Holding her gaze for a moment, Min Ho gently pulled her into his arms and embraced her tightly. She didn’t struggle and just leaned against him, relaxed herself in his arms. “I can’t promise you or tell you what will happen to us in the future because nobody knows what will happen tomorrow. I can only promise that I will try my best to cherish this relationship, take care of you and love you whole heartedly.”
Shin Hye took a deep breath and rest her chin on his shoulder. She can tell her frozen heart is slowly melting and the wall she built in between them is crashing down. “Can you give me some time to think about it?”
“What is there to think about? If you are unsure about anything, you can ask me now.” Min Ho insists an answer today. He doesn’t want to wait anymore.
“Yoona is still missing. I’m worried about her. And my thoughts are in a mess now and I’m not sure with my own feelings. I need time to calm down myself and think thoroughly.” Shin Hye said.
Min Ho pulled back and looked at her. “How long? How long you need to think?”
“I don’t know.” Shin Hye held her gaze low; dare not to meet his eyes.
He let out another deep sigh before he tilt her chin up, forcing her to look at him. “So what are we now? Don’t you dare to tell me we are still friends because it’s impossible for us to be friends anymore.”
“I… we… a non-exclusive relationship?” Shin Hye whispered, gazing up at him cautiously.
“What?” Min Ho widened his eyes, bewildered with what she said. “A non-exclusive relationship? What is that supposed to mean?”
Shin Hye tried to harden her face, suppressing a smile when she saw his anxious reaction. “Hmmm…” She tilted her head as if thinking how to explain it to him. “A non-exclusive relationship means an open relationship. We are not friends anymore but we still not belong to each other. We don’t need to answer and explain anything to each other, we can do our own things and not worry about what each other are doing. We can be honest and don’t need to lie or hide anything from each other. We don’t need to feel like we have the threat of losing something. And most importantly, we can still date whoever we want and not get in trouble for it. We can treat this as a trying period and see whether we suit for each other or not.” She bit her lip and stopped herself from talking when she saw his gaze darkened.
♩ ♪ ♫ ♩ ♪ ♫
It’s confusing, it’s confusing, it’s like I can see his heart but not
You keep going back and forth, stop shaking up my heart
It’s confusing, it’s confusing, it’s like I can see his heart but not
You keep going back and forth, stop shaking up my heart
♩ ♪ ♫ ♩ ♪ ♫
A sharp breath escaped his lips as he tightened his arms around her waist, bringing her closer to him. Staring at her with a dangerous gaze, he spoke again in a deep voice. “Non-exclusive? Date whoever we want?” He smirked. “You do know how possessive and jealousy I am, right? I can’t guarantee what I will do if I see anybody dares to come near to you. It might turn out to be very ugly. Are you sure you really want to be in this non-exclusive relationship with me?” He threatened her, trying to scare her.
Shin Hye was stunned for a moment, totally frightened by his scary expression. She cleared her throat and forced herself to stay calm. She let out a firm nod. “Y-Yes. I’m very sure.”
“Okay then.” He said as he leaned down with his lips almost touches hers. His lips curled up slightly when she gasped nervously with their closeness. Her face was blushed in deep red as her eyes were looking at his lips.
“Since we are in a relationship now, although it’s not exclusive, but I guess I can still claim my right first.” He whispered against her lips, sending shiver through her body with his warm breath.
“Meo?” Shin Hye asked but she didn’t get any reply from him because at that very moment, he already moved his hand to her nape, pulling her into a deep and passionate kiss. She could only feel his warmth and his scent intruding her senses.
--------------------------------------------------------------
“What?” Min Ho asked with his eyes widened, looking at Manager Jin in disbelief.
Manager Jin heaved a deep sigh as he nodded. “It’s true. I got the news from a very reliable source and they told me Yoona signed the contract with Swarovski yesterday. She will be the new face for their next spring collection. They will have a press conference to announce the news officially to the public by this week.”
“But how can she sign a contract without our consent? She is under our management company. She can’t simply sign a contract with anyone without getting our permission.” Min Ho said.
Manager Jin sighed again. “I heard she has a secret meeting with Siwon’s new agency. She might plan to leave JET. I think she has already prepared herself for a lawsuit if we are going to sue her.” He paused and looked at Min Ho. “But I’m sure she knows you won’t do that to her.”
Min Ho inhaled deeply as he closed his eyes for a brief moment to calm himself down.
“What are we going to do now? We already sign a preliminary agreement with Agatha. Even if they agree to change to another model, their new designs required someone who looks pure, fresh and natural. Except Yoona, none of our models match those requirements.” Manager Jin asked.
Min Ho opened his eyes and looked at him. “Let me think about it.”
Manager Jin nodded. “But we need to be fast. If they suddenly change the press conference to earlier date and announce the news before we inform Agatha, they will be pissed and we have to bear the consequences. Swarovski is their biggest competitor. They might just go to find Krystal from ST Entertainment and sue us for breach of contract.”
“I know. I will…” Her sentence was cut off when someone knocked on the door. “Come in.”
The door opened and his secretary walked in with Shin Hye following from behind. “Sajang-nim, Shin Hye-sshi is already here.” His secretary said as she moved to the side and let Shin Hye to step forward. He is having lunch with Shin Hye today and already informed his secretary that no matter what he is doing, she can interrupt him.
But the moment Shin Hye walked into his office, Min Ho was stunned for a brief moment, scanning her from top to toe. An idea suddenly popped up in his mind.
Shin Hye nodded politely at Manager Jin before looking back at Min Ho. “If you are still busy, I can wait outside.”
Min Ho quickly shook his head. “It’s okay. The discussion is over.” He then turned to Manager Jin. “Called Agatha and tell them directly what happen. But ask them not to worry. I have found a new model for them. She matched exactly what they wanted. If they are angry and insist want to find Krystal, try to convince them to wait for another day. We will send the new model’s pictorial to them by tomorrow evening. If by that time they are still not satisfied with the new model, we will take full responsible for their loss.”
Even though Manager Jin was confused but he trusts his boss. He knows Min Ho will be able to find a solution. “Okay.” He took the file on the table, stood up of the chair and smiled at Shin Hye before he stepped out of the room, leaving both Min Ho and Shin Hye alone.
After the door was closed, Shin Hye turned back to Min Ho.
He smiled at her. “Come here.”
Shin Hye put her bag on the chair before walking towards him. When she stopped in front of him, Min Ho stood up and wrapped his arms around her waist, bringing her to him.
“Yah…” Shin Hye tried to struggle but it only make him tightened his arms more. She sighed helplessly, looking at him.
“Just stay like this for a while. Don’t push me away. I’m having a hard time. I need some support from you.” Min Ho said, gazing her with his puppy eyes.
“What happened?” Shin Hye asked worriedly.
Min Ho heaved a deep sigh before telling her what Yoona did behind the agency.
“How can she do that? The client might sue you for breach of contract and it will affect your company.” Shin Hye said anxiously.
He nodded. “I know. But what can I do now? She already signed the contract with the competitor and she knows I won’t sue her back for breach of contract.”
“But just now you told Manager Jin that you found a new model, right?” Shin Hye asked with a hopeful gaze.
Min Ho pursed his lip. “I did. She has all the qualities that our client required but… too bad… she is not a model.”
Shin Hye tilted her head. “Not a model? But… you can still ask her for help, right? Since you said she matches with the brand, you can try to convince her. You can pay her more.”
He nodded and grinned slightly. “I’m trying but… I’m afraid she will say no. She doesn’t really keen for money.”
“Who is she? Maybe I can help and go with you to convince her. You know me. I can be quite persuasive.” She offered to help him.
“Hmmm… I think I really need your help because she is quite stubborn, defensive and hard to persuade.” He said with a smirk.
“Who is she?” She asked again.
“You.”
Shin Hye widened her eyes, looking at him in shock. “Meo? Me? You must be out of your mind, Lee Min Ho.” She said as she pushed him away forcefully, taking a step back. “I’m a doctor not a model. How can I help you? Look at me. Do I look like a model to you?”
Min Ho smiled slightly when he saw her reaction. Her frightened reaction was expected but it still amused him when he saw her freaking out like this. “I have no choice. Agatha needs a model that looks pure and natural. Except Yoona, there is none in my management company who look like that.” He paused and walked forward, drawing her into his arms once again. “And you are the best choice I have now.”
“How can I be your best choice?” Shin Hye protest. “Look at me. I’m not pretty. How can I become a model?”
“Who said you are not pretty?” He disagreed. He will kick whoever’s ass if anyon