Chapter 12: Not Like This

"Please don't film," Chan said. "He's not well."

The woman in the yellow raincoat looked at his open hands.

Then she looked at the phone in her own.

She turned it face down and set it on the nearest table.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I'm not going to film anything. I swear. I saw his face and my brain stopped working."

Her voice shook, and she wasn't a threat.

I could see that, and I could see Chan trying to see it too.

"My sister's getting married in Halifax on Saturday," she said. "We drove here for the lighthouse.

"Somebody posted a photo of this bar, and I thought, no way. Then I came in for a beer and there you are."

"You saw the post," Hyunjin said quietly.

"I deleted it. I didn't post it, but I saved it, and I deleted that."

She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

"I was so worried about you. All the fans were. The company said you were on a break, and nobody believed it."

Hyunjin slid off the stool.

He took off his cap, and his hair fell down around his shoulders, and the woman made a small noise.

"Thank you for worrying," he said, in careful English. "I'm all right. I'm somewhere safe."

"Is it true? About the man?"

Chan went rigid.

"Who told you about a man?" he asked.

"The fan forums. There's a thread. Somebody says you were hurt in Vancouver, and the company's hiding it."

She pressed her hands together.

"I won't tell anybody I saw you. Not my sister. Nobody. I promise on my life."

Rory said, from behind the bar, "Ma'am, the lighthouse is closed after dark. And the only thing in this bar is beer."

She laughed wetly.

"I'll go," she said. "I'll just go. Take care of yourself, Hyunjin-ssi."

She went out under the bell, with her yellow raincoat shining in the porch light, and the door swung shut.

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