Blessed-Cursed (#2 of Polaroid Love) 

Chapter 9: The Party

NISHIMURA Y/N

Five weeks have passed since I began modeling, and it's been the best experience in my life.

Not only that I'm making a lot of money, but I get to attend lavish parties. I also gained new friends and became acquainted with some of South Korea's biggest celebrities. I feel so honored that Sunghoon has introduced me to this career.

And speaking of Sunghoon, he is treating me with care and respect. He hasn't put his hands on me or got annoyed with me since the incident in the car. I'm becoming more and more comfortable around Sunghoon.

However, a problem with me has occurred; it's been bothering me for a while.

I'm having trouble keeping my food down and don't know why. I can't even enjoy my favorite foods like I used to. Sunghoon thought it was a stomach bug and told me to rest for a week and a half.

At first, Riki wanted to stay home to watch over me, but I convinced him to continue his work. His kindergartners couldn't last a week and a half without him. Even though he lost that argument, Riki called me during his lunch breaks and brought me soups and light foods when he came home. During the weekend, Riki would stay by my side no matter where I was in the apartment and work on his lesson plans.

I didn't get annoyed by his constant watching at all. It reminded me of when he cared for me when I got sick during photography school; I still remember the tomato soup he brought me.

After I got better, I returned to my photography studio and BE:Lift Lab. Sometimes, I still get nauseous, but I don't vomit, and I'm able to keep my food down.

Sunghoon wanted to meet with me in his office the day I returned. After he walked me inside, I sat down and waited for him to speak.

"I'm so glad you're doing better now, Y/n," said Sunghoon.

"Thank you so much," I said. "What did you want to talk to me about, Sunghoon?"

"I wanted to invite you to another party. BE:Lift Lab received a high stock increase, so we wanted to celebrate."

The company has parties when they want to celebrate an achievement. This was one of them.

I grinned. "You know I'll attend the party. They're fun. Especially the ones you host, Sunghoon."

"You're making me embarrassed, Y/n," said Sunghoon, laughing. "But for you to attend this party, I need to request something from you."

"What is it?"

"Can you put your left hand on the desk?"

I nodded and did as I was told. Sunghoon pointed to the two rings on my ring finger.

"Take those off for the party?"

I drew my hand back. "Wait, what?"

"Just take those rings off for the party. You do it for the photoshoots anyways."

I frowned. Anyone could tell I'm married by the jewelry I wear on my finger. I always wear them at parties, so why is Sunghoon telling me to take them off?

"Why do I need to take off my rings?" I asked. "If I need to wear other rings for the party, I can simply put them on other fingers."

"Why can't you follow a simple request, Y/n? Why can't you take those cheap rings off?"

I was alarmed at the sudden rising of Sunghoon's voice but also angry.

"Don't you dare talk about my wedding rings like that, Park Sunghoon!" I demanded. "I'm wearing these rings today because I'm happily married to my husband. Why can't you understand that? It wasn't a problem at the other parties or stock parties we attended, so why is it now?"

I immediately regretted what I said. Why did I snap at my boss?

When I finished ranting, Sunghoon wore a smile that sent chills down my spine. He stood up from his chair and walked around to stand behind me. He placed his hands on my shoulders and leaned to my right ear.

"Don't forget that I'm the one who gave you this modeling job, Y/n. I control your paycheck as well," Sunghoon whispered. " I can always terminate your contract and have no one else hire you. I can also stop the wave of customers at your photography studio."

I stayed quiet, not knowing what to say.

Sunghoon suddenly squeezed my shoulders, sending a wave of pain around my back and neck. He kept pressing harder and harder. I knew he wouldn't let go and would break something in my body.

I sighed with defeat. "Fine, I will take my rings off."

Sunghoon released my shoulders. "Thank you, Y/n," he said with another smile. "See you at the party on Saturday."

***

I stood towards the back of the ballroom, tugging down on my sleeves.

Tables draped with white cloths scattered the room where people conversed. Two long tables of a buffet were at the back, and servers carrying champagne traveled with trays in hand, offering the drinks to partygoers.

A young man with dark brown hair that looked maroon approached me. "Why hello there, what's your name?" he asked.

I was about to answer when I felt someone's arm around my shoulders. I turned my head and saw Sunghoon.

"This is my girlfriend, Mr. Lee," he said. I almost puked right there. Did Sunghoon call me his girlfriend?

"You can call me by my name, Sunghoon," said the man. "We've been friends for a while, but I understand being the CEO and everything. I'm surprised you decided to settle down. I remember we would go to the club every Friday night before you became CEO, and you would find a girl to spend the night with."

I reflected on the words Riki told me at the beginning. Was Sunghoon truly a playboy?

"Oh, that's all in the past!" laughed Sunghoon. "Thanks to Y/n, she's made me an entirely different person."

This man was spouting lies in our faces. I wanted to go back home and lay in Riki's arms. Sunghoon could sense my mood and proceeded to hug me closer to him.

Mr. Lee looked at me. "How did you capture this man's heart? Sunghoon's a hard person to control."

"Oh, haha, I have my ways, I guess," I said.

"That's great," said Mr. Lee. "Well, I need to make more business connections at this party. It was to meet you, Y/n. Continue treating Sunghoon well!"

When Mr. Lee turned and walked away, I scowled and threw Sunghoon's arm off my shoulders. "What was that for?" I shrieked. "Why did you lie about us being in a relationship? You know that I'm married!"

"What's wrong with pretending to be dating, Y/n?" asked Sunghoon.

I couldn't believe this man. "No wonder you had me take my rings off!"

I could see people turning their heads to us. I was too blinded by anger to collect myself.

Sunghoon quickly grabbed my hands, trying to get the attention away from us. "Can't you pretend to be my girlfriend for one night, Y/n?" he asked with a saddened expression. "Why do you always have a problem with my requests?"

I turned away, avoiding Sunghoon's eye contact.

Sunghoon sighed, annoyed. "Get used to this, Y/n. You're going to be in situations like this from now on."

What in the world did he mean by that?

I knew something was off when Sunghoon told me to leave off my rings. It made me nervous about what was yet to come. I was too far to escape from it now.

What other tricks did Sunghoon have up his sleeve?

——————————
I typed the whole outline of the summary, and don't worry, it'll have a happy ending😊🙏🏾
Thanks for reading! Don't forget to vote and follow!