Heart and Seoul (The Seoul Series Book 1)

by Erin Kinsella

  Sung Soo laughed. “You said you wanted to participate. You’re not even doing the full amount.”

  “There’s a difference between participating and regretting my entire existence.”

  Min Jae snickered next to her and switched seamlessly into bicycle crunches. Hwan counted off his last few sit-ups and followed Min Jae into the next set. Eun Gi had his lips pressed together, but the upturned corners were obvious.

  “Come on.” Sung Soo tapped her ankle. “Time for crunches. Count them out yourself.”

  Tessa moved through the laziest crunches she could manage while Sung Soo dropped down and blasted through his sit ups. She bailed part way and sprawled on the mats.

  Min Jae hopped up and pulled Tessa with him. “Race me.”

  “I can barely stand,” she protested.

  “Noona, you have legs like a gazelle, you can do it.” He tugged at her again. “Come on!”

  “Fine.”

  She trudged over to the treadmills.

  “Whoever gets to two kilometers first wins, okay?”

  “Yeah, yeah.” She punched in the distance goal and jacked up the speed, determined not to embarrass herself in front of them like she had with the sit-ups. She ran until she couldn’t breathe, and when her machine beeped signalling her goal was met a few seconds before Min Jae, she almost melted to the floor in delight.

  The maknae stepped down. “You did so well, Noona!”

  “Thank you.” Tessa could have kissed Hwan when he handed her a bottle of water.

  Tessa was convinced it was witchcraft for them to all be a sweaty mess and still look amazing, while she was likely bordering on train wreck appearance.

  “It’ll get easier,” Sung Soo assured. “We’ve been doing things at high intensity for years. We don’t expect you to keep up at the start. You should have seen Eun Gi complain when we were trainees.”

  “My complaints were reasonable. They were practically starving us, and I was so spindly. It was mean.” Eun Gi glided off the treadmill as it slowed to a stop. “Do you need anything?”

  “Food?” Tessa asked hopefully. “Water? Life support?”

  “Soon,” said Sung Soo. “Eun Gi, to the weights.” The eldest member stopped and checked his beeping phone. “The moving company is coming tonight to transfer things between the units and also dropping off a new bed set for Tessa.”

  “That’s not necessary,” Tessa said.

  “Trust me, it’s necessary.” Sung Soo laughed. “You don’t want to use Hwan’s mattress and sheets. There is no method of washing that can cleanse what has occurred on that bed.”

  “Hyung!” Hwan cried out. “Shut up!”

  Sung Soo dodged a tackle. “I’m just being realistic.”

  Hwan’s cheeks were flaming red as he slithered away behind the weight rack where they couldn’t see him. Tessa tried and failed to contain herself, throwing her head back in laughter that had tears leaking out the corners of her eyes.

  “Tessa-ssi, why are you so mean?” Hwan asked from behind the weights.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to laugh.” Tessa hopped over to apologize. “Also, you don’t have to call me Tessa-ssi. Tessa is fine, or Noona, like Min Jae if you wanted.”

  Hwan puffed out a breath. “I’m never going to regain my dignity around you.”

  “Consider it regained.” Tessa winked.

  Hwan slipped his glasses back on and picked up a set of weights. “Noona, please, I have delicate feelings.”

  Tessa pressed her fingers to her mouth to smother another giggle. “Of course, I’m sorry. I’ll take more care in the future.”

  She glanced over at Eun Gi who was hoisting weights in biceps curls. A trail of sweat slid down his temple. A small sound escaped her mouth. Her eyes glued to that droplet as it glided over lean muscle and disappeared into the fabric of his tank top.

  Holy sweet Jesus.

  Tessa dragged her eyes away from his flexing muscles as her cheeks flooded with heat. She saw Hwan out of the corner of her eye, smirking like the devil. “What?”

  His grin widened. “Nothing at all, Noona. Don’t mind me.”

  Tessa sat out most of the remaining exercises. Part of her wanted to try to compete, but the other, larger and more sane part wanted to be able to move tomorrow. She stretched and watched them work themselves into a contented exhaustion.

  Eun Gi

  Eun Gi let her shower first and stopped in his tracks when she emerged, dressed with her damp hair curling around her face, cheeks pink. Seeing her like that felt strangely intimate, but he tried not to linger on the thought. He washed up quickly and disappeared to the other apartment at the earliest opportunity.

  “You’re leaving her there alone?” Sung Soo asked.

  “She’s a grown woman. She doesn’t need anyone to babysit her while we work,” Eun Gi retorted. “Besides, she’ll be grateful to have a break away from us.”

  “Did Noona say that?” Min Jae asked. Eun Gi wasn’t sure how he felt about both Min Jae and Hwan dubbing her noona this early in their acquaintance, but he supposed there was no real harm in it.

  “No,” he replied, “but we’re a lot to handle. She doesn’t even have her own room yet so there’s no way for her to get a away from us without leaving the apartment. I figured she could use the space. I doubt she’s eager to spend all day with us.”

  “Anyone would be eager to spend all day with me,” Min Jae said.

  “That ego will inflate your head so much you’ll float away,” Hwan teased.

  “Nah.” Min Jae nudged Sung Soo. “Hyung would grab on to my ankles and drag me right back down.”

  Sung Soo rolled his eyes. “But think of how quiet our lives would be if I let you float away.”

  “Hyung!” Min Jae cried. “So mean.”

  The eldest sighed and looped an arm around the maknae, squeezing. “We’d be bored to tears inside a week if we didn’t have you around.”

  They split off to different sections of the apartment to work. Hwan and Eun Gi sat at the dining room table with their laptops.

  Hwan smiled at Eun Gi. “So, how’s being engaged?”

  “Are you actually asking me that question?”

  Hwan nodded.

  “It’s weird.”

  “Weird how?” Hwan sat up, fully alert. “Has she done something?”

  “I’m not used to her yet.” Eun Gi shrugged. “She’s there all the time, and so far neither of us hate each other, which means she’s going to keep being there.”

  “Too true. Kyung Mi won’t let you wiggle out of it unless you have a good reason. I like her though, she seems nice.”

  “She is nice,” Eun Gi said. “Honestly, she’s been way better about all of this than I ever expected. I feel a little guilty feeling weird about it. I don’t want her dragged into the colossal mess that is my life.”

  “You could talk to her about this.”

  “Hwan, you say that like it’s simple. You and I both know I’m terrible at confronting my problems.”

  “Can’t argue with that,” Hwan agreed.

  A few hours later Sung Soo emerged from his room looking askew, but satisfied. “I think this song is ready for full production. Oh, also, the moving company is arriving in half an hour. Can you tell Tessa?”

  “Sure.”

  Another one of them had lapsed into the informal, dropping the suffix so she was simply Tessa.

  Maybe I should get on board.

  When Eun Gi stepped into his apartment, he was greeted by the sound of their third album emanating from her laptop, the tail end of one of their most popular songs. It sat on the table next to a couple notebooks, handful of pens, and a glass of water. Tessa was in the kitchen humming along, hips swaying to the beat as she dug through the cupboards.

  She was different from the women he was usually surrounded with; tall, golden, and leanly muscled, compared to the pale, petite, and sleek ladies of the industry. The song changed and she smiled. It was one of his solo songs, he
noted, and the first he’d helped write. She shook her head and dipped down to check one of the drawers.

  His heart twinged.

  “Why is there no tea?” she huffed.

  “I’ll get you some from Sung Soo’s,” he said.

  Tessa jumped and whirled towards him, her dark curls flared around her face, and her hand leapt to her chest.

  “Sorry,” he apologized. “I came to let you know that the moving company will be here soon.”

  She leaned back against the counter to stabilize herself. “Thanks.”

  Eun Gi turned to the laptop as his younger, much higher voice crooned into the apartment. Her face paled. He didn’t say a word about the music.

  “What are you working on?”

  “My next book. Deadlines don’t stop for vacations or foreign companies taking over my life. I was about to wade through my emails for a bit of a break.”

  “What’s the new one about? Another historical?”

  “Mhmm. Set in Brazil this time, though I’ve been debating asking my publisher if they’d be willing to switch over to another one set in Korea. I figure if I’m here for a year, it would be prime research time. The last was popular enough that I highly doubt they’d refuse the request.”

  “I’m sorry.” The words leapt out of his mouth before he could stop them.

  Her face softened, head tilting. “For?”

  “That you’re going to be stuck here for a year.”

  She sighed, and he wondered if he’d offended her.

  “You don’t have to be sorry for anything. You’re not personally strong-arming either of us into this situation.”

  “But your job.”

  “I can manage it. There are enough working hours between here and Vancouver that line up. My assistant can handle things there for the most part, and I’ll address any travel issues or meetings as they come up.”

  “I guess that makes sense. I might not be useful for any of the stuff that you do, but please reach out if I can help.”

  “Sure, if you want me to.”

  “I do. Now, preference for tea? I think Sung Soo has green, chrysanthemum, and ginseng. Hwan and I don’t drink it, so we don’t keep it.”

  “Chrysanthemum, please,” Tessa said. “I can buy my own. It’s no trouble.”

  Eun Gi waved away the offer. She might only be a fake fiancée, but there was no way in hell he was making her buy her own supplies while she was staying with him.

  “We’ll get some with our next grocery order. I’ll be right back.”

  He knew exactly where Sung Soo kept the tea because he knew where everyone kept everything. The others liked to refer to it as his superpower. He fished out the container of chrysanthemum tea and a steeper shaped liked a platypus that would hang on the edge of the cup.

  “Developing an interest in tea?” Sung Soo asked.

  “Tessa was looking for some, but we don’t have any.” He chewed his lip, uncertain what exactly he was feeling. “She’s listening to our music.”

  Sung Soo raised an eyebrow. “Is that bad?”

  “Isn’t it weird?”

  “Would you rather she hate it?”

  “I… No, I suppose not.”

  Sung Soo shrugged. “Our international fans number in the millions. I’m not surprised she could be one of them.”

  Hwan perked up. “I already knew.”

  “And you decided to not say anything?” Eun Gi asked.

  “Why would I say anything? It was cute, and I was keeping an eye on things. Her mom likes us too.”

  Eun Gi rolled his eyes. “You guys don’t make it easy to complain.”

  “Oh, you can complain,” Sung Soo said. “Just make it about something we can get behind. It’s not like she’s been stealing clippings of your hair in the night. She enjoys our music. We want people to do that. Now, get back to your fake fiancée with that tea.”

  Eun Gi grumbled on his way back to the apartment. The others weren’t facing an impending marriage they wanted nothing to do with, so they couldn’t understand. Last time he’d thought about marriage it had promptly exploded in his face.

  He pushed the memory away. This wasn’t the same situation, and the people involved were totally different. He was totally different too. When he stepped back inside, the music was off, and Tessa stood next to the bubbling kettle.

  “You don’t have to stop listening.” He set down the tea implements and grabbed her a cup.

  “I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”

  “If listening to my own music made me uncomfortable, I’d have a problem,” he teased.

  “Yeah, but you got this weird look on your face when I was listening.”

  “It’s fine,” he assured, though she still seemed skeptical.

  “If you say so.”

  Tessa

  The next night Tessa lay awake in her room. The moving company had cleared out Hwan’s space after they’d boxed up the entirety of the three bedroom suite down the hall. Her walls were bare, and her closet was only half filled with the contents of her suitcases, but at least the bed was comfortable. They’d provided fresh sheets, pillows, and a quilt set. It was all pink and white, which she wasn’t a huge fan of, but it was still pretty.

  Tessa sat up, hearing a strange whimpering sound that resembled a dog.

  Climbing out of bed, she shivered as her bare feet hit the floor. She stepped into the living room, ears perked for the sound, and her head whipped towards Eun Gi’s bedroom as the whimper came again, quiet in the dark.

  Tessa padded to the door and pressed an ear against it.

  “Please, stop! Stop!”

  Tessa bolted inside. It was too dark to see properly, and she cracked her foot on something hard, sending it skidding under the bed as she slammed both hands down on the mattress to catch her fall. Eun Gi jolted awake, his forehead smashing into hers.

  “Motherfucking hell!” Pain burst through her, and Tessa wheeled backwards, hitting the floor. “Ow.”

  She clutched her head.

  “What’s going on?” Eun Gi climbed out of the bed, catching himself when he tripped over her, and slapped on his bedside lamp.

  He knelt down in front of her. “Shit.”

  Tessa followed obediently as he carted her back across the living room to the bathroom. When he flicked on the light, Tessa caught her reflection in the mirror. Blood dripped down one side of her face from a gash under her eyebrow, leaving a trail of brilliant red. Eun Gi pressed a folded towel to the wound. She hissed away from the pressure, but he put a gentle hand behind her head to keep her in place.

  “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

  “Are you okay?”

  Their heads had collided, so he couldn’t be feeling amazing.

  “You’re bleeding, so you’re the priority.”

  Ordering her to hold the towel firmly, he went about the business of mopping up the droplets of blood that had followed them to the bathroom, then cleaned up the floor around her.

  “How are you doing?” he asked.

  Everything throbbed. Her toes hurt, but she could wiggle them, so she assumed none of them were broken, not that she knew how to check for certain. “Just peachy.”

  “I don’t know what that means.”

  “Sorry.” She winced. “I’m good. Well, mostly, but not dying?”

  “I’ll take it.”

  He sat down next to her and pulled the towel away, letting out a relieved breath. “The bleeding is slowing down.”

  Eun Gi fished the first aid kit out from under the sink and selected gauze, ointment, and medical tape. A fresh cloth was moistened to clean up her face, and Tessa melted into the smooth strokes of the soft fabric.

  An ungodly sting throbbed against the wound when he tried to spread some ointment, and she rolled her head away. “That hurts!”

  “Hold still.”

  “No.” She turned away again, exhaustion and pain eroding good sense.

  He grabbed her chin, fingers and thumb pre
ssing against her cheeks so she couldn’t wriggle away. She jerked back a little when he swiped over the injury, sending an electric bolt of pain through her.

  His hold gentled while he scrutinized his work.

  “I’m sorry. I had to, but that part’s done. Hold still while I get the bandage on.” Eun Gi methodically applied a thick piece of gauze over the wound and taped it down. He sat back to survey his work. “You’re not supposed to struggle during medical procedures.”

  “It’s four in the morning and I’m hurt. I should be excused.”

  He gazed skyward and sighed.

  “I feel like a pirate.” She poked at the gauze.

  “An eyepatch would help if you insist on fussing with it.” He snared her hand and lingered, keeping it contained in his. “Don’t touch.”

  His hands were warm, but she was in too much pain to properly appreciate it.

  Almost.

  “So, why were you in my room?”

  “Oh.” Her cheeks burned. “You were yelling, and I got scared. I wanted to check on you.”

  His face turned pink. “Ah, sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you with that.”

  “It’s not your fault.” She fidgeted awkwardly. “Do you want to talk about it?”

  “Not really.”

  An arm looped around her waist as he helped her stand. She wondered vaguely if she was actually asleep and dreaming, hallucinating him touching her so intimately. She tested, leaning her weight against him a little more. His other arm came around her too, and he paused to check her face.

  Definitely not hallucinating.

  “Let me help you back to bed?” he asked.

  “Painkillers?”

  There was a small chance she’d be able to sleep through the pain, but she didn’t want to risk it and then have to stumble around in the unfamiliar apartment searching for them herself.

  After guiding them into the living room, he propped her against some couch pillows, then disappeared into the kitchen. He emerged with a bottle tucked under his arm and two glasses of orange juice, which he deposited onto the coffee table.

  Tessa swallowed back the pills, slurping the juice. “Bleh, I hate pulp.”

  “With everything that just happened, that’s what you’re choosing to complain about?”