“Huh, so he actually did manage to get her to come back. I confess, I’m surprised. Given her reaction I would have thought that was the last we would ever see of her.” Luhan commented as he sipped delicately from his wineglass, his brows rose as he eyed Jiyeon, who, indeed, had returned to the party. She stood next to JB - Luhan could not help but notice the formal, awkward distance between the two of them, making them appear more like strangers than boyfriend and girlfriend - smiling politely as JB introduced her to the Byun Taecyoung, the CEO of KBS, father of Krystal, Minho and Baekhyun. 

Yoona rolled her eyes as she walked past, overhearing Luhan’s words. “And let’s face it, that’s just proof that you’re more often wrong than you are right. It’s a good thing you never wanted to become a fortuneteller.” 

Luhan spun around, ready to deliver a biting retort, but Yoona just whirled away, a cheeky grin on her face as she avoided him. Minho laughed. “Seriously, how anyone doesn’t mistake you for a couple is beyond me.”

Luhan shot Minho a scathing glare. “Honestly, I have better taste than to date Im Yoona, of all people. Why would anyone like her? She’s obnoxious, loud, has the worst sense of humour I have ever seen, drinks coffee all the time, loves painting her nails that hideous bright pink, always hits people when she's talking to them and laughs with wide open, like some kind of crocodile.” 

“Well, you did come to the dance with her as your partner,” Baekhyun pointed out. “If you disliked her that much, why would you even come with her? And besides, crocodile? That’s a little mean, don’t you think? I thought most people compared Yoona-noona to a deer.” 

Luhan scoffed, his expression offended. “Please! I’m the deer, she’s the crocodile!” Luhan pointed right at Yoona; almost as if it was planned, Yoona burst into laughter at something Jiyeon said to her, displaying her crocodile laughter for them to see. 

Baekhyun chuckled. “Well, how obliging of her to demonstrate that to us.” 

Minho paid no attention to Luhan’s bickering with his brother; instead he craned his neck, using his impressive height to peer over the crowd. “Hey, where did Krystal run to? She was right here just now...”

Luhan nudged the taller brother. “If Krystal knows you’re trying to “look out” for her again she’s going to kill you. Remember what happened the last time?” 

Minho looked mystified. “What last time?” 

“The last time your father threw a party, when you were “looking out” for Krystal and barged into her room where she was rushing homework with a classmate because you thought they were making out. Not to mention you threw her poor classmate right out of the house, too.” Luhan reminisced, chuckling at the memory. 

“Are you talking about Minho and that poor kid he bullied? What was his name again...Henry? Was that his name?” JB asked, appearing at Minho’s shoulder with Jiyeon and Yoona flanking him. Yoona nodded. “Yes, Henry Lau or something, some Canadian kid who’s probably so traumatised he doesn’t dare to speak to Krystal anymore.”

“Minho has the slightest tendency to over-react whenever Krystal is concerned.” JB told Jiyeon, leaning in to whisper in her ear. Jiyeon pulled back, shooting JB a cold glare. “Keep your distance from me, creep.” 

JB’s brows rose; he smirked, his eyes sparking dangerously as he hooked an arm around Jiyeon’s waist, pulling her close before she could shove him away. Lowering his head, he murmured softly into her ear, “Do I really have to remind you about our deal every single time?” 

Jiyeon fought to keep the snarl of her face, her voice vehement as she hissed. “I agreed to the deal - I never agreed to do it happily- or willingly, for that matter.” 

“Do you want me to add that as a condition? Playing out this...scenario, with a smile on your face?” JB mused. “I can do that, you know.” 

Jiyeon looked at the blonde-haired man pityingly. “Just how long is it going to take for you to understandJB? You can make me do whatever you want; but you can never make me want to do it. You can force people to do your bidding, bully them into following your orders, but they will never do it willingly. That’s all you have, Im Jaebum. Brute, crude power over the most feeble part of the human being, the body. Never the heart, and never the mind.” 

Yoona, who had previously been pretending feigning serious deafness with regards to the two of them, shifted uncomfortably at Jiyeon’s words. 

“Better than having to follow someone else’s orders, no matter how unwilling you may be.” JB smiled back, unfazed; gently, he ran a hand through her silky, lustrous brown locks. “Just like you have to do now, Jiyeon-ah.” 

Jiyeon’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t think you have any right to talk to me so familiarly.” She pushed JB’s hand away. “And keep your hands to yourself. I don’t like being touched by strangers. Or jerks, for that matter.” 

“Ouch,” Baekhyun whistled, suddenly interrupting their heated discussion. “That was mean. I don’t know why you bother with a girl who’s not interested, JB. What does she have that others don’t? Come on, just bankrupt her company and get this whole mess over and done with.” 

Jiyeon whirled around, her ire suddenly Baekhyun. “I don’t see how this is any of your business so out!” 

Baekhyun jumped, startled by Jiyeon’s sudden vehemence at what he had deemed to be such a casual comment. He scrambled for a suitable comeback line, but before he could, JB gripped Jiyeon by the arm, steering her away from his friends. “I’ll see you guys later, then.” 

“I would advise that you not mouth off to any of the people at this party, least of all Minho and Baekhyun, given your chosen profession. Given Uncle Byun’s preference for Baekhyun, it’s more than likely he’ll end up as the CEO of KBS, and I’m sure you wouldn’t offend the person who’s going to be the future CEO of a major entertainment network.” JB told Jiyeon once they were out of earshot of the others. Jiyeon just sneered at him. “What I said was the truth, it’s not of his business.” She stopped abruptly, pulling her arm away from JB to prevent him from leading her away. “You know, I’m noticing an awfully interesting pattern here; you rich, privileged bastards don’t seem to like people telling you the truth very much, do you?” 

“Truth is only a relative thing. What difference does it make? After all, even history is merely a set of lies agreed upon. Lies are what matter to the world, not the truth.”JB replied, unruffled. 

Jiyeon’s eyes narrowed, and opened, ready to deliver some cutting insult about JB’s lack of integrity, but before she could, the grand doors to the ballroom were thrown open. JB whirled around, surprised. Jiyeon heard murmurs of surprise amongst the other guests, “Who would come this late to the party?” 

“It’s Kai.” Jiyeon jumped as the voice sounded from just behind her. She whirled around, recognizing the nonchalant, cool tone of Xi Luhan. “It looks like he’s here for business.” 

Curiosity got the better of Jiyeon; she craned her neck to look at this “Kai” fellow. To her surprise, she recognized the darkly-tanned, handsome, youthful face. It was the man she had crashed into and snapped at, the first time she had gone to JB’s house with her jerk of a CEO. Now that she wasn’t forcing back tears and running down stairs, she took a good look at him. He was of average height, with skin more tanned than most and messy, dishevelled hair that made him look as if he’d just woken up. But what caught Jiyeon’s attention most were his eyes; jet-black eyes that seemed to be able to look through you into your soul, eyes that, despite their darkness, seemed somehow injected with a hope, a belief in life that JB’s gray eyes lacked. 

Kai stood by the door, silent and unperturbed by the attention his sudden entrance was getting. Instead, he remained in place, his eyes scanning the grand ballroom quickly as he sought out whatever it was he was looking for. Then his eyes fell upon Yoona. Purposefully, he strode forward, weaving his way through the crowd. 

“He wants to talk to Yoona.” JB murmured; without another word he made his way towards his sister, his expression protective, his brows drawn together in a frown as he grabbed Jiyeon by the hand, making sure she followed close behind him. 

Kai reached Yoona before they could, as he weaved through the crowd with ease. As Jiyeon watched, Kai took Yoona by the arm and escorted her out of the room. As they reached Baekhyun and Minho, JB demanded protectively. “What was that about? I thought Kai said he wasn’t coming to the party? Where did they go?” 

Baekhyun grimaced, his expression uneasy and uncharacteristically serious. “A murder investigation. Kai said Minseok-hyung was killed around yesterday evening; apparently Yoona was the last person he called.” 

Jiyeon could not bite back a gasp. “Who was killed?” 

Luhan closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. “You have got to be kidding me.” 

“You mean Minseok as in Kim Minseok? The fashion designer they call Xiumin, the one who taught Yoona-sshi?” Jiyeon gaped. “He’s been...he’s been murdered?”

JB’s eyes narrowed. “And he’s bringing Yoona in for questioning? What is wrong with him? There’s no way my sister would have done something like this.” 

“I’m sure Kai’s not accusing Yoona of doing anything; he just wants to see if Yoona remembers anything, like maybe if Xiumin was acting weird or anything. That’s all. You know Kai, he always makes sure he covers every angle.” Baekhyun replied soothingly; he knew how JB JB could get when it came to his sister. 

Luhan was frowning as well. “Nevertheless, he needn’t have dragged Yoona down to the office just for that; now everyone at this party will be talking about how Yoona was brought in for questioning. He should have considered Yoona’s reputation.” 

Krystal’s brows rose. “Wow, am I hearing this right? Xi Luhan, actually concerned for Yoona’s reputation? I never thought the day would come.” 

JB shot Krystal a look, more reprimanding than mean. “This is no laughing matter, Krystal.” He hesitated for a moment, debating, his eyes darting towards the grand doors which Kai and Yoona had just exited from. “I’m going after them.”

“Hold on for a moment,” Baekhyun stepped in front of JB, blocking his path. “Empire is the one throwing this party; we can’t have both Yoona and you leaving one after another. Technically speaking Yoona doesn’t have much to do with Empire anymore, so it would not be that bad if she just walked out; but as the future heir of Empire International you’re expected to stay here with the guests. You know that would be disgraceful.”

JB grimaced, but before he could be forced into making a decision, Luhan just shrugged, nonchalant and careless as always. “Then I’ll go and make sure she’s fine, so JB can just stay here. Easily done.” 

JB still looked worried. “I’m not sure about that, Luhan. I think it’ll be best with I go with Yoona-”

“Yes, it’ll probably be best for Yoona if you accompanied her but clearly that’s not possible given your position. So the simple solution is, I go. And besides, surely you’re not just going to abandon your partner here?” Luhan asked, raising his eyebrows. JB stood, motionless, his expression turning into a wry grin. “I suppose you have a point. Hurry up, then. Catch up with them.” He gave Luhan a little shove, pushing him towards the grand doors; Luhan, as usual, just walked towards the doors in his slow, unruffled gait. 

Jiyeon glanced up at JB; his gaze was still fixed on the door, his expression longing. It was clear he wanted to get out of here, although whether it was because he wanted to join his sister, or get out of this party, Jiyeon wasn’t sure. If it was her, it would definitely be the latter choice, but who knew ran through the weird mind of Im Jaebum? She gave up guessing; instead, she nudged him roughly, jerking her head to indicate an elderly couple coming at them from the left. “Hey, I think they want to talk to you.”

JB turned; he inclined his head, his expression changing into one of polite interest as he began to chat with the elderly couple. The Byun siblings also drifted away as they talked to other guests. And Jiyeon just stood, silent, watching, as the guests whirled around the ballroom, greeting each other with hugs and kisses on cheeks that no one took sincerely, making polite conversation that none of them really cared about, giving generous compliments that no one really meant; and as she stared at the mirrors upon mirrors that decorated the walls of the ballroom, stared at the reflections upon reflections within the mirrors, in which no one reflection looked exactly the same, she realized. 

This was a world she did not understand. A world of hidden meanings, of daggers hidden behind smiles. A world so different from the one she lived in, it made her head spin. And she’d agreed to walk headfirst into this world of mirrors and underlying meanings, with a man more untrustworthy than anyone else. 

What the hell had she done? 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Myungsoo held his phone up towards the ceiling as he stared at it, his expression glum. Sitting opposite him, Hoya rolled his eyes as he flipped the page of his book. “Just call her, Myungsoo. You’re not telekinetic; staring at your phone won’t somehow make her suddenly call you.” 

“It’s awkward!” Myungsoo protested. “I mean, if I were to suddenly call her for no reason...” 

“You’re her boyfriend, aren’t you?” Hoya pointed out. “That kind of means you’re supposed to call her for no reason; or, well, for no reason other than that you miss talking to her, or other mushy crap like that.” 

“What, just like you do with Eunji-sshi?” Myungsoo asked, half-mockingly. Hoya shot him a crabby glare. “At least I’m not as awkward with Eunji as you are with Jiyeon. Seriously, Myungsoo. You’re her boyfriend. She’s not going to scream at you and break up with you over the phone just because you called her to tell her you missed her.” 

Myungsoo hesitated, his eyes darting back up to his phone. Hoya could not hide his exasperation. “Do I have to dial the numbers in for you too, Myungsoo?” 

“All right, all right, just give me a moment.” Myungsoo grumbled. He pulled himself upright and pressed for the first number on his speed-dial, then brought the phone to his ear, listening, waiting. 

After a moment, his expression fell. “Hyung, she’s not picking up. She always picks up my calls...” 

Hoya glanced over at Myungsoo, then bit back a sigh. “Yah, Kim Myungsoo, you don’t have to look so down just because Jiyeon didn’t pick up your call once. She’s probably practising for T-ara’s comeback or something. Come on, why don’t we go out for a walk or something? I’m sure you’re bored of being cooped up in the dorm all day long right?” 

Myungsoo forced a smile, standing up. “Yeah, sure, I guess...”

Myungsoo pulled on his jacket, then sat back down on the sofa, waiting for Hoya to finish changing his clothes. He tried not to look at his phone, tried not to hope that Jiyeon would call him back, but his eyes invariably trailed back to his iPhone sitting next to him on the sofa. 

The door to Hoya’s room opened; Hoya was tossing his keys into the air and catching them with one hand, whistling a tune as he jerked his head towards the door. 

Myungsoo rose, fighting back the disappointment that was rising in him like a wave. “Let’s go.” He followed Hoya out of the room, locking the door as they exited their dorm. 

And his phone remained on the sofa, silent.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Are you sure you don’t want a cup of coffee, Luhan-sshi?” D.O offered as he walked by the impatient young man; Luhan rose his sculpted brows, his expression uninviting. “Fairly certain, yes, given that I’d rather be enjoying my own cup of tea back at my house. How much longer is this going to take, officer? We all have places to be, as I’m sure you know.”

D.O had to fight the urge to shrink back at Luhan’s cold impatience; he dipped his head. “Give me a moment, I’ll just check in with Kai...” He hurried towards the room which Kai and Yoona were using, and knocked rapidly on the door before poking his head in. “Uh...Kai, your friend is getting impatient. And he’s a bit scary.” 

Yoona rolled his eyes. “Luhan is a jerk.” 

Kai did not even take his eyes off the folder that was sitting in front of him. “Tell him to wait another fifteen minutes.”

D.O bobbed his head, swallowing nervously as he stepped out to relay the message to Luhan. Yoona returned her gaze to Kai; she folded her arms, her voice betraying the slightest hint of impatience as she spoke to Kai, “Not to be rude, Kai, but just how long more are you going to sit there staring at that folder? You said you wanted to bring me down here for questioning but you haven’t asked me a single question except for whether or not I want tea or coffee.” 

Kai did not look up. “I’m thinking.” 

“Well, can you do your thinking after you’ve finished questioning me? I’ve got places to be, you know.” 

Kai did not respond; instead he continued to gaze down at the folder, his eyes scanning through the documents before him again and again. Yoona tilted her head to the side, studying the younger man in silence for a moment. Then she leaned forward, supporting her chin with her palm, her eyes sparking. “I never thought I’d see the day.” 

Kai looked up, the question clear in his eyes. 

Yoona smiled. “You’re afraid.” 

----------------------------------------------------------

And I'm back with the next chapter!

I think Luyoon's antagonistic relationship is actually quite cute and fun to write about; they're always snapping at and expressing dislike for each other, but they actually do care about each other. When Yoona is in a spot of trouble, Luhan is more than willing to step up and look out for her, even be there for her despite his self-professed distaste of her. I think it's also pretty obvious from Luhan's description of the reasons why he dislikes her that he pays a lot of attention to her. So, yes, Luyoon ftw!

As for Kai and Yoona, they're actually genuinely not very fond of each other and are more than willing to challenge each other and make things difficult for each other. In that very last scene, Yoona is genuinely surprised and almost happy, or maybe even delighted to see that Kai is afraid; Kai is the stoic emotionless fellow who almost never shows what he feels or thinks, but now his composure has cracked so much that Yoona can read him in a few quick seconds. Yoona is not only satisfied with her own skills at reading people, but her dislike of Kai makes her, in a way, sadistically glad that he feels fear too, even though she doesn't yet understand just why he's scared. And that just goes to show: Yoona's not that much of an angel either, and she's much more like her brother than she first appears to be. 

Not much development on the relationship between JB/Jiyeon or JB/Yoona. For JB/Yoona, it's clear that his sister is the one person he cares about most; even when he finds out about Xiumin's death, his first thought isn't sadness or shock, but instead he's more concerned about Yoona being brought in for questioning. Yoona is the one person he can throw away anything for; in a way, I think that makes him much more human and vulnerable. As for JB/Jiyeon, right now it's still more antagonism and not much development; the development is going to come in the next few chapters, so please anticipate it!

I especially loved that last bit with Jiyeon watching all the guests at the party; a couple of chapters ago when Jiyeon first went to the ball I mentioned about how Jiyeon has stepped into a whole new world. Well, this chapter is where that realization really hits home for her; up till now she hasn't really registered what she's done, but now that she's interacted with so many people from this different "world", has observed and watched them, she suddenly understands that this is a completely foreign world that she totally doesn't get, and she's been dragged headfirst into it by the biggest devil of them all. That realization is going to play a huge part in her development in the next few chapters, too. 

Finally, Myungsoo/Jiyeon. I think this chapter makes it clearer what their relationship is like; both of them are very shy and that makes them awkward together, so in a way both parties are afraid, almost unwilling to take their relationship one step further. This contrasts directly with JB/Jiyeon; whereas Myungsoo is awkward and afraid of overstepping boundaries which he imagines to be there, JB is constantly pushing against boundaries that Jiyeon had erected against him, fighting those boundaries and trying to step ever closer to Jiyeon. 

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Remember to comment and subscribe! Thanks!