Richardis the shower’s water faucet and let the water run over her hand. It was cold. It would take a few minutes for the hot water to come. She sighed. She needed a long hot shower and felt impatient. She pulled her hand out under the stream, accidently spraying some on the bathroom wall opposite of the shower.

“I should really tell Ayame to put a foil over her collage,” Richardis mused while trying to dry the water off of the magazine cut outs on the wall. She carefully rubbed them with a towel to make sure she didn’t accidently rip any of Ayame’s artwork.

Ayame had used all sorts of old and new magazines for the collage and it was quite impressive. Smaller units created larger ones and whole faces were created out of multiple images. Richardis finished rubbing dry the artwork, when a magazine cut-out caught her attention. It was a young smiling Asian man. For a moment she couldn’t pin-point where she knew him from, then she recognized Kim Junsu. He looked extremely different in the photo, than he had looked back at the Shiroryuu. His smile was boyish, carefree and mockingly handsome.

Richardis snorted.

“You don’t fool me,” she said to magazine-cut-out Kim Junsu and turned her back to him.

She checked the water. It was getting warmer. She started undressing by pulling off her shirt and getting out of her jeans. Her eyes again caught the cut-out on the wall.

“Okay, no. This isn’t happening!” she told the photo and carefully started ripping it off the wall without pulling off the others.

When she had the picture in ripped strips in her hand, she threw it into the bathroom bin. She looked back at the piece of white fuzzy paper that was now left on the wall.

“Now that doesn’t look good! I’ll fix it later. I’ll put a cute cat face or something there instead,” Richardis thought and got into the shower.

“Ouch!” exclaimed Junsu and pulled his hand out under the tap of the kitchen sink.

“I warned you the water turns really hot really quickly!” called Junho over to him from the living room.

“I’m fine,” said Junsu nursing his fingers that had turned bright red at the impact of the hot water.

He had volunteered to help around the house and it was his turn to rinse the kitchen knives, which would turn dull if washed in the dish washing machine. Junho and he had spent the whole afternoon formulating messages for his social media sites and had just finished writing the last one.  Junho was proof-reading the Japanese.

“Find any mistakes?” he called in the direction of the living room.

“A few minor ones. Your Japanese is top,” was the response. “However… you know there will be mix reactions to the content, right?”

“What part?”

“I mean you do not put your company in a bad light – you kind of partially lift the blame from both of you – but you instead point the finger at everyone, by saying that the social customs that birthed going to hostess clubs as a form of concluding business contracts force people into these kinds of situations.”

“That’s the truth!” exclaimed Junsu.

“I know,” said Junho, “But people might read this two ways: Some might say that it’s really progressive of you to openly speak about the issue, but others will perceive it as you reflecting the blame onto society.”

“I thought you might say that,” said Junsu, “Read on, I finish by admitting that going at the end of the day was my choice and that I regret it and apologize for it.”

“Okay, imma finish reading.”

Junsu finished rinsing and cleaning the last kitchen knife and put it next to the other ones, which were neatly arranged in a row next to the sink. His hand in a glove he reached into the sink and unplugged it, letting the dirty water flush out and putting the plug back when the sink had emptied.

“Yeah, it’s good like that,” called Junho from the living room. “Should I publish it?”

“Wait,” said Junsu.

“You already called to check with your manager half an hour ago. He approves. I approve. What else do you need?”

“I wanna send it.”

 “Alright, I’ll wait.”

A whole week passed before Richardis received another call from the Shiroryuu. She had wanted to call herself, but Ayame had told her to wait, as it was not in her place to make requests or ask questions. The time had been quite lonely, as Richardis had to maintain her hostess sleeping-schedule andAyame was gone all nights except Wednesday.

A restless anxiety had followed Richardis most everywhere, although Ayame assured her that she would have already heard from the Shiroryuu if she was fired. It was a miracle that they hadn’t fired her, because as she had learned the day after the incident, she had been caught on tape. She wasn’t sure what impact that might have… would people recognize her on the street? Her face had only been visible for a brief time, but ardent Kim Junsu fans might have memorized it anyway. Additionally she worried that the Shiroryuu might suspect that she was behind calling the press. She had only joined the establishment the very night the camera crew had caught the celebrity there. It did make her look suspicious. Maybe they weren’t calling because they assumed she had fled the country.

Richardis’s thoughts were generally running wild, especially because she was trapped in Ayame’s apartment and didn’t leave except to buy herself food. She spend the afternoons and nights searching the internet for information about the Kim-Junsu-Hostess-Club-Incident and skyping with her family. She had told them face to face what had happened and they had very long talks about how to proceed. When after 6 days no evidence turned up of Richardis being targeted by the media specifically she had relaxed a little and told her parents that she wanted to keep trying this job. They reluctantly accepted her decision.

Then finally at Sunday noon Richardis was woken by the ringing of her cellphone and Mama-san on the other end informed her that they wanted her to come to the Shiroryuu the same evening for an emergency meeting to discuss the future of the establishment and reminded her to call Takahashi-san and apologize about the disaster. Richardis did so, which was weird for her but seemingly a cause of joy for him.

“Rie-chan?

“Yes, it’s me.”

“I’m glad you called. I was worried about you.”

“I’m okay. Are you?”

“Yeah, the company is handling everything. I’m fine.”

“It’s good to hear that, Takahashi-sama.”

“Ah, Rie-chan. Please don’t call me sama. Please call me Masato.”

“Masato-san. Yes. I want to apologize in the name of the Shiroryuu for the trouble we have caused your company.”

“Please don’t worry about it. It’s nothing that can’t be repaired. Please don’t be hard on yourself.”

“Thank you for your kindness. But please except our sincerest apologies.”

“Of course I accept. Call me again if the Shiroryuu is back in business.”

Ayame had rolled her eyes in jealousy when Richardis had told her about the phone call.

“That man must have one weak spot for you, because any shimei I ever had would have bailed on me. Well, most of them anyway.”

Taking the advice of his manager Junsu stayed low for a week and spent most of his time binge-watching movies on Junho’s TV and going on runs in the suburbs neighborhood, protected by sunglasses, scarf and a cap. It wasn’t so bad now that he had managed to get his version of events out there. Junho’s prognosis had proven true – the responses to his personal apology had been mixed, but generally favorable. Yoochun and Jaejoong had publically spoken out in his defense and confessed that they too had been in the precarious situation of having to refuse invites to certain establishments as parts of business deals before. Not on TV yet, but online people were discussing the custom and questioning it, which was better than anything Junsu had originally hoped for.

The majority of his fans, too, had decided to side with him. In Japan and Korea alike people were willing to see past his mistake and their initial disappointment, although some more hesitantly than others. After years of being in the entertainment business and in the public eye it was still both odd and touching to see people care about him and his reputation.

He had been contacted by Choi-san on one more occasion and assured the club owner that no further apologies were necessary, he had survived the worst of the storm and did not feel the Shiroryuu owed him. Through publically confessing, both guilt and anger had been drained from him and he could breathe a lot more freely. He wasn’t sure where he would be heading next, but Toma-san kept him updated on the progress of JYJ’s contract and he felt confident that things would work out in his favor.

After Junho had helped solve Junsu’s drama it what his turn to lend his ears to the worries of his brother, who had started filming for the up-coming Japanese TV series “Snow Factory” and was having a hard time.

“I’m this hybrid between human and monster and when my monster-side comes through they want me to howl and growl,” Junho complained to Junsu on Sunday afternoon a week after the disaster at the Shiroryuu.

“I actually think that’s kinda funny!” said Junsu searching the fridge for soft-drinks.

“It’s not! No director will take me serious if they see that performance. Also I try really hard, but seriously that guy – Hiraku Nobata¹ – who got the main role, which I wanted – he laughs at me.”

“Sounds like a jerk.”

“He is! Also flirts with everyone who crosses his path. I don’t think there’s a lady on the set he hasn’t charmed.”

“I genuinely pity you, but can you tell me where I can find soft-drinks?”

“I gave up drinking liquid sugar.”

“Why? You love that stuff?”

“Nobata-san kinda… always drinks that stuff.”

“Ah, so you wanna be the exact opposite of him.”

“Yeah. I do. When he’s making inappropriate jokes towards the female staff, I try to contrast with that and show I can work hard and respect my co-workers.”

“That’s my hyung: Always doing the right thing.”

“Well, I try.”

When Richardis arrived at the Shiroryuu, she could fell the gossip hanging heavy in the air. One of the doormen led her to the main entertainment room, where the bar and numerous tables stood and a large group of hostesses had gathered. Chi-chan saw her enter, immediately waved her over and introduced the other hostesses present.

“Mama-san and Choi-san are interrogating us one by one,” she said, “I already went inside. They want to talk to the people who were there when everything happened and who knew Kim Junsu was here before the whole world learned of it.”

“Interrogate?” asked Richardis, “that sounds bad.”

“They just ask what you would expect. What happened? Did you call the press when you went on a powder room break? So and so said they did this and that – is that true?”

“I see. I’ll just tell them what happened. I mean I didn’t leave the room once! You can verify that, right?”

“I think so,” said Chi-chan nodding.

Seeing Chi-chan converse freely with Richardis seemed to make the other hostesses comfortable with her too, because they began offering their opinions and observations:

“I don’t think it was any of us. We all got the jackpot getting a job in Ginza. I mean the press would have to pay a really really high price to make anyone want to risk their employment here!”

“Yeah, exactly! Even the doormen, the waiters and the cooks don’t strike me as potential moles! Hata-san told me what he gets paid and it’s almost as much as my salary!”

“Also who of us would have the heart to go ahead and hurt a former Tohoshinki member? It would be no less than killing my teenage identity!”

Everyone voiced murmured agreement. Richardis figured that Kim Junsu’s band must have been something like the NSYNC of East Asia for so many people to be this emotionally involved.

“Who else is there?” she asked the hostesses. “I mean the culprit wouldn’t show up for work again, right? Is anyone missing?”

The girls exchanged looks.

“Mayu-chan is missing,” said Chi-chan.

Richardis remembered Mayu-chan. She had been the young hostess who had originally entertained Takahashi-san, but later performed her Karaoke song with Kimura-san. She couldn’t remember anything strange about Mayu-chan’s behavior, but Coco-chan did.

“Oh my god! How could I forget?” she exclaimed, “Mayu-chan went outside because of an important phone call, remember?”

“Yes,” said Richardis and Chi-chan at the same time.

“I remember that, too!” added Yoko-chan. “You scolded her for it, Coco-chan. And you confiscated her phone? Did it go into the confiscation box?”

Coco-chan swore, which momentarily disfigured her pretty face.

“No,” she said, “I gave it back to her, when the guests started leaving.”

Everyone sighed. At that moment the door behind the bar opened and Yumi-chan came out escorted by Mama-san.

“Ah, Rie-chan. You are here. Good. Come with me,”

Shooting one last look at the other girls, who shot encouraging looks back at her, Richardis followed Mama-san. Before they could close the door however they heard shouts from the room, which Mama-san immediately went to inspect. Peeking over the voluminous woman’s shoulder Richardis could see Mayu-chan had arrived and the hostesses were surrounding her like a group of angry birds.

“Get away from her!” said the Mama-san, coming over and breaking up the circle around Mayu-chan. “What is going on? I asked you all about suspicions. No one mentioned Mayu-chan.”

“I remembered just now!” exclaimed Coco-chan, “Mayu-chan went out to make a call right in the middle of the entertainment! She wouldn’t tell me why and said it was personal.”

“It was personal!” Mayu-chan shouted back at her and the two began an argument that Mama-san had to break up again. Richardis carefully closed the door and came closer to catch everything that was said.

“Who else did you call if not the press, huh?” said Coco-chan, who was being held back by Chi-chan. “Do you  know what this means? For all of us? Huh? Do you still live with your parents? That’s nice when you don’t have to worry about rent and when you don’t have any debts to pay, but I just so happen to need money for both and I’m going to make significantly less for god knows how long because of you.

Mayu-chan shrank under Coco-chan accusations and remained silent.

Chi-chan, who seemed to pull rank over Coco-chan, finally shushed her.

“Mayu-chan went out to call someone for about 7 minutes right in the middle of us entertaining Yamaa-san’s group. That’s all we know. She might and she might not have called the press,” Chi-chan said matter-of-factly to Mama-san, who was feverishly rubbing her forehead.

“Are you okay, Mama-san?” Yumi-chan asked her worriedly.

“Just another nasty headache,” murmured Mama-san, “And you girls aren’t making it better.”

She sighed deeply.

“Okay, let’s get down to business Mayu-chan. I want you to come with me. What you don’t want to say in front of everyone you’ll tell me, you understand? I’m sure we can sort this out.”

Not looking at anyone Mayu-chan followed Mama-san and the two vanished through the door behind the bar.

“That was guilt written all over her face!” exclaimed Coco-chan. Some murmured in agreement.

“Let’s not jump to conclusions!” said Chi-chan. “If she’s guilty, it doesn’t make sense for her to show herself here again.”

Everyone started talking simultaneously again. It seemed that most were very reliant on their income and worried that – with the Shiroryuu in the media limelight – business would be low for a while. Now that they were all on the same boat, the hostesses who had treated Richardis with contempt before were opening up and speaking kindly to her.

A while later Mama-san and Mayu-chan had still not returned and everyone was getting impatient. One of the youngest hostesses, Suzu-chan, literally seemed sick with worry. She sat down by the bar further from everyone and buried her face in her hands. A bit later she got up and hurried away through one of the staff exit doors.

“Is Suzu-chan okay?” Richardis asked Chi-chan.

“She might be getting sick again. She gets sick a lot, but she doesn’t want anyone to take care of her. She always says she can handle it and gets angry if you follow her, so we just leave her,” answered Chi-chan.

Rather than calming her, this worried Richardis further. Suzu-chan looked like she couldn’t have left high-school too long ago and here she was chronically ill, working as a hostess 6 days a week. Richardis thoughts were interrupted by the door behind the bar being flung open. Everyone’s heads turned as Mayu-chan stormed past them and out the doors leading to the exit corridor, Mama-san slowly emerging from behind the bar as well.

“So did she do it?” asked Coco-chan.

Mama-san leaned over the bar counter and let out a long sigh.

“It must have been her,” she said aloud.

“Must have been? You don’t have clear confirmation?” asked Yoko-chan.

“No,” admitted Mama-san, “I asked her to let me check her cellphone record. She refused to hand it over. She kept saying she did not call the press, but she can’t tell me whom she called at the time either. The poor girl is really confused. I don’t think she knew what she was doing, but it must have been her who called the press. She gave me no choice but to fire her.”

“I knew it!” said Coco-chan.

The girls all started talking again. Richardis wasn’t convinced. Something had been wrong with Mayu-chan, but there was no proof she had called the press. What about giving Mayu-chan the benefit of a doubt? She had turned up here after all. Things didn’t add up. Richardis voiced her doubt to Chi-chan, who just shrugged.

“The show must go on,” she said.

^{1 - Hiraku Nobata is fictional}

I apologize for the imbalance between the two POVs. Richardis gets more room because I have planned out her version of the storyline in more detail and I find it harder to make up characters and plots surrounding Junsu in the kinda cold business/entertainment industry. I’ll try to keep them roughly equal, but be prepared that sometimes they won’t be. Hope you don’t mind and you enjoy my OC’s POVs, too.