6

"Stop fighting with me Sophie, you know I'm not myself around you."

He teased, grinning slightly as his calloused and bruised fingertips brushed over my arm slowly traveling upwards till he slid it between the gap of my elbow and the dip of my waist, encircling it with one veiny muscular forearm. He hummed softly pulling me flush against his naked torso and dipped his nose in the crook of my neck.

"Mr. Kim," I half moaned, half gasped when I felt his nose rub against my sweet spot and my feet being lifted off the ground as the curvature of his back straightened slightly. My hands found their way to his bicep and around his neck and I knew damn well that if my feet were on the ground, I'd collapse immediately.

"Fuck, you smell sweet," he growled against my neck almost like it was a threat, the vibrations of his chest as he spoke traveling to me, and tingles spread out through my soul. I whimpered digging my nails into his skin my eyes closing out of pleasure as Nathan's lips landed right under my ear as if it wasn't intentional, just brushing softly as if he didn't mean for it to happen but I knew better.

"Mr. Kim, wha- why- I don't understand," I somehow muttered out in stutters and babbles looking sideways to meet his gaze but he wasn't done touching me, mind only clouded with how he was just so, big. So tall and so muscular and how I was so small in his hold, he had me thinking about him like this for the first time in four years as if I was meeting him for the first time as if I was seeing his honeyed skin for the first time, as if I was touching it for the first time and as if it was the first time he was touching me.

"What don't you understand Sophie?", he urged, wanting me to say it myself.

"What is the meaning of this?", I questioned in a clear voice pulling his head away from my neck.

"What meaning? Can't I hug or compliment you?", he asked in a soft tone. I knew he knew what he was doing, I knew he knew this wasn't just a hug or a simple compliment especially when it was him. Nothing is simple or meaningless with him.

"Y-You can but you've never done it before," I mumbled mindlessly since my gaze was now fixated on the light purple bruises on his jaw from the fight last night. I didn't even notice when he had carried us to the couch or when he had tricked me into letting him off the hook as always.

His mind, a disadvantage to me, a great advantage to him.

"What're you looking at?", he asked slowly letting me down so my feet land on his and I swiftly pulled his head down along, tracing the bruises softly with the pad of my fingers, feeling the slightly grown stubble underneath my fingers. I hummed letting my hands fall down accidentally sliding two of my fingers in such a way that they brushed his abs.

"Huh?", I asked in a hostile high pitched voice when my mind finally registered what just happened and I shrieked jumping backward hitting the back of my knee on the coffee table behind me. He chuckled pulling me back when I winced and gestured towards the couch with his hand that wasn't holding mine.

"I- I was just checking your bruises," I mumbled softly as he let my hand go and I plopped myself down on the sofa sitting in a rigid straightened pose. He too stretched upwards and settled himself next to me, a small cushion between us, and switched the screen in front of us back on.

The screen turned on right where we had left it but now Trevor had already won the match and the referee had lifted Trevor's arm up in the air, while he used the other one to wipe the blood off his busted lip with a cocky smirk on his face. Just like his brother.

The two of us sprung up to our feet in a second jumping and yelling in the air out of victory. He threw the cushion up in the air feeling overly energized and turned in circles around the room. I laughed out loud and he grabbed my hands intertwining both our fingers quickly as we spun around in a circle together like little children.

I and Mr. Kim had always been like this, teasing and mocking each other but again making up in a few seconds like it never happened but then a year ago, Teressa came into our lives. Not just his because I lost my only other true friend except Josh. She'd decide everything that I used to and even who he hung out with, she literally stole all his time, suffocating him in his own home until he couldn't take it and everything spilled out in form of his anger.

Watching matches and movies together wasn't new to us, not even drinking out together since the only mantra was moderation and boundaries but we hadn't done any of this in the past year. It felt refreshing to be able to have fun in our free time since the tournament had just started and there were a lot of fights to come, one night definitely wasn't gonna hurt him.

"See! I told you he'd win without you yelling too!", I said still bouncing on my feet.

"Okay listen, you never said that," he sassed back waving his finger at me and my jaw hung open. He grinned brightly letting go of my hands and turned around to run upstairs. I jumped over the couch following him upstairs while he ran faster and head of me through the halls and into his room.

"Mr. Kim!", I panted out resting my palm against the white door of his room which he had swung open. He was standing on the bed with a bewildered expression since I had paused in the middle of the playfight, waiting for me to continue. I twisted my neck from side to side and took a boxing stance I had learned from watching him practice all day every day, lightly bouncing on my heels.

"Sophie, are you really think about having a boxing match with me? Because if you are, I'm concerned about your mental health," he somehow spoke the sentence in between fits of laughter and multiple giggles. I nodded proudly and he pursed his lips together nodding back in acknowledgment gesturing for me to come closer. I quickly waddled to the bed and stood upon the white fluffy sheets in front of him while copying the same stance he was in.

"I'll only defend, you have your chance, come on," I nodded with a fierce expression and was about to swing at him when someone gasped near the front door. Both of our necks snapped to the direction where the gasp came from and we both smiled in a second.

"Hyun!", Mr. Kim exclaimed brightly but Mr. Jung wasn't having it, he glared at him and crossed his arms across his chest in an intimidating manner scaring both of us.

"Why on earth are you boxing with Sophie? Are you crazy?!", he yelled out with his eyes wide out of fear. I wanted to protest but it was just so fun to see someone have control over Mr. Kim so I decided against it. With a mischievous smirk, I jumped down from the bed to execute my plan.

"Come here, I'll deal with him," he said firmly and pushed me behind his back. I pressed my lips into a thin line staying behind him as he walked to Mr. Kim who himself had hopped down from the bed. I intertwined my fingers behind my back and peeked from behind Mr. Jung's shoulder.

"Now, you brat, you tell me why you were trying to fight with her, don't you have enough fights in the damn ring?!", I dramatically flipped my hair behind Hyun's back as he scolded Nathan.

"Listen to me too, she was one who wanted to fight, I even told her she'd get hurt," he whined and Mr. Jung's head turned to me causing me to immediately stop doing the victory dance and give him an innocent expression.

"No Mr. Jung, look at me! Why would I try to fight him?", I said innocently and he nodded slowly before stepping aside. I looked at him confused till it hit me that I was caught red-handed, Nathan smirked before launching himself towards me. As scared as I was, I also knew that this was a play fight, he would never hurt me by himself but I ran anyway.

"You filthy liar!", he yelled behind me and I chuckled when he caught up to me to stand on the stair next to the one I was standing on, blocking my way. He squinted his eyes at me playfully letting me know he won and I threw my head back laughing while my hands found the support of the wall. The fact that he was standing on a level lower than mine was helping a lot and I didn't need to completely crane my neck to look him in the eye.

"Alright you two, let's go out for a while, I have a lot of time today, we could go for a movie and then go clubbing?" Mr. Jung announced as he walked past the two of us, climbing down the stairs.

Mr. Jung, Mr. Min, and Mr. Kim had all been together even before they debuted as boxers so it was only sensible for them to cheer their friend up in such tough times except Mr. Min had come earlier, that too not at a time too good.

Everybody is grumpy in the morning, especially Mr. Kim.

"Oh, Soph said she wanted to change before we go out so is it okay if we stop on the way there?", Nathan asked in a pleading voice and I furrowed my brows together deciding not to question anything right now. As soon as Hyun shrugged and walked off, I turned to him with my arms crossed.

Soph? Did he just call me Soph instead of Sophie? Oh, my heart.

"So, Soph said she wanted to change? When did she say that Mr. Kim?", I asked stepping down one stair trying to intimidate him. He hummed mockingly out of question, sliding his hands into his pockets.

"I thought you'd wanna wear something shimmery for clubbing and going to the movies. Knowing you, I didn't think you'll ask Hyun so I did it for you," my mouth formed an 'o' shape out of realization and I nodded slowly.

"Right, you don't have to call my clothes 'shimmery' though, I'll just put on something better than this," I said before turning around on my heel and walking back to his room.

"Where are you going? You wanna watch me change?", he asked standing beside me, more like towering over me and I gave him a scowl.

"I was just taking out your clothes," he shook his head in dismissal.

"Sophie, we're not going out for a meeting or a match, you don't have to pick out my clothes, I've grown habitual to doing it myself anyway," he said rolling his eyes slightly.

"Right, okay then. Please be quick Mr. Kim, I don't think Mr. Jung is patient enough to wait for more," I stated before going back down the stairs to sit with Mr. Jung. When I set my foot on the last step my eyes searched for Mr. Jung only to find him staring at the mess we made in the living room with one of his hands on his hip and the other one to his forehead.

"Oh Soph, don't worry yourself, the servants will clean this up since we're already running late for the show. I've invited Jimin and Josh as well," he said smiling sweetly at me.