Jason turns to me, his eyes sparkling with excitement. “What do you want to do first?” he asks, reaching toward me.

I grin at him, a familiar swoopy feeling starting to nudge its way into my stomach as I feel his hand linger on the small of my back. “What do you think?”

We both yell at the same time, “Doughnut swings!”

We run around the park, first stopping at the gigantic doughnut-shaped swings, which Minjun tries to backflip off in midair (thankfully, landing on the tropical-island-shaped bouncy house behind him) before racing over to the treehouse, Minjun throwing his arms around Hyeri’s shoulders as they both belt out the lyrics to “Sucker.” My hair is sticking to the back of my neck and my feet ache from dancing, but I’m high on the rush of all being together in New York at a party where no one knows who we are. Jason and I grab on to each other and scream, his arms wrapping around me, enveloping me in a warm cloud of maple and mint.

The song fades out and the DJ’s voice comes booming over the speakers. “Who here is in love?” he asks. In the front of the crowd, I can see the twins’ cousin and her fiancé cheering, as their friends gather around them. “That’s what I like to hear! Now, this next song may be a new one for a lot of you, but it just hit number-freaking-one on the K-pop music charts and I know you’re all gonna fall in love with it. Get excited!”

The crowd cheers even louder as the song begins to play. I hear Jason’s voice coming out of the speakers and I gasp.

This isn’t just any K-pop song.

The number one song on the K-pop music charts is our song!

I press my hand over my mouth, frozen.

Jason’s face is in shock as he raises his arms in the air like an Olympic champion. “This is us!” he cries. “We’re number one!” I can barely hear him over the guests, who all around us are cheering along to the song, dancing wildly with huge smiles on their faces. They love it.

I scream, jumping up and down. “We’re number one! We’re number one!”

He laughs, lifting me up and spinning me around and around.

At the feel of his hands around my waist, something inside me breaks, and all the feelings I’ve been keeping bottled up for so long come rushing out.

And I realize something.

The first time Jason and I kissed, I did it out of fear. Fear that this dream I’ve been working toward for so long wouldn’t be enough or that I would fail in trying to achieve it. Fear that I would let down my friends, Yujin, and my family. But fear can’t feed your dreams.

It can only feed more fear.

What if I want to be someone who follows her heart and takes chances? Someone who can rise beyond the constant judgment and competition of this industry? Who isn’t scared to seize happiness for herself, whatever that may look like? And this thing between me and Jason, whatever it is, I know it sparks a light in me. Don’t I deserve to follow that light and see where it goes? To be that girl who holds hands and laughs freely with the boy who makes her heart sing?

Even if it means I might have to let go of my dreams? Or maybe just accept that I have a new one?

When he finally turns toward me, his face lit up in that familiar Jason way, it feels like a thousand tiny fireworks going off in my heart. We lean toward each other, and right before our lips touch, he pauses for a split second, everything that’s happened between us lingering in the air. But I don’t pull away. Instead, I throw my arms around him and kiss him. I hear our friends whistle and cheer around us, but in this moment, there’s only me and Jason.

In this moment, everything is perfect.

Twenty-Three

Leah’s favorite episode of Oh My Dreams is the one where Park Dohee and Kim Chanwoo go on their first date. He’s late to meet her at the restaurant and it starts to rain. She thinks he’s changed his mind and isn’t coming, so she starts walking home without an umbrella—but halfway through her walk, rain stops falling on her. It’s Chanwoo. He’s carrying his umbrella over her head, getting soaking wet with his arms full of groceries. Turns out, he got to the restaurant early, but when he discovered they were out of her favorite dish, he ran from store to store looking for the ingredients so the chef could make it for Dohee, which is why he was late.

Whenever Leah watches it, her face lights up in happiness and she sighs. “That’s what true love feels like.”

I smile at the thought of my sister going giddy over her stories, but now I know I have an even better one for her: the story of me and Jason. Things are still tender and new between us, and I’m not even sure what “us” will look like once we’re back home, but I’m hopeful, more hopeful than I’ve been in a long time.

As I open the door to our apartment, I can’t wait to see my family. I know Appa will flip over his graduation gift, a leather-bound notebook with a city skyline etched on the cover. I’m even excited to see Umma and give her the snow globe in the shape of a New York City taxicab that I got for her world snow globe collection.

“I’m home!” I call, toeing off my shoes and sliding into house slippers.

“Rachel?” Umma’s voice calls from inside. “We’re all in the living room.”

I walk into the living room, happily dragging my suitcase behind me. “Get ready, family. I’ve got presents—”

“Hi, Rachel,” Mina says, smiling sweetly. “How was the rest of the tour?”

I freeze. Just like Umma said, they’re all in the living room. Appa, Umma, Leah—and Mr. Choo and Mina. They’re sitting around a wooden fold-up tea table with mugs of bori cha and a plate of neatly sliced pears with miniature fruit forks. I can tell by the untouched pears and the way the tea is still steaming that they haven’t been here for very long.

Also, Leah is holding a half-eaten Melona bar in her hand, and no way Umma would have let her crack open an ice cream with guests over.

“It was great,” I say slowly. It takes all my effort to keep the confusion on my face at a level of pleasant surprise instead of horrified shock to find the Choos in our apartment. “How are you doing, Mina? How’s your ankle?”

“Never better!” Mina says, smiling sweetly at me. “Daddy got me the best physical therapist in Seoul, and I’m better than ever.”

“Actually, Rachel, you came at the perfect moment,” Mr. Choo says, smiling at his daughter and then gesturing for me to take a seat.

My eyes widen, but I quickly recover, my insides boiling over the fact that he just invited me to sit down in my own home. He’s the one who looks out of place here with his overly gelled hair and his double-breasted business suit. He smiles broadly and turns toward Appa. “I was just about to offer your father a job as an in-house legal consultant with the Choo Corporation.”

The room falls completely silent. My heart stops in my chest, and I turn toward Mina. She did this. I told her about Appa while we were stranded outside Brantwood. And now she’s using that information to try to destroy me. But how? By… giving my dad a job? It doesn’t make any sense.

Mr. Choo barrels on, undeterred by our lack of response.

“When I found out that you recently graduated with a law degree, I knew this would be a great opportunity for both of us. I’ve been looking to hire a new consultant for ages, but I’ve been waiting for the perfect candidate. Someone hardworking and trustworthy and who will uphold the values of our family corporation. From what I’ve heard of you, Mr. Kim, you would be a fantastic fit.”