Their new publicist nodded with such enthusiasm that it made him look like a bobblehead toy. His smile rivaled the noonday sun. “Absolutely. So! Are you ready to get started?”
A clip from the second season of Apollo’s Netflix series,Sunshine 24/7: Apollo At Your Service, Episode 2
From the air, Monroe is a tiny storybook town, its streets and houses nestled within a valley dappled green and gold. To the northwest, deep, glittering blue breaks the pattern of vineyards and citrus groves. This is Lake Monroe, dotted with pedal boats, reflecting fluffy clouds that drift across the sky. And farther along the curve of a one-lane road, Langley House awaits, elegant in the morning light.
Text pops up on the screen, styled to look like handwritten notes. We learn that Langley House is an iconic example of Mediterranean Revival architecture. Until 1998, it belonged to the Langley-Trujillo family, early settlers to the area. Passing decades have seen the house become a home, a hospital, and a movie set, by turns. Financed by the Langley citrus fortune, it's a historic property that operates as a vacation rental and event venue.
Palm trees frame a shot of the house’s regal exterior. A fountain splashes in the courtyard. Further footage shows off Langley House’s eight bedrooms, its garden of heirloom roses, the sprawling grounds that include a pool and tennis court. Asentence unfurls in flowery script:Isn't this the perfect palace for eight princes to call home?
These eight princes are ferried to Langley House in an SUV that could be mistaken for a miniature ocean liner. Gravel crunches as the vehicle progresses through the gate and up the driveway. The house is greeted with a chorus of oohs and aahs. And then, rather than rolling to a stop at the entrance, the SUV… keeps going.
A giant, animated exclamation point appears above the car. Inside, the passengers have fallen into uncharacteristic silence. Mouths hang open. Confusion reigns. Jesse looks from the house to the driver, then back to the house, eyes bugging out behind sunglasses with pale blue lenses. The episode cuts to an interview segment in which Jesse announces that this house is haunted, without a doubt. The vibe is so, so creepy. The vibe isparanormal.
Back in the SUV, the members murmur amongst themselves. Namgyu is certain this means they're about to go play tennis first, or take a fun guided tour. Kei crosses his arms, a sour, distrustful twist to his mouth. Meanwhile, Kazu relaxes and says, “Oh, we’re parking in the back. That's all.”
And it seems like Apollo’s interim leader may actually be right for once, because the driver does seem to be aiming for the other side of the main building. He steers around the corner… and cruises right past the back door, too.
Max leans forward, alarmed. And in the middle row, wedged between Nicky (chuckling to himself) and Jungwoo (craning his neck for a glimpse of the rose garden), Ari sits back with a heavy sigh. “Oh, no,” he mutters. “Please tell me that's not the place.”
“What? Where?”
“The little house,” Ari answers, pointing straight ahead. “See?” As one, the members lean over to look. Nicky hoots with glee. Kazu assures them that this can’t be it.
Alas, thisisit: a tiny guesthouse taking up a corner of the Langley House gardens, enclosed by a low boxwood hedge. The cottage looks comically small from here, as the SUV rumbles over the last few yards. Namgyu whimpers, “Aww, do they hate us? Is that why they're making us sleep in a shed?”
“Nobody's making you sleep in a shed, my son,” Nicky replies. “Don't you even worry about that. I'm here to make sure you sleep outside, that's a promise.”
“Awwww!”
“Ya, cut it out. Nobody's sleeping outside.”
The driver pulls up in front of a trellis twined in ivy. Kei levels a scathing glare at the back of Kazu's head. “Of course somebody's sleeping outside. There can't possibly be more than one bedroom.”
Helpful pop-ups tell us that he's right about the number of bedrooms. Other features include one bathroom, a pull-out couch, and a loft with two narrow beds, but we'll get to all that good stuff later. For now, the members of Apollo disembark, then follow a well-trodden path to the cottage they'll be calling home for the next eight weeks. Birds chirp. Uyu squirms out of Jungwoo's grasp and races ahead, barking madly, a cotton ball on stubby legs. What a stylish red leather collar! Is that Prada?
Every effort has been made to welcome the new tenants. Eight pairs of slides wait in a line, in eight different colors. Yellow roses grace the kitchen counter. Beside the vase is a wooden tray loaded with chocolate chip cookies, freshly baked. But not even the warmest welcome can distract from the reality that this is nowhere near enough space for eight people. The living arrangements will be snug, to say the least.
Max is the last to enter. He looks around and blurts out, “Well, [BLEEP].”
15
Theirfirstfulldaywas long. The second day was even longer, and the third felt interminable. This was the last desperate scramble to get the set camera-ready, every chair and salt shaker and coffee mug arranged to the producers’ satisfaction before the soft opening next week. While Apollo recorded interviews and posed for promotional photos, Jiyeon divided her time between prepping the diner… and spending hours sequestered in a trailer with Eric.
On Monday afternoon, they went through her personalized Prism handbook, page by excruciating page. Analysts had also prepared a list of posts across Emma Han’s social media platforms, all of which had been deemed ‘tangential to the desired narrative arc and updated brand imagery.’ Jiyeon archived each of these offending posts by hand, trapped in Eric’s office for most of Tuesday morning. Wednesday’s meeting began with an overhaul of her various profiles and ended with a lecture on Prism’s content approval process. It came with a visual guideprinted on shimmering, pearlescent cardstock, like a wedding invitation gone wrong.
She much preferred working at the diner. Consulting for the production, Jiyeon had pored over countless emails, restaurant supply catalogs, and interior design journals. She’d also seen enough vinyl swatches for one lifetime. But there was a sense of fulfillment in watching everything come together, even if entering Sunshine Diner was like stepping into a strange, alternate reality. Wanna Waffle, but not quite.
Denny was often there as well, training staff, sorting out the logistical details of opening for business. She'd hear her brother in the kitchen and feel a little less homesick. Once, he happened to walk by while the set designer scratched some random initials into a few of the tables; the production wanted that lived-in look, but on short notice. Jiyeon thought she might have to pop Denny's eyeballs back into their sockets afterward.
As expected, she rarely crossed paths with Eunjae. The film crew kept the guys on a packed schedule: a tour of Monroe, a day helping out in the citrus groves, several excursions into the countryside to film ad segments for sponsors. They were recorded playing tennis and splashing in the pool. Eunjae sent messages that Jiyeon waited to read until she was alone, but someone was always hovering nearby, close enough to read over her shoulder. One of the Erics, usually.
Case in point, she had an Eric at her heels all the way out the door on Thursday evening. It was the same Eric they’d met on Sunday. Jiyeon told no one except Eunjae, but this was the Eric she liked the least. He didn’t give her the creeps, like Tuesday Eric, and he didn’t monologue about algorithms and data like Wednesday Eric, and yet he was still the worst. She couldn’t explain why.
“Don’t forget,” he said, trotting after Jiyeon as she left the diner. “We’ll want to make this switch as soon as possible. And Iknow changing your handle is a big deal, Miss Han, but trust me when I say that this is for the best. Not just for the show, or for Apollo, but for you and your evolving brand.”
He called Denny and the Apollo members by their first names, but she was always Miss Han. It was a way of keeping her at a safe remove, a benign and manageable distance.
“The new username is memorable and ultra professional. I think it’ll be perfect.” Eric grinned. Today his glasses had teal frames to match his teal Prism fleece. “Have a wonderful night, Miss Han. See you tomorrow!”
