Chapter 32: Lawn Party

"Babe?" I heard Zen call from the bathroom. "What do you even WEAR to a lawn party?"

I smiled, turning in the direction of the sound of his voice to see his wet head poking through the doorway. A waft of steam and citrus smelling shampoo and bodywash wafted around him like a halo.

"I have no idea," I said, reaching for my phone. "Let's Foogle it…" I typed in the words "What to wear to lawn party men" and the search engine spat out several images of men in slacks and button-down shirts with light-weight suit coats and/or sweaters.

"Hmm…" I said, still scrolling. "Looks pretty business casual, with tie optional."

"So the douchey look, then" Zen said, scowling a bit. "Maybe I should ask Trust Fund if I can borrow one of his pin-striped suits…"

"I think that might be TOO dressy…" I said.

"Well, I'm NOT wearing a tie," Zen said. "Not in this heat."

Zen disappeared back into the bathroom, and I heard the sound of the electric toothbrush go on. I did a quick search for "What to wear to lawn party women" and smiled. "Oooh," I said. "Looks like I get to wear a cute little dress…"

Zen's face reappeared in the doorway. "What do you mean 'little'?" he said. "How little?" He emerged from the bathroom with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. "Can I pick it out?" His chest was mostly smooth, except for the small patch of light silver hair below his belly button. Every time I locked eyes with that narrow vertical trail, I got ideas. I was getting them now.

"Babe?" Zen said, breaking me from my thoughts. "I'm serious… Can I pick out your dress today?" His red eyes looked hopeful and boyish under the damp mass of silver bangs hanging in his face. I sighed. I wouldn't mind Zen picking out my outfit so much if I could be sure he wouldn't choose something that covered me from head to toe, made me look an old maid, or some combination of both.

Zen strode over to me and wrapped his arms around my waist. "Please?" he said, his eyes pleading, lower lip pouting. How could I say "no" to that face? Sigh.

"OK, ok," I said. "But I get veto rights… Remember, it's HOT today, so no turtlenecks or anything…"

Zen gave me a look like what-would-I-ever-do-such-a-thing and I shot him a look back that said oh-hell-yes-you-would. Then it was my turn for the shower, so I left him to it, hoping to god he'd pick something cute.

"Don't worry…" he said, as he headed toward the closet and I shut the door to the bathroom. "I've got great taste…"

"Yeah," I called over my shoulder as I turned on the water. "You've got killer taste, sure… It's the fact that you're a possessive narcissist, that's what I'm worried about…"

When I emerged from the bathroom, the bedroom was empty and there was an outfit laid out on the bed, complete with sandals and matching jewelry. Zen had done well. The dress was silver blue lace trim with a dropped waist. I could see it was a compromise on his part, though because although the dress was not short - the hemline hit well below the knee - it did have a low-cut sweetheart neckline and tie spaghetti straps.

"That way I can kiss your bare shoulders whenever I want," Zen said. I turned around to see him leaning against the doorway, arms crossed. "AND see your tattoo."

"I like it," I said, looking him up and down. He was wearing a black tee-shirt with a simple cream-colored blazer, matching pants and sneakers. "You look good, too... Understated, but smart."

He turned to look at himself in the mirror. "Yeah," he said, flashing himself a smile. "I do look pretty handsome, don't I? I mean, if I do say so myself..."

You always say so yourself, I thought, smiling to myself. I walked over to what had become basically my dresser and reached for the lotion. Letting the towel drop to the floor, I bent over and began smoothing the creamy liquid over my freshly shaven legs. When I looked up, Zen was staring at me with his mouth half open, his eyes heavy-lidded and crimson red.

"Damn, Princess," he said, breaking into a steamy grin. "You've got like, the best ass… You know that, right?"

Not a moment later, he was on me, mouth on my lips, body pressing me up against the dresser. Startled and aroused, the bottle of lotion fell out of my hand and spilled onto the floor. His hands were gripping both cheeks of the ass he was just complimenting, and then he was lifting me up off the floor. I could already feel his hardness beneath the material of his pants pressing up against my nakedness.

Zen stopped kissing me for a moment to search my eyes. "What you do to me, MC," he whispered, his voice hot and heavy. "You just don't know…" I watched as a dark, slightly sinister shadow crossed his face, a look I'd come to recognize as what he called "the beast" and felt a familiar twinge of anticipatory desire flush deep between my legs. Without warning, Zen hoisted me up easily over one shoulder and carried me to the bed, both hands still gripping and slapping my ass.

"I fucking LOVE your ass," he said as he detoured by the mirror. "See?" he said, spinning me around so I could see what he saw, my ass reflected in the glass. I felt my cheeks grow flush with something that felt very much like embarrassment, although I was deeply turned on.

"So HOT," Zen said, and with that, he spun me around again and threw me down on the bed. Without pause his hands were on my knees, pressing them open and down against the bed so that I was completely exposed to him.

"Zen, I…" I barely got the words out before I felt his wet mouth already on me, licking the bare folds of my most private area salaciously top to bottom.

"Mmmm…" he breathed, his lips vibrating against my clit in a way that made me squirm, clutching handfuls of sheets.

"That's my girl," he said, lifting his head so that he could watch the look on my face as he slipped one, and then two fingers inside me. I gasped, throwing my head back against the pillows and began bucking in response to his rhythm.

"My sweet, sweet girl…" Zen said, darkly, lowering his head again. I felt his teeth, first playfully nipping my clit and then his whole mouth sucking mericilessly, driving me to ripen... All the while he was still finger fucking me at a mind blowing pace - yes, he'd found that spot again, oh damn - with his free hand.

"Oooohhh… Aaaa…" I was already gasping and sweaty, pretty much an unhinged horny mess, unable to speak, unable to think. All I could I do was hold on and bump my way toward release, which by all accounts was coming soon. My body was sizzling, each nerve ending a hot circuit of sensation. My vision was at first blurring at the edges, then it was soon swirling out of control… a smear of colors and lights, a fucking fairy house of bliss. Then the pit of my stomach, my inner most belly, the core of my sex was smouldering, white hot, ready to burst...and then it did. All the sudden I was blindly crying, no screaming out what I thought was Zen's name, but probably sounded more like a mess of unintelligible syllables. All the while Zen kept on me, kept riding me, kept sneaking satisfied glances up at my face, kept pumping me with his fingers, sucking me dry as I came and came and came.

When it was finally over, when my body stopped shivering and quaking, I spilled over into Zen's waiting arms, curling myself into his form, burying my face into his chest, exhausted. He was still fully clothed, still had his fucking sneakers on. My eyes felt heavy and wanted to close, so I let them, and Zen began to stroke my hair.

"That's my girl," he whispered, softly into the top of my head, like I'd just won some kind of award that pleased him very much. "That's my good girl."

I don't know how long I slept, but when I woke up, Zen was still holding me and he was asleep, too. I glanced at the clock on the bedside table. It read 1:10pm.

"Shit!" I said, sitting up fast and swinging my legs over the side of the bed in one motion. Driver Kim was scheduled to pick us up at 1:30pm. "Zen!" I shouted, turning to shake him on the shoulder. "Get up! Get ready!"

"Damn," Zen said. "Did we fall asleep?"

"Yeah," I said, looking at him crossly.

"Hey…" he said, holding up both hands, as if pleading the innocent party. "Don't look at me… You're the one with the sexy ass…"

I reached down to pick up a pillow and throw it at him. "I'm not saying it wasn't fun," I said with a warning tone. "But if you touch me again before we walk out that door, I'm going to scream bloody murder."

Zen worked to suppress his laughter behind a smirk. "So I can jump your bones in the car again then, eh?" he said. "I'm telling you, Driver Kim wouldn't mind a show… I'm handsome, you're naughty… It doesn't get better than that for a man his age, know what I mean?"

I picked up the towel I'd been wearing, the one that had fallen on the floor and started this whole mess in the first place, and threw that at him, too.

"That's ENOUGH," I said, biting back a smile. "Now, get out of here and let me get dressed."

Reluctantly, Zen backed out of the bedroom. "Ok, ok, boss lady," he said. "Whatever you say, fine."

A half an hour later we were in the car and on our way to the ferry, and then on to the Chairman's country house on Cheongsando Island. When Driver Kim turned the car onto a winding drive lined with cherry trees, all in full-bloom, Zen let out a low whistle.

"Damn," Zen said with what sounded like true awe. "Would you look at this place?"

It was beautiful. The crushed granite driveway just kept going up and up. It wound all the way to the top of the hill and then finally gave way to a massive contemporary-style mansion surrounded by carefully landscaped lawns and sweeping hillside views.

"It's amazing," I said, feeling a little more breathless and astonished than I'd expected. "I don't think I've ever been invited to a house this nice…"

"Right?" Zen said.

At that moment, Mi-Sun came gliding out to meet us. She was wearing a modified contemporary version of the Korean Hanbok-style dress with short sleeves and cut just below the knee. Her dark hair was done up in a simple, but elegant sleek chignon.

"Oh hello, darlings," she said, as she swept the car door open with an almost imperceptible element of grace. "We've been waiting on you…Please do come join us on the veranda for a cocktail…"

Zen got out of the car first and then turned to offer me a hand. "Princess?" he said, smiling and looking dashing as ever. I noticed that he had changed his pants from the matching creme to a subtle gray. I wondered why…

We followed Mi-Sun up a winding stone walkway, through a stunning front entrance and into an open middle courtyard, where all the other guests were already seated sipping lavender-colored cocktails from high-stemmed glasses.

"It's called a French 71," Mi-Sun said, when she saw me looking. "This variation has a special liquor that makes it violet."

I nodded, plopping my purse down in an open seat next to Lexi Ann. She was wearing an adorable crepe cream-colored shift and a matching gossamer shawl.

"You look gorgeous," I said, leaning in to plant a kiss on her cheek.

"Thank you," Lexi Ann said. "You too, as always, a vision…"

"Finally… you're here, MC!" Yoosung said. Stepping forward, he clasped me about the shoulders and kissed me on both cheeks. I noticed he was wearing Queer Eye For A Guy Flad's version of "going out" hair, the one that I thought used too much gel. He was also wearing the same gold button-down shirt from the RFA party, except this time paired with shorts and loafers. I realized with some dissatisfaction I didn't much like being able to see Yoosung's knees.

"Hi Yoosung!" I said, enthusiastically. He reached behind him to pull Debbie forward.

"You remember Debbie," he said, beaming. I had to smile to myself. Every time Yoosung said her name you could see the moniker "my girlfriend" sparkling in his eyes. It was so cute.

"Hi Debbie," I said, reaching forward to shake her hand. "Nice to see you again." She was wearing a stunning green emerald dress with some elaborate beading around the bodice and hem. Her blond hair was swept up into a high ponytail, and the most amazing crystal earrings dangled from her ear lobes.

"Hi, MC!" she said. Her voice was so bubbly and high - I kept forgetting that - and it almost made me start. "You were SO GREAT last night. I mean, SO GREAT."

"Thank you," I said, meaning it. I felt, briefly, the same validation I felt when meeting Zen's fans on the trail. It was a rush, and it felt really good. I glanced at Zen and again thought, was this what it felt like to have fans? I could see where it could become overwhelmingly important… and addictive.

Jumin appeared out of nowhere, overly stiff and awkwardly offering his hand to Zen. "Well, so look who finally decided to show up…"

"You got a pretty sweet pad here," Zen said, shaking his friend's hand in earnest.

"Well, it belongs to my father, really," Jumin said. "He tried to give it to me for Christmas one year, but I'm afraid I don't have much use for a vacation home…A house of this magnitude and locale is not something I would choose for myself."

"Still, it is lovely," I said, offering my hand, which Jumin picked up and kissed. I felt Zen stiffen beside me.

"Welcome to my home, MC," Jumin said, bowing low.

"You just said this wasn't your home," Zen said, hotly.

Boys, boys, boys… I thought, feeling so sick of their jealous, rivaling bullshit. Not bothering to hide my irritation, I stood up and turned on my heel to go find Jaehee. She was standing in a corner under a potted palm tree, scrolling through her phone.

"What the heck are you doing?" I said. "You aren't working are you?"

Jaehee looked up at me exasperated, irritated, eyes tinged with a how-could-you look that just cut to my core. It was true. I - we - got to do whatever we wanted - and she, Jaehee, had to clean up our messes because that is what she does, and we rely on her. God, I thought, we should find her a someone… A Mi-Sun… a Debbie… or really a ZEN… and why had we not?

"Of course I'm working!" Jaehee said. "Unlike everyone here, I am aware of the multiple possibilities of repercussions that could happen as a result of last night's events...and I plan to be prepared for every one of them."

I reached out to put a hand on her shoulder. She looked absolutely beautiful, and terrifying, in the classic midnight blue Jackie Kennedy-style shift.

"What can I do to help?" I said.

Jaehee sighed and shook her head. "I don't know," she said. "Just maybe keep your boyfriend and yourself out of trouble for, I don't know, maybe at least a day or two?"

"OK," I said, taking that as my hint for a hasty exit. I backed away slowly to go in search of another drink. "I can do that…"

Zen came and found me later standing by the pool. I was on my second French 71 and feeling pretty punchy.

"There you are!" Zen said, throwing his arms around my waist and pulling me towards him from behind. "Where have you been, Princess? You left me hanging there with Trust Fund, and well you know how that goes…"

I sighed. "Well, why are you two so down each other's throats, like all of the time?" I said. "I mean, now that Mi-Sun is in the picture, shouldn't that be like, finished?"

Zen looked hurt. "Well, yeah, but…"

"Well, yeah, but what?" I said.

Zen sighed. "Well, did you see how he was basically just looking down the front of your dress when he bent down to kiss your hand?"

"Uh," I said, putting a mocking thoughtful finger to my chin. "Let me think about it… uh, that's a NO!"

"Well, he was!" Zen said, his red eyes wide. "Whether you want to admit it or not… That psycho idiot dude… Jumin... continues to want you… well, like I want you...and, well, fuck that!"

I spun around to face him, my eyes angry and wild. I was so sick of this, just wanted it to be over. "I don't know…" I sputtered. "I just… I can't…"

Just as I was trying to formulate a thought to articulate how fucked up and wrong the whole idea about Jumin still holding a candle for me was, and how it was about high time Zen got his jealousy under control… I saw Jumin approaching me with a sheepish, shit eating grin on his face and, my mouth fell open, some kind of package?

"What the fuck now?" Zen said, scowling next to me. "See what I mean? Like, so NOT over you…"

It was like a bad movie. There was Jumin walking toward me with that silly crushed out smile on his face… Both his arms were outstretched and he was holding a rather large package sporting a bright pink ribbon… Mi-Sun was following about two steps behind him, hurrying along, trying to keep up.

"MC," Jumin said, sounding a little too perky for a guy with a girlfriend. "Mi-Sun and I have a gift for you…"

"But it's not even my birthday or anything," I said, as Jumin pulled me down to sit next to him, between himself and Mi-Sun. I caught eyes with Zen for a moment. They were glowing red hot and saying see-I-told-you-so...

"Yes, but…" Jumin chuckled heartily and then gestured to Mi-Sun to explain.

"Yes, but," Mi-Sun said behind a tight smile. "After your performance last night and what we learned about your talents, well, we just couldn't let this need go unanswered…"

"This need?" Zen interjected, looking confused and annoyed.

"Just open it," Jumin said, shoving the package in my direction.

"Uh, ok…" I said, taking the pro-offered package and locking eyes with Saeyoung, looking for some kind of neutral ground input. He shrugged.

All eyes were on me as I ripped open the package. It was pretty apparent right away what it was: an acoustic guitar.

"You told Yoosung that you had to sell yours in order to return to America…" Jumin started.

I looked at Yoosung, who looked terrified. "I didn't…" he started, his violet eyes darted from mine to Zen's and then back to Zen's. "I didn't know…"

"It's lovely," I said, pulling the instrument out of its case. It was a Taylor, well-made and expensive - all the things Zen would obviously resent, hate. I didn't know what to do other than accept it at this point, and so that's what I did, graciously.

"Uh," I started. "Mi-Sun, Jumin… Wow… This is very generous."

"If you're going to develop that talent of yours, you're going to need it," Jumin said. "In fact, I'm willing to help in any way I can…I have a lot of connections in the music industry... We could make you a star..."

"Oh, umm… well…." I stammered and smiled, and then stole a look at Zen, who was sitting too far away for me to give him the tell-tale sign of a squeeze to the knee. Instead, I bit my lower lip, which I hoped would deliver the same message: hold-on-for-now-please-babe-don't-make-a-scene.

Jumin seemed overjoyed, pleased beyond any possible bad outcome. "MC," he said, beaming, a little too much, in my opinion. "Please demonstrate your talents for us now, if you would…"

"He means sing us a song," Saeyoung quipped.

"Yeah!" Yoosung said, clapping his hands together. "Go on then, MC... Sing us a song!"

"Ah well," I said, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. I looked at Zen and we locked eyes. What-do-I-do? Mine said to his. I-don't-know… his said back, and he shrugged his shoulders. Trust me? Mine said. Then those most gorgeous iridescent red eyes imperceptibly nodded.

"Well," I said, lifting my face and smiling fully to my crowd of friends. "There is this American singer-songwriter I fell in love with in California…"

The opening bars of Dolly Parton's "Jolene" are like second nature… A minor, C major, G major. It's a song of jealousy, of hurt, of heartbreak. The main character in the song pleads to her antagonist in the song… Please, please don't take my man, she says, please, please, don't take him, even though you can.

I delivered Dolly Parton a silent prayer in that moment, and also asked for strength. I looked at Jumin, his hand placed firmly on the small of Mi-Sun's back, his gray eyes lidded on my face. I looked at Zen, his red eyes fastened on me and pulling at my soul, as always. Please help me, Dolly, to deliver this thing right.

In the song I'm pleading with my antagonist to leave my lover alone. In reality I'm wishing for our antagonist to leave us both alone, because in this particular love triangle, I'm not sure who this person is hurting most. The only thing I'm sure of is that I'm Jolene, and that sucks.

I try to keep my eyes on Zen while I'm singing, but I can't help but feel the strangeness of Jumin's icy stare. I realize it's the same feeling I got that time when Elizabeth the 3rd was missing and he wouldn't let me leave his apartment. When the song is finally over, I put down the guitar and rush enthusiastically into Zen's arms.

"You know I am yours, always," I said, breathlessly. "You KNOW that, right?" I wasn't sure exactly why, but I felt guilty and awful in a lot of ways.

"I know, Princess," he said, eyeing Jumin with a kind of contemplative revenge I wouldn't wish on anyone. "I know."

Sensing the awkwardness Mi-Sun popped up and clapped her hands. "Let's play a game of Tuho!" she said. Her tone was over-enthusiastic, kind of like a hopeful denial.

Tuho is a game I hadn't played much, only heard about. It was a game of leisure, a moderately physical game based on skill and luck. There was a scoring vessel, made up of a singular prominent vase surrounded by four other smaller vases. Five batons are provided for each team to try and hurl into an awaiting vessel. The game is won or loss according to points awarded. Each baton has the potential to score a total of five points for the middle vase, and a total of one point for each surrounding vessel.

"I'm IN!" Yoosung sang. "Me and my girlie… we're a team…"

"You can't be a team," Saeyoung said. "That's not how this game works… It's single players, period."

"Fine," Yoosung said, looping his fingers in his princess's fingers. "We'll just go for a walk…"

"Ooooh…" Saeyoung said, with a mock-warning tone. "You maybe don't want to do that…"

Yoosung spun around. "That's enough, Seven!" he snarled. "Enough of your jokes. What are you going to tell me next? That I'm going to pass out after drinking that French cocktail?"

"Oh, you mean 'French 71 Passing Out Syndrom?" Saeyoung said.

I couldn't help but giggle a little.

"See?" Yoosung said. "Now you're getting MC in on it, too… like always."

Lexi Ann elbowed Saeyoung in the shoulder. "Aw, come on, honey," she said. "Leave poor Yoosung alone."

Saeyoung sighed. "Oh fine," he said. "No fun. Nobody around here is any fun any more…"

Mi-Sun continued to flaunt the batons to left, to right… "Come on, now," she sang, still trying to reign in interest for the game. "Who's in for a little Tuho…?"

"I'll play," Zen said, finally. He stepped forward and removed his blazer in kind of a revelatory fashion that left me breathless. His muscles were just enough to flex prominently, naturally, not so much to make you think "steroids". God, he was so hot.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Jumin watching me watch Zen in a gray-eyed way that unnerved me. When I glanced over at Mi-Sun, I was sure she saw it, too.

"Well, then I'm in, too…" Jumin said, also removing his coat. "Bring it on Model Boy…"

"I prefer the term 'actor'," Zen said. "As I haven't done any modeling in months…"

"And who do you have to thank for that?" Jumin said.

Mi-Sun quickly stepped between the two men, clapping her hands. "Yay!" she said. "You'll see… This is a fun game!"

I looked at Jumin, trying to read his features. What was up with him so suddenly? I thought he was so happy with Mi-Sun, but maybe not? What the fuck was going on?

Jaehee suddenly appeared at my shoulder. "Oh no," she said, whispering to me. "Mr. Han… oh he isn't… oh, and Zen…"

"Yep," I said. "Rivals to the end…"

"I tried to talk Mr. Han out of giving you that guitar," she went on. "I knew exactly how Zen would take it…"

Mi-Sun handed five batons to Zen, and five to Jumin, and then both of them walked down to the course to stand behind the 1.5 meter line.

"Ok," Mi-Sun said. "You know the rules. Toss the batons into the vessels to earn points. Five points for the middle vessel, one point each for the surrounding vessels. The person with the most points at the end of the game wins."

Zen looked Jumin up and down. "So this should be a piece of cake..."

"I don't know what you're talking about…" Jumin said. "I played this game nearly every day of every summer during my childhood… You don't stand a chance."

"Oh my god," I said. "Why do you two always need to be so competitive?"

Lexi Ann came to stand on the other side of me. "Boys will be boys… especially these boys," she said, shaking her head.

Saeyoung stepped forward. "I'll play the winner!" he said with a wild grin. Bless his heart for trying to lighten the mood. "I've never played Tuho, but how hard could it be?"

Ignoring Saeyoung in favor of his single-minded agenda, Zen gestured to Jumin. "OK, then Trust Fund," he said, using his most challenging tone. "Since you're the self-reported expert, why don't you go first?"

"Glad to," Jumin said, rolling up his shirt sleeves. "Darling," he said, turning to Mi-Sun. "Can you get me a glass of wine?"

"Certainly dear," Mi-Sun said. "Would anyone else like a beverage?"

"I'll take a beer," Zen said. "A Kass, that is, if you got any of those peasant drinks..."

I didn't like the tone in Zen's voice. He sounded bitter, angry...and he probably most certainly didn't need a beer on top of that attitude. Jaehee was right. I could tell he didn't like the idea of Jumin gifting me a guitar. He probably thought that was something he should do for me. I walked over to stand next to him, looping my fingers in his.

"Hey," I said, carefully, looking up at him through the curtain of my bangs. "What's going on with you?"

"Nothing, Princess," Zen said, giving me a sideways glance. "Just going to kick Trust Fund's ass at this douchey game…"

"Aw, come on, Zen," I said. "It's just a guitar…"

With that comment, Zen practically threw the five batons to the ground and pulled me over to stand under a cherry tree a good distance from the others.

"What do you mean 'just a guitar'?" Zen said through clenched teeth. "I should have been the one to get you that."

"Zen, babe," I said. "It doesn't matter who gave it to me…"

"No, but it does," Zen said, angrily. "That arrogant prick knows... He very much realizes that every time you play that guitar I'm going to be reminded, and he wants YOU to be reminded, too... that he, the big fancy rich daddy Warbucks Han Jumin is the one with the actual means to take care of you." Zen squeezed his eyes shut, balling his fists at his sides. "Damn! That jerk makes it his business to make me feel inferior…"

"So don't let him, Zen," I said. "Don't let him."

Zen grabbed both my hands in earnest, searching my eyes. "MC," he said. "I think I know the answer to this, but I've got to know…"

"I already know what you're going to say, Zen, and the answer is no," I said. "No, I don't give a shit about Jumin's money, and beyond friendship, I don't give a shit about Jumin at all… Whatever little hang up or turf war you two got going on over me, well, I'd just as soon see it stop because there's no contest." I sighed, reaching my hands up to touch Zen's cheeks. "Baby, I love YOU, only you… Really, how much more, what can I really do or say to prove it to you once and for all? Tell me, whatever it is, I'll do it..."

Zen sighed. "You're right," he said. "I'm being stupid...I don't have my head on straight."

"Zen, honestly, I think this feud you got going on with Jumin is more about you and him, and less, if anything, to do with me…" I said.

"God," he said, smiling a little, and I could feel his anger waver. "What did I ever do to deserve you?"

Zen leaned down to kiss me, but was cut short by a voice calling from the Tuho game.

"Hey there, Lover Boy!" Jumin said. He was twirling one of the batons in a taunting manner. "Are you ready to get over here and prove your worth?"

"God!" Zen hissed under his breath. "I can't stand that egotistical maniac…"

"Just let it go, babe," I said, squeezing his hand.

Zen sighed and then called back to the others. "Yeah, yeah," he said. "Hold your damn horses…" But instead of heading to the game area directly, Zen reached down to cup the back of my head.

"Come here, Princess," he said, delivering a defiant sideways glance in Jumin's direction. "That prick can wait…" With his other hand on the small of my back, Zen pulled me up on tiptoe and crushed my lips to his…

There was a lot of hooting and hollering from the peanut gallery, including Jaehee's usual exasperated cry "Get a room! Jesus!" but Zen was undeterred. He took his damn time, kissing me long and deep, digging his fingers into my long hair, and then, finally, he walked slowly over to Jumin and the others.

"OK, let's do this…" Zen said, shooting a cold, sideways look in Jumin's direction.

"May the best man win," Jumin said, sticking out a hand.

"Whatever, Mr. Corporate Heir," Zen said, reluctantly accepting the businessman's grasp. "Let's just play."

We all stood by and watched as Jumin launched his five batons at the Tuho vessel with precision. Out of the five, he landed two in the center vessel and two in the outer two. One baton missed completely.

"Ok, that's 12 points," Mi-Sun said.

Zen nodded. "Respectable," he said.

Jumin smiled. "Oh I'm more than respectable," he said. "Let's see what you can do, Zen." The way Jumin said it made me think, made everyone think that the CEO-in-line didn't think Zen would do much.

With a toss of his silver head, Zen walked up to the line and tossed the first of his five batons. When it landed straight in the center vessel, he pumped his fist into the air. Jumin's mouth dropped open wide in sheer surprise.

"Damn!" Zen said, punching Jumin in the arm. "Did you see that, Trust Fund? No need for a privileged upbringing here…" Zen waggled his eyebrows at the businessman. "That, my friend, is just pure talent."

Jumin huffed. "You mean pure luck," he said, wryly. "Go on, try your 'talent' again…"

Feeling empowered, Zen launched the second baton with confidence… but, this time, the baton landed completely out of the play zone.

"Aw, that's too bad," Jumin said with a smug smile. "I suppose talent isn't one hundred percent reliable…"

Zen threw the last three batons. Two landed in one-point vessels, and the final one just missed the middle vessel by about an inch. When the game was over, Zen just turned to me and shrugged.

"That's OK, babe," I said, rushing over to grasp his arm. "You're still my hero."

"You're sweet," Zen said, kissing me on the top of the head. "But I didn't win."

"Babe, it's Tuho," I said, rolling my eyes up at him like who-cares?

Jumin did not bother at all to disguise his pleasure with the victory. He beamed and snapped his fingers as Mi-Sun announced the final scores.

"That's a total of 7 points for Zen," Mi-Sun said. "And 12 for Jumin."

"What a surprise," Jumin said. It was funny how much Jumin resembled a cat whenever he was feeling smug. He looked like a cat who had swallowed a canary now. "I win."

"Oh really, darling," Mi-Sun said, reaching out to touch Jumin on the arm. "It's not bad for a first time, though, is it?"
Jumin quickly drew his arm away. "There's no substitute for good breeding, Mi-Sun," he said. "I thought you'd know that and agree."

"Oh, I didn't mean…" Mi-Sun started, but Jumin was already walking away.

"Darling," he said. "Isn't it time for you to get your coat?"

Author's note: Oh, Jumin… What's up with you and your need to control stuff? I'm having so much fun with this story - I am simply in love with Zen and MC - but I think the end is coming to mind, and I can't ignore that… Maybe three or four more chapters? Thanks (always) for reading, commenting, reviewing, feedback, etc. I love hearing from you :-) :-)