"You're not upset, are you?" he asked, verifying her speculations.
Yes.
Yoori deceitfully shook her head, making an effort to avoid eye contact. She took newfound interest in staring at the lobby tiles. She knew how transparent she could be at times and she didn't want him to see through her.
He tilted his head down, successfully claiming her gaze and attention. "Well then let's wipe that frown off that pretty little face of yours, alright?" He chuckled. "Cause God knows I spend so much time with you that I find myself frowning too if you're in a bad mood."
Despite telling herself not to, Yoori laughed at his comment. It was odd how simple but impactful that sentence was. That selfish Tae Hyun was always thinking about number one. Credit must be given to him for his abnormal charisma though. All selfishness and egotism aside, his charm had an endearing quality to it. It was enough to alleviate her disappointment and enough to bring a smile to her face.
Tae Hyun grinned when the frown thawed from her countenance.
After waving goodbye to the doorman they were so ardently performing for, Tae Hyun led the way as they stepped into the elevator.
"So, you didn't answer me," Tae Hyun noted when the elevator ascended. Interestingly enough, they were still unknowingly holding hands in the elevator. "What were you so lost in contemplation about?"
"Nothing," she replied quietly, embitterment returning to her upon being subtly reminded of An Soo Jin. She kept her eyes glued down on the floor. She didn't want to talk about it, especially with Tae Hyun.
He scrutinized her with a raised eyebrow. Bluntly, he said, "What the hell did you do on your day off? You look like you just came back from a funeral.”
"Nothing," she muttered again, unknowingly tightening her grasp on his hand for comfort.
"So, how was your day off?" she asked meekly, wanting desperately to change the subject.
However awkward it was becoming, she continued to avoid his gaze. She was sure of it. If she allowed him access to the gloomy state her eyes were in, Tae Hyun would be able to read her mind. Well, maybe not read her mind but something close to that.
Taking note of her unusual behavior, Tae Hyun merely smiled tiredly. His eyes found interest in the closed elevator doors. It appeared that he might have gotten himself lost in somber contemplation as well.
"I had a pretty busy day. I'm pretty worn out right now."
Yoori tilted her gaze up when she heard the genuine strain in his voice. "Did something happen at your meeting with your mentor?"
"I just find myself a bit more conflicted than I'd like to be." This time, he purposely hid the strain once present in his voice. The acknowledgement in Tae Hyun's eyes hinted to Yoori that he knew she caught the fatigue in his voice. He was careful to not give anymore away.
Yoori snorted at his broad answer. As talkative as he may be, the guy could be pretty damn secretive as well. It was fast becoming an annoying trait for her.
"You're always conflicted," she critiqued. She gave him the evil eye and looked away.
The meeting with Ji Hoon was probably the straw that broke the camel's back. She certainly wasn't in the mood to deal with anymore secrecy. If Tae Hyun wasn't keen on divulging confidential information then she was not going to bug him about it. There was already too much on her mind.
Tae Hyun leveled his gaze onto her. Astonishment reveled on his face. He appeared taken aback by her indignant demeanor toward him.
"Wow assistant," he began blandly, unable to conceal his newfound observation of her. "You usually show a bit more patience before you proceed with the evil eye."
The silence from her lips was all that Tae Hyun needed to realize that she was more conflicted than he originally assumed.
"What's on your mind?" he asked again. When she didn't answer, he charmingly added, “I might be able to help make it all better."
Yoori concluded that it was a rare gift that Tae Hyun had, the innate ability to thaw her emotions with just mere warmness in his voice. Out of everyone to have such a gift, she couldn't for the life of her figure out why it was Tae Hyun who had it. Go figure. Though Yoori heavily doubted that he would be able to make it all better, there was enough charm in his voice to cause her to at least crack a smile.
"I guess I'm feeling pretty conflicted too," she finally admitted. A pause before she grudgingly added, "Internal conflicts suck."
Tae Hyun nodded thoughtfully.
He pondered the thought. After a short period of silence, his eyes lit up. He unexpectedly pressed the "L" button for the choices of floors the elevator would descend to.
"What are you doing?" She eyed him warily. What was he up to?
He only answered when the elevator doors slid open, revealing the view of the lobby again. "I need to go somewhere where I can think things over."
He gently tugged her out of the elevator with him.
"And you need an assistant to accompany you there?" she asked pointedly. She was excited to hang out with her friend again but Yoori was not amused. It had been a tiring day. She just wanted to go to bed.
"I was actually planning on going by myself," he said, his pace quickening. He beamed at her, purposely disregarding the blatant disinterest on her face. "But since you're conflicted as well, I might as well take you too."
"Wait, wait! Tae Hyun, stop!" she protested feebly.
He wasn't listening.
She attempted to pry her hand from his. The slippery lobby tiles and his unmatched strength did little to help her efforts. She pouted as he continued to effortlessly pull her toward the exit.
"It's too cold outside!" she continued dreadfully. She suppressed the urge to bite his hand and free herself. And I’m sleepy, she wanted to petulantly scream out.
Yoori abruptly stopped struggling when they approached the doorman. She couldn't have the doorman be suspicious of their relationship (or lack thereof). Damn keeping up appearances!
"Going out for a late night walk?" the stout, bubbly old man asked merrily. His grin was wide upon seeing the big smiles on their faces. Well, a genuine smile on Tae Hyun's part and a manufactured smile on Yoori's part anyway.
"Yeah," Tae Hyun confirmed, still holding Yoori's hand. He turned and gazed at her affectionately, "I just want us to spend some quality time together. I haven't seen her all day...I’ve missed her."
As the doorman chuckled in understanding, Yoori too found herself lost in Tae Hyun's affectionate gaze. How did those eyes of his become so spellbinding?
It could very well be that he was a very good actor but despite knowing better, she gave a small smile in return. She felt her heart race while this rush of exhilaration hummed in her body. Whatever this feeling was, she didn't mind it so much. Now that she thought about it, there shouldn't be too much harm with hanging out with Tae Hyun.
"Well, we'll see you later," they both found themselves saying. They waved goodbye to the doorman and descended out of the apartment complex.
"So, where are we heading to, mister?" Yoori asked. Chills crawled up her skin when they ran into the coolness of the night. She looked around. The street was absolutely free of people because of the frigid weather.
"You'll know when we get there," he answered subtly, the lighthearted smile never leaving his face.
"Is it far?" she found herself asking. The extreme coldness of the night was making her think twice about their little outing.
"It's a pretty far walk."
Yoori made a face. She had to succumb to the cold a second time tonight? Damn her luck. Her lips quivered. "You've got to be kidding me."
She was still mindlessly walking when she crashed into him. He had slowed down without warning. She scrunched her face in annoyance. What did he slow down for? She followed his gaze. Yoori froze at the sight before her.
The whining in her head ceased as they drew closer to a stunning looking Yamaha motorcycle.
Forest green embellishments adorned the shiny black exterior of the motorcycle, making it appear as if
it was glowing in the night. It didn't take long for Yoori to surmise who the bike must’ve belonged too. The mascot color of the Serpents was a big hint to her – that and the fact that Tae Hyun was getting on the bike also played a huge part in helping her guess who the owner was.
She pointed at it.
"This is yours?" she blurted dubiously. A disbelieving smile was solidified on her lips. Unable to restrain herself, Yoori began to graze the smooth surface of the motorcycle with her frozen hands.
"Well, I am a crime lord," Tae Hyun remarked with suppressed amusement. "Driving a motorcycle is part of the job description."
Yoori nodded inattentively, discounting the humor in his voice. She continued to graze her fingers across the surface of the beautiful bike. She realized that all this grazing could easily be viewed as an act of molestation on Tae Hyun's bike but she didn’t care. Motorcycles are hot. And as much as she hated to admit it, guys who ride motorcycles are even hotter.
Tae Hyun chuckled. He took out black gloves and placed each of his hands through them. "I didn't realize you were such a fan of motorcycles.”
She leaned down to admire the impressive tires. "They're hot!"
"Me and my bike?" he asked roguishly, a big grin already outlining his face. He obviously knew she was too distracted to hear what he actually asked.
Yoori sauntered right into that trap.
"Yeah!" she agreed dreamily.
She paused after digesting her words. After realizing what she just answered to, Yoori bestowed Tae Hyun with a small glare.
"Wait, no,” she promptly corrected, ceasing with the molestation of the hot bike. “Not you. Just your bike."
He smirked, raising his hands in a “whatever-you-say” manner.
Sure. Yoori would confess that Tae Hyun's usual hotness already did enough to take her breath away. She would also admit that the image of him sitting on a hot bike was more than enough to make her want to jump his bones. However, admitting all of this would only occur in the inner sanctum of her mind. She refused to give Tae Hyun the satisfaction of having his ego stroked.
"Anyway," she said to veer the topic away from Tae Hyun’s attractiveness. "You've had a motorcycle all along? Why did we walk around town for all those weeks then?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. Probably because it gave me an excuse to hold your hand as I show you off around town?"
Yoori scowled after taking what he said as a way of mocking her.
He chuckled at her reaction and started the motorcycle. "Hurry up and get on. The night is young and cold. Let's go before our asses freeze to death."
Kwon Tae Hyun, master at pillow talk, Yoori thought sarcastically as she made a move to take her seat behind him.
She stopped when a disturbing thought occurred to her.
Yoori gaped apprehensively at the empty seat behind Tae Hyun. If she sat there, then that mean she was going to have to...
She gasped.
She blinked warily, her shyness for touching the opposite sex rearing its ugly head.
Then that would mean she was going to have to wrap her arms around those chiseled abs of his! Before she could contain it, there were already sprinkles of blush appearing on her cheeks.
Grow up, Choi Yoori, her inner self scolded. If you don't get on, he's going to insinuate that it's because you like him!
And she definitely couldn't have him thinking that.
After the internal pep talk, Yoori abandoned all unnecessary hesitation and quickly got onto the seat behind Tae Hyun.
Touching isn't touching unless you touch, she reminded herself.
She carefully wrapped her arms around him. She made sure the enclosures of her arms were as loose as possible. She had to hold onto the guy but she didn't have to hold onto him that tightly.
Unfortunately for Choi Yoori, the gentleman in front of her didn't agree with her prerogative.
"Choi Yoori," she heard him say as he prepped his motorcycle for take off.
"Hmm?" she answered distractedly, already getting lost in that cologne that she had grown to adore so much.
"Hold on tight," he whispered.
With the blast of cool air nibbling her face as her guide, she did what Tae Hyun advised: she held on tight. She rested the side of her cheek against his back and closed her eyes. She reveled in the gliding sensation as the night's wind blew through her hair. It made her feel like she was flying.
Lost in the moment, she sighed blissfully. She didn't know it then, but it truly was going to be a long and eye opening night. And the fact of the matter was, all throughout this long and eye opening night, Yoori won't be the only one holding on tight.
“That’s why I’m one of the best.”
30: Sitting Positions
"Are you serious?" she spluttered in disbelief.
Distractedly unwrapping her arms from around his waist, Yoori took a moment to survey her surroundings while Tae Hyun turned off the motorcycle.
Yoori couldn't believe it.
She would never in a million years think that Tae Hyun was capable of bringing her to a place like this. She got off his motorcycle. Lost in a daze, it became clear to Yoori that the impossible had occurred: the slide, monkey bars, and swings…they were all truly there in front of her.
Excitedly, she smacked Tae Hyun’s arm just as he was getting off his bike. "Wow, the playground? Really?"
Goddamn, her inner child was excited already. She could feel it. It was going to be a great night!
Tae Hyun looked at her regretfully as he took off his gloves.
"Not tonight, assistant," he said apologetically, effectively ruining her excitement. He placed both hands on her shoulders and herded her in the opposite direction, away from the playground that was seemingly beckoning her to come play in it.
Her heart dropped when Tae Hyun gently pushed her in the direction of a wide-open lawn. What a disappointment. "That was such a tease.”
"We'll go in the other direction another night. Tonight, I need to clear my head on the other side of the park."
Normally Yoori would refute what Tae Hyun said with words of protest, just because she had a naturally combative personality like that. But, when she took into account the strain in his voice, she knew that he really needed to go to the other side of the park. Whatever his specific reason for it was, Yoori didn't want to ask him at that point. She just knew it was best if she obliged.
When it was evident that she wasn't going to take off in the other direction, Tae Hyun took his hands off her shoulders and took it upon himself to walk beside her as they ventured up the grassy green hill. Though his composure remained, Yoori could tell that he was feeling really anxious. She wasn't sure if it was a good anxious or a bad anxious, she just knew he was anxious.
After reaching the top of the hill, Yoori marveled at the scenery. Twinkling stars and dancing trees surrounded them.
The only view of the modern world was evident in the traffic headlights passing through the various spaces between the trees. Yoori sighed pleasantly. She could see why Tae Hyun would choose to come to this place when there was a lot on his mind. It was undeniably a lovely place to gather your thoughts.
"Finally," Tae Hyun said with a breath of relief.
He sat down on the sleeping grass with his knees bent up and his hands behind his back. He smiled upward at Yoori and patted the reserved spot beside him, a gesture for her to sit down as well.
She obliged. Yoori crossed her legs and carefully settled beside Tae Hyun. He had already begun to stare blankly at the passing cars in the distance. She mirrored the position of her legs by crossing her arms and bringing them closer to her chest. She hugged herself to fight against the late evening chill.
It wasn’t working out very well.
Desperate to distract herself from the threat of pneumonia, Yoori followed the direction of Tae Hyun's gaze. Within seconds, Yoori was also entranced by the multitude of changing car lights in the distance.
Companionable silence floated
between them as the chilly wind nibbled away any warmth left in Yoori's face. Not wanting to interrupt the serene silence they had going, it took all of Yoori's strength to keep herself from visibly shaking. Early winter was definitely upon them.
Her attention was taken off the cold when she felt his touch. She stiffened from the unexpected electricity that zinged through her body. She sat still as Tae Hyun tucked her loose bangs behind her ear so the wind wouldn't be able to get them in her eyes.
She faced him. "You're a lot less social right now," she said, observing the hint of sadness shown within his stare on her.
At her observation, he nodded. His eyes gazed into hers with fatigue milling in them. "I've got a lot on my mind right now.”
Overtly shuddering at a whiff of cold air that brushed past them, Yoori's voice shook when she replied, "You're still not conflicted about those two things from last night, are you?"
It was truly a careless question. She didn't know why she asked it. It just came out of her mouth. As the fates would have it, that particular question was the best question Yoori could've asked.
A smirk quirked on Tae Hyun's lips. His thoughtful expression on her remained. He seemed more attentive to the fact that she was shivering in the cold than wanting to answer her question.
He stood up. "Damn it, Choi Yoori. Even when you're sporting a jacket, you always seem to be so cold."
Yoori creased her face at his remark.
Thinking that Tae Hyun standing up meant that they were getting ready to leave, she prepared to get up as well. So much for clearing her head. She flattened her hands on the cold grass to give herself a boost.
What happened next caused her to freeze in her seat again. Apparently, when Tae Hyun stood up, it wasn’t with the intention to leave; it was to reposition their seating arrangement.
It became clear to Yoori what the new seating arrangement was when she saw that Tae Hyun had just positioned himself behind her. His sitting position mirrored that of how he sat earlier. His knees were still propped up and his legs were still spread slightly apart. The only difference in this new sitting position was that Yoori was occupying the space between his propped up knees and—oh yeah—he was embracing her from behind!
Welcome to the Underworld (A Welcome to the Underworld Novel, Book 1) Page 36