Page 102 of XOXO

He sighs, scratching at his cheek, careful not to mess up his makeup. “You know Jaewoo. When he’s feeling overwhelmed, he likes to be alone. Just—uh—not a great time to go disappearing. I was actually on my way to ask Sun if we should push the show back another thirty minutes. It’s 8:05 already. We’re supposed to go on in ten minutes.”

Jaewoo’smissing. A feeling lodges in my chest, not so much worry but determination. “You go find Sun. I’ll get Jaewoo.”

Nathaniel watches me for a few seconds, then nods. “I leave him in your care.”

We part ways, him back down the corridor I just passed, and me down the hall that branches to the left, opposite where I’d run into Nathaniel.

Where does one find a lost K-pop star ten—nownine—minutes before he’s supposed to perform live?

All the doors in the hall are closed. I go to the nearest and wrench it open. Four crew members with cup noodles lifted to their mouths turn to stare at me.

“Sorry!” I apologize, bow quickly, and close the door.

I’ll never find him, if I go door-to-door. Think, Jenny!

The lights in the hall are dim, the roar of the stadium reverberating through the floors. Light filters from beneath each doorway, suggesting activity within.

Except for the last door on the right. No light penetrates from beneath the crack. I start walking toward it, then jogging, then full-out sprinting.

You know Jaewoo.

I do know him. The first time we met, I found him in the karaoke room, sitting alone in the dark with his eyes closed.

Reaching for the doorknob, I find it unlocked. As I twist and press it open, the light from the hall cuts through the darkness. Jaewoo looks up from where he’s seated on a couch at the back of the room.

“Jenny?” He stands. “What are you—” He falters. “What are you doing here? Is everything all right?”

I step through the door. “Everything’s fine.”

Now that he’s here, in front of me.

Like the others, he’s dressed like he walked straight out of a fashion magazine, in a dark blazer with a shirt underneath that has a deep-cut V. I have to force myself to keep my gaze on his face, and not his exposed chest. His outfit also has a few chainmotifs, to match Youngmin’s, including a light strand that rings his neck.

“Jenny?”

“Sorry, I was distracted. You’re very... distracting.”

His face, which held a measure of confusion smooths out, and his lips twist in a rueful smile. That’s when I notice he holds something in his hand.

“Is that...?”

The sticker photo. I’d thought it was lost for good.

He nods. “Turns out someone from our school found it on the lawn and sold it to a local gossip magazine, but she’d only sold a photo she’d taken of the original.”

“Was it Jina?”

He frowns. “Kim Jina? No, this girl was a First Year. She was only thinking of making a bit of cash. She returned the picture and apologized. I accepted her apology. By then, the scandal had blown over anyway.”

“I’m sorry,” I blurt out. Then repeat the words deliberately, “I’m sorry.”

Jaewoo doesn’t say anything, just waits patiently for me to continue.

“I’m sorry for leaving like that, right as everything was happening. I was... afraid. It sounds silly now, but I was afraid of how much I cared about you, and I was scared that it would destroy me when we did break up. It’s ironic that it did destroy me, but it was my own doing.”

I take a deep breath. “I was wrong to begin a relationshipwith you thinking it would fail in the end. I should know better. I’m a musician. You don’t practice in order to give a bad recital. You work hard, you put in the time, energy, and passion, and you give a beautiful performance.”

Jaewoo watches me for a second, his expression giving nothing away. Then he says, deadpan, “I’ll be your partner for this beautiful performance.”

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