18. Jack

CHAPTER 18

JACK

I shouldn't be condoning this. I'm an agent of SPAM. I'm a CREEP. I'm a man of the law.

I know it's wrong.

But…

How could I have refused Seojun when he looked at me with those big puppy-dog eyes and a quiver in his lip as if he was terrified of being turned down?

I'm seeing a whole new side of him tonight, one I thought I'd seen but was wrong. I thought I'd seen him be vulnerable after dark in his bedroom, but now…he's different. He must have had some confidence in himself while I was still under his charm, while I was stuck with him, and that confidence went AWOL the minute he realized I was free.

So, of course, I can't refuse him. I also want to help him. I want to help him find his family, get them back, or, at the very least, get some closure. I can't imagine what it must be like wondering what happened to them all the time, the kind of places his mind would go to, the scenarios.

It's funny because less than a week ago, I looked forward to being free and handing Seojun and all his associates over to the appropriate authorities, but now…that's the last thing I want to do. Does that make me a bad person?

"Seriously?" Seojun grimaces beside me when I stop in front of Betsy's Pizza Place on the Upper East Side.

"What?" I smile and turn to look at him. How did I know this would be his reaction?

"This is April's office? For real?"

I shrug. "This was her office last time I talked to her."

He furrows his brows and sticks his tongue out.

"Have you people ever heard of office units? Ever heard of Hell's Kitchen? SoHo? The Financial District? This island is littered with clean and purpose-built buildings. Why do you insist on setting up base in the weirdest places?"

I cross my arms and lean into his face.

"Are you saying there's something wrong with pizza? Because I was actually craving one."

Seojun purses his lips from side to side a few times before he rubs his belly.

"Yeah, I wouldn't oppose a slice. Those blinis were great but didn't fill me up at all."

I slap my face and turn away.

"What?"

"You actually like that posh pretentious food?"

He opens his mouth and takes pause.

"Yeah, no. I hated it. At least, at first. You get used to it, but honestly, there's nothing as delicious as a good Korean BBQ."

"Now you're talking my language."

His tense face relaxes into a smile.

"Remind me to take you out when all this is over."

"You got it." I wink at him. "Only I have one condition."

He raises his eyebrow.

"What is it?"

"You'll let me pay."

His smile deepens.

"Awww, you're a gentleman. But I can pay my own way."

"No." I shake my head. "You can't. Like, at all. You can't even pay for gum."

Seojun gasps, and I take great pleasure in laughing in his face.

"I've never been more insulted in my life."

"Be insulted all you want. It's the truth. And I'm buying."

His gasp shifts into a pout, and he crosses his arms. "You are so not. I'm buying. I can't have my name besmirched like that."

"Fine then. You're buying."

"Damn right, I am."

"It's a date."

"It's a…" He closes his mouth and chews on his lip, his gaze on me intensifying.

"What?"

"Do you mean that?" he asks.

"Mean what?"

"The…you know, date part. You want to go on a date with me?"

I frown.

"Isn't that what we've been talking about for the last minute and a half?"

He shrugs.

"I thought…I thought we were just talking dinner."

And there it is again. That vulnerability that hasn't been there before. That insecurity. Am I causing that? And why?

"Exactly. A dinner date. Are you okay? Did you hit your head on something?" I brush his hair away, looking for the fictional bump, and he slaps my hands.

"Stop it!" He pouts.

"I didn't do anything." I put my hands up in surrender.

"I believe you were about to buy me pizza."

I smile and bring my hands down around Seojun's waist, holding him close to me.

"With pleasure," I tell him and kiss his nose, which seems to turn it and his cheeks red.

I step back, take his hand, and march into Betsy's Pizza Place, where the aforementioned Betsy is behind the counter.

She greets us both and does a double take when she looks at me but doesn't say anything other than, "What will it be, folks?"

"I'll have a pepperoni," I say.

"And I'll have a Hawaiian. And the key to the back, please," Seojun adds.

I freeze and ogle at him. He wastes no time, does he?

"The back?" Betsy grimaces. "This isn't an Airbnb, my boy. But if you want to tidy up my stockroom, be my guest."

Seojun smirks, digs into the pockets of his satin jacket, and retrieves a pen.

"I'm a SPAM agent and need to gain access to April's office right away. Her safety is at stake." As he talks, he signs the top menu on a pile between him and Betsy. Then he proceeds to hand it to her.

"Oh," Betsy replies. "I'm so sorry, agents. I didn't realize. Here you go."

She types on the old-style register and presses enter. To our right, a door that reads PRIVATE slides open.

"Thank you," Seojun replies and starts to walk toward it but stops and turns as if his pants are on fire. "What about those pizzas?"

"Right!" Betsy blinks, gets to work putting two slices on paper plates for us, and gives us an abundance of napkins.

With the food in hand, I follow Seojun into the next room, a janitorial box that serves as an elevator.

The door shuts behind us, and the room rumbles as the elevator mechanism lifts us.

"What? Don't tell me you're one of those ‘pineapple on pizza is not pizza' weirdos? Because I am not marrying a weirdo."

I narrow my eyes and cock my head. Had I been staring? And did he just talk about marriage?

"Did you just?—"

"Erm…I mean…I'm not dating. Dating. Yeah. I don't know why I said marrying. I think it's because we lied about being fiancés, and what?" He chuckles with a beet-red face.

"Did you just say Hawaiin-pizza-loving people are weirdos? Because I'd say that's grounds for divorce?"

"Huh?" He blinks several times, and his utter confusion warms my heart.

He's the funniest, silliest, cutest, bravest creature I've ever met. I don't think he knows that.

Note to self: tell Seojun he's funny, silly, cute, and brave.

"I said, I can't believe I ordered pepperoni because I'm so jealous now." I stare at his pizza slice to emphasize my point, but that doesn't mean I miss how his expression relaxes and his smile returns to its rightful place.

"Well, it's mine. Deal with it, Happy." He lifts the plate to his mouth and bites off the top.

"Not fair." I pout and take a bite out of mine.

"So we're going to ignore the fact we mentioned marriage and divorce in the last thirty seconds?" he mumbles.

I shrug.

"Don't all couples talk about those things for fun and giggles?"

"The expression is for shit and giggles, Mr. Prude, and…we're a couple?"

I put my hand on the side of his neck and lean closer.

"Maybe," I say and take a bite out of his pizza before he can react.

"You motherfucker!"

"Guilty as charged." I chew with my mouth open, and it lights a fire in his eyes.

"Ew, creep. That's disgusting."

There he is. Confident, snarky Seojun is back. I eat more of my pizza and turn to the front of the room as the rumbling stops and the door slides open onto a large open-space office with a leather couch on the side, a fake animal print across the floor, and a glass desk at the end surrounded by monitors.

"Oh, Ms. April, now we're talking." Seojun inspects the office with a pleased smile, standing at the end and eating his pizza. I copy him and finish my slice before Seojun takes my paper plate, puts mine and his on the glass coffee table, and drags me across the room to the desk. He points at the chair and stares.

"What?" I ask when he doesn't explain what he wants.

"What do you mean what? Sit."

I go down on the floor, on my knees, and pop my tongue out, looking up at Seojun.

"Oh my God. Sit on the chair, Jack! Not the floor. Why are you acting like a dog? Is this a kink?" He bites his lip and looks away momentarily. "And do I like it?" Then he shakes his head and steps to the side. "Anyway, sit here, please."

I get off the floor, laughing, and take a seat.

"Okay, now what?"

Seojun waves both hands in front of the monitors and grimaces.

"I don't know. Hack it."

"I'm not a hacker, Seojun."

"Neither am I."

"So what the heck are we doing here?"

"That's exactly what I'm also wondering." The high-pitched voice comes through the speakers. All the monitors come to life, showing the exact same image.

April.