Vierundzwangzig

Listened to Beautiful Chinese Music - Bamboo Flute whilst writing this chapter.

“Eat up.”

The bright, colourful lights of the city view outside the 3-star Michelin restaurant we were dining at added to the classy and elegant atmosphere of the restaurant. A plate of who knows what kind of expensive delicacy was placed in front of me, and Jongin, hair sleeked back and dressed in a grey suit smiled at me as he gestured for me to eat.

I returned Jongin’s smile as sweetly and naturally as I could, and taking a bite of the seasoned fish, I chewed slowly and forced it down my throat. Ever since I came to live with Jongin, my appetite had been decreasing day by day, and no matter how highly rated the restaurant was, or how delicious the food was supposed to me, it could not stir hunger from me.

“How is it?” The sides of Jongin’s eyes crinkled as he leaned forward a little and smiled at me expectantly. “My secretary said that this restaurant is quite famous for the dish that we’re having now, do you like it?”

I stared blankly at Jongin for a second before nodding my head slightly and putting another piece into my mouth.

“Yes, it’s very delicious.”

I lied.

I couldn’t taste it at all. All the fish tasted like was chunks of bland food to me.

“That’s good,” Jongin looked proud, like a young boy who had just been complimented by his mother, “I’m glad you like it.”

“Yes.” I placed down the fork, “If you excuse me, I need to go to the bathroom.”

Jongin said nothing as I stood up from the table, yet I could feel his eyes trailing me all the way until I entered the ladies’ toilet, out of his sight.

Once I entered the bathroom, I immediately dropped the straightness of my back and leaned against the sink as I stared at my reflection in the mirror. Heaving out an irritated sigh, I ran my hand through the wavy locks of my hair, not caring if it ruined the perfect shape that the stylist had spent an hour working on.

Rrring.

I frowned as my phone rang, and taking it out of the small handbag that I carried with me, I answered the unknown call.

“Hello?”

“Hey, princess.” My eyes immediately narrowed as I recognized the flirtatious voice as Park Chanyeol’s and glancing around myself to check that no one else was in the toilet, I lowered my voice.

“Chanyeol, how do you know this phone number?” I whispered, “I only just got this number today to use in France.”

A short laugh came from the other end of the line.

“I have my sources,” Chanyeol waved my question away dismissively, “Anyway, Sehun’s going over to France. He’ll probably be there tomorrow to find you.”

My mouth fell open.

“What?” For a second, I believed Chanyeol was joking, “Oh Sehun?”

“Yes, Oh Sehun.” Chanyeol sounded amused, “He’s going over to France. To find you.”

“No, he wouldn’t. How would he even know where I am-“ I cut off my sentence as realization dawned me, and I placed one hand on my forehead before letting out a disbelieving laugh.

“Why did you tell Sehun where I was?” My tone changed from unbelieving to accusing, “Isn’t it my goal right now to make Jongin believe I love him? If Sehun’s here, it’s going to make it harder for me!”

“That’s precisely why I got Sehun to go find you,” Chanyeol’s tone became serious, “You’re going to use Sehun to make Jongin believe you.”

I paused. And in my silence, Chanyeol continued to speak.

“Listen honey, Jongin’s not stupid. He’s not going to believe that you’re faithful and in love him over sweet words and innocent smiles when for the past few months, you’ve been treating him like the plague.”

My eyebrows furrowed together as I acknowledged Chanyeol’s logic.

“So, what if, you chose Jongin over Sehun? Wouldn’t my brother believe you then since you even abandoned Sehun out of you own free will to remain beside Jongin?”

I continued to be silent as I suddenly understood why Chanyeol wanted Sehun to appear, yet my silence was heavy and hostile.

“So, what you’re telling me to do,” Despite knowing what Chanyeol had proposed was to help our plan succeed, I couldn’t stop the anger in my voice, “Is to trample all over Sehun’s pride and heart once again? You want me to…use Sehun? Use my best friend and the one I love?”

“Well, haven’t you trampled on him enough already? How much could it hurt to do it once more? Besides…” Chanyeol trailed off and paused as if for effect, “You were the one who said you were selfish enough to do whatever it takes to get away from my brother.”

“But-“

“-No buts.” There was a tinge of annoyance in his tone, “I’ll ask you once again, Nari. Are you selfish enough to do it?”

I closed my eyes and my lips trembled as the words I spoke next betrayed my breaking heart.

“Yes, I am selfish enough to do it.”

“Good.” Chanyeol sounded satisfied. “Oh, and you’re on a trip alone with Jongin right? I assume the two of you are sharing a room, am I correct?”

My eyes remained closed.

“I don’t know,” I whispered, “It’s our first day here and we haven’t gone to the hotel yet.”

“Oh. Well, knowing my brother, you two will probably be sharing the same bed.” Chanyeol paused for a little, as if hesitating to say the next part, “And well, you know…”

“Know what?”

“You know, having…intimate actions with him can also help increase the mood, alright?”

My eyes flew open, and I could feel my heart fall to my toes.

“Are you telling me to have with Kim Jongin!?” I couldn’t help it as my voice rose a little, “No way. No way am I doing that!”

“Woah, woah. What’s with the big reaction?” Chanyeol sounded genuinely surprised from the other end of the line, “It’s not like you’re a right?”

My silence answered the question, and I cringed as Chanyeol let out short, disbelieving laughs.

“I can’t believe it!” I could almost imagine Chanyeol shaking his head as he spoke, still chuckling, “Gosh, you really are a gem, aren’t you? It’s so rare nowadays to find someone as innocent and pure as you. If I was Jongin, oh boy, I would tie you even further to my side.”

My silence grew as I frowned over Chanyeol’s words, yet Chanyeol seemed not to notice as he continued speaking.

“Well, in that case then, I guess it doesn’t really matter. But at least get a little physical with him, I mean, you don’t have to go all the way. Just enough to make him feel like you’re attracted to him.”

I continued to be silent as I stared down at my toes.

I am already attracted to him.

“Well, since you’re not speaking, and I’ve said all I need to, I’m hanging up,” Chanyeol didn’t seem to mind the silence, “I’ll call you some other time to check up on your progress. Alright then, bye!”

As the phone call ended with the sound of beeping by my ears, I slowly closed my phone and stared up at the ceiling as I tried to process everything.

But when I found I couldn’t think clearly over the confusion inside my brain, I gave up and checked my reflection in the mirror once again to make sure I looked alright before exiting the bathroom and returning to Jongin, who was still  waiting for me at the table.

As soon as I sat down, Jongin gave me a worried…and somewhat suspicious look.

“What took you so long, Nari? Are you alright?”

My lips twitched upwards naturally as I straightened my back once again and nodded my head.

“Of course,” The lie came out as naturally as the smile on my face, “I just had a bit of a stomach ache, that’s all.”

Click.

The oak coloured door to our hotel suite opened with a resounding click as Jongin unlocked it, and trailing behind Jongin cautiously, I stepped into the room with a nervously beating heart.

After my conversation earlier on with Park Chanyeol, and especially now that we were alone in a hotel suite, I couldn’t help but think about the…intimate actions that Chanyeol wanted me to initiate with Jongin.

Fortunately, the idea flew out of my head as