N0 B0DY, N0 CRIM3 | Bang Chan

Demure

Lee Know sawed the steak knife into the sirloin steak that sat in front of him. After Willie's speech, he had sat back down, and dinner had been served. Everyone had received a chunk of steak, a side of mashed potatoes, and an option of green beans or roasted asparagus. He hated both options, but he was going to force himself to eat his choice anyway. 

Next to him, Han's anxiety had eased tremendously the moment they brought out the food. He had made a bit of small talk with the man that sat beside him. He was nice, but Han had no idea who he was. He felt like a fish out of water. 

Across from the two of them sat Kiera and Beverly Campbell. Beverly stabbed her fork into her asparagus and picked it up towards her mouth. "So what's it like for the two of you?" 

"What?" Lee Know asked.

Han picked up his glass of water and began sipping it. 

"Being married to the same gender." 

The cold water instantly trickled down the wrong pipe for Han. He ripped his glass away from his mouth and began choking. Beside him, Lee Know whacked him on his back a few times. Han continued to sputter with a bright red face. He quickly brought the cloth napkin to his face and tried to take in a proper breath of air. 

"Are you okay?" Beverly asked with a frown. 

Han nodded and cleared his throat. "S-sorry about that."  

"You'll have to excuse him," Lee Know interrupted. "It's not often that we get asked about that. There's a lot of hate still out in the world, so we're not always open with our marriage. Some people know and some people don't. Clearly, it's the best relationship I've ever been in because I married him." 

Han forced himself to smile at Beverly and nodded his head in agreement. Apparently, he had skipped over that part of their undercover roles. He had no idea that the two of their fake identities were legally married. 

"Why didn't one of you change your last names?" Bev asked. "I know it's not my business, but I would have thought that one of you would have taken the other's last name like a traditional couple." 

"We can love each other without changing our last names. Besides, the charity was already named and it involves our last names anyway. What was the point?" Lee Know shrugged. "I like my last name and he likes his." 

"I suppose it also helps avoid the public suspicion of you two being married." 

"It does." Lee Know forced himself to take a bite of one of his green beans. "Did you pick out the menu?" 

Bev's blue eyes twinkled with excitement, "I did! What do you think of it? We're going to be having a warm apple cobbler for dessert with a side of vanilla ice cream." 

"I think that sounds delightful." 

Han cleared his throat, "I'm sorry to interrupt, but is there a bathroom here?" 

Bev nodded and pointed down a hall. "Right down there and to the right." 

He thanked her and quickly stood up. Before he could leave, Lee Know grabbed his hand, and squeezed it. Han glanced at him with a raised eyebrow. Lee Know pulled him down towards him, so Han's ear was directly near his mouth. "Don't blow your cover." 

Han nodded and pulled away. As much as he wanted to hurry out of the room, he forced himself to leisurely walk towards the bathroom without a care in the world. After getting to the wooden door labeled 'men,' he scurried inside, shut the door behind him, and locked it. 

His food was uncomfortably swirling around in his stomach. He forced himself to close his eyes and take a deep breath. Thankfully, the bathroom was a single room. A toilet sat off to one side along with a sink and a bathroom mirror. He forced himself to take another deep breath. He just needed a moment to collect himself. 

He didn't understand how Lee Know could be so casual about everything. He was always like this and no matter how much Han had tried to learn, he could never do it. He couldn't play an undercover role without anxiety gnawing in the pit of his stomach and a sheen band of sweat across the top of his forehead. No matter what he did, he could never seem to ease it, especially around people. 

He washed his hands with cold water hoping that would help before he opened the door and stepped outside. He jumped at the woman standing in front of him. Kiera Campbell was only a few inches shorter than he was. Her fingers were gripped tightly around her wine glass. 

"Did I scare you?" She spoke timidly. 

"A little, but that's okay. I wasn't expecting to see anyone out here." He forced himself to relax his tense shoulders. 

"I just wanted to apologize for my mom's words a few minutes ago. She likes to stick her nose in other people's business and I wasn't sure if I'd be able to apologize until you asked about the bathroom. It's really none of her business what the two of you do with your lives." 

"Oh...um...that's okay." An uncomfortable laugh came out of his mouth. "It's not like we haven't had things happen like that before, you know? She just seemed curious about it. I promise that she didn't hurt our feelings or offend us." 

"I'm glad," she took another sip from her wine glass, "my mom is a bitch." 

Once the words were out of her mouth, she instantly froze in her spot. The color seemed to drain out of her face. A trickle of fear dripped down her spine. Han's eyes widened in shock immediately. 

"P-please don't tell her I said that." She tipped the glass back and swallowed the rest of her wine. 

"Of course not." 

"I've gotta go. If she asks where I went, tell her I went out to get some fresh air because I'm not feeling well. I'm sure I'll see you around." 

Han watched in silence as she turned around and walked away.