15th November Sneak Preview

It’s about 9 pm when they pull up to Daehyun’s holiday home in the woods. Bomi dashes out of the car first, leaving Himchan tied up. She’s breathless as she gets inside.

“Bomi!” Daehyun grins. “You made it!”

Hyosung is nearby, adjusting a light fixture in the living room. “Hey, Bomi! Jae’s not here yet but Jieun, her boyfriend, and Hana are.”

“Where’s Grim?” Daehyun frowns. “Don’t tell me you–”

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about,” Bomi mumbles, “He’s in the car. But, uh, you know how people try to be funny in awkward social situations?”

“Like Daehyun in every single restaurant?” Hyosung smirks as Hana comes down the steps.

“Yeah! Exactly. Um, Grim always does this thing where he pretends he’s been kidnapped or he doesn’t want to be here or whatever. I know, it’s weird,” Bomi rushes on, “But Grim thinks it’s funny so go with it, please? Just laugh it off, trust me.”

Daehyun raises an eyebrow, “Okay, that’s a bit weird, but-”

“And, uh, sometimes he might do this thing where he pretends his name isn’t Grim. I mean, sometimes he pretends his name is Himchan, y’know, paranoid and all that. Just disregard it, laugh it off, trust me. You’ll, uh, you’ll really like him!”

Hana shrugs, “Sounds good to me. I’ll let Jieun and Yongguk know.”

“Great,” Bomi clasps her hands together, “I’ll go get him, then.”

When she gets back to the car, Himchan scowls, “So, will feeling return to my wrists now?”

Bomi cuts the pantyhose from Himchan’s wrists before grinning, “Absolutely, Grim. So, you ready for your big debut?”

“What?” Himchan mutters, “I told you-”

“’Cause it’s showtime!” Bomi continues as she pulls Himchan from the car, praying again that her plan works.

:::::::

“She’s not my girlfriend,” are the first words out of Himchan’s mouth when he steps into the large, lodge cabin.

Daehyun glances at Hyosung before they both start cracking up. Daehyun points to Bomi, “You were right!”

Himchan’s face is incredulous. “What in the actual hell-”

Bomi puts her arm around Himchan’s arm, “Sweetie, you kill me,” as she smiles that secretive smile.

“I actually will kill you,” Himchan whispers into Bomi’s ear.

Bomi pretends to look embarrassed, “Save that for later,” she said as Yongguk, Hana, and Jongup come down the steps

“Bomi.” Jongup wraps Bomi in huge embrace, “So glad you made it! I was worried you were gonna bail again.”

Himchan, meanwhile, pulls Yongguk aside by the shoulder, “Hey, man, you seem like a reasonable guy. Listen to me, your friend, Bomi, is not who you think she is. She kidnapped me! Look, she’s insane-”

But Yongguk merely laughs, “Tell me about it, Grim,” as he claps Himchan on the shoulder. Bomi shoots Himchan a childishly smug look as she embraces Hana and side-hugs Yongguk. How old was she, seven? Jesus.

Himchan just wishes Bomi’s hair is longer, so he would not need a rope to strangle her with.

“Okay.” Hyosung claps her hands together. “Your rooms are upstairs and everyone’s names are on the doors. How about you guys get unpacked and stuff- wait, Grim, where’s your stuff?”

Himchan glares at Bomi. “Well, like I was saying-”

“We left it,” Bomi blurts, tugging at Himchan’s sleeve, “We were in such a hurry to make it on time, we forgot his suitcase at my place.”

“Well, you look around my size,” Daehyun taps his chin, “Maybe a bit smaller– my stuff should fit.”

Himchan makes a face (because okay, he’s definitely this dude’s size or bigger) but clears his throat, “Super.”

“Okay, sweetie, come on,” Bomi pulls on Himchan’s arm as Yongguk goes to help Hyosung with cocktails.

:::::::

“See?” Bomi murmurs as she collapses onto her bed, “This isn’t so bad.”

Himchan glares. “You’re in love with him, aren’t you?”

Bomi sits up abruptly. “WHAT?”

“Your friend, with the dark hair and curvy girlfriend. You’re in love with him.” Himchan rubs his sore wrists.

“Daehyun?” Bomi makes a face. “Of course not.”

Himchan rolls his eyes, “Since I’m your abductee, the least you could do is tell me the truth.”

Bomi is quiet for a while before saying, “I was. A long time ago. And he feels ‘guilty’ for some reason and keeps trying to set me up with people.”

“Hence why you kidnapped me, since no one else would date you?” Himchan sneers.

“Yep, basically,” Bomi shrugs without shame as she gets up from the bed, “Now, are you ready for cocktails, love of my life?”

Himchan grumbles as he follows Bomi back downstairs. Jongup is sipping from a martini glass while Yongguk is showing Hyosung and Hana his twist to classic rolls. “Can I get you a drink?” Bomi wraps her hand around Himchan’s waist.

“I’m fine,” Himchan murmurs absently as he glances around the room, “Wait, are there no phones in this place?”

“Nope!” Hyosung says as she arranges shrimp around a glass, “No wi-fi and no cell phones either. See, Bomi is the Keykeeper this year. The Keykeeper has all the phones and keys so that we don’t get distracted by the outside world and instead have good, old-fashioned communication.”

“Yep,” Bomi lets go of Himchan’s waist to pluck herself a piece of shrimp, “Don’t worry. They’ll all be safe with me.”

Just then, the front doors of the lodge cabin burst open. “Youngjae!” Hana cries.

“Hey! What took you so long?” Yongguk side-hugs Youngjae after Jongup and Hana greet him.

“Sorry,” Youngjae drops his bag in the doorway between the foyer and the kitchen, “You know that diner I work at? Well, apparently, there was this guy who stood up his girlfriend or something—she was pretty but threw a big fuss—so we couldn’t close because she didn’t want to leave. It was a mess.” Turning to Bomi, “Hey, how’d you get here so fast?”

Bomi feels her stomach drop. “Um, I was gonna go talk to you but then Daehyun called and–”

“See!” Himchan cries, “I told you I was kidnapped!”

The whole house is silent for a moment before Youngjae’s eyes widen. “Uh, what?”

“Dammit, this guy’s really something,” Daehyun manages just before they all crack up laughing, “Ah, don’t worry about it, Youngjae. Grim— he’s, aw you had to be there.”

Hesitantly, Youngjae joins in on the laughing too and Himchan is about 3 seconds away from choking that smug smile off of Bomi’s cute little lips. “Youngjae,” Hana begins, “That’s Bomi’s boyfriend, Grim.”

“Ahh,” Youngjae extends a hand, “Nice to meet you, uh, Grim.” He spares a wink at Bomi before he goes back to ing his coat.

“So, Grim,” Daehyun says as he grabs a piece of shrimp, “What line of work do you do?”

“I’m the vice president of Reaper Air,” Himchan shoots a look at Bomi who grins in return.

“That’s that really nice airline company!” Jongup taps Hyosung on the shoulder.

“Vice President?” Daehyun raises an eyebrow, “You look a bit young to be Vice President. Where’d you go to school?”

Himchan grits his teeth, “Havard,” and Bomi is practically dancing down.

“Sweetie, drink this,” Bomi hands Himchan a glass of whatever cocktail Hyosung just made.

“Thanks,” Himchan responds swiftly as he takes the drink—only because he’s parched and desperately needing alcohol.

“So, when’s dinner?” Youngjae rubs his stomach, “I’m starving.”

“Don’t you work at a diner?”

“That doesn’t mean I get to eat there, Hana!”

“Well, the pizzas will be ready in fifteen minutes,” Hyosung responds, “Why don’t you set the table?”

The rest of the evening was swell for Bomi. She eats pizza with her friends, drinks poorly made cocktails and for once, doesn’t feel like the outsider. Sure, she’s mooching off of Himchan-er-Grim-the-hot-successful-VP big time, but for once, her friends aren’t giving her that stupid pity look. It feels kind of great.

So, that’s why, when Bomi sees the empty floor (Himchan refused to sleep beside her) at 2 in the morning, she knows she needs to do anything to get Himchan back.

She pulls on her coat, unlocks the drawer with all of the keys inside. Pulling out the key to her own car, Bomi creeps down the steps and out the door. The snow isn’t falling anymore, but the wind is vicious. She nearly yelps as it knocks her over on the way. She can make out footsteps leading away from the house and towards the highway, so with a roll of her eyes, she starts her car. The heater is still broken and it creaks as she pulls it out of the circular driveway, but Bomi doesn’t care.

“C’mon, c’mon, you stupid boy,” Bomi murmurs as she scours along the highway for her ‘perfect boyfriend’.

:::::::

“How long have you been walking?” Bomi calls, as she rolls down her window, “An hour? And how far have you gotten?”

Himchan doesn’t answer as he stiffly continues walking down the snowy highway.

Bomi keeps talking, “Like a mile? Hm? You do the maths, love. It’s getting colder by the second. Look, just come back with me, I’ll make you some hot chocolate, and you’ll be safe.”

“You’re insane,” Himchan manages, but he can barely feel his face.

“Come on,” Bomi pleads, “Just the weekend, I swear. Look, you need me and I need you. Let’s just make this work for the weekend.”

“And then I’m free? For good?” Himchan turns to the car. “And I can call the cops on your crazy ?”

“Whatever, fine. Just come back with me.” Bomi rolls her eyes.

Himchan glares at Bomi before opening the door to her car, “I’m only doing this for the hot chocolate.”

Bomi grins at him from her seat. “What am I gonna do? Handcuff you to the bedpost so you won’t escape again?”

“NO!” Himchan screeches. “Fine, fine, I won’t try to escape again. Are you happy?”

“Ecstatic sir,” Bomi sighs as she makes a U-turn on the empty lanes of the highway.

:::::::

The next morning, Himchan is the last awake. He groggily makes his way down the steps where he hears eggs sizzling, sees floury pancakes, and smells the beautiful, greasy scent of bacon. Daehyun is gnawing on a strip when he sees hin, “Morning! Hyosung dragged Bomi out to help her buy some extra olive oil at the nearest store. They’ll be back soon.”

“Does anyone have a toothbrush or something?”

Jongup takes a swig from his orange juice, “Yeah, I think Youngjae’s still upstairs. He’ll show you where the toiletry closet is.”

Grumbling, Himchan returns up the steps, cracking his back along the way. He knocks on the door labeled ‘Youngjae’ and waits for the scrawny boy to open up. “Hey, Grim,” Youngjae yawns. “Is breakfast ready?”

“Yeah, uh, I was wondering if you could show me where the toiletry closet is or something?” Himchan murmurs as he stands in the doorway.

“Yeah, it’s down the hall and-”

“Wait a second,” Himchan interrupts, “You have a phone?”

Youngjae looks guilty, “Yeah, uh, don’t tell Hyosung or Daehyun, alright? You know how they are about phones and stuff.”

Himchan’s eyes light up. “Could I- could I borrow that for a moment?”

“Sure,” Youngjae shrugs, as Himchan grabs the iPhone from his dresser. Darting into the bathroom, Himchan locks the door behind him and dials a familiar number.

“Hello?” Sunhwa’s voice is curt. “Who is this?”

“Sunhwa, it’s me, Himchan,” he says hurriedly, “Look, I don’t have that much time-”

“Well you should have all the time in the world after you stood me up yesterday,” she snaps.

“Sunhwa, I’ve been kidnapped!”

“Look, Himchan, if you wanted to break up with me, well then you’re successful!”

“Sunhwa!” Himchan cries, “Listen to me. Yesterday, I was- I was gonna propose to you okay? But I’ve been kidnapped!”

She’s quiet for a moment. “Propose? You were gonna- wait, kidnapped? Are you for real about this?” Her tone is hesitant but she isn’t yelling anymore so Himchan takes it as a good sign.

“Yes! By this crazy college kid– girl with dark hair, deceptively innocent eyes and dead pale skin. Her name’s Bomi. I need you to get me out of here!”

“Where are you?” Sunhwa sighs. “Do you know?”

“I’m not sure,” he says, “It’s outside the city. North, I think. It’s a big, lodge cabin-”

There’s a loud knock on the door, and Himchan hears Bomi hiss, “Himchan, are you on the phone with someone?”

“Hurry, Sunhwa!” Himchan cries as he shuts off the phone. With a grin, he opens the door. He sees Bomi, fuming. “Good morning!”

Bomi grabs the phone and tosses it into the toilet, flushing it afterwards. “Who was that? Who did you talk to?”

Himchan shrugs as he steps out of the bathroom, shouldering her out of the way. “Oh, no one.”

Bomi grabs his forearm, having difficulty yanking him back. “Hey, I mean it!”

Himchan wondered how he could have let this crazy tiny thing get the better of him. Seriously. His ego was bruised.

“Fine.” Himchan shrugs Bomi off of him. “That was my girlfriend. And it’s only a matter of time until I’m busted out of here. But you know what I’m gonna do? I’m gonna be the best boyfriend you’ve ever had.”

Bomi brushes her hair out of her eye, a scowl on her annoyingly cute little face. “Why would you do that?”

“Because,” Himchan crosses his arms, “Your friends are gonna fall in love with me. Which means they’ll be that much more crushed when they find out the truth about you. And that will be much more satisfying for me. Now, I think breakfast is ready, sweetheart Shall we?”

Full Everything: Christmassy Month!