It's Way Too Late To Stay Locked Up Inside Ourselves

6 pm

"Never seen you bring a girl here before, Ri Jeong-hyeok. It's a good look for you."

Jeong-hyeok whipped his head around and stared at Jung Man-bok. The club's production manager was grinning at him. He could only sputter in response.

Man-bok ignored him. "I have been watching you watch her for the last 20 minutes."

Jeong-hyeok stood up straight and crossed his arms. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I am just happy to see you smile, friend." Their eyes met, his meaning clear. Jeong-hyeok looked down at the floor.

Since Mu-hyeok. It was a dull pain now. After five years, the thought of his dead brother no longer felt like a hot knife; rather it ached like an old injury that never healed right. But then came the throbbing guilt of having gone hours without thinking of him. Jeong-hyeok clenched and unclenched his fists.

"We met her yesterday. I barely know her. Geum Eun-dong invited her here."

Man-bok fought a smile. "You know who she is right?"

"I do." Jeong-hyeok had been grappling with it since she told him her name last night. Yoon Se-ri was the CEO of Seri's Choice and heiress to Queen's Group. And the daughter of the man his father had put in prison for insider trading.

Man-bok shifted closer and lowered his tone. "Does she know who you are?"

Jeong-hyeok shook his head. "I don't think so. I didn't want to embarrass her and I'll never see her again after the show so ... what would be the point?"

"Ah." Man-bok raised an eyebrow. "Well, you seem to have that all figured out then, Ri Jeong-hyeok. Oh, it looks like they are ready for the sound check." He clapped Jeong-hyeok on the arm with an amused smile and walked over to the soundboard.

What is that supposed to mean? Jeong-hyeok looked over at Se-ri who was listening intently to Kim Ju-meok and smiling widely. She had borrowed a denim shirt from Kim Ju-meok and it was tied at the waist. Her short black skirt continued to torment him.

Se-ri threw her head back and laughed. Jeong-hyeok watched as her hair fell in a cascading wave over her back. He immediately wondered what it would feel like to touch. Then he blinked hard. That's crazy. Stop. Except he couldn't. Jeong-hyeok had felt like a madman since last night. All he could do was think about her.

Man-bok made the soundcheck announcement and his roommates assembled on stage. Se-ri turned and looked at him. She smiled at him shyly and he felt a thrill course through him.

Your father put her father in jail. He heeded his inner voice and folded his arms, steeling himself as she began to walk over. Se-ri sidled up next to him and folded her arms as well. Even though Jeong-hyeok was staring straight ahead, he could see out of the corner of his eye that she was brimming with amusement. Se-ri was teasing him. And it was adorable.

"Ri Jeong-hyeok, are you always this serious?"

He opened his mouth to protest but when their eyes met, he felt himself involuntarily smiling. Se-ri had an unnerving way of extracting the opposite of what he intended.

"Do you want to go up to the roof?" Jeong-hyeok just blurted it out as soon as the idea popped into his head. Her surprise matched his own.

"Yes," she said immediately.

Jeong-hyeok nodded and turned to lead her up to the rooftop. What am I doing? He had not been with a woman since his brother's death. He had just met her yesterday. And now he was blurting out invitations to rooftops with no aforethought. And yet, he could not wait to be alone with her.