Chapter 26
The sticker was huge, with a font to match, and printed on vinyl so offensively neon that it left an afterimage every time Eunjae blinked.
PLEASE BE PATIENT, it read. STUDENT DRIVER.
Denny slapped this warning onto the bumper of his SUV with the air of someone performing a crucial civic duty.
Then he tossed the keys to Eunjae and said, “Let's go. Ten points if you don’t terrorize any pedestrians today.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Max exclaimed, advancing down the driveway in his pajamas. “You can see that from space!”
“Good. Even aliens deserve to know that rank amateurs are on the road. Communication saves lives.” He lowered his sunglasses. “And why are you here? Need something?”
Eunjae knew better than to respond if their manager asked this question.
It wasn't meant to be answered because you absolutely didn't need anything.
If you needed it, Denny would've gotten it to you already, along with an instruction manual and concise verbal directions for its use.
And if the sunglasses came down half an inch?
The wisest course was to turn tail and run.
He figured Max knew better, too. They'd been under Denny's watchful eye for months now.
And maybe Max was aware, but awareness didn't stop him from declaring that he did, in fact, need something.
He pointed to the bumper sticker and said, “Take this off before he gets bullied. Nobody likes a student driver.”
“They don't have to like him. They just have to avoid him. So get back in the house and enjoy your day off, yeah? Have some breakfast. Get online and order some age-appropriate sleepwear.”
Max didn't budge. He didn't even respond to the comment about his garish cartoon pajamas. “Hyung, are you really letting him do this to you? You don't have to. I'll just grab that stupid thing and go.”
Chuckling, Denny urged him to try it and lose a hand. Eunjae hastened to intervene before his brother could take the dare, since he'd never known Max to not take the dare, and he'd never known Denny to not deliver on a promise. “It's okay,” he said. “I mean, I am a student driver.”
“Incredible. A statement founded on logic.” Denny pushed the sunglasses back into position.
“Go inside. I got a text from Miss Lim’s manager.
Someone’s coming by with that stuff in about an hour, give or take.
We’re heading out and I won't be around to handle it for you. Play nice.” Those last two words were punctuated by the passenger door slamming shut, a signal that there would be no further discussion.
Hearing the message loud and clear, Eunjae hustled to take his spot behind the wheel. “Hazel sent him something?”
“Clothes. She wants them in coordinating outfits during that wedding weekend in Japan.”
“Don't you think we should stay, then? What if Max throws everything into the fountain?”
Another door slammed. His brother claimed the back seat and buckled himself in. “No way am I staying here. Find the gas pedal, hyung. Get me the hell away from this place.”
For a moment, the car shook as though an earthquake had ripped through the valley.
It wasn’t an earthquake, though. It was just Denny.
“You're scared of her,” he said to Max, laughing, “and it's fair, ‘cause I've seen Hazel's knife work.
That's two of you being sensible for a change. Less than five minutes apart, too. Somebody pinch me.”
“I’m not scared of her! I just don't want to see her. You never know with Hazel. She said it'd be someone else bringing that stuff, but I wouldn't put it past her to show up anyway. I’ll pass. It’s bad enough that she’s coming to the wedding.”
More of Denny’s explosive laughter. “Fine, I won’t kick you out. Can't blame you for prioritizing survival. But you won't make a single noise the whole time Ryan’s driving, yeah? Not one word. This is a distraction-free learning environment.”
“I won't distract him—”
“Correct. You'll comply with the directive unless you want Miss Lim to know your exact location. I'm talking latitude, longitude, and approximate miles above sea level. Full coordinates. Don't test me, Lee.”
Max clamped his mouth shut. Eunjae took his foot off the brake, but then the doors opened again, and four additional brothers squashed into the SUV.
They wanted a ride into Monroe. They wanted a ride all the way to LA.
They wanted to stop for donuts, coffee, scrambled eggs.
No, they wanted tacos. But actually, what about crepes?
An ominous thunk: Denny engaging the locks. “Great. Today’s lesson is parallel parking. The goal is 85% accuracy, and now I won’t need to use these cones I ordered online. You guys are pretty sturdy. You can do the work of a safety cone, no problem.”
The silence that followed was deeply unnatural. Eunjae checked the rearview mirror, concerned. Maybe he’d imagined his brothers piling in. But no, the seats were occupied. His passengers were just… quiet. Trapped. Regretting their life choices.
He eased the car down the driveway, through the iron gates, and onto the narrow road that led to town.
The fields were wreathed in fog. Sporadic sunshine burned through the mist, flooding groves and pastures with a haze of gold.
Visibility was limited to five or six feet ahead, and although Eunjae knew the route, his grip tightened on the wheel.
He'd never driven in these conditions before.
Denny’s voice cut into his thoughts. “Just follow the dotted line, Ryan.”
“Sorry. I should speed up a little, too.”
“You're fine. Watch the road and stay in your lane. Eyes front, lights on, wheels on this side of the line. Nothing to it. And quit acting like you don’t know how to drive.
Sure, the fog makes it hard to see. But you manage every single day with all that hair flopping into your eyes, so how's it any different from this? Low visual acuity is the norm, for you.”
Max couldn’t take it. “Hey, he gets enough shit from Ezra. Don't pile it on.”
That complaint got him a reprimand, since he'd agreed not to talk, but Eunjae only sighed. “Wish I knew what to do about him,” he said, braking at a dilapidated stop sign.
“Why should you have to? Your parents fucked up, but that’s on them.” Max leaned back, stretching his long legs as far as the space allowed. “And also, Ezra could shut his mouth sometimes. It wouldn’t kill him.”
A grunt from Denny. “Would you like to be the pot or the kettle in this situation?”
That broke the spell. After not talking, bickering, or even daring to breathe for a record six minutes, the others reverted to their old ways in an instant.
“Never mind about the kid for now,” said Kei.
“Are we seriously going through with this? Those videos of Gyu and Jungwoo are all over the Internet. I’m shocked Prism still let us have the day off. ”
Patiently, Denny explained that the circus had rolled into town and wasn’t going anywhere.
This was the world they lived in. It was a clown game played with clown rules, and you could only win using clown tactics.
But Kazu was not aware that a video of Namgyu had also been leaked. What? When did that happen?
“He posted both of us last night,” Jungwoo replied.
“I thought we were doing those one at a time!”
“Quit yelling, Zu. What’s it matter if the posts are making us look good? Isn’t that what the agencies want? Prism should be paying hyung a salary with benefits.”
“They should,” Nicky giggled. “One leaked video and I rebranded Max into a gentleman. Not even just a gentleman, but a perfect gentleman. None of the Erics can even compete. And have you opened Star-Connect today? Exactly, you haven’t, because you can’t.
We tanked the servers. Sunshines are nuts over Namgyu buying out that farm stand.
The guy’s a hero. He’s saving the American agricultural industry. ”
Kazu was aghast. “They’re calling him a hero for paying full price? He maxed out his credit card! Again!”
“The fans don’t care about that, Zu. They want to be lucky, lucky Emma Han. They want flowers from Hong Namgyu. They want to be the flowers. And who made that happen? Me. Eric's taught me so much about manipulating people—"
"Don't you mean manipulating perception or something?" Kei cut in, revolted.
Eunjae merged onto the highway, setting a course for Lemon Grove. “Boss, should we call her now?” They had an hour left to go, with most of his brothers present and unable to walk out in a huff. It was a good time to talk. Denny made an agreeable noise, still a grunt but in a less forbidding key.
Jiyeon's voice came through the car’s Bluetooth connection, nice and clear. “Who am I talking to? Ajussi, are you in the car?”
“Oooh, I can be. What’s your best offer?”
“Kim Ahnjong.”
“What? Time is money, Chief.”
“Her time is money, too,” said Eunjae.
“Oooohhh—”
They heard Jiyeon talking to someone, a muffled conversation over clinking dishes and the faint hiss of a faucet running. She came back to the phone and said, “Sorry, I had to get out of the kitchen, it’s too crowded in there.”
“Good turnout, Yeonnie?”
“Uh-huh. I think I’ve got this in the bag. But anyway, I’ve been thinking about Nicky’s plan. It’s an interesting plan, and I like it better than Eric’s, but one meddling ex-boyfriend is enough for me. No offense, guys.”
“She’s talking about Arthur? Why? What did he say to her?”
Kei rolled his eyes. “Could you keep up with the weird plot twists, Grandpa?”
“Nicky was telling me about this member of Orion who dated and went public—”
“See? I’ve been useful. I’ll bill you later.”
“She should bill you for interrupting her.”
Max snickered at this. “Wow, hyung. You finally figured out how to make Ari mad. Not even Jungwoo could do it.”
“Eh,” said Nicky. “It’s fun, don’t get me wrong, but I’d have more fun if I could make him jealous. Wouldn’t that be the real prize? I’ll get there, don’t worry.”
Denny issued a stern and highly specific reminder of the dark fate that would befall everyone in the vehicle, if he had to make Ryan pull over. All conversation ceased.
“Anyway,” Jiyeon went on, “I think things worked out for Orion ‘cause the fans didn’t feel ambushed. They felt like they were part of the story from the beginning. She was an idol too, so people saw them together even before the dating news, when their groups had overlapping schedules. Maybe Sunshines could get used to seeing me around.”
A few beats passed. Eunjae was instructed to practice changing lanes and managed it well enough. Then Nicky said, “Sounds great to me. I’ve got a whole album full of Ari ‘seeing you around’ if you want access. Family discount, ajumma. Don’t miss out on this goldmine.”
“The hell do you mean by that?”
“You’ve been recording him? You've been recording all of us?”
“To be clear,” Jiyeon cut in, “no more leaked videos. We make new content featuring all of you, hosted by me. I won’t hide anymore.
We’re not announcing anything, that’s not the point.
But the agencies wanted me invisible, Prism wants to control how I’m seen, and I just don’t think that’s right.
Think about it, okay? Gotta go.” But then she came back on the line to tell Kazu not to wait up.
“Eunjae’s staying with me for the weekend. I’ll give him back by Monday.”
“What? Hold on—”
Too late. She’d strategically ended the call. Eunjae rushed to change the subject. It was now or never. “Jungwoo,” he said, eyes fixed on the road. “The wrist grab, it’s what Nicky told you to do, right? You wanted him to stay quiet about something.”
“Um… right.”
“Because you got an offer from Emerald and you didn’t want us to know.”
Denny crossed his arms, staring straight ahead, his expression inscrutable. Everyone had gone quiet again. A deeper silence this time, overpowering even Max. In fact, Max was the quietest of them all.
It took Jungwoo several tries, but eventually he managed to reply. “I didn’t want you to know,” he said, with a sigh. “I wasn’t ready to tell anybody, but especially not you.”
“Sorry, hyung. I know I forced you into that.”
“It’s okay. I would’ve had to bring it up soon, anyway.”
It stood to reason that Emerald would want to keep Jungwoo. Privately, Eunjae had been waiting for this to happen. Having guessed the secret didn’t make his feelings about it any less complicated, but he understood why the news had been difficult to share.
“I didn’t give them an answer,” Jungwoo went on to say.
Kei lifted his head. “Why not? There’s only one answer. The deal with Zenith is for all nine of us. You can’t stay with Emerald, that isn’t an option, and what about our songs—”
“Keiichi.” Kazu’s voice was stern, inflexible. His weariness felt tangible. “Not now. Just… please. Not now.”