gemmi924

[gemmi924]

Illusion - Front Man/OC Fanfic

He knew it was risky. He knew that bringing her husband into the games was dangerous. But then he looked at her face and he saw the way she smirked when she recognised him on the screen and he knew that he'd made the right decision. He could trust her. He reached for her hand and dragged her closer to him, leaning down and whispering into her ear. "No one's going to touch you now. You're with me." Front Man/Original Female Character

Full fic on AO3 https://archiveofourown.org/works/62071327/chapters/158750119

Chapter 1

She knew that she had to compose herself. It was no use getting worked up. She wasn’t a stranger to this. This was what she was used to. She knew how to handle it. She knew how to put on a smile and a brave face. She knew how to face the day and do it with class. She’d been raised to handle everything with class and grace. It was all she had ever really known. She’d gone to college and thought that she had the world at her feet. She’d graduated top of her class in law. She’d gone on to work at one of the biggest law firms in the world and was on track to partner.

But then she’d met him. She’d met the charming, blue-eyed and blonde-haired diplomat with dimples when he smiled and a strong jaw line. She’d fallen for him straight away. They’d met at a gala event in Washington D.C. She’d been representing some clients for an energy firm and had been invited. She hadn’t really wanted to go. She’d never been one for parties, not really, but her firm had insisted someone represent them.

And so she’d gone and had met him at the bar. He’d made her laugh. He’d been witty and didn’t seem to mind her sarcasm. She’d agreed to meet him the next morning for a date without any hesitation. From there, there were dates at fancy restaurants and walks in parks. She’d never really had that before. Sure, she’d dated, but it had never been anything serious. But with Robert things were different. Or so she told herself.

She wasn’t sure how they’d gone from happy ever after to this. Their life now was completely different and she didn’t want it. She wanted to leave, but she didn’t know how to. She was no longer the woman she’d recognised from before. She guessed that happened over time. It always took time to break someone and she was feeling broken. But there wasn’t anything she could do about it. She had to put on a smile and keep going. She knew that there was no other option until she’d saved enough to get out.

Back in Chicago she’d had money. But Robert had taken that from her. His gambling had gotten out of hand. No one else knew about it except her. She’d been the fool who had bailed him out. He’d promised to give her all of her money back, but that had never happened. She’d never seen a cent and so she’d started working again. He’d complained. He said that she needed to focus on being a wife. They needed to focus on starting a family.

But that was never going to happen. She wasn’t going to raise children with him. She’d found a US law firm and had made her money. She was going to get out and leave him. But a part of her felt desperate to get out quicker than she planned and a part of her wondered if she was even going to get out. Would he actually let her go?

Sitting in the bar in a city she had barely explored, she felt lost. After the argument they’d had, she didn’t want to go back and face him. She’d sat at the bar and ordered a cocktail, sipping on it and looking around. She’d never thought that she’d end up here, in South Korea with no friends to turn to. All of her friends were back in the States. But the life of a diplomat meant a life of travel. She’d lived in Italy for a short while and then Hong Kong before moving to Seoul.

“Elizabeth Jacobs?”

Turning her head over her shoulder, Elizabeth looked at where the voice had come from. She cocked her head to the side and arched a brow. She recognised him from somewhere, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. He was dressed in a form fitting suit with a white shirt and a black tie. His dark hair was slicked back neatly on top of his head and his narrowed eyes were set on her. He had a strong jaw line and pursed lips which arched slightly upwards as he realised she was watching him intently.

“You don’t recognise me, do you?” he said to her.

“I’m sorry,” Elizabeth said. “I don’t mean to be rude. I just…have we met at work?”

“You were one of the lawyers working on the will of someone I…well…held very dear to me,” he said and Elizabeth finally placed him. She wasn’t entirely up to date with South Korean law, but this man had come in with a will to sort out that had money in numerous accounts around the world, including the US. Elizabeth had spent a lot of her time trying to liaise with various banks across the world to gain the funds and release them to him.

He'd shown up to the office most days, always dressed in expensive suits and ready to sign whatever paperwork she needed him to sign. It had all been under a false alibi, of course, but that didn’t matter. He rarely came back to the city, preferring the solitude that the island had to offer him. Of course, he also knew how dangerous it was to come back. He didn’t want anyone to spot him, especially as he was supposed to be missing. He guessed that the city was big enough for him to remain anonymous. Then again, what was the chance of bumping into his lawyer at a random bar?

“Mr Young-Il, it’s nice to see you again,” Elizabeth finally spoke and he leant against the bar, quickly ordering a double scotch on the rocks. He’d had a busy day plotting and he needed a drink. He hadn’t intended on visiting a bar, but he needed to get out of his apartment.

“So you do remember me,” he said.

“Of course, it’s not very often I have to deal with that many international banks in wills,” she said and he wondered if that had drawn attention to himself. He’d told the old man that it was risky to keep money in so many different accounts, but he’d insisted that it would be fine. Besides, when someone was as wealthy as he was, he could do whatever he wanted.

“And you’re still at the firm?” he asked from her. He could leave. He could just take his drink and go and sit in the corner of the dimly lit bar and drink by himself. He’d prefer to do that. He’d prefer to be by himself, but he hadn’t been able to stop himself from seeing if she remembered him.

“I am,” she said. “Well, for a little while anyway.”

“Are you moving again?” he questioned.

He’d done his research on her. He’d had to. He needed to know if she was trustworthy and he’d dug much deeper than he’d intended to. Elizabeth Jacobs was the wife of an American diplomat. She’d graduated top of her class and had worked for a top firm before marrying her husband and moving around the world with him. But then he’d had his team look deeper into her and he’d found her money problems. Her husband was in debt up to his eyes. She’d bailed him out, but it had left her penniless. He suspected that was why she was working again.

“I…well…maybe,” was all she offered him.

She wasn’t about to disclose her marital problems to someone who had just been a client to her. She folded one leg over the other and tucked her curled brown hair behind her ear. He observed the way she chewed down on her lip, almost as though she was nervous to say anything to him.

“I imagine the life of a diplomat means that travel is necessary,” he said to her.

Elizabeth shrugged, almost looking nonplussed. “I guess,” she said to him as his drink was slid in front of him on the shiny black marble surface.

The bar was one of the more exclusive ones in Seoul. It often saw politicians and socialites visit it. The back wall was covered in mirrors and shelves of expensive spirits. The bar ran in front of it with stools which were always occupied and hard to come by. There were booths dotted around and some leather chairs with single tables for those who preferred to drink alone. The lights hung low from the ceiling and were dimmed with soft piano music playing as background noise, although it was barely audible over the noise of people talking and laughing.

“I apologise,” he said to her. “I did not mean to pry…I will leave you to your drink.”

He raised his glass in her direction and prepared to walk away and leave her to her thoughts.

“I’m sorry,” she suddenly said and he saw her tug at the skirt of the fitted green dress she wore. She pulled it down her thighs and then picked her drink up again. “I don’t mean to be rude, it’s just…it’s been a bad day.”

“Work?” he asked.

“Husband,” she answered quicker than she’d anticipated and then shook her head, lowering her gaze to her lap as her hair swayed in her face. “Sorry, oversharing again.”

He chuckled at that. “Marital problems aren’t exactly uncommon.”

“Are you married?” she wondered and he shook his head.

“I was,” he told her and Elizabeth didn’t know if she should pry any further. It felt like a lifetime ago since he’d been married and had been with his wife. He’d loved her more than anything, but he’d lost her. He blamed himself for failing her. He should’ve done more. He should’ve acted sooner, but it had all been too late. “Widowed,” he added on.

“I’m sorry,” Elizabeth said and he just nodded once.

“It was a long time ago now,” he said.

“But that doesn’t mean it hurts any less,” Elizabeth said and he suspected she had a point. “Sorry, you don’t need to hear any of this. It’s not as if it’s important.”

“Well, if it’s got you feeling down and drinking alone in a bar then it must be something,” he replied and kept on leaning against it considering there were no spare stools. He took a sip of his drink and she did the same, shrugging her shoulders and trying to be nonchalant. He almost wanted to snap at her and tell her that he knew everything. He knew all about her problems. He knew about her husband’s gambling. He knew about the affairs. He knew how she’d ended up in hospital with a broken rib the other month after supposedly falling down the stairs.

“I’m leaving him,” Elizabeth said.

It was the first time she’d said it out loud. She’d thought it so many times, but it was a secret just for her. She hadn’t dared to tell anyone. But then it felt real. It felt all too real when she said the words out loud.

His brows arched in surprise. “You’re leaving him?” he checked with her.

“Next month,” Elizabeth said with a firm nod. “I’ve been saving up to get out.”

“And I take it he doesn’t know this?” he asked from her.

Elizabeth chuckled darkly at that. “Can you imagine if he did?” she asked and he wanted to tell her that he actually couldn’t imagine it. He had no idea what her husband was like, but he knew from research that he wasn’t a particularly pleasant man. “No. I haven’t told him and I can’t tell him. I…he wouldn’t exactly take too kindly to me leaving him.”

“I see,” he said in a low voice.

“I don’t know,” Elizabeth continued talking. “I mean, you don’t need to know any of this. You probably came here for a quiet drink and I’m here talking away at you. You must think it’s awfully American of me.”

He did laugh softly at that. He had to admit that he found her quite amusing. He’d seen American tourists before, but she didn’t remind him of them. She had a slight accent, but it wasn’t too strong. He had seen that she’d grown up in England for the most part until her family relocated to Chicago for her dad’s job. She was also, almost ethereal. He didn’t know how to explain it, but she held herself as if she was heads and shoulders above everyone else, but there wasn’t an air of cockiness about her. She’d been dry and witty whenever he’d encountered her in her office.

“Well, I can’t say I’ve met too many Americans,” he said to her. “Although your Korean is definitely much better than most.”

“I always try and learn languages, especially if I’m living in a country. It took me…well…five or six years to get the hang of it.”

“Impressive,” he admitted to her. “And when you leave…will you stay in Seoul?”

“Probably not,” Elizabeth answered honestly. “I miss home.”

“So…back to the States?”

“I think so,” she confirmed with a nod.

“And your husband?” he asked from her, knowing that he was prying but finding himself intrigued nonetheless. “Do you think he will return if you leave him?”

“I don’t know what he’ll do,” Elizabeth said. “It’s not as if he’s short of women he can move in to take my place when I’m gone.” She said it with almost no hint of bitterness, except towards the end. “Sorry again!” she exclaimed and took another gulp of her drink. “I think I’ve had too many of these tonight. I should probably go home.”

He didn’t stop her as she reached into her bag and tossed some notes onto the bar. She finished the dregs of her drink and slipped from the stool, tossing her fingers through her hair and pushing it back. Her heels clicked on the tiled floor as she grabbed her coat and shrugged into it, the thin red material coming down to her calf.

“You know, he’s an idiot,” he said to her. “Men like him…they don’t deserve women like you.”

“Yeah,” Elizabeth weakly agreed. “I tend to find that we rarely get what we deserve though.”

He knew that much was true. “You’ll take care, won’t you, Mrs Jacobs?”

“I’ll do my best, Mr Young-Il,” she smiled at him. “Nice to see you again.”

“A pleasure, as always,” he said and he felt her squeeze his forearm for a second before she walked away and left the bar. His eyes followed her as she went and his lips curved upwards. Perhaps there was something he could do to help her.

…

He knew that the games were coming up in a few months. Recruitment would begin soon. The games were being designed and the entire facility was being set up to ensure everything went off without a hitch. He knew that they couldn’t do the same games as last time. He’d be at a disadvantage if he did and he hated being disadvantaged.

It had been a month since he had bumped into Elizabeth Jacobs and he had to admit that he would often find himself thinking about her. He saw something inside of her. There was something about her that made him think that maybe she wanted revenge on her husband. Her husband was a waste of space. He knew that. But she was trying to get out. She was trying to make something of herself and he almost applauded that.

He had gone back to his private rooms and taken his mask off, leaving it on the table and pouring himself a glass of scotch. He had asked for someone to dig into Elizabeth Jacobs once more. He suspected it was curiosity. He wanted to know what she was doing now. Suddenly, her smiling face appeared on his screen and he looked into her green eyes. The picture was from her profile on her firm’s website. She was pretty. He wasn’t going to deny that. She had a face that could’ve been made for the screen. She was like some kind of timeless starlet from an old Hollywood movie.

Sitting in his leather chair, he held onto his glass and leant back, folding one leg over the other. He took a sip of the drink and it was then when he saw it. She’d been in hospital again, but this time with concussion. He leant forwards then, fingers drumming against his glass. She’d had another fall according to her medical records. He knew that what he was about to do wasn’t professional. He shouldn’t do it. He shouldn’t get involved in recruitment. But he was going to. He reached for his phone and scrolled down in the list of contacts. The man on the other end of the phone picked up.

“There’s someone I want you to find.”

“Who?”

“I’ll send you their details.”

…

Elizabeth was sitting in her office, mug of tea to the side of her as she worked on the latest acquisition that had been put on her desk. She was in the process of making notes when there was a knock on her door. One of the legal secretaries pushed the glass open and Elizabeth smiled over to her. “Hey, Seo-ah, you okay?” she asked.

“Yes,” the young woman smiled back. “There’s someone here to see you…Mr Young-Il. He said you worked on a relative’s will a while back.”

“Oh yes, of course,” Elizabeth nodded and moved to her feet. “Send him in.”

A moment later, she saw him following her PA down the corridor, a hand pressed against his chest and flattening out his tie. He was wearing a grey suit with a black patterned tie and polished shoes. He looked as impeccably dressed as he always had whenever he came in to visit her. He inclined his head to Seo-ah as she held the door open for him and Elizabeth stepped forwards, holding her hand out, ever the professional.

“Mr Young-Il, good to see you,” Elizabeth said to him and he shook her hand, holding on for perhaps a second too long. “What brings you here?”

“Well, Mrs Jacobs, I have a legal matter that I would like you to look into,” he told her. He’d had to think long and hard about a reason as to why he came to visit her, but he’d soon come up with one. “You dealt with my previous business very efficiently and, well, I’ve been thinking that perhaps it is time for me to put my own affairs in order.”

“I see,” Elizabeth said and she motioned for him to take a seat. He sat down across from her and she settled in the high-back leather chair behind her desk. He watched her lock her computer screen and take a pen from her pen holder, flipping to a clean page in her notebook. “So, you’re looking at a will?”

“I think so,” he agreed with a nod. “The issue I have, however, is that the brother I want to leave things to…well…we’re estranged and I would prefer for him not to know until the time arises.”

“Well, that’s well within your business,” Elizabeth said. “You don’t need to tell him. All we’ll need his contact details on file so, when the time should arise, we can contact him or be able to track him down as well.”

“That’s not a problem,” he assured her of that much.

She asked him a few simple questions and he answered her with as much knowledge as he could. He had to be vague in some instances. He could scarcely disclose many facts about himself and he had to remember to use his fake alias. She didn’t question why his brother had a different family name to him. She didn’t even ask why they were estranged. He watched her make her notes and it was when she swept her hair behind her ear did he see it. There was a bruise on her cheek.

“You’re hurt,” he said to her.

Elizabeth wondered what he was talking about, but he lifted a hand to his own cheek and she copied his movements, feeling the tender skin under her fingertips. “Oh…I…I had an accident,” was all she said to him.

“You know,” he drawled, “in a previous life I used to be a detective…a long time ago…I’d know when someone was lying to me, covering things up that they wanted to stay hidden, and I heard numerous women tell me that they’d just had accidents.”

Elizabeth gulped, her throat bobbing with movement. He took a second to consider if he’d overstepped the mark, but then she looked him in the eye and he saw it. He saw that the determination from her face had vanished and instead he just saw fear.

“He found out,” was all she said.

He’d guessed that much.

“You’re not leaving him, are you?”

“Soon,” Elizabeth answered. “But that’s not work business. I shouldn’t be talking to you about personal things. You’re a client. It’s unprofessional. So, the will should be-“

“-And if I ask another lawyer to deal with this?” he interrupted before she could get back to business. “Would it be unprofessional then?”

Elizabeth watched him, wondering why he was so invested. She didn’t know if she necessarily wanted to discuss it. She hardly knew this man sat opposite her. She’d spent some time with him, but it wasn’t as if she knew anything about him. He knew that his question seemed strange and even he knew that he was playing a dangerous game. He didn’t get involved with people. He did his job and that was it. He didn’t want to build relationships or get invested. But then, after that night in the bar, he just couldn’t shake the American lawyer from his mind.

“I know what it’s like to be lonely,” he said, hoping that might pull on her emotions.

And it seemed to work. “Tonight?” she asked him.

“In the same bar as last time?”

“Yeah,” Elizabeth agreed.

“I’ll be there at seven p.m.”

“I’ll see you then,” Elizabeth said and she stood up, moving to the door and opening it for him. He stood up and buttoned his suit jacket back up. Moving to the door, he dropped his hand to her arm, fingers running along her bare skin until he gripped her wrist. She looked at him, finding that his chest was inches away from hers. He was peering down at her intently and Elizabeth felt her lips part as she took in a deep breath. His thumb brushed her pulse point as he felt it race.

“There’s always ways out,” he said to her almost cryptically and Elizabeth just searched his stare.

“I hope you’re right,” she said to him.

He let go of her then, his fingers clenching by his side as he left her office and headed to the elevator of the high-rise building. He took it down to the foyer, pulling his phone from his jacket pocket and dialling the familiar number once he was out on the bustling street and blended into the crowd. The phone rang before the man on the other end picked up and he made his demand instantly.

“I want it done. Today.”