“I don't think you're an asshole,” Hazel replied. “I don't think of you at all. Not anymore. But if you're telling Max to skip this so that you can keep working with Emerald by yourself, I'll be thinking of you all the time. That's not a good thing. Pray that I'm never fucking thinking of you.”
“I’m not the one who told him to say no! He doesn’t want to go. He won’t leave Ari.”
Eunjae stared across the room at Max. What?
“How long will you guys keep this up? I can’t believe you’d stay together even when it’s holding you back.”
“I believe we’ve heard enough from you, Miss Lim.”
Max pushed off the wall. “Shut the hell up. Why are you talking to her like that?” Glaring at Eric, he said, “Keep my phone if you want, but you can’t make me stay here.”
And then he left with Hazel, wincing when Eunjae called his name. Max wouldn't even look at him.
Eric made no move to interfere. He came to greet the new arrivals, smiling his benign, stock photo smile. “Hello, hello. I apologize for cutting your evening short like this. It’s not what anyone wanted.” He waved Nicky and Eunjae inside, but prevented Jiyeon from following. “This doesn’t concern you, Miss Han. Let me have your phone and Erin will walk you back to your room.”
“It doesn’t concern me, but you’re taking my phone away? I feel like I’m owed an explanation, bottom line.”
Hazel turned back for a moment, eyes alight with molten rage. “Oh, it’s my fault, unnie. I did some normal girlfriend shit and posted that I was proud of Max. Who knew it would start a war?”
A statement issued by Emerald Entertainment in response to breaking news headlines and rampant fan speculation regarding Apollo, November 2023.
Hello, this is Emerald Entertainment.
Recently, there has been extensive media coverage and online discourse concerning our artists, the members of Apollo. We are aware that internal and confidential correspondence between staff members was released to the public without authorization. Misinterpretation of these materials has affected Apollo’s contract negotiations with Zenith Entertainment. We seek to prevent further harm to our artists by providing clarification on several points.
First, the company firmly denies all allegations of attempting to ‘poach’ talent from Zenith Media or interfere with ongoing negotiations. Our agency has maintained a policy of transparency and professionalism throughout this transitional period for Apollo. The correspondence in question pertained to in-house production roles for Apollo members Park Jungwoo and Max Lee, but no offers or terms had been finalized.
Plans for Jungwoo’s continued collaboration with Emerald Entertainment were initially proposed in October, with the artist and representatives of both agencies in attendance. Similarcontractual terms for Max were to be discussed at an upcoming meeting, which Zenith has now canceled.
Second, rumors regarding the termination of contracts and Apollo’s disbandment are categorically false. All nine members, including Jungwoo and Max, remain committed to promoting as Apollo and carrying out their scheduled activities.
Lastly, we would like to address increased speculation around the members’ schedules in Tokyo. We can confirm that Apollo attended a family wedding as well as other gatherings during their stay. These activities were not conducted in any official capacity, nor were they part of the group’s filming schedule forSunshine 24/7.
As the agency, we are unable to comment on our artists’ private lives. We ask that fans and media outlets refrain from spreading unverified claims which could damage the members’ reputations and careers, as well as their personal and professional relationships. We are prepared to take all necessary legal measures against creators and distributors of malicious content.
We sincerely thank Sunshines for their steadfast support of Apollo since debut. Please look forward to the group’s future endeavors.
35
Jiyeonwokeinanunfamiliar bed, beneath an unfamiliar ceiling. The sky showed violet through the window, not quite lightless in this hour before dawn. She'd forgotten to pull the drapes.
Remembrance came on a slow wave. This wasn't her room at Langley House. At the moment, this was something of a prison cell. Jiyeon had been told to go to her hotel room and stay there. The night had ended badly.Eunjae.She needed to know if he was okay, if Apollo was okay. Where was her phone? She couldn't find it.
Right, it was with Eric. Prism wanted to keep information contained. Liberated from endless digital noise, she couldn't be overly connected and wired and informed. It created new depths of isolation.
Never mind. She had a phone on the nightstand, and Jiyeon knew Eunjae's room number. If she called the front desk at the Grand Empress, maybe they could connect her.
Or maybe not. Maybe they'd tell her the room was vacant. Both hotels were accustomed to high-profile guests and the security measures that came with them, so her best bet would be to figure out the direct number. Well, she could do that. She'd talk to him somehow. Jiyeon sat up, twisting her long hair into a bun. By habit, she tried to use the elastic on her wrist and couldn't find that, either. Of course, because she'd given it to Eunjae, for good luck.
Undaunted, she pushed through possible solutions, everything from trying the front desk anyway to simply getting up and walking over there, Eric be damned. But now there were heavy footsteps thumping down the hall outside Jiyeon’s door.
Denny didn't knock. His words were battering rams made of pure, thunderous sound. “Yeonnie, we have to go.”
She flew out of bed and threw on a sweater. Fingers on the deadbolt, Jiyeon hesitated. Eric was out there with her brother. She recognized the calm, even cadence of his sentences, smooth as lines read from a teleprompter.
Denny had his suitcase, passport slung around his neck. He wasn't dressed for the weather. He wasn't even dressed to be out in public, not by his own standards. Her brother wore sweatpants only to sleep, but here he was, still in the pair he'd worn to bed. The rumpled t-shirt was old enough to bear the original Wanna Waffle logo, which they'd redesigned more than two years ago. There was a hole in the right sleeve. And it was raining again, but Denny didn't have an umbrella. Nor had he bothered with a coat.
In her head, sirens blared. Something must have happened to their parents, or Janie. An accident, an emergency. “Hang on,” said Jiyeon, rushing to pack her own bags. Eric said something about staying in Japan. Words reached her, fragments without context: obligation, image, optics.
