My Possessive Secret Lover

Chapter Four: Angel

Jihyun takes up volunteer work a few days later, much to the suspicion of Jae and his husband.

“Don’t get me wrong,” Jin begins one Saturday morning during breakfast, “I’m ecstatic that you’ve taken to caring about something other than yourself but you don’t exactly strike me as the animal welfare type. Do you even like animals?” he asks through a mouthful of eggs.

“Of course I like animals,” Jihyun scoffs, “It’s why I’m doing it in the first place.”

“He’s only signed up because Aria’s going to be there,” Soran adds from his seat at the table, face hidden by the newspaper he’s pretending to read.

“Jihyun,” Jae says, tone warning, from across the table, “Must you be so persistent?”

“I haven’t even done anything yet,” Jihyun protests, lips pulled into an annoyed pout when Jae gives him his ‘disapproving parent’ look.

“So you don’t intend on flirting with the girl until she gives in?” his brother asks with raised eyebrows. Jihyun doesn’t reply, simply stabs violently at his eggs. At his silence, Jae continues, “Can’t you just accept that not every girl is going to throw themselves at you and leave it at that? What’s one stubborn woman as opposed to the hundreds already awaiting your beck and call?” Jihyun knows Jae is appealing to his own arrogance to dissuade him and it almost works.

Only, he thinks of Aria’s pretty smile and the shy looks she gives him, coupled with the fact that she’s off limits and Jihyun can’t help it. He’s already decided that he has to have her and he doesn’t think even he can talk himself out of it.

Eventually the topic moves past Aria and onto the information breeches they’ve been having, until Jin scolds them all about bringing work up while they’re eating. They dissolve into mindless chatter about the bakery Jin runs, appeasing the older man.

An hour later, Jihyun and Ian stand outside the reserve, waiting to sign up.

“I don’t understand why I’m here,” Ian whines petulantly, nose turned up angrily as he stands in line.

“For moral support,” Jihyun shrugs, “Also, her cute bodyguard might be here and you can distract him for me.”

Ian thinks to himself for a moment before nodding his approval, “Smart plan.”

They give their names in to the woman working at the counter, who tells them to wait inside until the instructor turns up. Jihyun wanders in curiously, surprised to see that only a small group of people have turned up.

He glances them over uninterestedly before doing a double take when his eyes land on a familiar ginger head.

“Angel?” He gapes as the girl turns towards him, familiar blue eyes sparking in recognition.

“Jihyun,” she smiles before making her way towards him, “I almost didn’t recognize you, I’ve never seen you in anything but suits,” she gives his outfit a once over, a pair of tight black jeans and a cashmere white turtleneck, before chuckling into her palm, “Although I don’t think you want to be wearing that when we go in to the enclosures.”

“What’re you doing here?” Jihyun asks in surprise.

“Oh my gosh, Angel! Hi!” Ian exclaims when he spots her, grinning widely.

“In the normal world, people call me Sam,” she chuckles, “Angel is just my stage name.”

Jihyun feels a little out of his depth, completely thrown at her appearance. She doesn’t look anything like she usually does, make-up free and sporting a pair of faded ripped jeans and an old sweater. She’s still unbelievably pretty, and in the natural lighting, Jihyun spots the litter of freckles over the bridge of her nose.

He’s so distracted that he doesn’t even notice when Aria walks up to the group, belatedly turning around when Sam waves behind him.

“Sam!” Aria smiles broadly, throwing her arms around the older woman and Jihyun curses silently. Of course the two know each other. Just his luck.

“Hey,” Sam chuckles, returning the hug with equally as much warmth, “It’s good to see you.”

“It’s good to see you, too,” Aria chuckles, “How’s Jonathan?”

“He’s good. He’s become obsessed with music lately, forced me to buy him one of those cheap drum sets. He says he’s gonna be a rockstar and buy me a mansion when he grows up,” Sam replies with a fond smile.

“You should bring him over one day,” Aria chuckles, “I think Cash Money misses him.”

Once she’s done greeting Sam, Aria turns to Jihyun with raised eyebrows, “And what are you doing here?” she asks, tone playful.

It takes a beat too long for him to reply, forcing his mind to jog into action again, “I, uh, came to help?” he says but it comes out like a question.

“You know Jihyun?” Sam asks with a curious raise of her eyebrows.

“Uh, you could say that,” Aria shrugs, her eyes drifting over to Sam, “You’re acquainted?”

“You could say that,” Sam gives him a playful wink, “Jihyun’s a regular at our club.”

“That doesn’t surprise me,” Aria chuckles and for some reason, her words make his gut stir in irritation. She wanders off to greet the other people that have joined the volunteer program before assigning everyone to a section of chores.

Ian and Sam are lucky enough to help her tend to the animals, Sam being a regular volunteer and Ian weaseling his way in with his big, round doe eyes. Jihyun is left to clean out the stables.

“You’re joking, right?” he asks in disbelief, much to the amusement of Sam and Ian who giggle behind him.

“Nope,” Aria shakes her head, giving him a condescending pat on the back when she hands him a shovel and garbage bag.

He spends the next two hours scooping out horse dung and trying not to dirty his really expensive sweater. He’s about to leave midway through his time slot, when Sam sneaks into the barn and winds an arm around his waist.

“You’ve been working really hard,” she tells him, voice deep and sultry, “Why don’t you take a break?”

“I don’t think I’m allowed breaks,” he chuckles but tosses the shovel aside so he can turn around and run his hands over the plump of Sam’s ass. He’s always had a weakness for her ass.

“We’ll make sure to keep quiet then,” Sam chuckles into his ear, jumping up and quickly wrapping her legs around his waist.

They have s*x against the barn wall, Jihyun holding onto the wall rails for support as Sam works him. It’s over quite quickly, neither wanting to get caught and when they’re done, Sam gives him a disbelieving chuckle, “I can’t believe we just had s*x in a barn. Urgh, that’s so dirty. Also, why do you always have condoms on you? Are you a condom dispenser?” she jokes.

“I like to be prepared,” he grins at her and as he’s about to tug up his zipper, Ian walks in.

“Aria wanted me to che-” he stops in his tracks when he spots Jihyun and Sam sporting matching guilty expressions, “You did not?” Ian gasps, “In a barn? While we’re supposed to be helping? Are you two horny teenagers that you can’t keep your hands off of one another?” his tone is more disbelieving than admonishing, and he looks almost impressed when he glances between the two.

“You better clean yourself up,” Ian throws Jihyun’s way, “Aria’s making rounds to see how everyone is doing. I don’t want to know what she’ll do to you if she found out about you two having s*x in the stables.”

“Totally worth it,” Jihyun smirks at Sam’s blushing face, picking up the shovel and continuing his work with an air of nonchalance.

It’s only when Aria walks in a few minutes later with a tray of juice, that he feels slightly guilty. He’s alone again, Sam and Ian having gone off to finish up their own jobs.

Aria places the tray on a nearby table, giving him a small smile, “I thought you might be thirsty,” she shrugs, “It’s not a vodka martini but I’ve always thought freshly squeezed orange juice is the best,” she hands him a glass, watching him sip the drink with anticipatory eyes.

“It’s good,” Jihyun says quietly, nodding at the drink and Aria breaks out into a huge grin. She’s covered in dirt and sweat, hair a tangled mess atop her head but for some reason his heart jolts for a moment at the action.

“Do you need any help?” she asks, glancing around, “The stables are a bit tough for just one person to tackle, I’m sorry for making you do it by yourself.”

She doesn’t even wait for his reply, simply walks over to the edge of the stables and returns with a shovel in hand. She sets to work and Jihyun follows soon after.

“So why are you here?” she asks after a few minutes of silence.

“To help out,” Jihyun shrugs. Aria is quiet for a moment, glancing at him with disbelieving eyes so he carries on, “Also to see you. Alright, mainly to see you,” he confesses.

She sighs heavily, stopping her actions as she glances up at him, “You know I-”

“Have a fiancé, yes, I know,” he rolls his eyes in irritation; “Everyone likes to keep reminding me.”

“So you know that while I’m flattered, I can’t entertain any notions you have. I won’t stop you from coming here and helping out because that would be selfish of me but I feel like I have to establish a few boundaries.”

“So my dazzling good looks and my charms aren’t sweeping you off your feet?” Jihyun teases, sighing when she doesn’t react to his words, “Yeah, okay fine. Boundaries. Got it.”

She gives him a grateful smile before returning to cleaning out the stables.

“So tell me about this wonderful fiancé that you have,” Jihyun quips, tone only slightly sarcastic.

“What would you like to know?” Aria asks nonchalantly.

“What makes him so enticing that even my own charms won’t work on you?” he asks with a sly smirk.

Aria rolls her eyes with a quiet scoff, “We’ve been friends since we were little. I was homeschooled, so for a long time Cedric was my only friend. I guess that just evolved over time.”

“So you’re telling me that you’re with him because he’s literally the only male outside of your family that you even know,” Jihyun replies in a deadpan voice and Aria brushes some hay onto his shoes in retaliation, “I’m kidding,” he chuckles.

“Is that why you’re so passionate about animals?” he asks after a while, the implication clear in his voice.

“I was home schooled, so I didn’t have a lot of friends,” Aria shrugs, “As a result, I filled that need for social intimacy with a variety of pets. I’d always been really shy growing up and animals were easier to get along with than people, so I became attached really quickly. They’re also cool as hell,” she finishes with a grin.

He looks at her curiously, staring until she huffs and glares at him, “Stop that,” Aria rolls her eyes.

“Stop what?” Jihyun asks.

“Stop giving me that look,” she replies.

“What look?” he quips.

“That ‘poor, socially deprived little girl must have been so lonely growing up’ look.”

“You got all of that just from one look?” Jihyun chuckles, dodging when she pulls a carrot out of her jacket pocket and flings it at him.

“Why do you have carrots in your pocket?” he laughs.

“For when I get hungry,” Aria shrugs nonchalantly, grinning when she hears Jihyun chuckle at her words.

The day passes by quicker than he would like, and before they’re even done, it’s nearing night time. It’s well past six and Aria thanks the group of volunteers for their time, wishing them well and stating her anticipation for next week.

Jihyun avoids Sam’s questioning stare when he wanders over to Aria and pats her head condescendingly, “You did well for someone so tiny and fragile.”

“Next time I’ll make you mock out the stables alone,” Aria quips with narrowed eyes, “Also, don’t wear something that costs thousands of dollars.”

He doesn’t comment on the open invitation to join them next week but a smile still manages to tug at the corners of his lips. He watches her walk away with a lopsided grin, eyes dropping to the way her hips sway slightly.

“Not a chance, lover boy,” Sam comments as she sidles up next to him, “She’s way to good to even consider you.”

“I know,” Jihyun sighs after a while, “Can’t hurt to try though,” he grins.