Page 41 of Idol Moves

“Yes, sir.” Jason briefly smiled and nodded. “I’m American.”

Jeong Ho seemed surprised at Jason’s reply, but his frown never wavered. “You have a Seoul accent.”

“My parents are from Seoul, sir.”

A thick tension settled between them as Tae Hyun watched his father’s mental wheels turn. That was the other reason Tae Hyun had brought Jason along. He was an unknown. His father knew how to push Tae Hyun’s buttons since he’d installed most of them. But that wasn’t true with Jason.

Sun Young gestured toward the dining table behind her. “You all must be hungry. Let’s eat before everything gets cold.”

The table was piled with enough food to feed a small army. Tae Hyun’s mouth watered as he enjoyed the familiar aromas of his mother’s dakgalbi. Of course, his parents had neglected to set a spot for Jason, even knowing he was coming. It could’ve been an oversight. Or, it could’ve been deliberate. After grabbing another chair from the sitting room, Sun Young and Yun Seo served everyone before taking their seats. The group sat in tense silence until Jason finally took a bite of his food.

“Oh wow. This is so good,” Jason announced.

Sun Young smiled. “Thank you, Jason. Have you had dakgalbi before?”

Jason nodded. “Yes. Tae Hyun recently made it for me.”

“Except we didn’t have any sweet potatoes,” Tae Hyun added.

“Oh. Well, I usually use regular potatoes if that’s the case,” Sun Young explained. “Where did you learn how to make it? I don’t recall ever teaching you.”

“In my trainee dorm. It was–”

Jeong Ho loudly grunted. “You cook for the boy?”

Tae Hyun fought to keep from frowning. He assumed thatthe boymeant Jason, which was insulting on so many levels, not the least of which was that Jason was the older of the two. “Yes. Jason-hyung enjoys my cooking.”

Jeong Ho’s eyebrows twitched when Tae Hyun called Jasonhyung. “And you’re living together?”

“Yes, I’ve been living with Jason,” Tae Hyun explained, “while I’ve been in Los Angeles.”

“Living in sin.”

Tae Hyun nearly groaned, but he knew it wouldn’t help things. “We love each other, Father. And he makes me happy. Isn’t that enough?”

Jeong Ho scowled. “Bah. Don’t you dare call your sinful infatuation love. It was bad enough when you paraded around with that hussy–”

“Father!” Yun Seo called out. “Please don’t–”

Jeong Ho silenced Yun Seo with a look. “Are both my children so willful and insolent?” He wasn’t quite shouting, but Tae Hyun knew it was only a matter of time. “Do neither of you honor your parents any longer?”

Sun Young touched her husband’s shoulder, drawing an irritated glare. “Perhaps we should discuss this after we eat? I made so much–”

“No.” Jeong Ho shook his head. “There’s nothing to discuss. And I’m not eating with the likes of him.”

Yun Seo and her mother both frowned. Tae Hyun was struck by how much they were alike. In another life, without his father’s influence, it may have been possible for his mother to be a friend and confidant, like his sister. Not that his mother was free from guilt. She’d never once failed to support her husband, even using her time alone with them while he was away or at work to coach the children into unquestioning obedience. After all, that was how she was raised, too. And that might’ve been fine for a family where the daughter wasn’t intelligent, ambitious, and willful, and the son wasn’t gay.

Tae Hyun sighed. “The likes of who, father? Me? Or Jason?”

Jeong Ho pressed his lips into a tight, thin line. “What’s the difference? You’re both immoral degenerates.”

Tae Hyun angrily frowned. Then Jason barked out a sharp laugh. Tae Hyun’s father scowled as he turned his attention directly to Jason.

“What’s that? Is something funny to you?”

“Are you kidding?” Jason laughed again. “You’re acting like such a stereotypical drama villain right now. I’d expect you to twirl your waxed mustache if you had one.”

Tae Hyun’s jaw dropped as he whirled on his boyfriend. “Jason–”

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