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“I’m meeting Ji Seok-hyeong to go over my school schedule,” he says, releasing me.

That’s right. The reason he’d gone back to the hotel after the concert was because he had schoolwork. Which reminds me...

I gesture to Hyemi, who’s been watching our entire interaction with wide, starstruck eyes.

“Youngmin-ah, have you met Woo Hyemi? She’s debuting in Joah’s new girl group.” She’s also likely enrolling at the same school as him, Seoul Arts Academy, if she hasn’t already. “Please take care of her as a hoobae and junior.”

Hyemi quickly bows, her forehead hitting the table.

Youngmin laughs. “Are you okay?”

There’s a loud clattering sound. I turn to where my mother has dropped her phone onto the table. She quickly picks it up again.

“Eomma?”

“My apologies, but something’s come up. Sori, will you make sure Hyemi has everything she needs? I have to—” She doesn’t finish the sentence, rushing out the door.

My mouth turns dry as a feeling of premonition sweeps through me. “Youngmin-ah, can you stay with Hyemi for a minute? I’ll be right back.”

“Sure!” He grins, then tilts his head as he regards Hyemi. “How old are you? I think we might be the same age.”

“Sixteen,” she says shyly.

“Great, let’s be friends!” He drops the honorifics, switching to banmal.

I hurry out into the hall. With the way my mother left in a hurry, I have a bad feeling. I’ve been involved in enough scandals to know when one’s about to drop.

Ten

The elevator opens to the foyer on the ninth floor where my mother’s office is located. The whole elevator ride, I’d gone through the different scenarios of what might have happened. Had my father been caught in an affair for thethirdtime? As I enter the spacious office, I spot Jaewoo and Nathaniel seated on opposite sides of a leather couch, with Sun in a sofa chair across from them. Out of the three, Sun’s the only one to notice my arrival, with a slight lifting of his brow.

“How could you let this happen?” My mother is shouting.

It takes me a second to register what’s going on. Secretary Park stands by a monitor that depicts a grainy photograph from the inside of a building. I recognize the dimly lit hall with ads for soju brands on the walls. The photograph was taken at the noraebang last night. There are two people in the photograph, standing close to one another. One is clearly Nathaniel, as he’s facing the camera, while the other person has her back to it. I’m wearing Nathaniel’s jacket, my long hair tumbling down around my shoulders.

Though we stand close, we’re not touching. I’m looking down at my feet, while Nathaniel is looking at me. His expression isn’t visible in the poor quality of the photograph.

“I told you last time what would happen if you messed up again,” my mother continues to shout. “You don’t respect this company. You don’t respect your bandmates. You don’t even respect yourself.It would be doing the company a favor if you were removed from the group.”

My body tenses at her words, at the way she’s speaking to him. She’s the CEO of the company and my mother, but it makes me want to throw myself between them.

“Director Seo,” Sun interrupts. “I think that’s going too far.”

My mother ignores him. “Why aren’t you saying anything?” she continues to shout. “Why won’t you explain yourself?”

As I was leaving the karaoke place last night, one of the doors in the hall had closed shut. Someone must have recognized Nathaniel and taken a photo.

“Who’s the girl in the photo with you?”

Nathaniel doesn’t answer her. He’s not going to, because telling her would mean revealing that it was me, and he would rather hurt himself than hurt me.

I clear my throat. “Director Seo,” I say, addressing my mother by her title.

Jaewoo turns around on the leather couch, his eyes widening when he catches sight of me. Sun covers his face with his hand as if he can sense what’s coming.

“Sori?” My mother’s brows furrow. “Why are you here? Where’s Woo Hyemi?”

Nathaniel’s gaze locks on mine.