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If You

Cologne and Aftershave

“Tonight's the last concert!” Daesung announced. “What should we do to celebrate?”

“Sleep?” Seunghyun asked. Daesung threw a pillow at him.

“We could hit the clubs,” Seungri suggested.

“Jiyong?” Daesung prodded.

“Sure, sounds great,” Jiyong murmured. Youngbae looked over his shoulder. “What are you reading?” he asked.

“A draft of the press release about Emily and I,” Jiyong replied, turning the page. “Sagowa sent it up earlier.”

“When does it go out?” Seunghyun asked.

“Monday.”

“You don't sound very excited,” Seunghyun commented. Jiyong sighed. “It's just kind of… bland,” he said, tossing the draft onto the table. “They put in two quotes from me and none from her. You'd think we were announcing a new fragrance or something.”

“Then come up with your own thing,” Youngbae suggested. “Have you talked to Emily?”

“A little, but I didn't want her to have to worry about it.”

“This is about her as much as it is you,” Seunghyun reminded him. “As it happens, I have an idea.”


******


“A photo shoot?” Emily repeated. Jiyong nodded. “It would be a great way to introduce our relationship to the media. Plus it'll be a lot of fun!”

Emily frowned. “I don't know, Jiyong. I've never been very comfortable in the studio.”

“We can do it however you want,” he promised. “We can do it outside, or here in the hotel, whatever sounds good to you. What do you think?”

Emily mulled it over. “Okay,” she relented, “but no teasing.” Jiyong laughed and she punched him in the arm. “I'm serious!” she insisted.

“Okay, I promise,” he chuckled. “You're going to be great.”


******


Emily checked her watch and sighed. Where are they? she wondered, looking up and down the foyer again. The elevator doors opened and Jiyong stepped off, alone.

“Where’s the photographer?” she asked. “I thought he was coming with you.”

“Since we’re going out into the city, I asked him to hang back a little,” Jiyong replied, sliding on his sunglasses. “He’s just going to get some candid shots of us before we head to the park. Is that okay?”

Emily nodded and they left the hotel together. It felt good to be back in Seoul, the early spring air making her feel awake and alert. The huge city was already feeling like home and Emily started to relax, taking Jiyong’s arm as they strolled down the sidewalk. He had dressed very casually, wearing a hoodie, a graphic tee and black skinny jeans. With his beanie and sunglasses he blended perfectly into the crowd. “This is the quietest outing we’ve ever been on,” Emily commented, watching a group of girls take no notice of them as they passed by. “You’re Clark Kent instead of Superman for a change.”

“So you’re saying I’m Superman?” Jiyong asked. “I’m flattered.” Emily grinned and shook her head. “Hey look, it’s your tour poster,” she said, pointing at the giant billboard across the street.

“Let’s take a picture!” Jiyong said, pulling out his phone. He asked an older man to take it and they posed under the massive ad. “Gomabseubnida!” Jiyong said, bowing to the man. “Oh, that looks awesome!” he exclaimed, showing Emily the picture. “That’s going on Instagram as soon as we get back.”

They resumed their walk, talking and laughing about random things. They stopped at the ice cream shop and got in line behind the register. The girl in front of them glanced over her shoulder and did a double take. She opened her mouth to shriek, but Jiyong put a finger to her lips, shaking his head slightly. She nodded and he removed his finger, smiling at her. She turned back around, obviously freaking out internally. After they got their ice cream Jiyong grabbed a pen off the counter, signed a napkin and gave it to her. The girl squealed and hugged him before running out of the shop, clutching the napkin. “Even when you don’t want to be recognized, you’re still sweet to them,” Emily said, kissing his cheek.

“Honestly I was just hoping you’d kiss me,” Jiyong replied with a saucy grin. They left the shop and a car was waiting for them by the curb. “My lady,” Jiyong said, opening the door with a flourish. Emily climbed in and Jiyong followed, closing the door behind him. “It feels so good to be out with you,” he said. “It was driving me crazy, having to pretend we weren’t dating.”

“And it didn’t even work!” Emily replied, taking a bite of her ice cream. “Those pictures though-”

“Oh, don’t bring up that magazine,” Jiyong groaned. “It makes my blood pressure skyrocket.”

“You have to admit, we looked like we were in a K-drama,” Emily insisted. “Me eating my lunch, you staring moodily off into the distance. Then me kissing you-”

“We did not!” Jiyong returned. “Take it from someone who’s been in dramas, that wasn’t even close.”

“Looks the same to me,” Emily said, grinning at him. Jiyong set his ice cream aside and kissed her, tangling his fingers in her hair. Emily leaned back against the seat, her breath catching in her throat. His scent wafted over her, a pleasant mixture of expensive cologne and aftershave. He put one hand on her waist, leaning into her slightly. Emily pulled herself into him, putting her arms around him.

There was a knock on the window and they both jumped, then exhaled loudly. “We’re here,” Jiyong said, looking out the window. Emily smoothed her hair down. “Wait, your hat’s crooked,” she said, repositioning his beanie. Jiyong opened the door and they got out, Emily surreptitiously tugging her shirt down.

The photographer waved at them. “Hello, Ms. Carter,” he said, bowing before shaking her hand. “I’m Lee Jung, your photographer. I’ve already gotten some very beautiful pictures, but now I’d like to get some of the two of you. Is that alright?”

“Of course,” Emily replied. “Honestly I’d forgotten you were taking pictures of us.”

“Then I did my job well,” Jung said, gesturing for them to lead the way. “There’s a wonderful meadow here that will do quite nicely, I think,” he said, pulling out his camera. “Will you mind taking Ms. Carter’s hand, Mr. Kwon?”

Jiyong complied and Emily heard the camera shutter go off. “Very nice. Now turn to me,” Jung directed. He snapped a few more pictures before they arrived at the meadow he had mentioned. It was small, but green and mostly empty. “Okay, Mr. Kwon, if you’ll put your arms around Ms. Carter,” Jung directed, adjusting his lens. “Excellent. Now Ms. Carter look up at him. Very nice.” Jung took so many pictures of them Emily started to feel overwhelmed. After forty-five minutes Jung sighed. “I’m finished now. I’ll send the files to you later tonight,” he said, bowing at Jiyong.

“Thank you, Jung,” Jiyong said sincerely. They walked back to the car and Emily sighed. “That wasn’t so bad,” she said, getting into the car.

“I told you it would be fun,” Jiyong said triumphantly, sitting next to her. “This will make everyone forget about that terrible tabloid.” He put his arm around her and she laid her head on his shoulder. “Thank you for not suing them,” she said quietly. “It was the right thing to do.”

“You’re right, but that doesn’t mean I’m not still angry about it,” Jiyong replied.

“It’s okay to be upset,” she said, smiling to herself. “That tabloid doesn’t change anything for us.” She laced her fingers with his and caressed his knuckles with her thumb. “We’ll be fine.”


******


Emily opened the door to her suite and stepped inside. Something crinkled under her foot, causing her to look down. It was a letter and she picked it up, smoothing it out carefully. It was addressed to her at the hotel, but had no return address. She opened it and scanned the contents. She pressed her lips together and put the letter back into the envelope. She left her suite and walked down the hallway quickly. She stopped outside Sagowa’s door and knocked quietly. “Come in,” came the muffled invitation. She opened the door and peeked in. “Do you have a moment, Mr. Sagowa?” she asked.

“I’m on my way out, but yes, I have a moment,” he said, gesturing for her to enter. She walked over and put the letter on the table. “I received another letter,” she said, pushing it toward him.

“That’s the third one,” he said, picking it up. He opened it rapidly. “‘Leave G DRAGON alone or I’ll cut your pasty throat’. Short, but to the point,” he remarked, tossing the letter back onto the table. “We’ll have to increase security.”

“Of course, but I still don’t want the guys to know,” Emily said. “This is directed at me and I don’t want them to worry, especially with Jiyong’s album coming up. Can we still keep this between us?”

Sagowa sighed. “Yes, but I do this under protest,” he said, raising an eyebrow at her. “I think they deserve to know that someone’s threatening you. If something happened to you-”

“Nothing will happen to me,” Emily said firmly. “Just pass this onto the police like the others. And please look over the security on this floor. That letter was in my suite.”

“I’ll look into it,” Sagowa promised. “Don’t worry. Thank you for bringing this to me.”

Emily bowed and left his suite. A shiver ran up her body and she folded her arms tightly against her chest. You’re safe here, she told herself.

Notes

Comments

Please please please continue this. I've read it three times now and it just makes me fall in love every time. It is a wonderful story. Also, please put it on AO3, its a very friendly community for writers.

Maliciouspixie5 Maliciouspixie5
11/13/19

@Maliciouspixie5
Thank you!

Oh I just love this. Beautiful story.

@k pop lover
Haha thanks, I'll try!

please update more often. caus ei reallyl ike this story

k pop lover k pop lover
8/29/18