Scandalized

Track 2: 그냥 해라 (Just Haera)

Track 2: 그냥 해라

(Just Haera)

A

t 9:15 a.m., Gabriel Park made a beeline from his desk to the vending machine down the hall. Fifteen minutes into this work day and he was already feeling the need for a second dose of caffeine. Maybe even a third, because god knows how small these vending machine cups were.

As the machine slowly dispensed his choice of poison, the 27-year old public relations manager sighed at the prospect of being stuck behind his desk all day and coming up with various versions of “No comment.”

Amazing, he thought. Not even 24 hours had passed since the first Jo Yihwan-Han Haera article was released on the internet, yet it had already been taken apart, spun around, and turned inside out at lightning speed. A single story progressed from a seed to a full-grown tree, now adorned with so-called sources and questionable, badly-taken photos.

“Amethyst...” He managed a decent tone when he answered the phone on his desk. He hadn’t even taken a sip of his coffee yet.

“This is Kim Yeonmi of Showbiz Seoul. May I please get a statement about the rumors concerning Jo Yihw—”

He kept his answer curt—“I’m sorry, we don’t have a statement for this yet”—and put the receiver down.

It rang again.

Gabriel looked around and saw all of his teammates on their phones, picking up calls and hanging up after uttering a grand total of ten words. Until Jo Yihwan returns from a shoot in Cheongdam-dong and has a few minutes to sit down with them and clarify things, it was the public relations team’s job to hold the fort.

For a brief moment, Gabriel considered divulging everything he knew about Yihwan and Haera to the next person who called, but it was precisely because he knew so much that he needed to shut up.

“Ameth—”

“Lee Buyoung, Daily Entertainment. A comment on...”

“None at the moment, I’m sorry.”

He finally took a sip of coffee as his sunbae—Shin Minja, a married woman in her forties—motioned for him to come to the window. Her gentle gesture turned aggressive when he did nothing but sit there and gape at her, clueless. Taking his tiny paper cup with him, Gabriel ignored the ringing phone on his desk and approached the window.

What the f**k.

It wasn’t like he’d never seen fans gathered in droves like this, holding signs and pearl gold balloons in support of Amethyst Entertainment’s first and most popular artist, but the energy was different today. The crowd was hostile, and they weren’t screaming “Stay healthy!” or “Good job!” or “We love you!”

Instead, they were yelling for Jo Yihwan to tell them the truth, as though the band leader had an obligation to tell them everything.

South Korean entertainment was a curious, curious thing. Gabriel learned this first-hand when he relocated from New York to Seoul over three years ago and took a job at Amethyst Entertainment’s PR Department. Although born to Korean parents, he grew up on the side of the world where people didn’t care as much when news about their favorite celebrities getting into relationships broke out. Sure, there would be buzz here and there. If you were famous enough, a dedicated bunch of paparazzi waiting outside your house was just about as normal as getting your daily paper. If you were notorious for something, though, that meant more paps at your tail.

But none of that, he imagined, compared to the discomfort and inconvenience sasaeng fans could work themselves up to. They were a different breed. Gabriel still shuddered at the stories he’s heard from his colleagues—of fans breaking into artists’ homes to steal underwear, sending letters written with their own blood, or trying to poison their idol’s rival.

The stories didn’t end there.

“Someone get another batch of security people down there,” Minja said to no one in particular. She shook her head, looked at her broad-shouldered hoobae, and swiped the cup of coffee he was holding. “God, I hope I never see my daughter in one of these things one day...”

Gabriel chuckled lightly and thought, There goes my coffee. Lingering by the window, he stared blankly at the crowd and sighed.

“Well. Good morning to you too, Gabe,” he muttered to himself and went back to work.

* * *

“That one. And that one,” Minchan pointed out, waving his ice cream spoon left and right as soon as the driver pulled up in front of a photo studio in Cheongdam-dong. He seemed to be pointing at a woman pushing a stroller away from them, and a man leaning against a lamppost outside a boutique.

Steven turned to Minchan, frowning. “Are you high? Those people can’t be paparazzi.”

“You’re just slow.”

As soon as the van door slid open, Fi hopped out to fetch Yihwan from his photo shoot. She pointed at both Steven and Minchan. “I want this bickering done before we get back.”

“Can I slap him a little?” Minchan’s eyes turned into uneven crescents when he laughed.

Fi only chuckled and shut the door, rushing to the studio lobby afterward. She made a dash for the second floor as soon as the receptionist informed her of Yihwan’s whereabouts. But before she could knock on his dressing room door, Fi heard Yihwan’s voice.

“Was that an accusation? Are you even listening to yourself?”

She froze. Is he talking to—

“Haera. Noona, could you lis…hello? Hello?” A dull slam followed, and then, silence. Fi’s heart sank to her stomach.

She pressed her ear against the door and heard a bit of shuffling inside, heavy and hurried, as though Yihwan was shoving things into his bag with the force of a punch. Taking a deep breath, Fi knocked lightly, the rhythm mimicking the steady opening beat of Stuff of Daydreams.

The door swung open, revealing Yihwan in a dark blue V-neck and faded jeans. The eyeliner he still had on made his eyes look fiercer than they should be. Either that, or he still had not blinked away his frustration over that phone call.

“Hey, Fi! Are the boys downstairs?” he asked in a tone too cheerful to be genuine.

“Yeah, picked them up from recording.” She stepped inside the dressing room and found it difficult to breathe, as if the heated conversation she inadvertently overheard had sucked the air out of the small space. Fi managed a smile anyway, even if seeing Yihwan put on an act weighed her heart down. “We should hurry back before Steven dies at Minchan’s hands.”

That made the band leader smile. It was small but sincere, more than Fi can ask for.

“What are they arguing about now?”

“Paparazzi. Minchan’s been pointing them out to Steven, but Steven doesn’t believe him.”

“I saw two outside,” Yihwan said, beating Fi to reaching for his bag. She frowned at him, gestured for him to give it, now. He merely shook his head and grinned.

“At the rate you’re going, you won’t be needing me anymore.”

“Come on, Fi. I can’t let you carry all my stuff.”

Fi was reminded once again how Yihwan’s always been big on chivalry, how he was raised to treat people with kindness and respect. That didn’t stop her from snatching his bag from him while he was distracted, though, and she sped past him like a petty thief as he said his good-byes and thank yous to the photographer and her crew.

It was too late for him to protest; Fi had already disappeared down the stairwell.

* * *

Perhaps it was a good thing that the trip back to AmEnt was filled with lighthearted conversation and laughter, because as soon as they entered the building, things turned tense. They headed straight to one of the conference rooms where Mr. Jin—the interim CEO’s executive assistant—was waiting with three managers from the PR department, Gabriel Park included.

After being questioned about his relationship with Haera, Yihwan finally admitted to dating her for a year.

“We broke up while she was shooting her third film. EG Project was also preparing for a comeback then. Things got busy and we naturally drifted apart,” he revealed. “It was an amicable breakup.”

Both Fi and Gabriel looked up at Yihwan when he said this. So did Steven and Minchan.

Ah, Fi thought. Jo Yihwan is capable of lying, after all.

It was Gabriel who came out with the game changer: “Choigo Entertainment wants us to deny it. They’ve been calling all morning, asking us to align our press releases. They’re saying the news is starting to hurt Haera’s image.”

“Then let’s deny it.”

Fi’s eyes widened. She couldn’t believe Yihwan was throwing in the towel just like that.

“It’s just Han Haera,” he said, shrugging. Just the woman he loved, no big deal. “If it makes everyone’s job easier, let’s deny it.”

Text Log: Jo Yihwan & Han Haera

June 30

Jo Yihwan: You’re getting what you want. Like always.

Han Haera: I’m so sorry, Yihwan-ah. You misunderstood what I was trying to say.

Jo Yihwan: I’m really not in the mood for any more apologies.

Han Haera: Yihwan-ah. Don’t be like this. You know what people are going to say if we don’t clear things up right away.

Jo Yihwan: I know. And that’s precisely why, as of today, we never happened.

Han Haera: You know this is not what I wanted.

Jo Yihwan: Hard to believe when you’ve accused me of using you for my band’s tour publicity.

Han Haera: I wasn’t thinking straight when I said that. I’m so sorry. I know you wouldn’t do that to me.

Jo Yihwan: I brought this upon myself. Just be happy.