Eros: The Obsession

Chapter Seven

"Mr. Montesi wants to speak to you."

Jun hasn't heard that name in forever and just the sound of it sends chills up his spine. He stands up a little straighter, hiding the tremble of his hands behind his back as he replies, "I'm done with Montesi."

"You don't get to decide on something like that," his mother snaps with a harsh bite to her words. The calm façade she'd put on begins to break, her lips twitching in irritation as her eyes narrow infinitesimally.

"Well, I have," Jun scoffs in retaliation. "If Montesi wants to discuss things, tell him he can come find me himself."

His mother is silent for a moment before she smirks, a cruel and almost sinister look to her eyes. "I don't think you'd want that, son," she tacks on superficially, "Especially with that pretty neighbor of yours hanging around."

Jun's stomach fills with dread, freezing him in place as his nails curve into his palms with anger. "Excuse me."

"You know how fond Mr. Montesi is of the exotic ones," his mother drawls in that familiar hometown dialect that makes him sick. "He might decide to take her from you," she adds nonchalantly, but the threat is clear.

"If you tell him anything about Tara-"

"She seems awfully plain for someone like you," his mother quips with a curious tilt of her head. She sets her mug down and almost saunters over to him, placing her hands on his shoulders. The tips of her fingers run across his collarbone, up his neck and to his face, where she cups his cheeks in a mockery of something affectionate. "My beautiful boy," his mother sighs with a hint of pride in her voice. "I don't think she's good enough for you."

Jun bats her hand away, a nasty snarl curling his lips as he hisses, "You don't know shit."

His mother raises a brow in amusement, the sides of her lips tilting upwards as though she's teasing him. She steps away, the smell of alcohol and stifling perfume filling Jun's nostrils as she does. "I do know you though," his mother begins in a coy tone. "And I know all about your little...fixations..."

"Mom," Jun warns her in a clipped tone, but the pleased twist of her lips tells him that she won't stop.

"Does your pretty little friend know about the others?" His mother drawls, pouting and scratching her chin in an over exaggerated display of thought. "I wonder if I should tell her."

"You're not telling her s**t," Jun grits out through clenched teeth and for a moment he imagines his hands shooting out, curling around the thin column of his mother's neck and squeezing – until she can't say anything.

His mother grins as though she's won a valiant victory and Jun realizes that he's fallen into her trap. "Then come home and speak to Mr Montesi. Apologize for the mess that you caused and beg for his forgiveness."

The last thing Jun wants is to grovel in front of the man who had ruined his life but just the idea of Tara finding out about the things that he's done, of her finding out about his ties to Montesi – it makes bile rise to the top of his throat, acid coating the back of his tongue with shame.

"Alright," he sighs at last, hanging his head in defeat. "Fine, give me a day to sort things out here and I'll go home."

His mother perks up at that, eyes suddenly lighter. She steps up to him and wraps her arms around him in a tight hug that makes Jun want to pull away. With an almost graceful smile, reminisce of the woman she'd been before his father, she says, "I'll make your favorites for dinner."

The little token of kindness makes Jun's stomach roll at the bitterness of it even though his chest aches with a yearning he'd long since suppressed ever since he'd turned fifteen. "Get out," Jun sighs tiredly, unable to look her in the eye.

She doesn't seem to take offense to that. With a simple shrug, she steps away and wanders out his apartment, closing the door behind her.  Jun waits until he can't hear the click-clack of her heels anymore before he slides to the floor, his back hitting the counter as he leans against it for support. He holds his head in his hands, fingers pulling at the strands as he lets a few stray tears escape.

He suddenly feels like a child again, sixteen and way over his head with the decisions he's made, with the early grave he'd dug himself. Only, now he's an adult and he understands that that small bead of hope, of being able to find a way out, is just a way to fool himself into believing he had a future.

And then his phone starts ringing.

Tara's name flashes across the screen and the last thing Jun wants is to have her hear him sound so weak and pathetic. But there's a part of him that craves the comfort that comes with simply hearing her voice, so against his better judgment, he answers the call.

"Hello?"

"Hi," Tara mumbles in an almost shy voice. "I just wanted to check on you. You seemed a little stressed when you saw your mom."

He chuckles at the way she's trying to politely skirt around calling out his mother's blatant disrespect. "My family and I don't have the greatest of relationships," he chuckles dryly. "I just wasn't expecting to see her, so it threw me off."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Jun sighs into the receiver. "I might have to go away for a few days though," he tells her. "Just to sort some stuff out."

"Okay," she replies and Jun can imagine the way her brows pull together in thought. "Is there any way that I can help?"

He breathes a soft chuckle, anxiety already dissipating. "No, it's okay," Jun tells her because he doesn't want her anywhere near Montesi's gang. "Just maybe let Rossin know that I'll be away?"

"Of course!" Tara says and by the rattle of the phone, Jun assumes that she's nodding her head frantically. "I hope everything goes well," she says in a softer tone. "And I'm here if you ever need someone to talk to."

Jun's heart clenches at the offer, tears springing to his eyes at the gentleness of her tone. "Thank you."

"It's my pleasure," Tara replies in an equally subdued voice.

It's silent between them for a while before Jun informs her that they should go to sleep, so with one last longing goodbye, he ends the call and sits there on the kitchen floor for a while, in lighter spirits than he'd been previously.

He can hear her shuffle about on the other side of the wall, can hear the subtle scrape of pots, the whistle of a kettle, before  everything dies down and he thinks she's gone to bed.

Jun doesn't sleep in his bed that night. Rather, he brings a blanket and pillow over to the couch and leans as close as he can to the wall that he shares with Tara. If he closes his eyes and concentrates, Jun imagines that he can hear the rhythmic rise and fall as she breathes in sleep. He falls asleep like that, imagining that the space between them doesn't exist.

When Jun arrives at his hometown it's humid, sea salt clinging to the air. He feels a strange mix of nostalgia and dread. The familiarity of the waves crashing against the shore, loud and violent, draws Jun's attention to the docks where he'd first met Aldo Montesi.

He can see it now, the sky a dull grey like it is today, the seas violent and uncontrollable, much like he'd felt back then. He sees himself sitting at the edge of the docks with a cigarette in his mouth and the urge to jump consuming him.

A pitter-patter of footsteps from behind draws Jun's attention and when he turns, he sees a tall, Italian man in a pinstripe suit and graying hair. The man's expensive leather shoes are drenched in sea water but he seems to pay it no mind, ignoring the sea spray that periodically litters the air as he continues on. He stops next to Jun, digging in his pocket for a moment before he pulls out a thick cigar. He lights it before handing it to the boy.

"That's better than anything you'll ever taste in your life," he tells Jun.

Jun takes the thick log between his fingers, wrapping chapped lips around the edge as he begins to pull. It tastes expensive, the smoke lighter and more palatable than any cigarette that he's ever had. He takes another pull, filling his lungs and holding the smoke in before blowing out against the wind. The smoke billows out in front of him before quickly disappearing.

"You Seungri Park's son?" Aldo Montesi asks.

Jun scoffs because he's the only Korean child in their city, so of course he's Seungri Park's son. "Yeah," Jun answers in lieu of just ignoring the man because this is Aldo Montesi.  

"Your dad used to work for me," Montesi tells him in a nonchalant tone.

Jun stiffens at that, the new bit of information running through his mind as he tries to make sense of it. He knows his dad has been involved in less than legal activities, he just hadn't assumed he'd been involved in the Aldo Montesi kind of illegal.

"I believe he met your mother at one of our clubs," Montesi continues like he's reminiscing about the good old days. "Your mom still dancing?"

"No," Jun tells him. "Now she stays home and mainly drinks all day."

Montesi scoffs mockingly and when Jun looks up, he sees the man grimace like he's disappointed. "A pity," the man replies. "She was a talented little flower." The idea of anyone considering his mother talented is foreign to Jun, the boy unable to reconcile the image of the fragile, mean-spirited woman he lives with today. "And how's your old man?" Montesi asks like he's asking about an old friend.

"Alright," Jun replies because he doesn't know whether Montesi and his father keep in contact and he'd rather not get a beating for running his mouth.

"He still a piece of s**t?" Montesi quips.

Jun snickers at that, unable to hide the smirk that curls across his face. He doesn't reply but Montesi seems to understand his reaction for what it is. The old man snorts in amusement, shaking his head as he says, "Why am I not surprised."

It's silent between them for a few more minutes and eventually, Jun calms down enough that he stops wondering when Aldo Montesi is going to pull out a gun and shoot him. He doesn't understand why the man is there, but he reckons that the docks are public property and the man who essentially owns their little fishing town has the right to stand on them if he wants.

When Aldo Montesi speaks again, Jun stiffens. The man doesn't look down at him, but he asks in a quiet murmur. "Your dad put that bruise on your face?"

Jun's fingers clench into tight fists, the cigar snapping in half as a result. His lips curl into a defensive snarl and he stands, spinning around to face the old man with hunched shoulders and dark eyes. "What's it to you?" Jun hisses angrily.

"Would you like to learn how to fight back?" Montesi asks, "Make him scared of you?"

That surprises Jun and it takes a moment for him to process Montesi's offer. His stance deflates, confusion drawing his brows together as he asks, "What do you mean?"

"I'm the most powerful man in the country," Montesi says. "I have men working for me who have killed hundreds of guys like your father." Jun doesn't reply. He remains silent, eyes narrowed as he waits for Montesi to continue. "I could have one of them mentor you. Teach you how to defend yourself."

"And what's in it for you?"

Montesi grins, wide and primal, the action marring his otherwise neutral expression.