“I’ll speak to you later,” I snap into the phone. Then I put it on silent to do some online searching for my own answers. Beside me, Alex opens his mouth but shuts it when he sees my glare. I don’t want to talk to him right now and hear whatever spin he’s going to put on this. I want the unbiased and accurate information proffered by random strangers on the internet with zero insider knowledge.
“We can talk when you’re done,” he says easily.
I barely hear him as I gawk at my phone. Kit is StarLune’s leader and main dancer, and Daehyun is the main rapper. They’re known professionally as Kay and DeeDee. Jihoon? Stage name: Min. Roles: visual and main vocalist. I’m not even sure whatvisualmeans. I get off social media and do a search for Jihoon. The first hit, an English-language Korean gossip site, tells me what I need to know.
K-POP IDOL IN HIDING?
Rumors continue to surround the whereabouts of StarLune’s vocalist Min, who hasn’t been seen in more than two weeks.Newlight, StarLune’s entertainment company, has refused to comment on the hugely popular singer, saying only that members are busy preparing for their next comeback. A source close to the band says the quintet is exhausted after their last world tour, which sold out venues globally.
The story appears to have been an avenue to showcase a variety of Jihoon GIFs that I scroll through with increasing disbelief. The guy living in my apartment in sweatpants and drinking iced coffee is the same one with his tongue peeking out to touch his tinted lip? The one thrusting his leather-clad hips at the camera, hand gripping his inner thigh with his head thrown back?This fucking guy?
“Jihoon is in a K-pop boy band,” I say, testing the words out loud. “He is basically part of a Korean NSYNC.”
“Choi Jihoon is a performer and songwriter with one of the biggest bands on earth,” corrects Alex. “He is known as Min.”
“He’s famous.” There’s a feed dedicated entirely to Jihoon walking stylishly through international airports. “A celebrity.”
“Famous is not the word,” my escort says with withering disbelief. “They outsell most artists globally. You know that, right?”
“I did not know that. Why would I know that?”
Alex shifts his whole body to eyeball me. “Because you don’t live under a rock?” At my blank look, he sighs, apparently remembering that, for all intents and purposes, when it comes to anything outside work, I live under a boulder. “Didn’t you read the background I gave you?”
“I skimmed it. I don’t even officially start with Hyphen for another two weeks. It was on my list!”
“I can’t believe you didn’t recognize him even without that.” Alex shakes his head.
“Why would I? Would you recognize the top singer from Norway? Egypt?”
“I would if they were as famous as StarLune, but we can discussthis later. Mr. Choi wasn’t exaggerating when he said you couldn’t go back to your apartment,” he says.
“Why not?”
“They’ve had crowds at airports that were so big, some fans were nearly crushed against the barricades. Also, the potential death threats.”
“I beg your pardon?” I put the phone down to listen more closely.
“Yeah, you don’t get a fandom that huge without there being some people with issues, and those people would not be happy to know Min of StarLune has a girlfriend.”
Death threats are too much for me to absorb, so I cling to what I can handle. “I’m not his girlfriend. He’s my roommate’s cousin. Hana’scousin.”
Alex rolls his eyes. “Please, I saw his face when he was talking about you.”
That gives me a bit of a rush, but now’s not a good moment to savor it. I take in a breath so deep, I reach a count of eleven on the exhale. “Look, Alex, this is all very new to me, so I need you to go slow. Hana—my roommate—said her cousin was here because of a breakup. He certainly never introduced himself as a man who needs a security detail to go to the store.”
Alex gets that PR face I’ve seen him pull on in meetings. “I’m taking you to Mr. Choi in a secure location. He can explain further.”
“Oh my God. Work. What will happen?” My firm is so painfully traditional, I’ll never get ahead if this gets out.
“Right now, it’s all fine. No one knows about you.” To my surprise, he turns to put his hand on my arm. “I promise I’ll do my best to keep your name out of this.”
“Can you?”
He pokes his tongue inside his cheek as he thinks about how to phrase his answer. “Currently it looks good.”
“No guarantees, though.”
Alex shrugs. “There are no guarantees in this life. StarLune fans are passionate, but the vast majority are reasonable people who understand Mr. Choi deserves a private life.”
