August Ballet (12 Months Series - Part 1)

Chapter 02

Hak Yeon doesn't feel much better in the morning on the VIXX briefing with managers. He stares into his cup of coffee, wondering if his soul is as dark as the beverage. He just mildly notices Ken and Hyuk bickering, Hongbin giggling, Ravi humming and scribbling lyrics into his notebook and Leo stuffing his mouth with fresh pieces of a water melon with blank face. Their manager keeps talking, going through their packed schedule. Hak Yeon hears the words but his brain refuses to give them any meaning. He feels the frustration again. He would like to skip this boring meeting and set off for another hunt. There has to be a woman made for him somewhere! Or not? He wishes to know for sure. If he just got a final information from some divine creature telling him "no, there is no one for you", he would quit trying and focus on something else. The worst is, that he simply doesn't know. What if there is a woman capable of sweeping him of his feet walking the ground somewhere? She will fill that black empty hole in his soul, make his heart flutter with joy. She will give him goosebumps by a simple light touch making his hair rise. She has the eyes as sharp as a razor blades cutting through and scanning him to the darkest corners of his mind. She seems cold from the outside but bursts into flames anytime his fingertips touch her skin. She is educated and smart, kind and bright, emotionally strong and reliable. She is... Perfect! There is just one flaw about her - she apparently doesn't exist, only in Hak Yeon's mind.
"Cha!"
Hak Yeon twitches and spit a drop of coffee on his trousers. Right in his lap. Ken looks at the stain and laughs teasing Hak Yeon suggesting he couldn't make it to the restrooms.
"Cha Hak Yeon," says annoyed manager, "are you even listening to me?"
"Don't look at me like if I was the only one. Leo is lost in his mind, too."
"I know very well what he was talking about." Replies Leo.
"Sure," smirks Hak Yeon.
"He was talking about the shooting of a new MV. We are going to spend two weeks in a Scottish castle..."
"Haunted castle!" Interrupts him Hyuk excited. "It's haunted! The new concept is Ghost."
"Yes, I know, of course. Ghost concept. We are going to stay on... I can't pronounce the name of the castle properly..." Says Hak Yeon self-confidently.
"Rancor?" Asks surprised Hongbin. "What's so difficult about it?"
"He's kidding again. He knows nothing about it. He just tricked Leo into telling him everything and now he acts like if he knew all the time." Smirks Hyuk.
Hak Yeon punches Hyuk's arm but Hyuk strikes back and Hak Yeon moans with pain. "You lack a proper respect to your hyungs, maknae."
"It's only because my hyungs act like maknaes." Retorts Hyuk back.
"Can we get back to the main point?" Interrupts them the manager. "I need to know, if you want to have separate rooms..."
"I want a separate room!" Announces Hongbin promptly.
"I thought we are going to share the room as we did last time." Says Hak Yeon.
"That's why I insist on having a separate room." Replies Hongbin dryly. "I don't know how large the castle is but if there is a black tower, I would like to get room there, please. And put the others into rooms on the other side of the castle, please." Ads Hongbin with pleasing puppy eyes on the manager.
Hak Yeon makes a pouty face. "I will find you no matter in which dark tower you hide."
"Considering your success in finding a girlfriend I doubt that." Mumbles Hyuk.
Ravi chuckles and Ken cracks into laughter. Hak Yeon rolls his eyes. What an impudent maknae this Hyuk is. "How can you be so sure? Maybe I found my significant other last night."
"And did you?" Asks Leo.
Hak Yeon sighs and dodges the eyes. "No..."
"Told you so." Smiles Hyuk proudly.
"So I noted down you want separate rooms." Steps the manager in. "Remember to go through the instructions for the trip, don't skip, Ken!"
"I didn't skip the instructions last time... I ignored them." Smirks Ken and plays a thumb war with Hongbin.
"This time read it all. The castle belongs to a noble family and I want no incidents."
"Noble family?" Ken stops fooling around and gets interested. "You mean royalty? Are there princesses?"
"First, they are not called princesses but ladies. And second, this clan is much older than British royal family."
"Wait there are really going to be girls? Like our age? Not children or elderly?" Asks Hongbin.
"As I said, don't call them princesses and don't call them girls, for god's sake! That would be a scandal. Currently there are two ladies dwelling in the castle. They are sisters in their twenties. Lady Grace and lady Victoria Arran."
Hak Yeon's heart skips a beat. He gulps. "Victoria Arran? The psychiatrist?" He asks with his throat dry.
Manager checks his notes. "Yes, she is a psychiatrist specialized..."
"In post-traumatic stress disorder." Completes Hak Yeon.
"That's correct," smiles manager. "Have you read about her? I think there was an arcticle about her in American Science last September, I think."
"Yes... I read that article." Agrees Hak Yeon.
"She seemed smart and talked very clearly. Finally I understood what post-traumatic stress truly is. Remarkable woman. I have to admit, I look forward to meet her in person in Rancor." Praises her manager.
Hak Yeon nods but he's not listening anymore. He is going back in time in his mind. He confessed to reading the article but what he didn't say was, that he actually met doctor Victoria Arran in London last August twice. She was there to make the interview for American Science. Hak Yeon attended a fashion show and day after he decided to go to the ballet performance. His seat was right next to Victoria Arran - woman of undoubtedly cold and inapproachable appearance. She was sitting alone in private box with oculars in her hands, glancing down to the audience like a queen looking down to her servants. When Hak Yeon walked through the thick carmine red velvet drapes to get his seat, she turned to him and her emerald green and ice cold eyes went right through his body flesh like a scalpel.
"Can I help you? Are you lost?" She asked with absolute superiority. She was sure he has to be lost because he has no right to breath the same air as she breathes.
Hak Yeon really nearly backed off and his knees went weak under her arrogant stare. However he defeated the initial instinct of running away, raised his head and stared back at her. "This is my seat, I believe." He pronounced slowly and carefully. His accent was still quite heavy but he pronounced it correctly and was very proud of himself. And she was sitting on his seat. She probably thought no one will give such an amount of money for the ticket but Hak Yeon wanted to enjoy his time in London to the fullest and he invested into an expensive ticket to watch the performance like a king. He didn't expected the need to fight over the seat with a queen, though.
Victoria Arran stood up. She wasn't exactly tall but she could make the impression of height. She was either blessed with a full S shape figure or she worked hard to get it. Victoria Arran was wearing simple black dress perfectly fitting her body like a second skin. Her own skin was fair and flawless, contrasting with mahogany brown hair gleaming with streams of wine red shade in a simple hair bun. She wore just a minimum of make-up yet her lips were coral red, jewelry was minimalistic and simple - golden rings in her ears and thin golden chain on her neck. She was giving a true victorious impression. "I do apologize, sir." She said with calm and nearly hypnotizing voice. Hak Yeon got to know about her occupation later and he could understand that she can persuade her patients to tell her all their secrets by just talking to them with that voice. "Please, be welcome." She stepped aside giving him an opportunity to take his seat first.
Hak Yeon didn't obey and hold the chair for her first. She rolled her eyes over his chivalry and sat on the chair. After that Hak Yeon finally sat down. They didn't touch each other at all but Hak Yeon could strongly feel the electricity in the air. She was emitting some sort of the vibes resonating through Hak Yeon and making the hair at the back of his head stand up. He gave her a side look to check her out and reveal her weak points as he was used to do with all women. She was sitting next to him, staring in front of herself, her back as straight and stiff as a ruler, hands folded in her lap. She wasn't giving out any emotions, looked like a silent sphinx keeping all her secrets behind a stone mask. No matter how much Hak Yeon tried he couldn't say anything about her. No shivering, no blushes, no changes in breathing or pulse. By that time, most of women, well... most of people in general would start chatting nervously by now just to break the awkward silence. Victoria Arran seemed to be fine, not feeling awkward at all. Hak Yeon didn't want to be the one showing the weakness first but he felt an urgent need to hear her voice again. There was no other way, he had to start the conversation. He prepared what he wants to say in his head, checked the grammar briefly, took a deep breath and opened his mouth to speak up...
"You are not local." She spoke so suddenly and quietly and there was no change in her posture that Hak Yeon thought he just imagined her voice for a moment. "You came to visit the fashion show."
Neither of those were questions. She stated it. "How do you know?" Asked Hak Yeon. He hoped for a long reply.
"Your outfit is last fashion."
And that was it. Like if he was the only one wearing modern clothes. He took a look down and noticed the whole theatre full of people in old-fashioned clothes. At that moment she changed the facial expression. She kept looking down on her peasants but the corners of her mouth lifted a little bit and Hak Yeon noticed a misceavous spark in her eyes. She could read his mind. Hak Yeon suddenly felt a cold draft. It was a scary feeling. She seemed to know everything about him already while he is roaming in the dark.
"I should introduce myself. My name is Cha Hak Yeon." He stood up and bowed.
She awarded him with long look into his eyes. After a minute that seemed like a lifetime to Hak Yeon, she stood up and stretched her arm forward but not in a position for a handshake, she left the hand in a position for a kiss! "Lady Victoria Arran. Pleasure to meet you mister Cha Hak Yeon." She looked at him with a challenge in her eyes. Obviously she could tell he's a bit nervous about kissing a hand of a strange woman. However Hak Yeon's curiosity was stronger than his cultural habits.
Hak Yeon took her by the slender and fragile looking fingers, bended forward while staring into her eyes and lightly touched the top of her hand with his lips. He expected at least a slight shiver, a little twitch of muscles, spark in her eyes, lifting of the corners of her mouth, anything expressing some sort of emotions underneath the ice cold surface. He was disappointed again. Victoria Arran stayed calm and mysterious. Hak Yeon pressed his lips against her hand a little bit more - no reaction. He breathed out with his nose so she could feel his warm breath - not a single move in her face. Hak Yeon decided to test her self-control and parted his lips slightly, not much, just to let her feel the wet part of his lips. Finally! Hak Yeon screamed with triumph internally when one of her eyebrows went slightly up. He left her hand and smiled confidently. "The pleasure is mine."
Victoria Arran was watching his face carefully. Hak Yeon was sure, she is evaluating him, searching for his weak points and estimating him; he knew it because he was doing exactly the same thing. Suddenly the gong sounded. Victoria took her seat and looked down through oculars. She felt no need to say something. She might have already made her mind about Hak Yeon. However Hak Yeon himself was a bit confused. He still couldn't tell if she is arrogant or just doesn't like to be bothered by strangers. He sat down and looked down the direction she was looking. There was a young elegantly dressed man with pretty woman. They were whispering into each other’s ears and giggling like teenagers. Hak Yeon gave Victoria a side look but her face was telling nothing.
"Do you know those people?" Asked Hak Yeon.
Victoria put down the oculars and leaned against the chair. She was calm and relaxed. "The woman used to be my best friend and the man proposed me. Before I could tell him my answer, he had sex with her and then lied to me about it."
Hak Yeon froze. Her voice stayed nice and velvet like, there was not a single trace of bitterness, sadness, anger or any other emotion. His mind was trying to figure out how she reacted then when she found out about her boyfriend cheating on her. Was she calm? "You don't seem to be hurt by it." Said Hak Yeon.
"I'm not. I was going to refuse him. He only made it easier for me."
Hak Yeon gulped. Is her heart made of solid ice? Is there anything that would drive her out of her witts? Or is she just a robot covered in human skin? Second gong sounded. Hak Yeon smirked for himself because something occured in his mind. Something little bit mean but he was curious about her reaction. He glanced down to the people and pronounced quietly but very clearly. "Looking at you, madam, I can't really blame him for his need of a human touch."
The only reaction was utter silence at her side - she stopped breathing for a moment. Hak Yeon forced himself not to look at her and kept watching the audience bellow. He noticed a slight move of her head. She turned to him and watched his profile. Hak Yeon wanted to keep a steady face but he just couldn't avoid a mischievous smirk. He had to close his eyes and press his lips not to start laughing. And as he did, he suddenly heard a chuckle. He opened his eyes quickly and saw something breathtaking. Lady Victoria Arran was red in face, with palm on her mouth, shaking and fighting the laughter. She managed to end the giggling and took the hand off her face. She was still smiling! It was the brightest and most beautiful smile, Hak Yeon ever seen.
"You are so wicked, mister Cha Hak Yeon!" She whispered.
Hak Yeon had goosebumps from the way she was pronouncing his name. He felt the sudden desire to hear her saying his name over and over again. An image of her lying in his bed occured in his mind - her long lustrous hair spread on the pillow, her skin heating and glowing with pleasure, her eyes gleaming looking into his, her lips wet, red and swollen from kissing, her chest rising and sinking quickly, she is out of breath and whispering his name...
Hak Yeon had to change the position on the chair slightly because he didn't feel comfortable anymore.
A third gong sounded and that carefree sunshine smile vanished from her face. The theatre darkened and the music started to play. Hak Yeon started to miss a view on her face. He took a deep breath and his lungs filled with a light scent of a decent perfume. She moved her chair a bit closer to him! Just an inch or so but she did! She probably just wanted a better view to the stage, Hak Yeon scolded his wildly fantasising brain. All his senses were focused on her, he couldn't help it.
In the quiet moment sounded her whisper clearly and kinda seductive: "You were right, though. That man had never experienced my touch."