He lets go of my hand and steps back, waiting for me to continue toward the car.
Sophie waits for us by the passenger door, tapping her index finger against the window and shooting Jason a look of irritation. He unlocks the doors, and we all climb in. Sophie doesn’t turn on the music this time, just busies herself with her phone.
Silence reigns in the car, and I find myself unable to look at either of them. I peer out the window, my insides twisting. My brain flashes back to the conversation with Jason, with him holding my arm and my inability to say anything. I’m not the kind of girl who gets tongue-tied around boys, not even super hot boys like Jason. Maybe my feelings for him are more than a crush. But that’s crazy. He’s my best friend’s brother, and he annoys me as often as he’s sweet to me.
I glance at his reflection in the rearview mirror, regret growing inside my chest, and I’m unable to stop imagining Jason’s lips touching mine.
Chapter Sixteen
The next morning, I accompany the Bae family to church. In Korean. It’s mostly the same as back home, except I have no idea what the pastor’s saying. And everybody says their own individual prayers out loud all at once in near shouts, which is sort of overwhelming. But I get to meet a few of Sophie’s friends, who are all just as sweet as her.
I call Jane when we get back. After an hour-long conversation, in which she tells me all about how Momma’s driving her insane, how her friends all have boyfriends and she doesn’t, and how she wishes she were with me in Seoul, I’m left with tears pooling in my eyes as I hang up. I sit on Sophie’s bed, staring at the silky pink comforter, a dull ache pounding in my chest. Jane’s voice still echoes in my ears, and for the first time, I actually miss home. Maybe not the fights with Momma, or Dad’s indifference, but Nashville, my friends who I’ve ignored for months, and American food.
But Monday brings the first day of shooting for Jason’s drama, and I don’t have time to feel homesick, because Sophie decides we’re accompanying him.
“Na Na is in this show!” Sophie squeals as we file out of the car at the shooting site.
“Who’s Na Na?” I glance around at the neighborhood, which looks like a part of history. Brick buildings line the narrow stone street, with houses behind wooden gates featuring heavy oak knockers. The roofs remind me of Japanese pagodas, and a thin layer of snow coats the tops of the walls separating yards from the road.
“She’s only, like, the biggest new teen actress in Korea,” Sophie says, like I keep up with actresses who speak a language I can’t understand. “And I’m getting her autograph before this is over.”
I laugh as we wander down the street toward the crew setting up in a courtyard. “But aren’t you used to meeting famous people? Your brother is one.”
She waves her hand in dismissal. “We were in the womb together. He doesn’t count.”
We kill time watching crew members set up the camera and lights and all the other equipment they’ll need to start filming, when a girl arrives, her hair so long it almost skims her hips and high heels so tall they look like stilts. She has milky skin and perfectly pink cheeks, the kind of girl that makes your heart ache because you know you’ll never be as beautiful as her. She beams at the crew, and they melt under her attention, basking in her radiance. This must be Na Na.
Sophie squeals next to me and fumbles through her purse as the girl gets closer to us. “I can’t find a pen,” she hisses. “Grace, I can’t find a pen!”
“Is this the only day she’ll be on set?” I ask.
Tilting her head to the side, Sophie shoots me a bemused look. “The only day? She’s the main character. Na Na wouldn’t take a smaller role.”
“The main…” My voice trails off as this fact settles.
I glance at the girl again—her perfectly shaped mouth, the legs that go for miles. She’s going to be playing alongside Jason for an entire TV show season? My heart constricts. What if they kiss?
Na Na passes us, and Sophie lets out a soft groan and allows her purse to fall back to her side. She must have resigned herself to getting the autograph another time.
“Sophie!” a voice calls from behind us.
I turn to see Jason heading toward us. My breath catches at the sight of him, dressed in faded jeans and a black leather jacket with scuffed, clunky boots to match. His hair’s more tousled than normal, and he’s wearing earrings.
“Did they pierce your ears?” she asks with a giggle.
He touches one of the studs. “No, they’re fake. Apparently, they make me look more rock ’n’ roll.”
I join Sophie’s laughter. “I don’t know about that.”
He doesn’t respond.
“Are you nervous?” Sophie asks.
Jason scoffs, the arrogance he wore so often when I first met him now returning. He doesn’t even look at me.
He lets out a long-suffering, self-righteous sigh. “Please don’t embarrass me, Sophie.”
“Hey, don’t be a jerk,” I cut in. “She was just trying to be nice.”
His gaze flicks to me, then to the crew members carrying camera equipment who walk past us, a coldness swallowing his eyes. And I know he’s shutting me out like he used to. The realization steals the rest of my words.
“I’ve got to be on set,” he says. “I’ll see you later, Sophie.” He focuses on his sister. “Do not get in the way.”
He turns, still not acknowledging me. I chafe at the slight, anger growing. Why is he acting like this?
Smirking, I wait until he’s maybe a couple hundred feet down the road, then shout with fake sincerity, “Good luck, Jason! You’ll do great!”