Two weeks after the video conference, everyone was still super busy.  Even Nari was working on a new commissioned piece and teaching art classes at the studio.  She didn’t see much of the AOMG crew, including her boyfriend.  They’d had little time together and his texts came less frequently.  Doubt about their relationship began to fester. He worked with y dancers and gorgeous models, his fans were mostly women, so why would he stay faithful to her?  Fred use to tell her all the time she wasn’t all that great looking.  He’d say that the only reason he kept her around, was because she was a decent cook.  But Simon D didn’t need her to cook, he could eat at any restaurant his tummy wanted.  Looking at herself in the mirror, after getting out of the shower, Nari concluded she was just average in body and beauty.  Comparing herself to pictures of Lady Jane, made her even more depressed.

Riding her motorcycle usually put her mind right, sometimes just riding past AOMG was all she needed.  But not this time.  She had heard that female singers had Simon D in demand to be featured on their albums. Even though Nari trusted him not to cheat, she was worried he no longer loved her.  They hadn’t had in two weeks, when they use to have it multiple times a day.  Yes he was super busy, but maybe that was due to avoiding her.  He was coming over that evening for dinner at her loft, so Nari had made one of his favourite meals.  She wore y lingere under a nice dress, that peaked out just the right amount to entice her man.  Would it be enough to keep his attention on her?

When Simon arrived, he put on the slippers and went to find Nari.  “How’s my baby tonight?  Damn that smells great, I’m so hungry!”

She turned around to accept his embrace, disappointed that her lips received a quick kiss.  He was lifting up lids and checking out the food, more than her.  “Sit down and I’ll put it on the table,” Nari said.

He did as he was told.  “I haven’t eaten anything since this morning, this spread is awesome.”

“Do you want a beer, wine or something else?”

“Whatever you’re having is cool.”

Pouring a beer into a chilled glass and placing the unfinished bottle beside it, was what she gave him.  That uneasy feeling came back in full force.  It caused her to eat little and drink more.

“Long day for you too?” Simon asked, noticing she was already on a second beer.

“Not really.  The kids were great today, painting up a storm… on paper, the tables and floor,” Nari smiled, remembering the delightful mess. To her the joy the children had, when they were not scolded for getting paint all over, made up for the hour of cleanup afterwards.

“Has Haru come back for another class?” Simon asked, between eating.

“Her whole class actually and Haru is the star of course,” she replied.

During the whole meal, his cell phone kept going off with text messages. Initially he’d ignored it, but as hunger became satisfied, Simon D began to reply.  Nari cleared the table, while he continued messaging.  Then he got a phone call and answered it.  She stayed in the kitchen, cleaning up leftovers and dishes.  Her heart began to hurt, could she endure being ignored?  Her love for him was deep; he was everything she’d ever dreamed of in a man, a partner and lover.

“Nari, um….” Simon began to say, then paused as he was distracted by his cell phone again.

She watched him chew on his lower lip, a habit from when he was undecided about something.  He looked so serious and her mind began to think of worst case scenarios, the longer he took to finish talking.  Almost holding her breath, Nari bit her lip too. She suddenly realized it was too hard, due to the coppery taste of blood.  He was going to break up with her, it was too damaging to his career.  That’s what it must be.  She turned her back on him, not wanting to see his face when he told her.

Done with his text Simon finished what he had started to say.  “Next show we do is in Busan, actually two shows are there.  I know this might be bad timing, but my family wants to meet you in person.  So can you close your studio for two days and come with me this weekend?”

He heard her breath out.  Then she answered, “it should be okay.”  

Frowning because Nari remained with her back to him, he turned her around.  “Hey your lip is bleeding… wait a minute… you thought… you did, didn’t you? You thought I was going to say something like we’re over.”

She nodded, “sorry.  I jumped to conclusions….”

Simon looked at her, with a side glance, “you’re nuts.  Don’t you know how much I love you?”

Nari hung her head, “you show me all the time and say it often. We haven’t been together in ages, I thought maybe I wasn’t being a good girlfriend…. I don’t know.  I guess I’m just crazy.”

He got an ice cube and put it against her lip, “this will help stop the swelling and bleeding…. And I guess it’s my fault for letting work keep me from being a good boyfriend.  That caused your doubt in us.  I hope that even though I’ll be working at night for the concerts, that we have this weekend together… and tonight too.”

“So everything is okay?”  Nari asked.

Removing the ice cube and dumping it in his empty beer glass, Simon pulled her close.  “I don’t just take any girl to meet my parents.  Not just anyone can make my heart beat crazily, with just a smile.  Only you inspire me and my crew.  Only your picture is in my phone.”

“Um that’s not true, I’ve seen your cell.”

He chuckled and kissed her wounded lip gently.  “Only your voice calms me down or makes me lustful.  And just you, have a power over me, that no one else ever has had. I want to make you proud of me.”

Kissing her neck, he ped the dress, hands sliding it slowly down her body. 

“Ki-Seok, I feel so stupid and I’m sorry I questioned your love. I’ve missed you, I want you… need you…,” his lips made her forget what she was going to say next.

“You’re never stupid and next time I’m a bad boyfriend, call me on it.” 

Nari gave him a look, that stripped him , without removing a piece of clothing.  “Deal… now take me!”

“Kitchen table’s gonna get a work out, I hope it’s sturdy.” Simon mumbled as he tore off her .

She already had him out of his jeans.  It seem like a skit out of a , the way they united in hot, frenzy lust.  Forgetting herself, she bit down on his shoulder, muffling the scream of pleasure that escaped her lips.  Unlike his co-CEO Jay Park, Simon D didn’t take off his shirt on stage, so a bite mark wouldn’t be known to anyone other than the two of them.  Five minutes later, he reciprocated the action, just not as hard.  

Eventually they went upstairs to her bed and made love intermittently all night long.  Their stamina was completely drained, but while Nari slept, Simon D lay beside her thinking.  His eyes held love and his smile was a satisfied smirk, as he watched his woman sleep.  He was sorry for making her worry about their relationship longevity.  He needed to talk to his mom, for her intuition on how to handle things going forward.  Good thing that they were going to visit his family, while in Busan.

In the morning Nari rescheduled the weekend classes and gave Simon D her details, for when AOMG booked the flights. She didn’t like flying and told him so.

“It’s not the take off that freaks me out, it’s the rough air currents and hard landings.  When I was flying back to BC, when mom and I still lived in Canada, one of the wheels only came partially down during landing.  The emergency crews were on stand by.  And the first time I came to Korea, we had to circle the airport, because of no air space.  Apparently landing with only fumes for fuel.  But the worst was flying through a crazy storm, my final trip with mom to Seoul.  The oxygen masks were deployed, because of how bad that flight was.”

He hugged her from behind, kissing her neck.  “I’ve got you baby, I’m your good luck charm remember?”

She did feel comforted and safe in his arms, but they weren’t in the air yet.  “Just don’t get mad at me, if I break your hand, holding on for dear life.”

“You know I’d never get mad about stuff like that.  I’ll keep you safe.” He sealed the promise with a kiss.

“Well at least if we crash land, I’m dying with the man I love.”

Simon D laughed, “I didn’t know you had drama queen in you too!”

Nari pouted, “I wasn’t joking, I’m being serious.”

He kissed away the pout.  “I’ve got to go to AOMG, but make sure you’re packed and ready, because we leave at 10 am.”

“I’ll be ready… um… should I meet you guys there?”

“We’ll pick you up on the way…. I’m so glad you can come with us for these two shows.  This makes me the happiest man in the world.”

Nari rolled her eyes and then mumbled as he went out the door, “you won’t be happy if the flight isn’t a smooth one.”

The next morning flight check in was fast and boarding took forever.  It was a packed flight; Jay Park had the window seat, Nari was in the middle and Simon D had the isle seat.  Loco, Gray and DJ Pumkin were two rows up and on the left side.  While they waited for the rest of the plane to board, Simon D told his co-CEO about Nari’s flying fear.

“You should just sleep through it all, like I do.” Jay said to her.

“It’s too short of a flight,” Nari disagreed.

“You’ll be fine, Jay’s God’s son and he’s right beside you,” Simon teased.

Jay tapped the back of his head, “got angle wings right here.”

She knew they were trying to get her to relax, but it was only annoying.  Maybe sketching would work, that’s why Nari had brought a pencil and pad.  Soon they were taxing down the runway and then were airborne.  Glancing at Jay, she saw his eyes closed already, Simon D was listening to music off his cell phone via earbuds.  A side profile of the two men beside her, kept her occupied.  Then she began studying Jay Park’s tattoos, sketching each one individually.

Simon peaked at her work, “how you can see each tat that specifically, is beyond me.”

“If he wasn’t beside us, I’d be doing one of you… ,” Nari smirked.

He whispered in her ear, “dirty girl…l like it.”

They were half way, maybe even a little further than that, when the plane began to shake.  At first it wasn’t too bad, but then the seatbelt sign went on. Neither of them had taken it off, so she didn’t have to wake Jay Park, or Simon D who was now also dozing. Her breathing got harsher, as she tried not to have an anxiety attack on top of her fear.  The captain of the plane, even announced they were flying through a bad weather system.  The way the plane dipped and rose, shook and rattled, had the flight attendants sitting down and belting up too.  Nari missed the arm rest, hands grabbing tight hold of the first thing her fingers found.  Unfortunate for Simon D, it was his thigh. 

Waking instantly, he saw that Nari was shaking with fear.  “Hey baby, you’ll be okay. I’m right here.”  

He took her hand off his leg and held it.  The plane’s movement caused Jay’s head to smash against the window, waking him too.  

“This is a bit rough,” he said casually.  “Hey Nari, we’ll be fine, try to slow your breathing.”

“Think of it as a roller coaster,” Simon suggested.

“That’s not helping,” Nari’s voice trembled.

Jay exchanged a look with Simon D, “we’ve got another one. You good with the same treatment?”

He nodded, “might be the only way.”

Taking that as consent, Jay Park took hold of Nari’s face turning it towards him and kissed her on the lips.  It wasn’t a peck either, it was open mouth.  While he was doing that, holding her chin in one hand so she couldn’t escape, the other hand was moving slowly up her leg.  Simon D on her other side, was doing the same with his hand.  However, he was thinking it was too bad Nari wasn’t wearing a skirt.  When Jay’s hand reached mid thigh, he stopped his kiss and gave her chin over to Simon.

He his lower lip, “thanks for sharing… strawberry pineapple kisses.”

Nari went to scold him for kissing her like that, but Simon D’s lips prevented any words.  His hand continued up her leg, ever closer to where her go button was.  She tried to use her hands to stop both of theirs.  And then it was over and they both removed their hands, with Simon giving her one last kiss.

“You kissed away all the strawberry pineapple Jay,” Simon sighed.  “But just like last time, it worked.”

“How can you be fine with this?!” Nari demanded angrily at Simon D, not yet realizing the distraction had lasted the entire time that the plane had been in turbulence.

“Don’t be mad at us, we were just helping you get your mind off the flight.  We did the same with this girl Jay was dating, who’d gone with us to a concert in NYC in 2014.  She was a total basket case.  So I grabbed her and the magic of my lips and hands did the job.  Just like Jay’s had done with you. Difference was that his girl hit me so hard, that her ring cut my face.”

“Yeah, thanks for not punching me,” Jay added and gave her a little wink. 

Nari was furious that they’d used , to keep her mind off the shaking plane. Worse was the embarrassment  and that her face was totally red.  But there was also a part, that had enjoyed their dual attention and that made guilt fuel her anger.  She sat with her arms and legs crossed, fuming and quiet.

Jay smirked at Simon D, “Nari’s a great kisser, that was much more rewarding than what we did to my girl.”  He was teasing her too, trying to get her to smile.

“My lips are not yours to kiss!” She quietly hissed.  “And their not yours to give so freely away either Ki-Seok!”

They knew she was super mad and were beginning to regret how they’d handled it.  Jay picked her sketch pad off the floor, noticing the sketches, before putting it on her lap.  “Can I keep these pictures?”

“You two obviously do whatever you want anyway,” Nari snapped.  She threw it into his lap, dug out her earbuds and listened to music the rest of the way, until the plane had landed.

Loco, Gray and DJ Pumkin, noticed her bad mood.  Loco asked, “did the bad weather freak you out Nari?”

“Not as much as the bad behaviour of your bosses.” She replied.

Gray nudged Simon D, “wow Nari is really pissed…. Wait did you two pull that kiss off, like you did in 2014?”

Simon nodded, “we were just trying to help.”

“I bet. I can’t believe you went along with it too Jay,” Gray practically scolded them.

“Thank you Gray,” Nari said in her normal tone of voice.  Not wanting to wreck the mood, when they had to perform later that night, she let her anger go.  “I’ll forgive it this one time. Don’t either of you dare do that to me again… flight of death or not!”