Something inside me softens, but I ignore it, focusing on the memory of Na Na’s hands pressed against his shirt, the warmth of her palms seeping into his skin. My stomach knots.
“Just forget it,” I say. “I don’t want to meet any of your famous friends or get a better glimpse into your life. I know what fame is like, and I’m not into it.” I steel my voice, preparing myself to hit him hard with it. “I don’t want to be included in this part of your life. I don’t want to be included in any of it.”
His expression freezes, and I leave before he has time to pull his thoughts together. I swallow the burning in my throat, focusing on my steps so I don’t stumble. I press a hand to my stomach, shuffle to the bathroom, and run my wrists underneath the cold water, then wet the back of my neck with it.
I stare at my reflection in the mirror, refusing to let myself replay the conversation, refusing to let myself consider how it could have gone differently. I did the right thing. This weird flirtation we have going on needed to come to an end.
I just wish I could believe that.
On my way back to the private room, my mind’s so full of Jason that I almost run into the shadowed figures in the dim hall. A boy has his hands on either side of a girl, pinning her to the wall, which trembles with the bass echoing throughout the entire club. They’re kissing like there’s no tomorrow, and heat zips through my veins just seeing them.
I attempt to walk around them inconspicuously, but I bump into the guy and he looks up. A gasp escapes my lips before I can clap a hand over my mouth. Tae Hwa’s eyes get big when he recognizes me, and he jumps away from Sophie, who adjusts the skirt of her dress. She should be more worried about her mussed hair and smudged lipstick.
“Sorry, sorry.” Tae Hwa forces a strained smile, bowing his head, then disappears back into our room.
I stare at Sophie and wait for her to explain, my mouth twisting into a disbelieving grin, a momentary respite from my own drama.
She scowls. “Don’t look so smug.”
“I knew there was something going on between you two.”
“There was nothing going on then. And there’s nothing going on now.”
“That didn’t look like nothing.”
She scoffs, but I spot the hurt in her eyes. I rest my hand on her shoulder.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” I ask.
Her eyes well with tears, and I pull her into a hug.
“I like him so much,” she says between sniffles, her face pressed into my shoulder. “But he said we should only be friends, that it wasn’t a good idea for him to date his best friend’s sister.”
“Was this before or after you guys sucked face?”
I intended that to be a joke, but it only makes her cry harder. “I—I kind of—” She hiccups. “Kind of attacked him with the kiss.”
I laugh. I can’t help it. It’s impossible for me to envision Sophie planting one on Tae Hwa, but I’ve got to give it to the girl. She took charge.
She pulls away, swiping underneath her eyes with her fingers. Good thing she went with the waterproof mascara.
“Why are boys so dumb?” she asks.
I sigh, unable to give her an answer. “No idea. I’ve been wondering the same thing myself.”
Throwing my arm around her shoulders, I give her one more quick squeeze. We head back to the private room after Sophie has calmed down. But when I open the door, I freeze. Yoon Jae and Jason glower at each other across the knee-high table, both standing and leaning toward the other. His fists clenched at his sides, Jason watches the other boy with disdainful eyes. Yoon Jae barks at him in Korean, pointing at his bandmate with angry jabs.
They both shoot their gazes to the door when I enter. Yoon Jae rearranges his expression to a tight smile, but there’s nothing friendly about the anger brooding in his eyes.
“Excuse me,” he says, nodding at me and Sophie before pushing past us and rushing out.
I stare after him, then look to Jason. He watches Yoon Jae’s exit, his shoulders still tense.
“What just happened?” I ask.
Tae Hwa attempts to blend into the sofa, and I don’t know if it’s because he’s embarrassed that I stumbled upon him sticking his tongue down Sophie’s throat or because of the argument I just interrupted. I glance back at Sophie, but all her attention’s focused on Tae Hwa.
Jason picks up his jacket from the couch and shrugs into it. “I’m leaving,” he announces.
But when he tries to brush past me, I grab his arm and stop him. “Hey, what’s going on?”
He shrugs out of my grip, his gaze lingering on my hand a second too long. “Nothing you need to worry about. You don’t want to be part of my life, remember?”
And with that, he leaves. I glance back and forth between Sophie and Tae Hwa, who studiously avoid each other’s gazes, and I blow out a long sigh. I knew I didn’t want to go out tonight.
Both Yoon Jae and Jason call cabs to pick them up, so Tae Hwa, Sophie, and I take the limo back to school. I watch the city lights blur past, unable to shake my thoughts about Jason and Yoon Jae. There’s always been tension there, but something has changed between them.
And I’m going to find out what.
*
The next morning, however, the entertainment news leaks the story and I don’t have to do any digging—Eden is breaking up. After only a few weeks of the band working on their new album, their publicist announced they would no longer be working together and, apparently, the outing to the club was a last-ditch effort to try to fool the press.
Sophie seems just as shocked as I am.
She sinks into her desk chair, eyes glazed. “I just—I can’t believe he would do this. Why would he break up the band?”
“Who?”