My Summer in Seoul

I wanted to take a picture so bad but knew it would be inappropriate, so I tried to memorize this moment.

Dance practice was cool.

This was cooler.

I was just relaxing against my chair when the guys were given a break. Nobody approached me, which was fine. I was there to help, not be seen.

Lucas waved the director over and whispered something. Rae froze next to him, his jaw clenching, but Lucas just waved him off, then the nice lady who was helping me ran over to the director.

I was officially getting pointed at.

Frowning, I waited for whatever new thing Lucas had demanded. More coffee? Food? For me to walk and chew gum at the same time?

The pretty lady nodded her head, then made her way over to me; her smile was strained. “Grace, is it?”

“Yes.” I smiled. “I’m SWT’s intern for the summer.”

“Wonderful.” The way she spoke, it didn’t sound like it, but I was silent. “So, it seems like the director wants a closed set, just in case anything gets leaked, the members feel like it would be more comfortable for them if they don’t have to worry about any photos.”

I wanted to scream.

From their own intern?

I’d signed a freaking NDA!

Rejected and embarrassed yet again, I quickly stood. “I understand, I’ll just, um…” I glanced at the group. Lucas was staring daggers through me. Of course, he was; it was his fault with whatever he’d said to the director. I’ll give you uncomfortable, dude. “Can you let them know I’ll be waiting in the van?”

“Of course.” She smiled and then held out her hand toward the door.

“I know the way,” I said quietly.

“Oh, it’s no problem,” she said quickly.

I bet it wasn’t.

It felt like every single person on set watched me walk off. I was wearing High tops but still could have sworn I heard my loud footsteps as I left the room, walked down the hall, and made my way to the van.

I sat there and played on my phone for two hours, then another went by. Finally, the doors to the building opened, and the guys were coming out, looking exhausted.

I started the van and unlocked the doors.

I’d already entered the address to the apartment into my phone and had attempted to research traffic in Seoul as much as possible while I waited.

The door to the van opened.

Sookie was first—he gave me a shy smile and went to the back; I returned his smile then stopped when Lucas stepped in next with his glare.

And then I just stared straight ahead, waiting for the sound of the door to shut, waiting for my heart to stop hurting.

“All set?” I called, putting the van in reverse.

The answer was silence.

I assumed that was my yes.

And I safely drove everyone back to the apartments.

“Where do I park?” I asked nobody in general.

“The garage,” Rae said in an exhausted voice. “The pass should be in the console. Just tap it, and you’ll get access. The elevators down there will take you up, just don’t forget the code.”

“Code,” I repeated. “For the elevators.”

He groaned while the rest of the guys jumped out. “You don’t have the code? It’s probably on the iPad you didn’t bring with you.” Was that a dig? “79338, if you forget, just remember it’s the name of our fans, SWEET.”

“Th-thanks,” I muttered.

He nodded, got out of the van, then turned back. “You’re going to have to try harder, Grace. Nobody held our hands. Nobody is going to hold yours.”

“I am,” I said earnestly. “Trying that is.”

He sighed, running a hand through his blond hair. “Then maybe this isn’t for you.”

“I’m not quitting.”

“I didn’t say to quit.” He quickly followed. “Use the training materials you were given and give everyone their space—especially Lucas.”

My stomach dropped. “I didn’t mean to—”

“And stop making excuses,” he added, shutting the door to the van.

A tear slid down my cheek, followed by another.

Why was this so much harder than I’d thought?

And how was I going to win them over when I did everything wrong? When nobody, not even Rae, really gave me a chance?

Chapter Eight

Seventh Circle of Hell Day 5

Grace

The amount of sleep I got always coincided with the guys’ schedules, and they were absolute animals.

So far, I’d managed to almost kill them.

Insulted them unknowingly.

Apparently, leered at them during their photo shoot.

And, well today… today I apparently almost sent Sookie to the hospital when I offered to cook breakfast and found out that he’s allergic to eggs.

He almost put a bite into his mouth, not realizing I’d made a breakfast burrito only to have Rae grab it out of his hands and yell, “What the hell are you doing?”

“Making breakfast.” My throat nearly closed. “You guys have been working so hard, and I thought—”

“Stop thinking,” he snapped, and then, “I’m sorry, it’s just… he’s allergic to eggs. It should have been in his profile. Haven’t you memorized them by now?”