Freddie- Okay. It was apology money. Like when a country loses the war and they have to pay the winners or whatever.
Maisie- But did he ever apologize for stealing mom’s money? No.
Jooney- (clears throat) Okay, anyway! Anyway, Apollo’s official Instagram just posted a teaser announcing a unit debut next month. I happened to see it right before we came down to record and I’m glad I did because this is big news, guys. The last time Apollo debuted a unit was in 2021 with members Kazu and Kei. We’ll link to that in the show notes for you.
Maisie- Oh, Apollo. I like them. They seem like good boys.
Jooney- They’ve been very busy boys, even after sending Jaehwan to basic training back in April. Just saw Kazu on the cover ofVogue Koreaand Jesse was announced as a brand ambassador for Givenchy last week. Several of the guys have regular gigs on variety shows and as radio hosts this season. And now we’re getting a unit EP from three Apollo members: Jungwoo, Ari, and Max. They’re calling it A/M/J. Emerald… does not get creative with the unit names. (laughs)
Freddie- Right, like wasn’t the last unit just K/K for Kazu and Kei? But yeah. (wistful sigh) Max, my problematic fav.
Maisie- Which one is Max? Tall boy? Aussie?
Jooney- No, Ma. You’re thinking of Ari.
Freddie- Max is the one who had to apologize in January after what he said on Eric Nam’s podcast.
Maisie- Oh, I don’t care about him. I like the tall boy. The one who dressed up like a lion onMask Singer.
Jooney- Technically 50% of Apollo qualifies as “the tall boy.” They are a freakishly tall group. Also my mom’s memory for what happened on Korean TV like three years ago — uncanny. For those of you who don’t remember or don’t keep up with music game shows where people sing in crazy costumes, Apollo’s Ari almost wonKing of Mask Singerback in 2020. He actually did better than his fellow member, Namgyu, who is the group’s main vocalist.
Freddie- I think there’s a whole series on YouTube calledThe A in Ari is for Angel. It’s just clips of him being ridiculously nice. I was watching some other idols talking on a variety show about how Ari is famous for finding things people lost in the dressing rooms at music shows.
Maisie- See? Nice boy. Get that one on the show, Jooney. No, all of them. How many in Apollo? Nine? We can fit them all in the studio, easy.
Jooney- Oh yeah, I’ll just casually get one of the biggest groups in the industry to guest star on this podcast. Totally happening, Ma.
Freddie- I heard Apollo was supposed to have like, twelve or thirteen members. But Jaehwan threatened to quit, so they cut it down to nine. Or did he threaten to murder someone? Either way, it’s on brand.
Jooney- Apollo has the scariest leader in all of K-pop. I’ll stand by that. But anyway, I’m very interested to see this unit, considering the three members participating. With Apollo being a self-produced group, they’ve always been really hands on with their music. I assume most of this unit’s tracks, if not all, will be written and produced by Jungwoo. This is no secret, but I think the guy’s brilliant. On top of that, Ari’s got one of the most distinctive voices in K-pop currently. And then there’s Max.
Freddie- Apollo’s got a strong rap line, gotta give Max a lot of credit there. Even though he’s, you know, a gremlin. (clears throat) A hot gremlin.
Jooney- Okay, what?
Freddie- You can give me that look all you want, but this is the hill I’m dying on.
Jooney- (laughing) Maybe call a gremlin watch, then, ‘cause I did hear those three were stateside this weekend. Filming a music video? Doing some magazine shoots? I’d guess LA or San Diego. Help me out here, Sunshines. The fans always know what’s going on. Drop some Apollo intel in the comments.
Maisie- Lion boy was in San Diego? Jooney, you didn’t drive me there? San Diego so close by! LA even closer! (begins scolding Jooney in Korean)
Jooney- Uhhh.
Freddie- Really quick, let’s hear from one of our sponsors!
5
Thehotelshould’vebeenjust a block or two away. Eunjae recalled a short walk to the restaurant where they’d eaten dinner, and the equally short walk between the restaurant and Wanna Waffle. But had it been short? Or had he actually been following a much more meandering path all along, entranced by the scenery and giddy with freedom?
Because the fact of the matter was this: Eunjae couldn’t find the hotel. And he couldn’t use his phone to navigate, because his phone was nowhere to be found. It must be in his duffel bag, or lying forgotten on the bed in his hotel room. He wasn’t sure when his one link to the others had snapped, but without his phone, Eunjae realized that he was about ten different kinds of helpless.
They must be losing their minds at the airport. Maybe they were already on the plane. Eunjae wasn’t wearing a watch and the last glance at the clock had been when Waffle Wednesday came to an end at… what time was that?
In his mind, the specter of Jaehwan paced back and forth, lecturing about the follies of relying too much on a smartphone to function on a daily basis. At least Eunjae wasn’t short on funds. He had the card this evening, since the other two were hopeless at keeping track of such things, and it was still tucked securely in his wallet.
He’d backtracked to the waffle place mainly because it was easy to retrace his steps back to that orange door. Oddly enough, he knew the way. Eunjae hadn’t been recognized while he was there. That made Wanna Waffle the safest harbor for now. He could borrow a phone there, maybe.
He paid better attention this time around. The shopping center was comprised of two buildings positioned at a right angle to each other, forming two sides of a rough square. A sign facing the busy boulevard readThe Village at Lemon Grove. Wanna Waffle’s side of the parking lot had emptied out, but the karaoke bar on the opposite end was pretty packed. None of the other establishments had such a unique entrance.
