regretting it as she got all flustered. So much for being respectful of Korean culture. “I’m sorry,” I said, immediately. “I have spent a lot of time by myself over the last few weeks and I have clearly forgotten how to interact with strangers.”

  Despite my apology, there remained a frosty atmosphere between us that even the sixteen separate sources of fire couldn’t thaw. Oh well…

  Thankfully, most of my day was caught up in taking both individual and group shots of 1SO: Fire, or rather, the special photographs Holly wanted taking for their group debut; Zodiac. That made sense to the elements, seeing as the star signs had elemental attributes to them too. It also made sense as to why all the guys had their natural dark hair.