Chapter Text
It's a balmy Sunday evening in Seoul, and Demie Kim, head bartender at Alice Cheongdam, is busy polishing glasses and tidying up at the bar.
Just as he was about to go out back to get more ice from the chest freezer, a man in a sharp steel grey suit—one of Alice's regulars—walks in and gives him a wry smile.
Demie knows that look, and like every good bartender, he knows just what this man needs.
"Long week?" Demie asks as he gathers up the ingredients for the man's drink. This particular regular always orders the same thing—Caol Ila 30, on the rocks.
"Yes, very," says the man as he unbuttons his suit jacket and sits on the far corner of the bar.
Demie places the drink in front of the man with a small smile and asks no further questions. He knows that this particular customer doesn't like small talk.
Ri Jeong Hyeok takes a sip of the drink in front of him, the bracing, almost medicinal whisky enveloping him with a warmth that he didn't even know he'd been longing for. Just what he needed after a long week.
As he takes another sip of his drink, he sees a flash of red out of the corner of his eye. A beautiful woman in a red dress has just entered, a red blazer artfully draped over her shoulders.
Much like almost every male patron in the bar—and even a couple of ladies, though most of them are not nearly as thrilled, he notes with amusement—he watches with growing fascination as the woman in red pauses for a second and scans the dimly lit room with her eyes.
Red dress, red blazer... Looks like somebody wants to stand out tonight, he says to himself as he watches the woman checks her phone again briefly before making her way towards the bar and settling onto a chair four seats away from where he was sitting.
She's now close enough for him to properly take her in. Her facial features are dainty and elegant, almost fairy-like. She wears very light make-up, which suits her delicate elfin features quite well in his opinion.
Her simple yet seductive red dress hugs her curves in a way that was both tasteful and sinful all at the same time, and Jeong Hyeok finds himself wondering what she would look like out of it.
As if she had read his mind, the woman in red then takes the blazer off of her shoulders before sweeping her long brown hair to the side, revealing to his delight an expanse of flawless, porcelain skin that seemed to glow in the dim lighting.
The long diamond drop earrings she's wearing leads his eye down the curve of her slender neck, and his eyes move slowly down her to her shoulder, drinking her in.
He looks up and down at the vision in front of him, and he finds himself wondering if her skin would feel as soft and as silky as it looks.
He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but there was something about this woman that seemed to call to him. It wasn't just the fact that she was strikingly beautiful and incredibly alluring.
It was much, much more than that, but Jeong Hyeok couldn't quite figure out what.
The woman smiles at Demie, who has just placed a menu in front of her. The smile turns her eyes into perfect little crescent moons, and Jeong Hyeok finds himself smiling at the sight.
She takes a moment to browse through the menu, biting her lower lip in concentration.
That simple, almost unconscious gesture triggers an almost primal hunger deep within him, and now all he can think about is wanting to bite her lip himself.
I need to at least talk to her, he thinks to himself, downing the rest of his drink and signalling for another.
At the other end of the bar, Yoon Se-ri checks on her phone for the third time.
She's waiting for her friend who was supposed to join her that evening, completely oblivious that the man sitting at the opposite end of the bar has been staring at her intently from the moment she came in.
She takes a sip of her drink, debating on whether or not she should just go ahead and call Hyo-jin. Just then, her phone rings.
Se-ri takes the call, knowing exactly what the caller is going to say.
"Let me guess, you can't make it tonight, can you?" says Se-ri with a playfully disappointed tone.
"I'm so sorry, Se-ri. Shooting is running long; the director wants us to do a couple more takes. I don't think I can make it tonight!"
"It's alright, Hyo-jin. I expected as much." Gong Hyo-jin is a busy woman, and Se-ri knows that her schedule as an actress can be a little unpredictable. "At least this bar that you recommend is good. The bartender is friendly and the drinks are great."
Se-ri chats with Hyo-jin for a little while more, making some tentative plans to reschedule their girls' night, until Hyo-jin has to go for another take. She ends the call and finishes her drink, reaching for her purse to get her card, only for the bartender to call her attention.
"No need to pay, ma'am." She looks up at him, a puzzled look on her face. "It's been taken care of," he continues.
When Se-ri shoots him a questioning look, the bartender looks to the side towards the other end of the bar, where a handsome, well-dressed man was sitting and watching them.
At Se-ri's questioning look, the man raises his glass to her with a small smile and a wink.
Miffed but intrigued, Se-ri takes her things and walks towards the man, getting a better look at him as she approaches.
The first thing that Se-ri notices about him are his eyes. She feels the weight of those dark brown eyes on her even in the dim light of the bar, and she feels almost compelled to close the distance between them.
Her eyes take in the rest of his face—his high nose, those gorgeous cheekbones, that sharp jawline.
And those lips... That perfect cupid's bow and those full, luscious lips almost look out of place on a man's face. Yet, on him, it's somehow just absolutely perfect.
His jet-black hair looks both styled and casual at the same time, and Se-ri finds herself wondering what it would feel like to run her hands through those silky strands.
He really is handsome, she thinks to herself. His looks are totally my type.
The man is wearing what looks to be a bespoke steel grey suit, his broad shoulders filling the jacket in quite nicely. She could tell even in poor lighting that the man was rather fit and muscular by the way the buttons on his dove grey dress shirt were straining ever so slightly.
If he looks this good in a suit, Se-ri thinks to herself, I wonder what he looks like out of it...
But regardless of how good looking he is, Se-ri doesn't appreciate it when men do that sort of thing for her. She can pay for her own drinks, thank you very much, especially since a lot of them thought that doing so guaranteed that she'd give them the time of day.
"Excuse me sir, why did you pay for my drink?" she asks, her tone cold and dismissive. She was ready to give this man a dressing down if need be, no matter how attractive he is.
"I just wanted to do something nice for a beautiful lady tonight," he says with a friendly smile. "Nothing more to it, miss."
Se-ri did not expect such a gracious response, especially since her tone had been anything but friendly. "Well, thank you. But you didn't have to," she replied with a much softer tone.
"I know. But I wanted to," he says matter-of-factly.
He flashes her another easy smile, oozing charm and confidence. Se-ri couldn't help but be smitten. The man is smooth, I have to give him that.
"Yoon Se-ri, pleased to make your acquaintance," she says as she extends her hand for a handshake.
"Ri Jeong Hyeok," he says as he takes her hand in his. But instead of shaking it, he brings it up to his lips and plants a slow, deliberate kiss on the back of it.
The warmth of his large hand enveloping hers, the softness of his lips, and the warmth of his breath dancing on her skin sends a shock through Se-ri that goes straight to her core.
He's only touched her for no less than a couple of seconds, and already she's imagining what those hands and lips would feel like on other parts of her.
What's wrong with me tonight? Se-ri thinks as she feels heat rising to her cheeks.
Still not letting go of her hand, Jeong Hyeok asks, "So, Yoon Se-ri, what do you want to do next?"
"What do you suggest?"
"To my place, if you're up for it."
The exact meaning of his words is not lost on her, and for the first time in her life, the normally verbose Yoon Se-ri is at a loss for words.
And while this certainly isn't the first time she's had a one-night stand, there was something about this man and the way he looks at her that just made her brain stop working for some reason.
She couldn't open her mouth to say the words, but all she could think about at that moment was Yes, yes please.
Taking her lack of protest as a tentative yes, he stands up and leads her out of the bar. As they come out onto the sidewalk, he takes his phone out with his other hand and makes a call, presumably to his driver.
Se-ri found herself looking up at his face under the brighter light of the streetlamps, and the sight of him literally took her breath away.
He's at least a foot taller than her even in her four-inch heels, and the handsome features she made out in the dim light of the bar were just dazzling in better lighting.
All the while, his hand never let go of hers. The warmth of it somehow reassured Se-ri that she wasn't making a big mistake right now.
A few moments later, a black Maserati Ghibli pulls up right in front of them.
He lets go of her hand and opens the door for her, a question in his eyes.
I think I'm going home with this beautiful stranger, a man I've only met a couple of minutes ago... this is a bad idea, Se-ri thinks to herself.
So why does this feel so... right?
When Se-ri then looks into Jeong Hyeok's eyes, the choice she has to make becomes crystal clear.
"I'm saying this because we will never meet again after tonight..." Se-ri pauses, holding his gaze and moving closer to him.
"Your looks are totally my type," she says with a bright smile, her eyes turning into those perfect crescent moons again.
Without another word, she gets into his car.
Jeong Hyeok smiles to himself before closing her door and walking around the car to the other side.
This is going to be fun, he thinks as he gets in with her.