Page 60 of I'll Be the One

And I have to admit, it sounds like a really nice idea. In theory.

But my heart still starts pounding, even more than it ever does onstage. Performances in front of thousands of people,I can handle. But a trip to the Korean spa? Nope. No way. The thing about Korean spas is that everyone is naked, or at least, they are in the bathing area sectioned off for each gender. Sure, you can always skip washing up and change directly into the spa uniform instead, but doing that is kind of a waste of money, since most of the expense comes from running the baths. And not bathing before going into the sauna rooms when everyone else is clean also sounds too gross and rude for me to even think about.

Although I don’t have problems with my naked body, I have way too many bad memories of my mom comparing me to every other girl in the Korean spa.

“Look how slim that girl’s waist is!” she’d say. “And that other girl’s thighs! Haneul, look how beautiful everyone is. Don’t you want to be beautiful?”

Yeah, it got old pretty fast. Although I doubt Lana and Tiffany would be mean enough to make comments like that about my body, I can’t help but feel uneasy. I’ve never even gone to the Korean spa with my school friends, and I’ve known them for years.

ME:Sorry, I’m not much of a spa person. You guys should go without me!

TIFFANY LEE:Oh, come on. It’ll be fun! AND you can invite Henry.

I can almost see Tiffany raising her eyebrows right now.

LANA MIN:Yeah!!! DEFINITELY invite Henry.

I laugh to myself as I reply.

Henry’s definitely not a spa person.

Of course, I don’t know him well enough to know that for sure, but there’s zero privacy in a Korean spa. He’d probably be lucky if no one secretly took a photo of him naked and posted it online. It sounds like a celebrity’s worst nightmare.

LANA MIN:You can still ask? Please? Tiffany and I go to the spa together all the time, so it won’t be as fun if you guys don’t come.

I send multiple upside-down-smiley-face emojis.

ME:Fine. But if Henry doesn’t want to come, I’m not going either.

I say this only because I’m sure that Henry would never say yes. He hasn’t responded to me for several days now. He probably won’t even reply to my text.

Much to my horror, Henry responds back only a few seconds later with,Sure. Sounds fun. Which spa?

I’ve never felt so betrayed by Henry. Why can’t he be too busy to respond when I really need him to be?

When I don’t reply for more than an hour, I get a text from Tiffany.

Well?

ME:...

TIFFANY LEE: ...???

ME:He said yes.

LANA MIN:YAY! Coming to pick you up in a bit!

I sigh and start getting my stuff ready for the spa.

Hopefully it won’t be as bad as I think it’ll be.

Lana drives us to the spa, which is on the outskirts of Koreatown. It’s a Saturday in an unusually chilly October, so I’m not really surprised that the parking lot is nearly full, even though it’s Halloween. We barely manage to find a space, and it takes me a while to spot Henry’s car toward the back of the lot. I can’t tell if there’s anyone in it, so I shoot him a text.

Hey, are you inside?

HENRY CHO:Nah, still in the car. Can you come here for a sec?

We walk over to the SUV. Even when we’re right next to it, Henry doesn’t come out. I’m wondering if I was wrong about it being Henry’s when I get another text.

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