Page 32 of Idol Moves

Jason nodded toward the kitchen, where Tae Hyun saw the pieces of his smashed cup sitting in a cooling puddle of coffee. He’d also managed to knock over his cereal bowl, spilling yogurt-covered granola on the table and chair. He sighed. “Shit. Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Jason smiled. “It’s just stuff.”

Tae Hyun cleaned up his mess while Jason visited the bathroom and brushed his teeth. He’d literally come right from bed after hearing Tae Hyun’s shriek. Then Jason invited Tae Hyun to follow him downstairs to the gym. Tae Hyun couldn’t think of why that would be a good idea, but he was in no position to refuse after his temper tantrum.

Like the rest of the house, the gym had mostly been done in shades of gray, from the dark gray padded flooring to the light gray walls. But it was bright and airy with a window wall that peeked out under the upstairs sundeck to offer a view of the grassy hillside.

Jason walked to the large, weighted bag hanging in the inside corner opposite the door. “Do you know what this is?”

Tae Hyun nodded. “It’s a punching bag.”

“Yep. Now I want you to punch it.”

Tae Hyun frowned. “What?”

“I know you know how to make a fist and throw a punch. I’ve seen you do it.”

Tae Hyun snorted, remembering when he’d attacked Chang Min after his ex-boyfriend and group member had tried outing Jason at Xiang’s release party. “Okay, but–”

Jason huffed. “Stop arguing and punch this fucking thing. Pretend it’s Ji Hoon. I know you want to hit that asshole.”

“Well–” Tae Hyun took a deep breath as he considered Jason’s suggestion. He really did want to hit Ji Hoon. “Okay.” He walked up to the punching bag, gingerly putting his hand on it as if it would come apart if he was too rough.

Jason chuckled. “You can’t damage it. Believe me, I’ve tried.”

Tae Hyun nodded and pulled his hand away. Then he fell back into the basic self-defense stance he’d learned in the army, squeezing his hands into sharp fists. His lip curled into a sneer as a single thought of Ji Hoon’s smug face rekindled his fiery rage. He threw a single forward jab and felt a sharp pain in his knuckles from the bag’s rough surface. “Ow,” he complained, shaking off the lingering ache.

Jason shook his head. “I thought you knew how to punch? If that’s all you’re gonna do, then never mind. You’ll just hurt yourself.”

“No. I can do this.” Tae Hyun returned to his stance, holding his fists up in a defensive position. Then he shifted, sliding to the side as he launched a one-two combo with a right hook and left uppercut. The bag agreeably shook as each fist bounced off it. And it felt amazing. “Shit.”

“I know, right?” Jason grinned. “Take it from someone with anger control issues. If you ever feel yourself spiraling out of control like that again, this is the first place you need to visit.” He walked up to Tae Hyun and kissed his cheek. “I’m gonna head upstairs to make some more coffee and take a shower. Why don’t you spend a little time beating this thing up and then maybe come join me?”

Tae Hyun smiled. “For the coffee or the shower?”

Jason shrugged as he walked away. “Your choice.”

Tae Hyun was tempted to follow Jason right then. But he knew he needed to take Jason’s advice first. He’d only ever gotten that angry twice before. The first time was when he’d walked in on his ex cheating on him. The second was when his ex had tried outing Jason. But both of those times were justified. His actions that morning weren’t. He’d attacked the man he loved because he was so angry at his family’s betrayal.

Tae Hyun knew he needed to find a way to come to terms with the situation. It was easy with Ji Hoon. He’d lost all his respect for the man the day he came out. The way Ji Hoon had barged into his table read with a pair of security guards in tow and snatched his phone from his hands was totally fucked up. And it dragged up memories of his early trainee days that he’d prefer to forget. Dealing with his parents would be another matter entirely.

But Tae Hyun didn’t have to figure everything out right at that moment. He returned to his stance and punched the bag again, pleased with how satisfying it felt. Then he hit it again. Jason was right. It was exactly what he needed.

10

Even though he’d already flown into Incheon a handful of times, Jason was still impressed by how smoothly things ran there. It was like the polar opposite of LAX, which seemed to be designed primarily to confuse and disorient the multitude of travelers who passed through every day. The flight to Korea was mostly pleasant, owing almost entirely to having Tae Hyun seated beside him in first class. And it helped that the first-class attendants practically doted on them the entire flight. Being an out celebrity had some significant disadvantages. But flight attendants always loved you.

They were halfway to the luggage pickup area before the first person recognized them. Or, more specifically, before the first person recognized Seong Min. Jason and Tae Hyun had gone full ninja with baseball caps, sunglasses, and face masks. But the Songs hadn’t, and one of the people at the airport happened to be a member of Seong Min’s small but steadily growing fan club. Of course, once they recognized Seong Min, they knew who he was traveling with.

Tae Hyun, who’d never stopped loving his fans, agreed to pose for a photo. And it was game over once his mask came off. He’d posed for at least a dozen more photos as they slowly inched their way toward luggage pickup before Jason cued Seong Hyeon to intervene. Jason might’ve felt differently if he hadn’t just spent half a day in the air. But he knew Tae Hyun would’ve kept right on going if he wasn’t stopped.

“I’m sorry,” Tae Hyun whispered as they hurried away from his fans. “I know you hate that.”

Jason shook his head. “Not at all. I’m just tired and hungry. And there’ll always be more fans.”

“I hope so.”

Jason smiled as he reached up to put his arm over Tae Hyun’s shoulder, then stopped, remembering they were in public. He patted Tae Hyun’s shoulder instead. “Don’t start with that. You’re on your home turf now, so you’ll be at your most powerful.”

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