“Me too,” I chirp back, refusing to back down. “Thanks so much for inviting me.”
“Cute outfit, Rachel,” Eunji says, folding a piece of gum into her mouth as her eyes flick over my clothes. “Did you borrow it from your little sister?”
“I love the hair,” Lizzie adds. She reaches over and flicks one of my braids off my shoulder. “What a throwback to elementary school.”
“You look uncomfortable, Rachel,” Mina says, her face pinching in mock concern. “You don’t feel out of place without Mr. Noh here to take care of you, do you? Surely even Princess Rachel must know how to have fun at a party?”
Mina takes a sip from her cup and eyes me coolly. I want to snap back, calling her out for being a dirty liar and telling her exactly where she can put her “late-night training session,” but my momentary bravery has run out. Instead, I take another sip from my soju beer mix, wincing at the sour taste, my fist tight around the glass.
All of a sudden Jason pops up behind me, glancing from me to Mina to the other girls with a small smirk on his lips.
“Jason!” Mina coos. “I didn’t know you were here! Have you come to find me?” she asks, sipping casually on her drink.
“Actually, I was looking for Rachel,” Jason answers.
“Wh-wh-aat?” Mina sputters. “But… how do you know Rachel?” I swear to god, if he brings up the pajamas right now, I will kill him with my bare hands.
Jason smiles at me. “Oh, we go way back. Me and Rachel and Woodstock.” Mina opens her mouth to respond, but right then Jason puts his hands on my shoulders, turning me abruptly and guiding us deeper into the party.
“I’ll have you know, it was Snoopy on my pants, not Woodstock. Woodstock is the dopey little bird. Snoopy is the loyal dog–slash–airplane pilot,” I say, laughing as we plop down on a couch in the corner of the room.
Jason nods in mock seriousness, draping his arm over my shoulder and pulling me close. “You’re right. Clearly Snoopy is the superior choice in sleepwear. Forgive me? I was just trying to make a quick exit.”
I shoot him a look. “What do you mean?”
“Well, we were surrounded by three girls who were all staring at you like they wanted to rip your face off,” he says, his breath warm against my skin. “Relocation seemed like a good idea.”
The soju is warming its way through my body, and I smile. “Well, you know what they say.”
“What do they say, Werewolf Girl?”
“The more people stare at you, the more you must be worth staring at.” I giggle, and a tiny burp escapes my mouth. My eyes go wide, and I clap a hand over my mouth as Jason looks on, utterly delighted. He pulls me closer to him on the couch, so that my legs are practically on top of his. My mind is whirring—Is this really happening? I definitely should not be flirting with Jason right now. That’s basically asking to end up like Suzy Choi. Not that she had a boyfriend. Not that Jason is my boyfriend. Oh my god, what am I thinking? There’s no way I’m asking him for an autograph for Leah now.… I close my eyes, trying to press pause on the soju-induced monologue running through my head.
Minjun flops down dramatically on the couch next to me, his copper-colored hair sweeping over his eyes. “I’m bored.” He pouts. “And hungry.”
Jason rolls his eyes at his friend, shifting so that his arms are no longer around me. A shiver courses through my body involuntarily, and I hike the sleeves of my sweater top up over my shoulders to stay warm. “Why don’t you go see what the chefs left in the kitchen for dinner?” he says diplomatically.
“The only thing to eat in that kitchen is kale and spinach smoothies. You remember how they starved us in our trainee days!” Minjun sniffed the air. “Do you guys smell chicken?”
I gulp, remembering the Tupperware Umma packed before I left the house. I reach gingerly into my bag. “Um, do you mean this chicken?” I say, embarrassed.
“Ah-ssa!” Minjun shouts, ripping the box out of my hands and opening it. “Two Two Fried Chicken! My favorite! Jason, this girl is really okay.”
Jason laughs and Minjun starts inhaling my leftovers, two pieces at a time.
Across the room, I can feel as Mina watches the three of us, her narrowed eyes flashing. Her phone beeps, and she pulls it out of her bag, scowling at something on the screen. She shows it to Lizzie and Eunji, and they both grimace, frowning down at her. Then she stuffs the phone back into her bag and jumps up, rearranging her face into a perfect smile. She claps her hands lightly, bouncing up and down. “Attention, party people! The time has come for girl bonding, trainees only!” she exclaims. “You know what that means.… All you non-trainees, out! That goes double for the boys! Even you, Jason—if you can manage to tear yourself away from Princess Rachel.” She smirks at us.
Minjun wipes his greasy chicken fingers on his jeans before grabbing Jason’s hands, pulling him up. “Come on, Jay-Star, let’s go hit that new club in Itaewon.”
Jason bends down and murmurs “Good luck” into my ear, sending shivers along my spine again. He jumps over the back of the couch and joins his friends, singing the chorus from “Fake Crush” as they disappear into the street.
Oh shit. Leah’s autograph. I jump up, intent on running after him, but between the soju and unexpectedly spending my night flirting with Jason, my head is spinning and I flop back down on the couch at the same moment that Mina sits next to me, holding two glasses filled with champagne. Around us, all the other girls are pouring themselves glasses too, squealing as the champagne fizzes over the rim and drips onto their hands.
“A toast,” Mina says, handing me a glass. When I don’t take it right away, she sighs, rolling her eyes. “Come on, Rachel. Loosen up, will you? We’re all just trying to have a little fun together.”
Fun. I have to admit, even though this night is nothing like what I thought it would be, I am having fun. I purse my lips and set down my beer to take the champagne glass.
Mina grins and raises her drink, turning to the other girls. “To our family! And to becoming the next biggest, brightest stars in Korea!”
The girls cheer, linking arms and clinking glasses before downing their champagne in one gulp. I drink a little slower, the liquid burning my throat way more than I expected. I nearly cough it up, but I don’t want to give Mina the satisfaction of seeing me choke. I tip the glass up, forcing myself to drink the whole thing.
I sink into the couch as the girls around me chatter away, pouring themselves more and more champagne. I look around the house, wishing Akari were here with me so I would have someone to talk to. I grab my phone to text her, but my fingers feel thick and uncoordinated and I fumble with the straps on my bag until I give up. I’ll talk to her tomorrow. My hand is cold from the champagne glass, and I press it into my face, relishing the chill. I drank too much. No, I drank too fast. Everything is spinning. Eunji’s loud voice is ringing in my ears, and the music is starting to sound like it’s playing in slow motion. I look at Mina, who’s still sitting next to me… and there are two of her. I’m seeing double. I try to blink away the nightmare.
I fall deeper into the couch, my head growing fuzzier with each second. I see Mina’s blurry faces leaning in close to mine. “It worked! She’ll never be chosen now.” Chosen? What is she talking about? “Earth to Rachel! You look like you could use some fresh air, Princess.” Her voice swirls slowly around me, but I can’t find the energy to respond.