Addicted To You

17 - Open Mind

I was putting the finishing touches on my latest article when they came to pick me up the next morning. We were going to hit some of my favorite places and just spend the day together. I had used a t-shirt transfer sheet and my iron to make my "JinKyun" t-shirt as promised, and they all went crazy over it.

We started off with coffee. I took them to my friend's coffee shop, which also happened to be a Korean bakery. They drooled over the selection of delectable pastries and treats. I introduced them to my friend when we arrived.

Won Iseul was about 20 years older than me but looked like she was in her early forties. Her hair was long and black, peppered lightly with streaks of gray, and fixed into a neat bun every day. Her eyes were large with double eyelids and her mouth was small and heart-shaped. I had noticed a lot of men liked to hang around her shop.

She was tall and lithe. She had told me once that she had aspired to be a ballerina when she was young, but an injury held her back from pursuing her dream. Her parents pushed her to go to medical school. She hated everything about it and dropped out. She loved cooking and baking, so she decided to try culinary school. She became a chef and then moved to France after graduation to focus more on baking. That is where she learned to make such tantalizing treats.

Iseul was a beautiful woman even though she didn't fuss over her appearance much. She was at work before 4:00 every morning and said the pastries didn't care how she looked. That is what her young staff was for. She didn't care if you were rich, poor, famous, or invisible. She cared if you liked her shop and the delicacies inside it.

When I introduced my escorts, she simply smiled, bowed, and asked them if they were hungry. Her staff, on the other hand, were ready to explode from holding back their excitement. I saw her shoot them a look that caused them to straighten up and settle down. Iseul was a sweetheart, but you did not want to be on her bad side. In many ways, she was the stereotypical ahjumma from those dramas we love so much. Doting and affectionate to her loved ones, but stern and obstinate when needed. She had taken me under her wing a few years ago and had become a surrogate mom to me since mine had passed. It was important to me that she meet my guys.

We told her that we were going to eat lunch soon and tried to pass on the yum-yums, but she was not going to send the guys away empty-handed. She ducked behind the counter and started loading up a box of freshly made buns, breads, cookies, and other mouthwatering treats. Shownu took them from her, extending his arms and bowing politely. The corners of her eyes crinkled as she smiled happily. I could see the joy on Shownu's face as he inspected the offering.

From there we went for an early lunch at my favorite K-BBQ place. The guys were relatively quiet while we selected our first meat choices which seemed quite suspicious. They also kept looking at me and smiling. I knew they were either plotting something or they had been talking about the night before. I hadn't felt awkward until then.

I looked around the table at each of them. Some blushed and averted their eyes quickly, and some grinned shyly, but Minhyuk and Changkyun just smiled at me. When Minhyuk flicked his tongue out of the corner of his mouth and his smile turned to a smirk, I felt it deep inside. My body responded to him so easily. Too easily.

I felt a flush spread over my whole body and fanned myself with the menu. I sat back in my chair as I thought about how to address this situation. I put down the menu and linked my fingers on top of it. I tried to speak, but words failed me. I opened my mouth and no sound came out. I took a sip of water and finally managed to form sentences. I had their attention, now I just needed to speak the words.

"Guys, let's not do this. Last night was... hot." I couldn't find another word to fit. "It was hot, it was fun, and I enjoyed every second. You guys are all amazing kissers. I never expected anything like that to happen to me. This whole thing is beyond anything I could have ever dreamed of. But we promised it would not make things weird. It won't be happening again. Let's just leave it there," I made the mistake of glancing over at Minhyuk. The smolder in his eyes made my insides turn to jelly.