Page 77 of Somewhere Only We Know
Her arms wrapped around my neck and she grinned at me, her eyes bright behind her glasses. “That was fun. Do you do this often?”
I didn’t answer, reveling in the feel of her body so close to mine, her hands resting on the bare skin of my neck. The energy between us was buzzing and I was about to kiss her again when she jerked her head around and said, “Do you hear that?”
“Wh-what?” I stammered, my hands dropping from her waist.
She tilted her head. “Music.”
I heard it then, tinny and echoing from a hallway to our left.
“‘Total eclipse of the heart’!”
We looked at each other at the same time. “A karaoke bar,” I said with a laugh. “I forgot they have that here. The actual club is downstairs.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Well, let’s not squander this rare opportunity.”
“For what?” I asked.
A mischievous expression crossed her face—the same one that had been coming and going all day. And then she pulled me down the hall.
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
LUCKY
It was an American-style karaoke bar, not one with separate rooms like in Korea. Small groups of people seated in booths and scattered tables crowded the space. Colorful lights were strung everywhere and there was a small stage where a middle-aged Asian man in a panama hat was belting out the rest of “Total Eclipse of the Heart.”
He was both terrible and good, and when he finished, everyone applauded thunderously. The man blew a kiss into the audience before traipsing down the steps back to his table, where a group of people high-fived him.
Something stirred in me.
“Are you sure you want to be here?” Jack asked, shifting his weight next to me uneasily as we hovered at the entrance.
When we walked in here, I thought it would be fun to watch peoplesing. But being around people singing again brought a rush of emotions.
I want to make people feel how I felt when I listened to their music.
You can’t help what you want.
There’s a life that is quality and there’s a life that is… empty.
Is it possible to have both? Freedom and this career?
Did what I want from music, from the K-pop industry, change?
I need to hold out for a bit longer, and things could change.
It all clicked into place. I wanted to capture that feeling again. The love I had for singing. For performing.
And I couldn’t wait around for the perfect moment for change. Life was short.
This day was almost over for me.
“Yes, I want to be here. And I want to sing.”
“What!” Jack whispered loudly. “Youcan’t.”
“Yes, I can.” It was time to stop hiding.
I headed to the “DJ,” who was set up in the corner by the stage.
