Part 29: Breathe
The next day after a long process of make-up getting smacked in Anya's face and her hair being curled and bathed in hairspray, she stands in her hotel room in front of the mirror and looks at herself in a huge Victorian dress.
The point of the party isn't to be historically accurate but to find a way to combine the modern style with this era. So that it fits her style, she and Elayne chose a gothic style dress with a navy silk corseted top. Panels taper to her waist, then expand over a wide hoop skirt with lace flounces and split at the side to reveal dark petticoats underneath. When she takes a few experimental steps, the skirt trails behind her in a long train.
"Is it comfy?" Elayne, her stylist, asks behind her.
"Comfy?" She lays her hand on her stomach, trying to draw in a deep breath. Even inhaling slowly, she doesn't make it very far. "I can't breathe!"
Elayne chuckles and loosens the corset a little. "You're not supposed to breathe in this!"
"Great!" Anya mumbles. No wonder people back then didn't have a very long life expectancy.
Someone knocks on the door and Anya's assistant Patty opens it. Still looking in the mirror, she sees Kyun entering the room.
With a gasp, she turns around.
There he stands in a white shirt with a tall collar underneath a long dark blue tailcoat, embroidered with flashy golden flowers on the chest and sleeves, down to the waistband of the matching pants. His long black hair is slicked back but a single strand falls into his face.
He looks... perfect.
"Wow!" they both say in sync and it's almost as if the other people in this insanely crowded room, with her stylists, hair- and makeup-artists and her assistant, have disappeared. All Anya sees is him, his perfect face, his perfect smile. A pleasant electric shock runs through her body when he takes her hand and makes her turn in her huge dress.
"You look beautiful!" Kyun grins.
She's grateful to him for saying this even though she knows it is only his common sense telling him this, that his demon eyes can't see beauty.
"You too!" she breathes, her eyes still observing every inch of his look. "And our colors even match..."
He pulls her closer by her waist before tucking her hair over her shoulder. He gazes into her eyes for a lingering moment, and then his gaze falls to her neck. A soft smile appears on his face and his fingertips glide over her necklace. The necklace he gave her for Christmas.
"You're still wearing it!"
With her eyes fixed on his lips, she nods, paralyzed by his touch, his closeness.
"Happy birthday!" Her words are barely a whisper. She doesn't want to make him feel uncomfortable by saying it too loud with all these people around. Kyun just nods and smiles in return.
"Who designed this!" Elayne gasps and rips them out of their moment as she fumbles with Kyun's jacket.
"Kimseoryong!" Kyun says casually without taking his eyes off of Anya, and the artist feels herself blushing under her makeup.
Elayne whips out her phone and types frantically, apparently to write the name down before she forgets it.
"The driver is on his way!" Patty says. Everyone in this room has the same grin on their face. Anya gets why. This is the first time in her career she's actually bringing a real date to an event like this.
"Tell the driver he doesn't have to come!" Kyun lets his fingertips glide down Anya's arm and takes her hand, his eyes following the movements of his hand. "We'll drive alone!"
Anya bites her lip to hide that huge grin on her face and nods in Patty's direction, signaling her to do what Kyun told her.
"Ready?"
Still smiling like a teenager before prom, she nods. "Yeah!"
"Have fun, you two!" Lydia giggles and the rest of her team joins, as Kyun pulls Anya out of the room.
"Are you really gonna bring me to that event or do you have other plans?" She moves a little closer to Kyun as they enter the hotel's parking garage.
The demon smirks, amused. "I'm really gonna bring you there!" he replies. "I don't need to squeeze you or myself into ridiculous outfits to abduct you. You're already mine!"
The word "mine" sounds less threatening and more flattering the more often he says it. Anya gulps heavily as she feels her heart rate increasing.
"I like to spoil what's mine, remember? And I know you're into fast cars." He pulls out the keys and Anya gasps and jerks to a halt when the headlights of a pitch-black Audi R8 light up.
"Oh my god, he's beautiful!"
She has no idea how he knows about her weakness for cars. Liking fast cars is such a cliched thing, that she doesn't brag about it. But she just can't help it; the way the adrenaline pumps through her veins when she's sitting in one is almost as good as an orgasm.
"Keep yourself alive, please!" he suddenly says and puts the key into her hand. Her head snaps up to look at him.
"You mean I get to drive him?"
Kyun laughs. "Of course! I didn't buy an Audi for you to be the passenger princess!"
Like a pro, Anya maneuvers the Audi through the streets of San Francisco. It's not the first time she's driven a car like this, of course not. She doesn't own a sports car, doesn't quite have a use for it since she loves to get wasted and rarely drives. Her parents taught her to stay humble. Having money doesn't mean buying everything, even things she doesn't have a need for. And Anya knows if she owned one, the thrill and adrenaline rushes would quickly pass, and she would appreciate drives like this less.
She loves the way the citylights merge into one huge orange stream as she speeds down the streets. Unfortunately, her huge-ass dress limits her movements, but as long as her foot reaches the gas-pedal and her hands the steering wheel, she's fine. The steep streets make driving even more dangerous and Anya loves every second of it! Loves the way her heart races in her chest and the pure happiness rushing through her body.
"It's the first time I'm in the car with someone else and they don't freak out with me as a driver!" Anya says in a loud voice over the thunderous sound of the engine.
Kyun throws his head back, laughing. "It definitely helps that I'm already dead. Your driving style is...interesting!"
Anya can't help but laugh as well. She steps harder on the gas pedal and her laughter turns into a squeal that howls in unison with the v10 engine as the G-force of the acceleration pushes her back into her seat.
Okay, this is even better than orgasm.
She feels Kyun's eyes on her and glances at him before focusing on the road again.
"What?"
"Nothing!" Kyun laughs. "It's just nice seeing you like this!"
The closer they get to the venue, the busier the streets get and Anya sighs deeply, so sad this joyride is already over.
She wonders if things will go well tonight. If Kyun will have fun, if he will behave. How people will react seeing them together...
"You do know that after tonight the dating rumors will only get worse, right?"
Kyun looks at her and shrugs. "So what?" Smiling, she returns his gaze. It makes her happy that he doesn't care about getting mistaken for her boyfriend. "We both know we're not. And that's all that matters!" he suddenly adds and Anya winces, has to suppress an audible gasp. It's as if he just roundhouse kicked her in the face.
"Right!" she blurts, trying to hide the pain in her chest while pretending to focus on the road. This brutal reality check was a little uncalled for...
"Are you ready?" Kyun asks after Anya stops the car in front of the venue. She can already see the flashing lights of the photographers and the huge amount of people standing in line to get their moment on the red carpet. This moment at events always makes her anxious, no matter how many times she's been on the red carpet before. So she needs a minute to take a few deep breaths.
Then she nods. "I'm ready!"
One of the event valets opens the door for her and helps her out of the car. She didn't even notice Kyun got out as well so she's a little disoriented by how suddenly he appears next to her and takes her hand out of the dude's. She passes the valet the keys and she and Kyun both walk over to the entry. For a moment they wait in line until a security guard signals Anya to move.
"Wait!" Kyun catches her by the waist, fixes a few strands of hair, and steps behind her to fluff up her huge train.
"I'll wait here!" Smiling, he takes her clutch and kisses her cheek softly. Anya's palms begin to sweat.
How the fuck is she gonna convince these people that they're not dating when even to her it feels like they are?
Okay, focus!
With a thankful smile for Kyun, she turns around and walks down the red carpet.
Like the professional she is, she poses and smiles, is the good girl she's always been. Her name gets called from every direction, they tell her how to move, how to look, and Anya tries her best to let them take the picture they want.
But the longer Anya is standing there, posing, smiling, the more she despises it. She has to bite her tongue to suppress the urge to snap at them.
Suddenly breathing in this too tight dress becomes even harder and her view blurs by the piercing pain in her temples.
She's here. They want her. Why does she have to obey them? She isn't their puppet, isn't their—
"Breathe!" The photographers give indignant cries when someone steps between their cameras and Anya, and her head snaps up. Kyun lays his hand on her waist, his back turned to the press. "I taught you well but this is a charity event, not the right time or place to piss people off!" he whispers sternly. How does he know so well what's going on in her head? "Keep on playing the good girl, you're doing great. So breathe!"
Anya inhales deeply, as deeply as she's able to in that dress, while Kyun watches her carefully.
When she calms down, he nods curtly and moves to head back to the start of the red carpet. Her hand seizes his wrist before he can move more than half a step away.
"Don't go!" she whispers, her voice hoarse, and looks at him, pleading.
Kyun returns the gaze with an unreadable expression before he nods again, turns around and steps next to her. His arm finds its way around her waist and the photographers' flashbulbs become a meteor shower of exploding lights as they click furiously to capture the sight of the Anya with an actual man by her side.
She can't help but look at Kyun. His gaze is so serious and hard and the way he clenched his jaw tells her he hates this. Probably even more than she does.
But still he's here. And she's never been more grateful.
Smiling, she lays her hand on his chest and he looks down at her. And the moment their eyes lock, Kyun's jaw relaxes and she feels his tense posture underneath her hand slacken. His heart beats strong but steady. The demon's body language perfectly mirrors the movements of Anya's. She, too, feels herself relaxing, her breath getting more regular, her heartbeat in perfect unison with his. It's if the mere presence of the other soothes the anxiety, the stress.
The photographers keep on asking questions about Kyun. Who he is, whether he's her boyfriend, but they both ignore them successfully until one lady of the staff signals Anya that she's allowed to leave.
She grabs Kyun's hand and pulls him to the zone where the interviewers wait with their cameras. She's not in the mood to give interviews today. She should. She definitely should, it's a charity event after all. But she knows they will all ask the same questions tonight.
If Kyun were her boyfriend, she'd brag about him, be so proud to show him off. But he's not her boyfriend, he's not even human. How is she supposed to explain that?
Kyun is holding her hand tightly and she leads him away from the interviewers while they all call her name again in hopes of catching her. She points at the non-existent watch on her wrist and at the entrance, signaling them that it's getting late and she doesn't have time for an interview tonight.
At her movements, which force Kyun's hand to move as well and make it even more obvious that she's holding it, the reporters seem to lose their absolute sanity. The calls are getting louder, more forcefully. But Anya chooses to ignore them once again.
Suddenly she spots familiar faces.
Magnus and Alec.
"Ah, you gotta be kidding me!" Magnus calls and weaves through the crowd of people over to them. "Seventy years of friendship and he never went to any of these events with me! Eight months with you and you already get it all!" he says in a low voice and chuckles before hugging her tightly. "So great to see you again, sweetie!"
"So great to see you too!" she replies, so happy that he's here. Not only because she's missed him but also because, this way, Kyun has someone around to keep him company while she shakes hands with important people.
The demon wraps his arm around Anya's waist again. "Sorry! She's more convincing than you are!"
"Yeah, I can see that!" Grinning, Magnus points at her cleavage.
"You look amazing too!" Anya smirks and eyes the couple head to toe. They have matching suits similar to Kyun's and something tells her these aren't just cheap copies of old relics but actual garments from that time.
"Let's get inside. I'm so tired of them!" Magnus points at the press while rolling his eyes and they walk down the last part of the carpet before entering the event hall.
"What's the plan for tonight?" Kyun asks as they sit at their table together with Magnus, Alec, a group of investors—which, as Anya learned, Magnus is a part of—and another incredibly talented singer and her boyfriend.
"First I have to go and say hi and shake hands with people!" Anya explains quietly and sighs. "You can stay here, it's enough for one of us to get bored!" Kyun snickers and nods. "Then we'll have dinner and when this is over a few important people will give speeches and then we can, you know...chat and dance!"
She expects to see Kyun regretting his life choices but instead, he nods, smiling. "Okay, then go and do what you have to do. The sooner you start, the sooner you'll be back here!"
The demon's support in this truly means a lot to her. She feels so damn safe and definitely less anxious than she usually would at a party like this.
"Don't worry!" Magnus slings his arm around Kyun's shoulder. "I'll take care of our birthday boy!"
"Get lost!" The demon growls and pushes Magnus' arm off of him and the warlock laughs.
With a grin, she steals one last glance at Kyun before getting up, taking a deep breath, and diving into turmoil of fake smiles, superficial conversations, and overuse of compliments. So many people around here basically only live for the moment they can brag about their achievements and how awesome they are.
And, like the good girl she is, she gives these people what they want to hear. It's not a secret that the Grammy's jury is a big pile of white trash with huge egos. And as much as she hates it, winning a Grammy would be the peak of her success and if that means feeding a few disgusting dude's egos, she'll do it.
One of them is in the midst of boring her to death. She's lost track of what he's talking about a while ago, so she just stands there, nods and smiles, and hopes it's enough.
For a moment, her eyes wander over his shoulder and meet Kyun's. It's crazy that she's found him this fast, almost as if his eyes pulling her like gravity. They light up reddish and again it's as if everyone else has disappeared. She can almost hear her heart pounding in her chest when he tilts his head and winks at her with such a sugar-sweet smile, that her knees grow weak.
"I'm sorry!" the fat dude she's speaking to suddenly says and lays his hand on her shoulder. Anya restrains the urge to slap his hand off of her. Why do they always have to get so touchy? "There's someone I have to talk to!"
Oh, thank god!
Smiling, she thanks him for the nice talk before finally walking back to her own table.
"That was rude!" she says after sitting down next to Kyun.
"What do you mean?" Kyun takes a sip from his wine.
"You!" She chuckles. "That wink was unnecessary!"
The demon laughs. "I was just winking!"
Just winking. As if she wasn't already on the verge of collapsing. They both giggle.
"Thank you for pretending!" she says at last. "When you're bored, we can leave, okay? Just let me know!"
"Don't worry about me, babygirl. I'm from hell, remember?" There is this wide grin on his face that makes her believe every word he says. "Nothing can be worse than that! So!" He leans back in his chair, and lays his arm on the backrest of Anya's. "Spill the tea you've got on these people and I'll tell you what I know!"
With a raised brow, she looks at him. Being into gossiping suits this demon. They have a great time exchanging all the spicy little secrets they know. It's scary but also not surprising that so many people around here have an actual connection to the underworld.
Kyun has such a dry, dark humor and pretty quickly her stomach begins to hurt from laughing so much. Anya never thought he would behave so well. Never thought that he would make this one of the best events in the past months for her.
Bit by bit the people take their seats and then finally the waiters walk in with the food. She's starving; she was way too busy today to remember to eat. She wonders how much she'll be able to eat before the corset just bursts.
Without hesitation, she grabs the silverware and begins to dig in. Despite her hunger, she's dignified; elegant table manners are second nature to her now.
When she looks at Kyun, he sits there, eating as if it were the most normal thing in this world.
"What?" he asks when he catches her staring and takes a bite from his steak.
"Nothing!" She shakes her head, smiling. "It's just...mesmerizing to see you eating."
"You're such a simp!" Kyun chuckles. "You've seen me eating before!"
"Peaches don't count!"
Even though she can't deny that it's fun watching him eating them.
"And when I ate you?" he asks casually and licks some mashed potatoes from his fork.
Anya's eyes widen. How dare he make her remember this now!
"My god, you're so shameless!" She laughs and Kyun shrugs.
"That's part of my charm!"