The subway lurches to a stop, and we shove our way out onto the platform. Yoon Jae turns to make sure we’re with him, and he smiles at me. I smile back, then look to Jane, who dramatically fans herself.
We take Jane into Seoul, to Myeongdong, a gigantic shopping area famous for cosmetics stores. It’s a popular date spot, too, Yoon Jae tells us, but there’re also lots of businessmen and tourists. The crowds are thick, but the upbeat atmosphere and tasty street food are worth it. We spend a couple hours browsing, Yoon Jae keeping his head down and hat’s bill pulled low, then grab lunch at a local place Jane picks. She excuses herself to go to the bathroom, leaving me and Yoon Jae at the table.
When I called him, I worried what Jason would say but quickly decided it didn’t matter. Yoon Jae’s still my friend. Which is what I told Jason when I informed him of my plans. He couldn’t really argue after that.
“It’s official,” I say to Yoon Jae. “My sister’s in love with you, just like I thought.”
He lets out a self-conscious laugh. “She’s a nice girl.”
“She takes after me, obviously.”
Despite my sarcasm, he nods. “Yes, she does.”
Jane returns, and she grills Yoon Jae about everything—his life, music career, future plans. I bump her elbow with mine when she asks about his past girlfriends, but he doesn’t seem to take offense.
“I’ve only had one girlfriend,” he says. “It was two years ago, back when my label hadn’t given me any rules against dating.”
“They have rules against dating?” The disappointment is obvious in her voice.
“Yeah, most Korean singers aren’t allowed to have girlfriends or boyfriends, but now that Eden is broken up, I guess it doesn’t matter anymore.”
She perks. “So you’re in the market for a new one, then?” she asks.
I gasp. “Jane!”
“What?” She shrugs.
Yoon Jae laughs, but I spot the redness creeping up his neck.
We head back outside, and Jane gets caught up in perusing a skin-care shop that’s really famous in Asia. She throws a grin over her shoulder at me, and I can’t help smiling in response. She loves it here.
Yoon Jae stands with me as I hover outside the store. “I—I want you to know something.” He falls silent a moment, then says hesitantly, “Jane is a sweet girl, but I don’t want to make her think I am interested in her.”
I catch him squirming. “What? Oh, Yoon Jae, I’m sorry! I wasn’t ever serious. I was just joking. She’s got a major crush on you, but she knows you’re a year older than her. And you live in a different country.”
It’s strange, being here with him. After hearing Jason’s side of the story, I vilified Yoon Jae in my mind. But now I think it was all just a big mistake on everyone’s part. Jason and Yoon Jae never should have been put together in the first place.
“Your sister was right about something, however,” Yoon Jae says, breaking through my thoughts.
“What about?”
He stares down at the foot he scuffs across the pavement. “I am looking for a girlfriend.”
“Well, I won’t be able to help you there, unfortunately. The only girl I know here is Sophie, and she is pining away for someone else.”
“Actually, I meant a specific girl.”
I perk. “Really? Who?”
His mouth melts into a sad smile. “You really don’t know?”
A whisper of unease settles over me as my mind processes what he could mean. But he couldn’t—that’s not what he meant—surely.
Jane appears, saving me from having to respond.
She holds up a skin cream. “Got it!”
The entire way back to the subway station, I’m thinking about what Yoon Jae said. When we drop him off in Incheon so he can take a car back to school, he smiles at Jane and even gives her a hug, although I’ve never seen a guy in Korea hug a girl he just met. My estimation of him skyrockets.
“It was very nice to meet you,” he says.
“Y-you, too,” she sputters, starry-eyed.
He shoots me an unreadable look, like he’s waiting for something. “Goodbye, Grace,” he says, with such a final tone that I pause.
I wave. “I’ll see you later. At graduation, right?”
He flashes me that sad smile again. “Right.”
Jane gushes about Yoon Jae the second he leaves. “He’s even cuter in person than he is in pictures! And I like what he’s done with his hair. Super cute. And his outfit? Adorable.” She elbows me in the side. “But why didn’t you tell me he’s practically in love with you?”
I freeze. “What?”
“Like you’ve never noticed. You could wipe the drool from his chin every time he looks at you.”
“Jane, that’s not funny. Yoon Jae doesn’t like me that way.”
But my thoughts return to what he said earlier. Is that really what he meant? He never said anything to me about it. Not that I’ve said anything to Jason about what I feel for him. But still. Why didn’t he ever mention it?
My phone buzzes, and I check the screen to see Jason calling.
“Are you free for dinner or no?” he asks.
Butterflies soar inside my stomach. “I’m actually showing my sister around today.”
“Oh. Okay.”
“But we’d love to go to dinner with you,” I hurry to say. “Right, Jane?”
I mouth, Yes! to her, and she shrugs.
“She said she really wants to meet you,” I say into the phone, causing Jane to roll her eyes.
“Great.” I can practically hear him smiling over the phone.
We agree on a Western restaurant that also offers Korean options, close to Momma and Jane’s hotel, and she and I head there directly. Along the way, Jane is suspiciously quiet.
“What’s got you tongue-tied?” I ask. “You’re never this quiet unless you’re sleeping.”
She takes a long time to answer. “You like him a lot, don’t you?”
I mask the nervousness flaring inside me with a laugh. “I don’t know what you mean.”
She raises an eyebrow. “Gracie, it’s written all over your face. You’ve fallen for this guy. Hard.”