Chapter 28
James decided to meet up with Lee and now has arrived at a location that he could not recognize. It was quite different from where he usually goes; it was now at the back of an unknown bar and beside a trash bin where he could smell the strong stench of trash reaching his nose. He could not resist but groan and tried not to breathe while waiting for the old friend.
Despite being outside of a bar, he could hear the song that was playing inside the establishment: it was one of the songs on their first album. James, despite wearing a red hoodie and face mask, could not resist but sing along to the song when his part came on.
It was nostalgic and he could remember the times when he was passionate about being an idol, entertaining the fans around the world, and being the reason why they are smiling through their songs and vlogs as a group. But times have changed, and he could not even remember what it is like to do his best with his members. The love is falling apart for the group, and he cannot do anything about it anymore. He is already tired of fans becoming more and more obsessive and possessive with them. We are not toys nor tools for their satisfaction, we are humans too, he thought to himself.
The result of this is having an innocent one getting dragged by the hate that his fans showed, which made him even more convinced to get out of the group.
The song had already ended, and it left quite a bitter taste in his mouth. He was happy earlier, and now, it was gone. His frustration towards himself continued until the one whom he was waiting for finally showed up, leaving the bar from the back door.
It was Lee who came out and James palely gave him a handshake and a high five afterward.
“You waited for me that long?”
James did not answer; instead, he looked at the trash and stared at him. “Are we going to talk here?”
They moved out and went to a location with no stench and noises of the music. Hence, they went to the park. From there, James heard another song from his group, from a couple who were walking under the moonlight late in the night, and it made him frown even more, even from under his mask.
“That song is making me sick already,” he muttered under his breath and was sure that his friend did not hear what he just said, but Lee caught it while they were walking.
“Isn’t that your own song?”
He was shocked for a while, but James just sighed when they were finally under a thick tree. He removed his mask and started to voice his inner thoughts.
“I am finally sick of it, you know,” he revealed to his friend about his falling out of passion. “I am going to quit being an idol.”
Lee stared at him and opened his mouth to say something, but he chose to zip it and thought about the next words he was going to utter. He sighed too and looked at a faraway place. “Did you tell him about it?”
“Kevin? Yeah,” James faked a laugh thinking of the old friend’s reaction earlier. “He was extremely mad and was about to jump on me earlier. If it was not for Bethany who stopped him earlier.”
“That is a given, him being mad,” Lee replied and could only imagine how hard it was for the two of them; one sacrificed his biggest dream for his friend while the other was now about to sacrifice his passion in order to save himself from falling down.
“That is true. But I could not do anything about it, I just can’t take it anymore. I want to leave; I want to live a normal life away from the spotlight. This isn’t…”
He trailed off, trying not to say the words out of his mouth. Lee was left in anticipation and wanted to hear it, almost encouraging him even, to say those words holding him back.
“… this isn’t about his sacrifice anymore for me. I have used it and was good with it while it lasted.”
Having to hear his friend’s words about his dilemma made him smile. Lee knew that everyone was already older and more mature than they used to be, but it never ceased to let him know how much they had grown as a person.
He was indeed satisfied with his answer.
“That is a good answer you got there,” Lee smiled and closed his eyes for a second until opening them again, where he could see the moonlight shining over him after a bunch of clouds was hiding it.
“As if he would listen.”
“Trust me, he will,” Lee said and chuckled. “Kevin is just being overwhelmed by his emotions now, but he will realize what he has done to you. I know it. You guys will be fine.”
“It is really not when I have this whole agency coming to my back, you know?”
“They won’t be.”
“Are you going to use your rich man powers again?”
“No, I am unable to do anything from now on,” Lee answered with quite a bitter feeling inside him. James looked at him with questions building inside him but did not question him further. “Since that day, I realized that this industry we are in is already dark enough, I don’t want to make it hard for them.”
“What are you going to do now?”
“I don’t know yet,” Lee uttered the answer that he does not recognize himself. He used to say that he knows everything for everything is available at his disposal. But not this time; his power as an aristocrat has finally been stripped off of him, and he is aware that not everything is going to be answered for him this time. “But I have this sight for a…”
He trailed off, leaving his friend hanging.
“A what?” James wanted to know, leaning, and looking at him whose stare is far away. “Perhaps a romance?”
Lee chuckled, putting his hands to his pocket. “Not yet, I suppose. I must fix myself first before I go on into such romances that everyone is experiencing.”
Both of them, even not expressing themselves freely, can appreciate the moment they are sharing as friends who drifted off for a long time.
“Hm? Exploring more options?” Kevin asked Keisha as they discussed in his office about the future of the group they are taking care of. “You mean we are going to let them have their solo careers as music artists?”
“Not necessarily everything is going to revolve around creating music,” Keisha replied to him. “I don’t want to see the girls getting burned out.”
“How about acting careers? I think that might work.”
“Yeah, I think so too.”
“The only question is whether they can act or not,” Kevin said out his thoughts as he sipped his coffee. “Can they? I don’t want to send them out to act when they can’t.”
“They can, don’t worry about it. I know they can all act.”
“Did all of them went to the same acting workshop?”
“No, three of them are former child stars, while two of them had training, but chose to be idols as they currently do.”
“They have potentials, then,” he responded with a smile, stood up and finished his drink. “Shall we talk to them?”