adora • lookism

2. ONE MCN

In the grand scheme of things, Ari had only come to know exactly what world this was relatively recently. Which was a shame, because if she had known prior, she probably would have avoided a few of the decisions whose consequences she was still dealing with to this day.

"Good afternoon, Director Seo," Ari greeted. Breezily stepping into the office, she made her way towards the vast desk in the center of the room, behind which sat a man in a three-piece suit and gold-rimmed glasses. "Have you eaten yet?"

"Hello, Miss Lim." Samuel Seo glanced up from the paper he was reading and nodded his head at her. His face was as inscrutable as usual. "Unfortunately, I have not."

"It's not good to skip lunch to work all the time," Ari scolded, in a tone as mild as a spring morning. She lifted the canvas bag she held in one hand and the small tray of drinks in the other. "I was afraid that would be the case, so I brought something with me."

When she placed her packages onto an empty spot on the desk, Samuel smiled back in thanks, a very slight tilt of his lips that almost couldn't have been seen if she hadn't been standing so close to him. It was one of his softer smiles, which she found to be distinct from his polite business smiles and his genteel gangster smiles.

Ari smiled back at Samuel with both of her dimples showing.

Samuel Seo looked very pretty when he smiled, even prettier for that his hair was down today, drooping languidly over his forehead. She wondered if she'd ever be able to be sure when those smiles were fake or not. He really had something of a snake about him---the glittering, venomous type that would bite you when you least expected it.

Seriously, if she had known everything before, Ari wouldn't have joined this damn organization to work with such a buried landmine. Ordinary high school boys were so much simpler in comparison to the deviants she had to deal with on a regular basis.

"You should eat a bit before we start," Ari said. She perched onto the edge of the desk, light as a dragonfly. "Or you'll get dizzy after."

Samuel put down his pen and dragged the food closer to himself in a gesture of acquiescence. "I don't suppose you brought coffee?"

Cheerily, she reminded him, "I wouldn't give you coffee when we're about to have a session. It's green tea."

"I see." While his tone didn't sound like anything in particular, she got the impression that he was a bit disappointed. Well, too bad. He'd have to deal.

"Oh, I almost forgot." Before Samuel could open the containers she'd brought, Ari reached out to hold his wrist. She braced her hand on the desk and leaned in close to his face. "Show me your tongue?"

He paused, sooty lashes sweeping high on his cheeks, but obligingly opened his mouth. Ari studied it for a moment, observing its coat and colour.

"Hmm," she said. She held out her hand, palm-up. "Wrist please?"

Ari watched as Samuel unbuttoned his cuffs and rolled up his sleeves with neat, precise movements. He must have decided not to put on the concealment powder past his cuffs today because he knew she was coming; she could see a surge of ink unveiling itself with every fold of his sleeve, dark shapes undulating over the shift of hard muscle.

Arms now bare, he extended them towards her. Ari placed three fingers on each wrist---first the right, then the left. She focused closely on his pulses, her head bowed so low that a few of the fine hairs around her face drooped down to tickle his palm. His fingers twitched as if they wanted to curl closed.

"Well," she concluded, after a few minutes of silence. "There's still a bit of qi stagnation, but it seems to have improved a little." She hopped off the desk and did a little stretch to loosen her back and neck. "I'll go set up the bed. You should eat a few of the fruits in the meanwhile, Director Seo."