I'll Be the One

by Lyla Lee

  “I have complete faith that you will.”

  We look out at the ocean for a bit longer, until it becomes too chilly for comfort.

  I check to see if Henry’s looking in my direction. He’s not.

  “Still think it isn’t cold?”

  I kick the water so it splashes onto his leg. I don’t stick around long enough to see his reaction, but I hear him curse as I run.

  “Are you kidding me! Why, you little—”

  He starts chasing me, and soon, we’re both laughing as we run across the sand, headed back toward the lights of the pier. Henry’s a faster runner than I thought he’d be, and he catches up with me in almost no time at all.

  “Got you!”

  We crash into a pile on the sand. Henry somehow ends up on top of me, and although it’s too dark for me to clearly see his face, I’m pretty sure he’s blushing. And that’s all it takes for me to kiss him, again and again.

  When we stop, Henry gets up and gently pulls me up with him. Most of the sand falls off my body when I stand, though some of it sticks to my skin. But I don’t care. The kisses were worth it.

  Henry texts Portia, and we’re walking back to the parking lot when I remember the pictures I posted right before we rode the Ferris wheel.

  “Wait, let me check Instagram.”

  Henry groans. “You’re becoming one of us.”

  But he lets me check it anyway. My post already has five hundred likes and counting, with strangers leaving comments like they did on Henry’s. I recently took my Instagram off private mode, and my account has been exploding with new followers ever since.

  I scroll through the comments, which are mostly nice. But there are still some pig emojis and other disgusting comments.

  But unlike before, the comments don’t really make me sad. Sure, they still hurt—I’d be lying if I said they didn’t. But the pain is nothing compared to the bone-crushing shame I felt the first time I saw similar comments on Henry’s Instagram.

  “Sorry, Skye,” Henry says. “I shouldn’t have suggested taking photos—”

  “No,” I cut in. “I’m fat. People think it means I should hate myself, and when I don’t, it makes them uncomfortable. But this is just another part of who I am, and I’m happy with who I am.”

  Henry smiles, like he finally understands what I’m getting at.

  “You’re living your best life,” he says. “They’re not.”

  “Exactly.”

  And then, in front of the fairy-tale lights of the Santa Monica pier, I pull Henry in for another kiss.

  Acknowledgments

  Writing this book was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, and I couldn’t have done it without the amazing people in my life.

  First and foremost, I’d like to thank my parents. Thank you for not batting an eye when fourth-grade me first said I wanted to be a writer, but also thank you for advising me to pursue other, more practical career paths (lol). In the end, all my eclectic experiences made me into the writer I am today. We’ve had a long journey together with many ups and downs, and I am grateful for your support today.

  Second, I would like to thank my friends, who were so supportive from the moment I started writing this book. Aneeqah, I’ve already told you countless times about how vital our writing dates were to my process. Thank you for pushing me to be a better writer (as well as a more outgoing one, as my “unofficial publicist”). Thank you also to Brianna Lei, Anita Chen, Francesca Flores, Rebecca Kuang, Becca Mix, Katie Zhao, Anusha Naeem, Andrew Su, and everyone else who read early versions of this book. Your encouragement and feedback were vital to this book in more ways than I can say. Thank you also to the #magicsprintingsquad, for giving me the family I always wanted in publishing. Here’s hoping we have many more retreats.

  It takes an entire team to make a story into a real, physical book, and I’m so grateful for the people who were involved in the process of making mine. A huge thank-you goes to my agent, Penny Moore, who read through several of my manuscripts and went bravely to battle with each one until we found not one, but two (!) that stuck. Thank you for not giving up on me, for always being there for me, and for being enthusiastic about all my zany projects. And thank you to Mabel Hsu, my editor, who called this book her “dream project.” Thank you always for your sharp eye and wise insight. Here’s to both of our dreams coming true. Thank you also to Molly Fehr, Amy Ryan, Michael Frost, and Tanya Murray Frost for giving I’ll Be the One the perfect cover and design, and to Nicole Moreno, Gweneth Morton, Kristin Eckhardt, Aubrey Churchward, Sabrina Abballe, and Tanu Srivastava for providing additional support.

  Although I have tangentially related experiences that informed the writing of this book, I am not a K-pop star, nor am I plus-size. A special thanks to Dong-geun “Donny” Han, for sitting down with me in your studio one summer night in Seoul to give me insight on your K-pop competition and industry experiences. Thank you also to Sophia Carter-Kahn and April K. Quioh, the cocreators of the She’s All Fat podcast, for their discussions on the plus-size experience and the importance of radical self-love. I can never recommend their funny, brilliant, and super-important podcast enough. Additionally, I would like to thank Sarah Taphom and Min Trindade for their insight.

  I’d like to also give a special shout-out to the many artists whose music is the underlying heartbeat of this book. This book wouldn’t have existed without the K-pop dance rabbit hole I fell into during one of the darkest periods of my life. Dance and K-pop got me through that time, and pop music in general fueled me for the countless hours that I worked on this book. It’d be impossible to list all the artists I listened (and danced!) to during the writing of this book, but I want to especially thank the queens of pop who came together to form Skye’s character, namely: CLC, Lee Hi, Ariana Grande, Heize, Sunmi, Blackpink, Momoland, Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Dua Lipa, Chungha, Yeseo, Sia, and Ailee. You gave Skye her confidence and her voice, as well as a passion for the stage that was so tangible that I could feel it as if it were my own.

  Lastly, thank you to my grandfathers, both of whom I lost during the time I worked on this book. Thank you for always encouraging me to read and write since I was a little kid, and thank you for your love of storytelling, which in turn gave rise to mine. Even though I was unable to write my books fast enough for you to read them, I know you’re watching over me from wherever you are now. I’m eternally grateful for all the summers we spent together, and for the shared memories and laughs. .

  About the Author

  Photo credit CJ Lee

  LYLA LEE is the author of I’ll Be the One and the Mindy Kim series for younger readers. Born in a small town in South Korea, she’s since lived in various cities throughout the United States. Inspired by her English teacher, she started writing her own stories in fourth grade and finished her first novel at the age of fourteen. After studying psychology and cinematic arts at the University of Southern California and working in Hollywood, Lyla now lives in Dallas, Texas. When she’s not writing, she is teaching kids and searching for the perfect bowl of shaved ice. You can visit her at www.lylaleebooks.com.

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  Copyright

  Katherine Tegen Books is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

  I’LL BE THE ONE. Copyright © 2020 by Lyla Lee. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced,
transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

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  Cover photography © 2020 by Michael Frost

  Cover design by Molly Fehr

  * * *

  Library of Congress Control Number: 2020930399

  Digital Edition JUNE 2020 ISBN: 978-0-06-293694-3

  Print ISBN: 978-0-06-293692-9

  * * *

  2021222324PC/LSCH10987654321

  FIRST EDITION

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