Somewhere Only We Know(26)

But I knew she missed me, and this was her way of asking me to hang out.

Do you want to fail geometry? How about we get noodles soon, instead?

YES

When Lucky came back out to the restaurant she caught me smiling. “What?”

“Oh, nothing. My sister’s trying to con me into taking her out to eat.”

“You have a sister?” she asked.

I felt uncomfortable at having revealed that slice of personal info. “Yup. Anyway, ready for a day of romance and adventure?” I waggled my eyebrows.

She made a face. “Dear Lord.”

“You love it,” I said easily, opening the door for her. With the entire day ahead of us.





CHAPTER NINETEEN


LUCKY


Agreeing to this day together was exhilarating, but also made me want to throw up. Kind of like being on an amusement park ride—one of those giant Viking ships that swing forcefully, making you scream with excitement when your stomach drops, but then leave you suspended in space just long enough for you to start panicking about what’s ahead.

Yeah, like that.

The streets were bustling now and people were everywhere. I tugged on the brim of my cap, tilting my face down, and buttoned up my coat so that the collar hid my mouth and chin. If Jack thought this was weird, he didn’t show it.

He had his phone out as we hovered in the doorway. “Well, Fern. It’s your day. What do you want to do?”

Oh. He was giving me the choice.

I hadn’t ever planned a day in a foreign city. Every minute of my life was scheduled down to the second. Even ten-minute breaks for snacks and the bathroom. Like a preschooler.

“Um. Can we walk around here? I like this neighborhood.” The thought of walking around a cute neighborhood with no plans thrilled me.

“Sure.”

As we walked around, something familiar about our surroundings made me slow down. “Wait. A. Second.” I registered the neighborhood we were in. There were peeks of familiar skyscrapers between the apartment buildings around us. I walked rapidly until I came to a street sign. Queens Road. I recognized that name.

“Jack!” I yelled. “We are not ten miles from the city! We’re basically right by my hotel!”

Instead of looking, I don’t know, ashamed, Jack laughed. “Yeah. I lied to you.”

I wanted to scream. But took a deep breath and stared at him instead. “Why?”

He didn’t answer right away, which further rankled me. After a few seconds, he shrugged. “I didn’t want you to go.”

I tried to stop the blush creeping up my neck as Jack strode on ahead, leading the way.

We had stepped out into a cacophony of sound. Salespeople in crammed stores calling out in Cantonese, the sound of honking cabs, the persistent beeping noise of the crosswalk signals—obeyed by people crowding intersections, because a wrong step off a curb would get you plowed by a cab in seconds. I was surprised by how different it felt from Seoul—it was more like New York City, but with extra chaos and layered improvisation.

It was hard to keep calm around so many people. And Ren could be around any corner. If they were searching for me, it would be kept hush-hush, too. My managers would definitely cover this up for as long as possible.

Once, when one of the singers in Joseph’s biggest boy band, Prince 3, went missing for a weekend (with a girl! To Hawaii!), they had a total media blackout about it. Because the only thing worse than one of your artists sneaking out (with a boy!) was a scandal. And for me, the timing would be disastrous since I was about to make my Later Tonight Show performance. I needed my fandom at its strongest, for their support to help push me to this next level of my career. Or that’s what my management label claimed, anyway.

I felt slightly guilty about how worried they must be, but it didn’t override my desire to have this break. For once, I wanted to think about myself. Not my family, my managers, or my fans. I didn’t want to be driven by obligation or guilt. I wanted to be driven by me. To take advantage of this free day I managed to carve out for myself.

But still, I had to be careful not to be recognized or found.

With this paranoia hovering over my every move, I found that following Jack weaving through people kept me calm, like when I focused on Ren in crowds of fans. My eyes stayed fixed on his dark green shirt, the sleeves rolled up. I didn’t know I liked boys in rolled-up sleeves until today. Yes, this was decidedly something I liked.

We were hiking up quite a lot of stairs. I glanced down at my slippered feet. “Hey, Jack. Can we stop by a shoe store or something?”

He paused to glance at me as I trudged up the stairs behind him. “Do I have to buy your shoes now, too?”

“Calm down, Cheapo. I’ll pay you back.”

“Cheapo? I’m fronting this day of whimsy,” he said. Despite his words, he flashed me a smile. “My luxury apartment must have given you the wrong impression. I’m actually a starving artist.”

When I reached him, I put my palms together under my chin, a praying pose. “Pretty please? They don’t even have to be nice. Only … not ugly.”

“Where’s the nearest Target when you need one?” he grumbled. But then his eyes lit up with an idea. “All right. Follow me, Slipper Peasant.”

We walked a few more blocks and I noticed the businesses getting hipper. Dry goods gave way to coffee shops and boutiques. Young people strolled around, taking photos. I saw more than one girl posing with her latte strategically, either taking a selfie or being photographed by some patient dude with a tripod. The Instagram game here was strong.