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Jason quietly sighed. He’d definitely done that and then some. His mind served him a few flashes of the climactic moments when he’d hammered Min Su’s face, giving Jason an almost feral grin. That part of himself might’ve been inconvenient in more sedate social settings, but it sure came in handy when he needed it. “I think you would’ve been impressed with my self-control. Seong Hyeon only threatened to lock me in the car once all day.”
“Wow.” Naomi laughed. “How much of a pain in the ass would you have to be to get under that man’s skin? He’s so–I don’t know. What’s the word?”
“Stoic.”
“Yeah, that. Like a statue.” Naomi paused for a moment. “A gorgeously detailed, finely-carved marble statue.”
“Damn, girl, settle down. I had no idea you were down with the Asian persuasion.”
Naomi scoffed. “I’ll only allow that because you were recently traumatized. And, because you were obviously right about KBR all along.”
Jason swallowed his righteous snort, knowing Naomi would never lightly say something like that to him. “Maybe so. At least it’s done with.”
“And then some. Have you seen the news?”
“No. I just woke up.”
“Shit. It’s–” Naomi sighed again. Or maybe she was catching her breath. Jason recognized the sound. She was riding the emotional wave he’d already surfed. “Do you want the rundown? Or would you rather see it yourself?”
“Gimme the scoop, Ms. Bell.”
According to Naomi, the fallout at KBR from Tae Hyun’s attempted kidnapping was almost immediate. Ji Hoon announced his retirement as Managing Director to supposedly spend more time with his family. It wasn’t as dramatic as a trial and possible prison sentence would’ve been, but Ji Hoon hadn’t been wrong about his confession being inadmissible in court. Still, the confession existed, as did all the others Min Kyu’s team had put together. And their threats to Ji Hoon, Min Su, and the other kidnappers were simple. Try anything, they were told, and we’ll go public with all of it. For Min Su and Ji Hoon, that included giving up careers in anything related to the music industry. And the constant threat hanging over Ji Hoon’s head was almost as good as prison.
KBR tried to keep the announcement quiet with a short and simple press release, but Vital quickly pushed it to any and every news outlet they could. Then they went on the offensive, planting rumors online about a feud between Ji Hoon and CEO Pak over how KBR dealt with Tae Hyun. Netizens immediately picked up the rumors and spread them far beyond the KBR social media team’s ability to keep things under control.
“I guess that’s something.” Jason sighed. “They deserve every bit of that shitstorm and then some.”
“For sure.” Naomi snorted. “Pak Jun Ho is still a player, but we’ve taken him off the board. At least for now. And, now that we’ve got our hooks in them, he’ll think twice about pulling any more shit against us.”
“He’d fucking better. But I wish there was more I could do.”
“You’ve already done plenty, Jason. Both of you have. Now it’s my turn.”
Jason snorted. “What does that mean?”
“It means it’s time to let Mama Bear take a swing. They hurt one of my boys, and I’m gonna fuck ‘em up for it.”
“Hell yeah.” Jason laughed. “Do your worst, Ms. Bell.”
“Hyung? Hyung!”
Jason spun around at the sound of Tae Hyun calling out. “Hey, sounds like Tae Hyun’s up. I should go.”
“Say no more. Talk to you again soon.”
Naomi disconnected without further comment, so Jason rushed from the guestroom across the apartment to their bedroom. Tae Hyun sat in bed, anxiously scratching his head through messy, slept-in hair. “Oh, there you are.” He frowned. “Did I hear you talking to someone?”
Jason nodded and sat beside Tae Hyun on the bed. “It was Naomi. We were just catching up.” He put his hand on Tae Hyun’s thigh. “I’m sorry if I woke you.”
“It’s okay. I woke up, and you weren’t here, so I panicked.” Tae Hyun looked down at Jason’s hand. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” Jason leaned in and pulled Tae Hyun to his chest. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you woke up.”
Tae Hyun wrapped his arms around Jason and nestled his head against his shoulder. “Thank you. I know I’m being a baby right now.”
“You just went through a lot.” Jason gently tightened his embrace. “You don’t need to apologize or explain anything.”
Tae Hyun blew out a long, stuttering sigh. “Thank you, hyung.”
