Countless

Chapter 15

[Mabel]

I was so nervous as Kibum opened the car door for me. We were going to meet his band members at a restaurant and saying I was anxious was an understatement.

"Relax, it'll be fine," he whispered as he walked behind me, one hand on my shoulder. I'd opted for a more casual look but smart all the same in order to look like I'd made an effort.

We entered and someone hailed him out immediately, Key responding with a hand gesture. We went over to the table and the others got up. One seemed to be missing though.

"Hello." The one called Minho stuck his hand out for me to shake. "My name is Minho."

"Annyeonghaseyo," I said as I shook his hand.

Jinki offered his next with a bright smile. I appreciated their efforts to make me feel comfortable.

As we sat down the missing member arrived. He said something in Korean and Kibum scolded him before he turned to me and said, "hello, my name is Taemin."

"Nice to meet you, Taemin."

We sat at the table and decided to order first. Kibum explained to me what was on the menu and helped me choose something. After that, the members helped to make conversation flow naturally.

They weren't that bad at English. Kibum filled in all the gaps and acted as a link between us. They asked me a lot about myself and how I met Key. I asked them about themselves and their job.

I got a good vibe from them so I was sure it was going well.

"It went well, didn't it?" I asked Kibum afterwards.

"It did. They liked you a lot."

"I liked them too."

One down, one more to go.

Kibum's parents came up to meet me at his place. We had another meal and they made polite conversation with me as much as they could. They seemed pleasant enough and their love for their son was apparent.

"I think your parents raised you well," I announced that night.

"Really? I'm honoured. Although my grandma did a lot of the work."

"Well then she did a great job."

Kibum smiled and booped my nose. "Maybe one day I'll meet your mum."

"Yeah, sometime."

He was quiet for a bit and then asked, "will I ever meet your sister?"

I bristled at that. "I don't know." Our relationship was a sore point for me.

"Okay." He didn't push it any further. "I'm gonna start preparing for the concert soon so I hope you'll enjoy it. Frankly, it's not that riveting."

"It is to me. I've never seen you in action."

"I'll show you a lot of action then." He smirked.

I nudged him. "Stop it!"

He chuckled and I settled down on him again, excited for the future.

_____

It was interesting sitting in on rehearsals. In the past couple of days I'd seen more of Kibum's serious side as he worked with his dancers and choreographers. This time he'd said I was a journalist, which gave me a reason to be there taking photos.

As I watched him interact with people, I couldn't help but feel a little insecure. He was surrounded by so many beautiful and talented people, what exactly was it that he saw in me?

He was part of a completely different world to me and it felt like I was always playing catch-up to try to understand it. He made it all worth it though.

The actual performance took my breath away. It was part of a showcase so he only did a couple of songs, but his energy and his voice were unlike anything I'd experienced before. I felt like I fell more in love with him after seeing him onstage.

"How did you like it?" he asked me afterwards in his dressing room.

"It was amazing! I've never seen you like that before."

"There's a lot more where that came from." He smirked. I wanted to embrace him but some of his dancers and crew came in to chat, one of them draping an arm around his shoulders. I bristled with jealousy but had to keep it under wraps as they chatted away in Korean.

Afterwards, Key seemed to notice something was up and asked me about it at his place.

"Are you alright? You've been quiet the whole way back."

"Hmm? Oh yeah."

"You didn't like it when the others came in, huh?"

He was always straight to the point.

"I didn't like the way one of your dancers touched you."

I got into bed and he followed.

"I can get that. She didn't mean anything by it though."

"I know." I sighed. "It's just..."

"What? Tell me."

I didn't know if I wanted to tell him.

"Being around all these attractive people makes me feel insecure. I mean, what exactly do you see in me?"

I looked away from him, and he turned my head back, giving me a loving look.

"Don't say that, don't you ever say that. You're very attractive to me, you can't even imagine how much. I'm not attracted to anyone in my entourage. Why do you think I'd been single for so long before you? You're such a beautiful person inside and out, and that's what made me fall in love with you."

I felt myself tear up and he hugged me to his side. "I know it's hard being with me because of my job, but please never doubt that I love you. Please?"

"I promise," I whispered.

He gave me a kiss and I rested my head on his chest.

"So you really think I'm that attractive?"

"Yes."

"What exactly?"

He sighed and played with my hair. "I'm not sure if I should think about that right now when we're so close."

I blushed at what he was implying. "Oh, right."

"I can barely keep my hands off you as is."

We hadn't gotten down to business yet but I could tell he wanted to. I was starting to feel like I wanted to as well. I decided not to let this whole trip go by without letting him be my first time.

"Maybe... Maybe you can show me how attractive you find me."

He looked at me, studying me with eyes full of desire. "You don't have to ask me twice."

And he made good on that promise for the rest of the holiday.