Several feet away from where Seo Dan is conversing with Cho Cheol-gang, Se-ri and Jeong-hyeok have returned to the rest of the group at the bar. Se-ri laughs at one of Ju-meok's jokes, while listening to the music with half an ear. But in her head, she hears something completely different:
"You're too good for any of them," he'd said, his eyes earnest.
Her stomach hadn't stopped doing loop-de-loops since, and her unconscious sidelong glances at Jeong-hyeok are beginning to annoy even herself. He, on the other hand, doesn't seem as affected; he seems to be focused intently on whoever is speaking at the moment.
Suddenly, she has the urge to just get away from it all.
"Let's go dance, Eun-dong!" Seri bellows above the music. His baby face looks alarmed..
"I don't know how, Seri-ssi!"
"Nonsense! I'll teach you," Se-ri takes his hand and pulls him up. "Why don't we all go?" she asks, "Ju-meok? Gwang Beom? Jeong-hyeok-ssi?" The last name comes out in a somewhat rushed way, as if she's trying not to draw too much attention to the invitation. She needn't have worried.
"I don't dance," Jeong-hyeok states flatly. "But the rest of the boys will go with you."
"Ohhhh no! I'm not going anywhere near that death trap," Pyo Chi-su looks to be about three sheets to the wind, thanks to two glasses of absinthe. He hiccups loudly.
"Urgh," grumbles Se-ri in disgust. "Fine. You stay here and I'll teach everyone else my moves."
She turns to make her way to the dance floor, and automatically the three boys shift into a sort of protective formation around her. Park Kwang-beom brings up the rear, Joo-meok and Eun-dong walk at either side of her, in a way that seems so natural that perhaps it's almost unconscious.
Jeong-hyeok stands at the bar watching them but yet not watching them, his arms crossed and brows furrowed deep in thought.
"You look beautiful."
"This is just a business arrangement. It's not like we're friends."
"You're too good for any of them."
"Idiot," mutters Jeong-hyeok aloud. "Why can't you stick to what you say?"
He heaves a sigh and looks out across the dance floor, where some very strange antics are taking place. Eun-dong is waving his phone in the air like he's at a rave and Se-ri and Joo-meok are swaying along jokingly beside him. Park Gwang-beom stands in the background, looking embarrassed on behalf of all of them.
As the music changes into something more uptempo, Eun-dong and Joo-meok switch to jumping in the air, higher and higher,trying to outdo each other. After a moment Se-ri joins in, laughing as she holds her dress up and hops. Even Park Gwang-beom eventually gives in.
The high-class guests who notice them are starting to move away, scandalized and whispering. But to Jeong-hyeok, watching them feels like a breath of fresh air. It's like someone cracking open the window in a room he's been trapped in for far too long.
From the corner of his eye, Jeong-hyeok sees a figure that looks familiar –a hint of a pastel pink dress, waist-length straight dark hair. The figure is standing at the edge of the crowd; she appears to be looking in the same direction that Jeong-hyeok is. He squints for a moment, cursing the flashing lights that make it so hard to see. And then –
"AHAAAA!" comes a yell from behind him, making him jump about three feet in the air.
Jeong-hyeok spins around to see Pyo Chi-suu pointing at something and waving his arms in the air, apparently having taken complete leave of his senses.
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Fanfiction"Jeong-Hyeok," his father says in a tired voice, "This is how it's going to be. The general shareholder meeting is in five weeks from now. If you are not firmly engaged by then - I am going to recommend that the board make someone else the Chairman...
