Ever obedient, Lizzie and Eunji flounce off the stage. Mina turns to me, all smiles, but I can see a familiar evil glimmer in her eye.

“That little stunt at the bowing ceremony was cute, Rachel,” she says, her voice dropping into a low whisper. “But don’t think it changes anything about where your real place is. Now that we’re debuting together, Yujin-unni won’t be around to protect you anymore. You really think you’ll be able to survive for very long without her?”

“I think I can hold my own, Mina,” I say, crossing my arms. “After all, I am the lead singer.”

She smiles on, unfazed. “I wouldn’t let that title get to your head if I were you. You shouldn’t get too comfortable. You never know when you might… lose your step.”

She pulls out her phone and presses play on a video, holding it up for me to see. It’s another shaky fancam video from Seoul Olympic Stadium, but this time it’s of Electric Flower singing “Starlight River.” I frown, shooting her a wary look. Why is she showing this to me?

And then I see it. The starry night cover is lifted, and as soon as the lights turn on, there, in the corner of the screen, is a glimpse of me and Jason kissing backstage. It’s only half a second, but it’s unmistakably us.

“Where did you get this?” My voice is shaking so hard I can’t even pretend to hold back my alarm.

“Leah,” she says smoothly. “That day I came over. Before you got there, she was showing me some videos from the concert and I happened to notice something very interesting about this one. I asked her to send it to me. You know I’m a big Electric Flower fan.”

I swallow hard, my jaw clenched. If this video were to ever get out, I would be ruined, just like Kang Jina. Jason was confident that the K-pop industry was changing, but if the past two days have taught me anything, it’s that it isn’t changing quickly enough to make a difference for me. “You wouldn’t,” I say, even though I know of course she would. She wouldn’t hesitate.

And that means she owns me.

She smiles, tucking the phone back into the pocket of her skirt. “Congratulations again, Rachel. This next year is going to be so much fun.”

Twenty-Seven

“Girls, you’re about to go onstage for your debut performance! How has the past month been, preparing for this moment?”

I sit with my eight fellow Girls Forever members, all of us in coordinating electric-blue outfits layered with patterns of neon flowers. My halter dress fits snugly on my body, hot-pink with petals climbing up the sides. On my feet are thigh-high white knee socks and spotless white high-top sneakers. I brush my perfectly curled hair over my shoulder and smile at the interviewer, batting my lashes.

Head up, legs crossed. Tummy tucked, shoulders back. The camera zooms in on my face, airing live to millions of people all over Korea.

“It’s been a challenge, but we’ve been working really hard and we’re as ready as we’ll ever be,” I say easily. I gesture to the other girls. “It’s been such an inspiration working alongside such talented members. I’ve learned so much from all of them.”

Like how to watch my back at every hour of the day. From bubble gum in my hairbrush that Eunji swore wasn’t hers to my shoes mysteriously disappearing every time we had a wardrobe fitting, my life of debut prep has been a constant rerun of training, sleepless nights, and dodging vicious prank after vicious prank from the girls the whole world believes are my best friends.

I smile at the camera.

If only they could see what our lives are really like.

All the girls “aww” back at my sweet comment, Sumin and Lizzie even leaning in on either side of me for a group hug. I squeeze back tightly like I’m in the middle of a full-on lovefest. Their long nails scratch against my arms as the interviewer beams on, all bright eyes and gleaming teeth.

“It sounds like you all work really well together,” he says.

“Absolutely,” Mina says, her voice a pitch-perfect tone of mastered enthusiasm. “I couldn’t think of anyone better to be on this journey with.” She casts a fond look over all of us, her gaze resting on mine. She smiles. “We have a beautiful road ahead of us.”

* * *

I stand backstage before our performance, taking deep breaths. This past month has flown by in a whirlwind, and now it’s finally time for us to debut. Here we come, world.

It’s time to finally show you what we’ve got.

A burst of giggles catches my attention, and I turn to see Mina showing a video to the other girls on her phone. They’re all leaning in, laughing and pushing one another for a better view.

“Holy shit, this is gold.”

“I can’t believe she caught this on video!”

My stomach clenches. Is that what I think it is?

I run over and grab the phone from Mina’s hands. It’s an Instagram video of a girl playing a piano duet with her dog. Chopsticks. My face warms all over.

“What the hell, Rachel?” Eunji says. “What’s your problem?”

“Don’t mind her, girls,” Mina says breezily, sipping a glass of water. “Princess Rachel’s not a fan of viral videos that she’s not the star of.”

My fist tightens around her phone. Mina may be holding her video blackmail over me, but that doesn’t mean I have to take it lying down. I slam her phone right into the glass of water, everyone shrieking and jumping away as water droplets fly everywhere.

Mina’s mouth falls open in shock.

“Woops, sorry, Mina,” I say sweetly. “My hand slipped. But you know what, maybe it’s for the best. You know the rules about social media. Wouldn’t want you to get in trouble.”

I turn away. Then I pause and look back over my shoulder, glancing pointedly at Mina’s wrist and her ruby-colored watch. Mr. Han’s watch—his one-of-a-kind heirloom from his grandfather. I recognized it in Toronto but didn’t say anything. I don’t even know for sure why she has it.

But I can guess.

“By the way, do you know what time it is?” I ask innocently.

Her eyes widen. Flustered, she looks down at the watch, covering it with her hand. “It’s, um, almost one.”

“Thanks,” I say. “Almost time for the performance, girls.”

The girls look back and forth between us, trying to figure out what’s being left unsaid. Eunji and Lizzie glance at each other, then walk over to me. “We’re ready!” Out of the corner of my eye, I see Mina’s face fall. But I’m already walking away.

I have a song to perform.

We go through a final round of makeup touchups and assemble on the stage, waiting for the curtain to go up. I take my place in center position, four girls in a horizontal line on either side of me. Cameras are pointed at us from all directions, and I can hear the cheering crowd beyond the curtain.

They’re excited to see us. I lift my chin. Good.

We’re about to give them the performance of their lives.

If someone had told me when I was eleven years old about everything I’d have to sacrifice to get to this point, everything that would be stolen from me, I would have said they were writing a K-drama. The path to get here has turned out to be harder than anything I could’ve ever imagined, but here I am.