CHAPTER 6: NEW GROOVE

The next few minutes went by like I was surrounded by clouds. I was in a trance and everything seemed so cloudy and fuzzy. Chief Kim had gotten the signed contracts from both me and his son and after sealing them in an envelope that looked a bit too classy and expensive for me, he had gotten up and excused himself as he had a meeting to attend. He had made sure Myungjun would show me around the headquarters and the boy hadn’t seemed too pleased of his father’s order. After staring at his father with a disagreeing glare for a while he had given up and promised to show me around. He let out a deep sigh the moment his father walked out of the room. Now that the chief wasn’t there I could glare at the boy openly. To be completely honest, I wanted to punch him just as much as earlier. He probably had no idea my ty situation was entirely his fault. Well, at least he got his part of it too.

The boy turned to look at me, letting his eyes wander from my head to my toes.

“Unbelievable”, Myungjun sighed. “You were a gang member? I could have never guessed.”

I narrowed my eyes. “You’re not very quick with your eyes, aren’t you? I knew it right away you belonged to a gang.”

He snorted and an mischievous smile spread on his face. “I guess I know now why you were so pissed off at me.”

“You ruined my mission”, I hissed at the boy whose smile withered a little bit.

He stepped closer to me and stared into my eyes with a dead serious expression. I didn’t let myself step back from him and just continued glaring into his eyes.

“Do you think I’m happy with this situation?” he asked quietly, with a deep voice.

The deep tone of his voice surprised me as I was used to hearing him speak with a soft, slightly high voice. I didn’t let my expression change at all, but just snorted and crossed my arms.

“Why did you even bother saving me?” I sighed.

“Well, you did look like you were trouble”, Myungjun admitted, shrugging his shoulders.

“Exactly”, I said. “So why bother?”

He snorted. “I was supposed to show you around. Let’s go.”

I hated it when people didn’t answer my questions. As I saw the boy’s back disappearing out of the door, I felt like throwing something after him. I was blinded with anger and just wanted to show the boy I wasn’t someone to play around with. I massaged my neck while pouting my lips a little bit, then took a deep breath. It is just a mission. I will find a way to return into the tunnels. And then I will beat the hell out of Yikyung. I closed my eyes and as I blew the air out of my lungs, I walked out of the door, following Myungjun.

The headquarters were huge compared to the tunnels we lived in. Of course the underground tunnel network was huge, but part of the tunnels was dangerous because they might collapse or something else, so in the end we only used a small part of them. This building had numerous floors, so many meeting rooms, auditoriums, there was a restaurant and apparently most of the gang’s members even lived in the building. It was almost ironic how different this gang was compared to ours. They actually had a business to do and they were able to live peacefully because they were able to hide their wrongdoings by their business. While walking around, I didn’t see any armed guards or people who actually looked like they wanted to beat someone up. I saw beautiful women dressed in neat clothes – apparently secretaries – and men who were dressed in suits and bowed at us whenever they saw us. I had a beam it was because Myungjun was indeed the chief’s son, and as much as I hated the thought, I was his fiancée. I couldn’t even think of the word ‘wife’. We had signed the contract but we hadn’t been officially wed yet. I had no idea when the wedding would take place, and I hoped it wouldn’t be nowhere near in the future. I felt cold shivers going down my spine at just the thought of it.

“The training halls and the gym are on the 5^th floor, I’m sure you have the energy to beat up some punching bags”, Myungjun ended the tour in the lobby I had entered just an hour before. I glared at the boy, not bothering to say anything. “I guess you’ve seen the important things now. The last thing would be our residential area. My unit lives in the 25^th floor so I suppose you’ll be living there too.”

“I’m surprised you guys even have the unit system”, I said sarcastically. “Everything else here is so grand and classy. I can’t believe you have something in common with my gang.”

The boy turned to look at me and snorted. “Your gang?” he repeated. “This is your gang now. And to be honest, I don’t like that name. It sounds like we’re criminals. Just call it a corporation.”

I sighed. “Well are you not criminals?”

“You sure have a sharp tongue”, Myungjun said. I could sense a bit of annoyance in his voice and couldn’t hold back a smile. He was getting frustrated. “If I was you… I’d watch out.”

“I never watch out”, I replied, tilting my head a little bit. “You might not know but my former chief hates me.”

“I have no problem seeing why”, Myungjun mumbled. “Just shut up and follow me.”

I snorted as we stepped into an elevator that took us up to the 25^th floor. As the doors opened I saw a fancy looking hallway in front of us. The floor was covered with a carpet that had some complicated patterns in it, and the walls had been decorated with golden ornaments. It looked like I had gotten into a TV drama about rich people and their problems. To think about it, I probably had, just minus the TV part. I followed Myungjun to the end of the long hallway and he opened the last door on the left. I almost got startled as someone stepped out just as we were about to step in. I was able to control my reaction, anyhow, and just stared as a somewhat familiar looking girl stood in front of us.

“What are you doing here?” the girl hissed, tilting her head and glaring at me.

I frowned at her, trying to remember where I had seen her. She was very beautiful and the tennis skirt she was wearing really didn’t shout out look at me, I’m part of a gang, I’ll beat you up. Then I realized. It was the girl I had seen with Myungjun in the coffee shop just the day before.

“Calm down, Miyeon”, Myungjun said. “She’s my fiancée.”

The girl’s eyes widened. “She’s the one you have to marry?”

He nodded. “Aeri, this is one of my unit members, Nam Miyeon. Miyeon, this is my fiancée Lim Aeri.”

I nodded at the girl as a greeting and she replied with a small bow, clearly forcing herself to behave. Her temperament seemed to fit mine very well. Meaning we would probably become friends, or the polar opposite – archenemies.

Myungjun sighed. “Alright, I hope there won’t be any catfights. Now then, I’ll show the rest to Aeri.”

The girl called Miyeon let us enter before rushing out of the door. I felt my jaw drop open and hang low as I saw the space we have entered. It was an enormous, very modern apartment with all the newest technology and trend combined. I stared at the white, shiny surfaces with large eyes and couldn’t hold back a quiet sigh. I had truly stepped from one world to another. This all was so different, on a whole new level.

“My unit lives in this apartment. I think the other units live in similar ones so it’s nothing too special”, Myungjun said. “My members don’t seem to be home but you’ll meet them later for sure.”

I turned to look at the boy. “You talk about your members and your unit. Don’t tell me you’re the leader?”

Myungjun tilted his head. “Why does that surprise you? I’m the chief’s son. Of course I’m the leader. You weren’t a unit leader?”

I stared into the boy’s eyes for a moment before sighing and turning away. I felt a bit ashamed as he had gotten me this time. I shook my head and turned back to him. “No. My chief hates me so much she never even thought about making me the leader.”

“Ouch”, the boy smirked. “Do you feel wronged, perhaps?”

I glared at him. “Just mind your own business.”

“Oh but you know, we’re technically married now. A married couple should be true to each other in both good times and bad…”

“Just shut up!” I shouted at the boy. I really didn’t feel like joking around. I did feel wronged in so many ways I just wanted to scream and throw things. But I couldn’t. I already knew it for sure, that after this guy would leave me alone, I would run straight to the gym and beat the hell out of a punching bag.

“I told you to watch your mouth”, Myungjun said and stepped so close to me I had to take a step backwards, feeling my back hitting the wall behind me. I hadn’t noticed his expression darkening. “Look, I know neither of us likes the situation we’re in. But this is a big corporation and there will probably be news about our marriage, the media will follow us. We can’t show it to the world that we hate each other. To the world this wasn’t an arranged marriage, it was pure love. If you keep misbehaving... it might create some problems for both me and you.”

It was almost scary how much this person’s voice and expression could change in a short amount of time. I didn’t let that fool me though, and just glared back at him. His eyes were dark with clear frustration. He probably wanted to punch me just as much as I wanted to punch him. We were so immersed in staring at each other we didn’t even notice the door behind us opening.

“Hey”, I heard a male voice greeting us.

We turned to look at the door. There were two boys standing just inside the apartment, side by side. The one that had greeted us was quite tall, sleek and he had somewhat catlike face. He had dark brown hair that was brushed under a cap. The other, light brown haired guy was shorter and his muscular body could be seen through his ripped jeans and T-shirt. Both of the boys eyed me curiously.

“Great timing”, Myungjun said while backing away from me and smiled at the boys. “I’ll introduce my fiancée to you too. This is Lim Aeri.”

“Nice to meet you”, the shorter boy replied quickly. “I’m Park Minhyuk.”

“I’m Moon Bin”, the other boy replied too. “Congratulations on your marriage, hyung.”

Myungjun sighed and shrugged his shoulders. “They’re my members, along with Miyeon whom you already met.”

I nodded at the boys and crossed my arms. I still felt like screaming at Myungjun but now that there were other people in the apartment, I felt more at ease.

“Have they decided the wedding date yet?” the boy called Minhyuk asked a bit carefully.

Myungjun shook his head. “I haven’t heard of that yet. But knowing my dad, it’s probably very soon.”

I couldn’t stop myself from pouting at the words. I understood that the chiefs wanted the wedding over quickly so that we’d officially be married and the benefits of their contract would show, but I really did not like the idea. Oh, how I hoped I had never met Myungjun.

Right then Myungjun’s phone started ringing. The call was short and over in seconds. This looked very familiar. It reminded me of how Jinwoo would get a short phone call and then me and Eunwoo would be sent off to a mission. I almost missed it. Even if I had to deal with Yikyung, at least I could live freely without bigger worries.

“Minhyuk”, Myungjun said. “We got something to do. Come on.”

The younger boy threw his backpack onto the living room’s couch and then stepped next to Myungjun, who glanced at me. “We’ll be back in the evening. Try to make yourself at home.” I frowned at him as I looked after the two boys leaving the apartment. I glanced at Bin, who flashed me a thin smile.

“When did you arrive?” he asked.

“Before noon”, I replied shortly.

“Alright”, the boy nodded. “I know Myungjun can be a bit hard to come along with, but I hope at least we will come along.”

I nodded at the boy after staring at his face for a while. Now that he was smiling, he didn’t look as cold as he had looked earlier. Maybe what he said could be true and we’d get along. The boy disappeared into one of the rooms and I was left alone in the living room. I looked around, feeling a bit uneasy. There were so many doors. There was probably a room for everyone in the unit and some additional rooms. The apartment was really huge compared to the space I had lived in until this. I walked towards one of the rooms and grabbed the doorknob. It was definitely a girl’s room. Lots of pastel colours and candles. I could imagine the girl I had met earlier, Miyeon, living in this room very well. It looked just like her. I shut the door and walked to the next one. This time I felt lucky as I saw my suitcase lying on the floor the moment I opened the door.

The room was very neutral, the colours varied from white and grey to shades of beige. There was a queen size bed, a desk, a bookshelf and a door that apparently led to a walk-in closet. The room was a lot bigger than the one I had shared with Chanmi back in the tunnels. And I’d use it all by myself.

I opened the closet’s door and almost snorted at the sight. I’d never have enough clothes to actually fill this closet. I only had my suitcase with me, and it wasn’t even that big. But you didn’t really need many different clothes in the tunnels. I took my suitcase and returned to the closet, starting to unpack my belongings. Then I pushed the suitcase under the shelfs and returned to the actual room. I sat on the bed, almost getting startled at how soft it was. I was literally sinking in the mattress. I sighed and laid on my back. I felt exhausted from all the new things. I glanced at the clock. It wasn’t even 4pm. A small nap would hurt no one. This was technically my home now; I could do whatever I wanted. I rolled on my side and closed my eyes. Surprisingly I fell asleep quite quickly.

I had intended to take just a small nap, but when I woke up, it was already dark. The clock was getting close to 7pm and I felt like I had slept for days. I felt a bit dizzy and weak – I had only eaten breakfast today. I glanced at the door. There was no light shining from under the door, so nobody must’ve been home. I sighed and grabbed my phone out of my skirt’s pocket. I really felt like calling Eunwoo.

It didn’t take him even five seconds to answer.

“Aeri?” his voice echoed in my ears and I sighed. “Is everything alright?”

“Hi, Eunwoo”, I said quietly. “Nothing is alright. Try to guess ten times who I’m marrying.”

He was silent for a moment. “Don’t tell me he’s much older.”

“No”, I said. Well, I didn’t know how old Myungjun was but I could guess he wouldn’t be more than two or three year older than me. “It’s him. The guy who failed my mission. The one from the coffee shop.”

I could feel my voice cracking a bit, like I was on verge of tears. I don’t know, maybe I was. I did feel quite miserable.

“You can’t be serious”, Eunwoo gasped. “That’s… angering. It’s almost ironic. He ruins your future and then you’re forced to marry him. I wish I could go there and beat him lifeless.”

I let out a choked chuckle. Or was I really crying? “How is Chanmi doing?”

Eunwoo sighed. “She’s heartbroken, obviously. But she’s part of the unit now, even though it has only been hours. She’s really just a younger version of you. She’s already lecturing Sanha all the time.”

“Of course”, I whispered. “She’s strong. I can’t believe it’s only been a few hours but I already miss you all so much.”

“I miss you too”, Eunwoo replied right away.

“I’m glad you’re not abandoning me”, I said quietly.

For a short moment Eunwoo was quiet.

“I could never abandon you, Aeri”, he stated with a deep voice. “I love you. You know that.”

It wasn’t typical of me to get flustered or so surprised I couldn’t speak, but Eunwoo’s sudden words got me overwhelmed. I had known for a while he liked me as more than just a friend, and he had implied it in the morning too, but still hearing it from him got me taken aback.

Just then I heard a knock from the door and almost dropped the phone.

“Aeri”, I heard Myungjun’s voice calling me.

“Eunwoo, I have to go now”, I said quickly and ended the call. I got up from the bed just as the boy stepped into the room.

“Who were you talking to?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

“Old unit member”, I replied quickly, not wanting to get more informative.

“The one from the coffee shop?” Myungjun guessed. I turned to look at him. “Is he perhaps your boyfriend?”

I rolled my eyes and leaned against the wall. “Did you have something to say?”

“You’re changing the subject”, the boy said. “I guess I was right. He must be so annoyed to see you getting married to another guy.”

“If you’re here to just make me angry, leave”, I sighed and was about to shut the door on him.

“No, actually”, he said. “I actually came to tell you that the wedding dresses are waiting. You should pick one.”

I let out a deep sigh and buried my head into my hands. Great. Absolutely great.