“Jason, you don’t have to explain—”

But before I can finish responding, the door flies open. Jason and I jump as the Cho twins burst into the room, both of them gasping hard and holding their phones.

“See, I told you she’d be in here,” Hyeri says triumphantly, wheezing as she tries to catch her breath.

“How did you two find me?” I say, shocked.

“Well, you weren’t in the rose garden, so we thought maybe you guys had snuck in here, K-pop stars that you are.” Hyeri grins. “You’re both welcome, by the way.” She gives a small bow. “Jason, my skills at subterfuge texting are always at your disposal.”

Jason grins back.

“Okay, okay, okay, that’s not what’s important right now,” Juhyun says, pushing past Hyeri. She passes her phone to me, her face lit up with excitement. “DB dropped the ‘Summer Heat’ music video an hour ago, and it already has over twenty million hits. Everybody loves your song.”

Holy shit.

I had no idea this was coming out today, and judging by the expression on Jason’s face, he didn’t either. We crowd around Juhyun’s phone to watch. There’s Jason in his sweatshirt. And Mina in her pink dress. And me.

Me! In HD video! (“That scrunchie looks so damn good on you,” Hyeri says. “You’re welcome again!”)

Even as we’re watching, the views are ticking up. I can’t believe this. Is this real life?

“It’s already soaring through the Top 100 list,” Juhyun says.

“No,” I say quietly, stunned into disbelief.

“Yes!” she says back.

I’m frozen. Around me, the twins start dancing to the music, singing along and cheering. Jason hugs me, lifting me right off my feet and swinging me around.

People love the music video. They love us. Me. I’ve worked so hard for six years and finally, finally, it’s paying off. As Jason lowers me back down, an unstoppable smile spreads across my face.

“We need to celebrate!” Jason says, putting his hands on my shoulders and looking me right in the eye. “You and me. A real date.”

The twins stop jumping and stare at us like they’re watching a K-drama.

I hesitate, the happiness I was feeling popping like a soap bubble. Of course I want to celebrate with Jason, but… how? It’s just not possible. I shake my head slowly. “Jason, we’ve talked about this. We can’t. If we go out in public together, people will definitely recognize us. Especially now.” I nod toward Juhyun’s phone.

“Okay,” Jason says, giving in to the skeptical look on my face. “So what you’re saying is, we can go on a date as long as people don’t recognize us?”

“Jason,” I say with an exasperated sigh, “you’re, like, the most famous person in Korea. How do you imagine no one will recognize us?”

He grins at Juhyun, whose face lights up with understanding. She grabs my shoulders and plops me down in a chair, already rooting through her purse. “Just leave it to me,” she says with a wicked smile. “You two won’t even recognize yourselves when I’m done with you.”

Sixteen

Our first stop at Lotte World is the toy stall where they sell balloons, bubble wands, and inflatable hammers that squeak as you bounce them off other people’s heads. Not that I would even recognize which head belonged to Jason, as Juhyun was absolutely true to her word, and I do another double take at Jason’s heavily made-up face (all pure white foundation covered in large black and red polka dots) as he buys two hammers from the unsuspecting young woman working the stall.

“Bam,” he says. “Disguised and souvenired. Ready to have fun now?”

I grin through my own makeup—streaks of rainbow-colored lightning stretching from the corner of my chin to the top of my forehead, bursting with metallic stars covered in shimmery glitter. “Ready.”

I take in the smell of spun sugar, the lights glittering at us from the Camelot Carousel, the music blasting out over the speaker, and smile to myself. I haven’t been to Lotte World since I was a kid and we would visit Korea during the summers. Leah and I both thought it was the best place in the world. We would ride roller coasters all day, bouncing back and forth between the indoor theme park and the outdoor Magic Island area.

I grab Jason’s hand, marveling at how amazing it is to be out in public with him like a regular couple. I feel myself start to relax, leaning my body into his as we walk along the stone pathways toward my favorite roller coaster, the Atlantis.

“Hey,” Jason says as we stand in line. “Do you hear that?”

I listen and hear “Summer Heat” playing over the amusement park speakers. My face breaks into a smile, and I turn to Jason, speechless.

“Rachel?”

I laugh, realizing I’m staring at him with my mouth wide open. “Yeah. I’m good—I’m great! This is just so surreal.”

Jason laughs, quietly singing along with the song. Suddenly, he grabs my shoulders. “You know what would be fun?”

“No, what.”

“You’ll see.”

He turns to a group of girls standing behind us in line. “Hey, what do you think of this song? Total hit, right?”

I giggle, swatting him on the arm.

The girls look around our age. Each of them is sporting a cute Lotte World headband with giant, brightly colored polka-dotted bows, Minnie Mouse style.

“It totally is. I’m obsessed,” Purple Bow says. “I already know all the lyrics.”

“You saw the music video, right?” Red Bow pretends to swoon, draping her hand against her forehead. “Jason is looking seriously fine.”

Pink Bow pops up the music video on her phone, zooming in on Jason’s face. “Seriously, can I just have his babies already? How can someone be so cute and talented at the same time?”

“Imagine hearing that sweet voice say good night to you every day,” Purple Bow says. All three girls giggle. They seem to have totally forgotten that Jason and I are still here, chattering among themselves with the music video playing between them.

“He’s single, right?”

“What kind of girl do you think he would like?”

“Someone beautiful, obviously, and probably ridiculously talented and mature.”

Jason laughs, taking it all in stride. I force out a laugh too, but my skin is starting to itch. This conversation has taken an uncomfortable turn.

“Nothing like those two girls he’s singing with. Can you believe them?” Pink Bow says with a sneer.

“Right? Totally slutty.” Red Bow rolls her eyes. “Look at their outfits. You can see everything. It’s gross. Don’t they know little kids are watching this?”

What? My cheeks flame underneath my makeup. The outfits were hardly revealing at all! And it’s not like we get to choose our own clothes. And even if we did, who are they to judge me?

“This one doesn’t even have the body to pull off a dress like that,” Purple Bow says, pointing to Mina. “Hello, put those daikon legs away. No one wants to see that.”

“And this girl singing the harmony with Jason,” Pink Bow says as my face pops up on the screen. She snickers. “She totally looks like the desperate type. She’s probably trying to seduce Jason behind the scenes. Just look at the way she’s staring at him. Obvious much?”