Page 14 of ASAP

My goal is to find Hyemi so that she can tag me out, but I have to wait or it’ll be too obvious.

I scan the empty tables in the cafeteria. It’s unlikely they’d start a player in the same room as a token, but I might as well search since I have time. I move toward the kitchen area, beside the cafeteria. The lights are turned off, which indicates there’s nothing to find here, and yet...

I start to open cabinets, crawling on my hands and knees to look through shelves stacked with stainless steel pots and pans. My cameraperson follows me, recording my every action.

I don’t know what I’m looking for. They didn’t tell us what the tokens look like, only that we’ll know them when we see them.

I twist open the door of the walk-in cooler and a blast of cold envelops me. I immediately spot an object that doesn’t belong among the frozen meats and vegetables. Grabbing it, I rush out of the fridge and hurriedly duck behind the counter. Crouched on the floor, I reveal the token to the camera. It’s a little stuffed animal of the mascot of our school, a bunny holding a tiny trumpet.

It’s so cute. I press it to my chest in a moment of bliss, then remember I’m being recorded. Opening my backpack—they’d given one to each of us at the start of the game—I tuck the bunny inside, then swing it onto my back.

“You didn’t zip your backpack all the way,” my cameraperson says.

I hesitate, a blush creeping up my neck. “He can’t breathe if it’s zipped all the way.”

Oh my God, I can’t believe I said that aloud. How embarrassing. I press my hands to my face and hurry out of the kitchen area and back through the cafeteria.

How much time has passed? How will I know if someone else found a token?

From the window facing the back of the school, I look out to see Youngmin sprinting across the athletics field. A few seconds later, his cameraperson follows, huffing and puffing behind him.

I’m stepping from the stairwell onto the fifth floor when I glimpse the lights of a filming crew down the hall. It’s another player, likely more than one with that many cameras. Is it Hyemi? A sense of unease settles in my gut. It could be Sun or Jaewoo. The thought of being chased seems a bit terrifying. I didn’t think I’d be afraid playing this game. I almost scream when a hand grabs my arm, pulling me into an empty classroom. My cameraperson stumbles into the room behind me.

“Nathaniel?” I gasp. His cameraperson—a woman with a checkered bandana around her nose and mouth—waves from behind his left shoulder.

“What are you doing?” he says. “That’s Sun down there. I think he’s met up with the host. Do you want them to get you out?”

The reliefI feel at seeing Nathaniel is intoxicating. I almost act on impulse and throw my arms around him, then remember we’re being recorded.

“Of course not,” I say. I can’t tell Nathaniel that I’m trying to find Hyemi so that she can tag me out. He sweeps his hand through his dark hair, the metallic rings on his fingers glinting.

To remain together in the shot, I’m standing close to him. While his attention, and the attention of the cameras, is on the window and what’s happening outside of it, I have a rare opportunity to study him. His lips have retained their burgundy stain, though there’s a slight indent where he must have bitten them. His hair is truly a work of art, his hairstylist having used gel to keep its shape during the episode, a few strands falling across his brow; his pulse beats rapidly at his throat.

While some girls, like Jenny, prefer a student council member, I’m admittedly much more attracted to a delinquent. And Nathaniel has always embodied that spirit, at least in the group. While Sun was the heartbreaker, Youngmin the boy next door, and Jaewoo the student council president, Nathaniel was the rebel. The one who broke all the rules and made me want to break them too. If it was to defend a friend, he would call a bully to an alley for a fight. Or he might meet the girl he likes up on the rooftop for a kiss.

“Let’s wait until they move out of the hall,” he says, and I nod, my face red from the direction of my thoughts.

We crouch down beneath the window.

“Can you turn off your light?” Nathaniel asks his cameraperson, and she switches off her camera light. My cameraperson does as well. And now all four of us are crouched together in the darkness beneath the window.

There’s a sound outside. Nathaniel shifts his body to cover mine, pressing his hand against the wall. When it’s clear the sound was just a production assistant making the rounds, he lowers his arm.

I’m filled with gratitude that I’m not alone, that he’s the one by my side.

“There’s advantages to splitting up,” Nathaniel says slowly, “but also staying together.”

“I want to stay together,” I say.

He lets out a breath, turning his face away. After a short pause, he says, “You watch my back, I’ll watch yours?”

I wait until he turns to me before pressing my forefinger and thumb together. “Okay.”

He gives me a lopsided smile.

We wait another few minutes before Nathaniel peeks through the window. “I think they’re gone. Let’s go.”

“Wait.” I grab on to the back of his uniform shirt. “I want to show you something.”

I release him and swing my backpack forward, opening it to show him the stuffed animal inside. “I found one of the tokens in the cafeteria’s kitchen.”

“Damn, Sori!” He laughs, his eyes twinkling. “Nice work!” He raises both of his hands, palms up, and I slap mine against them.

Our camerapeople seem pleased that we’ve joined up. Between the two of them, they should have a variety of angles to shoot from.

Moving down to the third floor, we enter a classroom filled with students. There’s already a filming crew inside, which is a very strong indicator that the producers want us to linger here.

“Is there a token in this room, by any chance?” Nathaniel asks a girl in the front row.

She giggles behind her face mask but doesn’t answer him. They must have been instructed not to help us until we’ve earned it.

“Can you give us a hint?” He flashes his most charming smile, dimples showing.

“Maybe if you do a dance,” the girl’s seatmate says cheekily.

Nathaniel doesn’t hesitate, backsliding across the floor. The students in the back row stand up to get a better view. They’re a tough crowd, though, because even after this display, they remain silent.

“What about for me?” I ask, then do a double pirouette into a front split.

Three boys immediately point to one of the lockers in the back of the classroom. I move down the aisle, blowing them a kiss.

Inside the locker is another stuffed animal. This time the bunny mascot is holding a little drum. “I love you,” I whisper.

“What did you say?”

I turn to find Nathaniel leaning against the lockers.

“Nothing,” I say quickly. “You want to hold him?”

“Him?” He takes the bunny in both of his hands, turning it around to face me. Using his fingers, he maneuvers the bunny’s arms so that the paw that holds the drumstick beats the little drum. My heart feels as if it’s grown three times its size, watching him interact with the stuffed animal. I must make a soft sound because he looks up to catch me staring at him. His brow lifts slightly.

“Here,” he says, straightening from the lockers, “turn around.”

“What are you—?” My breath catches at the cool touch of his fingers against my neck. Brushing my hair aside, he unzips my backpack, tucking Drum Bunny alongside Trumpet Bunny. There’s one more left. What instrument will he be playing? A flute? A violin? I have a sudden, powerful need to know.

“You want to find the third bunny, don’t you?” Nathaniel says from behind me. He hasn’t removed his hands from the backpack. I can feel the slight pressure as he maneuvers the bunnies comfortably around.

“Yes,” I breathe.

“Then there’s only one thing left to do. Win.”

He starts to zip up my backpack, but my cameraperson stops him. “Leave it a little open.”

As we exit the classroom from the front of the room, the back door slides open and Heartthrob and Sun enter. There’s a short pause, then Heartthrob points. “Get them!”

Nathaniel grabs my hand, and we race out of the room. I feel as if I’ve never run so fast in my life, my hair flying out behind me. Nathaniel takes a left at the end of the hall, and we tumble into an elevator. I press the button for the rooftop while Nathaniel pounds the close button. When the doors shut, we sink against opposite walls, then I realize what we’ve done.

“Nathaniel!”

“What?”

“We forgot the cameras!”

“Oh, shit.”

A laugh escapes me, a snort really, and then I totally lose it, laughing so hard I can hardly breathe. Nathaniel is no better, barely holding himself up. All this time I’ve been careful to keep my cameraperson with me, but in that moment, with adrenaline pumping through my veins, I’d completely forgotten.

“It’s okay,” Nathaniel says, wiping the tears from his eyes. He points to a camera they’ve rigged over the security camera at the top corner of the elevator. “They’ll use footage from that.”

My backpack buzzes and I pull out a walkie-talkie, switching it on.

“Sori-ssi?” my cameraperson wheezes.

“We’re going to the rooftop,” I tell him.

“Won’t Sun see we’re headed that way and follow us?” Nathaniel asks after I’ve switched off the walkie-talkie.

“I’m sure the PD will hold them off until we’re at least reunited with the cameras.”

We’re both breathing heavily from the running and the laughter.

“You’re good at this,” he says. “I knew you would be.”

“Is that why you chose me for your team?” I’d wondered why he’d chosen me when he could have picked Jaewoo, who’s famous for being good at variety programs. In fact, he’s already been a guest on this exact show. Maybe he’d thought it made the most logical sense for two XOXO members to be on each team, but Nathaniel isn’t like that. He’s not like Jaewoo, or me, who’d pick for what was best for the show, or Sun, who would pick for strategy, or Youngmin, who’d pick based on who he’d have the most fun with. Nathaniel wouldn’t consider any of those things.

“Why did you pick me for your team?” I ask.

“I didn’t want to chase you,” he says, and I wince. Did he finally realize I’m not worth chasing? “I wanted to run with you.”

I catch my breath. Before I can respond, the elevator doors open. Our camerapeople appear at the top of the stairwell, having raced to the rooftop.

Nathaniel steps out of the elevator. “Sorry about that,” he says, scratching the back of his head.

“Should we search the rooftop?” he asks me. How can he act normal after what he just said?

“Sori-ssi?” my cameraperson prompts, huffing and puffing.

“Yes. Right. Let’s do... that.”

The rooftop of the school is a large, spacious area with a storage room as well as solar panels. The sky is dark beyond the high walls, the sun having set while we were filming inside. We find the last plushie behind a potted plant. It’s holding—

“A cello!” I shout.

“You have an uncanny knack for finding stuffed animals,” Nathaniel says. “Are you good at finding stuffed animals or are stuffed animals good at finding you?”

“I refuse to qualify that question with an answer.”

My cameraperson pulls up his walkie-talkie, relaying something to the PD. A few minutes later, an announcement peals through the speakers. “All three tokens have been found. A ten-minute countdown clock has been set. The first team to tag out all the members of the opposing team before the end of the countdown wins; otherwise, the team with the most tokens wins.”

“Oh no,” I groan. This isn’t good. I can’t win.I’d been so distracted with finding the stuffed animals that I’d forgotten my original intention to help Hyemi. I rush back to the stairs.

“What are you doing?” Nathaniel says, coming up behind me. “We should be hiding.”

“I need to find Hyemi,” I whisper, so that only he can hear.

“Why do you need to find Hyemi?” His voice echoes loudly in the stairwell.

“Shh!” I cover his mouth; then, grabbing his hand, I tug him after me.

“Sori, seriously, what—?”

Nathaniel doesn’t have time to finish that thought because suddenly there are cameras everywhere and Hyemi is flying up the stairs like she’s possessed, ripping my backpack from my back. Behind her, Nathaniel and Jaewoo grapple for each other’s backpacks.

“Min Sori eliminated,” the announcer says. Then a half second later, “Nathaniel Lee eliminated.”

Our camerapeople lead us to the first floor where the principal’s office acts as a waiting room for eliminated players. We slump across from each other on the leather sofas. Shortly after, the door opens and Jolly walks in. He takes one look at us and sighs. “I think Team Delinquents is done for.”

“Woo Hyemi eliminated. Bae Jaewoo eliminated.”

The door opens and Hyemi and Jaewoo walk in, followed by Heartthrob who’s announced as being eliminated a short few seconds later.

I sit up in my chair. “What happened?”

They don’t have time to answer because the PD’s voice issues over the intercom. “Oh Sun eliminated. School’s out! Victory to the Delinquents!”

Nathaniel and I exchange looks of shock.

A grin spreads across Nathaniel’s face. “What...?”

Sun walks in, followed by Youngmin who has my backpack slung over his shoulder.

Nathaniel stands, his eyes darting from Youngmin to Sun. “Hyeong, what happened?”

“Youngmin is a beast,” Sun says, as an explanation.

Youngmin does a victory dance, cartwheeling onto his knees and throwing a finger heart at the camera.

And with that, the episode reaches its conclusion.

It’s one a.m., the filming having gone well into the night. While Ji Seok waited, Secretary Park went home hours ago. A replacement driver stands by the van to take Hyemi and me home. We start to walk over.

“I’ll take Youngmin to his parents’ home and then drop you off at the apartment,” I overhear Ji Seok saying to Nathaniel, Jaewoo’s mother and younger sister having come by to pick him up and Sun having absconded in a car service sent by his grandfather.

From what I recall, Youngmin’s home is in the opposite direction of the apartment shared by the XOXO members.

“You can ride with us,” I offer. “Hyemi’s house is on the way to your apartment.” I blush at my impulsive offer, but it’s also the most convenient for everyone. I’m thinking of Ji Seok, who can go home earlier after dropping off Youngmin.

Nathaniel glances in my direction. “I’ll go with them,” he says, and Ji Seok nods.

Hyemi and I take the two middle seats, while Nathaniel climbs into the back. It’s quiet for most of the drive, all of us exhausted after the long shoot.

As the driver pulls into Hyemi’s neighborhood, she releases a heavy sigh.

“Hyemi, is something the matter?” I ask.

“Do you think I made a good impression?”

“Of course,” I say, though I’m pricked with guilt for having spent more time playing the game with Nathaniel than actively helping Hyemi. I do mean it, though. Hyemi was shy in front of the camera, but that’s to be expected. “They’ll love you,” I say, truthfully. “How could they not?”

We pull up in front of her Hannam apartment building, located in one of the most expensive complexes in Seoul. “Thank you,” she says, then adds shyly, “Eonni.” She’s out the door faster than I can blink. As I move to sit back in my seat, feeling a little dazed, I meet Nathaniel’s gaze through the rearview mirror. He turns his face so that he’s looking out the window, but not before I see the small smile playing along his mouth.