New Beginnings: Stories from Beauville

Chapter 13-1

13

Hae-in is prompt. I’ll give him that. He shows up at the precise moment Anna and I are walking out of the building. He’s leaning against a shiny black Tesla. I’ll admit, I wasn’t expecting him to show up in an electric car, but it works. Jackson is here too, but he hasn’t said a word to Hae-in. Both men look manly in their own right. Jackson, as usual, is in jeans and a button-up while Hae-in is in a suit. An expensive suit. It’s dark gray and to offset the gray he’s wearing a salmon color tie. I prefer the suit look on him. Jackson has the just got out of bed look. Anna leans on me and whispers, “Girl, we got some fine-a*s looking men.”

Is Hae-in my man? I don’t know how I should define the current status of our relationship, and I don’t want to waste time putting any labels on us. I smile at Hae-in and respond to Anna. “They definitely look like something, don’t they?”

“Tango and Cash.”

“Exactly! I couldn’t think of the name of the movie.”

Anna’s right. Hae-in is Tango and Jackson is Cash. Only they aren’t narcotics officers. Jackson is more closely related to that since he used to work for the National Security Agency disguised as the sheriff of Beauville. Hae-in doesn’t look like he could wield a g*n, but it doesn’t detract from his swagger.

“Could y’all look anymore unfriendly toward the other?” Anna says, walking over to Jackson and slapping him on the shoulder. “Mr. Wook is one of my biggest clients.”

“How nice for him.”

The look that Jackson gives Hae-in isn’t nice. He eyes the other man from head to toe.

“Jackson, if I were you, I’d stop mean-mugging my friend there.”

“I thought we were more than friends,” Hae-in says, stepping away from the car to come over to my side. He doesn’t hug me, but he places his hand at the small of my back and leads me to the passenger side door of his car. “I’m sure you want to go home to freshen up a bit, maybe even pack a bag before we head to the bar.”

“What the f**k does he mean, pack a bag? Do Finn and Sawyer know this man is stepping on their territory?” Jackson’s gaze is murderous. I know he’s friends with the twins, and they have some sort of sacred bro code, but he is going too far with his bullshit.

“I wasn’t aware I was land, Jackson.”

“India, you’re starting up trouble you cannot handle.”

“If it has anything to do with the twins, it’s not me who will start anything. I made myself clear, and I know your wife tells you everything, so you already know the score. Hae-in is my guest, and I’ll see whomever I want to.”

“Gotta have a woman speak up for you,” Jackson taunts.

“India can do or say whatever she likes, whether it’s for me or against me. I’m just here to spend time with someone who’s come to mean a lot to me. I’m sure your wife’s exhausted. She’s had a long day, and instead of keeping her on her feet, how about you offer her a seat in your ride?”

That right there sets Jackson off. I have to give it to him. Hae-in is no pushover. Jackson has an inch, maybe two, on him. Hae-in isn’t as bulky as Jackson. Anna and I see Jackson’s reaction before he even makes a move to step to Hae-in. Anna tugs on Jackson’s arm, and I place my hand on Hae-in’s shoulder. “He’s being a mean-a*s bull. Leave him be. My bet is he thought you were here for Anna. And not me.”

“I’ve not had the pleasure of meeting a bull up close before.”

I smile and look over at Jackson, sticking my tongue out at him. “Be nice, Jackson, he’s my guest and he’s here to see me.”

“You should pick better friends.”

Jackson’s acting weirdly. He’s normally the friendly type and gives everyone an opportunity to turn him into a monster asshole. He’s not even giving Hae-in the chance. Could it be because the twins said something?

“I don’t know what you’re going on about, mister, but get your s**t together and stop acting like a complete tool. India and I are doing business with him and the hotel he owns. If you try to f**k this up with your attitude, you sir, will be a permanent member of the couch clan. Feel me?”

Jackson grabs Anna and whispers something in her ear, and it makes her laugh. If I had to guess, he made a reference to her last words.

“Those two seem like they have an amazing relationship,” Hae-in observes.

“They do, but it came at a cost and a lot of drama.”

“A cost?”

“Yeah, it hurt Anna terribly, and Jackson used to be the town sheriff, but he’s since retired and now only does security.” I couldn’t tell him that Jackson worked for the National Security Agency, that’s confidential, and I don’t even think we were supposed to know, but didn’t have a choice given the previous situation we were all in.

Hae-in only nods and opens the passenger door. Something I notice about him is how gentlemanly he is, always opening my door. But he takes it a step further. He covers my head as if I could harm myself while getting in. It’s cute. The ride over to the bar doesn’t take long. We did stop at the house, but I only went in to change and grab a quick overnight bag.

“What type of bar is this?” Hae-in asks, staring up at the building.

“It’s the type that you drink and dance at. It’s Step night.”

“Step?”

“It’s called Chicago Step. My father—who prior to meeting my mother—originally is from Chicago, and since he’s a bouncer here at the bar, the owner lets him have Tuesday nights for Step, so that me and the family can jam.” I reach over and touch Hae-in’s hand. “My family can be bothersome, think drama to infinity.”

Hae-in leans over and kisses my forehead. “I think I can manage. If I feel like I’m sinking, I’ll call in for backup.”

I grin. “What should be the signal?”

“Hmmm, how about this,” Hae-in leans toward the side of my face until his lips touch the tip of my ear. “You look beautiful tonight.”

I pull back slightly and raise a brow. “You mean I look beautiful now, or I look beautiful as in that is the signal.”

“Both.” Hae-in’s trying to hold in his laugh. “I’m looking forward to meeting the rest of the family.”

I don’t know if my family will approve or give him a hard time. I hope not. A small part of me thinks that if they give him a hard time, I won’t be the topic of discussion. Or maybe they will be interested that he own’s the hotel, we’ll both get a free pass.

It could work.

No one is at the door; my father is inside with the DJ, probably looking into tonight’s music. Hae-in confidently twines his fingers with mine and we walk in. The music isn’t too loud. The servers are making their rounds and my father is over at the bar, talking to Rudy. s**t. I forgot about Rudy. I’m not prepared to handle him or the twins. Rudy had wanted nothing to do with me, and suddenly, I was a hot commodity for him. I originally thought my heart would only ache for the mysterious bartender. Being honest with myself, I was still into him while dating the twins, and even Lyric. I look over at the bar and notice Lyric right away. f**k my life, but it isn’t my f*****g day today. I was ready for the twins, had already sent them a text that they’d better be on their best behavior. I didn’t factor in Rudy, and that was because, well, he was a nonissue for me. As for Lyric, she was a hot-a*s emotional mess that thought I was broken, and she’d got it in her head somehow that I was going to be her next charity project. No f*****g way. She was a sweet girl, and while we were seeing each other, I genuinely had warm feelings for her, but the moment she found out about me dating the twins and then getting pregnant, she tried to make her presence known. She isn’t even from Beauville. Why the hell is she staying around? Honestly, I already know the answer and the reason for that. She’s taken up with Jackson and his team and has secured her spot as their personal secretary. Anna doesn’t mind because she doesn’t see Lyric as a threat. I do. She’s manipulative in the sense she tries to make me feel like I’m wounded and in desperate need of help.

I’m a lot stronger than anyone thinks. The realization hits me. I am stronger, and despite my current situation and what everyone may think, there are little pieces of my soul healing daily. It’s Lyric who notices us first. She turns and gives a once-over before scoffing and walking right up to us.

“Good to see you, Indy.”

“Nice seeing you again, too, Lyric. I wasn’t expecting you here.” I’m honest. She never enjoyed coming here because of Rudy. So, her reason for being here now is so obvious.

“I’m here because Lola told us all about your man Hanes, is it?”

Hae-in bows politely. “Almost, it’s Hae-in. It’s nice to meet you, Lyric.”

“Likewise. I’ll admit I can see why she likes you, but you’re not what she needs.”

“Lyric,” I hiss. “Stop it.”

Hae-in clears his throat and adjusts his tie before speaking. “I think India is the only person who can decide who and what she needs. Excuse us.” Hae-in steers me away from Lyric only to hear the piercing screams of the Singleton sisters. Penny and Erica stand in the middle of the bar with bright, beautiful smiles on their faces. They’re from my mother’s side of the family and are quite the pair.

“India, how do you know Wookie?” What the f**k are they even going on about. Who is Wookie? Hae-in clears his throat again as Penny and Erica approach. Oh s**t, must be Hae-in they’re referring to, but I would have never guessed they knew anything that had to do with South Korea. Guess I’m wrong.

“Um, I met him in South Korea,” I say as calmly as I can. Penny walks over to Hae-in and says something to him in Korean. He looks a bit shocked, but then smiles widely.

“It’s nice to meet you too, Penny,” he turns to Erica, “and you too. I did not know I had such beautiful fans in the States. I’m thankful for your support.”

I roll my eyes, and steer Hae-in away, but Penny and Erica are fast on our trail. “Can I help you two?”

“Dude, seriously, if you think we will not want to chill with you, you’re wrong. You have a freaking idol standing next to you. Do you know how amazing that is, and you girl, should thank whatever gods or goddesses blessed you with this amazing individual.”

“If you don’t mind, India, I certainly don’t mind.” It’s up to him.

“Whatever you want to do.” I shrug.

Hae-in smiles at Penny and Erica. “Lead the way, where should we sit?”

“You hear how polite he sounds? Such a gentleman.” Penny giggles.

“I know, right?” Erica beams.

These were grown-a*s women getting girly over Hae-in. I am invested in the K-drama we watched the night before, but now I’m invested to watch all his dramas. The four of us sit down, and I order us a round of beers.

“Why did you stop singing?” Erica asks after we get our beer and settle.

“It wasn’t one or two things that made me stop. I enlisted, and the group had already spoken about going their separate ways.”

“Yeah, but you didn’t make a comeback for a while, even after your enlistment was up.”

“Enlistment?” I ask Erica. I didn’t take Hae-in for military.

“You living under a rock? Hae-in was in a very well-known K-pop band. They were the s**t, but then in South Korea you have to give eighteen months to the military. It used to be a lot longer, and most idols do their time, and then they are back to entertaining their fans. But Hae-in didn’t come back for like almost ten years.”

I look over at Hae-in to confirm. He nods. “I had some personal stuff come up, and I needed to be there for my family.”

“Your family is like super well off though. Your father owns like the second or one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in South Korea.”

“Damn, you did your homework, Erica.”

Erica shrugs. “What? You know you always complain about my office being covered in fangirl s**t. Well, he’s one of those plastered on my wall that you make fun of.” Erica looks to Hae-in and squints before saying in a child-like voice, “And, Oppa, she said you weren’t cute. Didn’t she, Penny?”

“She sure as s**t did. Said she didn’t even like the music.” Penny tries to hold a straight face as I look right at them like they have lost their minds.

“Hae-in, she is so full of it. I never said that about you or anyone.”

“India Danvers, you stop lying. You don’t even know how much dirt we have on you.”

I squint my eyes in both girls’ direction. “Y’all need to quit.”

“Oh, no, please continue. I want to know all the dirt on Ms. Danvers,” Hae-in states with a huge smile on his face.

That gets their attention.

“Why?” Penny asks, taking a sip of her beer.

“I’d like to know about the person India is.”

“Give me your phone number and I’ll call you every day with information.”

I laugh and sit back in my seat. “Y’all are hot-a*s messes.” I’m laughing when Rudy and my sister Chantelle show up. Hae-in wasn’t at all startled by the difference between me and Chantelle. We were twins, identical, but different. Chantelle is tattooed from top to bottom, but in such a way you could only admire the art on her face and body. This was a recent thing for Chantelle. It was right before I found out I was pregnant that my twin announced that she’d found her inner divination and that the only way she could make use of her newfound ability was to embrace her inner version of herself. These tattoos were a manifestation of that.

“Sis, is this Hae-in?”

“Who else would it be, sis? The Grim Reaper?”

“Stop throwing your shade my way. I came over to say hello, and to remind Hae-in that if he really wants to be a part of your life, he’ll need to accept the fact that this, all of this,” Chantelle encompasses her entire form from head to toe, “could be you in a few years when you reach inner peace.” We’re all trying to hold a straight face. Because she’s also full of s**t. My sister loves to joke, but I can’t tell if Hae-in understands that she’s joking. He smiles up at Chantelle, stands from his chair, takes her hand in his, and bows. “If India is blessed to be this beautiful, after such a transformation, I’ll consider myself one lucky man.”

“Oh, sis, I like him, he’s got some funk there.” She waits until Hae-in sits down and then squeezes in next to him. She looks up at Rudy and beams, “Get me a beer, please.”

“Yeah.” He looks over at me and nods. “India, you think we can talk?”

“About?”

“I’d rather just talk to you alone.”

Chanty chimes in, “You want to talk now? After how many years? You here because what, Hae-in is here, or are you here, because just like the twins you now realize what a good f*****g catch my sister is and you wish to bow before her and beg forgiveness.”

“Chantelle,” I hiss.

“No, he needs to hear this s**t. ‘Cause he sure as f**k didn’t listen to you when you told him several times where you stand.” Chanty stands up quickly, making Rudy take a step back. “Your a*s had a chance, boy, but what did you do? You f****d everything blonde and the exact opposite of what my sister represented. What, was she too much for you to handle? Or is it now you’re ready to see what it’s like to receive love from a real woman? Someone who has your back day and night, no matter what? ‘Cause that’s what you lost out on, buddy, now get me a beer.” Chanty shoos him away, and although Rudy is reluctant to leave, he does.

“Damn, that boy is dumb. Sis, can you pass me a napkin, please? He’s got me all worked up, the back of my knees are sweating.”

“Gross,” Penny and Erica say at the same time.

I lean over and whisper into Hae-in’s ear, “What I tell ya?”

He nods his head, but I can see the smile on his face. He finds us amusing, and although he hasn’t given me the signal, I’m thinking I may be the one who needs saving tonight. Rudy stares directly at me when he returns with Chantelle’s beer.

“India.”

“Rudy, there isn’t much to talk about. But whatever it is, you want to say, you can say it here.”

“India, you don’t want me to do that.”

“Why, we don’t have some secret we need to keep from everyone. There’s nothing you can say that anyone here doesn’t already know or would be shocked to find out.”

Rudy pulls in a deep breath. “Why do I feel like I’m the one bothering you now?”

“’Cause you are, dufus,” Chantelle chimes in.

“Rudy, seriously what’s up?”

Rudy grinds his back teeth together and stands there for a few seconds. “Never mind, I’ll call you later.”

“Not happening, I have plans later and I don’t want to be disturbed.” I leave the words hanging in the air so he can get the hint. I have no plans of sleeping with Hae-in, but Rudy doesn’t need to know that. But I also know that Rudy will take it that way with my statement, so I quickly toss in, “I plan on finishing a historical drama I started watching yesterday, and I plan to finish it uninterrupted.”

Chantelle gives me a strange look, but it isn’t all that strange. I know what she’s thinking. Why tell Rudy? I should leave him hanging and thinking the worst. But she is wrong. All it would do is cause more drama, and I’ve had enough of the drama that comes with living in Beauville. Whatever Hae-in and I are involved in, it’s our business and no one else’s. Anna’s right. I deserve to be happy, and I have every intention of exploring things further with Hae-in. Whether it works…that’s not for me to put an expiration on. I am going to leave that to fate.

“India, you don’t have to explain your plans if you don’t want to,” Hae-in declares, looking directly at Rudy. “India will spend the evening and the first part of her morning with me.”

Dude.

I didn’t expect those words to come out of his mouth. He’s always been polite, but something about the way he spoke the words to Rudy shocks me. He didn’t even act that way in front of the twins. It’s like he doesn’t view the twins as relevant, but somehow Rudy bothers him.

I touch his thigh gently. “I’m good. Swear.”

“I know.” Hae-in places his hand over mine and squeezes.

Rudy doesn’t say another word, as Anna and Jackson walk up and sit on the same side of the booth Penny and Erica are on.

“Looked tense over here, thought we’d come over and break off the fun,” Anna says laughing. “Sis, you’re a hot commodity in these parts.”

“Annabelle, knock it off.”

We all share a friendly laugh. Penny and Erica talk to Hae-in for most of the night. They are talking about upcoming dramas and K-pop. The two are vivid and happy in their conversation with Hae-in, and he is genuine with them as well. Who knew he would mean something to me? I’m getting emotional, but for reasons that are the opposite of what my other issues are. I don’t know what it is about this man that I’m so drawn to. It’s fresh. The anticipation of what can come out of this makes me happy and anxious at the same time.

Does he feel the same way about me? Or could it be just some other thing? He’s a celebrity after all, and I know it sucks, me putting a stigma on his profession, but what celebrity isn’t involved in some backdoor shady s**t.

What if he has a slew of women strung across the globe and, like Ludacris, he has women in different area codes? I smirk. And that gets everyone’s attention.

“What are you thinking about over there?”

“Hos in different area codes.” This makes Jackson spit out his beer and cough to keep from choking. Hae-in has no clue what I’m talking about, and Penny, Erica, and Anna are laughing. Laughing their asses off because they know exactly what I’m thinking.

Am I that transparent?

Hae-in’s voice is stern, and his face has a look of concern. “What area codes, and what hos?”

That just makes everyone else laugh harder, me included. The only two not in on it are Jackson and Hae-in. The DJ plays music and Anna and Jackson get up and go out on the floor with those gathering. Hae-in leans in. “This is Step?”

I shake my head and try to explain the moves. Erica and Penny volunteer to teach Hae-in and he graciously agrees. I sit in the seat with Chantelle and watch as they move around the floor.

“So, what’s the deal, you into this guy now?”

I nod slowly.

“I will not say s**t, sis, but I’m not speaking on my behalf. I am speaking about those that are going to talk s**t. If you’re okay with that, prepare for the drama that is this f****d-up town, then I say more power to you.”

“Since when do I give a flying f**k about what the rest of the town thinks?”

“Don’t act like you’re immune, ‘cause you’re not. I know you aren’t going to let them dictate your state of mind, but I also know it bothers your a*s. They are going to say it’s too soon, and then they are gonna come down on Momma about the way she raised us.”

She’s right. We are known in the town as the Danvers Sisters, and no one takes that lightly. We cause trouble and we are at the center of the drama mill. But I’ve changed. I’m not like that anymore, and I’d like to think Chanty isn’t either. But, sometimes, I’m not sure. Not to mention our parents’ tumultuous relationship. They love each other but love to hate each other just as much. If Mom isn’t smacking Pops upside the head, then it’s Pops tormenting Mom with his never-ending lack of affection.

I’m like Mom—starving for the affection that, no matter how hard I try, things never seem to go my way. Rudy thought I was spoiled. The twins were too busy, and Lyric almost suffocated me to the point of physical pain. If I add in the recent horror of my life, I’d say I’m suffering from a sort of curse. But now isn’t the time to wallow in my shame.

“Let me worry about everything, okay, Chanty? I appreciate your concern.”

“Yeah, you say that now. You gonna wish you hadn’t.”

“Why?”

“I have this feeling it’s going to get worse before it gets better.”

“Way to speak that s**t into existence, Chanty.”

My sister shrugs and finishes her beer. “Anyway, don’t go down with the ship and enjoy the ride while it lasts. You’re gonna come out a complete winner or an utter loser. I’m rooting for you to win.”