Magic Rich Boy // JHS

four: dread ii

Four: Dread Pt. 2

Maria looked at her friend amusingly. Bom wouldn't admit it, but Maria knew she had the biggest crush on her brother. Maria didn't mind it— if they ever got together, it would be okay because she knew Matthew, even though annoying and sometimes idiotic, was a good guy.

They took Maria's car, not really wanting to take the bus in fancy wear. Once they were at the gala, Maria was regretting every choice she had made today. Within the first ten minutes, Bom had already found her first glass of champagne, deadset in not letting all these expensive drinks go to waste. Maria was walking around, amazed by how many people she recognized that were on TV but also not willing to behave like a star-struck teenager. She almost lost her composure when she saw Kang Seulgi herself in the distance. Bom, on the other hand, was striking conversations with whoever listened. With a light buzz, for her anything was possible.

Maria realized that Bom was having a great time. She wasn't going to try to join her in her conversation, so Maria figured it was okay to leave her alone for a bit. Maria wanted to find Namjoon and say hello.

Hoseok was having a very animated conversation with one of his friends. He had no idea Gabi would be here—they had gone to high school together and now attended the same university. It had been a couple of years when he last saw her; she had gone to study abroad somewhere in Latin America and somehow managed to study abroad again the year after. SNU didn't usually allow study abroads in two consecutive years, but it seems that Gabi was the exception. She was an excellent student within the top one percent of her class in SNU. Hoseok couldn't compare to her academically, but he knew she was absolute garbage at dancing. They had a performance back in high school and she was cut out of it within the second day of practice.

"You promised that you wouldn't bring that up," Gabi rolled her eyes as Hoseok cackled with laughter.

Yes, cackled.

"I never promised anything," Hoseok said, his laughter diminishing.

That's when he saw Maria from across the room. She looked amazing in a long crimson chiffon spaghetti strap dress, but Hoseok couldn't just chase after her to just say hi. He looked at Gabi for help.

At least ten feet away from her, Maria saw Namjoon chatting with a man. If she wanted to say hi to him, she had to do it quickly because the schedule said that he needed to address the guests soon. However, she also didn't want to interrupt his conversation. She just kinda made her way towards him slowly, hoping that he would notice her presence and stop and say hello. It worked. Namjoon looked to his side and saw her. He smiled brightly after locking eyes with one of his interns.

Namjoon oversaw about ten interns and these past weeks they all had become like his children. He found all of them cute. During the first few days they, some of Seoul's finest students, were all tripping and stumbling around trying to adjust to the House's fast yet efficient atmosphere. Maria was the one who spent the most time with him as she was his designated intern, so he was a little closer to her than he was to others. She made a great intern and Namjoon knew she was on the right track to get a full-time position at the House once she graduated.

"Glad to see you made it," Namjoon said once she was close enough to hear him, grinning. "Thanks for coming."

"I wouldn't have missed it for the world, Mr. Kim," Maria said after giving him a slight bow, a little giddy he said that. That was a lie, of course—she almost didn't come.

Okay, so she had a small crush. Who wouldn't? Kim Namjoon was the definition of perfect. It would've been unrealistic to not have a crush on him.

"This is Choi Beomsoo," Namjoon introduced the man beside him. "He is the head of International Relations at the House."

Maria shook Choi Beomsoo-ssi's hand while also giving him a slight bow, "It's very nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Beomsoo smiled.

"This is Maria Carmesi," the way he said Maria's last name so smoothly made her heart flutter a bit. "One of my best interns. An international affairs major I believe, isn't that right?"

One of his best. Maria tried for that to not get in her head. His praise wasn't something she thought she would crave as much as she did now.

"Ah, yes," she said, trying her best to not look at Namjoon.

"Oh, really? You just might score yourself a job in my department if you keep up the good work with Namjoon here," said Beomsoo, digging his hand into the inside of his jacket. "What university are you attending now?"

"I'm currently at Yonsei University."

"Impressive," he offered his card. "Let's keep in touch. If you are as impressive as Namjoon says you are, I would love to welcome you into my team."

Taking Beomsoo's card was like taking one step into her future. Maria had to resist not giving him a ninety-degree bow because she was sure she would fall over from the excitement. She profusely thanked Beomsoo after taking his card with both hands. Beomsoo then said goodbye to both of them and walked away to talk to more potential donors.

"Look at you," Namjoon's grin turned into a full-blown smile. "Got some networking skills, I see."

"This is so exciting, Mr. Kim!" Maria was so close to jumping. "Thank you for introducing him to me."

"That was nothing. Hopefully, you'll get more business cards during the night," he glanced at his wristwatch. "I have to get going, Maria-ssi. Thank you for coming."

And then he was gone. Maria couldn't keep it in any longer. She lightly jumped a few times while whispering "yes" rather aggressively a few times. That got her a few stares so her excitement was short-lived. But that didn't matter, she would continue celebrating after she finally got back home. Right now, she should totally find Bom and tell her what just happened.

Hoseok saw Maria jumping and he almost worried that she would fall because of her heels.

"She's cute," Gabi told him as they planned as to how Hoseok would approach Maria.

Gabi didn't understand what the problem was of just walking up to her, but Hoseok seemed nervous and just wanted to seem natural. Going to different spots in the ballroom was not natural. Gabi wasn't going to be the one to tell him that though.

"I know right?" Hoseok mumbled, slightly amused by how Maria got embarrassed about her happiness outburst.

"When did you guys meet?" Gabi asked, sipping on her third champagne glass of the night.

"At a convenience store about a month ago."

"Ooh, was it love at first sight?"

"Not really."

"Oh?"

Okay, now the only thing that Hoseok had to do was go to her. He was near the table with all the drinks, it's natural to walk away from it after grabbing a glass...right? Hoseok began to walk towards her, a full glass of something that wasn't champagne. He just grabbed something at random.

That's when he saw it. It was black and cloudy. It looked like a dark fog and it moved along the floor. He stopped, frowning. What was that? He suddenly felt cold, even though the ballroom was at the perfect temperature. The hairs at the back of his neck stood and this weird heavy feeling fell on him. The world started spinning and he was struggling to keep himself on his feet. The fog moved faster and faster and the last thing Hoseok saw was it disappearing into Maria.

"Hoseok!"

That night, the world swallowed him into darkness.

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lmao a cliffhanger. i really hope that whoever's reading is liking the story so far. do vote lol i kinda wanna know who's reading.

thanks for reading y'all <3

diana x.