Chapter 38: CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN

Po had a simple plan: he would try to reunite Mars by himself. He thought the people who could help him were Ming and Tae, who had been with the boys for a long time—not Phi Mick, who was busy pleasing Pemika.

Talking to Pemika was out of the question altogether.

Ming and Tae were waiting for Po at a 24-hour café. Po rushed in but didn’t find Thame anywhere nearby. He immediately asked:

“You didn’t find him?”

Both shook their heads. Ming spoke up first. “We took your call while heading home, and when we got there and went up to the rooftop, he wasn’t there.”

Po sighed.

“So, why are you trying to find Thame?” Ming asked.

“I need to talk to him about something important.”

“About Thame…” Ming added, “he’s practically gone off the radar. Nobody knows where the company’s keeping him. They don’t even let him rehearse with the band. Everything’s done separately now. And where he sleeps? No idea. It’s been tough for us to work.”

“Ming might not be able to help, but I can,” Tae chimed in.

“Really?”

“Of course! I’m smart, you know. I got his new number for you.”

“Wait, who did you get it from?”

The chair next to Po was pulled out, and the person who sat down was Phi Mick. Tae beamed with pride, thinking he’d done something clever.

“See? I even got it delivered to you directly!”

Mick smiled at Po, who froze in place.

—

Ming and Tae left the table after Mick told them he wanted to talk to Po alone.

“What do you need Thame’s number for?” Mick asked casually.

“I just need to talk to him.”

“About what?”

“I want to apologize.”

“Well, if that’s all, there’s no need. It’s a small matter, and I’ll pass it along,” Mick said, getting up to leave.

“Phi Mick,” Po called out, stopping him.

“What is it?”

“Mars still wants to stay together,” Po said firmly.

Mick looked at Po with tired eyes. “That’s long over, Po. And Pemika has already given the boys everything they need.”

“That’s not true,” Po countered immediately, this time with certainty.

“That’s not what they really want. Sure, we might’ve once thought that climbing higher and higher was what would make us happy. But if along the way we realize it’s not, don’t we have the right to change that?”

Mick stared at Po, who spoke with such conviction.

“You’ve been with them longer than I have, Phi Mick. You should know better than me what they really want.”

“But this is the best the company can give them,” Mick maintained. “Or are you saying that now, as a director, this isn’t what you wanted?”

“It might’ve been what I wanted before,” Po admitted, then looked Mick straight in the eye.

“But it’s not anymore. Right now, I just want Thame’s number—or to see him.” He pleaded, his eyes desperate. “Phi Mick, I just want him to be happy. Please help him.”

Mick stood silent. Po wasn’t sure what he was thinking, but he caught a glimpse of concern for the boys in Mick’s eyes. Finally, Mick said:

“Fine. Tomorrow morning, go to the office. You’ll find him where you’ve met him before.”

—

The next morning, Po stood on the rooftop, waiting for Thame, hopeful. He planned to apologize and help him reunite with the band, no matter what. It might have been a bold move at a time like this, but Po was willing to take any risk to restore what Mars truly wanted. If he could just see Thame first, he was sure they could figure out a way forward, just like they almost had before.

He heard footsteps approaching from behind. Turning around, he expected to see Thame—but it wasn’t him.

It was Pemika.

“Do you usually meet here?” she said, breaking the silence. She looked around, taking in the calm atmosphere. “I never realized how peaceful it is up here.”

Po froze, shocked. He hadn’t expected Pemika to show up. Mick hadn’t told him she would come or arranged for Thame to meet him. Instead, Mick had informed Pemika of what Po was planning.

“Mick told me you seem unhappy with the decisions the company has made,” Pemika began.

“I just…” Po hesitated, but then decided to face her directly. “I just want him to get what he truly wants.”

“So do I,” she replied, confident in what she had provided Mars.

“But Mars isn’t the same anymore,” Po argued.

“They’re not the people who want what you think they do.”

“I think we see things differently,” Pemika said calmly.

“Then I think you’re seeing things differently from what Mars themselves see right now.”

Pemika glanced at Po, who was trying to convey his sincerity. But she had her own truth to share.

“Mars will always belong to Wanner. They’re a group that must follow Wanner’s policies. The boys knew this from the moment they auditioned. If they wanted a different policy, they could’ve trained somewhere else. But they chose Wanner.”

Po bit his lip.

“And you…” Pemika continued, looking directly at Po. “You might’ve ended up in this job by chance. And since we no longer share the same vision, and you don’t want to be a director anymore, I think it’s time we part ways.”

She pointed to Po’s employee badge.

“I can’t keep someone who might harm the band or Thame.”

Po couldn’t say anything. He simply removed his badge and handed it back to her.

“From this moment on, you’re no longer an employee of Wanner. I’m taking back everything that belongs to Wanner, including all contacts between you and our artists.”

—

Po packed his belongings. Ming and Tae watched in confusion while Mick deleted all of Mars’s contacts from Po’s phone before handing it back to him. Po looked at Mick angrily, but Mick ignored him and walked away.

Why wasn’t anyone trying to help Mars?

Why did everyone believe this was the right thing to do?

Why did he have to be the one to leave?

Why did Mars have to continue on a path they no longer wanted?

What would happen to Mars in the time they had left with Wanner?

—

Po was left with questions he couldn’t answer. He didn’t know how to keep helping Mars. Standing in line at the same sandwich shop as always, he tried to come up with a solution.

“I’ll take the usual. Just one.”

“Got it,” the vendor replied, preparing his sandwich. Po stared at the billboard for Mars’s upcoming concert, wondering what he could do now that he was no longer a Wanner employee. But no matter how hard he thought, he couldn’t come up with anything.

“You look troubled. Rough day at work?” the vendor asked.

“Not really. I just feel like I could’ve done more, but I don’t know how,” Po admitted.

“Why not ask your friends for advice?”

“Who could I ask? No one wants to talk about this,” he grumbled. He wasn’t even sure if he should confide in Baifern.

The vendor handed him his sandwich—but there were five of them.

“On the house,” the vendor said casually.

“That’s too much! It’s four sandwiches too many—I can’t eat all this.”

“But I think it’s just enough for everyone,” the vendor said, nodding toward a table. Sitting there were June, Dylan, Nano, and Pepper.

Po stared, wide-eyed, as the four of them looked back at him. June was the first to speak.

“Well, trying to bring the band back together and only looking for Thame? You know, the rest of us might get jealous.”

TO BE CONTINUED.