#Hyungwon smut | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

iibonniee · 1 year ago

Text

All Eyes on Her

Pairing: Minhyuk x Reader x Hyungwon x Kihyun

Genre: Smut

Warnings: foursome, oral (fem and male receiving), unprotected sex, double penetration, facial, masturbation, cum eating

Rating: R

Word Count: 7.2k

Summary: There was only so many ways to piss off her roommates. Going out without their knowledge was the top of that list

Masterlist | Tags: @beautifulworldandmore @kyunnielove @iamkyunie @doveslittlekpoparchive @dessianna1

(huge shoutout to @spacequokka for the proof reading and hype!)

The city was ablaze with Halloween spirit; twinkling orange lights adorned every lamppost while smiling pumpkins stared down from each window. The usual humdrum of the city had morphed into a chorus of high-pitched laughter and teasing catcalls, echoing against the walls of the high-rises.

Amidst the crowd of excited buzz and anticipation, individuals wander with faces hidden behind masks, from classic vampires to slutty nurses, each strutting their raunchiest and most creative costumes. There was an electrifying tang of mischief and lust in the air, the boundaries of common decency momentarily put at bay with the scapegoat of horror-themed revelry.

Skimpy witches revealing a little too much ‘hocus pocus,’ flirtatious vampires showcasing more than just their canines, and provocatively dressed devils smirking at their sinful antics sauntered down the bustling streets, their laughter rising into the chilled air. While the cityscape was a treat, the people were the spectacle under the Halloween moon.

A palpable excitement fizzled through the crowd as they flocked towards the city’s center, where grand parades, Halloween parties, and bars offering dangerously potent ‘witches brew’ awaited them. The chilling thrill of Halloween quickly ignited into a fiery celebration, prophesizing a night of reckless abandon and racy encounters.

As the night fell, the city became the perfect playground for these supernatural imposters, ready to indulge in their darkest fantasies. The ‘trick or treat’ didn’t concern candies anymore, and the only spell that mattered was the intoxicating stimulant of the night - wild, wicked, and wonderfully suggestive.

As if on cue, the city’s heartbeat quickened, mirroring the palpable pulse that thrummed through the mingle of Halloween revelers. Y/N, lost in the sea of provocative costumes and devilish laughter, somehow managed to weave through the boisterous crowd. Three of her friends, who had decided to venture into the night together, barely noticed her sneaking past—such was the intoxicating allure of the Halloween spectacle.

Y/N took a hasty gulp from the mysterious concoction in her hand, the ominous label of ‘witches brew’ at the bar only fueling her adventurous spirit. Its potent ingredients quickly washed over her, a familiar haze clouding her vision. The alcohol warmed her veins, the heady sensation making her limbs feel heavy yet oddly cheerful. At the same time, the crowd around her swayed like an intoxicating dance of shadows.

Pumped up on the adrenaline and the dangerously potent brew, she felt bold and invincible. She was just another face hidden behind a risqué costume, seduced by the promise of reckless abandonment. Embracing the night’s madness, she let herself be swept up in the waves of laughter and playful catcalls.

Her world was spinning, the city lights blurring to form endless streams of orange and black. The pounding music from nearby parties became a pulsating rhythm in her chest, the enticing beat luring her further into the night’s embrace. The roommates, the rules, the norm – everything that caged her was forgotten, lost in the hedonistic pursuit of a Halloween adventure. Y/N was perfectly adrift in the Halloween ocean, ready to plunge into whatever wickedly delightful encounters the night had in store for her.

Suddenly, the buzz of her phone broke through the symphony of raucous laughter and pulsating music. Fumbling in her small purse, Y/N retrieved her disobedient phone, squinting at the sudden bright light. The screen displayed a flurry of messages, quickly piling up from her roommates, who had noticed her absence.

“Y/N? Are you okay?”

“You’re not at the apartment!”

“Weren’t you feeling unwell? Where did you go?”

Their messages were tinged with worry and mild reprimand; they hadn’t expected her to ignore their advice and dive into the wild tangle of Halloween nightlife. At any other time, a pang of guilt might have washed over her. But tonight, under the spell of intoxication, cloaked in the stringency of her risque costume, Y/N felt free, audaciously untamed.

With a dismissive laugh, she typed a quick, vague reply: “I’m out; don’t worry. Just embracing the night.” Before the incoming reply could pull her to reality, she silenced her phone and shoved it back into her purse.

Reality and its naggings could wait; tonight was all about stepping into a world of fantastic desires. Drowned in the seductive whispers of the festival, she allowed herself to be adrift in the giddy ocean of celebration.

Her roommates, their well-intentioned rules, and worrying had no place here. As she moved deeper into the city’s pulsating heart, Y/N felt an exciting sense of freedom. She was alone - lost yet freed, intoxicated yet in control. Redefining the limits, she plunged further into the intoxicating fervor, ready for whatever wickedly delightful encounters the night had in store.

Y/N drank in the freedom. She was free from Kihyun’s alert gaze, constantly scrutinizing those who dared enter her personal space. There were no towering presences of Hoseok and Hyunwoo, ready to scare off any potential troublemakers, no Minhyuk lingering around her ‘just in case.’ Minhyuk, Kihyun, and Hyunwon, who had decided on a quieter night in, were far from the raucous festivities of the city center.

Meanwhile, Hyunwoo, Hoseok, Jooheon, and Changkyun were lost in their own adventures, leaving Y/N to navigate through the irresistible maze of the night, undisturbed and unhindered.

For Y/N, this was uncharted territory - exciting, intoxicating, and filled with an array of wicked possibilities. The Halloween spirits danced around her, caressing her senses and painting her vision with a tantalizing kaleidoscope of adventures. Echoed chuckles, flirtatious banter, and enticing rhythms led her deeper into the city’s pulsating heart, where the intoxicating fervor of Halloween was brewing at its peak.

Unrestrained and unhindered, she was lulled by the siren call of the city’s enchanting revelry. Her senses were filled with the intoxicating allure of the night, promising a treasure trove of wickedly delightful experiences beneath the Halloween moon.

The unplanned glamour of the night, free from the watchful eyes of her roommates, offered Y/N a wild freedom. With each heartbeat matching the risque rhythm of the Halloween sway, she was ready to hitch a ride on the Halloween roller-coaster and let it take her wherever it wandered.

The club was inviting, a beckoning call for anyone who dared to enter. The line was long, a promise of fun if the wait would be granted. Her eyes followed the crowd of drunken and giggling bystanders laughing at anything and everything. Halloween always felt like a night to let loose.

As Y/N stepped into the disorienting embrace of the club, she found her way to the bar, ordering drinks that fizzled and popped in neon hues, mirroring the hedonistic surge running through her veins. She allowed herself to get lost in the pulsating music and the intoxicating drink in hand, her worries slowly dissolving in the pounds of the bass.

Suddenly, amidst the crowd, she noticed a figure moving towards her. The male was dressed as a Kingpin, with a playful smirk and an inviting gaze; he made his way through the crowd. He perched onto the stool beside her, his overwhelmingly charismatic charm barely concealed. He began to flirt, his words a mix of praises and playful banter, aiming to enthrall and captivate.

Her intoxication amplified the already intense charm radiating from him. Her defenses lowered and her guard down. And just like that, a potentially dangerous scenario was painted; Y/N’s actions were guided by the impulsive rush of alcohol, the stranger’s intentions hidden under the playful banter, and the unforgettable night carrying on its unpredictable stride.

“And what are you supposed to be?” He finally asked the burning question. His smirk never left his face as she realized the alcohol had taken over him. “You have been driving me crazy.”

“Well, tonight, I’m nobody. Just here to enjoy the night,” Y/N slurred, her voice full of alcohol-induced delight. The man chuckled, introducing himself as Jungkook with a voice as smooth as the whiskey she held in her hand.

Jungkook, moving even closer to her, whispered playfully, matching her audacious tone, “Then nobody, you sure know how to attract attention.”

Caught in Jungkook’s entrapping charisma, Y/N was further intoxicatingly entertained by his flirtatious banter. The room was spinning, the colors merging into one, and the sounds became a distant echo. She was, however, rudely brought back to reality by a distinct, familiar voice slicing through the music.

“Y/N, have you lost your mind?!” Kihyun rushed towards them and, with a swiftness that misrepresented his anger, placed himself between her and Jungkook. The fury evident in his voice and expressions was enough to bring the room’s spinning carousel to a jarring halt. As he forced her to stand, he physically distanced her from Jungkook, the lingering intoxication started wearing off, replaced by the chilling realization of her actions. Despite the immeasurable confusion, one fact was clear: the night was far from over, and it wouldn’t be easily forgotten.

“Kihyun?” She gasped suddenly, aware of her roommate’s presence. The more time that had passed, the more she realized that Kihyun had turned his attention to Jungkook.

“Isn’t she a piece of work?” Jungkook muttered to Kihyun, utterly unfazed by the tension. His words, intended to provoke, met their target. Kihyun’s glare intensified, his body stiffening as he towered over Jungkook.

“Y/N isn’t here for your amusement, Jungkook,” Kihyun retorted, the sharp tone of his voice owning the immediate space around them. “So I suggest you fuck off.”

Despite the rising conflict, Jungkook merely smirked, goading him further. “Oh, she seemed pretty amused just now, didn’t she?”

Those words threw Kihyun over the edge. “She’s had enough for the evening, Jungkook. This is your only warning. We both know your track record here so station your charm somewhere else before I forget about my respect for this place.” threatened Kihyun, his voice dangerously low.

Caught between the tension of the two, Y/N was jolted to sobriety, the remnants of her euphoria fizzling out, replaced by the harsh reality and an all too familiar sense of worry. The flare in Kihyun’s eyes made her realize this wasn’t simply about an overprotective friend; this was about something much more tangled, their past colliding with the present all at once.

“Kihyun…” She tried, only to be shot down once she noticed how his glaring eyes snapped back to her. Once she realized that he wasn’t going to calm down, she sucked in her breath, wishing that the alcohol that was mixed in her veins didn’t wear off as quickly as it did.

Ignoring her meek attempt to interject, Kihyun fixed his glare back on Jungkook. “This isn’t a joke, Jungkook. You are crossing a line here,” he hissed, making his irate state clear to everyone in their immediate vicinity. “Keep trying stupid shit, and I promise you, you won’t like what comes after.”

Unfazed, Jungkook laughed, “Seems like somebody needs to chill a little, hey Y/N?”

Before Y/N could even open her mouth to respond, Jungkook, sensing the opportunity to further provoke Kihyun, chimed in again, “You better keep her close, Kihyun. Or she might just end up in my bed next time.” With that, he chuckled, the sound echoing loudly in the otherwise noisy room. “Can’t let a beautiful thing like her out of your sight.”

Kihyun’s glare turned into a furious stare, and without another word, he shoved Jungkook back. The force surprised those nearby, and a hush fell upon their immediate surroundings. “She is not an object to be won,” Kihyun growled menacingly. “So I suggest you watch your tongue.”

Turning back towards Y/N, he grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the exit, leaving a smirking Jungkook and stunned spectators behind. The drive back home was tense, with Kihyun’s anger still palpable.

He picked up his phone and dialed their housemates, recounting the night’s incidents in a heated tone. Throughout it all, Y/N sat quietly in the passenger seat, sipping her water and coming to terms with the night’s unsettling revelations.

As Kihyun began retelling the happenings of the night, his knuckles turned white, gripping the steering wheel with such intensity it bellowed of his still simmering rage. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down as he tried to tell the story.

“She was in a bar on the other side of fucking town. Jungkook was there being a fucking pest and snuggling up to her as if he knew… Y/N you should know all the shit he’s done.” his voice trailed off, replaced by a bitterness Y/N could taste even from her spot in the passenger seat.

With every grumbled sentiment and colorful adjective, Kihyun painted Jungkook as the embodiment of disrespect and insolence. His rant was punctuated occasionally by his grip tightening on the wheel, each outburst coinciding with a particularly vehement part of his tirade.

Y/N could only sit silently, absorbing his anger and the weight of his words. Despite the anger directed towards Jungkook, part of her couldn’t help but feel the sinking sensation that she was also to blame. As the car moved steadily along the deserted roads, the silence stretching between them threatened to unveil the underlying issues she was trying to avoid.

Once they arrived at the apartment, its comfort was replaced with an atmosphere of stark disappointment. Waiting for them, Minhyuk and Hyungwon looked up, their faces filled with concern and evident disapproval. She shivered at their piercing gaze, shying away and trying to make herself look small as Kihyun told the two the story of what happened once more.

“Jungkook acted like he’d won a prize, treating Y/N as an item,” Kihyun informed them, his words laced with biting contempt as a tearing anger shook his voice. Turning his frustrated gaze on her, he didn’t hold back. “You played along. You laughed at his indecent jokes, making him believe you enjoyed his attention. It was crude, Y/N, and you seemed to revel in it,” he accused, the hurt evident in his tightened voice. “Tell me, what was that?”

Y/N felt a wave of guilt crash over her as she caught Minhyuk and Hyungwon’s piercing stares - they held the same disappointment that Kihyun had vocalized. She took a deep breath, opening her mouth but quickly shutting it once she realized all she would spill out was utter lies.

“If you want to behave like a whore, getting passed around as if it’s a game, we can ensure that it becomes your reality.” Kihyun declared, his tone filled with an unexpected, unsettling fury.

Against the attack of bitter accusations, something unexpected stirred within Y/N. It was not the guilt or the shame that was meant to follow such a degrading tirade - instead, it was a thrilling heat. His words, cruel and harsh as they were, sparked an intensity within her, a reaction she was struggling to understand, much less control. As Kihyun’s bitterness continued to pour, Y/N felt the bizarre feeling twist, churning into a strange form of excitement. His anger and dominance somehow translated into an unlikely stimulus, opening the door to a place within herself she had never explored before.

Sensing the change in herself, Y/N found an odd sense of power, soaking in the scorching onslaught of accusations, transforming them into fuel for her unexpected defiance. Gathering her courage, she responded to Kihyun’s hostility with a cheeky retort that completely derailed him.

“Is that a threat…or a promise, Kihyun?” she bit back, a hint of rebellion dancing in her eyes.

The bold question hung heavy in the silent room, thick with growing tension. Kihyun’s eyes widened at the unanticipated challenge, soon replaced by a dangerous glint. He tilted his head, studying Y/N’s transformed demeanor. This was a side of her he had never seen, and despite the initial shock, the intrigued in him woke up with a start. An unsettling thrill slowly replaced his initial anger, and a surge of desire began to cloud his judgment.

Y/N’s snide retort might have ignited another wave of anger. Still, this time, it was mixed with a spark of unexpected exhilaration that was impossible to ignore. The air between them crackled with an unspoken challenge, a brewing storm that promised a level of intensity neither had experienced before.

“Okay then, let’s see how long you’ll last playing this game,” Kihyun drawled darkly, his voice promising dangerous games.

As Kihyun commanded Y/N to step towards him with a finger, his intimidating aura took over the room. There was a silence as she walked over, her gaze steady, accepting his challenge. Stopping before him, he wordlessly turned her around so her back was against his chest. He slowly brought his hands up to her body, his touch causing her to instinctively hold her breath. His hands lingered at her waist for a moment before sliding upwards at a dangerously slow pace.

Her eyes involuntarily flicked towards Minhyuk and Hyungwon. Seeing their intense gazes upon her fueled an unusual thrill, a sense of being wanted. Kihyun wrapped one arm around her waist, and the other began to explore, his fingers drawing lazy circles on her exposed skin. The room was filled with an electrifying tension as the three men watched Y/N, her expression reflected in their eyes.

Y/N could feel the heat of Kihyun’s breath against her neck and the hardness of his body against her back. It was a power play, and she decided to call his bluff. Biting her lip, she leaned her head back on Kihyun’s shoulder, meeting his eyes with a challenging gaze. She was playing with fire, but it was a game she was willing to partake in. The anticipation, mixed with the exhilarating thrill of the unknown, had set the room ablaze, rapidly igniting a spark that promised of a rough encounter.

“Look at them,” Kihyun’s command was a whisper against her ear, his hot breath sending shivers down her spine. Obediently, she turned her gaze towards Minhyuk and Hyungwon, who had been quiet spectators until now, their expressions a mixture of anticipation and desire. “They look so hungry, don’t they?”

Kihyun’s arm snaked around to her front, his hand beginning to explore her upper body. His touch was electrifying, sending an adrenaline rush through her veins, her body tingling in response. As his hand found her breasts, Y/N couldn’t help but let out a soft moan, her body instinctively arching into his touch. He smirked at her reaction, his ego stoked by her enjoyment of his touch.

“You love being the center of attention, don’t you?” he asked, a teasing edge to his words. His hand continued to deftly manipulate her breasts, and her breath hitched, an undeniable wave of pleasure washing over her. As Kihyun’s skillful touch continued to stir her pleasure, Y/N’s mind surrendered to the overwhelming sensations, forgetting everything else at that moment.

“Just say the word Y/N, and tonight we will break you.” Kihyun’s words were a dangerous promise, a challenge that sent the room into a heart-stopping silence. The power dynamic had shifted, the game reaching a new, intense level. Shared glances between the men and Y/N exchanged mutually understood messages; Tonight would not be easily forgotten.

Kihyun’s lingering touch and tempting words sent an intoxicating thrill through her, a promise of untamed pleasure hanging heavy in the air. She cast a glance toward Minhyuk and Hyungwon, meeting their greedy gazes. The twin flames of desire flickered in their eyes, igniting a fever within her that she hadn’t known was dormant. Their intense scrutiny was intoxicating, stoking the blaze within her even more.

“Do it,” she agreed, her voice barely a whisper, yet holding a firm resolve. Her trembling response only fueled their anticipation further, every muscle in their bodies tightening in anticipation of what was to follow.

“On your knees, Y/N,” Kihyun commanded, his voice as compelling as the predatory glint in his eyes. A wicked smirk pulled at the corners of Kihyun’s lips. Conveying a silent command, he gestured towards the floor. The smirk on his face was a stark acknowledgment of the havoc his words were wreaking, coupled with the genuine understanding that tonight, they’d dwell in a world where they would embrace their most primal desires. “Tonight, you are ours. You did consent to that, no?”

All three of them watched as she nodded her head almost too eagerly.

As if spellbound, she carefully lowered herself onto her knees. The harsh reality of the cool, hard floor beneath her did nothing to dampen the electric energy surging in the room. Minhyuk and Hyungwon now circled around her like predators, their eyes shining with an insatiable hunger.

Minhyuk was the first to crouch down before her. His fingers traced a gentle path across her face, his tender touch contrasting starkly with the wicked gleam in his eyes. His hand curled into her hair, the sudden firm grip causing her to gasp. The sweet smile he had been wearing morphed into a wicked grin that promised sinful delights. “Who would you like to choke on first, darling?” His voice held an ominous edge, setting her heart pounding.

“Remember, Y/N, this is your punishment,” Hyungwon chimed in from her other side, his voice burnished smooth like whiskey. His reminder echoed ominously around the room, a reminder of her indiscretion. His comment hung in the air, heightening the sense of control and dominance they collectively held over her.

A moment of suspense hung in the air as she glanced from one face to the other, her eyes flickering with evident desire. Considering the inescapable thrill of the situation, Y/N finally decided, her gaze landing on Minhyuk. The choice was apparent in her answer, said in barely more than a whisper, yet it echoed deafeningly in the silent room.

“Minhyuk,” she finally spoke, watching as his wicked grin turned into a victorious smirk.

Minhyuk’s victorious smirk transformed into a look of unmasked desire, his nimble fingers working to rid himself of the confining fabric of his pants. His impressive length was now on full display, the sight making Y/N’s breath hitch in her throat. The intoxicating mix of trepidation and excited anticipation sent shivers down her spine.

Just at the edge of her periphery, she witnessed Kihyun and Hyungwon seating themselves comfortably. There was a predatory glint in their eyes as they prepared to be spectators to the sinful show that was about to unfold, their heated gazes soaking her in anticipation. Their dangerous looks only served to fan the flames of her desire, the weird sensation of being watched expanding the inner tumult of pleasure.

Minhyuk stepped closer, his length brushing against her lips, the sinful sight igniting an unquenchable fire within him. A moment’s hesitation was all it took before she opened to accept him, wrapping her warm mouth around him. The room was charged with electrifying energy, the sensation of her mouth coupled with the tantalizing sight of Y/N on her knees, pushing them all towards a precipice of exciting danger.

The moment Minhyuk made contact, her lips gracefully glided across his length; the wet warmth of her mouth contrasted with the cool air around them. His self-restraint wavered on the edge as she leisurely explored him, testing his patience with her tantalizingly slow pace. Low groans echoed in the room as she assuredly consumed him, each movement of her head sending waves of pleasure coursing through his body. His hands glided through her hair, occasionally tightening their grips, eliciting a suppressed whimper from her, which only served to drive him further toward the brink of self-control.

Hyungwon and Kihyun, absorbed by the spectacle before them, their eyes never strayed from the sight. Their hands moved in rhythm with Y/N’s head, each stroke perfectly mirroring her pace, fueling their own pleasure. The sight of her submission, combined with the sinful sounds echoing around them, only heightened their arousal.

Hyungwon’s low moan, almost a growl, gave voice to their shared pleasure, “Such a filthy sight... You’re swallowing him whole, aren’t you, Y/N?”

Kihyun chimed in with a barely suppressed moan, his hand strokes hastening, “So eager to please. Don’t take it easy on her Minhyuk. Don’t forget what she did tonight. If she was sucking my cock right now, she’d be choking on it. Begging for some mercy.”

As the room was filled with a symphony of soft groans and heavy breaths, Minhyuk, caught up in the heady sensation, smirked down at Y/N, his fingers tangled in her hair as he began to set a relentless pace. The sudden change from her leisurely rhythm made her choke slightly, her gag reflex pushing against him, only serving to ratchet up his pleasure.

“That’s it,” he muttered gruffly as he thrust himself into her mouth, the debauched sounds of his pleasure punctuating his words.

Running his fingers mercilessly through her hair, the grip tightened with every movement, forcing her to take him deeper. His hips jolted forward, each forceful push revealing an aggressive side that contrasted with his initial tenderness. His lust-filled eyes bore into hers, pushing her beyond the limits of her endurance.

Meanwhile, Kihyun and Hyungwon were driven wild by the sight in front of them. Their hands stroked themselves faster, each sound from their lips only serving to encourage Minhyuk further. Overcome with the decadent sight and the symphony of heavy breaths.

Hyungwon couldn’t help letting out a few words meant to provoke the situation further: “Can she take it? Minhyuk, don’t you think you’re being too kind to her?”

Echoing Hyungwon’s sentiments, Kihyun added, biting back a groan, “Absolutely, don’t forget she needs to be taught a lesson. Treat her like the whore she’s been tonight.”

Their words filled the room, the thrill coursing through them as they watched Y/N’s resolve being tested under Minhyuk’s forceful pace.

In response to Hyungwon and Kihyun’s provocations, Minhyuk’s smirk deepened. His predatory gaze met Y/N’s eyes, noting a flicker of uncertainty mixed with arousal, which only spurred him on.

He tightened his grip on her hair, tugging her closer to him, “She can take it, can’t you, darling? Show them.” he muttered, the roughness of his voice contrasting with the one she had initially known. “I bet you fucking like this.”

With a sudden surge of force, Minhyuk drove himself deeper into her mouth, his rhythmic thrusts growing more persistent, setting a punishing pace that left her gasping and choking. Each guttural groan he released seemed to echo in the room, amplifying the tangible tension and anticipation amongst them all.

“She’s doing so well, isn’t she?” Minhyuk taunted, his voice dark and laced with raw arousal, not missing the way both Kihyun and Hyungwon’s hands moved faster in response.

The sight before them was driving them both to the edge, their self-induced pleasure heightened by the sinful scene being played out before them. Unable to resist, Kihyun added fuel to the fire with his provocative words, “See how well she takes you, Minhyuk? Remember, she’s ours tonight.”

Hyungwon, feeding off the growing intensity, growled, “Make her choke, Minhyuk. Show her what happens when she misbehaves.”

Their husky commands were a stark reminder of the intense night that was still to unfold, their words echoing ominously in the room, winding the heat and anticipation to an unbearable pitch. Minhyuk, lost in the sensations coursing through him, only smirked in response, disciplining their shared toy in the way they all craved.

Just as Minhyuk was wavering on the edge, on the verge of surrendering to the pleasure, he abruptly pulled back, leaving Y/N bereft and confused. His eyes danced with mirth at the stunned, disappointed expression on her face and the way her lips parted in protest.

“Not so fast, darling,” he murmured lowly, a chuckle threading through his voice. “Did you think I would reward your indiscretions that easily?”

He guided her up, his hand firm on her arm, leading her to the plush couch. He ran a single finger down her cheek, a single chuckle leaving his lips when she scowled up at him. Pushing her gently onto the comfortable cushions, he took a step back, grinning at her frustrated pout, “Sit down and make yourself comfortable.”

Once she was comfortably arranged on the plush couch, Hyungwon moved into position, his gaze scorching as he appraised her. With a devilish smirk playing on his lips, he settled in between her trembling thighs, his warm breath bathing her in anticipation.

Teasingly slow, he moved his hands up her legs, his thumbs tracing sinful patterns on her sensitive inner thighs. He could feel his pulse quicken as he trailed kisses along the crease of her thigh, deciding to tease her a little longer. His tongue flicked out to taste her, a sigh escaping his lips at the intoxicating flavor.

A soft whimper left her lips as she involuntarily clenched her fingers on the edge of the couch. This simple reaction spurred him on, his tongue delving deeper, exploring the folds of her sweet warmth. Hyungwon taunted her with his skilled tongue, flicking her sensitive bud before lapping at her juices that soaked his mouth. The gasps and moans echoing in the room only amplified the erotic charge of their encounter.

His hands found the soft curve of her hips, thumbing at her flesh as a silent plea for her to open wider, to offer more. Listening to his quiet command, he deepened his efforts with his tongue, sending wave after wave of pleasure through her body, turning her pleas into a mix of husky moans and soft gasps. Hyungwon continued his attentive servicing, driven by the taste of her on his tongue and the sweet symphony of her moans filling the room.

As Hyungwon serviced her eagerly, Y/N met Kihyun’s gaze from across the room. A smirk adorned his face, one hand leisurely pumping his thick length as he watched. He hummed in appreciation, his actions shamelessly open and teasing.

“Look at you,” he moaned in delight, his voice husky with desire. “So fucking beautiful when you’re spread out, being devoured.”

Minhyuk, unable to resist any longer, moved closer to join in on the teasing. His fingers danced up Y/N’s trembling thigh, adding more sensation to the blazing pleasure that Hyungwon was evoking.

“I bet she tastes so good, Hyungwon,” he murmured, his eyes locked onto the erotic sight, a sinful grin tugging at his lips. Hyungwon gave no verbal reply, only flicking his gaze briefly to meet Minhyuk’s, the grin on his lips echoing Minhyuk’s words. He continued his relentless torment, his tongue expertly teasing and tasting. “I’m jealous.”

This bold display, coupled with the sound of Kihyun’s self-pleasure and Minhyuk’s teasing touch, sent Y/N spiraling towards a precipice of pleasure. Her noises turned to fervent pleas as various hands, mouths, and words drove her toward an explosive climax.

When Y/N was close to reaching her peak, Hyungwon suddenly pulled away. A surprised moan slipped from Y/N’s lips, her eyes fluttering open to meet his gaze. His smirk grew wider at her confused and needy expression.

“Oh, darling,” Minhyuk crooned, his voice thick with amusement. “Did you really think we’d let you get off that easily? After what you did to us tonight?”

Hyungwon chuckled, resisting the urge to dive back in and finish her off. Instead, his fingers lightly traced over her now overly sensitive folds. “It’s not that we don’t enjoy your reactions,” he murmured, his voice dipping to a seductive growl. “We just think... you’ve been a little naughty tonight.”

Her soft gasp of protest when he barely touched her clit with his thumb told him she was teetering on the edge. “And naughty girls,” he added, smirking at her frustrated twitch, “don’t always get what they want.”

Hyungwon pulled back from the intoxicating girl beneath him, his lips gleaming wickedly. With a knowing smirk, he moved from his previous position to glance back at Kihyun and Minhyuk, who were intently observing the spectacle. Their heated gazes met approvingly, their silent exchange speaking volumes.

Kihyun finally broke the deafening silence, his command echoing against the room’s walls, “Hyungwon lay down.”

Hyungwon, taking Minhyuk’s place, swiftly lay down on the plush rug, his gaze never leaving Y/N as he made himself comfortable. He watched in fascination as Minhyuk moved behind her, pressing his body flush against her, his hands running illicit trails up her trembling thighs. He tilted his head, whispering something in her ear that made her blush scarlet.

From his standing position, Kihyun merely watched the scene unfold, a shameless, unhurried hand pumping himself. He chuckled lowly, his gaze catching Y/N’s. He moved to stand in front of her, eyes glinting with anticipation, his body ready to be served by her beckoning lips. The intensity of the situation only seemed to amplify as they all knew the tantalizing night was far from over.

“Can’t forget about me now, can we?” he purred, directing his length into her welcoming mouth.

The large room amplified their sounds; the orchestrated symphony of their shared pleasure no longer whispered secrets but public declarations. The unmistakable sound of wet skin slapping against skin, coupled with their fervent gasps and moans, created a heady, ensnaring atmosphere of pleasure — a testament to their relentless pursuit of passion and desire.

“All filled up now, are we darling?” Minhyuk cooed into her ear, his words laced with sin as he relentlessly pushed into her ass. His hips snapped forward, driving into her with a rhythm that only heightened the pleasure coursing through them all.

Hyungwon’s eyes rolled back in pleasure as a guttural moan left his lips, “So tight...” he managed to rasp out, echoing Minhyuk’s sentiments but lost in his own world of pleasure. His hands gripped her hips tightly, matching Minhyuk’s thrusts, their timing as exquisite as their pleasure. “Fuck.”

Encased between these men, Y/N was lost, her cries muffled by Kihyun’s length, her own pleasure reaching soaring heights as her body was filled in ways no one else could. The distinct sensations within her — Hyungwon’s unwavering length, Minhyuk’s relentless tempo, and Kihyun’s sinful claim — had her perched on the edge, her climax coming closer with every pulse and thrust.

Their greedy moans echoed throughout the room, the rawness of their passion, the intensity of their desire, and the intimacy of their shared pleasure amplified tenfold as together they headed towards a dizzying peak, lost in a world of sinful delight.

As the sinful scene unfolded, the distinct sound of the front door clicking open echoed through the lavish apartment. Hyungwon, Minhyuk, and Kihyun barely missed a beat at their interruption. Managing to keep their involvement steady with Y/N, their intense gazes flickered towards the entrance as the new arrivals took in the impassioned tableau laid out before them.

Changkyun, Hoseok, Hyunwoo, and Jooheon stood at the threshold, eyes wide and mouths hanging agape at the sight that greeted them. The normality of their evening seemed trivial compared to the carnal spectacle unfolding in their shared living room.

“God, can’t you three keep it in your pants for one night?” Jooheon finally exclaimed, a teasing grin spreading across his face, misrepresenting his exasperated tone. Changkyun gave a low whistle, his eyes roaming Y/N’s body with gleaming admiration. At the same time, Hoseok and Hyunwoo simply shrugged as they opted for silent observation.

The undisguised staring from their additional audience had the color creeping onto Y/N’s cheeks. Still, it didn’t slow down the rhythm of the three men currently using her to satisfy their pleasure.

Kihyun, however, couldn’t let the comment pass unchallenged. He lifted his head from where he was currently engrossed with Y/N, glaring at their bandmates.

“Shut up, Jooheon, or get out,” he warned, sharp and impassive, his pleasure temporarily pushed aside by impulsive irritation. “That goes for you three. If you don’t care to watch, fuck off. I mean it.”

“No, no,” Changkyun quickly interjected, raising his hands in surrender as he smirked. “Please, continue. It’s quite the show.”

The three new arrivals took the liberty to make themselves comfortable around the room, finding seats with the perfect vantage point to enjoy the continued proceedings. Their presence added another dynamic to the sinfully charged room, their eyes feasting on Y/N, who was the center of pleasure and desire.

Having made their point, the hard trio immediately resumed their activities with renewed gusto: Hyungwon maintaining his steady rhythm, his hips snapping upwards to meet Y/N’s downward motion, Minhyuk plunging into her from behind, matching his pace hypnotically, and Kihyun sliding back into her mouth, his thrusts becoming more insistent.

The room, yet filled with moans of pleasure and the undeniable sound of skin meeting skin, now also held the hushed whispers of the newcomers as they watched what unfolded before them. The sight of Y/N being endlessly pleasured by their bandmates had each of them growing hard and anxious, jeans suddenly too tight. Each took their arousal into their own hands, steadying their breaths as they pumped their lengths in sync with the rhythm echoing in the room.

“Couldn’t have imagined such a sight,” Jooheon murmured lowly, his hand working his length as his gaze was fixed on the writhing figure of Y/N, sandwiched between the three men. “Fuck, you three are so lucky. We’ve all been wanting to take a turn at you, Y/N, but it seems like you’re already in good hands.”

“I agree with that.” Changkyun hummed in response, similar thoughts running rampant in his mind. His eyes danced across the spectacle, each sight more sinful, more erotic than the last. His hand slid over his arousal, a low groan slipping past his lips as he watched the trio and Y/N lose themselves to pleasure.

Both Hoseok and Hyunwoo seemed to be unaffected by their commentary, choosing to focus solely on the live show before them. Hyunwoo’s hand moved over himself, a quiet grunt echoing in his throat, his mind imagining it was his hands, his mouth, causing the tantalizing moans and cries to slip past Y/N’s lips. Beside him, Hoseok groaned at the sight, his lip caught between his teeth.

Amid the orchestra of moans and hip thrusts, the newcomers’ hushed whispers and the rhythmic slick sounds of their self-pleasure added another layer of carnality, making the atmosphere thick with unchecked desire. As the room echoed with the sounds of pleasure and need, the tension heightened, leaving everyone on the brink, waiting for the climax of this sinfully delightful scenario.

“God, Y/N,” Hoseok managed, his voice laced with raw desire as he watched her sandwiched between the three men, “you’ve never looked so gorgeous. Can’t wait to paint that gorgeous face.”

Hyunwoo merely hummed in agreement, his focused gaze on Y/N, his hand moving faster over his hard length, shifting in his seat as he attempted to deal with the pooling desire in his lower abdomen. His restraint barely hanging by a thread, amplified by the sight of Y/N writhing in irrevocable pleasure under their joint gaze.

Their added voices, heated gazes, and unrestrained yearning doubled the layer of carnality, the atmosphere thick with unchecked desire. From the rhythmic thrusting against Y/N to the shared collective pleasure among them, the heightened tension appeared to be reaching its apex, everyone teetering on the brink, waiting for the climax of this sinfully delightful scenario.

Succumbing to the intense buildup, Hyungwon, Minhyuk, and Kihyun simultaneously reached their peak. Each man removed himself just enough to release inside her, their combined climax filling Y/N to the brink.

Kihyun, in his last throes of pleasure, came in her mouth with a long groan. He held her head steady, encouraging her to take and swallow every drop of him.

Stepping forth, they each aimed toward Y/N’s face. Their releases splattered across her lips, cheeks, and exposed neck, completing the salacious imagery of their joint desire. Shuddering breaths echoed throughout the room amongst muttered praises and shared satisfied grins. The scene before them served as the climactic finale to their unanimously enjoyed, sinfully tantalizing event.

“Fuck.” Hyungwon’s voice came out as a gravelly groan, the primal sound resonating through the room. Both his and Minhyuks eyes bore into the lewd spectacle before them, Y/N’s trembling body, their cum leaking from her and streaking her thighs. His lips pulled into a self-satisfied grin, the white droplets a stark contrast to her flushed skin painted an explicit portrait of their shared pleasure.

“She took it like a champ,” Changkyun voiced from beside him, arching a brow, his own climax held in check as he watched the scene with a determined gaze.

Hoseok’s chuckling response was muffled as his attention was solely focused on marking her skin with his climax. The sight of her drenched and filled with their desire fueled him towards his own explosive finale. And with a grunt of completion, he emptied himself over her form, the sight of his release pooling in the hollow of her collarbone a gratifying sight.

They savored the aftermath, the residual tremors of their climaxes still echoing in the room. This would be a memory to revisit, a testament to their shared desire, a sinfully delightful scenario etched indelibly into their minds.

“We need to do that again. Next time, we should all fuck her.” Jooheon’s words hung heavy in the room, his gaze avidly fixed on the shiny trails of his climax sluicing down her face. His quirked lips and the gleam in his eyes revealed the extent of his satiation and unspoken promise of future escapades.

“Absolutely,” Changkyun voiced his agreement from the side, eyes hooded and voice laced with seductive gravel that hinted at a hunger yet to be fully satiated. His hands already wandering with suggestive intent, confirming his eagerness to plan the next round with Y/N. “Next time should be now, though. I’m just suggesting. It’s not fair they have all the fun...”

That was the cue they all needed, their corresponding murmurs of agreement echoing in the room, punctuated by shared grins and lingering glances cast toward Y/N. Promises and illicit whispers about future pleasurable promises hung in the air, awaiting a complete promise.

Despite the exposed desire on display, they were all bound by the shared sensation and undeniable chemistry, fueled further by their shared need. As they pored over the shared memories of this lustful wonder, the thrilling prospects of the next event began to mark another chapter of their intoxicating shared desire.

“Can’t I rest?” Y/N’s words whispered through ragged breaths, struck a chord of amusement amongst them. At her question, a scatter of chuckles colored the heavy silence, their carnal satisfaction mirrored in the full smiles curving their lips.

“Rest is for the weak,” Hyunwoo distinctly teased, his hearty laughter bouncing off the room’s walls in sharp contrast to the lewd canvas they’d just painted.

“You forget, Y/N — we’re just getting started,” Minhyuk added with a suggestive wink in her direction, driving the point home. A mischievous grin stretched on his face, and his words steered towards the pleasure-filled adventures they had yet to step foot on. “You’re in for a long night. They don’t even know the stunt you pulled yet.”

180 notes · View notes

biffhofosho · 3 months ago

Text

What's Wrong with Director Ortega? | Part One

Fandom: Monsta X

Genre: Smut, natch

Word Count: uh, 18k this part

Pairing: OT7 x OC

Synopsis: In the tallest tower in the city of Seoul, there is a corporate kingdom whose empire stretches around the world. It is ruled by seven vice chairmen, all of whom lord over their own little departmental fiefdoms. With so many different ruling styles, they don’t have much in common save for the one director they can’t live without. Unfortunately for Director Ortega, heavy is the head who wears that crown. Seven demanding bosses and no time for herself forces her to reconsider what she wants out of life, which may just be the thing to force the self-proclaimed Kings of Seoul to reconsider what they want from her…

The Vibe: Reverse harem, ultra-competitive, CEOs, rich and spoiled men, monstas at odds, professional-to-a-fault and overworked and overextended OC who finally decides it’s time to put herself first, you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone, harsh awakenings, noraebang, goldilocks implications, atypical biffhofosho ending :D

A/N: OH MY GOD THE EDITING TOOK ME SOOOO MUCH LONGER THAN I ANTICIPATED. First of all, I realized only on edit that the first part is 808974893759874 times longer than the other parts, but there's just so much that needed to be set up... Also, low key I had so much fun writing it. But it's FINE. I can post on this most holy of days! HAPPY FREEDOM DAY, BABY WONHO. THANK YOU FOR COMING HOME TO US.

Obviously inspired by What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim?, but reverse harem and smutty af. Also inspired by the business tycoon playboy Fatal Love photoshoot because holy fuck, did that bring me to my knees. Though I’ve been a mbb since 2016, Fatal Love was the first album I actually bought (because I’d finally figured out how to buy overseas by then lol), and when I opened version 3, this was the FIRST thing that got lodged in my mind. Like a popcorn kernel, it had to be worked out slowly, over time, but after months of watching cheesy, soapy Chinese minidramas, I got the swift kick in the butt to finish my CEO smutfest. Enjoy!

Special thank you shout-out to my love, @starlightfantasy, without whom this chapter wouldn't have been nearly so lively or authentic.

Cvr | 01 |

“As always, Director Ortega, impeccable work. You may go.”

“Very good, sir,” came her customary reply. “Don’t forget that you have dinner with Chairman Matsuda of Aeon tonight at the Phoenix. I have already prepared a gift and left it with Secretary Kwon. Be sure to take it when you leave today.”

“You won’t be joining?”

She lowered her eyes, her breath gathering in her chest. “No, sir. I will leave things in your capable hands.”

“You always join.”

“I know, sir, but not this time.”

“Chairman Matsuda expects it.”

“Don’t worry, sir. I’ve already cleared it with him.”

The vice chairman said nothing, simply twirled his pen between his fingers like a baton.

Finally, she gathered her notepad and stowed her pen behind her ear. She offered a polite bow at his dismissal, but just before she reached the door, she stopped.

She pulled herself up as tall as her petite frame could muster and turned back to the wide mahogany desk in front of the sweeping windows. Beyond the stiff-backed silhouette crowning the complementary stiff-backed desk chair unfurled a smoggy Seoul morning. Dirty clouds filtered the wan light throughout the corner office.

She wet her lips and swallowed. “Excuse me, Vice Chairman Son, but there is one more matter we have left to discuss…”

The corporate auditorium was packed full of employees from every department in the Xtra Mile conglomerate. The thrum of chatter draped overhead like a heavy tarp as coworkers filed into their seats and caught up with people they hadn’t seen since the last company in-service.

As the Purchasing Department filled their rows, they met the Human Resources Department halfway. Normally, the two sides had very little to do with one another, so this gave everyone an excuse to greet each other and gossip.

But just like that, the room fell perfectly silent as a stream of seven very handsome and undeniably powerful men strolled onto the stage at the head of the auditorium. Their figures were projected onto the large screen above their heads so that even those seated in the back could appreciate the clean lines of their expensive haircuts and their even more expensive suits. Each man occupied his own podium across the breadth of the stage, so far apart that it almost looked as though they couldn’t stand breathing the same bubble of air.

At the center of the stage, spotlighted and stone-faced, one of the tallest and broadest men loomed over the employees. Without so much as an attention-grabbing throat clear, he spoke.

“Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for your attendance today as well as everything you do to further the mission of the Xtra Mile Corporation.”

“Without you,” boomed an elegant and lively blonde-haired executive from halfway down the stage, “we wouldn’t be a Fortune 500 Global company.”

The room erupted in polite applause as smiles abounded.

The man in the middle’s jaw flexed slightly, and this time he did clear his throat before regaining control of the room. “Without further delay, let us commence this year’s Xtra Mile Company Vision Showcase. I’ll turn things over to our Chief Financial Officer, Vice Chairman Yoo…”

The man in the center turned to the shorter, black-haired executive on his right whose face, despite its prominent cheekbones, looked like it hadn’t seen a genuine smile in half a decade. Right away, Vice Chairman Yoo began his overview of their mission statements and goals while the audience jotted notes and nodded along, save for one row toward the back of the room.

“Who is that?” whispered a young purchaser with expressive eyebrows over starry pecan eyes. He gazed up at the stage where a woman with perfect posture and her own expensive power suit waited at the edge, looking as much like a high-end mannequin as a real person. The waves in her espresso bob curled sweetly around her small ears and accentuated a round face with dumpling cheeks. Dark fox eyes looked even more alert against her honey skin, and they didn’t miss a single silent cue from any of the vice chairmen as her stiletto heels prowled click-clack-click-clack along the back of the stage, setting up each and every transition without a word.

One of the nearby HR managers, an older man with a five o’clock shadow and a soft face, followed the young fellow’s eyes. “Ah, that one. She’s a sad case. A face that doesn’t age, legs that never stop moving, and eyes that won’t look at you unless you’re paying her.”

The young intern’s ears reddened. “A pro- pro- prostit—”

Another older man, this one a fellow purchaser, clamped a hand over the intern’s mouth and hissed, “Aigoo! Are you daft? Intern Wong, don’t finish that sentence if you don’t want to be tossed out on your ear!”

“Forgive him,” apologized one of the young ladies also on the Purchasing team, “he’s new.”

“And stupid if he thinks a major corporation keeps a company call-girl on payroll,” snapped the older purchaser with a flick to his intern’s ear.

The HR manager stifled a grin. “That is Director Ortega. She is one of the most revered employees at this company. If you ever have the occasion to work with her, you will understand why. She knows absolutely everything that goes on in every department better than any of the vice chairmen. Nothing escapes her notice, which is why she’s so heavily relied upon.”

“Which department is hers?” Intern Wong wondered.

“Which department isn’t,” laughed the HR manager. “Director Ortega has a hand in everything because she has to, especially considering to whom she reports, but her actual title is Director of Facilitation. She oversees all administration here, top to bottom, but more than that, for all intents and purposes, she oversees the vice chairmen.”

“Ah, yes!” said a satisfied voice as its owner swiveled to scope out the sunny panorama through his office window. “It turned out to be another fine day, Director Ortega. We should be out there exploring, not cooped up in here, don’t you agree?”

“Of course, sir.”

“Will you stay for lunch then? We can go out? I remember you liked that barbecue place in Jongno. Call Taeyong and have him bring the car around, and we’ll go somewhere with tables outside.”

“You know that I can’t, sir, even if I wanted to.”

“They’re always overriding my good ideas,” he grumbled.

“I’m sure it feels that way, sir. Still, being that we are on a tight schedule, I wonder if I can borrow a moment of your time,” she said hesitantly. “An urgent issue has come up, and I’m afraid it can’t wait any longer…”

---

“She has been here 14 years, longer than any of the men up on stage, longer than even I have,” continued the older company man. “The old Chairman himself hired her when he was on a business trip to the United States.”

“She’s American?”

“Yes, and half-Korean, actually. She speaks four languages as well, and, over the past couple years, she’s been learning two more.”

“She’s a wonder,” Intern Wong marveled.

“She would have to be to impress Chairman Choi. Director Ortega was the Chairman’s personal secretary for ten years before he retired and handed the company over to his seven grandsons.”

“Fourteen years seems like too long for such a young woman,” the fledgling purchaser mused, eyes still fixed to the director on stage.

The HR manager sniffed a laugh. “I told you she has a face that doesn’t age. She’s older than you think.”

“Much too sophisticated for a freshman like you,” teased Intern Wong’s female coworker. “Keep your head in your station.”

“This will be the only glimpse of her you get, young buck,” added the senior purchaser. “She rarely comes down to Purchasing, maybe a few times a year, and when she does, she speaks only with Director Kim Doyoung. I’ve never seen her in our office for more than five minutes.”

The woman smirked. “What Mr. Moon is trying to say, very politely I might add, is that she’s out of your league.”

“And more importantly,” the HR manager chimed in again, “off limits.”

“Employees date each other here,” the intern protested.

But Mr. Moon shook his head. “Yeah, but they don’t date Director Ortega, understand?”

“Aigoo… This is my least favorite time of day, you know that? All the fun ends and you leave, and I’m left with all the work.”

“You will be fine, sir, as always, but remember to please trust your secretary with any help you may need. Secretary Ahn tells me you haven’t been using her to her full potential these days.”

He sighed and chambered his chin on his hand as his smiled at her. “Why would I? All I ever need is you, Director Ortega.”

She cleared her throat softly. “About that, sir…”

“I didn’t even suggest anything, geez,” the intern pouted.

Mr. Moon stared at the young man knowingly. “I’ve seen that look in a lot of men’s eyes over the past decade. I say this as a friend: if you want to be promoted to purchaser full-time, Intern Wong, I suggest you look only on the Director with admiration.”

“I do,” the young man muttered and immediately steered the conversation somewhere gentler. “Director Ortega must know everything there is to know about this place if she’s been here that long and that high up.”

“Exactly!” agreed Mr. Moon. “She’s so important that all seven vice chairmen share her.”

The intern and a few other nearby newer employees leaned in, both interested and confused.

“Now, how can seven executives share one assistant?” wondered the female purchaser.

Mr. Moon looked on the rapt row of coworkers like a librarian leading a storytelling session. “Director Ortega is the only connection those men have beside a grandfather.”

“They’re really related?” Intern Wong asked.

The older man nodded. “Brothers, half-brothers or cousins, right, Manager Cho?”

The HR manager shrugged his mouth sternly. “No one resents that fact more than they do. Were it not for Director Ortega, they’d have nothing to do with each other. You’d think they live on seven different continents if they didn’t share one atrium on the 28th floor.”

Intern Wong’s brow furrowed. “But how exactly does one woman bridge all those continents daily?”

“Every day,” Mr. Moon explained, “the Director spends one hour with each vice chairman, and when his hour is up, she moves on down the hall.”

“Are you serious?” blurted the female purchaser.

“I am.”

“Don’t they each have their own secretary?” asked the intern. “I’m sure they have way too much work for one hour.”

This time, a middle-aged manager from Employee Relations further down the row answered, “Of course! But Director Ortega is in charge of all of their executive assistants, too. The last hour of her day is spent with them, ensuring the day’s work is properly circulated and delegated. Still, she is the only one the vice chairmen trust with their most important business matters, and she’s the only assistant they will bring with them to important meetings. Needless to say, she’s part orchestra conductor. She must follow this rigorous schedule each day to keep the vice chairmen satisfied, which is even more challenging considering how much each of them likes to demand from her.”

“I thought you were leaving,” he said.

“In a moment,” she replied.

She placed a thermos at the edge of his desk and bowed.

Incisive eyes jolted to the container as he finally looked up from his crowded blotter. “What is it?”

“Coffee, sir. Don’t stay too late tonight though. The merger with Aeon should conclude next week, and I know you’ll want fresh eyes before you final review everything of the numbers.”

A finger of black hair stubbornly broke from his clean-combed hairline and dangled in front of his sharp eyes as he switched from appraising the thermos to appraising the woman on the other side of his desk. “I should say the same to you, Director Ortega.”

She smiled as she lowered her chin. “Ah, well, to that end, I think it’s time to break old habits, sir. Before I do, I have something to confess…”

“Doesn’t leave a lot of time to herself,” mused the older purchaser as he considered the woman’s words.

Intern Wong cocked his head as he considered this new information. “But isn’t it a good thing to be so in demand at your company?”

“Aish,” chimed in an older lady on the other side of the group of busybodies, this one from the Accounting department who wore a thick pair of glasses to match her role, “it would be if you’re not a woman. Director Ortega is 38 and, as far as anybody has heard, never dated.”

“There’s no way a woman like her hasn’t dated!” the intern protested as his eyes returned to the serious beauty on stage.

“Even if she wanted to,” continued the accountant, “she would have to turn down any suitor. The vice chairmen keep her way too busy to even think about dating someone.”

“You don’t know that, Miss Lee,” said the employee relations manager.

“The hell I don’t, Manager Kwon,” the accountant scoffed, causing a few other uninterested coworkers to pivot toward them before everyone whispered apologies except the accountant. At least, she bothered to lower her voice enough that the rest of the row leaned in. “I process Director Ortega’s overtime. I’m telling you, there’s no way that woman has a life outside of this company or those seven men. It’s downright outrageous. They should be ashamed.”

“I told you,” said Manager Cho, “she’s a sad case. I heard Director Ortega had to fly back from her sister’s wedding in Mexico because Vice Chairman Chae needed a translator, and she’s the only one he trusts to give him an unbiased translation.”

“That’s too harsh,” objected Intern Wong.

Miss Lee hung her head. “Director Ortega will never find a match. Ah! It’s too sad to see a woman of her caliber give up her whole life like that.”

“I’ll leave the initial scouting reports in your inbox for your review, sir. After you’ve made your notes, please trust Secretary Lee with their transcription.”

“Could you stay a few extra minutes to finish that? Only you know how I like things organized.”

“Secretary Lee is more than capable if you just explain your preferences to him, sir. Forgive me, but he should know that after a full year.”

The vice chairman huffed, his broad shoulders slumping, too. “Yes, of course, but he isn’t— Of course, Director Ortega. You are correct.”

“I will sit with him tomorrow and show him personally, sir, so there is no confusion.”

“That’s not necessary!” He reached toward the director across the desk but pulled his hand back quickly. “I should handle it myself.”

“I am happy to hear it, sir. On that note…”

“But isn’t there something admirable about that?” Intern Wong mused as he looked up at the dark-haired director waiting at the edge of the stage, hands folded in front of her hips. “To be so loyal and dedicated to your company that you are trusted by everyone?”

A big-eyed girl in front of them whirled around in her seat and clamped her hands over the back of it to stare at the group. With wide eyes full of shock instead of innocence, she said, “I can’t believe none of you know.”

“Know?”

“Know what!”

“Tell us instantly, Secretary Heo!” urged Manager Kwon, and the whole row shifted forward.

The secretary puckered her thin lips and lowered her voice to a whisper just loud enough to catch over the drone through the sound system of Vice Chairman Im’s speech on streamlining database growth.

“Director Ortega handed in her resignation yesterday.”

“Sir, please don’t make that face,” she said.

Yet the vice chairman sat there with his cheeks in his hands, his bottom lip jutting out. “What do you expect me to do? I hate knowing where you’re headed next.”

“I do this every day, sir,” she reminded.

“And I hate it every day. He always gets more of your time than we do.”

“You know that isn’t true, sir.”

“It is!” he complained. “Wouldn’t it be so nice to have one desk in one office and report to only one person?”

She closed her eyes and steadied her breath. “I think I may have a solution to this problem. If I may have one more moment please…”

“Impossible,” Mr. Moon scoffed. “She’s been here fourteen years!”

“Don’t talk nonsense,” scolded the female purchaser.

“I’m not,” insisted Secretary Heo. “Secretary Ahn told me yesterday at lunch. She’s Vice Chairman Lee Minhyuk’s personal secretary. If anybody would know, it would be her. She’s not a gossip.”

“Like you,” retorted the accountant.

“Game recognizes game, Miss Lee, but in this case, it’s just fact. We all need to be prepared for the trickle-down. Even if we don’t work personally with the vice chairmen, without Director Ortega as our shield, we’re sure to feel the brunt of things.”

“Now that you mention it, look how dull the vice chairmen look,” said the other young woman as she stared sadly at the stage where the tallest vice chairman now spoke. Her eyes darted down to the straw-haired executive at the far end, and she shook her head. “Even Vice Chairman Lee Jooheon looks flat. He never looks so flat! Oh, this is terrible. I love his smiles.”

Intern Wong elbowed his coworker and retorted, “Keep your head in your station, Miss Kim.”

She rolled her eyes though the bespectacled accountant nodded. “And Vice Chairman Lee Hoseok looks much smaller than usual, don’t you think? Normally, you can see his shoulders from space.”

“I’m telling you,” reiterated Secretary Heo, “Director Ortega put in a month’s notice. She’s definitely leaving.”

“Have you heard this?” asked Mr. Moon to Miss Lee. “You process her overtime, you said.”

The older woman shook her head. “I’m not in HR. Isn’t that your department, Manager Cho?”

Everyone glanced down the row to the HR manager who had grown progressively quieter. “It is, but I don’t work in Executive Resources. But…”

Everyone leaned toward him like plants straining for sunlight.

“It is possible,” Manager Cho said guardedly. “I can’t outright refute it.”

Jaws dropped right and left, and a few hands fell over hearts.

“Why would she resign now?” asked Intern Wong when no one picked up the conversation.

“Is she not being compensated well enough?” asked Miss Kim.

“I have worked here through Chairman Choi’s reign, and I can tell you for a fact that her salary would make you blush, especially when she works for holiday pay. Plus, I have heard from Director Jeong that Director Ortega receives a bonus from each Vice Chairman at Seollal,” Miss Lee said vehemently. “No, no. But money matters less when you have no time to spend it and no one to spend it on. I told you. Director Ortega is 38. Aish, she must have realized that if she wants to marry and have a family, she has a very small window left.”

“Hwaiting, sunbaenim!” Miss Kim said a little too loudly, and a few more rows turned back toward them.

“No, that’s not it,” persisted Secretary Heo. “Secretary Ahn said Director Ortega already has a man, and she’s quitting to marry him.”

“Is there anything else, sir?” she said, head cocked to the side.

“There is not.”

The usual silence filled the space between them. After several years, at least it was no longer startling.

“If you’re sure, sir.”

She bowed, and also as usual, he blurted, “One final thing, Director Ortega.”

“Yes, sir. Of course.”

“I need five extra minutes of your time today.”

“I’m sorry, but not today, sir.”

He narrowed his eyes. “You never say that.”

“I know,” she agreed. “It turns out that’s because I need a minute of your time instead…”

The older employees broke into quiet laughter.

“There is zero chance of that,” Miss Lee assured.

“If you knew her workload…” agreed Mr. Moon.

Secretary Heo scowled and jabbed a finger at the seniors. “Secretary Ahn was sure.”

“I don’t buy it,” asserted Miss Lee. “Look, there’s no ring!”

All eyes turned to the jumbo screen, to the bare, slender fingers of the director.

One of the other purchasers whisper-shouted from farther down the row, “Do you think they’ll post for her position internally first?”

“How can you be so insensitive, Assistant Lee Yubin!” chastised Miss Kim. “The vice chairmen look miserable. They’d never fill her role with such a vulture.”

The assistant rolled her sleepy-looking eyes as she informed, “You don’t get to that position without being an opportunist.”

“No one’s asking the most important question,” interjected Intern Wong, his bright puppy eyes still fixed on the glowing silhouette of the director. “If she’s no longer going to be an employee—and she’s not engaged—do you think she’s on the market?”

Both Manager Cho and Mr. Moon sighed and exchanged hopeless glances, but now, a few more men down the line swiveled from the intern up toward the stage. The whole group grew silent as Vice Chairman Lee Minhyuk took over on the mic, but nobody was really listening to his outline of new product roll-outs for the upcoming quarter. They were mounting strategies of their very own.

“Why are we meeting here?” a surly Jooheon griped as he plopped down onto a couch in the center of the round atrium that connected all seven vice chairmen's offices. “Shouldn't we go somewhere more private?”

“This is easier,” Jackson replied as he took a seat into an armchair across from his friend. The president was known for looking as cool as his voice sounded, so when he cocked his head and crossed his legs, he looked more a boss than the vice chairman. “How are you doing?”

Jooheon hissed and launched forward, though he managed to stay seated. “How am I doing? I’m upside down, man! I don’t understand.”

“What don’t you understand?”

“I don’t—” The vice chairman ran his hands through his hair and rolled his neck. After a steadying breath, he said, “I don’t understand why she’d leave?”

“Director Ortega?”

“Of course, Director Ortega. Who the hell else did you think I brought you here to talk about?”

Jackson raised an eyebrow. “Well, I don’t know what you want me to do about it. You guys wouldn’t let me near her.”

“You can’t be trusted.”

“A fine thing to say to your President of Operations,” Jackson laughed, and it was clear he didn’t take an ounce of the vice chairman’s insults seriously.

“You know exactly what I mean.”

The president kept laughing and nodded. “I do.”

“But I have always trusted your vision. You see bigger pictures than I do. Since we were teenagers, you’ve always been a barometer of the people, and at least I trust your insights,” Jooheon began as professionally as he could sitting in front of one of his best friends. “Plus, you’re a busybody.”

“I’ve been accused of worse,” the president said with a grin.

“I know. I was the one who accused you.”

Jackson shrugged. “So, what do you need?”

“What have you heard about Director Ortega’s threat of quitting?”

“Is it a threat?” the president asked with a brow raise. “Because it sounded pretty damn certain to this busybody’s ears.”

“Don’t get coy, Jackson. I’m not in the mood.”

The grin dropped from the president’s face, and he leaned across the coffee table. “Everyone’s talking about it, of course. Rumors abound. Some say she’s getting married.”

Jooheon scowled and shook his head.

“Some say she’s pregnant.”

This time, the vice chairman gasped, unable to feign his usual confidence.

“But most people are saying she’s dating or wants to date, so she wants to make more time to do those other things.”

“That’s stupid,” Jooheon fired off. “Director Ortega has plenty of time to do that now. She could be married already if she wanted to be, but she’s not.”

Jackson just glowered at his friend.

“Fine,” Jooheon conceded, “we keep her pretty busy, but it’s never bothered her before.”

“Are you sure? Did you ever ask?”

“Why would I ask that!” the vice chairman shouted indignantly. “It’s not workplace appropriate.”

“Then it sounds to me like you’re talking out of your ass,” and a beat later, Jackson added cheekily, “sir.”

Jooheon studied his fingernails as he asked carefully, “So… which one did she say it is?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think anyone does for sure. Director Ortega is the most professional person in this whole damn company. You lot should know best. What did she say when she resigned?”

“She didn’t resign,” Jooheon said tersely. “She just threatened to.”

“Oh, is that what ‘Please accept my letter of resignation’ means?”

The vice chairman sighed. “Why the hell did I put any faith in you.”

“C’mon, man, I’m ribbing you. The truth is I think you know everything, but you just don’t want to acknowledge it. What did she say exactly? Not what did Vice Chairman Lee Jooheon hear?”

The straw-haired man sank back into the couch, his hands spread across the cushions as he stared up through the glass ceiling to the obnoxiously blue sky above. “She said, ‘After fourteen wonderful years at Xtra Mile, I have decided I need to step back from my position as Director of Facilitation and spend some time on myself. I know this may be rather surprising, but it's something I’ve been considering for a while. It has been an absolute pleasure working for you…’

“From there, pretty much all I heard was static. I was too in shock.”

Jackson hummed. “Doesn’t give me a ton to work with. What did her resignation letter say?”

“Don’t know. Didn’t read it yet.”

At this, Jackson let out a groan. “You didn’t read it? What the hell kind of boss are you?”

“A blindsided one! What do you expect me to do after the rug was pulled out from under me?”

“Man up and fix it. I figured Xtra Mile’s Chief Marketing Officer would already be mounting a campaign to court back his most valuable employee. Instead, you’re whining in your ivory tower.”

“How am I supposed to do that when I don’t even understand why she’s leaving me?”

“Read the damn letter, man,” Jackson scolded. “Maybe it’s as simple as she took another job.”

“You think?” the dimpled vice chairman asked eagerly.

“No, unless she sparing your feelings.”

“This is all their fault,” Jooheon griped, only too happy to shift the blame. He waved his arm around the atrium at the six other mahogany office doors. “They're driving her away. She's always happy when she's with me.”

“Is that what you really think?”

The vice chairman narrowed his eyes at his president. “Obviously.”

“Just remember I've known you long before you were a head honcho…” Jackson said ominously. He braced his elbows on his knees and leaned across the coffee table. His hand rose, middle finger tucked beneath his thumb, and swiftly and unexpectedly, he flicked the forehead of his friend.

Jooheon yelped and cursed as he bounced in his seat. When he dropped a hand to point angrily at the man across from him, a big red mark lingered like a bullseye in the center of his forehead. “You're fired!”

“Fine, fine, I’ll clean out my desk tomorrow,” the president said without an ounce of concern. “But did I knock some sense into you?”

“You pissed me off is what you did.”

Jackson rolled his eyes. “I think you’re better off worrying about that mammoth bruise to your ego than a little welt on your forehead. The second Aeon gets wind of her leaving, they’re going to wonder about the merger.”

Though he was still babying the bump on his head, Jooheon shook it. “Director Ortega said she’d build in more than the month in case things run long with Aeon. She doesn’t want to jeopardize the project.”

“Leave it to a woman of her caliber to be acutely aware of that. She’s been in all of the merger meetings, hasn’t she?”

“She personally brought Chaiman Matsuda on board. Yeah, the Aeon merger is probably more her baby than any of ours.”

“Good. That’s good then.”

“Why?” Jooheon asked.

Jackson shrugged a shoulder. “It means she’s not running off to elope at least.”

“Elope!” At this, the vice chairman finally leapt back up.

“Calm down. I said she’s not eloping. Probably also means there’s no fiancé either yet.”

“Yet?” Jooheon deflated completely back down to the couch.

Again, the president shrugged. “I’m just puzzling out the fifty different rumors I heard today. Seems like those are the least likely now that I know more.”

“Terrific…”

“But now that I know what she said when she resigned, I think the most likely theory is that you all have zapped her personal life completely. Sucked her dry like a swarm of mosquitos.”

Jooheon sighed. “You really like to rub salt in a wound, man.”

“Hey, I call ‘em like I see ‘em. Unless she’s already married? Maybe she’s leaving to spend more time with her husband. Work on building a family.”

“She doesn’t have a husband,” the vice chairman snapped.

Jackson let out a chuckle. “I imagine you seven have seen to that, huh? Thought you were all the men she needed, I’ll bet. Guess today was your wake-up.”

“Is she dating?” Jooheon’s voice creeped up uncomfortably high, and he cleared his throat to correct it.

“How should I know? You barely let me talk to the woman. You keep her locked up like Rapunzel with you and your dysfunctional family.”

The vice chairman narrowed his already narrow eyes. “That smacks of bitterness.”

“Maybe it is. She’s a beautiful woman, and I’m a good-looking guy.”

Jooehon unleashed a wicked snarl at the corner of his lips. “You’re not just a busybody but a playboy, Jackson. I was right to keep her away from you.”

It was Jackson’s turn to narrow his eyes. “I knew it.”

Jooheon waved a hand dismissively. “I don’t need you distracting my executive team.”

“I didn’t hear you balk when I asked out Secretary Guk, and she’s at your full disposal all day, every day.”

At this, the vice chairman grumbled, “Well, you just said it. I can call on her whenever I need her. I only get an hour with Director Ortega. I can’t have her distracted for a minute of it.”

“Don’t you think that’s part of her reasoning, Honey?” Jackson said, testing the boundaries of their decades-long friendship. “Every second of her day is monopolized by a tycoon. How do you expect her to just be a woman?”

“If you’re saying this just to make a window for yourself to her, you’ve got another thing coming.”

“Look, man, it doesn’t even matter at this point. Her dance card is already so long, I’d need to take a number.”

“What do you mean?”

Jackson pursed his lips. “Exactly what I said. As soon as news of her resignation trickled down all 28 floors, guys were brushing up their marriageable resumes and dating profiles.”

“She’s not a sweepstakes,” Jooheon barked. “You don’t just try your chance to get lucky.”

“Hey, I agree with you, but you don’t speak for the vast majority of guys. Everyone has always assumed she’s unmarried, but no one’s risked courting her for fear of their careers. But if she doesn’t work for you anymore—”

Jooheon growled. “That doesn’t matter. They’re still risking their careers.”

Jackson leaned back in his chair, mouth screwed up to one side and eyebrow popped.

“For your own good, Honey, I really think you should ask yourself why that is.” A little louder, he proclaimed, “You all should.”

Almost as if scripted, six silhouettes stepped out of the shadows of six separate doorways.

Jackson swept his hand in a circle and smiled smugly at his friend. “See? Told you this was easier. Now I don't have to repeat myself six more times.”

“Jackson,” said a burly platinum blonde in a three-piece suit so tightly tailored that it looked more like an American football uniform, “do you really think Director Ortega will be that much of a target?”

Jackson scoffed that faded into a wry smile. “She's gorgeous, driven, charming, whip-smart, and well-off. A woman like Director Ortega is in a class of her own. Yes, Hoseok, she’s a catch. The only people who are going to care she's 38 are the ones she would have never entertained anyway. Hell, just between the horn dogs and the sugar babies, she's going to have her plate full, never mind her long-term secret admirers. You'll see. You won't even have to wait a day, I promise.”

“I don’t love that,” Minhyuk said as he took a chair beside the president.

“Yeah, but what are any of you going to do about it?”

The seven vice chairmen traded appraisals, but none spoke.

Jackson chuckled. “Can’t see the forest for the trees… Director Ortega really has been carrying all of you.”

“Watch it,” Jooheon growled, yet his subordinate waved him off.

“Since you’re all in one room for a change, let me pose a question that’s been eating at the back of my mind for years. I may never get another chance to ask it in case one of you actually decides to fire me after half a decade of playful threats, but why do each of you insist on sharing one assistant when you can have as many as you want?”

This time, none of the vice chairmen risked a glance at each other. Instead, they thumbed their ten-thousand-dollar watches or fiddled with the cuffs of their bespoke suits.

Sharp-jawed and sharp-tongued, Kihyun jutted his chin out as his neck twitched. He sucked in a breath through his teeth as he answered evenly, “Director Ortega is an invaluable—”

“Director Ortega is indeed invaluable,” Jackson interrupted. “No one would dare challenge that for fear of their life. But that doesn’t really answer my question, and you know it. As formidable an assistant as she is, you’re each only capable of utilizing her skill set for a maximum of an eighth of her day. Now, imagine, if you will, how much work you could accomplish if you each trusted one other person as much as you trust her. Don’t all of you have your own secretaries as it is? You can’t rely on them to mastermind your days? Or…”

The way the president said the word had seven sets of eyes snapping to him. Jackson’s handsome face hovered just on the professional side of a smirk.

“…is it that you just don’t want to?”

“Get to the point, President Wang,” snapped the most restless of the chairmen, Minhyuk.

Jackson’s palms turned up. “That is the point. This company is full of fresh young upstarts looking to make a name for themselves. They’re all more than eager to work overtime and make an impression, yet you all continuously come back to your Director.”

“Exactly,” Jooheon said as if it proved some other point, but judging from the smile creeping onto the president’s face, it may not have worked as intended.

“Exactly.” Jackson hummed as he tapped his smart watch screen and checked the time. “You know, I’ve been accused of playing with words before—”

“You’re a regular Loki,” Kihyun corrected.

“Mm, maybe. Or maybe it’s to provoke a thought. It’s served me well closing deals for you all these years. Word choice is everything. Say the right word, and you plant a seed, and the next thing you know? Boom! We’ve got a seven-figure sale. The customer thinks it’s all their idea—always has been. They leave feeling clever, and I leave knowing I’ve orchestrated one hell of a victory for the company.”

“Just say it, Jackson,” mumbled the feline-eyed youngest chairman, Changkyun, from his lean in his door frame.

The president waggled his fingers like the conductor he described, and a chill descended upon the room.

“I just did. Consider my words carefully. I don’t use them lightly.”

Jooheon rolled his eyes. “Yes, you do.”

With a sigh, Jackson raised both brows. “Fine. I’ll be blunter then. If there ever was a thing to unite the seven kingdoms under one banner, I think the whole of Xtra Mile would place their bets on the same banner. Maybe losing Director Ortega is the kick in the pants you all need.”

“Watch it,” Kihyun warned.

Jackson shrugged. “You asked what I thought—”

“We didn’t,” said the tallest, Hyungwon.

“He did,” finished Minhyuk with a glance at Jooheon.

“What a family you are,” Jackson laughed. “I honestly can't tell who among you is delusional, who's in denial, and who's been harboring secrets they've been way too afraid to voice.”

The seven other men exchanged wary scrutiny while the president rose and knocked the wrinkles from his slacks. “Well, look, you've got a month to figure it out, probably way less if I'm honest. The way I see it? You better speak now or forever hold your peace. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I've got a brush up my dating profile.”

With that, Jackson bowed to his bosses and walked out of the chairman’s wing with one insufferable hand in his pocket and one even more insufferable hand waving over his shoulder.

“Remind me to fire him,” huffed Minhyuk.

“Not before I clobber him,” growled Jooheon.

But without Jackson there to stir the pot, it left the seven vice chairmen staring at their feet or the wall. For all the silence, it felt very loud, and it was no surprise to anyone that the first to speak again was Minhyuk.

“What are we going to do?”

Hoseok laughed bitterly. “I think that’s the first time I’ve heard us use the word ‘we’.”

A few of the men hummed as the truth of that statement hit.

“Do you think Jackson’s right?” said Changkyun hesitantly. “Do you think she’s leaving because of us?”

Hyunwoo stacked his arms across his thick chest and nodded, eyes fixed on a scuff on the marble floors. “I read her resignation letter. I don’t see how it could be anything else.”

“I read it, too,” interjected Hoseok, “but she said it was about her, right?”

This time, it was Hyungwon who sighed. “Isn’t that the thing you say to spare the other’s feelings during a breakup? ‘It’s not you, it’s me’?”

More silence, this one infinitely darker and deeper.

“So it is us…” conceded Minhyuk.

“Looks that way,” said Hyunwoo.

“I still don’t get it,” Jooheon said. “I’m a great boss. I’m not the one who made her miss her sister’s wedding.”

Hyungwon narrowed his eyes. “I didn’t make her do that. She chose to come back.”

Kihyun tilted his head as he squared off with his half-brother. "Everybody here knows that you’re passive aggressive if you don’t get your way. ‘Kihyun, are you sure you want to use the gochujang? The recipe calls for doenjang. Don’t mind me, I’m just getting a pitcher of water for the table.’”

“What are you talking about? Passive aggression is your MO,” Hyungwon retorted. “And being hyper-critical.”

“You both are,” Changkyun groaned.

“Yeah, well, I’m not,” swore Jooheon. “I praise her work every day. I ask her about her day.”

Minhyuk let out a puff of air. “Yeah, to see if you can steal some of her time from the rest of us. No one’s more of a gatekeeper than you, Jooheon."

"Am not."

“Are too. You throw a fit if anyone asks for five more minutes of her time, and if they do, you demand a makeup the next day.”

“Enough,” Hyunwoo said brusquely.

“We can’t let her resign,” Hoseok agreed.

“Obviously,” Jooheon snapped.

“Can we just refuse her resignation?” asked Minhyuk.

Changkyun shook his head. “I would never test Director Ortega’s commitment. She’ll just quit on the spot, and then where will we be.”

As brains churned, tensions mounted. It was always tense when the seven men gathered together, but for once, desperation was something all seven shared, and instead of retreating to their offices, they remained at their posts—far enough away to still make boundaries clear yet approachable.

“We should apologize,” Hyungwon volunteered.

“If apologies made a difference, would we be where we are?” challenged Kihyun.

“Well, they can’t fucking hurt.”

“It’s a starting point,” Hyunwoo asserted, “which is more than we had a minute ago.”

“What if we switch up her schedule?” Changkyun suggested. “Routine can be crushing.”

Hoseok nodded. “And she could use more vacation.”

“We can throw more money at her,” Kihyun added.

A moment passed. Hyunwoo typed something into his phone. In the gathering silence, Minhyuk and Jooheon rattled the vase in the center of the coffee table with their opposing jackhammering legs.

“What, no snide remarks? No backhanded critiques from any of you?” Kihyun said with a pointed gaze finally landing on Hyungwon.

But the tall man simply scoffed as he pushed up from his lean against the wall and moved toward his office door. “Who has time for that? You heard what Jackson said. We don’t even have a month to undo our screw-up.”

“We run a sixty-billion-dollar company,” said Minhyuk. “There’s no reason we can’t strategize a way to undo our biggest ever loss.”

“Let’s just throw everything at her tomorrow and see what sticks,” Hyungwon suggested.

“Not much of a strategy,” Minhyuk observed.

“I don’t care as long as it keeps her here with us.”

“What do you say, Hyunwoo?” asked Changkyun.

The resident senior raised both eyebrows when he discovered six sets of eyes looking at him simultaneously. “You’re asking for my opinion?”

“Yeah,” Jooheon agreed.

“I’ll get some breakfast tomorrow and think on it.”

The other six sets of eyes switched between rolls and furrows, between disheartened and annoyed, but the vice chairmen settled on meeting again in the morning—after their COO had a full belly.

Just before Hoseok could enter the cafeteria, something caught the corner of his eye, and when he turned, he found his cousin, Hyunwoo, lurking like a houseplant behind a banner announcing the upcoming Xtra Mile company picnic.

“What the hell are you doing?” asked the Chief Security Officer.

“Eating,” answered Hyunwoo.

Hoseok popped an eyebrow. “In a corner? Behind a sign?”

“Evidently, our employees are very surprised to see me. It was too much attention eating at a table.”

“You’re the COO. Attention comes with the title.”

“I don’t need it right now,” the older man replied evenly.

Hoseok had both brows raised now as he took in the rigid figure of the COO who was usually considered the face of the company, yet here Hyunwoo was, literally lurking, eyes staring blankly across the early morning company cafeteria.

Slowly, the COO shifted his attention to his cousin. His face remained as placid as ever, though his tone deepened as he asked, “What are you doing here, Hoseok?”

“I protein up here every day after my workout.”

“You’re later than usual,” Hyunwoo observed.

“How would you know? I’ve never seen you here.” At this, his cousin turned to look at him and Hoseok sniffed. “What? I can't keep track of your schedule too?”

“Hey! I was here first!”

The vice chairmen looked at each other before they realized neither of them had said it. Instead, there were three suited men clustered at the other side of the dining hall with scowls and furrowed brows. They jostled shoulder-to-shoulder as a few other employees tightened around the action.

It was clear there was a line forming, and evidently, somebody had cut it, but it wasn’t for the register.

Director Ortega sat at a table clotted with flowers and gifts and cards as men and women alike waited for their turn to speak with a figure more mythical than a phoenix.

Hoseok soured, first at the sight of the long line but further when he looked back at the burly man hovering behind the signage. “You're not here to eat. You're here to observe the Director.”

The COO presented a sandwich and took a bite, and through a mouthful, he said, “I can do both.”

With a sigh, Hoseok shoved the other vice chairman over and hunkered beside him, eyes peeking around the banner.

Director Ortega greeted each of her admirers warmly but professionally, with the same gentle but sincere office smile they’d seen every day for four years. She accepted all the cards, rejected most of the presents, and divvied up the flowers with the other ladies hovering nearby. One overzealous fellow waited in her orbit, phone out, hoping to get her Kakaotalk information, though she was steadfast that she’d had enough networking to last her a lifetime.

Hoseok puckered his lips, but just before the CSO could escort the insistent prick from the building, Hyunwoo clamped a hand on his shoulder. He looked at the meaty paw and then to its owner and back again.

“She’s got it,” Hyunwoo assured.

Hoseok shrugged his shoulder and the hand fell away. “How did you know she would be here?”

“Director Ortega often brings me a sandwich from here in the morning.”

“You make her bring you breakfast?” Hoseok said sternly.

“I don't make her do anything. She just does it.”

“She doesn't bring me anything,” his cousin pouted.

Hyunwoo didn't respond. He just took another massive bite and kept his eyes on the director.

“Seems like everyone is excited for her to leave,” observed the platinum blonde, but Hyunwoo shook his head.

“Before it got so noisy, I could hear better. I think it’s more that they’re proud of her.”

“For leaving us?” Hoseok exclaimed, and his cousin silenced him with a grave scowl. Quieter now, the CSO continued, “We need to tell the others. I’m not sure our plan of attack will be effective if she’s being showered with gifts to quit.”

This time, at least, his cousin nodded. Hyunwoo stuffed his mouth with another bite.

They lingered until the clock neared the company start time, when the last person in line finally made it to the director’s table. She was standing now, mulling over how to cart a table full of unexpected gifts elsewhere, as the young, black-haired prince with a white smile offered to help.

“Why is she smiling so much?” Hoseok said. “Is she—is she laughing?”

Hyunwoo narrowed his already thin eyes.

“Did she just give him her business card?” the younger chairman gawked.

Director Ortega bowed and thanked the young man as he helped gather her offerings into a box he’d somehow manufactured out of thin air.

Hyunwoo chucked the last bite of his sandwich in the garbage, and it made Hoseok jump.

The blonde started, “You never waste—”

“Time to go, Hoseok,” said the COO, and his cousin jumped again. “We need to talk to the others immediately.”

No sooner had the pair made it up the chairmen’s elevator to their floor than they caught some of their secretaries gabbing in the atrium.

“—vowed to get Maria plastered tonight—oh my god, sirs!”

Secretary Ahn spluttered the instant she saw the two chairmen enter the atrium. Immediately, her mouth shut, and she bowed her head. Secretary Guk was less respectful and more deer-in-headlights, with her round eyes fully white and her small mouth popped open round as a bottle cap.

“Hello, sirs,” Secretary Ahn added and then elbowed her coworker until the other woman managed the same greeting. Neither of the men said anything, so she asked, “Is everything all right, Vice Chairman Son?”

“Why wouldn't it be?” he returned flatly.

Secretary Ahn’s eyes darted to the other vice chairman and then back to him and then back to the other vice chairman again as though he should understand the singularity of the moment of the two men side-by-side.

“Is there a meeting we don't know about, sirs?” she said gingerly.

“I should ask you the same.”

Both women paled until they were nearly transparent. They looked at each other again, but this time, Secretary Ahn couldn’t seem to find her polite words, which left Secretary Guk scrambling to pick up the slack.

“Oh, not at all! We were just discussing Director Ortega's going away party tonight.”

Secretary Ahn elbowed her coworker again, this time nearly hard enough to knock the other woman out of her kitten heels.

“Her going away party?” repeated Hyunwoo. “I was unaware that she’s going anywhere.”

Secretary Guk outright shivered, and when she spoke again, her voice was shaking, too. “The secretaries organized it, but… But it would mean so much if all of the vice chairmen could join us.”

The other secretary looked frantically at her, but there was nothing to be done.

“It’s just dinner, drinks, and noraebang after work, but the more, the merrier.”

Hoseok glanced up at his cousin with urgent eyes and whispered, “President Wang said we should show sincerity. This is the perfect way.”

Again, the secretaries exchanged looks, which only amplified when Vice Chairman Son said, “Secretary Guk, please email the time and place to all the vice chairmen as soon as you can.”

“Yes, sir.”

The secretaries bowed to the vice chairmen as they headed toward their respective offices, and when Secretary Ahn rose, she scowled and slapped her friend on the arm. “Maria is going to kill you!”

“Please,” said Secretary Guk as she sat down in front of her keyboard and began to type. “The vice chairmen will never show up. When have they ever showed up for anything, let alone together? Maria’s ready to leave Xtra Mile, but I’m not. What was I supposed to do?”

“Just keep your mouth shut,” her coworker hissed.

“It’s fine. You’ll see. Maria will agree with me.”

“Aigoo, Aera!” Secretary Ahn growled as she tapped her coworker on her arm again. “Have you learned nothing? Keep your mouth shut.”

“No way. You think I want Maria grinding me to a pulp?”

“Look, you said yourself they’ll never show anyway, so why say anything? We’ve worked so hard to organize this thing. I’m not going to be the one to tell everyone it’s off when she invariably cancels it. You are.”

“I didn’t think about that…”

Secretary Ahn rolled her eyes. “Of course you didn’t. You’re not the one who’d clean up the mess.”

“Okay, but if something does go wrong—”

But Secretary Guk didn’t get to finish that thought before the work day officially started and the phones began to ring.

“Oh my god, I didn’t know Maria was capable of getting tipsy, but wow,” laughed Secretary Kwon. “She is gone.”

“Yeah,” agreed Secretary Guk, “color me shocked. I always figured her for the straight life.”

Secretary Kim rolled her eyes. “All these years at seven typhoons’ beck and call will force sobriety on you. I have a hard enough time convincing myself I can have a drink on the weekend. Can’t imagine what Maria’s dry spell’s been like. She must be making up for lost time.”

The women traded laughs and then another round of shots as Director Ortega scream-shouted her noraebang lines into the microphone and they had to hurry to cover their ears.

"Holy. Shit."

It wasn’t just the sudden appearance of the English curse or that it came from the Secretary Lee in his overly dramatic alto that made all the other secretaries pivot sharply. It was the way everything else fell silent except a drunken Maria caterwauling to George Michael’s “Freedom” on stage.

“They actually showed up,” Secretary Ahn gasped.

“Who?” said Secretary Kim.

“Who do you think?”

“What!” exclaimed Secretary Guk. “Which ones?”

“Uh…” Vice Chairman Yoo’s secretary, Song Jiyoo, squinted into the foggy shadows at the entryway as more silhouettes parted the club haze. “Oh my god, it looks like all of them.”

“No way,” said Secretary Kwon. “You're plastered, One. You have to be.”

“I am not. Turn around, Haeun!” Secretary Song grabbed her pocket-sized coworker by the shoulders and swiveled her like the rest of their mob of meerkats.

“I don’t believe it...”

“We’re dead,” said the second Secretary Song Jiyoo, Vice Chairman Im’s assistant, whom the entire department simply called Two.

Secretaries Ahn and Guk looked at each other with crinkled brows. Together, they murmured, “Maria is going to kill us.”

Bumbling through the speakers, they could make out their director wailing louder than she had all night.

“All we have to see is that I don’t belong to you and you don’t belong to me. Freedom! Freedom!”

Secretary Lee looked at the two wide-eyed women, his tongue poking the inside of his cheek. “So. What do you two want on your urns?”

“Secretary Guk!” came the dreaded call no one had expected to hear from her boss, Vice Chairman Lee Jooheon, tonight.

“Sir,” she stammered as she stepped forward, her hands rushing to her cheeks to hide the alcohol coloring them. She looked frantically at her superior before she realized he was flanked by his seven fellow vice chairmen, every last one in their requisite three piece suits and ties, every hand stuffed in their pockets. She may as well have been coming face-to-face with a firing squad. “Sirs, you came?”

“We said we would,” he replied.

"Yes. Yes, you did…”

Vice Chairman Lee Jooheon took a look around, his bottom lip protruding. “We’re late?”

“No, sir,” Secretary Guk was quick to jump in. “You are right on time, of course. A bunch of us simply got here early to pre-game.”

“Is that what kids call dinner these days?” said Kihyun with a popped eyebrow.

“Ah…”

“You didn’t include the dinner in the invitation?” Secretary Ahn hissed into her colleague’s ear.

Secretary Guk simply stood there with her mouth open.

Secretary Ahn elbowed her friend, but the other secretary just looked at her helplessly. Jooheon narrowed his already thin eyes as he assessed his assistant like a lie detector, but he didn’t say anything further.

“There are a lot of people here,” mused Hoseok to Hyungwon.

Men and women clustered around tables—and soju—many with their drinks stilled in hand as they spied their bosses’ bosses. There were faces the vice chairmen recognized from their various departments, but there were just as many they didn’t, lower level managers and assistants too far down the totem pole for them to have met. No doubt Director Ortega knew them all by name.

Past the honeycomb of booths, at the head of the room, there was a packed dance floor, though once again, the revelry seemed frozen as though by a curse. Everyone watched the seven overlords.

As distracting as it all was, it couldn’t distract from the party’s crown jewel.

Dressed in an oversized buttondown and a denim skirt, Director Ortega bounced from toe to toe in a pair of blindingly white sneakers. Her waves were full-blown curls tonight, bouncing with the beat pulsing through the speakers. Mic in hand, she belted out her third encore, a booze-saturated, warbling rendition of the chorus of Cher’s “I Got You, Babe.”

And she wasn’t alone.

On the mic next to her was a young, effervescent man who seemed to be the only one in the room who didn’t have eyes fixed anywhere other than the woman next to him on stage.

Hyunwoo hummed as he glared. “I know him…”

“Hey,” interjected Hoseok with a nudge to his elder cousin’s shoulder, “isn’t that the guy from breakfast? Mr. Helpshimself.”

The COO’s eye twitched.

“Secretary Lee!” barked Hyungwon to his assistant. “Who’s that with the Director?”

“Uh, on stage?” echoed the younger man. “Mm, I don’t know.”

“Secretary Guk,” Jooheon pressed, “do you know that man?”

She shook her head. “Sorry, sir, I don’t. Maria invited him.”

The vice chairman glowered, and the secretary crumbled.

“Er, Director Ortega invited him, but I can find out?”

“Immediately,” he insisted.

Secretary Guk scampered away toward one of the HR managers who hadn’t moved so much as a muscle since the vice chairmen had strolled in, but if the paralyzed look in his eyes was any indication, he wanted nothing to do with her.

Meanwhile, Kihyun huffed. “A man nobody seems to know is dueting with Director Ortega?”

The secretaries shifted uncomfortably even as two voices, one rich in bass and the other ripe with alcohol, stampeded through the silence like a pair of frolicking elephants. Secretaries One and Two cast worried glances back at their director, who was beaming lopsidedly at the handsome fellow who was hamming it up on his knees now, hand reaching up toward Maria.

“Now, Secretary Guk!” Jooheon called back.

His assistant scurried back with her head bowed and said, “Manager Cho believes his name is Intern Wong Kunhang.”

Secretary One hummed. “Oh, that’s Intern Wong? I think I heard he was brought on to the Purchasing Department from our Macau division a month or two ago.”

“Hm,” hummed Changkyun. “What’s an intern doing at a senior level director’s going-away party?”

Secretary Guk’s head dipped a little lower. “Apparently, I had heard correctly. The Director invited him personally. He wasn’t on our executives list, sir.”

As the vice chairmen stared green-eyed at the stage, the director and her partner finished the last lines of the song with breathless laughs.

Maria bent back into a light stretch as she caught her breath, and when she straightened, she squinted out into the eerily calm party room. Gone was the soju-greased dance party, noisy conversation and uproarious laughter, replaced instead by an ambient background soundtrack and muffled parties in nearby rooms.

“Why is nobody dancing?” Maria complained as she looked around the crowded club of stricken guests.

“Hey, no worries. I can fix that. I have a song that will get them going,” assured Kunhang. He shuffled through the playlist for a minute as he added over his shoulder, “What do you think about—”

Just then though, the young man was yanked by his wrist toward the edge of the stage where his direct supervisor, Supervisor Qian glared at him with imploring eyes. “No more encores, Intern Wong.”

“Ah, come on! It's the Director's big day. If she wants another song—”

But the supervisor shook his head vehemently. “I'm doing this for your own good, Intern Wong. Hurry up off the stage now, come on. I’ll give you money for a cab. Go home early and safely.”

“Are you nuts? I’m not leaving yet. Maria invited me personally.”

Supervisor Qian slapped his hand over the intern’s mouth and hissed, “Do you want to lose your job the same month you got it? Stop talking for once, Intern Wong, and go!”

The supervisor yanked his subordinate down the steps, leaving Maria squinting alone into the haze ahead of her.

“Hyeongseo!” she shouted into the hushed crowd. “Hyeongseoie! Where are you?”

Secretary Kim, Vice Chairman Lee Hoseok’s personal assistant and Maria's best friend in the company, turned to Secretary Ahn and hissed, “Fix this, Minha!”

She raced to her friend’s aid on stage, leaving Vice Chairman Lee Minhyuk’s assistant gasping like a fish in front of the heads of the whole company.

“Uh,” Secretary Ahn began hesitantly, “sirs, maybe you would like to meet us later for some barbecue across the street? Everyone will be more presentable in a half hour, especially with some food in their bellies.”

“Why?” asked Hoseok. “We’re already here.”

Minhyuk cocked his head to the side, his warm blonde hair feathering across his forehead as he did. “It seems Secretary Ahn is trying to get rid of us.”

“Not at all, sir!” she squealed as she waved her hands. “It’s just that maybe noraebang is a little noisy and chaotic for leaders of your caliber who are used to quiet offices and boardrooms.”

“She means you’re bringing down the vibe,” came a voice from behind Jooheon followed by a pair of hands clapping on his shoulders.

“Jackson!” said the startled vice chairman. “What are you doing here?”

“Maria invited me,” he said with a cheeky smile that got even cheekier the more flustered the rest of vice chairmen grew. “I’m surprise she invited you.”

Kihyun sucked his teeth as assessed the president, who downed the shot in his hand with a grin on his face. “Having a good time I take it, President Wang?”

“It was a party, so I was.”

“Was a party?” questioned Hoseok.

“Until seven wet blankets dampened the mood.”

Kihyun pursed his lips now. “The soju seems to have loosened your lips.”

With a nod to the stage, Jackson replied, “It does have that reputation, yeah. If I were you, I’d by worried about the number one consumer of soju here tonight. When she sees you, you’re done…”

“How the hell did they find me!”

Though there was no mistaking the clear outrage, the seven vice chairmen had a hard time believing the voice was that of their esteemed, reliable, punctual, efficient, unwavering Director Ortega.

And yet one glance to the stage, where the director stood, arms flung wide and eyes blasted open as she challenged Secretary Kim, left no doubt it was the legend herself.

“Hm,” said Jackson, “I’m going to need a beer and a front row seat for this. Good luck, sirs.”

With that, the President of Operations disappeared into the crowd of fish faces all watching and waiting for what came next.

They didn’t have to wait long.

The director took the stairs remarkably well considering the booze counteracting her anger, but then purpose had always driven every move Maria Ortega had ever made. She headed straight for her seven moving targets. Several of the vice chairmen took a step back, huddling ever so slightly behind the wall of Hyunwoo and Hoseok.

They barely recognized the woman they’d seen nearly every day for years. Though her fine spray of freckles still dusted her face and neck, it was harder to make out under her heavy rose flush. Her ever-alert eyes were hard and narrow, and even though she was swaying as she planted her feet wide, her hands found a brand new home on her hips, giving her small stature the hulk of a professional wrestler.

“Director—” began Hyunwoo, but she waved him off instantly.

“Apologies, your highnesses, I know I’ve given you four years of contradictory evidence, but this is my night off,” she declared briskly. “Your offices are two streets down and around the corner.”

“Director Ortega—” tried Hoseok now, but she cut him off, too, with a shake of her head.

There was no sign of their perennial diplomatic as she ordered, “You should go. All of you.”

“But why?” said Jooheon in a blatant whine.

“We just got here,” insisted Hyungwon.

Maria scoffed. “Oh, I know. You’ve flatlined the mood.”

“I’ve never been accused of such a thing,” Minhyuk swore.

“Look!” she said and swung her arm toward the door, where a pair of coworkers were slinking out until her voice immobilized them in the doorway. “People are already leaving because they don’t want seven spoiled brats lording over their good time.”

“Brats?” said Hyungwon.

“Spoiled?” Kihyun balked, too. “We’re not spoiled.”

Another scoff. Maria scowled as she said, “I’ve never seen silver spoons lodged farther down throats. And now no one is going to want to have a good time with me because they don’t want you brats to fire them.”

“Somehow President Wang still has his job,” Jooheon shouted to Jackson, who was sitting cross-legged at one of the nearby booths, beer in hand.

With a sigh this time, Maria said resignedly, “What are you even doing here?”

“We’re here to celebrate you,” said Changkyun.

“Because we care about you,” Hyungwon added.

Maria’s eyes shifted to the Chief Sustainability Officer. Her face fixed on an expression too foreign for her face.

A beat passed. Then another.

Her lips parted. Before she could respond though, the puppy-eyed intern appeared at the director’s side, a tail practically wagging behind him. He rested his fingertips on her forearm, and her attention shifted to the young man.

“Sorry about that, Maria. Supervisor Qian thought I was too drunk to stay or something, but considering he's already six shots in, I figured he wasn't one to judge. Oh, hey!” The intern pivoted on his foot and smiled at the seven stone-faced men across from him. “You must be the vice chairmen. It's nice to meet you, Your Excellencies.”

Kunhang bowed and rose with two high eyebrows and a toothy grin.

“Your Excellencies?” Hyungwon said flatly.

The intern nodded. “I hear you're the seven princes of Xtra Mile, at least, that’s what everyone in the office says.”

“And we hear that you’re from our Macau office,” said Hoseok.

“Yes, sir.”

Hyunwoo’s jaw flexed. “Do you miss Macau, Intern Wong?”

Maria narrowed her eyes, but Kunhang simply shrugged his shoulders and his mouth. “I did at first, but I’ve gotten pretty used to things here now. I really love Seoul so far.”

“That’s no reason to stay,” Jooheon added quickly.

“Internships run their course,” agreed Hyungwon.

With a tilt of his head, the intern smiled brightly. “I’ve got a good feeling about this one.”

“You shouldn’t. Maybe you should head out before your job—” grumbled Kihyun before Maria stepped between the factions, her back to the vice chairmen.

“Kunhang, Secretary Lee needs a drink. Why don’t you two have one together for now?” she suggested as she spun the younger man back toward the stage.

“Okay, but we’re still doing another song to wake up these zombies, right?”

Maria nodded and sent him off, and when she swiveled back to her bosses, albeit teetering slightly, gone was her gentle smile.

“I invited Kunhang,” she asserted, “and I want him to stay. You have no authority to order my guests to leave.”

“Actually, we own 51 percent of this—”

Hyunwoo gave a discreet punch to Minhyuk’s side to shut him up, but it had about as much impact as a car accident. While the blonde cradled his gut, Maria glared.

“You're not the bosses of my party! In fact, you're not even my bosses anymore.”

“We are for the next month,” Kihyun reminded.

“Hey, Two!” the director shouted over her shoulder. “Clear that back booth for me please. I’m putting these seven children in time-out until they can learn to play well with others.”

An audible gasp circulated through the room along with one very inebriated giggle somewhere in the back that was quickly silenced. The vice chairmen stood there dumbfounded as their secretaries nervously followed their director’s instructions and shooed away partygoers from the back corner where a C-shaped booth lurked in the neon shadows. The table cleared, and Maria thrust her arm forward and instructed, “Sit.”

They did.

Another pair of guests seized the distraction and made a break for the exit, but the director trumpeted, “Nobody leaves until everyone’s had a good time!”

“Woohoo!” Kunhang cheered from halfway across the room. He was the only respondent though the escapees did retreat back to their tables.

“Can’t we talk about this?” Hyunwoo said in his usual steady tone.

Maria shook her head. “Your lordships talk to much as it is. Sit here and be quiet for once.”

Kihyun hummed. “Director Ortega, I think you’ve had a bit to drink. Maybe—”

“Psh, I’m not nearly drunk enough for this conversation.”

Jooheon let out a resentful sigh as he scrunched his nose and challenged, “We really did come to support you.”

But Maria swept her pointer finger from end to end of the rainbow of vice chairmen and barked, “Pinches egoístas! Todo lo que hacen en tomar y tomar! ¿Y que obtengo a cambio? ¡Solo molestias! Y ni siquiera me pueden dejar en paz. Hijos de puta.”

“That didn’t sound great,” Hoseok said with a grimace at Minhyuk.

Hyunwoo cleared his throat and started, “Director—”

“Nn-nn, no. No, no. I'm so sick of that name. That's the only name I've heard for the last 762 years.” Kihyun and Hyungwon exchanged looks at her embellishment, but the woman didn’t notice as she continued, “I have a real name, a person name not a job name. Okay?”

“Okay,” said Minhyuk with a lopsided smile.

“It's Maria. It's a pretty name. It was my mother’s name and my great-grandmother's name. Isn't it pretty? Maria. Say it.”

“Maria,” said Hyungwon slowly, testing it out.

But she surprised him when she launched across the table, both of her hands clamping over his thick lips. “Shh! Not you! Shh!”

“Why not me?” he grumbled behind her fingers, but she shook her head vehemently.

“Why are you so loud?”

“Loud?” Kihyun chuckled with a furrowed brow as he turned toward his half-brother. “You’re not loud. I can barely decipher half the mumblings that come out of your mouth. Maria, do you mean the music’s loud?”

“Not loud enough!” she shouted.

“Maria,” repeated Hyungwon, softer this time, but she plugged her ears then and shook her head.

“I said it's too loud. Shh! You call me Director Ortega.”

The silver-haired vice chairman scowled at his half-brother as he folded his arms across his broad chest. “Why can’t I say it… He just did.”

The director narrowed her eyes at the vice chairmen and said, “I’m going back to get drunk like I deserve for the first time in ages, and you are not ruining that yet again, got it? Hopefully I’ll forget you were even here.”

“How long do we have to sit here?” Jooheon griped.

Maria folded her arms. “You act like children, I treat you like children. You stay here until you learn your lesson.”

Changkyun laid a hand on his dimpled cousin’s shoulder before took the lead and said, “We came here to talk to you, Maria.”

“Well, I came here to party because it’s my party, and I’m not talking. I’m partying.”

She turned around, but before she could take three steps, Hoseok blurted, “What are we supposed to do?”

Over her shoulder, she answered, “You’re in timeout. You don’t do anything… unless you decide to leave. You want to reconsider?”

None of the men moved, save Kihyun and Hyungwon crossing their arms in unison in an unexpected reminder that they shared some genes.

Maria huffed. “Fine. The only way you’re getting up from this table is if you leave or you join in.”

“What does that mean?” asked Minhyuk.

“Seriously? You drink and you sing duets or you get out. There's no way I'm letting you stone sober tyrants hold anything over my secretaries after I'm gone. ¿Te quedó claro? Drink and sing or get out.”

“Is that all? I can do that,” the Chief Product Officer said with a smile and presented his hand. “Will you do me the honors of singing with me?”

Maria cackled, and all seven men froze at the unfamiliar sound. “With you, Mr. Lee Minhyuk? Oh, no way.”

“You’ll sing with an intern but not with us?” Hyungwon pointed out tightly.

“That’s the easy way out,” she countered, “and I've spent way too much of my life by each of your sides already. No, you have to sing with each other.”

“With each other?” they exclaimed as a united front for once.

Maria cocked an eyebrow and a hip and stared them down. “If you've got the guts. If not, there’s the door.”

With that, Maria returned to her party, stole a snack from a nearby table, and bellowed out a war cry for the party to continue. With the help of Intern Wong’s impromptu DJing and the out-of-sight, out-of-mind vice chairmen, most guests were swaying and drinking again, this time with much more moderation.

That is until everyone got the surprise of their lives.

Just as Manager Gong of the marketing department finished her off-key solo performance of XG’s “New Dance,” two sharp silhouettes climbed the stairs to the stage, and once they’d selected their song, they turned around and stepped into the lights.

Minhyuk and Kihyun each grabbed a mic and waited to catch up to the beat of TVXQ’s “Spellbound”. At the first notes out of their mouths, a couple shot glasses fell to the floor, but it was nothing to the number of jaws that followed.

“My god,” murmured Secretary One, “they could be idols. How did I not know Vice Chairmen Yoo could sing like this? I see him all day every day!”

“I didn’t know they could sing either!” said Secretary Kwon. “Did you, Maria?”

A rice cake now sagging in her hand, the director couldn’t even find the strength to shake her head as her two bosses prowled the stage looking like they’d always belonged up there. They’d shed their suit jackets in favor of their dress shirts, each having rolled their sleeves up to their forearms, which was more skin than Maria had ever seen them show in all their years together. As they glided across the floor, their buttons winked in the spotlights, taunting the woman who’d been so confident up to that very moment that she’d known everything about them.

“This feels like a concert!” one of the managers screamed over the music.

“I can’t believe we get to see this for free!” shouted another.

“Why do they have to be good at everything they do?” bemoaned yet another.

“Feels like they’re singing to you, Maria,” whispered Hyeongseo into her friend’s ear.

“Hush,” the director said because it was all she could manage.

She was too caught up in the two men, ever at odds with one another, harmonizing so effortlessly over the effervescent melody. Minhyuk was definitely the bigger ham of the two, swaying back and forth like a jazz cat with equal cool. Kihyun, on the other hand, had a way of stroking the mic that was so dizzying, it left Maria wondering how much of the room’s spinning was just the alcohol coursing through her now-racing blood.

“They’re even dancing in sync? They have moves?” Secretary Lee exclaimed at their little dance break, eyes bugging out of his skull.

Their performance ended all too quickly, and once again, the club room was silent. The two vice chairmen stood on stage, chests heaving, sweat beading on their brows, expressions tight.

Nobody bothered to hit the artificial applause since the real thing erupted from every corner, including whoops and hollers and chants for an encore. Their bosses merely bowed and made their escape from the limelight toward their mandated timeout, but not before taking a very particular route past their dumbstruck director.

As he blew past her, Kihyun lifted both brows in a challenge, and then the pair was gone… only to be replaced on stage by Hyunwoo and Hoseok.

“There’s more?” said one guest.

“Are they all going to perform? Oh my god,” exclaimed another.

The two largest members of Xtra Mile’s boardroom hiked the stairs to the stage as the applause finally dwindled for the last performance. Maria barely had time enough to process what had just happened in when the first percussive notes of Shinee’s “1 of 1” began.

Hoseok took the lead in the song, his voice sweet and melodic and his lisp clinging to the lyrics, before his cousin picked up the retro beats and flavored them with his own surprisingly lustrous RnB tone.

“These song choices, oh my god,” gasped Secretary Ahn.

“How am I going to go back to work on Monday?” Secretary Kwon lamented as she watched her boss reach his hand out toward them, his voice straining with a high note. Dreamily, she reached back, and Secretary Kim swatted her arm down.

“You’re embarrassing yourself, Haeun!”

“Probably,” Secretary Kwon whimpered, entranced.

“Is it just me,” said Secretary Lee, “or are all these about Maria?”

“I told you,” Hyeongseo sing-songed.

Abruptly, each of the secretaries turned toward the director, who waved them off. “You gossip just as much as ever, Yujun, which always adds fuel to Hyeongseo’s fire. Cut it out, both of you. They’re just showing off. When do they not? Pack of jerks, trying to make me feel bad about having a good time.”

Only then, as the weight of her bosses’ gazes bore down on her from the stage, did Maria realize she hadn’t had a drink since the vice chairmen had stormed in, and, resentfully, she grabbed for a shot glass. But the second she brought it to her lips, it stilled, and nothing she could do could tip it back.

“Damn them,” she cursed under her breath as she slammed the glass back down. “Can’t even get drunk anymore even though I don’t work here anymore.”

But with every cell she sobered up, Maria was more and more aware of how smooth her bosses were on stage, how natural and comfortable they looked under a spotlight, and how enticingly they sang into a mic. It wasn’t fair, and it just amplified her resentment.

“Hey, girl, you all right?” Hyeongseo asked her friend.

“Pack of jerks,” Maria muttered even as Hoseok stared straight into her soul with sparkling eyes.

Finally, the duo finished their serenade, bowed to the crowd and again to their director, and then hurried off stage to make way for Hyungwon, Jooheon, and Changkyun.

“Not again,” the director groaned and Hyeongseo rubbed her back.

“Worried they’re going to be as impressive as the first two duets?”

“I thought they’d leave. I didn’t expect them to take me up on it. Why didn’t I make them leave?”

Vice Chairman Yoo’s secretary quirked a finely plucked brow. “Seems like they’re figuring out what it means to lose you. I wonder what they’d say if they knew the real reason you’re leaving.”

Maria hissed, “I’ll throw you out, too, One!”

“Aera! Hey, Aera!” whispered Secretary Lee to Secretary Guk, who could barely tear her eyes from her boss, Jooheon, as the dimpled man centered himself behind a mic. “Aera, other than a boardroom, have you ever seen the three of them together?”

“Vice Chairman Lee looks so handsome…” she murmured with dimples that matched her superior’s. Her colleague swatted his hand in front of her face, and she blinked and snapped, “What do you want, Yujun?”

“I asked you a question!”

“Shh!” she said, ignoring him. “We’re witnessing history, and I’m not missing a second of it.”

Secretary Lee rolled his eyes, but his fellow assistant was right. The whole room could feel it, even the transfixed director.

“They can't possibly be a skilled as the other vice chairmen, can they?” asked Secretary Two.

A familiar throwback beat bumped out of the speakers, and Hyeongseo’s eyes glided to the director as Shinhwa’s “Perfect Man” emphatically kickstarted.

“Don’t,” Maria warned her friend.

Hyeongseo grinned as cartoonishly as an emoji.

Hyungwon took control of the opening lines with his raspy vocals, which melted right into Changkyun’s chocolate murmuring and, finally, Jooheon’s power serenading. Before anyone knew it, the latter two were trading some of the fastest, smoothest rap lines anyone in the company had ever heard.

“They can rap?” squealed Secretary Ahn as she pressed harder against the edge of the stage. “I take back what I said. Thank god your big mouth invited them, Aera.”

If Secretary Guk heard the praise, it took a backseat to the tidal wave of senses bearing down on them from the stage as the three men harmonized in ways not a soul in Xtra Mile could have ever anticipated. They shared lines just as easily as they shared the spotlight, and when they joined voices in the chorus, hearts stopped.

“They're not treating this like noraebang,” marveled Hyeongseo. “They're acting like they're on Music Bank.”

“What a pity they hate each other,” shouted Secretary Kwon over the music. “Imagine if they cut a record together.”

Secretary Lee wrapped one arm around the director and another around Hyeongseo as he muscled in between for a better look of his boss on stage. “I am never letting Vice Chairman Chae live this done. Never. And here I always thought Maria would be the one to bring them together. Who knew it would be music?”

“Who said it isn’t Maria?” said Jackson, who appeared at the director’s other shoulder. His mouth hovered by her ear as he added, “You did tell them to perform after all.”

“‘Cause you are the one!” came the line from the three performers, this time borderline shouted down on the crowd—maybe, more specifically, one President of Operations.

Maria looked up and away from Jackson, though not with stars in her eyes as the rest of the crowd did, but rather with crossed arms and a hard expression.

Hyeongseo shook her friend’s bicep. “Not even a smile? They’re singing right to you, babe. Damn, Maria, I really underestimated how pissed you are at them.”

But the director wasn't pissed. She was in shock.

She looked around at her colleagues, now flush with the stage, hands reaching up, cheering and squealing, all hoping for a crumb of attention from men Maria had only ever seen drink coffee, read reports, and micromanage every second of her day.

Now they were commanding a stage like they owned that, too.

So maybe she was more than a little angry after all.

They had it in them all along to get along, so why the hell had she been stretched thinner than watercolor on an oversized canvas all these years?

The trio’s performance wound down, and the men left the stage the same as the others—abruptly and with little attention for the fanfare that was being ladled on them from the audience. They retreated to their timeout and sat in the same order that they’d been assigned when Maria had sent them there.

“How am I going to go back to the office on Monday knowing what I know...” Secretary Guk said as she stared back heart-eyed at her boss.

“You’d better stay in your lane, Guk Aera,” admonished Secretary Two. “Remember what happened to Secretary Lee Gahyun? She asked out Vice Chairman Im one time, and she was gone the next day. You have to stay as professional as Director Ortega or you’ll be on the job market in no time.”

“I know! I’m just saying it’s going to be so hard. A girl could get lost in Vice Chairman Lee’s dimples…”

“Great,” said Secretary One, “we’re going to be filling two positions this week.”

“A lot to think about, Director Ortega,” Jackson began with a playful look to the woman beside him. “Seems our esteemed Vice Chairmen set out to make an impression. I wonder if it worked.”

Maria gritted her teeth, shook off the two men’s arms around her, and stormed toward the back of the club, every guest’s attention once again pressing down on them. She threw her hands back on her hips and thundered, “Are you happy?”

“Are you?” asked Kihyun.

“We did it for you,” added Hoseok.

“Did you like our performances?” Jooheon wondered. “How did I do specifically?”

Maria sighed. “What was the point of all that, huh? Did you think it would make me stay?”

“No,” said Hyunwoo.

“Yes,” said Minhyuk.

All at once, the director stood there, her shoulders unusually slumped and her round face fallen. “Thank you for coming to my going away party, sirs. You’ve certainly made it unforgettable.”

“Maria!” Kihyun said. “Wait.”

But Minhyuk shook his head. “She’s right, guys.”

With that, the CPO clambered over his relatives’ laps to get out of the booth, breezed past the director, and hurried to the stage which was still empty since they’d had yet to find anyone brave enough to follow the vice chairmen’s acts.

“All right, everyone,” declared Minhyuk into the mic. “Did you enjoy the performances?”

“Yes, sir!” came the universal cheer.

“Great, and did you have fun?”

“Yes!”

“Wonderful, wonderful. Should we add noraebang to our company picnic this year?” he asked.

The cheers were even more forceful now. “Yes, yes!”

“Ah, perfect. That’s great news. Now for the bad news.” Minhyuk smiled down at his employees, bowing and nodding and making his typical spectacle of himself.

Boos that could only come with the conviction of alcohol bubbled up around the room as every last guest waited for the other shoe to drop.

“That’s a wrap on this incredible party, I’m afraid,” said the vice chairman, “but don’t worry. Your vice chairmen will work hard to ensure more things like this in the future. For now, thank you all for supporting our dear Director and making her night unforgettable.��

“Hey, wait, no—” Maria protested, but when she swiveled about the room to address her guests, she found Hoseok and Changkyun holding open the doors to the hallway and waiting like bouncers.

“As you are all still representing Xtra Mile right now, we want to ensure your night ends well,” boomed Vice Chairman Son now from the back of the room. “To that end, we have a fleet of drivers waiting at the ready out there who will take you all home safely.”

“All of us?” shouted someone in the crowd.

“All of you,” Kihyun promised.

“Except you,” Hyungwon said solemnly.

Everyone followed his hard gaze back to Intern Wong, who looked at his boss’s boss’s boss with wide eyes over the lip of his shot glass.

“You walk home,” Jooheon agreed.

“Ah, ah,” corrected Minhyuk from the stage. “My brother is joking. There’s a seat for you in my car. Have a safe trip home, Intern Wong.”

“Why would you—” Jooheon barked before Minhyuk cut him off with a smile and a knowing look.

“As we all know, Maria wants us to see all her guests home well, especially the ones she personally invited…”

Their attention slid over to the director, who was watching her superior just as carefully.

Jooheon looked back at the bewildered intern and said begrudgingly, “Get home safely, Intern Wong.”

“Aw, is the party really over?” asked Manager Cho.

“It is if the Vice Chairmen say it is,” Supervisor Qian answered and picked up his intern by the collar.

“Hey, wait!” Kunghang objected, feet skidding beneath him as he was compelled forward. “I wanted to say goodnight to the Director!”

“I’m sure you did. Come on, our free ride is waiting, Intern Wong.”

Kunhang’s puppy eyes pleaded forgiveness of Maria as he waved and shouted goodnights even as his supervisor dragged him bodily out of the room. Over his shoulder, he shouted, “Don’t forget to text me when you get home so I know you got there safely!”

Hyungwon and Jooheon rolled their eyes as the rest of the guests began to leave while the secretaries started reining in the wake of chaos in the room. For her part, Maria cleaned up one of the bottles of soju by downing it straight from the mouth. No booze had ever tasted more satisfying.

“I can’t believe you threw out all my guests,” she said bitterly.

Minhyuk shrugged. “I just followed your lead, Maria. You were the one who said the night was over.”

The director grunted and thumped the empty bottle back on the table. “I was throwing you out, not them.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time we misunderstood something.”

Maria narrowed her eyes. “Yes, but I get the feeling that was intentional rather than accidental.”

“Feelings are not enough for a court of law,” Kihyun interjected with a hooked grin, and she sighed.

“There are forty-some people here. How are you going to get them all home?”

Jooheon beamed at her. “Limos seat eight. It’ll be fine.”

“You brought seven limos to a noraebang?” she exclaimed.

“Well, we weren’t going to ride together,” Hyungwon informed matter-of-factly.

The director sighed and collapsed onto a couch, her head lolling back as she closed her eyes. “You have no idea how much I miss your grandfather. He was mature. He was respectful. He was grateful.”

“We’re not grateful?” Hoseok said with a protruding bottom lip.

“No! You’re none of those things.”

“I resent that,” said Kihyun.

“I don’t care. What else am I supposed to think? You’re the same people made me leave family events half a world away to wait on you.”

“That was Hyungwon!”

The silver-haired vice chairman went to bite back, but the director did it for him. She squared up to Kihyun and, tongue loosened by alcohol, blurted, “You’re better? Really? I was seconds away from getting laid for the first time since the Ice Age when you texted me, what was it, 17 times? The guy thought I was married and bolted.”

A bottle clattered to the floor, and everyone turned to find President Wang standing there sheepishly with eyes big as marbles just as the rest of the secretaries were.

“Jackson? I thought we kicked you out, too,” growled Jooheon. “You are definitely walking home.”

“Aw, come on, man. You owe me for—”

“Out!” the CMO snapped.

The president hurried out with all seven secretaries in tow, each one giving Maria their own version of an embarrassed grimace, and once the procession of mortification was gone, she was left to stew in the horror of her last admission. She had to divert attention immediately.

“There’s no point in asking me to stay, sirs,” she said as assertively and professionally as her tipsy state would allow.

“You already took another job?” Hoseok said, the disappointment in his voice clear as glass.

Maria shook her head. “No. No, I need time away from an office. I need somewhere to clear my head.”

Hyunwoo raised both eyebrows. “You're taking a vacation?”

The director remained silent.

Kihyun pressed his sharply bowed lips together as he narrowed his eyes. “You're moving back home?”

More silence.

“To America!” The other six shouted in unison.

“You can’t,” Hoseok insisted.

“Of course I can. You don’t own me, contrary to what you seven seem to believe.”

“That’s not it!” protested Jooheon. “Give us a chance to prove it to you. We’ll lighten your workload. We’ll give you more time off. We won’t spring meetings on you. Just don’t leave, please.”

“Dios mío, dame fuerzas! Listen, sirs, it’s nice of you to come and show your sincerity, I mean it, and I appreciate your generosity, I really do, but my resignation is about so much more than that.” Maria took a deep breath then said, “Working for your family, I’ve accomplished more than most in my life, and I’m proud of that, but there’s one thing that my career has kept me from accomplishing, and that’s become absurdly clear since my sister’s wedding.”

“The wedding Hyungwon kept you from enjoying?” Kihyun needled, but before Hyungwon could volley back, Maria slapped her hands down on the booth as effectively as across their faces.

“Why can’t you boys just get along? It would have made my job so much easier if I didn’t have to spend as much time translating foreign languages for you as I did translating messages between you. Some days, it’s more like running a daycare than it is a multibillion-dollar company.”

“Ouch,” mumbled Hoseok.

“On that trip… What did you learn, Maria?” Hyunwoo redirected gently.

Her head lolled to the side. “What’s the point of explaining? You’re all just going to argue and lob blame at one another. I’d rather we just end it here, sirs, and you can all blame each other without me having to embarrass myself.”

“We can’t fix things if we don’t know what the problem is,” the COO insisted.

“You can’t fix them even if you do.”

“You don’t know that,” said Changkyun softly.

The director shook her head. “I do, sir. This isn’t something that can be fixed by seven executives.”

“We have resources,” Minhyuk insisted, his finger stabbing a table with every word. “We have a whole company at your disposal. There’s nothing that we can’t get you.”

“You can’t get me a husband, and you sure as hell can’t get me laid.”

Maria covered her mouth, but it was too late. The damage was done, and this time, there was no one there to distract from it.

“So it’s true…” murmured Hyungwon.

“No! Oh no… See! I knew it!” she bellowed and covered her face with her hands. “Everyone in the company knows the sad fate of poor, pathetic Maria Ortega. How humiliating. Over a decade of professionalism, and I’ve cannonballed it in a few days.”

“That's not true,” Kihyun reassured.

“Obviously it is. No wonder everyone was so eager to congratulate me on quitting. Maria Ortega, the cautionary tale for career driven women. She thought success was enough, but the moment she finds out she has no one to share it with, she realizes that the world now cruelly thinks she’s too old for love.”

“Horseshit,” Hyunwoo bit with uncharacteristic ferocity.

The director slumped over, forearms on her knees. “It doesn’t matter if it is or it isn’t. Spinster is still a word in people’s vocabulary. I’ve aged out of most of my prospects. Men aren’t looking to start a life with a woman at 38.”

“I saw that line of admirers this morning,” the honey-haired COO reminded. “You were turning down offers right and left.”

“It’s not at all what you think, sir.”

“It was,” Hoseok asserted. “Those hopeful, lovestruck looks are unmistakable.”

She closed her eyes and grimaced as she flashed back through the last couple years of disasters. “You all should know better than anyone that a salesman knows just what to do to close a deal before he moves to the next more profitable town.”

“That can’t be true,” insisted Minhyuk. “No one could say no to you.”

Maria belted out a bitter laugh, then another, until it suddenly became a strand of ironic giggles over the persistent hum of the speaker static. “Are you kidding me? It’s your favorite word for me and my personal life. You are the seven kings of the word. It’s the only other thing you have in common.”

“Impossible,” asserted Kihyun.

“When have I ever told you no?” Minhyuk challenged.

“That’s not—” began Hyungwon, but he was cut off by Maria.

“��Vice Chairman Yoo, please keep me off the schedule Friday evening.’” In a gravelly voice, she continued, “‘Director Ortega, you know I need you to assist me with all acquisitions. It’s expected. We’re finalizing the Usagi Electronics deal. This is the most vital time. It can’t be completed without you.’”

“Hey—” said Kihyun, but again, she cut him off.

“‘Vice Chairman Im, I have important plans this Saturday, so please—'

“‘Director Ortega, please take this job more seriously. You know this morning we were invited to dine with President Park. You don’t say no to President Park.’

In a deeper mimic, she continued, “‘See you on Sunday, Director Ortega.’

“‘But, Vice Chairman Son, I told you I have—'

“‘See you Sunday.’” She closed her little play with Hyunwoo’s trademark tight-lipped, cheeky bear smile before she returned to herself with an exhausted sigh. “You have no idea how difficult it is to live a real life when you have seven superiors who demand your full attention all the time. In all the years I’ve served you, I’ve never seen Gyeongbokgung Palace, I haven’t visited the top of N Seoul Tower, I haven’t hiked Inwangsan. Hell, I haven’t seen a movie since your grandfather retired! Do you know how much I love movies? Now, I can’t even watch them at home because I pass out before they reach the halfway point. You tell me if that’s fair, sirs.”

“We didn’t think of it like that,” mumbled Hyungwon.

“I know. You didn’t think of me at all. It’s always the job first—the title first—and that goes for me, too. My career was the most important thing to me for the longest time. Now that I’ve gotten everything I’ve ever wanted for myself, I found I’m missing more than I realized. And I can’t even make it to one measly blind date.”

“What’s so great about a blind date anyway?” Hoseok challenged. “They’re all out-of-shape bald guys who make you pay for your own coffee.”

Despite herself, Maria couldn’t stifle her chuckle. “What’s wrong with bald guys? You keep bleaching your hair platinum, and you might be bald soon, too, sir.”

The Chief Security Officer groped his own head as he floundered, “Back me up, guys.”

Though he’d been quiet most of the evening, save for his devastating performance on stage, Changkyun propped both elbows on the table, leaned forward, his sly eyes hiding innumerable secrets, and said, “Maybe it’s time to consider alternative avenues.”

“What do you mean…” she asked warily.

“The shortest distance between two points. Have you ever considered that, while you may not know what you’re walking into on a blind date, you do know each of us… Better than anyone, I imagine..”

She rolled her eyes. “Oh, so this is how you pitch me to keep my job?”

Changkyun shook his head. “Not at all. My suggestion is simple. Why don’t you date us instead?”

Everyone’s heads whipped toward the youngest vice chairman along with a chorus of “What!”

It didn’t seem to faze him.

“Forgive my brother, Maria,” Jooheon bumbled as he nudged the chocolate-haired vice chairman hard in the ribs. “He uses his status as youngest too liberally.”

“That’s not it,” Changkyun insisted. “I’m serious.”

The director’s hands raced through her rapidly frizzing bob as her eyes searched the shadows for spot to steady her mental tailspin. “Okay. Okay, so it’s just Vice Chairman Im who’s clearly wasted then.”

“Well…” Hyunwoo said slowly. “Maybe my youngest cousin has a point.”

Maria threw her hands up. “Vice Chairman Son, too?”

“Ugh,” groused Jooheon, “you’ve asked us to drop the honorifics but you won’t? Since we’re not coworkers anymore, it’s not necessary.”

“It feels weird not to,” she said.

“Just because it feels weird doesn’t mean it is,” Changkyun countered.

Something in the youngest’s tone warned her not to trust the dark cast in his eyes.

Hyungwon caught her gaze next, and Maria froze, feeling every bit the startled rabbit she imagined she looked to be. The man always had the unique ability to stun her despite how often he managed to look like a person five minutes shy of a cozy nap. He dipped his head down, his lips jutting with his chin, as he asked, “You've never once thought about what it would be like to be with us?”

Maria scrambled to find her bearings, but it was pointless, especially with all the liquor still burning holes in her defenses. As assertively as she could, she said, “It wouldn't matter even if I had.”

“Does that mean you have?” Jooheon said, shooting forward.

The director frantically waved him back. She longed for another shot, but like so much else in her life, it seemed out of reach. She mumbled, “Did you all plan this blindside?”

“I swear to you this is the first we’re hearing it,” said Kihyun with his hand up, “but that doesn’t mean we haven’t been thinking it for a long time.”

The director shook her head. “Not possible. You have to have an angle. You’re businessmen; you always do. You think I'm so desperate and hopeless that I need to date my bosses?”

“Yes?” wondered Minhyuk.

“No!” interjected Changkyun while he glared at his cousin as his other cousin, Hoseok, whacked the blonde on the back of the head. “I’m not suggesting you stay and work for us. I’m suggesting you give us each a chance to prove to you that we’re all like you. We’re all struggling to catch up to our feelings.”

“Feelings?” she said incredulously. “You can’t have feelings for a hammer or a wrench.”

Suddenly, Hyungwon reached across the table and grasped her fingers. Her eyes shot to the often solemn man and found his just as steady and serious as she found them in a boardroom. His thick lips were pressed together into a hard line as his brow furrowed. “You’ve never once—not ever—been a tool in our eyes, Maria, and I’m sorry if we’ve made you feel that way.”

The director yanked her hand away and stared at her skin as though it were burning. All these years, and she’d never touched them save for a jolt in a shared limo or straightening a tie. Maybe it wouldn’t have felt so momentous if they hadn’t all just proposed to date her.

She cradled her hand as she said, “There's not enough soju in this world to make me accept pity dates as severance from my company.”

“You've got it all wrong,” said Hoseok. “You would be the one taking pity on us.”

“What do you mean?”

“We’ve filled our lives with so many distractions that it’s distracted us from something we've known all along.”

“And what's that?” she asked, and she realized she was holding her breath.

Now it was Hyunwoo who studied the director with an intensity she’d never seen from him. Normally, he gave the appearance of constant wonder or surprise, almost like he wasn’t taking things seriously, but usually that was a ruse to throw his professional opponent off-balance. But here, Maria was practically on the floor from tonight’s whiplash, yet there were no hints of that trickery. He was looking at her with everything he had.

His eyes hooded. His voice dropped another octave. “You don't find it odd that seven men who haven't been able to agree on anything in thirty years can all agree that we can't be without you?”

“I do! Exactly,” Maria agreed wholeheartedly. “I do find that odd. But I think the conclusion I've drawn is a lot different than the one you have. Honestly, sirs, I really think you're confusing two separate issues. You don't want the person who's been doing everything for you—short of actually spoon-feeding you—to leave, but need doesn't equal love.”

Hyunwoo’s intensity didn’t let up, even at the barb. Voice as even as ever, he continued, “And I think you're afraid of the possibility that your future has always been with us.”

“Or maybe,” she said, keenly aware of how much her own voice was now shaking, “I'm afraid of the far more likely possibility that this is all some game you seven have concocted to trick me into staying. For a bunch of guys who said they didn’t plan this, with all these pretty things to say, you sure sound rehearsed.”

Kihyun, who’d been sitting closest to her, leaned in, his voice unusually deep. “Maybe that’s because we’ve each been rehearsing this for longer than you think.”

To fight the shiver racing down her spine, Maria chewed her lip aggressively.

“At least let us have the chance to prove we’re serious,” said Jooheon.

“And how do you propose to do that?”

“For starters,” Changkyun answered, “we respect your resignation. We won't pressure you to stay on as our director anymore. We’ll start interviewing candidates as soon as you find them.”

Maria popped an eyebrow. “What if I want to recommend Secretary Kim for the position?”

They all looked to Hoseok. Worry flashed across the CSO’s face for a second before he nodded slowly. “She’s an excellent assistant. I’m sure she’d be up to it.”

“She would,” Maria agreed, a relieved smile brightening her face for the first time since they’d arrived. “If she says yes, I can start training her on Monday.”

The vice chairmen couldn’t hide their shock and hesitation, but nobody dared argue it.

Again, the director found her lip between her teeth, this time coupling it with a worrying of her top button. “So, um, how would this all work? I mean, if I believed you for one second…”

“Well,” Jooheon said as she scooted a little closer on her other side, “if you believed us, we’d each like a chance to take you out.”

“There won't be any work involved,” Hoseok promised. “We're talking about dates, so we’ll keep everything out of the office.”

“You, I’m not worried about,” Maria admitted. “I can barely keep you at your desk as it is. But a few of you…”

She glared at Minhyuk, Kihyun, and Changkyun before the first butted in, “Not this time. And you won't have to plan a thing. We'll be responsible for you for a change.”

“Despite what you may think, we’ve managed to pick up a few things over the years,” Hyungwon said.

She glared sternly at them. “I’m 38. I don’t have time for boys.”

“Director Ortega—Maria,” Kihyun corrected, “we run a multibillion-dollar company. We’re not children anymore.”

“Didn’t I just put you all in time-out?” she recapped. They pouted across the board, seven undeniably handsome faces as defeated as the director had ever seen, and Maria let out a sigh. “Ugh, this conversation is making me feel uncomfortably sober. How serious are you all planning to take this charade?”

“At least as serious as you do,” said Minhyuk.

“As serious as we’ve ever taken anything,” amended Changkyun.

Maria groaned and said, “There’s no way you can play nicely with each other. How am I supposed to come out alive from this?”

“If there’s one thing to convince us to get along, it’s you, Maria,” said Hyungwon. She clutched her temples at this sound of her name in his gravelly rumble and winced.

“This is such a bad idea. What happens when it doesn’t work out with any of you? Or worse, it does work? What happens if it works really well with one of you? You can’t get along as is. Something like this… it could makes things irreconcilable.”

Minhyuk shrugged. “If you’re leaving anyway, at least you won’t have to stay for the fallout.”

“I still care,” she insisted, hands gripping the table edge. “I love Xtra Mile. I don’t want to be the reason something happens to it. You can’t promise that you’ll be okay with this.”

“You’re right,” said Hyunwoo, “we can’t, but if it isn’t already clear, we’ll do just about anything for you.”

“Even act like family,” Jooheon said with a clap on his little brother’s back beside him.

Maria glanced between her bosses, finding a thousand different reasons why this was a stupid, terrible idea, yet she found herself resisting all of those. Time stretched between the group. One minute morphed into two and then five, but it didn’t make a difference. It wasn’t changing her fate or her answer.

She chewed her lip again, but finally, she said, “I don’t know…”

“Jackson said we needed to show you our sincerity,” said Kihyun. “Please, Maria, let us.”

“You spoke to President Wang about this?” she shouted, her whole body darkening a shade. “Oh god, I can’t show my face back at the office ever again.”

“We didn’t talk to him about this!” Jooheon was quick to swear. “No one knows about this but us.”

“Hell,” said Minhyuk, “we didn’t even know before right now.”

Maria whimpered. “You better pray no one finds out or I won’t be putting you in timeout. I’ll be putting you in prison.”

The vice chairmen shared a laugh and a nod, which was more than they’d really ever shared, and the director relented to them as she had for years. Maybe it was the wrong thing to do considering where that bad habit had led her, but curiosity—and so much more—had gotten the better of her.

Come Monday, with the booze burned out of her system and her power suit back on, maybe her misgivings would get the better of her, but as Hyunwoo’s limo driver returned from dropping off the last of her guests and offered to take them all home, she didn’t refuse.

And she didn’t refuse when they insisted on piling out on her sidewalk to see her safely into her building.

She didn’t refuse when they promised to make the next month all about her.

With one final look through the glass entryway at the seven troublesome men who’d strategically commandeered her whole life for the past five years, she muttered to herself once more, “Dios mío, dame fuerzas…”

#monsta x smut #shownu smut #wonho smut #minhyuk smut #kihyun smut #hyungwon smut #jooheon smut #changkyun smut #wwwdo #reverse harem #miniseries #original character #ot7 #coworkers to lovers

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kpopsexstories · 1 month ago

Note

Hey! If you accept any Monsta X request; do you think you could do a Top! Wonho x Verse! Hyungwon x Bottom! Male Reader Threesome? Wonho and Hyungwon are an already-stablished couple who find m/r on a bar, they take him home and the action begins; WH and HW take turns on M/R, then they fuck him together and, under M/R's request, they finish off with WH (top) and HW (bottom) fucking (missionary) while M/R jerks off

Never done a Wonho story before. Always wanted to. So absolutely yes, here you go 😄

GAY ONE-SHOT #1: MX Wonho & Hyungwon x Male Reader Threesome

Content Warning! This is a 100% gay story. Check out this post for my straight smut and this post for more gay smut.

Pairing: Top MX Wonho x Vers MX Hyungwon x Bottom male reader

Content: Wonho & Hyungwon pick up male reader at a bar for a threesome.

Type of Sex: WILD

Word Count: 3.4k

“What about him?” Hyungwon asks and points his pint in the general direction of a passing man.

Wonho chuckles and takes his shot of Jaeger in one go. “Stop it babe,” he says and laughs.

“What? He's cute.”

Wonho turns to look. He can't argue with his boyfriend's statement. His eyes linger on the man while he puts the glass down on the bar desk.

“You're serious about this, aren't you?” he asks and smiles at Hyungwon.

“We had fun last time, didn't we?”

Wonho's expression turns distant, as if he's remembering something that makes him happy.

“Alright,” he says. Then he turns to the bartender: “Two more, please.”

*****

You're by yourself at a table in the corner, looking out across the dimly lit room, your eyes wandering from one face to another. The beer glass in front of you is empty. It's becoming increasingly clear that your date has stood you up.

Two men are sitting by the bar. There's something oddly familiar about them. One is wearing a tightly fitted black t-shirt which showcases his massive muscles, the other a black tank top and an excessive amount of jewelry on his hands and around his neck. They've been eyeing you all night, and your looks have met more than once.

Your heart flutters when the bigger of the two suddenly stands up. His skinny jeans are making their way directly toward you. You can swear you've seen them both before. Maybe they're regulars.

“Hey,” the fit man says and smiles wide. He briefly turns around in the direction of his friend at the bar. “Can we join you?”

You sit up straight and smile back. “Sure,” you say.

Wonho nods at his boyfriend and pulls out a chair. Before you know it you've been chatting with the two men for half an hour, talking and laughing and drinking. You still have no clue who they are or why they look so familiar, but your date can go fuck himself.

When Wonho gets up to go to the bathroom you realize you've been holding it in for too long. When you get up too, Hyungwon quickly follows. There's been an electric spark between the three of you all night, and it only intensifies when you feel his piercing eyes behind you as you all go to pee.

You stand side by side at the urinals, unzipping your pants and taking your dicks out. You stare straight ahead into the wall, desperately fighting the temptation to take a peek. You really struggle with the urge.

Just a quick glance, you think. But when you turn your eyes sideways you realize that Wonho has beaten you to it. He isn't at all discreet about it. He looks up from your crotch and smiles at you as you shake your dick and put it away.

That settles it. The sparks are too strong and you all feel it. Hyungwon has seen your looks and you've finally accepted the fact that he's been flirting with you all night. This gay couple is looking to spice up their sex life, and they've chosen you to do it with.

Hyungwon zips his pants and walks around his boyfriend. He looks directly at you and you get close together as you head for the same sink.

You rub shoulders while washing your hands. Your eyes meet in the mirror, and you see Wonho approaching from behind. None of you have said a word to each other since you entered the bathroom.

When Wonho puts his hand on your waist you can hardly keep it together. You turn your head and see Hyungwon's reassuring smile. Then you both lean in, and begin to kiss.

You make out with Hyungwon in front of the mirror. Wonho's hand on your hip feels stronger, and he quickly begins to explore your body. Hyungwon turns to face his boyfriend and they begin make out, then Wonho turns to you and you kiss with wet lips and sloppy tongues.

You become hard in a heartbeat. The three of you rub close together and explore each other passionately. Seeing the two sexy men make out is an an insane turn-on, and it suddenly feels very obvious that this is what the night has been leading up to since the moment you first lay your eyes on each other across the bar, and they came to join you at your table.

The door suddenly opens. You all quickly take a step away from each other. A man glances at you before he goes to the urinals and pretends like he didn't see anything.

Hyungwon and Wonho's looks say it all. It's time to take this show elsewhere, and there's no doubt in your mind that you'll be going home with them tonight.

You walk in a row through the bar, Hyungwon leading the way. You struggle to keep your hard dick in check, to hide your bulge from the many eyes in the room. You pass the table you once sat at, and a lone man who spots you and is about to stand up to say hello. You don't even notice that he's there.

*****

The couple lives in a relatively fancy apartment complex. Their place is not big, but modern and tastefully decorated. You briefly wonder which one of them has a passion for art and interior design.

The question doesn't linger long. The moment you've kicked off your shoes Wonho is all over your face and body. You make it to the living room where his violent attack knocks down a painting.

He pins you to the wall and licks your neck. His firm chest is pressed against yours, and your hand glides inside his tight t-shirt.

You push it up his body, exposing his abs and lower back. He suddenly let's go of you to pull it all the way over his head.

His bare chest is pumping right in front of you. You put a hand on it and feel his strong muscles, and let it glide fast up and down his front. It feels amazing, warm and incredibly sexy.

Hyungwon has been lingering at a distance. He's watching you both with a smirk and great anticipation. He can't wait to get you naked, and now that his boyfriend is, he approaches to take his place.

He instantly grabs your crotch. He squeezes and massages it while breathing softly near your lips. You're so incredibly hard.

“Mmm,” you moan, and that's when Wonho can't take it any longer. Shirtless, he takes both you and Hyungwon by the arm, smile wide and reassuringly at you, and back away.

He pulls you into the bedroom, where Hyungwon throws himself onto his boyfriend and you all begin to undress. Carelessly, passionately, a lustful and rapid removal of clothes which become scattered on the floor.

It's time to do the threesome you all came here for.

*****

Wonho is on his knees on the bed in nothing but a pair of tiny underwear. He feels your naked body with his hands, squeeze your ass and thighs and size you up from top to bottom. He's quite satisfied with the catch he and his boyfriend have brought home from the bar.

You're on your side with Hyungwon's dick deep inside your mouth. He's on his side too, sucking you hard and skillfully. You trace his slim but muscular body with your hands while you pleasure each other in this reversed position.

You reach up to feel Wonho's hip above you. You pull the seams of his underwear and they slide down. He helps you release his dick, and you glance up at it to see what it looks like. When you first wanted to evaluate it in the bathroom at the bar you fought the urge to stare. Now, it's on full display and you love what both men are packing.

Hyungwon has noticed that his boyfriend wants in on the action. He lovingly stops sucking you and moves aside. He turns on his knees and lay down beside you. Meanwhile, Wonho is making his approach to you from above.

He leans in close over your body. You're still on your side, kissing Hyungwon's shoulder, when the full length of Wonho's body comes down on top of yours. He instantly starts to move his hips seductively, his dick brushing up and down your thigh.

“Mmm,” he moans when the dick presses harder against your skin. He humps you lustfully while you start to make out with his boyfriend.

Your three naked bodies are in a mess on the bed, and it feels incredibly hot.

*****

You're on your stomach on the bed, Wonho's muscular body pressing down on yours. His dick glides back and forth between your cheeks, until you briefly feel the weight of the broad man lift. You wait with anticipation as he lubes up his shaft and rubs some around the entrance of your hole. Then you feel the head of his dick as he slowly pushes it in, gradually expanding you from the inside.

You close your eyes and grimace. A brief pain is quickly replaced by one of pleasure as you get used to his size. He fills you up completely, his organ throbbing inside you.

The weight returns. His large chest rubs up and down your back and he wraps an arm around your side. He grinds against you, and the dick stats sliding in and out of you repeatedly.

His boyfriend, Hyungwon, is laying naked by your side, observing the whole thing with his mouth half open, exploring your body and Wonho's with his hand. He gently caresses your hip before he moves up to Wonho's clenching ass and lower spine.

Wonho has his eyes closed and buries his head in the sheets by your face. You feel the hot breaths on your neck as he pants shallowly onto your skin.

His cock feels great, so good the way it fills you. His embrace is heavy but gentle, causing your heart to beat a little faster. Hyungwon is a lucky guy.

You fuck like this for several minutes, until Wonho decides that it's his boyfriend's turn to have his way with you. He pulls up and out, and you moan when your hole releases the dick from its tight grip.

Wonho rolls off you and sits up beside you. Hyungwon gets ready to take his place, but before he can climb on top you push yourself onto your knees.

Hyungwon comes up behind you, where he sits on his kneecaps and takes a loving grip around your hips. Once again you wait in anticipation, while Wonho rubs lube onto Hyungwon's long and hard shaft.

The penetration feels easier, your hole loser and his size not as thick. The head slowly pushes through, and it feels like it just keeps going. It eventually hits the deepest wall of your cave, sending an intense pleasure through your body.

He fucks you slowly, pulling in and out with great focus. The head almost pops out, until the full length of the long shaft is swallowed again, and the process repeats over and over.

The couple starts to make out behind you. You can hear the sounds of their lips smacking together. You briefly feel Wonho's hand on your ass cheeks as he plays with the root of Hyungwon's shaft, and when the hand wanders to Hyungwon's ass the latter picks up the pace.

He begins to fuck you faster from behind. His fingers dig into your skin and the kissing sounds stop. They're replaced by a shallow panting, as Hyungwon starts chipping for air with each increasingly rapid thrust.

“Ahh, fuck,” you moan for their pleasure. “Yeah, fuck my ass.”

Hyungwon is turned on by your words. Wonho starts touching your back and shoulders. You spread your legs a little wider and bury your head in a pillow.

This is fucking great, you think and groan. You're so glad they found you at the bar and rescued you from the humiliation of a date who didn't show. This is so much better.

*****

Though Hyungwon clearly knows his way around an ass, it's obvious who is the dominant top and who is the power bottom in the relationship. While you lay on your side with your dick balls deep inside Hyungwon – who moans and squirms in your arms – Wonho is banging you lovingly from behind. You're sandwiched between them, enjoying both the sensation of Wonho's hard and thick dick filling you up, and Hyungwon's tight grip around your own shaft. It feels amazing.

Wonho is hugging you, his arm resting on your side while Hyungwon sucks his fingers. Hyungwon's back presses against your chest when Wonho pulls him closer. Your whole body is squeezed between them, and the dicks are pressed deeper inside their respective holes.

Wonho rocks his ass slowly back and forth. He lifts a knee and spreads his legs to penetrate you as deep as he possibly can. While he can't match Hyungwon's great reach, his cock can certainly pleasure you in other ways.

Your ass pushes repeatedly against his groin. Simultaneously, Hyungwon's moves back and forth against your own, as you push and pull on his hip.

“Ohh, fuuck,” Wonho groans behind you. You feel his lips against your neck.

“Mmm, mm,” Hyungwon moans while he takes the full length of his boyfriend's thumb in his mouth.

Your face is buried between his shoulder blades. Your nose is pressed against his smooth skin. And Wonho's pumped chest and soft stomach against your back feels like a warm embrace.

Wonho suddenly stiffens. He begins to jolt his hips and shove his cock faster inside you. The friction in your ass is enormously pleasurable.

“Wait,” you say to stop him from coming before it's too late. Actually, you're the one who's about to come in Hyungwon's ass, but you're not ready for that just yet.

Squeezed between the two men you can't see much of the action, only feel it. You're too intimate and up close for a good view. You want a better one before you release, to fully enjoy the immersive experience.

Wonho reacts to your word. He slows down and you can feel his muscles relax.

You gently push away from Hyungwon, who understands that you want to change positions and pulls away from you. Your dick falls out of his hole and as great as it made you feel to fuck him, the freedom feels like a welcomed relief.

“I wanna see you fuck,” you say to clarify why you called for a break.

Hyungwon turns around and smiles at you. He gives you a kiss on the lips, then leaps over your body while you scoot forward to give the couple more space.

Wonho catches his boyfriend in his arms and rolls on his back. When his dick pulls out of your ass your cheeks feel relaxed. Fuck he's big, you think happily.

The couple kiss and embrace as Hyungwon sits down on Wonho's crotch. Without penetration he rolls his hips, pressing his ass against the length of Wonho's shaft.

You turn around to watch them as Wonho takes a firm grip around his boyfriend's thighs and gives him a push. They roll over, and Hyungwon giggles when the large man comes down over him and attacks his neck with his mouth.

Hyungwon spreads his legs wide for his lover. Wonho sits up on his knees and reaches down to grab his dick. You scoot further away from them and lean on your elbow to watch them spring into action.

Their sex is wild and lustful. Hyungwon moans and jolts his body into Wonho's arms. Wonho pants and grunts loudly as he fucks his boyfriend with great passion missionary style.

“Mm, ahh, fuck yeah,” he repeats.

“Mmm, yes, yes,” Hyungwon whimpers below him.

You can hardly take your eyes off Wonho's ass and the back of his thighs. You watch the man roll and thrust skillfully, as he pushes his dick deep inside his boyfriend again and again. Holy shit this is hot!

You begin to stroke your shaft right next to them. Your eyes are wide open and your mind bewildered and amazed. The bed squeaks and the mattress slams against the frame, and all three of you shake back and forth as a result of the hot and violent sex.

You stroke your cock faster, bringing yourself ever closer to the edge. Wonho is about to go over his. Hyungwon hugs him tight and jams his hips and ass against Wonho's shaft and body, matching the pace and rhythm and giving Wonho's dick an immense pleasure.

“Ahh, uugh, ahhh, fuuuck!” Wonho bellows.

“Yes, yes, mm, I love you babe, ahhh, fuck my ass,” Hyungwon whimpers repeatedly.

Then comes the release. Wonho suddenly jerks forward, hard and deep. The rapid slamming of the bed against the wall immediately stops, and an intense orgasm shoots through his body which causes him to tense up and freeze.

"Uughn, fuuck!" he groans loudly.

“Pull out!” Hyungwon abruptly demands the moment he realizes what is happening.

For a split second you're confused as to why Hyungwon would requests that. But then you're glad that he did. Wonho quickly sits up straight, pulls his dick out of the ass, grabs it by the shaft, thrust his hip forward, and spurts a load onto his boyfriend's stomach.

“Uhhhm, aaahhh!” you suddenly cry, alerting the others to your own peak. You roll closer to their bodies and they turn their heads to look. Your cum shoots onto Wonho's thick thigh and the side of Hyungwon's narrow waist.

Wonho smiles at you when your eyes meet. He's breathing heavily and deeply, heaving for air as his spent body works hard to recover from exhaustion.

Only Hyungwon remains. And Wonho is a caring boyfriend. The moment he's sure that your release is over, he scoots backwards between his boyfriend's legs and bends down. He folds in half on his knees, and takes Hyungwon's long dick and shaft inside his mouth.

He sucks hard and skillfully while bobbing his head up and down. You look on as he wraps his lips tightly around the cock, and jerks the root of the soaked organ in circular motions with his hand and fingers.

Hyungwon closes his eyes and throws his head back on the bed. “Ahhh, fuck!” he cries while his boyfriend blows him. “Fu—uuck!”

His ass jolts upward from the bed, the shaft pushed deep into Wonho's throat. Wonho, in turn, lifts his head and plants his lips at the tip of the head.

The cum squirts out and onto his face. He closes his eyes and opens his mouth, cum dripping down his cheek and onto his tongue. His fingers become drenched in thick white liquid.

When Hyungwon opens his eyes again he looks down to view the result. He pants heavily then turns to face you. His strained expression turns into a happy one, as the intense sensation of your activity begins to settle.

*****

“Thanks,” you say while putting your shirt back on. You're dressed and ready to leave, recently emptied and happy.

“We should thank you,” Hyungwon says and laughs.

“Yeah,” Wonho concurs and smiles wide. “You were great.”

You smile at the couple as they lay naked and entangled on the bed, Wonho on his back and Hyungwon with his arm and leg wrapped around his boyfriend's broad body.

“Will you be at the bar again?” you ask but quickly regret it. It feels like a desperate question.

“Yes!” Hyungwon exclaims. “Definitely. But you don't need to find us there. You have our number.”

You give them a cheeky smile before you turn to head for the door. Your dick may be spent and balls may be empty, but your heart and mind are full.

He can go fuck himself, you think and recall your date who didn't show up. Little do you know that he's still sitting at the table where he saw you leave together with the Wonho and Hyungwon from Monsta X, star-struck by who you were with and thinking exactly the same thing.

#smut #kpop smut #smut writing #monsta x #monsta x smut #monsta x scenarios #wonho #monsta x wonho #wonho x reader #wonho smut #hyungwon #monsta x hyungwon #hyungwon smut #hyungwon x reader #wonho x male reader #hyungwon x male reader #monsta x fanfic #monsta x x reader #monsta x x male reader

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kikistationary · 5 months ago

Text

I wanna talk.

Hyungwon X Reader Fanfic

Genre: Toxic situation ship.

Synopsis: Hyungwon and reader are in a secret relationship. You guys argue about the status of your relationship.

This is pt1. Pt will carry on where this left off and will be rated 18+ for adults content.

Reader Pov

The cool night air kissed my cheeks, my gaze watching as the buildings flowed by as we drove through the relatively empty city. I looked over at Hyungwon, his eyes still focused on the road as if he hadn’t just placed his hand on my thigh. Truthfully, I shouldn’t have been in that car with him, and as far as my friends knew, I had blocked him on everything. Yet, there I was.

“You said you wanted to talk. Talk,” I said to him. He had called me 30 minutes ago, asking to meet outside my condo so we could talk, but he hadn't said anything since I got into the car. I refused to talk to him in the parking lot, fearing someone might see us together.

“Let’s talk at my place,” he said, glancing over at me ever so slightly. I pushed his hand off my thigh. I had a feeling he didn’t actually want to talk. I wasn’t dense or naive.

“Oh, that same place you didn’t want me to come to because you didn’t want anyone to know about us?” I asked sarcastically.

Our whole falling out had been tied to him hiding our relationship, if you could even call it that. We had met one night at the bar he was DJing a few months ago when I went out with my friends, and we had been on and off since then. All arguments led back to him not wanting anyone to know he was talking to someone. His excuse was always that he wouldn’t get hired as a DJ if women thought they had a chance with him.

“You know that’s not true,” he said softly, still not taking his eyes off the road.

I loved putting myself in difficult situations. I could have easily blocked his calls like I was supposed to.

“I don’t want to go to your place. What did you want to talk about?” I said, folding my arms. The more I thought about my situation, the dumber I felt.

“Then what do you want me to do? Where do you want to go to talk? You didn’t want to talk in your parking lot,” he asked, a bit frustrated.

All our conversations turned into fights. We weren’t even together, but the way we went back and forth could easily be misunderstood.

“Pull the car over somewhere and we can talk,” I said, rolling my eyes.

“Okay,” he said softly once again. He tried to hide his earlier frustration in his voice, but I still heard it.

He pulled into a mostly empty park. A few people were walking around, maybe four or five, and a couple were sitting on a bench.

“What did you want to talk about?” I asked, not looking in his direction.

Hyungwon sighed before he began speaking, “I wanted to talk about us and what we have going on.”

“As far as I know, we have nothing going on,” I replied swiftly, already annoyed with where the talk was heading.

“Don’t start that. Just because you are upset, that doesn’t erase what we have going on,” Hyungwon replied.

“And why was I angry, Hyungwon?” I said, squinting my eyes in annoyance. He always expected me to understand where he was coming from without considering how long we had been going through this back and forth. It had become exhausting over time.

“Come on, I told you when we first started. I just wanted to keep my livelihood. I wouldn’t get hired nearly enough if they knew I was with someone,” he said, turning to me pleadingly.

“Then why did you start this? You kept calling me and saying you wanted to meet me and be with me but refused to tell others about us because you wanted to keep being eye candy for other people. Be real, please.”

“I am being real. I told you that you are who I want. What does that have to do with other people knowing?” he asked, his voice growing increasingly more agitated.

“You know what? Don’t even worry about it.”

“I’m just trying to talk to you. Why are you being like this? We are always fighting, can’t we go back to when we were peaceful?” Hyungwon said as he ran his hands over his face.

“Like I said, don’t even worry about it. The way I see it, we were never peaceful, we only got along when we were together,” I said with an eye roll.

I could only tell the truth. I lied to myself, choosing to believe that he only wanted to talk.

“And what's so wrong with that?” he said, looking over and staring me dead in the eyes.

“What’s wrong is that it’s not worth going through this with you. I could find anyone else. At least they wouldn’t act like they didn’t know when we were in public,” I said, returning his deep stare.

Hyungwon reached his hand up to my warm cheek, gently stroking it as he leaned closer. His gaze traveled to my lips.

“Is it really not worth it? We get along, you know that. Not just physically, but mentally too,” he said, then allowed his gaze to travel back to my eyes.

It was this type of smooth-talking that had me under him after many fights we had.

I tried to turn my gaze away from him, but his stroking hand became a grip.

“Whether you want to admit it or not, your body and heart won’t lie,” he said. His thumb grazed over my bottom lip, “no matter what these lips say.”

I slapped his hand away.

“Find somebody else for this bullshit,” I said as I reached for the door handle. A step ahead of me, Hyungwon hit the lock on the car, locking it from the driver's side.

“I don’t want somebody else, and neither do you. Please, let's make up,” he said before reaching for my hand.

“No, Hyungwon. I can’t keep this up. I’m tired. Let’s just stop this,” I said before trying to unlock the door once more. When it wouldn’t budge, I realized he had used the child lock.

“Unlock the door,” I said to him. He refused to look in my direction.

“Hyungwon. Open the fucking door,” I repeated.

“OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR,” I yelled before shaking his hand off.

“What do you want? What do you want me to do?” he raised his voice. “Fine, I’ll tell everybody,” he reached out and forcefully grabbed my hand and interlocked our fingers.

“What are you doing? Let go of me,” I said as I furiously tried to pry his hand off. His palm was much larger than mine, so my effort was futile. He reached into his pocket and grabbed his phone before snapping a picture of our hands together.

“What are you doing?” I asked again.

“I’m doing what you wanted. Now everybody is going to know we are together and we can stop this shit,” he said as he typed away on his phone. Realizing he was planning to post the picture, I lunged at him, trying desperately to remove the phone from his hands.

“NO, THIS IS WHAT YOU WANTED,” he yelled. He constantly blocked my hands that were reaching over to grab the phone. Eventually, he quickly unlocked the car and got out with the phone, trying to avoid my hands. I got out right after him, but I was too late.

“There! It’s done, so no more of this shit. I don’t want to argue about this anymore.”

“We were never together, Hyungwon!” I yelled.

“We have been together since the beginning. You just keep starting arguments about who gets to know about it”

I walked over and grabbed the phone from his hands to see what he posted. It was a simple carousel post with our hands as the first picture. The picture was awfully blurry from all the fighting in the car. I swiped to see what the other photo was in the carousel. It was a selfie of him lying on my naked back that I never knew he took or even when he took it.

The views constantly increased the longer the photos were up.

My phone began to ring and my notifications kept going off. I could only assume my friends had seen the post. Luckily, he hadn’t tagged my profile, so no one knew who I was just yet.

This was all too much. I handed him his phone back before walking back to the passenger side.

‘Take me home,’ I said to him before getting back into the car.

My phone continued to ring over and over, and so did his. Once he got into the car, he turned his phone off.

“Not gonna answer that?” he asked as my phone rang again.

“No, my friends are gonna kill me” I said, looking ahead as he started the car.

We sat there for a moment with the car still parked.

“Aren’t you going to drive?” I looked over at him.

He changed his focus to look at me. “They are already going to chew you out. We might as well get the best of it.” He turned the car back off and quickly leaned over to be face to face with me. Our lips almost touched.

“We should do what they accuse you of doing,” he said softly with a smile.

“Is this what you tell other girls?” I asked. He didn’t reply. Instead, he stared at me with a smile, neither denying nor confirming his past actions. He quickly pecked my lips before pulling away and looking me in the eyes.

I grabbed his face and placed a firm kiss on his lips.

I was going to get chewed out anyway.

#hyungwon #hyungwon scenarios #hyungwon x reader #hyungwon smut #chae hyungwon #monstaxedits #monsta x fanfic #monsta x #monsta x imagines #toxic relationship #kpop imagines #kpop fanfic #ambw kpop

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blizzardfluffykpop · 1 year ago

Text

Kissable

Summary: A lazy movie day turns into something more as Hyungwon can't get enough of your lips.

Oneshot

Fluff, Smut, Established Relationship au

Word Count: 1,330

Hyungwon X Afab! Reader

Imagine Version

If you are a minor, please do not read/engage with this post. This is an 18+ work.

------

As you laze around on your couch, you get a text from your boyfriend that says, “Wanna come over?” And you smile as you text back, “I’ll be there in ten.” You throw on your shoes and walk over to his dorm. You knock, and he opens the door and kisses the top of your head. You smile and kick off your shoes as he leads you to the living room. And you both collapsed onto the couch.

You lay your head across his lap as he turns on the television. “You know I was doing the same thing at my apartment?” He shrugs and looks down at you, “Yeah, but isn’t it more fun together?” You laugh and nod, “Always.” He asks, “What movie tonight?” “Something we’ve seen before?” He hums and flips it onto the notebook, “Why do we always watch this sad movie?” He shrugs, “You said something we’ve seen before.” You sigh, “I did say that.” He laughs, and you both watch on. He grabs a pop can from the coffee table, hands it to you, and grabs his own. “Thanks.” He smiles, and you crack it open before leaning up to drink a few sips before putting it back onto the coffee table and collapsing back onto his lap. He groans, “Jeez,” and sets his can down, you laugh, “Sorry.” He smiles down at you and kisses your forehead, and you both return to watching the movie.

It’s halfway through the movie when you catch him looking down at you instead of the screen. You raise your eyebrow at him, and he whispers, “You need to stop looking so kissable.” You blush, “What?” He smirks before cradling your head and lifting your head to kiss you. You gasp, “Fuck, Hyungwon, you can’t just do that out of nowhere.” He smirks and shrugs, still holding you close, “And you can’t just look so kissable all the time.” You roll your eyes and lean up to kiss him again. “I don’t think this movie is that interesting anymore.” He smirks, “Really?” You shake your head, and you both readjust so you have your arms around his neck and sit on his lap to kiss him some more.

He holds you close, fingers tangling into your head, “I can’t believe I get to have you all to myself.” You pull back to laugh before capturing his lips into another kiss, “I love you.” He groans, pulling away from the kiss, “Fuck, I love you too, babe.” You smile and tangle your hands into his hair, trying to bring him closer, “I can’t get enough of you.” He grins as he whispers against your lips, “I can’t get enough of you either.” Before capturing your lips in his again, you grind your hips into his, and you both stutter out a groan. He tightens his hold in your hair as he licks your bottom lip. You gasp, and he slips his tongue into your mouth. You give up and let him as you grind down harder on him. He pulls back from your lips, leaving a trail of saliva connecting you both, and you two can’t help but laugh before you bring him into another kiss.

He moves his hands from your hair to your hips and starts controlling your movements against his hips. Against your lips, he whispers, “That’s it, baby.” You gasp as his lips move from yours to your neck. He starts sucking a hickey onto your collarbone, and you groan, and he continues nibbling on the skin until he finds the spot that has your hips stuttering against his. “Won, please…” “Hmm?” He murmurs against your neck, leaving you shivering, “Fuck, please... y’know?” He shakes his head, “Hmm, I’m not quite sure I do.” You groan out in frustration, pull back from his lips, move your hands down from his soft hair to his shirt, and tug on it. “Is that what you want?” He asks, all cocky with his eyebrows raised. You sigh and shake your head as you tug on it, “No, y'know what I want…” He smirks, “I'm still not sure I do…” He relinquishes his hold and allows you to pull the shirt over his head. You run your hands over his chest, and he shivers.

He moves one hand back into your hair as he grinds his hips into yours. “What if we finish just like this?” You pout as he brings his lips to yours, “Huh? What do you say?” You whine, “No, Won, please…” He nods, and without a second word, he pulls your shirt up and over your head. “You look so beautiful, my dear.” You blush and kiss his nose, and he shakes his head, “If you want me to fuck you, you better kiss me right.” You nod and immediately kiss his lips. As you make out with him, you feel his hips stutter underneath you. And he asks, “Are you close, baby?” You nod, not able to form a comprehensible answer.

He reaches into the side table beside him and pulls out a little packet, and you make a note in your blurry mind to ask him about that later. He has you sit up from him, and he quickly shoves his pants and briefs down enough for his cock to spring out. He quickly rolls the condom onto himself as you step off of him and slip out of the rest of your clothes. He brings you back into his embrace and carefully slips himself inside of you, “You still close, baby?” You nod, “Good.” You sigh as he slides completely into you, “Shi-shit, Hyungwon, I’m not- I’m not gonna last…” He groans and pulls you into another kiss. Against your lips, he mumbles, “Me neither.” As he thrusts up faster into you, you do your best to meet his pace before he pulls you down and slams your hips together in tandem. “I-I- Won- please… I’m…” He groans and starts thrusting inside of you faster, “C’mon, baby… You got this, cum with me.” You pull back from his lips, “Won, I’m going to-” “Fuck, me too.” You plant your lips against his as you cum together.

He pulls away breathlessly, placing his forehead against yours as he grows soft. “Shit, that was so hot…” You agree as you try to catch your breath, “I know, you know, but you're a great kisser.” He smiles and kisses the side of your lips, “You’re not so bad yourself~” You roll your eyes and slip off of him, “If you want to kiss me, you better kiss me properly.” You settle back onto his covered thighs as he laughs. And he pulls you into another heated kiss. When you both pull away again, you ask, “You want to continue upstairs?” He nods, “This time you’ll do a majority of the work?” You shrug and give him a lazy smile, “Only if you carry me up.” He laughs, “I can live with that.”

—Bonus—

You lay back against the pillows and look at the ceiling, “I can’t believe we fucked while one of the saddest movies was on in the background.” He laughs, “It was better than fucking to the Bridge of Terabithia.” You nod, “You have me there.” You think back to him pulling out the condom from the sofa table. “Why did you have a condom in there?” He hums, “You mean in the console?” You nod, “Yeah.” He shrugs, “You never know when you’re going to need it~” You shake your head at him, “Why’s that?” You turn your head to look at him as he answers, “When you have someone like you around... You always have to be prepared.” You pout, “What’s that supposed to mean?!” He smiles and turns to look at you, “Just like your lips, I find you absolutely irresistible.” You smile, satisfied with his answer, “I love you.” He grins and kisses your forehead, “I love you too.”

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jooberry · 2 years ago

Text

title : middle of the night

next part : part II

pairing : hyungwon x female reader

genre : smut, friends with benefits, idol!au

word count : 3,5k

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

It’s raining heavily outside. Raindrops crash against the windows in loud cracks, thunder reverberates menacingly, and trees sway and vibrate along with the wind. You were supposed to spend the night catching up on some work stuff, but your attention keeps coming back to the strings of lights cutting through the sky, on the violent rumbling shaking the city. You usually find comfort in the melody of rain knocking on glass, but tonight it makes you restless. Thunder reminds you of Hyungwon now – you’ve first met on a thunderous night like this one, and the memory of this makes you crave his presence every time. You reminisce about how he had told you that you were too old to be afraid of thunderstorms but had still stayed up with you all night.

You’d lived through countless thunderstorms before meeting him, and you had a pretty solid routine to ease your mind on a night like this one; a good jazz record, noise-canceling headphones, your favorite cup of tea, and a cozy sweater had always seemed enough for you to get by until today. Today, you feel like something is missing. Hyungwon not being there to share his questionable music taste, to listen to you ramble on and on about your favorite books feels odd...almost sad. Him not being there to make you lose yourself in his touch feels so foreign.

It dawns on you that you could text Hyungwon, ask him to come and hold you through the night – he was there, you knew that because he had posted about this coffee place he loved earlier today – but something, the distant murmur of a feeling that you have yet to identify is making you think twice about doing that. Hyungwon was the one to reach out every time, and it felt better that way; you liked the idea of him thinking about you, missing you, and having to bend to your schedule. Disturbing this fragile balance would be an admission of missing his presence and you don’t feel yet ready to let him know that – even though, there is no way he doesn’t know that you cherish those moments with him.

Of course, Hyungwon knows. It’s so obvious. Everything from the way you’re always playing so hard to get, to the way you fold at the slightest of his touch screams that you’re enjoying those moments with him. There is no point in playing those games and putting up those facades when the truth always comes out when your bodies collide. You reach for your phone, but to your surprise, he has already beat you to the chase.

HW, 01:37

I know you’re afraid of thunderstorms I’m coming to save you

You can’t help a smile, the kind of those you always try so hard to hide in front of him – the distant murmur of unidentified emotions was progressively becoming louder in your mind recently. At first, there was nothing, just an unescapable attraction that you hadn’t tried to suppress, then it became a burning sensation in the pit of your stomach every time Hyungwon showed up at your door, and now it felt like a fire – a beautiful and comforting thing, but also something dangerous and impossible to control. You know better than to play with fire, yet here you are, expecting not to get burned.

You, 01:41

I’m waiting for you then

You get up, taking the headphones off your ears. You were listening to one of Hyungwon’s songs anyway – one of those where you couldn’t help but ask yourself what it was all about. Was it only a fragment of his twisted imagination? You? Someone else? You had thought about asking him about it, but there was simply no way to ask him this question without bringing up a bigger issue that you want nothing to do with. It would either mean overexaggerating your importance in his life and thus exposing some sort of delusion he would have no choice but to squash and thus breaking something in you – or exposing yourself to the revelation that you were just one of many girls who had found your way into Hyungwon’s bed, and thus breaking something in you; and who could tell if what was broken today could be recovered later?

Well, Hyungwon‘s songs were explicitly talking about love, and whatever was between you and him was not love, you knew that much. There was lust and desire, a whole lot of it, and possibly appreciation, some form of friendship, but love? That was ridiculous. As you set to fix your appearance before he arrives, you let your mind wander on a question that is making your heart beat a thousand times per second: what will you do if you’re not the only one? What could have led you to believe that you could have been the only one? You were obviously not the only one sensitive to Hyungwon‘s charm. If you were ready to compromise a job and shit ton of money over a night with him, what were others willing to sacrifice? The realization is terrifying, and by the time you’re done getting ready, all that you can feel is bewilderment. While you were originally wearing the sweater he had forgotten the last time Hyungwon was at your place, you ended up throwing it in the pile of dirty laundry.

You only have time to get the kettle going before your doorbell rings twice. Sighing, you make your way to the door to open it, and without surprise, it’s him. All the upheaval you were feeling towards him disappears when you see how drenched he is, and how he doesn't seem to mind as he smiles at you in an oddly cute way. You watch him take off his beanie, before ruffling his equally sodden hair. Hyungwon‘s jacket is dripping water on the floor, but he casually takes it off before shoving it into your clothes dryer.

“You didn’t have to come,” you say, as he bends down to take off his shoes. You can see his body shivering slightly from the cold, as he rubs his hands together to warm them.

“I was nearby” Hyungwon replies, following you into the living room area. “I only got caught in the rain when I got off the car, don’t worry” he smiles again, checking something on his phone, before putting it away on the coffee table. You always ask that of him every time he comes, and it’s funny that he’s been here enough times already to have picked up this habit.

“You were at the studio?” you ask, not able to shake off the fact that you want to know what Hyungwon‘s doing when he’s not working and he’s not with you.

“Yes” he replies, running his hand through his hair “I spent the day trying to finish that one song, but nothing came. I ran out of ideas”Hyungwon crashes on the couch next to you, grabbing a cushion before closing his eyes.

“Is that why you wanted to come?” you ask, scooting closer to him so you can play with his still-damp hair. He doesn’t reply, and for a moment, you think he has fallen asleep.

“No. I just wanted to see you”Hyungwon says, relaxing into your touch. You hum at his response, and it hits you then: you will never have any insight into his day-to-day life. You’re bound to take his word for it and believe whatever he tells you. For all you know, he could have spent the day with another woman, and you’d be none the wiser.

“Am I supposed to believe that?” you ask, massaging his shoulders. He chuckles, turning his head towards you.

“Why not?”Hyungwon asks, massaging your thigh.

“We both know that’s a lie” you whisper, straddling his lap. You’ve made a mistake by introducing this topic, and the only way to get him to forget about it is to give him what he really came for. You pull on his hair to make him tilt his head back and kiss him. Hyungwon kisses back immediately, grabbing you by the waist to press your body tighter against his.

You can feel the fire you were picturing in your mind earlier burn your skin, and your whole body ignites. It’s been countless days since the last time you’ve seen Hyungwon, and it’s not until he touched you again that you realize how much you had missed this. His cute and chill attitude was only a façade because in no time he has you on your knees and ordered you to suck him off. You’re happy to follow his orders, relieved that he chose to get rid of his frustration rather than entertain your silly little feelings. You make quick work of his jeans, which he kicks under the small stone table in front of your couch, and immediately back to your task. Your eyes meet as you take as much of him as you can in your mouth, but it’s not enough – Hyungwon grabs your hair and presses your head on his cock so deep you can feel him in your throat. You barely have time to adjust to his size and he starts rocking his hips against your mouth, you can barely breathe and your eyes feel with tears.

He lets you go as you moan, and he falls back groaning against the couch. You go back for him, and this time he doesn’t have to do anything; you’re chasing the feeling so hard he hits the back of your throat every time. Hyungwon grips your hair a little softer this time and orders you to look at him. Once again, you follow his order, looking at him through teary eyes full of adoration, while he completely devours you with his gaze. His desire is so deep, so dark, that you can’t help but fear for what he’s going to do to you this time – he always manages to do the craziest things to you, to bring you places you didn’t even know your body could go. But tonight, Hyungwon has no time to play. He’s annoyed and frustrated, and your body is the perfect outlet to vent all those emotions. He gets up and throws you where he used to sit on the couch, then drags your shorts along with your underwear down to your ankles. He doesn’t even bother taking them off your body and plunges right into you. You gasp at the intrusion, your vision blurred by the sudden rush of pleasure; the grip Hyungwon has on your neck is painful and breathing is a little hard but coupled with the way he’s already fucking you so hard, it feels so good.

You’re lost in his eyes, as your mind gets cloudier and cloudier, and the pleasure gets too much, too soon, and that apart from your hand over his, from your nails against his chest, there’s nothing you can do. Hyungwon starts asking you how good he feels, how deep you can feel him, how much of a good girl you are – and it drives him absolutely insane when you do this, when you try to speak but can only form high-pitched moans and incoherent cries. It drives him insane how deep your voice gets the harder he goes; he lives for this. Hyungwon feels you clenching around him, and starts to rub your clit with his thumb, fast-charging the orgasm that was building up in the pit of your stomach for a while. It only takes a few minutes for you to gush all over the couch and on his face with a loud scream; body shaking uncontrollably off the couch – he’s pushed out of you but immediately comes back to pin you down and starts eating you out.

You’re way too sensitive for this, but Hyungwon doesn’t care, his strength is enough to lock you in place as he gives your body way more than it can handle. Your head is buzzing, and you can’t focus on anything but the feeling of his mouth sucking on your clit like his life depends on it. The pleasure is consuming and overwhelming, and yet you keep craving more, you make sure that his head is pressed against your core as hard as possible, which prompts him to insert two of his fingers inside of you and to start pumping. It’s enough to push you over the edge once more. This time you’re gushing so hard you can feel some of it spill on your face, and even with his two strong hands pinning you down, you’re shaking off the couch. When you look down at Hyungwon, the lower half of his face is covered in your juices, as well as the tip of his hair.

“Please” you start begging, but you barely manage to open your mouth that he’s back between your legs, devouring you so hard you’re fighting for your life to push him off you. You’re screaming and pushing back against him so hard, but Hyungwon remains unmovable, and with the fatal dance of his tongue and fingers, you’re overwhelmed by pleasure yet again. He manages to grab your legs before they give up on you and put them on his shoulders, you’re begging again – voice weak and tears filling your eyes, but he whispers a quick “shh” and slowly slides inside of you.

The moan that escapes from his lips is so beautiful, so deep, you can’t help but bite into your hand to muffle your screams. You want to hear him, only him. His pace is fast and punishing, but you want to hear and see him, no matter how hard it is. Hyungwon bends down and kisses you for the first time tonight and you can taste all of yourself on his tongue, on every part of his mouth, and just the thought of it drives you absolutely insane. You push a strand of black hair away from his face, as your gaze is lost in his; half-lidded eyes too afraid to look away, to lose the beauty of his face when he looks at you like this – like he absolutely hates every single thing about you, like he wants to destroy you. You want to be destroyed, though, so you grab one of his hands and place it around your neck.

“Faster” you beg, which makes him smile wickedly. Hyungwon closes his hand around your throat and picks up his pace. Your mouth forms a perfect o, and keeping your eyes open becomes impossible. You can feel him so deep it feels like he’s all up in your guts; you can’t suppress your moans anymore, and neither do you want to. He must know how good he makes you feel. “Faster” you repeat, even though you already can’t handle his current pace.

“You’re such a fucking slut” Hyungwon spits with a wicked grin, pressing his palm harder against your windpipe. “Begging for more of my cock when you can’t even handle this much” you put your hand over his, mirroring the smile on his face. Hyungwon keeps going, pressing his forehead against yours.

He’s caught off guard when you close your other hand around his throat, before ordering through batted breaths “I said faster.”Hyungwon chuckles, pushing your legs further onto the leather, he reaches deeper inside of you and starts fucking you even harder than before. You scream, so hard it resonates through the entire living room, and probably through the entire apartment as well. Had the floor not been yours, neighbors would have probably been knocking on your door and calling the cops by now, trying to save you from whoever was trying to hurt you. They wouldn’t know this was exactly what you wanted, being brought to this place where pleasure and pain met to form one overwhelming sensation – something you couldn’t help but crave each time you were laying with him. Your breath was stuck in your throat, and your body was right on edge, ready to fall headfirst into the most crushing orgasm since that last time in his studio. Just then, Hyungwon reaches down and starts rubbing on your clit, giving you just what you needed to sink for good.

This time there’s a deafening silence, during which your body is limp, unable to move except for your nails digging hard into his hand and his neck. You feel out of time and space, unable to think or to stand on your own. Hyungwon picks you up and makes his way to your bedroom, where he drops you on the bed before sinking two of his fingers back inside of you. You moan at the burning sensation, before gushing all over the sheets only after a few thrusts. He plunges right back, and resumes his fast, deep, punishing pace from before; you’re nothing more than a ragdoll at this point, submitted to the extreme violence of his desire without being able to push back against it – not that you wanted to. You couldn’t look at anything other than him, and how he was so focused on making you cum over and over again until you couldn’t take it anymore; until all that was left was pain.

When you start to shake uncontrollably again, Hyungwon flips you on your back and dives right back, fucking so deep and hard that your body is sinking into the mattress – he has to push you against the headboard because you keep running from him. It’s overwhelming, him inside of you, his groans mixing with your screams, his hands slapping your cheeks, his heart beating against your skin; too much at the same time. You have no idea of how long you were doing this at this point, but you just wanted to take what he was giving you. Hyungwon grips your hair, forcing your head back against his chest, before grabbing your neck with his other hand. By the way he was breathing, you could tell that his end was close and that he was giving you everything he had left. Your arms gave up on you though, and you fall back on the sheets, but instead of picking you up, he lays on top of you.

Hyungwon nuzzles his head in the crook of your neck, breathing hard against your skin before stopping after a few more thrusts. You feel him coming and grab his hand, as you feel his cock twitch inside of you. The moan he lets out is the most beautiful sound you’ve ever heard from him, it sent shivers down your spine, and you moan as he slowly fills you up. You try to turn over to lay on your back, but Hyungwon pushes your arm and starts kissing your neck and your shoulder. You stayed like that for a while – you couldn’t tell how long, but you were slowly drifting in and out of sleep when he finally got up. You finally turned over just as he’s back in the bedroom, holding a glass of water and towel in each hand. He puts the glass on your bedside table before kneeling before you on the bed. It’s the first time Hyungwon is cleaning you up, and it feels oddly intimate yet incredibly awkward; you grab the glass when he exits the room again, hugging your knees against your chest.

To be fair, Hyungwon has never come inside of you like that before – even though the contraception topic had been dealt with early on in your relationship. But what really bothers you is why you grabbed his hand earlier? It had felt so wholesome, so warm that you could almost think that it was lovemaking and not fucking. He startles you out of your thoughts when he comes back and slips under the sheets next to you.

“You okay?” Hyungwon asks, bringing you against his chest. His heart was still beating relatively fast, but so is yours so you don’t think too much of it. You hum in response, awkwardly holding your empty glass as if you were afraid of moving. You stay like that for a while, listening in on each other’s breathing without a move. You thought you could just fall asleep like this and rest until he had to go in the early morning, but his voice broke the silence.

“I was being serious, you know. I really wanted to see you tonight” Hyungwon starts, putting his head on yours. “The thunderstorm reminded me of you”

“Forget about that, I was just joking around” you sigh, running the tip of your nails along his skin. “You don’t have to justify yourself” Hyungwon furrows his brows, puzzled at your reaction, but he lets you talk nonetheless. “This was never meant to be more than just sex, so let it be just that...let’s not complicate things”

Hyungwon purses his lips and pretends to ignore the complex mix of emotions clouding his mind at your words and plays along. You look up at him, and he fakes a faint smile; when you nuzzle your head back in his chest, he starts playing with your hair, nursing you to sleep. When your breathing finally slows down, he sneaks out of your bed and puts on his clothes before disappearing without a word.

#monsta x smut #monsta x x reader #middle of the night #jooberry #monsta x #monbebe #Kpop smut #kpop angst #hyungwon x reader #hyungwon smut #monsta x hyungwon #chae hyungwon #monsta x imagines #hyungwon imagine

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spacequokka · 2 years ago

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Monsta X Kinks & Turn-Ons

@iibonniee Hide ya brain cells. I’m back with another kinky shit post that’ll likely end up with Monbebes throwing me in a closet.

Hyunwoo || Venus: Gemini, Mars: Taurus || Turn On: Control

Mr. Traditional. Likes fun and variety with witty conversation. He’s a sensual guy, but it takes a lot to get him going. Try harder, baby. He can be romantically impulsive. Likes to please and tease at his own place. Just give him the reins, you know you want to.

Minhyuk || Venus: Libra, Mars: Scorpio || Turn On: Foreplay

Mr. Idealistic. He’s willing to make your relationship by conceding and adjust his life to accommodate you. Loves to share everything with you, but don’t take advantage of it! Treats you exactly how he wants to be treated. Has a taste for mature partners. He’s a hopeless romantic who loves a challenge and finds it difficult to share his partners. Not saying he’s against it. Just might struggle to watch you. He’s attracted to “taboos” and wild fantasies, so share yours with him. Pretty sure he’s down to try it. He’s got stamina for days and enjoys submissive partners.

Kihyun || Venus: Scorpio, Mars: Sagittarius || Kink: Shibari Bondage

Our resident kink master. He’s intense as fuck. That prince charming grin is a trap. “Isn’t afraid of getting his mind dirty.” Excuse me, wtf. Penny for his thoughts. Never gives up. “Strong sexual powers.” So he’s what, the Harry Potter of sex? I have several questions. He’s blunt and eager, amorous and sensual. We knew that tho. He tends to focus on his partner with laser precision and you know what requires that much attention to detail? Shibari. It’s its own art form and I can see him being a HUGE fan of it. He can get possessive to the point of jealousy if you don’t prove your loyalty to him. All the dom vibes. Fight me. Though he’s not incapable of giving you control once he feels secure enough in your relationship. Good luck.

Hyungwon || Venus: Capricorn, Mars: Capricorn || Turn On: Someone willing to ride

The Pillow Prince. He’s a realist and will be “upfront” with you. He’ll try to win you over by showing you he has self-control (it’s a trap) and likely bait you into doing most of the work. He’s a romantic looking for a soulmate, and when he thinks he’s found The One, you’ll see him exerting more of his precious energy. Shy but willing to commit. Wants to show you off in a quiet way. And the sex? Keep it nasty if you can.

Jooheon || Venus: Scorpio, Mars: Leo || Kink: Praise (Receiving)

No one is shocked by this. Has a strong need for a partnership. 🥺 Someone cuff him. Like Kiki, he gets possessive and makes it his mission to ruin you. Get you addicted to him through pleasure and commitment, body and soul. Sign me tf up. Wants to explore every inch of you, inside and out, but will guard his secrets until he feels he can trust you with them. Another guy prone to jealousy but it's because he’s so devoted to you and he’ll fight dirty to win your heart. Borderline nympho as he’s easily turned on (no fr, tell him he did a good job) and will give it to you anywhere (like, say the backseat of his car). Honey acts with his heart and goes all in.

Changkyun || Venus: Pisces, Mars: Aquarius || Turn On: The Art of Seduction

Our Lone Wolf favors instant gratification except when it comes to choosing a partner, even if it's just for one night. He’s straightforward (ofc), dreamy and soft-hearted. Can be sweetly playful when he starts to fall for you. He does have a Captain Save-a-Hoe complex so you gotta make sure he’s attracted to you and not your situation. Expect lots of tender moments and romance. Extra points if you’re older. Likes surprising you with his open-mindedness. Don’t just give in; make him work for it. He’ll delight you with his wit and determination and turn you out in bed.

Hoseok || Venus: Aries, Mars: Cancer || Kink: Breeding, Switch

Mr. Thirst Trap. This shameless flirt has a childish charm, and he uses it like a weapon. You will not survive. He loves to tease and is looking for an energetic partner to keep up with his stamina. Requires plenty of stimulation and likes to lead and please you. Just trust him. Reacts spontaneously and intensely to the Object of Obsessive Horniness and will make it known. Though he doesn’t want kids, he still gets a kick out of the thrill and possessiveness of stuffing you with cum.

#mxnetwork #monsta x headcanons #monsta x smut #shownu smut #lee hoseok smut #wonho smut #minhyuk smut #kihyun smut #hyungwon smut #jooheon smut #joohoney smut #changkyun smut #i.m smut #monsta x zodiac #monsta x birth chart #sorry not sorry #i have an active imagination #hyunwoo smut

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sluttywonwoo · 2 years ago

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I don’t have any thots for I.M rn but HYUNGWON??? All the time. Wanna ride him. So fuckin badly. Him looking up at me like I’m the prettiest thing on the planet???????? 😵‍💫💥

he’s been acting up lately too… all these modeling gigs 😩

“why are you looking at me like that?”

“what do you mean?”

“you’re… smiling at me.”

“am i not allowed to smile at my girlfriend?” hyungwon asks, teasing.

“not while you’re inside of her, no,” you pout.

“that’s a little mean, don’t you think?”

you slow down a little on top of him, cocking your head to the side. “no, if anything you’re being the mean one.”

hyungwon lets his mouth drop open in shock. “what? how?”

“you’re laughing at your girlfriend while you’re having sex with her!”

“we just established that i’m smiling, not laughing.”

you roll your eyes. “same thing.”

“what if i can’t help it?” he presses. “how am i supposed to control myself when you look so pretty on top of me?”

you whine, pushing on his chest. “stop saying nice things to me, i’m still mad at you.”

“mad at me?” you nod. “then let me…”

he brings one of his hands around and uses his thumb to feel around for your clit, smirking when your pace falters and you moan.

“still mad?”

“n-no.”

“that’s what i thought.”

#my monteen crumbs too!!#answered #anon #monsta x smut #mx smut #hyungwon smut #chae hyungwon smut

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joo-hng · 8 months ago

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[12:03]

He inconspicuously shuts her grand office door, pressing the lock gently enough so the office cannot hear. His eyes glint with a subtle hunger that even he can’t subdue.

He dares to step forward, hands in his suit pockets as he eyes her from top to bottom, fully enraptured by the capable woman sitting before him. He bites his lip once before gifting her with the naughtiest smirk, “You look good behind that desk,”

“Hell,” he notes lowly, “but you’d look better on top of it,”

#hyungwon #monsta x #hyungwon smut #monsta x smut #smut #monsta x scenario #monsta x scenarios #hyungwon scenario #hyungwon scenarios #kpop #kpop scenario #kpop scenarios #monstax

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breezybangtanbebe · 6 months ago

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❤️‍🔥Caramel Kisses❤️‍🔥 Hyungwon

Tag: Hyungwon x OC Aria, teasing and some sexy banter, food play and raw bath tub sex 😋

2.1k words

"Open your mouth."

Aria's sultry voice echoes softly in the dimly lit bathroom and steam swirled around their bodies nestled from the waist down in suds.

"Open my mouth, please?" Hyungwon perks his brow and Aria narrows her gaze.

"I wasn't asking.." she responds and Hyungwon chuckles darkly as his eyes fell from her adorably frustrated expression to the glistening melanin that dripped in bubbles and sweat.

A flame flickers in his hooded gaze as she straddled him, her wide hips encapsulating his lithe form beneath her in the steamy bath water.

Her body was something that most men only dreamed of witnessing up close. Superior genetics could be the only explanation for how someone with such a small waist could possess such hips, ass, and thick thighs.

Her breasts were the perfect size as well, hanging naturally and sexily with symmetrically round brown nipples that hardened inches from his face.

"Oh? So we're being difficult tonight, I see..." he chuffs and Aria shrugs one shoulder.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Now do you want this?" She deflects and waves the scorched sugar coated fingers in front of Hyungwon but his eyes don't follow them.

They remain on her face with heat that rivaled the several tiny flames glimmering deep in his dark irises.

"Or not..." she adds and Hyungwon leans back into the slope of the tub, allowing the water to creep over his abs. Looking her up and down, his tongue glides over his top lip slowly.

"You know what the fuck I want....."

The subtle jolt of arousal between Aria's legs at the way that little dirty word rolled from Hyungwon's pretty lips has her clenching and its as if Hyungwon could feel her body needing him as much as he needed her.

The small peaks of bubbles parted as he dipped his hands from her waist to sink below the water.

"Stop playing with me, Baby...I didn't come all this way for sweets..." He rasps.

Hyungwon tilts his head to watch his hands slosh and coast over her supple skin through the sparkling ripples, marveling at the contrast between their differing complexions.

As deep and as rich as the caramel lingering on his tongue against his creamy fairness.

His obsession, beyond her pigment, but the feeling. The soft and smoothness. Not a flaw to be felt but even if there was, Hyungwon would embrace it as perfection.

He loved the way no matter how hard he squeezed her, barely a mark was left. Which only challenged him to try harder. Like now.

He kneads her flesh like a baker kneads his dough and bites his lip at how much of her filled his large hands with every not so gentle squeeze.

A hand at his throat distracts him from her body suddenly, replacing it with her sultry and stern expression.

Aria smirks.

"You'll get more than sweets if you do what I say...."

Hyungwon found her attempts at asserting her dominance cute most times. Thats just the type of women she was and he wouldn't change her. But when his dick was hard and lodged in the space between her pillow soft lips and his tummy, his naturally dominant nature strained to push through.

Speaking of push....

Hyungwon's gaze drops to where their bodies met, admiring the way her puffy pink bud swelled beyond her seam.

Her pussy was so beautiful to him. A Neapolitan contrast of decadent brown and the most vibrant shade of pink he'd ever seen. It was no wonder why he had such a sweet tooth.

Hyungwon's lips part just enough for him to inhale shakily as he pushed her body towards him, forcing her pelvis down and the face of her heat flush against the underside of his dick.

It draws a line up his length, making both of them gasp in unison from the friction. More so a breathy moan from Aria, who had been neglecting the ache down there since mounting him.

"Shit.." she hisses between her teeth and Hyungwon smiles up at her sexily with triumph.

"You were saying?" He perks his brow.

Along with his teasing tone, Hyungwon continues slowly coaxing her to grind against him and his eyes lock on the little waves their motion creates in the water.

After a few seconds, Aria scowls down at him and places her palm between his pecs to prevent him from moving her any higher. Although he was much stronger than her, Hyungwon resists.

"Eyes up here." She commands and he only obeys because her face was probably his favorite place for his eyes to settle next to her pussy.

He waits patiently for her to dip her fingers back into the little jar set on the ledge of the tub. His swollen upper lip spreads into a smile much sweeter than the melted caramel dripping over her knuckles.

"Now open..." she purrs and with his eyes locked with hers, Hyungwon opens his mouth just barely and Aria smears the dollop of caramel over his bottom lip.

His tongue chased her finger tip as it swiped over the small mess she made of his mouth and Aria giggles as she brought it to her mouth suck any remnants away.

Such a tease.

"Hmm...More." Hyungwon says after he'd licked it all from his lips, sounding primal and impatient for something other than her fingers. Aria smirks around the two fingers caught between her lips.

"More..please?" She mimics his chastising tone from before and Hyungwon rolls his eyes.

She'd cut her hair recently, and the long straight hair from before had been replaced by a newly grown crop of curls that spiraled all around her face.

When they were wet, they hung loose and shined against the candlelight in a way that Hyungwon couldnt resist running his hands through.

He leans up just enough to toy with a coil between his fingers, pulling it gently to revel in the satisfaction of watching it spring back into place.

His hand ventures further and as he did, Aria leans into his touch and her almond eyes flutter at the feeling of his fingers against her scalp. This was a level of intimacy he craved the way one would crave the caramel lingering on his tongue.

“See? You don’t have to act like all tough with me, gorgeous. I see you…” Hyungwon purrs with his long fingers still weaving through her sodden curls.

Her soft almond shaped eyes always drew him in and the high bridge of her rounded nose was criminally adorable to him.

And then her lips, the ones he planned to bite the exact way she bit them now.

It had taken some persuasion over time to convince Aria to stay with him tonight. She wasn't the type of woman to tie down and as much she enjoyed her time with Hyungwon, it was more exciting for her to always leave him wanting rather than giving in.

But Hyungwon was a patient man.

"Im not acting. Now open..." she opts to say and Hyungwon complies. His mirrored smirk still plays on his lips as they part for her just enough for her caramel coated fingers to press against his tongue.

His taste buds ignite at the taste of her skin more than the warm confection spreading over his tongue. Lips like pillows wrap around the digits and suck shamelessly as he hummed in approval from deep in his throat as he swallows.

"Mmmmhm.." he growls and the slickness between her thighs mixed naughtily with the water between them and she can feel a pulse where Hyungwon's erection pressed against her heat.

"More." He demands softly and she smirks before leaning in to kiss him. Though he probably meant more of the caramel from the jar sitting in the candle warmer, Hyungwon takes no issue in tasting his lover's tongue. She rolls it against his as well as her hips, rocking her center against his sinuously.

The pads of his fingers dig into her flesh and he earns a startled yelp against his lips that grants him access to deepen the kiss with the tilt of his head.

Water sways higher towards the tubs edge the more Hyungwon rocked her body against his, sliding the girth of his shaft against her pussy at a steady rhythm.

Her clit sings with sensation the more he rubbed himself against her and she calls his name breathily against his tongue.

Until finally, the tip of his dick pushes straight through her entrance and fills her in every way she needed.

Aria pulls back to bask in his welcomed intrusion, her bottom lip scraping between her teeth as he filled her to the hilt. A grunt that was too sexy to be fair juts from Hyungwon's chest and his head falls back to relish in the warmth and tightness that embraced him between her thighs.

She was so perfect for him.

Despite what she thought before.

Despite her denying their attraction.

Despite her resisting the inevitable spark that ignited whenever the two were alone.

They might not ever be together on any official terms.

But she was his and Hyungwon would take his sweet time in unraveling every barrier she held between them. Starting with this.

"Say it..." He rasps against her mouth, steadying his grip on her writhing hips.

He moves beneath her slowly at first, flexing upward and rolling into her. She meets him half way every time and the water surrounding them threatened to overflow onto the bathroom floor.

Not that it mattered.

They were both too deep in the ocean of each others gazes to care about the mess.

"'Mmm..." Aria exhales but shakes her head as she ground against him. Hyungwon could tell that she was resisting. From the way she tried to control his rhythm and how deep he could reach, to how her jaw clenched from holding in the sounds she really wanted to make.

He doesn't respond to her defiance with words but only with his body. The hands at her waist lift from the water and press flat against her back, forcing her chest to press firmly against his, and she yelps at the feeling of him slipping deeper than before.

The water was now splashing carelessly onto the floor, extinguishing some of the candles as Hyungwon upped his ante.

Aria has little range of motion and her only choice is to cling to Hyungwon's sculpted shoulders as he fucks her deep and intimately with his lips teasing the skin of her diamond studded earlobe.

Her entire body tingles with pleasure and excitement as the dominance she fought against took over.

"Say it baby...." His rough and deep voice fills her mind, all while driving himself into her over and over. Her moans and water spilled over endlessly and all it takes is for Hyungwon hit her square on her deepest place for her to finally let go.

"Fuck....Hyungwon..Yes...Hyungwon...Baby...." She whimpers as she came, and her walls squeeze him disrespectfully tight. He stalls for a moment to keep himself from cumming, groaning pitifully with his eyes screwed shut. He turns his head to lean into hers, steadily adorning her throat with open mouth kisses that seemed to merely serve as a distraction for himself.

His dick pulse to the beat of Aria’s galloping heart, her warmth hugging him tight. It wouldnt take much.

One move snd he would succumb to the inevitable. But he manages to delay his release in favor of talking Aria down from hers.

"So fucking beautiful.." he murmurs against her wet skin, dragging his lips from her throat to her cheek before planting the softest kiss there.

His breathing deepens and his hold on her wet body goes slack, but he continues to stroke her, slowly now to allow her to come down from her high.

Only to go right back to pounding into her sensslessly. Her orgasm loosened her body up just enough for the ride to be seamless and he touches her in places even she never reached.

It didnt matter to Hyungwon if he came. That wasnt what he craved most when he was near her. It was only her pleasure he sought.

Feeling her surrounding him in every way possible.

Hearing her voice, whether its to chastise or praise him.

Tasting her, never mattering if it would be her fingers in his mouth or her sex. He needed it all.

He needed her.

Just as much as she'd never admit how much she needed him too.

So as the steam in the bathroom cleared..

The bubbly suds dissipated..

And the water cooled to lukewarm..

Neither of them cared to move an inch as long as they were connected , chasing infinity..

#hyungwon smut #hyungwon fanfic #ambw #monsta x ambw #monsta x boyfriends #monsta x fanfic #changkyun #jooheon #monsta x smut #wonho #hyungwon #shownu #kihyun #minhyuk #hyunwoo #changkyun smut #ambw kpop

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iibonniee · 1 year ago

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Welcome to Bonnie's 2023 Monsta x kinktober! Below are the stories to come for October. A link can be found here if you would like to be tagged!

⸺ Shownu (10/2)

Pretty Screaming My Name

Warnings: unprotected sex, size kink, creampie

Summary: Hyunwoo has always had an obsession with two things: how well she could take his cock and cumming inside her.

⸺ Wonho (10/5)

Mine, all Mine

Warnings: Werewolf!Wonho, mating, unprotected sex, creampie

Summary: Hoseok knew she was always the one for him. Always the one to call his mate

⸺ Minhyuk (10/11)

Forgive me Father, For I Have Sinned

Warnings: priest!minhyuk, priest kink, fingering, spanking, unprotected sex, anal, creampie

Summary: Y/N only knew of one Priest who would help her get rid of her sins on such short notice.

⸺ Kihyun (10/17)

What's My Name?

Warnings: non-idol!kihyun, sugar daddy!kihyun, unprotected sex, age kink, daddy kink, oral (male receiving), cock worship, bondage, spanking

Summary: Their agreement was something Kihyun had always made sure was followed to the very T. After all, their agreement was signed in ink.

⸺ Hyungwon (10/19)

Scream For Me

Warnings: ghostface!hyungwon, smut, roleplaying, semi-knife play, oral (male receiving), creampie

Summary: Two missed calls. Two ticks. She is slowly making the masked man very angry. Y/N had always had a slight kink for the fictional, well-known Scream killer. Hyungwon was willing to make her fantasies a reality.

⸺ Jooheon (10/24)

Don't Look Away

Warnings: mutual masturbation, dirty talk, cum eating

Summary: It was Jooheon who mentioned wanting to try something different

⸺ Changkyun (10/26)

You Were Always Mine

Warnings: ex!changkyun, unprotected sex, creampie, impregnation kink, oral (male receiving), public sex

Summary: The two of them always had a game of cat and mouse. She was the mouse, and he was the cat.

⸺ Kinktober Special (10/31)

All Eyes on Her

Warnings: foursome, oral (fem and male receiving), unprotected sex, double penetration

Summary: Having sex with two people was always a thrill. Add another one to make the night all the more better

#kinktober #monsta x smut #hyungwon smut #shownu smut #wonho smut #minhyuk smut #kihyun smut #changkyun smut #jooheon smut #monsta x kinktober

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biffhofosho · 1 year ago

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A Shot Through the Heart

Fandom: Monsta X

Genre: Smut, natch.

Word Count: 17k (yeah, you read that right >.>)

Pairing: Hyungwon x OC

Trope: Anonymous sex, strangers to lovers

Synopsis: “You can’t catch feelings sucking tequila out of a stranger's bellybutton.”

The Vibe: Hopeless romantic OC meets shameless Miami Beach party, sweet and sincere Chae Hyungwon (who’s also a bit of a pathetic loser sometimes, and I love that about him, so that’s here also), probably cringey meet-cute, definitely cringey rom-com title because obvious cheesy rom-com overtones, well-meaning friends who actually have no clue what they’re talking about, body shots, stepping out of one’s comfort zone, instant chemistry, trying (and failing) to keep things casual, unprotected (not-so) anonymous sex (thank you, dramatic irony), far too romantic for what it’s supposed to be, the usual unrealistic rom-com expectations, cute ending because the author is also a hopeless romantic

A/N: Continuing the Wonnie love agenda since no one else wants to do it for me. This was most definitely for me because I’m hyper-obsessive about Hyungwon’s every charming feature and the Unseen promotion as a whole, but I hope you enjoy it, too.

You are here for fun.

As Gwen danced from foot to foot in the raucous line, she repeated the words over and over.

You are here for fun.

With searing clarity, she could hear her roommate Marie as though they were still in the car on their long drive down from New Jersey.

“It’s Miami, okay? You’re not going for a relationship. You are here for fun. Grind up against random hot guys. Make out with a stranger. I love you, but be a little fucking unpredictable for a change. Whatever, just no crushes because, I swear to god, if you even say to me, ‘He’s really sweet, Marie! I could see myself going out with him!’, I will throw up. And if the words ‘boyfriend material’ come out of your mouth, then so help me,I’m leaving your ass in Florida.”

You are here for fun.

She couldn’t even fault her friend for the rant. Gwen formed attachments, real and imagined. Hell, she was about to celebrate her 11th anniversary of fake marriage to Dylan O’Brien even though she hadn’t watched anything with him in it in years. Almost every man she’d ever gone on a date with had been followed with a relationship that left a crater of ruinous magnitude. It drove perennial bachelorette Marie crazy considering she was always the one left behind to rip the empty cookie dough tub from her roommate’s death grip and hazmat the ground zero of all the balled-up tissues.

After the latest of Gwen’s embarrassingly short-lived “sure-thing” relationships blew up spectacularly in her face, her friend had taken her under her wing and planned to show her once and for all “how to put distance between your heart and your lady parts.”

“Let’s have a little fun at men’s expense,” Marie had proposed when she’d flaunted the extravagant hotel deal she’d scored in Gwen’s face.

Now a month later, and here they were, three nights in at a palatial hotel on Miami Beach with a pulsing club in its heart and a raucous party that trickled out onto its grand pool concourse.

Their deal had been a simple one. In exchange for saying “yes” to three bullet points on her roommate’s “good time list,” Marie would pay for the hotel rooms for their bachelorette weekend. The only other stipulation on top of that was absolutely, positively no relationships.

So far, Gwen had passed with flying colors. She’d let a man buy her a drink at the hotel bar, and she’d danced with a few strangers, all without a hint of attachment. The guys were an eclectic mix of hot that had Marie rubbing her hands together and muttering “Taste the rainbow” on ludicrous repeat, but that’s all they were—eye candy. Gwen could compartmentalize that. Her friend’s plan was working. She’d felt beautiful. She’d felt powerful. She’d felt in control of her heart for once. She was ready to conquer one last, more challenging bullet point.

“You’re young, you’re hot, but you’re too damn romantic,” Marie had scolded as she’d helped her friend accessorize before heading down for the night. “Tonight, remember your mantra. You’re here to have fun. You’re not going to invent a backstory for everyone you meet. It’s okay to be a little superficial sometimes.”

“I’m doing pretty good, aren’t I?”

“Killing it, in fact,” the spicy brunette agreed.

“Damnit, I’m still so nervous every time though,” Gwen admitted as Marie had smoothed out her friend’s blonde beachy waves.

“Yeah, I know, babe, which is why I keep urging you to dip your toe instead of deep-ending everything. Contrary to what your Nora Ephron-mutated heart tells you, ninety-nine-point-nine percent of the guys you meet aren’t marriage material for Gwen Goodwin.”

“What about the one who is?”

Marie bent down and kissed her friend’s cheek. “I don’t know, but I promise you this. You didn’t meet him last night, and you’re not going to meet him tonight.”

So it had all led up to this bullet point—a ridiculous line for body shots poolside.

“Come on, you picked the best one on the list! It’s harmless,” Marie had laughed as she escorted her friend into the line. “You can’t catch feelings sucking tequila out of a stranger's bellybutton. Now, I'm going to go hit on that guy over there, and, god willing, have his beautiful, obscene mouth on mine for a bit, and you’re going to spin the roulette wheel of hot and put your beautiful, obscene mouth on someone’s sexy stomach. No regrets?”

“No regrets,” Gwen agreed.

“I’ll have my eye on you, babe. If you need me, text me,” she said as she flashed her smartwatch at Gwen.

“Will do.”

“Have fun! Love you!”

“Good luck!”

Gwen watched as Marie zig-zagged through several clusters of partygoers until she reached her target, a rather burly guy with stupendous shoulders accentuated by a compression tee. Gwen couldn’t see the guy’s face, but she could see her friend’s, and it was lit up with a smile the likes of which she had never seen from the girl. She kept her fingers crossed that things would pan out as her friend hoped.

Meanwhile, Gwen turned back to her line where the shot-takers waited alongside the line of human shot glasses. She was at least twenty people back from the table, so there was no way to know with whom she might be paired. There were just as many women in the shot glass line as there were men, all of them attractive at unprecedented levels. She was grateful she was in the line she’d chosen because she didn’t think she could survive someone of their sexiness putting their mouths on her stomach.

That’s when her eyes fell on him, the shot glass with the round face and flushed lips. He was tall and slender, dressed unassumingly for someone in his decidedly sexier line. He wore a plain black tee and a pair of slim fit jeans on legs that seemed double the length of the rest of him. Other than a few silver rings on his spindly fingers, his only accessory was a pair of now-pointless sunglasses sitting on top of his fluffy dark hair. There was nothing flashy about the guy, yet she somehow wished she had a pair of her own sunglasses just to look at him.

His toned arms were stacked loosely over a wide chest that pulled the tee at his shoulders. Pretty as he was, the man didn’t talk to a soul; if he knew any of the people around him, he didn’t let on. Instead, those big, inquisitive eyes busied themselves scanning the party like a prairie dog.

He looked at her suddenly then, and the weight of his attention made Gwen’s ankle give out in her stupid high heels. She wobbled back with a yelp, but, luckily, the girl behind her caught her elbow and helped her regain her balance.

“You all right?” the girl asked.

“Yeah, yeah,” Gwen mumbled along with an apology and her thanks.

“Walk much?” said some generic bro a few people back in line, and it felt like everyone at the party was looking at her.

Humiliated, Gwen risked a glance over at the shot glass, but he seemed to be the only one who had turned back, though she couldn’t help but think that a proud smile tugged at his lips.

She would give just about anything for her pajamas and a romantic comedy right about now. She contemplated slipping out of line and heading back to her room, but she’d have to clear it with Marie first because she didn’t want to just leave her friend in such a big crowd of strangers, so instead, she stayed the course with plans of making a hasty retreat right after.

As the EDM pulsed across the party deck and the palm trees shimmied overhead in the steady sea breeze, the lines dwindled quicker than she ever expected.

And of course, it was becoming abundantly clear that, short of someone passing out or running off at the last possible second, Gwen was going to be lapping tequila from the navel of the pretty boy with the prettier smile.

When there was just one couple left ahead of them, she thought about offering her spot to the nice girl behind her as a thank you. The ponytailed babe behind the pretty boy sported a crop top and a great set of abs, so technically, it would still be fun for Gwen without the creeping dread, but before she could ask the girl behind her to switch places, she heard the call from the bottle girl.

“Next!”

With a lump in her throat, Gwen approached the table alongside the man in the black shirt. He nodded to the girl behind the table and then to Gwen.

“Hey.”

“H-hey,” she said.

The bottle girl continued all business as she had that night, though she did offer the man a smile she did not offer Gwen.

While she paid for her shot, he climbed onto the bar counter easily and shimmied himself into the most comfortable position the hardwood would allow.

Everyone waited for the hem of his shirt to reveal his stomach, but it didn’t. Instead, he looked to Gwen.

“You want it, you have to do it,” he said with a toothy grin as his eyes flicked to his clothed torso.

Gwen glared at his stomach and then at his face. “Excuse me?”

He laughed and waved in surrender. “I’m kidding, just kidding!”

But it was now patently clear he knew he’d been the reason she’d stumbled, and she wasn’t going to let him halt her momentum.

You are here for fun.

Finally, the attendant grew too annoyed to keep her mouth shut and griped, “If you’re not going to take the shot, I have to—”

“Okay, okay, I’m doing it,” Gwen insisted, though she’d meant it more for her shot glass than her bartender.

With a glower at the long man stretched out before her, she pushed his shoulder back so he flattened out on the table, the grin still playing at his luscious lips finally disappearing with her determination. Her fingers curled around the hem of the t-shirt resting far too near the apex of his thighs, and, slowly, she pushed it up his abdomen. She could have just yanked it up, but she wanted to punish him for his teasing as much as she wanted to savor the reveal, so she let her palm drag across the yielding skin of his stomach.

A swath of flawless flesh appeared beneath her, tensing instinctively along the path her hand had set. Like the rest of his features, it was soft and inviting. He didn’t have washboard abs like many of the men who’d showcased on the table already; instead, she found a narrow waist flaring broader and broader the higher she pushed the shirt up his chest. His freshly tanned skin featured the gentlest dips and smoothest waves of skin she’d ever seen. His navel was delicate, cute even, though she’d never considered a bellybutton particularly cute before. All of it made Gwen’s throat feel far too dry.

The bottle girl didn’t even try to hide the way she chewed her own lip, but she poured a shot of crystalline liquid into the appetizing little divot anyway. Gwen’s shot glass laughed, borderline giggled, at the sensation, sending a slender river of booze cascading over his naked waistline.

“Cold,” he confessed.

“You’re up,” the bottle girl said to Gwen with a bitterness she also didn’t try to hide.

Gwen nodded and stole a quick glance at the man’s face. He’d propped his head on his hands now so he could watch the show and grinned so hard she expected his laugh to follow any second.

Her brow wrinkled. If he was going to play games with her, then she could damn well return the favor. Gwen splayed her hand at the hem of his jeans, her fingers spread between the contrast of silken flesh and harsh denim. She bent over and pressed her bottom lip into the pouch of skin at the edge of his navel and closed her top lip around it to form a seal. She sucked quickly, a little of his skin suctioning between her lips.

The man gasped, and his hand clasped reflexively to the back of her head as she drained the last of the liquor from his navel. The urge to kiss his tummy overwhelmed, but Gwen fought it off, though she couldn’t quite stand up with his hand still in her hair. Instead, she rolled her head to the side and caught his eye. The motion surprised him, and he yanked his hand back.

Gwen stood up and licked every honeyed droplet of booze from her lips. He tried to sit up, too, but distracted by the trail of her tongue, his hand slipped in an errant splash, and he fell back onto his elbows. It was her turn to savor a proud smile.

“One more?” asked Gwen hopefully.

He didn’t hesitate. “Okay, sure.”

“Another shot please,” she said to the bottle girl, thrusting out her card.

“Sure,” said the other woman with a well-practiced smile. “See you shortly.”

“What?”

“You can buy another shot, but you’ve got to hop back in line.”

“But we’re already here?” Gwen noted with a poignant look at the man’s exposed stomach.

“Not how it works, sweetie. See you in a bit. Next!”

With a resigned sigh, Gwen rejoined the crowd. There was only a slim hope of being paired up with the same guy again, but not knowing what else to do, she followed the snaking line to the end only to notice the man was nowhere to be found.

Gwen looked for Marie, but the crowd had swelled as the night had worn on, and she couldn't find her friend anywhere. No doubt, the girl was twirling in some random hot guy’s arms somewhere in the thicket of dancers at the other end of the concourse, but Gwen didn’t really feel like braving all those sweaty bodies.

You are here for fun.

It had been fun, she realized, but it was so short-lived that now that it was over, she also realized how little fun the rest of the night had been in comparison. Rather than spoil Marie’s good time, too, Gwen made her way to a poolside recliner and sat down to people-watch.

There were hundreds of beautiful people here, not that that was a surprise; short of some place like Los Angeles, she wasn’t sure where there was a more concentrated percentage of objective hotness. Everyone rocked a beach-ready body, many still clad in their actual swimsuits, and thanks to the tropical air, they all smelled of a perfume of sunscreen, booze, and sweat. Laughter and cheers crescendoed around her as drinks were downed and the music pumped up. Tiny asses nestled in gyrating groins as limbs snaked up and down strangers’ bodies.

But as much as there was to see, the truth was the one person Gwen wanted to watch was gone.

Another ten minutes or so had passed with her eyes firmly fixed on the body shot lines, but her shot glass never reappeared, and she found herself so painfully far from the “fun” she was supposed to be having that when a new guy sat down beside her and started to chat, she decided to invent a new backstory of her own considering Marie had banned her from inventing them for bachelors she’d met.

“I only found out mid-way through the pregnancy that my cousin was having my fiancé’s baby. So I said ‘screw them all,’ packed my shit, and drove straight down here to start having some of my own fun for once,” proclaimed Gwen with a whip and toss of her hair over her shoulder.

“Heavy,” said the bearded man with a smug, approving nod next to her, and she snickered to herself at the anticipatory predatory flash in his eyes.

But her fun at the stranger’s expense was also short-lived when she heard over her shoulder, “That’s some story.”

Gwen swiveled on her chaise to find the lithe stranger from the body shot line holding a mostly empty bottle of tequila with a spout already stuffed in its neck.

“Oh, hey,” she fumbled. “You’re still here.”

“I am.”

An awkward silenced stretched between them as she scrambled to figure out which version of herself she was supposed to be presenting.

Miraculously, the bearded man saved her at the last second. “Is this your friend?”

“Best friend actually,” said her former shot glass, “here to make sure she has all the fun she wants.”

Knowing his window had closed, the bearded man nodded and faded back into the crowd without so much as a wave goodbye, not that Gwen had room to spare another second for him now that pretty boy had returned.

“Was any of that story true?” her handsome stranger asked.

Gwen shrugged. “The having fun part is true enough. The rest might have been part of said fun.”

He smiled gently, his cheeks two kissable meringues as he added, “Sorry about before.”

“For what?”

His eyes cast down her leggings to her feet. “Is your ankle okay?”

“Oh.” Gwen wrinkled her nose and protested weakly, “Hey, that wasn’t you, you know.”

“No, of course not.”

“It was these stupid heels. I’m more of a sandals girl. I’m just not used to wearing them.”

He nodded though he was clearly suppressing a laugh. “I see. So I’m off the hook?”

Gwen cocked her head in mock consideration as she eyed the bottle in his silver-clad hand. “That depends. How are you going to make up for exposing a very tragic girl after she thought she’d gotten away with it?”

One of those rings clanked emphatically against the glass, ringing even above the club music. “What about offering a second shot like you wanted?”

He waggled the bottle for effect, the liquid inside splintering the pulsing lights.

Gwen squinted at him. “How did you…?”

He brought his finger to his lips and bent down to her ear. Thanks to the blaring music, even this close, he nearly had to shout, “I stole it.”

“What a rebel.”

“Yeah, well, I’m really motivated.”

“Uh, okay, sure. I guess that’s fair.”

“Good, because I’m all about fair. Come on. I’ll find us somewhere where you can take it.”

The innuendo simmered between them until Gwen’s thirst had expanded beyond the restraints of mere drink.

“There’s a lounger right here?” she suggested as she looked at the chaise, but he shook his head.

“That would draw to much attention. I’m a rebel and thief now, remember?”

“Oh, yeah, of course. How could I forget?”

“Maybe we can head out to the beach, or,” the stranger hedged slowly, “I have a room upstairs if you want?”

His tone was matter-of-fact, considerate even, yet sin infused his bottomless brown eyes. It was a proposition Gwen had never considered. She was a fall-in-love not a fall-in-bed kind of girl.

But.

She was not going to fall in love on this trip, and she had never seen a man who looked like this one.

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she pretended to mull it over and shrugged a shoulder to sell the act, though there had only ever been one possible outcome the moment her eyes had met his.

“Maybe it’s better if we go upstairs… I mean, we don’t want them to lock you up and throw away the key.”

“I appreciate that,” he said with a smile that left little doubt how well he understood everything.

“Let me just make sure my friend is okay with it.”

He nodded, unfazed. “I’ll do the same.”

Both of them pulled out their phones, and Gwen sent a quick message to Marie.

When Gwen put away her phone, she found the man waiting with an expectant, squishy grin on his face.

“Is your friend all good?” he asked.

“All good. What about yours?”

He motioned through the crowd back toward the hotel, and as they walked, he said, “They’re all good. Turns out they all knew already. The friend who helped me distract the bartender told the rest of them anyway, which I should have figured, I guess.”

Gwen perked an eyebrow. “They knew when I didn’t, huh? You’re not just a rebel, but a cocky rebel.”

Her companion laughed and rubbed the back of his head in his chagrin. “Maybe I’m just more of a hopeful rebel. Or a lucky one seeing as I almost lost my chance.”

She laughed now, too. “Who? That guy? No way. I think I was just amusing myself since I was bored.”

“Bored? Here, I half-expected I’d find you back in the body shot line.”

“Well, I whole-hoped I’d find you back in it, too, but since you weren’t there, that poor guy had to hear a story I’m pretty sure I stole from a soap opera.”

Her companion smirked. “I guess that makes you a rebel and a thief, too.”

“I guess so.”

They chatted easily across the busy pool deck and all through the lobby, but the second the elevator doors closed them in alone together, the conversation clotted up. It was a long and mortifyingly unbroken trip to the twenty-second floor, and the only sounds were the shush-shush of the elevator and the dull thunk of the bottle as he tapped it against his thigh.

Suddenly, he cleared his throat. “Uh, kind of embarrassed to admit this, but it occurs to me I don’t know your name. I’m—”

“You know, let’s keep it that way for now, okay?” Gwen interrupted with a tight smile.

“Huh? Oh, sure, sure…” he agreed though he couldn’t have looked more floored.

“It's nothing personal. Actually, that’s sort of the point. I have a tendency to get carried away. It’s a long, boring story, ha. And a lot less colorful than my made-up ones.”

“I'm a good listener.”

“Yeah,” she said solemnly, “I can tell that about you. Which is definitely why I need to keep things firmly in the here and now.”

“Live in the moment, I can get behind that.”

“Cool.” Gwen turned hesitantly to him just as the doors to the elevator split wide. “So, is that okay with you? Because if it’s not, we’ll just toast to this super awkward elevator ride.”

The man motioned for her to go ahead of him into the hallway before he added, “I’m not the kind of guy to turn back.”

I can tell that, too… she thought resignedly.

He led Gwen down the chic hallway to his room, where she stopped short and pulled out her phone.

“What’s up?” he asked.

“Just letting my friend know where I am.”

“That's smart,” he said with a nod. “I’m on notice now, huh?”

“You got that right, buddy.”

They shared a laugh, and again, Gwen was struck by how brightly the man’s face glowed and how engaging his laugh was. Another thought popped into her head just then.

“Speaking of...” she started as she raised her camera. “Smile?”

Without a trace of surprise or curiosity, he did, and it was so blinding, it threw off the exposure in her phone, which gave Gwen the perfect excuse to snap a few more.

“How did my mugshot come out?” he asked and craned his neck to steal a peek.

“You’re a matter of public record now, sir. But I imagine it will be the first mugshot to grace the cover of Vogue.”

“Nice.”

She stashed her phone without hitting send, with a small grin for her white lie. For some reason, Gwen couldn't bring herself to share him. But he didn't need to know that.

Meanwhile, the man fished his key card out of his too-tight jean pocket and ushered her inside. He took off his shoes as soon as he walked in, much to her relief, since it meant she could finally get out of her damn heels. When she looked back up, she was at a loss.

“Shit…”

His head whipped toward her, eyebrows pinched with concern. “Everything okay?”

“I mean… Your room is so much nicer than mine.”

He clutched his heart in mock relief before he said, “What’s your room like?”

“Not like this. Small and bayside. You have a balcony!”

“Oh, uh, yeah. It’s my friend’s bachelor party this weekend, so we all kind of went all out, I guess. You want to go out?”

“Hell yeah, I do!” Gwen squealed. She made a bee line past the enormous bed and whisked open the door.

The wind was stiffer twenty-two floors up, and it bombarded her skin, fresh and salty and a little sticky but uplifting. She breathed in deeply, a smile splitting her face. The half-moon shimmied across the Atlantic swells in time with the electronic beats filtering up from the party at the pool below. She couldn’t help herself—she waved at the partygoers even though they were far too small to see much this high up.

“Aw,” her companion said sweetly. “Waving to your friend?”

“Yeah,” replied Gwen with a blush. “Not that she’ll see me.”

He joined her in leaning on the railing and waving at his friends, too. When he looked back up, his smile shifted slightly, less silly and a lot sultrier. She cleared her throat lightly and headed back inside.

With her back to the huge bay windows, Gwen could finally take in the rest of the room. It was modern and cloaked in the same jeweled beach tones of her own, but it was much more spacious, with a desk and a sofa plus a pair of chairs, while, to the left behind a half-wall, the enormous bed stretched out beneath a large padded headboard.

With a tiny yelp, her companion scrambled over in a hurry to straighten the still-crumpled covers and even out the pillows.

“Sorry,” he mumbled as he worked, “I wasn’t expecting company.”

“It’s fine. It’s not like I make my bed on vacation. Or ever really.”

Gwen meant it, but that didn’t mean she could shake the undeniably sexy implication of those tossed sheet or the image of this beautiful man stretched out naked and languid in them.

Still, he dressed the bed as quickly as he could and turned around with a flushed face. Again, he mumbled, “Sorry.”

“No worries. Hey, do you care if I use your bathroom?”

“Sure, it’s right around there,” he replied, gesturing toward the other side of the bed.

It was really just an excuse to see how much fancier it was than her own, and it did not disappoint. Instead of just a shower stall, there was a huge walk-in surrounded by glass, and instantly, images of fogged windows with desperate hand smears flitted across her mind. Just around the corner was a deep jacuzzi tub that conjured just as many filthy thoughts.

This was progress, Gwen thought. Her libido was on overdrive, which meant she could safely put her heart in the backseat. She looked at herself in the mirror. Her waves had regrettably frizzed, and she’d sweated out a fair bit of makeup, but it did make her skin glow, even under the harsh LED lighting. After a quick freshen-up and a primp to make her chest is best perky self, she returned to find the man waiting in front of the main window, adjusting the tuck of his tee in his tiny waistline.

There was just something about him—his every gesture was sweet and sincere, completely without artifice. And just like that, her heart was threatening a comeback.

You are here for fun.

Gwen shuffled in with a short wave. “I think your bathroom might be as big as my hotel room.”

He grinned. “I think it’s bigger than my apartment honestly.”

“You mean you don’t live like a high roller every day?”

“Actually, I moonlight as a broke New Yorker.”

Oh shit, he’s not far from you, Gwennie…

“You’re ruining my fantasy of the millionaire playboy in town for a big business deal.”

“My apologies,” he joked with a bow.

“So, when’s the wedding?”

He cocked his head, and it was painfully cute. “The what?”

“Your friend’s wedding.”

“Oh, next month.”

“And the groom’s not going to be mad that you’ve abandoned him?”

The man smirked. “On the contrary. Pretty sure he’s looking for any excuse to get rid of me.”

“You really are public enemy number one, huh?”

“Oh, yeah, undisputed.”

As they came down from their laughter, Gwen realized how close they were standing. This close, those lips loomed like a full moon, and she basked in their plumpness. The heat between them brought the intoxicating tendrils of his cologne forward, a fresh brightness that matched his smile, though it occurred to her he may have stolen a moment to reapply it while she’d been in the bathroom. The thought made her swallow hard.

“You’re easy to talk to,” he confessed abruptly, and Gwen tensed all over.

You are here for fun.

“Even though we haven’t really talked about anything?” she retorted.

He shrugged one thick shoulder. “Maybe that’s why. I’m kind of a wallflower at parties. I mean, that whole body shot thing was just a dare from my friends anyway.”

“Mine was like that, too!” she blurted and immediately regretted it, the way he seemed to soften all over. It wasn’t just how gentle his already-round features looked, but he relaxed against the desk into a cool lean as his usually petal-shaped eyes widened with interest.

No backstories, Gwennie, she scolded herself. Put that distance between your heart and your lady parts!

“So that’s how it happens, huh?” she continued in a sultrier voice as her finger stroked the neck of the bottle. “You do one dare, and now, you’re a full-blown criminal mastermind?”

His voice had dropped, too, along with his eyelids. “Looks that way.”

“Are you a liar, too?”

“No! What?”

She chuckled and waved the bottle between them. “What about my second shot?”

“Oh, you were serious?”

Gwen gaped at him. “Aren’t you the one who stole the tequila?”

“That was just so I had an excuse to talk to you again.”

Oh no… He was painfully, unforgivably, patently cute. Gwen could practically hear Marie threatening to leave her in Florida.

“Ah,” she said to deflect, “so you did lure me here with empty promises.”

“No! I—"

“I’m teasing,” she assured, and as she studied his saucer eyes, she risked resting a hand on his bicep, which she had to stop herself from just straight up groping when she felt the twitching muscle beneath.

“Sorry,” he said. “I just… I never do stuff like this.”

“Like what? We haven’t done anything.” He looked helplessly at her, and Gwen chuckled again. “Sorry, still teasing. When I'm awkward, I make awkward jokes. I've never done anything like this either.”

“Like what?” he echoed, and they shared a tight smile, but it vanished when he looked at her much softer this time. “Seriously, I don't expect anything.”

You can't catch feelings sucking tequila out of a stranger's bellybutton…

“I know, but I do.” Gwen swished the bottle back and forth, and he offered what she could only type as a giggle.

“You��re right, you’re right. So, um, how do you want to…?”

He spun in a circle until he nearly made himself dizzy, and she grabbed his shoulders to steady him.

“Maybe, um, you should just lay on the bed?” she suggested.

“Oh. Yeah, that makes sense. So, I’ll just…”

“Get on the bed?”

“Get on the bed, yeah,” he repeated. The man spared a quick moment to smooth his shirt over his chest and run a hand back through his thick black hair, which had the most fatal way of feathering back across his forehead in a very regrettable heart shape.

Since the moment she’d met him, the man had possessed a magnetism that had set him apart from all the other hot people at the party, but here in his room, he was borderline pathetic, tromping around like a lost giraffe between the living room and the bed as he emptied his pockets between the desk and the bedside table. When, at last, he was ready, he walked to the foot of the bed and plopped down. He looked back at Gwen with a sheepish grin and comically high eyebrows.

“Ready?” she asked as she raised the bottle.

“If you are.”

She nodded and followed into the bedroom, and the air shifted. In here, it was hotter and even more humid than down at the beach but without the benefit of a breeze.

He sat down at the edge of the bed, and Gwen crawled on the bed beside him. She strategized on how to best take her shot, and while she positioned herself, her knees pressed into the mattress as she sat up, he untucked his shirt and raised it himself.

At the party, body shots had been a game. Here, it was foreplay. Judging from the blackness in his eyes, he knew it, too. He laid back and propped up just a bit on his elbows, which cupped his stomach just the right amount into the sweetest little bowl.

“It’s different,” he murmured.

“Yeah, it is,” she whispered, too, because somehow every thing, every word, felt very loud. “I can take my time now.”

He didn’t say anything. He just waited.

Gwen lifted the bottle, and, as carefully as she could, she tipped it until a golden thread puddled at his belly. He didn’t flinch this time. Instead, he sucked in a breath which deepened the cup at his navel, and she was only too happy to fill it to its tasty brim.

“Perfect,” she said as she set the bottle on the floor. “Don’t move.”

She braced her hands on his thigh and his ribcage and bent forward. Her lips glossed the velvety skin there before she opened her mouth and sucked up the sweet, smooth liquor all too quickly. This time, though, she spared a moment to dip her tongue into the divot, and this made the man beneath her hiss.

She licked her lips and ventured a look up his heaving torso to find him totally expressionless save for his overblown pupils.

“Satisfied?” he asked in a voice swollen with the same darkness.

Gwen shook her head lightly. “Still thirsty.”

But she did not reach for the bottle. Instead, she put her lips to his stomach and sampled a new patch of skin. It yielded beneath her, and so did he. He let out a low groan that tightened the muscles under her lips.

Another kiss led to another and then one more as she nipped and nibbled at the tender flesh. There was something about the man that was simply and undeniably edible, and no matter how much she tasted, she could not get enough. Gwen helped herself all the way up to the delicious flare of his rib cage, and at the swell there, she risked a swirl of her tongue. His head snapped up as he panted out a heavy pair of breaths.

“You're driving me crazy,” he said with a slanted smile.

“I could say the same,” she agreed, and when she brought attention back to his stomach, she noticed a lonely freckle at his hip. Her lips raced to devour it, this time adding a graze of her teeth. He jolted.

“That tickles!” he exclaimed though it was followed by another groan.

Gwen responded with another twirl of her tongue to savor the salt on his skin, and the groan became an outright moan. Emboldened by each grateful sound, her hand slid slowly up his thigh, and soon, it bumped a rigid hill smothered by tight denim.

At the first graze, he jolted again but followed it with a simmering hiss as his hips bucked reflexively into her hand. His eagerness was going to Gwen’s head. She wanted more of his pretty moans. She wanted more of his pretty body.

Her hand moved more brazenly to stroke the outline of the intensifying hardness, but this time, she was the one moaning at the way his bulge filled her palm. Her forehead pressed into that gentle stomach as she rested her lips lazily at his hip bone. Meanwhile, her fingertips traveled up the zipper to the waist of his jeans and swept back and forth before her thumb centered over the button there.

“What are you doing?” he whispered.

Gwen kissed his hip again before she answered, “You told me if I wanted it, I had to do it.”

“Ah, I said that, didn't I?”

“You did. And I want it.”

He sat up higher now, expectation on his face. He drew his lush bottom lip between his teeth, and that alone set Gwen’s blood aflame.

Without another thought, she placed a garland of kisses along the waist of his jeans, and when she undid the button there, her lips raced to taste the secret skin she’d exposed. Dimly, she realized she was getting too carried away on a chance encounter, but she couldn't stop.

She couldn’t stop.

The further her mouth charted down the open zipper track, the more powerful her desire grew. She smelled his cologne here, too, bright like the tropical air but deepening down to dark woods on a second, greedier inhale. And beneath all that was the smell of him.

Too hungry now, Gwen hooked her hands in his jeans and tugged down. He lifted his hips with zero hesitation, and soon enough, she had full access to all that she desired. She swept her hand over the black fabric still sheltering him and felt him lurch. She hummed.

Slowly, she peeled down the hem of his boxer briefs, and his cock sprung up gratefully. Above her, her pretty boy exhaled hard, which only grew raspier as her skin touched his rawness at last.

Gwen’s romantic heart had drawn her to a number of beds over the years, and she’d enjoyed some decent sex in that time, but even without entering her, she knew this man was special. All his skin had been babied, but here, he was silkiest, like satin over marble. One touch was enough to fuel an addiction that sent a blaring alarm of dread to the back of her mind that she might never touch another cock that felt like it was made just to please her.

She danced her fingertips down his wickedly hard length until she got to his base, where she squeezed appreciatively. He hissed and hummed and arched his back before he mumbled something low and deep that she wished she could make out because just the echo of its echo sounded devastating.

Gwen didn’t intend to take things so leisurely—she knew she shouldn’t be—but it seemed foolish to fast forward through what had to be the sexiest man she’d ever met. Her friend’s rules be damned, she was going to enjoy every second for as long as she could make it last.

He was watching her, open-mouthed, as she held him. Their eyes met. Her breath caught.

Gwen wet her lips and pressed them to his hot, red tip and let her tongue curl into the smooth channel underneath. Her beautiful stranger let out the raspiest groan as his face disappeared from her view to sag under the weight of pleasure.

Spurred on, she invited him into her mouth now, shallow at first, but a little greedier with each pass until she could take what she could of him to the back of her throat. When she was comfortable, she found the perfect rhythm to have him singing for her with every eager suck.

And he was so noisy. It wasn’t filthy words or heaps of degradation like she’d heard plenty of times before. Between his moans and the grunts and the achy sighs, Gwen realized she’d never been with a man who had appreciated her more. It was filling her up with not just pride but confidence, and it made her want to ruin him even further.

His hand came to rest on the back of her head, but she quickly plucked it aside and pressed it into the mattress. For the briefest of moments, she released him to mumble, “Stay still.”

His shaky “okay” made her chest feel swimmy, and, instead, he balled two handfuls of sheets. But the man couldn’t help himself. Though he was hanging onto the bed with white knuckles, his hips took to lifting from the mattress, and she had to force them back down, too. She knew with just a little more speed and the addition of a helpful hand, she would get him off in no time, but she was having so much fun.

It didn’t hurt that all his whining was getting her off, too, even without a single touch. Gwen couldn’t remember a time she’d been so wet or so turned on.

Again, the stranger moaned, but this time, he added with a thick rasp, “You’re incredible. You might be my dream girl.”

It was her turn to whimper, but the vibrations traveled not just through her body and straight to her throbbing clit, but they also traveled down his length in a circuit of pleasure. He sucked in a harsh breath through gritted teeth as his legs tensed and struggled in the confines of the jeans still cuffing his knees.

“Can I—” he said before another grunt cut him off. “Wait. Can I just—fuck—can we take these pants off? I want to feel more of you.”

Gwen startled. She sat up on the bed and watched, numb with anticipation, as the man practically had to peel off his skinny jeans. He worked as quickly as he could, but it afforded her a flash of an ass as cute and smooth as his stomach and legs as long and delicate as his fingers. When he sat back down at the edge of the bed, he pulled off his shirt, too.

When she came to his room, Gwen hadn’t really known what to expect. It was clear they would end up in bed, but, for some reason, she never expected them to be fully naked. Now that things had taken a much more intimate turn, the casual momentum she had built quickly siphoned away.

This time, he didn’t lay back.

Here, he sat—breathless, naked, gripping his glistening cock, and staring hopefully at her.

“I’d really like to see you, too,” he asked.

As soon as he voiced his throaty wish, a fresh torrent of lust leaked between her pressed thighs. If she had worn the minidress Marie had pitched, there would have been no hiding it.

Gwen wanted to be coy or funny or anything other than tragically eager for this man, but how could she say no to such hopeful eyes and freckled lips?

With a red face and sweaty hands, she slipped out of her shirt, leaving her in her bra and leggings. She’d been wearing the same damn burgundy lace piece for two years, but now her hands were shaking so badly that she couldn’t undo the last clasp she’d put on hundreds of times.

He smiled knowingly and leaned in to wrap his arms around her. It only took him a moment to rescue her, but in his arms, time had stopped. Skin to skin changed everything. Gwen was spiraling, and the only way to make it stop was to steer into her tailspin.

Their lips met not in a clatter, but gently and with curiosity. Even at first brush, the way his puffy top lip notched into the crease of her lips felt like habit, like it had been there many times before and should return countless more times.

His hands cupped her cheeks briefly before they slid back in tandem to tangle in her disheveled waves. Only then, as he held her fiercely, did his tongue slip into her mouth to their shared whimper. One of his hands glided from her hair, down the back of her neck and over her shoulder, fingertips dancing like raindrops with the same biting chill thanks to the metal at his knuckles. He traced the side of her breast and then its underside all while his lips meshed with hers and his tongue curled deliciously against the roof of her mouth.

Trapped in the riptide of the moment, Gwen reached for him, too. His skin was just as soft at his neck and shoulders as it was at his waist, and she couldn’t stop stroking every inch she could access. He was only too happy to encourage her touches, even going so far to redirect her hand from his ribs to his hair like he wanted her to pet him. She let out a needy sigh that his mouth immediately gobbled up.

It wasn’t a surprise that the man was an attentive kisser. What surprised Gwen was how much she felt in the kiss. He was pouring something into her even as he seemed to drink from her, and she didn’t want it to stop.

She didn’t want it to ever stop.

You are here for fun.

Marie’s voice in the back of Gwen’s head was the ice water the blonde needed to disentangle from her beautiful stranger. Because that was all he was.

A beautiful stranger.

Gwen pulled back. He blinked slowly at her, but she kissed his flushed lips briefly to soften the transition. The hand of hers he’d placed in his hair drifted down his arm to his thigh, and whatever emotion had knitted his brows a moment ago corrupted. With a gnaw of her bottom lip, she slipped off the bed to the floor. His eyes followed.

He didn’t ask Gwen to kneel between his legs, but he didn’t have to. She was getting good at telling exactly what he’d like best—far too good at it.

His thighs were much creamier than the Florida caramel that warmed the rest of him, and as she shuffled into position between them, her hands worked higher and higher up their breadth. His knees tightened at her shoulders. Now that she was shirtless, she had no defense against the zaps of electricity that came with each stolen moment of raw contact.

His cock strained between his hips, the head shiny with lust and the veins pulsing along its length. Gwen gripped his hilt and stroked a few times, and he sighed in relief.

Now that he was sitting up, their dynamic swapped. He loomed over her. Shadows darkened what had always been a bright face. His enormous hands braced at the edge of the bed, firing prominent veins along his forearms. His shoulders corded with heavy muscle previously concealed by his round edges. The planes of his stomach creased as he bent over her. He wasn’t about to neglect even a second of his front row seat.

Gwen brought her lips back to his member and picked right back up where she’d left off, only this time she was noisier. Wet slurps and hungry hums echoed up from between his legs, and with each one, he got a little louder, too.

This time when his massive hand curled around the back of her head, Gwen reveled in it. His nails scratched deliciously against her scalp as he threaded her hair through those elegant fingers and tugged mindlessly. She was grateful she’d forgotten to strip off her leggings or she would have been dripping shamelessly on the carpet.

At last, she picked up speed, so she closed her eyes and concentrated on her seal around his demanding thickness. Her lips chased her fist up and down his shaft so he was never without a moment of her full attention.

The messier she savored him, the more urgent his whines got and the more he bucked underneath her. The hand in her hair was now a fist full of a makeshift ponytail. Mouth full, she raised her eyes to his face. A swirl of her tongue around his tip was all it took to rip a cry from his hunkered chest.

“Wait, wait, wait!” he demanded and pushed her shoulders back. “Wow, okay, you have to stop. I’m going to cum.”

“That’s the idea,” Gwen replied as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

But the man shook his head. “I want to make this last, and I definitely don’t want to disappoint you.”

“You’re not.”

“Good… Good.”

A pregnant silence fell between them. Both of them considered where to direct the needle of their night next, but he was faster.

“You know, the view from up here really is something,” he said.

“Ha ha,” Gwen said drily, but the earnest look on his face knocked her sarcasm down a few pegs.

“Come up and see.”

He offered both his hands, and once she took them, he helped her up to the edge of the bed. When she was seated beside him again, he kissed her sweetly.

When he stopped, his forehead rocked against hers, and her eyes fluttered open.

“I really want to taste you,” he confessed in a whisper.

Gwen swallowed hard.

“You do?”

“Desperately.”

“It’s just—” she fumbled, painfully aware of the panic in her voice.

“You don’t want me to?”

She didn’t know how to explain herself without pitiful embarrassment. Most of the men Gwen had dated were keen for a blowjob but always had a dozen reasons to move things along right after. Over time, it had given her a heavy insecurity, which Marie had always assured her was utter bullshit, yet still it persisted. Gwen didn’t think she could recover from someone this desirable rejecting her, even if he was a total stranger.

“No, I mean, yeah, if you really want,” she blundered, “but… it’s just—”

She bit her lip, and he cocked his head patiently. His hand squeezed her knee, and the words came tumbling out of her mouth.

“I’m kind of a mess down there.”

“Yeah?” he said hopefully—to her complete and utter shock. “Come on, you can’t tease me like that. Now, I have to taste you.”

“What if— It might take me awhile,” she admitted from behind her hands.

Gently, he lowered them from her face to her lap, where he held them like a friend, though his hooded eyes and honeyed voice told a very different story.

“I hope it does.”

Gwen gasped and closed her eyes to steady herself. “What about you?”

He laughed. “This is about me.”

The best she could manage was a slow nod, but that was all the stranger needed.

He dropped to his knees on the floor and spread her legs enough to rub his huge palms up her thighs and back down again. The more he soothed her, the more her legs parted on their own so he could sit taller—and closer—between them. On the next sweep up, his hands lingered at the crest of her thighs so his thumbs could stroke over her swollen sex still imprisoned in her leggings.

“Feel good?” he asked.

“So good,” she replied as she collapsed onto the mattress and threw an arm over her eyes.

“Good. You can watch if you want, you know.”

“Yeah, I’m not sure I’d recover from something like that. You’re, like, the hottest guy I’ve ever seen as it is. That might actually ruin me for life.”

He chuckled, but it was tainted with pride. “Maybe that’s the idea.”

Gwen shot up to her elbows to argue, but that was the exact moment the man wriggled his slender fingers under her waistband and then her underwear to peel them both off. Cold air attacked her core, and though it was a relief to finally be free of her sticky prison, she was unprepared for the pad of his finger to graze over the seam of her lips. She shivered and whined.

He hummed. “You’re really feeding my ego here, sweetheart.”

His thumbs resumed the same stroke as before, but since it was over her bare lips this time, the intensity amplified exponentially. Each wave parted her folds a bit, and there was no escaping the knowledge that her arousal leaked heavily every time.

“What a pretty sight,” he murmured.

Foolishly, Gwen stole a look at the man, and the image of his keen eyes fixed on her wet cunt branded her brain just as she’d feared. She whimpered, zipping her bottom lip between her teeth to near shreds as he played with her.

She felt the first brush of his lips against her not in the careless rush of an obligation but as a leisurely kiss of a seasoned lover. There, his mouth lingered only to part for his purposeful tongue. He licked up along her seam once—twice—and on the third pass, his fingers parted her core wide. The exposure had her keening mindlessly, but when his tongue swiped through the secret skin, she cried at the top of her lungs. Her arm pressed over her eyes hard enough to create starbursts behind her lids while her other arm pressed over her mouth.

For just a moment, he pulled back. Another burst of cool air blasted her core as he hummed again, this time dreamily. “Perfect.”

He kissed the meat of her thigh once, and then drove on heedlessly. He teased her entrance for a moment before he swirled that wicked tongue around her clit with a mind-numbing rhythm. Through all of it, Gwen sank deeper into pleasure. As vocal as he had been, she managed to outdo him even with her makeshift gag. It was completely mortifying but also completely out of her control.

He didn’t try to stop her writhing or her moaning. Instead, he used them both to his advantage. Whenever she squirmed, he chased, and it made the promise of release a near certainty.

It was incredible. It was terrifying.

It shouldn’t be this easy. It had never been this easy before.

Gwen felt the blossom of his lips nibbling at her aching clit, and before she could brace herself, he’d taken her in his mouth. It wasn’t just his delicious suction that made her lungs seize but the way his tongue undulated across her eager bud.

And then he pressed a fingertip to her entrance.

Gwen’s hands flew to the sheets and dug into the mattress. Her head snapped up as she screamed, “Oh my god!”

Her eyes flew open. He was waiting.

Damn heart-shaped hair and damn heavy eyes stole what was left of her sanity right before he eased his finger inside her.

At least the unprecedented bliss gave Gwen the small mercy of forcing her flat to the bed. Her back arched, her nipples tightened, and her voice gave out. The only thing she could do was pant like some unbound creature.

His fingers were so long—world-record long, she thought drunkenly—and they explored parts of her she’d never even known were there. He didn’t race through her either, but primed her the same as she’d primed him, the devil. In only a matter of a few plunges, he knew her in ways she’d never even known herself.

In and out, in and out, he pumped that perilously long finger, each stroke sealed with a kiss of metal and knuckle. Her body hungered louder and messier, worse even than she’d promised him. Her shameless pussy dribbled like it had never been touched before, and Gwen was very, very glad she could hide in the crook of her arm.

And then he added a second finger.

The stretch was vision-whitening, the depth dizzying, but still his tongue insisted on speeding her to her ledge. Even with her face covered, she turned away because looking at him was like risking looking into the sun.

“I’m going to— I’m going to—” she stammered.

His mouth lifted then, but before Gwen could protest, he brought his other fingers to her clit. There, he kept a thorough pace just shy of what she needed. No doubt, he knew it just as she had known it with him, but with the tables turned, it felt unexpectedly cruel.

As if to contradict that, he tenderly kissed her thigh, and basic instinct drove her to look at him.

He smiled at her, and, with grit in his voice, he asked, “You going to cum for me, beautiful?”

“Yes!” cried Gwen, shuddering on his fingers. “Yes, yes, yes!”

His fingers moved faster now, across her throbbing hill as well as inside her. Pressure like she’d never felt built between her hips. It was hard to breathe. It was hard to think.

And it all happened faster than she could ever have imagined.

She unwound.

Eyes winched shut, Gwen tore at the sheets as she arched, every muscle clamped in ecstasy, before everything released and she slumped glassy-eyed onto the mattress. Somewhere below her, she heard a little refrain of happy hums and dimly felt the slick circle of a tongue collecting all that she had released.

She panted as she came down from her high, her arm flung over her face once again, feeling everything and nothing all at once. As she worked to center herself, Gwen shivered.

“That was the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen,” said the stranger who was once again idly massaging her thighs, this time with the most delicious domesticity. “You kind of glow when you cum.”

“Oh, shut up!” she wailed as she curled into a ball.

“What? Sorry, but I mean it. You do this cute little thing with your toes, like a kitten paw.”

Gwen heard him pantomiming something in the sheets, but she was too busy cringing into another universe, one where she’d kept at least a little of her dignity. She burrowed her head deeper into her arms to fight back how endearing she found him.

“Hey,” he said with the sincerity of concern. “You okay?”

“Mm-hm.”

“You liked it, right?”

Gwen peeked out through a small window behind her arms and found the man seated beside her on the bed. He looked down at her with eyes no longer blackened exclusively by desire but softened with care. She bit her lip and lifted her head as she held his gaze.

A beat passed before she said, “I loved it.”

“Well then, if that’s the case…” he said softly.

He leaned down and kissed her as lightly as a feather brushing skin. When he pulled back, there was the sweet temptation of darkness tinting his eyes once more.

“Will you let me inside you?”

“Why did you have to say it like that?” whimpered Gwen as she flopped back onto the mattress.

“I’m sorry,” he said though he sounded anything but. “Is this better? Please let me fuck you.”

She hissed. “You’re a terrible, terrible man.”

“Yeah, but I’ll make you feel so good, and I did ask nicely.”

“You did…” she murmured as she leaned up.

Their lips barely had time to fully enmesh because he had to help guide her up to the pillows since the only thing she could manage for the moment was a beached fish, half-hearted wiggle.

If Gwen thought she’d have a moment to recover between heated kisses, she was dead wrong. He caged her in beneath him, his heavy cock thudding unmistakably against her mound as his body flattened against hers. Her legs spread instinctively. Perhaps she should have taken the many, many hints that she would never have any control over herself with this man, but the way her body simply opened for him was more than a little pathetic.

At first, she threaded both hands in his hair, and he groaned into her mouth, but every little thing he did made her restless for more. She kept a hand fixed in his hair while the other now squeezed and groped the length of his back. Even if she couldn’t see it at the moment, his shape drove her wild. Not only did his definition heat her hotter than she’d ever felt in her life, but, fully pressed against hers, his skin was as decadent as cashmere.

His member, on the other hand, was as heavy and demanding as a stone on her mound. Every time he rutted against her, the base of his shaft brushing her engorged folds, she lost a little more of her sanity. She could probably cum again just like this, completely empty and yet feeling so fulfilled.

They passed some time in each other’s mouths without further expectation, but the weightier his cock pressed, the more impossible it was to ignore her basest needs. As he’d been able to do all night, he read her easily.

Unwilling to leave her lips, he groped blindly at the nightstand until he’d found what he was looking for and had to break their kiss. He held up a condom, his eyebrows up on his sweet, swollen-lipped face with the unasked question.

“Forget it,” Gwen said with a huff. “We’ve already crossed the line, I’m on the pill, and I really just want to feel you.”

“Oh, shit, are you—” he said, but she cupped his cheeks and kissed him hungrily.

She was being stupid, but the fuck if she cared.

Gwen whimpered with every sweep of his tongue, but those gave way to hitching cries as his long fingers trailed from her cheek down her arm to her hip where they danced in unreadable designs across her flesh. It was so playful, so charming that her heart fluttered to a totally different rhythm than it had all night. And that was dangerous. She needed to move this along at last.

You are here for fun.

Her hips jerked beneath him, tilting up in a kiss far filthier and needier than even their mouths’, and he pulled back with a ragged hiss.

“You are so wet again,” he growled with a glance down between their bodies.

“I can’t help what you’re doing to me.”

He cocked his head to the side, looking handsomer than any man really had a right. “Yeah?”

“Yes…” she sighed. “You make me so desperate.”

She drove her hips up again, her overheated sex grazing his base once more. His eyes flared, and Gwen felt the urge to cower.

Suddenly, he grabbed her arm and pushed it above her head, pinning it there by her wrist.

Dimly, the bass from the music far below drummed through the walls, but it was little more than a backing track to their tattered breath.

His stare was more commanding, more powerful even than the hot-forged iron branding her just shy of her center.

“I—”

Despite how badly Gwen yearned to hear the rest, he let whatever thought it was simmer on the heavily perfumed air enveloping them. His eyes searched her, from his ring-clad hand clasping her wrist to her sweat-studded breasts and back, at last, to her parted mouth.

He dove back down to her lips with another growl while his other hand fumbled between their bodies. After a moment, his hips lifted, and she felt the blunt head of his cock at her entrance at last.

She needed air to calm her ragged nerves, but thief that he was, he stole everything from her with another nibble of her lips. As his tongue entered her mouth again, he pushed his length inside her walls.

Gwen tore from his kiss to unleash the reediest moan of her life.

“Oh fuck,” he grunted. “Did you feel that?”

She had no idea what he meant, which made it all the more dangerous because she knew exactly what she felt.

Everything.

Why did he have to kiss her just then?

Why did he have to fill her like he was the only one who should ever do it again?

You’re idealizing, Gwennie, she scrambled to remind her sex-saturated mind, but she couldn’t convince herself to stop even if she knew she was. This was a man who was every bit as perfect as her stupid romantic self wanted to believe.

All Gwen could do was moan and grasp the back of his head.

He followed the weight of her hand and pressed his face into the juncture of her neck to kiss her reverentially.

“Go slow,” she implored.

He hummed in agreement and eased his hips back to draw his length to its limit before gliding back in as though he were savoring her. The moment he bottomed out, her mouth fell open in a silent wail. Gwen had never felt so full.

“That’s it, sweetheart,” he murmured. “Open up for me.”

His voice penetrated as deeply as his cock and rendered her putty in his hands.

Each sweep of his hips was catastrophic, but it was even worse since his body smothered hers. It was too much and not enough all at once, and Gwen was glad she didn’t have use of her other hand or she’d have wrapped him up in her arms already.

She thought after the first few strokes that he’d pick up speed, but he seemed content to while away their night just like this. The only change to his smooth rhythm was the rough emphasis he added to his every thrust that drove the air out of her lungs each time. It was like he was trying to drive deeper and deeper and deeper inside of her.

Each penetration afforded her the sexiest view of the horizon of his body, and now that she was this far gone, she lifted her head so she wouldn't miss another moment. He moved with the grace of water, and the current threatened to drown her just as easily. The swell of his ass rose and fell over the heave of his back.

His whines and grunts came back with a vengeance, with the added mercilessness of being uttered along her skin. It was a devastating reminder that as much pleasure as she drew from him, he was just as greedy for her body, too.

“Need to fuck you harder,” he warned in a voice heavy with gravel. “I need to.”

“I want you to,” Gwen echoed.

If she thought this would be the reason he pulled back from this ridiculous intimacy, she was dead wrong. Instead, he stilled inside her as he lifted to his elbows, but it only brought his searing gaze to her. His enormous hand soared up to cup her cheek. His thumb traced her bottom lip before, at last, he planted his hand firmly on the mattress.

His first few thrusts stayed slow, but soon he gained speed and, with it, power. His hips slapped against hers, and each time, it sounded wetter and wetter, but it all should have been louder.

The difference was, now that they couldn’t tear their eyes away from one another, neither seemed capable of making a sound. It was all Gwen could do to remember to breathe.

Harder and harder, he drove into her until her tits were bouncing and each fuck pushed rhythmic, vibrating cries from her. Still, she could tell they were both holding something back from one another.

They knew the moment they ended, whatever this was had to end, too.

His luscious mouth parted. There were words there, half-formed, but those he held back, too, though she starved to know them.

The next thing Gwen knew, he released her wrist to push her knee up and back. The angle shifted, and she had no choice but to rip her eyes from his to watch as his cock disappeared inside her greedy cunt.

She let out a tattered moan before she hiccupped out, “So. Fucking. Good.”

“I want to be deeper,” he answered back.

Gwen’s eyes rolled back in her head. “You’re—ah—you’re already so deep.”

But he didn’t seem to hear her. He dropped to her chest again, his hips rutting truly desperately at last. He buried his face in her neck and his nose in her hair as his lips glanced across her skin in the unintentional kiss that came with every thrust.

“Deeper…” he murmured as though hypnotized.

“Oh my god!”

He hitched her thigh higher up his side so she could feel with devastating consequence the way his ribs flared with every frantic gulp of air.

“Wrap your leg around me,” he instructed.

Gwen dug her heel into the meat of his back, and he grunted, but it still wasn’t enough for him.

“Hold me tighter, please.”

As she’d feared, it was a mistake the moment she wrapped her arms around him. Strangers fucking didn’t embrace. Yet here she was, clinging on with the last of her sanity to his sturdy shoulder blades.

He smelled so good—like sex and summer—and it imprinted on her mind.

“So. Deep,” she stuttered.

The way he stretched her out clouded her mind until the only thing she could find through the fog was him.

How could he possess her so fully but make her so desperate for more of him?

Him.

“Give me your hand,” he demanded in a rush.

Gwen let one hand fall from his back to the bed, and he grabbed it quickly and pushed it up over her head again, only this time, his fingers threaded through hers and squeezed as tightly as her walls squeezed his shaft.

His thrusts switched to shorter, shallower, much faster now. Each time, his cockhead brushed over a spot inside her that robbed her of all sound and all thought. Just like that, he’d reduced her to nothing but quivering nerves and trembling muscles.

Gwen dug her nails roughly into his back same as she squeezed his hand and let him ride her for all she was worth.

Since his cheek pressed against hers, she heard his every grunt in relentless stereo. He was too needy, too desperate. It was only magnifying those same feelings inside her.

Her skin burned with sweat. Her eyes burned from squeezing them against the overwhelming pleasure. Her core burned from the friction of his perfect fucking.

He was panting in her ear, and she could feel the curl of his lip as he snarled.

Gwen moved her free hand into his hair as she clutched his head to her like a lover.

“Baby,” she cried, “baby, I’m going to cum again.”

He let out the most pitiful whine she’d ever heard in her life as his hips spurred even faster.

“Baby.”

The pull was there, starting at her chest and dragging her down.

Down.

“Give it to me,” he urged, the words nearly broken under the crushing weight of his desperation.

“Baby!”

This time when Gwen said it, it was a strangled little thing, the last breath of a woman before she disappeared beneath the waves.

It was different, cumming with his cock inside her instead of his fingers. Her walls frantically beckoned him to disappear within her, willing him to never leave. She shivered and shook and screamed with the power of a release she’d never thought herself capable.

He fucked her through it all, the smoky curl of his self-satisfied “yes…” unfurling across her skin.

And when at last Gwen had no more aftershocks to give, she laid there too limp to hold on to him at all. Her leg slipped to the bed and her hand from his hair and her fingers slackened in his, though he refused to let her go.

His strokes had grown erratic, each one accompanied by the sloppy sounds of her catastrophic release.

“Where do you want me to cum?” he said hurriedly.

Gwen knew what she wanted—what her body was demanding. She wanted him to fill her up. She wanted this perfectly handsome perfect stranger to cum deep inside her so she should could hold on to a little bit of him even after she walked out the door.

But this was the end—not just of their passionate sex but their time together. If she didn’t put distance between them right now, she was in for an even more terrible fall.

No feelings, just sex.

“My face,” she blurted.

Gwen regretted it instantly. That wasn’t what she wanted at all, and she braced for the humiliation she deserved.

But, instead, he pulled out with a strangled cry and came in the tangle of bed sheets beside him.

“I’m sorry,” he managed between heaves of breath and frantic jerks of his spasming cock. “I’m sorry.”

She watched his broad, glistening back flare as he hid himself from her, and she couldn’t stop herself from reaching out to touch him. Her fingertips slipped in the sheen of sweat there, and his head whipped back toward her.

“I couldn’t do that,” he said dejectedly. “You’re just so pretty, I’m sorry. I know that’s what you wanted, but—”

“I didn’t mean it anyway,” she said. “I don’t know why I said it.”

Something fluttered across his dark features before his brow furrowed, and he turned away again. “Damnit, I should have never listened to my friends.”

Gwen quirked her head even as she covered up with the sheet. “Your friends?”

The man tumbled onto the mattress and spread out like a winded starfish without a single care for his nakedness, and she felt a little shame at the way she ogled that delicious stomach and his softening length now glossy and still leaking onto his thigh.

He sighed.

He was so different now from the dark, intense man he’d been only moments ago. Back was the brilliance that emanated from within that almost compelled Gwen to close her eyes when she looked at him. She could hardly believe it was the same man who’d brought her to two earth-shaking orgasms in no time at all.

“Can I confess something to you?” he said.

Gwen tensed all over, but she managed a nod of her head. “Okay.”

“This isn’t really my thing,” he continued, and her heart plummeted in ways it shouldn’t considering she’d just fucked a total stranger.

“Oh…”

Gwen realized too late how apparent the disappointment in her voice was when the man shot up and swiveled to her, his hands waving in defense. “I didn’t mean it like that, I swear! I mean, I have a hard time keeping things… simple. It wasn’t just the body shot thing that was a dare. Tonight was kind of my friends’ idea. They want me to be more… unattached, I guess?”

“That’s what my friend said, too,” Gwen laughed.

“Really?” He joined her laugh until, finally, his shoulders sagged with a light sigh as he covered his lower half with the sheet at last.

“Yeah.”

“I thought I was doing pretty good there, too, but— That was just so much more than I ever expected—you’re kind of more than I expected—and I really don’t want you to think I was just using you.”

“I don’t.”

“Good. Because…” He paused then, massaging his lips together as his eyes fell to his lap. “I think their dare kind of backfired anyway. Or it’s entirely possible I’m a hopeless case. So… I was wondering if you wanted to hang out tomorrow?”

At this, Gwen stiffened. Her eyes snagged on his naked frame. Though the sheet swaddled his hips and thighs, it did nothing to hide his tummy or his shoulders or his bowed head, nor did it conceal his pencil legs and feet poking sweetly over the edge of the bed. And then she realized they were both tucked under that sheet, and it would be so, so easy to just lay back and fall asleep with him.

There it was again, that urge to romanticize someone she didn’t even know, yet everything about the guy screamed boyfriend—or worse.

Oh no.

Boyfriend.

The one word Marie had made Gwen swear not to use this weekend.

And damned if her roommate hadn’t been right all along. The hard truth was, Gwen didn’t know this man. She didn’t know what he did, she didn’t know his past, she didn’t know his ethnicity or even his damn name, and that was all there was to it. To assign any more meaning to it was every bit as foolish as everyone always reminded her she was.

Dread welled in her stomach and weighted her limbs. The best Gwen could do was offer a tight smile. “I’d really like that, but my friend has our whole day planned.”

“Oh.” He looked crestfallen, but he picked himself up quickly and slipped out of the bed in a shy, awkward rush while trying to keep his modesty with the edge of the sheet still draped around his hips. He stretched out his leg as far as he could to hook the band of his jeans with his toe. He tried to keep conversation flowing even as he struggled with the cutest little grunts very different to the ones that had just been uttered for her ears only. “Oh yeah? Going to check out the beach or the city?”

“I’m not sure,” Gwen said. The truth was they had no plans, but she had to lie because her whole body screamed to meet him again, and if she did, there was no way of keeping things superficial. The man was too cute, too sincere, and far, far too sexy to turn down a second time. “I’m not one for itineraries. I kind of go where my heart leads me.”

He stopped, jeans sagging in hand as he looked at her with a gentle smile. “Yeah, same.”

But then his smile fell away, and he raced to shimmy into his jeans, too in a hurry to even bother with his underwear, and Gwen turned her head and busied herself poking at the remote on the bedside table.

Over her shoulder, she asked, “So, what will you guys get up to then? More bachelor party stuff?”

“I never can tell with them. Even when one of the guys makes plans, the others always seem to change them. I’m just along for the ride.”

“Easiest way to get through life,” she agreed. Gwen wanted to flinch at her own voice, but she didn’t want to call any more attention to her terrible bedside manner than she already had.

In the end, it didn’t matter. The man beside her was too perceptive, and he picked up her cues instantly. “Let me just grab the rest of my clothes and clean up in the bathroom so you can get dressed.”

“Would you mind if I go first? You know, since...”

Maybe if she tried hard enough, her awkwardness could compact her into a handful of atoms, and she could just disappear.

“Oh, of course, duh. Sure. Absolutely,” he bumbled.

Gwen grabbed the haphazard pile at the foot of the bed and practically sprinted to the bathroom where she tried to lose herself in the repetition of cleanliness. At least that was automatic.

Against her better judgment, she checked herself in the mirror. She looked every bit as undone as he had made her, and she hastily combed her fingers through her bed head so she didn’t scream “harlot” when she made her way back through the hallways. She rinsed her face and neck and swished some water to freshen her breath, and when she was done, she felt brave enough to face the music.

When Gwen returned to the bedroom, she found the man dressed as he had been, though all his clothes bore the same noticeable wrinkles and bagginess that hers did.

He smiled at her, and she swallowed roughly.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey.”

It was agony. She just wanted to kiss him again. She wanted to feel him again. She wanted to hear him in the shell of her ear again.

“So, this was really fun,” she said lamely. “Thanks for the drinks and, you know, everything else.”

He laughed shyly.

This time, as she faced his open complexion and expressive eyes, she had no choice but to be sincere. “I had a really great time.”

“You did?”

She nodded. “I really didn’t expect to meet someone like you either, but I’m glad I did.”

“Ah!” he exclaimed before he unexpectedly bowed to her. “Thank you. I feel the same.”

Gwen burst out laughing, which helped ease the pang in her heart at having to pull away. “You’re cute.”

He shrugged a shoulder and laughed, too, though his was much more forced. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out, and the pair stood there in a stalemate. At last, he took a step back, and she took one forward.

“So…”

“So…” he echoed.

Gwen bit the inside of her cheek roughly in the desperate hope it would wake her up, and, thankfully, the flare of pain combatted the butterflies before they could overtake her. Tightly, she began, “I’m going to head out, I think.”

“Sure, yeah,” he said as he ushered her back into the living room to the door. “Yeah, you probably should. Are you good to walk back to your room? Wait, this is your hotel, right? Do I need to call you an Uber?”

“Yeah, I’m here. All good.”

“Good.”

They exchanged another round of confused smiles before Gwen, fool that she was, lurched up onto her tip toes and placed a kiss on his cheek. When she pulled back, his smile slanted with an irresistible dopiness.

“You sure you don’t want me to walk you back?”

“You probably shouldn’t.”

He nodded as though he understood, but Gwen wasn’t sure she did even though she’d been the one to say it.

“Goodnight,” she whispered.

“Night,” he replied. “Take care.”

He opened his hotel door, and with a nod of her head first, Gwen turned and headed down the hall with the burning notion that he was watching her walk away.

She barely made it to the elevator before she had her phone in hand, intending to text Marie that she was headed back, but Gwen got sidetracked by the memory of what now lurked in her gallery.

She opened her camera roll only to be assaulted immediately by several snaps of his heart-shaped hair and buoyant cheeks framing his dazzling smile.

“He's cute. Is that your boyfriend?”

Gwen’s head shot up. She hadn’t even realized the elevator had stopped to acquire another passenger at some point. The bleached blonde girl smiled, her wild gold eyeliner glinting in the lowlight like some forest sprite sent there just to taunt her.

Gwen locked her phone and stuffed it in her leggings pocket with a shake of her head. “Uh. Oh, no, he’s just a friend.”

“Cute friend.”

“Yeah.”

The elevator dinged at the fourth floor and Gwen nodded to the other woman. “This is me. Have a good night.”

“You too!”

Back at her room, Gwen showered quickly, hoping it would be easier to distance herself from the forbidden word now buzzing in her brain like neon.

Boyfriend. Boyfriend. Boyfriend.

She considered a shower, but that meant too much time to think just as much as it meant washing off the remnants of his cologne. She could do that in the morning once her heart had sobered up from its dopamine surge.

Gwen dressed for bed the same mechanical way she had back in Room 2281, and once she was safely into her pajamas, the familiarity brought the exhaustion in her muscles to the surface. She was only too happy to climb into bed after that, and tired as she was, she remembered to send her text to Marie.

Her finger hovered over the gallery icon again, but at the last second, she forced her phone off and let the night take hold of her.

Gwen woke to banging at her door. She blinked, rubbed her eyes, and sat up slowly since her muscles ached from head to toe. She glanced at the thick drapes and caught the wan strip of light along the edges, but she had no clue what time it was until she grabbed her phone to find that it was just past noon. Even more surprisingly, she noted the slew of notifications.

Nine texts and four missed calls, all from Marie.

The banging continued, and Gwen groaned. “Give me a minute!”

At last, it quieted, and she shuffled like a geriatric over to the peephole. There, warped in the fish eye lens, was her roommate looking the perfect cross between annoyed and desperate. Gwen unlocked the door, and Marie rushed in.

“Finally,” the brunette said. “I was getting seriously worried.”

“I told you I made it back,” Gwen corrected.

“Yeah, but then you didn’t answer me at all, and I thought maybe you were passed out or something.”

The blonde squinted as she studied her friend now pacing the length of the hotel room. “Are you sure that’s it? Seems to me you’re the one who’s not okay.”

Marie shrugged a shoulder.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” her roommate said, still pacing. “Everything.”

Still exhausted, Gwen sat back on the bed and waited.

“Shit, it’s just— You know what, let's go to the pool. Maybe it will wash that guy out of my system.”

“That guy? The one from the party last night? Did you have a bad night?”

“No! Worse!” Marie wailed and flopped onto the bed. “He wasn't just scalding hot. He was likable! Ugh, I'm devastated. Catching feelings is your thing, girl, not mine. Damnit, I need a distraction. Tell me about your night. Please, don’t spare a single fucking detail.”

It was Gwen’s turn to shrug a shoulder. “I had fun.”

“So much fun you're not even going to tell your friend a single detail?” But then Marie's eyes narrowed, and her roommate’s skin bristled. “Or you had too much fun?”

“Hey, I slept in my own room last night, thank you.”

Marie whined. “Shit, I know. I must be projecting.”

“So what the hell happened with you last night?” Gwen said, only too happy to turn the attention away from her as she shuffled into the bathroom for her usual morning routine.

“I hardly know. We were dancing and drinking, no big deal, so I figured it was just going to be the usual fun, and it was fun, but, shit, he was just different, you know? He was like one of those lead guys from your movies, all gentlemanly and shit but more, too. Like he’s got secrets, but not the kind you want to run from, the kind you want to know. Oh my god, what am I even saying?”

Gwen smiled. “So, he was hot and charming? How is that different from the other guys you hook up with?”

“Gwennie, I didn’t even tell you about the sex. Shit, the way he moved his hips! There should be a law. And he was so diligent. He knew exactly what I wanted, and I didn't have to say a word, which was good because the only ones I could utter were swears. And I just couldn’t keep my hands off of him, you know? Fuck, not just his muscles, but his hair…” Marie laid there slack-jawed at the memory, her hands pressed over her belly.

“Sounds like you got the unforgettable night you were gunning for.”

“You don’t get it, babe. Even as he was giving me the dicking down of my life, this guy—he was, like, quietly sweet and funny? I don’t know how to explain it. He could just… smile, and it would make me laugh, like, even when he was inside, and somehow that was still super hot, you know?”

Gwen burst out laughing.

“See!” said Marie, gesturing at her roommate as she exploded up from the bed.

“I see,” the blonde teased with a lingering grin.

“What?”

“Nothing, it’s just, you know who you sound like?”

“You.”

“Me.”

Marie sighed. “Shit, I know. You know the worst part?”

“What?”

“This guy asked me to stay after.”

“Oh…”

“I mean, it’s not the first time, but it’s the first time I considered staying. Ain’t that some shit? But what would be the point, right?”

“Yeah…” Gwen said slowly as she thought of her thick-lipped lover. Marie’s unexpected dilemma had been just what Gwen needed to forget the ache in her core and the bigger ache in her chest, but now, it was a mirror reflecting things back far too vividly.

“Shit, huh?”

“Yeah. Shit.”

“You know the only thing to do, right?”

“Don't you dare,” Gwen warned.

But Marie was already up and moving to the door. “We’re going to the pool, and I'm going to find another hot guy because hot guys are a dime a dozen in Miami, right? I'm going to cleanse the palate.”

“Yeah, that's not how that works.”

“Look, I've never thought a guy was husband material before, let alone a one-night stand, so what do you suggest I do, Ms. Ephron?”

Gwen scowled. “Don't ask me. I've been getting it wrong so long that I'm not even sure I could trust myself to know when it was right.”

“Okay then. For lack of absolutely any other plan, this is what we’re doing. Put your swimsuit on, gorgeous. Let’s see how much Vitamin D we can get.”

Gwen sighed, but the truth was Marie’s distraction did help her forget the feeling of being surrounded by the stranger she couldn’t shake, so she slipped into her bikini, fought hard not to open her gallery yet again, and decided to dive headfirst into something new like her friend suggested if only to prove to herself once and for all that she’d idealized everything about last night.

Marie joined her in the hallway decked out in her cutest Miami-approved string bikini, already smelling of sunscreen and Flowerbomb. “Let’s do this.”

The pair chatted about their day and where they might go for their last night in town, all while studiously avoiding the topic of last night. They padded through the extravagant lobby along with a sea of other swimsuit-ed guests, their flip-flops smacking across the marble like theme music, until they emerged into the blistering Florida sun.

The pool looked very different in the daylight. There was no trace of the stage or the bars, and there was certainly no body shot table left out. It was just an ocean of sun-bleached concrete thrusting straight up to the white sands of Miami Beach, broken only by an enormous aquamarine pool, dozens of lavish cabanas, and a manmade forest of towering palms.

“Wait,” said Gwen as she scouted the bustling crowd stretching all the way out to the blue sea beyond, “you want the pool or—”

“Oh my god!” shouted Marie as she squealed to a stop and slipped behind Gwen. “It's him!”

“Who? The guy from last night? Where?”

“There, right at the edge of the pool. The one who’s shaped like a yield sign telling me slow down and give in to him again and again and again…”

“Marie!” she shouted and whirled around to face her friend.

“Oh my god, Gwennie, you have to hold me back or I am going to do irreparable damage here. Shit, shit, shit! I can’t believe I’m the one saying this. Fuck. He's looking right at me now, and he's waving with that stupid cute teddy bear smile, fuck. What do I do! What do I do!”

Gwen grabbed her friend’s shoulders and shook her until Marie looked at her. “What do you want to do?”

“I want to go over there, and I want to talk to him, and I want to hear his whole entire life story and what he wants in a woman, and then I want to take him back to my hotel room and be that woman.”

“Oh, girl,” Gwen laughed, “I never want to hear advice from you about this ever again.”

“That’s fine, just please come with me. I don’t want to talk to him alone.”

“Who are you, and what did you do with Marie?”

The brunette grimaced as she squeezed Gwen’s hands. “I don’t know! Help me!”

“Okay, now, I need to see the guy who broke my friend.”

Gwen turned from Marie toward the pool in time to catch the man who’d unmade her roommate over the course of one night. He was every bit as hot as Marie had described, with a chiseled jaw and even more chiseled abs, and he was indeed shaped like a triangle, which could be appreciated even easier since he was only in swim trunks. His skin had been worshipped by the sun, and he was sparkling thanks to a fresh dip in the pool. He lowered his muscular arm to sweep his fingers back through his sopping wet hair, and somewhere beside her, her friend whimpered.

But the blonde could only spend a fraction of a second on everything else around her because beside Marie’s hunk now was the very man who had unmade Gwen last night.

Time stopped.

He, too, was fresh out of the pool, with a towel ringing his neck and shoulders as swollen droplets rained down from thick, haphazard locks. He was out of breath, his chest heaving from his swim and his pale lips hanging open as he gulped air, just as they had when he’d fucked her to the brink of insanity.

But his eyes were as steady as ever, and they were fixed firmly on Gwen.

“Should we go over?” asked Marie, but her friend couldn’t move.

Instead, the two men began to walk the long perimeter before the bronzed man cut out the inconvenience and hopped back in the pool to wade across. Gwen was pretty sure she’d never again see anything more life-altering than these two shirtless heartthrobs pressing determinedly through the water with the ripples surging around their matching narrow waists.

The pair climbed out in horrible, horrible unison, their wet thighs flexing in time with their arms as water rushed off in diamond falls, and it was all terribly loud in Gwen’s ears. It only amplified when her stranger smiled in his darling tight-lipped way.

They padded across the concrete to the little swath of grass under a palm where the two ladies had been paralyzed.

“Hi, hello,” said the deep-voiced bronzed man. “It’s nice to see you again, Marie.”

“Hey, Hyunwoo,” she replied. Maybe it would sound casual to the strangers, but Gwen didn’t miss the uncharacteristic tremble in her friend’s voice.

“Good day for a swim,” he observed as he glanced up at the sun through the palm fronds and rubbed the back of his neck. “You planning on the pool or the ocean?”

“We hadn’t decided.”

“Ah, is this your friend you told me about?”

Marie nodded and took the chance to cling to her roommate’s hand, and with that, gained some strength. “Oh, yeah, this is Gwen. Gwen, this is Hyunwoo.”

Gwen felt the sharp squeeze at her hand, which was the only thing that made her realize she’d been staring unceasingly at her own pretty boy. She whipped her attention to Hyunwoo to smile and wave, but she could feel the burn of the other man’s eyes until she felt more naked than she had in his bed. She didn’t dare look back.

“Nice to meet you,” Hyunwoo said with that teddy bear smile, as Marie had called it. He turned toward his shirtless friend and added, “This is—”

“Hey!” came an exuberant call from across the pool in one of the loudest voices Gwen had ever heard. There stood yet another handsome man with hair dyed honey blond and chipper eyes waving at them with both arms like a used car lot inflatable. “Hey! Ask them if they want to join us.”

“Minhyuk,” scoffed the remaining stranger with a roll of his eyes, but Hyunwoo shrugged his mouth.

“What do you say, ladies? We have a cabana over there. Lunch is on its way, and we ordered lots.”

Marie giggled nervously and tucked her hair behind her ear. “Yeah, I remember how much you said you like eating. I mean, if it’s cool with everybody…”

The brunette looked desperately at Gwen and squeezed her hand tighter than ever, and all eyes looked to the blonde.

“Sure, that’s cool,” said Gwen though she was anything but.

She was burning under the sun though it was nothing to the way she burned under the magnifying glass of cruel fate. Here, before the gentle gaze of the man she had forced herself to walk away from, everything came into calamitous focus.

His laugh, his easiness, his openness, his beauty. Their chemistry, their connection, their compatibility, their flaws.

Maybe Gwen had been a fool in love an embarrassing number of times, but she realized now that maybe all those mistakes had served a purpose. She could see clearly for the first time what all those men had lacked, and she’d be a much bigger fool to turn back a second time from something that felt undeniably different.

“You coming?” Marie called, and only then did Gwen realize Hyunwoo and her friend were already on their way to the cabana.

Beside her, her shot glass waited, smiling as he always seemed to be in her presence with that delicious bellybutton still glistening though this time it was from lingering pool water.

“Didn’t think I’d be lucky enough to ever see you again,” he said.

“We’re really bad at this, aren’t we?” Gwen laughed awkwardly as she took the lead and followed her friend.

With his long legs, he caught up in a single stride, and together, they walked the long perimeter of the pool without any complaint.

“Bad at what?” he asked.

“Keeping promises to our friends.”

“Nah. Maybe it was just a dumb promise to make in the first place. And anyway,” he said, looking at her keenly over a bare shoulder, “aren’t you the one who told me no itineraries?”

“Oh yeah,” she said with a red-cheeked chuckle.

I go where my heart leads…

“I take it Hyunwoo’s a part of the bachelor party?” Gwen said.

“Yup. There’s eight of us, including the groom and his brother. You’ll like them, just hopefully not as much as you like me.”

She cocked an eyebrow at him. “And who says I like you?”

“I do. At least, I hope you do. Or maybe I’m just trying to manifest it.”

Gwen smiled shyly and nodded. “You’re right. I do.”

“Kind of funny how this worked out, huh? Your friend and my friend meeting up. Kind of feels like…”

“Blind dumb luck?”

“Destiny.” He studied her for a moment and then returned his eyes to the path around the pool. “I was going to say destiny.”

Her heart was beating out of her chest again, but this time, there was no scolding voice inside her head to temper it.

“You’re still cute,” she blurted.

“And you’re still driving me crazy.” His eyes roved over her skimpily clad figure, and he pressed his lips together. “So… Gwen, huh? That’s a beautiful name. It suits you.”

She was not prepared for the way it would feel to hear her name from his exquisite lips.

The front of her flip-flop rolled, and she stumbled forward with a cry and a flail before he grabbed her wrist and pulled her into his arms.

“I’ve got you,” he assured. He stared down at her fondly as she sheltered in the shade of his wide shoulders. Slowly, a smirk crept onto his lips. “Last time, you said it was the heels and you were a sandals girl. What’s your excuse today?”

“I’m clumsy, okay.”

“For everyone or just for me?” he teased. He leaned down, his lips to her hair, and added, “It’s okay if you say just for me. I’m kind of hoping for it.”

Gwen looked up into those brown eyes. The night had brought out their smoky depths, but the day brought out their playful hickory dimensions. So, too, had the merciless sun illuminated the finest spray of freckles dappling his cheek to puffy cheek, to devastating consequence.

“Maybe I’d admit it if I even knew who you were,” she said.

He stopped, and she stopped, too. Gwen looked at him with nervous eyes and an even more skittish heart.

She could forgive herself for all her stupid mistakes if it meant she could just get it right this one time…

Please. Just this once…

He lifted his head, caught her gaze, and closed the gap between them with one big step.

“In that case…”

Slowly, he bent down as his large hands gripped her cheeks, and just as his lips grazed hers gentler than the sea breeze, he spoke.

“So nice to finally meet you, Gwen. I’m Hyungwon.”

A/N: I know, I know. The muse obviously tried to turn this into a whole rom-com novel, but instead, I remained resolute to close this on the whimsical romantic open ending I originally intended. It got too out-of-hand as it was, if you couldn’t tell lol, so let your own romantic hearts take it from here, loves. <3 Thanks for reading!

#monsta x smut #hyungwon smut #oneshot #third person #oc

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