"Se Ah, take your little partner and go get yourself a drink at the bar, or just catch one of the caterers that are floating around... somewhere. I need to talk to someone over there, see you later!"
Da Hye winked at her friend, threw another quick look at Min Hyun, then waved her hand at them and disappeared into the crowd, leaving the two of them in awkward silence. Se Ah spoke first,
"So, what would you like to drink?"
"I cannot drink, Miss Yoon, I'm driving."
He replied, still smiling with both his mouth and eyes, then took her hand in his, lead her to the bar counter, and helped her sit down on a black wooden stool.
"What would you like to drink, Miss Yoon? A Cosmopolitan?"
"How did you know?"
The guy shrugged his shoulders and placed a cocktail glass with pink liquid right in front of her. Se Ah hesitated for a moment but decided to let it go, and took a generous sip.
"Are you sure you don't want any alcohol in you? We can call a driver later."
Min Hyun leaned next to her on the counter and touched the part of the glass where Se Ah's lipstick left its light-pink pattern.
"It's alright, Miss Yoon, don't worry."
Se Ah finished her drink, turned around on the stool, and the moment she decided to look around, a low female voice called her name as its owner approached her from the other end of the counter.
"Ma Ri! Long time no see, you look fantastic!"
A tall, unexpectedly fit woman dressed in slim leather pants and a black bralette, with long straight hair, and big sharp eyes stood in front of Se Ah and put her wine glass next to her arm.
"Talk about fantastic, you get prettier every time we meet. Have you been well? I barely hear from you, let alone see you in person like this!"
"I've been a bit busy but otherwise I'm good."
Ma Ri tilted her head to the side, noticing Min Hyun embracing Miss Yoon's shoulders from behind, and grinned.
"Busy? I see. Who is this cutie? Your new boy toy? Is he the reason you disappeared from everybody's radar?"
Se Ah moved her head to the side, trying to look at Min Hyun while he put his chin on her shoulder which almost made their faces touch. The guy imitated Ma Ri's grin and whispered,
"Come on, Miss Yoon, you need to introduce me."
Miss Yoon put her hand on top of Min Hyun's face, almost covering it completely, and sighed.
"Oh Ma Ri, this is Lee Min Hyun, my "boy toy" as you so affectionately called him just a moment ago. Min Hyun, this is Oh Ma Ri, she is a professional dominatrix which means she does it for a living."
Ma Ri walked up to the intern, looked him up and down, then returned to her spot, and let out an annoyed sigh.
"Yoon Se Ah, you witch, you always seem to get the best-looking subs. I'm jealous!"
Se Ah scoffed and nudged Min Hyun on the stomach, ordering him to release her, a command he had no choice but to follow.
"Don't worry, Ma Ri, once I'm done playing around with him, I can send him to you with a silk ribbon around his neck."
The guy frowned his handsome face, then leaned forward again, and bit the back of the woman's neck half-jokingly. Se Ah wiped the wet mark left by his teeth, while Ma Ri finished her wine and continued,
"While we're on the topic, come with me, I want you to meet someone I met a few weeks ago, quick! Min Hyun, I'll return your master in a few minutes, you just be good and wait here, alright?"
Ma Ri waved at him and grabbed Se Ah under the arm, leading her away from the counter into a darker corner of the bar where a group of men was talking about something rather lively. Min Hyun glared at them as if trying to burn them with his mere eyes when someone touched his arm and placed an empty glass next to the one marked by Se Ah's lips.
"Are you bored, little puppy? You know, we have playrooms, if you're interested."
Kang Da Hye sat on Se Ah's stool and gestured for the bartender to refill her drink. The intern watched her watching him as if they were two predators on a hunt trying to outlast one another but decided to give up first, and smiled.
"I'm fine. I cannot drink since I drove Miss Yoon here."
Da Hye almost choked on her drink, wiped her mouth with a napkin handed to her by the bartender, and looked at him with a curious expression.
"It looks like you care about her a lot. She is enchanting, isn't she? Men, women... She can charm anyone!"
The woman laughed and turned her head to the place where Miss Yoon was surrounded by a bunch of men, smiling and listening to their whispers in her ear. Da Hye then looked back at Min Hyun and grinned at the sight of his frustrated face.
"Aww, if you're reacting like this simply because she took a few steps away from you, what are you going to do when she finally moves hundreds of miles away from here?"
The guy widened his eyes and spoke in a shaking voice,
"What... do you mean?"
Miss Kang rested her chin on her hand and sighed.
"Oh, so you did not know? Se Ah is planning on leaving Seoul in near future to live together with her sick mother."
Min Hyun suddenly felt cold as if his body lost all of its blood. Miss Yoon was going to leave? And go where? Do what? And with whom? But most importantly - how come he knew nothing about it? Years of following her around, learning every little thing about her, and yet, that was where he failed. Miss Yoon was going to leave him. She was going to disappear and leave him alone again. What was he supposed to do now?
When he finally got back to his senses, Da Hye had already left his side and disappeared again. Miss Yoon was still mingling with the same men in the opposite part of the bar, happy, unbothered by anything. It was repulsive, it was making him physically sick. He turned his head away in an effort to feel better and saw Oh Ma Ri smiling at him from one of the velvet couches in the center of the room.
"That's it. That's right... I need to make her pity me. I need to make her feel guilty. I need to do everything I can to keep her by my side."