“How may we help you?” Inn Woo asked cheerfully, staring between both of them. He could sense the sibling tension. “Bom, can you give us like five minutes?” Eun Hye asked in a nice voice, calling Inn Woo a nickname that always makes his heart flutter. He didn't need to be told twice after that lovely heartwarming gesture before he took his leave. Inn Woo nodded at Min-a, before trying to give Eun Hye an awkward handshake, which he failed to do because of his shyness. He then whispered to Min-a to bring the food along, pretty sure Eun Hye also heard. When they were alone, the annoyance in Min-a's eyes became even more visible. “What do you want?” He snapped, staring down at her. The sudden coldness in his voice startled Eun Hye. She moved back a little, the hurt in her heart radiating all over her face. “Are you still mad at me because of yesterday? Because I don't even know what the fuck I did to get you this mad in the first place.” Eun Hye sounded
Inn Woo stood by the sidelines, watching the next set play since Min-a was taking forever to talk to his older sister. She did have his one hundred percent love and support since she brought food because that was all that mattered. After at least 15 minutes of switching from foot to foot and watching amateurs play, he decided he had had enough and was starting to get scarily hungry. Tired of waiting, Inn Woo turned around just in time to face Min-a storming towards him with a pissed-off countenance, only to stride angrily past him and across the court towards the locker room area. He stared after him in disbelief before turning around again to see Eun Hye walking off toward the parking lot. The food she brought lay on the bench untouched by any of them. Confused and torn apart, he tried to run after Min-a only to have the ball fly past his face, missing his nose by just a few inches. Inn Woo took that as a sign. “I hear you, universe. The food first.” He ran t
“Oh my,” Ji-ho gasped dramatically. “It's not a fucking date, woman.” Min-a immediately added. “Min-a, you really know how to make a woman feel loved,” Ji-ho muttered sarcastically. “Hmm, as much as I would love to any other day, I can't today. I'm really tired and I don't think I want to deal with another hangover, it might kill me sooner than I'm supposed to.” Ji-ho joked, waiting for Min-a's reply. She heard him sigh, saying “Alright.” His tone sounded disappointed and it tugged at her heart. “But I got some really good weed, and I'm about to prepare dinner. We could eat, drink wine, and smoke weed just like the average American white woman that we are..” Ji-ho teased, causing Min-a to bark out laughter. He found it hard to believe she could also be funny and laid back when she wasn't being loud and an attention narcissist. “Alright, send your address then,” Min-a started his car the instant he got Ji-ho's address. It was deep in the city
The last time Min-a smoked the devil lettuce was sometime three years ago, it wasn't in his best interest but he did it anyway. “Have you ever smoked weed before?” Ji-ho snatched it from his hands, taking one out of the bag and handing it to him, before taking one for herself. “Yeah. But it's been a long time..” Min-a sniffed the blunt, “a really long time.” He added. “Well, when I want to abstain from alcohol, I take weed. I would have been a junkie if weed wasn’t such a problem here.” Ji-ho mumbled the last part as the blunt already sat between her lips, lighting it up. She stood up, took her cat into her bedroom, and closed the door. Usually, she would let him inhale it so he could chill the fuck out a bit. But seeing Min-a here, she couldn't predict if he was going to be an extreme animal lover who would feel she deserved jail for letting a cat inhale weed. Ji-ho dressed up her knee-length shorts, sitting down to start sorting the bag of sea
“I know you hate excuses but…Father was the one who pressed me to urge you to convince Kwan Seung-ho to sign the contract… ” Eun Hye mentioned. Shit…that was another excuse. “-even though! I told him you guys aren't close. He found that hard to believe, he said that he saw the pictures for the magazine and you guys seemed pretty close already. He said that I better insist you do it quickly, before or on Friday. I ran out of ideas. I didn't know what to do.” She carefully slid down the door, resting on her bum. “Can you believe that?” Eun Hye scoffed, “In three days, Father expects us- uhm..me to sign Mr. Kwan like it is going to be some easy fit. You know how he is, he won't budge. I don't know why he wouldn't listen to me, I'm not a miracle worker. Most of the impossible tasks he gave me were carried out thanks to you, Min-a.” Eun Hye suddenly stood to her feet, feeling a renewed energy. She could still do this, they could do this. They have always been a bracing team
“Miss Seo, What are you doing here?” Seung-ho couldn't restrain the disappointment in his voice. He rushed all the way to the door, abandoning the pasta he was making, thinking Min-a had decided to come early. He was now aware of how delusional that sounded. Kwan Seung-ho instead met with Eun Hye in her white business suit and black inner blouse. She had a small cracked smile on her lips as she looked him up and down. He suddenly realized why she was staring at him awkwardly. He still had the baby blue apron. “Oh.., wait a second..” Seung-ho rushed inside to try and keep things in order, only to rush back to the door again, recalling he left her standing outside. “Where are my manners? Please come in.” He ushered her in, speed walking back to the kitchen to turn down the heat on the pasta and beef sauce. He came back to meet her looking around his house with fascination glimmering in her eyes. “But, why are you here?” Seung-ho repeated his question.
“I kept screaming “Haneul” while he jerked in my arms, convulsing. He said something like “Sorry, Mother.” before he lost consciousness. But after he woke up, he said he didn't remember anything, so we never talked about it. I think the name always triggers him after he does something he knows he shouldn't.” Eun Hye finally met his eyes with her teary ones. Seung-ho pulled his hands away from Eun Hye’s. This information only made him feel worse. “Mr. Kwan.” Eun Hye was about to warn him not to let Min-a know about this when her phone vibration disrupted her. Thinking it was Min-a, she picked it up fast. “Min-a?” Eun Hye called out in excitement. “No, Deon. I have been at the Seoul airport for 2 hrs now. Weren't you supposed to pick me up?” Duncan sounded stressed. His plane had been delayed for a whole 24 hours and still, his designated chauffeur was not on time. “Oh shit, I’m so sorry., Deon. It was actually Min-a, who was supposed to come g
After Duncan Laurence’s mother's death, he moved back with his father to The Netherlands where his father worked and lived with their extended family. His mother, Kim Haera, was best friends with Jin Eun Min, Min-a, and Eun Hye’s mother. As devastating as her death was for little Duncan, it didn't stop him from chasing his dream in Architecture for it was all he could remember doing as a kid. Drawing was the similar ground that brought him and Min-a closer despite their age gap of 4 years. He was the first to recognize Min-a's artistic skills and so he got him his first set of canvas and paintbrush on his 10th birthday. Min-a, unlike other kids, didn't start art by drawing their favorite cartoon character or a friend, he started by drawing shades of different lighting because he wanted to see how it made him feel. That was Duncan's confirmation that Min-a was a special kid. His views still hadn't changed about him as he sat on the waiting bench fo
Seung-ho felt his heart skip a beat multiple times. He couldn't believe he was blushing so hard right now in front of a twenty-two-year-old. He would have asked where all this confidence was coming from but then again, the younger man before him was Korea's number one bad boy. Min-a stared Seung-ho in the eyes, itching to seize those soft, cherry-colored lips again. “No...yeah, I mean- do you mind chips?” Seung-ho stumbled over his words, then quickly moved away from Min-a like he was an appealing drug. His jaw clenched hard and he could feel his erection as he walked to his shelf for the various bags of chips he bought recently. Seung-ho took a moment to suppress his arousal then grabbed five of the bags. He dropped them on his counter, causing various cackling sounds, “oh-we have, ginger pepper.” He didn't care for the product name, it was a stock purchase. Picking up a bluish bag, he read off the body, “we have seafood spice,” Seung-ho was met with disapproval
Min-a stole glances at Seung-ho as he drove his black Ford Jeep with one hand. He hadn’t realized he found such an innocent action attractive until he suddenly got an art coach. It was even more enticing now because Seung-ho's tattoos were fully visible. He was wearing just a white T-shirt and black Jeans. “Can you stop drilling a hole in the side of my face?” Seung-ho said softly, “your gaze is distracting.” He complained, subtly throwing him a side glance and catching the proud smirk tilting the right side of his lips. “Distracting in a good way or bad way?” Min-a asked, genuinely curious. “Distracting in the way that could end us both in the emergency room for an accident you caused,” Seung-ho replied, keeping his eyes trained on the road. “I see…I’m distracting you in a good way then.” Min-a nodded to himself, pleased with the impact he now knew he could have. Seung-ho just rolled his eyes. During the short seconds of silence between them, he did eve
“You know his name is Duncan, right?” Min-a corrected him. “I don't care, honestly,” Seung-ho muttered. Min-a found his jealousy cute. He did see why he would be jealous though, Duncan was actually hot and gentle. “So,” Seung-ho started, coming to stand beside him. “Do you want a drink?” He asked, not knowing exactly where to start from. It felt like the last time they saw or even held a conversation like this was a whole month ago and it had just been days. “No, I don’t think I want to taste alcohol just yet.” Min-a replied, a small smile appearing and disappearing almost at the same second it occurred. A weird silence ensued between them, just the air conditioner humming in the background and something beeping in the corner. “I think this is the part where you kind of like-make awkward moves so you can get close enough to kiss me..” Min-a mentioned with a straight face, then turned to look Seung-ho right in his icy, blue eyes.
“If you change your mind later, I can come and pick-” Duncan was about to give Min-a the parent speech when he gave him a bored look. “I'm 22 now. Remember that next time you want to give me any parental guidance.” “Then I'm following you inside.” Duncan came down from the car before Min-a could make any protest. Feeling defiant, he sat back in the car and watched him press the doorbell. It took more than a minute for Aera to come to his aid. “Uh, who are you?” Aera asked, studying the hot specimen in front of her. She had yet to see somebody that balanced being mixed better than Kwan Seung-ho. His hair was almost golden and his eyes were a deeper blue than Seung-ho’s. “A mutual friend of Kwan Seung-ho and Min-a…” Duncan stepped back to show Min-a in the car going through his phone. “Oh, I see…please come in and make yourself comfortable. “Is he not coming in?” Aera stopped dragging the door. “He will. Leave the door open, and gi
Duncan has done so many difficult jobs on his way to the top. Jobs that made him question his decision to take it in the first place. Living in the Seo household for the next 6 months was a decision he was starting to question and it was only the fourth day. A graveyard had nothing on stillness in the Seo's household right now. Min-a stayed shut in his room. Eun Hye also wouldn't come out either and their father was out of the question for him. Duncan eavesdropped on their conversation last night and he heard everything. Including the insulting slap, Seo Jung Ju gave to Min-a after he mentioned sucking cock. That was part of the reason why Duncan gave Min-a almost an entire day to himself to collect his traumatized mind together. Though, he still hovered close, once in a while checking if Min-a came online or eavesdropping by his door for any movement. Then he would do the same for Eun Hye. It was exhausting, truly exhausting to be checking on two grown adults, but what
Jung Ju took his attention away from his screen, looking above his glasses to stare at Eun Hye, “I saw it.” He replied simply, going back to clicking on his keyboard. Eun Hye had to stifle a scoff. His expression was so melancholic, almost neutral like he was silently mocking her. “When Min-a shows up, I will review the contract.” Jung Ju said out of nowhere. On cue, Min-a pushed the door gently, slipping inside and appearing beside Eun Hye. “Good, you showed up.” Jung Ju muttered unenthusiastically. He moved his chair closer to the table hunching over the contract book. Sending both of them a cold glance, he flipped the cover open. Eun Hye could feel her soul leaving her, with every page he flipped and every neutral expression his face held, she felt herself getting paler. She inhaled through her teeth, a deep shaky breath that caught Min-a's attention. “Where the hell did you get that contract from?” Min-a hissed at her, nudging h
“Older sister, for the love of god, don't even for once fucking say you did it to protect me from being exploited by Father because you were doing no different. Don't say you knew I won't be able to handle the heat because I was the one doing the dirty jobs for you.” Min-a shot to his feet, attempting to walk out before stopping in his tracks. “I don't feel sorry for you, just so you know. What hurts is that I would still be dragged down by your own mess.” And with that, he stormed off to the back of the house, a place he barely came to. It harbored the only indoor swimming pool they had. He had no plans of getting wet, he only wanted to pretend it was the beach when he stirred the water, so it sounded like water clapping against the shores. Time flew by insanely fast when you weren't watching its every move. No one had to inform Min-a that his father was home. The temperature in the house significantly dropped. A night maid popped through the black screen glass door
After Eun Hye’s fourth glass, it occurred to her that she never really filled Heidi in on her ordeal with her father, especially the aftermath. Heidi was her assistant, so she decided to discuss further possibilities like herself being replaced by a more compatible man from the board; so the old fellows could finally sleep at night. Since Seo Eun Hye assumed the role of CEO for one of Seo's premier assets, their Digital Advertising agency, the male members of the corporate board consistently opposed her. Each task she undertook only intensified the pressure on her to deliver efficiently. Taking her last gulp and emptying the wine bottle, she concluded her last option was to face the heat in the kitchen. The only issue was her father was the chef. Spacing around to calm her anxiety, Min-a crossed her mind again. She left her room and headed towards his side of his glass mansion, dropping the empty bottle on the kitchen counter on her way there. Eun Hye met
“Teacher and student my foot…” Duncan smirked. “I guess Min-a does have a type.” He walked away from the half-done painting to the others on the walls. Some were unhinging, reminding Duncan that he would never fully understand the kid's twisted mind. The most captivating was a dashing play of Red and black. If anyone could portray angst, using nothing but color palettes to depict struggle and elegance, it was Min-a. That was his specialty. He didn't need to paint human beings. As Duncan remembered him saying; “Feeling is not a human quality, feeling is an energy that can be shown through any medium, from sound to silence.” “This boy only grows scarier everyday.” Duncan muttered to himself, leaving the gallery worthy experience behind to finally sit on his bed. The bed dipping didn't even wake Min-a up, he had his long hair sprawled across his face. Duncan was amazed by how lush and long it had become since the last time he saw him a