Page 35

I shake my head. “No, I didn’t. But he comes to visit my grandmother from time to time,” I admit, equally frustrated. I want to come in a bad way.

“Why do you have the door locked?” Eun shouts.

I know what my friend is doing and I’m not liking it, especially since my grandmother has a key to unlock all the doors to this house. “I’m changing my clothes, be right out.”

“I’ve seen you naked. Open the door,” Eun admits with a chuckle.

Another growl tears from Rafe’s mouth and he hops off me, his path straight for the door. I scramble off the bed and race around Rafe to block him from doing anything stupid. As much as I secretly care for Rafe, I don’t want him hurt and I don’t know how he fights. As for Eun, he’s a fourth degree black belt in both tae kwon do and hapkido.

“Let me talk to him,” I say, keeping my attention on Rafe’s face.

“He’s doing this on purpose. Did you know he’s in love with you?”

I’m taken aback by that admission. “That’s ridiculous. We have been best friends since we were kids. That’s all and I would know. And he has no idea you’re here.”

Rafe’s shoulders drop and he takes a slow calming breath. “Okay. I’ll let you handle this. But Lyric, this thing between us?” he points to me then to himself, “We’re not finished.”

I nod, but keep my mouth shut. I adjust myself before turning and unlocking the door. The moment I do that, Eun opens it—a smile wide across his face until he sees Rafe behind me and hisses, “What is he doing here?”

“Didn’t you see the black car in the driveway?” Rafe’s tone is slightly hostile.

“There’s no car.” Eun’s chin tips up in defiance but his voice shifts to snotty.

“Did someone dump you here?”

“Where’s my grandmother?” I move past Eun and call out for her. “Halmeoni?”

But she doesn’t answer me. I rush to the kitchen and find it empty. Then to her bedroom, which I also find vacant. Before I get a chance to put my shoes on and step outside to see if she is in the garden, Rafe calls out, “Fig and Ji took her to the market.”

“How do you know that?” I reach his side in three strides. He’s holding a piece of paper. I take it out of his hand and read it, confused. “She doesn’t need anything from the market.”

Then I read my grandmother’s writing at the bottom of the page.

We’re giving you time with your boyfriend. Stop fighting with him.

Rafe looks over my shoulder and asks what it says. But Eun grunts, taking our attention away from the note.

“This is fucking ridiculous. Why is he still here, Yeong? This guy is a loser,” Eun rages. I’ve never seen him this way. I know it’s been years since I’ve him in person, but from all the calls and text messages we exchanged, I didn’t think my friend had a mean bone in his body. Until now.

Then what he said makes me pause. I turn to Eun and narrow my eyes. “You said still. What do you mean by that?”

Eun’s neck reddens and he shifts his angry gaze to Rafe and points a finger in his face. “You should have never come here. You are messing with people who will ruin your career. I promise you, if you don’t go now, your decision to stay will ruin your life.”

Rafe’s body stiffens, but he remains cool—calm?—at least on the surface. He doesn’t move from my side.

“Eun? What the hell are you talking…” Then it hits me. I step closer to my friend and snarl, “My father put you up to this, didn’t he?”

His glare shifts onto me and his eyes soften with remorse. “He’s only looking out for you—and so am I. This guy isn’t worth your effort. You deserve better.”

Needing to investigate what Rafe told me in the bedroom about Eun, I demand, “Then who is worth it—who is better for me, Eun? You? Because as of right now, Rafe’s not the one going around being an asshole while pointing fingers in my face. You’re supposed to be my friend—be on my side—not my father’s.”

Eun opens his mouth, but then quickly shuts it.

Which is a good thing because I’m not finished. “Did you forget that it was my father who threw to me to the media wolves? Did you also forget that he sent me off to basically fend for myself in a country I had never been to and where I hardly knew the language?”

“I—”

“Shut up. My father’s done nothing in my life that was good for me. It was always for Kim, Joon So,” I huff out, suddenly getting a heavy ache in my temples.