Page 25 of Wish Upon a K-Star

W hen the shoot ends, everyone is in good spirits. Han-PD comes over to give both Robbie and Jaehyung hearty handshakes, thanking them for being on the show. I know this will get good ratings. It’s one of the only chances in months that the fans will get to see members of WDB officially interacting for a show.

Even Minseok looks like he’s in a good mood, smiling as he chats with his group members. I start over to thank them too when there’s a commotion in the hall. Hanbin walks in, carrying holders filled with coffee. Behind him comes Jongdae, holding a bag with pastries even as he leans on a crutch with the other arm. His leg is encased in a brace.

I hurry forward to help, taking the bag as people start to crowd around.

“Jongdae-sunbae, shouldn’t you be resting?” I ask.

He smiles and it makes his already handsome face even more stunning. “I wanted to come show my support for the couple.”

“Thank you.” I notice the pastries are from Minseok’s favorite café chain and turn to show him the bag. But he’s stepping out of the room. He hasn’t even acknowledged Jongdae’s presence.

I notice JD’s eyes tracking Minseok, his smile slipping for a moment before he turns to Han-PD, who came over to greet him. I set the pastries on the table and step out of the room to look for Minseok, but he’s nowhere to be seen.

An assistant PD hurries over, telling me she’ll take me to a side room to shoot my testimonials. I do another scan of the hall but finally give up on Minseok and his mysterious mood change. The interview is pretty straight-forward. I just give my commentary on meeting Minseok’s “family” and how I felt it went. Since I’m perfectly comfortable around Jaehyung and Robbie, it’s not hard to talk about how much fun I have with them.

I wonder if I’m actually getting the hang of this.

After, I find Robbie leaning against the hood of one of the company cars typing on his phone.

“Robiya!” I call, and he turns to greet me with a grin.

“Noona, this was so fun.” He catches me in a quick hug. I know I should be more careful about the easy affection in public. But I’m still in too good a mood to worry about who’s watching or judging right now.

“It really was,” I say, surprise lacing my voice. “Thanks for making the time to come.”

Robbie shrugs. “It’s not like my schedule is stacked these days.”

He grins so good-naturedly, but I wonder if it bothers him more than he’s letting on. The unplanned hiatus because of WDB’s scandals must be stressful. I know it always bothers me when my scandals force me to lie low.

“How are you doing?” I ask cautiously.

“Good. Great actually,” Robbie replies, and I’m surprised at his bright smile. It’s the look of someone who’s not worried at all.

It’s not what I expected.

“Hey, we should hang out,” Robbie says.

“Didn’t we just do that?” I laugh.

“Nah, this is work. We should hang out for real. I’ve missed that. You always took good care of me when we were trainees.”

I blush. Robbie was one of the few trainees younger than me when I joined. I never had a younger sibling, so I latched onto him as an honorary younger brother.

“I’m thinking of having a small birthday party,” Robbie says. “You should come.”

“Didn’t your birthday already pass?” I ask, mentally calculating the days. Am I so out of it that I don’t even remember what month it is anymore?

“Yeah, but I didn’t get a chance to celebrate yet.” Robbie scratches at his temple while giving a rueful smile. It makes his adorable dimples flash, reminding me of how he loved to use them to disarm the vocal and dance coaches when we were trainees. “So, you in?”

“Oh, well, maybe.” I struggle to figure out how to answer. I’m not sure if it would be a good idea for me to go to a party. If the antis find out, they might accuse me of partying when I should still be apologetic for what happened at the midsummer festival.

“I’ll text you the details,” Robbie promises.

“Okay. Sure,” I concede, figuring he’ll either forget or I can just politely pass via text, where it’s less awkward. “Hey, have you seen Jaehyung?”

Robbie glances around. “I think maybe he went back to one of the other private rooms with Minseok?”

“Okay, I’m going to thank him too before you guys leave.” I give Robbie a pat on the arm as a goodbye before stepping back inside. The other private dining rooms were set aside for the shoot to put equipment. A couple at the back are staging areas where Robbie and Jaehyung probably waited before filming. I hear a murmur of voices from the farthest one.

I recognize Minseok’s voice and figure he must be in there talking to Jaehyung. But I stop when I hear the hard tone. “…why I told you not to come!”

“What’s so wrong with coming to show my support, Seok-ah?” Jongdae’s voice asks.

“Is that what this really was? Or were you checking up on me?”

“Are you kidding? You think I don’t trust you or something?”

“I don’t know, do you?” Minseok sounds angrier than I’ve ever heard him. I’ve rarely seen him lose his temper, let alone sound so vitriolic toward someone. And his best friend at that.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Never mind.”

“Hey, will you just talk to me?”

The door bursts open and I jump back, tripping over a set of stacked chairs. When I fall one of the chairs clatters against me. I cry out when the wooden leg hits my arm.

“What the hell, Hyeri? Were you listening to us? And now look at you, you’ve hurt yourself!” His anger feels severe as he looms over me.

I spot Jongdae just inside the open door and am that much more embarrassed at having an audience.

Minseok starts to reach down, but I push his hand away and scramble up on my own. I feel embarrassed at being yelled at, and in front of Jongdae. “I’m fine. And I wasn’t listening in on purpose,” I insist, rotating my wrist carefully. My arm throbs where the chair hit, but it doesn’t seem that bad.

“Well, whatever you heard, forget it. And stop following me around.” He strides past me so fast that I almost stumble back again. I catch my balance but stub my thumb in the process. The pain makes it hard for me to hold back my frustration and I yell after him. “I wasn’t looking for you! The whole world doesn’t revolve around Moon Minseok.”

He pauses midstep. His back is tense, his fists clenching at his sides.

I think maybe he’ll come back. And I’m ready for it. I didn’t do anything wrong. He’s the one who’s acting like a raging a-hole right now.

But he continues down the hall, slamming out of the restaurant.