INTERLUDE. 1 | Sticky

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To be honest with yourself, you didn’t know what the hell was going on in your life or where it was headed. You just knew that you were in a bigger game than you’d like, with very powerful people and surrounded by hungry crows.

The first few days were a mess. The cultural integration contracting company thing had ended up happening for real, and you were the director. Obviously you couldn’t run something like that—no matter how much of a facade for dirty work it was— from your apartment. That’s why you were assigned a space in a large corporate building in the center of Seoul. It wasn’t too big, it only had your office and a small reception area where you had a guy working. A university intern who you quickly hit it off with.

Gunwook had given you a little training course before you started, since you had no fucking idea how to act like a businessman. He had been behaving great with you, constantly checking in on you to see if you needed anything or helping you with minor problems. You appreciated that he genuinely cared, so it wasn’t hard for you to start to trust him for real.

But despite having an office, a pretty good salary—because yes, you were on both SM’s payroll and your own company’s. You were ignorant of the legality of that—, and the great relief of not having a boss (not as such), you still weren’t entirely sure what exactly your new role with the girls was going to be.

So far all you’d done were a few minor tasks for various companies, like giving discreet rides to and from dinners. There was one rather fun thing you were a part of, though, and that was dealing with a vengeful ex-boyfriend who wanted to keep some racy photos to himself. Woolim had given you the freedom to handle the matter as you saw fit, whether by fair means or foul. You weren’t exactly a promoter of violence, so you settled on negotiating a payment that turned out to be surprisingly cheap. The company was so pleased that they gave you a bonus, and Yeonhee even sent you the photos and videos you had retrieved for her. Hot as fuck, by the way.

You could tell that your only real concern was Noh Jihye, but everything about that was quiet, in an aura of mystery that had you frustrated at first, but meditating on the subject made it stop being an emotional burden for you. That had been her decision, and if she thought that was the best route to take so that you could all get to a better place, so be it.

But damn, you missed her. Too much. It hurt you not to have her by your side. It hurt you not to be able to hug her, kiss her, and see her wrinkle her nose when she smiled. It hurt you not to hear her scold the girls, or go here and there giving orders left and right. It hurt you not to be able to talk to her about the music you made her listen to. Everything. Everything about remembering her hurt like seven hells.

If only there was a time machine. Fuck, you’d pay anything for it.

But speaking of your current life and also time, if there was one thing you were grateful for, it was being able to adjust your entire schedule to your liking and do everything without rushing or external pressure. That was incredible. Especially for your plans for that night. There was just over a week left until the pool party at the ITZY girls’ house, but that day you would have Chaery all to yourself.

Yeji and Karina, or rather, your personal therapists, had been of great help to you all those days, helping you to cope with everything in the best way and put your thoughts in order. But at that point you no longer knew exactly what you expected or what you wanted. The only thing you did know was that Chaery deserved to know everything that was going through your head at that moment and how you felt about it, so that she could also tell you what she thought about the situation. Sure, it would be a rough conversation, but even if that night changed everything with her, at least you would have a nice memory to cherish beforehand. Still, you were kinda anxious about it.

You were about to shut down your Mac and close the office for the day. Your plan was to leave early, go to the grocery store and get both fresh ingredients for dinner and soju to drink. But as soon as you stood up, three knocks were heard at your door. It couldn’t be your receptionist; you had sent him home an hour ago already.

You frowned and sat back down in your chair.

“Come in!” you said.

Imagine the twists and turns of fate. Against all odds, Kang Seulgi walked into your office. A couple of months ago you would have been happy to see her, but now she just reminded you of the one persona non grata you had. It was a bittersweet feeling.

“You’re a hard man to get a hold of huh?” she asked, approaching your desk with her hands in the pockets of her denim jacket.

“Did you forget what your best friend did or what?” you asked, leaning back in your chair, holding your right wrist in your left hand above your abdomen.

“Of course not,” Seulgi replied, standing just across the desk. “But it doesn’t seem fair that I’m being punished for something I didn’t do.”

“And you’re right, it’s not fair,” you shook your head. “But just looking at you reminds me of the person who manipulated not one,” you counted with your fingers. “But two of my best friends.”

Seulgi sighed, looking up at the ceiling and then back at you.

“My mission here failed before it even started, then?”

You looked back at her silently before looking away with a snort. She didn’t deserve to be treated that way. You owed that woman too much, and you had too many good times together. It wasn’t fair to either of you.

“You know what?” You stood up and turned your back to Seulgi to grab a bottle of Hennessy X.O cognac and two small crystal glasses from your shelf; you placed them both on your desk, one for her and one for you, and filled them. “Come on, have a seat.”

Seulgi gave a small smile and sat down in front of the desk. You sat back down as well.

“Well…” you picked up your glass of cognac and stirred it carefully. “Kang Seulgi. You came here knowing you were going against the tide, so you might as well start talking.”

She chuckled, and picked up her glass to take a sip of the drink. You did the same.

“Oh my, how things have changed huh?” She smiled at you, her lips curled. “You’ve come so far in such a short time. You don’t know how proud I am of you.”

The smile on her face told you that she was being genuine. Maybe she was just messing with you, but nostalgia and your fondness for her were softening you up.

“Thanks,” you smiled back. “But I never wanted to be in this seat, to be honest. I was fine with having a job that kept my visa valid, and I could definitely be doing worse jobs.”

Seulgi blushed and downed the rest of the cognac in one gulp, setting the glass back on the desk with a soft thud.

“Would you pour me another, please?” she asked.

“Sure,” you set your glass on the edge of your side of the desk and stood up to grab the bottle. You heard her shuffling around behind you, but you weren’t sure what she was doing. When you turned around, Seulgi had shifted her position, her bare feet now propped up on the desk. “Oh.”

She flexed her fingers as you refilled her glass, knowing she had your attention.

“Remember your first week as a masseuse?” Seulgi asked as you took your seat again. “You were shaking like a mouse being hunted by a cat the moment I entered that room.”

She smiled and giggled. You knew she wasn’t mocking you; there was nothing but affection behind her words.

“You were my fourth client and my first celebrity client,” you said with a smile, remembering that day. “None of those bastards told me what I was supposed to do with you.”

“But you caught on quickly,” she said as you downed the rest of the cognac in one gulp. “It helped quite a bit that the parlor paid for all my services that day,” she brought her glass close to her lips. “And they warned me in detail that they were testing a new guy before I came in.”

Seulgi laughed, and before you could respond she stood up, grabbed the chair by the back, and rolled it over to your side of the desk, just to your left. She then sat up, pulling her feet onto your lap and staring at you intently.

“Would you spoil me a little?” she asked.

You sighed, not being able to help but bring your hands to her feet to massage them. After all, Seulgi was the one primarily responsible for your little sexual foot awakening. She had the top spot in the podium, easily. Followed by Rose, Miyeon, and Yuna.

“Is it necessary to play with me like this?” you asked, focused on Seulgi’s feet as she took another sip of cognac. “You know I have a soft spot for you; if it weren’t for you my career would have been stillborn.”

“I’m not playing with you, honey,” she said with the glass in her hand. “I’m trying to break down your barriers so you’ll be ready to hear what I’m going to say to you.”

You laughed, shaking your head in disbelief.

“Alright Miss Smooth, I’m all ears.”

Seulgi downed the rest of her glass in one gulp again, now setting it down on the desk with a loud tap.

“Remember when you had me on the table completely naked and you were still in your uniform?” she asked with a giggle. “I knew you were doing your best, but your hands were so shaky you couldn’t figure out a single key.”

“Oh my god,” you sighed, embarrassed. “Are you going to make me remember that?”

“Just listen to me, silly,” she swatted the back of your hand. “You remember perfectly what happened next; I told you to strip and treat me like you would treat any beautiful naked woman in front of you.”

“You also told me it was just you and me in that room and to forget about the outside world,” you continued, remembering every detail.

“And what happened next?”