THESUN's song hadn't stopped dominating the airwaves ever since I heard it at the store, working on facials with Leyna. I'd hated it then, reminding me of a possibility I denied myself with Tae Yang.

Now, it was my favorite song.

I jammed to it as I drove to work on Monday morning. The romantic ballad start of the song, leading to a faster and harder tempo turning into a club banger, reflected exactly how I felt after a mostly sweet date with Tae Yang.

Mostly, because there were plenty of moments when we looked into each other's eyes, wondering if we should pack our things up and find the nearest hotel. Somehow, by sheer willpower, we managed to keep it in our respective pants.

My favorite part of the whole date was just sitting with my back against his chest, watching his hand write music notes on a notepad he balanced on my knees. His chest would vibrate as he hummed the music playing in his mind, the sound blending with the crashing waves as a glimpse of what happiness truly was.

Going our separate ways later that night was the hardest thing. Which was why come Sunday, we met again for a brunch that started at noon and ended up almost at midnight.

I sipped on coffee at a red light, letting my new favorite song play on repeat. Mom was working at his house today and since I'd have to go pick her up, it would give me the perfect excuse to drop by and steal a few kisses.

When I pulled into the parking lot and got out of my car, I realized there hadn't been a Monday I'd felt better about than today. The sun was brighter, the colors stronger and the world more beautiful.

I did spot a gaggle of people just outside the store, more out of place than the sudden bout of joy in my chest. Did we have a sale today? And if so, why were they here so early? The store wasn't even open to the public yet.

"Excuse me," I said to the back of the group. It was large enough I couldn't find a way around it to the store doors, leaving me with no choice but cutting a path through.

One man turned around and upon seeing me, shouted, "There she is!"

"What?"

That was my last coherent thought before they turned into a human avalanche, descending upon me.

My body froze. So did my brain.

"It's Link's girlfriend!" someone yelled.

A camera flashed right in my face.

"Give us a few comments."

"What does it feel like to be Link's girl?"

"Are you guys exclusive?"

"Any marriage plans?"

Someone jolted me. Everyone was so close, there was no air.

"Did you guys have fun at the beach?"

"Is it the early dating stages?"

"I mean, I bet that's why she and Link were handsy."

I shrunk in on myself, wondering how these strangers knew so much. But also who the hell was Link?

"Um," I said amidst the questions that didn't stop. "Can you please just—I need to get to work."

"Doesn't your rich boyfriend support you?"

"Can you tell us how you met?"

"How long have you been dating?"

What was going on?

Why did these people not let me move a single step?

I tried to push my way through but it was the same as trying to move a mountain. Right as I feared I'd start crying, a whistle pierced through the chaos and brought it to a reluctant pause.

"Coming through," a familiar voice said. Slowly, the crowd shifted until Dawn appeared before me. She grabbed my arm and pulled. "You're all interfering with commercial operations without a permit for assembly. Have fun dealing with the cops because they're on their way."

"Oh, thank God," I said, grabbing onto her for dear life.

The crowd roared more questions as we elbowed our way through, but mercifully they stayed outside.

Dawn locked the front doors, saying, "Whew, I'm glad they ate that bullshit up."

I trembled bottom to top.

The other employees looked at me with eyes as round as saucers, no doubt the same glance I returned to them.

"What's happening?" I asked.

It was Leyna who was able to unfreeze herself, but only to shake her head at me.

The throng of people snapped pictures through the front door, every single camera pointed in my direction.

"Don't open the doors until further notice," Dawn said to the employees, before facing me. Her brow was creased and her lips were a tight line. "I'm gonna talk with Bryce, I don't think we should open at all today."

"Should we call the police?" Leyna asked.

"We may have to," Dawn mumbled. "Can you take her to her office? She looks about to pass out."

"Voy," Leyna said, steering me away from the entrance.

"Qué coño acaba de pasar?" I asked her and she shook her head.

"This is gonna sound crazy but," she said, lowering her voice. "Those guys look like paparazzi."

I barked out a high pitched laugh. "What? No way."

But it was true. They hadn't respected my space, and they took one picture after the other without my permission. If I weren't on a work permit, I could sue them for that. And also for harassment.

"Why would there be paparazzi after me?" I asked her. My hand shook as I tried to insert the key to open my door. "It's not like I know anyone famous."

Inside, Leyna paced the short length across the storage closet turned office, chewing on her hot pink lip. "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

But that firmness faded as I thought back to their questions. Among them, had been details about Tae Yang and I. They knew he was rich, that we'd had a beach date. As if they knew him. As if they'd followed us.

My chest constricted with a lack of oxygen. I gasped for air, grabbing onto my desk so the world would stop spinning.

With difficulty, I asked Leyna, "Do you know who Link is?"

"Who?"

Her hands were on my back, patting it as though I were choking. It actually helped me breathe better, so I was able to say, "They mentioned a Link."

"Let's sit you down and find out."

I let her help me to my chair. She pulled up the other one beside me and took her phone out of her pocket. The screen swam before my eyes as she fired up Google and tried a few different searches with the word Link in it. At first, nothing came up that made any sense with what I'd just lived through. Until eventually the words Link plus celebrity led to one Lincoln Choi, aka Link.

"Wait," I said, zeroing on it. "Click on that."

The picture of a guy with long hair appeared. He was playing some sort of guitar, bathed in the artificial red lights of a stage. Not someone I recognized.

I was just about to dismiss it, until I caught a familiar detail. The long hair was swept behind an ear with more metal than there was in a hardware store.

The way I sucked air alarmed Leyna. "What? Is it someone you know?"

Swallowing a lump, I managed to say, "Yeah. It's Tae Yang."

Right below his picture were the words: Bassist/DJ for Casual Friday Funeral. American name Lincoln Choi, aka Link. Korean Name Choi Tae Yang / Tae Yang Choi. Artistic name THESUN (solo act).

I closed my eyes and for a second, there was only black.

"Cee? Cecilia?" Leyna shook me and I focused on her face. "Bitch, breathe."

I filled my lungs with air.

And started laughing.

Leyna's face morphed into the picture of pain. "Te volviste loca?"

I nodded like a bobblehead glued to the dashboard of a car going through a rough patch.

"Yep. That has to be it, because there's no way my boyfriend is a celebrity."

She glanced back down at her phone's screen, scrolling through the article. "Breaking news, it looks like he is."

I slammed my hands on my desk and pushed to my feet. "No. It's not true. He would've told me."

We spent hours upon hours talking about everything. I'd told him about my Miss Venezuela bid. He told me about his parents. I told him about mine. He told me about his dreams. Nowhere in those conversations had he mentioned any of this.

The moment we met jumped to my mind. He'd appeared before me all in black, in a mask and wearing a cap inside an airplane. He hadn't even wanted to talk at first.

At Walmart, he'd worn the cap and pulled up the hoodie of his sweatshirt on top. When a teenage guy claimed to have seen him before, Tae Yang had grown tense.

He wore sunglasses and caps everywhere he went, sometimes even when we were alone.

And then there were Mickey and Steve. The massive house he shared with several roommates.

I snatched Leyna's phone and clicked on the link to Casual Friday Funeral's website. There he was, with long hair—but it was Tae Yang's face, alright. Beside his picture I recognized Madison and Quinn, whom I'd met once before. The other two pictures must be from his roommates, who hadn't been in the house that morning. If they'd been, I would've recognized them. There was no one on this planet who didn't know Vera and Ashton's faces, as the two most popular members of the biggest rock band in the world.

My breakfast rushed up and I had to put my hand on my face to hold it back down.

Tae Yang was a celebrity. And I'd had no idea.

"No, por favor!" Leyna got to her feet, rushing away from me. "Don't puke on me."

I swallowed it back down and just stood there, breathing for a moment.

With the smallest voice my throat was capable of, I said, "He lied to me."

"You really had no idea?" the Dominican girl asked me. I shook my head. "Whoa, then yeah. I guess he did."

My chin trembled and I did nothing to prevent the tears from falling. "I need to be alone."

"Are you sure?" she asked. My response was to lower myself back to my chair, and even more until my face was against the surface of my desk. "Okay, holla if you need anything. I'll go check out the situation."

When I heard the click of my door shutting, I let out the massive sob that had been lodged in my chest. It didn't matter if I was weeping on some invoices I still needed to process. Nothing else mattered but the feeling of smallness and betrayal cutting my heart right open. The same heart I'd given to him on a silver platter.

I didn't know how long I just sat there, weeping. Eventually, I lifted myself up to turn on my computer. Not to do any work, no. To Google my boyfriend.

His Wikipedia article was extensive, but I still read through it all. Five whole paragraphs about his life before the band since his birth in the city of Busan, to how his parents scraped every penny they had to send him abroad so he could study music. To how he started growing a following by releasing tracks on Spotify. To how he and his school friends formed a band that would grow into a world-eating machine. To his recent debut as a solo artist.

The search results spit out one article after another, and I read each one. From the humble beginnings of the band on Youtube, to the article of him buying a building in the middle of Seoul for his parents, to the one showing the before and after pictures of him cutting off his long hair before going to serve in the military. I was angry that I was proud he'd donated it.

He was a good person. A great person. But he'd still lied to me.

The picture I'd formed of him wasn't all he was. He was so much bigger. He was THESUN. So bright everyone in the world could see him.

But I was just Cecilia Luna. A girl whose only talents were being pretty and making a fool of herself. It was exactly how I felt. Like a fool.

Who was I to stand beside THESUN?

SONG OF THE DAY: Rush - Between Sun and Moon

but what if we do six more double updates and finish the book earlier?