The Asian One: BWAM, Asian Man, Billionaire Romance (Relatives From Money Book 5)

by Samantha Drake

  “So, Hyung, we've arranged the guest room. You won’t believe the amount of dust that was in that room.” Her mom finally changed the subject.

  “Oh, no! I booked a room in one of the hotels. I'm already joining you for Christmas I can’t—” He never got to finish that sentence, Kayla shot him a glare, making him swallow his words.

  “Nonsense. You're a guest! Besides, Christmas isn’t just on the twenty-fifth. We have Christmas Eve and the preparations before that. We have a whole bunch of traditions!”

  “Don’t push too much into those traditions area. She’ll make you go caroling,” her dad interfered just as he was about to light a cigarette. As her parents continued bickering, Hyung turned to look at Talia, unsure of what he should do. Talia just smiled and nodded. He could already tell it was probably better to just agree with her mom. Hyung turned to look at her father, his lips moved to answer to something he'd asked. Talia didn’t hear the question, nor the answer, she was too busy watching him. Having him inside her apartment had been strange enough, but having him inside her parent’s home was a whole different thing. She hadn’t realized how personal and intimate it would feel until he was sitting on the couch, having a discussion with her dad and laughing at her mother’s nagging jokes. The whole picture made her heart flutter. It skipped a beat, pumping a weird and unfamiliar emotion through her body. Talia wondered if she was going crazy. She’d had actual boyfriends meet her parents but she'd never felt that kind of satisfaction.

  “Go on, Talia. Help the poor guy.” It wasn’t until then that she’d noticed how deep in thought she'd fallen.

  “What?” Talia asked as she shook her head, trying to urge herself to focus.

  “Get the things from the car and show Hyung to his room. Your dad and I will go grocery shopping.”

  “Someone just couldn’t get all the stuff yesterday,” her dad mumbled as he walked past her and towards the door.

  “Come on,” Talia said, a smile still playing on her lips.

  “Are you sure it's safe to leave them alone?” Hyung joked in a whisper as they walked out the door.

  “We will be safe.”

  Chapter 7

  Talia took in a deep breath and lowered her head onto her knees, her eyes set on the sight beyond the large windows of their living room. She was enjoying the silence, the emptiness of the dim room. Everyone had gone to sleep early, eager to charge up their batteries for the long day that was to come. It wasn’t too late, maybe a bit before midnight. She wasn’t sleepy either, her body refused to succumb to exhaustion even after she’d slipped into her traditional Christmas pajamas and wrapped herself inside her pink blanket. She wasn’t thinking about anything in particular, only random things here and there. There was a reason she wasn’t allowing herself to dive deeper, into more important topics in her life. She didn’t want to ruin the serenity of the moment. She was enjoying the warmth and the scent of the vanilla candles way too much. The silence, however, was suddenly interrupted. The sound of footsteps brought her out of her train of thought, making her turn to look at the door. She had expected one of her parents, but to her surprise Hyung was standing there. He was wearing a pair of gray sweatpants and a tight white shirt. His hair was a mess, clearly because of how many times he’d flipped and turned restlessly while he’d been in search of sleep.

  “I didn’t think anyone would be awake,” he said in a whisper, his voice a bit husky.

  “I couldn’t sleep,” Talia said as she swung her feet off of the couch, her body now turning to face Hyung completely.

  “Me either.” He exhaled as he sat down beside her. “Why can’t you sleep?” He raised a brow.

  “No reason,” she shrugged. “What about you?”

  “I’m not too used to sleeping early. I usually have a ton of papers to go over.”

  “If you want, I’m sure I can find some papers around here,” Talia joked.

  “Ha, ha. Very funny,” Hyung said as he tried to hide a smile.

  Then there was a moment of silence, they both sat there, watching the shadows. This time, however, the silence wasn’t dripping with awkwardness, it was peaceful.

  Then, after a few minutes, Talia turned and asked, “How about some hot chocolate?”

  Hyung seemed taken by surprise, it took him a few seconds to finally nod and stand up.

  “Do you have marshmallows?”

  “Yep. I saw some earlier today.”

  Hyung followed her inside the kitchen, their steps were light, their voices low, trying not too make too much noise and wake up her parents. They didn’t even turn on too many lights, just the kitchen one where they planned to prepare their little midnight treat. Talia couldn’t remember the last time she’d had hot chocolate. She usually settled for coffee or tea. But, given the whole atmosphere it only seemed right to indulge in such a sweet treat. They both worked as a team; Hyung prepared the hot chocolates as she retrieved the marshmallows, eager to dip as many as she could into the steaming cups.

  “How about we drink these in my room? I don’t want to make too much noise and wake them up,” Talia whispered as she pointed up the stairs. Hyung didn’t hesitate, he nodded and tiptoed his way up the stairs with both mugs in hand. Once they were safely inside, Talia could breathe normally again. She turned on the light and sat on the pink fluffy carpet that was spread on the floor. Meanwhile, Hying seemed to take in everything. Much like he had back in her apartment, he studied the different items she had scattered on any available space. His eyes came to linger on yet another picture of her sister and she, but this time around, he didn’t ask about her. He just sighed and sat down beside her, his hand extended so he could hand her the mug.

  “Everything is pink,” he teased.

  “Shush it!” Talia slapped him gently across the shoulder. “I was eleven when I decorated the room.”

  “What happened later? Did you become too attached to the princess life?” He chuckled.

  “I got too lazy,” she scoffed. “So, why couldn’t you actually sleep? I saw you earlier, you where exhausted.”

  Hyung hesitated for a while. He took a sip of his drink, contemplating on what he should say. She wasn’t sure what to expect. He could either tell her, or dodge the subject the way he’d done downstairs. She wished the latter wouldn’t happen, though. She liked it when Hyung didn’t hold back so much. She liked it when he was open and free for conversation, the way he'd been since the previous day.

  “Kristel and I fought. Don’t ask what it’s about. It’s really lame and it really pisses me off.” He breathed before he popped a marshmallow inside his mouth in frustration. Talia pursed her lips and looked away. “Come on, say it. I know you have a lot of thoughts about her.” She did, but she’d never expected Hyung to have noticed her clear disapproval of the girl. She should have probably denied having anything to say, it wasn’t her place to talk about his girlfriend. But she took the opportunity, and told herself that as long as he was under her roof he wasn't her boss, so she had the possibility of stepping over some boundaries.

  “I don’t get it. She’s clearly not your type. Why do you put up with her arrogance and—” Talia trailed off, unsure of how she should put it all. “Well, everything.”

  To her surprise, Hyung’s first reaction was to laugh. He seemed amused by her confusion and frustration.

  “It’s complicated,” he finally said.

  “I may understand. They say I’m smarter than I look.” She tried to lighten up the situation, maybe that would get him to talk. Hyung pursed his lips and looked at her, hair casting shadows over his elongated eyes. She could tell he hadn’t been kidding when he said it was complicated, but that only made her more curious.

  “You already know I was adopted as a child. I was only seven when my parents adopted me and brought me to America with them.” He’d told her the story, months before, but she didn’t know what possible relation it could have to him dating Kristel. “My family is great to me. No one ever treated me any differently
than they would treat a biological family member.”

  “But?” Talia asked, her full attention was now on him. She wasn’t sure when, but her body was now facing him, her eyes wide and filled with curiosity.

  “I always felt like an outsider.” He’d spoken the words so sincerely, so innocently and so out of breath. It was like he’d let go of a piece of his soul, like he’d finally shattered one of the many walls around his heart. She understood that, because that had been exactly how she'd felt when she’d shared that little detail about her sister’s death. “I know, it’s stupid. But I never felt like I belonged here. That's why I go to Korea as often as I can, and that's why I stick by Kristel.”

  “Because she's Korean?” Talia breathed out, as if trying to understand him.

  “She’s from Korea, she comes from the same background as me, I expected us to work, I expected to feel like I belonged with her. But, although we’re similar in many ways, our personalities are far from compatible.”

  “You’ll never feel like you belong anywhere if you keep looking at things like that. Your home isn’t just your nationality. Sure, it plays a huge role, but it’s not everything.” Talia shook her head. “Kristel is Korean, and she's as rich as you, but she is nothing like you. She is superficial, and arrogant and she looks down on people. Neither you, nor your family, are like that.” Talia breathed out. “Maybe you feel like that because no one has ever told you this, but Hyung, this is your home. You may have other concepts and other traditions which you’d like to follow, but those things don’t make you an alien, they just make you special. Don’t try to find someone that is a spitting image of who you are as a person. That won’t ever make you feel like you belong. Mostly because there aren’t two yous. No Korean and no American. Instead, try finding the mirror image of you. Someone that understands you and sees what you see but is also different. Someone that can complete you. Someone that you can complete. That is where you belong.”

  Talia wasn’t too sure where all that had come from. By the time she realized what she was saying she’d finished speaking, leaving both Hyung and herself at a loss for words. She’d spoken passionately, of all the things she wanted him to know. She’d spoken freely, the way she would speak to any friend or close person. Hyung was staring at her, he was no longer holding his mug. His lips were parted but no words came out. He breathed in and out. They stared so long at one another, that she suddenly wondered if she’d said anything wrong. Maybe there were still some boundaries she wasn’t able to cross. Maybe that room wasn’t such a special place and their relationship was still cuffed to the boss-employee title. Just as she was about to apologize for saying too much, something else happened. Something that proved her previous boundary idea wrong.

  Describing the moment that lead to them kissing would be pointless. Neither of them knew how the space between them suddenly closed and their lips came to crash on one another. However, the moments that followed that crash were so colorful and so bright and intense that it would have been impossible not to notice. For the first second, Talia was so taken aback that she didn’t even move. She just felt his hand on top of hers, removing her fingers from around the mug. But then, her instincts kicked in. She was kissing him back, pouring all the confused thoughts and emotions into it. They didn’t hesitate when it came to the kiss, they both indulged in it, gave it their all. They used it to consume the burning questions that had been playing at the back of their minds since they’d met. They used it as a mean to understand what they actually felt, to make sense of the inexplicable attraction and pull.

  Talia’s hands went to snake around his neck, lifting her body so she was now on her knees. She was closer to him, her chest pressing to his, her head leaning a bit. Her hair fell to frame them, creating a cover, making everything more private. Her heart beat fast, it hammered against her ribcage so loud that he must be able to hear it. His hands were trailing up and down her arms, restless and unsure where to land. The places where his fingertips touched were on fie, burning under the effect of his tender touch. Their tongues were now curling around one another, joining the erotic dance of their lips. A low and husky groan rumbled through his chest as she pulled away. She moved away slowly, afraid to make eye contact with him.

  The moment they stopped kissing was the exact moment her consciousness woke up from the deep slumber into which it had fallen. Her hazel eyes searched his brown ones. They were wide and in shock, her lips still swollen and parted. Neither of them spoke, nor did they move. Talia was simply frozen in place by the heaviness of their action.

  “I think we should call it a night,” she suddenly whispered. Her voice was so empty, so bare of emotion, a simple automatic response, a survival instinct in which she tried to make room for escape.

  Hyung nodded and stood up. The distance that was now between them made her feel cold and empty. But she ignored those feelings. Instead, she focused on calming her breath-the shallow gasps for air that matched his.

  “Good night,” he whispered as he ran a hand through his hair, his eyes no longer meeting hers.

  “Night,” she answered as he exited her room.

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  Kissing a girl pretty much sorts all traces of confusion from a man’s mind. It makes it clear as to what his emotions towards that person are. Hyung finally realized why he’d been acting the way he had been, why he kept going out of his way when it came to Talia. But, that didn’t make things any less complicated. No, in fact, everything was now a total mess. He had feelings for his secretary, a girlfriend he didn’t like, and no idea how he should sort out his situation. Morning was approaching fast, even though he hadn’t closed an eye the entire night. In the morning he would have to make a final decision as to how he’d take things. He couldn’t leave things hanging with Talia. They’d kissed, and he should take responsibility for it, but how? Did she even feel the same about him? Was he even ready to try and stop his stupid ideas about only belonging beside a woman with the same nationality as him? Those things haunted him, they made him flip and turn beneath those damn covers.

  Eventually, he just groaned and kicked the duvet off of him. He was just going to go with the flow. There was clearly no way out of it. He might have been capable of running a huge business, but when it came to his personal life, he couldn’t even decide what tie to wear. He contemplated whether or not he should call Damon. He might have a piece of advice for him. But then he decided against it. It was Christmas Eve day, he couldn’t burden his friend with his own mess.

  Suddenly, his phone started ringing. Life seemed to be taunting him, because the caller was no other than Kristel. She was surely calling to see if Hyung let go of last night’s argument. He had, but for other reasons.

  Hyung hesitated, his finger lingered above the screen, neither pressing on the green nor the red button. Talia’s words lingered in the back of his mind. She was right, he couldn’t deny that. And since he couldn’t deny it, there was no logical reason for him to keep on dragging himself through that senseless relationship. Was his decision made on an impulse? No, Hyung had always known Kristel and him were different, Talia’s words had only been the catalyst to the end that had been lingering in the horizon ever since the start.

  With a deep breath, he answered and stood up. He was supposed to do it fast. Rip the band aid off once and for all. Hesitating would only make things harder, on both parties—although he doubted that Kristel would suffer too much because of him.

  The conversation was harder than H
yung anticipated. It took him a few minutes only to think of a way to approach the subject. However, he could tell that Kristel realized something was wrong from the moment he first picked up.

  “I’m sorry, Kristel,” Hyung said after moments of silence. “It’s not your fault, and it’s not mine, either. We just don’t match.”

  “What do you mean by that? Two days ago we were fine!” Her voice was high, piercing his eardrums.

  “Kristel, we were never fine. You have such a shallow and materialistic view of the world. You left me, your boyfriend, during the holidays so you could go shopping with your friends.” Initially, Hyung had planned to leave all of that out of the discussion. There was no reason for him to point fingers, but in the end he just couldn’t help himself.

  “And why is that such a bad thing?” Hyung took in a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair. Explaining things her was pointless.

  “Look, you're a great person”—To yourself, he thought to himself—“ut this isn’t working. I’m sorry that I had to do this over the phone. I thought it would be better this way.”

  “Just go screw yourself.” And the line went dead.

  Now that had been something he saw coming. Kristel had never been grown enough to finish a conversation. The moment he hung up, Hyung felt a thousand times better. He hadn't realized how much Kristel was affecting him until that moment.

  It was still morning, and he had already sorted out one thing. It had been the easiest thing to sort. The hardest part was still to come. While his options with Kristel had been obvious, Hyung had no idea what those were with Talia. But, just as he previously did, he decided to just go with the flow. He had gathered up enough courage to face Talia.

  “You got this,” he whispered to himself before he moved on to change into a pair of jeans and one of the many T-shirts he’d brought along.