Max: U
Kei: Surprise! I hate it here!
Jesse: LOL LOL LOL LOL
Namgyu: awwwwww!!! but does anybody want something from the vending machine
Jungwoo: Is it the good vending machine?
Nicky: Who’s paying?
Nicky: International Bank of Kazuhiko?
Kei: Actually… yes.
Nicky: OoOoOOOooHhhHHhh
Namgyu: ha! zuzu-hyung is the nicest brother, right? he’s acting like a zombie for now but that’s okay, he’s just feeling so super sad. and when he’s not sad anymore he’ll remember about the money and yell at us. aww, i’ll be so glad when that happens.
Max: Fuck this, I’m going up to find hyung
Kei: Another surprise! Ha ha ha.
Max: Why are you laughing like that? What a freak
Jesse: LOL LOL LOL LOL
Namgyu: but what if ari ran away again because they said he can’t be with
Namgyu: haha!! oh man I almost typed it here!!!
Jungwoo: Not a reason to run. There’s ways around that.
Max: You would know
Max: (7x eyeroll emojis)
Nicky: Quit talking and let Gyu clean out the vending machine
Nicky: Focus, Hong Namgyu
Nicky: It’s a game
Jaehwan: ?????????
Jaehwan: It’s not a game!!!!! Give the wallet back and go downstairs!!!!!
5
Afterhours,theEmeraldlobby lost its aura of frenetic activity. The lights were dimmed and the main entrance locked. In the lower levels, some trainees might still be taking lessons, and the studios could be busy at any time of the day or night. But in this part of the agency’s domain, business had concluded.
Eunjae trudged past the security guard on duty, keeping his head down, eyes on an email. It was from his younger brother, Ezra, just three lines long. The last was a question:When will you be back in LA?He read without comprehending, feet shuffling along on autopilot. There were a lot of questions hanging in the air. At least he still knew the answer to that one. The filming news had thrown a number of plans into disarray, but he could still go home.
Behind the reception desk, voices rose and fell. Did anyone know of a good, last-minute birthday present? Was it still raining out there? Everyday, normal concerns. Perhaps that waswhy Eunjae only felt worse after overhearing the conversation. He’d love to trade his own concerns for the everyday, normal variety.
And just to be safe, no contact until this deal goes through. We’ll be monitoring to make sure all members comply. You know how the fans can be.Every time he remembered that conversation with the founders, and the conversation he'd need to have with Jiyeon, Eunjae found his thoughts falling into a familiar pattern. It wouldn't be so hard, running away from here. To slip through the doors and blend in with the stream of commuters on the sidewalk, borne away on a tide of strangers. He could buy a ticket online, board the plane, and leave all of this behind. But it only seemed easy on the surface.
There was no future in running away. Eunjae rounded the corner and waited for the elevator, composing and deleting entire speeches in his head. Soon, he'd have to tell Jiyeon everything. Worse, he couldn’t even tell her in person.
