Round Fifty

 

“Taetae, would you like to come in?”

 

Taeng gulped. He had not expected Tiffany to start ‘solving his problem’ so soon.

 

“Er… I think you’re tired tonight. It’s been a long day. Rest well, Fany ah. I’ll just take my leave now.”

 

“Oh no you don’t.”

 

Taeng yelped in surprise when he was pulled into the apartment by the collar. Tiffany had unceremoniously grabbed his collar and gave it a good yank. He stumbled into the apartment and the door slammed shut behind him, making him jump a little. He felt her hands pushing his back gently towards the couch in the living room.

 

“Sit.”

 

He sat.

 

She stood before him with an unusual smile. It was unusual because her eyes did not turn into crescent moons. Her eyes spoke of something else instead.

 

“Keep your eyes on me.”

 

Taeng swallowed a lump in his throat and nodded numbly with his eyes on her.

 

“Good boy.”

 

Taeng did not dare to blink as Tiffany winked at him. With wide open eyes, he watched as Tiffany came towards him, one step at a time. With every step she took, a button came undone and his blood pressure rose a notch. He could hardly breathe when she finally came to a stop right in front of him with all of her buttons undone. She pulled her blouse out from her skirt and it hung loosely on her shoulders, providing little coverage of her bosom.

 

PEAS!!! HELP!!!

 

Taeng screamed in his head when he caught sight of Tiffany’s beautiful bra-clad bosom. A squeak escaped his lips as Tiffany pushed her blouse off her shoulders and let it fall to the floor. His squeak turned her unusual smile into an even more unusual grin as she straddled him.

 

“Keep looking at me.” Her husky voice sent tingles down his spine.

 

Taeng nodded, with his eyes fixated on her. He could not look away even if he tried. His eyes were in visual heaven. Tiffany was simply too beautiful for words.

 

“Like what you see?”

 

“Y-Yes.”

 

Tiffany giggled and reached behind her back. The next thing Taeng knew, her bra had come off and she was topless. Her long hair cascaded down her chest and it was like playing peek-a-boo with her twins. Taeng decided that he liked playing peek-a-boo with her twins. It was a fun and invigorating game.

 

“Is this a better view?”

 

“Y-Yes.”

 

“Good. Look all you want.”

 

Taeng nodded eagerly and looked.

 

He looked.

 

And he looked.

 

And… he looked.

 

“Aren’t you going to do anything else?”

 

Taeng looked into her eyes feeling confused. “Huh?”

 

“You’re allowed to touch as well, don’t you know?”

 

Taeng blinked furiously. “Oh… you said to look and I thought we were supposed to fix my problem of finding you too distracting…”

 

“Are you seriously contented with just looking at me?!” Tiffany was half frowning and half smiling which confused Taeng a little.

 

“Touching you is better than just looking…” Taeng looked down shyly. Then he gasped and covered his pants with his palms.

 

“What are you covering there, Taetae…?”

 

“M-My…” Taeng faltered and fell silent.

 

Tiffany giggled again.

 

“I want to see what’s under your hands, Taetae…”

 

Taeng whimpered and moved his hands away from his pants. There was a sizeable tent that was increasing in size.

 

“Taetae, you’re so cute!” Tiffany gushed and threw her arms around his neck.

 

As she leaned forward to hug him, his eyes grew wider. Her twins were nearing his face and the next thing he knew, he was buried in them.

 

“Mmm…” Taeng was lost in y heaven. He nuzzled her and loved her with his lips, making her giggle a lot. Hearing her giggles made him more confident of what he was doing and he continued to work his lips on her. His hands found their way to her and caressed her happily. Her felt so nice! So round and juicy! He squeezed her and was delighted to hear her giggle some more.

 

“Taetae… keep on—” Tiffany was interrupted by the sound of her phone ringing shrilly. She reached for her bag which was lying on the floor and fished her phone out. “Wait, hold on. It’s Sunny. Let me take this call quickly and then we can continue fixing your problem.” Tiffany giggled as she answered Sunny’s call.

 

~~~~~

 

Sunny was certain that this was not the way to any of the restaurants in town. Joongki had been driving away from town rather than towards it.

 

“Where are we going?”

 

“The restaurant that is so hard to get into.”

 

“Is it in town?”

 

“No.”

 

“Oh.”

 

Sunny stayed quiet for a while before caving into the urge to find out more.

 

“Where is this restaurant exactly?”

 

“It’s a surprise, so I can’t tell you.”

 

Sunny had no choice but to sit still and wait for him to arrive at the ‘restaurant’ that he claimed to be driving it.

 

~~~~~
 

It wasn’t a restaurant. It was his house.

 

“It’s your house, isn’t it? You lied to me.”

 

“I did not! My house is harder to get into than any other restaurant in town! I don’t bring anybody back home, ever.”

 

“Nobody at all? You’ve never brought any girl to your home before?”

 

Joongki shook his head. “I’ve never been serious about any girl, so I never saw the need to show them my home which is very private to me and my sister.”

 

“Your sister? You have a sister?”

 

“Seulgi. She’s called Seulgi. But she’s not home tonight. She’s out with her friends. And the coast is clear.”

 

“Why would you need a clear coast?”

 

Joongki eyed her amusedly and she flinched inwardly. “Sunny, a player like you can’t pretend not to know what this is about, can you?”

 

Sunny smiled stiffly. “I’m not a player anymore.”

 

“Oh, really? I could have sworn you were playing with me all this time.”

 

“That was just me, the account manager, handling her very important client.”

 

“This very important client is now cordially inviting you, the account manager, into his home for dinner. Surely you would do him the honour?”

 

Sunny sighed inwardly. Just a dinner. I will give him this much. Then I have to stop it.

 

~~~~~
 

Joongki was the perfect gentleman during dinner. Truth be told, if she were not already in love with Yoong, he would have stood a good chance with her. It was an impartial assessment of him but her heart was completely partial to Yoong. Some things were just not meant to be.

 

“Joongki ssi…”

 

“Hold it… hold it… what’s with the sudden formality?”

 

“I think I will call you Joongki ssi from now on.”

 

“Why?”

 

“I’m sorry but I’m not in a position to accept your advances in this way.”

 

“Not in a position to accept my advances? But you were perfectly willing to accept my advances when you were trying to clinch the deal with me.”

 

“That’s just me doing my job, Joongki ssi.”

 

“Sunny… don’t you have even a little bit of interest in me? We have something. I can feel it.”

 

“Whatever you are feeling, is not how I feel. Joongki ssi, I already have a boyfriend.”

 

“But you said you didn’t!”

 

“I said I didn’t because we wanted to keep it a secret.”

 

Joongki stood up and moved towards her. By instinct, she got up and moved away.

 

“You… you are a player through and through. You played me to get the deal and now that you have me locked in, you’re kicking me away.”

 

“I’m sorry if I made you feel that way but that was never my intention. I admit to flirting but that is part and parcel of business, especially in sales and you know that.”

 

“I thought we had something more. I really thought I had a chance with you.”

 

“I’m sorry, I’m already spoken for.”

 

“Who is he? Who is your boyfriend?”

 

“I-I can’t say.”

 

“Why can’t you?”

 

“That’s my private life. I don’t wish to divulge that much.”

 

“So now I’m that client that you have no more use for and can’t wait to kick away. You won’t even tell me who your boyfriend is?”

 

Sunny felt increasingly worried about the situation she was in. She never had a rejection go so badly before. All her previous experiences were with seasoned players who were only out for a good time and she only had to reject them when they began to cross the line which they quickly realized as well. Other men she had rejected were nice enough and took her gentle rejection well. Most of them even remained friends with her. But this… this was not something she had to deal with before—a man who did not look like he was going to take no for an answer.

 

“Fine, I will tell you who my boyfriend is.” Sunny took a deep breath. “It’s Yoong.”

 

“Yoong...YOONG?! YOUR BOSS?!”

 

“Yes.”

 

“He was on Jeju Island and right in front of me and you pretended that you were not his girlfriend?!”

 

“He wasn’t happy with me going to Jeju Island with you and I was pissed with him when he turned up with a girl.”

 

“So you used me. You linked arms with me.”

 

“I’m sorry. I crossed the line there.”

 

“So you owe me one.”

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

“An apology isn’t enough.”

 

“Then what is?”

 

“This.” Joongki lunged forward and caught Sunny in his arms. He held her head fast in his palms and meshed his lips on hers forcefully.

 

“MMM!!! NO!!!” screamed Sunny but Joongki did not let her go.

 

He pushed her against a wall and trapped her within his arms before moving his lips to her neck.

 

“No! Please! Stop! STOP!” Sunny was already in tears. She was panicking for his lips were relentless and she could not get out of his iron grip. Then, in a moment of clarity, she recalled a programmed she had watched that taught self-defense. It was a classic move. A lethal one—for men especially.

 

She raised her knee as quickly as she could in the general direction of his crotch and made solid contact with him. She heard the impact and his scream and that was her window of opportunity. She ran for it as he crouched in pain. Unfortunately, in her panic, she ran into a room instead of the main door and it was too late to run back the other way. She slammed the door shut and locked it as her heart thumped wildly.

 

She fished her phone from her pocket and dialed the first number that came to mind—Hyoyeon. Unfortunately, Hyoyeon did not answer. Who else? Not Yoong. He’s going to kill Joongki and get himself into trouble. Young? Yes! Young!

 

It must have been a really bad day for her because Young did not answer either.

 

“Where is everyone when I need them?!” she cried desperately. By this time, Joongki was banging on the door, demanding that she open it. She tried her best to ignore him and thought of someone else to call for help. Yul! Yul oppa!

 

Again, she was out of luck. She recognized the overseas ringing tone of the phone and ended the call immediately. Her tears were falling like the rain by now and she had never been more desperate in her life.

 

Tiffany.

 

That single thought struck her like a candle light in the dark and she called Tiffany immediately. Please answer… PLEASE! To her immense relief, Tiffany answered. She was all giggly but stopped abruptly.

 

“Sunny? What’s wrong?”

 

“Help, I’m stuck in Joongki’s house and he’s trying to… trying to…” Sunny broke down into sobs but Tiffany did not seem to need to hear the rest of her sentence to understand what she was trying to say.

 

“Who is Joongki? And where is his house?”

 

“He’s my business partner. I-I don’t know where I am.”

 

“Sunny, check your GPS and send me your location. I’m already on my way to my car. Stay calm Sunny and I’ll be right there.”

 

“O-Okay…” Sunny hanged up and checked her location on her GPS immediately. She sent the address to Tiffany and sank to the floor with her back against the door. She had little strength left in her knees and the floor was a better place for her at the moment.

 

“Sunny, you leave me with no choice.” Joongki’s enraged voice came through the door, sending jolts of fear into Sunny. “I would have given up on the revenge had you given me a chance but since you are lost to me now, it’s time for revenge.”

 

“Revenge? What revenge?” Sunny was confused.

 

“You’ll have to ask Yoong about what he did to my sister.”

 

“What did he do to your sister?”

 

“You should ask him! He’s the who broke my sister’s heart!”

 

Sunny remained silent behind the door. She knew that Yoong had played with many girls before and no doubt, Joongki’s sister must have been one of Yoong’s girls. All was silent for a while and she got more nervous. What was Joongki up to now? She got on her feet and headed to the windows. If it were possible, she could try to escape from the window. One look out the window, however, was all it took for her to eliminate that option. His home was elevated and she would probably break a leg if she jumped.

 

All of a sudden, there was a click in the lock and the door was flung open. Sunny screamed and tried to run away from Joongki but to no avail. He caught her and threw her onto the bed in the room. She struggled valiantly but he simply overpowered her with his superior strength even though he was not considered to be a very large man. She heard and felt her blouse ripping open and screamed again. Her screams turned into sobs as Joongki d her roughly.

 

She renewed her efforts to get him off but he wouldn’t budge and she was completely trapped under him.

 

“Please… don’t…” cried Sunny as she felt her chances of getting out of this terrifying situation slipping away.

 

Just then, a girl screamed. She saw a lady standing just outside with a shocked expression. Before the lady could say anything else, however, more confusion took place as Joongki yelled something intelligible and ran towards the door. The girl fainted and Joongki caught her in his arms.

 

This was Sunny’s chance and she knew it. She clutched her torn blouse to her chest and scrambled out of the room. She heard Joongki’s strangled cry from behind her and ran even faster. She managed to get out of the house. The sounds of his footsteps were just behind her which made her run even faster out of fear. Then, to her utter relief, she saw a familiar looking woman and man jumping out of a car. They ran to the gate and she saw Tiffany and Taeng clearly.

 

With an extra burst of speed, Sunny reached the gate and pressed a huge white button that was labelled ‘Gate’. The gate was unlocked and she finally got out. Tiffany was already there to hold her. She did not dare to look back. All she heard was Tiffany’s calm and steady voice in her ear.

 

“He’s gone back in Sunny. You’re safe. You’re safe with us.”

 

Sunny sank to her knees with relief and broke down in sobs again.

 

“Sunny, let’s get into the car, alright?”

 

Sunny managed to nod and got up with the help of Tiffany. Taeng held the door open for her and she got in with Tiffany by her side. Then he got into the driver’s seat and drove them away.

 

~~~~~

 

Hyoyeon smiled as Hyun devoured the last goguma dumpling. The wasabi dumplings lay on the tray untouched and she laughed while thinking about Hyun’s desperate look when he was cornered into eating one. Oh boy, what she would give to have a picture of that look!

 

“By the way, Sunny really did call when you were out. I didn’t make that up.”

 

“Oh! I forgot to call Sunny again!”

 

Hyoyeon made another call and this time, it was answered.

 

“Hello?”

 

Hyoyeon was surprised to hear a woman’s voice answering the phone. It was definitely not Sunny’s voice.

 

“Hi, this is Hyoyeon. May I know who you are?”

 

“I’m Tiffany, Sunny’s friend.”

 

Hyoyeon wondered why Tiffany was speaking in a hushed voice.

 

“I’d like to speak to Sunny if she’s available. She called me a while ago but I was out.”

 

“Oh… I… I don’t know how to put this across…”

 

“What is it? Did something happen to Sunny?” Something about the woman’s voice worried Hyoyeon.

 

“Could you please hold? I’m going to ask Sunny if she wants to speak to you.”

 

Hyoyeon could hear muffled voices and she waited anxiously. Something was terribly wrong. She could sense it.

 

“Sunny wants to see you. Could you come to her place now?”

 

“Sure. I’ll be right there.”

 

~~~~~

 

Hyun offered to drive her to Sunny’s apartment and she gladly accepted his offer. She felt too jittery to drive. It did not take them long to get there and Hyoyeon gave Hyun a quick peck on his cheek.

 

“Thanks Hyun.”

 

Hyoyeon lost no time in hurrying up to Sunny’s apartment. Tiffany opened the door and Hyoyeon was greeted by her wan smile.

 

“Sunny is in her room. I think she needs you right now.”

 

Hyoyeon dashed into Sunny’s room at once. Her heart wrenched when she saw a tear stricken Sunny all curled up in bed, hugging a pillow. The petite girl looked positively in need of a big, warm hug and that is exactly what Hyoyeon gave her.

 

“Hyoyeon…” sobbed Sunny, “Hyoyeon…”

 

“Shh… don’t worry about anything. I’m here for you. Your friends are here for you.” Hyoyeon nodded her thanks at Tiffany who closing the door to give them some privacy. “Cry if it will make you feel better.”

 

Sunny sobbed. Huge, shoulder heaving, body wracking sobs. Hyoyeon did nothing but hug her and pat her back gently. She let the girl cry without saying a word. After some time, Sunny stopped crying. Her sobs turned into sniffs and that was when Hyoyeon spoke.

 

“Feeling better now?” Hyoyeon could feel Sunny nodding her head and pulled away to look at the girl. She wiped Sunny’s tears with her thumb and smiled warmly. “Do you want to tell me what happened?”

 

“I was assaulted.”

 

Hyoyeon gasped.

 

“ually.”

 

Hyoyeon gasped even louder. Then her initial shock turned into anger.

 

“Which did that to you?”

 

“A business partner of mine.”

 

“Well, he ain’t no business partner of yours anymore!”

 

Sunny shook her head vigorously. “No, no… he still is. He has to be. His business is very important to the company.”

 

“Are you out of your mind? Do you intend to work with a man who has done such horrible things to you?”

 

“It’s my fault. I flirted with him and gave him the wrong impression. And… he was angry about something else too…”

 

“No way in hell could that have been your fault!!! Sunny Lee Soonkyu!!! You need some rest. You’re not thinking straight.”

 

Just then, there was a knock on the door and Tiffany entered the room with a ringing phone. “It’s Yoong.”

 

Sunny shook her head violently. “Don’t answer it! Let it ring. I… I can’t face him right now.”

 

Tiffany sighed but did not argue. She left the room with the ringing phone and closed the door again.

 

Hyoyeon turned to Sunny and looked at her seriously. “Sunny, you need to tell Yoong about this.”

 

“No! I can’t! Yoong is very jealous and if he knows that this happened to me… he’s going to kill Joongki.”

 

“Joongki is the guy who…”

 

Sunny nodded and gripped Hyoyeon’s hands very tightly. “Please keep this a secret for me. Please.”

 

Hyoyeon did not agree with Sunny but with her friend in such a fragile state, she did not wish to antagonize her any further so she smiled and nodded.

 

“Your secret is safe with me. Don’t worry. Now, get some rest.”

 

~~~~~

 

Yul looked at the sleeping princess whom he held in his arms and smiled. She looked so peaceful and serene. She looked so precious and vulnerable. She looked so attractive and sensual. He stopped himself from looking any further down. He knew that he would enter the land of no return if he looked any more.

 

Jessica frustrated him that way. He had always prided himself on self-control but she constantly tested his competence in that area. She had the power to anger, please, arouse, surprise, shock, and excite him. Yet that was not the end of the list. She had introduced a whole range of emotions that he never thought could go together, such as anger and arousal or shock and excitement. He had lied to more than a hundred people for her. He found himself going soft on some of the rules that he would never have dreamed of bending. Gosh, what was this power that she had over him? Yet she was so soft, gentle (albeit, not always) and reliant on him and others. What was it about Jessica?

 

“I’ll never know… will I?” he said softly to himself, not wanting to wake the sleeping princess.

 

He was ‘sicawitched’. Yes, he just made the word up for he could find no other word to explain it. Despite being ‘sicawitched’, he knew that he would have to be stronger for the two of them. He would trade his wish for her betterment. He would tell her that his wish was for her to have a working life.

 

~~~~~

 

“You want me to find work to earn my keep?!” Jessica looked at him incredulously, bordering on scoffing at his wish.

 

“You spend all your time shopping, getting manicures, pedicures, going out with your socialite friends and with me. Don’t you think you need to find more focus in your life?”

 

“My focus is you,” said Jessica simply, with an adoring look that almost knocked his socks off.

 

“Sica,” Yul clenched his teeth, determined to stay focused on the topic, “You promised to fulfill my wish and I’ve already done three of yours. It’s a more than beneficial exchange for you, isn’t it?”

 

“I can’t believe that your wish is for me to get some work!”

 

“Why is it so hard to believe?”

 

“I don’t need to work! My Dad has more than enough money for me to live seven lives in luxury.”

 

“Work is not only about the money, Sica.”

 

“Oh? What else is it besides toil and suffering then?”

 

“Do I look like I’m toiling and suffering at work?”

 

“Mmm… not really… but you’re no ordinary man. You’re Yul. Most of the people I know whine about going to work all the time.”

 

“That’s because they aren’t doing what they want and like to.”

 

Jessica eyed him for a moment before commenting, “That means you really love your job so much that it’s not toil and suffering?”

 

“Let’s put it into perspective. You love me, right?”

 

Jessica nodded. “Of course I do.” She smiled.

 

“So you would gladly do things for me if you love me.”

 

Jessica narrowed her eyes into slits. “Are you trying to trap me with your clever words?”

 

“Tsk, I’m not trying to trap you. Why would I? I just want you to see that working for what you love is neither toil nor suffering. On the contrary, it is tiring but satisfying.”

 

“I don’t like to be tired.” Jessica grimaced.

 

“Are you sure? That’s what you were last night.”

 

“Yul! Be serious!” Jessica turned pink at the mention of last night.

 

“I am very serious, Sica. Work is about the same as in some ways. If you do it with the right job, it’s tiring but completely satisfying at the end of the day. Just like having with someone you love.”

 

“Can work really be as satisfying as is with you?” Jessica was beginning to look curious.

 

Yul smiled. “Yes it can, in a different way. It’s less physical and more psychological.”

 

“Hmm… your wish is for me to find work, huh?”

 

“Yes, it is. Please fulfill it for me? There’s no rush. You can take your time to look for something you like to do.”

 

“Alright.”

 

“Really?” Yul perked up instantly. “Say you promise!” Oh boy, was he excited over this!

 

Jessica giggled. “I promise.”

 

“And seal it with a kiss.” Yul grinned cheekily and pointed towards his lips. He smiled inwardly when he felt her on his lips. He wrapped his arms around her that instant and refused to let her go until he was done kissing her thoroughly.

 

“Yul… you’re such a beast.” Jessica bit her lip and looked at him shyly.

 

Yul laughed. “It’s all your fault, baby. It’s all your fault.”

 

~~~~~