Milk in My Tea

6. Almond

Quinn’s POV

Having Namjoon with me while signing the paperwork for my new, used car was a blessing in disguise. The entire dealership was gushing over his presence once they realized who he was. He signed autographs and got me a major discount on a cute, all black, crossover SUV. I was stoked to have a new car and Namjoon was just happy to help me, as usual.

The process went so smoothly that we ended up with an hour to spare before we had to go back to Big Hit. I drove us to a bridge and Namjoon complimented my driving the entire time.

“We drive everywhere in the States, Joon-ah; it’s not a big deal,” I told him with a laugh as I pulled into a secluded parking spot near a bridge. I parked the car and Namjoon hopped out, walking over to a tiny little coffee stand that he spotted further along the sidewalk. I turned the heater a little higher and waited for him, trying to collect my thoughts. It was great to finally have a car, but I was able to get it with the money the Jhangs had given me. A part of me felt bad, while the other part, my logical side, was fine with it. I would be working hard for the Jhangs and I knew without a doubt that my work would be worth every penny they paid me. Still, I felt guilty for accepting a job from my ex.

Namjoon climbed back in the car and handed me a warm cup with a smile. I took a sip and realized that he had actually gotten hot cocoa instead of coffee.

“Since we had coffee earlier,” he said, by way of explanation. I nodded, taking a few more sips of my drink before I set my cup down in the cupholder.

“Namjoon…” I began, wondering how I would tell him everything that had happened to me this morning.

“Wangbi-ah, just say whatever you want to say. Don’t try too hard,” Namjoon told me evenly, setting his own cup down. He turned to me and took both of my hands in his, “You could start from the beginning, if that helps.”

I nodded; that was a good idea, “When I first moved to Seoul, I was naive and inexperienced. I didn’t know anyone, but I knew the language pretty well. My parents had just had the triplets, so money was a little tighter than any of us were used to.”

Namjoon squeezed my hand reassuringly, not saying anything, just encouraging me to continue.

So I did, “My first friend in Seoul was my now boss, Michael. He introduced me to many sunbaes and helped me find a job. I...At that job, I met someone.”

“And he’s the person you didn’t want to see this morning,” Namjoon guessed right away, and I nodded, not at all surprised at how quickly Namjoon picked up on things.

“I fell completely in love with him and he… He played me like a fool. Things got really ugly and we ended our relationship after his father threatened to ruin me.”

Namjoon’s eyebrows furrowed, but he kept his comments to himself. I pressed on, watching his face carefully as I revealed even more.

“I met him this morning. His family’s company wants my help.”

Namjoon’s grip on my hand loosened, until he released my hands completely, running his fingers through his hair. I knew he wasn’t angry with me… at least not yet. He seemed like he was trying to anticipate my next sentence; I continued to watch him as I spoke.

“I was going to deny them, but Michael, my boss… Our company is brand new and a project like this will help get our name out there. They’re paying us a ridiculous amount of money for this and I-”

Namjoon gazed at me pointedly and I could tell that he was trying to keep his emotions in check. If he was any other man, I knew I’d be getting told off about now, but this was Kim Namjoon, the Considerate Leader. He’d hear me out, if for no other reason than the fact that it was his nature.

“I agreed to it.” I said slowly, and just as I thought, Namjoon pushed out a breath. He ran his fingers through his hair again, before turning to face me once more. He pressed his fingers on either side of my cheeks, looking directly into my eyes.

“Will you be okay?” He asked me first, and my heart warmed at the concern he had for me. He didn’t yell at me or tell me I was being stupid -- he asked me if I was ok.

I nodded, “I’ll be ok. The contract I negotiated is heavily biased in my favor.”

“I’m not worried about the contract,” Namjoon said, and I felt a shiver at his tone of voice. His unspoken words hung in the air between us; he was worried about Shinhwa and I.

“Well you don’t have to worry about that either.” I told him honestly with a soft smile.

“I’m a man too, Wangbi-ah, in case you forgot. There’s a reason why he went to you specifically.”

I frowned, “Maybe he feels guilty?”

Namjoon returned my frown with one of his own, releasing me from his grasp, “Oh, he definitely feels something, but it isn’t guilt,” He replied smartly, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Even if he does, it’s already in the contract that he’s not to approach me in any way other than professionally.”

Namjoon gave me an amused smile when he heard that, “Wow, you really made him agree to that? Wangbi-ah, I love how your mind works.”

Both of us froze at the “L-word” and I tried to ignore the excited butterflies that went ballistic in my stomach. I distractedly picked up my cup of hot cocoa, taking a sip and glancing out the window. Namjoon’s phone started to ring, cutting through our silence.

“Yeah?” Namjoon said as he answered the phone. I kept my gaze off of him, turning down the heater a bit. It suddenly felt hotter in the car.

“I’ll head back now.” He replied to whoever was on the phone. I started the car up as he ended the call, reaching up to put my seatbelt back on. Namjoon reached across me, placing his larger hand over mine, halting my movements.

I turned to face him, not realizing how close he actually was to me. His breath ghosted across my lips as our faces nearly collided and he tilted my chin upwards, brushing his mouth over mine softly. He grasped my seat belt tighter after a moment, pulling away from me to buckle it himself.

His dimples appeared as he leaned back into his own seat, buckling his seatbelt, “Thank you for being honest with me, Wangbi-ah. You didn’t have to.”

“Well, I’m going to be really busy soon, so you’ll notice when I go missing.” I said with an amused smile and he nodded, turning to look out the window as I pulled out of the parking lot. The drive back to Big Hit was pretty quiet, each of us lost in our own thoughts. I dropped him off and just as I pulled away, my phone started to ring.

I rolled my eyes as I answered, my entire mood souring when I realized who it was, “Are you going to make it a habit of calling me whenever you want?”

“I have your number now so shouldn’t I call you?” Shinhwa’s deep voice echoed in my ears and I kissed my teeth in annoyance.

“Ugh, what do you want?” I replied, already wanting to hang up.

“Have you had lunch yet?”

“What did I tell you earlier? We. Are. Not. Close. I have no desire to eat with you today. I don’t want to talk to you or see you until at least tomorrow.”

“Ah tomorrow, then?”

“I swear I’m speaking in Korean and not French. You do understand me, right?”

“Quinn-ssi, I have to say that your new personality just makes me want to see you more and more.”

“Keep it up and you’ll be paying that cancellation fee in less than a week, Jhang Shinhwa.” I told him brazenly, not caring if it upset him or not.

It didn’t, “I’ll see you tomorrow at one, at the hotel. My father wants to meet you.”

As usual, I didn’t reply to him at all. I just hung up the phone without another word. I tossed my phone in the cupholder in annoyance and tried to focus on driving.

Namjoon’s POV

Quinn was extremely busy for the rest of the week, and so were we, which resulted in two rescheduled lessons and a cancellation. In the meantime, I sent gifts sent to her job: leather car accessories decorated with crystals and a crown emblazoned on each of them. She sent me thank you texts as she received each item and apologized for being too busy to see me. I tried not to worry about her working with her ex, but I was honestly a bit concerned.

Another issue that concerned me was the diminishing relationship between Jungkook and Karissa. He had been getting more and more mopey lately, and even though I tried to stay out of it, it was sad to see our maknae so depressed. Yoongi-hyung was starting to notice too.

“Maknae, what’s wrong with you?” Yoongi-hyung questioned while we were getting ready for a live performance on Saturday morning.

Kookie sighed and covered his eyes, “Karissa-noona keeps going out with guys from school and when I told her to stop, she yelled at me.”

“Why would she do that? You’re not her boyfriend.”

Another heavy sigh escaped our youngest member, “I know.” He replied, sullenly. “I just don’t know why she keeps doing this. Is she purposely trying to make me jealous?”

“Definitely not; this is Karissa-ssi we’re talking about. The only woman who’s actually that vicious is Quinn-ah.” Yoongi-hyung stated matter-of-factly.

“Yoongi-hyung!” I cried, feeling offended for my Quinn. She wouldn’t do that!

Yoongi-hyung just shrugged and Jungkook nodded in agreement, “You’re right, Yoongi-hyung.”

“I’m still sitting here,” I replied snarkily, and they both laughed at me.

“I’m so jealous~!” Jin-hyung said with a pout, “I want to have girl troubles too.”

“Jin-hyung, you don’t want this. It’s a special type of Hell,” Yoongi-hyung stated while Kookie and I nodded in agreement, “You’re always scared you’re doing something wrong, or you forgot something. Or you’re worried some other guy is going to steal her from you. If she’s ignoring you, you feel like the worst man on Earth. Then, when she’s not around, you’re miserable and you’d do anything just to have her get mad at you all over again.”

“But there’s good too, right?” Tae-Tae questioned, coming over to the couch to squeeze in between Kookie and me.

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