Page 33 of I'll Be the One

“Is this going on your Instagram?”

“Yup.”

I can’t say that I’m surprised.

When we finally get close enough to see the menu next to theservice window, Henry’s mouth drops open. He looks completely overwhelmed, like he has no idea where to even begin.

“Honestly, you can’t go wrong with any of the choices,” I tell him. “Although if you want the complete experience, you should get the carne asada fries with whatever tacos you end up picking.”

“All right. I’m trusting your judgment.”

When it’s our turn to order, Henry gets the al pastor pork tacos and carne asada fries while I get chicken tacos. Before I can pay for my own food, Henry holds up his card to the taco truck vendor.

“My treat,” he says. “A thank-you for showing me this place.”

Although I normally don’t like owing anyone, I let Henry pay this time. The entry fee forYou’re My Shining Startook out a good chunk of my Lunar New Year money, so I’m pretty broke right now. And it’s no secret how rich Henry is, even without his modeling career.

We manage to find seats at one of the plastic picnic tables set up nearby. While we’re waiting for our food to come out, Henry takes pictures of everything from the rack of al pastor meat skewered on the vertical spit to the line behind us. I guess some people would find it annoying, but I don’t mind. All of my friends pretty much live on Instagram, and, like Henry, they also take pictures of everything whenever we go somewhere new.

The way Henry takes pictures, though, is different from howmy friends take them. Every shot he takes is really methodical, like he’s photographing a crime scene. He even snaps a few shots of me, but I don’t say anything since I doubt Henry will post them on his Instagram. Aside from Melinda (back when they were dating) and a few of his celebrity acquaintances, I’ve never seen Henry post pictures of anyone but himself or his dog.

“Sorry,” he says when he notices I’m staring at him. “I don’t know which pictures will be worth posting later on.”

“It’s fine. I don’t mind. There’s a reason why you have so many followers on Instagram, right?”

I mean it in a good way, but Henry only gives me a tight grin that’s almost a grimace. “Right.”

I debate with myself whether I should ask him my next question. It’s something I’ve always wondered about celebrities.

“Um,” I say.

Henry cocks his head to the side, reminding me a bit of his dog. “Hm?”

“Do you ever get tired of... you know, all this?” I gesture first at his “disguise” and then at his phone.

He deflates, and I suddenly feel really bad, even though I’m not sure why.

“Yeah, honestly, I do,” Henry says after a while. “I mean, a lot of the time, it’s fun. But on some days, it feels like work. Itiswork for me, even though I’m sure some people don’t see it that way. Even though I primarily do modeling in the traditional sense, I do get a lot of informal requests from brands todo sponsored posts for their products. It’s an extra source of income.”

“Sorry,” I quickly say. “I didn’t mean it like that. I guess I’m just always curious about what it’s like to, you know, be a ‘celebrity.’ It must be hard, always having to hide from paparazzi and stuff.”

Henry nods. “Occasionally, yeah. But getting into modeling was actually a relief for me because people finally cared about me because of what I did, and not because of whose kid I was.”

“Are your parents supportive of your modeling career?”

“They are now. But they weren’t always. Most of the time, they asked me why I felt the need to do what I want to do.”

“Ugh, I can definitely relate with that,” I say.

At that moment, the vendor calls out, “Harry? Your tacos and fries are ready.”

Henry gets up from his seat.

“Harry?” I ask.

“I gave them a fake name in case someone recognizes me. Don’t blame me, blame Harry Potter.”

I barely suppress a smile.Who would have thought Henry Cho would be such a big Potterhead?

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