Chapter 133: Midnight Fantasy

Kim Jae Wook… Kim Jae Wook… the whole set was murmuring his name, whispering the latest gossips about his love life and work.

“If I hear that dude’s name one more time, I’m gonna flip,” Darren grumbled to me.

“You’re just jealous that all eyes have turned to Jae Wook,” I laughed.

“Oh… are we on first name basis already?” he sneered. “You haven’t even met the fella. I heard he’s a prick.”

“You’re the prick, Darren,” I said, and walked away before he could muster a reply.

Kim Jae Wook arrived on time, which was a commendable thing since it showed he wasn’t a diva. He didn’t bring an entourage, just himself and 1 PA. He was introduced to the director and the key members of the crew, and then he was introduced to us, his co-stars.

“This is Sierra,” the producer said to Jae Wook as he gestured toward me.

“Choeum poebkeseumnida,” I smiled.

“Choeum poebkeseumnida,” he replied. “So you’re my leading lady.”

“Mine too,” Darren piped in. “Darren-imnida,” he said as he shook Jae Wook’s hand.

“Right… this is going to be an intense competition,” he joked.

It wasn’t that Darren couldn’t hold a candle to Jae Wook. Both were around 184cm tall. I looked like a dwarf next to the both of them. Darren’s hair was shorter and Jae Wook’s hair was his usual longish, black mop, secured on his head with a beanie. Jae Wook just had more feminine features, which made the fight boil down to whether the fans wanted the masculine guy, or the sensitive guy. Jae Wook was clearly going to be the sensitive guy, and Darren would be the macho one.

We settled down at the small table and the producers explained Jae Wook’s role in the drama to us. A few hours later, after ironing out all the kinks, Jae Wook had to leave, and we had to get back to work.

“I really look forward to working with you, Sierra-sshi,” Jae Wook said to me as he was leaving.

“You’re too nice, Jae Wook-sshi,” I replied. “This is my first attempt at real acting. I should be the one who’s looking forward to working with you.”

“Well, it’s precisely because it’s your first attempt, so I’m curious to know what you can do,” he smiled.

“I don’t know much. So I hope you’ll be able to guide me,” I said.

“I’ll help as much as I can,” he said. “See you around.”

“Bye,” I said.

{Girls on Top: Episode 2, Scene 5}

Ho Young rushes through the fire exit door and slams it hard. He kicked the stair railing, then winced in pain.

“Michoso… michoso…” he said as he slapped his palm on his forehead.

“What was that?” Maya yelled and she came rushing through the door after him.

“Mwo?” he yelled at her.

“You’re really starting to piss me off, Jang Ho Young!” she said, seething with anger.

“You deserved it,” he said.

“I’ve done nothing to you,” she said. “Why did you have to call my bluff and make a fool of the both of us during that meeting?”

“Damn you!” he shouted, then grabbed Maya and kissed her.

Maya tried to push away for a moment, but when she realized he wasn’t being rough, and it was actually a gentle and sensual kiss, she gave up and kissed him back.

Awhile later, the two of them sat on the stair, sharing a cigarette.

“So?” Ho Young said, out of the blue.

“So what?” she said as she exhaled a mouthful of smoke.

“Where do we stand now?” he asked.

“We’re sitting,” she said, pretending to misunderstand him.

“So we’re not getting back together?” he said, as he took the cigarette out of her hand and puffed on it.

“Were we ever together?” she said as she raised an eyebrow at him.

“If we weren’t, then shall we get together?” he asked her. “I feel something for you, and I know it didn’t end when we left Singapore. I’m guessing that you feel the same too.”

“Do you think that this situation is going to be convenient for us?” she asked him.

“We don’t need to tell the world,” he said.

“It’s going to be awkward,” she said.

“I can control my hormones, if that’s what you’re getting at. Can you?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked him.

“You know you women…” he said.

“Excuse me… you’re the one who’s asking for reconciliation now, not me!”

“Oh… so you’re admitting that we were together now?” he teased and she punched him on the arm. “Come on…” he coaxed as he put an arm around her.

“I’ll think about it,” she said as she stubbed the cigarette on the stair railing.

“Okay,” he said and he planted another kiss on her lips. “Sleep on this,” he smiled, and she made a face at him.

That night, when Maya got home, she found a postcard in her mailbox.

Hey babe…

Guess who’s back? I’m flying back to Seoul in about 2 weeks. I hope that we can hook-up then. New York’s a drag without you.

Si Won

She turned it around and realized that the postcard what a picture of him, cam-whoring in front of Times Square, then she smiled.

{End of scene}

[Yuk Hee’s POV]

I got home alone to my empty apartment. I threw open the door after unlocking it, turned on the lights and kicked off my shoes, and my phone rang.

“Yoboseyo,” I answered, without checking who the caller was.

“Yuk Hee-sshi?” a male voice said.

“Ne, nuguseyo?” I said as I flopped onto my couch.

“It’s Nakata.”

“Nakata?” I repeated after him, trying to recall the name.

“Of Helix…” he added.

“Oh…” I giggled at my momentary loss of memory.

“How many Nakatas do you know?” he asked me.

“Not many,” I teased, “just one.”

“But you couldn’t remember the only one you knew.”

“I’m just a little beat up today,” I said. “So what’s up?”

“Was wondering if you wanted to go for a drink,” he said.

“But I just got home. You should’ve called earlier,” I said.

“I can always come over to your place. I have some wine stashed away,” he laughed.

“If you want to,” I said carelessly.

I had nothing planned on my schedule tomorrow morning, and I didn’t mind some company; even if I hardly knew him.

“Great. I’ll need your address,” he said, and I gave it to him.

Half an hour later, my door bell rang, and I opened the door to find Nakata waiting, with a bottle of wine, as promised.

“Come in,” I said, as I walked in, leaving the door open. “I’ll just be a minute.”

I was still wearing a robe since I’d just gotten out of the shower. I went to my room to put on a tank top and a pair of cropped sweatpants, grabbed a comb and pulled it through my wet hair, and I walked back out into the living room.

“Nice place,” he said.

He’d found the wine glasses and was pouring out the red wine. I joined him on the couch and picked up the glass of wine he’d already filled.

“Konbae,” he said, as he raised his glass at me.

“Konbae,” I said, and I clinked my glass with his.

“So…” I said as I put down the glass, “why are you so lonesome tonight?”

I eased across the couch until my back was against the other end. I put my feet on the couch and brought my knees close to my chest.

“Darren’s filming, and Min Jong went out with some friends. I was left home alone,” he said as he took another sip.

“And your first instinct was to call me?” I asked him.

When he’d asked for me number after the filming of the MV, I thought that he was just asking to add another number to his already lengthy list of acquaintances in his phonebook. I never expected him to call me.

“Well… I need to meet some new people sometime, and you happened to be the freshest around lately,” he smiled.

“Thank you,” I laughed. “So is this how you get the ladies?” I asked him. “Some wine, some conversation…”

“Usually there’s music,” he joked. “But I didn’t know how to work your stereo system.”

“Yea… it’s man-proof, so that guys like you can’t use it to work your charms on me,” I said, as I picked up the remote and turned on some music. It just so happened that I’d been listening to S-Cube; not because I liked the band, but because I wanted to hear Skye’s voice sing to me.

“So you like S-Cube?” he asked.

“A little,” I confessed.

“No wonder you didn’t pay us any attention the other day,” he said. “So who’s your favorite?”

“I don’t have one,” I lied. “I just listen to their music in general.”

“Okay… I’ll give you a copy of our CD someday. I have an obligation to convert you,” he said.

“If you can…” I smiled coyly. “You can always try.”

“Oh, right… you’re on that drama with Darren and Sierra, aren’t you?”

“I am.”

“So what’s it like to work with Sierra?”

“Don’t tell me you’re into her too?” I asked him after swallowing a mouthful of wine.

“I’m merely intrigued, since I don’t know her well.”

“What’s there to know?” I said.

“She’s foreign, she’s pretty, she’s talented, and now she’s famous… there’s a lot people would want to know about her,” he said.

“She’s just a girl…” I said.

“She intrigues people. And I find her relationship with Kim Jae Joong too picture perfect. It just feels like a disaster waiting to happen.”

“Haven’t they been dating for a long time?”

“They have. But the controversy that came with the whole relationship.”

“What celebrity doesn’t have a controversial relationship at one point of his or her career?”

“She dated Jung Yun Ho first,” he said, and I was a little surprised.

“What?” I said.

“You didn’t know that, did you? You were too far away to catch on to the celebrity gossips here.”

“She always looked like a goody-two-shoes to me,” I said.

“No doubt she was just a victim, assaulted by the two TVXQ members’ affections, but TVXQ’s fans didn’t think so,” he explained. “They’ve always seen her as the one who would break the band apart.”

“Doesn’t seem like anything’s going to happen soon. She’s filming her drama, and TVXQ are in Japan.”

“The perfect time for people to accuse her of infidelity,” he laughed.

“You sound like you analyze everything she does. Are you one of her fan boys?” I said.

Frankly, I was pretty tired of hearing about Sierra. Skye talked about her incessantly, whenever we met in Taipei, other than talking about his precious Hae Rin.

“Sounds like you’re a little jealous of her. Mian… I won’t pay any attention to her,” he smiled.

“It doesn’t matter to me who you give your attention to,” I said.

“But it matters to me when you’re upset,” he said as he moved closer and took my hand.

“We’ve only just met,” I said, as I pulled my hand out of his grasp.

“Isn’t that the exciting part?” he said.

I began to see why he’d come over. Part of me wanted to kick his sorry ass out of my apartment, but the other part of me was looking for some mischief. My work, and thinking about Skye has made me a little frazzled; my body was begging for some recreation.

“I really don’t know,” I said as I sat up and put my feet on the floor. “I guess you’ll need to show me what’s so exciting about it,” I said as I started to pour myself another glass of wine.

Nakata took the bottle out of my hands. He poured the wine for me, but instead of handing me the glass, he held onto it. He dipped a finger into the glass and ran the finger, wet with wine, across my lips. I licked my lips, and he repeated the act. This time, his finger lingered, and licked it with my tongue.

“You’re very beautiful, Yuk Hee,” he whispered.

“I get that all the time,” I said, as I smiled the bewitching smile I did so well.

He leant forward and kissed me softly on the lips, then pulled away, licking his lips.

“Sweet wine,” he said.

“I could be bitter wine,” I warned him, and this time, I kissed him.

“At least you’re sweet for now,” he laughed, and we started kissing fervently.

[Nakata’s POV]

“So, how was it?” he asked me as I approached.

It was almost 2am and I was just leaving the lobby of Yuk Hee’s apartment.

“I don’t kiss and tell,” I laughed.

“Don’t tell me you’re falling for her,” he said.

“Heck, no… do I look like such loser?” I said. “It takes more than 1 night.”

“So is she digging you?” he asked me.

“Too soon to tell, but I don’t think it’ll be a problem.”

“Good… let’s go home and tell Min Jong.”

And we both walked to Darren’s car which was parked just a few feet away.