Page 64 of I'll Be the One

And I didn’t see anyone trying to take pics of me! God bless the strict spa rules.

... I think no one knows who I am here? Can I just stay here all day? This is amazing. None of these ahjussis and screaming kids care about me.

NEVER MIND.

The texts stop there. I scroll and scroll, as if that’ll somehow make more text messages from Henry pop up. But nope. Nothing. I have no idea if he ever made it out of the men’s locker room.

Lana glances at my phone.

“What the...” she says. “Is he okay?”

“I’m not sure, honestly.”

I tap out a quick message to Henry.

Hey, sorry. Are you okay? We’re about to get dressed and head up to the jjimjilbang level now.

Henry doesn’t respond. With each passing second, my heart beats faster and faster until I get this sudden, irrational urge to run to the opposite side of the building and burst into the men’s locker room, all in the name of saving him. I feel really bad, since I’m the reason why he came here in the first place.

But then, I get a new message.

HENRY CHO:Um, so, I tried going out to the jjimjilbang level but then got ambushed by a bunch of people... turns out they were just waiting for me to exit the locker room so they could take pics. I’m fine. Steve is here with me.

“Wait,” says Tiffany. “Where did everyone go?”

The women’s locker room, which had been pretty full before we went out into the spa area, is now almost empty. Besides us three, there are only a few old ladies and little kids with their moms walking around.

“Oh no,” I say. “Henry!”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

IN A MAD RUSH, THE THREE OF US DRY OFF ANDpull on our spa uniforms before running up the stairs to the sauna level. When we get to the third floor, we can barely squeeze past the crowd to exit the staircase.

“Move it, people!” Tiffany yells. “Let us through! I’m pretty sure crowding the stairs like this is a fire hazard! It’s illegal!”

“Where is he?” Lana asks, looking around. “I don’t see him.”

I pull out my phone to text him again.Hey, we’re on the sauna level. Where are you??

Suddenly, Lana says, “I have a pretty good idea where he might be. Look!”

She points at the crowd ahead of us. Everyone has their backs to us, circling around something—or someone.

“Excuse me!” Tiffany shouts, aggressively pushing her way through. The bodies don’t part easily, but Tiffany uses her hands and elbows to shove away everyone who doesn’t budge. Lana follows closely after her, apologizing to everyone whoshoots us dirty looks. They make such a cute team that I can’t help but grin as I follow them.

Halfway through the crowd, I catch sight of Steve. He’s standing in front of a door with his arms crossed, looking resolutely ahead like a bouncer at an exclusive nightclub. Except, unlike a bouncer, he isn’t letting anyone through, no matter what they say to him. A few girls try to talk to him, but he ignores them. He stands absolutely still, like a stone giant. I’m not even sure he’s blinking.

When he sees us, though, Steve breaks into a huge smile.

“Skye!” he says, giving me an enthusiastic wave. “Henry’s inside. He’s been waiting for you.”

Steve lets the three of us in and immediately closes the door after us. A few people yell and curse at us, but their voices become muffled the instant the door shuts. We’re in a dimly lit space, so it takes a while for my eyes to adjust. When they do, though, I notice three things: 1) we’re in a private massage room, 2) Henry’s receiving a massage on one of the beds, and 3) he’sshirtless.

Okay, so maybe it wasn’t exactly in that order. Probably the reverse.

When he hears us enter, Henry briefly glances up, lifting his head from the circular headrest. The old lady giving him a back rub pauses for a second to give us a sharp look before continuing her work.

“Oh, hey,” he says. “You guys came.”

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