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Nani had paced the deck for over half an hour as the rest of the hotel room slept on.  Over and over again, she imagined the contact name in her head.  She’d heard those words before…but…where?

Jinie popped her head out a couple minutes later. “Nani, I think we’re headed out to breakfast…are you ok?”

Nani looked up abruptly. “Close the door.  I have something to ask you.”

“Um…all right.” Jinie stepped out onto the small deck and shut the door behind her.  She was staring up at Nani expectantly.  She looked a bit scared.

“I’m wondering…who ‘honey bear’ is in your phone.  They sent you a text this morning, and it jumped out to me because the contact name was in Korean.”

Jinie had gone chalk white as Nani spoke.

“You don’t have to tell me,” Nani rushed to add when she saw how pale her friend had gotten.

Jinie looked down, and Nani could tell it was because tears were starting to pool in her eyes. “You have to promise not to tell anyone…” she whispered softly.

“Hey…” Nani spoke softly. “C’mere,” without any hesitancy, she pulled Jinie into her arms. “If it’s that important to you, I won’t tell anyone.”

“Not even Jordan and Jae?” Jinie was still whispering.

“Yes, not even Jordan and Jae.”

Jinie sniffed and buried her face in Nani’s shoulder before mumbling, “he’s my boyfriend.”

Nani was beyond confused now.  Why was Jinie hiding the fact that she had a boyfriend?  Nani voiced this concern.  But she made sure to do it gently.  Jinie was still very shaken.

“I…I have to…I can’t tell anyone.”

“Why not?”

There was a long pause. “Because…” more silence. “It’s Tae,” Jinie finally managed to spit out.

Nani froze. “What?  Say that again.  I think I misheard you.”

“No…you heard me right.”

“Jinie…” Nani pulled away so she could look Jinie in the eyes. “I…when?”

“Do you remember when I flew out here in January last year?”

“Yeah…for the photography gig.”

“Well…what I didn’t tell you was that I was one of the photographers for one of their shoots…Tae liked my pictures so much that he asked for my number for the next time he was in Chicago…and…it just kinda progressed from there.” Jinie was staring down at her feet and speaking in a very soft voice by the time she finished. “He’s who I was with last night.”

“Oh…that’s why you didn’t tell us.”

“Yeah…”

Nani took a peek back into the hotel room. “We should go get ready.  We wouldn’t want Jordan and Jae to be suspicious, right?”

“Right…” Jinie reached up and wiped the tears off her face.

“Hey, look at me.” Once Jinie had met her eyes, Nani finished, “I promise I won’t tell anyone, ok?”

Jinie just nodded.

——————–

Nani couldn’t concentrate for the rest of the day.  They headed out for a quick breakfast before they started their drive for the stadium.  The entire time, Nani was sending quick glances towards Jinie.  Jinie seemed completely oblivious, but Nani now noticed how often Jinie’s phone would go off.  Just about every hour on the dot, her phone would chime, and she would pull it out.

The first time it happened was at breakfast.  The next, they were sitting at a stoplight.  And then a few more times while they were standing in line at the venue.  The fact that Jinie could even get reception out here was remarkable to Nani.  Her bars had completely disappeared the closer to the venue they got.

Soon enough, they were inside and figuring their game plan out.  They spilt up.  Nani went to claim their seats while Jinie went to buy food and Jordan and Jae bought everyone’s merch.  Half an hour later, they were all seated and inhaling food as more people crammed in around them.  Even though it was a tight fit, Nani was very happy with their seats.  They’d gotten them as close as possible without being on the ground floor of the stadium.

Once the concert finally started, the crowd came alive in a sea of colors as their ARMY bombs lit up.  Everyone around her seemed to be lost in the music, but Nani couldn’t help but wonder what was going through Jinie’s mind right now.