DROP IT

RACHEL

“Uhm… sorry.” The strange guy spoke quickly. “I’m sorry.”

I didn’t say anything. I just forced a polite smile and nodded before trying to walk away.

“You’re Rachel, right?”

That stopped me in my tracks. I turned back slowly. He looked Asian. Or maybe mixed. I didn’t want to assume. But if a stranger knows my name, I should probably care.

“Do I—”

“Mayor Han's son,” he cut in quickly. “You still don’t remember?”

Simon introduced me to too many people tonight. There’s no way I could remember all their faces. I squinted slightly, pretending something was clicking in my head.

But… Nothing.

“I’m sorry. I don’t,” I said with a soft smile. “But I hope you’re enjoying the party… sir?”

“God…” He snorted. “Did you just call me sir?”

He laughed, placing his wine glass on a nearby table.

“If that ‘sir’ is a filler. I guess Jae Hyun is better.” He stretched out his hand. “Han Jae Hyun.” 

I eyed it suspiciously. “Jae Hyun? Like… Korean?”

He smiled. “Got it.” He snapped his fingers. “Half Korean,” he added. “My mum’s American. So you get the vibe.”

I laughed. “No, I don’t. Shouldn’t it be the other way around if your dad’s Korean? I mean, your mum’s the…”

“Alright, alright.” He waved it off. “I get it. But I chose to be American. Grew up here. Lived my whole life here. So let a man rest.” He grinned again.

I rolled my eyes with a small chuckle. I honestly didn’t expect to find this party even remotely interesting.

Not exactly fun. But somehow, this guy shifted the mood. I went from worrying about Thane to casually vibing with a stranger.

A hot stranger, actually.

If you ask me, he looked like one of those Korean idols, the kind with smiles so perfect you’d think they practiced them in the mirror.

“You should smile more often, Rachel,” he said suddenly. “It looks good on you.”

I frowned. “Now that’s a line.”

He laughed again. “No, it’s not.”

Stop laughing like that, Jae Hyun. It’s contagious. My brain screamed.

“Can we… you know… go somewhere?” he asked casually.

My expression shifted, confused. Before I could answer, Tiara appeared out of nowhere with a sealed wine bottle in one hand.

“Guess what I got, babe?” She stopped mid-step when she saw him. Her eyes widened. “What the hell? Jae?”

I stared at her, shocked. She nearly dropped the wine as she rushed toward him. “Is that really you?”

Jae Hyun smiled like they’d known each other forever. “Yeah. How’ve you been, Tiara?”

“Why do you care? You never ask about me.” T pouted dramatically before opening her arms. “C'mere…”

She didn’t get to hug him, ‘cause Noah pulled her back just in time. “That’s enough, T.”

My eyes moved from Tiara to Noah. He looked serious. Not the joking-serious he does most times. Like the same kind of seriousness he had when he dragged me away from Wendy’s place that day.

Jae didn’t look surprised. He just nodded slowly, slipping one hand into his pocket.

“Hey, Noah.” He smirked.

“You came?” Noah asked quietly, but I could hear the tension under his voice.

“Yeah. No reason not to, right?”

Noah nodded once. “Right.” Then his eyes trailed to mine before moving back to Jae's. “If I were you, I’d stay clear of Thane,” he said calmly. He faced me again. “Come with me, Rachel.”

Before I could even react, he grabbed my hand and pulled me away.

Tiara followed behind us, just as confused as I was. The second we reached an upstairs lounge, Noah dropped my hand and gestured toward a couple of empty chairs.

I didn’t even know there was another party happening up here.

But I ignored that and focused on him.

“Please explain what just happened back there. And don’t you dare brush it off this time, Noah.”

He blinked once and wiped his mouth. “Jae’s not the kind of guy you should hang out with. Alright?”

“Don’t give me that crap, Noah.”

Tiara folded her arms beside me. “I’m curious too. Why did you treat him like that? You guys are friends.”

“He was never my friend,” Noah snapped. “He was Thane’s. Not anymore. That’s it.”

Tiara let out a loud sigh. “Can you stop this, babe? We agreed, remember? No more secrets. Unless you’re already backing out minutes after we decided to try again? You really want to ruin this all over again?”

Noah rolled his eyes and stepped closer to her, reaching out to touch her arm but she pulled back immediately. He froze, then dragged a frustrated hand through his hair.

“Stop doing this to me, T. This is Thane’s mess. Why should I suffer for it? Why should it affect us?”

“Because you chose to make it about you,” I cut in sharply.

“Just stay out of it, Rachel. You don’t know anything.” he shot back at me.

“Exactly. That’s why I’m asking.” My voice tightened. “The fact that you keep hiding things from me and shutting me down like I’m some kid is annoying. I care about Thane too. So drop it and tell me what’s going on.”

“I don’t know what you want me to say,” he shot back again. “If you want the fucking truth, go ask your fucking runaway prince and stop whining like a damn teenager.”

“Noah!” Tiara cautioned him.

“What?!” he snapped, his chest rising faster now. “I’ve been trying this whole time to keep things normal. You’re the one who always talks about breaking up. And somehow, it always circles back to Thane. I’m trying, okay? I am. But you keep putting me in this position, and it’s driving me insane.”

Tiara scoffed. “Wow. Seriously?”

Noah didn’t answer. He just looked away, exhaled loudly, and started walking off.

“Noah!” Tiara called after him.

But he was already gone. She groaned and hurried after him, leaving me standing there, angry and completely confused.

I shut my eyes and leaned against the railing, burying my face in my palms.