Page 6

As he’s hurried into the makeup chair, Minseok sends a sad look at his cooling pasta. All he wants is to eat and nap, in that order.

The stylist immediately starts fixing Minseok’s concealer. She’s been fighting with the dark bags under his eyes all day. Ones created by three hours of sleep as Minseok’s scheduled appearances last night ended at three a.m.

For someone who loves lying down, Minseok has barely done that in the last forty-eight hours.

Minseok’s phone rings with a call from WDB’s maknae, Robbie (birth name: Choi Jiseok).

He holds the caller ID up, knowing they will blur out the actual details in post and only show Robbie’s name.

“Robiya,” Minseok answers. Tone lightly teasing.

“Hey, you getting ready for the show?”

“Of course. Do you miss me, jagi-ya?” Minseok says. Playful voice still attached. He’s well aware that the fans like when the boys are lovey-dovey with each other.

Which is hard to accomplish these days, all alone.

Still, Minseok thinks, not for the first time, that it is probably for the best that his summer has shifted to solo activities. He was originally scheduled for a sub-unit debut with JD.

The duo of Moon Minseok and Lee Jongdae (endearingly known as MinDae by fans) have been linked together since trainee days. They both gained a small fandom even before debut due to their time as young street buskers. The moment the two met, they bonded over a love of American ’90s hip-hop, sushi, and Korean melodramas (though Jongdae denies the third and Minseok loyally keeps that secret).

Despite being the son of the CEO, Jongdae never used that fact to get out of training or make things easier on himself. And in return, Minseok built an honest respect for Jongdae. He’s always believed his best friend had a baseline of integrity. Something not all celebrities possess. Which is why he is currently in a state of disillusionment when it comes to Jongdae.

This past spring brought many changes for WDB. They had their first world tour. And their first big stage accident. And first huge scandal.

An accident backstage at KFest-Chicago had landed Jongdae with a broken leg. When Nam Sooyeon was caught visiting him in the hospital, it came out that she and Jongdae had been secretly dating. Sooyeon was a K-pop darling once deemed the “nation’s girl next door,” and her reputation had taken a beating due to the dating reveal. She’d lost her contract with one of the biggest K-pop companies because of it.

Some of her loyal fans blamed Jongdae for her fall from grace.

And, if he was being honest, Minseok sometimes felt the same way. Granted, he’s always thought the archaic dating clauses that the bigger companies insisted on went too far. But how could Jongdae make such a huge mistake that risked Sooyeon’s career and the careers of the other WDB members?

“JD-hyeong says he’s worried about the article,” Robbie says.

As if JD has a right to be worried about scandals, Minseok thinks. But aloud he says, “Of course, I miss you too.”

“What?” Robbie says, then lets out a knowing sigh. “Are there cameras there?”

“Yup, want to say hello to the fans?” Minseok lets an easy grin spread over his face, effortlessly hiding his discordant thoughts. A female crew member sighs behind the assistant PD in charge of the shoot.

“Yeah.” Robbie groans. He’s good on camera, but he’s also pain-fully shy.

Minseok turns the phone on speaker and says, “What are you doing, jagi-ya?”

Robbie replies in an equally joking voice. “Waiting for you to get home, jagi.”

Their maknae might be shy, but his showmanship is always good.

Minseok laughs. “What are you really doing?”

“Deciding on what we want to order for dinner, so we can watch the live broadcast.”

“Good. Thanks for monitoring, Robiya.”

“Yup. Drink lots of water and have fun!”

“I always do,” Minseok says before hanging up cheerfully.

The assistant PD calls for the cameras to cut, pleased with the footage. It is kismet timing he caught the conversation. Fans are thirsting for interactions between the WDB members after they had to abruptly end their tour. This clip will definitely go viral and he will get credit.