Talia used the few minutes to ca;m her beating heart. She took in a few deep breaths and urged herself to calm down. Hyung didn’t take too long, however, and he was back way before she was ready. She might have been flustered, but she tried her best not to show it. She retained her previous smile and crossed her feet beneath her. She clapped when she saw the pizza, in hopes that the excitement would be enough to hide the emotions that had surfaced.
“You got the one with cheese in the crust!” she exclaimed once he opened the lid of the box.
“Wow! I’ve never seen anyone this excited to see cheese.”
“Don’t you ever underestimate the importance of cheese!”she warned. “Oh, wait here. I think I have wine too!”
Talia didn’t wait for an answer, she dashed towards the kitchen. She didn’t often buy alcohol, so she hoped her memory wasn’t betraying her. Luckily, it wasn’t. With a wide smile she reached for it then went through her drawer in search of her corkscrew. A few minutes later she was back in the living room with the bottle in one hand and two glasses in the other.
“I’m sorry, I don’t have any wine glasses. Will martini ones work?” she asked as she waved the glasses in front of him.
“How can someone have martini glasses but not wine?” He rose a brow.
“Want to hear something weirder?” she began as she poured the scarlet liquid. “I hate martini.”
“Then how—” He trailed off in confusion.
“My mom.” She chuckled and handed him a glass. “Cheers. To the first day of our Christmas vacation.”
“Cheers,” he said as they clicked the edges of the glasses. They both took a sip of the bittersweet liquid. He closed her eyes and smiled, welcoming the feeling. “But I won’t have much of a vacation.”
“What do you mean? Aren’t you doing anything for Christmas? What about New Year?” Talia asked as she sat down, her hands reaching for the first slice of warm pizza.
“Not really. My mom is on a cruise. My friends are all busy.”
“And Kristel?”
“Kristel couldn’t miss an opportunity to go to Dubai with her friends,” he said with a sigh. “It’s probably better that way. I really don’t want to attend one of her extravagant parties.”
Talia didn’t want to bad-mouth Kristel again. She didn’t want to even spare a thought on her, but still—how could she treat her boyfriend so badly? And what was even more confusing was why he was accepting it all.
“You’re lucky you get to spend the holidays with your loved ones.” He smiled.
Talia looked at him and bit her lip. There was only one thought going through her mind and although she’d urged herself to keep it to herself, she still found herself blurting it out.
“Do you want to come?” The shock crossing Hyung’s face wasn’t hard to spot. His wide eyes and parted lips said it all. “My parents love having people over for holidays. They wouldn’t mind.” She shrugged. She was trying to act nonchalantly, to hide the anxiousness taking over her body.
“Are you sure?” he asked. She couldn’t bring herself to answer, so she just nodded. “Then I would love to.”
Chapter 6
When Hyung had arrived in front of her building it was still early morning. The sun was still low in the sky, gradually making its way to the top, its rays were bright across the clear sky. It had been a while since New York had seen a clear sky. Despite the cold, he got out of the car to wait for Talia. He’d sent a message a few minutes prior, when he'd just entered her neighborhood, so he expected she would be downstairs any time now. Hyung still wasn’t sure what he was doing, he knew going with her wasn’t a good idea. It wasn’t a normal thing, either. They were neither friends nor anything past the boss-employee relationship, so why was he going to spend Christmas with her and her family? Of course, he knew the answer to that. He couldn’t stop thinking of her since they’d met back in Korea. But, he wasn’t going to admit to that. Not now, especially not when she was his secretary. Hyung wondered if the attraction was only due to the coincidence they were living. What were the chances of them meeting in Korea and then back in New York months later? Not just meeting again, but her turning out to be his secretary. He liked to believe that was the reason he was so interested in her, why he kept going out of his way and doing stuff he would never do under normal circumstances.
He ran a hand through his hair and shook his head. This was no time to interrogate himself. He’d decided to simply not think for a few days. He was simply going to enjoy himself. He deserved it as much as everyone else. It was a hard task for him. He wasn’t usually too good when it came to loosening up and mingling with people he didn’t know. But it seemed that for that holiday season he had decided to do both. A Christmas miracle, he decided to call it.
Hyung had been so caught up inside his own thoughts that he failed to notice Talia come out of her building. He only became conscious of her when she came to stand beside him, suitcase rolling behind her, masking the sounds of her footsteps. Hyung shook his head and urged his mind back to reality. A smile spread across his lips as he opened his mouth to greet her.
“Hey.” He managed to say, although his mind was everywhere but there. He wasn’t indulging in his earlier thoughts, he’d managed to get rid of those, however, he was now mesmerized by something else.
Talia looked amazing. She wasn’t wearing a bit of makeup, not even the little mascara or lipgloss, she wasn’t wearing her high-heels and pastel office dresses either. She was wearing some plain jeans and a long gray coat on top of some sweater. There was a puffy blue hat on top of her curls, framing some strands against her face. She looked cute with her scarf around her neck, bringing out the color of her eyes. His heart skipped a beat. She looked so natural, so beautiful and innocent—he couldn’t exactly explain what made his heart stop, but something did, and he barely recovered from it.
“You did quite some packing,” he joked as he pointed to the suitcase.
“It’s nearly empty,” she said as she picked it up.
“Then why—” He trailed off in confusion.
“You can’t believe how many things my mom gives me whenever I leave home. I have to go prepared,” she confessed. Hyung understood. While his mom wasn’t like that, he could imagine what it was like.
“Half of the things she gives you are mine,” he said as he took her suitcase.
“Why?” she protested.
“This is my car. You can count this as delivery and the things are like my fee.” He shrugged as he closed the trunk.
“Keep dreaming. I ain’t sharing my mom’s jam with you.” Talia shook her head as she walked around the car. She heard Hyung chuckle behind her, but she didn’t turn, instead she slipped inside the car and waited for Hyung to get in.
His car was as fancy from the inside as it was from the outside. The seats were made of brown leather, matching the other details of the inside. She wasn’t too accustomed to cars and wasn’t sure how much the car was worth, but she was fairly sure that she would struggle to read the number if she were to come across it. While she wasn’t sure what all the buttons in front of her meant, Talia still ventured to search for the one that would turn on the radio. Luckily, it hadn’t been as elaborate as it first looked so by the time Hyung got inside the car she'd turned on the Radio and was now searching for something to jam to.
“You can connect it to your phone if you want,” he said as he stepped on the gas.
“Can I put on some Kpop songs?” she asked with a smile.
“No way.” He shook his head.
“Too late. I'm already on it.” Talia knew he didn’t like the colorful boy bands and extravagant videos and that was exactly why she decided to put one of those songs on. She didn’t know too many songs herself, but the Internet would luckily provide enough help. The trip was bound to be long, so torturing Hyung with some songs seemed like a good idea.
It didn’t take too long for her to find the perfect song. Soon, she was jamming to one of those
BTS songs, not jamming, more like making up words that sounded like the actual lyrics. She danced in her place, her hands firmly holding onto her phone, making a mike out of it. They were still inside the city, so the traffic was pretty dense, giving Hyung enough time to peak to his side and ‘enjoy’ the show.
“You make me hate my mother tongue,” he said dramatically as he took the last turn that would take them out of the city.
“What do you mean? Are you insulting my perfect Korean?” she said as she placed a hand over her heart.
“I wouldn’t dare.” They both laughed and then fell back into silence as Talia resumed her search for music.
“Tell me one of your childhood songs,” Talia finally said. Hyung looked at her for a short second and then back at the road, clearly taken by surprise. He hesitated for a moment, his lips parted but nothing really came out.
“Boom Boom Pow.” Talia was ready to type in whatever he was going to say, but once she heard his response, she had to stop and stare at him for a second.
“That’s your childhood?”
“Ok, not my childhood. But I miss the song.”
“I really didn’t take you for a guy who would listen to electro music.” Talia chuckled as she typed in the song, it’s name appearing almost instantly.
“What did you expect? Michael Jackson?”
“Nah, you wouldn’t be that cool,” she teased just as the first notes of the song blasted through the car’s speakers.
“I’ll ignore what you said and enjoy my song,” Hyung said.
To Talia’s surprise Hyung knew all the lyrics. He didn’t go off beat even once. His voice wasn’t anything to envy. It was as bad as hers, but funnier. With his heavy accent she now understood what he'd meant earlier.
The trip was a three hour ride, and it went down the same way it had started. They sang at the top of their lungs, to songs they’d long forgotten about. The songs themselves had been nostalgic, old songs they hadn’t heard in years. Talia had forgotten about her previous worries and thoughts. They sang and told stories and jokes. She’d forgotten the last time she’d had so much fun. Or maybe she did remember but she refused to admit it had been back in Korea, with the same person as the one sitting beside her.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . * * * . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
“There, take that turn,” Talia instructed as she pointed to the turn in front of them. “My parents’ house is the white one.”
Hyung could feel her excitement. Her voice was high, squealing with excitement. She’d even turned the music down, as if the noise would slow them down. Talia didn’t even wait for him to properly park the car before jolting out the door and towards the opening front door. Hyung parked the car and watched as Talia sprinted down the rocky pathway, her arms wide open, ready to engulf the woman that now stood on the steps. Hyung took a moment to watch the entire scene, he couldn’t help but smile. He’d never met a girl like Talia before, so open and free. She didn’t hold back when it came to the things she believed in and the things she felt. Yes, she sometimes wanted to hold back, but in the end, she never did. He admired that; he’d once tried to be like that, but he never had the guts to. Maybe that was one of the reasons why he was so attracted to her. She reminded him of all the things he lacked. She was the complete opposite of him, not in a detached way, but in a way that seemed to complete him.
“Complete me?” He scoffed and shook his head. He wasn’t going to have such senseless thoughts now. He didn’t need to ruin the vacation with pointless ideas. Taking in a deep breath, he opened the door and got out. Talia’s dad had now joined her mother, they were both standing in the small alley their gazes directed on him, curiosity sparkling their eyes. Talia took a step back from her mother’s embrace and smiled.
Hyung was now beside them, just in time to receive his official introductions.
“Mom, dad, this is Hyung,” she said as she pointed at him. “Hyung, these are my parents.”
Hyung grew up in America, he knew that in such situations a handshake and a proper greeting would have been enough. However, he couldn’t help but give a small bow in front of the two. He’d kept close touch with his roots, Hyung had never even considered himself to be American, so that small curtsy was only natural when it came to meeting elders. He often did it when he met with other business men; they all acted shocked and a bit taken aback by his gesture. Surprisingly, however, neither of Talia’s parents acted the same. They both smiled and nodded, welcoming him warmly.
“It’s nice to meet you,” her dad said as he extended a hand towards him.
“The pleasure is mine, Mr. and Mrs. Williams.”
“Oh, stop being so formal!” her mother said as she reached to wrap both arms around Hyung. He was taken aback, his body went stiff, but he immediately recovered. However, by the time he did, she’d already pulled back. “Call me Kayla and him Smith. Come on in. It’s so cold out here,” she said with a shiver before rushing up the stairs.
Hyung had only been there for a minute, but he immediately understood who Talia took after. She hadn’t just taken her mother’s hazel eyes, she seemed to share her character too. Talia looked at Hyung and shrugged before she followed her mother inside.
Their home looked from the inside exactly as it did from the outside. It was small and cozy, with warm colors blended into their humble interior design. Red poinsettias laid around the hallway and room, with twinkling lights hanging from the door-frames and spiraling up the handrail that led upstairs. They’d been lead inside the living room, yet another room that had been decorated especially for the occasion. Hyung’s house had always been decorated for the holiday season. His family had always been important in the business world, so they were always prepared for fancy official dinners and visitors. However, he'd never seen the decorations look so cozy. While at his home the decorations had always been simpler, there it seemed to have an entirely different purpose. It looked warm and cozy, bringing in the true meaning of the holiday. The tree was big and full, decorated with red and silver globes. The decorations dangled from each branch, with small angels hanging in between. The star was red and strange, not a typical shape at all.
“Do you guys want coffee or tea?” Kayla asked as she went to exit the room again.
“Coffee!” Talia exclaimed as she kicked her shoes off.
“Of course.” She laughed and shook her head. Hyung hadn’t known Talia for long, but he was well aware of her addiction to coffee.
“I’ll come help,” Talia said as she stood up. “Can I have a lemonade?” Her dad shouted as both mother and daughter exited the room.
***
Talia walked after her mother with a new life to her step. Being home was already doing her good. The house was exactly as she'd left it four months ago, which was rather weird. Her mom loved rearranging stuff. She stayed at home and often got bored. She didn’t buy things, she just flipped and moved the existing pieces of furniture until her back wouldn’t allow it anymore.
“So...” Her mother trailed off in excitement as soon as they were alone. Talia had seen it coming. Her mother had always been excited when it came to Talia’s love life, partially because that was almost always inexistent. “He seems like a good guy.”
“Yes. He's great to work with.” Talia made sure to stress on the ‘work’ part. She reached for the coffee jar on the third shelf to her right.
“Yeah, play the boss card with me. It was safer to say you’re just friends. At least friends spend holidays together.” Her mother scoffed as she brought out the
cups from the other cupboard.
“He had nowhere to go, mom.”
“He’s a billionaire, Talia. I’m sure he had somewhere to go,” her mother said. Sometimes Talia wondered if that was how annoying she was when she spoke her mind. Sometimes truth was indeed too much to handle.
“I’ll make the coffee. You squeeze those lemons for your father,” she finally said after a few minutes of silence, deciding it was probably time to spare her daughter from the awkward situation.
“So, how’s work?”
“Work’s fine. I was lucky to find it so soon,” Talia said. “I also managed to convince my landlord to keep the rate at its current price. He wanted to double it!” Talia exclaimed, still enraged by the idea.
“How did you convince him?”
“It’s a really long story! Let’s just say I used my gift of talking too much.” She chuckled as she recalled the poor man’s face at the end of her rather long monologue.
“I get it now. The poor guy probably ran for his life,” her mother joked as she turned the stove off. “Are you done?” Talia nodded and placed the glass on the tray her mom was holding. “Let’s go.”
Inside the living room Hyung and her dad were talking about fishing. Apparently, her dad had finally found someone that found the activity ‘fun’. In fact, both women walked in just as he was inviting Hyung to one of his many fishing trips. To anyone else, the invitation might have seemed like a normal thing but when it came to their family, it was a huge honor. Her father barely ever invited anyone to tag along. He used those trips as getaways, to relax and escape day-to-day stress.
“Are you talking about Trouts again?” her mother asked as she poured the coffee.
“The Lord finally sent someone that understands the beauty of the sport!”
“You call sitting in one spot a sport? Even washing the dishes requires more moving,” her mother teased.
Talia muffled a laugh, and from the corner of her eyes, she saw Hyung do the same. Her parents were always a sight, mocking one another. She couldn’t remember a time when they weren’t like that. Even when they fought they turned an argument into a comedy.
The Asian One: BWAM, Asian Man, Billionaire Romance (Relatives From Money Book 5) Page 6