"Do you have a child?" his question makes me dart my eyes towards him, but notice his big ones are on the items I have in my cart.

I completely forgot about this.

"I...No, those are for my nephew who I sometimes take care of," I say the first lie that comes to my mind, hoping for him to not be doubtful about it. "Oh, how old is he?" he does not show any mistrust. "Three years old."

"Aw. He must be so adorable," he believes what I tell him, causing me to feel even more self-hatred. I hate lying and hiding such a thing from him. "He is," I bring one hand up to my face to rub my jawline, but my phone bothers me.

< The baby's crying, hurry please ]

[ I'm coming >

I put it back in my pocket, the disappointment remaining inside of me. Maybe one day he will care, maybe.

"It's him?" he guesses as if my reaction made it obvious, and I nod. "I have to go back home."

"Alright, we'll see each other tonight anyway, right?" he focuses on that only, so I do the same. "Yes, I'll be there to take care of you."

"Good, that's all I want," he lands his hand on his cart, and since this is not about Sookyung but my baby, I do not stay here. "See you tonight," I turn around and say goodbye, and he tells me the same words, so I leave and hope to not be too late.

30 minutes later...

I walk back inside the house after parking the car in the garage and grabbing all the items. I put everything down on the floor and take my shoes and jacket off, not hearing my baby and wondering if he is okay. I leave the bags at the door, and I walk towards Jun's bedroom.

I open the door, in a kind manner, but hear Sookyung leave a room. "He's in his crib because he wouldn't calm down."

"Didn't you check up on him?" I ask but do not expect him to relieve me. "I did, but he absolutely wanted you to be there and didn't understand you were busy, so I left him alone."

"Do you know that he's just three...?" I cannot keep quiet, feeling exhausted to have to handle this, but his stare turns dark. "Do you know that I have work to do?"

"I know," I enter the room to not hear him anymore, to not see him anymore, and I close the door behind me. "Mommy..." his small and unsteady voice breaks my heart, and I turn around to head towards him but notice his eyes full of tears. "My baby," I bend over to pick him up and hold him in my arms, and he hugs me with his small arms. "I'm so sorry, mommy was shopping to buy you some diapers, and your favorite milk," I rub his back to try to reassure him, feeling some ache in my chest. "Was daddy mean to you?" I lower my voice and speak in his ear, but he nods while sobbing.

"What did he do?" I run my fingers up his back to stroke the back of his head, and he wipes his tears away. "He screamed..." his voice trembles. "I'm sorry for being a bad boy, mommy..."

"You are not a bad boy, baby," I do not allow him to believe so, knowing how good of a son he is. The only problem here is his father. "You're the best boy on earth," I press a kiss on his wet cheek, and he wraps his arms around my neck, not letting go of his precious teddy bear. "Were you scared because mommy was away?"

"Hm," he nods. I hate myself for not being capable of standing up for him. I am supposed to be the one protecting him, but I cannot even keep him away from that pain his father causes. "That won't happen again, honey. Alright? I'll tell you if I need to go out so that you know where I am or where I go, okay?"

"Okay," he trusts me, calming down now that he is in my arms. I give him another kiss and soothe him to make sure he is not worrying anymore. "I love you, my baby," I squeeze him in my arms, and his tiny fingers play with my hair on my shoulder. "I love you too, mommy."

I smile, feeling better with him close to me. I leave my spot and move towards the rocking chair to sit down. He is not crying anymore, but he is resting his head on my chest after bringing his hand to his mouth to suck his thumb when he should not be doing this anymore.

"What did you dream of while you were sleeping?" I drag my fingers over his back, but he does not raise his head up. "A cat. We were playing."

"Oh, really? Did you have fun with them?" I brush his short fluffy hair back, and he nods. "Yes."

"Good, I'm happy you did," I press my lips on his forehead, and he closes his eyes. "You can continue to sleep here, I won't leave. I promise."

I keep quiet, not speaking but leaving him alone so that he can doze off and have a longer nap, but the thought of Mister Jeon never seems to leave my mind. I cannot stop thinking about him. Since last night, since that hug, those words, I cannot.

•••

9:30 pm.

I leave the changing room after putting the tight and uncomfortable clothes, and makeup on. My feet aching more than usual and feeling numb. I do my best to head towards the bar but slow down at the sight of Sookyung talking with someone who I did not expect to be here so early.

I stand at the bar, which is not very crowded at this hour, and I keep my attention on Sookyung and Mister Jeon to try to read their lips or facial expression. I hope nothing wrong is happening, but it seems to be a normal conversation unless they are hiding it well which would not be a surprise.

"Do you want a drink?" Jae grabs my attention, so I take my eyes off of the two men and answer him. "No, I can't, unfortunately," I shake my head and look at what he is doing, but hear a voice that I missed a lot, getting my head to turn in the direction of it with happiness.

"Honey!" Cherry, who is already in his usual red dress, with professional makeup on, lifts his arms up to the tall man I cannot stop thinking about, and this one takes him closer to press a kiss on his sharp jawline. "Cherry, I missed you so much," he holds him tight, making me envy Cherry a lot, even if his hugs are warm and comforting, this is not as much as Mister Jeon's ones.

"I missed you too, and look at you," he smiles and runs his fingers through his black hair. "This color fits you a lot, you're even more gorgeous," he compliments the one who, to me, does not have a single flaw, and he shyly glances down but rubs his hand over Cherry's waist. "You're gorgeous too."

I wish I was Cherry right now.

"I'm coming back after checking up on the girls, alright?" his red lips curve up as his long acrylic nails combed Mister Jeon's hair, and this handsome man moves aside, giving him a look that any woman would fall for, and Cherry walks away from him but quickly notices me.

"Oh god, my baby girl," he covers his chest with his hands, and a smile instantly grows on my face, so I reduce the distance between us as well and go into his arms to be embraced. "I missed you," I tell him, with sincerity, loving how gentle he is with me. "I missed you so much you too. How are you doing? Is everything alright here?" he brushes the strands of hair that are in front of my face, and I gaze up into his green eyes. "Yeah, but it's much better when you're around. Are you back now?"

"I am, I just took some days off," he hugs me as if I was his previous baby, and some joy fills me. I am so glad to know I will have him near. I cannot stand any of the girls in here, all they do is gossip, judge, and talk down to the others, while him, he makes sure that everyone is doing fine, and he will not hesitate to slap a man if he touches one of the girls without permission.

"I'm happy," I make my clasp around him even more snug, and he pats the back of my head. "I hope no one hurt you and that Sookyung was kind to you," he speaks in my ear, and out of obligation, I lie. "He was."

"Good," he kisses my temple and steps back. "I gotta check on my stuff, I'll be back. Okay?"

"Okay," I let him free so that he can go, and I watch him walk up towards the changing room with his high heels, waving at Jay once he passes by him. This man is such an amazing human.

"She heard us talk the other day," the shivering voice of Mister Jeon brushes my ear, and my body reacts to it in no time at all. I smile at his words but see his eyes focus down on mine. "How are you doing?" I ask before he could do it, and his hands slide into the pockets of his grey trousers, pushing the bottom of his suit jacket behind. "I'm doing good, and you? Have you taken a nap after going back home?" he mentions earlier, and I shake my head. "I didn't today. I'm sorry for leaving so suddenly, by the way."

"Hm. No worries," he touches my back in a reassuring manner. "I know you didn't have a choice."

I knew he would realize it at some point.

"Did you tell him while you were talking together?" I try to get some information about the conversation they both had some seconds ago, and he removes his hand from me. "No. I wouldn't want him to misunderstand and bother you with that."

"Thank you..." I peek behind him to make sure that my boyfriend left, but Mister Jeon heaves one of his tattooed hands up to my neck and cups the back of it, but only to rub it with his thumb, sending shivers down my spine and giving me butterflies inside, but literally everywhere. "He left, don't worry."

I gaze up into his eyes, wondering what might have let him know that it was what I was worried about. He smiles at me but drops his attention to my glossy lips. "I love it when you don't wear lipstick, your features look way softer."

I do not know what to do with this compliment, but my body is getting hot. Those lips he was staring at turn up to reveal what I am feeling inside, and I instinctively glance down at his thin but rosy ones. "Yours are prettier."

As if he was affected by my compliment, he licks them, and they part to let his teeth appear. "They're not, but anyway, I'm gonna get a drink, and you'll bring me to my room, right?"

"Yes," I agree with this, and he offers me a tender look before walking away. The way he touched me was so possessive. What has Sookyung told him to make him act that way?

30 minutes later...

"Babygirl," Chaewon raises his hand after sitting down, so I move up towards him since Mister Jeon is still busy with the blond girl who does not want to get the hints he sends her whenever she is sticking to him like glue.

"A Martini as always, please," he orders, and I keep it in my mind, go to the bar, but struggle because of the pain in my feet that spread up to my ankles and calves. I prepare the drink so that Jae does not have even more work to do, and I hurry up, knowing Chaewon would not like to wait.

In a few seconds, the glass is ready to be served, so I leave the bar and head back towards him, who is waiting at a high table with another man. "Here you are," I place the glass in front of him, and he retreats to make sure he does not jostle me by accident. "Thank you, Babygirl," he takes it in his hand but touches my lower back once I step aside. "Stay a little with us."

"I have some work to do, I—" my sentence ends once I  see him pull some bills out of his pocket. "One hundred is enough for a few minutes, isn't it?" he attempts to keep me here.

Sookyung always told me to do whatever the client wants if he gives me more than asked.

I look up at him but force myself to grab the cash. "What do you—" I get interrupted for the second time, but not by him, instead, it is by Mister Jeon, who snatched the bills out of my hand. "She's taken," he throws them on the table, and his dominant hand holds my arm to pull me closer to his tall body. He does not even let him answer but brings me away from the two men, making me worry about what Sookyung will think of this.

"I'm sorry for taking so long, Lily was...She needed to talk," he does not finish his sentence like he started it, walking up the stairs with me and staying behind, with a small bag in his hand. "It's okay. You don't have to apologize," I hide my jealousy, but the sound of someone yelling Mister Jeon's name through the loudness of the music stops me at the top of the stairs, causing him to bump into me from behind and make me feel how tough his body is under those clothes.

Butterflies again.

I turn around and check who it is. "Honey," Cherry holds a card up and comes up to us, so we both wait, and when he stands before us, Mister Jeon grabs it.

"Aw. Thank you so much, you have no idea how eager I was to see it. I love this so much," he beams at the sight of the card that has his name and some more information about him written on it. 

"No need to, honey," he responds and glances at me. "By the way, do not ever serve Chaewon again, Babygirl. Okay? I'll take care of this weirdo."

"Okay," I smile, loving how caring he is with me. "Enjoy your time together," he leaves us to go back downstairs, and I walk up to Mister Jeon's room to unlock the door, go inside, and let him follow me.

He puts the personalized card in his jacket and leaves the bag on the sofa, sits down next to it, and I take a bottle of alcohol out of the fridge, with a glass to place everything down on the table. "If you want something to eat, tell me, and I'll bring it."

"Is there anything in the fridge?" he points one finger at it. "Yes. The chocolates they usually leave for the V.I.Ps."

"You can get it out. This is perfect for dessert," he takes his jacket off, and I stand up to get the box of chocolates out and open it. "Have you had dinner at your house?" I lay the sweets before him but cannot hold back from peeking down at his outfit. "I did, what about you?"

I nod, avoiding the sight of his wine-red shirt that is opened down to his robust chest. "What did you eat?" he picks a chocolate to eat it, but already takes another one out of the box. "Some meat," I tell him without specifying the small amount that I had the right to swallow. "Hm, I hope you liked it," he brings his hand up to my mouth. "Here's for dessert."

Without refusing, I lean forth and part my lips to let him feed me, and for some reason, he grins and delicately puts it in my mouth, but the tip of his fingers skim past my lips, and I witness him bring them back to his mouth to lick them. "Did I pick a good one?" his penetrating eyes never leave mine, so I chew on the treat but feel the pleasure that some sweet food can cause to your brain when you are craving some. "You did."

"Good," he intertwines his fingers but bends over to take hold of the bottle, revealing more of the inside of his shirt that I could not keep my eyes on.

Just because he is a man does not mean he does not have the right to be respected and not leered at from head to toe because he shows some skin.

He does not ask me to open the bottle but does it himself, and he glances up at the table. "Get another glass," he gazes at me, a corner of his lips turned up. I know what this means, but after the night and day I had, I want to allow myself a drink, so I add one more glass on the flat surface, and he serves me first.

"Here you are, sweetheart," he hands it to me, so I thank him and hold it to take a sip, finally feeling like I am having a good time. This is like heaven, to be honest, I do not have to walk and worsen the state of my feet, but the pain is still there nonetheless.

Both of the glasses filled with alcohol, he puts the bottle down and drinks as well but empties his glass in one shot.

"Ugh, this feels so good," he fills it up again, making it hard not to say anything about it. "Are you not going to drive back home?"

"I will, but this won't make me drunk. My body can handle more than that," he believes this will reassure me, but I remain skeptical about it. He was barely conscious of his actions last time he drank alcohol, even though he knew the limit. I bring my glass down to not have it in my hand anymore, and he gazes at me.

This makes me so nervous whenever he does it. I do not know why. Any man could look into my eyes without even causing anything to my body, but when it is him, I feel so weak from the inside.

"Did Sookyung say anything wrong earlier?" I broach this topic again, the curiosity winning against the rest in my head. "Not really," he does not give a clear answer as if he was not sure himself. "I mean," he tilts his head. "What he says can sometimes be very nerve-wracking, I'm not going to lie."

"Really?" I try not to be too forceful but do it slowly, and he eats another chocolate. "Yeah. He doesn't treat you like he should. He's an asshole," his words do not get sugar-coated at all, but I do not even defend my boyfriend. "He only cares about money and nothing else."

I remain quiet, wondering what were the words said to each other. "What does that mean? Did he ask for money?"