Love Maze

09 | i might just kiss you

|| CHAPTER NINE ;; NOLAN KIM
- i might just kiss you

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Since he's been notified about being the 'first pick,' Nolan sits higher up at the table compared to the others. Because of his higher status, Levin isn't next to him, but the Jung family is. Min Suho and another competitor sit on either side of Nolan, and luckily for him, Jung Jae-In sits right across from him.

What an awesome and great privilege. He nibbles at his bottom lip as he swirls pure liquid gold in his glass, the feeling of sitting so high up amongst the billionaire family a little awkward.

It's like all of their eyes are on him, even though they all are indulging in their own private conversations. Soo-Jin steals glances at Nolan from where she's sitting, and when he looks up at her, she merely blinks and turns away. Jae-In's older brother sometimes casts curious looks over at Nolan, and whenever Nolan catches him, Nolan curses inwardly that he can't understand the foreign language that flows from Jaewoo's mouth as he converses with Suho.

The Jungs are a pain in the ass; more than Jae-In himself. Nolan simply wants to crumble and disappear like dust in the wind. He feels excruciatingly embarrassed to be sitting amongst high-ranked people. It's a struggle debating whether or not he wants to be excused — they haven't reached the deserts yet!

"M-may I — um, be excused?" Nolan stumbles over his words pretty embarrassingly, and if not for the fact that Jung Soo-Jin hears him, he would have died from the awkwardness of having to say it again.

He mutters an inaudible thanks as he pushes out of his seat, ignoring the way Jae-In's irises seem to trail after him. It's when he's halfway down the table that Nolan bumps his thigh against someone's pushed out chair, bending over to rub away at the pain. At the same time, that person ends up splashing their red wine over his shoulder, the liquid hitting Nolan's bent head.

Oh fuck, I'm going to screech. Nolan's face flushes bright red and a muscle twitches in his jaw at the feeling of wine dripping down his hair.

"Oops." The boy shrugs, setting his wine back down with a snigger. Nolan blinks slowly, frozen in place as he stares daggers into the back of the boy's head, hoping if he stays there the boy will disintegrate underneath his gaze.

"Byun Jae Bom." Jung Jae-In's slow vowels prick Nolan's ears, surprise contorting Nolan's features as this is the first thing he's said all night.

Jae Bom's features turn pale at the call of his name, his Adam's apple bobbing in his throat as he stutters over a simple, "Yes?"

There's something in Jung Jae-In's eyes that's indecipherable, a sort of new flame burning wildly in his onyx irises. Nolan watches in anticipation, completely entranced by the pure silence of the dining room.

"You're eliminated. That behavior is unacceptable if you want to work here." Jae-In sneers bitterly, his eyes rolling as he returns to his one-sided conversation with Soo-Jin like nothing happened.

Guards swarm Jae Bom as they lift him out of his seat, leading the blubbering boy that's suddenly a fountain of good manners out of the premises. Nolan tries to catch Jae-In's eye but it's useless.

Jae-In's back to acting as if Nolan is just thin air.

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Nolan goes up the stairs as everyone disperses amongst the living space, probably chatting about the recent (and quite unexpected) elimination that took place only minutes ago.

He didn't at all expect Jae-In to eliminate anyone so fast, especially after an accident like that. Nolan has to admit he feels a little bad, knowing the guy probably worked hard to get here. Yeah, he'd purposely tossed his drink at him, but Jae Bom didn't stain his shirt, so Nolan's perfectly fine with that. The only thing that's making his nose wrinkle in disgust is the smell of fermented grain in his hair.