36. Forty-Three Thousand #2
“It shouldn’t have to be your occupation,” he said.
He reached over and laced his fingers through mine.
“Aidan’s downstairs with Liam reviewing tomorrow’s security plan.
Jason’s outside pretending to read while he watches the hallway.
Sun-hee-noona is coordinating with the promoter.
Everybody’s doing their job. Your job should just be to be my stylist.” He smiled. “And my boyfriend.”
Jin rested his head against my shoulder.
I squeezed his hand and forced myself to look away from the hotel room door.
The city glowed beyond the window as dusk settled over S?o Paulo, beautiful and impossibly ordinary.
For a few precious minutes, I let myself pretend tomorrow was just another concert.
Even then, part of me kept counting footsteps in the hall.
“Do you want to have sex?” I asked, though I didn’t really feel like it.
“Not now,” he said. “I’m tired, and we have dinner soon. Can we take a nap? Together?”
I settled into bed next to him, his head on my shoulder and my arm behind him, and I set an alarm on my watch for an hour later. Then we dozed.
The Tivoli Mofarrej had converted one of its private meeting rooms into a dining room for the tour.
Round tables had been replaced by a single long one covered in crisp white linen.
Along one wall, silver chafing dishes kept dinner warm while hotel staff moved quietly in and out, refilling platters almost before anyone noticed.
The smell made my stomach growl for the first time all day.
“Now this is how you welcome people,” Jason said, reaching for one of the small golden rolls.
Camila Kim laughed. “P?o de queijo. Cheese bread. Every visitor falls in love with it.”
Jason bit into one and closed his eyes dramatically. “We’re canceling the rest of the tour and staying in Brazil.”
The room erupted in laughter. Sun-hee-noona shook her head. “One roll each.”
“That’s cruel,” Jason protested, already reaching for a second.
While everyone filled their plates, I hung back for a moment, watching the servers. Three hotel employees. One catering supervisor. Two security officers outside the door. Credential badges on everyone.
Satisfied, I finally picked up a plate.
The buffet offered grilled chicken, sliced beef, salmon, roasted vegetables, fragrant rice, black beans, and salads built around unfamiliar tropical ingredients. A bowl of sliced mango and pineapple glowed like jewels beneath the lights.
Jin nudged my shoulder. “You checked them all, didn’t you?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Liar.”
He smiled, but there was concern behind it. We carried our plates to the table, and conversation drifted easily from the rehearsal to tomorrow’s concert.
“I still think the stage lift comes up too slowly,” Min-kyu said.
“It does,” Sun-hee-noona agreed. “Production is adjusting the timing overnight.”
Jason pointed his fork toward Jin. “And somebody keeps standing six inches too far downstage.”
Jin grinned. “The fans like me.”
For a little while it almost felt normal. Five friends teasing one another over dinner after a long day on tour. Then my phone vibrated.
No message, just an automated security alert from the hotel’s Wi-Fi asking me to complete registration.
Ridiculous, but my pulse had already jumped before I’d looked at the screen.
Jin noticed, and rested his hand lightly against mine beneath the table, hidden by the tablecloth. No words.
Just a reminder that, for tonight at least, we were together.
As we were finishing dessert, Aidan and Liam stood at the front of the room, both of them looking severe. That had been their default expression since New York. Grim and watchful and constantly scanning for threats that might or might not materialize.
After we finished eating, Aidan stood. “Earlier today we found two duplicated crew credentials during venue sweep. We don’t know if it was simply someone who wanted to get a friend in to see the concert or something more deliberate, but until we know otherwise, assume anyone backstage could be compromised. ”
The room went quieter after that.
“There are several hundred fans outside the hotel,” Sun-hee-noona said. “The concert promoter just sent me a text asking if the members could greet them for a minute.”
“I’d rather they didn’t,” Jason said. “Crowds are always unpredictable, as we saw when you were trying to leave Madison Square Garden.”
Aidan walked to the window of the conference room, which looked out over the street.
“It’s crowded out there. I don’t think we could risk personal contact.
But when we came in this afternoon I noticed that there’s a balcony overlooking the street.
If security could clear that for us for a half hour, you guys could stand there and wave. ”
He looked at his husband. “What do you think?”
“A balcony could work.” He turned to the group. “You guys up for it?”
Everyone was excited, even Jin. I knew how much the group loved to interact with fans.
Aidan turned to Jason. “Can you make it happen?”
He nodded reluctantly. “I’ll have security at the door keeping people off the balcony, and the local police are already doing a good job keeping the fans behind the barriers.”
I frowned. “Isn’t that making them targets?”
Aidan met my eyes. “They’re already targets. The question is whether we control the encounter or disappoint all those fans waiting outside hoping to catch them leaving.”
Liam nodded. “He’s right. Predictable is safer than spontaneous.”
In the end, the encounter was more spontaneous than predictable.
Woo began to sing the theme song for My Lover from the North, a cappella, and the rest of the group joined him.
The crowd cheered and waved Brazilian and Korean flags, and the group spent most of a half hour out there until Jason finally shut them down.
I was relieved when they were all finally safe inside. Someone in this city wanted Jin dead. Someone professional enough to have evaded security for weeks, patient enough to position multiple assets, and desperate enough to keep trying despite the increased protection.