Debut in Broad Daylight

Chapter 10 - VAN 🐠

Being the leader of Apple Hair means that the person who needs to say something ends up being me. I mean... I didn't vote for myself, but if the other guys think that I can be a good leader, I just can't let them down.

Back on Oahu, the ghost of AWE gave me the curse of non-working vocal chords. And that was definitely not fun. I felt like a weasel, scrambling about to avoid a predator. I was a weasel with no fur actually, shivering in the dry night desert.

After a month of training under the—very—heavy microscope of Melinda Pak, I'm ready to finish up the next month and make way for a smooth flight back to Oahu. A weasel set free. Instead, Melinda calls us into her office when the weather begins to chill me just a little bit.

"Alright boys." she says, twirling a pen with her left hand. Her wicked-sharp eyeliner seems to taunt me, and although her dress hugs her perfectly with ruffles at just-the-right accents, she's almost too put together to be pretty. "I've been watching you guys closely. Very closely. All I have to say is that Merlin Kim really had a good eye. Not only did he choose the right boys, he chose boys that I would like as well. And that's very... very hard to do."

I gulp uncontrollably and picture her wielding a fairy. I'm not looking forward to seeing one of those for the first time. I often dream about Seiya's description, and I now know that dreams have more meaning than what I once thought.

"Thank you, Mrs. Pak," I say. "We're doing our best."

Even with my very textbook answer, Melinda beams at me like I said something really smart or deep. Look at me—being very smart and deep. I should win some type of award....

"Now, I don't want you guys to think that you're doing too good." Melinda leans back, splaying her arms like a chicken—a very pretty, well-put together chicken. "I remember when I first started out. I thought I had it all, the fans, the good team, the brother to support me.

"And then one day, I choked on a broccoli stem. I mean I didn't die, obviously. Look at me now, standing here. Hah!"

I gulp while glancing at Corrin, who looks like he might burst out in laughter at any moment. Kaden stares ahead, and he looks like he's about to ask Melinda to hurry and get to the point.

"Anyway, the broccoli stem changed everything. Suddenly, everything became harder—performing, the shows, the endless demands and crazed fans. Now don't get me wrong! I'm not saying that all of my fans are crazed."

She twirls a lock of hair, and for a second her skin shifts purplish pink, matching the building to the T. I blink quickly, trying to push the image to the side. I imagine her mouth spreading wide like a man-eating fairy. Er... not a good sight. Girl, you're trying to tell me what's wrong with fans when you clearly have a fairy monster issue?

I shake my head, ridding myself of the sarcastic thought. Leaders aren't supposed to be sarcastic all the time. Right?

"Anyway, the point I'm getting at here is," Melinda says, "we need some competition. Friendly competition. I've been training a boy group for quite some time now, and I'm sorry for keeping it a secret. But it was such a good secret, right! So I wanted to split my time between you and this group. For a long time, we didn't have a name. But now you can meet Passion Sun!"

A little pause extends in the office, and Kaden takes the bite first. "What do you—"

"Come in, Passion Sun!" Melinda twists around, and her ruffles reflect the light like paper disco balls.

I absolutely can't believe it. Allen walks in the office door, followed by his main groupie, Jason. Following him are three other guys. One looks Hispanic, one Korean, and the other looks Polynesian. I don't give the three other guys much attention, too shocked at seeing Jason and Allen again. I thought we left them in the dust back in Hawaii.