He jerks a nod, staring down at his foot, which scuffs the sidewalk. But even in the pale light from the streetlamps, I can see the smile curling his lips.
We fall quiet. I wait for him to leave, to interrupt our nice evening with an insensitive, inappropriate, or otherwise mean word. But he doesn’t, and I feel the need to bridge the silence between us.
“I’ve got to figure out how to ditch my parents for Christmas.” I force a laugh, though my throat feels like it might close up. “My mom emailed me today and said I needed to tell her when to buy my airplane ticket, but I definitely don’t want to spend an entire month at home.”
He catches my eye, a new, earnest spark in his. “Are you going to spend Christmas here, then?”
“No idea. But anything’s better than Nashville. I just wish I could steal my little sister so we could be together.”
“Well, Sophie and I are going home for the break, so you’ll be in the dorm alone.”
My heart sinks. The improbable hope that I’d held on to that they would choose to stay here at school withers. Looks like it’ll either be a stressful or a lonely holiday for me.
“Oh,” I manage. “Okay.”
“We’re going to spend Christmas with my mother,” he continues. “And I have to start working on the drama.”
“Oh yeah, your drama.” I cut my eyes to him. “I’m sure you’re excited to see your face on the small screen.”
He scowls, but there’s no effort in it. “I’m dreading it, actually. But what I was thinking was that, maybe you would like … if you have no interest in going home … I’m not sure if you would want to—don’t feel you have to accept—”
“Jeez, Jason,” I interrupt. “Out with it.”
His cheeks redden, and my stomach flip-flops. I had no idea it could be sexy for a guy to blush.
“I thought you might like to spend the break with us,” he finally says. “In Seoul.”
I’m shocked silent. He wants me to spend Christmas with him? Or rather, his family? But he’ll be there. Working, yeah, but still present. And hopefully in adorable scarves and gloves that match his colorful shoes.
Momma will kill me. No way will she let me go home with people she’s never met. Especially not for a holiday.
Good thing she’s not here to stop me.
Chapter Thirteen
After Thanksgiving, midterms arrive and throw me into one of the most stressful weeks of my life. I’ve officially decided high school in Korea—especially at a school for rich kids with parents who expect them to get into good colleges—is way harder than in America. Between long study sessions in the library and enough stress to keep perpetual purple circles beneath my eyes, I’m ready to quit school and buy a private island with my trust fund, where I can sit by the beach every day.
Also, cold weather has officially arrived. Venturing outside is practically like braving the Arctic tundra.
My first midterm is physics, my easiest class. The others are spread out throughout the week. After school, I head back to the dorm and find Sophie curled up on her bed with her laptop. When I slam the door shut, she shushes me.
“What are you watching?” I stand on the edge of my bed and peer up at her screen. “One of those Korean soap operas again?”
“It’s not a soap opera!” She huffs, clutching the blanket over her mouth, her eyes so wide they might pop out of their sockets.
“Those shows can’t be that interesting.”
She tears her gaze away from the screen long enough to shoot me a death glare. “You don’t even know.”
I laugh, dropping back down to the floor. “Fine. What’s it about?”
She pauses the video. “It’s only the most romantic story ever!”
I yank off my shoes and collapse on my bed, a dull headache settling beneath my eyebrows. Physics problems float around my brain.
“You say that about all of them.”
She sighs. “Be quiet and listen. It’s about a guy who’s trying to end political corruption, but he has to do it secretly.”
“Like a superhero?”
“Exactly! But without the costume.”
“And how is this romantic?”
“Because he can’t be with the girl he loves!” She pounds her fist against the mattress with such vengeance I’m wondering if this show really is worth watching. “She doesn’t know that he’s actually the one outing all the bad guys, and she doesn’t like him. But he’s really a good person; she just doesn’t know it.”
“That sounds like Spider-Man. Or Batman. Or both rolled into one.”
“It’s wonderful.” She bolts up in bed. “You should watch it. Now.”
“I don’t think so…”
“Come on! I’ve been trying to get you to watch a Korean drama for months. Give it a chance.”
Sophie snatches up my laptop and searches for a website to view the show online with English subtitles, and I can’t really say no when the alternative to watching the show is studying some more.
We spend the next three hours watching episodes from the beginning, and by dinnertime I’m starving but so addicted to the story that I have to know what happens. We run down to the cafeteria and eat as quickly as possible, then detox all the stress from midterms by watching four more episodes before crashing.
If the drama Jason’s going to be in is this good, I might just have to watch it.