Yomi's eyes widened. "You saw me? I didn't realize…"
"I recognized you instantly," he said, a hint of a smile playing on his lips. "You haven't changed much."
Yomi blushed. "Neither have you," she said, then immediately regretted her words. He had changed, drastically. He was a global superstar, a far cry from the shy, artistic boy she remembered from high school.
Seon Joo chuckled. "That's not true. I've changed a lot. But…some things remain the same."
He gestured for her to sit down. They talked for hours that night, reminiscing about their high school days, sharing stories about their lives. Yomi learned about the pressures of fame, the sacrifices he had made to achieve his dreams. He learned about her struggles to find a job, her responsibilities to her family, her quiet determination to make a life for herself.
As they talked, Yomi felt herself drawn to him. Behind the dazzling facade of Kim Seon Joo, the K-pop idol, was the same kind, thoughtful boy she had known in high school.
Before she left that night, Seon Joo asked her a question that made her heart skip a beat. "Would you like to have dinner with me sometime?"
Yomi hesitated for a moment. She knew that dating Kim Seon Joo would be complicated, that it would expose her to a world she didn't understand. But she couldn't deny the pull she felt towards him.
"Yes," she said softly. "I would."