My Seoul Man

Chapter 20

I took off running as soon as that little plane set down at Wally Buckner's air strip.

Wally's a rich rancher and stock contractor out our way. Country boy who "done good," lookin' out for another country boy who done even better by flying him straight up to us from Phoenix.

He gave me a little wink and left me and AJ there by the hangar where he kept his "big boy toys." But called back, "Dinner with all the fixin's," to let me know what I "owed" him.

So I called out, "Sunday?" And laughed when he gave me two strong thumbs up.

But AJ scooped me up then. And I held onto that man until my arms ached--some bitch had tried to kill him. Because she couldn't have him, or...Lord knows what these crazy girls are thinking.

She'd run up on the airport security guards who'd fallen in around AJ and the company guys who always traveled with him on official business. Dropped one with a tire iron and AJ threw himself right on down over him, Hae-Won said.

And that's when that maniac yanked herself free of two guards holding her and hit AJ, too.

When I finally let go and pulled back to check, I said, "You look okay." Because...well...it was AJ I was looking at. And she hadn't touched that face, thank God.

So I got caught up in the way he was looking at me then. Like I was a work of art or something.

When my heart quit fluttering I gently touched the gauze in the back of his head where that damned fool had hit him.

"I can take that off," he said. "They only covered it up to keep it from rubbing against the seats on the plane."

"How's the security guard doing?"

His face fell then. "He's stable. But there's a little hairline fracture so they're watching him for a few more days. Head wounds can be tricky."

"Shall I bring the car over?"

He kissed my cheek and said, "I was a little bit dizzy at first, but I've been sitting for hours. I need to walk."

Even so, I slapped his hand away from the handle of the little dolly thing Wally'd set his bag on and pushed it myself. "Should've kept you, too. She hit you with a goddamned tire iron, AJ."

"Filed to a point, too. Like she meant to jab it into my heart or something."

I shivered to shake off the gory mental picture that popped up when he added that horrifying detail.

And I was still a little bit rattled as I eased the Jeep onto the road that would take us out to the family farm.

So, I asked, "Did they get any kind of statement from her? The cops?"

"She was stealing money from her job trying to buy enough albums to win a fan call. I guess she'd already maxed out her credit going to K-Con and concerts and buying all kinds of merch. So she was fed up with seeing other Angels flying around to concerts and posting reels showing them cutting open big boxes full of albums. There are fans who can drop a few grand like it's nothing."

He let his head rest back. "I've actually tried to find a way to keep those ones from winning more than once. Because there's such a huge gap between the Hae-Wons and the heuksujeo—the dirt spoons, they call them."

"They honestly call people things like that?"

"Pretty harsh, huh? But she probably lives in a little cubicle the size of a closet somewhere. Eating Cup Noodles and ripping off tea bags from the break room at work like my mom used to do sometimes. Actually, she stole little tubes of coffee. That Maxim stuff."

This was the first time he'd ever been that open about his life after East Hell. His childhood life, I mean. Which sounded like he'd just moved from one Hell to another.

"You had it that hard?"

"She worked two or three jobs sometimes, trying to keep me from realizing how bad it was. She'd clean someone's house after her day job and another one on weekends."

"So you're saying you feel for this girl."

He closed his eyes. "I'm all she's got. Or she sees it that way. Said since she couldn't meet me here, she'd meet me in the next world."

I shuddered and said, "So she was going to get killed trying to kill you?"

He looked over at me and actually smiled. "She kinda did us a favor. My Angels sent all these trucks to sit outside the company. With these big signs on the side demanding I be given an official hiatus."

I just stared. It was like they lived on a different planet, these people.

And he chuckled and said, "Flooded the newspapers and TV stations with calls and emails. Got so wild that politicians started threatening to investigate the way companies treat trainees and idols again. They never actually do it, but it wins them votes."

"The fans have that much power?"

"Oh, you bet they do. K-pop's as important financially as those companies I told you about. Fans turn against you, you're done. And they saw that attack in real time—some band departures are streamed live. So between that and the other thing...well, my Angels let 'em have it."

I passed a truck hauling a horse trailer. That's the world we were in then. Light years away from fans and fame.

So I touched his hand and said, "Well, I'm glad I didn't see that."

And he closed his eyes and sighed, "I'm just glad to see you." Before just dozing off, which told me he might be weaker than he wanted to admit.

So I was relieved as I drove us through the iron archway to the family farm.

They had hundreds of acres by then. His guest house was this sweet little chalet out near the stables. And a short walk away from a small stand of trees and a huge pond they'd created years ago. Spectacular view. That he stood staring out at from the huge living room window for a bit. With me all hugged up in his arms.

"You hungry at all?" I asked.

"My stomach gets weird. I think it's the meds. Let's see how I feel after I shower."

"You feel like standing that long? You could slip, too."

He kissed the tip of my nose. "They've got little benches, the showers. Come see."

I followed him up to the bathroom in the loft up above to make absolutely sure it was safe. And I gave the "ok" when I saw a bench on one side, another at the back and a few handrails, too.

"You call me if you get dizzy," I said. "I'll be in the bedroom there. Unpacking your bag."

He put his hands on either side of my face and said, "The doctor who released me thought I'd recover very quickly."

"But it's only been, what? One day?"

"Which I spent sitting on a plane. Two planes, actually. Thirteen-hour flight, the first one."

I said, "Well, you're going to be sitting some more today, son. Go!" Heading into the huge adjoining bedroom to get on with unpacking that bag.

But I peeked in a few minutes later to make sure he'd sat--the glass was frosted so I wasn't invading his privacy much. And something devilish came over me, probably because I'd missed the body that frosted glass wouldn't let me see.

So, I tipped over right quick and slipped in there with him with all my clothes on, like he'd slipped into that hot tub on the yacht that time.

And I giggled a little when I saw he'd put a shower cap on to keep the gauze dry. But I shut up when he started to peel the wet clothes off me with that look I mentioned earlier—you remember, right? How he looked at me like I was a Michelangelo statue or something?

His eyes lingered on every inch of me his fingers revealed before he pulled me up against him and my knees got all weak.

I managed to say, "You need to be careful."

But he kissed me quiet, backed me up against the wall and got to proving he really was recovering pretty quickly.