Page 24 of When Worlds Collide (Between Worlds #2)

“ Y ah!” Jihoon cried at the two younger men, followed by a stream of Korean so fast, so incomprehensible it was as if I’d never heard the language before this moment.

Whatever he was saying seemed to chastise the two men, even as they still stood with grins on their faces.

Lee Sungmin – the group’s best dancer and second rapper – said something to Jihoon that made him groan, even as he held the door open wider.

With his other arm, though, he pushed me behind his back.

With the door further open, and presumably with permission from Jihoon, the two other members of GVibes crossed the threshold, holding a thick, bushy fir tree between them as if it were a drunk friend they were propping up on the way home.

As they passed me, and while I watched in silent shades of disbelief, they each bowed politely to me with correspondingly polite ‘annyeonghaseyo’s.

Numbly, I returned the gesture, watching as they walked further into the apartment, only banging into the wall once.

Jihoon closed the door and then rested his head against it, groaning softly – an action that might have amused me, had I not just seen two members of GVibes casually carrying a Christmas tree past me.

“Um…” Other words failed me as I listened to the scuffle coming from the living room, where it sounded like the tree might have fallen over.

Jihoon turned back to face me, immediately reaching for my hands. His face was pinched in an expression that was equally irritated and sheepish.

“I’m sorry, Kaiya,” he repeated. “I did not know they would come. Aish, those brats…” he shot a murderous glare over my shoulder and I giggled.

I pulled my hand free of his to slap over my mouth as I continued to explode in uncontrollable bouts of mirth and disbelief.

This was definitely the funniest fever dream I’d ever had.

Jihoon frowned as he watched me, like he wanted to laugh with me, but couldn’t remember how.

“Are you okay, jagiya?” his mouth pulled up in that lopsided grin that made me melt.

I took a couple of deep breaths, trying to steady myself enough to answer, the surreality of this moment sinking in enough to give me pause.

“Ace and Lee are in the living room,” I said through lips still trying desperately to grin.

He looked over my shoulder again before refocusing on me. “Yes.”

“Half of GVibes is here.”

His lips curved. “Technically, it’s 60%. There are five of us, funny girl.”

“Math is a social construct when I’ve got 60% of the most famous idol group hanging out in an apartment we’re borrowing from a K-Drama actor.” I reached for him, twining my fingers in his shirt and grounding myself in him.

He made a thoughtful sound before saying, “I don’t think we’re ‘the’ most famous group. Maybe third most famous.”

I lightly smacked him. “Can you not? I’m freaking out.”

“Why? They’re just my other members.” His eyebrows furrowed as he focused on me.

“They’re crazy famous-”

I couldn’t finish my sentence because suddenly, Jihoon’s hand was on the back of my neck, cupping me gently, his thumb stroking down my skin, and it was as if my entire nervous system was suddenly centred right there.

“Jagiya,” he slowly leaned into me until his breath ghosted over my lips.

"I'm crazy famous, and you are mine, not theirs. If you want to get giddy over someone, get giddy over me.” He pressed the lightest of kisses to my lips before pulling back, removing his hand to slide it down into my palm, and gently squeezing my fingers as I took a deep breath, even as my cheeks heated.

I looked up at him feeling suddenly anything but giddy; or maybe just a different kind.

“Keep looking at me like that, baby, and I will happily kick them out.” His voice promised sincerity, his already dark eyes seeming to grow shadows as he looked down at me. I opened my mouth – to say what, I’d never know, as just then –

“Jihoon-hyung!”

Jihoon rolled his eyes. “Can I introduce you? They probably won’t leave until I do.” This energy change was enough to give me whiplash; he was now looking at me sheepishly, like this was somehow his fault.

“It’s just weird,” I admitted. “I’m used to you.

To me, they’re still famous people I don’t know.

” I shrugged. “But yeah, of course. I’d…

love to meet them.” The nervous energy I still felt, like downing too many energy drinks in too short a time, was illogical, given my relationship with Jihoon, but I’d stopped seeing his celebrity status a long time ago – almost immediately, really.

I didn’t know Lee Sungmin, or Kim Seokmin, and I’d kind of forgotten that I was probably going to meet them all at some point.

There was a part of me that had disassociated Jihoon from GVibes, from his ‘celebrity’, because the persona he had on stage was not the persona he had when standing in front of me.

He shrugged. “They’re just like me.” He looked thoughtful for a moment, cocking his head to the side. “Hmm, more annoying than me.”

A bark of laughter worked its way out of me, surprise and amusement that eased the knot of tension that had rolled down my spine.

“Okay, lets go meet your members.” I took a breath, and allowed Jihoon to pull me towards the living room, where indeterminable things were clattering.

“At least Minjae and Woojin had better manners not to come without an invitation,” he grumbled.

We turned the corner, and for a moment, all my brain could focus on was the Christmas tree. The evergreen was standing proudly upright, in a bright red pot, while two members of GVibes were crouched down, rummaging through a plastic tub on the floor.

“Yah!” Jihoon called, getting their attention, their oh-so-familiar, but completely new-to-me faces turning to look in our direction with expressions so innocent, so wide-eyed, I almost laughed.

Jihoon said something to them, jabbing a finger in their direction.

When they nodded, shooting curious looks in my direction from where I was still stood mostly behind Jihoon, I quietly asked him what he’d said.

“I told them if they upset you, or were disrespectful, I’d beat them.”

Oh, was that all? I felt slightly faint.

“So, um, what’s going on?” I gestured to the tree, looking at the young men who were now standing and facing us.

Lee wiped his hands on the back of his jeans before walking towards us like you might approach a scared animal, his steps hesitant.

He stopped a few feet before Jihoon, who had pulled me slightly forward.

“Kaiya, this is Lee Sungmin.”

“Hello, Kaiya-ssi.” He said, smiling broadly at me.

“Informal is okay,” Jihoon said to Lee, who looked at Jihoon before saying, “Okay,” Looking back at me, he held out his hand.

“It’s nice to meet you.” His voice was heavily accented, and I could tell he had to think about the words, but hell if he wasn’t better at English than I was at Korean, so…

“Annyeonghaseyo, Lee Sungmin.” I replied, taking his warm hand and shaking politely, probably putting equal amounts of effort into the words, but going off his delighted expression, I can’t have buggered it up too bad.

“You speak Korean?” he asked in English.

“Badly,” I replied, shaking my head, even as I felt my cheeks heating.

“He speaks bad English.” Ace came up behind Lee, putting his hands on his shoulders, which Lee immediately shrugged off with a cry of protest. Ace jumped out of reach with the grin I’d seen so often in Lives and during interviews.

It was surreal to see it in real life. Turning his attention back to Jihoon and I, he moved over to us and held out his hand, which I took and shook lightly.

“Hello, Kaiya, I’m happy to meet you.”

I was starting to think we’d been sold a lie about the English proficiency of these guys.

They were always lamenting how terrible each other was, but frankly, I wasn’t seeing any evidence of it.

A suspicion was starting to form in my mind, and I glanced up at Jihoon with slightly narrowed eyes, but seeing his attention fixed on his younger members in front of us, I decided to leave it. For now.

“Why are you here?” Jihoon demanded as he moved his hand from mine to snake around my waist. While I enjoyed it, I was surprised at the blatant – and frankly territorial display.

It was a deliberate gesture; his hand was too firm to be anything but.

It felt like he was making a statement here, in private, where he couldn’t in public.

The gesture was obviously not lost on the other two either, as they both glanced down to where Jihoon’s hand was firmly on my hip, before looking back up.

Seokmin spoke up first.

“It’s Christmas,” he declared, as if this answered the question, gesturing expansively at the tree.

“We did not think Kyungsoo would decorate before enlistment,” Lee picked up the explanation.

“Did Kyungsoo tell you to decorate his apartment?” Jihoon turned a steely gaze on Lee.

“No,” Seokmin answered brightly, "he does not know we’re here.”

Lee rolled his eyes and batted the younger man on the arm, before turning back to me.

“We thought we would help. To make Kaiya feel welcome.” He grinned broadly at me, and despite my reservations, hell, my complete bewilderment, I found myself grinning back at him. His expression was so open that I kind of couldn’t help it.

Looking at both of them standing there, in plain and unassuming clothes, so far removed from any of the designer or stage outfits I’d ever seen them in, they were just a couple of Jihoon’s friends, and not the idol group I’d spent the past few years admiring.

Jihoon sighed, but the gesture was so exaggerated I could tell he didn’t really mean it.

“It’s just a tree, no…” he looked down at me and made a gesture with his hand, like he was holding a ball.

“Oh,” I said, picking up the hint, “baubles.”

Jihoon nodded, “No baubles. No decorations.”