Unique Friend

~13~

~13~

It turned out to be Namjoon who had asked for her. "Hey Karina! Gr-" he stops abruptly when he notices Marlie trailing in behind, quiet for once. "Marlie. There you are. I thought I had asked you to be on cleanup duty? What are you doing out on the floor?"

Marlie smiles sweetly at her boss, "Oh, well I knew you were looking for Karina, so I went in search of her and found her on the dance floor with Mr. Kim."

Karina instantly flushes with embarrassment at the implication to her boss that she is anything but professional. Thankfully, Namjoon doesn't seem to take it this way, muttering what sounds like "finally" under his breath.

"Thank you Marlie. Now, if you and the rest of the crew want to get out of here at a decent time tonight, I'd suggest you take your mind off of Karina's whereabouts and focus on cleanup. This is the second time I've had to remind you tonight, so please," he gestures toward the back where staff are busy packing and cleaning.

Without another word, Marlie makes her way out back. As soon as she's gone, Karina starts to defend herself, but Namjoon cuts her off.

"Karina. I have told you before, you are my best staff member. And, you have worked really hard to ensure we had our best art event yet. I actually wanted to speak to you to tell you to take the rest of the night off and relax. Everything is winding down, and the other staff and I can handle it all from here. Besides, it's only right for the special guest to have a celebratory dance with his event coordinator/hostess/roommate."

Karina is about to object when she remembers the warmth of Taehyung's hands on her, his adorable pout when she reminded him she is working. Why can't I just let go and have a little fun for once?

Namjoon sees her hesitation and reads her like a book. "Just go and enjoy yourself, Karina, or I'll never hear the end of Taehyung's sulking," he says with a smile.

Karina laughs at this. "Well, when you put it that way, how can I refuse? I'll never hear the end of it at home, either."

Grabbing a few of the finger foods and a glass of champagne, Karina finds a quiet table in the back corner of the room and sighs as she sits. As she looks around, she is filled with pride at how great everything looks, and how successful the show was. She even has a few business cards of other artists interested in having events here at the Black Swan. Letting out a small sigh of contentment, Karina finally allows herself to relax.

Suddenly she hears an old familiar voice in her ear, a voice she had hoped never to hear in real life again, a voice that still haunts her nightmares.

"Hello, Karina." The possessive tone cannot be missed, as though he had been searching for one of his belongings and finally found it.

"It can't be!" she whispers, not having the courage to face her biggest fear- Derek, her ex boyfriend.

Derek makes himself comfortable in a chair he drags much too close, effectively trapping her in the corner behind the table. He places one arm along the back of the chair, the other he leans on the table in front of them. Trying not to show her fear, Karina squares her shoulders and lifts her chin, meeting his gaze defiantly, and strives for cool indifference.

"Derek. What a surprise. I had no idea you were at all interested in art."

Derek chuckles dismissively in response. "Don't play coy, Karina. I came to find you, and take you home, with me, where you belong," he finishes, brushing a possessive hand down her arm, ending in a firm grip on her elbow.

Karina refuses to give him the satisfaction of hearing her cry out, despite the pain from his harsh grip. "I think not, Derek. You know that it is over."

"It's over when I say it's over, my pet," he grinds out darkly, as he applies more pressure to his grip on her arm, causing her to wince despite herself.

"What are you doing?" a deep voice suddenly sounds above them. Karina looks up in relief to see that Taehyung has found her. His big eyes, usually so soft when they look at her, turn hard when they see the grip Derek has on her arm. "Remove your hands from her," he says in a flat, icy tone that Karina had never heard him use before. She had no idea he had it in him to be so intimidating. Even Derek seems to sense the menace in his tone and removes his hand from her arm, extending it to shake hands with Taehyung.

"I'm Derek Wilson, her boyfriend. And you are?" he says so casually it gives Karina chills.

"Ex boyfriend," she spits out venomously.

Taehyung shows no reaction to any of this, merely turning his head and giving a slight jerk of his chin. Almost instantly, someone approaches whom Karina recognizes as Namjoon's good friend she knows only as "Mr. Lee", who often works security at their events. Not long after, she sees Namjoon approaching as well, almost as though he could sense that Taehyung needed him.

Turning a stony expression back to Derek, Taehyung addresses him again, "You'll be leaving now, Derek." He is so cold that even Karina is intimidated.

Derek doesn't show any outward sign of being intimidated, but Karina knows he's sly enough to know when he's beat and to weasel his way out of sticky situations.

"Well, Karina, it was nice to see you again. Let's not wait so long to catch up next time" he says with a smirk as he gets up from the table and saunters to the door, Mr. Lee and Namjoon following closely behind. She is embarrassed to see that some people in the crowd have noticed the small scene and are giving her curious glaces.

Taehyung calmly sits beside her, but instead of asking her about Derek, he simply asks "What do you need?" His gentle, sensitive manner is such a stark contrast to Derek's possessive, controlling ways that Karina barely manages to stifle a sob. Her eyes are misty with emotion when she raises them to his and says softly, "A friend."