Shotgun K

Being in the entertainment industry for some time now, one thing I came to learn is to always watch my back. On stage or on the charts, there was always someone out to knock you out of the spotlight, or put you in a bad light for the same objective: beat you out of the competition. It was a rule I lived through…and this instance was no different.
My hands gripped the steering wheel anxiously, glanced into the rearview mirror for the hundredth time and back at my passenger sitting directly behind me.
K was scowling, looking pretty glum in the back seat as she stared out the window and at the passing scenery. She let out a heavy sigh and shook her head a bit, seemingly to herself.
This girl…she couldn’t be trusted.
The light was still red as I watched her for a little bit as she continued her silent gazing out the window. She fixed her high turtleneck she was wearing, slight discomfort in her expression before settling back down. The sunlight really washed her out, making her look almost unnaturally pale against her dark colored outfit. I wonder what she was thinking…
I blinked, forcing my eyes off the mirror to check on the streetlight. Wasn’t this red light a bit long? And why should I care about what she was thinking? I breathed in softly to clear my mind and to pull myself back together.

“I don’t want you running around the agency causing trouble.” I said.

I saw K blink and pull her gaze away from the window to stare at me. Her dark eyes seemed to pierce right through me like ice and I stiffened. But I refused to look away and keep a calm expression on my face.

“Is that clear?” I said.

The girl gave me a weird crooked sneer, looking tired and irritated all at the same time.
“Yes, appa,” she said in a mocking tone.
It threw me off, her voice and words hitting an odd nerve in me.
“Y—ya! Don’t call me that, especially in public.” I stammered, and I felt my face heat up a bit.
The girl rolled her eyes and turned back to the window.
“Alright, Superstar; calm down.” she muttered.

…Superstar?
I glared at her through the mirror until the light turned green.

Mr. Park was silent through the whole car ride. In fact, no one spoke in the car for the rest of the ride. It was ten minutes of silence until we got to the agency. I drove to my usual spot, parked and cut the engine.
“I’ll go see President Chung after I go talk to the publicist.” I told Mr. Park as I stepped out of the car.
“Sounds good.” he said, pulling his shoulder briefcase out. “I’ll go with you.”
I nodded, pocketing my keys safely into my pants pocket and checked to make sure my cellphone was silenced and in my jacket pocket. Then I shut the door.
“I’m locking the doors.” I notified my manager.
He made a sound to okay it and I pressed the button on the remote to hear the lock click shut.
“And you; remember what I told you…” I started, wheeling around.
I froze, finding myself speaking to thin air.
“Yah,” I let out, annoyance kicking in.
We haven’t even been here a minute and she was gone. What the hell is wrong with her? I glanced around the open space of the parking garage, trying to see if I could catch her sneaking off somewhere. I wheeled around to Mr. Park on the other side of the car was giving me a rather bored look.
“Did you really think she would stay around and wait for you to start yelling at her?” he asked.
Well, yea, when I commanded her not to go running off. Wait a minute…she has already broken all of the rules I made last night! A frustrated growl escaped me and I shook my head. Mr. Park came around the back of the car to meet me.
“Come on, she can take care of herself. I don’t see her causing trouble.” Mr. Park said. “We have places to be so let’s just get going for now.”
I glanced around the place one last time and let out a heavy sigh.
“Fine,” I grunted, and started off towards the entrance of the building.

A tired silence fell over the two of us as we stepped into the elevator. It was still pretty early in the morning and the feeling of sleep still seemed to hang around in the air, even though I woke up feeling refreshed.
“Mr. Park, what time is it?” I asked.
Mr. Park glanced down at his wrist at his watch.
“It’s 6:36 AM.” he said.
“Hmm,” I hummed.
Few moments after the elevator doors slid open, and revealed the lobby. I was surprised to see this many people so early in the morning.
“What’s going on? Is there an event or something?” I asked, looking around at the rather busy foot traffic of the place.
“I’m not sure, but I did hear something about a live variety show in the studios.” Mr. Park said. “Maybe they’re prepping that for the afternoon.”
I didn’t reply and just silently accepted that explanation as I started to cross the lobby.
“Jae, the publicist wants to meet you at the café lounge on the main floor.” Mr. Park informed me. “She said she’ll be there all morning so to just drop by.”
I nodded, and with this new information in mind, I headed to the escalators instead of the elevators to get to the main floor just one ride up from the lobby.
Since it was still early, I was in no hurry to get to the café lounge. Instead, I took time gazing out the glass panel wall that came into view on my ride up and stared out at the waking city street. Honestly, I wonder where that girl ran off to…
I reached the top of the escalator and stepped off smoothly, and headed right to where the lounge was located. I immediately saw the publicist sitting in the far end of the round tables set out closest to the window. She saw me immediately and waved enthusiastically.
“Jae-Sung! Jo-eun ah-chim!” she said cheerfully. “Mr. Park, good morning to you too!”
My manager bowed his head and smiled politely.
I too bowed my head and smiled, though not as energetically as she was.
“Ah, Anyeonghaseyo.” I returned her greeting.
The young publicist beamed, practically bouncing in her seat.
“It’s great to finally meet you in person; our previous talks has always been over the phone.” she said. But then she frowned. “Though, the situation from what I hear is very grim.”
I just nodded, not knowing what to say to that. The publicist beckoned to the open seat across from hers.
“Please, sit down!” she said. “I know you have another busy day so let’s get straight to it.”
I drew the chair out and sat down, waiting for her to begin. Mr. Park sat down at the table right behind me and pulled out his laptop. I watched as she took out her cellphone and set it down on the table.
“So from what I hear, you have two TV appearances coming up, yes?” she asked.
“Yes.” I confirmed. “Tomorrow, in the morning and then again around lunchtime.”
“I see,” she replied. “Now I’m not too worried, because you know how to handle yourself in live interviews and broadcasting, but just to be clear, we’re going to go over what topics you should avoid.”
I didn’t reply, and waited. It felt all strange and undeserved, like I was avoiding a huge scandal. But I guess that’s exactly I was doing, with the murder-stalker story still hidden from the media.
“Now, about your stalker…” the publicist started. “President Chung has been keeping a very close eye on that information, keeping it away from reporters and journalists alike. But the public does know that there was a murder and the girl that was killed was your fan.”
I nodded, recalling the news broadcast I saw in the past mornings.
“Will they ask about that incident?” I asked.
The publicist looked thoughtful for a minute, and then clasped her hands together on the table.
“Well, I can’t be 100% sure, but if that topic comes up, it would be on the morning broadcast, seeing that it’s right after the morning news.” she told me. “The morning one will be calmer. I’m sure it’s a standard sit-down talk show.”
“I see.” I said.
“If they bring up that event and the murder by chance, just state that it’s a tragedy, and express the standard condolences and maybe address your fan base somehow.”
I frowned, not liking the almost dismissive tone she was talking in.
“Am I supposed to just pretend that I know nothing about the whole murder?” I blurted, all before I could process my thoughts.
The publicist gave me a strange look.
“You already know the answer to that, Jae-Sung.” she said. “Now, let me see about the second appearance…I’m not sure what kind of set up they are going to have for this one, but you will be more actively participating on set…”
For the next ten-fifteen minutes I found myself only half listening, my mind suddenly distracted with all sorts of feeling and thoughts on this. I just nodded and agreed here and there, to seem at least attentive to the whole meeting. Before I knew it, the publicist lady was getting up from her seat. I snapped out of the haze I felt myself in and got up.
“Wow! Time really does fly.” she was saying. She then looked out the window and sighed happily. “You have no idea how happy I am that today is at least sunny. I was worried about that huge storm last night, and that it may linger til today.”
“Storm?” I echoed.
The publicist blinked at me, looking slightly confused.
“Yes; came in last night out of nowhere with strong winds and heavy rain. Got home late and all my laundry on the patio were drenched!” she then shivered a bit. “Oh, it was freezing rain too! The worst… Didn’t you know about the storm?”
I blinked, and shook my head.
“No, I was tired and retired early.” I told her. “I didn’t even hear the rain.
“Ah well, it was crazy weather. But it’s all in the past now.” she shrugged, gathering her things. “I need to get going, but I’ll be watching out for those TV appearances. Don’t forget to smile!”
I forced a smile on my face and thanked her, bowing my head as I passed. When she was gone, I dropped back into my seat and let out a heavy sigh. Why was I suddenly so tired?
Mr. Park came over from the café register, holding a paper cup and a bottle of water. He handed the latter to me.
“So, are you okay?” he asked.
I glanced at him briefly before turning my eyes to the window. It was completely sunny out, with not a single sign of last night’s supposed storm left in the sky. A heavy sigh escaped me then.
“It doesn’t feel right, treating this as a clean-up.” I told him.
Mr. Park came to take the seat the publicist was sitting in.
“I know the publicist seemed a bit insensitive in the way she spoke, but I doubt she was told the whole story. And it’s not her job to be that caring.” he reasoned. He stared at me, and I could feel him studying me. “Jae, is something wrong?”
I swallowed, and inhaled softly, recalling all that happened last night.
“I met her mother.” I said, glancing back at him.
Mr. Park frowned.
“Who’s mother?” he asked, sounding bemused.
“The girl’s.” I said. “The victim’s.”
My manager stood still, his eyes growing wide. He was clearly stunned.
“You mean...” he started.
I turned back to the window, suddenly intrigued by the busy sidewalk down below.
“Oh, Jae…”
I shook my head, keeping my eyes on outside.
“It was really by chance. I went for a walk, just to cool my head, and next thing I know a stranger came up to me and asked me who I was.” I said. Then I added. “She was clearly upset, and she had a picture of her daughter clutched in her hand…that’s how I knew.”
He didn’t need to know that I went to that park.

It was silent between us for a few moments, the air suddenly tense. But as usual, Mr. Park broke the silence.
“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked.

…Did I want to talk about it?

I breathed out calmly and gave him a small smile.
“No, I’m okay. I don’t really know what to say about it anyways.” I told him sincerely.
My manager seemed to study me for a little longer but nodded.
“Okay.” he said, allowing my reasoning. “But Jae, if you need to talk, you will talk with someone you trust, right? It should be---”
Mr. Park was cut off abruptly by the shrill ringing of his cell phone. He dug through his coat pockets and found his phone, looked at me as if he was conflicted.
“It must be work related.” I noted, nodding at the phone. “You should answer that.”
Mr. Park bobbed his head in agreement and gave me an apologetic look before answering.
“Yeoboseyo?” he answered. He turned his back and walked away from the table, giving himself the privacy he needed for the call. I waited for him to get out of hearing range before letting out yet another sigh. For some reason, today already felt like a bad day.
I got up from my seat and made my way back to the escalators. I should probably go talk to President Chung now, before his work gets too busy. It’ll be impossible to catch him in the afternoon.
Shoving my hands into my pants pocket, I strode out of the café area and stepped onto the descending escalator. The lobby was settling down a bit, returning little by little to the more usual pace of foot traffic though it was still busy. I frowned to myself, looking through the lobby. If there was some special event being held today, President Chung may be busier than he normally is. Damn, what time is it---

My eyes flickered over to the front desk, and stopped. Before the front desk, her back towards me stood a small bodied girl garbed in all dark colors. The sight instantly brought a scowl to my face.
K was leisurely playing with her phone, looking relaxed and calm from my angle. She didn’t seem to be thinking about the fact that she had left without my permission and broke my rules.
My foot hit the floor as I reached the bottom of the escalator, and I was on the move.
Who the hell did she think she was? I told her specifically not to go running off, and it’s the first thing she does! And when I find her, she’s not even looking to catch up to me. Hell, she doesn’t really seem to care!
That last thought really hit a nerve and I was practically stomping through people just to get to her.

Before I realized what I was doing, I had grabbed the girl by her arm and yanked her around to face me.