CHAPTER 26

BRRT. BRRT. Kris's phone buzzes, vibrating against the wooden surface of the bedside table; he opens his eyes, rubbing the sleep away and letting out a heavy breath. His phone keeps vibrating on the bedside table but he makes no move of picking it up.

“Hana?” he calls out the name after noticing the absence beside him on the bed. Ugh... my neck hurts. He brings a hand to the back of his and rubs it as he sat up, the thick sheets covering his stark lower half. “Hana?” he calls out again but receives no response.

BRRT. BRRT. Aish... “Hello?” he practically growls onto the person on the other line “Aigo... such a hot head so early in the morning” a familiar voice chuckles on the other line “Time to get up”

Kris runs a hand through his hair and looks around the dimly lit room, the rays of the sun being blocked by the thick curtains “Where are you?”

“Downstairs, helping out Tao and keeping Suho on track of time... get up, breakfast will be served soon”

He glances at the clock on the bedside table. Seven o'clock... so early. Letting out a groggy sigh, he pushes the duvets away and walks to the bathroom without a single care. “You do realize that you left me alone, right? I wanted to wake up seeing your pretty face you know” he faces the mirror, checking his neck and chest, seeing a few claw marks and red spots.

“Sorry but Suho has an early schedule so I had to be up and ready before him” Kris clicks his tongue, tracing one of the claw marks that ran from his shoulder to the center of his chest. “You were pretty wild last night, for someone who was dead tired” a chuckle rolls off his lips.

Hana was quiet for a moment then minutes later she spoke “Get up and get ready, Kris... it's a long day ahead”

“Araso, araso... I'll see you around then?”

“Ofcourse, if you'll be a good boy the whole day, I might reward you” she emits a playful laugh and he smirks “Sure, that won't be such a hard task” “Good luck to you, Mr. Wu”

“No, Ms. Kim, good luck to you”

The phone call ends and Kris enters the shower, on the process to get himself ready for the, indeed, long day ahead. Tonight was going to be the opening night of the Fashion Summit which meant that all guests and representatives arrive in the island. Everyone was so anxious about this day, it's probably one of the most important events on the calendar of a fashion freak.

Kris buckles up his belt and puts on a white v-neck, his black pants not too tight but enough to outline just how long his legs were; he pulls out a pair of black sneakers from the closet and puts it on then as if on cue, a knock comes on the door. He takes one last look on the mirror in the bathroom, spiking up his hair and putting on a pair of shades before grabbing his phone and answered the knock.

“G-Good morning, Mr. Wu” Meifen bows. She flusters a bit and feels her heart race when he opened the door; So casual yet so handsome. Her eyes wander for a moment and widen when she sees a couple of red spots on his neck. A-are those... h-hickeys? She swallows the lump in and shook the thought away. “Hm...” was his mere reply to the greeting before closing the door behind him and stuck his card key in his pant's back pocket.

They quietly walked down the hall, making their way to one of the elevators. Meifen bit down on her lip, her nose catching a whiff of his perfume, a scent similar to those ones that are often given the name OXYGEN or H2O. It was a refreshing manly scent.

“...Peng... Ms. Peng” she bumps against his back. Kris turns around and she immediately bows in apology, his brows were narrowing together and the last thing she wanted to get her boss pissed off. “S-sorry, sir”

Kris puffs out a slightly annoyed sigh “I said...” he repeats his words that she missed “I want you to check what time my sister arrives and from there on you can stick around her, just call me if you need something important, understood?”

Meifen nods her head. Ding. The elevator doors open and the two of them step inside; Kris immediately presses for the ground floor and the long descend begins. “U-uhm... sir?” Kris raises his head a bit, looking at her through the mirrored doors “Hm?”

“W-would you like to g-get breakfast?” she asks. It took every ounce of courage to get the words out. To ask someone such as Kris Wu out for breakfast is like walking into a forest knowing that death will hit you at any moment. He turns his attention back to his phone “No, I want to see the progress that Tao is on... just call me when something comes up” Ding. He steps out of the elevator, leaving Meifen to stare at him as he walked off.

“Okay...” Sigh. Damn it Meifen, stop it.

Hana.

Ugh. Damn you, Kris Wu.

The back of my knees weren't the only ones hurting nor was my private part, in fact my back and neck aswell. Even my hips are bruising from his rough grasp last night but... Sigh. I'd be lying if I said I didn't like it. There's always a first time for everything and last night was definitely the first time he's been rough. I always knew he had it in him but I never expected him to actually show it to me; it's scary yet so –excuse my language- ing hot at the same time.

If I didn't know any better, I would've mistaken him for a god last night. But as pleasurable as the experience was, the aftermath is simply... painful. was a bad idea... tsk.

I set down the two pieces of chicken sandwich and two cups of lemon juice on the table. Tao and Suho were talking to a bunch of technicians, trying to direct which things goes where. I've also heard Chanyeol talking to someone about the live feed so I'm guessing that there's going to be a live broadcast happening. Sigh... so sleepy. Yawn.

“Ah, I'm so happy ~” came a sing-sang voice. I look up and see Tao approaching with Suho. I smiled at him as he took a seat, taking one of the sandwiches and unwrapping it “Things are going well, sir?” I ask him. He happily nods his head and takes a bite out of the chicken sandwich “I'm really confident this will be the best fashion summit ever!” he exclaims like a kid, one who just got their first bike and thinks that nothing else in the world matters.

Suho takes his seat aswell and I hand him his sandwich “Thank you, Hana” he breathes out, taking the food and opens it. Sigh. “Are you okay, Hana?” I whip my head towards Tao and flash him a smile.

No... I think, my legs are gonna collapse. “I-I'm fine, sir”

“Was Kris too rough on you last night?” he asks, a wry smile on his face. I could feel my face burn up at the question; Suho smirks and takes one of the cups, sipping the lemonade before adding a remark “I think the two of them ahd the time of their lives, that's why I didn't bother to knock...” my eyes just widened. Suho was outside the door last night?! He gives me a wink before sipping on his drink again “Didn't want to interrupt” he laughs.

I don't know what's more embarrassing right now: the fact that Tao knows or the fact that Suho was just outside our door last night. Definitely the latter! Aish! I knew I should've stopped him! Kim Hana, your boss heard you last ---wait a minute.

“What were you doing outside our door last night?” I question.

Tao picks up his own cup and begins to sip, awkwardly looking away from Suho. My eyes turn to slits as I peered at him, waiting for an answer; something is up... I turn to Tao, he puts down the sandwich and the cup then raises his hands up in defense “Don't look at me, I wasn't the one snooping around making bets --” he suddenly slaps his hands over his lips as Suho literally face palms himself.

Oh dear lord, do they mean to tell me that they made a bet with something relating to something as private as... our... erm... intimate moment? Is that even okay? I don't know if I should get embarrassed or mad, maybe I can be both but somehow, it's also a situation wherein I'm curious. What was the bet? Who makes who scream first? Who gets the most hickeys? It's rather a comedic situation in some way too.

But it still does not change the fact that he was snooping outside our door! A heavy sigh escapes my lips and my face scrunches a bit in discomfort “That's...” I don't even know what to say.

“That's really messed up!” It came off more as a whine.

“What's messed up?” Xiumin suddenly appears, stretching his arms over his head before slinging it over my shoulders, slightly leaning onto my side. I pout “Suho-ssi was outside our door last night listening to --” I suddenly pause, my face growing red.

Ugh. I bring a palm to my face and shook my head. An amused laugh dances off Suho's lips and he looks up at me from his seat “If it makes you feel any better, I was the only one who heard it”

“So, who screamed more?” Xiumin asks. My eyes widened as I turned my head to look at him. Him too?! I suddenly feel like digging a hole onto the earth and burying myself in there... but there are two options to this situation: be embarrassed or just let it pass.

It's not like they recorded it anyway. Suho eyes me, sniggering before looking at Tao. “Aigo, you guys are such kids” I tell them, rolling my eyes.

“Ah ~ this is the life” Chanyeol props his hands behind his head as he lied back on the beach chair by the pool. “Oh la la ~ I'd tap that” Sehun says, pushing up his sunglasses as he eyes the early female swimmers on the other side. Kyungsoo lets out a long yawn and pushes up his sunglasses, sipping on his pineapple drink “Stop being a ert so early in the morning, Sehun”

A waiter arrives with Chanyeol and Sehun's drinks: milkshakes. Yes, milkshakes so early in the morning. “Thank you ~” Sehun sang, taking the drink and happily sips on it.

“Hey, who's that girl?” Chanyeol asks, pulling the straw away from his lips as he sits upright, tipping his sunglasses down a bit “She's got a fine ... damn, white skinny jeans”

Curious, Sehun and Kyungsoo also sit up, tipping down their own sunglasses aswell, just enough to reveal their eyes. They peered at the said girl wearing the white skinny jeans, just at a distance “Does she work for Wu Enterprise? She's talking to Tao and Suho” Sehun asks, sipping more on his drink.

“Now, that I would definitely tap” Chanyeol chuckles. Kyungsoo takes a long sip at his drink, swallowing hard “I'd give that a nine out of ten”

“I'd give that an eleven” Sehun smirks.

“Yah” the three quickly turn their heads to the side and saw Kris “What are you idiots doing so early in the morning?” he asks, sitting down on the empty beach chair next to Chanyeol. “Oh you know... just checking out some nice asses” he says casually as if it was an ordinary thing they do everyday.

Chanyeol turns to Kris “Yah, do you know that girl?” he points “She talked to Suho and Tao earlier” Kris quints his eyes to the person that the happy virus was pointing at and his brows knit almost immediately.

“That's my girlfriend, you retard”

“BWO?!” the three exclaim and take a second look at the girl again. “Aish! What the hell...” Chanyeol hisses to the side, sipping his drink in disappointment. Damn, taken female. “I'd still tap that” Sehun sniggers.

Kris tips down his sunglasses and beams a glare at the youngest –who just ignored him- Kyungsoo lies back on the beach chair once again, puffing out a breath “Shut up, Sehun” “How come I've never noticed it before? She should wear white jeans more often” Sehun comments, lying back aswell.

“I'm right here, you know” Kris growls. Sehun sits up for a moment and turns to look at him “Oh, hyung, you're here?” he asks, obviously being comical. Kris rolls his eyes at him and pushes his glasses back up.

Chanyeol lies back on his own chair and pushes his shades back up to cover his eyes “Congratulations Kris, your girlfriend has a nice ”

“All mine” he smirks.

“Looks like she's the only one that's marked yours; are you purposely showing off those hickeys?” Kyungsoo asks. Kris runs his fingers along his exposed neck for a moment before propping his hands on the back of his head again “Jealous?” “You were pretty loud last night” Chanyeol smirks “Atleast... Hana was” he sniggers at his last sentence.

Kris orders a bottle of water at the passing waiter;

“This is going to be a long day” he breathes out. His bottle of water arrives shortly and he wastes no time twisting the cap and opening it. The three raise their drinks and simultaneously say a wish “Good luck to all of us”

Hana.

“Unnie!”

Two arms wrapped its way around my waist as I turned around; a chuckle escaping my lips as I hugged back the girl “I see you've arrived, Stephanie-ah; how was your trip?” she breaks the embrace and gives me a tired smile “It was fine; oh, by the way...” she pulls something out of her backpack.

'CHINESE: The easy way' was engraved on the front cover of the book “Four months left, right?” I blink my eyes at her question. Ah right! Midterms are in two months and the final exams in four. Gulp. “T-thanks, but you really didn't have to” I sheepishly scratch the back of my neck, flashing an awkward smile. I truly do appreciate the gift but I really doubt the fact that there's an easy way to learn the language.

“Trust me, unnie! It's effective! Three pages per night and I guarantee you that you will ace your tests!” she gives me two thumbs up. “Alright, thank you” I smile at her. I won't lose anything if I try, anyway.

“Well, well, well...” came a voice from behind Stephanie. We both divert our gazes and I immediately bow in courtesy as I saw who it was and with a smile, I greet her “Hello, ma'am”

Kris's aunt. She was –as I have always pictured her to be- looking sophisticated, grand and had the intimidating aura surrounding her. She wore a neat white dress, her hair was up in an elegant updo, her white heels glimmering and new. She was, in all ways possible, the most classy woman I have ever encountered.

“Were you invited in this event?” she asks me. Even the way she talks to me is intimidating and then I remember... she never liked me. I don't know why but she never did. Gulp. Smile, Hana. “Mr. Kim Joonmyeon needed me around to keep him on track, ma'am” “Unnie is Suho-ssi's executive personal assistant” Stephanie adds. The lady looks at her niece for a moment before turning back to me and smiles –a smile that made me feel much more uncomfortable- a different kind of smile. “Still, I'm sure that if it weren't for the CEO, my idiotic nephew would've still made you come”

Her words oozed with venom. What did I do? What did I do to make her dislike me so much? Is it because I'm not Chinese? Because I'm not rich? Because... Kris and I are people of different ranks in life?

I found my self biting on my tongue yet I still smiled. All of a sudden, she steps forward and reaches out a hand; I suddenly froze. Her finger hooked onto the turtleneck collar of my military jacket and tugged it down a bit. Gasp. I sense her smirk yet I make no move to cover the exposed skin.

“Ms. Kim, let me remind you...” she starts, retreating her hand and she looks at me as if I'm the smallest thing on this planet. Truth be told, I'm scared and I feel like crying right now. I remained silent as she continues “You are here to work, not to get screwed by the Chairman of Wu Prime... I always knew you were trashy; are you getting desperate?”

“Ayi! (Aunt!)” Stephanie interjects. I kept my head held high, looking at the lady still with a smile on my face, not as bright but atleast my lips curved upward rather than the opposite direction. Keep smiling, Hana. Don't let her get to you. “With all due respect ma'am, I think I know my duties... If you'll excuse me” I look at Stephanie then back at her “I have errands to attend to; I hope you enjoy the fashion summit our company has prepared, I'll see you tonight”

I then bow and leave.

I've never felt so little in my life. Even Kris, no matter how cold and heartless he seemed and acted towards me in the past, never made me feel as worthless as dirt on ground. I don't know why his aunt dislikes me so much but whatever her reason may be, I don't think that she has any right whatsoever to step on me.

Stand up for yourself, Hana... you have every right to do so.

“Mama” Yookyung calls out to her mother as soon as she saw her; standing with her mother was her cousin. Yookyung strides over to the two of them, greeting her mother with a kiss on the cheek; Stephanie bows upon seeing her and gives her a smile “Hey Stephanie” she smiles back.

“Are you okay?” she asks her mom, who stood motionless, looking towards the direction that Kim Hana disappeared to. Stephanie excuses herself to go to her room and leaves the mother and daughter be.

Yookyung placed a hand on her mother's shoulder and the lady turns to her “I'm more than okay, sweetheart” she pats her daughter's chin before walking off and leaving her to be alone. The young Wu stands there for a moment, confused by her mother's words. What's with her? She questions herself.

All of a sudden, her vision darkens. What the – “Guess who ~”

The female frowns yet her cheeks still burn; irritated, she grabs the hands placed over her eyes and force them away then as she turns around, she sees the culprit and frowns at him “What the hell, Minseok?”

“You're such a hot head” he chuckles, pocketing his hands and looks at her in amusement. She rolls her eyes at him before stalking off but then got held back by the arm “Yah!” she tries to yank her arm but Xiumin had a firm grip on it “Just a sec...” “Let me go, Minseok! I have to go see Kai!”

It was a good thing that the lobby was near empty but even if it was full, Xiumin wouldn't give a care about her yelling. Even if she was to throw a tantrum, he still would not let her get off so easily “Yah, would you listen for a bit?”

“I told you that I have things to do, now let go” she tries to yank her arm off again but Xiumin keeps his grip steady. For a moment, their eyes met and Yookyung immediately falls quiet, looking away. Puffing out a breath, she gives in “What do you want?” “Your mom... she dislikes Hana, right?”

“How should I know?” she says in a childish tone, pouting. Xiumin clicks his tongue “Yookyung-ah, if anything happens to her and your mom is behind it, Kris is not the only one who'll get upset... araso?”

Yookyung searches his eyes for some kind of humor but all ti held in them were pure bluntness. “Is that a threat I hear in your voice?” “A warning” he smiles at her genuinely, finally releasing her from his grasp and walks off. She watches him as he disappears to the elevators, questioning herself if her mother did indeed dislike her cousin's girlfriend.

But what is there to hate on Hana-unnie? Shaking her head, she composes herself before leaving aswell to attend to her own errands.

“GAH!”

“Hana!” Lay exclaims, quickly rushing to her. She had slipped and fell just beside the pool, luckily, she fell on her bum instead of landing head first. Ugh... she groans as Lay helps her get up “Are you okay?” “Y-Yeah...”

She was on her way to get some things that Suho requested for on the other side where a tent of people working on the pyrotechnics were set up and in her rush, she had failed to notice the slippery surface on the side of the pool. She pats her back side and thanks Lay.

“Be careful, no need to rush” he smiles at her. She gives him an apologetic smile before continuing on her way. That really hurt. She mentally sobs. “Oh! By the way!” Lay calls out to her making her stop and turn to look at him for a moment “Yes, sir?”

“Kyungsoo left something in your room, a dress, I think?”

Kris. Hana gives a chuckle and nods her head “I see, thanks for the info”

Slowly, as the sun begins to set, people from Wu Enterprise rush around, making final touches for the grand opening night. Wu Enterprise was finally... ready. They only had three days and by the end of it, they will know whether or not they had succeeded or failed.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

WOOT!

Fashion Night is coming! Do you want to know what happens? KEKEKE ~ get ready for the opening and the main event ladies and gentlemen ;)