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“Youngmin-ah, that’s not them, right?” I stare at a young couple sitting on a picnic blanket on the grass. I can’t tell if it’s them from this distance, but the girl is wearing the same bucket hat I’ve seen on Hyemi.
“Youngmin-ah?” I turn around, only to find Youngmin missing. I groan. Don’t tell me I’ve already lost him.
“Nuna!” Youngmin runs up.
I’m about to scold him, but I’m immediately distracted by the churros he’s holding; they’re Oreo-flavored and filled with cream cheese.
As we walk toward the area around the Ferris wheel, enjoying our churros, a group of teenage girls pass us.
“Wasn’t that Nathaniel Lee just now?” I overhear one of them say.
“Who was that girl with him?” her friend asks.
“Whoever it was, it wasn’t Min Sori.”
“Don’t tell me you’re a ‘MinLee’ fan?”
“I don’t know, but Iama fan of both of them.”
“Even Min Sori?”
“Yes! She’s so pretty, and I like how she looks like she’s mean but you can tell she isn’t, you know?”
“Yeah, I like that about her too.”
“Me too,” Youngmin says loudly.
“Youngmin-ah!” I pull him behind a food cart selling corn dogs, before the girls can register who he is. Even with our disguises, he’s still Choi Youngmin of XOXO, easily recognizable if you were to take a closer look. His hair is dyed black again, otherwise he’d really stick out. “We’re trying to keep a low profile, remember?”
“Excuse me, can I have a corn dog?” Youngmin’s talking to the food cart worker.
We finally make it to the Ferris wheel, after sharing the corn dog between us, dunked in batter and fried until perfectly crispy, then slathered with sweet chili and mustard sauce.
There’s a palpable tension in the air, whispers flittering among those standing in line.
I spot Nathaniel and Hyemi, toward the front of the line.
“Youngmin-ah,” I say. I don’t know what alerts him, but he looks at me, suddenly serious. “I don’t want Nathaniel to get into that car with Hyemi.”
I wait for him to ask me why, or to laugh, but he just nods.
“Okay.”
He jumps forward into the crowd. I lose sight of him immediately. I gape, then scramble to follow. The crowd parts for him, and therefore me, no one willing to stop us and cause a scene even though we’re cutting the line.
Nathaniel and Hyemi are next. The Ferris wheel attendants are calling them up. Youngmin pops out of the crowd. Rushing forward, he grabs Hyemi’s hand and drags her into one of the cars that’s already leaving. The door closes behind them.
Nathaniel stands alone on the platform, in shock.
“Was that Youngmin?” I hear him saying to himself as I rush up. Grabbing his hand, I pull him into the next car.
“Sori?” Nathaniel stares at me as the door shuts and the wheel begins its slow ascent. “What’s going on? What are you doing here?”
“I... ran into Youngmin at Joah and we... decided to come see the Ferris wheel.”
As far as explanations go, it’s a weak one, but Nathaniel doesn’t question it, leaning back in his seat. The car isn’t very large, but neither is it small, meant to hold four people. It’s enclosed for our safety, with plateglass windows on every side except the floor.
I gaze at Nathaniel. We haven’t seen each other—or spoken—since Wednesday.
