A K-Pop Utopia (A Black Kitty Series, Book 2)

Chapter 45: Before It Happens

Narrator's P.O.V:

"Mm, this meat is so tasty," said Zoey as her mouth chewed on the tender meat.

Mino, who sat opposite her, smiled. "I told you they serve the best meat here," he said as he held in his hands chopsticks with a piece of meat in between them.

"Yeah, I take back what I said earlier. I don't think I've tasted meat this good."

"Nah, you did have a point, though. We men just love meat."

"We need to hurry up with our food, though," said Zoey as she picked on the pieces of meat on the small grill built into the center of their table with her chopsticks. "I don't want to miss Johnny at the club."

Mino was just about to put the piece of meat in his mouth when he stopped himself short after Zoey's statement. Zoey continued eating, and it was only after a little while that she noticed Mino looking at her.

"What is it?" she asked. "You're going to make your meat burn."

Mino put his chopsticks aside. "I don't think confronting Johnny over what happened today is a good idea."

Zoey rolled her eyes as she grabbed the small bowl of sauce she had been dipping her pieces of meat in. "You sound like Sam," she said.

"I'm just saying you might want to think this through."

"I have." Zoey picked up a piece of meat from the brai. "I’m just going to talk to him."

"Would you mind running me through it then?" Mino asked.

"Why should I?" Zoey now looked a little agitated. "You don’t know how a conversation is going to go."

"Exactly. You can never know, and I’m afraid you might want to scratch his face off."

Zoey put a piece of meat in her mouth and talked as she chewed. "First of all, I’m not a cat to scratch people when I feel like it. Second, I can assure you that it will be nothing but a nice, friendly chat."

"A friendly chat with someone who almost made you get caught in a stampede at a park and someone who you suspect to have cut the power at YG even when it was confirmed that no one did it."

"Oh, I can assure you, he did it. Johnny has a funny way of getting out of trouble."

"And you've got a terrible way of getting into one."

Zoey looked up at Mino, and he knew that he had struck a nerve there. Zoey picked up a piece of hot, sizzling meat on the brai and ate it. "What’s wrong with you?" she asked. "One minute you were willing to help me out, the next you weren’t."

"Because it’s pointless trying to confront him. You’re only going to get into more trouble."

"This is why I didn’t want you to come. I knew you were going to get cold feet and try to stop me."

"You weren’t going to come far in Hongdae without me. You would've gotten lost."

Zoey finished chewing the meat in her mouth and swallowed. "I’m grateful for your help, Mino. But if you aren’t going to the club with me, then it’s best you let me be."

"I’m not going to. Whatever the case, I’m coming with you. You might end up throwing punches at him anyway."

Zoey began to laugh. "I’m not going to punch anyone. The last thing I need is to cause a fiasco."

"Then promise me you won’t." Mino looked at Zoey with an eyebrow raised. "And I want you to mean it, Zoey."

Zoey put down the small bowl of sauce and picked up her bowl of noodles. She looked up at Mino with a sincere look on her face. "I’ll keep my word," she said. "I won’t do any funny business."