Hearts in Seoul ✧

xxviii

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warning: strong language.

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She hummed in his mouth, darting her tongue into and out of his. She hissed when he devoured her mouth, thinking it was Kayleigh the whole time.

"Didn't know you were this desperate for me," she breathed in between their kiss. It wasn't Kayleigh's voice.

Lucas' eyes widened when he realised who he was kissing. It wasn't Kayleigh, and he momentarily gagged in his mouth when he inhaled the scent of sweat and oranges, shoving her away. Mi-Rae was surprised when he did so, yanking his head to her direction and leaning in again, to which Lucas walked away.

"Get the fuck off of me," he hissed, pushing her away from him.

Mi-Rae looked at Lucas in shock. People in the club started to stare at them, as they momentarily stopped to dance. Mi-Rae's makeup was now dishevelled; her red lipstick had smeared all over her face, even slightly tinting Lucas' lips. Her mascara started to run down her face and her hair stuck out in every direction. Her red dress was stained with alcohol. Yet, Lucas can't help but adore her; she was cute. Cute. But Kayleigh was so much prettier and Kayleigh was the girl he loved. Not Mi-Rae.

"What? You kiss me for no reason and then suddenly look at me as if you are disgusted," she spat, shouting. The music in the club ceased thumping.

"And so? I realised it wasn't the one I wanted to kiss. I thought you were someone else," he shrugged. "I'd never kiss you."

"You just did," she remarked, hands on her tiny waist. "And you enjoyed it."

"I won't enjoy the smell of oranges. It makes me gag. Call me allergic, but that's the fucking truth," Lucas smirked back, taking a seat. "I hate you."

Mi-Rae wailed at him, slapping him on his broad chest. By then, all of the people at the club stared at them, wondering why a beautiful girl like her would suddenly throw a fit, knowing that her career was on the line. "I did everything for you. I did all of this to make you love me. Lust for me. I loved you, Lucas. You, out of all. Your stupid gang meant nothing to me."

"I don't care."

"I thought that if they'd approve of me, it'll be easy to get to you," she said in between breaths. People took their cameras out, snapping pictures of KANDEE's Mi-Rae as she continued crying. "But no. You got your eyes on a useless girl who did nothing but bat her eyelashes at you guys. And guess what? You fell for it."

"Don't talk about Kayleigh like that again. I hate you. I fuckin' hate you."

"Since you've already admitted your hatred for me, there's no reason for me to continue what I'm doing. Everyone!" she announced, looking at the crowd. "This has been in the wraps for a while but, I am officially leaving South Korea. Therefore, KANDEE will be disbanded even before we debut. I hope you understand."

The crowd stood in shock. Lucas pulled her by the wrist into a dark corner, as the disc jockey played another song. "You don't have to give up your dream," Lucas deadpanned. "I don't want to be held accountable for your decision."

"You won't. My parents decided I should leave. I'm going to France," she whispered. "So I guess, our first and final kiss was timely."

"Good. I still hate you."

"This is a goodbye, Lucas. I'm sorry for everything I'd done to you and your friends."

She walked away, spritzing her orange-scented eau de cologne before grabbing her red bag and walking off, never to debut with Eun-Kyo and Dan-Ah. Mi-Rae was never to be seen, or heard off, again.

Lucas left the nightclub not long after, around two in the morning, rushing home. He wasn't drunk, despite gulping down bottles of a mixture of alcohols, and heck, he wasn't even tipsy, so he was capable of driving his own car.

He came home to a quiet house, his father sulked up in his study room, calculating the net profit of his company, Hyun Airlines, to be inherited by Lucas in the near future. His brother's room was opposite his, dead silent as he approached.

"Chang-Min, what are you doing this late at night?" his Ahjumma asked in Korean, rubbing sleep from her eyes.

"I was out, Ahjumma. I'll just drink water then I'll get to bed," he smiled, before chugging a glass of water and heading to his room.

That night, sleep evaded Lucas. He thought of Mi-Rae. He thought of how she loved him throughout, loved him despite his downfalls, and he thought of how he was blinded by his hatred for her. He felt for her, somehow. One way or another, it was also his story; he loved Kayleigh, yet Kayleigh hated him because of everything he'd done to her. He felt gutted.

He shifted in his position. He thought of the J-Alpha. He thought of the mountains they had to surmount, as a group — the jealous freaks, the Ghostriders, who tried to take them down countless times, yet the strength of their friendship had prevailed, helping them surmount their troubles, including the Ghostriders.

He thought of Kayleigh. How her light brown hair glistened under the sun, how her eyes sparkled upon experiencing joy and how her lips formed into a smile whenever someone had given her a compliment. He thought of how beautiful she was, and how she was the only girl he'd ever love.

Sighing, he sat up from his white-linen bed, dialling an old friend's number, swallowing his pride. "Oi," he began.

"Why are you calling me at four a.m? Are you insane?" Jacob muttered in his raspy, sleeping voice.

"Maybe. But I need your help," Lucas said.

"What help? Now? Are we even friends?" Fair point.

"Hey, you fucking shit. I swallowed my pride calling you right now. And no, I know what you're thinking. I'm not drunk. I've no intention to drunk dial you, anyway. And you know I drink loads," he explained. "Anyway, it's late so, Kayleigh..."

"What about her?" Jacob questioned. He heard him shift in his sheets.

"You know... uh, any tips?"

"Fuck? In the middle of the night? Are you serious?" he sighed, before giving in. "Keeping it short and simple, because I'm sleepy, treat her nicely. And I guess, be friends with us again."

"Bro, you're tripping me."

Jacob chuckled. "No, I am not. You know how Kayleigh is. She likes people who respect her friends. Look at Justin, for example. Despite the fact that she wanted to avoid us, she accepted him as a friend again, because she felt that he was sincere and well, he didn't do anything wrong. You just ended up getting jealous."

Lucas grew confused. "What do you mean?"

Jacob laughed again. "Treat her nicely. Be nice to her friends. Make her happy. She likes food, so I suggest taking her out for a restaurant date. Good night, Lucas. I'm sleepy." he said, before ending the call.

Lucas was able to sleep after that, her light brown hair conquered his dreams.

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