Best Laid Plans and All That

Min Jun lay on the bed with his fingers laced behind his head. The night had gone much differently in his head than in reality. In his head, he would sweep Jessie into a passionate embrace. She was as excited to see him as he was her. They rushed off to the nearest bed to finish what they started the previous weekend.

After a few hours, or days, of hot sex, they would date while he figured out what it was about this woman that kept her on his mind and in his dreams.

Dating while a K-pop star was best kept undercover and casual. Not that he really had time for more with the schedule the management company kept BEXT on. Some of the other guys tried to date, but most of the women they knew were either fellow entertainers under just as strenuous schedules, celebrity parasites, or women who lost interest after the glamor of dating an entertainer wore off. Without the glamor, the only thing left were stolen moments and a lot of compromises over things that should have been private.

After a few years of stolen kisses with this girl or a one-night stand with that one, MJ gave up trying. He added dating and romance to his list of things to do once he retired. And then he retired and not much changed. Getting the club up and running took up all of his time, not that his mom hadn't tried to add a woman to his life. Her two attempts were total disasters. The first girl only spoke in whispers and never looked him in the eyes. The second girl was a fan. Enough said.

MJ turned over and stared out the window where a breeze blew through the remains of the oak tree leaves. The streetlight illuminated the shifting shadows. He wished he could open the window and let in some fresh air, but it was stuck closed as tightly as Jessie had been to his suggestion that they pick up where they left off.

This was what it felt like to experience rejection. The thought brought a bittersweet smile to his lips. Another first with Jessie. Making out with a stranger in a bar stock room was a first. Kissing a non-Asian woman, a first. Having a knee aimed at his groin, another first. Had his reflexes been slower, that was a first he would rather have missed.

He wanted to experience more firsts. All of the firsts a normal thirty-two-year-old man had already experienced, and he wanted to experience them with Jessie. But first, he had to hire a competent manager so he could delegate some of the work. He would need time to date Jessie properly. He wanted her to realize he was there to support her dreams, not hinder her. He had no intention of being her one and done no matter how long it took to convince her otherwise. MJ was confident he would belong to this woman.