adora • lookism

15. Yisu Cho (1)

Yisu Cho leaned against the railing, smoke trailing lazily from his mouth. He was currently alone in a quiet corner of a second-floor terrace in Cheongdam, having stepped away from the other men to have a private smoke.

Just one, he'd thought, before they moved on to other business. But Yisu was on his second cigarette now, as he'd let the first burn itself out in a moment of distraction.

He could hardly be blamed considering what was happening in the quiet alley between this building and its neighbour, just a few feet beneath the covered balcony where he stood.

"... alone to a secluded place like this, wearing something like that."

"Oppa, why are you acting like this?..."

Seeing Ari Lim emerge from the popular karaoke business next door had surprised Yisu only mildly. As far as he was aware, beyond her acupuncture skills, Ari Lim was an ordinary teenage girl who should enjoy spending time in such ordinary places with her equally ordinary friends. An interesting coincidence to spot her here, but not a particularly noteworthy one. It was when he saw director Samuel Seo slip out of the shadows of the same alley, heading purposefully towards her, that Yisu's attention had shifted from idle to focused.

His first reaction, of course, had been to wonder what Samuel Seo was doing here, and in such a bedraggled state at that.

His second: Him too, huh.

Whether Ari Lim's interest lay in tattoos in general or his tattoos in specific, every time they met, Yisu could sense her peeking at his face in curious, poorly concealed glances. If he could notice this even without looking directly at her, it was no wonder that Director Cheon, whose eyes trailed her with silent, torpid heat, or Doctor Hangyul Baek, who watched her with religious fanaticism, had as well. Neither Director Cheon nor President Baek liked for her to pay Yisu much attention at all, and as a result, Yisu Cho had been able to observe Ari Lim only in passing or from a distance, or occasionally during his review of security footage.

Even so, Yisu would have had to be deaf, blind, and brainless to not notice Director Cheon's attraction to Ari Lim, let alone Doctor Baek's unabashed, rather handsy fixation. After all, they were both men who were used to taking what they wanted through any means. It was hardly a surprise that neither of them had made the slightest effort to hide his interest in her, despite that she was meant to be off-limits.

"Which bastard is it?"

Now it was obvious that Samuel Seo from the Fourth Affiliate was also of the same mind.

Yisu would have pitied Ari Lim for being the target of attention that a hardened soldier would be ill-equipped to handle, let alone an coddled young girl like her, except---

Except that it had never seemed to bother her very much.

Because she never seemed to notice.

When Director Cheon wordlessly hefted her backpack over his shoulder like it was a matter of course, or took off his jacket to drape around her shoulders as soon as she looked vaguely cold; when Doctor Baek wound his fingers around the ends of her hair and brought it to his mouth, or spoke to her in a terribly soft voice that made clear he wanted nothing more than to gather her into his arms; when either of them stared down any man who approached her with a gaze that promised cold murder...

Her reaction remained the same: Friendly. Light. Clueless.

Not once had he ever seen Ari Lim show any indication of having noticed that these behaviours were born of motives other than platonic affection, pleasant courtesy, or even, absurdly, professionalism. Apparently, their shows of interest were still not as blatant as Ari Lim was oblivious.