I should have sat in the back, she thought.
She was still not used to this.
She noticed he didn't start the car yet.
"Where would you like to go," he paused, "hmm, miss?" With an enchanting deep voice.
Ari's head turned with a blank expression when she heard the word, miss.
She found his eyes staring at her.
She was caught once again, unable to leave them.
She seemed to lose herself whenever her eyes fell on them.
This wasn't the first time she was called miss nor will it be the last.
But why, was it as if he was obedient to her? Like he could listen to her every word.
As if she was, in full control of him.
Was he doing it on purpose?
Was it because he was her bodyguard?
She didn't know, what to do about this feeling.
Again, was he doing this on purpose?
With that face, body, and voice she was sure he was experienced with women.
That look he gives her alone could make any woman feel special.
Especially with those eyes...
Her mind ran wild.
She lost control of herself once again.
They looked soft, tender, but she could see that it was merely a facade.
No, it wasn't fake.
It was more like, whatever laid beyond his eyes, was tamed.
That small sentence gave her the feeling of submission, but said with a deep and domineering voice, eyes that looked at her intensely...
She gulped.
That wasn't just a feeling of control.
Yes, it was as if he was tamed.
"I, would like to eat something before going home."
He nodded slightly while maintaining eye contact.
Then he slowly turned his head away.
She looked for a moment at the side of his face.
He had a sharp jawline, she thought.
"A place in mind?" He asked as he started the car.
"Can we go to our family restaurant, House of Soo? Since we will be visiting it a lot for work you should get familiar with it."
She didn't want to go to any unfamiliar place yet with him, especially since she was still confused about why he looked and spoke to her that way.
"Is that what you feel like eating?" He turned slowly to look at her.
This question made Ari's eyes widen and her mind pause for a moment.
Does that mean he didn't mind not going there as long as she wasn't feeling like it?
She was sure he wasn't saying this as just a bodyguard.
And seriously, why does he keep moving so calmly and in slow motion?
Why does it make her feel this way?
This man...
"Hmm, y-yes, I guess," she turned her head to look away nervously pushing her hair behind her ear.
He didn't say more.
But he stared more for a second.
His head tilted a bit as if he was amused.
What was running through his mind?
He revived the car's engine and left the parking area.
While he was focused on driving Ari kept sneaking peeks of him here and there.
Especially on his hands placed on the steering wheel and gear knob.
Ari's eyes unconsciously followed his slow movements.
She didn't know why this man moved so steadily and purposely, as if he never faced anxiety.
He never seemed tense.
As if he was conscious of every move his body made.
This reminded her of uncle Han's father and her grandfather.
This young man emitted the same slow and charismatic flow as them, standing above the rest, which made her more curious about him.
And while she followed his movements her eyes fell on his veiny hand gripping the gear knob.
Staring at them so closely its veins looked more refined as if they were drawn.
They even reached his long fingers.
He had three rings on his right hand.
Two on his thumb and little finger, and one on his ring finger being different with a purple gem and of black metal. The others were probably made of silver from their color.
All three of them were carved with weird signs, maybe a language, but the lines in the gem were drawn like the wings of a dragon.
He had long fingers, and nails that seemed well taken care of.
Was he powerful?
On his left hand were two rings with the same designs.
Her eyes swept across the purple earring on his ear.
Purple.
Was that his favorite color, besides black maybe?
Ari didn't notice she had been staring for a while now.
"Ehem," he coughed slightly waking her up from her trance.
Ari turned her head in a hurry to look away, finding herself in the middle of traffic and a street away from the restaurant.
She didn't feel the time pass.
She bit her lips, she was so embarrassed her cheeks turned red.
This was all this man's fault.
He was weird from the start.
And soon enough they reached the place.
It was a magnificent-looking building with the name Soo all over it.
Still compared to the other cities' family restaurants this branch would be the smallest.
Ari had long since believed she would make her father stand far above the rest of his family.
Such thoughts ran through her mind as she stared at the building from the window seat.
Suddenly a figure opened the door for her.
She didn't hear nor feel him move, yet Kale was there already in front of her.
As she got her heels out of the car his hand stretched to her.
She paused for a moment.
She raised her head.
But he was calm, as if this was normal to him.
She decided not to think much about it and held it.
Before trying to get out of the car she suddenly noticed how small her hand was compared to his.
And contrary to how beautiful his hands looked they were pretty rough.
As if they have been through a lot.
"Thank you," she softly said.
He didn't respond.
She could feel his strength as much as he tried to be gentle helping her get out of the car.
Even when she didn't depend on his grip it was as if she was being held by metal wrapped in skin.
Her uncle didn't choose a weak man.
Now she stood up, so close to him.
He was tall, as tall as her uncle's bodyguard.
Even with her heels, she could only reach his chest and shoulders.
Hmm...
A roller coaster of feelings ever since she met this man.
She quickly let go of his hand while her cheeks had a hint of pinkness.
He closed the door.
She was conscious of him behind her, she looked at him with the side of her eyes before walking to the restaurant.
He followed quietly.
She spoke to the reception where they all welcomed her with respect.
Ari noticed that Kale was catchy to the eyes.
Whether it was from the female staff, the women coming here to eat, or the one standing in front of her.
Some giggled shyly and some murmured while looking at him.
While talking to the staff she turned her eyes to see his reaction.
He was unfazed as if this was a normal occurrence to him.
His eyes were looking at the sample of the menu in his hands
So used to this huh, she thought.
Suddenly while reading the menu, this man raised his veiny right hand slowly, tilting his neck slightly as he loosened his tie a bit and opened the buttons on his jacket.
The motion of his pretty fingers filled with rings and veins caught Ari's eyes.
She wasn't the only one.
His tight waistcoat with beautiful patterns caught their attention even more.
It seemed, tight around his waist.
He must have a great body...
Ari turned her head away.
He was doing this on purpose.
He knew what he was doing.
He must.
Why was he doing this?
She found the woman in front of her staring at him with a light grin on her face.
"Let us go," spoke Ari and walked away.
"Oh, yes, miss Soo," answered the female receptionist.
They took the elevator to the second last floor.
It was silent.
Ari was behind the receptionist with Kale next to her.
She could clearly see this woman sneakily giving him looks and shying away.
Ari scoffed.
This poor woman was getting played by this man's behavior and pretty face.
Ari turned her eyes.
He was calmly spacing out while reading the instructions below the elevator doors.
Really, reading them to look like he doesn't care?
He knew what he was doing.
All of a sudden he shook his head a bit as he finished reading.
Ari thought she was getting caught staring at him so she turned away quickly.
Ding!
They reached their floor.