Thanksgiving Bonus: Lee Minhyuk and the Glass Elevator

I never wanted to go to New York City. Ever! I’m a country girl right down to my accent and the thought of a big crowded city gives me a severe case of claustrophobia. I like wide open spaces where the nearest neighbor is two miles down the road and you could walk around naked outside if the urge hit you without the fear of ever being seen. New York is the exact opposite of that. The nearest neighbor is two feet away and you are afraid to be naked in your own shower. At least that’s what I always pictured. So when my agent insisted that I come to New York to meet my editor, I physically cringed. I knew I had no choice really if I wanted to have my first book published but going there was almost a deal breaker. And the worst part was that I would be there for Thanksgiving. My family is very close and missing Thanksgiving with them was going to hurt. However, being a published author has always been my dream and I knew I couldn’t pass up this opportunity. I told my agent to book the trip.

It was my first time on a plane and as I said before, I have claustrophobia so it wasn’t a pleasant trip. I’m also afraid of heights so an airplane is about the worst place for me to be. I took sleeping pills and tried to sleep the whole way. When we landed, one of the very sweet flight attendants had to wake me up and I was happy to see that we weren’t a burnt bloody pile of scrap in a field somewhere.
My agent had a car waiting to take me to the hotel. I was staying at the Marquis Marriott and apparently my agent wasn’t aware of my fear of heights because she booked me a room on the twenty-sixth floor. That wasn’t really the problem though. I could handle that as long as I stayed away from the view. The problem was the cramped glass elevator that I had to take to get to my room. Oi!
Needless to say, I stayed in my room and ordered pizza so that I didn’t have to get into that coffin that I knew was going to plunge me into the pit of death because that was my luck. The room was nice and quiet and I got a lot of writing done. The next day was my meeting and the day after that was Thanksgiving so instead of traveling back on that day, I decided to stay until Friday. Everyone would be crammed into the malls and shopping centers for Black Friday so I could miss that mess.
My meeting went extremely well. The editor was enthusiastic about my young adult novel and told me that she thought it was sure to be a best seller. I hope she doesn’t say that to everyone and when I said so to my agent, she told me that that particular editor was very tough and hard to impress so our meeting was a complete success. I couldn’t help but grin like an idiot all the way back to the hotel.
I stopped by a quaint antique shop and did some Christmas shopping. I bought a beautiful old snow globe for my sister since she collects them. I found a gold pen with a small diamond “J” on it for my mother. The shop owner said that a famous author had that pen made special but her stuff went to auction when she died and I was getting a “real deal”. I don’t know how true that is or if the shop owner is a bit of a storyteller himself. And for my father I bought a gorgeous old candy tin that I planned to fill with his favorite chocolate covered cherries. For myself, I bought a gorgeous red and white handmade quilt that had been sewn with gold thread. It was absolutely beautiful and it was probably selfish but this was my Christmas gift to myself this year.
When I came out of the shop I was surprised to see how bad the snow storm that had started that morning had become. The snow was one of those thick, wet snows that piled up fast and I worried about making it home. But that wasn’t for two days and the storm could pass before then. I stopped in and got a bucket of chicken before going back to my room so I wouldn’t have to trouble the pizza guy.

I stood there for two whole minutes staring at the deathtrap before getting in. I looked up and tried to count twenty-six floors but I lost my place so I steeled my nerves and got in. I was happy and surprised to have a car to myself but that didn’t last long. Just before the door closed, an attractive gentleman got in without looking at me and hit his floor. It was above mine. I don’t know why but I hate getting out of an elevator first. I always feel like it bothers everyone else to stop and they watch you exit with utter annoyance. At least it was just one guy.
When the doors closed, the lights flashed once and I felt a twinge of panic but the elevator began to move and everything seemed fine. That was until around the fifteenth floor. The lights flashed off again and the elevator came to a slow stop between floors. I always stand against the back wall and the man was up front in front of the buttons but the car isn’t that big and in those few dark seconds, it became smaller and smaller for me. I closed my eyes and waited for the sound of the power coming back on but seconds started to feel like minutes, then hours, then days, then well, you get the point. My stomach had a sinking feeling that was growing into nausea. I opened one eye and saw darkness so I opened the other hoping I was just blind in one eye but no such luck. The power was definitely out and I was alone with a strange man and a bucket of chicken in a cramped elevator that was sure to plunge us to a painful bloody death at any moment.
Please, please, please. Lights. Power. Come on! I can’t die now. Although how ironic would that be? Of course I would die when I got lucky with my first book. They will probably publish it anyway in honor of my tragic death and it will sell like hotcakes. Why is that a saying? Why do hotcakes sell so well?
“It is okay,” said the gentleman.
I opened my eyes in time to see him roll his as he turned back around.
Crap! I think I said some of that out loud.
I noticed that he had an accent as well but sort of foreign. It sounded a little like English wasn’t his first language. We stood there for at least five uncomfortable, interminable minutes. I took that time to look the handsome stranger over. He was taller than me by a foot and built slim. I couldn’t tell much from the back since he had a long black coat on and the soles of his shoes were pretty thick. His hair was black and attractively tousled. Sort of bedroomy. I didn’t get much from his face in the dark but he looked to be Asian. I could tell that he was good looking.
As I was making my assessment, he turned and caught me staring but I don’t know if he noticed. He was looking around the car for something. I watched as he opened a panel and found a phone which he tried to figure out how to use. He punched in a number he found on the panel and listened for a second before angrily replacing the receiver and slamming the little door which bounced back open before shutting on it’s own.
“Dammit!” he said.
He turned to look at me and said, “Sorry. The security phone is dead too.”
“Okay,” I said.
I didn’t want to say anything that would make him angrier so I decided to keep quiet.
He said in his broken English, “I guess we are stuck. I’m sure it won’t be long.”
The man sat down in the corner and looked out of the window and down. I walked up to the window and looked down too and that was a huge mistake. The entire building was dark except for some emergency lights on each floor and I couldn’t see the bottom. It really looked like a bottomless pit. I felt the panic start to rise up again so I quickly backed up against the wall and I think I whimpered.
“Sit down and relax,” the man said.
I slid down in the corner opposite him, leaned my face against the cool wall, and tried not to get sick.
“Are you afraid of being high?” he asked.
I looked at him and noticed just how strikingly good looking he was. “Yes. I’m terrified of heights and not only that but small spaces too.”
He tilted his head and gave me a puzzled look.
“What?” I asked.
“I’m just trying to place your voice. I don’t know this accent,” he said.
My accent!?
“I was just wondering the same about yours,” I said. I leaned my face back against the wall and closed my eyes.
It was quiet for a long time and when my stomach calmed down I opened my eyes. I screamed. When I had opened my eyes the man was right in my face and startled the bejeesus out of me! He jumped back and yelled too.
“Whaaaaaa! Why did you do that?” he asked in an angry tone.
“Me? What were you doing? You scared me to death!” I said.
“I thought you were sleeping,” he said as he scooted back to his corner.
“So?” I asked. I didn’t know what else to say.
We both just looked at each other for a minute and I cracked up. I couldn’t help it. I laughed so hard. He just looked at me as though I had completely lost it. He probably thought I had. Maybe I did.
After a few minutes I asked, “Can you tell if they are working on the power?”
“No. It is dark,” he said. He sounded annoyed. Maybe he thought I was an idiot.
I looked out of the glass and I could see the glow from the emergency lights on the floor below us. Crawling over I dared to look out and I could see people in the hallways. They were standing at the railings and looking down but I didn’t try that again. They were shouting to people on other floors but I couldn’t make out what they were saying. One man just below us waved. I waved back.
My death-trap companion moved his foot which touched my arm and I realized how close I was to him. I looked over and caught him looking at me. I automatically looked down to make sure my shirt wasn’t hanging down to reveal more than I was willing to show him. It wasn’t.
I was a lot closer to him and his looks really stood out. This man was gorgeous. He looked like he could be a celebrity. I was also close enough to hear his stomach rumble.
Moving back I tried to decide if I should offer him chicken. Of course I should, I thought, but he seemed pretty surly and his bad mood made me pause. In the end though, my upbringing wouldn’t allow me to be let someone go hungry so I opened the top of the bucket. The smell of the chicken filled the car and I looked at him. He looked at the chicken, then at me, then away.
“Would you like some?” I asked offering him a leg.
He looked at it and said, “No. Thank you.” He looked back out of the window.
“Are you sure? I can’t eat it all and I’m really hungry. My mama taught me it is rude to eat in front of people so if you don’t eat, I can’t either.”
He looked at the chicken and I could tell he wanted it but he said, “Eat. It won’t offend me.”
I put the leg back in the bucket and took out a breast and bit it. The crunch seemed extra loud in the quiet space and I knew he could hear me chewing. I took another bite and decided it wasn’t going to work. I couldn’t sit here crunching while he sat over there listening. I put the chicken back and closed the bucket.
“Go. Eat,” he said.
“I really can’t. But thank you,” I said.
He rolled his eyes and sighed, looking at the ceiling.
I was surprised when he scooted over to sit beside me. He grabbed the bucket of chicken and opened it. Taking out the breast I had bitten, he handed it to me and I took it because what else was I supposed to do? He took out the leg I had offered and closed the bucket. He bit the chicken and looked over at me while he chewed. I just sat there watching him for a few seconds before coming to my senses and handed him a napkin. We sat there eating chicken together, crunching loudly and chewing loudly and getting more and more uncomfortable. Well, I was. I didn’t know about him.
He had another piece but one was enough for me. I looked for a place to put the bones but came up with nothing. He pulled the paper bag he had with him over and pulled out a soda and a pack of cookies. Handing the soda to me, he held the bag open for me to drop the bones in and he deposited his own there too and folded the bag up.
“Open. Have a drink,” he said.
I opened the soda and took a drink and handed it back to him. He took an extra long drink and covered his mouth to hide a small burp. He opened the cookies and handed me one. It was probably the most odd, uncomfortable meal I had ever shared with anyone. It was the first meal I had shared with a complete stranger for sure and I realized I hadn’t introduced myself. My manners had really gotten away from me here.
“I’m sorry. I should have introduced myself. I’m Elizabeth. And you are?”
He tilted his head and gave me a puzzled look, scrunching up his eyes a bit.
“Really?” he asked.
Now I looked puzzled. I was getting tired of his rudeness. “Sorry. I just thought it would be polite to know each others names.”
“No, no. I’m just surprised you don’t already know my name.”
I looked at him but I had no clue who he was. Was I right about him being a celebrity? Am I insulting him?
“Um, sorry. Should I? I’m not from here so I don’t mean any disrespect.”
His face broke into a big smile. “Not at all. I’m Minhyuk. Lee Minhyuk.”
He looked at me expecting recognition but I still didn’t know him.
“Sorry. I don’t watch a lot of movies,” I said.
This time he laughed. I didn’t know why but he was very amused by what I had said.
“B-Bomb?” he asked.
“What?” I asked.
For a second he seemed stunned and then he laughed and laughed. He held his stomach and laughed some more.
I didn’t get the joke.
When he stopped laughing, he looked at me and then down and shook his head. “Okay then,” he said.
What an arrogant ass! I’m glad I don’t know who he is. He sure doesn’t need the ego boost!
He stood up and dusted his hands. Picking up the can he looked at me and said, “Done?”
“Yes, thank you.” I was still annoyed.
He walked over to the door and leaned against it with one shoulder which I found very sexy for some reason. He watched the people on the floor below as he finished off the soda and then his eyes became wide. He rolled back until his back was against the wall. He looked up and said to the ceiling, “Aw man! Not those two!”
He rolled back to his first position and looked at something I couldn’t see and then waved his pop can at them. “Hello idiots. Yes, yes, it’s very funny. Laugh now and pay later you jerks.”
He said all this with a fake smile as he waved at someone below and finished off with a middle finger.
The curiosity got the better of me so I scooted to where I could see out and I saw two very good looking men pointing and laughing at our car. When they saw me their merriment seemed to increase. They laughed harder and I could tell they were very amused that their friend was stuck in a car with a strange woman.
“Oh great!” he said as he rolled to his back again and leaned his head back to stare at the ceiling. “That’s all I needed. You should have stayed back.”
“Sorry,” I said and moved back to the wall. I’m not sorry, I thought.
He didn’t move but closed his eyes.
“Friends or Brothers?” I asked
“Both,” he said.
It was quiet for a few minutes so I dug into my bag and pulled out my laptop. This seemed like a perfect time to work and I just got a great idea for a character who was really handsome but an incredibly pompous ass.
The clicking of the keyboard became almost hypnotizing so I jumped a little when Minhyuk said, “You should save your battery.”
The battery was at seventy-eight percent.
“Why’s that?” I asked.
“I don’t know. It just seems like a good idea.”
“It will be fine. The battery’s good and I need to work.” I continued to type.
I could feel his eyes on me. My mind went blank. I tried to continue but nothing was coming and the weight of his stare was becoming heavier and louder somehow. Snapping the laptop shut, I put it back in my bag.
“Those two idiots were P.O. and Jaehyo,” he said.
“Um. Okay.” So?
“You don’t recognize those names either?” he asked.
“Sorry but no. Are they famous?” I felt rude for asking but he didn’t seem to mind being rude so I didn’t care.
With a little laugh he sat down and said, “Not as famous as we thought I guess. We are in the same group.”
“Like an acting troupe?”
“I don’t know what that means but no. It’s a Korean pop group.”
“Oh, you’re in a band,” I said.
“No. We don’t play instruments,” he said. He sounded frustrated.
“So a boy-band then.”
“If you want to see it that way.”
“I’m sorry if I’m offending you. I really don’t mean to, it’s just that I spend most of my time writing so I don’t know about a lot of things that go on. Especially in entertainment,” I said.
For some reason I felt bad.
“It’s okay. What are you writing if you don’t mind me asking.”
“I just got a publishing deal for my first novel and I’m working on the next one,” I said.
“Congratulations.” He smiled.
He should smile more often. He’s really gorgeous.
“Thank you,” I said.
He began rubbing his hands together and blew into them. That’s when I realized it was starting to get really cold. I hadn’t thought about that problem. So far we had been here for about an hour and a half and we had no idea how much longer it was going to be. Minhyuk leaned into the corner and folded his arms over his chest.
“If you don’t mind, I’m going to take a nap,” he said and closed his eyes.
“That’s a good idea. I think I’ll have one too.”
I pulled my coat closer and leaned my head against the wall. Minhyuk started snoring softly. That was quick. He must have been exhausted.
Listening to his soft breathing in the otherwise silent space made me feel at ease and soon I was also asleep.

We probably slept for an hour and I woke up to frozen hands and a frozen nose.
Minhyuk was pacing and rubbing his hands together. When he noticed me stirring, he stopped and looked at me as he blew into his hands.
It was so cold.
“I have an idea but you aren’t going to like it,” he said.
I rubbed my eyes and pulled my legs into my chest. “What?”
“We are going to freeze if we aren’t rescued soon and I’ve been watching but I don’t see anything being done out there. Jiho texted me and said power is out everywhere and the storm is a lot worse so he suggests we combine our body heat to stay warm.”
I just looked at him. My eyes were probably huge. Does he expect us to get naked? Cause that ain’t happening.
“Well, I have a quilt I just bought,” I said as I started pulling it out of the bag.
“Perfect. Take off your coat too and we’ll layer them over us.” Minhyuk took off his coat and I saw he was only wearing a black t-shirt and he started immediately shivering.
I dreaded taking mine off because I knew I only had on a thin silk shirt but I hurried as he unfolded the blanket and jumped down beside me. His arms were already cold but he worked to cover us with the blanket and put our coats over that. It warmed up surprisingly fast under our little tent. It felt odd being this close to a stranger, especially one that I just realized is insanely attractive up close. He smelled really good too. He put his arm through mine and cuddled up close to my side and I found that I didn’t mind at all. In fact, I really liked it. The body heat thing was working.
“Better?” he asked.
“Much,” I said.
I was aware of every little movement he made. I also noticed we kept getting closer until there was no space between us whatsoever.
“I know this is weird but I think it would work better if we put our arms around each other,” he said.
“Um. Okay.” Yes!
It was awkward but we moved our bodies together so that we were as close as it was possible to get. I laid my forehead against his neck and enjoyed his cologne. It was exotic but then so was he. I felt him lay his head on top of mine.
There was a noise. Minhyuk raised his head to listen so I did too. It happened again and this time the elevator car moved a little.
“What was that?” I asked.
“I’m not sure. I wonder if they are going to get us out,” he said.
He untangled himself from me and climbed out of the warmth of the blanket tent. He visibly started to shiver. Walking over to the door, he looked down and frowned.
“What is it?” I asked.
“There are a lot of people out there watching the elevators but they don’t look happy. Not like before. Wait. There’s Jihoon. He’s pointing at another elevator but I don’t know what he’s saying.”
In a quick movement that startled me, Minhyuk reached for the coats. “I need my phone.”
There was a buzzing in one of the pockets. He found the phone and answered it. In Korean. I still had no idea what was going on.
He moved back to look out of the window and the elevator moved again with a slight screeching sound.
This is it! I thought. I knew it! As soon as I saw this contraption I knew it was a death trap! We are going to plunge to the depths and they will be trying to figure out whose body parts are whose for days.
Minhyuk continued to talk to someone in Korean and he looked more and more worried. His teeth were chattering but he didn’t put his coat on. I think he didn’t want to take the heat from me. He moved to the other side of the car and tried to look at the other elevators but I don’t think he was having much luck. Finally he waved at the person he had been talking to and came back to sit beside me. He hurriedly got under the blanket and I could feel the extent to how cold it had gotten. I immediately encircled him in my arms and he let me. I rubbed his arms until he stopped shivering and his teeth stopped rattling.
“Who was that?” I asked.
“Jihoon. P.O. He was just checking to see if we are okay.”
“That’s a lie. I felt the elevator move. So I guess we aren’t being rescued then,” I said.
“It’s fine. Turns out Jiho is in another car further down,” he said.
“Who’s Jiho?”
“He’s the leader of our group.” He laughed a little. “That’s really funny you know. Even people who don’t know Block B usually know Zico.”
“I thought you said Jiho?” I was confused.
He lifted his head and stared into my eyes for a moment.
“Can I kiss you?” he asked suddenly.
“Excuse me?” I was taken aback.
“Just once? I think you’re really pretty and I’ve been wondering if your lips are as soft as they look.”
I couldn’t speak. I was stunned. Then it hit me what he was really saying.
“We’re going to die aren’t we?”
As if in answer to my question, the car moved again with a slow creaking sound.
Without answering or waiting for permission, Minhyuk closed his mouth over mine. The kiss was slow and deep and so very sexy.
When he pulled away, my head was buzzing.
“Definitely,” I said.
“Definitely what?” he asked.
“We are going to die.”
Instead of a reply, I got another kiss. This one was longer and started to involve hands. Minhyuk wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me into him. Since we were going to die at any moment, I decided to just go for it. I kissed him back and brought my hands up to cup his face. The elevator moved down with a jolt. I began to cry out with a little startled scream but Minhyuk pulled me back by threading his fingers in my hair and kissing me again. It was a kiss that made me forget everything. I forgot I was trapped and about to die. I forgot I was in New York in a freak snow storm. I even forgot that Minhyuk was a complete stranger. All I could think of was the way he was making me feel. Maybe it was the adrenaline and the prospect of dying but I wanted nothing more at that moment than for Minhyuk to make love to me. He must have read my mind because he started unbuttoning my shirt and when it was off he reached around to unhook my bra. I let him. If it was cold in here I could no longer tell it. I helped him take off his shirt and we pulled the quilt up over us. He gently began to caress my skin and I kissed his neck. He tasted sweet and salty and I couldn’t get enough of my tongue on his skin. I felt his teeth on my shoulder and a shiver ran through me.
He laid me back as his kisses trailed down to my breasts and I almost lost my mind. I put one hand in his soft hair and urged him to continue as his hand found my other and he tangled our fingers together.
The elevator made another lurch and almost pulled me out of our sanctuary but he brought me back with a hand on my stomach which he moved down to my thigh and started pulling my skirt up to my hips. I can’t believe this is happening. What exactly IS happening? Am I really getting ready to have sex with a complete stranger possibly moments before my death? I felt him tugging my panties down. Yep. That’s exactly what’s happening.
All of a sudden, he came up from under the covers, his hair completely ruffled and my panties in one hand and asked, “You aren’t a… you know… are you?”
“A …you know?” I tried not to laugh.
“YOU KNOW!” he said.
“Does it matter?”
He thought about it for a second and said, “I think it does.”
“No. I’m not a virgin.”
“Hmm. Okay.” He started to go back under the covers but I pulled him back up. “What?”
“Are you?” I asked.
“Am I?”
“A…you know”
“Not much,” he said.
I cracked up. “Not much? What does that mean?”
“Let’s just say I’m not and leave it at that.” He stuck his head back under the covers.
I couldn’t help but laugh but I didn’t laugh long. The elevator jumped with a huge sound like a snap. I did scream that time and tensed up as I grabbed Minhyuk by the shoulders. He moved up and put his arms around me and kissed me. It was a hard desperate kiss and then I felt him slide into me. It was a delicious pain that made me forget our imminent death for a time. Without ending the kiss he began moving inside of me, first slow and deliberate and then faster and harder until we were both crying out. He put his hand between us and touched me until I came but he didn’t stop. He slowed down and sped up until I came again and finally, both of us exhausted but exhilarated, he found his release. We lay there under the blanket, sweating and completely entangled in each other.

That was the first time that I made love to Lee Minhyuk. It was not the last. We spent the rest of the night enjoying each other in as many ways as possible while we waited to fall to our deaths. Laying down, sitting up, and even standing at one point but I realized that the people below could see us and were watching... and taking pictures with their phones. Apparently they were fans and had realized that “B-Bomb” and “Zico” were stuck in the elevators and had called friends to come and stand vigil. We moved back and laughed until we were sick.
“Jiho’s going to be so pissed tomorrow. Unless we’re both dead.” He continued to laugh.
“Why?” I asked as I laughed too.
“I’m sure those pictures are being uploaded to the Internet as we speak. The scandal will be unimaginable.”
“Nah. It’s too dark. They can’t tell it’s you.” I assured him.
He stopped laughing. “I’m used to scandal. I can handle it but I can’t let them find out it’s you.”
“It’s okay,” I said getting serious.
“No. It’s not only dangerous for you but it will ruin your writing career. I won’t let that happen. When we leave here you have to be covered.”
“Alright.” I pulled him into me because it was getting so very cold and kissed him as I ran my hand from his hair, down his back, to his incredibly toned ass. So this is what a dancer feels like.
We made love all night. To keep warm of course. It was a lifesaving measure.

When we woke up the next morning, I looked up at Minhyuk and smiled. “Happy Thanksgiving,” I said.
“Same to you.” He grinned a crooked grin that I couldn’t resist. I kissed the corner of his mouth.
All of a sudden, the power kicked on and the elevator began moving.
We looked at each other and said the same thing, “Oh crap!”
We rushed to put our clothes on but we only managed to get our coats on when the doors opened. A handful of people were standing there, including his friends. The tall one was pointing and laughing so hard from the back that it was silent. “Minhyuk!” he said in a long low tone.
“Shut up P.O.” Minhyuk yelled as he put his last shoe on. He was trying to hide me behind him and before I could protest, he threw the quilt over my head and led me out of the elevator.
I didn’t know where I was being taken but I followed and listened as they talked about how Jiho had been stuck in the elevator with another man and he said he would never talk about it and if anyone asked he would stab them in the face. Also, one of the other elevators had actually been in danger of falling but they were able to rescue those people before anything bad happened. We were never in any danger of falling. The movements we felt were jolts from the other car. I was taken into a room and the quilt was removed. That’s the very awkward way I met my first K-pop group. Now Block-B are like my family.
I moved to Korea to be closer to my new “famous” boyfriend and everything is perfect. I now have three books published and I’m working on a fourth. It’s not a young adult novel like the rest. It’s a love story called “Love in an Elevator”. I think it will be a hit.

Notes