My new line, that is. To the trainers and execs, this was supposed to be Mina’s moment. I can almost feel them freeze in their seats, trying to process what’s happening onstage. I hear a few of them shuffle in their seats, whispering to each other.

“What the hell is going on?”

“Mr. Noh, did you approve this?”

Mina joins in a few lines later, and we step into the move that’s been stressing me out for weeks. I glide to the back while she steps into center stage with Jason, and the two of them fly effortlessly through the sequence. Mina and I switch spots while the second verse continues, and I belt out the line that had originally been Mina’s, my voice blending with Jason’s in perfect harmony. Effortless again.

We launch into the chorus, and the three of us smile at each other. We can feel the energy onstage radiating out into the auditorium like lightning. In the crowd somewhere I hear Akari cup her hands around her mouth and cheer. Even some of the trainers are having a good time, singing along and snapping to the beat. But in the front row I can see Mr. Noh’s face burning red as my lipstick.

I gulp. We may be lightning, but I can feel a different kind of storm coming after the performance.

As the song ends, the audience erupts into applause. Yujin shakes her head at me, but even she has an undeniable smile on her face. Mr. Noh simply rises and heads backstage, the execs quickly trailing after him. Mr. Choo follows, his expression unreadable.

Jason, Mina, and I take a bow and run backstage. I scream, high on adrenaline, and Jason joins in, shouting and throwing an arm around both me and Mina.

“You guys crushed it out there!” he says, squeezing tight. He smirks down at us. “And thanks for warning me about that little switch you two did.”

“Sorry,” Mina says. “We didn’t want you to rat us out to the execs.” She rolls her eyes, but I can tell by her smile that she’s teasing him.

I blush against the feeling of Jason’s arm around me and quickly pull away. “You were great too!” I say. “Both of you were so—”

“Disgraceful. A complete disregard for authority.”

Mr. Noh strides toward us, Mr. Choo and the execs marching in behind him, their faces all shrouded in darkness and anger. He looks like he’s ready to explode, but before he can say another word, Mr. Han swoops between us, spreading his arms out and gathering me and Mina up in big hugs.

“Absolutely amazing performance! Incredible! We knew we made the right choice making a team out of you three. South Korea’s biggest rising stars, right here. Plus the indisputable Jason Lee, of course.” He shakes each of our hands with enthusiasm before turning to the other execs. “Their chemistry was killer, wasn’t it?”

“It was… interesting,” Ms. Shim admits hesitantly, glancing at Mr. Noh.

“What I saw was those two girls switching roles and going against instruction,” Mr. Lim says, arching an accusing eyebrow at us. “What is to be praised about that?”

“Nothing, certainly, if they had flopped the performance as a result,” Mr. Han says. “But if anything, they made it even better. That’s what I call innovative! The next generation of K-pop!”

Some of the other execs murmur in agreement, but most of them frown at Mr. Han’s words. I glance at Mr. Noh, holding in a deep breath. The redness has disappeared from his cheeks, but his eyes are still flinty and narrowed in anger. He glances from us to Mr. Han in silence, clearly torn between wanting to scream at us for disobeying him but also not being able to deny anything Mr. Han said.

Finally, he looks right at me and Mina. “Keep practicing. I don’t want to see it again until it’s perfect,” he says, and turns sharply on his heel and walks away, the rest of the execs in tow.

Mr. Han gives us a thumbs-up before following the rest of the execs out the door.

I exhale. I can’t believe we pulled that off.

“Ladies, always a pleasure,” Jason says, smiling at both of us. “Catch you two later? I just remembered there’s something I forgot to tell Mr. Noh.”

He waves and jogs off. For a second I stare after him, the minty, mapley scent he leaves in his wake winding its way into my brain, but I snap out of it once I realize Mina’s talking to me. “Sorry, what did you say?”

Mina shrugs. “Just that Jason’s a brave guy. I would not want to be around Mr. Noh right now.”

“Oh, right,” I say, desperate to change the subject. “Anyway, we should go change. And maybe get some patbingsu in the cafeteria to celebrate?”

“Uh, I’m not sure I can.”

“Come on, we earned it. We must have burned like ten thousand calories on the stage just now.”

“You go ahead,” Mina says, glancing at the curtains. “I’ll catch up.”

I follow her gaze and see Mr. Choo still standing there, arms folded across his chest. I bow to him, feeling uneasy, and quickly make my way toward the changing rooms. Once I’m alone, I let out a little scream.

That performance was everything.

For the first time in a long while, I feel like I’m finally, finally on the right track.

* * *

My heart is still pumping with adrenaline as I unzip my black-and-white checkered skirt and scramble into my favorite green bomber jacket and black skinny jeans. I head back toward the auditorium, thinking about how I asked Mina to patbingsu. I laugh to myself. Two days ago, celebrating anything with Mina would have felt like a living nightmare. But hey, maybe this is the beginning of a new era.

I sweep my hair up into a ponytail as I step backstage to look for her. She never came to the changing room, so maybe she’s still here. I hear a voice coming from the far side of the stage.

“… absolutely shameful. How dare you disrespect the executives and trainers?”

I freeze and duck behind a large speaker. A few meters away from me Mr. Choo is screaming at Mina, his face even redder than Mr. Noh’s had been.

“How do you think that reflects on me? If you’re going to perform like that, don’t even think about coming home or showing your face around me ever again.”

Mina hangs her head and says nothing. I’ve never seen this side of her before. Any minute, I think she’s going to snap back or look up with that devilish spark in her eye, but she doesn’t. She just stands there and takes it, her shoulders hunched in shame.

“I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve such a disgrace of a daughter,” Mr. Choo says. “If you disappoint me like this again, there are no second chances. You will be no daughter of mine. Understood?”

“Yes, Appa,” Mina says quietly.

Mr. Choo shakes his head in disgust and storms out of the room, leaving Mina behind him. She stands rooted to the spot, trembling all over.

“Mina,” I say tentatively, stepping out of my hiding place. She immediately tenses and whips around, her eyes narrowing into slits. “Hey. Are you okay?”

“Whatever you heard, don’t think this makes you better than me,” Mina says, fury snapping in her voice. Her eyes are filled with angry tears. “I don’t need your pity.”

“I don’t think that. I just want to make sure you’re all r—”

“It’s none of your business!” She wipes at her eyes and pushes past me, heading for the changing room. Then she stops and turns around, a deep scowl on her face. “And by the way, we’re not friends. So stop acting like we are. Just because we sing one song together doesn’t mean I give a shit about you. Or that I want to go eat some fucking patbingsu with you in the cafeteria. This isn’t a Disney movie, Princess Rachel. Grow up.”