But as soon as I step into his office, it instantly becomes clear.

Eunji is already there, sitting on the couch, her face streaked with tears.

We lock eyes.

They know, she mouths.

SEVENTEEN

Photos. So many photos.

Mr. Noh pulls them up on his computer, swiveling the screen to face us. There’s Geonwu leaving the restaurant. Giving a tip to the valet. Getting into his white Bentley. Then, with the time stamp only minutes later, Eunji leaves the restaurant. She’s made an attempt to hide her identity, with her oversized black square sunglasses, but then, in the next set of photos, you can see that as soon as she opens the door to Geonwu’s car, she lifts the sunglasses atop her head before sliding into the passenger seat. It’s undeniably her. But still, there’s nothing romantic about these photos—it’s just two people sharing a car ride, totally innocent…

Then, Mr. Noh clicks ahead.

There’s Eunji and Geonwu at Waffle Scoops. Him stealing a lick of her ice-cream cone, the photo such a tight shot that I can even make out the Oreo bits in it… And then, the nail in the coffin: a photo of the two of them kissing. Several photos, actually.

A shudder goes down my spine. As bad as I feel for Eunji, the main thought pulsing through my brain is: this could have been us.

But it’s not. I hold my breath as Mr. Noh finishes clicking through the photos emailed to him by Reveal, but there are no photos of me and Alex at all. I might hate that nine-hundred-pound gorilla most of the time, but right now I’m grateful for its constant presence. Without it lurking in my brain 24/7, Alex and I could have easily gotten carried away and ended up caught too.

I suddenly realize—this is why it was so easy for us to leave the restaurant last night. Not because we lucked out and there were no paparazzi at all. But because the paparazzi had already left to tailgate Eunji and Geonwu to the ice-cream shop by the time we came out.

I glance at Eunji. I’ve never seen her so distraught before. Her face is completely pale, and she’s hunched over in her seat like she’s trying to make herself as small as possible. She keeps wiping at the tears on her face, but as soon as she does, fresh ones take their place. My heart physically aches for her. Shit. I can’t even imagine how awful this must be for her. Well, that’s not true. I can imagine. I do imagine, every time Alex and I are together. Worst-case scenarios running through my head all the time. And now Eunji is living my worst nightmare.