Chapter 7: CHAPTER SIX

Po didn’t know how to tell Baifern that her beloved Mars wasn’t set for a grand project lasting three or five more years. But then again, Baifern wasn’t the type to pry into company secrets. She’d say it wasn’t appropriate. The only things she wanted to know were: were the boys cute?

What were they like in person? Did they love each other as much as they seemed to? Even so, Po couldn’t bring himself to share the truth, because…

Po held his camera and walked into the dressing room. From the very first moment, he could tell that Mars wasn’t the picture of unity they portrayed on stage. Backstage, the divide was crystal clear: Thame on one side, and the other four members on the other.

Thame was the center of attention. Makeup artists, hairstylists, wardrobe assistants, and even a stage manager briefing him on his cues surrounded him. Meanwhile, the other four sat together with no one attending to them.

Jun lounged on the couch playing a mobile game. Dylan immersed himself in his own world with headphones. Pepper read a script for another project, while Nano danced along to another artist’s song.

“Start by interviewing Thame. He’s leaving for Korea in a few days,” Mick instructed. “And keep an eye on the others too. I’m swamped with work.”

He yawned and walked over to an empty couch, plopping down to nap. Po frowned slightly, wondering what Mick actually did besides sleep.

Ming, a coworker from his department, patted Po’s shoulder. “You’ll get used to it.”

Po turned to see a confident, capable woman about his age. “I’m Ming, and this is Tae,” she said, introducing another colleague, a laid-back guy with glasses. “The boys are filming a promo show and should be done by 7 PM.

Make sure you get Thame’s interview done. Do you have the script?”

“Uh… not yet.”

“Figures,” Ming said, nodding toward Mick, who was snoring. “Don’t worry, I’ll send it over,” Tae offered cheerfully. “Give me your email.” He handed Po his phone and added, “We’ll head over to talk to the show’s team. You can warm up to the boys or do some casual interviews. Not that they’d be shy anyway.”

As they left, Po overheard Ming and Tae muttering about throwing water at Mick to wake him up.

Po approached the four members and introduced himself. They politely greeted him back, but before they could continue, a staff member shouted, “Thame’s ready! Everyone, get moving!”

The four excused themselves and walked past Po toward Thame. It was then Po noticed the space between the five members, with Thame standing noticeably apart from the rest.

“Can I get some water?” Thame’s voice rang out. The staff scrambled to fetch him a bottle. Po saw an unopened one nearby and brought it over.

Thame looked at Po, then at his employee ID hanging around his neck, and back at Po again. He didn’t take the water.

“Who told you to give me this water?”

Po was stunned into silence, but before he could respond, Ming rushed in with a bottle of mineral water.

“Sorry, Thame. He’s new and didn’t know.

Here’s yours.”

Thame took the mineral water and drank it, then shot Po an irritated look and muttered as he walked away. “Why don’t they screen people better?”

Po knew this wasn’t going well.

—

At exactly 7 PM, Po finished setting up his camera. Without a tripod, he would have to hold it steady, but he didn’t mind. He was determined to get Thame’s interview done. Po read through the script carefully, making sure he wouldn’t mess up. Especially since it seemed like Thame didn’t like him much, even if it was just Thame’s perfectionism.

By 7:30, there was still no sign of Thame. Po texted Tae to ask if Thame was still busy. Tae replied that Thame had left a while ago and was told to meet Po.

But the room was still empty. Thame hadn’t shown up.

Po couldn’t contact Thame directly since he didn’t have his number. When he asked Mick, Mick didn’t even bother reading the message.

“Figures,” Po thought bitterly. “Someone like him, who’s always the star, gets whatever he wants. Everyone bends over backward for him. He doesn’t care how much trouble he causes for others—he’s too important. He doesn’t even care about his bandmates, leaving them behind to chase his own success. So why should I expect anything different from someone like that?”

At 8:15 PM, Thame finally walked into the room. He was no longer in his performance outfit but in a relaxed tracksuit and loose pants. He sat down in front of the camera, and Po quickly raised it to start filming.

“Good evening, Thame. I’m—” “Just get this over with,” Thame interrupted, not even letting him finish the sentence. Po took a deep breath to suppress his annoyance and started recording.

“Camera rolling. Could you share a bit about your bandmates?”

Thame looked up at the camera but didn’t answer. His gaze drifted past the lens and locked onto Po.

“Uh…” Po hesitated and repeated the question. “Could you tell us about your bandmates?”

Thame remained silent, still staring at Po.

“Thame, didn’t you say you wanted to finish quickly?”

“When I said I wanted to finish quickly, I wasn’t talking about this interview.”

Po frowned, unsure what he meant.

“The fan meeting at Winner Hall. You were standing by the exit, right before I got in the car,” Thame said with a small smirk.

Po’s stomach dropped. Right. Baifern had once asked him to film Mars for her. That day, he had stood exactly where Thame described.

“You’re a fan sneaking in as a staff, aren’t you?”

TO BE CONTINUED.