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 Dressby Taeyang,” he choked out, having reached peak mortification. It was the song he performed at his audition for Emerald, and then again onKing of Mask Singerin 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 brandwasme.”
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 startingtonight.”
Sourced from footage filmed by Frederica “Freddie” Dang, co-host and producer of the K-pop podcastOmma Gosh!
Blurred asphalt is the only thing we see in the first thirty seconds of the video, along with glimpses of Freddie's white sneakers as she runs with the phone pointed at the ground. She slows down significantly upon reaching the crowded intersection where a horde of Apollo fans has congregated. The camera swings upward and captures a fleeting view of palm trees wrapped in string lights. Pennants snap in the strong breeze.
Freddie lifts the phone, focusing on a lanky figure wading his way through the masses: her co-host, Jooney Chun. The back of his highlighter yellow shirt is printed with theOmma Gosh!podcast logo. She catches up to him, swearing softly under her breath as someone nearly brains her with an officially licensed Apollo light stick.
“What do you see?” she yells at him, fighting to be heard over the din.
Jooney holds his own phone aloft, recording the scene from as high over his head as possible. His response is initially too muddled to decipher. Freddie endeavors to push and shove her way a little closer in an effort to get better audio.
“Nothing,” Jooney yells back at her. He's forgotten to remove his sunglasses. Freddie snatches them off his face with the hand that isn't gripping the phone.
