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Next is the chase to the elevator, then the screen switches to footage from one of the cameras set up inside, with Nathaniel and me standing on either side of the elevator car. They don’t play the audio from our mics. Instead, the text reads:We will be reunited with them soon.
By the time I’m shown finding the third token, I’m resigned to my starring role in the episode. When Youngmin appears out of nowhere like some silent tagging assassin, I’m cheering him on with everyone else.
“I have to head back to school,” Nadine says once the episode is over. “Jaewoo, can you drive me?” I hadn’t seen Jaewoo’s car, but he must have parked it down the street.
“Sure. Nathaniel and I can drop you off on the way back to the apartment.”
As Hyemi and I walk Nathaniel and the others to the door, I have the reckless thought of blurting out the truth so that he can stay, but quickly smash the impulse.
When I glance up, I find Nathaniel watching me.Tomorrow, he mouths, and my heart lightens in response.
Afterward, Hyemi and I go up to my room. I lend her a pair of pajamas and a spare toothbrush. Normally, I’d be on my phone, looking up reactions to the episode, but I don’t want to cause her any stress, so I’m careful to leave my phone face down on the side table.
“How do you know Jaewoo and Nathaniel-seonbaenim?” she asks once we’re settled in my large four-poster bed. She’s chosen not to displace any stuffed animals but sleep with them piled atop her, same as me.
“I’ve known them since middle school...” I begin, then explain how because we were all trainees at Joah, and also attended SAA, we became friends.
“My friends are all in Canada,” Hyemi says. “We text and talk over video but it’s not the same.”
“I won’t say that you’ll make new friends,” I say gently, “but you’ll makemore. And the friends that you were meant to keep, youwillbecause you’ll put in the effort.”
“I hope you’re right, Seonbae,” Hyemi says, softly. A few minutes later, she asks, “Do you think Nadine got a haircut recently?”
“I don’t know. Why do you ask?”
But Hyemi’s already fallen asleep.
The next morning, Hyemi heads out after breakfast. She needs to get back to the dorms in time to leave for the airport, as the ASAP members are flying to Thailand to shoot their music video. While munching on a piece of toast, I finally open SNS to see viewer reactions to the episode. They’re unanimously positive. I sink into my chair with relief.
XOXO hold their titles as reality TV kings. Hyemi is praised for her fresh appearance, and excitement is already drumming up for ASAP’s debut.
Then I catch sight of another article.
Who Is Min Sori? Do We Have a New Variety Show Queen?
And another and another.
All You Need to Know About Min Sori, Daughter of Seo Min Hee
Min Sori Is the Ace of Tonight’s Episode ofCatch Me If You Can
My gaze lands on the number one trending article, upvoted to the top of the site.
Are Nathaniel Lee and Min Sori... Dating?
Twenty-one
Nathaniel and I are trending on all the major sites, sometimes separately, sometimes together. In a panicked flurry, I skim article after article, not exactly sure what I’m searching for but feeling as if my stomach will drop at any moment. Besides the one voted to the top of the site, they’re all mostly informative articles—what happened on the episode, my background and age—rather than mean-spirited gossip. Even the top article’s headline is clickbait; the actual article is a recap of the episode. The comments section is the real test. But as I scroll, these also seem harmless, and my heart starts to resume a steady rhythm.
In fact, the comments are amusing. The top comment, the one with the most likes, saysthey’re like that high school couple that everyone admires.
I scroll to read more.They look so good in high school uniforms.
I know everyone’s here envying Min Sori, but I envy Nathaniel.
I think I need to learn to play an instrument.
Then I see a comment that makes me almost drop my phone.Remember Lee Jihyuk’s dating scandal when XOXO first debuted? The girl was never named, but they said she was a trainee at Joah. What if it was Min Sori?
