Page 43 of Wish Upon a K-Star

I turn and consider picking a difficult one, but give in and choose the easy target I’d pinpointed before. It’s a wily white rabbit that’s the representative animal of an older idol.

“Leebit?” Minseok’s brow furrows, and if I didn’t know any better, I’d think he was jealous.

“Yeah, you know how much I love Sunbae’s dancing.” I can see that Minseok is giving me a little frown. I send him a sly side-eye. I tell myself I’m just playing up the teasing for the camera, but I’m secretly pleased at his reaction. It reminds me of when we were kids and we could act foolish without worrying who was watching.

“What? You can’t get mad. They don’t have a Moonie stuffie in there,” I say, batting my eyes innocently at him.

“Fine.” He shakes his head. “I hope Sunbae appreciates that I respect him so much.”

He fails. Nine times.

It’s almost sad as he shoves the tenth bill into the crane game. I want to tell him to stop wasting his money. He’s already lost the bet.

“Look, I’ll show you.” I try to take the controls. By now we’ve moved targets after his fourth attempt buried Leebit more. (To be honest, I half suspect he might have done it on purpose.) Now we’re aiming for a small stuffed bear with a tiny hanbok on.

“I’ve got it.” He bats my hand away.

“You don’t.” I grab the joystick but he won’t let go of it. “You have to calculate the best place to grab it. You can’t rush it.”

I move the claw, forcing Minseok’s hand to obey my pressure. I can see the perfect angle and I’m practically pressed against the glass to spot it better. I know if I position it just right, I can hook the claw around the bear’s arm and head.

“There,” I mutter with a nod. It’s as good as I’m going to get, I’m sure.

I start to press the button, but remember that this is Minseok’s game. So, I take his hand and place it over the button. “Ready?” I ask.

Minseok doesn’t reply, just stares at me so long I start to feel nervous. In this position, I’m holding both his hands, my side pressed tightly to his. It’s as good as a half embrace. I tell myself it’s not like that. But the way he’s looking at me, I’m sure he’s thinking the same thing. And then he smiles. It makes my brain tingle, like staticky prickles. I start to pull back when he turns his hand to grip mine. He uses our joined fists to press the button.

I turn at the whirl of the claw, my attention stolen by the metal pincers approaching our target. Should I have moved it a bit to the right? No, it’s going to be okay. I wince as the claw does that annoying thing when it lowers a little too low, turns crooked, seems to miss its target.

But as it lifts, it hooks right onto the arm of the stuffed animal. And it rises, but it doesn’t just have the hanbok bear, but another bear wearing a heart-patterned T-shirt.

I let out a little gasp as Minseok grips my hand. “We did it!”

“Wait,” I say, not daring to celebrate yet. Still, I can feel his excitement vibrating through our joined hands, and it fuels my own as we wait for the two dolls to be deposited safely in the bin. The claw jerks before reaching its destination and I let out a squeak as the heart bear almost falls, but the claw stays hooked in its T-shirt.

And when both are successfully dropped, we let out twin shouts like we just won the World Cup instead of a crane game. We clap our hands together in a rapid pattycake of triumph. For a moment, I was really scared we’d lose it. Excitement at the win feels like firework spinners sparking inside of me. He wraps his arms around my waist and lifts me in the air in a little victory spin.

It’s dizzying and thrilling at the same time. And I have to wrap my arms around his neck so I don’t slip. When he finally sets me down, I’m a bit wobbly but still pumped up on the win. My arms are still around his neck, pulling his head slightly down toward me. He’s smiling so wide that it creates creased dimples at the tops of his cheeks. His signature look that the fans go wild over. It sends those internal sparklers of mine spinning again.

It’s too much. He’s too close. I let go, pushing away hard enough to stumble back into the machine. It lets out a little clatter as I bump it.

“Whoa, you okay?” Minseok reaches for me again, but I skitter out of his reach.

“I’m fine. Just got overexcited.” I force out a laugh to maintain the celebratory mood, but I know I’ve kind of ruined it.

Clearing his throat, he leans in. I sidestep, but he just pulls the two stuffed animals from the machine.

“Here, your prizes.” He holds them out and I take them gingerly, making sure our hands don’t touch. He shoves his into his pockets once they’re empty. And for the first time today he doesn’t have a self-assured grin or a cocky comment. It makes me feel guilty for ruining the mood. So, I hold out the heart bear to him, like a peace offering.

“This one is yours. We won them together. We should both get one.”

“Really?” He looks genuinely delighted. “I’ll give him a place of honor in the dorm.”

“You better. And every time you look at him, remember who helped you win.”

“I won’t forget. You’re officially my lucky charm.” He presses the bear’s little stuffed mouth to my cheek like a kiss.

I blink in surprise. I know that he’s just doing this for the cameras. So, why is my heart racing? He’s too good at this.

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