Then his head shoots up, and he mutters to Jihoon.
When Jihoon’s face goes white, I know there’s a problem.
Forty-One
I go numb. “Hana, is it Hana?”
Jihoon shakes his head rapidly. “No, no. Nuna is fine.”
My relief is short-lived, because if this entire thing with Jihoon has taught me anything, it’s that phones are the medium through which global-scale problems arrive.
“Something was leaked,” I surmise, putting the deductive powers of my highly trained legal brain to use. “Photos from today.”
Both men nod.
“Of the two of us.”
Again with the nods. My phone is in my room, so I hold out my hand, and Kit passes his over without comment.
We’re in the background of a casual selfie, and the person’s face is blurred for privacy. They caught the exact moment when our masks were both off as we sat on the rock. My face is up and his is down. It looks exactly like two people about to kiss, and there might as well be a tagline written in cute font across our chests.
“What’s the caption say?” I ask, doing my best to speak around the lump in my throat. Oddly, it’s not the photo itself that bothers me but that it captured such a private moment. I’d never felt possessive about an experience before.
Kit takes back his phone. “It identifies Jihoon and a woman. Noname for you yet.” He scrolls down. “Apparently you met on a trip to Korea when Jihoon was a trainee and have been in touch since. That’s from an unidentified source. Wait. They’re saying Newlight has been keeping you apart for years.”
“Who says this?” I demand.
Kit doesn’t look up. “They. The internet.”
In the middle of this, Jihoon’s phone rings, and he starts pacing the living room as he talks.
“You’re taking this well,” I say to Kit. He’s not bursting with anI told you so.
“No,” he corrects me. “I’m not, but I can deal with that later. Now we solve the problem.”
That sounds ominous, but before I can reply, Jihoon hangs up. He looks furious as he snaps at Kit, who walks away with his hands in the air.
“I need to go to the company,” Jihoon says, taking my wrists. “Ari, I am so sorry.”
I nod, but in a way, it’s a relief. I don’t have to wait for the worst to happen because it’s here.
“I can fix this.” Jihoon sounds urgent. “Let me handle this. I know I can fix it.”
“How?” I’m genuinely curious.
“I have a few ideas. Do you trust me?”
“I’d be more confident if I knew what you have planned,” I say. “Let me come to the office with you.”
“That would be a bad idea. I need to focus, and there will be media out front. Too many fans, both at the gates here and at Newlight. We can’t expose you to that.”
Fair enough. I take a deep breath and try to stop it from coming out shaky. “I understand,” I say. Although it’s terrifying to relinquish any semblance of control, I’m trusting him not to hurt me the same way he trusted me back at the café.
Relief breaks over his face, and he kisses me. “Good.”
Then he and Kit are gone. I’m left in the empty apartment for exactly three minutes before I get a call.
“Hey, Hana,” I say.
