Round Seventy-Four

“Hi Gyuri.”

The other girl smiled and handed her a menu.

“Dinner’s on me tonight. Pick anything you want.”

“Oh no, I can’t. You’re giving Taeng a treat so I’ll pay for my own dinner.”

“Tiffany, don’t be a stranger. You’re Taeng’s girlfriend, which makes you eligible for the treat too.”

“I can’t accept your treat.” I don’t want to.

“Fany ah, I’ll pay for your dinner,” Taeng interjected.

“Thank you, Taetae.”

“And since I’m giving Taeng a treat…that means that I pay whatever he’s supposed to pay.” Gyuri flashed a triumphant grin.

Tiffany had no choice but to smile. She didn’t want to but she had to.

~~~~~

“Taeng, you can have my beans.”

“Thank you!”

Taeng accepted Gyuri’s beans happily and began gobbling them up. It was all Tiffany could do to keep from throwing her beans at Gyuri.

~~~~~

“Kangin’s going to throw a party next week. He says you’re invited.” Taeng grinned.

“Really? Cool! I’d love to go.” Gyuri bounced in her seat.

“All the DJs that I want to meet will be there. I’m so excited.”

“I hope he doesn’t turn up.” Gyuri looked worried suddenly.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be there for you if he turns up.” Taeng patted his chest.

“Taeng, you’re such a good friend.” Gyuri smiled gratefully at him.

Taeng smiled and looked pleased while Tiffany could only smile stiffly. She didn’t know about DJs. She couldn’t get a word in about being a DJ. She was as good as invisible. Taeng hadn’t even looked at her once. It was as though he had another world. Another life. Without her. When had this happened?

“Is Tiffany coming along with you?”

“She has a meeting with a client, unfortunately.”

“I do?” Tiffany blurted.

Taeng turned to her and nodded sadly.

“You have an American client to meet. Remember Mr. Oh? He’s the one who wants to start a chain of restaurants.”

“Yes, I remember.”

“I tried to ask him for another date to meet so that you can go to the party with me but he said that he can’t make it at another time. Fany, if you want me to be there with you, I’ll tell Kangin that I can’t go to the party.”

Tiffany knew that she couldn’t ask that of him. He had already said that he was excited about the party and she didn’t want to take that joy away from him.

“It’s okay, Taetae. I’ll meet Mr. Oh by myself. You can go to the party with Gyuri and meet all the DJs that you like.”

“Fany, you’re the best!”

Taeng gave her a hug and a quick peck on her cheek. That was enough to dispel some of her misgivings but she wasn’t ready to leave it at that. Her sixth sense wouldn’t let her.

~~~~~

Yoong, Sunny, Hyun and Hyoyeon were out at the club, Seventh Heaven. It had been a while since they’ve been back there and Sunny was looking forward to dancing the night away.

Sunny was giggling at Hyun’s rather awkward moves on the dance floor when a girl came up to them with a wide grin on her face.

“Yoong! Where have you been? We’ve missed you. Come, join us tonight. We’ve got a new model with us and she’s really hot. You’ll love her.”

“I’m with my friends but I’ll go over and say hi later on.”

The girl gave Sunny a once over and turned back to Yoong without even as much as an acknowledgement.

“You’re with her tonight? Last I heard, she was with Young for a while.”

“That’s old news. Now, if you’ll excuse us.”

The girl stepped away with a sour look upon her face which quickly turned into a seductive grin when she caught Sunny looking at her.

“If you want more action, we’ll be at the booths. Look for us there.”

“Got it.”

The girl shot a look of disdain at Sunny before walking away. Sunny watched the girl for a while before turning to Yoong.

“Who is she?”

“Just another girl in the club.”

“But she seems a lot more aggressive than the usual. And I don’t like the way she clung onto your arm.”

“She’s one of those girls who like to be seen with the most eligible man in the club. Unfortunately, that would be me.”

Sunny laughed and jabbed Yoong with her elbow.

“You’re so full of yourself. You’re hardly eligible by the way, you’re taken.”

“Ah, how could I forget?!” Yoong quipped as he slipped his arms around her waist and drew her close. “I’m with the most eligible girl in the house. Only, you’re not eligible either.” He grinned cheekily as he leaned down to plant his lips on hers.

Sunny saw the girl lurking with a couple of girls in the distance and grinned.

“Your fan girls are watching us. Imagine their disappointment at the news of your retirement from the field of players.”

Yoong shook his head with a smirk. “I’m not retired. Once a player, always a player.”

Sunny opened to protest but his finger on her lips silenced her.

“But I’ve changed the rules of the game. It’s down to two players only. You. And me. Remember?”

Sunny grinned devilishly. “So, we’re players tonight?”

“We’re players.”

Sunny winked at Yoong and placed her palms on his chest. “Game on,” she announced seductively.

Her hips sashayed to the music as she turned to face him with her back. She then leaned against him and danced with him, hip to hip. Ordinarily, she wouldn’t have done that with a guy she had just met, but this was Yoong and with Yoong, she didn’t need to play by the rules.

She made sure that her was literally caressing him as she shook it before turning around again to face him. A seductive body wave was next and her proximity to him ensured that he could feel her generous assets pressing up against him before she lolled her hips and finished the wave. She did the wave repeatedly and Yoong ran his hands over her hips as she did so.

“Do you like the game so far?”

“I love it. You just made me the luckiest guy in here tonight.”

Sunny looked around and noticed many men ogling them from the side-line and the VIP area. She also spotted the same group of girls who now looked very jealous. “The girls don’t look too pleased that I’m monopolizing the most eligible man in the house.”

“But I’m not eligible anymore. They’ve got the wrong man.”

“You should tell them. Or they’ll keep on coming at you.”

“Does it bother you a lot?”

“Kind of,” Sunny admitted. She definitely preferred that the girl didn’t cling onto Yoong’s arm again.

“Alright, let’s introduce you to the girls and let them know who’s boss.” Yoong wrapped his arm around her shoulders and walked towards the group of girls who had been staring at them the entire time.

“Hi girls.”

“Yoong, I knew it. You’d look for us eventually. This girl is boring you, isn’t she?”

Sunny bristled at the insult but she held it in and let Yoong handle it.

“This is Sunny, my girlfriend. I’m off the market, girls. I’m with Sunny for life.”

Their gasps of shock could be heard over the reverberating bass of the music and Sunny had the urge to laugh at their expressions of disbelief.

“No way! You’re with this girl? For life? It’s not April Fools yet, is it?”

“I’m not joking, girls. I came over here to introduce you to my girlfriend. Not to play.”

“I can’t believe you’re actually sticking to one girl. What happened?”

“I fell in love with her.”

Sunny felt a burst of emotion and her cheeks heated up. It was one thing to have Yoong proclaim it in the privacy of their own home but it was another thing to hear him yelling it out loud to a group of people in public. Nevertheless, it was a wonderful feeling—embarrassed as she was—to have a man who’d do that for her.

She squeezed his waist with her arm and leaned closer to him. “I love you too.”

Yoong grinned at her before turning back to the girls. “Have fun girls. And it’s time to find a new guy for yourselves. This one’s off the market.”

~~~~~

Hyoyeon winced. Hyun had stepped on her foot again.

“I’m sorry. I’m really bad at dancing.”

Hyoyeon smiled, tiptoed and patted his head affectionately. “I’ll teach you.”

“Okay.”

Hyoyeon placed her hands on his hips and yanked it left and right. “Move it side to side, to the beat.”

“Okay.”

“Hey Hyo! You up for a dance battle?” A guy yelled as he approached them.

“Sure!”

“Alright! We’ll be expecting you!”

~~~~~

Hyun soon found himself alone. Hyoyeon had joined a few friends of hers and was now engaged in a dance battle with another dancer. He pouted sadly and made his way to where Yoong was dancing with Sunny very happily. The two of them had their hands all over each other and were practically plastered together. It was clear to see that they were lovebirds.

“Hyung, I want to learn how to dance.”

“You want to what!”

“Dance! I want to learn how to dance!”

“Where’s Hyoyeon?”

“Dance battle!” Hyun pointed at the crowd that had gathered around Hyoyeon and another dancer.

Yoong looked and grinned. “So, you want to learn how to dance, huh.”

“I don’t want to step on her foot anymore.”

“Hyun, Hyoyeon would love to teach you how to dance.” Sunny patted his back to comfort him.

“I think I’m boring her,” Hyun said sadly. “She’s much rather be dancing with other people.”

“Hyoyeon is dancing with them because she really loves dance battles. It’s not because you’re boring her.”

“I just wish I wouldn’t step on her foot so much.”

Sunny grinned. “Don’t worry. I know just what to do.”

~~~~~

Jessica was in disbelief. She couldn’t believe that it was happening to her. How? How did this happen? Ever since they had their talk about her shopping habits, things had been going well with Yul. He was back to his gentle, caring self; taking good care of her. She had also resolved to try harder not to spend more than what she earned—what he said had made a lot of sense and she wanted to make him happy too. She had been shocked to see him cry. She could sense his strong desire to be the man she could depend on, through and through. Failing to do so had led to him breaking down and she didn’t want him to hurt like that again.

However, it was as if the fates were out to turn their lives upside down. She had barely managed to come up with a method of owning Kelly—she’d put aside a sum of money each month so that she could buy it—when this news hit her.

She had gone for her periodic body check-up as usual and her doctor was to provide her with a full medical report on her health status. Only this time, she wasn’t provided with one clean bill of health. She was provided with two.

Two?!

She palmed her face at the news. She couldn’t understand why her doctor was smiling so happily. Happy? Was that an emotion she was supposed to be feeling?

“Congratulations, Miss Jung. You’re pregnant and it’s coming along very nicely.”

Congratulations?! Is this something worth congratulating me over? I don’t want to be a mother! I don’t know how to be a mother!

The implications of being pregnant hit her like a ton of bricks and her floodgates gave way to the overwhelming surrealism. No, no, no… How could she be pregnant?! She had taken measures to make sure that she wouldn’t. In fact, it was this very doctor who had just congratulated her that she had consulted with on birth control methods!

“I’m so going to sue you.” Her shock and disbelief had turned into some kind of anger and she was ready to lash out at the first available target—who happened to be her doctor.

“Sue me?” Her doctor looked amused. Why did she look amused? “On what grounds?” asked her doctor.

“Your contraceptive didn’t work!”

Her doctor merely grinned and said, “Contraceptives don’t guarantee a hundred per cent protection. There’s always that tiny, microscopic chance that a certain superhero may get lucky and hit the jackpot.”

“I’m still going to sue you.”

“Miss Jessica Jung, I’ve been your doctor for the past ten years. You’re not going to sue me. So tell me, what’s the matter with you? Why aren’t you happy to be pregnant?”

“Why would I be happy?!”

“Why wouldn’t you?”

“What’s there to be happy about?!”

“Plenty.”

“You’re just saying this so that I won’t sue you.”

“Miss Jung, having a child is a blessing. It is also a privilege. In my line of work, I’ve seen too many women who were devastated by their inability to conceive.”

“Doctor…I don’t want to be pregnant.”

“Why not? You’re in a good relationship and you’ll be married soon. What’s there to stop you?”

“I…I’m scared.”

Her doctor flashed a knowing smile.

“Jessica, I’ve seen my fair share of scared out of their wits women who went on to have two or three children after having their first one. All first times are scary. It’s only natural to be scared.”

“You don’t understand. I can’t. I don’t know how to take care of babies. Children don’t like me. I’m not sure I like them either.”

“You’ll know what to do when you have your own. Your motherly instincts will help you get through it.”

“Motherly instincts? I don’t have motherly instincts!”

“You’ll have it after you have your own child. And you won’t be alone in this. You have Yul. You have to tell him. I’m sure he’ll be delighted to hear the news.”

“Yul?”

“Yes, Yul. Your boyfriend? Fiancé? Husband-to-be?”

“Now you’re just mocking me.” Jessica pouted.

Her doctor laughed. “Jessica, you’ll be fine. I assure you. And tell him as soon as you can. Tell him about how you feel too. That way, you can get through it together.”

“I’d better be fine. Or else I’m suing you.”

~~~~~