I’m silent in the back of the car, all alone, as we wind through the scenic mountain roads.
Blame it on my tumultuous, distracted mental state, but I don’t realize where we are until we’re already pulling into the private airport that Kira’s jet brought us to, just a few days ago.
Why is the driver bringing me here?
“I think there’s been a mistake…” I start to say, but shut my mouth quick because what the fuck am I doing? If Kira is willing to do this for me–or maybe her staff just assumed she meant for me to take the jet back home and she has no idea? Either way, I should take the good luck. I need to get home, and if I don’t have to pay my way, that means I won’t need to find Bruce and beg him to pity fuck me for cash.
My pride much prefers to escape via jet.
I hop out of the car as soon as it stops, pulling the suitcase with me. The jet’s door yawns open, and the stairs are already up and waiting for me to board.
I hesitate.
But it’s too late to tell Kira I’m sorry. I still wish I’d had the chance to, but the adventure is over. It’s time for me to go back to being just Tommy. As disappointing as this ended, a large part of me is relieved. I want to go back to being me. It’s easier that way. It’s what I deserve.
I haul my suitcase up the stairs, step onto the soft, thick carpet of the plane, and stop dead in my tracks.
Because Young-gi and Kira are both here, waiting for me.
“Uhhm...” I trail off. Without realizing it, I’ve partially kicked my suitcase behind me, like I need to protect it from being taken away. “Hi?”
Young-gi looks up at me from his laptop. Kira is huddling on one of the softer sofa-style seats, where she and I toasted with champagne on our way to California. I try to get a read on the situation, but she’s avoiding my eyes.
“Sit, Tommy.” Young-gi indicates a chair across from him as the jet door hisses shut behind me, startling me enough that I whirl around. My heart is suddenly racing, and I’m feeling twitchy and trapped.
“Uhm…”
“Tommy,” Kira gets my attention, and the nerves she’s failing to hide make me tense. “We should talk.”
Talk? With Young-gi here? About what?
And then it hits me.
Duh!Kira needs to ‘break up’ with me. Her uncle probably disapproves of me now, since I’m clearly a violent psycho, so he’s pressuring her to break it off and is supervising our flight back home to keep us from, like, rebelling or whatever. That makes total sense!
I mean, it makes sense if we pretend to forget the hypocrisy here, since Young-gi is one-hundred percent a violent man, too. Whatever, double standards are alive and well.
“Alright, Kira,” I say respectfully, and sit on the sofa beside her–notthe chair across from Young-gi, because fuuuuck no. I turn to face her fully, giving her the floor for what I hope will be a short, painless break-up speech.
But she blushes and turns away, her hands fidgeting in her lap. Poor, shy Kira. Maybe I should help her along? She knows I don’t actually love her that way, so she shouldn’t be feeling guilty about it or anything.
Then again…isthat guilt I see in her expression?
Am I missing something?
I clear my throat. “Kira, is there something you wanted to tell me?”
“Passengers, please prepare for taxi and take off,” the pilot’s voice crackles from the speakers. An attendant comes and makes sure our luggage is stowed, and asks Young-gi to stow his laptop for a moment, at least until we’re at cruising altitude. As shedoes so, the plane jerks into motion, driving slowly across the airfield to get to the runway.
It totally breaks the momentum of the conversation, but I know it’s a long five and a half hour flight, so we have plenty of time to get this show on the road. While we lift off–rattling and speeding up, the engine roaring, the g-force pushing us into our chairs–I grip the seat under me and struggle to contain my gleeful adrenaline rush, because I should really be focused on more important things.
For instance, I need to decide how I should react when Kira dumps me. Should I be devastated and beg her for another chance? Or should I be respectful and tell her I understand? Should I be some mysterious mix of the two? Heartbroken but unwilling to go against her wishes? I ponder the possibilities. Kira won’t care what I do, but I need to make sure that I act the way her uncle expects me to.
My eyes slide to Young-gi. He’s on his phone now, his thumbs typing so fast they’re practically a blur. I can tell he’s focused, but how he’s feeling about any of this remains a mystery. I don’t know what he expects me to say when Kira ‘breaks my heart’.
The tension in the room seems to simmer, especially with the strange, anxious vibes Kira is throwing off. Young-gi seems unbothered, which is typical, but I can’t imagine there’s anything so important on his phone that he barely has time to even look at me-
Wait, no. I’mgladhe’s not looking at me. Yeah… yeah, super glad.
