Untitled, 2018

Postlude: Fate Beckons

Six Months Later, Riti
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I was filming another one of my videos (in a fake beard this time), and had just taken a break to check my footage. I ran a one-woman show and it was becoming too much work for just me. My creative juices were overflowing during the rest of my first year once I was back, and I'd gained quite a bit of popularity pretty quickly online. But that meant more expectations, more work, and more need for money. I'd happily have paid someone to film or edit while I directed and acted, but I didn't make enough money off of YouTube yet to do it. My mom objected, but I still worked on my degree, so it wasn't too bad.

Anyway, I was rather tired and was ready to call it a day. I checked my phone out of habit. My lock screen had long since changed from that gif of Jimin to just a simple picture of myself. It just felt a little strange having had such a personal relationship with Jimin and still keeping him as my wallpaper.
Sometimes I wondered if it was it was all real or just a crazy fever dream, but I still had a necklace as a physical reminder of everything that had happened. I'd still watch their stages every now and then... heck, I'd even gone to their concert when it had happened earlier in the year. I'd stood so close to the stage, but not close enough for the boys to see me in the sea of other fans. Every now and then I'd chat with the other boys... but never Jimin. If anything, I kept my eyes open for people at college just in case I liked someone enough to get a boyfriend.

Missed Call from Dr. Kang.

A smile lit up my face right away. I hadn't seen him in a month. Mateo and I still helped him out with small things and finishing up the project. Our names were going to be listed under the Wang and Kang's names too.
One name would be missing: Hanna's. After she'd practically admitted to sabotage, Wang had questioned her and she'd cracked under pressure, and Hanna was proven to be the perpetrator. Being kind as they were, Dr. Wang and Kang didn't escalate it with the university, allowing her to work towards completing her degree and perhaps entering the industry with her experience if she wanted. In terms of research groups though... losing the trust of one of the world's top psychology researchers meant losing the good opinion of the community. It was unspoken but likely that she wouldn't get a research position anywhere respectable once rumors flew around about why Hanna was fired.
Mateo had told me to not feel guilty. She'd made her choices. But in his eyes I saw mirrored my pity for her too.

I called Dr. Kang back.

"Hello?"
"Dr. Kang! What a pleasant surprise. Sorry for not picking up earlier. How are you?"
"I'm all good. Are your parents still mad at you for spending time making videos?"
"Oh..." I smiled. "Just a little."
"Show them your videos sometime! Or even better, just show them your subscriber count."
I chuckled. "Eventually."

"By the way, child, what am I going to do with you?"
"Huh?"
"I have never seen someone who's gotten into as much trouble, or as many interesting situations as you have. Did you do something recently?"
I racked my brain thinking of what the hell he could be talking about. "I have no idea... Why?"
"Well I was asked to forward your number to someone pretty important from a media company over here... it was a little strange but I was assured it was genuine. Have they called yet?"
"Called? About what? I haven't been to South Korea in six months!"
"Well, I don't know all that. I need to hang up now though, I just had to quickly let you know that I gave them your number. Expect a call sometime soon, then." He almost sounded excited. We said our goodbyes and hung up.

Later that night, I had gone to bed a little earlier than usual, and was in deep sleep when my phone rang. Normally, I don't pick up, but I'd kept my ringer on after Kang's ominous words. I wasn't expecting it to ring at 3 AM though! Been there. This was how I'd learned about my internship in SK after all.

A little apprehensively, I picked it up.

"Why hello th— oh, wait it's pretty late now, huh?"
"Yes, it is. Who is this?"
"I guess I just got too excited, oops. It's me, Jeong. The PD. The drunk lady during the party. Remember?"

"Director Jeong...?!" Of all the people I was expecting a call from, she was possibly the lowest on the list. "Obviously I remember. Why are you calling me?"
"Is that how you say hi to someone you haven't seen in months?" She had a bit of a mad genius, excited edge to her voice. I smiled. The sound of a woman with a crazy idea in her head; I could relate.
"Fine. Hi. How are you?"
"Not as well as you, it seems. You hit 100 thousand subscribers? All by yourself?"

I facepalmed. "Why are you still on about my channel? You even told Kang."
"Forget that. Are you still in school?"
"It's summer break..."
"No, no, I mean, are you still enrolled in college?"
"Yeah, of course I am."
"Hmm... that could be annoying. But it's alright, we can work with it."
"Who? Work with what?"
"And do you work on your videos alone?"
"Yes—"
"All of it! Wow. That's good news. When do you graduate?"
"Three years..."
"Long term. Okay, okay. You're going to have to hone your skills... and lose weight, too, please. Maybe see a dermatologist."
"Excuse me?"
"Take it as tough love. I only have the highest expectations for people who work with me."
"What are you talking about?"

"A deal, dimwit. With our media company. The CEO asked me to head the new initiative to invest in the US a while ago through sponsorships. Basically we want to manage you... like a record label would, except we're a big media company, so you're left to your own thing instead. We've been looking for talent. You're good, kid. You've gotten more popular too. You're not Korean American, but you speak Korean, so if we had projects for you here it'd be possible. What do you think?"
I stopped for a moment. A deal? Signing onto a media company? That could... change everything.
"What? You can't be thinking of saying no."
Change everything... perhaps for the better.
"I— need to think about it."
"Well, you have 20 minutes. I'm jet-lagged and at a hotel in your city. Come here in 20 minutes if you want to be considered. I have like five other candidates I'm considering as backup already."

There come a few moments in your life, when you know that the decision you're going to make will change the course of your life. I knew. You could live in regret in either case, and things could go horribly wrong either way. But you wouldn't know until you tried.
"Well? Will you be here in 20 minutes?"
I looked at the time: 3:07 a.m. I was sleepy, I was tired, I had a lot to do tomorrow, damn it. But I'd hate myself forever if I made these excuses and hung up the phone. I pushed myself out of bed with the last ounce of strength I could muster, grabbed my shoes and a jacket and made a dash for the door to my room.

"Hang tight, Director. I'll be there."