Yung-Sun laughs as I wonder what happened to the words I thought I was about to say. “You’re welcome?”
I shake my hands out, like that will help somehow. “I kind of knew that you might have had a crush.”
“I’ve been told I can be obvious.” He plucks a pen out of the pencil holder at the corner of my desk and spins it between his fingers. “I just thought you should know. That I’m interested. That I want you.”
“That’s really flattering, Lu—Yung-Sun. But nothing could ever happen here. You know that.” I try to keep my tone neutral, but firm. I want to let him down easily, but he needs to know the truth.
“Why is that?” he asks, pushing his lips into a pout.
Putting some distance between us, I finally drop onto thecouch along the wall. “There are numerous reasons, but the two most important are the company and the fact that I date women.”
Yung-Sun huffs in a way that suggests he’s amused by this, his mouth curving into a smirk. “Is that so?”
“Yes?” Why am I asking him? It’s not a question. But the way he’s looking at me feels so seductive—isthat seductive?--that it sends a quick flash of something up my spine. I’ve seen that look on numerous women before I took them home, took them to bed. And I am positive that he’d let me do the same.
“You know as well as I do that lots of people keep secrets around here, hyung,” he murmurs. Even his voice, soft as it is right now, sounds provocative. “And lots of people find out they like new things when they try them.”
All of a sudden I feel like I understand the appeal of idols. Being surrounded by them every day, I thought I was immune. But with the uncommon beauty they possess, particularly Yung-Sun, it’s overwhelming having this kind of focused attention.
He’s sitting here in front of me, confessing that he wants me, and even though it’s not something I’d consider, I get it. For everyone in the world that would give anything to hear those words from him and somehow, they’re directed at me.
“You have your whole life ahead of you,” I remind him, after taking a moment with this very surreal situation. “You’ll find someone who’s a much better match for you than a boring suit at the label.”
He smiles, but it’s a little sad. It doesn’t reach his eyes, but it does draw my attention to the beauty mark on his left cheek that I’d never noticed before. I probably haven’t had a chance to see it, always covered by make-up and polished to perfection. I like it. The natural beauty of it.
“If you say so.” Yung-Sun hops off the desk and starts to walk toward the door. He pauses, though, right beforehe slips back out into the hallway. “Just know that it will still be true if you reconsider. You can have me whenever you want me.”
Leaning back on the couch, I let myself process everything that just happened here. Unexpected, but not unbelievable. Certainly audacious, though. He’s not the first person for whom I’ve had to gently redirect misplaced interest. I’d even dashed Jase’s hopes when we initially met. But this is the first time it feels… like this. I don’t even know whatthisis, but it’s different.
Yung-Sun doesn’t seem like the type to give up easily. I hesitate to call it a problem, but something tells me it could be. Bad for business. For both of us.
??
I don’t remember the drive home.
The commute is basically muscle memory at this point, I’ve been doing it long enough that I don’t really have to think about the limited number of turns I actually make between my apartment and the Task Force building. Some of my best ideas have happened while I was in my car, stuck in the rush hour traffic.
Today, though, I couldn’t stop thinking about Lux—no, Yung-Sun—showing up. Coolly announcing that he wanted me. Thought I was attractive. Which is flattering, of course. And I’m not afraid to admit that I’m not a stranger to that kind of attention. I know I’ve been out with—and been to bed with—plenty of women who would make just about any straight man jealous.
At no point have I ever thought about dating anyone other than women. I’ve never been attracted to anyone else, so why would I?
Finally getting out of the car, I leave my work bag, knowing I’mnot about to get anything done tonight anyway. I contemplate texting Jase to let him know I’m on the way up, but then decide not to because it’s my damn apartment. If I walk in on something he doesn’t want me to see—again—that’s on him and Nikko.
“I’m home!” I yell as I unlock the door and slowly push it open, hand blocking my view inside just in case anyone’s naked ass is on my couch.
“Hi, honey,” Jase calls back, sounding chipper and perhaps more importantly, potentially alone. “You may enter with eyes wide open.”
I sigh with relief. I like Nikko and don’t mind spending time with him, but right now, I’ve met my quota on surprise RYSING member appearances for the evening. “Thank fuck.”
“Wow. You get friskyonetime…” Jase begins, but starts laughing when I hold a finger up to stop him.
“No. You do not get to make me relive that,” I insist. “That’smycouch. Not your… love nest.”
“Love nest?” He nearly falls onto the floor as he doubles over, cracking up. “It wasn’t eventhatbad! We were just…”
I put my hands over my ears like a child to show him that I am very much not listening to him recount his version of events because I sawplentywhile it was happening live. Waiting until he appears to stop talking, I remove them. “Are you finished?”
“I mean, I wasn’t, but then you showed up and kind of ruined our moment,” Jase remarks, still wheezing a little from his outburst. Just as I’m about to express my regret for agreeing to let him stay here, he says, “You don’t have to worry about it for much longer, though.”
