Persona |K Th

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I make myself nod, while the others chorus a reply as my father disappears into the jet's tidy conference room and closes the door.

Peyton takes a seat beside her best friend and Jimin and I fall in the plush leather chairs facing them. There are a couple of bodyguards at the other end of the cabin so we aren't free to talk like normal. The girls whisper a little. Peyton gives me a tired smile before her eyes flutter closed in sleep. Soon I'm the only one awake, left to my anxious thoughts that circle like vultures.

It's dark when we land so the beauty of the island is hidden from us until tomorrow. Everyone is subdued as we are guided to our rooms. This morning's helicopter ride over the cherry blossoms seems like a week ago.
The girls are in a villa very close to ours. My father has been placed in the Presidential Villa, so thank fuck, he is on the other side of the resort. I was panicking at the thought of spending this visit to paradise with Appa instead of Peyton. I'm determined to fall asleep and wake up every day we're here with my beautiful girl in my arms. I've been denied long enough.

Before I can get my bag open to change into something more climate appropriate, my father texts me to join him in the beachside bar. Here we go...

"Walk with me on the beach."

My father, even barefooted, is impeccably dressed in tailored off white linen, shirt untucked and slacks rolled up ready for a stroll - or a photo shoot. He holds his phone up and gestures with his head toward the bar where a bodyguard stands. I know the drill. I pull mine out and place it with his on the polished teak surface.

When my father has an important conversation and wants to be sure there are no listening ears, it takes place outside, away from windows, away from phones. My stomach is in my throat. I kick off my shoes and follow him, terrified he is about to ruin my life.

Moonlight ripples over the placid little waves that lap at our feet as we crunch the firm damp sand. When is he going to speak? The tranquil air is such a contrast to my racing heart that I explode into the void that's begging to be filled. "Are you forcing me to come home?"

"Why would I?" He is not surprised or offended at my question, but instead responds with his own like he's a Socratic method professor.

I hate when he plays with me. "I have a girlfriend." Like, duh.

He's quiet for a few moments. "Ah, that's what you meant by your girlfriend was reason you were contacting me.  So you're saying you and Jimin would have handled the yakuza had you been alone?"

"Yes."

My father considers this and seems about to say something, but stops.

"Why are you involved with yakuza and the Triad? They are gangsters with illegal businesses."

Appa gives me a grim smile. "Think of the Triad as one small tentacle of a conglomerate, one that you likely have heard of. It only looks legitimate on the surface. Those yakuza, just entry level managers with a side hustle gone wrong. At our level of wealth and power, there is no black and white. Only gray. All laws are bendable given enough power or money. It's the  law of the jungle."

What is he saying? He's basically a mafia? Jimin's mom is a gangster?

"You and Jiminie both are ruled by your hearts. Self-sacrifice is part of your natures. Your auntie and I talked last week. We are going to groom Ji Na to take over as CEO."