by J. S. Lee
In the end, I called a wrap. I was cold, he was cold. Everyone was cold. I packed my camera up and walked over to one of the cars. He was already in the back, staring glumly out of the far window.
I got in beside him, leaning forward to tell the driver we could go, then I sank into the heated leather seats. Despite the coat, which I was still exceedingly grateful for, the warm seats felt wonderful.
We drove in silence for a while, and I figured CX was asleep, until I heard the small sigh over the music. “Are you OK?” I asked him. Then, remembering he spoke Japanese, not English, switched languages. He glanced over at me and nodded. He didn’t look it at all. “You said before that you liked to read. What else do you like to do?”
“I love dancing,” he said, warily. “I don’t get much chance to do anything else.”
I held my hands up. “It’s not a quiz or an interview. I’m just curious. I love photography, but I actually studied Japanese at college. I also love eating.”
He turned slightly to face me. “I liked studying,” he told me. “I didn’t mind if it was a textbook or a novel. When I was younger, if I wasn’t dancing, I would be in the library. I wanted to be a doctor.”
“How come you decided to be an idol?”
CX shook his head. “I knew I couldn’t afford college,” he admitted. “Scholarships are rare and competitive. I liked dancing too. I wanted to be able to help my parents out rather than them helping me out.”
I nodded, glancing out of the window at an illuminated building. It took me a second to realize what I was looking at before an idea appeared in my head. “Oh!” I exclaimed. “Stop the car!”
The driver pulled over with a sharp jerk.
“What’s the matter?” CX asked me, alarmed.
“I have an idea!” I told him, excitedly. “Come with me.”
제 3 장
Body Language
My detour was to a library. After the initial hesitation and panic from CX at being dragged out of a car by a strange woman, into a library which was close to closing, when he heard me explaining to the librarian that I wanted to take a few shots and was it OK, he relaxed. I pulled CX to the shelves.
“I don’t think I should be doing this,” he told me.
“I looked at the existing photos. Everyone else had a shoot somewhere other than the theme park, and once Youngbin explained the concept for me, it clicked: it’s all places or activities which made them feel happy when they were younger. Theme parks may have been the other guy’s thing, but I know it’s not yours. Just… trust me.”
He gave me a long stare, the worried expression not disappearing. “I don’t want to get into trouble.”
I pulled my phone out, searched for Holly’s number, and then dialed. “Holly, I have CX and I’m taking a few extra shots in a library.”
There was a long sigh at the end of the phone. “You’re still impulsive…” she sighed again. “Kate, we need releases from the library and-”
“I’ve got it,” I assured her. “I got photos earlier, but I want to try something. I’ve stolen CX. We’ll be an hour, tops, and then I promise to return him to the dorms.”
“I still need those photos before 9 am,” she warned me.
“And you shall have them,” I promised her as I said goodbye. “All sorted,” I told CX.
He looked a little more comfortable as I pulled my camera out. “Just relax. I will take some candid photos for a while, and then we’ll find where you’re happy.”
“What do you want me to do?”
I shrugged. “You’re in a library. Do what you need to,” I moved back, giving him some space. For a while, I could see his discomfort, and then, he spotted a book, and it was like he had forgotten why we were there. I moved around, taking photo after photo.
Finally, he looked up, seeing me through the shelves, and smiled. I took the photo. “I haven’t been in a library in years.”
“Neither have I, but mine was out of choice.” As soon as I was done studying for college, I hadn’t stepped into a library until this one.
“Sacrilege,” he scolded me.
I stepped out of the corridor of shelves I had been in, into the main area of the library so I could find a better lit area for the shots I really needed. The one downside to the spontaneous photoshoot was the lack of lighting. I was relying on the flash and the lightbulbs of the library.
The area was deserted. I hadn’t realized how quiet it was until I stopped and looked around. The only thing I could hear was the distant shuffling of papers from what I was assuming was the librarian at the desk. It was eerie, really. I was used to my college experience of a library which included studying with a dozen other people.
That wasn’t entirely true. There was a lot of whispered gossiping also involved, but either way, it made for a noisier library, even when it was quiet.
On the far side was a staircase leading up to the second floor. From here I could see the thick volumes, a wall of windows, and even better, brighter lighting. “Oooh,” I squealed, excitedly.
I was rewarded with a “Sssssh!” from CX.
“This way,” I told him as he walked up behind me. I led him across the main area of the library, winding between the large tables, then up to the next floor. I had to bite back the smile of amusement as CX detoured to a book that caught his attention. “This is perfect,” I muttered after taking a few test shots. “Go pose in front of that window.”
That was going to be annoying in the post touchup, making sure there was no trace of me reflecting in them, but the aesthetics were perfect. There was something about the library that was working for CX; it was like he had found his homeland. In comparison to the theme park, it didn’t take long for me to get the shots I needed.
I set the camera down then joined him. “How on earth does a person get a name which sounds like sex and be such a bookworm?” I asked him.
CX tilted his head. “You think bookworms don’t get laid?”
“I… uh… no,” I faltered, thinking I’d insulted him. “I just didn’t think your name matched your personality.”
Something heated flashed through CX and he took two steps towards me. I shuffled backwards, colliding with the bookcase. His hand shot out, and I ducked, just as he caught a book from falling on my head. Carefully, he set the book back down, but he didn’t lower his arm, nor did he step back.
We were about the same height, but I was sandwiched between him and the bookshelf and in a position which had him towering over me. The light above him was shining through his blond hair, making him look like he was framed by a halo, but his eyes said the exact opposite. Oh fuck.
“I think you and I had very different experiences in a library,” he murmured.
I stared at him, the disbelief setting in. “I don’t buy it. You said you gave up studying and became an idol. When was the last time you were in a library?”
He leaned in closer. “Just because I gave up studying doesn’t mean I gave up reading. When do you think I learned Japanese?”
Well, hell. He had me on that. But he still looked too cute and innocent to be having sex in a library, much less a public one. “You had sex in a library?”
He leaned right into my neck, turning his head at the last minute so his nose brushed against the top of my ear. “Oral,” he murmured, his breath hot.
I might have been surrounded by books, but I couldn’t find the words to explain how much I suddenly wanted that. “Really?” I whispered, when he didn’t move.
“You just need to find someone who is quiet when they orgasm.” CX crushed himself against me, his lips finding a really sensitive part of my neck. I had to press my mouth against his own shoulder blade not to let out the moan I wanted to. He sucked gently, then stepped back, arching an eyebrow. “I don’t think you’d succeed with that one.”
I already missed the feeling of his body pressed up against mine. Who the hell was he? He was far too innocent looking to be making my body respond like that. I cleared m
y throat. “I can be quiet when I need to.”
Well, fuck. That sounded way more desperate than the seductive I was aiming for. That was his fault.
“Maybe one day, I will test that out,” he smirked.
It was later, when I was sitting in front of my MacBook, editing myself out of those photos, that I finally stopped questioning how he could look so innocent and be saying and doing things that, hours later, still had me feeling irritatingly frustrated. And that was only because I realized his innocence came from the fact the book he had been posing with was one about geology.
Well, that put a whole new twist on the phrase, getting your rocks off…
I stretched my back out then got up to raid the minibar. I didn’t stop drinking when I was working, and I’d already emptied the minibar of all the soft drinks. I had three more pictures left. If I hadn’t had the impromptu library shoot, I would be done by now, but I wanted to give Holly both options, just in case she didn’t like the direction I had taken it.
I was running low on caffeine though. I decided to head out of the hotel. I’d seen a twenty-four-hour mart down the street from the hotel. I pulled on the coat Xiao had loaned me, once again appreciating the thickness. It was like wearing a hug.
I left the hotel, regretting it almost instantly. It was almost five in the morning and it was so cold, it was making my eyes water. I pulled the zipper all the way to the top to create a mask for my nose. Breathing was also painful in the sharp air. The sign in the lobby said it was -8C. I was American. I had no idea what that translated to other than fucking freezing.
I stuck my hands into my pockets, bowed my head against the wind, and hurried down the street. The door chimed as I pushed it open and walked in. Behind the counter was a kid who didn’t look old enough to be drinking the alcohol on sale behind him.
My first stop were the refrigerators at the back of the store to grab a few cans of energy drink. Then I moved to the aisle with the snacks, filling my basket with all kinds of crap. I’d ordered room service earlier, but now I was starving. If I hadn’t left the room, I would have waited and ordered a breakfast, but I had gone to a store hungry and I always bought crap when I shopped hungry.
I moved to the front aisle, just to scan the goods, then realized there was someone seated at the window eating… ice cream. I was so focused on the ice cream and trying to work out if it really was ice cream, so it took me a moment to realize the person eating was Xiao. What’s more, he was wearing only a hoodie and a pair of shorts. Just looking at him made me feel cold.
I sat down on the seat next to him. “Please tell me the reason you’re not wearing a coat isn’t because I am wearing it instead?”
“Oh!” he said, recognizing me.
“You know it’s freezing, right?” I added.
“It’s warmer than Beijing.”
I laughed. “It’s also warmer than Siberia, but that doesn’t make it warm here.”
“It’s always warm enough for ice cream,” he said, offering me the bowl.
I shivered as I shook my head. “Maybe if I was tucked up in my bed I’d consider it,” I told him.
He looked at me thoughtfully, then nodded. “Sounds good.”
“Huh?” I asked as he got up.
“Let’s go eat this in your bed.”
My mouth slowly fell open. “OK,” I found myself agreeing. I stood and grabbed my basket, then stopped. “No, we can’t,” I said. I swear, a part of me died inside as I did. “I’m staying in a hotel.”
Xiao pouted. “No, we can’t,” he agreed. “That is unfortunate.”
“That is an understatement,” I agreed, thoroughly disappointed. Feeling awkward, I sighed. “I’ll see you later,” I muttered, heading to pay. Damnit. With my food in a bag and my dissatisfaction wrapped around me like a scarf, I walked back to the hotel.
I think I needed to get laid. It had been ages since I’d last had sex. Even when I’d been with Damien it had been so long since we’d been together. Now that I was surrounded by unbelievably gorgeous flirty guys, my hormone levels were breaking personal records. This needed to stop before I got into trouble.
I finished off the last photographs and emailed them over to Holly. Although the sun had risen, it was early, and I was surprised when I got a phone call less than ten minutes later. “Kate, these look amazing.”
“Dude, I’m a pro,” I told her before yawning.
“Did you pull an all-nighter?”
“Yeah, I did,” I groaned, flopping onto the bed.
“We’re going to release a statement about the member change at lunch time, then this afternoon I’ve booked Onyx into a suite; in your hotel, actually. Sang Sungmin said they weren’t bonding well at the shoot.”
“Who?” I asked, knowing enough to know he wasn’t in Onyx, but hadn’t remembered anyone else from the shoot.
“Sang Sungmin,” she repeated. “Oh, he’s Onyx’s manager. Anyway, I think they’re still having trouble bonding, especially after what happened, so I’m ordering them a lot of beer and pizza. Come join us. You’re going to be spending a lot of time with them anyway, so it makes sense to get to know them.”
“Sounds good,” I muttered, staring up at the ceiling as I hung up. Holly’s words echoed around me: you’re going to be spending a lot of time with them…
I was screwed.
I had made plans to go clothes shopping. They fell through when I woke up to Holly’s phone call asking me where I was. I’d fallen asleep almost instantly. As well as pulling an all-nighter, I was also jet-lagged. I apologized, told her I was grabbing a shower, and would be along as soon as I could.
I hurried through a shower, got dressed, leaving my hair to dry naturally. I was blessed with hair which hung with natural waves. Currently, it was blonde – I loved dyeing it. Holly hadn’t specified how fancy this was going to be, but seeing as it was pizza and beer, I was going to play it safe and wear something similar to what I had worn the day before. With my makeup on, I was ready in less than half an hour from when she had called. Hopefully there would be some pizza left. Making sure to grab my Polaroid camera, liking the feel the instant photographs would give instead of my digital camera, especially for something informal like this, I left my room.
The suite that Holly had booked out was the penthouse. I had to go to the lobby to get in an elevator which would take me directly to the room. Despite this, I wasn’t expecting the doors to ping open into the middle of the apartment. Thankfully, the suite had a small hall area.
I stepped in, eyeing up the marble floor in amazement. It was the last thing I expected to walk on, if I was honest. This hotel room was possibly the poshest thing I had ever been in. I took two steps, my Converse squeaking at the lack of friction, and froze. Damien was always telling me he would never take me to some of the really nice places in Vegas because I stuck out like a rubber duck on a duck pond.
It was only now that I really understood what he meant. My Converse, a faded red with the rubber peeling in places, weren’t even new enough to pretend to look smart. I had a pair of heels back in my room. They would probably try to kill me, but they were a lot more appropriate than these.
And then a pair of bright pink Crocs were pushed beside my Converse. “Here.”
I looked up, finding Xiao in front of me. He was wearing a pair of his own, sky blue, Crocs. He was also in a pair of shorts and a camo hoodie. “Thank you,” I muttered, crouching down to unfasten my laces so I could swap shoes. Somehow his gesture made me feel a lot less uncomfortable.
제 4 장
Stuck
When I stood up, Xiao was gone. Wearing a pair of Crocs that were a little too big, I shuffled into the main area of the penthouse, finding myself in the middle of a rather subdued atmosphere. I looked around, trying to take everything in, while trying not to make it obvious.
The suite was gorgeous. It was hard to believe my room was in the same hotel. This felt more like a private, luxury apartment than a hotel room. The tiles stop
ped at the steps down into the sitting area, where the flooring changed into a carpet that looked like you would sink into it.
There was an enormous curved couch taking up most of the area, in front of which was a television as big as I was. To one side was an eight-seater dining table made of glass. It was covered in pizza boxes which looked as out of place as I felt. All around it were beer bottles; some empty, most full, waiting to be drunk.
The atmosphere seemed to be emanating from the corner of the room where Holly and Youngbin were huddled together, talking. Whatever they were talking about, they were frowning. Every so often, Youngbin was adjusting the round-rimmed glasses on his nose.
And that was it. There was no one else there.
Whatever Holly and Youngbin were talking about, they were so engrossed, their expressions serious, that I decided not to announce I was there. Instead, I grabbed a napkin, piled a few slices of the now cold pizza on top, and took a bottle of beer. I left the room. So much for a get together.
I wandered down the hallway, eating pizza as I stared at the artwork on the walls. I wasn’t sure of the artist, but I was willing to bet that they were originals. Maybe I could just eat and leave? The hell with that; it was pizza. I could just head back to my room now.
I turned, ready to implement the plan, and found JongB watching me, one corner of his mouth quirking up in amusement. “You’re contemplating a dine and dash, right?”
“More like a dash and dine,” I admitted. He walked up to me, peering at the pizza. “To be fair, if we were judging it on that pizza, I’d just do the dash part.”
“It’s not that bad,” I informed him as I took another bite of my slice.
“You’ve never had a Chicago pizza,” he said, his tone accusatory.
“Dude, it’s just pizza.”
His mouth dropped open as he clutched at his heart. “Take that back!”
“Don’t tell me: Chicago has the best pizza?”