“Overbearing? Suffocating? Mama bear to the extreme?” I offer. “Or to put it simply—a lot?”
“I was going to say relentless.” His partial grin grows,reaching his dark eyes and making them gleam. “But yes. A lot suffices too.”
“She means well. She really does. She’s just… very excited. Very,veryexcited. I’m her only child and she lost Dad and it’s been her dream to see me get married. It gives her a whole new level of happiness. Plus, she really likes you, which is...” I trail off, shaking my head. “Honestly, I didn’t expect her to accept our relationship like she has. Especially the news about your career. You’re not exactly what she pictured for me.”
Jin’s started prepping the bed, pulling back the covers and tossing the throw pillows to the armchair nearby. He cocks a brow at me as he moves to the other side of the bed. “You mean she didn’t imagine her only baby with a crime lord? Then what did she picture?”
“I don’t know. Um, a fellow teacher? A banker? Someone safe and boring with a 401k and a minivan,” I answer with a light laugh. I’ve come to plop down on the edge of the bed. “Definitely not a man with tattoos and a criminal empire.”
“I have a retirement plan,” he says mildly.
“Oh yeah? Please enlighten me.”
“The Baekho Pa has excellent benefits. Healthcare too.”
“I’m sure legally.” I snort with a playful roll of my eyes.
He stops in front of me, grabbing my hands and stroking his thumb across my knuckles. “Does legality matter at this point, Tokki-ya? You’re already in love with me. Just know you’ll be cared for.”
He’s got a point. I crack a little smile and realize some of the anxiety that’s been eating me up since earlier has evaporated. It’s eased up after only a few minutes of alone time between me and Jin.
…which should be of no surprise. This is the same man that somehow calmed my fears when I was a wanted target of the Baekho Pa.
“Have you spoken to any of your men?” I ask, the syndicatenow on my mind. “How’re things going since you’ve been gone?”
His thumb runs a couple more circles along my knuckles, then he sits down next to me. “There’s still tension with the Bulgeomhoe. They’ve been testing our borders, pushing into territories they know belong to us. It will need to be addressed again when we return.”
“Is it serious?”
“It’s nothing I haven’t anticipated. They’re opportunistic, not strategic. Once I remind them of the consequences, they’ll fall back in line.”
The casual way he talks about violence still catches me off guard sometimes—the matter-of-fact acknowledgment that his world operates by a different set of rules.
But I’ve made my peace with it. I chose this life when I chose him. I can’t pretend to be surprised by what that entails.
“And the other gangs?” I press. “The Jujakhoe? The Cheongryong Pa?”
“Quiet, for now. The Jujakhoe keeps to themselves. The Cheongryong Pa is focused on Seoul politics.” He pauses, studying my face up close. “You’ve been paying attention.”
“I’m going to be your wife. I should know what’s happening in your world.”
“Within reason, Tokki-ya. I’ve told you I want to keep you separate from it.” He caresses my cheek then rises to finish prepping for bed.
I mirror his movements, rising to my feet to fluff my pillow and turn off the bedside lamp. I’m sleeping in a pajama set while Jin’s keeping to some sweatpants and nothing else.
We climb into bed side by side with Jin flicking off the final lamp in the room. Darkness descends as we try to get comfortable and wait for sleep to claim us.
“The new school year starts soon,” Jin says conversationally. “Are you ready to go back to teaching?”
“I think so. I’ve missed my students. Kelly’s been sending me updates about all the drama I’ve been missing in the faculty lounge.”
“Drama? Between teachers?”
I grin in the dark. “Oh, sweet summer child. You’ve got no idea. Sometimes the teachers beef more than the students! Just last year we had one guy running a whole scheme selling test answers. Then before that we had the teacher who was sleeping with the principal for a raise?—”
“I get the idea,” he interjects. “Teachers are as messy as gangsters.”
“Guess that explains our relationship.” I roll into him, snuggling closer in the dark, with his arm closing around me to keep me there.
