K-pop Idol Imagines - Chapter 75: Chapter 75

The sound of rain intensifying against the window caught Y/N's attention as she gazed outside. It was already night, and the drink in her hand was calling her name. Taking an instant swig, Y/N finished her glass.
Her gaze fell to the table, where a prominent bottle of whiskey and a plate of Hors d'oeuvres awaited her attention. She sat back in her seat and sighed, letting the loneliness of the night sink into her chest. Her heartbeat getting slower with the slumber that was slipping into her demeanor.
Nonetheless, the abrupt sound of her phone chiming drew her gaze to the screen. The name that lit up caused her heart to flutter. Without a second thought, she reached for her phone and eagerly unlocked the text message.
Hwang Yeji: Good evening, Y/N. I texted to remind you about the meeting next week. Please be ready with all the documents I asked you for.
Overwhelmed by disappointment and heartache, she impulsively flipped her phone shut, choosing not to respond. The annoyance of the situation was drinking her in and she let her head rest on the table, her fingers threading in her hair-- pulling them with chagrin.
Hwang Yeji, the CEO of the company where she currently worked, was the woman who held her heart. From the moment their eyes first met, she felt an attraction. Yet, as fate would have it, working as her secretary only deepened Y/N's feelings.
However, Y/N's love life was something that God destined to be complicated.
Every day whenever she faced Yeji, the hopes in her heart rose to the roof, but with one look in her eyes, Y/N realized that Yeji's heart was with someone else.
It would have been easier to accept if the object of Yeji's affection were unattached, but the one who held Yeji's heart from their shared childhood, Lia, was now married to another, a person she loved and with whom she was blessed to be a mother of two.
Unfortunately to Y/N's fate, Yeji was not able to move on.
The first time Yeji opened up to her about Lia-- they both were doing their overtime for a big upcoming project. While drinking a cup of black coffee, Yeji simply confessed that she didn't know how to love someone else. It was easy for her to think about Lia because, for Yeji, it always had been Lia.
And this was one of the many reasons Y/N fell for Yeji. The kind of love that Yeji had in her heart for Lia was something Y/N had desired for a long time. But, never got to experience it. And now that she was the one with unrequited love, it was awfully painful.
As her emotions surged, her intoxicated mind slipped beyond her control. Deep down, she recognized the wrongness of it all, yet she collected her belongings, settled her tab with the bartender, and exited the bar. She flagged down a taxi and gave the driver the address of the office.
Knowing very well that Yeji basically lived in her office.
Soon, she was standing in front of the office building. The rain was pouring hard now as she was soaking wet, but she couldn't care less. Hurrying into the building, she stepped into the elevator, punching the button for the topmost floor.
The rational thoughts that came into her mind were simply slipping away as she gripped her bag, zealous as she gulped the heaviness in her throat.
A powerful turmoil rushed within her. She wanted to confess, question, confront, whatever she could do to get an answer and free herself from the living hell that she created herself.
The hell of unanswered love.
Before long, the elevator door opened with a ping as Y/N stepped outside, staggering a bit as she walked towards the only entry on the floor.
Her eyes bore holes into the wooden plate that was screwed into the mahogany door.
CEO
Hwang Yeji
A sudden clap of thunder outside stunned Y/N, causing her to straighten up and regain some of her awareness. She was standing in front of Yeji's office, drenched and completely out of her mind. The abrupt revelation left her feeling jittery as anxiety began to overwhelm her.
She was really doing that. She was really going to talk to Yeji. Tonight.
Her chest echoed with the thundering beat of her heart, a rush of impromptu adrenaline leaving her cheeks flushed. However, her drunk self had a bit of a strong hold on her. Raising her fist, she knocked on the door-- thrice.
And before she could turn around and run away, Yeji's voice came from inside. Muffled, but loud enough to make her shiver with voracity.
"Come in."
Getting a hold of the doorknob, Y/N turned it and entered inside. Her senses were evaded by the warmth of the room as she looked up to see Yeji standing in front of her floor-to-ceiling window. She saw Yeji slowly turning around, her hand holding what seemed like a warm cup of coffee.
And just like that, Y/N was breathless. Yeji looked ethereal or maybe it was the effect of alcohol, she was looking more alluring than she ever had.
Y/N had never felt such a strong urge to kiss someone, but here she was, wanting to push Yeji against the window and have her way with her.
In a grey high-neck sweater, Yeji's neatly claw-clipped copper hair framed her face, while her glasses sat perfectly on her nose.
"Y/N? What are you doing here?" Yeji said, keeping her mug on her table, and walked towards Y/N.
Y/N unknowingly gripped her bag tightly as something churned inside her stomach. Despite being soaked to the bone with rain, she was feeling warmer by the passing seconds.
Yeji stopped just a foot away as her hand gently rested on Y/N's shoulder, who in return stepped away from her touch.
Furrowing her brows, Yeji said softly, "You're soaked, Y/N. What are you even doing here in this weather? You should be at home."
Y/N looked down as her jaw was tightly clenched. Her gears turned in her head as to how to proceed further, but nothing was coming up in her head. Suddenly, she felt Yeji taking her hand, and that made her look at her.
"Whatever it is, it can wait... First, we need to get you out of your clothes. You'll catch a cold like this, "Yeji said, her eyes trailing down Y/N's body, "Wait here. I'll give you something of mine."
As soon as Yeji left to take some spare clothes for Y/N, she took all the charged air with her. Y/N suddenly felt a sense of relief, as if she could finally catch her breath, though her knees still quivered ever so slightly. With the waning influence of the alcohol, her sentiments now streamed, threatening to overwhelm her.
A few minutes later, Yeji came with clothes in her hand.
"Here. Wear these. The bathroom is inside, you can take a shower there, "she said as concern was clearly visible in her eyes.
Nevertheless, one look in Yeji's eyes-- Y/N realized the purpose of her abrupt visit. For once, she felt confident enough to finish whatever it was. She really was going to regret it in the future if she didn't say a word right now.
So, Y/N took in a deep breath and stood a bit straight. She kept the clothes on the couch beside her and looked dead in Yeji's eyes.
Yeji, who was watching her actions, questioned, "What is it, Y/N? You're starting to worry me now."
Fisting her hands, Y/N opened her mouth and said, "I need to talk to you, Yeji."
Fleetingly, it took Yeji by surprise because Y/N never called her by her first name, ever. It was always "Miss Hwang" or "Miss Yeji".
Saying nothing, she nodded for Y/N to continue, a sudden feeling of electricity taking over her. Her heart started to beat erratically as she stared into Y/N's eyes which were dark and intense with profound emotions.
Emotions from which she was well familiar.
Y/N took a staggering breath and said, "I-I love you, Yeji. Too much that it hurts."
There was a brief silence among them. The significance of those few words was almost palpable.
Yeji felt something like a fire in her heart that came alive at those words. It had been too long since she felt like that. Y/N's sudden confession was not a surprise because she knew about that.
Y/N had never explicitly verbalized her feelings, but Yeji had picked up on the subtle clues—the lingering gazes, the tender words, the swift glances away after long eye contact, the hesitant mannerisms, the subtle avoidance of physical contact, and the occasional shiver when they stood close.
However, hearing it from Y/N, stirred something within her.
"I understand you won't feel the same way about me. But, I-I can't control my feelings, Yeji. Your unwavering love and loyalty to Lia, only makes me love you more. The purity of your love, how your attention is solely for her, how you've never loved anyone else before, how you've never known another kind of love, and yet here I am, loving you without hope," Y/N admitted, tears welled in her eyes, her fists tightly clenched.
Y/N looked for clues in Yeji's expressions, but her neutral response only heightened Y/N's fear of the worst outcome: rejection.
On the other hand, Yeji swore she had never thought that she would ever be on the receiving end of the love. Her heart was not listening to her pleas to stop, instead, it was rapidly thumping inside, like trying to let her know that maybe there was hope for her.
A hope that she could finally move on. With someone else. Or maybe that little light of faith had been there for long, but the awareness of it now... fluttered something in her. For how many times she had imagined the scenario of moving on, and how it would've felt... Yeji was surprisingly interested in moving forward.
Or maybe it was Y/N?
Y/N was now panting hard as she could feel her head getting dizzy with all the rush that she was feeling. Gulping the bitter side of the answer, she wiped the tear that spilled and squared her shoulders.
Before turning around and running away for good, she said, "I know that you won't be able to love someone else... but I always wanted you to know that there is someone who'd love you till the end of eternity."
Stepping back, Y/N gave Yeji a small smile and was about to turn the knob and walk out, but halted as soon as she heard the words that came from Yeji's mouth.
"But what if I tell you that I want to move on?"
Y/N instantly turned around, her eyes wide as she blurted out, "What?"
Internally praying to God that she was willing to risk this chance, Yeji stepped closer to Y/N until they were an inch apart. The atmosphere was filled with tension again as Yeji's eyes landed on Y/N's lips out of the blue.
However much she wanted to move away and discuss this issue when Y/N was not drunk and the situation was not passionate, she couldn't.
Waveringly, Yeji rested her hand on Y/N's cheek, caressing the skin with her thumb. Y/N in return melted into her touch as they stared into each other's eyes.
For a moment, none of them made a move, but the urge was too strong and beyond their willpower to deny the pull between them. Then, hesitantly so, Yeji leaned in, tilting her head to the side as their faces were a breath apart.
In that moment, they shared an eye contact that spoke volumes. And before anyone could pull back, Y/N and Yeji's lips met in the softest kiss ever.
A gasp followed as Yeji's hand cupped Y/N's nape and the other hand slithered around her waist to hold her close. In return, Y/N's hands settled on Yeji's shoulder, tentatively, hoping that Yeji would not pull away and conclude this was a mistake.
However, her doubts were thrown out of the window when Yeji pushed her lips against her to kiss her again. It felt like a dream to Y/N. She had imagined kissing Yeji multiple times before, but the reality was nowhere near her fantasy.
It was perfect.
Y/N sighed in the kiss when she felt Yeji's tongue slowly swiping over her lower lip, urging her to open her mouth— which she happily obliged. A shiver went down her spine when Yeji groaned in her mouth, her hand pulling her closer. Y/N could feel the hard planes and soft curves of Yeji through her clothes.
The image flashed very vividly in Y/N's mind as to what could be beneath them.
Yeji pulled apart when they felt breathless. She rested her forehead against Y/N's and took that moment to decipher the event that just happened.
However, it took every ounce of her willpower for her to not take Y/N into her room.
The tension broke apart when Y/N pulled apart and sneezed out loud, pulling them out of their trance. Yeji rested her hand on Y/N's shoulder as she heard Y/N sneezing again and she asked, softly, "You, okay?"
Y/N could feel the blush creeping up the length of her neck and she nodded, answering, "Y-Yeah, I'm fine... Just a bit cold."
Then, Yeji realized that Y/N was still in her clothes, which were drenched by rain. At that moment, Y/N looked up and their eyes met. Momentarily, none of them spoke a word but then broke into laughter.
"I'm sorry. I forgot that you were still drenched and I just..." Yeji said, her words lost at the end as both of them felt shy after the kiss they shared.
Y/N shook her head and replied, "No, it's fine. I was the one who... started this. So, um..."
It was a bit awkward but comfortable between them.
Knowing and understanding fully that there was hope for the future.
Yeji picked up the clothes that Y/N set aside and said, "I think you should really get a shower now. I'll wait for you outside."
Y/N took the clothes and said, "...Thanks."
Yet, both of them stood still and there. Not wanting to move.
But then, Yeji took Y/N's spare hand and said, "I promise, Y/N, we'll talk about this... us."
"...Really?" Y/N looked at her with questioning eyes.
Yeji smiled, warmly so, and nodded, saying, "Yes, really. I... I've been thinking about this for some time, and I feel like that... I'm ready. Ready to move on from Lia and start afresh."
Y/N's heart did a funny flip at her words as an unhesitant smile made its way to her face. She bit her lip and looked away, scratching the back of her neck in embarrassment.
Yeji stifled a laugh at how happy Y/N looked. She pulled her close and pressed her lips against her forehead in a promise.
A sweet promise of whatever lay in their future. She was ready to try for the future.