“Then I can go back home.”
“About that.” His face gets a serious look that means I’m not going to like whatever he’s about to say. “Not for two weeks at least. A month is better.”
“You’ve got to be kidding.”
Alex rubs his nose. “StarLune has some die-hard fans who will make connections between Mr. Choi and the young, attractive Asian women in the building.”
“Alex. You truly thought about those words, decided they were the exact ones you wanted, and let them leave your mouth?”
“Three for three.” He’s unrepentant. “Again, optics. There are some vicious gossip blogs looking to make a story out of this, true or not. People can be nasty as hell.”
I can’t believe this won’t die down in a few days, so I tell him what he wants to hear. “I’ll think about it. What about work?”
I’d already been role-playing how the conversation with Richard could possibly go.
Richard, I’d say.I want to give you a heads-up that…I’ve been kind of dating a singer, and if his legions of fans and the media find out, they might start calling the office to get information about me.
Thank you, Ariadne,he’d reply.How lovely for you. Who is this singer?
Then I’ll send him a video of Jihoon with his blue hair, dancing while he casts scorching glances at the camera, and oh my God, what am I thinking? Richard’s conservative with both big and littleCs. He went to private school. His family has been running things and being conspicuously WASPy since before Canada was a country. He’d consider this a scandal beyond redemption.
“So far, so good. Since your names haven’t leaked, your job and family are safe,” says Alex. My shoulders sag with relief.
“My sister met Jihoon,” I say. “My parents, too.”
“As Jihoon, a friend of yours and a cousin of Hana? Nothing else?”
“Since I didn’t know there was anything else, yes. Phoebe guessed, though.”
“Can she keep quiet?”
“Yes.” We may have some issues, but I trust Phoebe not to tell after I asked her not to.
Alex strokes his chin. “Then I’ll leave it for now. I don’t want to cause more problems by alerting them if they have no idea.”
“Won’t it be on the news?”
“Will it ever!” He turns on the TV to the twenty-four-hour news channel, which is currently discussing a shortage of hospital beds. “They have it as a developing story. Sadly, it’s a slow news day. What I wouldn’t give for a political gaffe.”
The next segment shows my apartment building, where the news anchor stands with the milling crowd of StarLune fans. “In international celebrity news, it looks like Toronto became a haven for Korean pop star Min of StarLune. The globally popular singer, who was purported missing from his home in Seoul for weeks, was photographed in a local grocery store and had apparently been hiding out in this west-end building.”
He turns around. “Are you a fan of StarLune?” he asks a woman holding what looks like a flashlight with a blue heart star at the top. “Are you surprised one of the band members is in Toronto?”
She tosses her fuchsia-streaked hair and looks ecstatic. “No way! The boys have always had a soft spot for the city, and I’m thrilled he was able to come here and relax the way he deserves. We love him. Min, saranghaeyo!” She makes her fingers into a V shape by her face and blows a kiss at the camera.
“Do you have a favorite song?”
The woman starts bobbing her heart star flashlight while belting out a tune I don’t recognize. The people in the crowd around her join in, a few dancing with choreographed moves I assume are associated with the song. Others start chanting and the reporter laughs. “There you have it, Kari! A happy group of StarLune fans. The band was last here in the winter, when they sold out two nights at the Rogers Centre as part of their world tour.”
“This is messed up,” I mutter.
Alex turns it off. “Mr. Choi is the visual, and he’s very popular.”
I remember that term. “What’s a visual?” Right now Alex is my Virgil, guiding me through the nine circles of K-pop culture.
“The best-looking one in the group.”
“They’re officially ranked by their appearance?” Obviously if there were a hotness list, Jihoon would be first, but what a strange thing.
