Onyx: Unity

by J. S. Lee

  I started walking to the door but Youngbin grabbed my hand tugging me back to him. “Not without a kiss, at least,” he chided me.

  I smiled and sank into him, enjoying the feel of his hard body pressed against mine as he kissed me. It was like I had downed a can of Red Bull in one as my body started tingling and the exhaustion slipped away.

  Youngbin pulled back and gave me a soft smile. “You should go first.”

  I left him in the room and continued my way to the wedding. It was being held in the gardens at the middle of the property.

  There were at least twenty rows of twelve or so seats on either side of a white carpet aisle. That was a lot of guests, and a lot of the seats had already been filled. I scanned the crowd, looking for any of the other members of Onyx. I had no intention of sitting with them – even though it was a closed guest list, it was too much of a risk to do that.

  I didn’t see them, but I did spot Holly. She was about four rows from the front and she waved the moment she saw me, indicating to the empty seat beside her.

  Relief filled me, and I hurried down, practically dropping onto the seat she had saved. “Classy, Kate,” she muttered, rolling her eyes. If I hadn’t overheard her conversations with Sungmin and Inhye, I wouldn’t have believed anything had happened.

  “You look hot, dude,” I told her, brushing my entrance aside. She did. She was wearing a bright electric blue bodycon dress and it looked amazing on her. Holly was a dress wearer – even in college, even in the Chicago winters. Normally, she wore something which looked professional and cute, neither of which showed off her figure. This thing hugged in all the right places, but she still managed to make it look acceptable for a wedding.

  “I love the hair,” she returned. “I mean, the dress is really pretty too, but you look so different with dark hair. I’d gotten used to the blonde.”

  “Me too,” I agreed. “But I like it. I think.”

  “You sound certain.”

  I shrugged. “I feel like it was done because I needed to, not because I wanted to. I mean, I like it, but I think I associate it with hiding. And you know me – I don’t hide from shit.” I let out a long sigh as I set my purse on the grass next to my feet. “Except for them.”

  “You’ll be back out on tour soon enough.” Holly reached over and gently patted my knee. “I mean, you’re still going to need to be careful, but at least it’s not here.” She fell silent, and I glanced up at her, surprised to find the smile had slipped from her lips as her attention had gone elsewhere.

  I looked up, seeing Onyx making their way to the second row on the other side of the aisle. I knew they had all spotted me – they were bobbing their heads, respectfully, at Holly – and both Jiwon and Xiao were giving me looks which were enough to make the heat pool between my legs… And more besides.

  However, Holly’s attention wasn’t on the group. It was on the groom as he walked slowly up the aisle. On one side was his father, ready to help him if he needed, but trying to make it look like he was just there for moral support. His other side was free, but it was the side he was using for his walking stick.

  Considering what I’d heard about the accident and his injuries, I thought the fact he was walking down the aisle was a small miracle. It left Holly looking like she was sucking on a particularly tart lemon.

  “What’s with that expression?” I hissed at her.

  Instantly, the glower disappeared as she shook her head. “Nothing. Sorry.”

  I didn’t expect her to tell me about their conversation, but it did have the effect I wanted as a smile settled on her face.

  The purse leaning against my foot started vibrating as what felt like a half dozen messages flooded my phone. I leaned down, peering at it while keeping it in the safety of the confines of the purse, and then, briefly reading the filthy message Xiao had sent, quickly closed the purse.

  “It’s a good job we’re not in a church,” Holly muttered.

  “You read that?” I asked, my cheeks burning.

  “I read your face. I don’t need to read the sexts to know that’s what you got.” She turned to me, a mischievous grin on her face. “Want to tell me which one sent it?”

  “Are you going to fire them?” I asked, knowing the answer as I asked it. When she arched an eyebrow, I shrugged. “Xiao.”

  Holly turned and fixed her gaze on the Chinese member, waiting for him to look over. Whether it was because he could sense her eyes boring into the side of her head, or because he was making sneaky glances in my direction, he looked over.

  Holly raised her index finger. Slowly, she waved it back and forth: tut, tut, tut…

  Xiao’s eyes went wide and his head snapped back to the front.

  I let out a quiet giggle, hiding my mouth with my hand.

  A string quartet started playing a song I didn’t recognize but the room took as the signal for us to stand and quieten. “It’s one of Moonhee’s songs,” Holly whispered as we stood. I turned, craning my neck around my friend to see the bride.

  Damn. She was gorgeous.

  My attention swung to Sungmin. The tradition of the groom not seeing the bride before the wedding wasn’t one upheld over here. Hell, Moonhee had said the photographs of them in their wedding attire which lined the hallways had been a few days in advance.

  But the love in Sungmin’s eyes as he stared at her was no less than I expected. It seemed that, to him, there was no other person in the room other than his bride-to-be.

  I turned back to Moonhee. Her eyes were on the floor in front of her. “Why does she look like she’s walking the aisle at an arranged marriage to a man she doesn’t know and love?”

  Holly turned to me and arched an eyebrow. “You’ve been watching too many dramas.”

  “Dude, she can’t even look at him.”

  “Shhhh,” she hushed me. “Maybe she’s just shy.”

  I clamped my mouth shut and focused on the bride as she grew closer to Sungmin. Finally, she looked at him, just as she drew by his side. The look Sungmin was giving her told me he hadn’t noticed.

  Shy, my foot. The woman was an idol who was used to thousands of eyes on her.

  The ceremony was a short affair, unlike the elaborate things I had been to back home. There were no readings and hymns – just a straight to the point introduction from the officiant, vaguely flavored with love and romance.

  It was Sungmin who surprised me with his vows. I was used to him being… Manager Sungmin – usually rubbing his temple in despair as he tried to herd us through every country, trying to maintain professionalism.

  “I accept you as you are, and I offer myself in return. I will care for you, I will love you, and I will stand beside you, regardless of life’s adversities. Together we will share all of life’s joys from this day forward, and all the days of my life. I vow to love you, encourage you, trust you, and respect you. Moonhee, as my love, I will stand beside you.”

  He looked so sincere, his hands shaking just a little, as he recited his vows from memory. My heart melted a little: Sungmin was a romantic, even if he’d never expressed it around me.

  My attention switched to Moonhee as she took her turn. She sucked in the longest breath, and then she shook her head. “I can’t do this.”

  Around me, the room burst into shocked whispers. I turned to Holly, my eyes wide. “Please tell me I misunderstood that,” I asked her, even though the shock on Sungmin’s face was enough to tell me I knew exactly what she was saying.

  I was going to punch Moonhee. I got to my feet, and instantly, Holly’s hand was clamped on my wrist, pulling me back down. “Whatever you’re thinking, don’t,” she hissed at me. “Just wait.”

  On the small podium, Moonhee had pulled Sungmin to one side. She didn’t look the slightest bit phased as she spoke to him. Sungmin, on the other hand, looked like she had jabbed her hand into his chest, ripped it from him, and was holding it up in front of her.

  “We need to do something, Hols,” I told my friend, wanting des
perately to run up there and whisk Sungmin out of that situation (and still punch Moonhee while I was there).

  “This isn’t America,” Holly told me, firmly. “Honestly, I’m surprised Moonhee did this, even if she was feeling this way, especially as she’s an idol. The negative press she’s going to receive…”

  “What?” I demanded.

  “I need to go,” Holly said. And with no further explanation, she got up, hurrying down the aisle while everyone’s attention was on the drama unfolding in front of us.

  “Beloved guests, thank you for attending today,” Moonhee suddenly announced. “Unfortunately, the ceremony will be finishing here. I will be releasing a statement shortly. Please feel free to stay and enjoy the food.” And at that, she walked calmly out of the room.

  The room turned to Sungmin, waiting. He opened his mouth a few times, but no words came out. Finally, he bowed, bending at almost a ninety-degree angle. “I’m sorry,” he apologized as he stood up. Then, he too exited the room.

  Enjoy the food? Was she insane?

  I looked over to Onyx, finding Youngbin staring at me. He held up his phone, hiding it behind JongB’s head so no one else would notice. Instantly, I dropped my hand into my purse and pulled my phone out. There was a message from Youngbin: Go home. We will meet you there.

  I sent a reply: What about Sungmin?

  We’ll take care of that.

  제 10 장

  Awkward Silence

  The last place I wanted to be at that point, was home alone in such a big house. I paced up and down the hallway, opening the front door every time my mind imagined hearing car tires driving up to the house. Despite the fact there were six of them, Onyx were not doing a good job of keeping touch with me. Messages were intermittent and vague. Even Holly wasn’t responding.

  I discovered why almost as soon as I walked in through the front door. Moonhee had released a statement to the press. Apparently, this had been a long time coming; Sungmin was not supportive of her career and wanted her to give it up, while he spent an insane number of hours with Onyx.

  The last part was accurate. Being a manager of a popular idol group was a twenty-four hour job, especially when you were on tour. But she knew that when she agreed to marry him – she’d been an idol once too. The first part was something I was struggling with. I knew that it was much more common for women to give up their careers over here, but I just didn’t buy it coming from Sungmin.

  Maybe if she hadn’t broken his heart after he had given her his vows.

  Holly – I was assuming it was Holly – had released a counter-statement. It was vague: we are choosing not to comment at this stage, until we can speak to Sang Sunngmin. We respectfully ask that you not speculate until both sides of the story have been presented.

  Frankly, I’d have called her out for being a lying-

  The door opened and a mass of bodies piled in. It was Onyx, and in the center of them, his eyes red and puffy, was Sungmin.

  In that moment, I made the decision that I wasn’t going to say anything about what was happening unless he brought it up. It must have been bad if he was brought here. “There is a bedroom for as long as you need it,” I told him. “There’s fresh bedding and towels, and a killer shower.”

  Sungmin didn’t look at me as he followed Xiao through the house, CX just behind him pulling a small pull-along case. A hand settled on the small of my back. “Thank you,” Youngbin muttered.

  Sungmin didn’t come out of the room for three days. Onyx had schedules and most of the time it was just me alone with him. Every morning, Xiao cooked breakfast and I would put a tray together, leaving it outside the door, unable to take it inside because the door was locked. I’d replace it at lunch time and dinner time, and each time, it would remain untouched.

  “Leave him be, Kate,” Youngbin warned me. He was the last one to leave the house. We’d spent the evening trying to decide what to do and Youngbin was adamant the best thing was to let Sungmin deal with it himself.

  Actually, most of them were of that opinion. JongB and Xiao had started to agree with me that we needed to get in the room, but Youngbin had shot them down and they had quickly changed their opinion. At least verbally. JongB had messaged me to say when they were back, he’d help me break into Sungmin’s room.

  Like hell I was waiting that long.

  I did wait until I heard the gate close behind the minibus, and then I walked outside. It was a cool day and one which definitely required a jacket, but I had no intention of being out for long. I was breaking back into my own house.

  I’d tried picking the room lock, but I was not a master thief. But the door wasn’t the only way in.

  I was an air conditioning girl. If the room was hot, I turned the unit on. Xiao, on the other hand, liked to open the window. I had no objection to that – at first. And then, one night, while it was just me and CX watching television in the main room, a praying mantis the size of a plate flew through the room.

  CX bolted, leaving me to do battle with the bird-sized insect. Somehow, it got into the spare room and flew straight to the window. Armed with a spatula, ready to bat it away, I had opened the window, and the bug screen, then run from the room. I’d not returned into it, and aside from telling Xiao he was banned from ever opening the bug screen, I had forgotten about it.

  I had a hunch that, if Sungmin hadn’t opened his door, he probably hadn’t closed his window.

  Sungmin’s room was at the side of the house. I followed the building around and stood in front of his window. I was right. The window and the bug screen were still open.

  Instead of being relieved, I was even more worried. It was cool now, but it had been colder on the night. Thankfully it was too early in the year for mosquitos, otherwise he would have been eaten alive.

  I stepped up to the window and peered in. It was still early in the morning and with no light on, the room wasn’t very well illuminated. “Sungmin?” I called, gently. The bed, the obvious place, was empty. “Sungmin?” I tried again.

  It was the smallest of movements that attracted my attention; a shadow on the other side of the bed moved. Sungmin was sat on the floor, leaning against a bedside cabinet, facing the door. I couldn’t tell if he was awake or asleep, and it was that small movement which had me telling myself he had to be alive because the dead don’t move.

  “Sungmin!” I called. When there was still no response, I heaved myself through the window.

  And promptly lost my balance and tripped before both feet were on the floor. The next thing I knew, I was hanging upside down, my jeans caught on something on the window, and my elbow throbbing from where it had smacked the wall to stop me faceplanting the floor. Worse was the pain in the palm of my hand.

  “What the hell?” Sungmin cried, suddenly appearing at my side, helping me inside the room. I stumbled away from him, rubbing my shoulder, my face on fire from the embarrassment. “Hi.”

  “Kate, what are you doing?” he demanded, his face hidden in shadows

  “Making sure you’re still alive,” I replied.

  “I am,” he replied, dryly.

  I folded my arms. “You are hiding in a room in darkness.”

  “Leave me alone. I don’t feel great and the last thing I want to do is speak to anyone.” He turned around and slammed the bug screen, and then the window, closed.

  “I’d keep them open,” I told him. “They’re the only things keeping this room from smelling like a garbage pile.”

  Sungmin’s shoulder’s slumped. “Go away,” he said, refusing to turn around.

  “That’s not going to happen.”

  “I don’t feel well.”

  I glanced around the room – aside from the small suitcase which had remained by the door, nothing had changed in here. “You don’t feel well because you haven’t had anything to eat or drink for four days,” I snorted. “I’m not going to pretend I have any clue what you’re going through, nor am I going to pretend that I’ve got some medical qualification
to back this up, but I’m willing to bet if you took a shower, had something to eat and drink, and more importantly, moved around and left your room, you’re going to feel a lot better.”

  Sungmin whirled around. “You think a meal is going to fix everything?”

  “I mean, that’s not even close to what I said,” I shrugged. “But I do think it’s going to help. At least physically. You’re depressed, Sungmin.”

  “I am not depressed!” he snapped.

  I slowly sucked in a breath, willing myself to calm down. Sungmin was hurting. “Please have a shower and come out and join me. We’re all worried about you.”

  “You don’t need to worry about me.”

  If it wasn’t said with such a defeated tone, I would have laughed at that. “Then prove it and come out of the bedroom.” I walked to the door, unlocking it before I opened it, and turned back to him. “I’ll get something cooking.”

  “How do you know I’m not going to lock the door behind you?” Sungmin called as I started to close the door.

  I poked my head back in. “Because if you do, I’ll go out, find a hardware store, buy a screwdriver and remove it.”

  “You know the hinges are on the inside?” There was a hint of amusement in his voice.

  “Then I’ll buy a sledgehammer,” I shrugged.

  There was the briefest sound of something sounding vaguely like a laugh, and then I shut the door. I wasn’t going to buy either tool, but if he didn’t come down by dinner, I’d get Xiao to kick the door down if I needed to. I scooped up the untouched breakfast tray and carried it back to the kitchen.

  Getting something cooking was easier said than done. I wasn’t the best chef and I could only cook western food. And by cook, I was a pro at getting things out of the freezer and heating them in the oven. This house held nothing like that, and with three members of Onyx (although it was mainly Youngbin) who cooked everything, I hadn’t bothered to learn.

  I did, however, know how to cook rice. I loaded up the rice cooker and set it going before turning my attention to the contents of the refrigerator. Youngbin had done all the side dishes; kimchi, beansprouts; radish. I pulled them out and set them on the side.