Chapter 41: Chapter 41

Ye Jun

I groaned and rolled onto my stomach kicking my feet like a kid because she was right and it made me feel like shit but also warm because she still sounded like my Titi. “Okay okay I suck I admit it I’m a terrible friend I should’ve called the second Mom said yes to the marriage but everything moved so fast and then Si-woo showed up and he’s… god Titi he’s this ice cold devil guy who works in the company i work in and he’s my stepbrother now and last night he wait no I can’t even say it over the phone but I need your help because I’m gonna make him pay for treating me like trash and I…”

She gasped loud and dramatic then burst out laughing again. “Wait wait wait the hot ice cold devil Choi Si-woo? Like the Choi Si-woo that every model in the industry whispers about? The one who designs those killer dresses and never smiles and has girls and guys throwing themselves at him but he just looks through them like they’re invisible? That Si-woo is your stepbrother now? Oh my god Ye-jun you lucky bitch! Or wait unlucky because he sounds terrifying. The whole industry calls him the ice cold devil behind his back because he’s gorgeous but he’ll freeze you with one look if you mess up a fitting. How did you not tell me this sooner? I would’ve flown back just to see the drama!”

I sat up fast pressing the phone harder to my ear because she was talking so fast and I was trying to keep up but also laughing because only Titi could make this sound like the best gossip ever. “Yes that Si-woo, Titi and he’s living here now apparently he’s evil, he literally…he drugged me, well not like bad but he did something and we… stuff happened and then he ignored me all day like I was nothing and this morning he grabbed me in the kitchen and growled he’d bend me over the counter but then stormed off so now I’m pissed and I went to the market and bought lingerie because I’m gonna wear it and make him snap and beg and then maybe I’ll walk away and leave him broken like he left me but I feel so stupid and ashamed buying it and…”

Titi squealed so loud I yanked the phone away from my ear like it was on fire. “What?! Lingerie? You? Ye-jun, the same guy who used to hide in those giant baggy hoodies all through high school like you were allergic to attention? Oh honey, I’m literally dying over here!” She was laughing so hard I could hear her slapping her knee or something. “But yes! Yes yes yes! Do it! Go full slut mode and make that hot ice cold devil sweat buckets!”

I tried to talk but she just kept going, voice all excited and fast like she hadn’t shut up in years. “The whole industry knows him too well, Ye-jun. Choi Si-woo? That man’s a genius with fabric, designs dresses that make models cry happy tears, but zero patience. Zero! One wrong stitch and he’s glaring like he wants to murder you. And if he’s ignoring you right now after whatever nasty hot thing you two did last night? Girl, please. He’s already hooked. Deep down he’s obsessed, he just hates admitting it because his ego’s the size of a stadium. Trust me, I’ve heard the stories from shoots. Models try to flirt, he freezes them out so cold they go home and eat ice cream in the dark.”

I snorted, trying to keep my voice down so Si-woo wouldn’t hear from upstairs. “Titi, you’re making him sound like some evil fashion king. But yeah, he grabbed me this morning in the kitchen, said he’d bend me over the counter, then just stormed off like nothing happened. I’m so mad I could scream, but also… I want him to lose it. Like really lose it. So I bought some stuff at the market today and I feel so stupid and ashamed carrying it home.”

She gasped again, dramatic as always. “You already bought some?! Oh my god, my baby grew up! But listen, forget that cheap market crap. I have the perfect thing sitting in my closet right now. I bought this new black lace set last month in Seoul for a shoot: super delicate, tiny straps, sheer in all the right places, little bows everywhere. It was too small on me, pinched my hips like crazy, but I kept it anyway because it was too pretty to return. And Ye-jun, with your body? Those long legs? It’s gonna look insane on you. Like, criminal. He won’t know what hit him.”

I felt my face heat up again but I was grinning like an idiot. “You’re serious? You’d give it to me?”

“Give? Honey, I’m throwing it at you! I’ll drop it off tomorrow morning or you come grab it tonight, I don’t care which. Just text me when you’re ready. But you have to promise me one thing.” Her voice dropped low and teasing. “After you wear it for him? Send. Me. Pictures. Every angle. I need to know if the ice cold devil finally melts into a puddle or if he explodes and pins you to the wall again. I’m living for this drama. Don’t you dare leave me out!”

I laughed, shaking my head even though she couldn’t see me. “You’re the worst best friend ever. And the best. Fine, deal. I’ll send pics. But if he kills me, it’s your fault.”

She cackled. “Worth it. Now go plot, you little menace. I love you!

I was laughing so hard now tears were in my eyes but they weren’t all happy because underneath it I still felt that sharp hurt from how Si-woo pushed me away this morning and how my own family barely noticed me in the kitchen and talking to Titi made me realize how much I missed having someone on my side who actually saw me. “Titi you’re the best I love you so much even when you yell at me and yeah I’m in a hurry because he’s upstairs right now probably sketching more genius dresses and ignoring me but I had to call you because I can’t do this alone and hearing you call him the hot ice cold devil makes me feel less crazy for wanting to destroy him but also keep him I don’t know my head’s a mess but thank you for the lingerie I can’t wait to use it against Si-woo.”

She kept going not letting me hang up yet laughing and teasing and telling me more stories about models who tried to flirt with him and got shut down so cold they cried in the bathroom and I listened even though I was glancing at the clock because yeah I had a man to seduce but she was my Titi and I loved her and I wasn’t cutting her off no matter how fast my heart was racing thinking about slipping into that lace later and watching Si-woo finally break.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep