“You should get dressed,”

Alessa eyed the male warily before giving him a nod, he grinned and playfully bopped his forehead against hers before walking towards the house.

“I..I should go back and pretend I didn’t spoil Lucas’s plans.” Chanyeol spoke awkwardly, Alessa smiled and scrunched her nose at him.

“I should go put some clothes on. But, sorry, I can’t ruin your wedding.”

Chanyeol chuckled and nodded.

“I know. See you later.” He patted her hand before walking away from the girl, Alessa let out a big sigh as he turned away from her.

She glared back at the house, Wang Hedi was still standing by the patio doors, a huge knowing grin was written all over his face.

“Yup, you should totally put some clothes on.” He commented as she reached him, Alessa groaned and pulled the male along with her.

“When did you get here?” She asked as they went up the stairs, Wang Hedi, or Dylan to his friends, smiled and wrapped one arm around her neck.

“Yesterday, but I had some things to take care of before seeing you, lao po.”

“Lao po, my .” She said as they reached her room, Dylan snorted.

“I’m going to change; can you please tell Lucas to get lost while on you’re way back to the garden?”

“Sure, but you should thank him too. He invited your crush over. And yes, I know, that was him.” He rolled his eyes at her, Alessa was tempted to throttle him.

“Wear something nice.” He winked at her before she could attack him.

Chanyeol joined his friends at one of the tables, he glanced up as he saw Lucas run towards the newcomer.

“Who’s that?” Baekhyun spoke, Kai followed his gaze.

“Ah, him.” Jongin nodded and picked up another chip, Chanyeol looked at his friend, he was expecting for him to add more.

But he didn’t.

“You know him?” Chanyeol spoke up, Kai glanced at him and nodded.

“Wang Hedi, Dylan Wang.” His reply was short again, Jongdae nodded along, he was watching as some other familiar faces join them.

Park Chanyeol never felt so frustrated with the Samsung executive in his whole life.

“Ah, that Wang?” Baekhyun spoke, Chanyeol turned to him.

“Yeah, WangXi Group. They’re this big Chinese conglomerate, he is one of the two heirs. And he is~”

Dylan looked up when he spotted Alessa walking towards them, Chanyeol followed his gaze, the girl was now wearing a loose sun dress and a pair of sandals.

“Lao po!” He said with a cheerful grin as he opened one arm to the girl, Kai chuckled.

“Wife?” Chen was confused, Kai nodded.

“Yeah, there’s that too.” Kai pointed out as Alessa reached the male, Dylan rolled his eyes at her before enveloping the girl in a hug. Chanyeol’s brows rose up, Alessa was smiling as the male pulled her towards him.

“I don’t know how to explain it, but…he’s kind of Alessa’s best friend, I think.”

“You think?” Baekhyun grew intrigued, he looked at the two. Alessa was actually speaking to him while the male still had his arms around her.

Dylan rolled his eyes at her and she actually laughed and pulled away from him.

“There’s really no way of explaining those two, is it a “some” relationship or just plain friendship, no one really knows.”

“He calls her wife.” Chanyeol said coolly as he picked up his iced tea.

“He does, she lets him.” Kai chuckled before leaning back on his seat.

Alessa watched as Dylan sat down with Ahee and Jaehyun, Lucas was making his way towards them with a platter of fried chicken. She slowly stood up from her seat, Dylan’s eyes went to her.

“I’ll be back. Enjoy your food.” Alessa poked his cheek before walking towards her other friends.

“Alessandra Wong!” Kai raised his palm at her as she reached them, she shook her head at him and bumped fists with him.

“I have to apologize for the array of unhealthy food, Lucas planned everything.” She said as she stood behind Chanyeol’s seat.

“No, it’s fine. I haven’t had this much chicken in a while.” Chen said to her, she had a rueful expression on her face which surprised the other males.

“So, how is it? Should I still welcome you to Seoul?” Kai teasingly asked her, she shook her head.

“Eat your chicken, Jongin.” She rolled her eyes at him, then she patted Chanyeol’s shoulder.

“Yes?” He looked up to meet her gaze, Alessa sat down beside him.

“You looked like you had other things you wanted to talk about.” She spoke to him, Chanyeol paused, the girl picked up a bit of chicken from his plate and started to nibble on it.

This was a different side of her, a new one. Or maybe it was because she was at home and she didn’t need to act like her usual business-like and stoic self. Chanyeol grew amused as she continued to look around.

“Seolah got mad at me because of what I told her.”

“I figured that out.” She nodded along as she leaned on the table. Chanyeol looked around them, a lot of the guests were looking at her expectantly.

“Hey, how about I drop by at your office tomorrow and we can chat.” He said to her, Alessa’s eyes went to him and she nodded.

“Still not going to ruin your wedding, but sure, you’re welcome to come.” She grinned at him, Kai almost fell off his seat when he saw the two interacting.

Jongdae and Baekhyun elbowed each other and chuckled to themselves.

“I’ll come up with something else. Go talk to your guests.” He urged her, Alessa was about to stand when he spoke again.

“Alessa, wait.”

She turned to him, Chanyeol paused, his forehead creased before shaking his head.

“What is it?”

“I—It’s nothing, see you tomorrow.”

She rolled her eyes at him before going back to their table, Chanyeol watched as Dylan pulled the chair for her and poured her another glass of champagne. Chanyeol exhaled and leaned back on his seat.

“That didn’t look bad, you were talking to him in this very normal way.” Dylan recounted as they walked towards the gazebo.

“Well, it’s..it’s getting better, I think.” She shrugged at him, Dylan laughed and climbed up the wooden steps.

“It’s just a crush, you’ll get over it.” He winked at her, Alessa shrugged and stood beside him. The male glanced back at the party, his eyes went to Chanyeol who was chatting with Lucas and another friend. Dylan would catch him casually glance over at them from time to time and that amused the WangXi boy.

But I guess someone’s starting to not get over you.

He grinned and crossed his arms, he faced Alessa again.

“How’s Seoul for you lately?”

“I ran into an old friend. You know her.” She started as she leaned against him, Dylan’s brows rose.

“Which friend?”

“That person, the one who had people follow me. The incident during my last few weeks here in Seoul years back.”

She felt Dylan tense beside her, his eyes narrowed and he made her face him.

“You ran into her? You should have ran her over with your Rolls Royce.”

“Dylan, I can~”

“Why? Because you don’t want trouble? You said that~”

“No, she’s Chanyeol’s fiancé, Dylan. Running her over would make me look bad.” She said dryly, Dylan rolled his eyes and snorted.

“At least it would benefit you, right?”

“I’m trying not to get involved with anyone right now.” She said as she leaned back and looked at her toes.

“You always try not to get involved with others,”

“I just want to live peacefully you know that, that’s why I’m still wearing this.” She raised her ring finger, Dylan smiled and took her hand in his.

“There might be a time you’ll want to remove that.” He said to her, Alessa smiled and shook her head.

“You first.” She said to him, Dylan chuckled softly.

“We are each other’s safety nets, Di. And as of now, I’d really rather stay safe.” She said to him, Dylan smiled, he glanced over at the Lotte heir again and he grew thoughtful.

“Whatever you say, Alessa.” He mused as he caught Chanyeol glancing at them again.

Hmmm, I might as well extend my stay.

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