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“If you need help,” he says softly, rising to his feet, “you should say something.”

He closes my door before opening the back, sliding into his seat.

Jaewoo guides the car out of the street and onto the main boulevard.

As we’re crossing the bridge over the Han River, Hyemi points to a glowing wheel in the distance. “Look, they finished building the Ferris wheel.”

We drop off Hyemi first, and then it’s Nathaniel, Jaewoo, and me.

As Jaewoo turns onto my street, Nathaniel breaks the silence. “You’re still going to the launch of my song, right? It’s this Wednesday.”

The text message from Cha Donghyun burns a hole in mypocket. I haven’t responded to him yet. “I can’t. Something came up. I’m sorry.”

Nathaniel doesn’t respond. Like before, I can’t look at him unless I turn in my seat, so I continue facing forward.

“Do you...” I take a breath. “Do you not want to host the awards show?” I wouldn’t blame him. I’ve done nothing but hurt and disappoint him.

“Didn’t Secretary Park tell you? I said yes.”

“You did?” This time I do turn around, but he’s gazing out the window, his chin in his hand.

I sit back. “She didn’t.”

Jaewoo finally pulls up outside my gate. Nathaniel gets out of the back seat to sit in the front. He doesn’t look at me when he passes me. “Night, Sori,” Jaewoo says from within the car before Nathaniel shuts his door. They don’t drive off immediately, and I realize they’re waiting for me to go through the gate.

Turning, I key in the code and hurry inside. I wait until I hear the sound of Jaewoo’s car moving back down the hill before slowly trudging up the steps to my dark, empty house alone.

Thirty-two

Cha Donghyun picks me up from my house late in the morning on Wednesday and drives us to a lunch restaurant in the trendy area of Yeonnam, the neighborhood beside Hongik University. The restaurant doesn’t take reservations, but Donghyun knows the owner, so we pass the long line of people waiting outside and are promptly seated on an upper-floor terrace overlooking a quiet street.

I settle my purse onto my lap, so that I can feel my phone vibrate should I get any calls or texts. I expect, at any moment, to get one from Secretary Park, informing me that an article was posted about Nathaniel and me being spotted together outside the batting cages. Luckily, there shouldn’t be anyactualpictures of Nathaniel and me together, just the fact that we were at the same location. That’s not a scandal, as Jaewoo and Hyemi were also there. Joah’s PR team can spin it easily as four friends from the same company going out together. At least I hope so.

“Sori-ssi, I can’t tell you how happy I am that you contacted me.” Across from me, Cha Donghyun smiles shyly. He’s dressed simply in a button-down shirt and slacks, though I know the sum total of his outfit is probably a couple million won. He looks like an actor, with his pale skin and clear complexion. His most charming features are his ears, which stick out rather adorably.

“I apologize for my uncle.” He blushes, his white complexion making it difficult for him to hide his feelings. “I told him I was afan of yours and he decided to do a bit of matchmaking. That must have been awkward for you.”

I shake my head. “I think it’s sweet. I’m mostly surprised that Ihavea fan.” If my father hadn’t made our getting together transactional, I might have felt completely at ease with Cha Donghyun.

“Really? But you’re so charming and beautiful. Sorry.”

“Thank you. You’re also very handsome. And sweet.” He’s making this so easy for me. I could ask him to call up his uncle now and demand he rip up the contract between KS and Joah.

“I should probably tell you some things about myself, to see if you want, that is...” He clears his throat. He means that I should know his qualifications before considering him a candidate for a boyfriend. I forgot that this is how some people of my social class date, sharing pedigrees to see if we’d make a good match. “I’m a first-year student at SNU.”

Only a first-year? According to the message from Secretary Lee, he’s twenty-one.

“I already served my compulsory military service,” he explains, referring to the service all male Korean citizens must fulfill. Nathaniel wouldn’t have to, as he’s American, but at some point, Sun, Jaewoo, and Youngmin will all enlist.

“I’m studying photography,” he continues.

My eyes widen. I’d expected him to be studying business or something more... practical, at least in the eyes of men like his uncle and my father.

“I’ve always loved taking photos.” His gaze connects with mine. “I have an eye for beauty.”

I raise a single brow. That’s something Nathaniel would say. He’d hold my gaze, a smirk on his lips, teasing me, flirting with me.

Donghyun must realize how his words come across because he blushes to the tips of his ears. “That is, I like bringing out the beauty in others. I mean, it helps when the subject is already beautiful. Wow, I’m not recovering from this well, am I?”