“She must be a wonderful girl, then.” She waves me forward. “Come. Sit.”
I drop down onto the couch and find it only slightly more comfortable than I originally thought.
“Sophie has told me this is your first trip to Seoul,” Ms. Bae says. “What do you think?”
“It’s great!” I respond, my nerves infusing a little too much excitement into my voice. “I mean, I’ve only been here for an hour or so, but everything seems awesome!”
Okay, since when does my voice sound like a chipmunk? Chill out, Grace. It’s not like you’re meeting your future mother-in-law, or something.
“I’m going to take her to the market later,” Sophie says. “Maybe tomorrow.”
Ms. Bae responds with proper enthusiasm, something my mother would never do. “That sounds like a lot of fun.”
We spend the next hour talking with Sophie and Jason’s mom, but it never veers into awkward territory. She asks about Tennessee and my college plans, and besides the polite questions about family, she doesn’t pry—which I appreciate.
Before dinner, Sophie shows me to her room, where I’ll be sleeping for the next month. With fuchsia-colored paint and giant posters of her favorite actors and cartoon characters plastered all over the walls, it’s like stepping into the room of a preteen, but it somehow fits her. Her bed, covered in a fuzzy pink blanket over a silky comforter, is big enough for both of us, and I set my suitcase beside her dresser.
We migrate to the kitchen for supper, where I find Ms. Bae has cooked bibimbap, a traditional Korean dish of white rice with lots of sautéed vegetables and a fried egg, mixed with chili paste. Now that I’ve mastered chopsticks, I don’t feel completely inept eating with their mom, but I can’t hide my shock after the first bite, when my mouth feels like it’s on fire.
I suck down a drink of water, and Sophie giggles.
“Spicy?” she asks.
I toss Ms. Bae a glance, not wanting to offend her. “No, it’s great!”
My mouth still burning, I pick up a piece of cabbage with red paste rubbed all over it, a dish that’s always served at school but that I’ve thus far avoided. But one bite and I realize it’s even spicier than the bibimbap.
After draining my water glass, I ask, “What is that?”
Sophie points to the cabbage in question. “Kimchi. Good, no?”
“Uhh … yeah, but it’s really spicy.”
Note to self—bibimbap: good. Kimchi: a little too intense for me.
Beside me, Jason snorts a laugh when I swallow hard and discreetly pushes his drink toward me with the back of his hand. I’m caught between glaring at him for laughing and hugging him, but I settle with finishing off his glass, as well.
Once we’ve all finished eating, we turn in early. It feels like we’ve been traveling a long time, although the drive only lasted a few hours. But I couldn’t sleep last night, the argument with my mother replaying over and over in my head. She’s probably complaining to Dad about me right now, sending me evil vibes across the Pacific. I wouldn’t put it past her.
My phone pings with a message, interrupting my depressing thoughts, and I open a picture message from Jane. She’s standing behind Momma and pretending to hang herself. The text below reads, kill me now. an entire month without school. alone, with our mother. you better be having fun.
I suppress a laugh but allow Jane’s words to sink in. I can’t let myself worry about Momma’s opinions of me or let them weigh me down. I’m in freaking Seoul for the Christmas holidays. It’s time to have fun.
* * *
The next day, Sophie and I lounge around the house in our pajamas. Jason is conspicuously absent, and when I ask about him, Sophie says, “He had to go to the studio today to talk to his manager about the drama. They start shooting in a few days.”
She flips through TV channels, stopping on a celebrity gossip show. Although I can’t understand anything, I can decipher enough to know the candid shots of stars don’t come with flattering commentaries.
A picture of Eden pops onto the screen, and I perk.
“Sophie, what are they talking about?”
She shrugs. “Nothing important.”
The screen flashes to a video of Sophie, me, and the boys in Incheon, that night we went to the underground mall. There I am on Korean TV, my eyes a little panicked but my outfit looking pretty amazing, if I do say so myself.
“Are they trying to figure out what school Jason’s at?” I ask.
“Yeah, but the press has been speculating since August. Seeing him in Incheon might help them narrow it down, though.” She chews on a fingernail. “It’s pretty incredible no one at school has leaked the information.”
“Well, I think the school basically threatened their lives if they told. Nobody wants to get expelled if it’s found out they told somebody.”
“I guess,” she says.
The screen flashes to Eden at one of their concerts, and Sophie scoffs.
“What?” I ask. “What are they saying?”
She rolls her eyes. “They’re talking about how Yoon Jae went to China for the holidays, to stay with his dad in Beijing. They’re trying to make a big deal about it, like the band is having trouble or something. Yoon Jae just wanted to be with his family.”
Despite Sophie brushing off the issue, I have to wonder if the network has a point. I get the feeling there’s some kind of tension among them. Or, at least, between Jason and Yoon Jae.