Dasom froze.
Her eyes widened slightly as she stared blankly at Yixing Wang, momentarily speechless.
Yixing tilted his head with an amused smile.
"Sorry I'm late?" he joked lazily.
"Uh… no…" was all she managed to say.
Despite the nervous flutter building in her chest, Dasom still felt strangely safe around him — and she liked that more than she cared to admit.
Seeing her flustered expression and pink cheeks warmed slightly from the alcohol, Yixing chuckled softly to himself.
Meanwhile, her friends immediately greeted him respectfully.
"Big Brother Yixing," they said almost in unison, lowering their heads politely.
Yixing nodded toward them before turning to Jean.
"You're not so little anymore, huh?" he smirked. "I hope you liked your gift."
Jean blinked.
Then realization struck him like lightning.
"WAIT — the Lamborghini was from you?!" Jean exclaimed loudly. "Of course my parents would never buy me something like that." He winked shamelessly. "Trust me, I'll put it to very good use."
Yixing laughed quietly at his excitement before redirecting his attention back toward Dasom.
And just like that, the atmosphere around them changed.
His gaze sharpened — intense and predatory, like he was trying to look straight through her soul.
Dasom unconsciously leaned slightly closer into his warmth as his hands rested lightly against her waist.
Yixing noticed.
And he liked it far too much.
Dasom, meanwhile, became painfully aware of his touch the second he smiled at her again.
Then suddenly—
A familiar scent caught her attention.
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
Wait… I know that cologne.
She looked at him suspiciously before pointing an accusing finger directly at his chest.
"Mr Turbulence?"
Yixing blinked.
"What did you just call me?" he asked, clearly entertained.
"Mr Turb—" Dasom stopped abruptly.
Wait. No way.
This man owned private jets. There was absolutely no way he'd been on a commercial Hassano Air flight.
"…Never mind."
Before Yixing could press further, Bee dramatically whined from nearby.
"Sorry to interrupt whatever this is, but it's freezing out here. Let's go, Bunny!"
Completely ignoring her, Yixing remained focused solely on Dasom.
"I'm heading to the Lee estate anyway," he said casually. "I need to speak with your brother. Want to ride with me?"
Dasom hesitated immediately.
She glanced nervously toward her friends for help before looking back at him.
Unfortunately, her so-called best friends looked completely unbothered.
Actually, they looked eager to escape the cold.
"How about it?" Yixing asked again, voice calm but expectant.
Dasom silently begged her friends with her eyes.
Help me say no.
What she didn't notice was the subtle warning glare Yixing shot toward the trio.
Not that they cared.
They abandoned her almost instantly.
Bee linked arms with Jean and Asher before grinning mischievously.
"It makes sense, Bunny," she reasoned quickly. "You already said you wanted to head home early because of jet lag and to see your grandparents."
She pointed dramatically between Dasom and Yixing.
"One car ride. Two birds. One stone."
Then Bee tugged the boys away enthusiastically.
"Decision made! Let's go get chocolate wasted!"
Neither Jean nor Asher questioned leaving Dasom alone with Yixing for even a second. The three of them happily discussed desserts and late-night plans while climbing into their car.
Jean even waved cheerfully.
"Good luck!"
Dasom stared at their departing vehicle in betrayal.
Traitors.
Meanwhile, Yixing gently guided her toward his own car.
To Dasom's surprise, the drive wasn't awkward at all.
Conversation flowed naturally between them.
At first, it remained light — catching up on life, studies, and travel — but eventually they drifted toward subjects they both understood deeply: family and business.
Yixing quickly noticed something fascinating about her.
Whenever Dasom spoke about technology or her ambitions, her entire face lit up.
Her eyes sparkled with confidence and intelligence.
And Yixing found it unbelievably attractive.
Listening to her speak about her studies and future goals made him realize something important.
The timid little girl he remembered no longer existed.
The woman sitting beside him now was sharp, ambitious, and quietly powerful.
There was far more to Dasom Lee than anyone realized.
And Yixing suddenly wanted to uncover every layer of her.
Because Yixing Wang always got what he wanted.
And now—
He wanted more of her.
"So," he asked suddenly, "are you seeing anyone?"
The words left his mouth before he could stop them.
Dasom blinked, slightly surprised by the straightforward question.
Still, she answered honestly.
"I hav—" she corrected herself softly. "Had a boyfriend."
Yixing's jaw tightened slightly.
"Really?" he asked evenly. "How did you meet?"
"I knew of him because he was friends with my brother," Dasom explained. "But we officially met in England."
She leaned back slightly in her seat.
"He was invited to Cambridge as a guest speaker since his father was an alumnus. Apparently his translator got food poisoning and I happened to be the only Hassanic speaker available."
She rolled her eyes at the memory.
"So I translated his entire thirty-minute speech."
Yixing listened silently.
"Afterward, he took me to dinner to thank me," she continued. "Then somehow we ended up dating."
"And?"
Dasom looked out the window.
"We had our differences," she said quietly. "Things ended badly."
Internally, however, she was screaming at herself for oversharing.
Yixing remained silent for a moment.
Not because he judged her.
But because the mere thought of someone hurting her irritated him more than it should have.
The idea of some idiot making her cry genuinely angered him.
"That's… sweet," he managed eventually.
Dasom snorted softly.
"Honestly? It was corny." She shook her head. "I found out later he was already fluent in English. He just used the translator excuse to ask me out."
That finally earned a laugh from Yixing.
But before either of them could continue, Dasom suddenly sneezed.
A tiny, delicate—
"Ah-choo."
Then quietly:
"Excuse me."
Yixing stared at her in disbelief.
"…Excuse me?" he repeated. "That is the cutest sneeze I've ever heard."
The second he realized he'd said that aloud, he facepalmed himself.
Dasom burst into genuine laughter.
And Yixing was completely unprepared for it.
Her eyes curved into little half-moons exactly like Mingyu's whenever she laughed.
He couldn't stop himself from smiling back.
Meanwhile, Dasom simply looked at him brightly once her laughter faded.
Yixing stared at her for a long second.
Yeah, he thought helplessly. This must be that love-at-first-sight nonsense Father keeps talking about.
The Lee Family Estate
By the time they arrived at the estate, their conversation had become surprisingly comfortable.
The mansion, however, felt eerily quiet.
The only sound echoing through the entrance hall was the frantic tapping of tiny paws across marble floors.
"Seji! Maka! Come here, boys!"
Two miniature dachshunds came sprinting toward Dasom the moment they heard her voice.
The second they reached her, Dasom's face lit up so brightly Yixing genuinely thought he might go blind.
The dogs wagged their tails wildly while she hugged them tightly and rubbed noses with them affectionately.
Yixing watched with shameless jealousy.
"Lucky little bastards," he muttered under his breath.
"Hm?" Dasom looked up curiously.
Yixing immediately cleared his throat.
"I said… Seji and Maka are cute names."
Dasom laughed.
"It's Soseji and Makkara. They both mean sausage in different languages." She grinned proudly. "I named them when I was eighteen."
Yixing stared at her fondly.
Of course she did.
After setting the dogs back down, the two continued walking deeper into the mansion toward her grandfather's study.
But something immediately felt off.
The house was unusually dark.
Dasom frowned slightly.
The estate was normally kept brightly lit because of Mingyu's lingering trauma after temporarily losing his eyesight following the crash.
Lost in thought, she barely noticed movement behind her—
Until a pair of strong arms suddenly wrapped around her shoulders.
"BOO!"
Years of Taekwondo and judo training instantly took over.
In one fluid motion, Dasom grabbed the attacker's arm, planted her feet firmly, and executed a perfect seoi nage throw.
The man hit the floor hard.
Before he could recover, Dasom had already pinned him down and raised her fist to punch—
"IT'S ME!" the man yelped desperately. "BABE, IT'S ME!"
Dasom froze mid-swing.
She blinked down at him in complete disbelief.
"…Bo?!"
Then her expression twisted into outrage.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!"