by J. S. Lee
“You had H3RO’s changed?”
Guilt flooded her features. “I’m the Vice Chairman and I have a lot of power. I toyed with that for ages. I didn’t want it to be seen as me abusing my position, but at the end of the day, I didn’t want – I don’t want – H3RO to be punished because of me.”
“Dude!” I exclaimed. “You’re the one person I would never expect to abuse that power, and if there’s one thing I know about you, you will have stewed and lost sleep over making that decision.”
“That’s not going to stop judgmental, narrow-minded people accusing me of abusing my position. I’m sure there would be people jumping at the chance to say H3RO are dating me because they want to get further as artists, or worse, that I forced them into the relationship under the threat I would end their careers.”
“People like that can go fuck themselves,” I snorted. “They’re probably hypocrites who wouldn’t think twice about doing the same thing if they were in your situation.” I reached over and hugged her. “Have you told the guys that?”
“Yes,” she said, simply. “I tell them almost everything. The stuff I don’t tell them is the personal stuff about other groups. But yes,” she nodded. “After how things started out with us, I make sure I tell them everything. Actually, it was one of the things I wanted to speak to you about.”
“Just how filthy is Dante?” I asked.
Holly shot me an unimpressed look, but she couldn’t keep the embarrassment from her face. “Kate, I am not about to tell you everything about our relationship.”
“OK, no details, but on a scale of one to ten.”
“If I give you a number, do you promise not to press any further?” she asked me.
I held up my pinky finger.
Holly wrapped hers around mine. “Twelve.”
My mouth fell open with a splutter. “I knew it! But is that an actual twelve, or a Holly twelve?”
“First of all,” Holly said calmly. “I resent that implication. Secondly, I’m dating six guys, so screw you. And thirdly, you pinky promised.”
I couldn’t stop the growl in the back of my throat as I crossed my arms and huffed at her. “You’re mean.”
“You’re dating Onyx!” she retorted. “Are you honestly telling me that the six of them are leaving you so unsatisfied that you need to live vicariously through me?”
“I just thought, maybe we could trade ideas.”
“You don’t get to trade ideas like they’re recipes!” she spluttered.
Lord, it was so easy to embarrass her. “And it’s five of Onyx. MinMin’s not one of them.”
Holly frowned, thoughtfully. “Does he know?”
I slowly shook my head. “Youngbin, Xiao and I had broached the idea of discussing with Jiwon, JongB and CX…” I frowned. “Why do I do that?”
“Do what?”
“List their names in that order, all the time?”
Holly cocked her head, and I could almost hear the voice in her head repeating the order back to herself. Then she shrugged. “K-Pop. There are some things you end up doing with no rhyme or reason. Just accept it.” She gently pushed me. “You were going to discuss…?”
“Oh, yeah. We were going to discuss the idea of telling MinMin. And Sungmin,” I added. “Youngbin told him back in Toronto, but I’m not sure he believed it. I think he thinks I’m hooking up with just Youngbin and Xiao, and he looked like he was going to have an aneurysm at that.”
“Personally, I would suggest telling MinMin, but that’s not my decision. I just think it would keep things less strained between the lot of you. As for Sungmin, leave that one to me. I spoke to him earlier and he’s stressed. And I mean, super stressed. The things that have been happening on this tour have been completely out of the ordinary, and now he’s probably thinking about how he’s going to hide this from Atlantis. Let me speak to him. I know he’s been having a hard time – I’ve lived it – so I want to help him out as much as I can.”
I turned, facing Holly with my whole body as I gave her a grateful smile. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
“So, we’re going to do this?”
“I have no idea how, and I have no idea how to make it work when you get back to Seoul. I assume you’re coming back there?” I nodded. “But I’ll try to work something out.”
“Well, I can honestly say, this is one conversation I never imagined having with you, or anyone.” I blew out a breath, raking my hand through my hair, wincing as I pulled the ends towards me. “Dude, how shit do I look right now?”
“I would suggest having a shower before you see Onyx,” Holly responded, diplomatically.
“You’re supposed to tell me I look cute.”
Holly finished off her drink and got off the bed. “The guys are due back from their interviews shortly and I need to go talk to Sungmin. You probably have half an hour before one or all of Onyx descend on your room. Use it wisely, cutie pie.” She walked over to the desk and picked up her laptop, slipping it into her handbag. “Just do me a favor, please?”
“Of course.”
“Please try to help keep things as stress-free as possible for Sungmin in Europe and please, please, don’t get caught. Just stay out of trouble.”
“I will do my best,” I promised her. So long as we kept everything in the hotels, how much trouble could we get into?
To be continued…
… Onyx’s story is not over yet! They’ve still got the European leg of their World Tour to come. Be sure to join them!
If you have enjoyed the story so far, please considering leaving a review where you bought this book. Reviews really do help authors out, and I (like Onyx) would be exceptionally grateful for your comments.
Sign up to Ji Soo’s newsletter to receive release alerts and keep tabs on the other groups at Atlantis Entertainment. CX is finding his place with Onyx but read the Zodiac series to find out what happened to the other members of Bright Boys!
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CHAPTER TITLES
The chapters in this book are all named after song titles.
Want by Taemin
Just Tell Me by MYNAME
Wild Love by UP10TION
My Zone by Block B
History by EXO
Fiancé by Mino
Want You Back by 100%
Drive by Jay Park
Stay With Me by Romeo
Fool by Winner
Burning by Phantom
Here I Am by HALO
Feels So Good by B.A.P
Whisper by VIXX LR
Surprise by Bumkey ft Beenzino
Ring Ring Ring by VERIVERY
The Real One by Boys Republic
Waiting For You by MR.MR
Gangsta by NOIR
I’m OK by iKON
I Won’t Let You Go by GOT7
I Don’t Care by Nu’est W
YouTube Playlist
CHARACTER BIOGRAPHIES
Name: Onyx (온익스)
Fandom: Black Gems
Colors: Black and Silver
Debut: 2016-06-13
Onyx consists of 6 members: Youngbin, Xiao, Jiwon, JongB, MinMin and CX.
The group debuted on June 13th, 2016.
Stage Name: Youngbin (영빈)
Birth Name: Kim Young-bin (김영빈)
Position: Leader, Vocalist
Birthday: September 29th
Age: 27
Zodiac sign: Libra
Height: 176 cm
Weight: 65 kg
Blood Type: A
Youngbin facts:
Born in Seoul, South Korea
Father, mother, younger sister and younger brother
Speaks a little English and Japanese
Gets on best with Jiwon
Has produced several songs for Onyx and H3RO
Can be very strict when stressed, but only because he wants what's best for the group
Regularly named as wo
rst dancer in Onyx
Stage Name: Xiao (샤오)
Birth Name: Peng Xiao (彭晓)
Position: Vocalist
Birthday: November 11th
Age: 28
Zodiac sign: Scorpio
Height: 177 cm
Weight: 72 kg
Blood Type: B
Xiao facts:
Born in Shanghai, China
Father, mother, older twin sisters
Speaks Chinese, Korean and English fluently
Cannot cook
Hello Kitty
Works out regularly
Other members vote him as Best Body
Stage Name: Jiwon (지원)
Birth Name: Yoon Jiwon (윤지원)
Position: Main Vocalist, Dancer
Birthday: August 9th
Age: 24
Zodiac sign: Leo
Height: 181 cm
Weight: 68 kg
Blood Type: A
Jiwon facts:
Born in Busan, South Korea
Father, mother, baby sister
Loves spicy food
Gets on best with Youngbin
Understands more English than he will admit to
Fashion terrorist
Dad of the group
Stage Name: Jong B (종비)
Birth Name: Im Jongsub (임종섭)
Position: Rapper
Birthday: April 25th
Age: 23
Zodiac sign: Taurus
Height: 179 cm
Weight: 69 kg
Blood Type: O
JongB facts:
Born in Chicago, North America
Father, mother, two older brothers
Appeared on 'Show Me The Money' prior to debut
Favorite food is burgers
Very particular about his pizza
Loudest member - even when he sleeps, he snores
Very affectionate
Moodmaker of the group
Stage Name: MinMin (민민)
Birth Name: Gong Minhyuk (공민혁)
Position: Rapper, Dancer
Birthday: July 3rd
Age: 23
Zodiac sign: Cancer
Height: 175 cm
Weight: 61 kg
Blood Type: B
MinMin facts:
Born in Seoul, South Korea
Father, mother
Quietest member of Onyx
Fluent in Chinese
Speaks some English and Japanese
Gamer (particularly Overwatch)
Onyx's best dancer
Ideal type: I'll know when I find them
Peacemaker of the group
Stage Name: CX (시엑스)
Birth Name: Ren Yongsik (렌용식)
Position: Maknae, Dancer, Vocalist
Birthday: April 1st
Age: 22
Zodiac sign: Aries
Height: 178 cm
Weight: 65 kg
Blood Type: AB
CX facts:
Born in Ilsan, South Korea
Father, mother
Is a former member of Bright Boys.
Replaced Oh Bohyun in Onyx in December
Fluent in Japanese
Learning English
Loves reading (books, not comics)
Very intelligent - would have been a doctor if he wasn't an idol
Big Game of Thrones fan
FORMER MEMBERS
Stage Name: Bohyun (보현)
Birth Name: Zhen Ming (真明)
Korean Name: Oh Bohyun (오보현)
Bohyun facts:
Born in Beijing
(Officially) Decided the life of an idol was not for him and chose to return home to his family in China.
(Unofficially) Kicked out of Onyx for having a relationship with his step-sister.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
You’re still here and reading!
Yay!
Thank you!
A new series means new characters and a new plot. Will this stand up to the last series? Will you love the characters as much? Is there too much K-Pop? For that last question, at least, I hope the answer is that there is no such thing as too much K-Pop, but welcome to my niche. For the other questions, I hope this series is living up to expectations! I hope you can see development from each book to the next.
I am putting everything I can into these stories because I want to do them justice. I want to do the characters justice. I want to do K-Pop and the real idols out there the justice they deserve. More importantly, I want to give you stories you enjoy reading as much as I enjoy writing! I really hope you have, but if not, I promise I will be continuing to work hard on my writing and my stories to continue to give you the best I can!! I will continue to work harder for you.
What I am saying is, thank you to you reading this right now. In your bed; curled up on a couch with a pet in your lap; being sneaky at work; relaxing in a bath; on the bus…. Wherever you are, you’ve just given up some of your precious time to read this, and I truly thank you from the bottom of my heart for that!
As always, there are a dozen or more people who are involved in this process. You’re only as good as the team behind you.
I feel I always start in the same order with this, but partly it’s because I’m trying to remember people in the order they join my process so I don’t forget anyone, but also because the first people are the ones that give up so much of their time to help me.
I’ve mentioned her in every book, and I will continue to do so: Cheryl. Have you ever come across a person where you swear you share the same brain? That’s Cheryl. We have an ocean between us, but we’ve fallen into a good rhythm of being able to keep up with each other. This is the person who helped me write – she literally gave me a copy of office. She helps me with converting the documents to different formats because she’s been writing longer than me and has all these programs (plus, she’s a star). I swear, if we were in the house, she’d be plying me with Cherry Pepsi Max (that’s her, and I quote, “Liquid Gold”). Personally, I prefer fresh Lemon Juice, but I know she’d mean well. She’s the one forcing me to get my butt in the chair and write. So, Cheryl, thank you for being a kick-ass task master, friend, and soon to be co-author! (Hell yes, I finally convinced her, so stay tuned for more info on that!)
If Cheryl is the one making me write, Sarah is the one reminding me to rest. When I started this project a while back, I knew how fast and how much I could write to allow for others to do their magic (editors, betas, and ARC readers are all magical, but unless one of them has become a timelord none have the ability to stop time (seriously guys, if you’ve mastered this, we need to talk…) and therefore need a week or two to perform their witchcraft). What happened is that the characters took over. It’s a strange thing to try to explain, because I’m aware that even if I plot it out and I know the characters are all in my head, somehow, they take control, and the next thing I know, JongB’s family is appearing out of nowhere and he and CX are… well… yeah…). Stories have become longer as each book goes on. And I do stress about it. The books are as long as they need to be, but I’ve promised you guys books on certain dates.
The amount of times I’ve gotten myself worked up because instead of writing, work / life / need for sleep / writing newsletters / committing to new (soon-not-to-be) secret projects / family drama / none-writing author activities / Monsta fucking X dropping a fucking comeback with a special stage which has fucking WONHO all smiley and cute and asking to be eaten up alongside WORLD TOUR DATES… and don’t get me started on them trying to catch toast… (Monbebe life…), has taken up my time.
Every time, without fail, Sarah has been there to remind me to breathe, sleep, and eat. And also to rethink my release schedule. Sarah is the other side of the scales, keeping me grounded and sane.
Most of the time.
Occasionally, she sends me distracting Changkyun videos… (I have issues with that maknae, OK?)
Or worse, she sends me PLOT IDEAS.
Mostly, she keeps me sane. And highly entertained as my alpha reader. Her comments are hilarious. One day, if she lets me, I will share them.
But I digress, because what I’m really trying to say is thank you, Sarah.
I have the best cover designer a girl could ask for. I adore the work by Natasha (Natasha Snow Designs). If any of you need a cover, this is who I recommend (provided you don’t take all her spots because I need my pretties!). I’m excited because last night I got the first mockup of ONYX: Heart. By the time you’ve read this, you’ll have seen it, but let me tell you, when I opened the email – I squealed. OK, I’ve done that with the others too, but that’s because they’re so AMAZING! Thank you, Natasha!!
Before I thank my amazing beta readers, I actually owe one an apology because this dumbass didn’t thank her last time. Heather, I am so sorry! Please forgive my epic fuckup. It was exceptionally rude and bad form of me, especially after all the time you spent helping me!
Heather, Courtney, Melinda and Adena – you are all my angels. Every time I send you something, I keep my fingers crossed that this is the time where I’ve successfully caught all the stray typos and then I get your responses… One day, I will succeed, until then, thank you! On top of that, you’ve found missing panties and moving idols. Oh, and given me an existential crisis as to what nationality I am… Typos aside, or included, you guys make me and my books better! As always, thank you from the bottom of my heart.