No Rest for the Wicked

Chapter 9

"Don't be ridiculous," Luna told BM dryly as she looked down at the tabloid lying on the table in front of them. It was clear from the old photographs that someone had uncovered the articles that had been written about her when she was young.

"I'm not being ridiculous," BM argued. "I had a good run. I'm ready to shut it down so we can be together," he continued.

"No, I'm not letting you give up your entire career over me," she informed him with her characteristic firmness.

"It's not just for you," he pressed on. "Maybe I'm sick of this shit too," she added. "You know, it gets kind of old to be under a microscope all the time."

"DSP would bury you for breach of contract," Luna pointed out. "You can't just up and decide you're out."

"Maybe they'd be glad to get rid of me since I've become a liability," he said, knowing all the while that Luna was actually right. He had received a call earlier stating precisely that same point that Luna was alluding to. But he had no intention of telling her that. She felt bad enough already.

"Woojin-ah, I'm going to be on a plane tomorrow morning," Luna informed him.

"To where?" he asked instinctively.

"I think it would be for the best if I didn't even tell you," she answered. "I need to get the hell out of Dodge," she said.

"So, I'm not going to change your mind, am I?" BM asked, sounding defeated for the first time during their conversation.

Luna stood and held out her arms to BM. "Bye-bye, Woojin-ah," she whispered as he gripped her tightly. After quite some time, he pulled back and looked into her red-rimmed eyes. The same old hypnotic pull drew him toward her lips, but he stopped short of kissing her. Her mouth opened slightly in an unconscious invitation. Her eyes flitted between his eyes and his mouth, wanting to kiss him. Maddeningly, he refused to step back, but continued to hover over her lips.

"At least give me something to remember you by," he whispered, which did away with Luna's final shred of self-control. She took his lips with savage passion, which he reciprocated. BM had one final card to play --- sheer lust. Perhaps her body would win out over her mind. It was worth a shot, he decided. He picked her up deftly as she wrapped her legs around him. He began to bounce her up and down against him, their breath becoming erratic. He carried her to the bed and lowered her carefully onto it. He resumed kissing her as his hands found their way up her shirt and under her bra. He could feel her nipples tighten as the bleachy smell of her readiness reached him. She wanted him. It was undeniable.

Luna's head was spinning. This was everything she had always wanted, but giving into her desire would mean having to endure the media firestorm once again as staying by his side would inevitably invite scrutiny. She pushed his hands away and wriggled out from under him.

"God, Luna, why?" he asked at the point of tears.

"I can't do this again," she told him as she moved out of his reach.

"Do what?" he questioned. "As far as I remember we've never done this before," he added.

"You know what I mean," Luna replied in exasperation. "I can't do the media circus again. It was brutal all those years ago. I can only imagine it's even worse now," she posited.

"We can get through it together," he assured her. "You didn't really do anything wrong. You were protecting your dad. Who can fault you for that?" he asked.

"Who can fault me?" she asked, her voice sounding more like Normita's than Luna's at the moment. "You'd be surprised at the number of people who fault me," she added, not speaking aloud that she, herself, was one of those people.