Chapter 128
Seoul, Korea
Snowdrop Suite
Instead of getting in bed for the night, Kita sat on the floor at the foot of the bed and pulled his knees to his chest and hugged them.
Rain took it as an invitation and hurried over and sat next to him and mirrored his position.
He wasn’t kicking her out for the night.
Not yet.
“Japanese heritage has a very strong and highly regarded belief system in honor,” Kita said at length, his words merely a whisper. “I dishonored the family because I stood up for myself and sacrificed that honor in order to protect my charge when I should not have.”
Rain’s eyes widened and she looked over at him; that wasn’t what she thought he was going to say. “What happened? What did you do?”
He shrugged, his attention across the room on nothing in-particular. “I followed in my father’s footsteps, I was his eldest son so I was meant to in keeping with his culture and the beliefs he held. After my military service I was commissioned with protecting a young woman… It should have been her brother I was protecting, in keeping with tradition it was the eldest heir that I should have be assigned to, but it was not.”
Rain sighed with understanding and sadness. “She demanded you, didn’t she?”
Kita nodded; Seon Rain caught on fast. “It was my first assignment, one I knew I would have in some form within the family, just as my father had protected their family, but…” his words trailed off.
Well aware that Kita was starting to get closed off with her, Rain rested her head on his shoulder and looped her arm through his and held him tight.
“Did you fail to protect her?” she whispered since he hadn’t pulled away from her.
Kita snorted. “Yes and no,” he admitted. “She was trouble, very difficult to work for and with, and she went out of her way to make me feel as uncomfortable as possible with her inappropriate actions and antics.”
Instantly Rain was sitting up and pulling away from him, not wanting to repeat what his previous client did to him.
Kita reached over and grabbed her arm and pulled her back over to him and looped his arm through hers and held her tight against his side. “Stop. You are not like her, not in the least. Your antics are not consciously done and are adorable rather than malicious for the amusement of a psychologically damaged brat.”
That was good to know, in Rain’s mind, but it didn’t tell her what happened.
“How did you fail her?” she asked when he didn’t finish the story. “Did you sleep with her like Lula did her charge?”
Kita snorted, looking over at her. “I would never, ever, disrespect my body, heart, or soul like that. What Lula did, she views as a mistake but it was not. Her heart, for the first in her life, was opened to another and William Lee firmly rooted in it. I was disappointed in her for it at first, but now I understand. When I see them together now, my sister is different when he is around her. I hope, one day, she will lose the stick up her ass and admit she loves him and that they belong together in a romantic, personal sense and not just a professional one.”
Again, that didn’t tell Rain what happened with Kita’s last charge, but what it did tell her was there was a side of Kita Yasuhiro that wasn’t robotic and all about the job, and instead he had a heart and a slightly idealistic side.
“Why are you here?” Rain asked.
“Because the floor is less scandalous place to sit with you when in my bedroom compared to the bed,” Kita said, cocking an eyebrow.
She rolled her eyes. “You think you’re funny and charming, but you’re not. Why are you in Seoul, with me? You didn’t need the job or money-”
“Says who?” Kita interrupted. “As the eldest heir it is my duty to provide for my parents. They are used to having a rather exquisite taste driven life, by your standards, and I did not want them losing that. It was why I stayed employed with Oni for as long as I was.”
Rain chuckled. “Oni as in an ogre or troll in Japanese lore?” she wanted to confirm.
He merely smirked.
She softly swatted his leg. “You are terrible. I am simply scared to know how you’ll refer to me once your assignment has ended.”
Kita looked at her, admiring the blush that rose along her cheekbones from embarrassment. “There are many things I already call you, it depends on how many times you have assaulted my balls that day or if you get me drunk.”
Rain giggled.
“Why do you ask as to why I took this job?” he asked, curious why he was pressing it.
“Well,” Rain started, her brows pulling together, “if William Lee bought your sister an entire art gallery that wasn’t for sale because she complained once about not being able to enjoy the art because of tourists. And he bought her gardens that weren’t for sale because there were too many people in them for her liking…” her words trailed off.
The look on Kita’s face told her he wasn’t understanding where she was going with this.
“William is funding an opera because Lula wanted to see it,” Rain reminded him. “Do you honestly believe that William Lee wouldn’t be funding your parents lavish lifestyle regardless of you trying to maintain it?” she asked.
Kita’s eyes widened; he hadn’t thought of that.
“William loves your sister, and from what Lucien was saying, William is still paying her wages even though she isn’t on his payroll anymore,” Rain informed him. “And he’s been rather generous with Lucien’s expensive taste in adrenaline junky hobbies. You don’t need to be here putting your life in danger for a magnet for trouble like me in order to provide for your parents. They are already being taken care of by the man that loves your sister.”
Rain expected Kita to get mad.
And it was surprise that he didn’t.
“Honor must be restored,” Kita said, looking at her.
“I’m not Japanese, so this assignment will not restore your honor,” Rain reminded him. “I’m just a simple Korean girl fighting against the world.”
He chuckled and pulled her into him more and rested his head against hers. “That battle is how I will restore that lost honor, even if it is only in my mind and heart that it is restored.”
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
