Hanni's POV
When my rehearsal finally came to an end, I heard the sound of slow claps in the background. I got up from the chair, looking at the back of the room, but the spotlight's bright light made it impossible for me to see who was applauding me. I walked forward, descending the small stairs, to come face to face with none other than Kim Minji.
In that moment I could be summed up in 3 words: scared, nervous, and horny.
The woman was staring at me with such intensity that I could feel my body on fire. I swallowed hard, fear screaming inside me, she was going to discover my identity, and I would be screwed.
Calm down, be Scarlet, don't be scared, be Scarlet. I repeated that sentence several times in my head.
"Today is not show day." I said, descending the rest of the stairs, and walking far away from her.
Minji walked slowly behind me. "I know, but I couldn't wait to see you again."
Her voice came out raspy, and dragged. I closed my eyes, trying to tell my senses to not make me falter in front of that woman. I stopped at one of the tables, opening a bottle of water, taking a big gulp of the cold liquid.
Calm down. - I repeated to myself when she came closer.
Minji still had the same clothes she had in the office.
"You were wonderful, Scarlet." I could feel her eyes on me.
I took a deep breath and looked at her face without showing the desperation inside of me.
"It was just a rehearsal, but thank you, Ms...." I left the question in the air.
"Minji, I'm Kim Minji." She said, extending her hand in a greeting.
"Better not, I'm sweaty." I said smiling.
"You look... great." She said as she analyzed every part of my body, which to my surprise didn't make me blush.
"I wanted to see you the other day, but I was told that you don't talk with the club's customers."
"I heard you wanted to see me, but I didn't think you would try again though, a lot of people give up at the first try."
I saw Minji smirking. "I wasn't going to, but something in me told me that I had to see you again." She said, closer than I imagined.
"I'm not a woman who gives up easily on what she wants."
I stared into her eyes, they were dark and with a different glow than normal. I could see the lust in them.
"I can see that, you seem to be a determined woman. What made you come back?" I was going to tease her.
"You, only you."
"I imagine you don't want me anymore now, after seeing me like this."
"I keep wanting you the same way, Scarlet, or even more." Her eyes traveled down my cleavage.
"You can do things that you don't even imagine."
I smiled in a mischievous way, biting my lower lip. "What kind of things?" I whispered to her.
"I can show you if you want..." Minji inched closer, so close so that I could feel her breath in my face.
I continued staring into her eyes through the mask that covered my face. "You're really straightforward, Minji. I like it. But I don't hook up with the club's customers." I said, moving away from her.
"I can make you change your mind, Scarlet." She said, making me stop. Her voice tone was firm, determined.
"No one ever could, Kim." I said, smiling dismissively.
"Do you think you're going to be the first? You don't even know if I like women..."
She smiled broadly, walking towards me, stopping a few centimeters behind me.
"I'm sure I will, Scarlet." I felt her breath in my neck.
"And I think that you like women, but if I'm wrong, I'll make you like them."
I turned around, and we were face to face now. Our eyes locked in an intense battle. How could she be so arrogant and sexy? She exuded so much power, which made me shiver. Her coat was open, giving me a beautiful view of her blouse that was partially unbuttoned, showing the curves of her breasts. I traveled up with my eyes, from her collarbone that called for my mouth to her fleshy lips covered with red lipstick.
"How can you be so sure?"
"Your body tells me that much." She said, too close.
Our bodies were so close that they brushed lightly. I sighed before such close contact, and then I backed away.
"Come see me on my next show, I'll be waiting for you, Kim." I said, walking out of that place without even looking back.
I could bet that she was smiling as she looked at me, but I didn't turn around to look at her. I would play hard, I would make that woman kneel before my feet. I walked to my dressing room, closing the door behind me, and then I finally let out the air that was stuck in my lungs after being so close to that woman. I caught myself smiling at the thought of this little game. Where was my head at? Going further with this would only make everything more dangerous, she could find out that I was Hanni at any moment. I took the small mask off my face, staring at my reflection in the mirror, seeing two women in a big conflict.
"What's up with that silly smile?" Julia asked as she entered the dressing room.
I shook my head, and then I looked at her.
"What smile?" I pretended to not know what she was talking about, but she obviously didn't believe me.
Julia was my dance partner, I always rehearsed with her because no one in that place danced as well as she did.
"Don't lie to me, is all of this because of that woman that stopped by?"
"How do you know there was a woman here, Lia?" I asked, approaching her.
"Because I was the one who told her you were in here, duh! The poor woman came here yesterday and you weren't here." She said, sitting down on the couch, cross-legged.
"Are you telling me that she came here yesterday looking for me?"
Julia nodded smiling.
"She came here, sat at the bar, and asked for a drink. And after a few minutes she asked if you were going to perform. I told her no, and saw that she got somewhat disappointed, so I told her you rehearsed here every Tuesday."
I didn't know if I wanted to yell at her or if I wanted to thank her. As much as I was afraid that Minji would find out about me, knowing that she came here only to see me was at least wonderful.
"I see that you liked her visit." She said in a suggestive way.
"Me? Of course not, Lia, she's just another customer."
"Han, no other customer leaves you smiling like a fool."
"It's a different case, Lia, it's just too dangerous." I said, sitting beside her.
Julia looked at me, confused.
"Explain!"
"That woman is... Let's just say that she's my boss at the company."
I saw the woman's eyes widen in surprise. "Are you out of your mind? You're hooking up with your boss? That saint face of yours doesn't fool me anymore."
I couldn't stop laughing because of the face she made.
"Obviously not, Julia, Minji doesn't know that I'm Hanni, nor that Hanni is Scarlet."
"That double identity of yours is crazy, girl." She said, taking a sip of her water.
"Aren't you afraid that she might find out? You know that this is dangerous, you can lose your job." Her voice tone was more serious now.
I nodded, snuggling closer to her. "I'm afraid, very. But something in me keeps me from stopping, you know? She causes things in me that I can't explain." I said honestly.
"You're really screwed, my friend."
"I know." I said laughing.
Minji's POV
"I'll be waiting for you, Kim."
God, that sentence kept repeating in my head over and over again. My stripper, if I could even call her mine, has been inhabiting my dreams since the first night I saw her, and after today, it just got worse. Scarlet blatantly teased me, and I liked it, she entered the game, and that excited me. I came back home that night with her breathtaking body in my thoughts. I stayed for about an hour soaking in my bathtub, trying to get the woman who made me lose my mind out of my head. My thoughts wandered from the sinuous curves of that dancer's body to the ones of Hanni. Pham Hanni? I closed my eyes and her thin and delicate face flashed in my head, with a sweet and calm expression, she was wearing her white dress that gave me a good view of all her curves. Something in both of them attracted me, although they were so different. They could be similar and not similar at the same time. I shook my head at the outlandish idea of uniting two completely different women in one body. Being without someone for so long was making me somewhat confused. I got out of the bathtub, wrapping myself in a white towel, which I put aside previously. I stared at my tired face in the mirror, my hair was wet and brushed to the side. No one saw that Minji, lonely and fragile, and no one ever would, at least as far as I was concerned. I put on my silk ivory sweater and went to bed.
At 7:45AM, Wonbin was already waiting for me in front of my building with the black Mercedes. I got into the car as soon as Wonbin opened the door for me in a polite gesture. I flipped through the newspaper that was placed on the seat, seeing some good news and a lot of bad ones. I wondered when the newspapers would become more positive and give more attention to the good events that happened. The drive was tranquil, to my surprise the traffic today was peaceful. We arrived in front of Kim Industry in exactly 12 minutes. Wonbin abandoned his seat again to walk towards my door, opening it. I got out and made a sign in acknowledgment, and then I walked to the building's entrance. The employees quickly went to their places as per usual. I walked to the elevator, entering the small silver compartment where I pressed the button for the top floor, where my office was. The doors were about to close when someone in hurried steps stopped them.
"Excuse me." I heard her familiar voice.
Hanni looked up and saw me there, looking at her. Her eyes quickly lowered.
"Good Morning, Ms. Kim." Her voice tone was polite.
"Good Morning, Ms. Pham. You arrived early today."
"The traffic in Gangnam was peaceful today, Ms. Kim. I brought you your coffee." She said, handing me the cup from Starbucks.
"You didn't spit on it, did you?" I joked, taking the cup from her hand.
I saw a smile appear on her face, it was lovely. Today she looked even more beautiful than on the other days. She was wearing a high-waisted checkered skirt, like the ones from high school, but more elegant, and a white, delicate blouse. On her feet she had high heels, and around her neck was a dark scarf. Her hair was slightly wavy. She looked breathtaking today, I thought. I had the urge to compliment her, but I think she would be somewhat uncomfortable.
"No, Ms. Kim, I promise I didn't." She said smiling, making the atmosphere more relaxed.
"Good." I said, taking a sip of my hot coffee.
"We have a meeting today, right?" I asked while we got out of the elevator.
Hanni quickly grabbed her notepad and checked the page where she wrote my schedule yesterday.
"Yes, a lunch meeting, Ms. Kim, with international representatives."
"Oh God! I hate those men, they are always kissing ass." I said, annoyed.
"But confirm the meeting, and I'd like for you to come with me."
She looked at me, somewhat confused and surprised by the idea. Hanni was great at developing my subjects during meetings, and we've only started working recently.
"I hope you don't mind losing your lunch time today, I know you go out with your friends."
"There's no problem, Ms. Kim. I'll go with you."
"Thank you." I said as I entered my office.
Hanni's POV
"You're going where?" Danielle asked, sitting beside me.
"I'm going to a business lunch with her, Dani." I whispered to her as I typed on the computer keyboard.
Danielle looked at me suspiciously. "That woman is so private, how did she invite you to lunch?"
"It won't be just me and her, there'll be representatives there. So don't expect me for lunch today."
"Junghwan said he wanted to have lunch with you today, remember? The poor guy will think you're bailing on him again.
Sometimes I felt bad for him, Junghwan was a good man but I wasn't interested in him in that way. But maybe in that moment it was a good idea to get closer to him, that way I would surely avoid future problems with Kim Minji. But something in my body kept me from doing so, she attracted me like a magnet.
"Tell him that I had no choice, Dani. I don't want to refuse these things, it's my job."
"It's your lunch break, Han."
"Jesus, Dani, what's the problem? I used to go to lunch with Hyunsuk and you never gave me a hard time. And you knew that he hit on me every day." I said in an altered voice tone.
"He wasn't a problem, Hanni. This woman is! Have you forgotten that she likes Scarlet?"
I hadn't forgotten, I knew that with Minji I would have to be extra careful not to be discovered. But it was just a business lunch, there was no reason for desperation.
"It'll be fine, Dani. I'm handling it."
"I think you're playing with fire."
"Trust me, I have nothing with her, she's just my boss."
"You don't, but what about Scarlet? From what you told me, she's going to see you tomorrow."
"Scarlet is another person, right now I'm Hanni." I said in a low tone.
I understood Danielle's concern, she was like my older sister, only younger. Since I've known her, she treats me like her baby, she takes care of me like no one else ever has. I loved it, I felt safe with her. I knew that Danielle was right, playing this game with Minji would be the craziest thing ever, but nothing had happened, everything was under control. I would make sure that nothing went wrong, I needed that job.
"Ok, Hanni, you know what you're doing, just be careful, okay?" She said, getting up and giving me a kiss on my forehead.
"Thank you, Dani."
"Shall we go to lunch, ladies?" I heard Junghwan's voice, he was walking towards us.
I looked at Dani who gave me a look that said 'It's your problem, deal with it', and then left. I smiled awkwardly at Junghwan who was staring at me with a confused expression.
"Junghwan, I won't be able to go... Ms. Kim asked me to accompany her to a business lunch, and I couldn't refuse."
"But our lunch has been scheduled since last week, Hanni." He said calmly.
"I know, but she just informed me this morning, I couldn't refuse!"
His expression was one of disappointment.
"We can go to dinner if you want." I said without even thinking.
Junghwan smiled instantly, relieving the guilt that was consuming me.
"Really?" He asked in doubt, and I nodded smiling.
"Awesome. We can leave together, yes?"
"Sure, I'll see you later then."
Junghwan nodded, and then came closer to kiss me on my cheek. As soon as he left, I turned around and saw Minji's intense eyes on me, causing a strong shiver to go through my body.
Dammit! She saw everything.
The drive to the restaurant was made in pure silence, we were sitting inside her imported car, which by the way looked really expensive, and it was really Minji's style. She was sitting with her thick legs crossed, reading something in her phone,
and I was writing down some things on my notepad, trying to distract myself from the uncomfortable silence in that car.
"Did you have plans for today, Ms. Pham?" I heard her deep and cold voice sound.
"Nothing important, just lunch with my friends."
"Friends?" She asked, still looking at her phone.
"Yes, ma'am, I have lunch with them every day."
"I imagine that they mustn't have liked that I took you away from them, right?"
"I don't think so, I rescheduled for tonight."
Minji didn't speak another word, she was silent, reading something that seemed very interesting since she was focused for so many minutes. When we arrived, the driver, an older man named Wonbin, got out of the car to open the door.
I got out first, holding her purse, and then she exited the car too, straightening up her formal clothes, which by the way looked beautiful on her body. We entered a big and fancy restaurant, and we sat at one of the reserved tables where the representatives were already waiting for us.
The meeting was tranquil and rather boring. Minji answered every doubt of the men in front of us. She was somewhat tense, they were important representatives who wanted a contract with Kim Industry, and she would have to make a general balance sheet of the company's situation until Monday in order to sign the contract. It was a hard task, but not impossible for her.
"Thank you, Minji, we'll see you on Monday." The man with grey hair said as he got up.
"It was nice to meet you too, Ms. Pham."
I nodded with a friendly smile.
"I hope you accept our proposal." Minji said, shaking the hand of the other gentleman.
"I'll give you an answer on Monday, Ms. Kim."
The two men left, leaving us alone.
"Finally! I thought this meeting would never end!" She said, sitting down on her chair again.
"It was somewhat tiring. Do you think you can deliver the balance sheets until Monday?" I asked as I sat back down too.
"We can do it, Ms. Pham, I'm going to need your help with all of this. Let's just say that we are going to spend more time together now."
I felt my body shiver, I already spent a good and safe amount of time next to that woman, more of that would be risky and dangerous for me.
"Is that okay with you?" Her voice tone sounded curious.
"Yes, no problem at all, we'll finish it on time."
"I hope you don't mind working this weekend, it's really necessary, I really need your help. I can give you a day off next week if you want."
"I'll help you, don't worry, Ms. Kim. We'll work hard on it."