At this, she sighs heavily, crossing her arms. “Someone in this group has to keep tabs on everyone. When one of us messes up, we all look bad. And if I look bad, my dad will—” She breaks off, catching herself. “Anyway, I just want to make sure you weren’t sneaking around with a guy last night too.”

“Rachel wouldn’t hide something like that.” Sunhee speaks up before I can, her face going a little red as she confronts Mina. “And she wouldn’t risk meeting a guy one-on-one either. She’s too smart for that. Right, Rachel?”

I force a smile. “Exactly.”

I’m glad that Sunhee’s standing up to Mina, and I appreciate that she’s doing it on my behalf, but a part of her comment grates on me. It’s a reminder that I’m toeing a dangerous line just by continuing to talk with Alex. I always told myself that I wasn’t dating because it’s so hard to meet people, which was partly true. But now that an amazing guy has, to steal his phrase, fallen right into my lap, I have to face the fact that the real reason I haven’t dated is because of all the risks it entails. I can’t forget about them, no matter how much I wish I could.

Forget about Alex, I tell myself. It’s the mantra running through my head as I choose my airport outfit and finish packing.

I promise myself not to think about which movie Alex would choose to watch on the flight home.

I practice not thinking about the fact that he had no idea who I was—and how refreshing that felt—as the paparazzi and fans gather to snap photos of us when we step off the plane in Seoul.

In fact, I even spend the night, and the next night, and the next night too, dreaming about how I’m not going to see him again anytime soon, or maybe ever.

All in all, I quickly become a pro at the art of concentrating on not concentrating on Alex. In fact, I become so focused on not thinking about him that I nearly break my shin during choreo the following week at DB.

Even though it’s not for another four months, we’re already deep in rehearsals for a new number we’ll be debuting in the upcoming multigroup concert. It’s this televised event where several groups will each perform one solo number, plus a big joint-group number at the end. But even though it’s not as significant a performance as our LA concert this fall, the DB trainers push us to perfection no matter what the circumstances are. Tonight’s rehearsal is a real nightmare—everyone dancing a half beat out of sync with each other, the choreographer shouting at us for our sloppy form.