Page 9 of Fallen Starboy

“Worked damn hard to get where I am.” Spite, anger, and self-hatred were great motivators. “It’s no walk in the park, but I like my job.”

“I am glad we can both be happy in the choices we’ve made, career-wise.”

I reached into my bag as he made small talk, grabbing the envelope that contained his key to the main house, a paper with the passcodes for the security system, and a copy of his contract. His smile never wavered as he accepted it with a nod.

“There’s a fully outfitted suite in the basement.

There’s a card on file with the local supply stores, should you like to alter your residence.

Any equipment you need for your job, feel free to purchase it and have it delivered here any time.

If you’re unable to stay and sign for it, I can call in a temp or intern to be here to receive packages. ”

“Thank you, ma’am. If you need anything, please feel free to let me know.”

When Pujin had left, I no sooner had grabbed a change of clothes and bathroom supplies than another knock sounded at the door. I assumed Pujin had returned with a question, so I didn’t bother asking who was there before I answered the door.

Of course, it was Yejin. She was all smiles as she stared up at me from the floor, holding something in her left hand that looked suspiciously like Jun’s debut microphone.

“Hello, Miss,” she said in flawless English, bouncing on the balls of her feet. “I’m Yejin.”

I looked at her outstretched hand in awe. Here I was, face to face with my daughter, for fuck’s sake, and I couldn’t bring myself to my senses enough to shake her hand.

Thankfully, before I had a complete meltdown, Pujin came up the stairs, his eyes widening as he found Yejin standing in the hall before my room.

“Miss Yejin, you shouldn’t be bothering your father’s new manager,” he said sternly, scooping her up from the floor in a hurry. “My apologies, miss. I will ensure she leaves you alone so you can work in peace.”

“Oh, she’s no bother,” I assured him, afraid I might forget how to talk again if I looked her in her eyes. “Just curious, I’m sure.”

“Here,” Yejin said suddenly, holding out the microphone for me to take. My hand moved of its own accord, and I accepted the heavy equipment from the little girl with a smile. “My daddy doesn’t know I had this. Can you sneak it back to him so I don’t get yelled at?”

“Sure,” I muttered, staring down at the jeweled handle, remembering how proud he’d been when the company let the group pick out their own colors for the hand mics.

It’s the color of your eyes, he’d said with a laugh, holding it up beside my head for comparison.

Now it’ll be like I’ve got a piece of you with me when I’m on stage.

A piece of you.

Now, he had more than one piece of me.

When Pujin had successfully carted Yejin off to her room, I slinked down the hall, hoping against hope that Jun was occupied with other things, and I wouldn’t get caught in the act of sneaking into his room.

The running water in the bathroom was indication enough that luck was on my side. I pushed the door to his room open and sucked in a breath.

I’d found him here earlier, when he’d been engrossed in the closet. We’d been so close, I could have leaned forward an inch and kissed him, were I so inclined. But I wasn’t, and neither was he.

“I’ll just put this in his luggage for now,” I whispered to myself, tip-toeing across the floor to keep from alerting him to my presence.

I knelt on the floor beside his suitcase and unzipped it slowly, hating the loudness of the zipper even though I knew the spray of the shower would prevent him from hearing me.

When I’d tucked the microphone under his clothes, I closed the lid and started to slide the zipper around again, my mind so focused on the task at hand that I hadn’t noticed the water being shut off.

“Already breaking into my stuff, huh?”

I spun around and landed on my ass, staring up at a very naked Jun, who was currently dripping water all over the floor as he stared down at me.

He hadn’t even bothered with a towel, and though I tried not to, my eyes trailed over his body, which was just as I remembered it, and yet so, so different.

I’d known Jun as a teen, his striking boyish looks just beginning to turn into the body of a man. He’d been impressive at seventeen, but now that he was in his mid twenties, he’d outgrown the boyish phase and skipped straight to sex icon.

Funny, I didn’t remember his cock being that big before.

I had the decency to cover my eyes and pretend I wasn’t drooling at the sight of the man before me. That I didn’t wonder what kind of new tricks he might’ve developed while I’d been . . . working. Clawing my way up to the top in an effort to forget.

“I didn’t take you for a thief, Arista,” he muttered, kneeling to get on my level. I scooted back and my spine ran into the side of his bed, effectively pinning me here.

“I’m not,” I mumbled, hating the situation I was in. Hating myself more for not paying attention to the shower sounds or moving faster. “Just returning something Yejin brought me.”

His eyes darkened dangerously. “I thought I told you to stay away from her.”

I was on my feet in a flash, desperate to leave this room as anger threaded through his tone. “I didn’t go looking for her, Jun,” I protested, dropping my hand to meet his stony glare. “She came to my door with your debut mic and asked me to return it so she didn’t get in trouble.”

“I don’t care what excuses you make up,” he snapped, straightening to his full height in an effort to be imposing and tower over me. “I won’t repeat myself. You made your choice concerning her when you walked away and left her on my doorstep.”

“Yeah, cause that was such an easy decision to make,” I spat, hating that he thought it was easy for me.

That I hadn’t deliberated over that mistake, that decision, that heartbreaking choice to put my daughter’s safety before my own selfish desires and love.

“You know what, forget it.” Turning off my emotions was easier said than done, but it had to be done.

I had to walk away before the seven years of hard work came crashing down around my ears and ruined everything I’d worked for, everything I’d hoped for when I gave up all my hopes for the future in exchange for hers.

“I’m going to bed. I’ll see you in the morning—and don’t forget about your schedule of interviews between stuff for the label. ”

I didn’t wait for him to retort with anything sassy or snarky or even cruel, I just turned and left and shut the door as gently as I could on my way out.

There was no point in alerting the rest of the house to our little spat.

Hell, the last thing I wanted was everyone in this house knowing there was something going on between Jun and myself.

That was history, and it belonged in the past, where I’d buried it long ago.

I couldn’t afford to mess up both our futures by rocking the boat now.