ERIC

"What are you so upset about?" Noah asked Eric, casually sipping his champagne, his eyes scanning the crowd around them.

"Upset? Do upset people smile?" Eric scoffed, swirling his drink in his glass, the edge of his lip curling slightly in irritation. He could feel Noah's and Seok's eyes on him, an unwelcome weight on his shoulders. These guys were too good at reading him. While most people saw the cool, collected image he worked so hard to cultivate, his friends knew better. They could always tell when something was off. And tonight, Eric felt like his mask was slipping.

Noah nudged Seok, who was absorbed in his phone, typing away with a slight frown on his face. "We've known him for how many years now, Seok?"

"Twelve? Thirteen? I'm bad at math," Seok replied without looking up, uninterested in the exchange.

"Basically, a long time. So, tell me. Why are you upset?" Noah pressed, giving Eric no chance to escape.

Eric sighed deeply, clearly frustrated by how easily these two could read him. The calm, emotionless façade he presented to the world didn't work on them. It never had. But he couldn't exactly blame them—he'd spent years concealing his feelings, building this wall between himself and the world. It was a necessity, given the power he held and the responsibility that came with it. But with these two? It was like they could see straight through him, and that annoyed him to no end.

"She's here," Eric said curtly, taking a slow sip of his drink, his gaze fixed ahead.

Noah scanned the room, his eyes flicking over the people, until they landed on a brunette standing in the middle of the room. He let out a low whistle. "She's pretty, but it's obvious she doesn't belong here."

Eric couldn't help but agree. She was pretty, there was no question about that, but her outfit didn't fit the room. It was too awkwardly out of place. Her dress was revealing, like something a teenager would wear to prom—sexy in a way that tried too hard, but in the wrong setting. The quality was also clearly lacking, unlike the elegant, hand-designed creations that the other women here were sporting. And the fact that she wasn't draped in expensive jewelry only highlighted the difference.

"How did you recognize her?" Eric asked, suddenly suspicious. He frowned, then looked at Noah. "Did you run a background check on her?"

"No, see, I would never do something after you explicitly asked me not to," Noah held up his hands in mock surrender. "Seok did it."

"What? No!" Seok denied, still typing away on his phone, barely acknowledging the conversation. "You wanted a picture of her, so I checked the CCTV storage. Sorry, Eric, but you know Noah. He's persistent."

"Yeah, yeah. Get off the phone, man! What is so interesting anyway?" Noah asked, trying to change the subject, though his gaze lingered on the girl again.

"I'm talking to this girl I met on a dating site," Seok muttered.

"It won't work out," Noah shot back, his eyes still on the girl. Eric couldn't help but glance at her as well, though his thoughts were anything but calm. There she was, standing next to a man who seemed too comfortable in the world of wealth and prestige, the exact kind of world Eric had come to despise.

"Don't jinx it, fucker!" Seok punched Noah in the arm. "Do you want me to tell Di where your porn stash is?" 

Noah glared at him. "Anyway, we have to meet her."

"Are you crazy? She blew me off," Eric said with a frown, his tone blunt and dismissive. The last thing he needed was to deal with someone who didn't even want to be around him.

Noah placed his glass on a passing waiter's tray, his expression turning playful as he placed an arm around Eric's shoulder. "Fine, then. We won't talk to her. But we'll move closer to her. Is that okay, Your Cowardiness?"

"That's not a word," Seok muttered without looking up.

"Say what, Seok? You help me out here, and I'll let you talk to Di about what women like in men," Noah grinned mischievously.

"I don't need you for that. I can just talk to her," Seok said with a shrug, clearly uninterested in the theatrics around him.

"Come on, man! Help me out here! This might be Little Ricky's only chance to get laid," Noah whisper-yelled, his eyes flickering between Eric and the girl.

Seok rolled his eyes but sighed. "Eric, be a man."

"Yeah, and that's going to make me move how?" Eric scoffed, his irritation mounting. He didn't want to be the center of attention, but he knew deep down that Noah was right. He did want to know who she was with. He wanted to know how she would react when she saw him again.

"Fine, whatever," Eric muttered, setting his glass down with more force than necessary. He strode forwards, his friends following suit, and they made their way toward her with all the stealth of a pack of wolves closing in on their prey.

As they were about ten feet away, her eyes met his, and it felt like the world had just tilted on its axis. The moment was electric, almost magnetic. He stood frozen, his body betraying him as the pull between them intensified.

But he didn't take a step forward. No, Eric was no fool. This was a game, and he wasn't about to let her win. He stood his ground, his friends falling in step with him, acting as though they had simply been walking through the crowd all along.

She looked startled at first, her eyes wide, but then her face mirrored his own feelings—an involuntary recognition, a sudden pull toward him as if they had both been caught in the same gravitational force. 

But before he could react, the man beside her grabbed her hand, angling it toward the people they were conversing with. Eric's eyes narrowed when he saw what was being displayed—an engagement ring.

His heart did a strange flip in his chest. She looked back at him, her face flushed, clearly embarrassed. Eric couldn't help but smirk at the irony of it. She didn't know the guy yesterday and she's engaged to him now? Oh, this was rich.

He looked away, his thoughts tangled in something that felt like regret—something strange, something complicated. He had no right to feel this way, and yet, there it was.