Employees bowed as Hyun Joong walked past them into the office of his management agency, Key East, where he is now a majority shareholder.  His mentor, Bae Young Joon, decided to sell to him all his shares at a very good price, after he made the surprising decision to quit show business and move to the US with his American wife.  He was met by his manager, producer,  music arranger, his stylist Noona and two other staff members inside the conference room. They’ll be spending the whole day planning for his next album which is set for release 5 months from now. As has been the case for the past 4 years, he’ll also be the album’s executive producer, choreographer and also the composer of most of the songs.

“Hyun Joong-ah, aish, what are you wearing?! Don’t let anyone take a photo of you wearing those pajamas!” his Noona exclaimed as soon as he entered the room. Hyun Joong looked at his pants—he thought they were pretty cool and comfortable. But as always, his Noona has something negative to say about his taste. Years ago, his Noona couldn’t care less whenever netizens posted photos of him online wearing casual clothes, because back then his taste was fairly limited to either really  tight jeans or loose shorts and always paired with a loose shirt or a sweater.  And he always wore either gray or black. But over the years his taste in fashion got weirder and weirder, as far as his Noona is concerned.  Today he’s wearing what looks like a cross between a pajama and harem sheer pants, in bright orange, which he paired with a bright blue body hugging top with long sleeves made of mesh fabric.

But Hyun Joong thinks there’s nothing wrong with his fashion sense. In fact he thinks it works for him, especially when he’s in Japan, where he’s earned the reputation as the most fashion-forward Hallyu supah-stah. “Don’t worry my dear Noona, I won’t be out of this office in the next 5 months. I can wear this until the album is out and no one would notice,” he said as he playfully stuck his tongue out. Just then he felt his cellphone vibrating—the cellphone inside his left pocket, the one he uses to call his “girls.” He smiled as soon as he read the message –“Oppa, can I spend the night at your place? I’m done with my exams and I need to relax :).”  It was from Jane, an 18-year old American-born Korean he met at a party –his current favorite, his girl of the month. He was about to send a naughty reply, when he was jolted by his manager’s voice.

“And just to remind you, Hyun Joong, no monkey business until we get this off the ground, understand?” “Okay, I understand,” Hyun Joong said rolling his eyes as he placed the phone back in his pocket without replying to the text message. He’ll most probably be cooped up in this conference room until the wee hours of the next morning, anyway.

Hyun Joong hasn’t had a serious relationship since So Min left abruptly 5 years ago to ‘study in New York’ as her press release stated.  But he knew that she left because of him and their futile relationship. But even if he hasn’t had a serious girlfriend, he’s been very active in hooking up with all sorts of girls and women—from teenagers barely out of their cribs to certified cougars.  He remains discreet about his dalliances— something he’s very good at. So he still appears to be a proper gentleman in the public’s eye, with hardly a scandal to his name. But everyone close to him knows about his ‘activities,’ including the people inside this room, and his best friends. In fact his best friends Jae Joong and Young Saeng always joke that if he’s not on stage performing he’s sure to be in bed with a girl or two, or three.  

As far as he’s concerned, he’s just doing what any sane guy of his stature would do—enjoy the perks of being a ridiculously hot, wealthy and famous celebrity.  After So Min left he’s never pursued anyone else, they all pursued him now and it’s up to him to say yes--or no, the latter he hardly ever says unless the girl turns out to be too ugly. Oh yes, he’s been with ugly girls, too many of them if you ask his friends, but not ‘too ugly’ girls, as he always clarifies whenever Junsu or Jaejoong needles him. 

But of course he’s been with the prettiest, iest and the most sought-after girls too— from innocent-looking idol girls with hidden insatiable ual appetites, to pretty ssasaeng fans, to beauty queens, to lonely chaebol daughters resigned to the fact that they will eventually be trapped in loveless arranged marriages, K-pop goddesses and quite a few Japanese stars too. The only ones who are out of his reach are his best friends’ girlfriends and fiancées. The only good thing (if you can call it that) that came out of this endless desire for women is it has contained his addiction to alcohol. His family and friends worried he’d be an incurable alcoholic after his episode with So Min.

He’s living the life! Or so he would like to convince himself. But the truth is his personal life is a mess, though he tries to deny it. He’s changed a lot. He’s no longer as close to his parents as he used to be and his dear Mother always ends up crying, pleading with him to straighten his life out, every single time they meet. He hardly ever spends time for introspection –due mainly to the fact that he’s always too busy working, and whenever he has any free time he’s sure to be busy ‘relaxing’ with his girls.  He always says he doesn’t want to make excuses for his current lifestyle, after all, he’s just a guy.

“We need to do something different this time. You’ve tried rock, ballads, dance music—we need to come up with a different concept to wow your fans and critics…” his manager was explaining when he was interrupted by a phone call.

“Hello, this is Junny Park, how can I help you? Ah, yes, I am Kim Hyun Joong’s manager. Yes, I see.  Are you sure? Wow. No, no, I’m just surprised. Of course, we’ll be there, see you and thank you for choosing him. Thank you so much,” his manager let out a silent scream as he put down the phone. He ran to hug Hyun Joong and rumple his hair like a kid. “Hyun Joong-ah, you’ve made it! You’ve made it! This is so great!” Hyun Joong and everyone in the room gave him a confused look, waiting for him to reveal what it was all about. “That was the agent of Steven Spielberg. He called to inform me that you, Hyun Joong-ah, has been chosen to play Daniel.” As soon as he finished the sentence everyone in the room started screaming and jumping excitedly.  This was the big break they’ve all been waiting for.

And the one break Hyun Joong hopes will finally make the woman he truly loves notice him again.

@@@@@

Today is an unusually quiet day for So Min. Her manager made sure she has at least one free day this week, after a crazy month of filming, rehearsals, fan meets, performances, TV appearances and flitting in and out of different time zones.  She’s sitting in her apartment’s spacious living room reading a book, enjoying the peace and quiet. Yesterday, Dong Won left for the US again, to take care of his family’s growing business there.  Any moment now her best friend Li Su Bin will be arriving to spend the day with her.

She put down the Haruki Murakami book she was reading on the coffee table as she stood to get a glass of orange juice from the kitchen.  Before she could take a step towards the kitchen she noticed a copy of AnAn magazine. She sighed. She was pretty sure her Mother left the magazine there on purpose—because it has Hyun Joong’s smiling face on the cover. He was wearing a v-neck shirt that clearly exposed his now famous moobs.  He was oozing iness, but he also looked wholesome, So Min thought. “Aish, wholesome my foot! Who are you fooling? Not me! Never again,” she muttered to herself as soon as she realized what she was thinking and quickly tucked the magazine under a pile of newspapers.

On her way back from the kitchen she heard the door bell ring. Her best friend is here at last. “Ah chinggu-yah, I missed you,” she greeted her friend with a hug.  “My, So Min-ah, you’ve gotten even prettier. How can someone who hardly sleeps be so pretty?”  It’s been almost a month since they last saw each other, they sure have a lot of catching up to do. “Wait here, I’ll just get some snacks,” So Min said as she made her way to the kitchen.

Su Bin sat down on the sofa where So Min was lying earlier and saw the edge of a magazine that looks like it had been carelessly tucked under the newspapers. She pulled it out and saw Hyun Joong smiling at her.  She smiled back and shook her head. ‘Oh, my dear sister, after all these years, this guy still has the same effect on you,’ she muttered to herself as she tucked the magazine back under the newspapers.

They spent the day chatting, gossiping about who’s dating who, and giving each other facials and manicures. This is the most fun So Min has had in a while, a very welcome break.  It was almost 6:00 PM and they were both hungry. “I’m hungry, So Min-ah, feed me!” “Uh-oh, I’m afraid there’s nothing to eat here, I was planning on taking you out to dinner but I lost track of time and now it’s too late, I’m hungry too, let’s just have food deli…”

Before So Min could finish her sentence, Su Bin was already on the phone. “Hello, Hotsun Chicken, I’d like to order a bucket of chicken…” “Hotsun?!!! Are you crazy?” So Min was clearly annoyed. Su Bin put a finger to her lips as she proceeded to give So Min’s address to the person at the other end of the line. “It’s not like they have your ex-future husband’s face on every piece of chicken, you know!” Su Bin said as she put down the phone. “Besides, I’m really craving their chicken,” Su Bin said sweetly.  So Min reluctantly agreed. Though she hates to admit it, she missed eating Hotsun. It was in fact her favorite chicken, until her unfortunate episode with its favorite endorser and now part owner.

The chicken arrived after half an hour. And true enough, as Su Bin said, Hyun Joong’s face was not plastered on any of the chicken pieces. But it was on everything else that came with the chicken—the paper bag, bucket, the small cups holding the gravy and side dishes, etched on the tips of the handles of the plastic spoons and forks and on the napkins. Oh, the napkins! The marketing geniuses at Hotsun placed his face on the napkins in such a way that when you wipe your mouth you would be pressing right into Hyun Joong’s smiling lips. 

“Haaaish, let’s finish off this chicken and get this over and done with,” So Min said with a sigh as she stared at about a dozen smiling Hyun Joongs laid out on her dining table. Su Bin tried to keep from laughing, but it was just too much for her. Their situation looked like it came straight out of a comedy movie and the two of them ended up laughing uncontrollably, which was when Su Bin’s cellphone rang. It was Junsu, her boyfriend and one of Hyun Joong’s best friends. They’ve been together for a year now after they met on the set of a TV Drama. Su Bin entered show business after graduating from university and is now a sought-after actress.

“Hello, honey,” she said, trying to control her laughter. “You seem so happy, what are you doing?” Junsu asked. “We’re eating chicken, Hotsun chicken. You know how So Min tries to avoid Hyun Joong’s face, right? Well, now, as you probably guessed, his face is all over her dining table!”

Unknown to Su Bin, Junsu put his phone on speaker after she mentioned they were eating Hotsun, now everyone in the room with him could hear their conversation—everyone meaning Jae Joong, Yoochun, Young Saeng, and Hyun Joong!

“Yah! You can’t use the napkins! You can’t indirectly kiss Hyun Joong,” Junsu said in mock anger. “Don’t worry Oppa, I won’t use the napkins, I can’t indirectly kiss Hyun Joong, So Min will be mad at me,” Su Bin said as she playfully glanced at So Min.  “Yah! You silly girl, what are you saying? You can kiss him torridly in person, for all I care!” So Min sounded so annoyed and yet so cute at the same time that the boys on the other line couldn’t help but laugh—yes, including Hyun Joong! Su Bin then realized that they were on speaker and decided to friend some more.  “You mean I can kiss him? But he’s not my type, So Min-ah!” “And neither is he mine!” Just then So Min stood up to get a glass of water but she lost her balance, causing the napkins to fly from the table to the floor and she ended up with her face right smack on Hyun Joong’s face on one of the napkins.

Su Bin, who saw everything, let out a surprised scream, and then started laughing uncontrollably as she realized So Min just kissed Hyung Joong’s face on the napkin. “Why, what happened?” Junsu asked. “Nothing, this is just too funny, I’ll call you later,” Su Bin was about to drop the call when she heard Hyun Joong’s voice at the other end, “Tell your friend she better get used to seeing me everywhere, pretty soon she’ll even see me on her building’s elevator doors,” Hyun Joong said, and the boys started laughing again.

After dinner, So Min and Su Bin we’re getting ready to watch a horror flick before going to bed when So Min’s cellphone rang. It was her manager.

“So Min-ah, congratulations! You made it! Steven Spielberg’s agent just called me. You passed the audition. They want you to play Jennifer, the lead female character...” her manager continued to ramble on but So Min’s mind was already elsewhere. She was in tears. Finally, it’s here. Everything she’s dreamed of and worked for—it’s now within her grasp.

“Just you wait and see, I will be more popular than you can ever hope to be,” she silently said to herself.