Luna threw her keys in her bag and sucked her teeth.
"Yo lazy ass know you could've drove. What am I paying you for again?" she asks Drew, who is rubbing the sleep out of his eyes from the nap he'd taken in the car.
"You pay me to guard your body, not drive lil girl. Chauffeuring ain't on my resume," he replies, making her roll her eyes.
"I got yo lil girl Drew. Keep playing," she warns, narrowing her eyes at him before pulling her orange shades down over her eyes.
She looked down at her phone, making sure they had the right address, not hearing a response from him, but knowing he'd at least mumbled something behind her back like he always did.
Today she'd be doing an interview with Eric Nam for the Daebak show. A rep from the show had gotten in touch with Lola and seeing as she had nothing to do today, they decided to make use of her time. Her soulmates would be busy for most of the day preparing for their appearance on The Tonight Show.
She'd decided not to bring a driver because the drive to Dive studios was not terribly far away from her house.
"I think it's this one," she says, taking off down the sidewalk in the direction that Google Maps pointed to.
You have arrived at your destination.
Like most of the studios in LA, this one was located inside a bigger studio, and Dive was on the sign so thankfully she knew she was in the right place. Drew opened the door for her and she pulls her shades up on top of her head.
"Hello! How can I help you today?!" the receptionist asks, her energy giving she was already expecting Luna.
"Hello, I'm Luna. I have an interview with Eric Nam," she says, smiling at the woman.
"Oh yes! Right this way," she says, almost tripping on her feet as she comes around the desk.
Drew struggled to hold in his laugh beside her and she punches him in the stomach, making him cough instead. He clears his throat to play it off and squints down at her, undoubtedly calling her some form of bitch in his head.
She holds her laugh as the receptionist leads them to the far right side of the building.
"Luna, welcome!" Eric calls from down the hallway where he'd been leaning against the wall chatting with someone.
"Thanks Eric. It's good to see you again. This is my bodyguard, Drew," she says and he shakes both their hands.
"Thanks Rebecca. This is my brother, Brian—CEO of this place," he says, introducing them to the man he was speaking with.
"It's an honor to have you here. I'm a big fan. I hope you two have a wonderful interview," he says, shaking her hand and Drew's as well.
"Thank you for your support. I'm sure we will," she grins before bidding him goodbye.
"He's so gonna spazz about that later. Okay Luna, we're set up in here. There's some refreshments over here and I had them order you an iced white chocolate mocha with a pump of caramel from Starbucks," he says, leading her into the room they'd be recording in.
"Look at you doing your research. I really appreciate it," she teases, taking her seat on the sofa and placing her bag beside her.
She waves at the few staff members in the room and the camera man blushes furiously, making them pick on him.
"They're not always this weird. They're just big fans," Eric assures, making her laugh.
"In that case, thank you all. I'm very grateful for your support," she smiles, giving them thumbs ups before grabbing her drink off the table and removing the paper from the straw to take a sip.
"So humble. Okay, so before we start, would you like to go over the outline and questions I have written? Some people like to be prepared although we don't always stick to the outline. You've watched the show so you know we'll probably end up getting sidetracked at some point," he says.
"No, I'm good. I'd rather not. I just think things flow better when I'm not expecting the questions," she says, knowing she'd come off unfocused because she'd be thinking of answers in her head.
"Okay! Perfect. Well, let's get this show on the road," he says, clapping his hands and grabbing his outline off the table, making himself comfortable in his chair.
"Ready when you are," she smiles, crossing her legs.
"Oh, wait! Can I talk about the party?" he asks and she nods.
"Sure," she agrees, knowing it had been making waves anyways.
"Okay good. It's too much of a flex to ignore," he says, making her laugh.
He gives the cameraman and the recording engineer a thumbs up and they do a brief mic check before they start.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Daebak show. I am your host Eric Nam and we are joined this week by the incredibly talented music and fashion mogul, Luna! She's known for so many things right now, I honestly had no idea how to introduce her so I just winged it! I hope it was up to your standards, how you doing today Luna?" he asks.
"That was a great intro. I'm doing really well. How are you?" she asks with a chuckle.
"Extremely well. Tis a fine day. Please hello to our listeners," he requests.
"Hellooo Daebak show listeners," she says into the mic with a smile.
"So for those of you that don't know this woman, I think it's safe to say you've probably been living under a rock. She's been dominating both music and fashion and she's recently come out as Bangtan's eighth and final soulmate. If you don't know her, you should know of her for sure. For those that aren't familiar with you, you want to give them a rundown of what you do in music and fashion?" he asks and she nods.
"Sure. Um, I am a singer, rapper, songwriter, producer, and soon to be director in music. As far as fashion goes, I mostly just model although I have contributed to designs here and there. Uh, let's see. I'm currently the face of Chanel's current makeup campaign and J'Adore Dior frangrance," she replies.
"See what I mean? Plus, she recently broke the record for the highest and quickest magazine sales in the world and then broke her own record the very next week. There was a lot of noise in Korea that week. How was dealing with that?" he asks.
"Well, it was a PR nightmare. That's for sure. I was more worried about clearing BTS and Bighit's name as quickly as possible really. I'm glad Maxim came through with the receipts as quickly as they did. It was more of an irritation than anything having all those media outlets come for me like that, but it's not something I'm not used to so I put it behind me once my name was cleared," she states before taking a sip of her drink.
"Haters will be haters. That's for sure. Since you've been in Korea, you've been under a lot of scrutiny, mostly over silly things if you ask me. It seems there are quite a bit of people there that may not be very familiar with you other than you being with Bangtan, so I'd like to start from the beginning. I have some questions about your upbringing that I'm sure people will be interested in knowing. First question—how long have you been fluent in Korean?" he asks.
"Since I learned to talk. My parents taught me both Korean and English," she answers, glad he was mentioning her soulmates, but not making this whole interview about them.
"That's dope, same here. Where are you from? I've seen mentions of both Texas and Louisiana," he says.
"Houston, Texas mostly, but when I was around 10, we moved to New Orleans for about two years while my granddad got the family farm established. We moved back to Houston after that," she answers.
"So you have family in both places?" He asks and she nods.
"I do. Both my grandparents have huge families, my grandfather's from New Orleans and my grandmother's side is from the Philippines, but settled in Houston," she explains.
"Wow you grew up in a pretty diverse household," he says, interested.
"Oh yeah, there was all kinds of languages being spoken in that household. Creole French from my grandpa and Tagalong and Spanish from my grandma and great grandma, who was Columbian. Luckily, I was exposed very young so I picked up on all of them," she says.
"Ladies and gentlemen, a multi-lingual queen. This lady oozes talent," he grins, gesturing to her.
"Takes talent to know it. Loved your album. Paradise and Love Die Young are my favorites," she says and he gasps dramatically.
"Gosh, thank you so much. I'll never get used the the fact that you listen to lil ole me. You hear that? Go stream The Other Side people," he says, the shameless plug making her laugh.
"Speaking of talent, you have very many, but which came first?" he asks.
"Writing and drawing came around the same time. I've been drawing and writing poetry since I was around 8," she says.
"Oh really? For some reason, I always assumed fashion came first," he says.
"In terms of career, fashion was first. I was signed to a modeling agency when I was 13. I didn't start music until 16," she says.
"Ah, okay so I wasn't entirely off the mark. Have you always had a passion for fashion?" he asks and she shakes her head.
"Not really. I was discovered by a talent scout for the agency I signed to in a mall. I remember being like me? Why me? I was a tomboy to the core and spent most my days in overalls and boots. I was always in clothes I could get dirty in because I was always with my grandpa—gardening, horseback riding, taking care of the animals. I looked at fashion as an opportunity to make money, not something I'd actually enjoy at first. I just wanted to be able to help my mom and pay my grandparents back for all they'd done for us. I didn't really become invested in fashion until I started doing pageants," she replies.
"Honestly I can't even imagine you being a tomboy, let alone wearing overalls and boots," Eric laughs, trying to picture it.
"My birthday is coming up in a few days so there will be plenty of throwbacks floating around real soon. My family never misses an opportunity to remind me of those days. Even Beyoncé and her mom post my real deal throwbacks for my birthday now," she laughs.
"I'll definitely be on the lookout for those. Imagine knowing Beyoncé, sheesh. Well, happy birthday in advance. You have any plans?" he asks and she shakes her head.
"Not really. I prefer to just chill on my birthday, but I know my soulmates aren't gonna have that. They've been suspiciously quiet about it so I know they have something up their sleeves. However, I just really want everyone to donate to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Donations can be as little and one dollar and every dollar counts," she says.
"You heard her guys! Luna wants you to donate to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation in honor of her birthday. I'll make mine as soon as we're done recording," he says.
"Thanks Eric. The link is in my bio on all my social media platforms or you can just go to www.bcrf.org," she says.
"We stan a charitable queen. It's admirable how much you give back. How do you choose which charity you want to donate to every year?" he asks.
"I donate to a lot of charities throughout the year so I just have my assistant get me a list of ones I haven't donated to before. I usually choose them at random," she replies and he nods.
"Cool, so let's get back into your early career. For the ones that don't know, how did you get your start in music and how did your career progress from there?" he asks.
"I debuted in a girl group called K3 when I was 16. It was me and two former friends. They were primarily vocalists to I started off as the rapper of the group. Rapping came naturally to me because I wrote poetry so that was my role at first—writing and rapping. I started exploring singing more when one of my group members got sick and I had to fill in for her. It was up from there. We disbanded three years later and I went solo later that same year," she says.
"I had no clue you started out as a rapper, but I do know your name wasn't Luna back then. How did you end up with Luna as your stage name?" he asks.
"Haha, most people don't. That was like 10 years ago, so if you didn't listen to K3, you wouldn't know. My first solo album barely had any rap on it. As for the name, I started out using my real name, Kitana. The group was called K3, because all our names started with a K. Kitana was too long though so we shortened it to Kiki, which was a nickname of mine anyways. I kept Kiki even after I went solo. A few years later, I wanted to rebrand because I felt like I'd evolved passed the name Kiki. I wanted something new and fun so I tried out Saweetie, another one of my childhood nicknames. It was a fun era, but it didn't quite fit for the type of music I wanted to put out—so as I'm trying to come up with another name, I'd just done a photo shoot that showcased my mark and my fans started calling me Luna. It stuck on me so I kept it. I use the others as like alter egos now," she replies, smiling fondly at the memory.
"Yes! You just released a mixtape under the name Kiki. Go and stream Off the Chest people! We'll talk about that in a few. How would you say your alter egos differ from each other," he asks.
"Kiki is—can I curse?" she asks, making him laugh.
"Go right ahead. We'll bleep out what we can't air, but please say what you want to say," he says, making her giggle.
"Okay well, Kiki is that bitch. She's tough, she's blunt, she doesn't give two fucks. That's exactly how I was when I started out. It's hard being a female rapper and a young one at that so I channeled the styles I grew up listening to, which were pretty aggressive, vulgar, flashy—all that. She only really comes out these days when people overstep. See, Luna is so polished that people forget Kiki exists and I have to remind them," she says.
"Well, I'm sure they got the memo with what I've heard! What about Saweetie?" he asks.
"Saweetie is like the pretty, rich girl that's all about having fun and making money. That's fine and all, but I wanted my career to have more substance than that, which is why I changed my name again. I channeled my inner Saweetie on Pretty & Rich and the Pretty Bitch Music freestyle. Just like Kiki, she'll always be a part of me. As for Luna—definitely the most polished of the three. I think I'm more sentimental, more focused, and more business oriented now than when I was in either of those eras. Luna is constantly evolving and the name ties into my mark, which represents my soulmates—so overall a better representation of who I am as a person now," she explains.
"Okay let's get into where you are in your career right now. You've been making some big moves lately. You have your own record label under Bighit and Sony. How long had that been in the works?" he asks.
"It all happened pretty fast. Bang PD-nim offered me an idol contract the same day I signed my executive contract, but I held off because I just wasn't sure what direction I wanted to go with my music at the time. Either way though, I was sure my style would be heavily frowned upon in Korea. So after some time, he requested a meeting with me. He told me that Sony was interested in signing me through Bighit. I told him my concerns and he told me that one of the options on the table was giving me my own record label. He dropped some real gems on me in that meeting too—made me realize I was limiting myself. I was so worried about what Korea would think that it completely slipped my mind that I have an international fanbase. We talked business and it was an offer I couldn't refuse, so I took it. A few days later, we had the signing ceremony," she says.
"I wish things could happen that fast for me. I'm sure a lot of artists do. That comes with the territory when you're as decorated as you are in the industry though. It's been 10 years for you now. What advice do you have on staying relevant for so long? Drop some gems on all of us please. I'm about to pull my notepad out," he says, making her laugh.
"Consistency is the first thing that comes to mind. I've put out an album, sometimes more than one every year since I debuted as a solo artist. Saturating the market is very important when it comes to music. Put out quality music and a lot of it. Try to experiment with different genres so you'll have something for everyone. Having a diverse discography is never a bad thing. Keep your name and music on rotation out there. I know that can be hard for some artists. There's a lot of different factors, especially when you're working with a label that may have a lot of limitations for you, so please hire a lawyer and make sure you know and understand everything about your contract," she says and Eric agrees.
"That's so important because there are a lot of record labels out there that treat you like a machine. They're just in it for the money and don't really care about being authentic and sticking to true artistry," he says.
"Yes, we hear those stories all the time. I've gone through it and plenty others have as well, so if your new to the music industry, please don't fall victim to that. Get with a label that believes in you and your style and will let you have full control over what you put out. At the end of the day, it's their money, but it's your name on the line," she adds.
"With that being said, the second thing would be practice. I know that's such a basic answer, but it's absolutely necessary. You need to train your body, your vocals, your mental state. Don't be afraid to hire a vocal coach either. They can only teach you how to better your technique. Um, other than that, I'd say promo plays a huge role as well. Back in the day, it was more so physical stuff like flyers, billboards, and a lot of live performances. These days we do that too, but it's as easy as utilizing social media and doing interviews now," she says.
"It's so humbling to hear a performer like you talking about practicing. That's really how you perfect your craft and become as good as you are. With that being said, as seasoned a performer as you are, how do you deal with unwanted opinions? I swear nothing burns me up more than unsolicited criticism from people who aren't in the music industry," he says, making her laugh.
"I feel you on that. We're on the same page. When we perform, we do certain things for a reason, right? People who don't sing and dance wouldn't know about certain techniques we do to be able to sing and dance—to perform without looking sloppy or passing out. That little background note they like may not be sung because a dance move was thrown in there instead. There's a lot of planning that goes into it, but those critical people only pay attention to what they wish would've happened or what they would've liked to have seen instead," she says and he snaps his fingers in the mic.
"Yes! Like I know we make it look easy, but it's our jobs to make it look that way. It's totally not. Not at all," he says.
"It's really not. It took me every bit of these ten years to get me to the level I'm at today. It's safe to say I'm a professional so why would I listen to someone who can't sing? Or dance? Or perform for that matter?" She asks, shrugging.
"True, it's like everyone on the outside thinks they have the winning formula. Just do this or this or this," he says, talking with his hands.
"We can go out on the street right now and find plenty people that have all this advice, all these critiques, but if we asked them to give us an example... If we say here's a microphone. Go stretch and then perform the song the way you think it should be performed—live vocals and choreo, 99% of them wouldn't be able to do it. The brave ones that would try most likely wouldn't be able to do it well. But they think they know best though. Like if you have the winning formula then why ain't you out here using it?" she says and he throws his head back while clapping into the mic.
"Exactly! If it's so easy, let's see you do it. Luna is speaking facts as always. Speaking of speaking facts, let me tell you the story of how Luna and I met."
Luna listens and nods along as he explains being invited to the party she and the boys threw and how meeting each other for the first time went, adding things here and there.
"So we ended up talking about an array of things while we played cards—from trust in relationships to Southern hospitality, to relationship roles and all I could think of is how I wished I could've been recording it for the show. I said something along those lines and Luna goes, "Is this you asking me to be on the Daebak show?" Guys! I almost died. I did not know Luna watched this show. I just couldn't wrap my head around it," he says, making her laugh.
"I told him everyone puts me on this pedestal for some reason. I'm still human and we're still equal in my eyes. I watch YouTube guys—not as often lately, but I do," she giggles, uncrossing her numb legs.
"It's because you're a mega-star and everyone's a fan! Speaking of fans, Bangtan were fans of you as well. Were they starstruck when you met?" he asks.
"Ha, somewhat. We were all just in awe of each other. I was, and still am obviously, a big fan of them as well," she grins.
"How is everything now versus how it was before you went public?" he asks.
"It was a lot more peaceful before as expected. It was like we were in our own blissful, little bubble. Now that everyone knows, there's been a lot of backlash and bullshit, but we're going strong despite all that. We try not to let what's going on outside affect us," she smiles.
"I'm glad to hear that. Truly, you guys don't deserve any of that shit. It's admirable how you're living in your truth so openly and unapologetically," he says.
"Thank you, hopefully it'll inspire others to do the same. Life is too short to hide who you are. Regardless of what others say, we'll still be soulmates and we'll still all love each other to pieces," she says.
"What you guys have is truly remarkable to watch. The love and respect you have for each other is clear to see. From what I've seen, your relationship seems very fun and peaceful. How do you keep the peace between 8 people?" he asks.
"Well, they've had years of practice living with each other so when you add me to the mix, I'm the one everyone's learning to get to know. Thankfully, I fell right into place. I think we make things work so easily because we took the time—and we're still taking the time to get to know each other. They're so fun and genuine and easy to talk to that it felt like a friendship at first and that's really important. We're friends as well as lovers. We communicate and respect each other's space and differences and try our bests to be considerate of each other's feelings at all times. With that being said, it's a given that we do have misunderstandings and disagreements from time to time. Two person relationships do so imagine eight, but thankfully it's mostly been smooth sailing," she replies.
"They've always been, easygoing stand up guys so I can imagine it never being a dull day with them around. Ha! I don't know who put this question in, but I'm gonna ask it because it's funny. If I were to disrespect you, who would I have to worry about pulling up to kick my ass?" he asks, making her laugh.
"Well, none of them would be nice about it, but the ones you'd have to worry about physically kicking your ass are definitely JK, Jimin, and Yoongi, and maybe Hobi," she laughs.
"Really? They all seem so...level headed. Well, except for Agust D of course. There's no doubt in my mind that he'd punch me with no hesitation," he says and Luna laughs even harder.
"Yeah you may not want to try your luck there, but they are all pretty levelheaded. However, things are different when it comes to one's soulmate and you've never really seen them angry before. JK is an avid boxer, Jimin could kill you with his bare hands, and Hobi is a different Hobi when he's serious, let along angry. You'd probably have to say some terrible shit to set him off though," she explains.
The recording engineer gives him the signal to wrap and he sighs.
"Aw man, it's been 55 minutes already?" he asks and they nod.
"That time went by so fast. You're a great host," Luna compliments and he bows in his seat, thanking her.
"Why thank you, I try. So, unfortunately it's time to wrap this amazing episode up. It's been wonderful taking to this legend we have before us, Luna. Is there anything you want to plug or tell our listeners?" he asks.
"Sure! Firstly, seriously—go stream Eric's album, The Other Side and go check out my mixtape, Off the Chest. Be on the lookout for the video for my single, Green Light Go. Galaxy, stay tuned for some really good news. I'm here making some major moves that I can't wait to share with you all. Thanks for all your love and support and for watching this episode. Everyone stay happy and healthy!" she closes, smiling at the camera.
"Who needs an outro with an ending like that? This has been another episode of the Daebak show. Come back and see us next week for the next episode. This is your host, Eric Nam signing off," he says and the camera man gives him a thumbs up, letting him know he'd stopped recording.
Eric relaxes in his seat and everyone claps, congratulating them on a job well done.
"Thank you so much for coming and doing the show Luna. It means a lot to all of us," Eric says, pulling her into a brief hug.
"Thanks for having me. Before I go, I have an offer for you if you have time to listen," she says and his eyebrows raise, intrigued.
"Sure, we can use my brother's office," he says, gesturing for her to follow him.
Drew trails behind them as they make their way down to a nice office. Eric closes the door behind Drew and goes to sit behind the desk.
"Okay, what's up?" he asks, making her chuckle.
"I wanted to ask if you're still independent," she asks and he nods.
"Yeah, it's tough, but I needed that freedom. The labels here wouldn't give me what I'm worth and the ones in Korea were basically slave contracts," he says and she nods.
"Well, as we talked about earlier, I have my own record label now and if you'd consider it, I'd love to sign you. I really love your music and I feel like you don't get the recognition you deserve. With my label, your music would be promoted through Sony and you'd be managed through your own team or by one hired for you through Bighit. You don't have to give me an answer today of course, but if you were to sign with me, just know you wouldn't be mistreated. I don't believe in limiting artists. I'll leave you my card so you can call me directly if you have any questions," she says, pulling one of her cards out of her purse and passing it to him.
"Oh wow! Thanks so much. This is huge. I'll um, I'll get my affairs in order and be in contact soon okay?" he says, standing up.
"Sure, take your time Eric. It was good to see you," she says, shooting him a smile as he opens the door for her to leave.
She and Drew make their way back out into the warm Cali sun and she places her shades over her eyes, a new pep in her step. She loves giving others opportunities and she only hoped that Eric would allow her to get him the attention he deserves. She had a good feeling about this.
It feels good to be a boss.
A/N: Interview chapter! Dialogue takes so long to write, but it's my favorite to read lol
A little more insight into Luna's life.
If you haven't seen it yet, I just uploaded a new book called Scarred. Go check it out 💜