Page 18

“Sweet girl,” she says, patting my back. “Always.”

“Sori!” Angela spots me across the coffee shop, pressing her hand to her head to keep her beret from flying off as she winds around the tables.

After a hug, she plops onto the cushioned seat opposite me.

“Where’s Hong Gi Taek?” I ask. They were supposed to come together. This coffee shop is one subway stop away from Neptune Entertainment, where both of them are trainees, Gi Taek having joined soon after graduation.

Her eyes widen and she turns in her seat. “He’s not behind me?”

I laugh. “He probably popped into a store while you weren’t looking.”

She turns back with a grin. “There was an Olive Young outside the subway station.”

“I was on a radio show with someone from your company,” I tell her once we’ve placed our orders at the counter and returned to the table with our drinks. “Tsukumori Rina.”

“Rina!” Angela exclaims. “She’s a sweetheart.”

“Aw, don’t tell me you’re talking about me again?” Gi Taek pulls out a chair next to Angela, grabbing the drink she bought for him and bringing it to his cherry-tinted mouth.

“Yah, Hong Gi Taek,” I say. “We were wondering when you’d make an appearance.”

“I got distracted,” he says, holding up his shoulder bag. “I got a gift...”—he brings the bag to his chest—“for me!”

I roll my eyes. “You should come over to my house soon. My housekeeper wants to see you both.”

“Remember when she thanked us for being your friends?” Gi Taek laughs, a fact that I don’t think he’ll ever let go.

“No.” I feign ignorance. “Did she say that?”

The morning and afternoon fly by as we catch up on what we’ve been up to since we last saw each other, eventually moving to another café, and then a third. We end up at Subway for dinner.

“I miss Jenny!” Angela says before proceeding to take a large bite of her tuna sub.

“Maybe she’s forgotten us,” Gi Taek says, twirling his straw. “Now that she has her fancy New York friends.”

I know he’s joking, but it’s close to what I’ve been thinking lately. My phone buzzes and I quickly reach for it.

“Jenny?” Gi Taek asks.

I shake my head. “It’s from my mother.” I skim the message. “She wants me to come to Joah early tomorrow morning.”

Gi Taek and Angela exchange a glance. I filled them in on my decision not to become an idol when I got back from New York. They were sad, as it was a dream the three of us shared, but they supported me. Though Angela shed a few tears.

“You haven’ttoldher yet?” Gi Taek says.

“I wish I knew how she would take it. I feel like it’s beenher dreamfor me longer than it was something I had ever wanted.”

“You need a game plan,” Gi Taek says. “You have to give your mom a better career path for you than being an idol.”

I nod slowly. “That’s a good idea, but I don’t know what that is.”

“You could be a stylist!” Angela says. “You’re always so stylish, Sori.”

“Or a dance instructor. Remember when you taught Jenny when she took that dance class?”

I don’t know if either of those are right for me, but Iwouldfeel better having a plan. My mother might have personal reasons why she wanted me to debut as an idol, but she’s also a businesswoman. If I can give her an alternative path for me that’s a better use of my time—at least in her eyes—then maybe she won’t be so disappointed.

“We should do something to celebrate you deciding to talk to your mother,” Gi Taek says, and Angela nods eagerly.