The Devil's Pact | BBANGSAZ

F I F T E E N

The next morning, Hanni woke up and found Minji asleep, leaning against the headboard like she'd stayed up all night. She had never woken up before Minji. Usually, Minji was either fiddling around in the living room or already gone. Hanni smiled as she stared at Minji's face—her perfect nose and lips, and her thin black eyelashes that somehow made her bright brown eyes stand out even more when they were open. She leaned over and quickly pecked Minji on the lips. Minji slowly opened her eyes and smiled.

"Good morning, Minji," Hanni said, smiling as she straddled Minji's lap.

"Good morning, Hanni," Minji whispered back, kissing her.

After they finally dragged themselves out of the bedroom, into the shower, and into clean clothes, it was already late afternoon.

"Do you like Korean food?" Minji asked, grabbing her jacket and keys.

Hanni tucked her bottom lip into her mouth, smiling as she eyed Minji up and down. "I thought that would have been obvious," she replied, grinning at Minji with her dimples showing.

Minji walked up to her and kissed her for what felt like the hundredth time since the night before. "Mmm," she murmured as she pulled away. "I'm going to cook for you tonight."

Hanni looked surprised. "You can cook?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Minji arched her own eyebrow. "What the hell? Of course, I can."

Hanni laughed and wrapped her arms around Minji's neck, delivering another kiss.

"So—mmm...be ready...by...eight, mmm...damn, Hanni," Minji said as Hanni kept kissing her between words. "Okay, wear something sexy, and I'll see you in a few hours, alright?"

Hanni nodded, and Minji gently cupped her face and kissed her hard and deep, her tongue exploring her mouth. She'd almost memorized it. She quickly pulled away from Hanni and exited the loft, needing to leave before she stripped Hanni down and made love to her again. Made love? That thought wasn't one that usually came to mind—ever.

In the lobby of her building, Minji greeted Zo. "Good morning, Zo."

"Good morning, Ms. Kim. Nice day, huh?"

"The best," Minji replied. In her car, Minji grabbed her phone to call her house, but the battery was dead. Damn. And she had no charger in this car because she rarely used it. She'd just have to wait until she got home. But for some reason, now that she was away from Hanni and the powerful spell Hanni cast on her, Minji felt like she was forgetting something. Wallet? Check. Phone? Check. What was that nagging feeling? Probably nothing, so Minji tried to ignore it.

When she arrived home, she walked inside and saw Jake sitting on the couch eating a sandwich.

"Good morning, Jake." Jake was about to take a bite when she greeted him, and he paused, lowering his sandwich.

"Uh, good morning to you too, Minji."

Before Jake could say more, Minji ran upstairs, entered her office, and closed the door. She sighed, thinking of Hanni. She wished Hanni had come with her. She should have kept Hanni by her side today, since she'd be back over there in a few hours anyway. But they could never have peace at her place—too many people were always around. She walked over to her desk to check her messages.

"Hello, Minji."

Minji turned to find Sieun sitting casually on the couch. What the hell? Why was Sieun in her office?

"Sieun, what the hell are you—" Then it hit her like a ton of bricks. Sieun's expression and her reason for being here. The nagging feeling she'd had in the car. No, no, no. Now Minji remembered...the Russians.