Matter of Desire || Oneus Xion

Ready, Action

I am sitting on the floor my back leaning against the feet of my bed, Seoho peering over my shoulder at the tablet I'm holding. "I can not believe this!" he exclaims "How many jobs have I begged for you to take and now you are actually going to sign for this one." "You know Seoho, sometimes I wonder why I keep letting you into my house. We went over this, the crew still didn't find a replacement and Hwanwoong will be fired tomorrow if I don't take this role. The man saved my life, I might hate Ravn but not to the extent that I would throw my savior under the bus for it." "I'm just psyched I get to work with you," he nudges my shoulder, I sign the contract, press send and turn my eyes to the ceiling in contemplation. "I am bound by it now, there's no turning back."

Seoho stands up "Remember how you asked why I was having lunch with Keonhee?" I draw my eyes away from the ceiling to look at him "Yeah what about it?" he backs away towards the door, never a good sign. "I might have kept an important detail from you." I stand up to go after him in case he jolts "He's Ravn's new manager."

The betrayal! I make a grab for my pillow before he has time to run away and it meets his face with a satisfying thud. "Lee Seoho you traitor! How can you hide such important information!" "Would you have not signed the contract then? What about poor Hwanwoong and his job?" "I could have found a new job for him!" I bury my face in my hands "I'll get you back for this, you just wait." I see his pouting face when I peek through my fingers. He pats my hair "Let's go out for diner, it's on me since we are celebrating your new job." Saying no to that could be a good start for his punishment but that would also be like punishing myself since he rarely buys me any food, so I put on a jacket.

....

I drag my feet to the set the next day. Xion greets me with a bright smile, there's something positive coming out of this at least "Good morning, you look beautiful." "Do they pay you extra for the compliments?" I retort with a lopsided grin. "That's a policy secret, don't let other people learn about my flattery bonus." He winks.

He looks younger than me and I give in to curiosity as he puts my eyeliner on "You look a bit young to be working here already, you know working in the broadcast is a big deal." "That just means I'm that talented at my job, and besides you are one to talk. Look at you playing the lead role in one of Ms.Park's dramas." I don't have a retort for that, and even if I had it wouldn't matter since he starts painting my lips with his thumb. I make the mistake of looking at him as he does that and his small smile is enough to get my heart racing. "You're blushing." He says blatantly as he finishes his work and stands straight. I ignore the comment and ask "Is it better to apply lipstick like that?" he nods "Could have done it with a brush as well, you use less of the product that way and it's spread more evenly." He starts working on my hair next, I relax into the chair and once again think that there might be an upside to this job.

Ravn comes in with Keonhee talking in hushed tones. Keonhee stops in his track when he sees me. He excuses himself as I look at Xion with desperate eyes, it would be perfect if he said my hair was done right now. But better to rip the band-aid sooner, "Hey Yuri, I-heard you'd be working on this project." "Hey stranger... I heard you work as Ravn's manager?" "Yes, I came back from LA two weeks ago and got assigned immediately." There's a silence after that, Xion turns my chair and positions himself between me and Keonhee, I look up at him to discern whether it was on purpose, in any case, I'm grateful for the gesture. Keonhee steps aside to get on my line of sight again, "Can I talk to you in private, after the shoot of course, maybe we can go out somewhere?" "I'll try to make some time." I answer clumsily.