This is the fourth story in the Undone series.
This is Jung Hoseok's time to shine.
He is taking control of a new project at Stellar Design, and he has decided it's time to take control of his love life as well. He is weary of being alone, and he...
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“ A kitten!” Izzy exclaimed, moving toward the bushes and the tiny sounds. Hobi pulled back the limbs of a low shrub to reveal a cat, more than half grown and angry at the world in general, and the two of them in particular.
Izzy reached into the bush, but the small grey creature darted out before she could catch it.
She had a moment of panic when she realized it was running toward the busy street that intersected the campus. She ran after it, crying “ Noooooo,” Hobi right behind her and the cat paying no heed to her warning.
She took a hard tumble and watched in terror as it darted into traffic, the tears coming as she watched it scamper to safety in the wooded a lot beyond the street.
She looked up to meet Hobi's eyes, kind and compassionate, no trace of mockery or impatience with her folly.
“ It's ok,” he whispered, lifting her to her feet, “ it's safe now. Are you hurt?”
She looked down at the rip in her jeans, thankful they had protected her. Then, she noticed the scrape on her wrist and the tear in the cuff of his sweatshirt.
“ Oh Hobi!! Oh no!! I am so sorry,” she said, avoiding his gaze.
She often wished he would see her, look past the glasses and Chem notes, and late night pizza and truly see her. Now here she was, a tom boy in his torn sweatshirt and ruined jeans crying over some silly stray cat.
“ Shhhh….it's ok,” he soothed as he held her steady, making sure she was truly ok.
“ Let me see,” he said as he led her underneath one of the lamps lighting the walk. He gently took her wrist in both his hands and lifted it toward the light.
Izzy held her breath. She was sure he could feel her pulse crashing against his fingers as he carefully examined her.
He was so beautiful under the lamplight. And his hands were so gentle. She had imagined his touch so many times, but this was beyond her dreams.
Hobi stood close to Izzy, too close. He was struggling to think as her hair tickled his nose and her floral scent mixed with the lingering smell of his soap and cologne on the now tattered hoodie.
He lifted her delicate wrist and frowned. He cradled her small hand in his, marveling at how her tiny hand was easily covered with his large ones. He saw the scrape where she had tried to break her fall and the rip in the cuff of the shirt. He blew out a relieved sigh.
“ Just a scrape,” he declared, and before he even thought about it, he raised her wrist to his mouth and placed a kiss just there, teasing the jumping pulse .
She drew a hard breath at the feel of his lips, warm and tender, a sweet caress that had her heart and mind racing.
He savored the feel of her, the taste of her skin and the gasp she made when his lips touched her. He was lost in the thought of the way she would sound if he kissed her lips.
Would she taste of hope and wild adventure if he crushed her to him and kissed her right then?
They were frozen there, each lost in their thoughts until he lifted his head and their eyes locked.
He saw the fire there, the want. But he also saw the confusion and the trust. She was so precious to him. He would never betray that trust or her friendship.
She saw him draw away, his eyes impossibly black with emotion. She dared hope for a moment it was passion.
Then, she watched as he blinked. And like that, they were clear and bright. Hoseok was gone, and there stood her best friend Hobi, smiling and offering to walk her home.
That brought her full circle to the man she met today. He was a stranger to her, although she clearly recognized the hard driven perfectionist who ruled his dance practices with chilling precision. The attention to detail he had always demanded of himself and others around him was evident in every segment of that presentation today.
But, he had not turned hard like she feared when he left. She had worried about him for months, knowing how tender his heart was, dreading how hurt he would be when he found out the truth.
But he was obviously thriving here and had risen to the very top of one of the most respected companies in the country.
Then, she thought about what he said as she left. “ I missed you,” he said.
She shook her head, arguing with herself that he was being polite. Of course, he needed to catch up on the details of the company. If this partnership was going to work they had to find common ground.
That also meant they had to have a discussion about Olivia and Izzy wanted - needed- to put that off as long as she could.
She cursed her longtime friend, college roommate turned business partner right then. She knew he was here and had sent Izzy to ease the way, banking on Izzy’s friendship with and feelings for Hobi to make everything ok.
As she sat and worried what direction that task would take, she was startled by a knock on the door.
