“Good turnout, Yeonnie?”
“Uh-huh. I think I’ve got this in the bag. But anyway, I’ve been thinking about Nicky’s plan. It’s an interesting plan, and I like it better than Eric’s, but one meddling ex-boyfriend is enough for me. No offense, guys.”
“She’s talking about Arthur? Why? What did he say to her?”
Kei rolled his eyes. “Could you keep up with the weird plot twists, Grandpa?”
“Nicky was telling me about this member of Orion who dated and went public—”
“See? I’ve been useful. I’ll bill you later.”
“She should bill you for interrupting her.”
Max snickered at this. “Wow, hyung. You finally figured out how to make Ari mad. Not even Jungwoo could do it.”
“Eh,” said Nicky. “It’s fun, don’t get me wrong, but I’d have more fun if I could make him jealous. Wouldn’t that be the real prize? I’ll get there, don’t worry.”
Denny issued a stern and highly specific reminder of the dark fate that would befall everyone in the vehicle, if he had to make Ryan pull over. All conversation ceased.
“Anyway,” Jiyeon went on, “I think things worked out for Orion ‘cause the fans didn’t feel ambushed. They felt like they were part of the story from the beginning. She was an idol too, so people saw them together even before the dating news, when their groups had overlapping schedules. Maybe Sunshines could get used to seeing me around.”
A few beats passed. Eunjae was instructed to practice changing lanes and managed it well enough. Then Nicky said, “Sounds great to me. I’ve got a whole album full of Ari ‘seeing you around’ if you want access. Family discount, ajumma. Don’t miss out on this goldmine.”
“The hell do you mean by that?”
“You’ve been recording him? You've been recording all of us?”
“To be clear,” Jiyeon cut in, “no more leaked videos. We make new content featuring all of you, hosted by me. I won’t hide anymore. We’re not announcing anything, that’s not the point. But the agencies wanted me invisible, Prism wants to control how I’m seen, and I just don’t think that’s right. Think about it, okay? Gotta go.” But then she came back on the line to tell Kazu not to wait up. “Eunjae’s staying with me for the weekend. I’ll give him back by Monday.”
“What? Hold on—”
Too late. She’d strategically ended the call. Eunjae rushed to change the subject. It was now or never. “Jungwoo,” he said, eyes fixed on the road. “The wrist grab, it’s what Nicky told you to do, right? You wanted him to stay quiet about something.”
“Um… right.”
“Because you got an offer from Emerald and you didn’t want us to know.”
Denny crossed his arms, staring straight ahead, his expression inscrutable. Everyone had gone quiet again. A deeper silence this time, overpowering even Max. In fact, Max was the quietest of them all.
It took Jungwoo several tries, but eventually he managed to reply. “I didn’t wantyouto know,” he said, with a sigh. “I wasn’t ready to tell anybody, but especially not you.”
“Sorry, hyung. I know I forced you into that.”
“It’s okay. I would’ve had to bring it up soon, anyway.”
It stood to reason that Emerald would want to keep Jungwoo. Privately, Eunjae had been waiting for this to happen. Having guessed the secret didn’t make his feelings about it any less complicated, but he understood why the news had been difficult to share.
“I didn’t give them an answer,” Jungwoo went on to say.
Kei lifted his head. “Why not? There’s only one answer. The deal with Zenith is for all nine of us. You can’t stay with Emerald, that isn’t an option, and what about our songs—”
“Keiichi.” Kazu’s voice was stern, inflexible. His weariness felt tangible. “Not now. Just… please. Not now.”
27
AtLangleyHouse,theview from Jiyeon's window encompassed the back half of the property. This included the gardens and tennis court, with Apollo’s cottage buried amid the hedgerows to the right. Most mornings, she'd see three figures sprinting up and down the paths: Kazu, Nicky, and Namgyu, up at dawn for their daily run. Jungwoo sightings were common as well. He had a favorite bench in the rose garden, and he'd sit there with his guitar and a cup of coffee, notebook close at hand.
The rest of the group was fond of sleep and rarely made an appearance before lunch. Jiyeon envied their ability to stay in bed. A month after moving into this room, she'd maintained her habit of waking early even when it wasn’t necessary. Sunlight soaked through the sheer curtains, working better than any alarm clock. Despite the day off, she’d gotten up at the usual time.
