Page 1 of Idol Lives
01
Jason braced himself against his father’s marble-topped mahogany desk, his fingers tightening around its edge. Swirling dust motes, caught in a piercing afternoon sunbeam, mocked his stagnant grief. He wasn’t entirely sure why he’d gone to his father’s office beyond looking for a quiet place to escape the lavish funeral reception in the main garden. He’d never even been alone in that room before. It had been his father’s sanctuary, off-limits until Jason had reached adulthood. But his father was dead, a hollow echo in the stuffy, too-still air. And it was Jason’s office now.
Beside him, his father’s leather chair loomed, cold and unyielding. The lingering scent of leather polish tickled his sinuses. The desktop remained a portrait of the man–orderly, meticulous, and severe. His father’s gold-plated fountain pen rested in its stand, a defiant reminder of the man who wielded it. It was Jason’s chair now. His desk. His pen. But none of it felt like his.
The last time he’d been in that office, Jason had angrily scolded his parents for their meddling, declaring in no uncertain terms that he never wanted to see them again. A cold jab of guilt pierced his familiar rage. He’d never expected his threat to be so quickly and irreversibly fulfilledby their accidental death. Seeing their perfectly made-up corpses didn’t count. Those were just a cruel, sterile parody of his living parents.
But Jason remembered the first time he’d set foot inside that office the most. Freshly eighteen and fresh off starring in a pair of the hottest teen comedies to recently hit the big screen, he’d gone from being an unknown to becoming a hot commodity, fielding dozens of offers from the major studios who spotted a star on the rise. So he held his head high as he approached his father’s desk for the first time, sure that he’d finally managed to impress the man with something he’d accomplished on his own. But he couldn’t have been more wrong.
“It’s time to discuss your future,” Gerald Park declared in his business mogul voice, not even offering Jason to sit. “You’ve done well for yourself, yes. But it’s time to put all that foolishness aside and get serious about joining Brightstar.”
All that foolishness. As if Jason hadn’t parlayed his handsome face, effortless charm, and natural gift for acting into a promisingly lucrative career. As if his father had never really taken him or his wishes seriously. Because, of course, he hadn’t. He’d seen acting as a distraction from what Jason should’ve been doing–what he’d wanted Jason to be doing all along. That day–the first time he’d visited that office–had been his last living in that house. But it had hardly been the first time he’d wished he never had to deal with his parents again.
Jason’s frustrated growl broke the silence as he recalled Naomi pulling him aside at Tae Hyun’s sold-out Seoul concert to give him the news. His initial shock had quickly shifted to a familiar, almost comforting anger. His parents dyingjust as Tae Hyun’s tour kicked off felt like their best and lastfuck you. He tightened his grip on the desk, pushing back on his lingering anger, pushing back on his lingering anger. His first instinct had been to skip the funeral because to hell with them. Why should he honor his parents when they’d never honored him? But cooler heads prevailed–mostly Naomi and Tae Hyun–and he’d soon found himself on a chartered flight back to Los Angeles. Back home.
At least Jason didn’t have to plan the funeral. Like everything else, Gerald Park had micromanaged his own send-off, requiring nothing from Jason but his presence. Even that was mostly a formality. Amidst the wealthy throngs and their long-winded, self-serving speeches about his father’s grand legacy, nobody seemed to notice when Jason spoke–not even the press. That was fine. He didn’t write the damn speech anyway. But everyone–from the governor and other politicians to the swarm of corporate vultures masquerading as old friends–definitely wanted to shake his hand. Jason was the sole heir to his father’s vast fortune and holdings. That made him important. If only he could bring himself to give a shit.
Noticeably absent from the funeral was good old Ji Hoon, his uncle by marriage to his mother’s sister. That was hardly surprising considering everything that went down in Seoul. Jason couldn’t guess what his mother’s reaction to her sister missing the funeral would’ve been beyond parroting his father’s thoughtless, cold-hearted opinion. He’d always suspected a stronger, more independent woman–maybe someone like Yoo Mi–lurked beneath his mother’s tacit subservience. He’d never known whether all that was genuinely who she was or just a survival tactic she’d adopted in hermarriage. She’d only ever shown him anything beyond it in explosive bursts of anger whenever she scolded him for disobeying his father. Now, his chance to find out was lost forever.
“There you are.”
Jason’s eyes snapped to the doorway where Tae Hyun stood. A mental warning sounded. The office was his father’s domain. It was forbidden territory. Jason wasn’t even supposed to be there. But that was only the hollow, ghostly echo of his father’s disapproval. “Hey.”
Tae Hyun entered, a shadow of concern mellowing his usual sunny smile to something subdued but edged with understanding more than pity. Jason had been unconsciously cataloging all the smiles he’d gotten from concerned well-wishers that day. Tae Hyun’s wistful smile, at least, wasn’t a lie. “Everyone was wondering where you’d gone.”
Jason relaxed his shoulders, chuckling as Tae Hyun rounded the corner of his father’s desk. “I seriously doubt that. I doubt anyone even noticed I wasn’t there.”
“Well, I noticed.” Tae Hyun’s hands gently settled on Jason’s shoulders, their warmth seeping through the tension and his hand-tailored Cuvier jacket. “And I wondered. How are you holding up?”
A tiny part of Jason wanted to shrug off Tae Hyun’s grasp. He’d bottled up a bar brawl’s worth of emotions, and the slightest crack in his defenses threatened to set them free. But that was the old Jason still whispering to him, impulsive and reckless. Hell, the old Jason probably would’ve already started a fight and been thrown out of his own reception. Instead, he relaxed into Tae Hyun’s arms with a weary sigh. “I don’t fucking know. Fine, I guess. I just needed to not be at thereception anymore.”
Tae Hyun deposited a trio of soft kisses on Jason’s neck, sending a wave of unexpected warmth slithering down his spine. “I don’t blame you. There has to be at least five hundred people here. Not counting the caterers. I’ve been to smaller album launch parties.”
Jason bitterly chuckled. “My father was–well, not exactly liked.” He snorted, harsh and humorless. “Okay, he definitely wasn’t liked. But he was important, so most of the other important people are here, too.”
“Important?”
Jason nodded, ignoring the sudden resurgence of his resentment at how his father’s world had so thoroughly intruded on his. “Politicians, diplomats, business and industry execs–those sorts of people. Hell, there’s more money here than a lot of small countries. And a small army of security people, too. I’m sure you’ve noticed them.”
Tae Hyun laughed, his warm breath teasing away some of the tension in Jason’s neck. “The Songs have done a good job keeping them away from me.”
Jason quietly purred as Tae Hyun gently stroked his hair, each touch lifting him a little more out of his shitty mood. “Are you going back?”
“To the reception? No, not without you. If you’re here, I’m here.”
Jason turned to face Tae Hyun. His warm, earnest smile pierced the office’s haunted gloom and Jason’s confused anguish. Without Tae Hyun–no. Jason shuddered. He could easily imagine the wreckage he would’ve left at the funeral without Tae Hyun by his side. The drunken, bitter mess he would have been, embarrassing himself, his family, and hisfather’s memory.
Jason softly caressed the curve of Tae Hyun’s cheek. “I’m glad you’re here.”
Tae Hyun’s eyes twinkled, his smile brightening. “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.” He leaned in close, his lips barely brushing Jason’s. “And I’m glad to finally get you alone again.”
Jason reached back to grip the desk again, holding himself in place to keep from attacking Tae Hyun with a barrage of kisses. No matter how tempting that seemed, they were in the last place on Earth he wanted to be playful. But there was no way to keep from deeply staring into Tae Hyun’s warm, soft brown eyes. He’d lost himself in those eyes more than once, and one more time wouldn’t–
“Knock, knock.”
Jason groaned, begrudgingly turning from Tae Hyun toward the door. Naomi’s smile was familiar–a sad, almost motherly mask of sympathy that had barely shifted since they touched down in LA. The only change she’d made was her suit–still impeccably tailored, but now in somber black. A plum scarf held back her perfectly styled blowout to add at least a pop of color.
“Am I interrupting?”
