sweet talk baby
His lips stretched, and when the dimples showed she knew she had him caught and reeled away from whatever tortured his massively genius brain. "You're surprisingly calm about this," he murmured, relaxing into her warmth, face pressed to her shoulder. And she inhaled, allowing herself to sink into his clean, sweet scent of home. "You never cease to surprise me, truly."
She was just that good at lying through her teeth.
"But how do you want me to attack Casp?" she urged, trying to keep up the façade with more plans of bravado. "Are we going cool and collected? Dumb, crazy bitch? Want me to start screaming at the top of my lungs and start a food fight at this place? "
Her inner self winced at that, her upbringing screaming at her at the thought of drawing that much attention to herself. Her mother would have her head, and God she would hate the eyes that would stick to her skin all night. But they were facing his demons so—
The flinch that stretched across his cheeks were strange and the hardness in his eyes surprised her. It wasn't the gentleness or the heat that she knew, this was authoritative, snappy and cold. It hardened his jaw, turning him into handsome chiselled steel. She knew his answer before he spoke in that deep rumbling voice of the darkest chocolate and the most heart-stopping spice.
"No," he shook his head. "Don't bring attention to yourself, I don't want them looking at you. I don't want them remembering you." He cleared his throat, pressing his lips together tightly. "They can't think of you after this. I want you slipping their minds immediately."
That would explain the simple, prudish black dress she had on that Casper had given her to wear that night. It covered her knees, it covered her boobs, it covered her back, it even went all the way up to her neck. The only saving grace it had was the cutting that cinched and girded at her waist, sopping down her hips, tightened by a gold chain. And her exposed shoulders, which would be deemed perverted in some shitty high schools.
"So I shut up?"
"Don't talk unless you're spoken to, stay by my side and do not look at anyone."
"That..." she said, brows twitching at his words, "shouldn't be too hard..." He wanted her to play the submissive little wife from the 18th century, before education and before women suffrage. She winced, wondering if she would have to put up that image for the rest of their lives, because that would suck!
He explained quickly, with a panicky flourish of his hands. "Amber. They have connections to the real world, pissing them off could ruin your career." And their musical career by default, she understood the tone in his voice that already they stood on a tightrope. His face twitched, an awkward smile forming in depths of despair. "You don't have to act meek. We go in, we stay neutral, respectful. We do not piss off my grandmother or my family. And if people attack you or me, just stay quiet I'll deal with it, okay?"
"Casper..."
He turned to look at her, eyes locked with hers, and grey lurked within.
"I'm going to tell you something now, that I've not told the boys," he whispered closing his eyes. "I begged them for help when JieMi's scandal came out. They're why the media didn't twist its way in favour of Ha-Eun, it's why in the eyes of the news it was a landslide. You know how there's a gender bias when it comes to accusations of rape. The media could have been easily twisted by her agency with the live stream so incomplete."
"But the court ruling was fair—"
"Oh, baby it was but the media would have dragged JieMi deeper into the mud. And the lawyer we had was good and just, someone introduced to me by my family. They're the reason why we can be here in South Korea and the two of you can go to school." Casper's lips pulled into a gentle smile. "A cousin, a distant one, daughter to the CEO of a media empire. She pulled the most strings just to get us all out, honestly just pouted at her father a little but that isn't the point—"
"At what cost?" Amber echoed, breathless at his words. Casper shook his head.
"Nothing."
"It can't be nothing," she gave him a fearful look.
"Yeah," Casper's lips twitched. "She holds IDOL by the balls."
She exhaled. "All media agencies do."
"It's a famous news agency and the first one that detailed the court preceding for JieMi, unbiased and sound." Casper licked his lips, always so thick and delectable. "And she's a family favourite. The winner of the year for the competition until you showed up."
"They already don't like me."
"Love, they don't like everyone." Casper snorted, a low breathy growl followed. "But enough about her, the whole family is a threat. I've pissed them off enough with my dreams. I pissed them more when I succeeded. The scandal is proof that I fucked up. And they will laugh at my demise." He let out a laugh. "You, Amber, are probably the only thing in my life that I didn't fuck up in their eyes. And they already see it as a failure because I had to share, and the entire world knows I share." He spat the words out, leaning back with a low groan that should be sexy enough to drive her thoughts away from fear, but wasn't in this context.
Fuck.
"You know you aren't a fuck up in my eyes, right?" She just had to check. He looked at her for a moment, a beat of disbelief that melted away to acceptance.
"Of course I do, you don't have to tell me that."
"Just checking, because your self loathe is sinking a little too far for my liking."
He gave her a smile that screamed 'you think?' "That's exactly why we have to leave as soon as we can. And we need to play nice to everyone, especially my cousin."
"So I literally can't win," Amber confirmed. "I can't show any chances of winning or else I'll piss them all off. Not that I could in the first place, good God." She looked at him, worry brewing in her chest. "You should have told me weeks ago at the restaurant."
"You would be afraid for longer. You would have been concerned for me." Casper pointed out, riposte tight with his anxiety. "I promise you it'll be fine. Trust me. I know what to do." And he sat back taking her hand to press it against his chest, rubbing it as if he could calm her racing heart. "You'll be fine." The words seemed more for him than for her.
"We will be fine," she interrupted him, wrapping her arm over his shoulder to squeeze it. She was thankful now for the limousine, she wouldn't have been able to give Casper a hug when he needed it. "I'll play the role you want me to play, I'll be the most polite, peace-loving perfect wife you'll ever meet. I won't give them a single reason to hate me. Then we can go home when we're done kissing up to their asses, and pretend they don't exist in our lives."
She was rewarded with a genuine smile from her soulmate, the colours in his eyes morphing into a subtle warm pink. He interlaced their fingers together squeezing them tightly. "My love, what will I ever do if I didn't have a soulmate like you?"
"Sweet talk baby, but there's absolutely no way that you wouldn't have me as a soulmate."
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