Page 88 of When Worlds Collide
At the far end of the room, with the nighttime Seoul skyline as their backdrop, a band was playing. It looked to be a mixture of contemporary – guitars and drums – mixed in with classical – violins and a cello. Very cool.
We’d arrived a little after the time on the invitation, and the room was packed. Most people had their masks on, so I could be walking amongst the biggest names in the industry and I’d never know it. It made me feel bold. That I, the disgraced intern and secret girlfriend, could be walking through a crowd of the most important industry leaders and artists in Korea.
A few people had looked my way, and the looks had included some undisguised appreciative looks, which I put down to the dress.
I wondered who they thought I was.
Jihoon found me first. I was just reaching out for a glass of something bubbly off a table being looked after by a server in a bird mask, when a voice whispered so close to my ear that I felt his breath ghost across my jaw.
“You’re the most beautiful woman in this room.”
A shiver of delight tingled up my spine, and I fought to keep my face neutral.
“You can’t possibly have seen all of them.”
“I don’t need to.”
I turned around so that we were standing together, but facing out into the room, like we were just two people, casually sharing space at the drinks table. I took a sip of my drink to disguise my thrill.
“So, this is what a fancy celebrity party looks like,” I commented casually, toying with my glass.
“Is it everything you thought it would be?” He shifted beside me, as if he were just rearranging his jacket, but somehow ended up brushing against me. The material of his jacket was stiff against my bare arm, yet I felt the warmth of his presence like a tangible sense.
How could this small thing, this illicit little touch still make me feel like this? Like I was a sunflower, and he was the sun I was constantly reaching towards.
“I’m not really sure what I expected,” I admitted. “Maybe more press? More scandal?”
“Press are not allowed. Only the ENT media is here, and even then, everything will be approved before it’s published.”
I nodded. “And the scandal?”
He turned to me, offering me a roguish wink beneath his mask. “The night is young.”
I snorted. “You and I could always walk across the room, holding hands. That ought to cause enough of one to get people talking.”
“Would you?” His expression had turned unexpectedly serious, his face fully turned to me, despite the people milling around.
Would I?
“I was only joking,” I replied weakly. “Press may be banned, but I imagine tongues would still wag.”
Jihoon turned back to look out over the expansive room, teeming with people in such a variety of finery. Servers wove in between them like a well-choreographed dance.
“One day,” he said.
I turned to him, opened my mouth to say – what? But then it didn’t matter as someone called his name. Someone was headed this way, but Jihoon moved away to intercept them, leaving me standing there to think over his words.
One day.
He’d moved away from me as soon as he saw them headed this way, and I knew it was because he didn’t want to draw any attention to me, but it still stung to see him walk away.
Left to myself, I drifted closer to the drink table, trying to appear casual. Just another well-dressed nobody in a room full of somebodies.
I was so focused on appearing casual, that I didn’t notice when someone stepped into my personal space. I didn’t even see him, until he leaned past me to pick up a drink, startling me slightly.
He apologised to me in Korean, but I just smiled and waved it away. He looked at me a little closer then, his eyes running over what he could see of my face.
“English?”
