Idol - Chapter 3
Los Angeles International Airport.
The entire complex of eight terminals and one international terminal handles nearly 60 million passengers per year. Dozens of planes take off and land daily, and the world’s sixth-busiest airport is also one of its most crowded. Construction projects co-exist with harried travelers, and Toyota Prius hybrids, the talk of the town in LA, share the road with dozens of fume-belching busses that ferry tourists between the airport and their hotels.
Today, on a cloudless day in June, Jung Yun Ho happened to be one of those 60 million passengers, and he now stood in front of Tom Bradley International Terminal with his lone carrier in one hand and his plane ticket in the other. He was dressed in a beige Burberry coat and his tall height drew curious eyes from passerby, including a gaggle of college girls that seemed to be struck temporarily awestruck.
Yun Ho disregarded their gaze; he was 30 years old and in no mood to hook up with potential jailbait. Besides, he had a flight to catch, and he hurried towards the metal detectors.
The past five years had been a rush for him; the time seemed to fly by, and his stint as a graduate student at the University of California, Berkeley had ended with him graduating with a tenuous GPA and a pile of student loans. Loans that he had to repay sooner rather than later.
He put all of that away as he sat in front of Gate 32, munching on some trail mix. This was no time to be stuck in the past; he was heading back to Korea, and he was (hopefully) going to change everything. Everything.
It had all started a week after the start of his Berkeley career - it had been a balmy September evening and he was walking across the campus when a person dressed in a tie-dye shirt had gotten in his face and handed him a green, three-sided pamphlet.
He had crumpled it up into his pocket and paid it no more heed, until it was time to do his laundry and he was airing out the pockets. The pamphlet dropped onto the ground, exposing its contents, and Jung Yun Ho was introduced to Berkeley’s vibrant protest counterculture.
Over the next few years, Yun Ho plunged even deeper into political philosophy, creating his own ideas about capitalism and finessing them until he was sure they would stand up to any sort of scrutiny. He attended protests and spoke at gatherings. Over time, he finalized his own, unique philosophy, his own tenets to live and to swear by.
He understood the gap between the rich and the poor and accepted that it was an intrinsic part of capitalism. However, that did not stop him from forming his own ideas about the ruling class and how the ones without power must always seek to gain it. This was a big part of his newfound philosophy; if people did not work towards utopia, then society would stagnate into a vicious cycle of the ‘haves’ getting more and the ‘have-nots’ getting less.
By this point, he had nearly forgotten all about his time in Korea - except for a picture he always carried around with him, to remind him of his core values. It was a picture of his erstwhile girlfriend and managing editor Seo Joo Hyun, and he carried it around because 1.) it was handy to show at parties when he claimed that yes, he did have a girlfriend, and 2.) it was a reminder of his bad decisions in his previous, immature years and served as a whip whenever he did something that was contrary towards his self-created philosophy.
Seo Joo Hyun would’ve supported him in his endeavour to achieve balance in society, and he regretted leaving her. She would’ve enjoyed what he was doing, what he was planning.
He looked at her picture often. It was faded and losing its color, but he kept it with him nonetheless. And every time he looked at it, it reinforced his desire to go back to Korea and create a better world in which to live in.
And today, here he was, preparing for the fight of his life. He would provide a voice for the people who had none; he would extend the hand of rescue to those who were battling for their mere survival.
He had no idea how he would go about accomplishing this task; however, he knew from experience that sitting around, doing nothing, would not help him achieve his goal. Everything would turn out the way he wanted it, of that he was certain. It was just a matter of how long it would take.
---
Hwayoung and Hyoyoung entered the meeting room of JYG Entertainment, only to find it already packed to the gills with their fellow trainees. Their instructors were standing on the raised stage at the far end of the room with cloudy expressions on their faces.
Hyoyoung elbowed one of her friends in the side. “Hey. What’s going on?”
Her friend shrugged. “No one knows, but I think it’s going to be something bad.” Her voice was laced with fear.
Meanwhile, Hwayoung craned her neck, taking advantage of her height to assess the situation. Not only were the trainees gathered, but so was every JYG employee, from the dorm janitor to the night guard. What was going on?
At that moment, the CEO stepped onto the stage and the murmuring subsided. The director of JYG, Kim Kap Soo, was a medium-sized man with grey hair. He had always reminded Hwayoung of her grandfather before he had passed away - kind-hearted, yet forceful if need be.
The director adjusted the microphone and leaned forward. “Thank you for answering the sudden call yesterday. I’m sure that it must’ve come as a surprise, and I know that many of you were busy with other tasks.”
His glance shifted over to the Ryu twins for a quick second before moving on. “We have always prided ourselves on the best, highest-quality music and top-tier artists. Here at JYG, all of us have made it our goal to humanize the Korean music industry; to treat our artists the way we would want to be treated.”
Hyoyoung felt like something bad was going to happen. She tugged on Hwayoung’s shoulder. “Why is he like this?”
Hwayoung’s eyebrows were furrowed and she shook her head quickly.
“ - Unfortunately, the past year has been tough on our finances. There have been so many competitive groups debuting in the field, groups with better promotions than us - if not better talent. But that point is moot.”
Here he paused again and cleared his throat.
“The circumstances have been that our stocks have been dropping. We no longer have the money to continue our daily operations.”
Hwayoung felt a lump sink into her stomach. Around her, the room was buzzing.
Director Kim raised his voice, although it sounded hollow. “Therefore, we will be liquidating all of our assets starting immediately. JYG Entertainment will cease to exist. Our current idol groups will be auctioned off to other willing entertainment companies that will be able to take care of them.”
He paused again. “Representatives from the major companies will be here tomorrow to select from our current pool of trainees. They will take care of you and nurture you into stars. I must ask you to always keep the faith.”
The murmuring had subsided by now and everyone’s eyes were trained on the podium.
“I’m sorry for the sudden news. I hope all of you go on to find better lives, whether by staying in the industry or finding other passions to indulge. Thank you.”
The room remained silent as the director and all of the higher management exited the room. The silence continued for a good fifteen seconds.
Then, all hell broke loose.
---
“Good evening, everyone - this is the Daily Dish Leeteuk, reporting live from KSSN - Global Change Starts Here.
We have a bit of an exclusive for you today - The Daily Dish was invited to cover, live, the press conference for KBS’s all-new weekend drama, Waves of Torment, starring hot stars Yoon Seung Ah and Jun Tae Soo. We know everyone can’t wait to start on this new, tantalizing drama - it’s one of the hottest productions this year! Don’t go anywhere, we’ll be right back, live at the press event - right after these messages from our sponsor.”
Through the glass, Jung PD made a cutting movement with his hand. Leeteuk sighed and took off his Sennheisers, taking a bottle of water.
Jung PD lugged his frame through the studio door and collapsed in an unused chair. “The recording’s looped and ready to go. Two minutes.”
Leeteuk nodded. “At least they sent it to us.”
“Quite. I suppose we’re still worth something.”
Leeteuk smirked. “Did you attend the event?”
Jung PD guffawed. “You kidding? I couldn’t even get close. Only saw the top of Yoon Seung Ah’s head as she walked by.” He scratched the top of his balding head. “Take good care of that reel, we need to return it when we’re done.”
Leeteuk saluted jokingly. “Don’t worry, I’ll treat it like my baby.” He checked the timer hanging on the wall. “Oops, almost time. Can you double-check the reel for me?”
Jung PD moved back into the audio room and made sure the reel was loaded properly. “All set.” He spoke through the microphone. “Let it play.”
Leaning back in his chair, Leeteuk waited for the last commercial to finish, then pressed PLAY as soon as it ended. He sat back to listen.
---
Every time a camera flash exploded in her face, Yoon Seung Ah felt herself becoming dizzier and dizzier. She shrunk backwards in her chair, keeping on hand on her lap towel to make sure that it didn’t slip and reveal something embarrassing under her too-short black miniskirt.
Next to her, she could vaguely hear her partner, Jun Tae Soo, answering a question from the media. She wasn’t sure if they had asked her any, and even if they had, she was sure she was in no position to answer them - coherently, at any rate.
Suddenly, she felt a tug at her wrist - they were standing up for group pictures and someone had had the kindness to shake her out of her stupor. She struggled to her feet, letting her lap towel slip to the ground. The hand around her wrist guided her into position, and for the next couple of minutes, she hovered in a state of semi-consciousness as she leaned against the partition behind her. She was sure the pictures would turn out horrible; she could just imagine the headlines the next morning.
“Yoon Seung Ah gets criticized for falling asleep at drama press conference”. She shuddered involuntarily. The hand around her wrist tightened, and she let herself be dragged off the stage and into the nearest chair, where she drifted off into sleep, not caring about anything but a chance to close her eyes for a few blissful moments.
---
“Wow! This drama is shaping up to look better than ever, isn’t it? With two world-famous leading stars, one of this year’s hottest producers, and a not-too-shabby budget, it definitely looks like Waves of Torment could be a strong candidate for Drama of the Year. KBS must be feeling pretty darn good right now, and we’ll be making sure to bring you the latest news on what will definitely be a helluva wild ride.
JYG Entertainment, a company that has struggled for the last couple of years against its bigger competitors, finally announced bankruptcy last Thursday. I can’t say that I didn’t see it coming - most of their groups have been flops, and their stocks had dropped an alarming 75% over the last two months. Good luck to all of their employees, artists, and trainees.
In other news, it looks like Grammy Awards-winning-artist Jung Yong Hwa is taken - that’s right, fangirls, I apologize for the horrible news. The rock star was seen at his favorite hangout yesterday with “Queen of Pop” Park Jiyeon herself. According to friends, they’ve got quite the love nest going already - will we be seeing an official press release soon? In any case, it looks like this eligible bachelor and bachelorette is off the market. That’s a darn shame, folks. Good luck to the new couple, and The Daily Dish hopes to have them on our show soon!
Thanks for tuning in to The Daily Dish, with Leeteuk - we’ll be back tomorrow at the same time. This was Leeteuk at KSSN - Global Change Starts Here. Good night.”