Chapter 6

 

 

While Sam was messaging his other members that they would be having dinner at the penthouse, Hyerin was off speaking to the director, telling him where they would be headed. 

 

“Director Kim, We’ll be headed back to the penthouse with Lunafly for some dinner. Is there anything else you would like us to do before we leave?” She asked, keeping her posture straight and her tone polite. The director was known around the company to have a fairly easy temper. He shook his head and waved her off without even regarding her statement. Hyerin rolled her eyes in annoyance once she’d turned away and was headed towards the entrance. 

 

Sam approached her, his phone in his hand and a brilliant smile across his handsome face.

 

“You wouldn’t believe how excited Yun was when I told him that we were having dinner with you guys,” He glanced down at her before hastily taking the duffel bag containing her clothes from her filming of Dream Team. He swung the bag over his shoulder against her will. Sam grinned as his wife attempted to swipe at the bag from his grasp, whining slightly when he held it out of her reach.

 

“Hey! I can carry it myself!” Hyerin protested, reaching up to take the bag from him. Sam shook his head and side stepped her, holding the bag over her 5‘2“ frame. She sighed and looked at him crossly, her arms folded and her hip cocked out in an agitated manner. 

 

“It isn’t in my nature to let my woman carry her things if I can help it,” Sam stated, leaning against the frame of the door, grinning slightly at how annoyed his wife looked. She huffed angrily before turning to see if Kyunhye was almost ready to leave. Her Spanish companion headed towards them in long, graceful strides, car keys in her hand.

 

“I’m not your woman,” She stated nonchalantly, pausing to reach into her bag and retrieve a set of car keys.

 

“You guys drive separate cars?” Sam looked at them in surprise, following after them out the door as they headed towards the parking lot. 

 

“Unlike most other idols, we live rather far from our company building. It’s a good fifteen minute drive across the Han River bridge to get to our apartment,” Kyunhye stated, looking over her shoulder at the tall, blonde haired man. 

 

Sam looked impressed, carefully holding the duffel bag over his head just as his wife’s dainty hands made a grab for it. 

 

“Dammit, Sam! Give me my bag!” She huffed angrily, her green eyes glittering in the dim light. He just shook his head before opening the door that led to the parking lot. 

 

The parking lot was dim with only a few cars parked in it.  There were several company vans that were lined up, used during the day time to cart the company idols around their schedules, but there were also several cars that would belong to cameramen, directors, and managers. 

 

The two females walked over to a secluded corner and clicked the unlock button almost simultaneously. The brief flash of the headlights illuminated the surrounding area for a split second, just enough to outline two sleek shapes. Hyerin walked over to a midnight black luxury car, her manicured nails glinting in the dim light as she ran her hand lovingly over the hood of her car.

 

Sam raised an eyebrow when he realized that it was an Audi r8. Easily over a hundred grand and one of the pricier cars in the Audi line. Kyunhye, like her best friend, also drove a top line car. A steel grey BMW 750i  was parked right next to the Audi, its polished form outlined in the dim moonlight. 

 

Both drivers stepped in and started their engines, the cars purring like feral jungle cats in the quiet night. Sam walked over and slid into the passenger seat next to Hyerin, tossing her bag gently into the back seat. The posh leather interior seemed to reflect its driver; clean, direct, and expensive. Sam had noticed that much of the stuff Hyerin carried or wore were of good names and companies. 

 

“You guys have to be from good families to drive cars like these,” He said, running his hand admiringly along the console. Hyerin laughed softly before putting the car into reverse and expertly pulling out of her corner spot. She switched her headlights on and began the trip down the road, heading for the Han River bridge. 

 

“My dad and Kyun’s mom are among some of Europe’s finest architects. They’ve built up empires with their designs,” She answered, steering the car into a smooth turn for the road which led to the bridge. Sam whistled to himself softly as he felt the car effortlessly accelerate as she reached the freeway. 

 

“Your families are rich?” He asked, looking over at his wife. He’d lived a pretty good life in London, nothing rich or overly spectacular. Hyerin nodded her head.

 

“Kyun’s family has been rich her entire life. My family didn’t get rich until about fifteen years ago. I was five at the time,” She stated, pushing a button for the air conditioning. The cool air ruffled her silken tresses and Sam waited for her to continue.

 

“My dad is Italian but he worked overseas for the American Special Forces. He was always gone, always doing something for his work. Eventually, five year old me got tired of never spending time with the father figure that I really needed at the time, so I told him to stay with my mom, my brother, and I in Italy. He retired early from the Special Forces, but he still does work for them on occasion, seeing as he retired after only 35 years. Dad built an architecture firm based in Italy and we just hit it big; his designs were brilliant and it wasn’t long until he actually was making money off of them.” Hyerin finished, reaching the exit which she turned off on. 

 

“How old is your brother?” Sam was curious; she’d never said anything about her family up until this point. Hyerin flicked her turn signal on and guided her car into an underground parking garage, signaling their arrival at the apartment. A NegaNetwork company van was parked in the visitor’s parking area.

 

“He’s 27. There’s a 7 year gap between us,” Hyerin answered, shutting the engine off and getting out of her car. Sam reached to grab her bag and slid out of the luxury car, watching as Kyun expertly turned her car into her reserved spot. 

 

Yun and Teo were standing off to the side, bidding the driver farewell. As soon as the driver turned back onto the road, the five of them headed towards the elevator that would lead to the penthouse where the girls lived. 

 

“How are you guys?” Hyerin asked the other Lunafly members, deciding to keep the conversation as casual as she could; having a tense and awkward relationship with her theoretical ‘brother-in-laws’ would do her no good at all. 

 

“We’re doing great! Just finished up at the studio; we’re getting ready to release our newest track, you know,” Teo jumped into the conversation easily and excitedly. The man might have been tall and gangly, but he had a heart like an overgrown kid and it kept the atmosphere light and cheerful. 

 

The five of them stepped into the elevator and Hyerin pulled at a key on her key ring and slid it into a designated slot that read the 22nd floor. She twisted the key and the elevator began to move on its own, jolting its occupants slightly before continuing on smoothly. 

 

“I’ve never been in an elevator that required a key to activate it. It’s amazing, and amazing, and amazing elegance!” Teo rambled slightly, only saying the last part in accented English. Hyerin and Kyunhye managed a giggle, laughing at how adorable and full of life the pseudo maknae of Lunafly was in person.

 

Sure they’d seen him on TV a few times and they’d passed him while backstage on the music programs, but he was very polite to them, only bowing and saying a polite greeting. Now, he’d opened up and was very comfortable with them, laughing and joking like how he would with s at home. 

 

“I hope you guys are hungry because I’m about to whip up a feast!” Hyerin chimed, garnering the attention of the three boys.

 

“What are you going to cook, noona?” Yun questioned. It was the first sentence that he’d spoken since he’d arrived with Teo. Hyerin and Kyun were both pleasantly surprised at how lovely his voice sounded; it wasn’t too deep or too husky, just a perfect combination of the two. 

 

“You’ll see,” She answered mischievously, glancing up when the elevator chimed, signaling their arrival

 

The sliding doors opened to reveal a short hallway that led to a single set of double doors made of heavy red oak. The five of them stepped off the lift and Hyerin proceeded to take a card from the duffel bag that Sam was carrying and pressed it against a card scanner, bending down to another contraption that was made for security and letting it scan her eye. 

 

It beeped and a green light flashed before the sound of a lock sliding back was heard. The boys were completely astounded by this; it almost felt like something right out a movie.

 

“You have a card key and you have to have your retina scanned?” Sam asked incredulously, walking in after his wife and staring slack jawed at the incredible penthouse they’d stepped into. 

 

 

 

The living room was open and bright, the white and red seemed to blend in seamlessly with the light wood that made up the flooring and a few decorative panels. With the way that the living room looked, the boys couldn't even imagine what the rest of the house looked like.

 

“Have a seat. I’ll go start dinner,” Hyerin said, beginning to head down a short corridor that led to the kitchen which was composed of darker woods and granite countertops. [http://imageshack.com/a/img33/2530/86c4.jpg (Kitchen)] She paused before turning to look at the three boys and her best friend.

 

“Do you guys drink?” She asked, raising an eyebrow. 

 

“I can handle my alcohol pretty decently. Teo and Yun can’t hold anything too strong; no hard liquor for them,” Sam answered, eyeing his younger members seriously. It almost seemed like a fatherly look that said ‘If she brings something out, I’m letting you drink just this once’.

 

Hyerin nodded before trading a look with Kyun who was sitting on the modernized sofa.

 

“Anything for you, love?” Kyun contemplated for a moment before answering.

 

“Just make it a round,” She stated, turning to look at the boys. Hyerin nodded and left them to their conversation. 

 

Back in the kitchen, she turned the stove on and filled a dutch oven with oil before leaving it to heat up. She pulled a wrapped pack of tilapia filets from the fridge and began to season them lightly and prepare a beer batter than would make the outside taste amazing.

 

Within minutes, the kitchen smelled incredible; the fish was frying and the potatoes that she’d sliced earlier were ready for their frying as well. Walking to the fridge, she grabbed a 12 pack case of Corona and a lime.

 

She sliced the lime into smaller wedges and grabbed a bottle opening. Walking back to the living room, she set the case of beer down and offered one to her guests first.

 

“I figured that a lighter beer would compliment tonight’s dinner because it is a little on the greasy side,” She said, handing a bottle of the Mexican alcohol to her husband. Sam grabbed it and used the bottle opener, the sharp popping sound filling the room. He was no stranger to why the lime was there and grabbed a wedge, squeezing the citrus into the long necked bottle before shoving the entire skin down. Following their leader’s steps, Yun and Teo both squeezed a lime wedge into their drinks while Kyun decided to drink her’s plain. 

 

Hyerin squeezed a lime into her own beer and took a long, appreciative pull from the alcohol. The beer was perfect and she set it down before continuing on to the kitchen to check on the food.

 

“Do you need help?” Sam called after her, about to get up and go help his partner. She waved him off before disappearing into the kitchen.

 

The fish was a golden brown and she took the filets out and dropped the potatoes in; they wouldn’t take long to fry up because of how thin she’d cut them. As those were cooking, she let the oil drain off the fish and went to prep the sauce. Just a bowl of cold ketchup and a smaller bowl of some yellow mustard; she wasn’t too keen on making an actual sauce for the fish and kept it nice and simple. She wasn’t entertaining guests or hosting a party, she was serving a relaxed dinner for her close friend and her husband and his group mates.

 

Simple and easy.

 

Once the chips were done, she shook some seasoning salt onto them and loaded a massive platter with the fried fish and the chip, setting the bowls of sauce on the edge for anyone’s taking. She carried the platter with one hand before reaching up to grab a stack of paper plates; with a dinner this simple, Hyerin decided to make cleanup easy as well. 

 

“Dinner’s ready!” Hyerin called out cheerfully, walking back to the living room where she set the massive plate of food down. She giggled when she saw the recognition in her husband’s beautiful hazel eyes. Being from London meant that he was very familiar with this dish.

 

“Fish and Chips!” He said in surprise, his mouth open as if he wanted to say more. Teo and Yun were already helping themselves into the western style feast, seeing as they’d consumed just about nothing since lunch time, which was 8 hours ago. Hyerin smiled, and gestured for Kyun to go ahead and grab some once the younger boys and helped themselves to a heaping serving.

 

“Dig in, baby. I made it in your honor.”