**Emma's POV**
"You're so pretty."
I focus on my breathing and refuse to melt into a puddle. I can't do anything about the blush rising on my face, but hopefully my skin tone hides it on my behalf.
"No wonder Mr. Park is hooked."
My eyes grow to the size of saucers and the pin that I'm holding in one hand pricks a finger on the other. I flinch and draw my finger to my mouth, sucking on the injured tip.
Byun Jihoon drops the mischievous look on his face, becoming apologetic. "I'm so sorry. Does it hurt?"
"I'll survive," I tease, but even that isn't enough to erase what has already left his lips.
"She's super talented too," Kang Soo, who's also in the room but busy on his phone, adds.
I shoot a quick "please help me" glance to Jae-in, but I could as well be screaming for help and he wouldn't
"Waiting for an important message?" I place my phone upside down on the cocktail table between us and give Bella a small smile. "Nope." She lifts an eyebrow, as if not believing me. I didn't want her to see that I kept checking my phone all the time, but I guess I wasn't as discreet as I'd hoped. We are at her mother's engagement party. Her mother, Isra, spent three weeks at the hospital in Jeju. Bella stayed over for the first week before coming back to Seoul. In that time, they talked and her mother revealed what had been going on with her in the past year. About a year ago, she got into a relationship with a man who specialized in yatch robberies. He sought to bring her into the business, and Isra, being the impulsive risk taker she was, — moreso when she believed she was in love, which has happened often over the years — agreed.
Hyun Bin walks through my door a little past eleven o'clock. I bailed on Bella and left her to familiarise further with her soon-to-be family when after sending a text — which she dictated — Hyun Bin replied within minutes saying he'll be seeing me tonight. I felt like I'd won the lottery. Not only am I horny and so ready to get down and dirty with him right now, but I'm also a bundle of nerves and my stomach is filled with butterflies. This has never happened before. Not to this extent. My reaction is no longer based on my appreciation of what a fine specimen of a man he is. It's purely stemming from the fact that he's finally here, with me. It feels even better because for the first time, I'm not fighting it. I'm sitting on a couch, with the TV on and my bare feet resting on the edge of my coffee table. I was trying to go for a relaxed pose. So, when he walks in, I fight the urge to rush to my feet and run into h
"Is now a good time to talk?" I snuggle into Hyun Bin's warmth and close my eyes. His body is spooning mine, his fingers tracing the inside of my arm lightly. I would choose to remain like this without talking about anything. But I can only imagine that he wants to be sure of what's going on after what I said earlier. I'm also anxious to get it out of the way. As much as I'm dreading the possibility that he has already dealt with his feelings, there's only one way to find out. "Do you still like me?" I try to sound unaffected as I ask the question. But with how close we are lying, he can undoubtedly feel my quickening pulse. "I wouldn't be here if I didn't, would I?" he asks, head ducking to press his lips to the top of my head. A grin works its way onto my face, but I push it back. I need to rephrase my question. "Enough to still want to date me?
Even this late — early? — the streets of the city are alive. The activity around the 24 hour establishments and the buzz around the nightclubs is a big contrast from the quietness we've left behind in my apartment. Hyun Bin drives though the city towards Min Ji's neighbourhood. After checking her security system, she found out that Yeri left barely half an hour ago. If she's on foot, she's bound to still be in the area. I keep my eyes on the street, hoping to spot her figure. Beside me, Hyun Bin is an anxious case of nerves. One hand is gripping the steering wheel tightly, while the other is on his lips, his teeth working on his thumbnail. It appears like a nervous tic of his, one I've never seen before. "Between us, Henry, and your sister, it's hard to miss her," I tell him, hoping to reduce his nerves. Before we left my apartment, he called his driver and let him know of the situation. In five minutes, Henr
I'm unable to go back to sleep when I get back to my apartment. I make myself a mug of instant coffee and pull out my notebook, making sketches of outfit ideas. It's the only thing I can do to preoccupy myself and prevent myself from calling him. It's almost five o'clock when my phone pings with a text message. Hyun Bin: Are you awake? I reply back, ‘Yes’. As soon as my message is delivered, my phone rings with his call. I rise to my feet and accept the call. "Hey." "Hey. Couldn't go back to sleep?" "Yeah." "Me too." There's a sigh on his side. "Sorry for disrupting your night like that." "I was happy to help," I assure him. Tentatively, I add, "If there's anything I can help with, just let me know." He chuckles lightly. "Min Ji told you about Yeri, r
"I'm so happy for you!" I try to get some oxygen into my lungs as Bella squeezes the life out of me. Ever since I told her about the development in my relationship with Hyun Bin, she has repeated these same words and action too many times. I pat her back with one hand and try to push her away with the other. "I know, you've been telling me that for the last two weeks." She pulls away, a grin that looks like it could fill the world on her face. "I think it's finally sinking in. When you told me about it, I admit I was skeptical." I huff and settle back in my car seat. We're in a cab, headed to town to shop for clothes. It's Friday evening. I had the day off, only because I'll be at work over the weekend working with the new group as they wrap up their promotions. Tomorrow, Bella is attending a family dinner, and she wants to look for an appropriate outfit. She pushes my
"You're crazy," I say, looking outside the car window to the parking lot outside. It's five in the morning. Not a time I would normally choose to go to a movie theatre. But it's November 14th and I didn't expect Hyun Bin to be the kind of romantic who wouldn't let our first couple holiday together go by unobserved. "For you," he says, reaching over to wrap my scarf securely around my neck. Leaning towards me, he gives me a quick kiss. "Let's go." We leave the car and head towards the entrance. As you'd expect of a movie theatre this early in the morning, there's barely anyone around. We get our tickets and snacks from a half-asleep worker and get inside. There's one other couple settling in their seats farther below, and I realise we're not alone. Maybe this is not a totally crazy idea. Holding onto my hand, Hyun Bin leads
The last few weeks have been great in both my work and personal lives. Park Entertainment has managed to steer clear of scandals for a while now, which is a nice change from when I first joined. I've almost forgotten about my own unfortunate brush with the paparazzi and the drama that ensued on social media. Since the issue about the incident at The Daze was cleared, Fiona has also not made any attempt to intimidate me at work. That's likely because she no longer has something to hold over my head. But better than all that is my relationship with Hyun Bin. The challenges I thought would be in our way due to his social status are non-existent. I mean, of course, we cannot walk into any restaurant we want or go to the movies like every other couple. But I much prefer the date nights we have where we cook together — or where I sit and watch him cook —and the peaceful night walks we've taken several times.
One Year Later "Thank you for coming. Bye, have a safe ride home." I walk back towards the entrance and heave a sigh of relief. That was the last guest to leave. The night is finally over, and as much as I enjoyed it, my legs are killing me from being on my feet all evening. Before getting back into the building, I come to a halt and stare at the shining sign above the entrance. Emma's. The smile that has been assaulting my lips every time I see that logo appears. It still feels unreal. A year ago, I never would have thought I would be launching my company today. I've spent the last year planning everything and putting together my first collection while also working for one of the biggest fashion houses in the city.
"Stop worrying," Hyun Bin urges as he closes the door behind us. We've ended up in a condo by the beach. He takes hold of my hand and pulls me to him. He cradles my face in his hands and looks at me earnestly. "Everything is going to be fine. I promise." After he explained everything during the ride over, I tried to be positive. Everything he's telling me points to a massive exposé that's going to cause ripples countrywide and clear up a lot of misunderstandings from the past. But there's a part of me that's reluctant to relax. I've watched him battle negative press time and again successfully, but it only provides temporary reprieve. When the next scandal arises, it's as if he never proved himself before. How many times does he need to prove himself before people leave hi
In the morning, my mother shakes me awake. I realise the sofa bed is pulled out and I'm covered up. When I cried myself to sleep last night, I didn't get up to pull the bed out or get a blanket. "Emma, wake up. You have a visitor." I sit up, half-confused. "What? Me? Who? What's the time?" Why would I have a visitor in Busan? I don't have any friends here. "It's six." And who on earth pays someone a visit so early? "Emma?" I stare at my mother, uncomprehending. Someone else just called my name. Someone with Hyun Bin's voice. I whip my head towards the direction of the door. Hyun Bin i
When I get to the station in Busan, I get a taxi and give the driver the address Jennifer sent me. It's an address for an apartment in Daeyeon, which has me a little confused. All along, I thought I was headed to Haeundae, where Louise lives. Unless Jennifer got a separate place. I arrive after about ten minutes and make my way to the fourth floor. I ring the bell and the door opens a few seconds later. Jennifer is standing on the other side, dressed in a purple shirt and black slacks. It looks like work uniform. She smiles at me and reaches for my suitcase. "Emma! Come in." "Thanks," I step over the threshold and walk into the room. The living room is about the size of mine, but it's a lot neater. "I didn't know you had your own place." She closes the door and comes after me. "Yes, I… Louise go
By the time we emerge from the bedroom, it's dark out and I'm starving. We plan to make dinner together, but Hyun Bin excuses himself to his study room first. I've kept him away from work for long enough, so I don't try to hold him back anymore.When he finally reappears, the spicy chicken stew I'm making is almost done, same as the rice. I'm in the middle of preparing a vegetable salad.He walks over and gives me a kiss on the forehead. "I'm sorry, that took longer than I expected.""No worries, I've got this covered."He sniffs the air. "Yeah, I can tell." I dig my elbow into his side playfully. He chuckles and moves away. "I'll set the table.""Any developments?" I ask later when we're at the table."There's a
I head to the bathroom and when I come back, I run into Hyun Bin heading into his study room. I frown and walk over. "What are you doing?" "I have to take care of some stuff." I shake my head and reach for his hand. "You've been at work all night. Did you sleep at all?" "Don't worry about me. I was an idol, remember? I've gone for days without sleep." I shake my head. "You need to rest. Dealing with everything when you're tired will only make you more frustrated." "Emma, every second I don't spend looking for who is behind all this is another second of people smearing your name all over the place." "I don't want you to sacrifice your health for that. I'm sure your team is handling everything well. Come." I
I taste the orange juice on his lips. But that's not the reason my insides are in a knot. I thought I'd never feel his lips against mine again. My eyes are closed tight, but I don't need to look to know I've caught him by surprise. I pry his lips apart with mine, giving him a soft kiss. "Emma--" "Kiss me." It's too quiet. The sound of our breathing is the only thing in my ears. He makes no move for so many seconds that I believe he's not going to. By when I'm about to pull away, his lips crash into mine. I lock out all thought from my mind and kiss him back, taking everything I can. I didn't realise how much I missed this. Not just kissing him but being thi
I make a call to Bella and let her know what's up. After that, I spent most of my time pacing around Hyun Bin's living area, waiting for him to show up. He disappeared into his study room after we agreed on what to do about the dating rumours. He hasn't come out of the room since. The company has already released a statement revealing that the song leak was an intended early surprise for the fans. Another statement noted that I'm not related to any anti-fan activities. But fans' reactions show they need more than a couple of statements to go by. Many think this is PR's way of saving the company's face. Unless they sue someone for the false accusations and reveal a motive, nothing is going to be convincing. I want to ask Hyun Bin whether they've found something on Fiona. But that's not the only thing that has me restless.
"What do you think you're doing?" I demand, fixing my eyes on Hyun Bin. "Are you okay? Did anyone hurt you?" he asks instead of answering my question. His eyes roam all over my body, as if searching for a sign of injury. "I'm fine!" I snap. I was fine before he showed up. "Why the hell are you here? You made things worse!" "There are crowds of angry fans outside your building, Emma! How exactly did I make this worse?" "I had a plan! I was going to leave, unnoticed, before you showed up and made a show of it. God knows what they're saying now." His jaw clenches. "Where were you going to go?" "Bella's." "They know about Bella's."