“Now what?” I ask.
He stands up and leans over, fingers sliding over my fist. “I kiss you,” he says seriously. “Then we talk.”
I wriggle away. “First we talk.”
Now he’s the one to start pacing. “I want you to come to Korea with me.”
“Whoa, tiger.” I blink. “Right now?”
“Soon. For a visit. You can meet the other members, Xin and Sangjun—you would like them. They will like you. We could explore Seoul.”
A vacation. I once made travel plans for a friend’s trip to Korea, yearning to be there myself as I followed the curves of the Han River on the map with my finger. It’s enticing, but…I come to my senses. “Alex says no one knows about me now. If I go to Korea with you, that goes out the window. And you said you’d be busy.”
“We would make it work. Newlight would prefer we didn’t date because of our image, but I don’t have a formal dating ban.”
“A what now?”
“We weren’t allowed to date as trainees or in the first two years after our debut,” he says casually, like this is a normal action for an employer to take. “It’s to help us focus on our work and avoid scandals.”
“Uh…” I honestly have no response to this.
“Sangjun, one of the other band members, was dating someone for a year. Newlight told him to keep it secret but didn’t forbid it. As long as the public doesn’t find out, it’s not a problem.”
“What if they do find out?”
“It compromises that person’s safety, and some fans don’t like it, but we have ways to keep our privacy.” Jihoon leans against the wall. “The distance is an issue because I can’t stay here. We have a comeback, and there’s much preparation.”
“How long will that take?”
He bites his lip. “At least another three months of practice andthen promotion, plus the end-of-year award shows. There’s also a special fan concert in a month.”
“I guess we figure out how to text around a time difference,” I say. I’ve decided this is what I want, so I’m going to go for it.
“Long-distance? You would do that?”
“There don’t seem to be other options,” I say. “Let’s try it, and then we can talk visits.”
He already has his phone out and is tapping away. My own buzzes with a calendar invite. “What’s this?” I ask.
“The day after our VIP concert. We have free time then, perhaps even a few days.” He grins at me. “Seoul is lovely in the fall.”
I pretend to consider it. “I do have a few places I wanted to visit.”
“I’m sure you will plan the best itinerary.” He puts his phone away and comes over to me. “I will, of course, be pleased to accompany you.”
“I like to walk,” I warn him. Now it’s my turn to move closer, almost enough to touch.
A small smile appears on his face, and he pulls my hair over my shoulder to bare my neck. When he leans down to whisper in my ear, his lips brush my skin. “I’m aware,” he says, voice almost a purr. “I like to shop.”
He doesn’t move back when I drift a hand up his chest and tilt my head so my hair brushes his arm. “I can do some shopping if we go to bookstores.”
His hand covers mine, clasping it against his heart. “You can’t read Korean.”
My other hand comes up around the back of his neck, and I press my fingers to his warm skin. He shivers. “Doesn’t matter. I like bookstores. And I want to see the pink muhly grass.”
“I know the perfect spot for photos. Deal.” He drops a tiny kiss on my face, right beside my ear, and pulls back so we face each other. “Now the kissing,” he says against my mouth. His hands grip my hips to pull me close.
“Hold on.” I wiggle away and accept the calendar invite. “There, it’s official.”
