I look back over my shoulder at the room with the lilacs and the mug full of pencils. Already, this place feels more like home than the villa ever could. And it’s so close by…

“Actually,” I say. “How would you all feel if I moved in instead?”

That night, I stay up late sketching at my new desk, then fall asleep in a pair of pajamas borrowed from Umma. It’s the best sleep I’ve had in a while. The next morning, Appa and I sit at the kitchen table with bowls of kongnamul guk. Umma made it for us before heading out to her morning class at Ewha. I try not to feel guilty for how long her commute is now, and make a mental note to cook breakfast tomorrow—at least I can save her time that way. Leah’s already out for the day too, but the new apartment is close enough to his office that Appa can enjoy breakfast with me before heading in.

“Are you okay, Daughter?” he asks as I look down at my soup, swirling the soybean sprouts around with my chopsticks. “You look like you have a lot on your mind. You’re not regretting your decision, are you?”

“Not regretting, no,” I say. “I just wonder what the girls will think.”

“Your members,” Appa says sympathetically.

I nod. “And the media.” Last night, everything felt so right, but as soon as I woke up this morning, I was filled with the impending dread of telling everyone the news. It’s true that the little annoyances of living with eight girls had begun to grate on me, and clearly things have been tense around the villa for the past few days in the wake of what happened to Eunji, but truly I’m not moving out because of what I’m leaving behind—but because of what I’m moving to. “I don’t know,” I say to Appa. “I guess a part of me feels like I should have stuck it out at the villa, even though I already feel so much better living here. I don’t want to disappoint anyone, or look like I’m giving up.”

He holds my gaze across the table. “If there’s one thing I know about you, it’s that you’re not a quitter. You’re just doing things your way, like you’ve always done.”

I swallow the lump forming in my throat and nod. “Thanks, Appa.”

He smiles. “Now eat your soup.”