After hours of dancing and mingling, I’m ready to call it a night. Some of the more introverted girls of the group like Youngeun, Jiyoon, and Sunhee have already made their graceful exits to their hotel rooms, while Mina, Lizzie, and Eunji have somehow found themselves on the roller rink, squealing and laughing as they spin around in their skates, shimmering outfits fanning out like sparkling parasols. Ari and Sumin are sipping cocktails by the dessert bar and, as usual, are arguing about something or other. Being the same age and having started training at the same time, the two of them are constantly jumping back and forth between being best friends and roasting each other until one of them cries. Honestly, they’re like a dysfunctional old married couple. It’s actually kind of adorable.

I’m dreaming of going up to my hotel room and soaking in the Jacuzzi tub. As much as I love these strappy Jimmy Choo stilettos, I’m dying to take them off and sink my toes in a bubble bath. Ahh yes. An aromatherapy soak plus a face mask sounds like the perfect way to end this tour.

Just as I’m heading out of the ballroom, I hear my name called again. I turn and spot a figure leaning up against the wall where our music video is being projected, colors and lights dancing playfully across his face.

“Jason?” I say in surprise.

His lips curl up into an impish smile, and he cocks his head to the side. “Has it been so long that you don’t recognize me?”

Of course I recognize him, in that slick white suit and those bright-green and gold sneakers. How could I not?

After the love-triangle debacle with Mina, Jason and I had a falling-out. I just couldn’t trust him anymore. But slowly, over time, the ice between us started to thaw. A text here, a secret coffee date there. Eventually, we were able to make up and pick up where we left off. Or at least, we tried. But between Girls Forever’s launch, and his successful career as DB’s hottest solo artist, we barely had time to sleep, let alone date. Eventually, things fizzled between us because of our busy schedules. And Jason doesn’t know it, but it was also a little bit because of the secret video Mina had threatened to leak of Jason and me kissing backstage. With her threat looming over my head, I could never quite relax when I was with him.

The thing is, Mina never did end up leaking that video. And even though the threat of it was often on my mind during the year and a half Jason and I dated, ultimately, we had the chance to give our relationship a fair shot without any tabloid frenzy. Maybe Mina never intended to hurt me as much as I thought she did.