Park and Violet

by Marian Tee

  * * * *

  “How long has it been since you last talked to Violet?”

  Park shrugged. “A month maybe?” And God, what a long month it had been. Every waking moment, every second of his sleep had been haunted by Violet. But he didn’t tell anyone about it. There was no point.

  Crayon hesitated, which was strange because the American was usually impulsive. It was enough to make Park shake himself awake from his phase of indifference. “What is it?”

  “I don’t want to be noisy…”

  “Just spit it out,” he said wearily.

  “Do you know that the Korean superstar is still here in Japan?”

  Park blinked. He hadn’t known. Since that last time he and Violet had spoken, he had unconsciously blocked out every piece of news about her, to the extent of quitting his job at the hotel just so he could avoid the sight of her. He would even have changed homes if he could, but that would be overkill and he didn’t want Violet to think that the sight of her affected him so much---even if it were true.

  “Well,” he said finally, “Good for them.”

  “But not for you.”

  “I’m happy---” he began to lie.

  Crayon leaned close and whispered, “He asked her to move in with him – in Korea.”

  * * * *

  Her eyes were red and puffy from crying. It had been like this every night and thank God for high-end cosmetics that enabled her to hide the evidence of heartbreak in daytime.

  The plan Kim had suggested didn’t seem to be working and she was fast losing hope. Kim said that he would let everyone think he had asked her to move with him to Korea. It was his gift to her, he said, his way of bringing Park back to her.

  If it didn’t work then he would ask her to go away with him for real, and if he did ask her again Kim wanted Violet to take him seriously.

  “You’re different from all the other girls I’ve met, Violet,” Kim had said. “And in my line of business – different is good.”

  Remembering those words made her want to cry but she didn’t, afraid it would be loud enough to reach Park a couple of floors below. Why couldn’t he love her? Why? Why? Why?

  She was so tired of waiting…so fucking tired.

  A knock sounded on her door.

  Her heart began beating madly. She rushed towards it, hope making her breathless.

  It was Kim.

  “Oh.”

  Kim smiled at her ruefully. “Sorry for disappointing you.”

  She shook her head but she was unable to meet his eyes. “What are you doing here?”

  “I wanted to do something.”

  She cocked her head to the side, confused. “What?”

  “This.” Kim took her chin and kissed her, not sweetly like before but like a man who wanted to make the girl he wanted to think about him alone. When he let go, she actually swayed on her feet and he laughingly held her until she was able to regain her balance.

  “I wanted to have another memory of how your lips taste.”

  His words bemused her. “Kim?”

  “You know, I’ve liked you from the start.”

  “I really like, you, too.” But they both knew it wasn’t the same.

  “One of the reasons why I like you is because you were so open---you went for what you wanted so now I’m wondering---” He smiled down at her quizzically. “Why are you waiting for Park to move first?”

  Why indeed, she mused.

  Violet started to smile. “You’re like my guardian angel, you know that?”

  His nose wrinkled a bit. “I’d actually rather be the Prince Charming, but I guess being your fairy godfather is the best I can do in this instance.”

  She laughed and impulsively threw her arms around him. She gave him a kiss, one that thanked him more effectively than any words could. But before she could pull away, Kim kissed her back, expertly enough that he succeeded in coaxing a response from her.

  Violet was blushing when he finally let her go. Kim sighed before stepping back, as if needing to put distance between them.

  “Thank you, Kim,” she said, still a little breathless.

  He sighed. “Park is a fucking idiot if he lets you go again. If he does---”

  Violet gasped at the smoldering look in Kim’s eyes, realizing how much the other guy had been controlling himself with her. “He won’t,” she said hastily. “I’ll make sure he won’t.”

  And then she was racing down the stairs.

  * * * *

  It was another sleepless night. He couldn’t believe Violet was moving in with another guy. Fuck! Violet hadn’t even moved in with Park and she was goddamn in love with him! Or at least she used to be.

  Was she fucking crazy? She barely knew the man! And did that baby-faced superstar really know the real Violet? Did he fucking know how Violet could be such a hellcat if she woke at the wrong side of the bed? Did he know that Violet could easily put a gaping hole in his pocket in just ten minutes of shopping at Shibuya? Did he fucking know how to make Violet smile when she was homesick?

  Park knew all these things, but it didn’t mean he loved her.

  Right?

  His chest squeezed painfully at the thought of loving Violet. Normally, thoughts of love would either disgust or anger him. But when it came to Violet---he actually shuddered in fear and his heart raced madly.

  She was a threat he didn’t want to acknowledge. Love would give her power over him the same way Vanessa had that power and abused it.

  What if Violet left him in the future? It would kill him. Would he be willing to risk that?

  He glanced at the clock.

  But if he didn’t risk that, he’d lose her anyway.

  In the end, the choice was clear.

  Rather, there was no choice at all.

  He got up from bed just as someone banged on his door. Hard.

  Déjà vu, he thought, a little taken aback.

  Park opened the door and he only had a second’s warning before Violet launched herself at him, raining kisses on his face.

  He lost his balance and they fell to the floor, but still she did not stop kissing him.

  Park kissed her back, pulling her tightly towards him, groaning at the taste and feel of her that he had missed every goddamned night.

  And then she pulled away and he groaned in protest, but she lifted herself away from him, placing hands on her chest. “I kissed him!”

  “You what?” He hauled her back and kissed her hard, stupidly wanting to erase the other guy’s kiss.

  She struggled to be free and he finally let her.

  “Twice!”

  “Are you fucking insane?” he roared.

  She didn’t even flinch. Her jaw squared, a stubborn look falling on Violet’s face. “I love you. Now I want to know the truth. Do you love me?” Violet’s voice was fierce, aggressive. But there was fear lurking in her eyes and a huge amount of insecurities.

  Insecurities that he had caused, he thought grimly.

  He said simply, baring his heart in his eyes, “I love you. Too much so that it scares me to death.”

  He wanted to say more but Violet’s lips were back on his and she was laughing, crying, and kissing him at the same time.

  She suddenly beat his chest. “Why did it take you so long to come back to me?”

  “I was a fucking fool.” He didn’t stop trying to undress her as he told her the truth.

  She laughed. “Can I record that?” She wanted to tease him some more, but her voice was already shaking so much, the relief of hearing Park finally say he loved her back making her want to weep. Oh God, was this really true?

  “Anytime you want, baby.”

  Violet gasped when he finally got her out of her dress and cupped her breasts in his hand. When he pulled her bra down to tease her nipples before sucking them one at a time, the pleasure was so acutely beautiful she knew she could come if he kept kissing her like that.

  Tears struck her eyes. She had almost lost this – if she hadn’t
fought for him one more time, she might have lost this. The thought of it made her choke on a sob.

  Park froze then pushed himself up right away to gaze down at Violet’s tear-stained face. “Baby, what’s wrong?”

  “Please, please, please don’t let me go again.”

  Her words gutted him. “Please,” he whispered back to her. “Please, please, please, don’t leave me again, baby. I can’t survive without you. I know that now.”

  She cried some more because his tone was utterly serious when he said it. She had never imagined he’d bare his heart like this. “I love you, Park. I love you.” She couldn’t say it enough.

  “I love you, Violet.” He entwined his fingers with his then lifted her hand so she could watch him kiss her knuckles. Park knew he had never failed to show her how sexually attracted he was to her, but this time he wanted Violet to see how much he loved her, how his heart was near to bursting with what he felt for her.

  “I love you. Always.”

  Her entire body shook at his words. Violet pulled her back down, her legs wrapping around his waist. “I thought I had lost you, Park,” she whispered.

  Park kissed her forehead. “Never.” Unable to help it, he started rubbing his dick against her folds. He groaned when he felt how wet she already was for him.

  “I love you, baby.” This time, he couldn’t keep himself from saying it.

  She answered by taking his dick in her hand and guiding it into her as he gasped at her touch.

  “I love you.”

  Violet smiled up at him just before she pushed his shoulder so he could roll them, with him landing on his back and Violet on top.

  She started to ride him, in that beautifully and irresistibly sexy way of hers that had him nearly blacking out at the sheer pleasure of it.

  “Violet, I love you.”

  She moaned, her hips moving up and down even faster in a wild rhythm.

  Both of them were near, and Park wanted to make sure they would come together. This time, he wanted it like that at all times, with Violet always at his side, with both of them doing things together.

  “Violet.”

  She glanced down at Park, the pleasure of having his cock back deep inside her more than enough to make her feel dazed.

  “Y-yes?”

  “I’ll always love you, baby. This time, you won’t ever have a reason to doubt.”

  The words were unexpected, enough to send Violet flying over the edge just as he raised himself halfway up so he could take one nipple into his mouth and bite while he pulled her ass hard down on his dick, penetrating her to the fullest.

  “Park, I love you!” She needed to say the words as she shattered around him.

  He smiled up at her. “For you, I’ll be fucking mushy. I love you, too, baby.”

  Her eyes went wide. “Oh my God, that’s so---”

  Seeing the laughter about to bubble out from her lips, Park reached down for her clit and started rubbing it as he fucked her again, harder and faster this time.

  She cried out instead.

  He smiled, but Violet got rid of it easily enough as well when she started moving against him, bending down so that her breasts would graze his lips like forbidden fruit.

  He groaned, and both of them didn’t speak for hours, leaving their bodies to do the talking.

  * * * *

  “Now, I want you to promise you’ll behave.” Violet smoothed Park’s lapels, unable to stop touching him. It was an addiction and one without cure. She was happy about that.

  Park was scowling. “I don’t want to.”

  “Park,” she warned with a glint in her eyes.

  He sighed. “Are you going to boss me around now?”

  She laughed. “I’ve always been bossing you around. It’s just now I’m being obvious about it.” She heard the familiar squealing and whirled around. It was her cue to Kim’s arrival. It was the band’s last day in Japan. Since she had no idea when they’d see each other again, Violet wanted to at least be able to thank him personally once more for what he had done.

  Kim’s eyes twinkled when he caught sight of her. He spread his arms wide and she laughingly ran to him and hugged him hard.

  Park gritted his teeth and began to count---he would do so until he was pretty sure he would not be committing murder in front of thousands.

  “Thank you, Kim. I owe you my happiness,” she whispered.

  “I’m happy you’re happy.” He pulled away to smile at her.

  “You’ll be happy, too. I promise. You just have to find the right woman for you.”

  For a moment, his eyes darkened. “I hope so,” he murmured.

  She hugged him again. “I know so.”

  Park finally couldn’t stand it and went to them, curling a possessive arm around Violet’s shoulders. He stared at Kim. The baby-faced star with the killer dimples stared back. Finally Park smiled grudgingly and offered his hand. “Thank you.”

  “Take care of her.” They shook hands and both of them simultaneously squeezed hard.

  Violet noticed this and rolled her eyes but said nothing. Men.

  When Kim and his band and entourage were gone, she turned to him with a scowl that would put Park’s own famous ones to shame. “You were rude,” she admonished. “You know we had other things to talk about.”

  “He was whispering and I didn’t like it.” He scowled back. “Besides, didn’t you tell me before you liked me to admit being jealous? So now I’m jealous. You should be happy!”

  “You’re only admitting you’re jealous because you know you’re in the wrong.”

  “You---” He suddenly realized this would go nowhere. Violet could outtalk a hundred parrots in a minute. He swooped down and kissed her. When he pulled away, she was blinking at him.

  “I love you.”

  She opened and closed her mouth. “You did that deliberately.”

  “I love you.”

  She grinned. “That’s your way of settling a quarrel, is that it?”

  Never fix what was not broken. What worked before should work now. “I love you,” he repeated.

  Violet laughed and threw her arms around him. “You know? You’re the only guy who has me around your little finger.” She placed a loud smack on his cheek, knowing it would make him squirm because he hated attention. He squirmed as expected and she laughed. “I love you, too, Park.”

  EPILOGUE

  “Un-freaking-believable.” Violet stared at her boyfriend for one year and fiancé for a week. There was a throng of reporters jostling to get the best shot of her and Park as they descended from the airplane.

  Park’s face was all innocent but she was so not fooled. “Who the heck are you?” she demanded.

  “I’m not an actor,” was all he said.

  “I know that. I watch K movies, too, you know.”

  “I’m not famous. My parents are.”

  “Yup. That’s what famous children of famous people always say. And I ask again: who are you?”

  He laughed. Violet acting stubborn and persistent was his favorite side of her---even though Park would rather die than let her know that.

  Violet tried not to look shocked at how the press went mad when they saw Park laughing. Sheesh. She knew he was antisocial but had his Grinch-like ways also extended to the press?

  “They call me the Ice Prince,” he whispered to her ear, as if reading her thoughts.

  Violet couldn’t say anything. She was too busy being fascinated at how the press seemed to go crazy with every little thing Park did.

  “And not because I’m blond or anything.” He put an arm around her and kissed her head as they continued to walk. There were no security checks. Someone seemed to have taken care of that for them. “My parents own a company called Jaewon. Perhaps you’ve heard of it?”

  She stopped dead on her tracks. Her eyes bored through his. “What do you think?” She glanced back at the aircraft that carried them, which had Korean characters and the name ‘Jaewon’ emblazoned on
its side in blue and gold.

  Park’s eyes laughed at her even as he pulled her back close to him. “Don’t be mad. It wouldn’t make a difference, would it?”

  She tried to think about that seriously. It was hard, though, with all those huge camera bulbs flashing. They were shouting now as well, but since it was all in Korean she didn’t understand a word they were saying.

  It was Park’s turn to stop walking. He pulled her to a stop, too. He tipped her chin up. “Violet?” He was worried. “Would it have made a difference?”

  She answered honestly, “I’d probably make you buy me a really, really, really expensive dress for coming here, but besides that, no.”

  Park swallowed back his laughter because she sounded half-guilty, half-sincere.

  “Who is she, Park?” a reporter yelled in English.

  He turned around to acknowledge that reporter, turning Violet around as well.

  “Park,” she hissed, paling at the way everyone’s attention was centered on them. She loved the limelight. She lived for it – but not like this, not when she was completely unprepared for it! Her mind was still reeling at the realization that Park was no ordinary Korean adopted child from the West.

  Park flashed a smile, and it was more than enough for the press to go wild again.

  Ah, well. She could understand that. She went a little wild herself whenever Park smiled at her like that. It was just too rare.

  Violet almost jumped when he spoke, so softly she knew he intended only her to hear him. “Do you know that they called me the Ice Prince because not once had they ever seen me smile? Not even to the Prime Minister, not even the Wonder Girls?”

  Her smile faded at those last two words. “You just had to say that to make me jealous,” she said with a glare. God, the Wonder Girls! They were aptly named! They had more inches on her in all the right places!

  “Yes,” he admitted unashamedly.

  She made a move to tug his ear hard, like she usually did when she was mad, but Violet froze midway, remembering that they were in front of the press. Oh, fuck. The celebrities were right, after all. Publicity really was a bitch.

  Park’s eyes laughed at her again. He captured her hand mid-air and brought it to his lips instead.