by J. S. Lee
“What’s wrong, hyungnim?” Youngbin asked him.
“Holly is American,” Sungmin replied. “I can see what she’s doing at Atlantis, and she is doing an exceptional job despite her lack of experience. She has a fresh set of eyes and a different way of thinking.”
“But?” I asked.
Sungmin’s gaze flicked to me. “But that’s the problem. She might be Korean by blood, but she’s American by upbringing. They’re not necessarily bad, but her values and experiences are different to Korea. You all might have Atlantis’ backing, but if you don’t have the public’s, then that is worthless. She doesn’t see it, but if your fans lose faith in you, Atlantis suffers as much as you do.”
While we all stared at each other, Sungmin was back to rubbing at his temples. “What are you saying?” Xiao asked his manager.
Sungmin shrugged. “The simple fact is, we need a plan.”
“A plan?” CX repeated.
Sungmin nodded. “I’m not going to make assumptions, so I will just ask you all, outright: if it came down to your careers or Kate, what would you choose?”
The room fell silent. I couldn’t fault them for that. Neither of them would look at me.
I couldn’t fault them for that, either.
“Their careers,” I said, firmly, answering for them. “They’ve worked their asses off to get where they have.”
“Who says we have to choose?” Jiwon asked, finally speaking up. When Sungmin arched an eyebrow at him, he shrugged. “Why choose? Kate’s not choosing one of us; she’s choosing all of us. Just like I’m choosing my members and Kate. Like you said, hyungnim, we need a plan. But we don’t need to make a choice.”
“What he said,” JongB chimed in, giving the older member a wide grin.
“I contemplated leading with the idea that Kate and JongB knew each other from school, but on reflection, that wouldn’t work. I do think, for the sake of the Korean fans, if this gets snapped and leaked to the press, we lead with you dating that one member, if it comes to it.”
“If it comes to it?” CX asked.
“Kate is American and a photographer. I think we are more likely to have the public believe you are just an overly friendly American than a girlfriend.” Sungmin nodded. “Yes, we will try that first.” He fixed me a look. “Hopefully, we won’t need to.”
“What about the rest of the team?” JongB asked, diverting the attention to him.
“We are not telling any of them,” Sungmin responded, firmly. “Not unless we have to.”
“We won’t have to,” Youngbin assured him.
“Which means you need to trust me and you need to tell me stuff. You will need to be careful in hotels and apartments,” Sungmin said, giving him a pointed look. At JongB’s splutter, he rolled his eyes. “Please. Don’t pretend you’re all virgins. Despite what you might think about me, I have frequently turned a blind eye in the past.”
JongB’s mouth dropped open. “There’s no way you knew Kate was in the bathroom with CX.”
CX went flying over Youngbin to reach JongB, trying to clamp his hand over the older member’s mouth, but it was too late.
“The bath…” Sungmin trailed off. Then he held his hand up. “Use. Protection.”
I was dying internally. Unlike CX and JongB who, suddenly fourteen-year olds, were looking at their manager with mortified expressions.
“I’m on the pill,” I spoke up. Maybe it was TMI, but if it would help with Sungmin’s stress levels, so be it.
Sungmin’s hands were back at his temples. “If you’re going outside, do not go alone. I know I just allowed CX and Kate out by themselves, but upon reflection, that wasn’t a smart idea. If there are three of you, it can be passed off as you being a group of friends.” Sungmin let out an exasperated sigh. “I can’t have this conversation anymore. To summarize: don’t let anyone find out, go out in threes if you need to, and, for goodness sake, be safe.” He stood, shaking his head. “I need a drink,” he muttered under his breath, leaving us alone in the room.
Still half lying over JongB and Youngbin, CX looked up at JongB as he punched his thigh. “Are you kidding me?” he demanded, the honorifics reserved for the older member going out of the window.
“I’m sorry!” JongB cried, shooting me an apologetic look too. “It slipped out.”
“That is the kind of shit that can get us all in trouble, fool,” Jiwon shot at him. “You can’t let it slip out.”
“That’s what she said,” I muttered. Five sets of eyes turned to me and I burst out laughing. “I’m sorry,” I said, my turn to apologize. “That was inappropriate, but you’ve got to admit, the atmosphere in here is thick.”
“That could have been a lot worse,” Youngbin sighed. He got up, pushing CX off him, and walked over to me. “Are you OK?”
“Even if I wasn’t, it would be worth it to know Sungmin is on our side,” I assured him. “And he makes some valid points.” He turned to the other members. “Guys, we need some rest. We have a fan meeting and a concert tomorrow. We should go to bed.”
“Speak for yourself,” Jiwon said. I turned and found him staring at me, and fuck me, that look was already making me wet.
I cleared my throat and turned back to Youngbin. Before I could say anything, Youngbin looked over my shoulder at Jiwon. “You heard Sungmin. Don’t get caught.”
제 4 장
That XX
Seeing as Jiwon had specifically asked me to go to his room in nothing but my underwear, I figured I would be waiting for him in nothing but that. Heels and suspenders were his thing, and I had a white underwear set I had yet to wear. The stockings even had cute pink bows on the top, matching the thong and bra. This time, I even had a shade of matching lipstick.
The fatigue was gone, replaced with anticipation: I was ready to let Jiwon do whatever he wanted with me.
There was a soft knock at the door, and I hurried over, opening it an inch, just in case. As soon as I saw Jiwon, I stepped back to let him in, using the door to protect my near nakedness. When the door clicked closed behind us, Jiwon spun around.
His eyes drank me in, a hand rubbing at his cock. Once more, the look of pure lust he was giving me was making the heat pool between my legs. Then, his eyes narrowed. “That’s five.”
“Five?” I repeated, confused.
“I told you to wear black.”
Had he? “Oops?” I offered.
Jiwon pointed at the bed’s footboard. “Put your hands on that and bend over.”
With my heart pounding in my chest, I strode over and assumed the position he’d dictated. No sooner was my butt in the air, did I hear Jiwon’s breath catch in his throat.
Thongs for the win.
Jiwon moved behind me, muttering something under his breath. Gone was the effort to speak without his thick accent because I couldn’t make out what he was saying. Whatever this was, it was making it even hotter.
His warm hands gently ran over the curve of my ass, the initial touch making me jump. They ran down my thighs, but it was his foot inching between mine that made me spread my legs to him.
He leaned over, pressing a kiss on one of my ass cheeks. “You’ve been bad, Katie,” he murmured, his accent still thick.
So help me, my knees wobbled.
Jiwon’s hands ran up my legs, then one was between me, cupping me. “Already wet for me,” he muttered. I wasn’t sure if that was to me or himself, but he slid a finger under the thin piece of fabric of the thong, running the tip along the length of me, then back up to my clit. His other hand ran over my ass cheek again. “I’m going to spank you, Katie. Unless you don’t want me to?”
I had never been spanked – not like this, anyway. I’d been a troublesome child. I pushed the unwanted thoughts of my mother out of my head. “I have been bad,” I told him. Honestly, if he didn’t have his finger toying with my clit, I would have felt like a complete dick saying those words, but I didn’t care.
There wasn’t any warning, and then his hand
slapped my ass, hard. The sound seemed to echo around the room, mixing in with my shocked gasp. It stung, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. Not with Jiwon also rubbing my clit.
There was another slap, then another, and another in rapid succession. My gasp turned into a cry as I came. My knuckles whitened as I gripped the bed. The final slap came while I was deep in my orgasm. I’d never expected to find being spanked such a turn on, and yet, here I was, wondering if I liked being a bad girl.
Jiwon’s lips were suddenly on my ass, kissing at the area which was now smarting. “My bad and naughty Katie liked that?”
I nodded, not quite able to formulate sentences as Jiwon massaged my butt. Slowly, his hands took the edge off the sting. I stood, turning to face him. Before I could say anything, he came at me, pushing me back against the bed as his lips claimed mine. Spanking me was just as big a turn on to him as it was to me; his erection pressed into me as his tongue entered my mouth.
I groaned into him, grasping at the bottom of his t-shirt as I tugged it up. Jiwon broke away, but only for the t-shirt to go flying across the room, then his tongue was back to claiming dominance in my mouth.
My hands roamed over his body, tracing the hard, smooth, outlines of his muscles in his arms and chest. I finally pulled back, moving my mouth to his ear. “Do you still have that fantasy of me riding you?” I whispered.
My response was a growl as he ground his cock up against me. Without warning, he picked me up carrying me around to the side of the bed, before setting me down. In one quick moment, he had shed himself of his pants, before climbing onto the bed. He lay on his back, propped up slightly by the pillows, then gave me a heated look. “It’s not going to ride itself.”
I rolled onto my knees and crawled over to him. With the damn suspenders on, all I could do was move the thong to the side as I grabbed his cock and eased myself onto him. Although I was slick, I let his thick length in slowly, allowing him to fill me inch by inch, as I adjusted to him.
“Fuck, you feel good,” I told him.
“Take your bra off,” he ordered, keeping remarkably composed. I reached behind, unclasping the bra, and allowed it to slide down my arms. “You are beautiful,” he told me, his eyes drinking me in.
Before he made me orgasm from his stare alone, I started moving, sliding my body up his cock, taking my time until just his tip was inside me. Just as slowly, I brought my body back down, falling into a steady rhythm.
Beneath me, I could see Jiwon’s breathing get faster, but he didn’t take his eyes off me as they roamed from my face, to my breasts, to watching his cock disappear inside me. His hands never touched me, letting me set the pace, do all the work.
I reached for my breasts, massaging them, teasing my already hard nipples between my fingers. Jiwon’s breath caught in his throat as his eyes darkened.
Fuck me. No one had eyes like Jiwon. Dark – not just in color – and filled with an intensity made up of lust and filthy, dirty thoughts. I picked up my speed, twisting my body as I came down. That earned me a groan that sent a shiver of excitement running down my spine.
A hand left my breast and I slid a finger under my thong, quickly bringing some much needed attention to my aching clit. Despite the fact Jiwon had already tended to it, I needed more.
Hands grasped at my waist as Jiwon’s hips bucked into me. I let out a cry of pleasure as the movement drove his cock deep into me. No longer completely in control, Jiwon was moving me faster and harder.
While I continued to rub my clit, the other hand grasped at his wrists to keep my balance. Doing so let my breast bounce freely. “Fucking beautiful,” Jiwon ground out before disappearing into a stream of Busan slang I didn’t know. “Come for me, Katie,” he finally commanded, giving me an extra hard thrust.
A few minutes later, his name was escaping my mouth like a curse. He didn’t stop his thrusts, and somehow, through my orgasm, I continued to move up and down him. It was only when I felt him come in me that I leaned forward and kissed him.
Sex with Jiwon edged on rough and dominant, but his kisses afterwards were always the opposite. He gently pulled me off him, wrapping his arms around me. He was also much cuddlier after. I pulled back, resting my cheek against his chest, smiling to myself.
“How’s your ass?” he asked me, gently stroking the skin there.
“As good as the rest of me,” I assured him, my toes still curled at how good I felt.
I shook as Jiwon chuckled beneath me. He reached for the covers, tugging them over us, but didn’t remove his hand from my butt. “My Katie.”
I pressed a kiss against Jiwon’s chest, smiling. “Mmmm,” I murmured as I drifted off to sleep.
I managed about five hours sleep, waking before the sun was up. Given that it was February, it wasn’t exactly hard to do, but it was certainly earlier than a sane person who actually had an opportunity to have a lie-in to be up.
At some point during the night, I had slid off Jiwon but had awoken to his arms wrapped around me, hands, even in his sleep in somewhat inappropriate places – one holding a breast, the other just under my thong. I’d stayed still for a few moments, hopeful that he was awake and feeling as frisky as I was, but his rhythmic breathing in my ear told me otherwise.
With more willpower than I thought I had, I extracted myself from his grip. He didn’t even move. Tempted as I was to stay there, I really needed to get the photos done otherwise I was going to have to cut back on the time I was spending with my guys, and that was not an option.
Leaving my camera’s memory card copying the images from Toronto and New York onto my laptop, I had a quick shower. Once I had a robe wrapped around me, I finally sat down at the desk with my new laptop.
As inconvenient as it was to have a new laptop, it was also quite nice. I’d managed to finish and upload the Toronto images to the Atlantis server and dropped an email to Holly and Sungmin to let them know I would be working on New York’s instead of doing touristy things, before Jiwon awoke.
I was so engrossed in trying to photoshop out an irritating corner of someone’s phone from my shot, that I didn’t even realize he was awake until the chair was spun around and I was staring straight at a very erect cock. “Good morning to you too,” I greeted it, licking my lips. I looked up at its owner with a sly grin. “Want me to do something about that?”
“I think we can do something we can both benefit from,” he nodded.
Oh, I liked the idea of that!
Jiwon reached down, helping me to my feet. The robe was discarded as he carried me back to the bed, kissing me fiercely. He dropped me on the mattress, but I clung on, pulling him with me. Without giving him an opportunity, I pushed him on his back.
“Both of us,” he said, firmly, reaching for my hips and spinning me around.
I grinned as I lowered my head to Jiwon’s erection. I had barely licked at the tip of it before Jiwon was sucking at my clit. I gasped in pleasure; he wasn’t going to make this easy for me.
And then he cleared his throat.
I paused.
The sound hadn’t come from behind me.
I looked up, moving my hair out of the way, and found JongB leaning against the wall, arms folded and a grin on his face.
Well, fuck me… if that didn’t turn me on.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t the issue.
“What- WHAT THE FUCK? JONGSUB?!” I was picked up and, somehow, placed on the bed, and then Jiwon, buck-ass naked was charging after JongB who was yelling something about knocking.
JongB was going to get himself killed.
I flopped onto my back, grunting in frustration. I needed another shower: a cold one. If JongB was that set on watching, we were going to have to find one of the others who would be willing to let that happen. CX seemed a likely candidate. Maybe even Xiao.
Remembering that JongB had come into my room to start with had me getting dressed. He’d either wanted me or Jiwon – most likely me. I hurried downstairs into the kitchen and was greeted by an atmos
phere.
Jiwon was standing at the far end of the room, his arms folded as he had a hushed conversation with Youngbin. Youngbin was actually standing in front of him, as though creating a physical barrier for him not to cross. JongB was closest to the door, rubbing at his shoulder while Xiao was talking to him.
In the middle, clearly confused was everyone else.
As soon as Sungmin saw me, he stormed over, ushering me out of the door and into the family room where he shut the door behind him. “I sent JongB up to get you and the next thing I know, Jiwon is punching him – and not just in a ‘he’s being annoying’ again way. What the hell happened, and why are you in the middle of it?”
I rubbed at the back of my neck, and then decided to go for it. “You’re probably not going to like this answer,” I told him. “And that’s because it’s about to go well into the realm of too much information for you, but, in the interest of being honest and truthful and telling you stuff, here goes: JongB walked in on me and Jiwon having sex, only instead of leaving, he decided to stay and watch. Jiwon doesn’t like that.”
Sungmin stared at me. I swear I could see his mind imploding on him. Moments later, his fingers were rubbing at his temples. “I do not get paid enough for this. I knew I should have taken the manager job with Seventeen.” He didn’t even look at me as he started to leave the room.
“Um, what did you want me for?” I asked.
Sungmin turned back, blinking a few times. I was sure I had broken him. “Thank you for the Toronto photographs. Will you be able to get New York’s ready before the show today?”
I pulled out my phone to check the time. It was still early, and the plan had been to allow everyone a few hours exploring London before we had to go to the venue. I’d already planned to stay here and work on the photographs, but I hadn’t expected to be able to get them all finished today. As time was creeping away from me, it was almost certainly not going to happen. “I don’t think so,” I told him. “I’m sorry; I know I am behind.”