My Summer in Seoul

“Hey, you’re learning.” He laughed and followed me out of the elevator. “The pressure’s unreal for them right now.”

“So that’s what you are then? That’s the role you play? Jay’s confidant?” I was searching for information that I knew Dae-Jung probably wouldn’t give me.

He shrugged his broad shoulders, his expression unreadable as his light eyes seemed to shutter. “What are you really asking?”

“Are you…?” I made an awkward motion with my hands.

He mimicked me. “I really don’t know what this is? Is this some weird new American handshake?”

“No.” I laughed awkwardly and looked around the parking garage, then led him down the back. “I mean, are you guys… together?”

He sighed, shoving his hands into his pants. “No, we aren’t together.”

“Do you, like, want to be?”

“I don’t know. Do you, like, maybe want to send me a note, then I can circle yes or no during recess?” He fired right back at me.

“Fair.” I laughed as I caught up to his long strides. “I can see why you’d like him.”

Dae-Jung sighed. “He likes girls.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, oh.” He shrugged. “It’s not like that between us.”

“But you wish it was?” I pushed a bit more.

“It’s different here,” was all he finally said as we rounded the corner and made it out onto the street. “You have to be a bit more careful…” And then he shot me a gorgeous smile. “They have the day off tomorrow, right?”

I nodded.

“Do something that relaxes them—promise?”

I almost slumped. “So don’t be myself and attempt to think of something that’s not going to stress everyone out?”

He laughed. “Maybe get them out of the city?”

“Sure, and I’ll just find the cure for cancer while I’m at it. You do realize they’re watched twenty-four seven? And in a few days, they start shooting their own reality show leading up to the Showcase. I think it’s called—”

“SWT Goes SWEET,” he finished with a laugh. “Watching it might help you get to know them faster.”

“With what free time?” I asked.

“Yeahhhhh…” He shrugged. “You’ll figure it out. Take care, Grace…”

“Bye, Oppa.” It still felt funny saying it, but he smiled warmly at me as though he liked it, so I just let it go and watched him walk down the side street into the alley and disappear. Huh, he must have parked somewhere else.

Get them out.

Get them out.

I repeated what he said the entire way back to the apartment.

What could I do?

Well, one thing I wasn’t going to do was mess it up. I just needed a plan. I quickly got on my phone and started searching for private areas outside of Seoul and smiled when I found the perfect spot.

Chapter Eleven

Even if it kills me…

Grace

It was the guys’ day off.

And I had a plan.

Was it a good one?

Ummmm, jury was still out, but it was all I had.

I made sure I had all the food and drinks packed and quickly discovered that getting everything delivered was the easiest way to not only keep it from the guys but to make sure I didn’t poison them. They already didn’t trust my driving; the last thing I needed was to make them doubt my cooking on top of that.

I told everyone to meet me in the living room at noon, and by their cheerful (not!) expressions, I could see it was already a giant pain-in-the-ass chore.

They were all wearing sweats and at least looking well-rested.

“What’s up, Grace?” Rae asked. See, even the nice one looked annoyed! Damn it, Dae-Jung! If I hadn’t promised, I’d be cowering in my room.

My dad said I came into this world screaming. So, whatever, I decided I was going to grow a pair and order them around.

Hah, easier said than done, as Lucas stared me down, his lips pressed into a firm line, his gorgeous red hair messy and perfect at the same time.

Look away, Grace, look away!

Did he just bathe in sexy every day?

It made zero sense that he had such an effect on me when he was such a bully!

“All right.” I nervously tugged at my long braid. “So, I have a plan for you guys today. It may be kind of lame, and we’ll only be gone for an hour or two, but I thought it would at least alleviate some of the stress.” I left out the part that I planned for longer than a few hours if they actually enjoyed themselves.

I was all smiles.

They were all frowns.

Well, here went nothing. “I rented a Jeep!”

Annnnd cue crickets.

I dropped my hands. “Okay, so actually because there’s six of us, we’re going to have to shove Sookie between two of you, but this is… clearly not what you guys… Shit,” I grumbled. “Just bear with me, okay? I promise it’s going to be fun, I already packed food and drinks, and it will be good to get you guys out. I even got permission from Assistant Solia, you know, after begging her for nearly an hour and promising her she could sell my organs if anything happens to you.” My face dropped. “I think she was serious.”