“The only thing that could make you appear more beautiful than you already do right now is if you smile.”  Taecyeon leaned closer so he was right up against your ear.

You rolled your eyes at him, but could not help but smile at his words.  “I hate these company party things.”  You smoothed your hand over your emerald blue one-shoulder sheath long gown.  The very minute he saw you put it on, he knew it was perfect and couldn’t wait to take it off.

“You’re gorgeous love, just one more thing.”  He reached his hand in the inner pocket of his jacket and retrieved a ring.  “I told you…never remove your wedding ring.”  He kissed you on the cheek as he slid the ring on your finger.  “Do I have to glue it on you?”  He grinned and you laughed.

The door opened and you clung to Taecyeon’s hand and walked with him, reminding yourself every step that all you really have to do is stand there by his side and look pretty and sound smart without embarrassing your husband.  You’ve been through this type of parties since you were old enough to be allowed to pick a cocktail from the serving trays that the waiters would go around with.  All you had to do was smile until your cheeks would cramp and respond intelligently when conversed with.  And you remembered how much you hated every minute of it.

You were growing progressively more bored and to top it off Taecyeon was pulled away from you by a circle of grey haired men who had only business matters to discuss despite the party mood.  You tossed back half of the champagne in one swallow in irritation when you heard a deep voice at your shoulder.  “Could I tempt you with another glass?”

You turned and saw Junho’s smiling face.  He was holding two glasses of champagne and you notice that his hair was dyed to another color once again.  “You’re a lifesaver.”  You took the glass from him and touched a strand of his hair.  “I see you can’t really stick to one color.”

“I haven’t met the color that I’d want to be with for the rest of my life.”  He said and you stared at him quite oddly before bursting into laughter.  “I haven’t seen Chansung lately, is he well?”

“Yes, he is.  Just needed a little distance, I guess.”

The two of you stood there chatting and laughing at all the other awkward people in the room to pass the time while Taecyeon would side eye you from time to time, checking to see how you are every once in a while.  Suddenly a pale woman wearing an elegant floor length black dress approached you, cutting off the laughter in an instant.

“Hi Junho.”  She waved at him with a nod.

“HI George.”  Junho replied with a smile and then turned to introduce you.  “This is –“

“You must be Taecyeon’s wife.”  The woman said as she quickly skimmed you from head to toe.  “I’ve heard so much about you, though I must admit, you do look different than how I expected you to be.”

“So…you're George.”  You looked up to meet her eyes with a smirk on your face.  “And what exactly where you expecting?”

“Well, let’s just say, I’m quite familiar with Taecyeon’s style.  We were together all through college, and I should say, you’re quite different from his usual.”  Her nose wrinkled as she appeared smug and totally annoying in your eyes.  “But of course, you two only got married for the inheritance, right?”

“Well, you’re quite right.  I’m the money girl.”  You smiled fiercely with your eyes.  “Well, I on the other hand, have no expectations to disapprove of of you since I’ve never heard about you at all.”  You took a sip of your drink.  “Oh yes, other than I thought you were a man.”

“I think what she meant to say was,”  Junho jumped in hastily to stop an impeding cat fight.  “Taecyeon hasn’t told her much about you.  Her name’s Georgia, thus the nickname George.”

pursed for a moment.  “I’m sure Taec did that so as not to hurt your feelings.”

“And what exactly do you mean by that?”  You wanted to slap her, but you are going to be an adult about this, so you smiled politely.  “Maybe you should go talk to someone else now.”

“Are you worried Taecyeon might see us side by side and compare?”  She smiled making you want to claw at her face.  But Junho stepped forward shielding you with his body.  “George, dear sweet George, you might have had one too many drinks already.  You should go.  Now.”  Junho said sternly and off George went with a huff and a hair flip.  You were taking deep breaths as you watched her stalk away.

Junho wrapped an arm around your shoulder.  “Are you alright?”

“We’re not telling Taec about this tonight, okay?”  You have managed to calm down enough to smile at Junho.

“Are you sure?”  He intoned completely straight-faced.

“Uhm.”  You nodded.  “Let’s sit down somewhere, okay?  I feel like my knees are about to give out on me.”

“We can do that.”  Junho held out his arm and you linked yours through it as he led you off to a corner with a couch and club chairs around a low table.

You collapsed on the couch as Junho flagged down a passing waiter to order another round of drinks.  You looked away, staring off blankly into space as you got tangled in your thoughts.  Then finally, you broke off the long silence.  “What’s the matter with that woman?”  You sighed with a pout.

“She’s just drunk.”  Junho leaned into you as your shoulders slumped.  “Hey.”  He reached over and held your chin in his hand to turn your face towards him.  “You’re a wonderful woman.  You’re amazing.  And Taec loves you more than you know.  So you don’t have to worry about George or whoever and whatever.  Taec loves you.  And that’s all you have to know.  That’s all that matters.”  His voice was deep and reassuring.

A single tear slipped from your eye and rolled down your cheek.  “It’s not that I don’t trust him.  It’s just that I hate being known as the girl he married for the inheritance.”

Junho brushed the tear with his thumb and called your name softly.  “He didn’t marry you for that.  And nobody thinks that about you.  I’d marry you even if I incur a debt, I’m sure Taec feels the same way too.  So, smile already because I hate seeing you so unhappy.”

“Thanks Junho.”  You sniffed and tried to laugh.  “I hate that Georgia.  The next time I see her I’ll – “  You curved your fingers into claws and made sounds like a pissed off cat, making Junho chuckle at your lame attempt at an animal sound impersonation.

“What are you doing with my wife?”  Taecyeon appeared and plopped down next to you.

“I was trying to seduce her.”  Junho teased.

“I was slowly getting seduced.”  You laughed and Taecyeon kissed you quickly. 

He took your hand and squeezed it with a smile.  “Then I’ll have to win you back.”

You linked your fingers with Taecyeon’s and dropped your head on his shoulder.  “You already did.”  Everything had turned better.  It was easy to forget the hurt and the irritation when you are snuggled in Taecyeon’s side having one arm around you so he could hold you closer.

“We better stop or I might barf.”  Junho said.

Taecyeon felt your body going a little limp against him and he tightened his arms around you.  He glanced at Junho, who gave him a signal that something awful happened earlier with you.  “Something wrong love?”  He looked down at you to see you playing with one of his cufflinks.

“Nothing.”  He watched your face hoping for a smile to appear that never appeared.  Instead you became even more fascinated with his cufflinks.

“Okay, then how about I take you home.”  Taecyeon kissed the top of your head.

You turned to look at Junho who was taking a sip of his drink.  “Junho, would you be too lonely without us?”

“Don’t worry about me, I was just about to leave myself when I found you.”  Junho smiled.

“Okay then.”  Taecyeon said with mischief in his eyes.  “So, I’ll take you home, then I'll take your dress off, then…”  You quickly covered his mouth making you three laugh.

"Take me with you!"  Junho said.