Red Velvet

Se Ah sprayed a bit of her expensive perfume on her neck and hair, looked at her reflection in the mirror, closed her eyes, and sighed - tonight was the VIP party for the opening of Kang Da Hye's rebranded bar "Red Velvet".

'I can't believe she has done it... A freaking S&M bar.'

Although the idea to turn one of her most successful host bars into an S&M bar came to her less than two months ago, when Kang Da Hye wanted to do something, she would always put her heart and soul into it and work hard until that goal was achieved, which was the main reason why her father valued her so much and always let her do whatever she wanted because he knew that Da Hye would never fail. Se Ah, however, always wondered if her overworking herself was also the reason why she was always on edge which resulted in Boss Kang being so infamously cruel to her subs.

Miss Yoon's phone rang through the silent space of her bedroom - it was Lee Min Hyun, he was already waiting in his car downstairs. She put the phone in her purse and paused.

'Was it a bad idea to ask him to come with me? He was eager to go but did he really understand what it means?.. I better make sure before we leave.'

Se Ah was reluctant to ask Lee Min Hyun to come with her to the opening party for two reasons: the intern proved to be extremely jealous whenever Se Ah got close to other men, and his inexperience could get in the way of both of them having fun that night. But even despite all that, she was hoping that exposing him to the colorful world of S&M and letting him meet more people who shared their interests, would make him less dependable on Se Ah and he would finally be able to enjoy it to the fullest.

"Miss Yoon! You look really beautiful today, this dress suits you a lot."

Se Ah fastened the seatbelt while listening to Min Hyun's flattery, then looked him up and down, and smiled lightly.

"You don't look so bad yourself, it's nice to see you wearing black for a change."

Their company did not have an official dress code, however, there was still an unspoken rule of dressing up neatly and simply which for most of the female employees meant pastel-colored clothes, and for the male half of the office - black pants and white shirts, no tie or jacket required. Se Ah was so used to seeing men dressed all the same that any divergence in the shirt color selection made her feel somewhat ecstatic.

"So, "Red Velvet", right?"

"Min Hyun, wait!"

She placed her hand on his and looked into his face with a rather uneasy expression.

"This is just a party with drinks and stuff but... Almost every person that will be there is interested in S&M just like we are, therefore, it is possible that I might meet new people there and maybe even a couple of new partners --"

"That's alright."

Min Hyun turned away, faked a polite smile, and continued,

"As long as you don't throw me away, I'm okay with anything."

Se Ah widened her eyes at his unexpected reply but hesitated to speak again. Did he finally understand how it worked? Or was he, too, planning on finding someone else to play with? She was not a possessive kind of sadist - she did not really care if her subs went to different people, in fact, that was her only rule - she did not own anyone and she would never even pretend to be jealous, but this time, perhaps for the first time in her life, even though that was what she wanted, hearing Min Hyun say that he did not mind, made her feel a tiny little pang somewhere deep inside her chest.

'Is it because he is so pretty that I want to own him? I guess I really need to start seeing more people.'

Since "Red Velvet" was not a regular bar, to begin with, everything about it, especially on the opening night, had to be discreet; while it was located in Itaewon, its building with its windows covered with thick velvet curtains and its lights off was an eyesore among all other bars and restaurants that were booming with life on a Saturday night.

"Miss Yoon, are you sure it's here? It seems like it's closed."

Min Hyun looked around with curious eyes and scratched the back of his neck. Se Ah scoffed at that awkward gesture, then took his hand in hers, and started walking behind the building. She stopped in front of a shabby metal door, knocked on it three times, and when a tall, muscular man dressed in a black, slim leather suit opened the door with a rather serious expression on his face, Se Ah handed him a small red envelope, which made the man smile and let them in.

"When it comes to parties, my friend likes to make her guests feel exclusive that's why she's celebrating now although the bar is not officially open."

The guy nodded at her words but he barely heard her - he still could not believe that Miss Yoon took his hand first, and was still holding onto it.

The bar's interior was rather fascinating - long, thick velvet curtains flowing all the way down to the floor, a mixture of dimmed lights, both yellow and red, red velvet couches everywhere with little tables in front of them stacked with all kinds of drinks and snacks, and the focal point of it all - a giant stand with all kinds of equipment and toys for the S&M plays of various intensity.

"Se Ah, you're here!"

The two of them turned their heads to the sound of a woman's voice when Se Ah finally let go of Min Hyun's hand and hugged an already tipsy woman dressed in a long red velvet dress with a cocktail glass in her hand.

"Da Hye, did you actually invite all of your ex-partners to the party?"

The other woman laughed, spilling the contents of her glass on the blackwood floor.

"Of course I did! Most of them have lots of money to invest, plus they will definitely spread the word inside our circle, so I'll take it as free publicity!"

Da Hye finally noticed the guy standing behind her friend, leaned over Se Ah's shoulder, placed her chin on it, and grinned rather cunningly.

"And who do we have here?"

Se Ah helped Da Hye assume a normal standing position and put her hand on the guy's back.

"Kang Da Hye, this is Lee Min Hyun, my coworker and... my partner. Min Hyun, this is my best friend Da Hye, she is the owner of this bar."

Min Hyun offered Da Hye a subtle bow and beamed with an unexpectedly happy smile.

"It's a pleasure."