Page 46 of The Romance Rivalry

“If you were all able to hook up so soon after getting here, I wonder if the same will happen for me. I saw a lot of pretty girls when we were walking around campus.”

In my mind, he seems so young. So naive. Impressionable. Horny. But this desire to be in a relationship with someone in college, I had the same thoughts and hopes when I was a senior. Get me out of the hellhole of high school and set me free in college. Maybe I didn’t have it as rough as I made it out to be in my head, a socially awkward loner with no friends. Maybe that’s just how stuff feels for everyone at that age.

Jeannette punches him lightly on the arm. “Charles and I didn’t meet right away. And even then, we were friends first before dating.”

“What about the two of you?” Jeremiah turns to where Aiden and I are sitting next to each other on the well-worn dorm couch.

“Who? Us two?” I ask, pointing between myself and Aiden. “Oh, we’re not dating.”

“Really? No way. You totally seem like a couple. So you’re just hooking up, then?”

“I wish,” Aiden says.

“Not even,” I say at the same time.

I whip my head around, jaw on the ground at Aiden’s response. He just shrugs and smiles at me.

Typical, always trying to throw me off guard.

“Well, college seems pretty cool. As long as you give me space and aren’t overbearing,” Jeremiah says, pointing to Jeannette, “I could totally see myself coming to Brighton.”

“Dude, me too,” the younger Jackson adds.

High-fives are exchanged around the room, and I realize that I agree with Jeremiah. College is pretty cool.

My laptop blinks with a new email notification. I look down and see the name of the online marketing director from SKCupid.

“Can I use your room really quick?” I ask Aiden. His focus is back on the TV screen, hand moving on autopilot between the big bowl of kettle corn in his lap and his mouth. He turns his head and quickly gives me a once-over, as if making sure everything is okay. “Yeah, sure. Door’s open,” he says.

I rush to Aiden’s room and place my laptop on his desk. I take a seat and open the email.

Irene, thank you so much for your patience while we work through all the details about the brand partnership with SKCupid. I’m pleased to share that we’ve made a decision and will be putting together contracts for review. We’d like to discuss them with each of our candidates face-to-face on video to letthem know who our choice will be and why. Would you be available in the next couple weeks for a call? Please let me know.

I swallow back my anxiety. Did that seem like a positive email? Or a let-me-down-easy email? If they’ve chosen me, wouldn’t they just say so and leave the cryptic requests for a Zoom call for those they’ve passed on?

Aiden walks into the room, head down, looking at his phone. His brow is furrowed and his lips are moving along with whatever he’s reading. He looks up from his screen and meets my eyes. “Did you get an email?” he asks.

“Yeah. Was yours also ‘we’ve made a decision but we’re not telling you yet’?”

He nods, holding up his phone.

“What do you think it means?” I ask.

“I have no idea. It could mean anything. It could mean they chose you, me, or someone from a slew of other people in the mix.”

“That wasn’t even a possibility I’ve ever considered.” And it’s true. Who else would they choose outside of Aiden or myself?? No other Korean book content creators come close to our reach. At least none that I’ve come across.

I look back at my laptop and open up my social apps. Maybe there’s a clue to who else might have been in consideration.

“Honestly, I hope they did choose you. You deserve it,” hesays, coming up behind me and leaning over me to look at my screen.

I’m stunned into silence for once. Aiden Jeon, my former enemy, once rival, and now... friend? Saying nice things to me? And smelling this good doing it?

It soothes the sting of this whole situation a tiny bit. But I can’t deny that I’m still kinda bitter that Aiden’s followers trolling me seems to have contributed to my downward trajectory online.

“Thanks, but I’m fairly certain it wasn’t me. I might have been the first person they considered, but I lost momentum. You know, I hope SKCupid picked you. Then it would make all your followers’ hard work worth it.”

I force a laugh, but it sounds tinny and almost manic. I hate being passive-aggressive, and yet I do it so well.

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