Behind the Curtain [Seo Changbin ff]

53

Jiho POV

The rest of the semester went by quite quickly.

I had agreed to move to Changbin's, giving into his insistent and persistent request, finally meeting his stepfather and exchanging a few words with him.

He was a tall man, nothing like Changbin, and had a character opposite to that of Changbin's mom. He was quite reserved, keen of mannerism and always dressed on point as if he had been invited to a business dinner.

A very intimidating man, especially knowing about his mafia connections.

- Jiho, Changbin told me so many things about you! - He merrily exclaimed as he took a seat at the table, where we were all sitting. - How has he been to you? Has he treated you well? - He asked jokingly, but his voice had a hint of warning in it.

I smiled to myself, lowering my gaze while staring at my plate to hide my blush.

Changbin had been an angel. He would always spoil me, take me out for lunch, let me have everything I wanted, even though I didn't want anything else but to stay with him all the time. He would buy me flowers or take me to long walks along the river, maybe getting an ice cream right after.

I blushed even more, my eyes meeting Changbin's for a second. He shyly smiled, encouraging me to speak with a nod of his head.

- He's perfect. - I replied, a held-back smile creeping up my face. - Nobody has ever treated me like he does. - My skin heated up at my cheesy words.

- I'm glad to hear that. - He smiled warmly, looking at his stepson.

Changbin's mom brought the food to the table, all of us drooling at the smell, immediately taking a bite.

- This tastes so good! - I complimented her, munching on a big piece of meat.

The two men agreed after tasting it as well.

- You're the best, mom. - Changbin smiled happily, his mother looking at him just as if he was still her little baby.

- So are you guys excited for the Christmas party? Chan told me he was planning on making it memorable, since this is you guys' senior year! - Changbin's mom smiled happily, resting her chopsticks on the side of her plate to clap her hands in excitement.

- I'm really looking forward to it! He told me he wanted to make it perfect, and I know he will. - I replied.

- Yeah, I'm quite sure he has some good surprises up his sleeves. - My boyfriend smirked, finishing his food.

- Isn't the party next week? How come he hasn't told you anything about it yet? - The woman furrowed her eyebrows, looking at both of us questioningly.

We shrugged our shoulders, not minding it too much.

- You know how Chan is... he's worried we might be disappointed, so he overworks and makes sure that nobody ever knows what to expect. "You can't be disappointed if you don't know what to expect", he says. - Changbin chuckled at Chan's nonsense dictated by anxiety.

- Do we know if there's a dress code? - I asked, suddenly realizing I had no fancy nor presentable clothes whatsoever.

- I think he said something about red and white. - He shrugged it off, but my face went pale.

- I don't have any clothes! - I pouted, throwing my hands in my hair in desperation. - And the party is next week, how can I even think about finding a dress before next Friday? -

Changbin chuckled, shaking his head while scanning my body with predatory eyes, clearly thinking about what would have happened once I took off the dress I still had to buy.

He licked his lips, unintentionally giving away his thoughts to everyone at the table.

I kicked him, desperately trying to bring him back to reality, and it worked.

He cleared his throat, sitting back up straight and avoiding his stepfather's gaze with all of his might.

- I can accompany you tomorrow afternoon! - Changbin's mom excitedly announced, waiting for me to give her confirmation.

I nodded, smiling.

I was starting to get close to her, almost feeling as if I had finally another female figure in my life, which I had been craving ever since my mom passed away.

Changbin's mom was different from her, but sometimes they resembled each other in the way they cocked their eyebrows or looked at you when you messed up.

And to a certain extent, I think that I was slowly starting to fill the empty spot she had been feeling ever since Soojin's death. It was obvious that she felt the need to take care of people, preparing snacks for anybody who would come over, or simply ensuring they felt at home.

And with her, I truly did.

•••

- Jiho, what do you think of this one? - She said as she took out of the rack a long, white dress.

I chuckled, shaking my head.

- It's a high school Christmas party, not my wedding! - I joked as I scanned the infinite line of dresses.

- Mh, we should also talk about that... - She joked, snickering but earning an eye roll from me, even though I couldn't help but giggle.

My eyes stopped on a long, satin dress, of an intense red color. It was simple, of the kind I had always dreamt of.

I took it out, immediately trying it on. It hugged my curves perfectly, wrapping the waist to accentuate my hourglass shape.

Changbin was gonna go crazy.

I showed his mom, whose eyes lit up in amazement.

- You are so beautiful, look at you! - She cooed, asking me to spin for her, her mouth wide open and lips raised in a smile. - How does it feel? -

- Perfect. - I couldn't help but grin from ear to ear.

- Changbin will love it! - She exclaimed, already excited at the thought of her son and I walking inside the school gym all dressed fancily, all eyes on us.

I wasn't any less ecstatic.