Black Diamond

5. Chapter 5

“Do you think they’re actually going to meet up with us?” Jaehyun asked, leaning forward in his seat to tap Taeyong on the shoulder. Taeyong glanced at his cell phone again from his position in the passenger seat. Diamond had told him that she and Susie were going to change and meet them soon. They were currently sitting in a back alley in their jet black van, waiting for the ladies to come out of the club.

“I left practice for this, so they better come,” Kun retorted, crossing his arms with a grumpy expression on his face.

“You were rehearsing at 2 am; you can take a break to eat something,” Johnny replied, rolling his eyes from the driver’s set. Kun was normally very cheery, but for some reason, he was extremely against Taeyong getting involved with Diamond and Susie. Thankfully, Johnny made the executive decision to drag Lucas along, who was sure to help Kun lighten up.

“How come Doyoung and Taeil-hyungs stayed home?” Lucas questioned, tilting his head curiously. He had been watching a TV Show with Jaehyun and Ten when Johnny walked into the common area, and told them all to come with him. He jumped up at the chance to leave the dorm, especially late at night, when most of the younger ones were sleeping.

“They both said they were tired and didn’t want to come back out.” Jaehyun explained, patting Lucas’ head cheerfully, “I’m excited to meet these two women that everyone keeps talking about.”

“Oh right, you weren’t there with us that night.” Johnny recalled, and Kun sighed loudly.

“I was really worried we weren’t going to get out of there without a scandal,” He explained, thinking back to the day they were ordered to their company's guests.

“Well, we did, and we’ve gone back again, so don’t worry anymore!” Johnny replied cheerfully, making Jaehyun laugh.

“You say that, but we still have to make sure the kids don’t find out.” Jaehyun warned, and Taeyong nodded his head in agreement.

“I definitely won’t let them find out,” Taeyong vowed, just as Diamond and Susie appeared at the end of the alley, in the rearview mirror. Diamond had change into a black v-neck t-shirt with lace-up ties in the front and a pair of ripped-up jean shorts that hugged her curves.

Every head in the van turned to watch them approach. Taeyong’s mouth watered.

“Is that them?!” Lucas asked with a fierce whisper, his head whipping around towards the back of the van as the two women headed directly towards them.

Jaehyun let out a low whistle, “No wonder you want to keep going back.”

Diamond headed directly for the driver’s seat, surprising everyone when she tapped her knuckle on the window, and motioned for Johnny to open the door. He did so, wondering what the lovely woman was up to. At the same time, Susie popped the van’s sliding door open.

“Move over,” was all that Diamond said when Johnny finally opened his door, while Susie greeted everyone cheerfully.

“Hey guys! Long time no see,” Susie joked, climbing into the van. She took a seat between Lucas and Jaehyun, who were both staring in stunned silence. Ten shook his head, laughing at the other members reactions.

“Move over? Noona, can you even drive?” Johnny asked, even though he was already unbuckling his seatbelt. In reply, Diamond just took a step back so Johnny could climb out of the seat, her hand on her hip.

When Johnny climbed out of the seat and moved to the back of the van with the others, Taeyong watched in awe as Diamond hopped up into the driver’s seat. She adjusted the chair closer to the pedals, and started up the engine just as the sliding door closed behind Johnny.

Finally, Diamond turned to Taeyong, giving him a small smile as she leaned over the armrest to slide a single finger under his chin. Taeyong was mesmerized, staring into her eyes and unknowingly, holding his breath. Was she going to kiss him right here in front of everyone? He hoped she would.

“Taeyong-ah,” Her velvety smooth voice brushed against his ears, and he was so glad he had asked her to come out. “Put your seatbelt on so we can go.”

Taeyong nodded obediently, his hands moving at her command. She released him with a satisfied smile, and put both hands on the wheel, taking the van out of park so she could back out of the alley.

Meanwhile, Taeyong’s mind was racing a mile a minute. It was almost embarrassing how easily he did whatever she asked.

“So why did you guys decide to come out and play with us?” Susie asked curiously. From the back row, Johnny slung his arm over the back of her chair, leaning forward to get her undivided attention.

“We-”

Before Johnny could answer, Taeyong found his voice, finally, “We’re going to LA for a week.” Even though Taeyong was answering Susie’s question, his focus stayed wholly on Diamond, who glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes, before turning her focus back on the road. She didn’t seem upset about the news, which oddly disappointed him.

“Oohh LA? We haven’t been there in a while.” Susie commented, leaning forward to get Diamond’s attention, “What’s it been, Di? 6 years? 7?”

“You haven’t been in a while. I was just there last year.”

“Susie, where are you from?” Johnny asked in English, and Susie turned her gaze back towards him.

“I’m from South Carolina. There’s literally nothing there, and I’m so happy I moved,” She told him truthfully, “Where are you guys from? ...And who’re they?”

Lucas and Jaehyun realized that Susie was graciously giving them a chance to speak up, and took it.

“I’m Jaehyun,” Jaehyun introduced himself, holding his hand out for Susie to give him a handshake. She took it and smiled.

“Hi, I’m Lucas!” Lucas told her with a wave.

Susie’s smile grew, “Damn, is everyone in your group hot? That’s so unfair.”

Lucas blushed, laughing at Susie’s words, “Noona, we could say the same for you.”

“Ooohh, Diamond! You hear that? I found the charmer.” Susie teased, “Johnny, you better be careful, Lucas is coming for you on my bias list,” she joked, and that made everyone laugh.

“Where are we going?” Taeyong asked, as everyone in the back of the van continued to chat. Diamond gave him another glance, and Taeyong swallowed; even watching her drive was making him hot. Clearly, there was something wrong with him.

“A place I know,” was all she said, with mysterious smile. “It’s safe, don’t worry.”

“Do you go there often?”

“Taeyong-ah, are we playing another game? We’re not in the club anymore though, which means I don’t have to answer you.” She replied in amusement.

Taeyong nodded, knowing that she did have the right to refuse him, but she wouldn’t, “You told me I could have everything, Noona,” he murmured, just loud enough for Diamond to hear.

Diamond slowed down to a stop at a stoplight, turning to look at Taeyong fully. He met her gaze head on, a smile small turning up the corner of his lips, knowing he was right.

She laughed, “You’re already so spoiled. What am I going to do with you?” The light turned and Diamond turned back towards the road, “Susie and I visit this restaurant whenever we get off of work earlier than 4 am. It’s our little corner of home.”

“Home? You mean Hawaii?”

Diamond nodded as she drove along the road. Taeyong didn’t say much else during the trip to the restaurant, watching as the skyscrapers of Gangnam turned into smaller buildings and houses. They pulled into a parking lot at the back of a small shopping center, and to everyone’s surprise, Diamond and Susie walked right through the back door. The guys followed them, looking around curiously.

“CAL!” Susie shouted, waving at the two cooks that were in the kitchen, playing cards. They grunted and lifted their heads, going back to their card game. Diamond followed behind Susie, as their group emerged from the kitchen, to find a completely vacant American-style diner with yellow walls and a checkerboard floor. Oldies American music played from a jukebox against the wall, and Susie shouted again, “CAL! Where are you, old man?”

“Hey hey hey, hold your britches, kid. Geez! Why do you keep charging in here like you own the place? Use the front door like a normal person.” A balding older man with whips of dark hair and a New Yorker accent emerged from the far end of the counter, just as Diamond lifted up a piece of the countertop and motioned for the others to step through. While Susie chatted it up with the older man, that Taeyong assumed to be the owner, Diamond led the others over to a big table right next to the jukebox.

“Noona, what’s this place?” Lucas asked curiously, while Diamond took a seat directly across the table from Taeyong.

“We found this little diner when we first came to Seoul. Susie and I were having a hard time and happened to stumble across Cal and Ms. Rosa’s place... They don’t get a lot of customers; just enough to stay open.”

“We pretty much live here,” Susie added, walking over with cups and silverware. “There aren’t any servers during the night shift, so just tell me or Diamond if you want anything.”

Diamond stood up and grabbed a stack of menus from the counter. She was in the process of distributing the menus when an elderly woman came from the back of the restaurant with her wavy, salt-and-pepper hair tied up in a bun. She was extremely tan and had intelligent, almond-shaped eyes. She was wearing a bright pink shirt and white capris, a warm smile on her face.

“You brought friends this time? That’s new,” the older woman commented, putting a hand on Susie’s shoulder. “Do you girls want the usual, or should we put something together to impress our guests?”

“Whatever you feel like making is fine with me, Ms. Rosa!” Susie replied, giving the woman a thumbs up.

“Diamond, that good with you too?”

Diamond shook her head, “I’m feeling fancy today, so I want steak and eggs.”

“Oh, I’ll remind the chef to put some caviar on that order,” Ms. Rosa sassed, making Diamond and Susie laugh. “And for you guys? You want what the girls are having?”

Since this was a new experience for the members of NCT, Taeyong was surprised when everyone turned their gaze in his direction. Sometimes, it still felt weird to be the default leader.

“Yes, please,” he said simply, and the other guys nodded in agreement, supporting his decision.

Ms. Rosa nodded and headed off into the kitchen, leaving the group to their own devices.

“What exactly do you two do at the House of Cards?” Jaehyun decided he would be the one to break the ice, but apparently that question wasn’t the right one, since Johnny elbowed him as a warning, almost immediately.

Susie shrugged, “It’s okay, we’re not embarrassed about it. We’re hostesses, entertainers, annnddd hmmmmm…. Sometimes escorts? I haven’t had an job in a while though.”

“Escorts?” Taeyong echoed, looking in Diamond’s direction. She lifted an eyebrow, curious to see how he’d take the news. He didn’t seem upset about it, but looks had deceived her before.

“As in, people pay you to go on dates?” Lucas questioned, making sure he understood Susie’s words correctly.

Diamond nodded, “I only take those requests for special clients, but Susie gets asked out way more than I do.”

Susie laughed, “That’s because you scare the hell out of everybody.”

Diamond frowned, “If they’re afraid of me, that’s not my problem.”

“What happens when you go on these dates?” The question came from Johnny this time, who seemed interested in the topic now that it had been brought up.

“What happens? Nothing usually. We get free food, sometimes we get a few gifts, and then we go home,” Susie shrugged, “Since we’re the only Americans at the House, most people that request us are also English speakers. Diamond’s fee is much higher than mine, since she’s a Queen, but she’s way more selective than I am so we kinda balance each other out.”

“Aren’t you ashamed to be doing work like that? You’re literally selling your body,” Kun ooked between the two women with his arms crossed, a frown spreading across his handsome face.

“You know, you’re really cute until you open your mouth,” Susie ground out, annoyed. Diamond shook her head, laughing.

“Aren’t you doing the same thing?” Diamond countered, glancing at Kun coolly. Taeyong knew she wasn’t angry, but she certainly didn’t look look happy with what Kun had said, ”I’ve seen your music videos. You dance and sing, and use your body to sell concert tickets and albums. You use your body during photoshoots. We’re basically the same; you guys are just praised for your work.”

“She has a point,” Jaehyun added, nodding in agreement with Diamond’s assessment.

“What you do and what we do is absolutely not the same. It takes hard work, dedication, and years of training,” Kun argued back, and Taeyong hoped he wouldn’t have to intervene.

“We’ve been in this business since we were 20 years old, I definitely think that more than qualifies as years of training.” Susie had an attitude now, rolling her eyes at Kun's accusations.

Diamond was still unbothered, “Kun-ssi, you’re right, in a sense. What you do is hard. At least, for us, we don’t have to worry about being in the public eye. Still, that doesn’t make what we do something shameful or embarrassing. The owner of our club does everything he can to make sure that all his workers are protected and safe.”

“Diamond…” Susie sighed sadly, shaking her head, “Regardless, it’s not right to demean another person’s profession. Aren’t idols already treated so poorly by the rest of the world? Why would you subject another person to the same rudeness directed at you?”

Kun deflated then, knowing exactly what Susie meant, “I said too much.”

“Damn right, you did,” Diamond admonished with a nod, “I’ll forgive you, if you promise to stop being a jerk, and just relax. Taeyong specifically asked me if you could join us after your practice, so play nice -- he did you a favor.”

Kun turned to Taeyong in surprise, “You did?”

Taeyong shrugged, “I knew you’d be hungry after working so hard, so I asked Diamond-noona for her help.”

Kun chewed his bottom lip, nodding quietly. Just then, Ms. Rosa appeared with her husband and one of the cooks from the kitchen, carrying plates of food.

“Loco Moco?! How’d you know?” Susie said excitedly, reaching for the hot sauce on the table. The plates were put down in front of each diner, but just as Diamond reached for her silverware, Taeyong took her plate from in front of her.

“What are you-?” She started to ask, but stopped short when Taeyong immediately started cutting her steak into small, bite-sized pieces. When he was finished, he carefully placed the plate back down in front of her, and finally took a bite of his own food.

“Whattttt? Johnny, why won’t you cut my food up for me too?” Susie huffed, and Lucas raised his hand eagerly, pointing at himself.

“I’ll do it for you, Noona!”

Jaehyun shook his head, “No, don’t let him do it -- he’ll probably break the plate,” He joked, making everyone laugh.

“Taeyong-ah, what time are you leaving tomorrow?” Diamond asked, holding her fork out for Taeyong to take a bite of her food. He leaned forward, letting her feed him, chewing thoughtfully as he considered the best way to word his answer.

“In a few hours. What time is it now?” Johnny spoke up before Taeyong could reply, which was fine by him.

Diamond frowned, tapping her phone screen to bring up the clock, “It’s close to 4 am.”

“We fly out at 10 am, so we have a little more time,” Jaehyun added, as if getting less than 6 hours of sleep was normal for them.

“You’re going to be exhausted tomorrow!” Susie commented, feeling a little guilty.

Lucas shook his head, reassuring her, “Don’t worry about us, Susie-noona! We’re young, with lots of energy!” And to further demonstrate the energy he had, Lucas flexed his right arm, making the woman across from him laugh all over again.

“Noona, do you have plans for tomorrow?” Taeyong asked, watching Diamond polish off the last of her eggs. She wiped with a napkin and shrugged nonchalantly.

“I’m off tomorrow, so I’m probably going to sleep all day,” Diamond stretched her arms high over her head, and Taeyong looked away to keep himself from staring at her. “I’ll be so lonely, sitting at home all by myself~!”

“Oh, she’s so full of it, don’t listen to her, Taeyong-ssi,” Susie remarked, chuckling at Diamond’s exaggeration, “We live together, and I’m off tomorrow too, so we’ll probably go grocery shopping or do laundry or something.”

“Do you live in a dorm too, Noona?” Lucas asked curiously, just as Ms. Rosa came back to the table to gather everyone’s plates up. Diamond reached for her purse, and stood from her chair, following Ms. Rosa to the counter.

“,” The curse word flew from Taeyong’s lips as he shot out of his chair, realizing exactly what Diamond was doing. But it was too late… she had already handed a wad of bills to the older women behind the counter.

“Noona,” Taeyong protested, but Diamond shook her head, pressing her fingers to his lips to silence him.

“Don’t worry about it. Ms. Rosa wouldn’t have taken your money anyway. She’ll take mine,” Diamond stated with a reassuring smile.

“Damn right,” The Hawaiian woman stated resolutely, her face beaming with a bright smile. “We treated you like guests this time, but next go round, it’s your turn, all right, young man?”

Taeyong nodded, speechless. Whatever he had been expecting when they walked through the back door of this small diner, it wasn’t a free meal.

“Thank you,” He stated loudly, and to show his respect, he even bowed towards the older woman.

“Ah, you don’t have to do that much! Just come back and visit, ok?”

Taeyong smiled widely, “We’ll definitely come back.”

“Good, good! Now, if I overheard you correctly, don’t you have somewhere to be in a couple of hours? Diamond, take him home already, girl!”

“Hey, how do you know I brought him out? Maybe he asked *me* to come out.” Diamond protested, laughing with a wide smile. Taeyong studied her, memorizing the sound of her relaxed laugh. He thoroughly enjoyed this playful side of her.

“Out!” Ms. Rosa pointed towards the back door and Diamond held her hands up defensively, still laughing.

“Okay, okay. Thanks for the food.”

“Thanks for the money, baby.” Ms. Rosa replied, waving the cash that Diamond had handed her. “See you next time.”

Diamond nodded, turning back towards the others, “Alright, everyone, the sun should be coming up soon. Who wants to go see it?”

“Me, me!” Susie and Lucas shouted in unison, both waving their hands like little kids.

Johnny chuckled, shaking his head, “I guess we’ll go together.”

Diamond smiled, holding her hand out towards Taeyong, “Let’s go together, Taeyong-ah.”

Without a moment's hesitation, Taeyong threaded his fingers through hers.

The entire group bid farewell to the only staff members of the restaurant and left the same way they came in. Diamond drove them to a park near the Han River, with a wooden observation deck at the top of a hill. She had been there countless times before, but she was still happy to see everyone’s excited response.

“Wow, I never knew this was here!” Lucas shouted, running to the railing of the deck. “Look, Kun, it’s the river!”

Kun laughed, following Lucas to the railing, “I see it, I see it.”

Taeyong moved to follow the rest of his group members, but stopped short when Diamond’s smaller hand wrapped around his wrist. She held a finger to her lips and inclined her head in the opposite direction of the others.

Once again, she was leading him away from everyone, and once again, he willing followed her. It felt good to let someone else lead him for once.

When they were well enough away from the others, Diamond pounced.

“Taeyong-ah,” her voice took on a husky pitch that made his pulse race. She backed him into a tree, and he stayed put, suddenly feeling a shortness of breath. “You were going to leave for another country without telling me?”

“I-” He what? Taeyong’s excuse was on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn’t even remember what he was going to say. Diamond’s brown eyes were looking at him so intensely, and she took a step closer into his space, winding her arms around his neck.

“Do you think you’ll miss me while you’re gone?” She asked softly, and Taeyong nodded, his arms closing around her slim waist. He wasn’t sure what perfume she used, but he hoped she never stopped using it. “You better.” She added, with the cutest pout Taeyong had ever seen.

“Noona, have I ever lied to you?” He attempted to pacify her with a soft smile, and thankfully, it worked.

“You better be lucky you have such a handsome face.” Diamond added, with a rueful smile. She leaned up and pressed a soft kiss to Taeyong’s lips, “Don’t ever lie to me, Lee Taeyong. If you get tired of me, just end our contract. I can forgive anything and everything else, but lies will put us both in danger.”

Taeyong shook his head, not even wanting to think about something crazy like ending their agreement. He pulled her form closer to his, leaning down to press chaste kisses against her lips, once, twice, three times before she gave the iest groan of frustration he had ever heard in his life.

“Don’t try to distract me,” Diamond fussed, touching her fingertips gently to his cheek.

“Too late,” Taeyong smirked, and with a single nip of his teeth against her full bottom lip, Diamond was completely and utterly distracted as Taeyong kissed her until she was breathless. Neither of them paid any attention to the sun finally rising to the heavens above them.

End Chapter 5