You step off of the elevator and see your mother, Gina. She's waiting impatiently with her leopard print skirt, blouse tucked in, fake cleavage heaving, and shiny red pumps tapping the floor. Who the hell is she trying to impress? You brace yourself for the coming onslaught of insults and guilt about not responding to her. You can't talk to her out here. There are too many people out front, too.

"Mother. How about we go this way to talk?"

Frannie gives you a look that says, "Are you sure you don't want me to take her out for you?" You jerk a slight nod, hoping your mother doesn't see it.

"Don't 'Mother' me! You won't answer my calls or texts. It's like you don't want to talk to me. I can't for the life of me figure out why you wouldn't want to talk to me. I've only ever had your best interest at heart."

She's nagging, but at least you've gotten her out to the garage.

"Why did you give Brett my number?"

"So you can talk to him, of course. I told you he's forgiven you for your little tantrum. He's ready to pick back up where you left off, and that's what you need to do. Not hang up on him when he's trying to fix the best thing that's ever happened to you.

"This 'job' thing is so beneath you, Y/N. You wouldn't have to worry about a thing with him. You know Brett took good care of us. He's moved up in his father's firm, too. He's about to make partner already. His business investments are doing great, too. You should see the car he's driving."

Your patience wears thin as you grit your teeth and ground out your next words.

"I. Don't. Want. Him. Besides, I'm already seeing somebody. I'm happy with him. Namjoon is... great."

"Don't you go giving me that far off look, young lady. I'll be damned if I let my daughter throw her future away for some... some... foreigner!" She visibly shivers her disgust. "I didn't raise you to be poor. Your father saw big things for you, too. He would want you to be with Brett. He told me so the first time he saw you two playing in the backyard together. God rest his soul; he'd be rolling over in his grave if he saw what you're becoming. Working with riff-raff, sleeping with riff-raff, and dressing like them. What are you even wearing right now? A pantsuit and flats?!"

Here comes the guilt and the waterworks. You want to tell Gina who Namjoon really is, but you know it's useless. Besides, it's not his status or money you fell in love with. You also give in to Gina's guilt trip a little bit. You love and miss your daddy. He was the only sanctuary from your mother's insanity. He's been gone since you were 10, and you miss him terribly.

"What do you want from me, mother?" you say with a resigning sigh, lowering your head. She knows she's got you, now.

"Your father's birthday party is this weekend, and I'll be accepting an award the city is giving him. Come and celebrate with us at the country club. We can even go dress shopping for you. Make you presentable again. Your father always thought you were so pretty in purple silk."

That's one thing you can agree with her on, at least. Then, a thought occurs to you.

"Only if I can bring a guest."

"Yeah, yeah. Katy can come, too. She'll need to be dressed right and be on her best behavior, though. Honestly, at least teach her not to act so...poor."

This will save an argument over who is coming with you. You let Gina assume it's your best friend and shoot her your best pageant smile. After agreeing to meet her tomorrow to go dress shopping, she leaves in a much better mood than when she arrived. You walk her back to the main lobby and stop at Frannie's desk as soon as your mother is gone.

"I don't know how you calmed that woman down, but I'm in awe. That chick is crazy!"

"I've been dealing with her craziness my whole life. I had to agree to attend a party at the country club with her and her stuck-up friends, though. I think I've just sold my soul to the devil, herself."

You have a sigh and your friend barks out a laugh behind you. You look back at her in surprise, then catch a fit of the giggles, too. Her laugh is just so contagious.

Uh oh. Here comes the dizziness again.

You look at the clock behind Frannie and decide to grab a quick sandwich before you head back upstairs. You don't want to fill yourself up too much since you'll be eating with Katy in just 3 hours, but you're starting to feel a bit nauseous, too. You head back upstairs to the salon after grabbing something light to eat, not bothering to notice the man that's watching you from the café tables.

After work, you and Nathan head to the restaurant around the corner from the office. You aren't sure why you now have your own security detail, despite Brett popping his head up out of nowhere, but it makes Joonie feel better. At least he promised he would blend in with the crowd.

Katy spots you from her table and motions you over excitedly before she stands to give you a proper girlfriend hug.

"Y/N! Who is this you're walking in with? Did you bring your own dessert with you, or is he for me?"

Nathan blushes as he takes a seat at the end of the bar where he can hear you and still watch all exits. You laugh at your friend's boldness but wave her off. You whisper to her that he's just here to make sure there's no drama, and she nods in understanding.

"That's fine. I'm still holding out for the day you finally introduce me to J-Hope, anyway."

She winks at you conspiratorially and sits down. You both order yourselves margaritas, and the girl talk ensues. You finish most of your drink before the food arrives and are already starting to catch a buzz. Good thing the food gets here when it does, too, because you're starting to feel a bit nauseous again.

You must be coming down with something and make a mental note to see your doctor. The food does help a bit but, after the second drink, you're rushing to the bathroom again. Katy follows you, being the good friend that she is.

"Are you ok?"

"I think it's just stress. My stomach has been doing flip-flops ever since that damn phone call. Then Gina shows up and makes me agree to attend dad's party. Plus, Joonie's tour is looming closer. I still don't know if I'll be remaining at the office or if I'm going to travel with them."

"You're still on the shot, right Y/N?"

"Of course I am! That's not even a possibility for me, right now."

"Just making sure."

Katy puts her hands up in friendly surrender with a smile on her face. She doesn't think you're pregnant, either, but she had to ask.

Afterward, Nathan escorts you into the car, driving you home himself. You miss Joonie and wonder if it's too late to invite him over. You feel like crap and know that just hearing his voice will make you feel better.

You pull out your phone, but a call comes in before you can pull up his contact info. No. Not this. Not now. You silence it and hide your phone from view. Nathan picks up on this and looks at you from the rearview mirror. The phone rings again, and you ignore it again. This continues two more times, and you sink further into your seat each time.

"Everything ok, miss?"

"Yeah. Fine."

You sit back up straight and put on the best fake smile you can manage. You really don't feel good and don't want to think about Brett on top of everything else. You wish you could just escape everything and everyone except Katy and Joonie, but you know it isn't possible.

"If your ex is harassing you, I need to know. I'm your personal security now, and I can't fulfill my duties unless I'm made aware of the situation."

"It's just my mother again. She infuriates me sometimes. Are you close with your mom, Nathan?"

"Mine died when I was a year old. My father raised me. He was a good, military man. Scared the hell out of me, though."

You look out the window and consider his words. You know how he feels being scared of one parent after losing another. He drops the subject and pulls the car to the front of your building. After he escorts you into your apartment and scopes it out, you're finally left alone to cry. Why can't Brett just leave you alone? Why can't he just let you be happy?

You wake up the following day on the couch, stiff, sore, and a bit, unusually, hungover. Great. You didn't mean to fall asleep out there, but you suppose you fell asleep curled up, crying like a baby. After starting your coffee, you head off to shower last night away. Your headache has eased up some, but it's definitely going to be worse if you don't take a Tylenol now.

You sit down with your morning coffee in your robe, hair still dripping from your shower. You still have a couple of hours before you have to leave to meet with Gina, so you intend to take your time and enjoy your coffee. Your phone rings, and you see it's Namjoon, video calling you. You're a mess, but you don't care. You need to hear his voice and see his smile.

"Good morning, Beautiful. I was hoping I didn't wake you on your day off. It looks like you had fun last night, according to those selfies you sent back to me."

"I had a great time with Katy last night, thank you. Hey, you should put in a good word for her to Hobi."

"Funny you say that. He saw her in one of your pictures and said she was cute. Maybe we can double date soon? Saturday night?"

Your smile fades, and, as usual, he notices.

"About Saturday. Um. I was wondering if you'd like to go to a party with me. I mean, I know you don't want to release us to the press or anything, but I'll be wearing a gown and everything."

You cross your fingers under the table, waiting for his reply.

"What kind of dress?" he asks suggestively. He wiggles his eyebrows and flashes those deadly dimples at you. Those really should be illegal.

"I'm going shopping for one with my mother in a couple of hours, so I guess you'll have to wait and find out."

"Sounds tempting. Where is it?"

"My father's country club. Where else would it be? It's his birthday party, and I guess he's being recognized for some of the philanthropy work he did when he was still alive. Naturally, Gina has to show off."

You roll your eyes, and he laughs.

"So, you in a dress, I in my tux? Your mother hates me, you know."

"Yeah, but maybe after she sees who you really are, she'll leave me alone about..." You stop without finishing that sentence, not wanting to talk about Brett right now. His brow furrows, and he looks worried again.

"About what, Baby?"

"Gina seems to think you're some nobody janitor. Keeps going on about how I'm throwing my future away by being with you. I know I can't tell anybody about us, so it's hard listening to her talk down about you when she has no idea how great you really are."

"Who says you can't tell anybody about us, Y/N?"

"I was under the impression I couldn't, considering all of this security and everything."

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm in this for the long haul. That being said, I don't care who knows about how lucky I am to have you at my side. In fact, I have an invitation for you. What would you say if I invited you to our next award show?"

You jump out of your seat in excitement. An award show? Red carpet and all? This can't be real.

"Hell yes! When is it? Which one? Wait. Won't I have to work behind the scenes with Berto and the rest of the crew?"

"It's still a couple of months away after the tour starts. Don't worry. I have a feeling your boss won't mind at all."

"Then it's a date! I can't believe this. You'll all be showing off my hair to the entire world on the red carpet, and I'll be there to see their faces, taking it in."

"I'm sure having you on my arm will make us look even better. I love you, Y/N."

"I love you, too, Joonie."

An hour and a half later, you're dressed, your makeup and hair done to perfection. It's more makeup than you typically prefer to wear, but there's no need to have your mother nagging at you about looking so "plain." You even leave your hair down today, taking a blow dryer and straightener to it. Your hair usually is straight, but this way, you can give it some body and shine.

You're checking your accessories in the mirror when Nathan knocks on the door to let you know it's time to go. You take a selfie really quick and send it to Joonie. That'll give him something to think about today. You smirk confidently, putting your phone in your purse.

After only 2 hours of trying on dresses under your mother's harsh scrutiny, you're ready to throttle her. Gotta play nice. You have to keep her in a good mood. Once she sees Namjoon and how good he really is for you, she'll leave you alone about Brett. You just know it.

"That one makes her hips too wide. What have you been eating lately? Honestly. How are you ever going to get married if you keep gaining weight like this? Go put on a girdle before trying the next one on."

Your confidence begins to wane until you remember the look of love and lust in Namjoon's eyes every time he sees your body. He loves your body, and that's all you need to know. You put the girdle on anyway and step out with the dress and shoes on.

You actually like this one. It's long and flowy but shows your assets very classily. The lavender silk compliments your coloring, and the bling on the cleavage and cap sleeves makes your eyes sparkle. You don't care what Gina says about it. This is what you're going to wear when you enter the party on Namjoon's arm. The color even matches his hair. Perfect!!

"Finally! Something acceptable."

She shoots a haughty glare at the sales lady and stalks over to give a closer inspection. She crosses her arms over her silicone chest and walks a circle around you, like a wolf circling its prey. She huffs out a sigh and rolls her eyes when she sees your panty line.

"Of course, you know better than to wear granny panties under such fine material, so I'll overlook that for now. We don't have time to have it hemmed, so you'll have to wear taller heels. If you had responded to me sooner, we might have had more time to get a custom fit to it but, I guess that'll have to do."

She waves you off in dismissal and sits back down.

"Hurry up and change back so we can go get us a smoothie for lunch. My sugar is getting low, and I don't want to chip a tooth on those 'pastries' they've deemed acceptable."

You mouth an "I'm sorry" to the sales lady before returning to the changing room. Then, a message comes in from Namjoon. You finish taking off your dress before picking it up to look at your message. It's a selfie of him winking with the caption, "What are you wearing right now?"

An idea pops into your head, and you hang the dress up out of the camera's view. You stand in front of the mirror with your pretty girdle and undergarments on. Gina may call them granny panties, but they're really bikini cut lace, and your pink bra complete the matching set. You give a pageant pose in the mirror and take your picture. Perfect! Send.

You're smiling to yourself as you put your clothes on and wait for his response. He doesn't respond for a few minutes, and you're starting to question having sent the picture. Gina is already leading the way to the awaiting car. Nathan is close behind but invisible to anybody not looking, of course.

Finally, Namjoon responds via video call. You motion for your mother to give you a minute, and you walk around to the back of the car, so you're out of earshot. His face appears on your screen, red with a sheen of sweat on his forehead.

"That was the sexiest thing I've ever seen in my life, Y/N. Goddamn, you got me so hard. Like, I couldn't take my eyes off of you long enough to respond. I had to leave the room before the guys saw it! I am NOT about to share that much of you with them."

His flustered babbling is adorable, and you can't help but actually feel sexy for causing it. Now you understand the term "power of the pussy". You'll never be shy about your body with this man ever again. You trust him indefinitely.

"Can we please get in the car before I waste away here?"

You roll your eyes but say your goodbyes and promise he can take your bra and panties off with his teeth later that night. You're starting to feel a bit dizzy and hungry, anyway. Hopefully, you'll be able to keep this down.

After lunch, you both get a mani-pedi, then move on to shoes and underwear. Why your mother insists on making sure it's sexy is beyond you. However, you smile inwardly, knowing who it will be removing them after the party. Tomorrow night just can't seem to get here soon enough.

You get home and are exhausted after having to deal with your mother all day. Namjoon is supposed to be over later today, and you still need to straighten up the house and make dinner. Good thing you took the chicken breasts out of the freezer earlier.

You open the door to your apartment and stop short when you see Brett standing in your living room. He grabs the door and pulls you in roughly by the wrist, putting himself between you and your only exit.

"Hello, Love Bug. Have fun out with your mother today?"