Page 34 of Sinner
“Hey.” West elbowed him in the side and motioned with his chin to the Order members seated across the table.
“What was that?” Yejun didn’t bother apologizing for his obvious distraction.
“I asked if you’ve spoken with your parents yet.” Sif held his gaze unblinkingly, but it was impossible to tell if she found his inattention insulting or not.
They’d only just become high-standing members of the club, and the Order was already bowing before them. It paid to be the next in line for the throne. If they’d been anyone else, even with as much prestige and public sway as both he and West possessed, they wouldn’t be getting this level of respect.
They truly did owe it all to Lake.
Their standing in society.
And their relationship with Nix.
Lake had given them both, and Yejun made a mental note to properly thank his best friend later, realizing that he never really had in the past. For too long, they’d been considered a unit. That’s why he and West had gotten so angry when Lake had brought Nix into this without consulting them. But they weren’tjust parts of a single whole. They had individual thoughts and needs.
Yejun feared he’d treated him much the same way his family had been treating him all these years, like an extension of themselves. That simply was not the case, no matter how close they were.
Not everything was about him.
That was a lesson Nix had taught him, and something he intended to work on and apply to every aspect of his life.
Was this…growth? Personal growth? Him?
Wow.
Where was someone to pat him on the back and call him a good boy?
Shit.
He snorted before he could help it and then cleared his throat when that gained him a few frowns around the table.
“I haven’t spoken to them about this directly,” he finally answered, “no.”
“You’re about to become the Sang family representative,” she reminded. “That’s no small feat.”
His mother had just removed herself from the table, citing her need to focus on her career. She’d assumed having her son take her place was enough to keep their family in power, and while she hadn’t been entirely incorrect about that, she hadn’t been one hundred percent correct either.
Yejun wouldn’t do anything to compromise the Sang name, but he was done living for the approval of others.
“I believe Mrs. Sang explained her reasoning for stepping aside when she submitted her resignation,” Lake drawled, leaning back in his chair at the head of the table and steepling his fingers. “Is there a reason to dwell on this, Sif?”
Before, they’d addressed most of the Order by last name to show respect, but he’d dropped that the second they’d walked through the doors a half hour ago.
No one had corrected him.
“I’m only trying to ensure everything runs smoothly,” she said with a fake smile that didn’t reach her teal eyes. “This is all new territory for us, after all. It’s been centuries since there was a member on the Order who also happened to rule the planet. That’s a lot of responsibility.”
“Especially for someone so young,” Iwon, a member only ten years older than June, added. “It’s my understanding that Sayda’s hope is you’ll have more time to focus on your studies with Lake taking the throne, not less. I tried to advise her against abdicating her seat here, and yet—”
“It’s funny,” Lake tapped his fingers against the mahogany surface of the long table they sat at, “you’re starting to sound like you’re trying to lecture us. But that can’t be the case, can it? What with my crowning coming up, and my taking over the head of this table.”
“You’re skipping over a few steps,” Orson, an older member, joined in the conversation. He was at the other end, though it was clear more than half of the table members had been ignoring him since the start of the meeting.
If he were as smart as he believed himself to be, he’d be busily kissing Lake’s ass right now in an attempt to return to his good graces, but of course, he’d never.
West rolled his eyes at Yejun’s side, no doubt thinking the same thing Yejun just had.
“Until your coronation, you’re not yet emperor. Don’t expect the planet to treat you as such.” Orson glanced around at the rest of the members. “As for taking control of the Order, that right is also only bestowed upon the emperor, if the emperor happens to be a member at the time.”
