One Temptation | Choi Yeonjun Fanfiction

Chapter 06 - Wild Speculations

Realizing that her change in attitude had been caught, she lets out a weak laugh. "Oh- Well- You see... Actually, the thing is..."

"To the point Yuna." You order sternly, masking the rising nervous tension within you.

"Oh- Well, since you don't really keep up with gossips, but that doesn't mean I do! I- uh- saw the headline of an article and couldn't help but click on it because it concerned you and uhm- it's not really bad, but still, well- Maybe you should see it yourself!" Yuna speaks quickly and timidly, fumbling with the phone in her hands before passing it to you.

"The CEO of Black Pearl M. G. and Falcon Estate Caught Having an Intimate Moment in Bar81 the Previous Friday!"

The article read, making your eyes widen in disbelief.

What the actual fuck is this?!

You scroll a little downward and see a couple slightly blurry pictures of you and Yeonjun sitting next to each other. One in which you both clinked your glasses together and another in which he had leaned a little closer to you, the faint smile on his lips visible even from this distance and poor quality of the photo.

If it weren't for the fact that you were the one in the picture yourself and knew what conversation you had back then, you would have also believed the two people in the pictures were actually having a moment together.

You close your eyes shut and inhale sharply through your clench teeth, pinching the bridge of your nose and handing back Yuna her phone, not wanting to read whatever the hell the rest of the article said. The article headline already sounded atrocious enough, only heavens knew what lies would have been spun under it.

"Well, I mean- it's nothing scandalous anyway, just some wild speculations here and there, n- nothing that can ruin anyone's reputation...!" Yuna gulps nervously, trying her best to calm you down.

"Yuna- Wild speculations and nothing scandalous don't go in the same sentence..."

You rub your face, dragging your palm down from your forehead to your chin as you exhaled loudly. "I don't care if it's assumptions or whatever, I don't want to be associated with him in any way! You already know what people are going to say behind my back, not to mention what that spawn of the devil, Liam Archer, would have to say to me. Ugh..." You groan in exasperation.

Yuna thinks for a while before she speaks again. "The best course of action for now would be to ignore whatever the article has to say and focus on securing the deal with Equinox. Alright?"

"Seems simple enough." You sigh and push the thoughts away, nodding at her.

I'm being a little over dramatic. It's nothing serious. People like poking their noses into others' business anyway.

"I've got this. Thank you." You give her a determined smile and start typing on your laptop with incredible speed. "Oh, and Yuna? Make sure to schedule a meeting with the Chief Marketing Officer of Equinox whenever he arrives in Seoul."

"Yes, ma'am!"

જ⁀➴

~At Bar81, last Friday~

"And that's four points for me! I win again~" Soobin exclaims with a sweet victorious smile.

The rest of the group groans in unison.

"That's cuz you're cheating!" Kai complains as he downed another shot. "Our minds are spinning here, except you of course, you're sober as hell, man. If that isn't cheating?!"

Soobin glances around him, only to see the faces of his four friends flushed red after all those drinks and suppresses a laugh. "Oh, come on! I already told you guys, multiple times actually, I'm the doctor on call for this month so I need to be extra cautious with my activities outside of work, or else I wouldn't hear the end of it from the head nurse!"

Taehyun lets out a dejected sigh. "What a party pooper..."

Soobin laughs, scratching the back of his neck. "Just two more weeks, alright? Then I'll be the one to treat you all. How does that sound?"

"Hmph- Sounds good enough. Only if you promise to actually have fun!" Beomgyu narrowed his eyes at Soobin, at which he laughed and nodded. "Yes, yes, sure. I'll make a pinky promise if that would put you at ease~"

Beomgyu huffs and quickly extends his pinky, which Soobin interlocks his own pinky with, officially declaring a pinky promise.

"Well, now that's settled, how about we go to our last stop for the night? I've already reserved a room for us at our favorite karaoke bar." Yeonjun suggests, getting up from the sofa and putting his empty glass on the bar counter.

"Sure, Mr. show-off-with-an-angelic-voice." Taehyun rolls his eyes and the rest of them laugh. "The only real competitor you have here is our rising star Kai." He then turns towards Kai. "Put him in his place Kai!"

"Oh? So you're proposing a competition?" Yeonjun raises an eyebrow with a lopsided smile. "You can't just put me up against an idol! You guys really want to embarrass me, huh?"

"Puh-lease, the only ones embarrassing ourselves would be us three." Beomgyu shrugs.

Soobin's phone suddenly rings, breaking the lively atmosphere. He quickly takes it out of his pocket and his brows furrow at the caller ID. "Speak of the devil." He mumbles, standing up and turning towards his four friends. "The head nurse is calling, just give me minute."

They all nod and wait for him to come back from the side of the room.

"Oh, I almost forgot to ask you, who was that pretty woman you were talking to, down at the bar?" Kai speaks up, unable to hide the curiosity in his voice.

"Oh? She's just an acquaintance I happened to meet here tonight." Yeonjun replies flatly without much thought.

Kai purses his lips, visibly disappointed by his bland response. "Surely didn't look like that to me, ya know?"

Yeonjun clears his throat. "H- hey! What are you trying to imply?"

Kai's lips disappear from his face and between his teeth, trying his best to not laugh.

"You faltered! You faltered! You faltered!" Beomgyu starts chanting, his dark beady eyes wide in excitement.

"Hey! Get those thoughts outside your heads... *sigh* You guys are insufferable..." Yeonjun rolls his eyes.

Before any of them could tease him any further, Soobin comes back after attending his phone call, an apologetic look on his face. "Sorry guys, one of the patient has gotten into a critical condition and I need to go. Hmm... I think he might need to undergo surgery, judging from the condition the head nurse briefly explained."

"Oh no..." Beomgyu muttered with a concerned expression.

"Let's just end the night here. I'll drop you off on the way." Taehyun suggests, to which Soobin nods.

They all get up to leave when Yeonjun's phone rings this time.

"Hm? My assistant is calling. You guys can leave; I'll get this first."

"Alright. See ya~" They reply in unison and exit the private pool room together.

Yeonjun picks up the call when the door closes after his friends' group leave and the room is engulfed in silence once again.

"To the point, Mina." Yeonjun answers the call and demands in a stern voice, not bothering with the niceties. He subconsciously taps his left foot on the floor in an erratic pattern as he nerved himself for any kinds of bad news.

Mina, on the other side, clears her throat after a quick exhale and starts talking, "Sir, the chief financial officer was caught smuggling illegal drugs in a local bar downtown and has been arrested by the cops alongside his accomplices."