Twist Of Fate

Chapter 48

Kiss it Better

You stood alone in the living room for a bit after Yongguk left to pay for the food. You ran your hands through your hair and pushed it to the side.

A moment later, you heard their approaching footsteps and their voices got clearer the closer they came.

You breathed in deeply, turned to your side and faced them. Your eyes widened of shock, when you saw that each guy held a bag.

“How much food did you order?” You asked Yongguk.

“The kids eat a lot.” He told.

“Especially this one.” Youngjae nodded towards Daehyun, who scrunched his face in return.

You laughed. It seemed like Youngjae and Daehyun were very close. Youngjae teased Daehyun a lot and picked on him.

It was clearly just friendly and brotherly banter between two close friends. Daehyun made a face, but Youngjae had that untouched look and coy smile.

“Don’t worry, we won’t waste any food.” Jongup cheered and smiled brightly.

“That’s good.” You said as you rubbed your arm. “We should eat now.” You added.

“Yeah, the kid is probably hungry too, right, Ki Joon-ah?” Himchan asked as he looked at the little boy, who nodded in return.

The guys headed to the kitchen with the food. You followed them and stopped beside Jongup. He looked down at you with a smile on his face as he opened one bag.

You gazed into the bag and helped him take out the side dishes. The others began to place the food on the table.

Ki Joon had already seated on his chair, waiting for the food, and you saw Junhong walk towards him.

A smile formed on your face, when Junhong pulled out the chair next to the kid and sat beside him. Ki Joon’s eyes seemed to beam as he looked up at his tall uncle.

“Uncle, when can I play with Mochi?” Ki Joon asked with puppy eyes.

Junhong’s posture stiffened as he stared at the little boy and into his big and charming eyes. The corners of his lips curved up and he gasped aloud.

“He’s so charming.” Junhong blurt out as he looked towards you and then to Yongguk. You smiled at his words and nodded.

“He knows he’s cute.” You laughed.

Junhong quickly averted his eyes back to the boy. Ki Joon formed his lips into a little pout, the warm complexion in his cheeks changed to crimson red, and he blinked his eyes cutely at the older guy next to him.

“You are really cute, aren’t you? You can meet Mochi soon.” Junhong said.

“Yay!” Ki Joon exclaimed happily and giggled sweetly afterwards.

Junhong reached his hand down and patted the boy’s head lightly with a warm smile on his face. Ki Joon’s cheeks turned redder.

Ki Joon lowered his head, smiling shyly. You giggled at the two. It seemed like Ki Joon was very fond of his uncle Junhong.

“Junhong is getting closer to Ki Joon. Maybe I should get a pet too.” Himchan pondered next to you and you looked at him and began to laugh as he had a serious expression.

“You don’t have to get a pet to win his heart. Just by him ice cream, and he’ll love you.” You laughed.

“Really?” Himchan chuckled as he looked at you with wide eyes and a smile. You cooed and nodded.

“Yup, Taecyeon did that.” You said.

“Who’s Taecyeon?” Himchan asked.

You looked up from the food on the counter and to Himchan. The guys hadn’t met your friends Taecyeon and Soomin.

You blinked your eyes a couple of times and smiled. Everyone looked at you and you stole a quick glance at Yongguk.

He stood at the dining table with some side dish in his hands, ready to put it on the table, but somehow froze, and stared at you.

“Taecyeon is my friend.” You said.

“Ahhh.” Himchan chuckled. “So, your friend won Ki Joon’s heart after buying him ice cream?” Himchan asked, and you nodded.

“Ki Joon can be bribed easily.” A grimace formed on your face, when you imagined something bad, seeing Ki Joon accept sweets from strangers on the streets. You tensed up.

“I should teach him not to accept things from anyone.” You said in a firm tone.

“You are getting all serious now.” Youngjae laughed.

“She is, but Ki Joon is a charming kid, and he doesn’t know yet that the world is a scary place. Kids should be taught in an early age not to accept bribes from strangers.” Daehyun told.

Jongup shuddered next to you. “We need to take care of Ki Joon and protect him.” Jongup said, and you smiled at Jongup’s kind words.

“Teach him that after I’ve bribed him.” Himchan laughed.

“You sound like a kidnapper now, hyung.” Youngjae laughed.

Himchan stiffened, his laughter subsided quickly, and he yelled at his younger friend. “Yah, don’t say such things.” He scoffed.

You stiffened, when you heard a deep and familiar laugh from across you. Yongguk stood at the same place and laughed at Youngjae’s words. Himchan sulked.

“Ki Joon and I are still not close.” Himchan countered with a sad look.

You stood still, looking at Yongguk as he was laughing at his friends. His eyes beamed, they had a different gleam in them.

He smiled so widely just like how he does, when he looks at Ki Joon, and you knew that it was love. His perfect clean gums showed as he laughed harder, when Youngjae and Himchan bickered. 

“You should play games with him.” Jongup said with a sweet smile.

His eyes narrowed whenever he smiled, and they beamed. You couldn’t help but to smile either at his smile. Jongup had a contagious smile. He also had a sweet and childlike laughter.

“That’s a good idea, Jongup.” You said.

“I guess.” Himchan sighed deeply.

You glanced up at him, smiled at his sad and sullen face. You nudged his arm kindly and he looked down at you. The corners of his lips finally curved up and he smiled, when he saw your smile.

“Cheer up. You are here now, you can hang out with him after dinner.” You told, and he blinked his eyes a couple of times, looking at you. “And your name means to be strong after all.” You cooed, and he finally laughed.

“Sera is very good at comforting.” Youngjae said with a surprised look.

You waved your hands, shook your head, and laughed. “No, not really.” You made an awkward little smile. 

“But you are good at comforting, you know how to console Ki Joon.” Yongguk interrupted and everyone looked at him.

He walked around the dinning table, and smoothly headed towards you. You were frozen at your spot, but your eyes followed his movements. He stopped beside Himchan, opened a bag, and took out more food.

“You got affection for others.” He added as his eyes were lowered. He took out another side dish and headed back to the dining table.

You heard Jongup cough, or maybe it was one of the others, but the guys all stared at Yongguk. Then you heard Daehyun chuckle and you looked at him. Daehyun had a little smile on his face.

“Isn’t it natural for Sera to have affection. She’s a mother.” Himchan said, and you looked at him and quickly nodded.

“Yeah.” You said and rubbed your arm.

“Let’s eat.” Yongguk broke out.

~❋~

Everyone had gathered around the table. Ki Joon sat in between you and Junhong. Himchan, Daehyun and Yongguk sat in front of you.

Jongup and Youngjae were seated at the corners. You glanced out at Yongguk. He had to be situated right in front of you.

Youngjae was quite talkative during dinner. He asked you about your work. Apparently, the guys had no idea that you were a teacher in an orphanage. You had imagined that Yongguk had spoken about you, told something about you to the guys.

Now you realized that he hadn’t. He was indeed a very quiet and secretive man. Or maybe he just didn’t care about such things.

“Yongguk doesn’t say much. He is a bit of a private person.” Daehyun laughed.

You looked up at Yongguk, who was eyeing his friend. Daehyun simply chuckled, and Yongguk averted his eyes, and happened to look at you.

You almost choked in your food, when your eyes met. But he quickly lowered his eyes and began to eat his food.

You ate your food silently and then you glanced to your side to check if Ki Joon was eating his food.

Ki Joon was looking at Junhong with such shining and beaming eyes. He was clearly so fond of his tall uncle.

A smile appeared on your face and you took a spoonful of rice into your mouth and ate as you watched the two.

Junhong was speaking to the little boy in a small but low tone and with affection. He told him to eat more so he could grow up. You noticed that he placed some of the side dish onto Ki Joon’s rice bowl.

“I want to be tall like you uncle Junhong.” Ki Joon said.

“Then you have to eat a lot.” Junhong Ki Joon’s hair lovingly. 

You eyed the two. Your heart warmed and melted. Yongguk’s friends were so sweet. Ki Joon seemed so happy too. He really loved being with these guys.

It made you so happy to see how the boy had become more social. He used to be so quiet. Your cheeks hurt from smiling so much.

You told yourself to rest your face and jaw. You relaxed your expression and glanced out. You froze, when you caught Yongguk looking at you.

However, he looked away as soon as your eyes met. For seconds, you felt your heart pound harder against your chest until it calmed down.

This was too much. What were you supposed to do of yourself, if your heart would keep acting up, whenever he just looked at you? he only looked. You mentally slapped yourself.

Something came to your mind and your eyes shot up. You looked towards Yongguk this time. But he was eating quietly. You cleared your throat and took a sip of water from your glass.

“Yongguk?” You called out.

The small talks that had been going on at the table ended the moment you called his name. Everyone looked at you, including Yongguk. He had a straight look, but his eyes were filled with question.

“I have to ask you something.” You began.

“What is it?” He asked as his eyes bore in yours.

“The thing is that I haven’t had an evening shift at my work for a long time. And the kids at work misses me during dinner. I wanted to ask if it’s alright with you that I take an evening shift tomorrow?” You asked.   

“Why would that even be a problem?” Himchan interrupted as he looked at his friend.

“Because I would be home late, around eight pm. Which means, Yongguk will have to pick up Ki Joon from nursery, have dinner alone and tuck Ki Joon to bed, alone.” You said in a small voice as you looked at Yongguk for approval.

His eyes narrowed by a millimeter, whenever they did that they seemed more pulling. He was quiet for a bit. Was he really going to say no?

“Who’s with you on that evening shift?” He asked.

Why is he asking that?

“It’s probably Jooyoung.” You said.

“Jooyoung.” He repeated and his face somehow hardened, his eyes narrowed further, making his eyes turn ice dark and cold.

“Who’s Jooyoung?” Daehyun blurt out. You glanced at Daehyun, whose eyes were wide and filled with question now.

Your lips parted, and you were about to speak, but Yongguk cut you to the chase.

“It’s Sera’s colleague, and friend, I assume.” He said.

“Wow, Sera, you have a lot of guy friends. You must be popular.” Himchan chuckled with a playful glint in his eyes and a charming smile.

“No.. not really. I’m totally not popular. I was a shy kid in school. I only have a few guy friends, really.” You made an awkward face. 

“I’m just teasing you, Sera.” Himchan smiled, and you laughed.

“But, Yongguk, isn’t it alright that Sera takes an evening shift. She really wants to, and she hasn’t had one in a long time.” Daehyun said as Yongguk hadn’t given you an answer yet.

“Yes, hyung, is it a problem?” Youngjae also asked, and you looked at two guys, and back at Yongguk.

“It’s not a problem.” Yongguk told.

Your eyes widened a bit and you gazed at him. You really thought that he would say no for a moment there.

It somehow seemed to you that he didn’t like the idea of you working an evening shift, because then he had to take care of the dinner alone and tuck Ki Joon to bed.

You were pleasantly surprised and already looked forward for your evening shift tomorrow. You would send Jangmi a message after dinner and tell her that you were coming in for the evening shift. You were smiling from ear to ear. Jangmi would be so happy to hear this good news.

“Sera, you look happy now.” Jongup said, and you smiled with a laugh.

“It’s really different having evening shifts compared to morning shifts. The kids are more carefree during evening, and I become closer to them, then, because I don’t have any classes during evening.” You told.

“Isn’t it because you get to work with your friend Jooyoung?” Himchan joked, and you tensed up.

“No.” You quickly said.

A deep sound came from across you and you looked out. Yongguk had his arms folded over his chest as he looked into your eyes.

You blinked your eyes innocently, hoping he wouldn’t mention that you had gone on a date with Jooyoung.

“Jooyoung is just a colleague, and he’s quit his job. He’s leaving after this week.” You told with a saddened look and sigh. Your eyes drifted to Yongguk.

His arms fell down his sides, he looked stiff for a second, but then he looked the other way, and the corner of his lip lifted.

You frowned as you thought you saw him smile for a second, but he lowered his gaze, and began to eat his food.

“There’s a thing that I am curious about?” Youngjae broke out.

Your eyes drifted to him. You looked at him with a curious gaze. Youngjae tipped his head slightly. He had a sweet and charming smile as he looked at you.

His hair was parted, and a few strands fell down his forehead. He really was a handsome guy. He looked younger than his age.

If Youngjae was an actor, he could star in a high school drama and be that rich male lead. You blinked your eyes, when it dawned on that you were distracted.

All of Yongguk’s friends were not just sweet, but also so good looking, and probably really talented too, considering the fact they worked in Yongguk’s company as artists. You wondered about what they could do, but that was another thing.

Youngjae smiled at you.

“What is it?” You asked.

“I was wondering about something. You and Yongguk messaged each other earlier, right?” He asked.

You furrowed your brows, your eyes quickly averted to Yongguk, and you saw how he turned to look at Youngjae.

Yongguk had a straight look. His eyes were sharp and piercing, but Youngjae looked at you with the same boyish smile has, and you simply nodded.

“What did you tell Yongguk hyung. He suddenly went really quiet on us on our way here.” Youngjae chuckled afterwards.

“Huh?” You stared at his face with a dumbfounded look. “I..I” You looked back at Yongguk, but his expression was hard.

Your lips parted, and you fluttered your long and dark lashes a few times. What did Youngjae mean?

Had you really gotten into Yongguk’s skin? was it because of that heart you sent him, because you said you missed him, but you were just teasing him back. You pursed your lips, blinking your eyes. You felt lost now.

Yongguk cleared his throat, loud and clear. His hand moved up and around his neck. He rubbed the back of his neck.

“I didn’t say anything, why, though?” You made a confused look.

“Youngjae, mind your own business.” Himchan retorted.

“Sorry.” Youngjae leaned back in his chair and flashed a playful smile.

You weren’t angry at him for what he asked, he just made you so curious now, and how would you know how Yongguk reacted if that toad of a man wouldn’t say anything.

You placed your hands on your thighs, and thought for a bit, when suddenly and idea came to your mind and your eyes shot up.

“I guess you liked my message.” You smiled at Yongguk.

Yongguk turned to look at you. His usual dark and pulling eyes, were widened by a millimeter, his lips parted, and he stared at you, seeming struck by your words and your smile widened.

His lips closed, turned into a thin line, his eyes narrowed now, becoming cool and he had that knowing hard look again.

But you continued to smile. You had already seen him get shocked before he tried to act cool again.

“I should send you messages more often.” You piped out and he clenched his jaw.

The guys laughed, and looked at Yongguk, they were also amused by his expression. It felt nice to see that others liked to break Yongguk’s walls. You weren’t alone after all.

“What did you send him?” Jongup asked.

“It was a heart.” Junhong chuckled.

“How.” Yongguk’s eyes shot towards the youngster, and he smiled bashfully.

“I stood next to you, hyung. I saw your messages.” He chuckled.

“You shouldn’t peep.” Yongguk said in a low tone, and Junhong pursed his lips, but smiled, nonetheless.

“Sorry, hyung.” He said.

Yongguk smiled in return at the youngster. He didn’t seem to be mad. He really cared about his friends.

You had noticed that he didn’t get mad, when they . They must be very close after all. He was very affectionate around the youngest of his friends.

It seemed like Junhong could get away with things because of his charms, just like Ki Joon. You lowered your head and smiled to yourself.

“Hyung, the company anniversary is approaching. We should get together and plan the party tomorrow.” Jongup said.

Yongguk looked at his younger friend and gave him a firm nod.

“That is right.” He sighed deeply.

Then he moved his hand up. Your eyes followed his movements and his fingers combed through his long locks and he pushed his hair back.

You remembered the feel of running your fingers through his thick and soft locks, and your heart pounded harder.

You remembered the nights, when you caressed his hair till, he fell asleep, and the night when you last shared a kiss. Suddenly, your face started to become warm again. You shook the thoughts away.

The guys were speaking about their company. You were quite curious about it. You had never seen Yongguk’s work place. He had already seen yours. You still felt like you didn’t know much about Yongguk.

Daehyun was looking at him from the corner as you were eating, and the others started to talk about business and the planning of the anniversary party.

However, Junhong didn’t join the conversation, he was busy with giving his attention to Ki Joon, but Ki Joon wouldn’t let go of Junhong either.

The boy wanted to speak a lot with Junhong. It was great to see that Ki Joon could be so talkative. He must look up to Junhong, in a way.

“You will have to bring a date, Yongguk hyung.” Daehyun said, snatching your attention.

You looked at Daehyun and towards Yongguk. He had to bring a date to the party. You blinked your eyes and gazed at Yongguk. He wasn’t looking at you. He stared at Daehyun with a blank look.

“You should, everyone at the company is talking about it.” Himchan added with a light laugh.

“Why should I?” Yongguk asked.

“Because you are the CEO. The people are expecting it.” Youngjae said.

“That’s right.” Junhong finally spoke, and Jongup nodded, agreeing.

Everyone looked at Yongguk. But all you could think of and wonder was, did he have someone he wanted to bring to the party as his date. Did he like someone, was he interested in anyone?

“I don’t have a date.” Yongguk said, and he took a sip of his water.

“You got Sera.” Daehyun said in a clear tone.

Yongguk quickly placed his glass down, it seemed like he was about to spill, but he tensed up, and his eyes slowly drifted towards you.

Your face was burning, most definitely, you were crimson red, and heating up. You were flustered and didn’t know what to say.

“We expect that as our CEO, you bring a date and that should be none other than Sera, Ki Joon’s mom.” Youngjae said, and it sounded pretty much like an order.

What were the guys doing? Why had things taken this sudden turn? How could you go on a date with Yongguk? You breathed deeply and faster.

“Well, Kwon.” Yongguk spoke as he looked at you. He had a calm look. His ethereal dark eyes had a cool glint in them.

Is he asking me out on date in front of his friends? What is this? What is happening?

“Umm.” You stuttered and looked at him with wide eyes.

Yongguk’s dark brown eyes bore in your russet colored eyes. Your breathing became deeper, lower, and irregular.

You slid your palms down your thighs and knees. You flinched in your chair, when you accidentally touched the wound on your knee. You had forgotten all about it. You moved your palm away.

Why are you staring at me like that again?

You quietly looked into Yongguk’s eyes. He had a blank unreadable look. Had he asked you out, because his friends told him to do it? but did he want you there?

“We would want you at the party and I’m sure hyung does too.” Junhong added.

“Alright, I’ll go.” You breathed out.

“It will be awesome.” Daehyun cheered out brightly.

You couldn’t sense how long you and Yongguk had been sta