My Summer in Seoul

Tears welled in my eyes as I read people suggesting he commit suicide, which was exactly the sort of thing that we were all trying to prevent.

Jay and Sookie exchanged worried glances while Rae and Kai just stared straight ahead as though they were going to try to solve the group’s problems by taking away one cell phone.

The rest of the drive back to the dorms was deathly silent as Lucas’s phone burned a hole in my purse.

Clearly, everyone was exhausted, and even though we’d had some time off the previous day, the pressure was back on for the rest of the day and the rest of the week.

I cleared my throat and reminded myself to scroll through the rest of the schedule for the day once we were back and I had a minute.

By the time I went home, I was going to need a prescription for Xanax, I was convinced of it. I looked down at Lucas’s phone lit up in my purse, tempted to grab it; I reached out, then shoved it back down.

“So…” I cleared my throat and started going over the afternoon. “You guys have an interview with Seventeen magazine from the States after the variety show filming. Like I said, you’re the first segment, and all you have to do is—”

“We know how to do our own jobs,” Rae snapped. His face fell soon after. “Sorry, it’s just… are we all booked as a group?”

“Yeah.” I swallowed, stealing a glance at Lucas, who was sitting on the couch looking grumpy as hell.

“Ssi-Bal,” Jay said more to himself than anyone in particular, earning a shove from Sookie, while Rae covered his ears like Jay had just cursed—maybe he had?

You could cut the tension with a knife in the van.

I’d never wished I knew my native language more in my entire life; this was the time for some cheering up, and all I had was silence.

A groan escaped Lucas’s lips as he pulled his hat over his head like he was bored out of his mind when everyone knew that he was depressed, freaking out on the inside, and uncertain about his future, all because a fan had taken advantage of him.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t extremely worried.

My stomach was tied up into about a million knots. When we’d reached the apartments, things had been bad. Fans had been holding up signs with the group’s picture and an X over Lucas’s face, and they had looked close to rioting.

Not good.

I’d quickly gotten out of the van, nearly banging my knees across Rae’s in an attempt to play personal bodyguard when someone started screaming out Lucas’s name over and over again. I snapped my head in the direction of the commotion. A fan was holding up another sign with a giant X covering Lucas’s face. Before I could turn away, something came flying through the air in our direction. It looked like a red ball or a balloon, and security was still hustling out of the building running at us at breakneck speed.

Without thinking, I’d grabbed Lucas by the arm and nearly tackled him back into the van, landing across his lap as something splashed against my back.

Please let that be water.

Please let that be water.

Lucas’s hat fell back off his head, revealing his thick red hair; his blue eyes flared in surprise up at me as the screaming behind us intensified.

Security pulled me away from him quickly and I was shuffled into the building with the rest of the group. My heart slammed against my chest as we all got into the elevator. I wasn’t the only one breathing hard.

First thing in the morning, I was asking for more security, I wasn’t exactly sure how to do that, but my uncle had given me his number. I’d ask Solia first because this situation wasn’t safe, not even close.

Not for anyone, least of all Lucas.

Everything was all of a sudden insane.

How the hell did these idols live like this? Mad respect for the dedication and hard work, but even my blood pressure had spiked, and I was the help.

“Thank you.” The words came out gruff, slightly accented.

Frowning, I turned to see Lucas lick his full lips then look back down. Had he just spoken to me?

“Y-you’re welcome.” My voice cracked.

I shook the stress away or attempted to and looked back down at the guys’ schedule. “Rae, can you let everyone know they have around thirty minutes before the variety show and—”

Rae speed-walked into the kitchen and started firing off orders in a calm voice, then grabbed an energy drink from the fridge and just started chugging it—good thing it wasn’t beer, right?

Ha! Bet he wished it were.

Same.

When he was done, he crunched the can in his hand and tossed it into what I assumed was recycling before turning around and asking in a hushed whisper, “They haven’t canceled yet?” His eyes were a bit wild. Honestly, he was freaking me out a bit. In the little over two weeks I’d been with the guys, I’d never really seen Rae panicked like that.