Claire found him leaning against the wall outside of the bathroom, looking through his phone with a slightly anxious look on his face. She greeted him with a little wave and he nodded, pushing himself off the wall and moving towards her.
“This way,” He said quietly from beside her as he took a step ahead, leading the way down one of the many halls. Yejun caught sight of them as they started heading through a set of doors and decided to follow, wanting to follow up with Claire about talking to his management sometime soon. He followed them through the doors, then through another, and yet one more smaller door. No longer following just to talk to Claire, but out of a growing curiosity as to just what it was they were doing. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the dim light of the small room. Cords, ropes, and wires were looped and piled on every shelf alongside microphones, sound boxes, and a hundred other electronic devices Yejun didn’t know the name or the use for. He could make out hushed whispers and the sound of footsteps on the far side of the first set of shelves that divided the room.
“You promise everything is okay?” Cheol’s quiet voice filled the tight room.
“Yeah, it’s fine, maybe even good,” Claire responded, her voice breathy as she whispered back. “I just needed to talk to you about something that’s come up.”
“What is it?” He murmured before pressing a light kiss to her lips.
“Mmm,” She gave a sighing moan against his soft lips. He tasted like lipstick today, reminding her to pull back before she ruined his carefully done look. “One sec, talk first.” Her hands pushed his shoulders back tenderly. “There’s a job possibility that has come up, but I wanted to run it by you before I try for it.”
“Is it here? In Seoul?” He asked, running a thumb over her jaw as his hand rested against the side of her neck.
“Yeah, it would be,” She nodded, holding his arm at the wrist as his thumb continued to stroke. “But it would take a lot of my time and if anyone finds out about us, I know they would drop me, no question, no hesitation. They won’t want to be associated with scandal any more than KXO will.”
“Is it a good job?” He asked softly and she nodded. “We can keep everything a secret for a while longer. No one will find out. You should take it.”
“I’m afraid, Cheol,” She admitted, resting her head against his shoulder. “I’m one misstep away from everything falling apart all the time and it’s killing me.”
“애인[60] whatever happens we can make it work,” He cradled her against him. “We can stay out of sight for now and we’ll figure out what to do if it gets out when that happens. There isn’t anything we can do right now.”
Cheol ran his hands over her back as he held Claire against him. She smelled like heaven and he missed feeling her touch him. Tangling his hand in her hair, he pulled her head back so he could reach her lips again, kissing them hungrily. He couldn’t hold back a moan as he pressed himself against her, pinning her between himself and the shelves.
Yejun could hear the direction things were going and decided it was now or never if he was going to reveal his presence in the room with them. He let out a loud cough and then cleared his throat, directing his eyes away from their direction and focusing deliberately on the pegboard wall covered with cords of varying sizes and length. On the other side of the shelf there was a squeak of surprise and a shuffle of bodies and feet as the couple pulled themselves apart. Both of their faces poked out from behind the shelves and Yejun could see the color draining from Claire’s cheeks. He stepped forward, fearing that she was going to faint.
“This is what made you so reluctant to come work with us?” Yejun half stated and half asked.
“Oh god,” Claire covered her face with her hands, embarrassed to her very core and afraid of what Yejun could cost both of them if he decided he wanted to.
“Look,” Cheol stepped forward, putting himself in front of Claire as he addressed the other man. “It’s not--”
“I’m not going to say anything,” Yejun interrupted, waving off whatever Cheol was going to say. “This makes sense, actually. I understand what you were so worried about.”
“I’m so sorry,” She apologized, coming around her boyfriend with a pained expression. “I would have explained but…”
“You couldn’t, I know,” Yejun acknowledged. “It’s not just your secret and what if I used it against him?”
“Please,” She stepped forward, tears welling in her panicked eyes.
“I won’t, I wouldn’t,” He rushed to assure her, putting his hands under her elbows to hold her up as she stumbled. “No one will hear a word about it from me. And I’d still like to talk to the company about maybe working with you when your job ends. I can’t say that the company will stand by you if all this comes out, but it doesn’t matter to me.”
“Thank you,” Claire held his arms, slumping in relief. “For promising not to say anything. I can lose a job, I can disappear, but I can’t take Cheol’s dreams away...I can’t hurt the rest of them like that.”
“It’s okay, your secret is safe with me,” Yejun promised.
“Hey,” Cheol addressed the other leader, supporting Claire from behind. “Do you think you can convince your company to work with her?”
“Probably,” Yejun nodded. “I can’t promise anything but I think they’ve been wanting someone to do what she does for a while.”
“She is good at what she does,” Cheol assured him. “I’m not just saying that because I’m in love with her.”
“From what I have seen of the rest of your members,” Yejun chuckled. “They like her too.”
“She’s easy to love, really,” He gave a relieved laugh in return. “You’ll see.”
“Yeah, I hope so,” The other leader nodded and patted Cheol on the shoulder before excusing himself. Claire still felt like she was going to die, the adrenaline in her veins making her ears ring and her fingers feel numb. Cheol let her drop down to sit on the floor, kneeling down beside her. He should be worried that the other leader wouldn’t keep his word, he should be worried about what it might have meant for his career but a tiny piece of him just wanted it all over. Whatever was going to happen, whatever the consequences were going to be...they would just be done. He looked at Claire, sitting there, her whole body tight as a bowstring.
“Are you alright?” He asked gently, drawing himself as close to her as he could manage.
“I’ll be fine,” She tried to reassure him, though she sounded exhausted and stressed. “I just need to gather myself for a minute. I think you need to head back before anyone notices you are gone.”
“I’ll just stay another minute,” He promised. “Besides, I need you to check my lipstick before I go back.” She couldn’t help but smile at his teasing. “That’s the face I love to see.”
“I’m sorry,” Claire told him, taking his hand. “I should have been more careful.”
“It wasn’t you,” Cheol sighed, berating himself silently. “Don’t beat yourself up.”
She drew in a deep breath before standing up with a hand from Cheol. They helped each other to make sure they looked like they had when they left. Stepping out of the dim room with her, Cheol reached into his pocket and pulled out the lipstick he had pocketed from the make-up table earlier.
“One more,” He murmured, pressing one last longing kiss to her lips before he handed it to her. She wiped his lower lip with her thumb to dry it off then dabbed the color on his lips to make sure the color looked clean and even again. When he looked pretty close to how the make-up artist had left him, she handed the tube back to him.
“Do I have any on me?” She asked, tilting her face up at him.
“Just a little,” He acknowledged, focusing on wiping her lips with the pad of his thumb rather than how much he wanted to kiss them again. “There, I don’t think anyone would notice it now.”
“Okay, why don’t you go first,” She suggested. “I’ll head out in a couple of minutes and go back to the dressing room.”
“No, I don’t want...I would rather not take the risk again today,” She insisted, taking a step away from him and gesturing to the door they had entered through.
With a nod, he headed for the door, looking back over at her as he slipped through the door. He wound his way back along the halls and to the arcade area where he rejoined the rest of the band along with the members of TEENz and at least two other bands he could identify. He put a smile on his face and went in to join the fray.
***
The weeks that followed were practically chaos as Cheol and the other members prepared for the North American tour. Their VTube account was buzzing with livestreams popping up from one member or another almost every other day. Their practices ran late into the evenings and the stage choreography was run through over and over and over. Claire met with the members when she could, seeing everyone mostly at KXO given the late hours they were all keeping. She did manage to get a few times with the whole group to get them to practice for their first interviews in the US. But there was almost no time for her to see most of the group aside from individual lessons. Everyone was exhilarated but exhausted as the tour drew nearer and nearer.
News finally filtered through the company that Claire would indeed not be needed after the tour. It was expected but still not a popular decision with the group, but it was at least tempered by the announcement that Claire would be joining them on the tour along with their manager. Everyone was happy to have her come along, even if it was going to give the trip a slight bittersweet note. There was better news, though, as the interview process seemed to be proceeding well with ZG Entertainment, and a job working with TEENz seemed to be on track. Yejun, as the leader of their most popular group by far, seemed to have some influence at the company.
Cheol and Claire could barely find time to see each other, having to settle for calling and texting when they had spare moments. She was busy outside of work as well, trying to pack up her things from the apartment before they left for the trip, since she would have to move shortly after they returned. Living in a place that was owned by your job had its upsides but this was definitely a downside. It started to feel empty by the time the week before the trip rolled around. Everything that made it feel like a home had been packed away in the cardboard boxes that were tucked underneath the breakfast bar that still stood against the window. She still thought of Cheol everytime she looked at the view of the city it offered. Oddly, leaving that memory was giving her a special sort of heartache. As much as she knew leaving the job and the apartment didn’t mean an end to what they had, it felt a little like it was. It was probably just the murky uncertainty she was currently wading through, but she couldn’t help but feel like things were slipping away.
The day of the trip came both faster and slower than anyone was prepared for. Claire arrived at the airport ahead of the main group, wanting plenty of time to eat and shop away from the click of the cameras that would no doubt be following the members the minute that they arrived. She printed out her ticket from the kiosk and checked her bag at the counter before heading to go through security. The airport was actually a pleasant place to be with lots of light and space in the terminal. The floor below was filled with tax free shopping places, something she was sure most of the boys would be very excited to visit while they were awaiting the departure of their flight. They really did love shopping.
Claire went up to the third floor and found a coffee shop, getting herself some tea and a little baked something to have for breakfast. She pulled out her phone to keep herself busy while she waited to hear from everyone else that they had arrived. She hadn’t bothered looking for the gate, assuming that she could go with the rest of them when they needed to get ready to board. She ate alone at her table, taking her time since it seemed that no one else had even arrived yet. Of course she was always early for her flights, sometimes ridiculously early, like today. Better early than get stuck due to some unforeseeable problem coming up. She was expendable on this trip, but they certainly wouldn’t be leaving without the members.
About an hour and a half before the flight was due to take off, she finally got a message from Jihoon saying they had all arrived and were through security. All of the members were heading to the third floor of terminal two where the big duty free shops were located. Claire messaged him back letting him know she was on her way and then packed up her bag, taking the last bite of her food and last drink of her tea before making her way to meet them.
She found Cheol, FX, and Wonjung by the perfume, sniffing and testing new things they hadn’t tried out, at least in a while. Hyunwoo was looking through the fashion accessories with Changho and Jaejin in the shop beside that. Minjun and Seunghoon were looking around at the small candy kiosk and Kitae was looking at plushies in the shop across from them. Jihoon was patiently watching all their bags somewhere in the middle, allowing all of the boys to go and have fun. She opted to join him rather than fight the crowds to try and window shop for something she wasn’t going to end up buying anyway.
“Claire, come check this out,” Cheol came out to get her, having spotted her from inside the shop. Giving an apologetic look to Jihoon, she followed him into the shop winding around until they ended up in front of the same shelves where FX and Wonjung were. The other two greeted her, happily sharing the current perfumes they were testing out. She liked both of them, giving the two boys a nod of approval on their choices. Cheol pulled a bottle off the shelf and held it near her face to her to sniff. A delicious scent filled her nose like sweet ripe citrus mixed with deep notes of musk, amber, and dry woods. It smelled like heaven.
“You like it?” Cheol asked, offering the now capped bottle to her.
“Mmm, yeah,” She nodded, giving it another smell.
“You should try it on,” He suggested. “Make sure you like it on you.”
“But we’re getting on a plane,” Claire fussed, pondering if it might be rude.
“Just a little,” He encouraged. “I want to know what it smells like on you.”
“Okay,” She agreed, giving herself one spritz on her neck and chest. Cheol blew softly on the same area, helping it to dry on her before he discreetly leaned forward to smell it on her.
“Mmmm,” He growled softly near her ear. “You smell good enough to eat.”
“Give it a little time to set, see if you still like it in fifteen minutes,” She suggested, cheeks prickling with a blush at his tone. “What about something you like for you?”
“Okay, what would you like on me?” He grinned, turning it around on her.
“I don’t know,” She pondered. “Something oceanic, woody, maybe a little sporty?”
“Try the ones over there for that,” Wonjung suggested, pointing out another shelf along the wall a few meters away. Cheol led the way and Claire followed, enjoying his excitement at testing out all of the new scents. They went through a few options before finding one that was lovely with notes of the sea and citrus and a little bit of evergreens. It smelled a little like a stormy coast in the Pacific Northwest, which she loved. Cheol tried it on and then walked around to give the scent some space to breath. By that time the perfume he had chosen for her had been given the time it needed to meld with her and air out enough to let all of the notes through. Coming up behind her, he dipped his head down to the hollow of her neck, breathing her and the perfume in. It had smelled fantastic in the bottle and on her it smelled like every naughty dream and every fantasy he’d had of her put into scent.
“I still love it,” He told her softly. “Do you?” She nodded, giving him all the permission he needed to go back to the shelves and pull, not one, but two bottles of the perfume off the shelf to buy.
“You don’t have to get it,” She objected, putting a hand out to take them from him. “I can buy it.”
“No, I want to get it for you,” He insisted, holding them both against his body. “Also, smell me ag
ain, you still like it?” She dutifully leaned forward and took a sniff near where he had sprayed his perfume. She made a noise of approval at the smell. Mixed with him it smelled spirited, cool, and a little wild. There was something comforting about it too, like the pine of a cabin on a cool, damp evening. Taking that answer as enough of an endorsement, he grabbed a bottle of that from the shelf and headed for the counter with them.
Entirely too pleased with himself, he took the new purchases and stowed them in one of the pockets of his carry-on. Claire followed him out, biting her tongue as she watched him, not wanting to bring attention to the fact that he had just spent who knows how much on perfume for her. She sighed, taking a seat next to Jihoon again as the group slowly returned from their shopping excursion. Hyunwoo came up and hugged her, happy to see her finally and very glad she would be joining them on the trip.
“We are going to have fun,” He said in English, tucking his chin on her shoulder as he embraced her from behind.
“Yes, we are,” She agreed, patting his arm comfortingly. “Do you have all the things you wanted to get before the flight?”
“I still want something to read,” He stated simply. “Will you help me pick something?”
“If you want,” She agreed. He pulled her along to the shop a little ways away that had all the books and magazines stacked tightly on the shelves so they could fit in the tiny shop space. He took her to the English section of fiction books and started pulling a few off the shelf for her to look at for him. Some were new books she hadn’t read or even heard of before, but a couple were familiar to her. She glanced through the descriptions and looked at a few pages to get a feel for the style of writing.
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