Page 71 of Love: Take Two

Noah

My first impulse is to punch Yong-rae in the jaw as soon as I walk through the door of his cramped Washington Heights apartment. I hold back, but just barely.

"What were you thinking!" I bluster, knocking over an ironing board that's doubling as a clothing rack in the process. It clatters to the floor and sets off a chain reaction of toppling glasses and flying papers. If he's been hanging out with Tabitha outside of filming, it certainly wasn't in here.

Yong-rae rushes to pick up the clutter, draping the fallen clothes on the stationary bike in the corner and clearing a space on the worn futon in the center of the room.

"Hi, Noah. Thanks for coming over so quickly," he starts, but I cut him off with a wave of my hand.

"Cut the bullshit, Yong-rae. Why the hell does The Post have pictures of you punching a club owner in the EastVillage? Why were you even at a bar when I thought we agreed you wouldn't drink? And why am I finding out about it after the fact instead of you telling me right when it happened?!"

Yong-rae hangs his head and slumps into the armchair across from me.

"It wasn't like I was out on a bender," he protests weakly. "It wasonedrink while we waited for her friend, who was doing a set with their band in the area. And I didn't tell you right away…because Tabitha asked me not to," he admits with a sigh.

"I wanted to say something, but since we left right after, and neither Tabitha nor I saw any cameras, we assumed that would be the end of it."

I pinch the bridge of my nose, a habit I must've picked up from Awa, and silently chant a calming mantra.He can't possibly be thisnaïve, can he?

"Yong-rae," I start, trying to rein in my temper. "You are the leading man in the next big film coming from Pinnacle. Edward Ash is directing. We spent sixfuckingmonths closing this deal. And apparently," I say with an irritated eye roll, "you were out on the town with Tabitha Styles, the biggest star since Jennifer Lawrence. Why on earth would youassumethere were no cameras?"

I expect Yong-rae to look ashamed. Hopefully remorseful. He did fuck up, after all. Instead, his face is defiant. He sits up and counts on his fingers as he speaks.

"There was no mob when we came in. There were no flashes or people standing too close while we were there. We sat at a dim table in the back of the club, and we both kept our heads down. Tabitha didn't think there were any cameras, and I deferred to her, seeing as she's thebiggest star since Jennifer Lawrence, as you said." His tone is mocking. "Iassumedshe would know what she's talking about when it comes to paparazzi."

"There may not have been camerasinthe club, but from the full spread in The Post, there were definitely cameras right outside." I shake my head.Why isn't this getting through to him?"You still haven't answered my question. What the hell happened that had you in a fistfight outside a club?"

"That creep tried to put something in her drink, that's what!" Yong-rae growls through clenched teeth. "Our waiter was cool, discreet, but when the owner saw us, he came over. He wanted to say hi and comp us a few drinks. Tabitha humored him, and I got up to use the restroom while he mixed the drinks.

"But on my way back to our table, I glanced at the bar, and that's when I saw him. He was pulling something out of his pocket, looking around like he was checking for witnesses." Both of Yong-rae's hands are fists. Anger radiates off him in waves. "I saw him empty some kind of…"—he searches for the word—"vialinto her drink and stir it with a straw. He was going to drug her!"

Seconds tick by as we sit in silence—him, taking deep breaths to calm himself down, and me, trying to wrap my head around what I just heard.Some sleazeball tried to drug Tabitha Styles?

"Yong-rae," I utter, unsure where to begin. "I'm so sorry." I rake my hand through my hair. "So…You confronted him, and that's when the fight broke out?"

He lets out a mirthless laugh and sits back in his chair.

"Maybe that's what Ishouldhave done. Instead, I came to the bar and 'accidentally'"—he makes air quotes—"knocked the drink over. I was trying not to cause a scene. Then I went to the table and told Tabitha we needed to leave. That's when he came over, talking about how we were walking out on his hospitality, being ungrateful. I apologized, but said we still had to leave. He grabbed my collar.That'swhen I punched him."

I'm still so shocked, it's a struggle to form words.

"What day did this happen?" I ask. In my hurry to get here, I still haven't had a chance to read the article.

"Last Saturday."

"Saturday?" I echo, confused. "And the story's just coming out now?"

I sit up, my gut telling me something is off.

"Did anyone else see what happened? Did you report the guy to the police?"

He lets out a rude noise.

"Believe me; I wanted to. I wanted to walk straight from the bar to a police station. But Tabitha said cops don't really care about this sort of thing." I hear the disgust in Yong-rae's voice. "We had no proof, so that asshole got away with trying to spike my girlfriend's drink!"

Girlfriend?He and Tabitha are that serious?

"As for whether anyone else saw, I have no idea."