by Amy Tasukada
Saehyun pushed past the Korean territory, then into the streets controlled by the Matsukawa. The Double Moon still had so much work to do to take over the city, but they were moving at a strong pace. One ward took about twenty people and a round of stitches in Saehyun’s arm to capture—at least that had closed. They would need well over a hundred people to get all of Kyoto. There was no escaping the quick cash that drugs would bring in and the people they could pay with it.
Rubbing his neck, Saehyun could almost feel the noose around it. Debt…favors…he couldn’t wait to be free of them. He walked up to the old latticework door of Nao’s tea shop and tried to open it, but it didn’t budge.
“Nao.” He knocked on the door. “Are you still in there? Nao!”
No one answered, and Saehyun fought the urge to kick it in, but it was Nao’s. Saehyun exchanged the rose in his hand for a cigarette. Nao was probably at his apartment, and if Saehyun called and asked to come over, it would look as if he was coming over for some late-night sex. He needed Nao to trust that he was serious about their relationship. Maybe it was silly to think they were destined to meet because they’d run into each other three times. But even then he liked the Japanese man. Nao’s damaged nature made Saehyun want to hold him and tell him he was safe. It would be nice to be in a steady relationship to counter the chaos in his life.
Saehyun couldn’t go back to the safe house. Not with those drugs dirtying up the place. With each step Saehyun took, he realized more and more that he had nowhere else to go, and though Heejun had recommended finding someone else’s bed to sleep in, he only wanted Nao.
“Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to stop smoking. There’s an ordinance against smoking outside.”
With that smug look on his face, the cop was asking to be punched. Saehyun had heard that speech at least a dozen times since stepping foot in Kyoto.
“I had no idea, officer. I’m visiting for the summer festivals. It won’t happen again.”
“So you’re a foreigner. I need to see your passport then.”
Saehyun took one last drag on the cigarette and smashed it beneath his boot. “You want to see it because I’m Korean?”
“Standard procedure.”
“Really?” Saehyun would have sworn that in Osaka, he was stopped only once a year. Because of that stupid ordinance and the Matsukawa being too good, the cops had nothing better to do than hand out fucking tickets. If he got one more ticket, he’d rip it up and shove it up the cop’s ass.
Saehyun reached into his pocket, and the cold metal of his knife caressed his fingertips. He grinned. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d killed a cop. Saehyun decided against the knife and pulled out his passport. Textured green with the Korean crest on the front, it looked real to the average cop. The only problem was the paper, and Saehyun’s papers were wrinkled from his swim in the canal that Nao had saved him from. He needed to talk to Taejin about getting a new one.
“What happened to it?” The cop squinted at the visa page in the usual manner Saehyun was all too familiar with.
“These summer storms jump out at you.”
Even with the good excuse, the cop still examined his papers. He held up the flashlight and looked back and forth between the picture and Saehyun. He shifted his weight to the other foot. The cop was taking too long, and his wrinkled head grew more aggravating each moment.
“Is there a problem?” Saehyun asked. He glanced around. The street was quiet, and the alley behind him led nowhere.
“Stay put.”
Saehyun was in no mood to deal with cops. Once they looked up his record, there’d be no escape. The agreement he had with Taejin would be over. Saehyun would hang, and Lee would be able to walk free without even lifting a finger.
“Officer, write me a fine, and we can both be on our way. I pay you, yes?”
Saehyun hoped the cop would take the bribe. He didn’t have that much cash on him, but it was usually enough to get the average cop off his back. The way the officer looked at his visa, however, said he wasn’t the average cop.
Wrinkled Head reached for the radio attached to his sleeve. It could only mean he was going to radio for backup. Saehyun’s palms grew hot, and his fingers curled into a fist. He punched the cop in the face. Blood exploded from his nose and ran along his lips. Before the cop could reach for his baton, Saehyun grabbed a fistful of the cop’s hair and threw him against a wall, where he fell to the ground like a bullet casing.
Adrenaline surged through Saehyun’s arteries and bit all his nerves like acid. He’d had enough of that crap—enough of Japan. Japan had spit out his whole family dead, and fuck it if Saehyun would allow it to do the same thing to him.
“Don’t you understand? I’m having a bad day.”
The cobblestones shone with blood where the cop lay. Saehyun pulled out another cigarette and lit it. His heart pounded as the adrenaline continued to pump through his veins. The cop pushed himself up from the street, but his body jerked like a dead fish as Saehyun kicked him down the alley. Stupid Japanese bastard deserved it. Fuck, their whole fucking country deserved to get a taste of what they had done to Saehyun’s homeland. Saehyun grinned. Maybe the drugs wouldn’t be such a bad thing. Their city could finally rot.
Saehyun clenched his teeth. “You all deserve to die.”
He pushed his knee into the cop’s back. He didn’t struggle. That was all Saehyun wanted: another dead Japanese.
“You think I stay in Japan because I want to?” he yelled in a slur of Korean and Japanese until it became incomprehensible grunts. He punctuated the end of each word with the cop’s head, pounding it against the ground harder with each syllable. His eyes watered as phlegm built in his mouth and throat. He spat the contents at the back of the cop’s head.
“Kyoto belongs to the Koreans now, so I can smoke where I want.”
The pathway cutting through the dense forest outside of the Kamo Shrine was already packed with colorful yukata-wearing women and children. Cramped between two sets of families, Nao didn’t mind. For once he had someone to watch the oldest of the Kyoto festivals with him, or would once he found Saehyun. The only familiar face Nao found while scanning the crowds was Takeo, who stood a few rows to his side. Takeo couldn’t leave Nao alone, even at a festival.
“Hey!”
Nao jumped at the voice. He turned, nearly slamming Saehyun’s face with the umbrella.
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
Saehyun grabbed the edge of the umbrella and ducked underneath it to meet Nao’s eyes. “You blend in with everyone in those old-man yukatas. It took a while to find you.”
Saehyun’s old-man comments no longer fazed Nao. He’d shown him well enough last time they met that he was no old man. Today it wasn’t the garish clothes that caught Nao’s attention but the unmistakable dried blood splattered across Saehyun’s torso, along with a few spots on his collar. He looked haggard as well, his eyes red, and he carried a wilted yellow rose for some reason.
“Are you all right?”
“What?”
Switching the umbrella to his other shoulder, Nao let the full sun hit Saehyun, which only increased Nao’s curiosity. Saehyun was in the Double Moon, even if he was some street thug taking orders from someone higher up. Takeo might get off Nao’s back a little more if Nao could give some kind of information to Father. It was why he drank sake with Father again.
Nao stepped closer, inches away from Saehyun. His hot breath made Nao’s ear itch. “It looks like you slept on the street.”
Saehyun laughed, which only made Nao worry more. He couldn’t scare Saehyun off by pointing out what he knew was blood. The only way Saehyun was going to stick around was if he thought Nao was nothing more than a hermit who came out to serve tea, which wasn’t exactly far from the truth.
“Dirt and soy sauce?” Nao pointed to the shirt.
“You got me. I was in a
rush to get here and ate breakfast on the train.”
“Did you sleep in the train station too?”
“You’re smarter than you look.”
Nao’s eyes narrowed. He wasn’t sure if he should take that as a compliment or an insult. At least he wasn’t making sex jokes. “Why did you sleep at the station? You could’ve come by my place.”
“Job had me working late, and I missed the last train.”
Nao chuckled. He couldn’t see Saehyun working late at a loan office any more than he could see himself drink coffee. “What were you doing?”
“I had to stay late for a package.”
“I thought you said you were a loan adviser?”
Saehyun pressed his lips together, his weight shifting to his back foot. Had Nao pushed him too much, and the rest of the parade would be spent in awkward silence? Yet as each moment ticked by, a sinking panic sank into Nao. If he pressed too hard, Saehyun would drift away as easily as he had walked into Nao’s life.
“What’s with the rose?” Nao smiled and reached for the stem. Pretending his hand slipped, he let his fingers caress Saehyun’s. They lingered there a moment too long before Nao pulled away and looked at Saehyun’s shoes. A blood splatter had fallen there too. Didn’t the man know he needed to at least change his clothes, if not burn them, after getting blood on them? Evidence needed to be destroyed. He really was some ignorant cog in the Korean machine.
“It’s for you.” Saehyun held out a yellow rose. It flopped in his hand. “It needs some water, and it should perk up.”
Saehyun’s touch against the back of Nao’s hand spoke volumes to Nao. He gazed into Saehyun’s amber eyes and smiled. The meek act worked.
“Thank you.” Nao put the rose in his belt.
“It’s a tradition.”
“You care about traditions all of a sudden?”
“In Korea, on May fourteenth you give roses.”
“But it’s the fifteenth.”
Saehyun shrugged. “I went to your shop to give it to you yesterday, but it was locked.”
“What time did you go?”
“Around midnight.”
“We only stay open until eleven.”
“Figured you might be cleaning up.” Saehyun shoved his hand into his pockets and glanced back to the parade route.
Nao clutched the umbrella. Takeo woke him up after midnight about that cop. Normal citizens wouldn’t attack the police, and the Matsukawa had an agreement with them, which left only the Double Moon responsible. Saehyun must’ve been told to move the body, which would explain the blood. Nao pressed his lips together. The blood was splattered, though, and moving would result more in a smear.
“Did you see it, then?” Nao asked. It could be the only explanation.
“See what?”
“The cop they found on the sidewalk. It’s all over the news. It happened a block away from my tea shop.”
“Once I realized you weren’t open, I went to the train station.”
“It makes me worried. I don’t get out until late, and if next time I walk by and…”
Nao bit his tongue. That might’ve not been the best wording, but he was a meek tea shop owner so, of course, he would be concerned about a beaten officer. Maybe he could shake a bit from worry? No, even that pushed too much.
“Sorry, I’m a bit scared.” Nao cleared his throat. “Can you tell me about the tradition with the flower? Like, why roses in May?”
“I don’t know.”
“What kind of tradition is it if you don’t know why you do it?”
“Not everyone memorizes them like you.” Saehyun stretched his arms over his head. “When does this parade get started?”
“Traditions lose their meaning if you don’t know why you do it.”
Saehyun pressed his hand on Nao’s shoulder, his breath hot in his ear. “So if I asked anyone besides us what this Aoi Festival is about, they could tell me?”
“You win.”
Saehyun laughed in Nao’s ear. Saehyun’s body leaned against him, and Nao couldn’t deny that he wanted those lips on him again. How much he missed someone calling out his name between bated breaths.
“Why are they wearing those silly clothes?” Saehyun asked.
Nao was too focused on recalling bedroom memories to notice the parade had started. Horse hooves clopping along the street told Nao who they were without needing to look up. The Norijiri horseman led the parade. The rider dressed in green silk pants and a wide-sleeved brown shirt; green branches were tucked into his black hat. Two attendants held the horses’ reins as they walked.
“They’re in Heian period clothes.”
Saehyun’s hand left Nao’s shoulder and pointed to the riders. “Why are they all wearing branches on their heads?”
“Those are the hollyhocks. They say there was a shortage this year, and a school in Shizuka brought them.”
Saehyun grinned. “You know this shit, don’t you?”
“These festivals are important. The Aoi Festival is the oldest in all of Japan. So we take great pride in it.”
“Tell me more about it.”
Nao explained the symbolism in the parade, from the thirty-six horses to what each brightly colored costume signified. Each detail and explanation of some umbrella or sash sent that much more excitement tingling through Nao’s nerve endings. He had never needed to explain each detail before. And each nod from Saehyun asking for more clarification filled Nao with nationalistic pride.
“The horse without a rider is for the deities from the Shimogamo and Kamigamo Shrines.”
“Poor guy is stuck with straw feet. Are they supposed to be peasants or something?”
“What?”
Saehyun pointed to one of them. “See, they have straw for shoes. That’s kind of mean. Everyone else gets sandals.”
“Well, everyone else represents members of the imperial court.”
Nao looked over his shoulder to Saehyun, but the other man’s attention was no longer on the parade but on the crowd. Who was he looking for? Was someone after him?
Saehyun pointed to Takeo. “Wasn’t that guy at your teahouse?”
“Who?”
“The guy in the fucking suit. His acorn-shaped head was at your tea shop.”
Nao’s jaw tightened as his gaze darted between Takeo and Saehyun.
“A lot of the festival people come to my shop.”
“How many end up in your apartment?”
Nao closed his eyes, searching for how to handle the information. He could make a joke about how Saehyun was at his teahouse and in his apartment, but that would only make things worse. Seconds ticked by, and Saehyun’s intense gaze never backed down.
“I don’t know what you mean.” Nao blinked.
“Don’t lie to me. He was there the day I brought the juk.”
Saying nothing, Nao looked back at the parade then to the forest. It was as if the trees knew his lies and revealed more each minute Saehyun watched the parade.
Saehyun grabbed his arm and pulled up Nao’s chin to look at him. “What’s he to you?”
Nao opened his mouth, but nothing came out. His mind raced with excuses, but none of the fabricated stories were realistic enough.
“He’s everywhere you are. Why?” Saehyun tightened his grip, but it didn’t hurt as much as Nao’s heart pounding in his chest. He was there to get information for Father to help redeem himself, but if it was only that, why did his heart ache?
“I—I—”
Saehyun let go. “I’m fucking out of here.”
“Wait, Saehyun. Come back.”
“Tell me who he is.” Saehyun’s tone left no room for argument.
“He’s no one to me.”
“I don’t believe you.”
Nao couldn’t tell him that Takeo was h
is bodyguard, sent to protect him from the organization Saehyun belonged to. Nao needed to think of a better explanation, but as the moments passed, Saehyun’s glare said that he could rip apart any lie Nao fed him. Nao reached out as Saehyun turned to leave, skimming his arm and catching his hand to intertwine their fingers.
“Call me when you can speak the truth.” Saehyun unlaced their fingers and disappeared into the crowd.
Part of Nao wanted to shut his eyes and pretend he’d never met Saehyun with his come-hither attitude and tender touches that Nao couldn’t forget. Bitterness steeped into Nao’s marrow. It was silly wanting to start over, wanting to get over the past.
Saehyun’s leaving was Takeo’s fault, and Nao would make sure he paid.
“Did you know your cat likes to meow at five every morning? She’s so loud I can hear her through the walls. No wonder your old neighbor was so happy to leave,” Takeo said, sitting opposite Nao at the low table.
The cat in question slept peacefully under the table. Nao petted her with his toes. Any effort to make his new neighbor’s stay more unpleasant deserved rewarding. Takeo let out an exaggerated yawn, which went straight to Nao’s nerves.
“Only toast for breakfast?” Takeo cocked his eyebrow. “A little Western for you.”
“I’m not stopping you from making something on your own.”
Takeo grabbed a buttered triangle of toast and stuffed it into his mouth. “I should count myself lucky that host left you, or else I would’ve heard you two go at it all night.”
“Why can’t you ever shut up?” Nao slammed his fist on the table.
“Hit a nerve?”
“I said shut up.”
“What? Your relationship is not strong enough if you’re not buying drinks to add to his commission? You’re just as stupid as before, throwing away your money to get people to sit with you and pretend you’re worth talking to.”
“It was your fault Saehyun left. He got suspicious of you following me.”
Takeo grabbed the butter knife and twirled it through his fingers. “You didn’t tell him I was following you? It’s a little funny since the last host you fucked knew. Why didn’t you tell this one?”
