SEVEN

The scenario was this: star-crossed lovers facing their ultimate test by being among those people who shouldn’t know what they were to each other behind closed doors. Black and whites on a desolate autumn afternoon. Back alley of a busy unfamiliar suburban street. Coats, fedoras, mufflers, boots. Pearls and smoky touches. Silent backdrop; tumultuous emotions.

That was the second brief when they moved to their second and final location for this session. Fortunately, she was now closer to the city for her next schedule but another two hours of having her heart and stomach in a crazy somersaults and resisting the urge to kick this particular person in the groin with her boots.

After their spat session, Seohyun tried her best to ignore the bitter feeling and the discomfort his nearness were creating and just focus on work.

Work, work, work.

It would have been so much easier if he was not standing right behind her with one arm across her waist and his fingers gently scraping on her stomach. Seohyun let out a deep breath when Photographer Han shouted “Closer Yonghwa!” And he did— pressed himself closer to her that Seohyun thought he could probably feel her stomach muscles getting rigid with his every touch.

“Relax, Seohyun!” Another yell came. Although the crew was positioned about a good meters away from them to capture the whole background, she could tell that they all see the pressure in her body. And Yonghwa was not helping at all. His face was too close for comfort that she could even feel his warm breath brushing on her cheek.

“God…” she found herself saying out loud without meaning to and felt that little jerk he did.

“Breathe slow… come on, relax.”

She finally heard him speak softly sending shivers to her fully clothed self as his fingers continuously creating those slow almost unnoticeable movement on her stomach. How the fck can a girl relax with that? Damn him! “How do you do this?” Seohyun mindlessly asked tilting her head towards him that she could see that small devilish smile on his lips.

“This is your playing field, baby, you tell me.”

She shut her eyes tight and took a step away from him but held on to his collar so as not to break the prompt.

“Look at him, Seohyun-ssi!”

She did. It was weird getting a lot of the directions when she was the professional model not him. She swallowed hard hating this feeling.

“Take her back, Yonghwa. She’s yours, take her!”

“God…” she mumbled again hearing those words as she was being pulled back in his arms but instinctively wrapped her arms around herself.

“Heard that?” Suddenly, Yonghwa moved behind her again wrapping her with his arms but she moved her head to the side. “You’re mine.”

“Shut up,” she snapped back but heard him chuckle silently.

“Let's talk.”

“About?”

“Us. This."

She wanted to laugh. After all, she's too used to indecent proposals, but this would be the most awkward and uncomfortable of all of them. “There's no us…” She fought back the urge of looking at him, “This is not happening.”

“Go ahead, make yourself believe that.”

She gasped feeling his breath on her neck. She struggled quietly, “We are working right now.”

“We are, so let's talk later.”

“No...” Seohyun whispered only to be pulled closer, his arm resting just a fraction of centimeters below her chest. Her heart started jack hammering inside that he could very well feel and hear it.

“No? But your body doesn't agree, Seohyun-ssi...”

“Why are you doing this?” She said in frustration as she finally tilted her head to look at him.

“Later, baby…” Yonghwa whispered his lips moving so close that he could almost touch her jaw, “Give me later, huh?”

“I can't work like this if you’re being a jerk.” Finally, she caught his arm and was ready to pull herself free but was taken aback when Yonghwa suddenly caught both her arm and rested his chin on her shoulder.

“What the heck are you doing!?” She said with clenched teeth hoping nobody heard her.

“Then let's talk later, okay?”

His labored breathing by her neck told her she was not the only one nervous. Al least, she was punishing him for this. What if she really does it? Seduce him until he falls to his knees and beg her to stop. But in doing so, it might backfire on her. With that, Seohyun stopped resisting and all she did was to look down in surrender. There was no use in fighting him—or this feeling anyway.

“Good, Yonghwa!” Director Choi shouted from the distance, “Seohyun-ssi, tilt your head a little meeting his lips but no touching, okay?”

Seohyun wanted to scream but she co