hideaki mao is not one to believe in true love, but tries hard not to fall for the charismatic, erotica writer xu minghao.
"I know that you would die
and kill for me,"
...
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we.are.not.in.love.jpg "You're not very daring, are you?"
THE house that Xu Minghao lived in was much luxurious than Mao had expected it to be.
Slightly tucked away from the city, Mao was brought to a neighborhood with traditional korean houses, with tall walls and large gardens. It was a strange sight to see a novelist live here, since the stereotypes of them really got to her. It was no surprise, since the authors Mao has only ever seen before stayed in really small apartments and barely go out of their houses, trapped inside while busy catching up with their deadlines.
Chan stopped in front of a house with gates painted brown. He smiled at Mao and unbuckled his seatbelt, "We're here." She learned that he was Xu Minghao's personal assistant slash proofreader slash friend, which was a little surprising. Chan seemed quite young to be his personal assistant, but he said that it was fine, since Minghao hired him for his complex way of describing emotions and detailed constructive criticism.
The gates opened after Chan rung the doorbell. Xu Minghao had a large garden indeed; and it was well kept, judging by how little the weeds were. He had several hydrangeas here and there, and the others were an assortment of roses. Not the perfect combination, but she assumed he liked roses. All these stereotypes about him are slowly crashing down into nothingness, especially after Mao actually met him for the first time.
Xu Minghao opened the door, leaning against the doorframe with crossed arms. A pair of gold framed glasses sat neatly on the bridge of his nose, and the ends of his mullet almost touched his shoulders. He was dressed in a robe, perhaps came right out of the bath, Mao thought.
"Come in," he said to Chan, then turning to look at Mao with a smile. Undoubtedly, the first impression she had of Xu Minghao was how strangely attractive this man was.
Mao followed Chan inside, the wooden floor creaking as they walked. A pleasing sound to hear, as it reminded Mao of her own home back in Japan.
"Hyung, this is the secretary of Tender Magazine." Chan introduced Mao to the writer after they sat down on the floor cushioned with round seats. Minghao served them tea. Fragrant with flowers, Mao guessed it was Tie Guan Yin. It was a must-have spring tea, and it wasn't easy for someone to get their hands on the premium ones.
"Sir, when at work, Chan." Minghao says while pouring the tea into the ceramic teacups. As he places them in front of Mao, she catches a whiff of the body wash he just used. Nutmeg, no-sandalwood. Mao had thought to herself. Not bad.
"Nice to meet you." Minghao flashes her a smile as he sat down across of her.
"Likewise," Mao replied, returning his smile. "My name is Hideaki, from Tender Publications. On behalf of my head editor, who is an avid fan of your works, it's definitely a pleasure to meet you."
