Page 72 of Idol Lives
David’s maniacal laugh made Jason shiver. “You’re wrong,” he taunted, glancing over his shoulder as he took another step backward. “There’s always another way. I thought even you were smarter than that.”
Jason’s eyes followed David’s gaze, a cold dread settling over him as he realized what he was planning. “Maybe I don’t want you to take the easy way out.”
David, perhaps expecting a different reaction from Jason, stopped before reaching the roof’s edge. “Oh, of course you don’t,” he snarled. “The impotent billionaire’s spoiled brat, here to deny a dying man his last wish.” He bitterly laughed. “Why not? You’ve already taken everything else from me.”
Jason could hardly believe what he was hearing. That asshole had the nerve to lay the blame on Jason after everything he’d done? “I haven’t taken a fucking thing from you, David. I didn’t even know who you were until a week ago.”
David huffed, emphatically shaking his head. “See, that’s what I mean. You’re so fucking ignorant. You didn’t know a goddamn thing about Brightstar. But he still gave it to you anyway.”
“I never asked for it,” Jason countered. “I told my father I didn’t want it.”
“That’s right, you didn’t,” David sneered, dripping with venom. “But you still got it. Just like you got everything else. The looks, the talent, the charmed life–” His voice cracked as his composure faded. “I worked my ass off, Jason. I was the perfect son your father never had. I was loyal. Faithful. Always putting his needs before my own. But it was never enough for Gerald Park.”
David took another step back, his voice rising. “He always compared me to you, the prodigal son, the golden boy. And you know what? You were always off fucking around, chasing your frivolous dreams, while I kept his company afloat.” He bitterly chuckled. “I did everything right, but it didn’t fucking matter. He was never going to choose me. Not over his ownflesh and blood, no matter how worthless that blood might be.”
Jason swallowed a frustrated sigh and ignored the slowly blossoming pain in his temples. But he finally understood where David was coming from. Jason was no stranger to parasocial relationships. You couldn’t be a celebrity in the modern world without running into crazed fans who thought they knew everything about you. The only difference with David was that he‘d learned all about Jason from the only source potentially worse than the tabloids. His father.
“You’re wrong, David,” Jason countered, struggling to keep his voice even. “My father never gave a shit about me. He barely even knew who I was. Brightstar was the only thing he ever fucking cared about.”
“But you’re still his son,” David countered. “That’s all that mattered to him. And then you broughtherin. Naomi–” His voice cracked again, sharp with pain and anger. “You didn’t care about the company, not really. I could have bled it dry before you even noticed. But Naomi? She saw right through me.” He paused, his gaze hardening. “I had no choice, Jason. She forced my hand. I had to protect myself. My future.”
Jason quietly growled, his headache threatening to split him open. And he was so very tired. Tired of coming to the rescue of friends who’d been hurt because of him. Tired of constantly battling a world that didn’t really know what it wanted from him. And, tired of dealing with Gerald fucking Park’s messes.
“You know,” Jason said, surprised by his own calm. “I get it. Gerald Park was the worst. He was cruel, selfish, and never did anything that didn’t serve his interests. And he was fucking awful to both of us. So, yeah. I get it.” He gestured toward the nearby edge. “But jumping off the roof won’t change anyof that. And it’s a shitty way to pay yourself back for all your hard work.”
David shook his head with a bitter, unhinged chuckle. “No, you don’t get it. This wasn’t–” He stopped, swallowing what he was about to say before he took another step back. He was right at the edge. One more step was all it would take. “There’s nothing left for me. This is my only option.”
Jason fought the urge to rush David, knowing it would spook him into going over the side. He wasn’t even sure why he was trying to talk David down. The guy was the fucking worst. Except he wasn’t. Not really. David had been used and discarded by Jason’s father. Just like Jason had. Except Jason had turned his pain and anger inward until it manifested as self-destruction instead of trying to murder his rivals.
“This wasn’t what?” Jason asked. “It wasn’t all? What else did you do?”
David said nothing as his gaze fell to his shoes, showing Jason his first genuine look of shame. Then Jason understood. “Your father?”
David slowly nodded. Jason had asked Seong Woo to learn more about why David’s father had retired. It never occurred to him to ask if David Soh, Sr. was even still alive.
Jason frowned. “Okay, yeah. But, still. Every judge in LA County was at my father’s funeral. I’m sure I could ask them to go easy on you if you turned yourself in.”
“No,” David said as he looked up. His tone was firm. Final. He took another step back, his heels hitting the roof’s edge.
“Seriously, David.” Jason cautiously spread his arms as an invitation for David to take advantage of his mercy. “If you just–”
“I said no.” David took one last step backward, his bodydisappearing over the edge as Jason watched in horror. The wet thud of David’s body hitting the pavement below was a sickening sound and the brutally tragic end of a twisted life.
Jason flinched, his hand instinctively curled into a now-useless fist, his mind reeling from the sudden, violent turn of events. Shaken, unsure of what to do or where to go, he slowly turned away as the city lights blurred into a disorienting bokeh. Then, the sharp, metallic creak of the stairwell door snapped him back to reality.
Seong Hyeon emerged from the stairwell, his face ashen, his usual stoicism replaced by a look of grim resignation.
“Are you alright, sir?”
Jason barked out a harsh, bitter laugh. “Better than that asshole. How’s Naomi?”
“She’ll be fine,” Seong Hyeon admitted. “But we need to get you out of here, sir.”
“What?” Jason defiantly shook his head. “No,” he insisted. “I didn’t do anything. I’ll just explain–”
“No, sir,” Seong Hyeon firmly interrupted, his tone belaying any of Jason’s potential arguments. “That’s not how things work for someone like you now. No one saw you arrive. No one knows you’re here. We need to keep it that way.”
Jason wanted to argue. To rail against the injustice of it all. He’d just watched an angry, broken man take his own life. But he knew Seong Hyeon was right. He was no longer just Jason Park, the actor. He was Jason Park, the billionaire heir and the face of Brightstar. He was important. And important people didn’t get their hands dirty like that. Or, at least, they didn’t get caught doing it.
