Page 9 of A World Apart
We all piled in. Blessedly, these elevators are big enough to accommodate large groups and heavy, bulky equipment, so we got on comfortably enough. I don’t know how it happened, but I was somehow positioned against the far-right wall andhewas stood next to me. He was several inches taller than me and was so close I could feel his body heat.
The doors closed and no one spoke. It was only one floor, but it felt twice the normal ride time. When the doors finally opened,helooked at me and motioned with his head that I should get off before him. I complied, following behind Trevor Kyle, who was now in conversation with the shorter man.
I stood to the side whileheand the bodyguard got out of the elevator. He looked around from side to side and lifted the box in his arms.
“Where do I put this?” he asked, smiling at me slightly. I shook myself and reached forward to take it out of his arms, but he angled his body to stop me.
“No,”he said firmly.“I have it. Where?” heasked again. He held my gaze, and I unconsciously bit my lip. I saw his eyes flick down briefly before meeting my eyes again.
“Um, r-room two” I forced out, holding my arm out and indicating the door to the left of the elevator two doors up the hallway. He walked towards the room I’d indicated and I had to take two steps to one of his long strides to catch up. I opened the door as he reached it and gestured to the floor where there were already several boxes piled up haphazardly.
“Anywhere is fine,” I said. He complied, squatting to place it far more gently on the floor than I would have done.
I felt like I should look away when he put the box down. I absolutely did not. But I did make sure my eyes were at the ceiling when he rose to his full height again.
“Thank you,” I said, my voice unusually breathy.
Hewaved his hand and said, “No problem.” His voice was… it was unreal. It was so familiar and yet completely and utterly new.
His eyes were hypnotic. Part of me knew I should look away, leave, whatever, but I literally could not.
With a moment that felt like the air rushing back into the room, he took a half step forward and extended his hand. “Hello, I’m Baek Jihoon, nice to meet you.” It sounded practiced; it rolled off his tongue far easier than anything else he’d said so far.
Thankfully, my muscle-memory seemed to be intact and on impulse, I wiped my hand on the back of my jeans before reaching forward to clasp his outstretched hand. His hand was warm, his rings hard against my skin, and I prayed to whoever was listening that my palm wasn’t damp. He held my hand gently, but firmly. He smiled that famous smile and I couldn’t help but mirror his expression, a contagious reaction. Hopefully it was a normal person smile and not a frantic, star-struck leer. Judging by his reaction, I guessed it was a normal smile.
“Kaiya,” I breathed. He cocked his head to the side, his eyes assessing my face. I knew what he was noticing for the first time. People didn’t tend to notice until I introduced myself.
He held my hand for what felt like a longer time than was strictly usual, but it could just be that my internal clock had stopped. Sooner than I’d have liked, he let go and took a half-step back.
“Thank you again, for the help, “I said, gesturing at the box.
He shrugged and smiled. “No problem.”
“Jihoon, you good?” Trevor Kyle poked his head round the door and for the first time, I noticed that the tall, beefy-looking man was standing there. Had he been there the whole time? You’d have thought I’d have noticed − the man was not subtle.
“Yes,” Jihoon said and walked towards the door, following Trevor out. Heturned back once and held up a hand. “See you,”hesaid. I waved back.
Fuck I hope so, I thought to myself as I slumped against the wall, equally terrified that I actually might.
Chapter 4
“You’re laughing at me,” I accused, holding my injured hip with one hand and propping my fist on the other.
Becka arranged her face to look as contrite as possible, but then immediately ruined it, her face crumpling as she snorted like the undignified arsehole she is.
Crossly, I kicked her desk, rattling the aesthetically coloured cup of pens she had pleasingly arranged.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she gasped, holding up a hand to wave me off. Huffing, I threw myself into the chair opposite her desk and immediately regretted it as it twinged my hip.
“Clean yourself up, you’re a disgrace,” I groused at her, chucking a packet of tissues at her that I pinched from on top of her desk. She plucked them out of the air easily enough before they hit her in the face.
She made several more ‘hmm-hmm’ sounds as she took a tissue and delicately wiped it under her eyes, her shoulders shaking every so often. Just as I think she’s done; she looked over at me and started all over again.
“Literally, go jump out the window,” I rolled my eyes at her at her, crossing my arms over my chest.
“I’m sorry,” she gasped, wiping a tear off her cheek with the tissue, “It’s just soyou. You’re such a fucking mess.”
I held up my middle finger in response.
