CHAPTER 15: SNOW
Ash Stryker was a jerk. He put the “ass” in jackass. I shouldn’t have been so upset. I definitely shouldn’t have thrown him around like a ragdoll yesterday just to prove a point. It wasn’t like he owed me anything, but—
“He lied to me,” I said. “I hate that.”
“Yeah,” Min-Hee said, as we looked for a space in the packed Singing Fish parking lot. Koreans liked to celebrate special occasions en masse. “But do you hate him? That’s the most important question.”
I wracked my brain. “I should. I really should.”
But…the way he’d acted last night. How he’d made sure to tell me he wasn’t attracted to Director Sadie (probably another lie, but still). How he hadn’t complained once while I used him as a practice dummy. The silly smile he was wearing at the end of class. I didn’t know why, but I couldn’t hate him.
“He made me look like an idiot,” I said.
“Really? I remember Ash looking like a fool, and if I’m not mistaken, he did that for you. Bae Bae and the guys thought it was hilarious.”
“Yeah, I bet.”
Min fit her little car into the last available spot between two monster SUVs. Turning the car off, she shifted to face me. As usual Min was perfection: hair down and wavy, her makeup just right, the baby blue dress she wore simple yet cute. She didn’t even have to try to be girly. I envied that.
“Min, you look beautiful,” I said.
“Thank you, I know.” She smiled, waved a hand at my outfit. “And thank you two times for not wearing a hoodie tonight.”
I looked down at my long-sleeved black button-up, one of the few nice shirts I owned. “It’s the least I could do.”
“Your ass looks great in those jeans by the way.”
“Min!”
“I’m just saying.” She winked. “Ash will be sure to notice.”
“Like I care,” I muttered.
“Okay, cut the crap,” she said. “What’s really bothering you? Is it the fact that Ash lied? Or is it that with Sadie out of the picture, there’s nothing stopping you and him from being together?”
“One, regardless of if they’re together or not, he’s still my client”—I held up a hand when she went to interrupt—”and two, why would that bother me?”
“Because he’s your first.”
“First what?”
Min rolled her eyes. “The first guy who’s shown an interest, the first one who’s come after you. Ash isn’t like the others. He didn’t overlook what’s right in front of him. And honestly, Snow? I think that scares the heck out of you.”
“Yeah, right,” I said.
“You are scared,” she insisted, “and that’s okay so long as you don’t let it hold you back. Ash likes you. He does, but he’s not going to wait around forever. If you want him back, you need to find your inner Bruce Lee and go for it.”
“Wow.” I paused, staring at her. “How long have you been waiting to say that?”
Min shrugged. “A while.”
“Well, message received.”
“Good.”
The karaoke bar was loud and crowded as we walked inside. And it wasn’t just family and friends. There were a few other dazed customers. Guess they hadn’t expected all the balloons and streamers, the big banner that said Congratulations Min and Bae! I’d been here hours earlier to help decorate, so I’d known what to expect. But Min gasped in delight.
“Oh my God,” she breathed. “It’s gorgeous.”
“All Bae Bae,” I said. He’d had such a clear idea of what this party should be. It surprised the crap out of everyone. From the color scheme—blues and silver—to the soft lighting, snacks, and music, he’d planned everything. Even I’d been impressed.
“Did someone pick up the heart ice sculpture?”
“Uh yeah, over in the far corner.” I frowned. There was no way she could see it from here. “How’d you know about that?”
She waved me off. “And the music? Did he include Ingrid Michaelson and a little Girls’ Generation?”
“There’s a playlist,” I deadpanned.
“Excellent, what about food? Did Imo bring her famous Dok?”
“Yeah, she did.” We’d stayed up late adding flowers to the sticky rice cakes. I shook my head. “You planned everything didn’t you?”
“Of course,” Min sniffed. “You expected me to leave everything to Bae? Please. The man may be fine, but he would’ve had us listening to Jay-Z and eating raw vegetables.” She shivered. “Not at my engagement party.”
“Good point.” Bae Bae was kind of a health nut.
Leading Min-Hee to a table near the dance floor, I did a sweep of the room. I saw Omma talking to Min’s mom; Bae’s parents were talking to her dad. Grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, second cousins, all littered the room. Everyone from The Academy was here, too. But no Ash. Something inside me deflated.
“Snow, you okay?”
“Fine,” I said.
Min was too freaking observant. “Ash will be here. He said he was coming.”
“Whatever.”
“Whatever,” Min-Hee mocked, and I glared. “Hey, don’t look at me like that. You’ve got to be nice. It’s my engagement party, remember?”
“Like I could forget,” I laughed. “Do you know how many balloons I had to blow up this morning? You’re lucky I love you so much, Min. My lips are still tingling.”
She beamed.
“You want anything from the snack table? I’m starving.”
“Just some Dok and a root beer,” she said. “You’re the best, Snow.”
“I know this.”
I walked away to fix us a plate. The long table was jam-packed, such a great display of food I got a bit of everything. Unfortunately, when I came back, our table had been infiltrated. Nara, Lisa, and Lynn had taken the other three chairs. Not going to lie. Their sexy chic dresses made me feel extra mannish in my button-up and jeans. Fashion wasn’t my strong suit. And with The Academy struggling, I couldn’t afford chic even if I wanted to. Shrugging, I went to stand by Min-Hee. There was no place for me with them here.
“Why are you putting so much thought into this?” Nara said. “Just buy some sexy lingerie, and call it a night.”
Min sighed, taking her root beer from me with a nod. “Because I want to get him something really good.”
“What are we talking about?” I asked.
“Wedding presents,” she said back. “Bae’s hard to buy for.”
“Or you know what?” Nara’s smile was on the wrong side of sleazy. “Forget the lingerie, and give him a lap dance. I’m sure that’d make the big guy happy.”
“Ewww.” I shuddered, trying to block the disturbing mental image while Lisa and Lynn giggled.
“Oh, grow up.” Nara eyed my plate with distaste. “God, how can you eat that much?”
I shoved a rice cake into my mouth and ignored her. “Min, get him some new throwing stars.” Bae Bae had collected them since we were kids. “He’s been looking at this set on eBay for months. They’re pretty sick.”
“Anyone could get him those,” Nara said. “I still say lap dance is the way to go.”
“You would,” I mumbled, digging into a seriously delicious cupcake.
Min frowned. “I don’t even know how to dance. Does Bae Bae know how to dance?”
“Don’t think so.” Actually, I knew for a fact that he didn’t—which made his engagement surprise for Min that much more awesome. But I wasn’t about to tell her that. Instead I said, “See? Stick with the stars. That’s a perfectly acceptable, non-slutty wedding gift.”
“I was hoping it would be more romantic than that.”
“God, Min, don’t be such a baby,” Nara said. Her glare was still fixed on me, but she was spitting her venom at Min-Hee. “Guys don’t care about romance.”
“Seriously, Nara, shut up,” I said, watching Min’s face fall.
“What? It’s true,” she said. “Just look at this party. She had to plan the whole thing, and why? Because men are too lazy and uncreative to think of anything romantic.”
“That’s not true.”
“Yeah, like you would know,” she scoffed.
Before I could argue, someone tapped me on the shoulder.
No, not someone—Director Sadie. Crap.
“Hey, Snow,” she said, smiling. “What are you doing out here? I thought we were supposed to meet backstage.”
Min frowned. “What’s backstage?”
“Nothing,” I said and hopped up to lead Sadie away. I had to get her out of here before Min caught on.
“Hey, aren’t you the girl who did Snow’s stunt reel?”
Leaning around me, Sadie nodded. “I did. My name’s Sadie.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Min-Hee.”
“Oh…oh!” Sadie blushed bright pink, accentuating her peaches and cream complexion. In the face of all that pretty, it was even harder to believe Ash’s claim. “Holy smokes,” she muttered.
Min titled her head. “Your parents own that dance studio on Corner Street, right?”
“They do,” Sadie said hesitantly.
“Do you guys do dance lessons?”
I winced.
“Yeah, Monday through Saturday.” To me, Sadie mumbled, “Sorry, I saw you over here and wanted to make sure I was in the right place.”
“No problem,” I said, though Bae Bae was going to kill me.
It wasn’t just that I’d failed. It was that I’d failed so spectacularly. Judging by the calculating look in Min’s eye, she was putting it together with record speed. Less than ten minutes to show time, too. This sucked. We’d rehearsed tirelessly for the past week. Bae Bae had given me one job: Don’t let Min-Hee find out about the Big Surprise before the Big Surprise. Easy, right? Apparently not.
“That’s it!” Min said suddenly.
I didn’t want to ask, but—”What?”
“Dance lessons.” She looked so happy even her eyes smiled. “That’s what I could get for Bae Bae. Why didn’t I think of it before? Neither one of us knows how to dance. We could do it together as a couple. It’s genius.”
“Yeah,” I said as Sadie sighed in relief. “Great idea, Min.”
“Did you hire Sadie to film the engagement party or something?”
Nara snorted before I could answer. “Dance lessons? You really think a guy like Bae is going to want to do that?”
“I don’t know”—-Min shrugged—”but it sounds like fun.”
“It is,” Sadie agreed. “I always say the only thing sexier than a guy who can dance is one with a book. Bonus points if it’s Harry Potter.”
A beat of silence.
“What?” she said, looking at our confused faces. “Guys who read are hot.”
“Whatever,” Nara said. She scooted away from Sadie like she might be contagious. “It’s a fact: Most straight guys don’t take dance, and those who do are usually forced into it.”
“I don’t know,” I said. It was Min-Hee’s freaking engagement party for goodness sakes. She deserved to be happy. “I think Min is right. Bae Bae might go for a little dancing.”
“You think so?” Min said hopefully.
“Definitely, he’d love anything you get him.”
Nara just shook her head at us.
“Come on, Nara,” I said through gritted teeth. She was so pissing me off right now. “It is romantic.”
“Romance is dead,” she said back and checked out her blood red nails. “Better Min-Hee learn that now than five years down the road.”
I was about this close from chucking my last cupcake at her—which would’ve been such a waste—when Koi stepped onto the stage. The suit he wore was a throwback to the 70s: bright turquoise with a nice big ruffle down the front. His hair was even more spiky than usual.
“Welcome everyone to this momentous occasion,” he said, smiling into the mic. “We’re here tonight to celebrate the engagement of Kim Min-Hee and Park Bae, two of the sexiest Asians I know. This party is going to rock so hard it’ll put all others to shame.”
The crowd whooped while Sadie and I sat forward, waiting for our cue.
“Where is Bae Bae anyway?” Min mumbled.
Koi saved me from having to answer.
“Our groom-to-be has something special planned for his lady love”—he threw Min-Hee a wink—”but first, I’ve got another surprise.”
What? I turned to Sadie, who shrugged. She didn’t know what was going on either. We looked back to the stage, and Koi continued.
“Since this is The Singing Fish, and we support ballsy behavior in its many forms, I’ll now hand the mic over to a friend of mine.” Koi smiled as a familiar figure joined him onstage. I stared. “Ash, you ready, man?”
“Sure.” He shrugged, but his shoulders were tense. Ash’s hair was a little more messy than usual, his lips struggling to hold that easy grin. In all honesty, he looked ready to bolt. What the heck was he doing up there?
Koi slapped him on the back. “This, my lovelies, is a man in search of forgiveness. Ash lied to his lady—who I know for a fact is still pissed—and he’s up here tonight to prove just how sorry he is.”
“What a sap,” Nara muttered, but Min-Hee shushed her.
“He’s decided to throw his pride right out the window, to make a complete ass out of himself to try and get her back.” Koi looked to Ash. “You sure about this?”
“Yeah,” Ash said, and took a deep breath.
Koi shook his head but stepped back, letting Ash take center stage.
“Wow.” The spotlight popped on, catching him like a deer in headlights. “Didn’t know there’d be this many people,” he said and forced a laugh.
All the women in the crowd—myself included—were hanging on every word.
“Truth is I’m better at soccer than singing.” Ash cleared his throat, knuckles turning white as he gripped the microphone. “Snow, I hope you’ll forgive me—both for the lie and the singing.”
“Awww,” Sadie breathed.
“I knew I liked him,” Min said.
I swallowed my shock. “Did he just—”
“Dedicate a song to you? Yeah, he did.”
“Oh.”
The music started, and I recognized the song immediately. I’d listened to it with Ash several times—but until now, it had never included my name. Country, folk, whatever-you-call-it, was officially my new favorite genre.
“You do realize they changed ‘Ho’ to ‘Snow,’ right?” Nara asked. “So, he’s basically calling you a—”
We all shushed her this time.
As Ash butchered Ho Hey, one of The Lumineers’ greatest hits, the simple guitar riff was sweeter than ever. He’d enlisted Koi and Jin-Ho as backup, but he was the one in the spotlight. I knew what it was like to be up there. I knew the guts it took to keep going.
About midway through, the crowd started clapping along, despite the cracked notes. But Ash never loosened his grip.
Seeing how uncomfortable he was, I couldn’t help but smile.
I couldn’t believe he was doing this.
For me, I mentally added. I couldn’t believe he was doing this for me.