“You’re getting engaged,” Young-gi says, confident and calm, like it’s the most normal, logical thing to say at a time like this. “You’ll be moved into her apartment, since I can vouch for the security there. I’ll take care of the wedding details, unless Kira has preferences. But I’ll need your family’s contact information; I didn’t have a chance to look into them myself, yet. They’ll need to be informed of your dramatic change in circumstances. I’ll make sure the Vandmorson family, Brian’s family, knows you’re a Sokolov, now. Do you have any wedding opinions?”
I think my jaw is on the floor. I shake my head hard, like I’m a dog clearing water out of my ears. Dazed, confused, I look at Kira. She’s beet red, her pleading eyes betraying the fact that she knew her uncle’s insane idea before I got here and didn’t say anything.
“Kira…”
“Tommy, can we just… not right now?” She grips my hands, nervously glancing at Young-gi.
Ahhhh, she doesn’t want him to know about her lie. She doesn't want him to know she hired me, or why she hired me.
That’s too damn bad.
I stand, feeling a little bit like I’m disassociating but not quite. A chuckle builds in my chest, and by the time I sit back in my chair, I’m weak with wheezing, full-belly, breathtaking laughter. I’m crying with it, almost howling with it. Every time I glance up and see Young-gi staring at me all stern and blank as the seconds tick by, it starts again and I can’t contain myself.
“Oh my god–” I laugh, wiping my eyes. “Oh god, that’s so funny. This is so fucked. You know that, right Kira? This is fucked up.”
“You have a problem with the idea of marrying my niece?” Young-gi’s voice could freeze an ocean. “You think you could do better? Don’t act like you aren’t devoted to her. You’ve been focused on her all week, completely dedicated to her, and you nearly killed a man for wronging her. I respect that, and I’m offering you thevery generouschance to become part of our family. Kira is–”
“I’m gonna stop you right there,” I wave his words off. “Kira’s great, I get it. But I’m a fucking nobody.”
His mouth shuts, but I can’t tell if I’ve surprised him or confused him. As usual, he’s hard to read, but I think he’s just… waiting. Like a logical predator, he’s waiting for me to continue so he can find the weak points in my arguments, and he can get his way in the end. Like my protests don’t even matter to him.
Fine, time to bring out the big guns.
“Tommy,” Kira gently puts her hand on my knee. “Let– let me.”
Her bravery surprises me, and she takes a deep, bracing breath. She’s nervous, but she isn’t flinching away or trying to find an escape route. She might be scared that her uncle will be upset or disappointed, but she isn’t afraid he’s going to hurt her.
She lifts her chin, faces her uncle… and promptly screws her eyes shut as she blurts it all out at once. “Uncle Young-gi, I hired Tommy to be my date because Brian is my ex and he cheated onme with Janessa and I was scared everyone would make fun of me and it-was-Lexie’s-idea-and-Tommy-is-her-landscaper-andheisn’treallymyboyfriendandI’msorry!”
Young-gi’s eyes are slightly wider by the time she finishes. He looks at me, and this time, I know exactly how he’s feeling. He’s actually caught off guard. He’s surprised.
Hah! Take that, you unflappable, gorgeous, bossy, Daddy-dom asshole.
“I’m gay,” I tack on with a spicy little hand wave, just to make sure he gets that marriage idea out of his head. “I met Kira like a week ago. Brian’s family won’t find me because there’s no Tommy Claremont to find. I’m nobody, I’m just Tommy. No papers, nothing. My entire backstory is fake. So as much as I appreciate your generous offer, I’ll have to decline. I’m not your problem or your responsibility. I’ll take care of myself.”
After a long, tense moment, Young-gi sighs. It’s a long, frustrated, exhausted kind of sigh, and he pinches the bridge of his nose like he’s trying to stave off a headache. “Tell me everything, Kira.”
She winces slightly, and delicately clears her throat. “Lexi and I were talking in her garden. Tommy heard me crying, he came to make sure everything was alright. Lexi thought…” Kira turns to look at me, and I can’t tell if it’s because she’s realizing howwrongLexi was, or if she’s regretting that whole day and wishing she could do it differently. “She thought he seemed kind. She said I could hire him to, um, to keep the gossip away after Brian… cheated on me with Janessa.”
“He didn’t.” I decide to clear that up, and she jumps like I’ve startled her. “I mean, yeah, he would have, he’s a huge asshole, but Janessa didn’t sleep with him. She was flirting because she wanted him to break up with you–she wanted to prove he didn’t love you, but she didn’t go behind your back and get with him. Brian lied, no surprise there.”
“...Really?” She sounds so hopeful.
I nod.
“That is riveting,” Young-gi interrupts dryly, sounding not at all riveted. “But could we get back to the point? The point being that Tommy isnotyour boyfriend?”
“Oh, um, yeah.” She blinks at me like she’s trying to process what I said, but shakes off her shock to continue. “We offered him a job, and he accepted. It was only supposed to be for the week. It wasn’t supposed to be a big deal, it was just supposed to… to make me feel better. To make me feel safer.”
“Sorry, Kira,” I murmur, guilt hitting me again. She starts to reassure me, but bites her lip, and shrugs. What I did isn’t something a simple ‘sorry’ can fix. I understand.
“How much were you getting paid?” Young-gi asks me. “And what were the stipulations of the job?”
I shrug it off, regretful and a little bitter. “It doesn’t matter anymore. I don’t deserve the money. I ruined the summit.”
“Brian ruined it!” Kira tries to argue, but her words trail off, uncertain; because it’s true that Brian started it, but I fucking finished it, and that wasn’t helpful.
“How. Much?” Young-gi’s tone dares me to evade his question again, and I consider taking that dare, but eventually just sigh.
