Chapter 7

    “God please help me..” Eun Hye whimpered to herself, clenching her thighs together to ease her arousal before finally walking in. 

    Min-a strolled in behind her. He hated that his body was doing that ‘thing’ again but he rebutted the outrageous sensation.

   “Miss Seo…you came too.” Seung-ho didn’t sound exactly excited but he smiled anyway.

    “Yes, I- uhm wanted to thank you in person for taking my younger brother, Min-a in as your student. I truly appreciate this kindness. The Seo family will never forget this favor.” Eun Hye stretched her hands out for a shake but Kwan Seung-ho decided to give her a side hug instead.

   She felt her face burn at the unexpected intimacy. 

   Thank heavens she already had pink blush dust on her cheeks.

   “It’s okay,” Seung-ho retorted before pulling away to face Min-a. “Hello, Min-a,” he stared into the younger man’s eyes. His intense gaze made Min-a feel very uncomfortable. 

   “Hello, coach..” he grumbled under his breath, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down.

    Seung-ho couldn’t tell that Min-a was nervous, but he observed that his long dark brown hair was fully down today, and it looked very shiny under the industrial white light in the studio.

   “Uh, Mr Kwan, can I speak to you?” Eun Hye choked out impulsively. “Privately?” she pointed towards the hall before the studio. 

   “Of course.” Seung-ho nodded, dusting the wood hair off his hands. He patted Min-a on the shoulder, “I will be back, feel free to analyze my work, beer is in the fridge over there.” He added before following Eun Hye into the darker hall.

     It wasn’t like he didn’t like Eun, but she was a businesswoman, a CEO. 

    From experience, trusting people like her who claim all they want to do was help, 99% of the time, they had their pockets filled helping.

   “Thank you so much, Mr. Kwan. This is really-” Eun Hye started but Seung-ho waved her off immediately.

   “I’m doing this for your younger brother’s sake, no need to thank me. Cut to the chase, what do you really want?” He asked, folding his arm. His tone took Eun Hye aback but she bounced back from it. She has dealt with men like him before.

   “I have a fundraiser event, a party of a friend of a friend. I need a date and I was wondering if you could be my plus one..” Eun Hye gave her most seductive smile.

    Seung-ho sighed. “Miss Seo.. ”

“We aren't business partners yet, Mr. Kwan. This isn’t technically mixing business with pleasure.” She quickly pointed it out, backing him into a corner.

    “I would love to but I'm gonna be really busy, you saw the project I was doing back there, it needs work and focus-” Seung-ho tried to say everything but no to her smiling face.

   “So no?” She questioned and he remained silent. 

Seo Eun Hye, trying to maintain her steez, said. “See you later. Have fun.” She waved to him with a cheerful smile, not looking back once due to embarrassment.

   Kwan Seung-ho groaned slightly before he walked into the studio again to see Min-a with goggles on, retouching the painting he started yesterday. 

   His hand movement was fluid as water, he couldn't help but be impressed.

   Seung-ho lingered at the door post watching him paint away while holding a beer in one hand.

   “The kid is talented,” he nearly gasped out in amazement. 

   Min-a wasn’t exactly a genius, but more of the raw, untamed type. 

   With a bit of refinement, he could easily surpass most of the commercial artists out there. 

   “Use a type two brush for the wet hair tendrils,” Seung-ho suddenly interjected, but Min-a didn’t react, seemingly lost in his thoughts.

    Seung-ho furrowed his brow at this, approaching and observing his distraction. 

    As Min-a stood back to assess his work, he crept up behind him, closing the distance until he could catch a whiff of a faint vanilla scent. Seung-ho couldn’t help but inhale deeply, feeling a rush of sensation. He reached out to remove Min-a’s earpods, but his sudden movement startled the younger man.

  “Fuck!” Min-a exclaimed, dropping the half-empty beer bottle, its contents spilling onto the floor.

Seung-ho merely stood there with a cocky smile on his   face.

  “What the fuck, man,” Min-a lashed out, getting mad he didn't even apologize.

   “You should use brush two for the hair tendrils.” Seung-ho reiterated, feigning ignorance like he didn't know exactly what Min-a was freaked out about.

   “I don’t give a fuck about brush two, you DO NOT touch a man’s hair like that.” Min-a almost yelled. He knew he was acting too sensitive and he was getting weirdly mad for nothing, but he was pissed by how unbothered his art coach seemed after touching him.

  “Your earpods create a barrier between us. I'm here to brush you up, not talk to a wall,” Seung-ho maintained eye contact with Min-a, intensifying his discomfort.

   Feeling uneasy, Min-a decided to put some distance between them.

   “Do I make you uncomfortable? Does our closeness bother you? If it does, maybe you should sit your ass in your dad’s glass house,” Seung-ho retorted defensively, his tone sharp.

    “What?” Min-a turned around, baffled by the sudden shift in demeanor. He shook his head, incredulous at Seung-ho's outburst. 

    Choosing not to engage further such a mad man, he simply walked out of the studio.

Finding a futon in the corner, Min-a settled onto it. He was determined to ignore his overly touchy art coach. He scrolled through I*******m, searching for a suitable date for the upcoming Red Carpet event –someone he wouldn't have to see again.

    About an hour later, Seung-ho emerged from another door, dressed in a sharp gray tuxedo.

    “Lesson already over?” Min-a inquired, switching off his phone.

    “Yes. I have an event to attend. My younger cousin is opening a new club in the up city.” Seung-ho replied casually, retrieving a key from the wall.

   “Velvet?” Min-a raised a surprised brow at him. He couldn’t imagine such an ethical man like Seung-ho attending nightclubs.

   “Are you heading there too?” Seung-ho asked and Min-a nodded. 

    “Want a ride?” He asked.

    “Yes,” he returned simply. 

It took some seconds for Min-a to notice that Seung-ho wasn’t wearing the casual white crisp shirt inside. 

    No, this man wore a black net that displayed his abs and the dip of his broad chest. His tattoos were also displayed in a glorified manner. 

    Min-a began to wonder if the meaning of ‘ethical’ had changed overnight. His eyes wandered instinctively over to his crotch before traveling up his body to his face.

   “Are you done checking me out?” Seung-ho spoke with a smirk hanging on his lips.

     Min-a gasped upon realizing he was caught staring, then huffed, feeling his face suddenly get hot. 

     “No. I was only checking out the fit. Not bad for an oldie.” 

   Seung-ho dropped his upcoming remark after listening to his words. “We need to get going now, it’s gonna rain soon.” He grunted, trying to hide his embarrassment.  

    “Spare me a few more seconds, entertaining your delusion is so worthwhile.” Min-a retorted.

    “No comments?” He pressured but Seung-ho didn't say anything back.

   “You look great would have sufficed.” Seung-ho chuckled dryly, “Aera, lock up for the night.” He barked out the order to see his assistant as they left.

   “Please, tell me you have a car..” Min-a muttered, resting by the street light.

   “Nothing fancy. Your pampered ass might think of it as scrap.” Seung-ho opened up the next garage, revealing a covered-up car.