xxii. the twenty-second step

Minyoung clucked her tongue. “That bastard.”

They were having an afternoon snack on the kitchen island when the eldest Gong made a face at her laptop screen with distaste. For a reason unknown to Minji, the woman had been on the edge since she had come home from school.

That was until Minyoung spun her laptop around and let her younger sister in on the cause. At first, Minji had taken it in slowly, before catching the one important name in the headline she was reading.  

Executive Zhang.

Yixing’s father? She thought before the scandalous words caught up with her. scandal—steps down…

“—as Chairman, putting eldest son Zhang Yifan up the corporate ladder to seize his father’s position as the new face of Zhang Enterprises,” she finished out loud.

A shiver ran down her spine, mostly due the power Yifan has suddenly acquired in his grip. It was disturbingly fitting but she was also shocked at his father.

“I can’t believe his father would be involved in something like this.”

“What I can’t believe more,” Minyoung went on, “is that Yifan had the balls to do this.”

“What do you mean?”

“The scandal, Min. For it to happen after your engagement, I bet that jerk had planned it from the start. Or maybe he just took advantage of it.” Disbelief darkened Minyoung’s expression. “He basically left them with no choice.”

At what her sister was suggesting Minji couldn’t help but press for more. She couldn’t grasp it all in one go but Minyoung was patient enough to explain the possibility of Yifan being the one behind everything.

“If what you’re saying is true, then I’m even more confused about how Yifan and Yixing are supposedly brothers,” Minji said with a frown.

“Oh, Min.” Minyoung smirked. “Be careful because those two are cut from the same cloth in more ways than we think.”

Minji couldn’t say anything to that, too busy processing everything which led her back to her fiancé who still hadn’t called her back. Is this what had been keeping him busy? She turned to Minyoung.

“Most likely,” she confirmed when Minji asked. ‘He’s probably in China, helping the company deal with the scandal. His presence will make a good impression on the Board and the press.”

She had bit her lip hearing that. “When do you think he’ll be back?”

Minyoung shrugged. “Until they don’t need him anymore, I guess. Why, are you worried about him?”

Minji nodded in a heartbeat. Despite being unhappy with Lay and what she heard about his involvement with her mother, of course, she still cared for him.

Now, she couldn’t even imagine what their reunion would be like. How could she possibly ask him to break the news to Jongin with the mess he had on his plate?

She would just have to wait for his return.

“One, two, three, jump. One, two, three, spin—hold it, hold it—then, catch!”

A toned arm caught her waist and Minji flickered her eyes up to see a shadow of a smile on her partner’s face.

Jongin.

It would quickly vanish, however, when Hyoyeon, a head instructor overlooking the performances for the showcase, told them to go back from the top with a clap of her hands.

Again and again, they perfected the manoeuvres until the woman was satisfied. Exempted from the evaluations to focus on the showcase, they had been working with her to build their choreography. She came in every once in a while to check their progress.

“Nice job, you guys did well.”

Hyoyeon turned off the music before approaching them with towels at hand. Jongin caught his with ease while Minji slid to the ground on her , letting it land on her head. There was a chuckle above her and she felt Jongin ruffle her hair through it.

Hyoyeon rolled her eyes before pulling Minji up. The girl thanked her as she dabbed her face with the towel.

“Minji-yah, your form is looking better, I can tell you’ve been working hard. As for you Mr Kim,” an unimpressed look crossed her face. “You could do with a few more tweaks.”

Jongin put his hands up in mock-surrender,. “What? I did everything you asked.”

“Oh, yeah? How about wiping that lovesick grin off your face?” Hyoyeon challenged, making Minji flush.

She was right. Jongin hardly ever hid the teeming affection on his face. It was touching, yes and she’d be lying if she said she didn’t want to return them each time. He was just lucky it was complimentary in some areas in their choreography.

“You know, I can see how you lovebirds got recommended for this, but seriously, you’re way too obvious, and yes, that includes you too, Minji.” The said girl’s mouth dropped open, but Hyoyeon was already moving on with a snicker. “Anyway, keep up the good work!”

Pouting as the door closed, Minji folded her arms at Jongin, who grabbed her towel to pat her face with it.

“What am I going to do with you?” she groaned and he just grinned.

“You’re going to come with me and freshen up at my place, that’s what.”

As he had said, as soon as they arrived at his apartment, Jongin headed straight for the bathroom. But contrary to the sound of the shower squeaking on, Minji heard the bath filling up instead. Jongin confirmed it as she pulled her scarf off.

“I need it, my muscles are too tense,” and Minji accepted it without a problem until he dragged her into the bathroom with him. “Arms up,” he ordered out of nowhere and when she didn’t, he did it himself. Her hoodie came off in one breath.

The protest in turned into a hiss when she felt hands knead her lower back, pushing her towards his chest.

“And I’m not surprised yours are as well,” he noted, his fingers dancing up her back. She would’ve blushed if the pressure he applied didn’t feel so good.

“We’ve been dancing lately so what’d you expect?” she murmured, surrendering to the knots he was undoing.

“Exactly. You brought clothes, right? How about underwear?”

Feeling like she could melt into his arms any second, she merely grunted and that was enough for him. He pulled back and lifted her shirt up. A whine got stuck in , immediately covering her bra-clad chest after he also discarded his own. He turned the taps off, the bathtub foaming up with bubbles.

“You want me to bathe with you,” she stated, piecing the scene before her. “Well, I certainly never took you for a bath person.”

Jongin shot her a look. “If I didn’t take one every now and then, I would’ve died of muscle cramps by now.”

She giggled, letting him guide her towards the tub. “Maybe I should—” her breath hitched, feeling a thumb dip past her joggers, sliding the material down. He made her sit on the edge as he kneeled in front of her, resuming to slide it off. “—do it more often as well.”

Goosebumps rose on her legs, her skin vulnerable to the cold but Jongin eased it with his warm lips, landing on her knee with a sweet intent. Her cheeks flamed.

“No, I don’t want to bathe with you,” she moaned after, horrified at the stir he caused with just a single act. He just laughed when she pushed his face away, the deep sound reverberating off the tiled walls. “I’ll be and—”

“I’m not going to do anything to you, Minji,” he lovingly reached up to caress her cheek. “And that's why I asked if you had a spare change of your underwear. We’ll keep ours on, okay? Now, hop into bath already.”

Finding no more reason to argue, she did what she was told, sinking herself into the water until her chin was dipping into the bubbles. She watched him rid of his pants until he was only in his underwear. She sank deeper with a sulk. When he joined in, she refused to move, glowering at him from the other end.

He tilted his head at her. “Don’t make come and get you.”

Stubbornly, she shook her head at him and then, splash! She spluttered, hands flying to wipe the water from her face.

“Kim Jongin!”

There was another laugh as she felt herself being dragged across the water, and then, warm skin.

“So freaking stubborn,” came a snort by her ear.

“And you’re annoying,” she grumbled, feeling thumbs wipe her cheeks free of bubbles. When she fluttered her eyes open, Jongin was staring at her again. Same adoring eyes and everything.

This time she did melt, almost quite literally as she curled back into him, head fitting under his chin. She loved the chuckle that rumbled his chest, feeling so at peace with the faint lullaby of his heartbeat while bubbles fizzed in her ears.

“Do you feel better?” he said sometime later, a hand trailing down to grip her waist, thumb massaging her skin. She tried not to moan, knowing that was all it would take to turn this into something less innocent. She nodded instead.

“I thought it was you who needed this though.”

She felt a little guilty that he was the one making her relax. She ended up stealing his hand to entwine it with hers.

“As long as you’re here,” was all he said, dropping his head against hers. She smiled.

After minutes of soaking in silence, Jongin eventually asked her if she was falling asleep. He probably felt her body slacking on top of his and to be honest, she nearly did. She acknowledged him with a sound, snuggling into his chest.

“Don’t fall asleep,” he hummed into her ear. “Don’t leave me alone.”

“How can I leave you alone? I’m on top you.”

“If you fall asleep, you will and I don’t want that.”

“Then sleep with me,” there was a pause, and Minji realised how her words might’ve sounded in that demanding tone. Before she could say anything, Jongin was already throwing his head back in laughter.

“Oh, you know what I mean!”

“Well, it has been a while,” he said suggestively, looping one of her arms around his neck.

She rolled her eyes in an attempt to keep her cool. He was right. Besides the make-out sessions and the heavy petting, they never went further than that since that night. Though they could’ve easily done so, it seemed Jongin was content enough to just have her by his side.

He had been surprisingly doting and patient. The way he assured her that he wouldn’t do anything while in the tub was another evidence of it.

“In your dreams,” she shot back out of embarrassment.

Another chuckle took hold of him as he nuzzled her cheek.

“You’re right. Only in my dreams.”

“Yah!”

Now that he had her up and talking again, they fell into a conversation like Jongin had wanted. Minji had a suspicion all the riling up had purely been for that purpose but she didn’t mind. She valued these moments, no matter how nonsensical their topics would get. It was just like before, secretly taking in every bit of information about him, but this time, he was giving it all willingly.

It was all gratifying, but she would eventually need to give the effort back. So when the conversation took a turn Minji knew it would take, she forced herself to pull through.

He was some wet strands from her face, his gaze turning curious. The hesitation in his body language gave Minji enough warning though she had no idea what question he’d be asking out of the million he could’ve.

Still, closed up when he did.

“Can I ask you something?” she hummed for him to go on. He took a few seconds. “Who’s Luna?”

Her eyes fell on the wet wisps of his hair matted across his cheeks. She couldn’t look at him as she racked her brain for a response. She had to clear .

“You heard, huh?” she eventually settled with a weak smile. “She’s an old friend.”

“And Krystal knew her too?”

“Yeah.”

“So you guys knew each other from before?”

“Mhm.”

“Oh. I had no idea you and her…” he looked confused. “Why didn’t you both say anything?”

Minji wasn’t sure what made her hesitate. All she knew was that the sight of Krystal on her knees with her vice-like grip caused her vocal chords to fail. She could lie again, but damn, wasn’t she trying to free herself from it all?

“Even the incident back in Myeongdong…” Jongin continued until Minji hushed him with a shake of her head.

“It’s complicated.

How can she even begin to explain that his previous love was someone who had made her last year in middle school a living hell? And its repercussions never ended there. The whole thing was what triggered the phobia, the treatments and the fear of trusting again.

It was all too dense to explain but she reminded herself—she was yet to give him anything back.  

“Krystal and I…We attended the same middle school. And Luna, she was a new student there.”

Luna was the same year as Soojung but they grew closer when Luna joined the choir. Luna would eventually become her first real friend among the pretentious ones she had back then but Luna was also becoming Soojung’s best friend.

Looking back now, she figured that was where things started to go downhill.

For years, Minji would never know why the whole school suddenly her and Luna and why Soojung suddenly disappeared from Luna’s side. Despite this, their friendship persisted, usually hiding behind a sports shed far off the track field and it was somehow okay.

Their efforts seemed to anger their peers though and it drove them to extremes. This was where Soojung’s biggest regret began while Luna was finally driven out. As for Minji? She was just broken by the end of it.

What they did though, Minji couldn’t find any more strength to say. Not now when Jongin tensed with every word she was saying with a grit of his teeth.

“So these ers bullied you and Luna? Where the hell was Krystal?”

Her hands clasped his face, unable to say what Krystal did but to her surprise, Jongin let it go, crumpling in her hold.

“I’m no different to them,” he said in a whisper that startled Minji. “I treated you no better back when—”

It was a distant memory now, the rough beginnings of their relationship. All the hostility and conflicts; how far they’ve gotten since then.

“Oh, Jongin,” she let him bury his head in the junction of her neck, the waters lapping around their shoulders. “It’s in the past and you regret it, right?” Krystal’s tears flashed in her head, welling in her eyes, doing nothing to hide the pain she must’ve bottled up for years. “I’m sure those people regret it too. We’re humans. We make mistakes. It’s unavoidable.”

He said nothing. It seemed he was gathering courage when he looked up again, forehead pressing against hers.

“Do you get it now?” His eyes were alight with conviction. “This is why I don’t deserve you.”

The raw emotion in his voice left Minji stunned. He was beyond apologetic and it could be felt it in the way he held onto her as if she’d vanish any second.

Yet Minji could not find it in herself to agree at all as she pressed a kiss on the side of his mouth.

No, Jongin.

If you only knew.

Since their conversation during the bath they took, Jongin had never felt so intimate with Minji.

Sure, they’ve kissed many times before, touched each other in many ways to the point he has come to memorise every curve she owned but this was something else. With all the secrets they’ve shared, he came to realise they were no longer body to body, but also heart to heart.

After Minji forgave him through the kisses she planted on his face, his feelings seemed blossom even more; the