Secrets of Attraction

Fourteen: JOOHYUK

Even as the last chords of the song echoed through the bar, I knew I'd made a huge mistake. I could see Suzy clearly, out near the front, looking like she'd rather be anywhere else. I thought she'd like it, kind of a thank-you for all she'd done in the past two weeks, but halfway through "Happy Birthday," when she wasn't even smiling, my gut told me, Joohyuk, you just blew it big.

We left the stage as Jasper went back on and announced the band for the next date. The dance floor had cleared out a bit, but was still thick enough that I had to push my way through. Jisoo and Subin disappeared into the crowd. Someone tugged on the collar of my jacket; a girl waved me over to her and her friends.

"You guys were sooooo awesome!"

"Thanks." I nodded at the four of them, hoping they didn't expect me to say much more than that, because I could barely hear my own thoughts over the techno that was now blaring through the speakers.

"You guys want to hang out?" she asked.

"We're, um, kind of hanging out anyway, here with some friends."

"Will you guys be back here to play again?" another girl asked.

I shrugged. "Not sure, hope so."

They let out an enthusiastic. "Woo-hoo!" and high-fived. I didn't know what to do. We'd never had fans who were strangers before.

"Is the guy in the hat seeing anyone?"

"Ha, Subin?" I shook my head.

The girl who's waved me over tugged on my collar again and brought her mouth to my ear.

"I think you're hot. Text me when you play here next," she said, shoving something into my hand. It was a napkin. With her number.

"Cool." I tucked it into my pocket. "See ya."

"See ya"? You've got this god thing down great, Hyuk.

I found Suzy, Stephanie, and Jisoo by the bar.

Suzy had her arms crossed, a different person from the beginning of the night. She looked bummed, all the excitement drained out of her. Minho wasn't around. I shouldn't have felt happy about that, but I did.

"So did you hate it?"

"Oh, what, you? No, you guys were great. 'Happy Birthday'? I just hate being the center of attention for something so corny. I know I probably don't give off that vibe, but, yeah that's me."

"Ah, I'll file that away for future reference."

A hatless Subin popped up behind Jisoo and Stephanie.

"Have any you seen Anna?"

"You mean Yoona?" Suzy said.

"Oh, I kind of like the fake name thing."

"Isn't she with Changwook?" Stephanie asked.

"No, I saw him leave about half an hour ago. I haven't seen her since then." Suzy's brow pinched and she looked at Stephanie. "I thought she was with you."

"She was with me until five minutes ago and . . ." Subin leaned in like he was going to say something but put out his pinkie and thumb and tipped them back toward his mouth to mime drinking.

"No," we all said together.

"Yeah, had to step outside for some air; we came back in, I told her I'd grab her a water and now I can't find her."

"Maybe she's in the bathroom." Stephanie grabbed Suzy's hand and began to walk away. Then a siren sounded, a red light pulsed on the far wall, and people climbed up onto the bar to dance. Everyone was clapping and laughing, even the bartender, so it must have been a regular thing at 2STO.