tomorrow.”
“She gave you a lot of money for that? I could have gotten one of my boys to do it for twenty bucks.”
“It’s been sitting for years. We’re hoping there’s something in there that can tell us if Dae-Hoon was in trouble,” I said, waving the key under Claudia’s nose. “Fire up the DeLorean, Claudia. Tomorrow morning, Bobby and I are going to make a trip back to the ’90s.”
“Huh, well… just don’t come back with any of those stupid Hammer pants,” Claudia said, taking another sip of her coffee. “You dress bad enough as it is.”
L IVING behind my office had its advantages, mainly cutting down on commute time, so I had time to kick back after we shut down for the day. One of the biggest disadvantages was I was easy enough to find, especially when I wanted that time to relax before heading back out. Still, it was a surprise to find a sullen looking Shin-Cho standing on my front porch. Even more of a surprise was the bright red splotch starting to bruise under his left eye.
In the light of day, and admittedly after I’d had sleep, I noticed Shin-Cho was fairly attractive. Stockier than Jae-Min, his handsome face was heart-shaped but lean, probably from his stint in the military. The short-sleeved T-shirt he wore showed off his muscular arms, and his jeans were artistically torn at the knee, letting peeks of tanned skin show through. If I had to guess, I’d say Shin-Cho dressed that morning to impress someone, and by the looks of the mark on his face, that person didn’t buy into it.
“Hey.” I jerked my chin up. “Looks like you need some ice for that. Come on inside.”
“No, no, I’m fine. Outside is okay.” Shin-Cho shook his head. “I needed to… talk to you.”
“If it’s about your Dad’s stuff, I just got the key.” I held it up for him to see. “I was going to hit up the storage place tomorrow.”
“It isn’t about that.” His shoes squeaked as he kicked at the stoop’s cement slab. He fidgeted and shoved his hands into his pockets, hunching his shoulders over.
“Let me just open the door to air out the front room.” Using my shoulder to hold the screen door open, I fit my key into the lock. Undoing the dead bolt, I turned the knob and swung the heavy wood door back. I let go of the screen door, letting it bounce back onto the latch so the cat couldn’t get out. “Okay, what’s up?”
“There’s something I didn’t tell you… something I don’t want nuna to find out.” Despite the cold nip in the air, Shin-Cho looked like he was sweating up a storm. “It’s about Kwon Sang-Min.”
“What about him?” I leaned against the porch post, kicking lightly at the door when Neko came to investigate it.
“My father isn’t the only one who slept with Kwon Sang-Min,” he said, swallowing. “I have too. Quite a lot.”
“Fuck me,” I swore. Opening the screen door, I shooed the cat away. Jerking my head toward the house, I growled at Shin-Cho and said, “Get the fuck inside. You and I are going to have a little talk.”
Chapter Five
I NEEDED a beer. Badly. Problem was, Jae would be at my house in a couple of hours to pick me up, and my thirst for beer was really just my body distracting me so I didn’t choke the shit out of Shin-Cho.
The same Shin-Cho that was perched on my couch and picking at the ruffled edge of a throw pillow Maddy thought I needed.
I left the beer in the fridge and came back with a couple of Cokes. Shoving one at Shin-Cho, I popped the other open and took a big gulp. He looked at me through his lashes like a little kid who’d been caught shaving the dog or eating the last chocolate chip cookie. Exhaling hard, I shook my head at the complicity of subterfuge by the men around me.
“Wait a minute. Don’t you have to be at a wedding rehearsal?” I frowned at him. “The dinner’s tonight, right?”
“The rehearsal was an hour ago. They’re having the dinner later.” Shin-Cho looked at me oddly. “I
“She gave you a lot of money for that? I could have gotten one of my boys to do it for twenty bucks.”
“It’s been sitting for years. We’re hoping there’s something in there that can tell us if Dae-Hoon was in trouble,” I said, waving the key under Claudia’s nose. “Fire up the DeLorean, Claudia. Tomorrow morning, Bobby and I are going to make a trip back to the ’90s.”
“Huh, well… just don’t come back with any of those stupid Hammer pants,” Claudia said, taking another sip of her coffee. “You dress bad enough as it is.”
L IVING behind my office had its advantages, mainly cutting down on commute time, so I had time to kick back after we shut down for the day. One of the biggest disadvantages was I was easy enough to find, especially when I wanted that time to relax before heading back out. Still, it was a surprise to find a sullen looking Shin-Cho standing on my front porch. Even more of a surprise was the bright red splotch starting to bruise under his left eye.
In the light of day, and admittedly after I’d had sleep, I noticed Shin-Cho was fairly attractive. Stockier than Jae-Min, his handsome face was heart-shaped but lean, probably from his stint in the military. The short-sleeved T-shirt he wore showed off his muscular arms, and his jeans were artistically torn at the knee, letting peeks of tanned skin show through. If I had to guess, I’d say Shin-Cho dressed that morning to impress someone, and by the looks of the mark on his face, that person didn’t buy into it.
“Hey.” I jerked my chin up. “Looks like you need some ice for that. Come on inside.”
“No, no, I’m fine. Outside is okay.” Shin-Cho shook his head. “I needed to… talk to you.”
“If it’s about your Dad’s stuff, I just got the key.” I held it up for him to see. “I was going to hit up the storage place tomorrow.”
“It isn’t about that.” His shoes squeaked as he kicked at the stoop’s cement slab. He fidgeted and shoved his hands into his pockets, hunching his shoulders over.
“Let me just open the door to air out the front room.” Using my shoulder to hold the screen door open, I fit my key into the lock. Undoing the dead bolt, I turned the knob and swung the heavy wood door back. I let go of the screen door, letting it bounce back onto the latch so the cat couldn’t get out. “Okay, what’s up?”
“There’s something I didn’t tell you… something I don’t want nuna to find out.” Despite the cold nip in the air, Shin-Cho looked like he was sweating up a storm. “It’s about Kwon Sang-Min.”
“What about him?” I leaned against the porch post, kicking lightly at the door when Neko came to investigate it.
“My father isn’t the only one who slept with Kwon Sang-Min,” he said, swallowing. “I have too. Quite a lot.”
“Fuck me,” I swore. Opening the screen door, I shooed the cat away. Jerking my head toward the house, I growled at Shin-Cho and said, “Get the fuck inside. You and I are going to have a little talk.”
Chapter Five
I NEEDED a beer. Badly. Problem was, Jae would be at my house in a couple of hours to pick me up, and my thirst for beer was really just my body distracting me so I didn’t choke the shit out of Shin-Cho.
The same Shin-Cho that was perched on my couch and picking at the ruffled edge of a throw pillow Maddy thought I needed.
I left the beer in the fridge and came back with a couple of Cokes. Shoving one at Shin-Cho, I popped the other open and took a big gulp. He looked at me through his lashes like a little kid who’d been caught shaving the dog or eating the last chocolate chip cookie. Exhaling hard, I shook my head at the complicity of subterfuge by the men around me.
“Wait a minute. Don’t you have to be at a wedding rehearsal?” I frowned at him. “The dinner’s tonight, right?”
“The rehearsal was an hour ago. They’re having the dinner later.” Shin-Cho looked at me oddly. “I
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