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“So I thought, why not stop over and grace you all with my presence?”
“I feel graced!” Angela says.
“Really, you shouldn’t have,” Gi Taek deadpans.
I study Nathaniel out of the corner of my eye. The last time we saw each other was two months ago, in the living room of his house. Did he discuss the scandal with his sisters after I left? It would hurt me to know, but I wouldn’t blame them if they pitied me.
“Can I have one of these?” My body tenses as Nathaniel reaches across my legs to the table, grabbing a soda. After a long drink, he reaches over again, this time retrieving a bag of chips.
As it’s done this whole week, my mind chooses to remind me that Nathaniel might believe that I still have feelings for him. I feel mortified, but also nervous. I don’t know what he’s thinking. What if he asks me about the radio show?
When he leans back, he notices the awkward way I’m sitting. “Oh, sorry,” he apologizes with a sheepish smile, rubbing the back of his head. “Not a lot of room in here. You want one?”
My mouth feels dry, so I lick my lips to wet them. I need to stop acting so nervous. If he asks about the radio show, I’ll simply tell him that I had forgotten to change his name back from “Boyfriend” in my contacts, which I immediately did after the recording.
“Sure.” My voice comes out breathy, having held it for too long.
His eyes flit upward, a slight frown on his face. He pops open the bag and holds it out to me, offering me the first chip.
I struggle for a safe topic of conversation as I take out a piece. “So, video games?”
“I was getting my ass handed to me by this one kid,” Nathaniel says darkly. “I think he was in middle school.”
His words stir a memory. “I remember in middle school when you used to play video games all day. You’d be late for practices because you stayed up all night playing them.” I laugh. “You’d get in so much trouble.”
“I remember thatyouloved to go to that comic book shop near the company and read manhwa all day, the one that closed down. You especially liked the romance ones. I stole a book from you once and read it aloud. You were so mad, you wouldn’t talk to me for days.” Now it’s Nathaniel who’s laughing.
“I still haven’t forgiven you for that,” I say, which only causes him to laugh even harder.
Our eyes meet and he smiles a lopsided smile.
I feel the tension leave my shoulders. Maybe I’ve been worrying for nothing, and Nathaniel hadn’t given a second thought to the radio show. He’s just here because Gi Taek invited him and he happened to be in the area, like he said.
“Look!” Angela points to the monitor. “The owner added minutes to our room. That’s so nice.”
“Enough time to add another player,” Gi Taek says. “Nathaniel, you in?”
Nathaniel turns from me to grin at Gi Taek. “I don’t know what we’re playing, but I’m always down for a game.”
While Gi Taek explains the rules to Nathaniel, Angela and I scroll through Melon for song inspiration. Songs with simple melodies are easier to get a higher score with, but we didn’t come here for easy.
Gi Taek goes first. He performs the entirety of Taemin’s “Move,” choreography and all. My heart swells with pride to watch him. A dance major in high school, he’s really improved his skills at Neptune. If I were to guess, he’ll soon be selected for a group and debut within the year.
“Ninety-seven!” Angela cheers when his score appears on the monitor, then quickly realizes what that means. “We’re never going to beat that!”
“You can do it, Angela,” I say, raising my fist. “Fighting!”
She’s chosen a TWICE song, which is difficult to sing alone, arranged as it is for nine vocalists.
I clap the loudest for Angela as “94” appears on the screen.
Then it’s Nathaniel turn. He stands, rolling his shoulders like he’s about to step into a boxing ring.
“What song did you choose?” Angela asks him, plopping down on the seat across from me, out of breath.
He winks at her. “It’s a surprise.”
Taking the controller, he keys in a song. The title “Eyes, Nose, Lips” appears alongside the artist’s name, Taeyang. My heart starts to beat fast even before he brings the microphone to his lips.
