Addicted To You

31 - By My Side

From the moment I first told her I would be in Korea for a few months, Lucy and I started making plans to see each other while we were so close to each other. Initially, I was going to fly to her, but she decided she would come to me instead. She said she could use a vacation from the boys and she wanted to meet my guys too.

As much as I would have loved to see the kids, I was secretly happy that she didn't bring them. I needed adult time with my BFF. I needed to talk to her about grown-up stuff and having little innocent ears nearby would make it difficult. She promised I would get to see them before I went back to Atlanta in March.

The guys had wanted to go with me to pick her up, but their schedules would not allow it. They had designated a car and driver for me when I arrived, so I called him to take me to pick her up at the airport. So far, I hadn't had much trouble with being followed or mobbed, but I was paranoid after they told me about the sasaeng. I was on edge every time I was in public or heard a noise in my apartment. Thankfully, my driver also happened to be on the security team so I felt a little safer.

His name was Chul Moo. It was a fitting name. He told me it meant 'an iron weapon'. He was over six feet tall and had a very imposing presence. He mentioned that he had been a fighter when he was younger, but now he had a family and didn't want to risk serious injury.

I could picture him kicking some serious ass. His shoulders were nearly as wide as my door and his arms were bigger than Wonho's. He had rugged good looks. Not the flower boy kind, but the rough, scruffy kind. He also struck me as a giant teddy bear to those close to him, but yet a fierce protector when needed.

He stayed by my side as we made our way to meet Lucy. It wasn't hard to spot her in the crowd. She was 5'7 and platinum blonde. Naturally platinum blonde. She had legs that went on for days and they were topped with a perfect bikini body, even after two kids. Her mouth was small with full heart-shaped lips, her cheekbones were high and modelesque, and she had the bluest eyes I had ever seen. They were almost royal blue. People thought she wore colored contacts, but they were hers. In short, she was strikingly gorgeous. She was also the best friend one could ask for.

I was just about to scream across the sea of travelers when she spotted me. We ran to meet each other and I could not have cared less about the stares we got. We cried and hugged each other, oblivious to our surroundings. We were in a public place in a culture that didn't do PDA. Our driver-slash-bodyguard directed us to conduct our reunion in the quiet confines of the car. Chul Moo took her cases and we followed him to the car.

Lucy was the last of my family members to meet the guys and I was too excited for words. I felt like they knew each other already, as much as I talked about one to the other. I wondered what their reaction would be when they met for the first time. The guys had all seen countless photos of her, but that wasn't the same as meeting in person.

Looking like she did, Lucy had always had her share of modeling offers as long as I had known her. She also had no shortage of men, and women, flirting with her. None of that bothered me though. She and I were not competing and I wasn't exactly the ugly duckling. I got my fair share of attention too. We never fought over a guy because we never had an interest in the same ones. And honestly, I don't think it would have been an issue even if we were.

She did try modeling once in college and hated it. She was interested in science, not showing off her body and face. "Intelligence is sexy," she'd always remind me when I would start to slack off on my studies. Her major was biochemistry and she was hella smart. Her GPA was 4.0, mine was a mere 3.8, and she graduated with honors and job offers.

Mine would have been higher if I hadn't let my studies go for two semesters while I lived on the wild side. Lucy was instrumental in bringing me back before I completely went over the edge.