One morning, as I sat watching Youtube in my room, Wonho approached. He stood in the doorway, leaning his muscular body against the doorframe. The start of the sudden conversation caught my attention, "Hey, my dad wants us to come to the office today,"
"What office?" I asked.
But, not matter what, I was not interested in going. I tried to think up a way out while Wonho continued.
"His... Dad's," he chuckled, "the headquarters of the Lee Conglomerate."
"Oh," I muttered. That sounded like no fun, "Why us? Why not just you?"
He shrugged.
"Just go without me." I said quickly, trying to brush off the suggestion. I turned my attention back to the YouTube video.
"You know," Wonho spoke over the video, so I paused it. He leaned his head against the wall, a pleading expression on his face, "It'll look bad if you don't go..."
I wanted to stand my ground, but he was giving me puppy-dog eyes. The pleading expression on his baby face was swaying my opinion.
I quickly gave in, sighing, "When are we leaving?"
A smile spread across Wonho's face, "An hour, make sure you dress professionally. Just in case."
"Can do," I muttered.
I wandered into my closet, pulling out an outfit that Minhyuk gifted me. It fit this exact occasion. It was the right mixture of business, but casual.
It was a semi-suit. It was black, the pants a mid-rise fit. But underneath the blazer, I wore a branded Off-White shirt that was cropped. As for shoes, I wore some sneakers.
I kind of hoped Wonho's father would take issue with the outfit. Maybe he'd ban me from ever coming to the office again. That would be a blessing.
I had no business partaking in business.
I could hardly do math right. What could I possibly do for the Lee Conglomerate?
But, whatever. I'll go to this stupid meeting.
I met Wonho in the living room once I was ready. He was also dressing in a suit, his hair perfectly quaffed.
He looks nice...
'Nope, nope nope. Don't start with that girl,' I told myself, shaking the thought away.
Wonho looked me up and down when he saw me, "Ready?"
I nodded.
Wonho and I stood in the fancy halls of Lee Conglomerate headquarters. My eyes scan the expansive halls, marveling at the architectural wonder. The inside of the building was so high-tech and modern. The chandlers and decorations perfectly suited the grey tones of the building.
"This place is nice," I muttered.
My family's workplace was a small building littered with coffee machines. His family's workplace was all of Korea, sitting atop a large mountain of cash like a dragon. The more I stood there, the more I felt out of place.
I would never fit in here, I knew that. Even with Minhyuk as my bestie and personal stylist, I still reeked of "commoner." I stood out like a sore thumb. It was entirely possible that I reeked of "poor."
Well-dressed business men and women walked through the building, sparing us almost no glances as they walked past. I was confused, unsure why everyone was acting this way towards Wonho. It made sense that they ignored me, but not him.
He was the son of the man that owned half of Korea, and these people weren't even greeting him? Strange.
My eyes eventually landed on a familiar figure, my heart sputtering in my chest.
Dressed in a white suit, looking as good as ever, was Shownu. His hair had grown out a little, he looked tired. But he was still as dashing as ever.
'What the hell is he doing here?'
How long had it been since we last spoke? Weeks?
The thoughts of admiration quickly turned into those of mischief. A plan instantly formulated in my head to put on a show. No reasonable objections could stop me. I turned my gaze away from Shownu (who hadn't noticed us yet) and directed my attention to Wonho.
He raised a confused eyebrow at me, quirking his head to the side.
"Wha-"
I grabbed Wonho's tie, pulling him flush against me. He let out a little gasp, backing away reflexively. I got up on my tippy-toes, pressing my lips against Wonho's before he could retreat too far away. He tensed, shocked by what I was doing. His hands froze for a moment in mid-air before he placed on my waist.
As quickly as the kiss began, it ended.
I pulled away, noticing some older people were glaring at us for being "indecent." If Wonho's dad didn't run the place, we probably would have ben thrown out by security immediately.
"What was that for?" Wonho asked, a shadow of a smirk on his face. He was in awe that I would do something like this, though I could tell he liked it. But when he looked up, past me, and locked eyes with Shownu; that smirk faded.
I turned to peek at Shownu's reaction. He was shocked, but quickly masked his reactions.
I hid my smugness by turned back to face Wonho. He now had a blank look on his face, like he was disappointed with me. The grip on my waist tightened for a moment before he let me go, almost pushing me away.
"Shownu, nice seeing you today," Wonho breathed, a forced smile on his face.
"Yeah..." Shownu replied, bowing a little, "Nice seeing you too."
We all stood there silently, trying to ignore the kiss that just happened. I started to think it was a mistake...
"We should get going, shouldn't we?" I asked, shutting Shownu out of the conversation entirely. My hands snaked around his bicep, holding him tightly as we walked through the building.
"We're actually heading in the same direction," Wonho pulled away from me again.
I looked up at him in confusion. Usually Wonho was dying to get any semblance of intimacy from me, now he was pushing me away. Why would he do that?
"I'm here for the Sohn and Lee meeting," Shownu said in a formal matter, "My father will be joining us too."
I nodded, although admittedly this whole situation confused me. There was no reason for us High School students to be sitting at a table with seasoned business executives. Nevertheless, I followed Wonho and Shownu down the halls into a large meeting room.
Mr. Lee already sat, waiting for us alongside Mr. Sohn. I hesitated as I stepped into the office. Shownu's father is a cold man, and seeing him alongside Mr. Lee, who was usually bright and friendly, felt strange.
The fact that two families, who were so embroiled in my love life, were sitting together and making business decisions was mind-blowing. I couldn't fathom how they could pretend like there wasn't a love triangle going on here. Not long ago, Shownu introduced me to his father as his girlfriend. Now I was meeting them as Woho's fiancé.
I didn't want to, but I had to sit down and pretend like this didn't bother me either.
"Welcome everyone," Mr. Lee said, standing in front of the long table. A slide show was open on the projector, but I couldn't be bothered to read it, "It's a pleasure to have the Sohn family here today."
Mr. Sohn nodded, smiling faintly, "Thank you for having us. I'm ready for what the future holds."
Wonho's eyes were trained on the powerpoint, while mine wondered the room. Just across from us sat Shownu. I hadn't realized I was staring at him until he caught my eye. I let out an inaudible squeak and then I looked away, my eyes landing on his father.
Mr. Sohn... didn't he want me dead too? Why would he be here, with Shownu? He was the one trying to keep us apart.
My heart started to race, wondering if this was some sort of trap. Maybe Harin would show up with the strap and shoot me, then everyone here would cover up the murder. Strange thoughts and impossible plots ran through my mind. All of those scenarios were crazy and impossible, but that didn't stop me from being scared.
Finally I was distracted by a strong and firm grip on my thigh, diverting me from my erratic mind. I turned my bewildered gaze to Wonho. He pretended he didn't notice my stare, his hand remaining on my thigh. I considered slapping his hand away. But I stopped myself, allowing the hand to stay put.
The meeting began, and my thoughts were trained on the warm palm that rested on my leg.
At some point during the meeting, I excused myself to go to the bathroom. I was so mind-numbingly bored, none of this information meant anything to me. I wandered the halls, marveling at the architecture. Eventually I stopped in front of the women's bathroom.
Suddenly, I felt a firm hand on my back that pushed me in.
"Hey!" I said, ready to fight immediately.
Could it be a hitman? I whipped around to see Shownu who stood there, turning around after locking the bathroom door.
"Oh..." I muttered. It was a relief see it was Shownu, and not some murderer.
'Well, this is an unexpected turn of events.'
But I was sick of being the meek deer in headlights. I was going to puff up my chest and be courageous in this situation.
"I got the wedding intimation," I sneered.
Shownu cocked his head to the side, "Don't you mean your finance's invite?"
I scoffed, "Don't call him that."
"Why not? It's what he is," Shownu muttered, walking around me like a lion stalking his prey, "You're certainly acting like finances by making out in front of everyone."
"Is that why you cornered me?" I laughed, trying to ease the tension by walking to the bathroom counter and leaning against it, "Your crazy fiancé is probably watching us right now. You know Harin threatened me, right?"
Shownu fell silent.
"We don't have anything to talk about," I muttered, shaking my head, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go back to this boring meeting..."
I brushed past Shownu to leave the bathroom, my hand firmly on the door.
But I didn't get a chance to turn the doorknob.
Shownu grabbed me by the forearm, spinning me around to face him. He pulled me close, without hesitation, pressing his lips against mine.
I'd like to say I was surprised, but I wasn't. There was no other reason for Shownu to follow me here. Though, I was shocked by his brazenness. Usually he was more careful and calculating. We had two powerful families working hard to keep us apart, threatening our wellbeing. And yet here we were, making out in a multimillion dollar bathroom.
That didn't deter us, my arms around Shownu's neck. He leaned down to pick me up, wapping his strong arms around my waist. Our lips locked heatedly, Shownu walked towards the sink, setting me down on the bathroom counter. Our chests were flush against one another, the temperature only climbing higher between the two of us.
Shownu placed his hands on the counter, leaning against his arms as he kissed me. I was deliriously happy, enjoying every inch of his warmth that I felt. My fingers became intertwined in his hair, feeling the expensive jell that held his perfect tresses in place. My hands traced down his neck to his chest, absentmindedly unbuttoning his dress shirt so I could feel up his muscles.
I eventually broke away from the kiss, needing desperately to catch my breath. Shownu stopped to catch his breath too, both of our faces flushed a deep red.
"They're going to be expecting us back soon..." I muttered, the retional part of me speaking up. I slowly pulled my hands away from his arm skin, the feeling of his heart beat becoming more and more distant.
"I know." He replied, slumping.
.We remained like that, for a moment, just silently breathing in one another's presence. Then, eventually, we left, returning to a reality that was painful for the both of us.