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“Where should we take you, sir?”
Jason turned to Tae Hyun, who angrily huffed. “I don’t care. Anywhere but that fucking condo.”
Jason could empathize. He wasn’t a big fan of Yoo Mi right then, either. But– “All of our stuff is there.”
Tae Hyun shook his head. “I don’t care. What about the apartment?”
Jason had taken a lease on a Nonhyeon-dong apartment for them to stay in during their Seoul visits. It wasn’t even that far from the restaurant. But– “The keys are in my suitcase. Unless?” He turned to the Songs, who each shook their heads.
Tae Hyun shrugged. “Fine. Then let’s go out.”
“Out?”
“Yeah. Like, to a club, with drinks, music, and dancing.” Tae Hyun’s eyes suddenly grew wide. “Let’s go to a gay club!”
Jason had never once set foot inside a gay club as an out gay man. Sure, he’d been to Cathedral and The Stallion in WeHo, but that was always in mixed company. And he’d always been careful to never seem too into it. But he was out now and had nothing to hide. And if they were gonna burn down their relationship with Mr. and the future Mrs. Cho, they might as well do it in style. Except they were in Seoul. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? Maybe if we were in LA. Think about your–”
“My what? My image? My reputation?” Tae Hyun vigorously shook his head, and Jason wondered if he’d just become the new target of his boyfriend’s ire. “No.” He pointed back to the restaurant. “We just heard what my reputation is. Apparently, I’m one of the good ones.”
Jason sighed. “Tae Hyun–”
“No. I know what you’re going to say.” Tae Hyun snorted. “But it doesn’t matter what city we’re in. Los Angeles, London, Tokyo–someone would recognize me. And then everyone would know, and I wouldn’t just be the idol who happens to be gay anymore. I’d be the gay fucking idol.”
“Tae Hyun–”
“I don’t care, Jason.” Tae Hyun shook his head again. “No. More than that. I want this. Shit, I’m already banned from performing here in Seoul. And now I’m banned from my fucking parents’ house. All because I’m gay. So I don’t want to be Tae Hyun, the idol who happens to be gay. I want to be the gay fucking idol who goes to gay clubs and kisses his boyfriend in public.”
Jason chuckled. “For the record, I was gonna say okay.”
Tae Hyun sheepishly grinned. “Oh.”
“But that was a good fucking speech.” Jason grabbed his phone and tapped the screen to wake it. “And I don’t know shit about the gay nightlife in Seoul.”
Seong Min politely cleared his throat. Everyone looked at him, including Seong Hyeon, who eventually nodded. “Actually, sir. We know of a club in Itaewon. Our brother manages it.”
Jason chuckled. “Well, you boys are just full of surprises, aren’t you.”
The club Seong Min’s brother managed was on Usadan-ro, a fairly major street by Itaewon standards, with two full traffic lanes. But the streets were too crowded to easily drive the tank through, so Seong Hyeon dropped them at the closest corner, leaving them in Seong Min’s care while he found a place to park. Jason had repeatedly peeked at Tae Hyun on the drive across the river, checking for any signs that he’d changed his mind. But there were none. Even when they climbed out of the SUV onto a street filled with drunken revelers, Tae Hyun seemed calm. No. He seemed happy. That made Jason less anxious. He could deal with crowds just fine–even crowds of drunken gay Koreans. And seeing how much fun people were having made him feel better about the decision to go there.
Seong Min walked them past the line up in front of a nondescript building that could’ve just as easily been an insurance office. Only the sign that read Church in English, with the vertical stem on the “h” capped off with a steeple silhouette, gave the place away. That, and the horde of impeccably dressed, improbably muscled twenty-something men standing in line. The murmurs started before they even got to the bouncer at the door. But that was only because they had a security guard and were skipping the line. No one had recognized them so far.
The bouncer smiled when he saw Seong Min, offering him a half-handshake, half-hug bro shake before pulling aside the velvet rope to let the three of them pass.
Jason leaned in close to Seong Min. “He knows you?” He didn’t have to whisper. The music was too loud.
Seong Min nodded. “I used to work the door here before I started working with Min Kyu.”
Jason laughed. “You worked the door at a gay club?”
Seong Min shrugged. “A job’s a job.”
The club was smallish by WeHo standards, but the spectacular light show and booming sound system more than made up for it. And Jason understood why the line outside was so long. The place was already packed with hot, sweaty, shirtless men laughing, drinking, and dancing. He was a little bit awestruck.
Jason spotted the eldest Song brother as they approached the bar. He was just as tall and handsome as Seong Min but didn’t have anywhere near his build. He smiled when he spotted his little brother. Then he saw Tae Hyun, and his jaw hit the floor. Jason understood his reaction. K-pop idols didn’t show up in places like Church.
Seong Min’s brother hustled to the far end of the bar, frantically gesturing for them to follow. He was waiting on the outside of the bar by the time the three managed to push through the crowd.
Seong Min leaned in close enough to Jason and Tae Hyun to be heard over the thunderous music. “This is my brother, Seong Hun.”
