I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulled him closer to me and kissed him deeply. I couldn’t deny him anymore, I couldn’t deny him to my body anymore. His fingers curled behind my neck, to hold me in place as he deepened the kiss. As his tongue explored my mouth, I slid one hand in his hair and one hand down his back caressing and taunting his hard muscles, he groaned when I gently tugged on his hair, rushing him, grinding my against his. He reached out to push his shorts down when I murmured at the corner of his mouth, “No” he stopped and gave me a confused look, “Not here” I whispered before I took possession of his mouth again. He then wrapped my legs around his waist and cupped my buttocks moving me away from the wall towards the steps that led out of the Jacuzzi. Our lips were still locked as he moved to take me inside the cottage, but all of a sudden, I found myself at the bottom of the stone tub trying to catch my breath.

If I ever thought that I had been yanked out of heaven to be dropped on earth, I didn’t know anything until that moment. When I finally recuperated from the shock, I sat on the first step leading out of the Jacuzzi, and I turned to look at him, all kinds of expressions painted on my face. He looked at me and muttered, “Fix your top” I looked down, red of embarrassment and quickly fixed it. I couldn’t believe that was happening, he didn’t look at me and rest his head on the edge of the wall and closed his eyes. His features didn’t show any signs of frustration and I got up to step out of the water. I looked for my cover up and didn’t find it, ‘Seojin must had taking it away. Urgh! That pest!’ I reached for my IPod and was heading inside the house when I heard Mir’s voice, he wasn’t alone because I heard the others too. I glimpsed over at Byunghee, but he was in the clouds, and before I could get a towel, the group marched into the patio. Mir saw me first and let out a long whistle, “Noona, who in the world called you grandma? Because if you were my grandma, I would never leave your house.” He said with a huge grin and raising his eyebrows suggestively. Joon and Thunder followed in approval and snickered; I flushed and rushed inside the house, ‘Damn it! They were worse than teenagers,’ and as I walked in, I heard him exclaimed, “Oh! Hyung, I didn’t know you were here. Did we… interrupt something?”

I didn’t hear Byunghee’s answer, but by the way he acted, I knew he wasn’t going to admit to them that they did interrupt something very important. I reached my room, took the wet clothing off, wrapped myself in a bathrobe and lay in bed. It was very weird what happened just now. He could have just told me that he heard them, hell it took so long for them to reach us that we could have sneaked into my bedroom in a heartbeat. ‘Shoot, shoot, shoot! Aaarrgh! This was so frustrating.’ He left me all hot and bothered, and he looked so serene as if nothing happened. ‘Damn him!’ I was feeling so frustrated that decided to take a cold shower. Now, how the heck was I going to look at him in the eyes tonight? Maybe he will come up to find me, or maybe I should call him to come and shower with me, or maybe… I left the cold water hit me, and it calmed some of my steam down, ‘I guess that how it felt to him the time I ran away from him. I heard the desperation in is voice that night. He was right to be mad at me that time too.’

I was calm when I walked out of the shower; I thought that it couldn’t have been easy for him either, because he definitely wasn’t faking his and his desire for me. Not even the greatest actor of all times could fake that. I sighed and layback in bed, I could still feel his lips, his touch on my body and the delicious sensations that came with them. Fantasy and reality were two different things, and today, I was brought to a place I never knew existed. I pondered in my bed until I felt my eyes getting heavy. I checked my phone and realized that it was three hours away from Seojin’s party, and I set my alarm clock to wake me in one hour. I really needed a nap because I will need to look refreshed for tonight.

I walked into the dining room followed by Seojin, she stood beside me and asked, “What is all this Ana?” I turned to her innocently, “I don’t know, Seungho asked me to bring you here. I guess he wants to have a private dinner with you.” She looked around skeptical, the room was dark except for the lit candle on a table in the middle of room. The table had two sets facing each other with a glass of champagne on each side, there were red rose petals sprinkled on the tablecloth. It was a very romantic site, and as she walked toward the table, I moved and the lights, a ‘Surprise’ roared in unison from the room and had her frozen in place. Seojin put her hand on her chest and screamed then started laughing once she regained her calm. I walked up to her and kissed her on the cheek and whispered, “Happy Birthday, Eonnie.” She hugged me, Seungho came to meet her, and they walked toward the crowd. I looked at her mingling with people at the arms of her future fiancé and smiled, she already played her role as a hostess in perfection…

The party was a success, the climactic part came when Seungho played and sang ‘The Ray- Cleanup’, Seojin’s favorite song. By the time he finished, she was in tears and trying so hard not to mess her makeup, but when he walked up to her, kissed her on the lips and went down on one knee, she didn’t care anymore. Tears flooded down her face and she couldn’t contained herself anymore, she was shaking when she shook her head yes to Seungho’s question and leapt into his arms. The crowd applauded and everyone swamped to congratulate them.  My eyes looked for Byunhee, I hadn’t seen him the whole night, but I knew he was there. We needed to talk, and I needed to know where I stood with him, after what happened earlier, I needed to know what he wanted from me. I spotted him across the room; I wiped my face of the happy tears, and headed his way. I froze instantly, when I saw a woman come to him, and wrapped her arms around his. He turned toward her, enclosed his arm around her waist and walked her to the dance floor, as he held her in his arms, I flashed back to when we danced together, and I felt a throb in my heart. I breathe out; there was no point in being jealous, because it was just a dance…right?

Ben came to ask to dance, I gladly accepted because I needed to relax. When we reached the dance floor, I tried so hard to relax and enjoy his company, but I couldn’t, I was unable to take my eyes off of Byunghee and his companion. Ben looked at me, “Are you ok Ana? Why are you so tense?” I raised my head to meet his eyes and forced a smile, “There are a bunch of people I don’t know. You know how I am around new people.” He frowned a little but didn’t say anything and I was glad for that. After the song, we went back to our table and I saw Byunghee walking up to me, “May I trouble you for this dance?” he asked presenting his hand, my fingers shook as I slid them in his hand, he grasped my hand firmly and walked me to the dance floor. Once in his arms, I looked at him as if I was hypnotized, our eyes met and nothing mattered anymore. He pulled me closer to him, his fingers skimmed on the exposed part of my back and I shivered against him. I had no idea why he had such an effect on me, I was supposed to be mad at him, but right now, I was melting in his arms. I was lost in the moment when he murmured in my ear, “We need to talk.” I lifted my head to meet his eyes and he started, “About what happened this morning, I…”

The song ended and he took my arm, “Let’s talk somewhere else.” He was leading me away from the noise toward a terrace, when a hand grabbed him, “Oppa where are you going?” We turned to face the woman Byunghee was dancing with earlier, she eyed Byunghee with a weird look, then detailed me from head to toe. Once she finished her inspection “It looks like oppa isn’t going to present us”, she raised a hand toward me, “Hi, I am Byunghee’s fiancée Kang Eunmi, and you are?” my heart sank in a bottomless pit. She sounded nice, but it was obvious that she was marking her territory. Byunghee glared at her, “Kang Eunmi-ssi…” he called out in a warning tone. Her hand was still extended, I will mine to stop shaking and grabbed hers, I put out the best smile I could, “Hi, I am Han Jinju. Mr. Jung’s assistant.” She looked at us skeptically and chuckled, “Oh! So you're the foreign assistant, but what are you doing in a family party.” She asked the question in the sweetest tone possible, but I could feel the venom behind it. I forced a smile, took the same tone she did, but I couldn’t stop the sarcastic reply that came out of my mouth, “Oh! I don’t know, maybe because I was invited, or maybe it’s because I am the bride-to-be’s best friend. Does that count as a reason?” She looked shocked, but recuperated quickly, “I am sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you in any way…” I flashed her a fake smile, “Sure, you didn’t.” I turned to face Byunghee, he was looking at me with a faint smile at the corner of his lips, it was strange, but I didn’t want to wait to analyze his expression. Determined to play it cool, I turned toward her “It was nice to meet you Kang Eunmi-ssi, now if you please excuse me…” I turned to leave when Byunghee called, “Han Jinju-ssi, we will talk at the office on Monday.” I looked at him in despair, “Sure Boss…” I said accentuating the last part as I hastened toward an exit as if the devil was at my tail.

***********

I would have been lying if I said that I didn't want to go to the hotel’s inauguration, but I wasn't invited and after what happened last night I didn't care one bit. I didn’t know how I made it through the rest of the night, I wanted to run away but I couldn’t because of Seojin, it was her day and I wanted to be there for her. I felt numb after meeting Eunmi, she wasn’t at all what I expected, it hurt like hell knowing that she was actually part of Byunghee’s life, and what was more painful was the fact that he took her to the party knowing that I was going to be there. She was going to be at the inauguration, I guessed that maybe it was the reason I wasn’t invited. I knew that many big company heads, foreigners, and media were going to be there, so they probably was trying to prevent any scandals, but I was annoyed because there wasn't anything going on between Byunghee and I, so I didn't know why I was being alienated like that. Seungho kept insisting that I went as his guest, I wasn’t sure it was important for him, but I guess he felt uncomfortable to leave me by myself, because I was actually the only one not going. Seojin also insisted so much and I didn't want to disappoint her either, and since I wanted to be there for her, I decided to go.

I was wearing a dress that Seojin forced me to buy yesterday, it was a long black high top dress, along both sides ran a blush colored block, that contrasted with the black giving the illusion of a slimmer waistline. She helped me with my makeup and my hair, I wore matching pumps, let my hair down and head for the door where Seungho was waiting. When Seungho scanned me with an approving look, I sighed in relief, but once we stopped in front of the hotel's entrance, I was nothing more than a bundle of nerves. Seungho walked in like a king with one of us on each side, calling the attention of most of the guests there. An elegant woman walked toward us, an inspected each one of us before asking him with a suggestive smile, "Wow lucky you, surrounded by two beauties. Which one is the lucky lady, Oppa?" He smiled and bit his bottom lip, "You're dying to know right? Don't worry, you will know soon enough." then he dragged us with him toward the assembly of people standing there.

The chairman wasn't at the proposal party yesterday, so I didn't know if he was aware of their engagement already, but Seungho wanted to announce it officially to everybody tonight, and by doing so, if the chairman wasn't happy about it he would have no choice but to smile and take the news for tonight. We sat on one of the tables reserved for VIPs, and the MC started with the formalities. They talked about the story behind the BLAQ Entertainment, what they did and what they planned to do in the future, but none of that mattered to me because I was looking for one person. The group from last night was sitting with us, Joon, Thunder, Mir and their respective dates, Aaron and Mimi, and Ben who took Miyong as his date. We were sitting at this huge round table and I was the only one there not accompanied. It was one of those times when people took pity on me, I didn’t like the feeling and sympathetic looks I received made feel me lost, impaired and out of place.

Ben sitting next to me was trying to engage me in a conversation, but my heart wasn't in it, all I wanted to do was to go to my room and drown myself to sleep.
There were some entertainment planned for the night, they introduced a new group, and a new solo artist whom were going to release their first album, they sang and danced. I liked that part of the night because I didn't have to think about anything else, but when I thought that I could relax, the MC called on Byunghee, to talk about the resort since he was in charge of the project. My heart was going crazy when he walked up and I realized that he had company, just seeing them together, I knew that my place wasn’t here or in Byunghee’s life. It was obvious that she was a chabol's daughter, my heart ached, because hearing that she was his 'unofficial' fiancée and seeing them together were two different things. I was hurt when I heard it and seeing them hurt ten times more, and to make matters worse, Ben turned toward me and whispered in my ear, "This is Kang Eunmi, Byunghee's fiancée." He was making sure that I knew, but all he was doing was turning the knife in my wound, I turned to him and forced a smiled, “I know I met her last night.” I acted coolly, when all I wanted to do was to run away, but I couldn't, if I left the table right then, everyone would want to know why I wanted to leave. Seojin was giving me a sympathetic look, but I just raised my shoulders and closed my eyes for a couple of seconds to blink back tears. 'It hurts, it hurts so much' I thought… After Byunghee finished his speech, and people stopped clapping, Seungho took Seojin's hand and walked to the front, "Hello everyone, I would like to officially introduce you to my fiancée Kang Seojin." The room went quiet for a moment, then Mir started to clap and everyone else joined in. Most people got up to congratulate them, and then everyone started to mingle and getting to know each other.

It was the perfect time for me to leave, since no one was paying attention to me. I slipped out from my chair and was on my way to the door when one of the security guards approached me and asked me to follow him, I hesitated a little, and when he told me that the chairman wanted to talk to me, I froze in place. Why would he want to talk to me, when I was never officially introduced to him? I looked around to see if one the guys would be able to help me out, but they were all busy talking and shaking hands with other companies representatives. I looked at the exit languidly thinking about running toward it, and since I had no choice, because the chairman was my boss’s boss’s boss, I followed the guy unwillingly to an office.
I walked into the president's office, and took in the décor, the velvet colored carpet matched the color of the furniture, and an impressive desk occupied a good quarter of the room, everything looked custom made, from the chairs to the file cabinets. I didn't want to look like an ignorant in front of the master of the place, so I composed myself and bow to salute him. I kept my eyes down until he addressed me. He stayed quiet for what seemed like an eternity before he started, "Ah! So you are the famous Han Jinju?" I was surprised, and my lips moved "Famous! I am not..." I said too avidly and he fixed me expressionless, I just lower my eyes and replied, "Yes President." He motioned for me to sit in one of the chairs facing him, and I executed his wish without a word.

I had never seen him up close, let alone been so close to him, I always knew that he was very attractive, but being so close to him, I could actually see his features a lot better. Jung Jihoon, the chairman, was actually younger than I expected, but I was still intimidated by him. He observed me observing him without saying a word, then once my eyes met his, he raised an eyebrow as to ask me if I was done with my inspection, I turned red of embarrassment and lower my head. First of all, I didn't want to be rude and second I didn't want to get on his bad side. He crossed his fingers and leaned back in his chair, then asked me, "You are a temp right?" I just nodded, "How are things going for you in our company?" I opened my mouth to reply but he continued, "So your best friend got engaged to my son, right? I heard that you were the one who prepared everything here." His voice was calm and controlled, but in the back of my head, I had a doubt as to where he wanted to come, so I tried to explain myself, "Sir, I was just..." he cut me off, "Do you like to plan engagement parties, miss Han?" He was using a calm tone, but it felt like he was trying to make a point, so tried to defend myself again, "Sir, I was just helping a friend..." he stood up and walked to the large window that bordered the wall behind him before cutting me off again, "Ah! A favor to a friend huh?" He asked me skeptical, "So would this friend do you a favor in return?" I looked at him confused, and said, "I am sorry, but I am not following you, sir." he walked toward me and stopped in front of me, I think he was trying to intimidate me, but the question I dreaded since I walked in the room finally came, "Really? Then do you mind telling me what your relationship with Byunghee is?"

I felt like the air was compressed out of my lungs, I stuttered before opening my mouth, "He is my boss. There is nothing going on..." he cut me off again, "Really? Then you wouldn't mind planning Byunghee's engagement party with Eunmi-ssi right?" I hesitated a little but he continued, "I have heard the rumors, and let me tell you,…” he inched closer to me “…there is no smoke without fire.” I was fixing him, dumbfounded, how can someone who's supposed to be a big shot care about rumors, “I guarantee you sir that...” I stop for a moment, "What? Looking for an excuse. Don't dare deny it. I already know what you're planning. How much money do you want, huh? Your friend played her cards well with your help, but I will not let this happened twice. You Americans, these things come easy to you right? So how much will it cost to make your creature disappear...?" I felt like my eyes were going to pop out of my head.

I looked at him stunned. Was he offering me what I thought he was offering me? I tried to correct his mistake, "No sir, you are very mistaken, I am not..." he looked at me with anger in his eyes, and yelled at me, “Shut up! I don't want to hear it. Walk away if not I will make you myself.” I opened my mouth to protest again but stopped, ‘Wait, why was I trying to defend myself from something I didn't do? While Byunghee was outside with his fiancée in his arms, why was I being insulted here?’ It was my turn to get angry ‘Ok if he wanted me to act like the American that I was, I was going to do so.’ I stood up, fixed my dress and raised my head, "...Then sir, I think that I have heard everything that you had to say. I will take my leave now." Without even giving him time to react, I bowed to him and bolted out of the door.

When I stepped out, I felt like I just came out of an inferno. ‘Who the heck did he think he was!? He would have been in his right if he had investigated a little better. I hadn't been there for ten minutes, but it felt like an eternity. They say do not judge a book by its cover, whoever said that must have previewed the future. Wait! He thought I was sleeping why Byunghee and offered me money for an abortion! What the hell’  I walked out of the office in the hall where everyone was still crowded around Seojin and Seungho, and I walked as fast as I could, almost running toward the exit; I had already reached the door when I heard someone calling my name. "Ana... Ana... Wait!" I heard Ben calling out to me. Tears started to flow freely on my face as soon as I reached the door, and I didn't want anyone to see me like that. I turned to see Ben walking toward me but Seojin stopped him, and I silently thanked her for that.