Beautiful Disaster

Chapter 4

"Wow... This all really looks amazing. I hope you didn't go to all this trouble just for me?" Rui smiled and directed her comments to Ann. Ann, looked slightly confused but then smiled.

"Ummm... It really wasn't trouble at all. I didn't do much, honestly. Just maybe chopped some tomatoes and lettuce. I mainly kept Kihyun company while he cooked all of this." She smiled and bit her lip as she notice the look on Rui's face. It looked like all the blood had drained from her face and went into her ears. Rui nodded in response to Ann's answer and stayed silent.

Alise noticed and tried to make things less awkward by speaking up.

"Have you ever had Mexican food before? I wouldn't think it would be too available in Korea." She said as she started passing things around. Alise took a spoon and scooped some of the fragrant, colorful rice onto her plate.

"No... I really haven't. This will be a first for me. You all will have to explain to me what I'm going to be eating." Rui smiled at Alise and looked at the other faces around her. She even tried to look at Kihyun but looked away instead.

Kihyun could sense her discomfort but wanted Rui next to him. He took her plate and began placing food items on it for her. As he did, he explained what each one was. He finally grabbed a tortilla shell and asked her what she liked. Rui answered him easily enough and he filled the shell for her before handing her the plate.

"I hope you like it." He said and smiled weakly as he made up his own plate. Rui noticed that he took similar items and even made his taco like hers.

"I see we have similar tastes when it comes to food." Rui whispered to him as everyone was eating. She began nibbling on a tortilla chip that she had dipped into this green stuff called guacamole. It was smooth and tangy and she was enjoying the freshness of it. Kiki leaned close and whispered in her ear.

"I want to learn all about you so please, tell me what you like." She felt her face her warm from the blush and from feeling his breath against her skin. She almost dropped her chip but shoved it in her mouth instead. She had a feeling this man was not just talking about her food choices. Her eyes looked up and over at him. He was grinning at her. Ok... Two could play this game. If he was going to act like nothing bothered him then she would, too!

She smiled back as she lifted the tortilla to her mouth and took a bite. Her senses were filled with the freshness of the ingredients. She made delightful little noises as she continued to eat. After trying the taco, she scooped up some of the rice. She was hesitant at first but tried it anyway. As she was chewing she began wiggling in her chair.

"Are you ok, Rui?" Hyungwon asked her as he had noticed her moving around. She was shocked that someone other than the girls was speaking to her at first, but got over it quickly.

"Oh... Yes, I'm fine. This is just really delicious. I wasn't expecting it to taste this good."
She smiled warmly at Hyungwon as Kihyun watched. His blood began to boil. Why was she smiling so sweetly at him? All he did was ask her a stupid question. He had cooked an entire feast for her and she could barely stand being next to him. He scooted his chair closer to her and glared at Hyungwon.

Hyungwon was oblivious of course, because he was too busy with his conversation with Changkyun. However, Amber was watching the whole scene as it played out in front of her. She had to put her napkin in front of her face to hide her smile.

When dinner was over, Rui volunteered to help Changkyun with the dishes. Kihyun wanted to agrue but Jooheon and Shownu insisted he rest, since he had cooked such a delicious meal. Plus, they wanted to catch up with him on pack business. The three of them headed off to Jooheon's office to discuss things. The ladies, decided to make tea and have it in the library.

The girls made their way to the library and got comfortable on one of the many leather couches. Then Alise and Amber proceeded to give each other a knowing look.

"Was it just me, or did anyone else sense anything going on between Rui and Kiki at dinner." Alise said as she stirred her tea and glanced at her sisters faces. Amber smirked. Ann stayed quiet and began blowing on her tea.

"It wasn't just you. There is some serious tension there. One might even say it was mate worthy." She raised her eyebrows and glanced over at Ann who was looking in the other direction trying to avoid the conversation.

"Ann... You seem awfully quiet. You usual love spilling the tea. So...? What's really going on? We already know you know. You been buzzing all night. And don't even try,  because you suck at lying." Alise and Amber both looked at her waiting for a response.

"Oh my God! Ok! I'll tell you but you can't repeat this. The poor girl thinks I can actually keep a secret. She'd be so hurt if she found out I barely lasted the evening." Ann sighed and made her friends swear.

"Ok... Well... Rui found out that Kihyun is her mate." Both Alise and Amber began giggling happily. Ann tried to shush them.

"Wait... There's more. She told him that she doesn't want to accept it right now because she feels like she needs to earn her place here. She's making him wait until she has proven herself somehow." Ann told them sighing. Alise sat back in the chair and Amber put her hand to her mouth.

"Awww..  Poor Kiki! She doesn't have to do that. I don't expect her to prove herself? I just want her to live here with us and be happy. I've already accepted her as my Gamma. I know she will do a good job. I need to tell her... She can't make that poor guy wait like that! It isn't fair." Alise put her tea cup down and began to stand but Amber stopped her.

"Wait... I get it. I would do the same in her position. I mean, I kinda did. I made Shownu wait for me until after you found your wolf. And if it hadn't happened when you got kidnapped who knows how long it would have taken. We might still have been acting like we weren't crazy for each other. It's a difficult sacrifice but one that is made for the good of the pack. Don't you see? You can't just tell her not to feel a certain way about doing the one thing that she's been raised to do since birth." Amber explained.

Ann nodded taking Alise's hand.

"She has got to do this for her own sake. They will come together eventually. We all know how patient Kihyun is and we each know how strong the mate bond can really be. I have a feeling things are going to get interesting between them. We will just have to watch and see. But... Don't tell the guys, ok? Seriously!" Ann begged them. They continued their conversation hedging bets with each other to see how long Rui and Kihyun would be able to hold off the mate bond.