Night Garden [K TH 21+]

46

Taehyung couldn't help but smile when he got the text. Kookie had sent him a pic from Christmas Eve. The night before had been a first for him, drinking and celebrating the holiday with friends.

RM and Kookie had invited him to go, so it wouldn't feel like the two of them were on a romantic date. He supposed he should feel bad about being included as an afterthought, but he felt genuinely welcomed and appreciated by both of the guys.

RM was definitely the drunkest, stumbling and giggling, his dimples making him seem different from the strict dom he'd heard about. He kept babbling about how he didn't want to fall in love with Kookie. He just wanted to stay friends with benefits and Kookie thought a romance between them was hilarious. The macho sub's master plan was to never, ever fall in love at all.

The whole discussion made Taehyung examine what exactly he and his boss were doing. A romance was out of the question. He was a practically penniless nobody and she was an insanely rich high society widow. The domme/sub thing was adding another layer of confusion. Their friendship and work relationships were already blurred together.

His Christmas present to her was genius. It was something he could play off either way. If she didn't get him anything for Christmas, his "gift" could be seen as part of his job. Just before noon, she texted.

I want to bring your
Christmas present. Are
you around?

He could feel the flutters in his stupid heart and the smile on his stupid face. He was in over his head and he didn't give a fuck. She'd be at his house in about an hour. Plenty of time to shower and dress. In sweats. He didn't want to look like he was trying.

Yung Mi felt like she was being released from prison as she jogged to the greenhouse. The dickheads had spent Christmas Eve with her. A formal dinner with her stepson and his wife had ruined the holiday for her. Thank God Brad and Nicole Dickhead were on their way back to Seoul. An added bonus was them taking Mr. Im and the beady-eyed driver with them. She was so relieved the conniving fools hadn't stayed until New Year's like they had threatened. Now she just needed a good excuse to miss their NYE extravaganza in Seoul.

Taehyung's present was already wrapped and hidden in the greenhouse, tucked behind some of her orchids. She had found the Joseon era statue online. She struggled with holding the unwieldy package while she knocked on Taehyung's door. When he opened the door and saw the size of the box, he looked a little overwhelmed.

Yung Mi was once again struck speechless by the sheer beauty of her gardener. She was surrounded by handsome men, but Taehyung seemed to be more gorgeous every time she saw him. His smile was radiant just for a second, until he caught himself. The familiar tingling was there when their fingers brushed as he took the big gift wrapped box.

"Open it! Open it," Yung Mi insisted, bouncing a little on her toes. Taehyung could hardly believe these was the same toes that stripper-danced in thigh high boots a few days ago. He wondered how this giddy girl could be the same woman. He was reminded of Kookie's and RM's mind bending duality. Did he himself have another side?