My Summer in Seoul

Chapter Twenty

Dead to me, so let's date!

Grace

The tension was thick back at the apartment, blending into one of those awkward moments where everyone was eating but nobody was talking, not even casually. The poor chef dropped off some food and fled, I didn't blame him. It was as if they knew that I was pissed, hurt, and ready to hurl objects in the direction of the first person who spoke.

I was trying to be professional, but my stupid emotions and insecurity kept getting in the way every single time I told myself to calm down.

Once the guys looked like they were close to being done, I walked into the kitchen and read off their schedule.

"You guys have the rest of the night off, but remember you need to be in bed by eleven to get ready for your first rehearsal on the comeback stage tomorrow. Sookie, make sure you're hydrating tonight—you know how you can get. Rae, try not to stay up too late worrying about everyone. Lucas, if I see you on the piano after midnight, I'm tossing a match and starting an indoor bonfire. Kai, your hair kept getting in your face during the interview. Make sure that you pull it back a bit tighter or tell the stylist to do so for the rehearsal so you can watch everyone and stay in sync. And Jay, well Jay you did perfect today."

He grinned widely.

"Which means you're probably exhausted. You should go to bed a bit earlier and try not to forget the lyrics on stage like you did earlier this morning during practice. Your fans don't want to see you lip sync, even if you do have background vocals."

I had no idea where all of that came from.

I'd never had the balls to order them around.

Maybe it was the exhaustion, but rather than trying to cheer everyone up and make it a super positive environment, I just blandly read my notes to them.

That was it.

There was no, hey wanna put Pringles in Kai's pants and see how long it takes for Sookie to tackle him and steal one?

Up until this point, I'd been bending over backward trying to make the environment anything but what it was. Instead, all I'd accomplished was...nothing. The group still wasn't completely on point, and they didn't have much time left. I'd set my phone to ping every single time a new article came out about them and news kept leaking about the pressure they were under.

I had a half a mind to confiscate everyone's phones before the Showcase, but I wasn't sure what that would accomplish if they still had iPads and their computers.

Their faces were everywhere, along with the articles.

It was time to buckle down.

Even if that meant I had to turn into boring, mean Grace with no feelings. Did it matter anyways? Since they clearly assumed I didn't even possess them?

"You didn't eat," Rae said quickly.

I stared at the little containers of food in the middle of the table and suddenly felt my stomach roll. How could l possibly eat?

Embarrassment had a way of stealing a person's appetite.

I tried for a kind smile. "I'm fine, thanks."

I left the room before I started crying tears of frustration.

With a sigh, I shut the door to my room and threw myself against the bedspread with a groan into the nearest pillow.

I lay there feeling sorry for myself for at least fifteen minutes before getting up and changing into a pair of white Cozy Earth sweats.

Honestly, I had six hours before curfew, but I had no idea how to navigate the city, and on top of that, I still had a rapper to babysit.