“After you left, I had to face what I’d done. StarLune has been my life for a decade, and I love it, but the band is my past, and you can be my future.”
“You can’t leave the band,” I say. “It’s too important to you.”
“We made the decision together. StarLune is made of people, and those four people will always be with me. That’s why we posted the same photo on our social media. We have others planned to show we support and love each other.”
“All of you?” I eye him hesitantly.
“Yes. We all need this. You are not wrecking StarLune.”
“The internet will say I am.”
“We’ll tell our fans the truth, that we’ve talked and the cracks have been there a long time but none of us wanted to be the first to say it. We need to grow in our own ways.” He looks at me. “I want you to be part of that journey. If you’ll have me.”
I take a half step forward, and it’s enough for him to cover the distance between us and wrap me in his arms. His mouth is on mine before I can answer, but the kiss tells him what he needs to know.
I’ll have him.
He encloses me in his puffer jacket, wrapping it around me until we’re in a bubble. “I love you, Ari. When you sent that text in Seoul, I was almost bursting to tell you how I felt, but I wanted to tell you in person.”
“Really?” Since I still sometimes woke at night regretting that message, this is a relief.
“Yeah.” He breathes into my hair. “It turned out to not be an opportune time.”
I grin despite myself. “This is definitely a more suitable occasion, but you should say it again to make sure.”
“I can do that.” He kisses the corner of my mouth. “I love you.”
“Good.” I make him wait until he’s fidgeting, then rub my nose on his warm neck. “I love you, Jihoon. And Min. I love all of you.”
His heart pounds, matching mine. “Thank you,” he whispers.
“What’s next?” I murmur against his mouth.
“I don’t know.” He pulls me closer to shelter me from the cold. “What do you think’s next?”
“I don’t know, either.” I don’t have a goal. I don’t have a plan.
That’s fine, because Jihoon’s arms are warm, and he’s smiling only at me.
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Epilogue
Hello, this is Newlight Entertainment.
We have some news about StarLune. Although we have negotiated, as of April, StarLune—Kay, Min, DeeDee, Sangjun, and X—will no longer be artists under Newlight Entertainment. Newlight strongly denies any bad faith actions or wrongdoings in the song credits of its artists.
To all the Starrys,
This is StarLune. You might have seen the announcement from Newlight Entertainment and we wish to give you more details about why we ended our contract ahead of time. Although we are disbanding, all the members of StarLune remain close friends and are eager to support each other in our future careers as we grow as artists and individuals. This was a choice we made as a team, as we have always made our decisions.
We stand by our comments regarding the deceptive songwriting credits and cannot stay with a company that doesn’t respect our artistic contributions. Jihoon and Daehyun are proudof their work and each other. We apologize with all our hearts for misleading Starrys and hope you will forgive us.
Jihoon will take a hiatus from performing to continue in his songwriting career and music production. He will be making a new home outside Seoul, creating the music he loves.
Daehyun will focus on music production and will also make music to bring joy and light to fans.
Sangjun and Xin are proud to announce the launch of StarRise Entertainment, where artists are treated with freedom and respect. Global auditions for artists of all genders will begin soon.
