Page 31 of Somewhere Only We Know
She sent me a poop emoji. And then:Can you come over and help me with my geometry homework?
Ava needed my help with her math as much as I needed help with tying my own shoelaces. She was about five thousand times smarter than me, and unlike me, would probably do all the great things that good Asian kids were supposed to achieve. It ran in her blood, she loved it.
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 givingmethe 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 arenotten 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 myLater Tonight Showperformance. 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.
