He doesn’t let me finish. “My decision is made, Ariadne.” I can tell he’s pissed I spoke up. “We can assess your role when you return. It would be unfortunate to lose you permanently, but this is best for now.”
After giving me instructions on how to pass over my clients, he hangs up, and I do my best to not hurl the phone against Jihoon’s lovelystone floors. The only thing calming me down is my faith that Jihoon will get this under control soon. He has to, because I’m about to lose it.
I go back to social media, unable to stay away, and refresh to see a statement from Newlight posted thirty seconds ago. My heart thumps hard enough to bruise my rib cage as I inch past the Korean to the English translation posted underneath.
Hello. This is Newlight Entertainment.
We would like to address an issue concerning one of our artists, Min of StarLune. Recently, a photo was published of Min with a woman. There is no personal connection between the two. The woman is a fan who approached Min when he was visiting family in Toronto and at a private party after she pursued him to Seoul. She interfered with Min during a walk on Bukhansan mountain where he went to reflect after last night’s successful VIP concert.
Min would like to assure all his fans that he is safe and apologizes for any concerns Starrys may have. Starrys and StarLune are his only priorities. The safety of our artists is paramount and actions by individuals that intrude on their privacy will not be tolerated.
Thank you.
At the bottom is a shot of me staring at Jihoon at the Newlight party. I know my expression reflects my shock at seeing him, but I can also see how it can be read as wide-eyed adoration.
I read it twice, then once more.
I have a few issues, to put it mildly. The first is a general WTF bafflement that a company would put out a statement like this at all. That’s going up there with the variety shows in the cultural relativism category.
The second is a much stronger and more specific WTF. This was how he fixed it? He disassociated us so my name is out of it, which is good, but he might as well have punched me in the gut. He basically told the entire world I was a delusional fan he had nothing to do with. I won’t be viewed as Jihoon’s seducer in the collective Starry fandom mythology but this is so much worse. I bring up the party photo again. What was he thinking to let this happen?
I dial Alex’s number almost on autopilot. He must have known, and I need to get the background before I confront Jihoon.
Alex picks up. “Good God, finally. Do you deliberately plan your day around ruining mine?”
“No.”
“Sorry.” He sounds exhausted. “It’s been a hell of a year, and it’s not even nine in the morning. How are you coping?”
I ignore his question. “Did you know about the statement from Newlight?”
“I haven’t seen a statement.” He sounds puzzled. “Give me a second.”
Muttering comes through the phone as he reads through. “Photos…interfered…what the…Ari, I had no idea. That photo is from the party. That’s not what happened. They didn’t tell me. Newlight only asked us to monitor North American media.”
“Jihoon said he’d fix it.” I do my best to not break down. If Yesterly and Havings taught me anything besides how to write a concise memo, it’s that crying during a business call is akin to having a neon sign around your neck that saysWEAK, GO FOR THE JUGULAR. I like Alex, but this is hard training to fight against.
Alex’s laugh is cynical. “Yeah, he fixed it alright. It’s the only thing Newlight could have done, I suppose.”
“You’re joking. Branding me as a sasaeng fan was their best solution?”
“No, that’s total bull and I’m sorry. I meant from their perspective.They must have panicked and overreacted to stop the scandal for StarLune.”
“I’m not a scandal!” The volume of my voice shocks me as much as it does Alex, who pauses for a moment.
“I apologize,” he says. “I didn’t mean it that way.”
I don’t even care about his apology. “They could have said I was a friend. They could have said almost anything else. Now this is what I am to people, and I can’t control any of it. I’m not even awhoanymore. I’m awhat. I’m not Ari but a desperate StarLune fan with no sense of reality. This is so…” I can’t even find the words but sink into a chair, head in my hand as I work to get my breath normal.
“I’m sorry, Ari.”
“Whatever,” I mutter. This mess isn’t Alex’s fault, but I have the ignoble desire to take it out on someone, and Jihoon, the real cause of the problem, isn’t here. “Forget Newlight and StarLune. I need a plan for me.”
“Ari, we should talk about how you feel—”
“Can you help me or not?”
“I’ll call your family. If you come home, you can stay at the same condo as before, both you and Hana.” He hesitates. “There may be some fans around your apartment again.”
