41. Chapter 41
“Was that everything? Did we say it all?”
In his head, Eunjae paced through the recording they’d just made. He replied, “We talked about the contract — penalty clause, disbandment, copyright. Jesse got us some comparison contracts from other idols, anonymously. Nicky covered how much of our work Emerald will keep if they force us to disband. Kei did the part about current South Korean laws governing contracts and Max, uh, complained really well about our schedule over the past few years under Yoon.”
“It’s fucked up, okay?”
“Don’t forget that I looked up all that stuff about Jewell!”
“Good job, Gyu,” said Kei. “You listened to a podcast like a champ.”
“It’s a great podcast! Omma Gosh, that’s what it’s called. They know a lot about us! They even knew about that time I got lost in Vegas. Haha!”
“You mean the time you wandered off at Caesar’s Palace and a bunch of Sunshines mobbed you at the fake Roman fountain? Cause I still have nightmares about that.”
“Aww, Keiichi looked for me everywhere.”
“I’m just really glad Zuzu remembered to bring Mom,” Jesse chimed in. He smiled fondly at the prop he held in his hands. This was a life-sized photo of Jaehwan’s head, backed with cardboard and mounted on a popsicle stick like a mask to be worn at a grade school play.
“Of course I brought Hwannie. This is war.” Kazu unfolded his legs and got up from the couch, swatting Kei for commenting about how loudly his knees cracked in the process. “The Internet seems to think this thing’s happening in the morning. There’s no specific time listed on anything the agency’s posted to official channels, but the fans could be right.”
“I hope the fans are right. I can’t brain anymore. I’m too tired.”
Eunjae chose this moment to share the next phase of the plan, something he’d discussed with Denny and Jiyeon while they were setting up for the livestream. “I don’t think we should wait until morning,” he said. “The fans are already lined up and waiting. If we go there now, maybe we can beat Emerald to the punch, talk to the audience directly. We can make sure they know everything we said in the video was real.”
“Now?” sputtered Nick. “But I look like garbage!”
“Calm down, Nicky. We all look like garbage. I mean, especially you.”
“You know what’s annoying? Zuzu doesn’t look like garbage. Funny how it turns out that way when he remembers to wear a full set of clothes…”
“Ya! I could show up naked and still look better than you,” Kazu shot back, sparking an argument with Kei that was conducted entirely in Japanese.
“Waaaah! Stop fighting!”
“You all look like heroes!” declared Mrs. Han. She swept into the room, clapped her hands, and went to fetch car keys. “Now, men! To battle!”
A flabbergasted Denny grabbed his own keys and headed for the door, towing Mr. Han along with him. “Jesus, where”d she get that from? That”s not a line from Pride and Prejudice.”
“But it could be,” Jiyeon pointed out.
The members of Apollo went pelting out of the apartment. Eunjae rushed to steer both Max and Kazu away from Mrs. Han and the Camaro.
“We’re riding with Denny,” he informed them, recalling that Lizzie Han’s driving would fit right in on the streets of Monaco during an F1 grand prix. Not a good match for the two Apollo members who habitually carried barf bags in their carry-on luggage.
His brothers reached the same understanding when the Camaro zipped out of the parking lot at warp speed, Jesse hooting from the passenger seat. In the back, Namgyu had his arms up like a rider anticipating the first impossibly steep drop on a rollercoaster.
Kazu seized Eunjae”s arm. “You just saved my life, man.”
“Same,” said Max, latching on to his other arm. “Let us pay you back.” And then he joined forces with Kazu to whisk Eunjae into Jiyeon”s car, going so far as to prevent escape by shutting the door and leaning their combined weight against it.
“Guys, no. You”re going to get me killed.”
“By who? Her dad? Please, he loves you. ‘Liiioooon-niiiiimmmm!’”
Eunjae tried again. “Seriously, let me out before Denny sees.”
“Heard him say something about too many brothers. Oh, and calling for a police escort. Is he a cop? FBI? What’s the deal there?”
“He has resources.” That was Jiyeon, hopping in next to Eunjae and starting the car. “Please don”t ask me what that means. Are you two riding with us? There”s room.”
“Nope,” answered Kazu, a borderline demonic grin on his face. “Wouldn”t dream of it.” He yanked Max away and left Eunjae to his doom. “Have fun, kids!”
Cheering erupted from all three rows of Denny’s SUV, part of it contributed by a confused but very excited Mr. Han. Nicky popped up through the open moon roof and shouted, “Good luck, my son!”
And then, much to Eunjae’s horror, Max broke away from Kazu at the last second. He threw his head back, and belted out a very familiar chorus. “Cause you should be my laaaayyydaaayyy —”
After gesturing forcefully for Denny to stop glowering and start driving, Jiyeon handed back Eunjae’s phone. “Do I know that song?”
“Wedding Dress by Taeyang,” he choked out, having reached peak mortification. It was the song he performed at his audition for Emerald, and then again on King of Mask Singer in the iconic lion costume he had yet to live down. As Max’s warbling continued to echo after them down the street, Eunjae fastened his seatbelt and willed himself to spontaneously combust. Should’ve shoved him into the Camaro, whispered the voice of Invisible Jaehwan. He wasn’t wrong. Too many brothers, indeed.
The closer they came to Wanna Waffle, the more abysmal the traffic became. At a red light, Jiyeon took the opportunity to pull her hair back into a ponytail. She had an olive green cargo jacket thrown across her lap: Eunjae’s, which she must have retrieved from her room before they left the apartment. Jiyeon offered it to him as soon as she finished with her hair.
“Didn’t want you to forget,” she explained. “Sounds like there’s some pages folded up in the pocket.”
“Oh, my notes.” He took these out, then tossed the jacket into the back seat. Definitely still no need for that. “Were you off today?” Time to talk about literally anything other than songs about wedding dresses.
“Can you tell? Olivia would never let me within three feet of the salon dressed like this. She wants us to look a certain way. ‘On brand’ and all that.” She fished a bobby pin out of the cup holder and pinned a loose strand in place, then pulled on a baseball cap that cast part of her face in shadow. “I love to dress up, don’t get me wrong. Nice to get a break from that on my days off, though. I was on brand for years, right? The brand was me.”
Eunjae had yet to be there for one of her days off. He”d only seen Jiyeon in the bright colors and patterns of her workday clothes, with flowers and ribbons in her hair. It was like getting another glimpse at who she was, the truth that defined her. Glancing over while she was preoccupied with driving, he knew that he wanted to be around for the next day off, and the next, and the next.
He wanted to be part of the story on all the days in between, however that story might go. Eunjae kept this to himself, though. Who was he to reach for anything like that? Besides, it was impossible for him to ignore what it would mean for Jiyeon to be tied to him in any way. He wasn’t just Eunjae, some guy from Brisbane. He was also Ari. Considering what he’d learned about her that evening, this only further complicated everything.
Who could say what his future held? It all depended on what happened here, tonight.
The boulevard leading to Wanna Waffle had been decked out in Emerald Entertainment”s green and lavender pennants, the palm trees adorned with long strings of lights. It was impossible to even see the sidewalk thanks to the sheer number of pedestrians thronged along the street.
Eunjae sank down lower, wary of being spotted. Fortunately, visibility was low. Par for the course at an Apollo event, the air bristled with homemade signs that said things like ‘SHINE brIGHT 4 APOLLO’ and ‘PRINCE KAZU WILL U MARRY ME’. Jesse fans murmured to one another over armfuls of sunflowers. Eunjae spotted a troupe of Jungwoo devotees clustered in a knot, arms linked, each carrying a single red rose. From the car, it was difficult to tell whether they were laughing or crying.
He desperately wanted to cover Jiyeon’s eyes before she could get a good look at any of the Sunshines bearing lion plushies or the ones in custom jean jackets bedazzled with ARI IS MY ANGEL. Unfortunately, she was driving and that would be dangerous.
The car crept forward inch by inch through an atmosphere that seemed strangely somber. These people must be so tired. He had to wonder how many hours some of them had been waiting. A few times, Eunjae thought he saw the flash of a tear-stained face, a fevered glint in someone’s eyes.
“They’re not just waiting in line,” Jiyeon observed with growing concern. “Over there, next to those teenagers with the inflatable hammers — that looks like a ticket booth. And the line is moving. Slowly, but it’s moving. Eunjae… I think this event is starting tonight.”