She grins back, lifting her sunglasses and winking. “I’m Kang Jina.”

Duh.

“I recognize you from your viral video. Genius move.” She laughs, laying her hand over mine on the table. “I wish I could have seen all the execs’ faces when they saw it blow up.”

My shoulders relax and a genuine smile spreads across my face. “It was epic. But terrifying. Please tell me how you survived DB for all these years.”

Jina turns back to us, her smile fading quickly off her face. She leans in, lowering her voice and looking me directly in the eye. “You want my advice about DB?”

I lean forward, noticing Juhyun and Hyeri unconsciously leaning their bodies toward Jina as well. Jina’s eyes flick back toward Buzz Cut’s retreating figure.

“Never get a boyfriend.”

I gape at her. Do I have I can’t stop thinking about Jason Lee stamped across my face or something?

“What are you talking about?” I ask.

“Just trust me. You can’t be a K-pop star and fall in love. Having a boyfriend isn’t just difficult; it’s dangerous. Mr. Choo has Mr. Noh wrapped around his finger, and neither of them will ever shell out money for a female star that’s anything less than perfect. Single and perfect.”

Mr. Choo? Mina’s dad? What does he have to do with anything?

Before I can ask more, Buzz Cut approaches the table, putting his hand on Jina’s shoulder. “Come on, jagiya. It’s almost time for your flight.”

She smiles at him. “I’m coming.” Jina gives me one last grim nod before disappearing behind her sunglasses and walking out of the restaurant.

As the two of them leave, I look over at Juhyun’s and Hyeri’s faces. They both look dazed, like they’ve been sitting out in the sun all day. Hyeri turns to us and grins. “I can’t believe we just met Kang Jina!”

Juhyun lets out a breath and laughs. “Kang Jina?! I can’t believe we just met Song Gyumin!”

“Song Gyumin?” I say incredulously. “Like, the lead singer of Ten Stars, Song Gyumin? Like, currently rumored to be recording a K-pop/American pop crossover duet with Ariana Grande Song Gyumin? What are you talking about?”

“Rachel,” Juhyun says, shaking her head. “Didn’t you see the guy Jina was with?”

* * *

I’m still stuck on the weirdness of the whole interaction later that day. All my classmates are on the beach in front of the hotel, playing volleyball as the sun is setting, their laughter ringing across the sand. I’m perched on a striped lounge chair near them, one eye on Hyeri and Daeho splashing around in the waves, one eye on my phone.

Jason: Still waiting for my hallabong play-by-play…

Me: I ate it too fast. I’m sorry! I only ate one. Okay, maybe three. Fine, four, I ate four.

Jason: Wow. I may have to change your nickname from Werewolf Girl to Hallabong Monster.

I pause typing, thinking about Jina’s words. Is it really so dangerous for a K-pop star to fall in love? She makes having a boyfriend sound like one of Leah’s movies with The Rock.… Also, how dangerous could it be if she’s here on vacation with her boyfriend right now? And her boyfriend is also an international K-pop star? Ugh. My head is spinning. I don’t know how to make sense of any of this.

I jump as my phone pings in my hand, breaking me out of my thought spiral.

Jason: Hello? You still there, Hallabong Monster?

Me: Still here. Just thinking. A lot on my mind. Things have been hectic lately.

Jason: Hmm. You know what you need? A self-care day.

Me: Self-care day?

Jason: Yes! A day to recharge and take a break from thinking about all the things you’re thinking about. C’mon, you’re from America! They’re all about that over there.

I laugh.

Me: A self-care day sounds like exactly what I need.

A stretch of time passes before his next message pops up.

Jason: So let’s take one. You and me.

Wait… he wants to take a self-care day? Together?

He adds a sticker of Ryan and Apeach rolling around in a field of grass, totally carefree. I bite my lip. I know I should say no. I’ve already gone too far just with all the texting. And now Jina’s words won’t stop swirling around in my head. It isn’t just difficult; it’s dangerous. I start to type “sorry, I don’t think so” when he sends another message.

Jason: And obviously it wouldn’t be a self-care day without Leah.

I pause. Leah’s invited? She would never forgive me if she finds out I turned down an opportunity for her to spend a whole day with Jason. I think back to the day of the fansign and how desperate Leah was for someone to go with. All the times she’s asked me to hang out and I’ve shut the door in her face because I needed sleep or I needed to practice. And now there’s finally something I can give to her. Something that would make all my training worth it for her. Besides, if she’s there, I don’t have to worry about anything between me and Jason. I’ll just be there for her. Not for him. I repeat this over and over to myself until I start to believe it, quickly typing back “yes” and hitting send before I can change my mind.

“Hey, Miss Viral Video!” Juhyun plops down next to me, handing me a coconut with a swirly straw stuck into it. “This field trip isn’t going to last forever. Come have some fun with us, will you?”

I laugh as she pulls the phone out of my hand and tugs me up. I take a big sip of coconut water and follow her onto the beach. She’s right. This part of my life won’t be forever, and I’m going to enjoy these Jeju waves and this time with my friends while I can.

Thirteen

“Unni, hold me! It’s getting bumpy!”

“Leah, we haven’t even left the tarmac yet.…”

“Oh, right. That’s just me.” Leah stops bouncing around in the cushy beige seat next to me, her eyes continuously swiveling in her head to take in every inch of the private plane we’re in, on our way to our self-care day with Jason. He wouldn’t tell us what we’re doing today. He just had a driver pick us up at 8:00 a.m., and next thing we knew, we were on this plane, with flight attendants waiting on us hand and foot, bringing bottles of sparkling water, cozy blankets, and charcuterie boards piled high with fresh fruit and Brie.

“This is officially the coolest day of my life,” Leah says, popping a grape in her mouth after the plane takes off.

I laugh while my stomach does flips. Lucky is definitely part of what I’m feeling (not to mention unbelievably glam), but the longer we’re up in the air, the more my nerves are getting out of control. A whole day with Jason. I’ve spent the last few days trying to convince myself that it’s no big deal, that I’m really here for Leah, but who am I kidding? The butterflies in my stomach are clearly saying otherwise.

A few hours later the pilot’s voice comes on over the intercom. “Hello, folks. We’re about twenty minutes from landing.” Leah looks over at me and squeals in excitement as the pilot drones on.

“The weather is one hundred percent sunshine. Thanks for flying with us and welcome to Tokyo.”

Did he just say… Tokyo?!