15th October Sneak Preview

Bomi glances at the black haired boy beside her as her fingers hold the steering wheel. How in hell did her life get so screwed up? If she had to pinpoint a time, it would be at around 4:30 this afternoon…

Bomi didn’t even want to go to the stupid holiday retreat.

But her stupid friends kept inviting her. Ever since Daehyun found out that Bomi had a teeny, tiny crush on him a few years ago, he’d insisted on playing ‘wingman’ and kept inviting Bomi to numerous outings, barbecues, hangouts and more.

So, that’s probably why Bomi said it; that is definitely why she lied.

“Daehyun, I’m with someone!” she screeched into her cell phone. There was no one else in the diner’s hallway that lead to the restrooms. Bomi ripped off the stupid reindeer antlers from her head as she waited for Daehyun’s response.

“Oh,” he finally broke the silence and Bomi could practically see the blush on Daehyun’s cheeks. “So you’re bringing someone with you to the cabin? That’s, uh, wow, that’s great! What’s, what’s he like? What’s his name?”

Bomi gulped because crap, she hadn’t thought that far ahead. “Um, uh, what’s he like? He’s, uh, he, um, he’s-”

And at that moment, footsteps turned around the corner, into the hallway, and Bomi’s prayers were answered.

:::::::

Himchan checked his watch for the third time.

Sunhwa was going to walk through the doors of the small diner any moment now.

He reached into his pocket inspecting the small, robin’s egg-coloured box’s contents one more time. A thousand rays of light refracted from the diamond’s cut. The rainbow of colours and prisms from the ring which shone through the air, though, were no comparison to Sunhwa’s eyes.

To say Himchan was nervous was a bit of an understatement.

That nervousness took the physical form and he needed the restroom again. Himchan glanced at the wreath-adorned door one last time before standing up. Leaving his coat on the chair and his phone on the table, he made his way toward the clearly marked hallway.

Upon turning the corner, he made direct eye contact with a young girl who had short black hair and even inkier eyes. The girl stiffened as though she’d seen a ghost as Himchan stepped past. He felt hairs on his neck stand up as the girl’s rosy lips stretched into a secretive smile.

She was on the phone.

He stepped into the restroom, the girl vanishing as the door closed shut. Still, he could catch a few phrases through the thin door, such as, “tall, good looking, out of college”, “perfect”, and “Grim Reaper”.

As Himchan finished washing his hands, he pushed the door, exiting the restroom. Suddenly, he felt a weight on his back, a hand over his mouth and a voice in his ear, “No, Grim Reaper, you’re coming with me.”

Himchan bit the hand, causing the voice to yelp, pulling away. “And why the hell would I do that?”

“Because,” the voice laughed as two hands turned him around, leaving Himchan face-to-face with the girl from the hallway, “I’ve got a gun.”

:::::::

Okay, so the gun wasn’t loaded.

But Bomi was short on time and she knew the manager of the diner kept a small gun hidden away in case he needed to threaten anyone.

“I’ve got a gun,” Bomi repeated as she pressed it into the boy’s blue button-up shirt. “And I’m not afraid to use it.”

The boy’s eyes widened. “Okay, look. Take my money. You can have my car, um, my phone’s on the table over-”

“I don’t care about that.” Bomi rolled her eyes. “You see that exit over there? Just walk.”

“But-”

“Walk! Don’t make a sound and don’t make a scene.”

“Unbelievable,” the boy muttered as he complied. The exit door wasn’t far from the restroom and Bomi thanked every single star in the sky that they made it outside undetected.

“Is this ransom? Are you holding me for ransom? Is this some sort of drug trade? Am I being sold into-”

“Shut up!” Bomi screeched, clutching her hair, “Just, you see that car over there? The one with-”

But at that moment, the boy’s foot slipped on a slick piece of ice, sending him straight to the floor. Bomi groaned at the sky, “Thanks for that! No, really!”

The boy was rather heavy for a skinny guy, Bomi realised as she dragged him a couple feet. He was handsome too. His face was chiseled like an old Roman statue and his eyes held an electrifying power. His clothes looked (and felt) expensive as did the boy’s slick, neat haircut. He would definitely pass for an acceptable boyfriend.

Except for the teeny, tiny problem of Bomi not knowing if her new ‘boyfriend’ would ‘like’ her. Great.

:::::::

When Himchan wakes up again, he cannot see. His arms are bound and tied to something. He was definitely moving, though, so he was probably in a car. “WHO ARE YOU AND WHERE ARE WE? I DEMAND TO KNOW NOW!”

“I’m Bomi, your name is Grim and we’ve been dating for the past six months,” the voice speaks again.

Himchan’s jaw falls open in utter astonishment, “I– Grim, what? Are you insane?”

“No, no, not insane. Okay, probably a little crazy but- okay, all you need to do is come spend a weekend with me over Christmas at my friends’ holiday place and pretend to be my boyfriend.”

“What the hell- why would I do that? Let me go; I need to get back to that diner!” Himchan pleads as he tries to yank his hands free. “What the hell did you tie me with?”

“Unimportant.” Bomi shakes her head. “Look, you’re gonna do what I say because I have a gun, okay? Now, if you agree to my terms I, uh, I might even let you see.”

“What is wrong with you?” Himchan’s heart speeds up because it’s finally settling on him that he is kidnapped, “I’m going to tell all your friends that you kidnapped me.”

“Okay, sweet.” Bomi rolled her eyes. “Look, just make it through the weekend with me, okay? Well, you don’t really have much of a choice.” Himchan feels a tug on the back of his head and finally he can see again.

“Pantyhose?” Himchan raises an eyebrow, “You tied me up in pantyhose?”

Bomi shakes her head, “It’s better if I don’t explain, Grim.”

“Himchan.” Himchan frowns. “My name is Himchan.”

Bomi shrugs. “Well, see, I kind of told everyone your name was Grim Reaper so we’re going with that.”

“Grim Re? Wait– why would you do that? Why are you even doing this? WHY ME?”

“Does this seem like a well thought out plan to you? I panicked okay?” Bomi said as they continued on the deserted road. It’s heavily surrounded by thick ever greens and the sky is already darkening.

Himchan doesn’t answer as Bomi keeps talking, “So, anyway, let’s, um, share some facts about each other before we get there.” Her hands are gripping the steering wheel and her face looks paler than a sheet and a very, very small part of Himchan feels kind of sorry for the girl for about 0.0000002 seconds. “I’m Bomi, still in college. And you?”

“I’m pissed. I’m livid. And I’m gonna kill you the second you untie me,” Himchan hisses.

Bomi bites her lip. “Okay, so you look like you’re…23, approaching 24? Hm, you look like an already successful, uh, man. Maybe you work at your dad’s company and you went to, like, Havard or something.”

Himchan moans, “Sunhwa’s gonna be so mad.”

Bomi frowns. “Is she, uh, your girlfriend?”

“Yes. Actually I was gonna- you know what? I don’t need to tell you,” Himchan snorts.

“’Kay, well since you’re gonna be my boyfriend for the next-”

“No, I’m not.”

“Yes, you are. Anyway, you’ve probably guessed, I don’t have a boyfriend.”

“I wonder why,” snorts Himchan.

Next Preview: 15th November