Ari opens her mouth to snap back when Mina interrupts, glowering at both of them. “Can you two shut up already? You’re giving me a headache.”

For once, I agree with Mina.

I’ve got to get out of here for a bit. Done with my hair, makeup, and outfit, I slip out of the dressing room into the wings backstage just as SayGO starts their set. Perfect timing.

Leah and her groupmates look way too cute in their black-and-white varsity jackets and combat boots. I grin and snap a photo as Leah dances to the center for her part.

“Enjoying the show?” a voice behind me says.

I turn to see Jason approaching, dressed in a red leather jacket with distressed black jeans. I smile, tucking my phone away.

“Hey! You look great,” I say. “Are you up next?”

“Yep. I’m nervous, though.” He nods toward the stage. “Your little sis is a tough act to follow!”

I smile thinking how eleven-year-old Leah would have died to hear Jason say those words. Oh, who am I kidding? Sixteen-year-old Leah would probably feel the same.

“Good luck out there,” I say. “You’ll be great.”

He winks. “Aren’t I always?”

Same old confident Jason. I watch as he makes his way to the stage, grabbing his guitar from a stand as he goes.

“Rekindling something, are we?”

I jump about a foot in the air at the sound of Mina’s voice.

“What?” I say. “No, of course not. That’s ancient history.”

“Good,” Mina says, her eyes boring into mine, “because getting involved with another idol right now would be monumentally stupid, you know that, right?” I nod, but don’t say anything else. Eunji’s been so inside her shell the last three days, I’m pretty sure she hasn’t told any of the other girls about my involvement in her and Geonwu’s outing. About how I, too, was nearly caught with a boy of my own. Monumentally stupid? Mina, you have no idea. “Come on,” she says. “The stylists want to do a once-over on all of us together before we go on.”

We head back to the dressing room, but as we approach the door, we stop. Mr. Noh is standing there, having an animated conversation with one of the executives from Mnet, the TV network that’s airing the concert. Mina and I exchange a glance, then inch closer to try to hear what’s being said without being obvious.

“Absolutely not,” Mr. Noh is whisper-shouting. “I told you that would be unacceptable.”

“Well, they’re already here. And they’re slated to go on in ten minutes,” the executive says, consulting a clipboard in front of him. “What do you want me to do? Tell them not to go on?”

Mina and I exchange another glance. Who are they talking about?

“Yes,” Mr. Noh says. “That’s exactly what I want.”