She rolls her eyes. “Right, I’m going against the treaty every proud Korean signs that says we can only listen to trot and idol bands.”
“Sorry,” I mutter.
Hana nudges me. “Hey, at least now you don’t have to worry about dealing with an ex,” she says. “Since there wasn’t one.”
I give her a look. “Huge bonus.”
There’s a long silence. “How do you feel about him now?” she asks.
“I don’t know.” I grab some of my hair and start braiding and re-braiding. “Confused. Is the guy I met Min or Jihoon?”
She stands. “Only one way to find out. Get to know all of him.”
“Easy for you to say.” Do I even want to date a rock star? No, ofcourse not. I should date another lawyer, a steady person who understands me and who isn’t leaving the country in days.
“It’s icky that you’re into my cousin.” She grins. “Whatever, half the world is as well.”
I flip her off, and she snickers.
“Give him another chance,” she says.
“Why?”
She looks at me. “Because you want to.”
Maybe I do. Maybe that’s enough.
Maybe it isn’t.
Alex says he’ll send staff to get our belongings, but I hate the thought of someone going through my underwear drawer. “I’m going shopping, and you’re paying for it,” I tell Alex.
He rubs his eyes until they redden and tear up. “Like that’s the biggest problem I’ve had today. Make sure you keep the receipts. I can’t deal with Finance getting on my case on top of all this.”
“I can come with you,” Hana offers.
I glare at her. “You can sit here and think about what you’ve done.”
She hunches down. “Okay.”
Once safe inside my room, I splash water on my face and sit on the bed to enjoy the silence. I’m not in there five minutes before a knock sounds at the door.
“Ari?”
It’s Jihoon. The mature thing to do would be to open the door, invite him in, and have a civil follow-up discussion.
As if I can do that. I wait until he’s gone, then grab my purse and run down the empty hall for the door.
The condo is close to Yorkville, and I head east to the shops. Sitting in a café window is a woman with dyed hair and a brilliant, carefree smile that reminds me of Phoebe. What if people find out myname and go after my family? What if the stress causes Dad’s heart to fail again? My entire body goes shivery, and I stop dead on the sidewalk and bite the inside of my cheek. I should tell them on the down low. Or at least Phoebe, to keep an eye on Dad.
Triangle breathing. I take deep, desperate breaths right there as muttering people walk around me with impatient steps. What do I do?
I come back to it later when I’m more in control, that’s what. I force one foot in front of the other until I move on autopilot, ducking into my usual stores and getting pajamas, underwear, and some casual clothes. It’s Friday, so I don’t need a fresh outfit for work tomorrow, but it might be a few days at the condo. I grab three shirts and a suit. Alex’s treat.
As I collect my new belongings, my usual logicality seeps back. I’m letting the doomsday attitude of Alex and the others affect me. Nothing is going to happen. No one cares that some singer was in Toronto staying with his cousin, and it’ll be a nonstory in a day. Everyone is in crisis overdrive and exaggerating the importance of what’s happening because they’re stressed.
I head over to the Manulife Centre, where I pick at a damp taco and scroll through my phone. Hana knows better than to text me when I’m mad. She must have told Jihoon, because I have no messages apart from Alex asking me to come by his room when I get back.
Then I put the phone down. The lack of messages from Jihoon could be because he’s decided whatever might have happened between us isn’t worth the trouble.
