Page 69

“For two weeks?” I ask, breathless. I think of all the times I thought he was going to kiss me.

He shakes his head. “Longer.”

My heart stutters. “Two years?”

He presses his forehead to mine. “I feel like I’ve wanted you for half my life.”

I groan. How am I supposed to resist him when he says things like that?

He kisses me, harder than before. I give in momentarily, but then break away. “We have to go back.”

“I was never there.”

“Ihave to go back. And you have to greet everyone. Don’t you want to congratulate Hyemi and the others?”

He sighs, dropping his head to my shoulder. “Can’t we just text them?”

I laugh, grabbing his hand. “Come on.” I tug him up the path, only letting go when we’re in view of the restaurant.

No one notes our arrival together except for Sun, who raises his champagne flute as if to toast us.

Spotting me, Hyemi hurries over.

“Congratulations, Hyemi,” Nathaniel says in English. He reaches out and ruffles the top of her head.

She flushes prettily, tugging at the hem of her hoodie.

“Hyemi-yah,” I say, remembering that earlier, before Sun’s arrival, she was in the middle of saying something. “What did you want to tell me?”

Her face turns an odd shade of scarlet. “Oh, I—” She glances at Nathaniel, then at me, panic on her face.

I frown. “What’s wrong?”

“It—it’s nothing.”

“Are you sure?” I press. If she’s having an issue, I want to help her.

“It’s about what we talked about in the practice room,” she blurts out. “Before we left for the drama shoot.”

“What we... oh!” My eyes widen. We’d discussed Joah’s policies ondating.My eyes dart to Nathaniel. Of course, she wouldn’t want to talk about her crush on Jaewoo in front of him. I really put my foot in my mouth.

“We’ll talk about it later,” I whisper, and she nods.

I usher her over to where the ASAP members are singing karaoke with Youngmin and a few of the junior staff members.

They glom onto Hyemi, and she ends up singing a song with Youngmin, then Nathaniel. I sit at a table with Sun, who, having found the champagne too sweet, has moved on to black coffee. Every time Nathaniel catches my eye, I look away, aware of our surroundings.

The party winds down. As everyone leaves toward the parking lot, I linger behind the rest.

“Sun’s expecting me to go back with him...,” Nathaniel says from behind me, his voice close to my ear. “I’ll make an excuse.”

I shake my head. “No, go with Sun. I need time to think.”

There’s a beat of silence. “Think?”

I realize how that must sound as if I’m second-guessing my actions tonight. I reach back, sliding my fingers through his. Sun Ye turns around to wave, and I wave back with my other hand. “About what I’m going to say to my mother tomorrow,” I whisper.

Nathaniel draws in a breath. “You’re going to talk to her? About us?” Now Hyemi’s waving as she gets into the van with the other girls.