BL Novels

“Just make yourself at home, I guess. Who the fuck am I?”

Jaesung leaned against the kitchen counter and watched as his halmeoni forced Luca to sit down at their shabby dining room table. She was currently pouring him some tea while blabbing away in broken English about how nice and kind he was for visiting. Even though his harabeoji was most likely still in bed, this was the most lively their kitchen had been in years.

She always had a soft spot for good-looking men, but little did she know that the better looking they were, the more dangerous they were, too.

After leaving Vince’s, they made their way to his grandparent’s house. Most of his belongings were there, and he figured he should check in on them one last time. Although, the scene before him was unexpected.

Suddenly, his grandmother began shouting at him in Korean. “What are you doing just standing there? Get your handsome friend something to eat!”

“We aren’t staying that long—”

“Did your manners and common sense run out the door along with your good-for-nothing parents?”

“That’s completely unrelated,” he began, but a hand towel interrupted him, smacking him in the face.

“Now!” she argued.

“Fine,” Jaesung huffed, defeated. A swift look at Luca further upset his stomach.

“What a lively family you have.” His grin was radiating. “Now I know where you get it from.”

“Shut up.”

Jaesung put together a small plate of snacks to please his halmeoni while listening to the cunning snake compliment her over everything. The tea? Delicious. Her kitchen? Beautiful. Her grandson? Intelligent and a real go-getter. Tired of listening to the bullshit coming out of Luca’s mouth, Jaesung slammed the food down in front of him, gave the most disgusted look he could muster, and excused himself.

Although their home wasn’t big, his room was tucked far enough away that he could only faintly hear their voices in the kitchen. Despite its oddness, there was a soothing quality to the back-and-forth chatter, a strangely comforting rhythm in their conversation that settled his nerves.

Luca didn’t have to give his halmeoni the time of day, but he would be lying if he didn’t appreciate it. The pain in his chest eased, but his bewilderment persisted. The Luca he saw inside his home was completely unlike the one he’d seen outside.

Then again, why did it even matter? Luca was still an asshole and if Jaesung was smart, he’d continue to keep him at arm’s length. It’s ludicrous to trust a mafia heir—a murderer.

But didn’t that same logic apply to him now, too?

Jaesung had also lost his innocence. Even though his hands were clean, his vision forever remained tainted.

He was nearly finished packing when he heard soft footsteps behind him.

“I don’t need your help,” Jaesung told the uninvited guest.

Glancing back, he saw Luca impatiently tapping his fingers on his crossed arms while remaining in the doorway. His eyes scanned the room, yet lingered on nothing specific, as if searching for something that wasn’t there.

“You won’t be coming back here for a while.”

“No shit, sherlock.” The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. His presence alone was enough to cause anxiety, but Jaesung couldn’t help the agitation that bubbled to the surface. Could he not have one moment to himself?

“You really like to live life on the edge, don’t you?” Luca stepped forward. “I can’t tell if you’re doing this on purpose or if you’re just that stupid.”

Jaesung’s mocking words caught in his throat, an unpleasant taste of fear replacing the intended sarcasm as Luca’s unexpectedly powerful grip brought his wrist near his face.

Luca’s hazel eyes, flecked with green, fixated on the heavy steel watch encircling Jaesung’s wrist as his thumb traced its cool, glossy surface. He felt Luca’s nails digging into his skin, a searing pain that made his knuckles whiten and his breath catch in his throat, his own grip tightening in response. The sudden warmth radiating from the mafia heir’s calloused palm, smelling faintly of cigars and expensive cologne, startled him back to sensibility.

“What the hell,” Jaesung grumbled as he ripped his arm away.

He felt Luca’s intense stare burning into him, each second stretching into an eternity, the silence heavy and smothering. His presence was sudden, fierce, and crushing.

And yet, the only words that left his mouth were, “let’s go.”