“Don’t!” I shout. “Don’t say it. You can’t say that to me right now.” My mind is spinning. I don’t know what to believe. What to feel. “Did Mina know?”

He hesitates. “Her dad told her the deal right away,” he admits. “That day on the river she was just playing along for the cameras. We both were.”

“Why didn’t anyone tell me?”

Jason buries his head in his hands before looking up. “The execs—they… knew you had trouble in front of the camera. They didn’t want you to ruin their plans.…” His words fade away helplessly.

So Mina figured it out before I even had a clue. I go through every single moment of the past few months—our self-care day in Tokyo, the time he snuck into school, our dinner with his eemos in Brantwood, the engagement party in Brooklyn—feeling more and more humiliated by the second. I was so caught up in being close to Jason that I didn’t even realize how big a fool I was being. How naive I was, so willing to give up my future for a boy who had only been thinking of his career this entire time. Was any of it real?

“I can’t believe you. Everything you said to me that day in the park—about being here for me. Not wanting to be as bad as the execs. But you’re worse than them—at least they never lie about how they are. You had me believing this was real.”

“Please, Rachel, it’s not like that,” he says, his voice desperate now. “Since that day in Tokyo, I’ve been paying the paparazzi to keep the photos off the internet. I never wanted you to find out this way. I was planning on telling you everything soon, but…” He looks at my phone. “Clearly someone decided to leak them.”

More and more articles are popping up now, the headlines all painting Jason as an innocent, lovesick K-pop star. WILL JASON LEE HEAL FROM HEARTBREAK? K-POP STAR JASON LEE, TORN FROM BOTH SIDES. KOREA’S FAVORITE STAR BOY IN THE MIDDLE OF AN EPIC LOVE TRIANGLE.

“Please don’t read those,” he says, but it’s too late.

“ ‘DB trainees have long had a reputation for being ruthless, doing anything to climb their way to the top, but Rachel Kim and Choo Mina take it to the next level, manipulating lovesick K-pop star Jason Lee for a chance to shine in the spotlight.’ ” I stop, too furious to keep going. “I can’t believe this. You know, I was coming here to find you and celebrate the news of you going solo. And then this comes out at the exact moment that—”

Suddenly, I freeze, Jason’s words from earlier rushing back to me. You know how DB is all about publicity.

And that’s when I realize.

“It was DB. They leaked the photos.” I stare at him, the pieces clicking together. “You thought you were holding off the paparazzi from posting, but it wasn’t because of you. It was because they were waiting for a signal from DB to drop them at the perfect time.”

“What are you talking about?” Jason says.

“Think about it, Jason!” I cry. “ ‘Summer Heat’ has been one big publicity stunt to create buzz for your solo act. They’ve set you up as a heartbroken boy caught between two girls so that when you sing your precious debut song, people will relate it to your life and eat it up. And of course they threw me and Mina into the love triangle. We’re expendable trainees! If the public turns on us, it doesn’t matter!”

“But that doesn’t make sense,” he says, frowning. “You’ve heard my song. The lyrics are all about being caught between identities, being caught between two worlds. It’s not about a love triangle.”

“Do you seriously think DB is going to let you sing about your freaking identity?” I ask, staring at him in disbelief. “ ‘I’m back and forth, the push and pull, I’m falling fast and floating free. I’m a glass half-empty or half-full, caught in between two galaxies?’ ” The lyrics spill easily out of my mouth. “Wake up, Jason. Back and forth, push and pull? Two galaxies can easily be interpreted as two girls. Your sandcastle queen and ocean lover. Why do you think they set us all up like this?”

“No.” He shakes his head, a nervous panic creeping into his voice. “They wouldn’t do that to me. I’m telling you, they wouldn’t! They called me as soon as I got into a car at the airport. They said they have big news, that I should start practicing my solo debut because… because…” His voice trails off as he loses steam. He knows I’m right. “Rachel.” He looks at me with those puppy-dog eyes, and for the first time, I feel nothing. “What am I going to do?”

I have nothing left in me to give.

“I don’t know,” I say, my voice shaking. “But I know you won’t be lying to me any longer.” I turn to leave.

Jason’s eyes narrow. “You’re one to talk. We both know I’m not the only one who lied in this relationship,” he says, his voice harsh and bitter.

“If you’re talking about my dad’s law school, that had nothing to do with you—”

“I’m talking about the video. At Kwangtaek.” My breath catches in my throat as he continues. “I know you and Yujin planned the whole thing so you could get attention from the execs. How is that any different from what I did? I thought when I explained this all to you, you would understand.”

My stomach sinks. “You’re right. And maybe I would have. But not like this.”

The thread that’s been holding my heart together snaps and I crumple. I reach back into my past—to all the younger versions of myself who have been keeping this dream alive for me. To my eleven-year-old self who wanted this more than anything, whose pure love for K-pop and joy for this music has been lighting my way, showing me where to go, what to do. But she’s barely a whisper in my heart right now. Jason’s betrayal has shattered me completely.

“Goodbye, Jason.” My voice doesn’t waver or catch in my throat. It’s completely steady as I walk out of the practice room. Only when my back is turned do I press my hand against my mouth, tears rolling down my cheeks.

He doesn’t try to stop me.

Twenty-Five

It’s amazing how quickly life can fall apart and yet remain exactly the same. A few hours ago Jason Lee was my secret boyfriend, I had a number one hit on the K-pop charts, and my family was happy. Now the entire country thinks I was dating Jason (when I’m not), I still have a number one hit on the K-pop charts, and my family seems happier than ever (even though I’m pretty sure Umma isn’t speaking to Appa and we now owe our livelihood to the family of my biggest enemy).

Was anything ever really what I thought it was? Or was the entire world a lie? An elaborately created fantasy that lets eleven-year-old girls believe that dreams come true, only to shatter them to pieces, all at once, after she had already dedicated her life to them.

The fan comments on the articles are rolling in now and holding nothing back.

How dare these lowlife trainees break Jason’s heart!

Who do they think they are?

These bitches need to die, hurting our sweet baby Jason.

I want to rip their ugly faces off!

There’s no way DB will debut me now, not with all this baggage and fan hate. And to think, they’re the ones who put me in this mess. Trained me for years and then made me un-debut-able by their standards.