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I’m still thinking of Nathaniel when I show up for the lunch with my father and grandmother. When did he leave? Why didn’t he say anything? I checked my phone, but he hadn’t left me any messages.
A waiter pulls back the sliding door and I slip off my shoes before entering the private room. “Good afternoon, Halmeoni, Abeoji,” I say, bowing to each of them—seated on either side of a low table—before sinking onto the silk floor cushion beside my father, who greets me with a warm smile. My grandmother doesn’t look up.
The soothing sounds of the bamboo water fountain drift from the back of the room as the hollow chute fills with water, then drops, pouring into a basin. I feel soothed,almost.
A server pours tea from a clay pot into a teacup; steam lifts from the surface as he hands it to me. I accept it with both hands, and my father’s eyes crinkle in approval. Though my mother is a renowned beauty, acquaintances comment on the physical attributes my father and I share. We have the same straight nose, arched brows, and thick black hair, though his is silvering at the temples.
“It’s highly irregular that your father must schedule times to have a meal with you,” my grandmother says, her loud voice penetrating the tranquility of the room. “This wouldn’t be an issue if you just came to live with your father and me. My house is much more comfortable than that gaudy monstrosity Min Hee had designed. A waste of your father’s money. And I have a professional cook, not a charity case, like the woman your mother employs.”
I count to five in my head. I learned years ago not to argue or talk back to my grandmother, not just because she’s my grandmother and that would be incredibly disrespectful, but because doing so only makes things worse, and ultimately my mother is the one who’s blamed for my bad behavior.It’s because ofherblood that Sori is acting this way.
“Ajumma takes very good care of me, Halmeoni,” I say, in the sweetest voice I can muster, “and I couldn’t leave my mother in that big house, all alone.”
I also learned, a long time ago, not to feel bad about lying to my grandmother, especially if it’s to protect my mother. She doesn’t need to know that I basically live alone.
My grandmother sniffs loudly. “You should show the same consideration to your father as you do your mother, and to myself.”
There’s a soft knock, followed by the sliding door opening. Servers enter with handcrafted wooden boards, artfully arrayed with pieces of sushi, placing one in front of each of us. Over the course of lunch, my grandmother and father discuss matters of which I have no interest, and so I do what I always do in these situations: I think of something else entirely.
Nathaniel must have left because he felt uncomfortable. I’d practically dragged him to my house in the middle of the night. Maybe he thinks the risk in staying at my house is too great, or—as I’d thought the night before—maybe he’dratherstay alone in his apartment, where he’ll have it to himself without the other members around.
Then I’m struck with a horrifying thought. What if he thinks I still have feelings for him? He’d asked me if I did at the karaokeroom. And the reason he left this morning without telling was to spare my feelings.
“You’re not seeing that boy again, are you?” my father asks me. “From that idol group.”
I almost drop my teacup. “O-of course not,” I say, glad for the steadiness of my hands. What prompted him to ask such a question?
“Good. Because there’s someone I’d like for you to meet, the nephew of one of my supporters. His uncle is someone very important to my campaign.”
I must make a face because my father says, “I wouldn’t have asked except that this young man especially requested to meet you.”
I frown. “What do you mean?”
“You made an impression on him, from your recent appearance on a show.”
I’m confused until I realize he must meanThe Woori and Woogi ShowsinceCatch Me If You Canwon’t air until Wednesday.
“Won’t you consider meeting him? It would please me.”
I sigh. What’s one more date?
“I’ll have Secretary Lee send over his information,” my father says.
I arrive at Joah just as Hyemi is finishing up her first practice with her group members. Unlike XOXO, ASAP is a six-member group, with Hyemi joining as the youngest member. They exit the practice room, from youngest to oldest, bowing to the dance instructor who gives them each words of encouragement. Hyemi appears exhausted, her shoulders slumped, but spotting me, her eyes brighten. “Seonbae!”
“Hyemi-yah,” I say, taking her aside to let the other girls pass, “I’ll meet you in the practice room in fifteen minutes. I need to speak with Sun Ye-eonni first.”
She nods, then hurries off toward the bathroom with the others.
The last member—and leader—of ASAP waits for me, leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed. “You called?”
I grin. “Kim Sun Ye.” Although we never grew close enough to hang out outside of Joah, we’ve been friendly over the years. Besides me, Sun Ye is the trainee who’s been at Joah the longest. She had chances to leave—most significantly an offer from KS Entertainment, Joah’s biggest rival—last fall. They’d offered her the “center” position in their newest girl group, but she turned it down, though I never learned why. “Can I speak with you for a moment?”
Sun Ye nods and we move to a quiet corner of the hall.
“How is she doing?” I ask.
Sun Ye doesn’t have to ask who I mean. “Better than expected,” Sun Ye says in her calm, measured voice. Sun Ye was the right choice for leader, not just because of her age—at twenty, she’s the oldest member—but also because she’s level-headed. While my mother had offered me the position, Sun Ye was always more suited for the role. “She’s a quick learner. I’m surprised she’s never had any training.”
