“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?”
I’m so busy agonizing over what the hell I’m going to do when Bora jumps enthusiastically by my side, thereby nudging me forward with a stumble. “It’s our turn now!” She squeals, and I turn to her with an encouraging smile, the queasiness in my stomach easing a bit as I let myself be distracted. “Are you still nervous?” “Unfortunately, but, I’ve decided not to focus on that. Instead, I’ll think about how I plan on kicking it on stage with the guys.” “That’s the spirit.” I grin, and turn to the twins. “Good luck out there.” “Please, we don’t need luck.” Daejung grins confidently, he moves to stand between Bora and his brother, wrapping his arms around their shoulder.“Now come on, it's time to show everyone what we’ve got.” “Hell yeah!” Byung-Ho and Bora cheer simultaneously with raised fists before the three of them bounce on stage as soon as their names are called. I can’t help but laugh as I watch them disappear through the curtain, taking their places centre-s
My days seem to pass by within a blink of an eye as I now juggle school, my new friends, working at dad’s restaurant, and exploring as much of Seoul as I can.I want to get more acquainted with the streets so I don’t have to depend on Google or Jay to get around, I know it must be burdensome to always take me wherever it is I have to go. Anyways, it’s Friday which means it’s the day of the school's music competition. Everyone has been very enthusiastic about today and I think no matter how small competition is said to be here, there’s always a buzz in response.Not many people are performing but I do know that Bora, the twins, a couple of Jayden’s classmates, and someone from class 2-3 is taking part in this competition. For whatever reason Jayden’s been silent, occasionally giving me worried looks whenever I talk about how excited I am to participate in the competition. I’ve tried asking him what’s wrong but he doesn’t respond.Sometimes, I swear he’s about to tell me somethin
“Hey, I’m home!” I call into the living room as soon as I step in and pull off my coat, draping it over my hand I pull off my shoes and pick them up so am walking barefoot.“In the kitchen!” Jayden responds, and I head in that direction. Breathing in the familiar smell of brewing kimchi stew, I walk further to see my brother standing behind the kitchen counter with an apron wrapped around his waist.“Well, this is a familiar surprise.” I smile and fold my hands in front of my chest. “I thought you didn’t cook anymore.”Glancing at me briefly with a happy smile, he responds. “Just because cooking isn’t my first love anymore doesn’t mean I stopped dabbling now and then, anyways you’re back a lot later than I expected. Did you have fun with your new friends?” “Yup, after meeting them over at the caf
I’ve been to a lot of malls back when I was in New York and I mean a lot, but some of them -in my opinion- can’t hold a candle to Dream-Mall. The building is built with metallic bars and crystal glasses to give the place optimal amounts of natural lights, the inside of the mall is large enough for a steady flow of foot traffic and the large banners hanging from the ceiling portray various adverts. Looking at the sea of faces crowding the mall my eyes move through every corner as much as they can and a part of me brightens at the thought of exploring more of it. Jayden and I climb onto the escalator when I suddenly remember something Bora had said back at school. “Hey Jay, they said they’re going to be waiting at Kai’s Cafe?” “That’s great,” He grins. “This is Dream-Mal
Once we arrived at my father’s restaurant I smile at the sight of the restaurant’s name ‘KANG’S’, written in big golden letters in the middle of the building. Slipping into the restaurant after my brother who gentlemanly opens the door for me, I take in a deep breath. For some reason, I’m always floored by how many renovations my father has put into this place and how much it has grown. The restaurant is filled with loud chatter due to the number of people crowding the place and the waiters running around to attend to customers. I can still clearly remember what the place used to look like before I left, bleak walls with peeling wallpaper, barely functional ceiling lights, and an odd stale smell permeating the air. But it’s thanks to the help of a friend of my dad’s that I got my first job as a child m
Grumbling beneath my breath, I move further into the classroom and the door bangs close behind me. Those sliders sure aren’t silent. Their attention was on me the minute they heard the door close, but I ignore my nerves as my eyes focus on the only empty seat to the left, by the window. Walking over, I settle my bag on the table and sit down. “Hi, I’m Sang Bora.” The girl in front of me introduces herself, and I raise my head with a smile. I admire her dyed blonde hair up in a French braid ponytail and caramel skin. “Hi.” “One question,” She holds up a finger. “Are you lost?” “I… highly doubt that.” I frown in confusion. “I’m new, the names Lana Kang.” “Any relation to Jayden Kang?” I look to the