Round Fifty-Four

 

Is that Jessica?

 

Oh my, she sure looks angry.

 

Is Jessica being comforted by that pretty girl?

 

Who is that girl?

 

Why isn’t Jessica screaming at her or asking her to get lost?

 

Is she a relative of Jessica’s, perhaps?

 

Question after question popped up in his head but none of them were answered. He had been told that the arrogant, severely spoilt girl was to be feared when she was angry. He had heard about the scary things that happened to people who crossed her path at the wrong time. His own girlfriend had been a victim of Jessica’s frightening temper and she had told him all about it; showed him photographs of Jessica, even. Thank goodness she had, or he would have walked into a death trap without even knowing it. However, just thinking about that made his blood boil. How could Jessica slap Hara when Hara was only trying to help?

 

He shook his head and sneaked away before he got caught. He did not want to incur Jessica’s wrath if possible. He headed back out to the main area of the event and continued his search for his good friend, Hyunseung. Hyunseung was supposed to be in the room where Jessica and that girl were. Hyunseung had texted him several minutes ago, asking him to look for him there but he had obviously gone somewhere else and it would not have been a good idea to ask Jessica or anybody else in that room for that matter.

 

Suddenly, he heard a familiar voice calling his name.

 

“Junhyung! Over here!”

 

Hara was waving and smiling sweetly at him. He returned a warm smile and strode towards her, putting his arm around her shoulders when he reached her.

 

“Who are you looking for?” she asked.

 

“Hyunseung.”

 

“He wasn’t where he said he would be?”

 

“No. Instead of Hyunseung, I saw something else.”

 

“What did you see?”

 

“A girl calming a very angry Jessica down.”

 

“Jessica was angry? What about?”

 

“I don’t know. But you have nothing to worry about. You are not the target this time.”

 

Hara sniffed and grimaced as though she could still feel the sting of Jessica’s slap. Feeling sorry for her, he pulled her even closer to him and gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze.

 

“Don’t worry. I’ll protect you even if you are her target.”

 

“Will you? Really?”

 

“Of course. It’s the least a guy should do for his girl.”

 

Hara smiled sweetly and batted her eyelids and he felt his heart melting a little bit more. It was this pair of eyes that had stolen his heart. He first met her in Japan. She was shopping and he was strolling along the streets when he saw her. He was immediately captivated by her very beautiful eyes which he thought were the prettiest in the world. Big and round, not to mention, lively and expressive, her eyes had him the instant their eyes met.

 

It must have been fate, for he had finally completed his studies and was ready to return to Seoul after many years of studying in Japan when he met her. Although he had only been with her for a month and knew little about her, he was convinced that she was the girl that he could spend the rest of his life with.

 

“You mentioned a girl calming Jessica down? Who is she? Most people avoid Jessica when she’s not in a good mood, let alone angry.”

 

He shrugged. “I don’t know who she is. But I thought I heard her saying unnie at one point. She could be a relative or a close friend.”

 

“Hmm… you’ve made me curious about this girl. Point her out to me when you see her again, will you?”

 

“Sure.”

 

He smiled when she smiled. Making her happy made him happy too.

 

~~~~~

 

Young pulled Krystal aside after Jessica left the room to mingle among the guests that she had invited to glamourize the event. He narrowed his eyes when he saw her grinning cheekily.

 

“Is that your idea of a joke?”

 

Krystal pulled her chin up haughtily and shook her head.

 

“Admit that the alarm I set for you was way more effective than any other alarm you’ve had before.”

 

“I will admit that much, but what’s really bothering me is how you got to know my password to gain access to my phone settings.”

 

Krystal merely rolled her eyes and said, “You told me your password when you needed me to call that pesky, clingy girlfriend of yours, remember? You left your phone in the office and I had to help you to call her.”

 

“Oh. You’re right. I did tell you my password. However, I also recall that the girl did not turn up for the date. Neither has she spoken to me again. What in the world did you say to her when you called her?”

 

Krystal flashed another naughty look and said, “That’s for me know and for you to find out!” She then spun round and made a hasty exit, not giving Young any chance to say anything in return.

 

~~~~~

 

Hara was piqued by what Junhyung had told her and shown her. A relative of Jessica? She had taken a good look at the girl when Junhyung pointed her out. The girl did not look a lot like Jessica but there were some similarities. Junhyung’s theory of them being relatives could be right. She decided to observe and learn as much as she could about this mysterious girl who appeared to be rather close to Young, the host of the car show.

 

She had planned on creating a scene to destroy the car show at first but decided against it later on. She had received few invitations to an event like this ever since Jessica slapped her and she knew that the said girl was behind it. So if she ruined this show, she might never receive any invitations again and that would be the end of her.

 

Her method of revenge would have to be more subtle and she had a gut feeling that the pretty young girl that Jessica allowed to comfort her was the key. The Jessica that she knew would not have allowed anyone near her when she was angry. That pretty young girl had to be somebody to her. Somebody close? Somebody important? Important enough to hurt Jessica? If she could not get Jessica or Yul, perhaps this girl was the answer.

 

~~~~~
 

“Taengoo!”

 

Taeng looked around the hall to look for the person who had called him. He spotted a tall, long haired beauty who was waving her hands enthusiastically and striding towards him with long legs that went on forever.

 

He gulped nervously and looked around furtively. Tiffany was nowhere to be found and he heaved a sigh of relief. He then smiled tentatively at the beauty and waved to her too.

 

“Gyuri, what a surprise to see you here.”

 

Gyuri stood in front of him, looking a little contrite and she said softly, “Did you get into a lot of trouble? I’m sorry if you did. It’s all my fault for hugging you so tightly.” Her eyes grew bigger and rounder as she continued, “But I really couldn’t stop myself! You were so cute and I was too excited.” And she went back to looking contrite again. “I’m sorry.” She sighed.

 

Taeng did not want to see Gyuri looking sad and sorry.

 

“It’s okay, Gyuri ah. I didn’t get into a lot of trouble. Fany has forgiven me.”

 

Gyuri’s eyes lit up with a smile immediately.

 

“Really? Oh, that’s great! Does that mean that we can go back to being friends?”

 

“Aren’t we already friends?”

 

Gyuri giggled. “Taengoo, you’re the cutest friend I have.”

 

Just then, a couple of guests stopped beside them and gaped.

 

“The two of you… are…”

 

“Oh my, aren’t you Gyuri? And Taengoo?”

 

Taeng nodded awkwardly and tried his best to smile at the guests.

 

“Taengoo… Taeng DJ… oh my gosh! I’m so excited right now. I love your ‘Dukong Dugeun’ show!”

 

“T-Thank you.” Taeng smiled shyly as they launched into telling him how much they enjoyed his radio show and how listening to him made them feel so much better after a long day at work.

 

All of a sudden, the guests’ jaws dropped as the presence of an arm made itself known around his waist. He knew who it was at once and his heart lurched forward in his chest.

 

“F-Fany ah—” Taeng’s nervous greeting was cut short when Tiffany’s lips found his cheek and left it feeling tingly and scorching hot.

 

“It’s good to see you Madam Park and Madam Kim, how do you find the car show so far?”

 

One of the guests managed to come back to her senses before the other and answered, “As usual, you have outdone yourself. We are thoroughly enjoying ourselves.”

 

Out of a corner of his eye, Taeng could see the professional smile on Tiffany’s face as she said, “And I see that you have met my wonderful personal assistant as well. Has he charmed your socks off yet?”

 

One of the guests asked hesitantly, “Is he… your boyfriend?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Taeng could have sworn that a gust of cold wind had just attacked them as Tiffany answered the question with a cool, steely voice and the guests started backing off immediately. Gyuri too, looked a little panicky and was smiling awkwardly while bowing her goodbye. And within seconds, he found himself left alone with Tiffany. A suddenly feeling of unhappiness welled up inside him and he pulled Tiffany into the nearest room he could find, which happened to be the storeroom.

 

~~~~~
 

Tiffany wrenched her arm out of his grip as soon as the door closed behind them. She spun around, eyes flashing dangerously as she regarded Taeng closely.

 

“You are not pleased.” She was surprised. The look in his eyes was foreign and she had never seen it before but it was some sort of anger. She was sure of that.

 

“Why did you do that?” Taeng began.

 

“What did I do?”

 

“You were unprofessional.”

 

“You were more so.”

 

“I was not. I was only talking to Gyuri and the guests. We weren’t doing anything wrong.”

 

“Gyuri was right beside you. Her arm practically plastered to yours while you smiled so charmingly at our guests.”

 

“But all we were doing was talking, Fany ah. How could you, as the organizer of the show, behave that way in front of guests? What will they say about you now? This is your first show. Do you know how important it is to you?”

 

Tiffany was momentarily stunned. Taeng was not angry with her. He was angry for her. His anger stemmed from his concern for her and her work. For a moment there, it was as if Taeng cared more about the future of her career than she did herself. And that was a lovely feeling. A really lovely feeling.

 

“Taetae…” His name left her lips in a soft whisper, rolling off her tongue sensually.

 

She felt an inordinate amount of heat pooling between her legs and her body moved before her mind could take charge. Her lips, which seemed to have developed a mind of their own, found his lips and parted to engulf them. She kissed him, deeply, passionately and desperately. She wanted him. He had no idea how much she wanted him and it did not make any sense to her, how he had turned her into a flaming ball of desire just by scolding her for being unprofessional.

 

“Fa…ny…” he stuttered in between kisses, “St…op…”

 

He yanked her away from him and she looked into his eyes, searching for the answer to the question she was asking mentally—why did he stop?

 

“Fany ah, we’re at work.”

 

Ah, that’s why. Tiffany ran her hand through her hair and flipped it behind her, as she tried to figure out what was wrong with her. She needed to get a grip on herself. She never did believe in the saying that love can make you do crazy things but it looked like she was going to have to believe it now. As reality sunk in, she realized how crazily she had acted and was suddenly thankful that Taeng had managed to stay sane throughout.

 

“I know that.”

 

“Fany ah, is anything wrong?”

 

“No. Nothing’s wrong.”

 

“But you… are behaving peculiarly.”

 

Tiffany sighed. The answer to that loomed out of the recesses of her mind without warning and she had to admit that she was indeed acting totally out of character tonight—at work, especially.

 

“I was jealous.”

 

“Jealous?”

 

“Gyuri’s arm was brushing against yours and those ladies looked like they were ready to pounce on you at any moment. And I forgot that I was at my own event. I forgot that I was at work. I forgot about everything except for the fact that you’re mine. Mine only.”

 

“Fany ah…”

 

Tiffany flashed a tiny smile and kissed his cheek.

 

“I love you, Taetae.”

 

As Taeng’s jaw dropped, she patted her clothes down and smoothed them out before turning the door knob, letting herself out and back into the thick of things, giggling to herself as she did so. Taeng’s stunned look was just adorable.

 

~~~~~
 

Things were getting curiouser and curiouser by the minute. No one seemed to know about the pretty girl. The only information Hara had managed to find out was her name—Krystal. No family name, no age, no background. Junhyung had managed to find out that she worked for Young, which would explain why they appeared close but that could not explain why Jessica was close to her as well. Perhaps Junhyung’s buddy, Hyunseung, could help her find out more since he worked for Young too. She was determined to find out more about Krystal. She had a feeling that she was on to something good.

 

~~~~~
 

Hyoyeon tried to stifle a yawn as Hyun debated with one of the sales personnel about loan interest rates. They had been strolling around, admiring the cars in the show when Hyun apparently overheard a flawed explanation of how the car loan interest rates worked. He had stopped immediately and butted into the explanation politely before taking over the entire explanation of interest rates.

 

“Here they are telling you what the fixed interest rate is, but you have to work out the effective interest rate.”

 

A minute later, she gave up and yawned widely. Hyun was still showing both the sales personnel and customer how they could work out the effective interest rate.

 

“Why isn’t Hyun taking care of his girlfriend? Can’t he see that his girl is bored and yawning away?”

 

Young came up from behind and stood in front of Hyoyeon, wearing a charming smile on his face.

 

“He’s explaining interest rates to both your staff and the customer. I think you sales staff need to take a refresher course on it.”

 

Young laughed good-naturedly and patted Hyoyeon’s shoulder gently.

 

“Let me rescue your man from the horrors of interest rates. Although he seems to be enjoying himself.”

 

Hyoyeon grimaced and sighed.

 

“Oh, that won’t be necessary. His enjoyment is the reason why I haven’t dragged him away from them.”

 

“You’re a good girl, Hyoyeon. This younger bro needs to learn the finer points of treating a girl better.”

 

Hyoyeon giggled. “Are you treating Krystal well?”

 

Young grinned. “She’s just like my little sister and I treat her like family. So I would daresay that I am treating her well.”

 

“Are you really seeing her as family? She’s very pretty and looking at her bustling around tonight, makes me think that she’s older than she really is.”

 

“Krystal is mature beyond her years. She’s gone through a lot.”

 

“You sound like you admire her.”

 

“I do. I’ve never met a girl as young and as mature as she is. But she’s way too young and pure for me. I’d better not dirty her with my hands.”

 

Hyoyeon cocked an eyebrow at the tone of his voice. It sounded…wistful? She opened to comment on that but before she could say anything, she was interrupted.

 

“Hyung! I finally found you. Great show, hyung.”

 

“Thanks Hyun. I’ll leave the two of you alone now. Take care of your girl, Hyun. Don’t go running off to explain interest rates and leave her standing all by herself like this.”

 

Hyun looked sorry and apologetic all at once.

 

“I’m sorry, Hyoyeon ah.”

 

Hyoyeon smiled and shook her head.

 

“It’s alright. Let’s go and look at that car over there. I think it looks like a goguma!”

 

“Okay! Let’s go!” Hyun perked up upon hearing that there was a car that looked like a goguma.

 

“See you later, hyung!”

 

“Thanks Young!”

 

Hyoyeon grinned at Young as he laughed and shook his head at them. And with that, the pair held hands and headed towards the said car.

 

~~~~~
 

Yoong stepped into the event hall with Sunny’s hand securely held in his. He scanned the area and spotted Hyoyeon who was rather noticeable, what with her long mane of blonde hair.

 

“I see Hyoyeon and there’s Hyun beside her. Let’s go.”

 

Sunny smiled and nodded.

 

“And if you happen to see any car that you like, don’t hesitate to tell me. I want to buy you a car.”

 

“Why? My car’s working fine. And I can’t accept such an expensive gift from you, Yoongie.”

 

“But your car is topless!”

 

“I thought you liked topless.”

 

“A topless bunny and a topless car aren’t quite the same thing, are they?”

 

“What’s wrong with a topless car? I like the wind flapping my hair around when I drive.”

 

“You’re too y to drive around topless.”

 

“Yoong, you’re being a little too possessive, don’t you think?”

 

Yoong sighed and shrugged. “It’s hard to change overnight, Sunny. But I guess you’re right. I’m being… possessive. But I also want to buy you a car because I like the feeling of my girl driving around in the car I bought for her.”

 

Sunny stopped short and tugged at Yoong’s arm.

 

“I’m already yours. In every way.”

 

The look in her eyes almost stopped his heart and hearing her saying those words made his heart swell with the joy of ownership.

 

“Yes, you are. From head to toe. Mine. All mine.”

 

He knew that his grin was devastating to Sunny so he put on his smoldering look as his lips stretched into a grin. He burnt a trail right into Sunny’s eyes and heard her gasp softly as his aura wrapped the both of them in white-hot flames of passion.

 

“So let me buy you a car, to celebrate you becoming mine. Truly mine.”

 

Sunny froze for a fraction of a second before giving him a slight nod of her head and his heart bounced high up in the sky like Tigger in Winnie the Pooh.

 

Feeling giddy from happiness, Yoong squeezed Sunny’s hand and planted a smacking loud kiss on her lips and ignored her little squeal of protest. He put his arm around her and held her close before bringing her to where Hyun and Hyoyeon were. Unable to contain his happiness, he proclaimed loudly to Hyun, “Hyun! Sunny’s letting me buy her a car!”

 

Hyoyeon gasped and cheered while Hyun said, “But why? Is her car busted?”

 

Yoong rolled his eyes and retorted, “Does her car need to be out of order in order for me to buy her a new one?”

 

“Well, how old is it? You need to work out how much the sale of her current car can fetch. I was just talking to a couple people about interest rates a while ago and boy, the rates sure are high now. It’s best to pay off the principal sum to lessen your interest payments.”

 

Yoong looked at Hyun in disbelief.

 

“Hyun, both you and I know that we don’t need to take loans when we buy a car. What the heck are you talking about?”

 

“But I like to take loans because working out the best interest rate is so much fun. Besides, there are things you can do with your money in the meantime to beat that interest rate.”

 

It was all Yoong could do, not to stab himself, Sunny and Hyoyeon with a sharp, steely knife to spare everyone from Hyun’s odd es involving numbers.

 

~~~~~
 

“I heard that you were awfully fierce today.”

 

“Yul!”

 

Jessica looked up from the guest list and saw the man of her dreams smiling teasingly at her. She pouted in indignation.

 

“I have good reason to be mad.”

 

“I know, Young told me all about it.”

 

“I want you by my side, Yul. That had better not lay her hands on you or I’ll pull all of her hair out.”

 

Yul chuckled and leaned forward to kiss her forehead.

 

“You have nothing to worry about.”

 

“You don’t know Hara. She definitely hasn’t forgotten the slap I gave her. Neither have I. And I’m itching to slap her again. Just thinking about what she was going to do to you makes me mad all over again.”

 

“Baby, forget it. It’s over and she did not do anything to me.”

 

“Who’s to know if she laid her hands on you? She had already taken off your shirt and pants when I got there. Just the thought of her touching your chest… or worse… your abs… or your…” Jessica slammed her list on the reception stand angrily. “Nobody is allowed to touch your abs or your second place except me.”

 

“Not even a doctor? What’s a doctor supposed to do if I were to have a tummy ache?”

 

“Yul! I’m not kidding around here.”

 

Yul sighed. “I know, baby. But what’s done, can’t be undone, so let’s move on and quit letting that girl into your mind. You can touch me anywhere and at any time you want, if that will make you feel better.”

 

“Anywhere, anytime? Really?”

 

Yul nodded and Jessica could not stop herself from rubbing her hands with glee.

 

“I want to touch your abs right now.”

 

“Right now?!”

 

“You said anywhere, anytime.”

 

“But baby, you’re at work.”

 

“I don’t care. I’m one of the bosses anyway. I’ll just scold myself later.”

 

Yul burst out laughing and she saw her chance. As quick as lightning, she undid a button on his shirt and slipped her hand under it, copping a feel of his chocolate abs before he pulled her hand out and buttoned up his shirt again.

 

“Sica…” Yul spoke in a warning tone and she knew that she would get into trouble with him if she went further.

 

It was quite a dilemma at times. Yul was both hot and scary when he got angry and it was difficult to decide if she found him hotter or scarier during such times. From experience, making Yul jealous or angry, usually resulted in mind-blowing and the memories of how intense it had been, made her skin tingle. However, there were times when it did not result in hot and angry and turned into a cold and angry shoulder instead. Now that, she did not enjoy at all. Not wanting to take the gamble whilst she was at such an important event, she decided to back off and pretend to be a good girl.

 

“Yul...” She pouted and picked up her guest list again.

 

“Be a good girl and I promise you a good time when we get back to my place.”

 

~~~~~