Onyx: Unity

by J. S. Lee

  I could feel my cheeks heating up – and it wasn’t from a temperature. It also wasn’t embarrassment. I was actually suddenly turned on at the idea of seeing if any of them would know it was me on his track.

  “You’ll have to find out later, tonight.”

  Annoyingly, that made the flight seem even longer than it was, and I was itching to get off the plane. Despite the anticipation, I was still feeling nauseous and the short nap had done nothing to make me feel better.

  I’d been to Mexico once before. When I was eighteen, just before I went to college, a group of us drove down to California to cross the border and head to Tijuana. All I can tell you is that a lot of tequila was involved.

  This time, we were in Mexico City. Almost in the center of the country, there wasn’t a beach in sight. The apartment wasn’t one apartment, but two. The penthouse, and the apartment below. Sungmin and Onyx took the penthouse, while the rest of the crew were in the apartment. Considering not everyone knew what was going on, I wasn’t surprised.

  Besides, it was my turn to creep into the guys’ rooms now.

  “As if she can’t be in our apartment,” JongB muttered, in earshot of Jiwon.

  “Trust me: I’d rather have her as a roommate than you,” Jiwon snorted. He was sharing with Xiao this time.

  I had no idea how that had happened: Xiao was the messiest of the bunch. I’d discovered very quickly that this was because he liked to shed himself of clothes and rarely put them away. JongB, who normally shared with Xiao, had been most excited about having his own room as he was the one who had to clean up after him.

  The flight had arrived at four in the morning. By the time we arrived at the apartment it was almost nine. Considering that translated to some unearthly hour back in the UK where I had just about adapted to the time zone change, I was exhausted.

  So was everyone else.

  “Everyone has free time until 3 pm,” Taeyoon announced. “If you’re going to sleep, which I suggest most of you do,” he gave Onyx a pointed look, “then set your alarms. You have interviews tomorrow before the show. And I need you to attempt to sleep tonight. We will go out for dinner and then those who want to go out sight-seeing can do so, provided there’s a small group of you wanting to go: Atlantis has given us strict instructions about going anywhere alone. This is for your safety. If you break this rule, I will have salaries docked.” He looked at the staff. “And I will send you home.”

  “Seriously?” JongB asked, arching an eyebrow. “We’re not going to go out looking for drug cartels.”

  Sungmin turned to him. “With you, JongB, I expect them to find you, and then shoot you when you come out with smart remarks like that. Don’t come back dead, or I will kill you.”

  “That doesn’t-”

  “Don’t push me, JongB.”

  JongB shut up. Strangely, I would have done too. I hadn’t seen Sungmin this serious for a while and I was wondering what advice Atlantis had provided. I knew some areas of Central and South America had been questionable in the past, but I was sure this city was just like a lot of others; with good neighborhoods, and bad neighborhoods.

  It was probably just a pointed dig at the fact that Jiwon and I went to visit Anita in the hospital. But I wasn’t going to test how serious he was about sending me back home.

  We slowly filtered off to our own rooms. The apartment I was sharing with Taeyoon, Dongjun, Ahreum and Eunhae was beautiful. I was curious as to how much better the penthouse could have been.

  Despite numerous requests in the group chat for me to come to the penthouse, I declined. I still had an unsettled stomach and I wanted nothing more than to have a shower and a sleep in an actual bed.

  With some sleep, and a meal, I was feeling human again. At some point, I was going to pick up some vitamins too because the feeling of being run down was happening too often.

  After the meal, we all left the restaurant and returned to the apartments. Apparently, the travel was also wearing my colleagues down too. From the chatter in the minibus I was in, their plan was to rest in the apartment and then have an early night.

  Much as I wanted to explore Mexico City, there weren’t enough people wanting to do the same for Sungmin and Taeyoon to deem the risk levels acceptable. It was probably a good thing.

  I was walking towards the building when Sungmin called me. I stopped and waited for him to catch up. “If you have no plans, would you be able to join me upstairs? I wish to discuss something with you.”

  “Do you need me present?” Taeyoon asked. I had no idea where he had come from – I thought he had been at the front of the group with Dongjun, his new best buddy.

  “No, thank you. This is a personal matter,” Sungmin told him.

  “I need to put the camera flashes on charge for tomorrow, and then I’ll come straight up,” I replied with a frown. A personal matter?

  Both curious and concerned, I hurried inside and set the equipment charging as I said, and then I hurried up to their apartment. MinMin answered the door, sending a furtive look over my shoulder before leaning forward and giving me a kiss.

  I started to relax into him, and then pushed him away. “I’m not feeling great,” I admitted. “I think I’m coming down with a cold and the last thing I want to do is give it to you.”

  MinMin pouted, but nodded. I followed him into the penthouse, my eyes going wide. Apparently, it was possible to beat the luxury of the apartment I was in. Everything was so sleek and gave off a more affluent vibe than the homely feel. Everyone was in the kitchen. Despite the fact we had just eaten, they were pulling together snacks that had been supplied in the apartment for us.

  Jiwon and Youngbin had already started on the Mexican beer. “Want one, Katie?”

  I gave Jiwon a grateful smile, but shook my head. Instead I glanced around the room, looking for Sungmin. “I probably shouldn’t until I know what Sungmin wanted to speak to me about.”

  “I didn’t,” Sungmin responded, appearing in the open-planned living room. “Youngbin said he wanted to share something with everyone and asked me if you could be here too.”

  Considering me being here would be very obvious to the others, that surprised me. Mainly because Sungmin agreed to it. I wasn’t going to question it. “Thank you.”

  “What are you sharing?” JongB demanded. He was sat on a tall stool, watching me like a child waiting for Father Christmas.

  “Stay here,” Youngbin instructed us. He disappeared into the penthouse and then reappeared with his MacBook and a portable speaker.

  “New music?” Jiwon asked, moving over to the laptop.

  “I’m releasing it as a Mixtape.”

  “Holly cleared that?” the question came from Xiao.

  “Holly agreed to a mixtape. I sent her this before we left for London but she hasn’t responded yet.”

  “She was on a flight to Shanghai,” I told them. Holly had sent me a message while I was waiting for the flight in Heathrow.

  “I am going to film a video when we stop in LA,” Youngbin continued. “But right now, I want to hear your opinions.”

  I stood back slightly while the Onyx members gathered around the kitchen, all eager to hear this mysterious song. For the first time in a long time, butterflies invaded my stomach.

  Nervous anticipation.

  I couldn’t wait to see their reactions, but equally, there was a slight moment of doubt that not all of them would be OK with it.

  Youngbin hit play and suddenly it was too late. The opening beat kicked in. CX was listening with a smile, his head tilted, and Jiwon was leaning back in the tall stool with his eyes closed, nodding his head in time.

  And then the first of my moans filled the air. Aside from JongB who was staring at the back of the laptop like he was suffering from auditory hallucinations, almost simultaneously, the rest of Onyx turned to face me.

  None of them said anything until the end of the song, but it was Sungmin who spoke first. “I really liked it, Youngbin, but I worry that woman you
used as a sample is a little too… realistic?” he offered. “She wasn’t overpowering the song, but I feel that’s too loud for you to be able to get on any show with it.”

  “Loud?” JongB scoffed, still staring at the back of the laptop. “That’s almost silent compared to her normal volumes.”

  “Normal…” Sungmin was staring at JongB in confusion and then, it was like the proverbial lightbulb switched on. His gaze shot to Youngbin, then Jiwon – working his way around the group until he came to me. “That isn’t an actress, is it?”

  I slowly shook my head.

  “And that isn’t fake, is it?”

  Once more I shook my head.

  Sungmin slowly rubbed at his temple as he closed his eyes. I could only imagine what was running through his mind. His reaction was much more underwhelming than I expected. He opened his eyes with a sigh and looked at Youngbin. “She can’t be in the video.” He sounded defeated. Before I could reassure him, he turned and walked out of the room, his shoulders slumped.

  I wanted to chase after him; his reaction worried me. Unfortunately, I was suddenly surrounded by various members of Onyx.

  “You made a sex tape with Youngbin,” JongB accused me, although he didn’t seem angry.

  “Yep,” I nodded.

  “It’s a bit more anonymous than that,” Youngbin told him.

  CX rolled his eyes. “Anonymous? Kate screams when she cums. I can practically see the orgasm face she was pulling while that was happening.”

  Xiao was tilting his head as he nodded, staring into space. “I know exactly what expression you’re talking about.” Beneath his shorts, a bulge was appearing.

  Youngbin stepped by my side so he could look at the group. “I wrote it and I want to release it. Kate’s happy with that, but I need you all to be happy with it.”

  “Fine by me, hyung,” JongB chirped up.

  “Same,” Xiao said, as CX nodded.

  Youngbin turned to Jiwon. “And you?”

  Jiwon looked between the two of us, his face unreadable. He was the one who I figured would give the most objection to this. The whole time we had been together, he had been adamant that while he was OK with us being what we were, he didn’t need to see it. Did that cross into hearing it?

  “I hope the mixtape comes with an instrumental version.”

  JongB started choking on his beer.

  While everyone started sniggering, one person remained quiet: MinMin was frowning as he stared out of the window. “Where’s your head at, Minhyuk,” Youngbin asked his younger member carefully. “I don’t care if you’re the only voice – this isn’t a majority, it’s a unanimous decision.”

  “It’s not that I don’t like it, because I do,” MinMin told the two of us.

  “But you don’t think Youngbin should release it,” I said, softly.

  MinMin shook his head. “I don’t think you should release it as it is. I know it’s Kate – we all do, I know. But our Gems have the collective sleuthing skills of the NSA. I don’t even want to run the risk of them working it out. We’ve barely gotten through the last scandal. Another would just destroy us. Why do you think Manager Sungmin and Manager Taeyoon are trying so hard to keep us a secret?”

  “He’s got a point,” CX agreed, reluctantly.

  I frowned. “I am not sure how many people you think I’ve slept with but-”

  “Kateniss, I don’t care if you slept with one or a hundred people before me if it made you happy. It’s your body and you’re entitled to sleep with whoever you choose.” He rubbed at the back of his neck. “Sometimes I think we underestimate our fans despite the fact we’re constantly blown away by how creative and resourceful they are. Maybe it’s because we all know it’s you, I don’t know, but you got a fair amount of hate when they thought you were with Jiwon. I couldn’t cope if I saw you getting hate for this, especially because this is something that we have control over.”

  “You’re right,” Youngbin agreed.

  “But your song!” I hadn’t thought about the hate that I could receive; honestly, I hadn’t thought that anyone would be able to tell that was me. Some of the comments I’d read when the world thought I was dating had been brutal, but I was sure I would be able to cope with them. There was no reason for Youngbin not to release it.

  “I’m not saying don’t release it,” MinMin was quick to add. “Just don’t have Kate in it.”

  CX joined my side and took my hand. “You have to put up with a lot with dating us. It’s time for us to make some compromises too.”

  Youngbin looked at me. He didn’t seem upset; maybe a little disappointed. “They’re both right, Kate.”

  I knew there was no point in arguing with them, but I really did feel bad for Youngbin. He’d put in so much time and effort, and it just felt like another thing I was causing problems with.

  I burst into tears.

  제 18 장

  Pray

  The six members of Onyx stared at me in horror. I didn’t cry often, and even I’ll admit my reaction was over the top, but I couldn’t stop myself. CX let go of my hand, but only to dart over to the kitchen counter and grab me some Kleenex.

  MinMin was in the process of asking if I was OK, but Xiao stepped forward, enveloping me in his arms. He didn’t ask me why I was crying or what was wrong. Instead, he just held me.

  The effect of the arms of security around me was almost instant and it didn’t take me long to stop crying, but I didn’t break his embrace.

  “If it’s really that important to you, I can release the song with you on it,” Youngbin finally spoke up, warily. “I can try to manipulate it a bit and see if I can make it less obvious it’s you.”

  “No,” I said, finally stepping away from Xiao. I flashed him a grateful smile as I wiped at my cheeks, and then turned to Youngbin. “I’m sorry; I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I didn’t feel well on the plane, and I don’t feel great now. I think I’m just tired. But MinMin was right; I need to not be on your track. It’s not worth the risk and I know it.”

  JongB placed the back of his hand on my forehead. “You’re hot.”

  “I think I need to go to bed.”

  “If you’re missing the chance at out-dadding JongB on a lame joke, you definitely need to go to bed,” Jiwon frowned.

  “I’ll come with you,” JongB offered.

  I shook my head, firmly. “Not tonight.”

  “I’m perfectly capable of being in a bed with you and not…” JongB trailed off. “Never mind.”

  “I will be fine after some sleep,” I tried to assure them as I moved towards the door. “But if I am coming down with something, the last thing we should be doing is sharing a bed.” My hand hovered over the door handle. “Plus, we’re in two different apartments. I need to go back to my room: alone.”

  I left their apartment before any of them could wrap themselves around me. Outside, I had to take a minute, suddenly feeling dizzy. I had been fine when I walked into the apartment…

  Not fine, but not this bad. I really needed to get some sleep.

  Walking back to the apartment took more effort than I was prepared for, but I managed to get back to my room where I promptly changed into a pair of pajamas and curled up in the bed.

  My alarm woke me and at first, I was convinced I had forgotten to check the clock on my phone. I lay in bed, curled up on my side. The idea of staying in bed briefly drifted through my mind; I felt like I hadn’t had any sleep at all.

  But I also felt better than I had when I had gone to bed, so I couldn’t justify it. I didn’t want to give Dongjun any opportunity for him to take my place completely.

  I managed to drag myself from my bed, dress, and gather my things together. By the time I got into the kitchen, everyone else had almost finished eating their breakfast: Ahreum had made gyeran guk – egg soup.

  “Here.” Ahreum ladled some soup into a bowl and set it at an empty seat at the table. As I drew close, she frowned. “You don’t look well.”

&
nbsp; I looked at the bowl, my nose wrinkling in displeasure as the smell made my stomach roll. “I don’t feel great,” I admitted. “And I’m really sorry, but I don’t want to eat that.”

  “We should get you to a doctor,” Ahreum decided, clearing the bowl away.

  I let out a small sigh, trying not to sound irritated. “I think I have a cold. I don’t need a hospital for that.”

  “Are you well enough for the concert?” Taeyoon asked me.

  “I’m more than happy to take care of things today,” Dongjun added before I could respond.

  “I will be fine once I get going,” I assured everyone. “I just think the travel has worn me down a little.”

  A small packet was suddenly thrust in front of me. I took the pack of facemasks from him and arched an eyebrow. These weren’t the facemasks for good skin, but the one idols wore to obscure their identity. I’d worn them plenty of times before; I just wasn’t sure why I was being presented with them now.

  “We’re on a world tour. None of us can afford to get sick, especially not Onyx.”

  It irritated me that Taeyoon was right, and then I was irritated at myself for being irritated with him – he was just looking out for Onyx.

  “No problem,” I agreed, pulling one out and slipping it on. Might as well start wearing it now.

  As we had all the cases with the stage costumes in, we took them downstairs and started loading them in the minibuses which were waiting for us. I barely saw Onyx until we got to the venue.

  Immediately, I knew something was wrong. Aside from the fact both Youngbin and CX were subdued, they were both sat by themselves. They both looked pale, and neither had their general pre-show buzz to them.

  My eyes locked with Xiao who walked over. “Why are you wearing a facemask?” he demanded.

  “What’s wrong with Youngbin and Yongsik?” I countered.

  “Sungmin is threatening to send them to a hospital, but we think they’ve caught some form of stomach bug. CX spent the night throwing up.” Xiao folded his arms. “Why are you wearing a mask?”