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“I know, I know.” Jason held up his hands in mock surrender. “You told me to be on my best behavior. I’m sorry, but I can’t help it. This guy’s just so fucking ridiculous.”
His face bright red, Jeong Ho angrily shook his head. “I’d expect nothing less from a perverted deviant like you.”
“Perverted deviant?” Jason loudly scoffed. “Please. I’ve been called worse by twelve-year-olds in the game chat. You’ll have to try harder than that.”
Tae Hyun knew he was losing control of the situation–if he even ever had it. So he pushed his chair back and stood before grabbing Jason’s hand and pulling him up. “Come with me.”
Tae Hyun led a surprisingly compliant Jason back to the sitting room, stopping when he thought he’d be out of earshot. “Hyung, please,” he whispered. “It doesn’t matter what he says to me.”
“To you, maybe. I can’t just–”
“Let me handle this.”
Jason sighed. “Alright, fine. Say what you came here to say so we can leave.”
Tae Hyun nodded, knowing that was probably the best he could expect from Jason. “Thank you.”
Tae Hyun returned to the tense mess waiting at the dining table. So far, Jason had been the only one who’d eaten anything. He thought about sitting down again but knew that would only make what he wanted to say harder. “Father, Mother, I didn’t come here to argue with you. But we need to talk about–”
“We need to talk about how you’ve dishonored us,” a red-faced Jeong Ho interrupted.
Jason grunted. “Let him speak.”
Jeong Ho practically growled as he got up from the table. “I will not be spoken to like this.” He stepped toward Jason, but Tae Hyun moved to intercept him.
“No, Father. Please leave him out of this. It’s between you and–”
Tae Hyun was so surprised by the loud crack of his father’s open palm striking his cheek that he didn’t initially feel the pain. “How dare you defy me!”
Tae Hyun’s father readied his hand for a second strike, but Jason rushed forward to grab it. His father tried to wrench his arm away, but Jason’s grip was too strong.
“So you like to hit people, do you?” Jason’s face and voice were tight and controlled. His knuckles were almost white. How tightly was he holding his arm? “Why don’t you try that with me and see how it goes?”
Tae Hyun’s mother suddenly burst into tears. Yun Seo rushed to her, wrapping her in a tight hug that could’ve been meant to shield her as much as comfort her.
“I will not be disrespected in my own home,” Tae Hyun’s father spat. But Tae Hyun heard the change in his tone. He sounded unsure. His rigidly defiant stance had weakened.
“You want some fucking respect? Then try being respectful.” Jason gestured toward Tae Hyun with his free hand. “This man is one of the world’s top performing artists. He’s literally changed people’s lives for the better. Including yours.” His voice was low and intense. “And you’re treating him like this? You should be fucking ashamed of yourself.”
Tae Hyun watched his father deflate under Jason’s withering rant. And, possibly for the first time, he saw how old and fragile his parents really were. Their power over him had come from his inability to see them as people. But they weren’t the larger-than-life demigods he’d always imagined them to be during his childhood. They were simply small, frail people from an older, ignorant generation that the world was rapidly leaving behind. And, just like he’d finally let go of Chang Min’s hold over him, Tae Hyun let go of theirs, too.
“That’s enough, hyung.”
Jason loudly huffed, probably realizing he’d gone too far. “Fine. You want to listen to his crap? Then do it.” He let go of Tae Hyun’s father and stepped back. “I’ll go wait in the car with Seong Min.”
Tae Hyun didn’t stop Jason as he stormed toward the front door, grabbed his coat and shoes, and went outside. His father grabbed his arm and massaged the angry red splotch where Jason had gripped it. Tae Hyun shook his head. Their meeting had gone sideways so fast that he hadn’t even had a chance to say what he’d come there to say.
“I can live with your disapproval,” Tae Hyun finally said. His voice was quiet but clear. “I know who I am now. And I’m okay with it whether you love me or not.” He grunted. “But you went too far by trying to publicly shame me.”
Tae Hyun’s mother tore herself from Yun Seo’s grasp and threw her arms around him. “I’m so sorry, my son,” she sobbed. “We were wrong to–”
Tae Hyun’s father loudly hissed, and his mother immediately fell silent. “You would choose this man over your family?”
Tae Hyun quietly snorted as he recalled Chang Min saying almost the exact same thing. His parents thought they owned him. Just as Chang Min had. Tae Hyun shook his head again. Nobody owned him. Not his parents. Not his ex. Not his former record label. Only Jason seemed to realize that.You’re not my possession, he’d told Tae Hyun multiple times. Of course, he’d choose Jason over his family.
“It’s you who’s making the choice, Father.” Tae Hyun looked at Yun Seo, who nodded. She knew it was time to go. “You can choose to accept me for who and what I am. Or you can choose to live in the past.” He waited for his father to respond, still holding onto the small hope that he’d see how wrong he was and openly accept his son. But his father only stared past him, his stony expression never softening. Tae Hyun sighed. “I hope KBR paid you well to betray me because you won’t see any more money from me.”
Tae Hyun returned to the entryway to retrieve his jacket and shoes. He wondered if Jason would be waiting like he said. Part of him knew for sure that Jason had run away after trying to bully Tae Hyun’s father into accepting his son. It was exactly what Tae Hyun had told him not to do. And it was exactly what Tae Hyun needed. But he found Jason quietly sitting outside on the front step.
