Sun snatches it and gasps—a sharp, shaky inhale of surprise. “What the fuck?”he asks again, his voice laced with disbelief. “Who did this? How did this happen?”
He practically throws the device back at me, having seen enough, and I pass it to Jase and Nikko, so they can see as well.
“Someone was following you,” Nikko whispers, like he’s exposing a secret we didn’t already know.
“Kwon Chaeji, apparently. Or maybe somebody she hired. But it’s still her.” I can hear the venom in my tone, every muscle in my body clenching in response to the mention of her name.
“What?” Sun yelps, sending a pillow flying as he throws his arms wide, causing Noel to jump off the couch and run to hide behind Jase’s legs. “How does that bitch know there is anything going on between us?”
I shrug, because I really don’t have an answer to that. “I have no idea why anyone would suspect anything. But I guess they did. Or she just happened to get really lucky while she was trying to find something to hang over my head.”
“Oh, shit,” Nikko groans. “She saw us at your office.”
“But nothing happened! We didn’t do anything,” Sun protests, angry in an entirely different way than he was when I arrived.
“It wasn’t anything you did,” I say. “You know this has been… an ongoing situation with her.”
“What happened when you went to meet up?” Jase asks, pulling Nikko back against his chest to get a better view of me while we talk.
Nikko snuggles down, his head on Jase’s shoulder, and asks, “Should we get the rest of the guys here? It feels like they should know about this, too.”
I hadn’t even thought about that, but he’s right. Because Sun is involved, there’s always the chance this could impact RYSING as well. But more importantly, they’re his brothers—his inner circle—and having them be aware is better for everyone. “Yes. Can you get them to come down here?”
As Nikko sends a message to the group chat, Sun kicks off some of the fabric surrounding him and timidly scoots closer to me until our thighs are touching, but doesn’t make any additional contact.
He feels too far away.
“You really scared me,” he says, softly. “I was worried. Afraid of what would keep you from responding to me for so long. Then I saw pictures of you with her, and I didn’t want to think anything bad, but I read all the headlines. Even though I knowit’s not true, it still hurts.”
“I didn’t mean to hurt you. That’s exactly what I didn’t want to do, but I didn’t know how to handle this. She sent me those pictures, and I freaked out,” I confess. “I needed to see what was going on and what she wanted. I was just trying to make sure it didn’t affect you. But it did, in a different way, and I’m still sorry for that.”
Sun moves again, folding himself into my lap, and I feel an instant sense of relief. His fingers trail over the back of my neck, giving me goosebumps. “If it happens to you, it affects me. I know I’m in those pictures, but I’m not the only one. I’m with you here, just like I was with you there.”
I wrap my arms around him, hugging him tightly. The soft, easy weight of him across my thighs is enough of a reminder why I would do anything for him.
There’s a moment of quiet, everyone still, until the sound of frantic knocking comes from the door. Nikko hops up to open it, Noel barking at his heels, and the rest of RYSING spill into the room, tripping over each other, all arriving together despite the late hour and out-of-nowhere message.
“We’re here,” Tang announces breathlessly. “What’s going on?”
“Did you all… run here?” Sun asks, looking at the four frazzled men in front of him.
“The text said ‘maknae emergency.’ Of course we ran,” Ryo says.
Lalo gives Sun a once-over like he’s checking for damage. “We show up for each other. You know that.”
“Are you okay, Lux-ah?” Chita reaches to ruffle his hair as he makes himself comfortable on the arm of the sofa.
“It’s not me,” Sun tells him and gets a puzzled expression in return. “I mean, it is, but it’s not just me.”
Ryo raises an eyebrow as he glances at me and then back at Sun. “I feel like we’re in a drama, and you’re about to tell usyou’re pregnant.”
The instantaneous laughter everyone dissolves into is exactly what we need. The little bit of levity is good and gives everyone a chance to settle in and catch their breath by petting Noel as she makes her rounds before returning to Nikko.
Sun retrieves my phone from where I set it earlier and holds it up to my face, unlocking it so he can show the other members what the problem is, by handing it over to Chita.
Tang and Ryo immediately crowd in to see, the three of them gasping almost simultaneously as they realize what they’re looking at.
Lalo peeks over next, then looks up at me. “Someone’s threatening you? To out the two of you?”
