Page 56 of Fallen Starboy

“I’m not leaving, Jun.” I turned away from him again, shame rising in me at the hurt that flashed in his eyes. “What we just had was great and all, but I can’t?—”

“I’ll be damned if I’m leaving you behind to face this shit on your own, Arista Rae.” He marched into my closet, rummaged around until he found a suitcase, and began tearing things from hangers and shelves, tossing it haphazardly into the waiting space. “You’re coming with us, where you belong. So just get that self-sacrificial shit out of your head right now and get with the program.”

I stared in stunned silence, one leg in my sweatpants, the other still very much naked, as he sifted through my lingerie drawer and picked out a few lacy numbers, and then some surprisingly comfortable options as well. “What are you doing?” I asked him quietly, in stunned disbelief. “Jun, I said?—”

“I’m taking you with us if I have to throw you over my shoulder and carry you out. Please don’t make me set a bad example for our daughter.”

The zipper on the suitcase was another sound of finality. As if the conversation was closed because he said so.

I didn’t have the heart to argue. Hell, a part of me was elated that for once in my life, someone wanted to protect me. That I didn’t have to do this all alone anymore.

“What are you going to tell Yejin?” I said quietly, tucking my undershirt into the sweatpants with a sigh.

Jun set a pair of running shoes in front of my feet with a grin.“Weare going to tell her the truth, like I should have done the minute she was old enough to understand.”

I hadn’t expected this turn of events. And so fast, too.

“Are you sure?”

He took my hand as I slipped into the shoes, tugging me out of the closet with my suitcase in his other fist. “I’ve never been more sure about anything in my life, Ari. I’ve wasted seven years. I’m not wasting a second more.” He grabbed my purse in the kitchen, turned off the lights as we left each room, and turned to me at the main door. “Keys? Meds? Anything else you need?”

I shook my head. “My whole life is in my purse. I’m all set.”

Jun needed no further encouragement. He ushered me into the hall, and then down to the car, where Pujin and Yejin were busy playing cards between the front and back seats.

Yejin didn’t even look up as the door opened, but Pujin met my gaze with a little smile and a wink. “I’m so glad you’reboth here, finally. Yejin’s cleaning me out of spending money. Whoever taught her to play poker really should be shot.”

I cringed at the joke, but said nothing, turning my stare to Jun instead, who looked suspiciously embarrassed.

He peeked at my lifted brows and then cleared his throat. “It wasn’t me–I suck at poker. Hey, Pujin, can you pop the trunk for me? This suitcase isn’t gonna fit in the back seat.”

“Sure thing, Mr. Kim,” he said with a sigh, setting down a card between him and Yejin. “I lost this hand, anyhow.”

Yejin beamed as she picked up the cards and tucked them between her tiny fingers, shuffling them like a seasoned card player. “Uncle Minnie taught me! He says I’m as good as Uncle Jinnie.”

I slid into the seat to her left, very much afraid to make a sudden movement, lest I spook the tenuous situation. “Maybe I’ll let you take some of my money someday, then,” I teased, silently cursing Minseo in my head.That fucker taught my daughter how to play poker. Who knew how long she’d been playing to be able to beat a grown man.“Uncle Minseo teach you anything else?”

The grin on her lips grew wider, practically encompassing her whole face as Jun slid into the other side of the backseat, eyeing us warily. “Oh, lots! He always taught me something new whenever they came home from tours.”

The whole ride to the hotel was filled with Yejin’s endless admissions as to what, exactly her uncle had taught her over the years. How to swim. How to fish. How to mimic accents. How to solve riddles. How to play her favorite song on the guitar.

How to sneak a bird into the house. How to kidnap feral cats. How to five finger discount the company pens when nobody was looking. How to play poker. How to practically clone someone’s voice on the phone.

Minseo had been abusyuncle, apparently.

I wanted to be angry, but realistically, I couldn’t be. After all, it was my own fault that she’d been left with several barely legal aged boys who had no idea how to raise a child. It was inevitable that she’d pick up some of their more questionable skills and habits.

Did I even deserve to have a say in parenting her if I stayed with Jun?

Was I actually contemplating staying with him for a long haul? It wasn’t like he’d asked me to fucking marry him, after all.

The hotel garage was quiet as the car rolled to a stop in the underground VIP parking section. Our security team was already in place, and I breathed a sigh of relief as Pujin got out of the car and did his preliminary sweep, deeming everything to be okay enough for the three of us to get out. Two burly men grabbed our bags from the trunk and led us to the elevator, where we traveled in silence to the fifteenth floor.

It was the only floor that required a special passcode to even take the elevator to. The chance of someone getting to us there was practically nonexistent.

Jun’s hand wrapped around mine reassuringly as I tapped my fingers against my leg, effectively calming my nerves as we watched the floor numbers tick by, finally reaching our destination. “Relax,” he leaned over to whisper, placing a soft, fleeting kiss on my cheek.

I damn near fell over from shock. Panicked and embarrassed, my eyes scanned the small group of us, relieved that Pujin and the other two guards, as well as Yejin, were all facing away from us. If they’d seen, I might’ve died on the spot.

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