Chapter Two

   “L.K are you sure you’re okay, I can hear heavy breathing and the sound of running.”

“Of course, I am,” I reassure dismissively. “I’m sorry but am just exercising right now. Got to work on my cardio, you know.”

     “Oh of course, well to get this show going I’ll just read out the questions and then you can answer. Hmm, this one is from Kimmy and she wants to know what your plans will be when you’re done with your vacation?” 

Letting out a sigh, the female host asks.

    “You know this is such a great question, I also want to know what’s next in store for the Masked Queen?”

“When I’m done with my vacation, I’m going to be returning to my home country, South Korea, to continue my career.”

“That’s-”

I block her out when the exit doors suddenly burst open and flinched, startled. I shuffle further back as heavy footsteps draw closer and black worn-out boots come into view. 

With a racing heart, my eyes trail up a pair of jean trousers to a dark green apron and white shirt, until it rests on the face of a 50-year-old man. 

He has a bit of tanned skin with a week-old stubble around his jaw, and his black hair is packed in a bun atop his head. 

Thin lips and upturned nose wrinkle as the smell of garbage circulates with the sudden breeze, but before he could dump the bag he held in the dumpster he glances down in my direction and we make eye contact, his grey eyes widening in surprise. 

        More footsteps rush out, then I hear their voices and lean back in fear. 

     Shit, shit, oh shit, shitty shit! 

   “Where the hell did she run to now!” 

Eyes wide, I bite down on my lower lip and push myself further back until I feel the coolness of the brick wall through my clothes. 

“I don’t know. Hey... maybe we can ask this man over there!” 

      “-L.K here’s another question.” Miranda’s voice filters through my thoughts. “This is from Muscle107. He wants to know if you’ll ever return to New York?”

“Yes, I will, at some point I’ll probably need to come for work here. But it will be under a different agency.” I answer in a low voice, releasing an uneasy chuckle.

    “Well, that’s good news at least. Okay here’s another one. This is from Hawk-guy, he wants to know if you will finally reveal your identity?” She asks.

     “Is the agency keeping the rights that comes with the Masked Queen, are we going to have a new Masked Queen now that you’re leaving, do you know who it will be?”

      Letting out a snort, she replies. “Wow hawk-guy, looks like there’s a lot on your mind.” She chuckles and I force a small laugh along with her.

“No, they’re not going to have a new Queen. It was a hard, long, and gruelling fight but I was able to retain the rights of the Masked Queen. And yes, at some point I will reveal my identity but right now, it’s not that time.”

     “F**king wow!” 

Miranda’s exclamation on the live show startles me so much that I have to pull my phone away from my ear to stare at it.

     “Oh, my goodness is so sorry, I was just so shocked by this news.” 

A slight movement drew my attention and I look up to see the man drop the bag into the dumpster while giving me a weird look which I choose to ignore.

“Yo... dude!” A guy hollers. “Have you seen a gorgeous girl with curly auburn hair and a sequined mask covering her face around here?" 

Someone else chimes in. “It’s my sister and we’d like to find her.” 

The man slightly turns to stare down at me and I shook my head vehemently, silently pleading with him to say no.

      “-messages are pouring in and everyone is shocked, for those who don’t understand let me explain it to you-”

     He sighs and turns back around to face the guys behind him. “I haven’t seen anything or anyone kids, now you 7 need to leave because you aren’t allowed back here."  

      “-The Masked Queen is a brand built by the Slim-Jim agency and from my sources, the image alone costs twenty million dollars, and with L.K being the representative it’s ten million dollars on the twenty million. That’s a lot of money to lose people!” 

Her loud exclamation can be heard through the speakers so I cover it in panic.

    “Hearing that you were able to get rights over your brand makes me curious how you did it, Slim-Jim isn’t an agency that would like to lose that much money without putting up a damn hard fight. The world is curious L.K, how the hell did you do it?”