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What will I miss the most about Korea? All the people I’ve met! Especially ... I’ll miss the people ... a lot.
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Letty’s stomach stretched tight like the skin of a drum as she sat inside the leather seated van. No Bessie for this important occasion. Tinted windows surrounded her. Sunny Kim had snuck her out the back of the hotel to where it sat with the engine running. It seemed ridiculous to drive the quarter mile from the hotel to the agency.
But the press was watching.
Waiting.
The van quickly covered the short distance, pulled up to the iron gate at the back of the agency, and the driver entered the code on the keypad. The gate swung open with a metallic creak, and he drove them to a beat up, undecorated area where deliveries were dropped off. Sunny got out first and motioned to her with an impatient wave.
Letty froze in her seat for a split second. There was a faint ringing in her ears and her whole body felt like it was vibrating. She held up a hand to check, but her fingers stayed steady. It must be her intestines trembling.
Sunny waved again, and Letty climbed down and followed her into the building. They wound through a maze of corridors, passing the clatter and banging of the kitchen, and a room full of security screens on the way. Sunny opened a door and Letty recognized the long, multi-colored hallway leading to the auditorium where they held a press briefing when Marry My Stalker launched. Was that really only three weeks ago?
Employees passed them without stopping, and Sunny prepared her for what would come.
“You will wait backstage until the director and Ki Tae arrive. The press will set up their equipment in the auditorium, and the director will give an official statement at the beginning. After both you and Ki Tae have spoken there will be time for questions. Don't talk too much. Say no more than is necessary. Look very subdued and repentant.”
“Repentant?” Letty said.
Laughter echoed off the tiled hallway. A loud group of girls in workout clothes entered from a side corridor. Their toned bodies and beautifully sculpted faces identified them as one of the agency's many girl groups. At the back of the noisy posse walked Mimi. She stopped when she spotted Letty and whispered something to the girl next to her. The rest of them went on and Mimi walked over and stood in front of Letty.
She studied her carefully before speaking. Mimi placed one hand on her shoulder and said something long in non-English that Letty couldn't understand. It didn't sound like Korean. Maybe Mandarin? Then Mimi reached out, wrapped both arms around Letty and squeezed hard.
It was clumsy and unexpected and wonderful. Letty drew in a shuddery breath. Mimi pulled away and held up two fists in a motion of solidarity.
“Hwaiting!”
Letty held up her own fists and nodded. “Fighting!”
Sunny Kim stood beside them, tapping the pointed toe of her high heeled shoe. She checked the time on her phone and grabbed Letty's elbow. “We need to go now. The press is about to enter the building.”
She pulled her away and Letty cast one glance over her shoulder to see Mimi waving at her. Then they disappeared through another of the endless side doors, and Letty followed her guide to the backstage area of the auditorium.
Piles of cables sat in heaps on the floor. Racks of costumes lined the walls. And heavy black curtains shielded them from the rows of chairs sitting just a few yards away.
Sunny's phone buzzed and she looked at the screen. “I have to take care of something. Stay here, and don't allow yourself to be seen.”
She exited a metal door in the brick wall and it swung closed with an unyielding clang. Letty stood alone among the claustrophobic clutter. No lights or camera crew milling around this time. What Letty wouldn't give to see Ducky’s unsmiling face staring back at her. She smoothed her jittery hands against the bright green material gathered at her waist and prayed for courage. Divine intervention. Maybe an angel to come and rescue her.
Another clang sounded from the outside door and Letty turned to see Ben entering. Talk about an answered prayer! They should have played harp music. She wanted to run up and hug him. Or smack him. She wasn't sure, but figured this wasn’t the best time for either. Who knew which impatient reporter might come peeking behind the curtain?
He was wearing black dress slacks with a black, long-sleeved, button-up shirt and dark shoes—an outfit designed to help him blend into the background. He closed the short gap between them and stood in front of her.
“Hi,” he said.
“Hello, stranger.”
Letty hoped he would take the hint and explain why he hadn’t spoken to her since that night.
He didn’t.
“Are you okay?” he said.
“Couldn't you have called and asked me that? I had no idea what was happening.”
“I’m sorry.” Ben scratched at the side of his head and that familiar tuft of hair stuck up on cue. “The agency told me not to have any kind of contact because of the press.”
“Do you really think they would have known if you texted me?” Letty crossed her arms in front of her.
“I know. I was confused. I ...” Ben shoved his hands in his pockets. “I was stupid. I know it's too little and way too late, but I'm sorry.”
He studied her face for several seconds. “How have you been?”
“Lonely. I think I got a taste of what the pop stars go through when they’re hiding from the paparazzi.”
He nodded and looked down at the floor, his shoulders hunched like a little boy who'd been scolded by a teacher.
Letty uncrossed her arms. She could drag this out, but she never was the vindictive type. Instead, she reached up to smooth his messy hair down like she always did, and they stared at each other without speaking. Ben took his hands from his pockets. He opened his mouth, but closed it without saying anything. The noise from outside the stage area increased at the sound of people entering the auditorium. They must have let the media in.
Letty turned and stepped up to the heavy curtains at the side of the stage, just outside the reporters’ view, to take a peek. Her hand moved the black velvet fabric slightly to the right so there was a tiny crack between the curtain and the wall. About fifteen people moved around the auditorium floor, setting up camera tripods and getting their phones ready to record her interview. A long table sat directly center stage with a row of chairs and two microphones placed in front.
Letty felt the urge to break into hysterical laughter at this overblown scenario. Perhaps she would have if everything weren’t such a mess. But it was, and that meant it was best to keep a straight face for now.
“Are you ready?” Ben walked up behind her and leaned forward to peer through the small curtain crack at the audience.
Letty felt what might have been the body heat from his cheek so close to hers, or it could have just been her nerves exploding in anticipation. She enjoyed the tingly feeling for a few seconds before she released the curtain and stepped away to face him.
“I just can’t believe this is happening. A press conference? How melodramatic can you get?”
Ben’s gaze dropped and he scuffed his shoe against the concrete floor. “I feel like this is all my fault. If the car hadn’t broken down on the side of the road, we wouldn’t have been caught...”
He let the sentence hang unfinished.
“Canoodling?” Letty suggested.
He didn’t raise his head but his eyes looked up at her. “That makes it sound like it was more than just trying to keep warm.”
“Well, it was more than that,” Letty said. “For me anyway. Was it more than that for you or just...”
This time, she left the sentence hanging out there, along with her pride.
Ben stared down at her with wide eyes. He opened his mouth to reply, and Letty mentally braced herself for whatever he said.
What would it be?
Love or a five-gallon bucket of Rocky Road ice cream?
“Letty, I—”
The metal side door beside them creaked as Ki Tae entered with Chance and Director Cho. It looked like emotional clarification would have to wait. Ben cleared his throat as he and Letty turned to meet them. The three men walked up, and the director drew Ben aside for a private conversation. Ki Tae gave her an encouraging smile, and Chance laid a hand on her arm.
“Hey, Letty. How are you holding up?”
“I’ve had better days,” Letty admitted. “But I’ve had worse.”
“Worse than this?” he asked with tilted head.
“Sure. At least this time I’m not being escorted out by armed guards.”
Chance laughed and turned to translate for Ki Tae. Her reality husband looked relieved as he smiled at her.
“He’s been worried about you,” Chance said. “Both of us have. You must be wishing you never laid eyes on us.”
“B4U 4Ever.” Letty held up four fingers and placed them over her heart in their trademark salute.
The guys shook their heads at her moxie, and Ki Tae reached out to pat her shoulder. Their arrival told her it was almost time to go out there and face the lions. Letty kept a carefree smile on her face even though she heard her pulse pounding in her ears. She closed her eyes for a brief second and took a deep breath, but opened them quickly so as not to worry her boys. Ben and the director returned to the group, and Ben explained how the press conference would work.
“All of us will go out there together and the four of you will sit at the long table in the center. The director will explain what happened that night to the reporters. Ki Tae will give a brief statement supporting you. Then it’s your turn. Do you see that microphone behind the table?”
Ben pointed and Letty turned to see the unobtrusive metal stand a little behind the chair closest to where they were standing. It was so far off to the side that it was almost in the wings.
“I see it,” Letty said.
“I’ll be standing there to translate what you say to the reporters.”
“But how will I know what they’re saying if someone asks me a question?”
Ben held up his hand and she saw the earpiece and battery pack from the show. “Put this on. I’ll have a separate mic in my hand that only you can hear when I speak into it.”
“Wouldn’t it be easier just to sit beside me and whisper what they’re saying?”
“They want me to stay in the background. My face wasn’t clear in the video so no one knows it was me. The agency doesn’t want this scandal getting bigger than it already is. They’re hoping this press conference will appease the news mongers and it will all boil down to nothing in the end.”
Nothing?
Was that what it was to him? When Letty returned home, would he move on to the next project and forget the past three weeks ever happened?
Letty eyed the black patent leather heels on her feet as her mind raced through the possibilities. Would she be sent off to the airport in disgrace? Would they even give her a chance to collect her luggage, or just sneak her out of the country as fast as possible? And more importantly, would Ben contact her once there was an ocean between them, or did their relationship end with the show?
She’d forgotten the other men were even there until Ki Tae moved to stand beside her.
“Letty ... okay?” he asked.
She nodded with a bright smile to reassure him. “I’m so sorry I got you into all this trouble.”
Chance told him what she said, and Ki Tae placed a comforting hand on Letty’s shoulder again and said something.
“He said not to worry about it,” Chance translated. “You’re the one that keeps getting him in the news, so it’s a good thing for him. He gets all the public sympathy from this story, but he doesn’t want you to suffer.”
Letty held up her hands and made a double finger heart sign at her fake husband.
“I sure picked well when I chose my bias.”
She smiled at him as Ki Tae returned the sentiment with two finger hearts of his own. Out of the corner of her vision, she saw Ben’s lower jaw starting to jut out.
He moved a little closer to her. “It’s about time to go out there.”
Letty bared her teeth and made a nervous face as she glanced around the circle of men surrounding her.
Ki Tae smiled. Chance patted her back. And the director made an agitated gesture with his hand towards the auditorium. Everyone moved as a group and walked towards the stage. Letty was at the end of the line with Ben at her elbow. She paused right before the velvet curtain ended to take another deep breath. Ben turned to her and placed a hand on her spine.
“Are you okay?”
Should she tell him that his warm hand searing through the back of her dress didn’t exactly make her heart beat slower?
No. Not the time and the place. But they needed to have a serious conversation and soon.
“Just nerves.” She smiled. “I can do this!”
Ben’s eyes took in everything from the top of her head to the tips of her shoes.
“You’re sure?”
Letty gave him a thumbs up. “Let’s just get this over with.”
Ben moved to walk out on stage, but Letty grabbed his arm at the last minute.
“Wait!” she said. “I thought of something important.”
“What is it?” He turned back and gave her his full attention.
“Promise me something.”
“Anything.”
When he said that with his deep, melty voice, Letty almost forgot what she was talking about.
“I ... oh, that’s right! You have to promise that you’ll translate what I say."
“Don’t I always?” Ben smiled and tugged on her French braid.
“I think there’s been a few times.” Letty paused to think of just the right way to put it. “There’s been a few times when you filtered something that someone said to me, so as not to hurt my feelings.”
The smile disappeared from his face and his eyes looked away.
“I’m not mad about it!” Letty grabbed his hand and squeezed. “I know it was just your way of looking out for me. But it’s important that the audience hears me exactly as I am. Right or wrong. Warts and all. If I say the wrong thing and they run me out of town, at least I’ll know that it was the true me and not some censored version.”
Ben stared at her for a long moment before answering. “I’ll translate everything you say as accurately as I can.”
Letty grinned and held up her pinky. “Promise?”
Ben sighed and laughed at the same time before he hooked his pinky with hers and pressed their thumbs together. “I promise. Signed and sealed.”
Letty held her breath for five seconds to calm her jitterbugging nerves. Then she turned and walked out on the stage where she heard the click of the cameras like a dozen shotguns loading. Letty sat in the empty chair closest to the curtain and made sure her skirt hem was pulled a respectable distance over her knees. No matter what these people thought, she would face this inquisition like the lady her momma raised her to be.
The director began to speak and Letty reached up to push the tiny monitor a little further in her ear.
“He’s thanking everyone for coming so they could clear up the misunderstanding,” Ben said. “Now he’s explaining how the car broke down and that’s why we were found alone together.”
Letty listened to the man drone on and pressed her lips together to suppress a smile. For once, the director’s no nonsense tone worked in his favor. Even though he was talking about a public scandal, he sounded more like he was reading his grocery list.
“He’s passing it over to Ki Tae to make a statement.” Ben’s voice broke into her thoughts.
Ki Tae picked up a microphone with a little white sign attached to the front that touted the name of their show. He held it up to his mouth with one hand and crossed his other arm in front of him in a self-protecting gesture Letty recognized from his many interview videos. His fans were well aware of his dislike of public speaking.
On stage he was magnetic, but having to come up with witty well thought out remarks on the spur of the moment filled him with dread. Letty hung her head as she realized she was the cause of his suffering. Her poor reality husband was probably wishing he never met her. Again.
“Why are you looking down like that?” Ben’s voice barked in her ear. “You haven’t done anything wrong. Hold your head up high.”
Letty’s head jerked up, and she looked at the man at her side who was still speaking to the audience. The translation didn’t match his tone.
“No,” Ben clarified. “Ki Tae didn’t say it. That was all me. You can’t show these people any weakness or they’ll pounce.”
Letty straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin. He was right.
“Your husband,” Ben added a sarcastic tinge to the word, “is backing up the director’s story. Saying how much he likes and respects you as a co-worker, and how much he hopes his fans will support you both as the show continues to air.”
Ki Tae passed the microphone over to Letty and her adrenaline surged until she could feel her trembling knees banging into each other. Good thing she was sitting down. She held the microphone in front of her mouth and prayed that her voice wouldn’t sound as shaky as she felt.
“Hello, everyone,” she said. “I’m Letty McDonnell.”
She waited while Ben translated for the reporters and continued.
“First, I would like to apologize for causing Ki Tae and B4U all this trouble.” She waited again for Ben. “As the director told you, the other staff member and I were stuck for a long time in the freezing cold and were huddled together to keep warm. I know that’s not a very interesting story for you to report.”
She looked down and saw one of the media people staring straight at her as he typed on his laptop without looking at the keyboard. Her speech must be going out to the world in real time on the internet. Talk about pressure!
Letty cleared her throat a little. “I ... would just like to say that I respect both that staff member, and also Ki Tae. And I would never want to hurt them. And I don’t want to hurt the fans either.”
Letty paused for the translation as she searched for the right words to say to the girls like her, who would watch this press conference on their computer screens.
“I’d like to say to all the 4evers that I’m not going to insult you by saying it’s just a TV show, because I’ve been where you are, rooting for the relationship you see on screen to be real.” Letty ran out of air and had to take a deep breath. “I honestly care for Ki Tae, but it is only as a friend and devoted fan. I hope everyone can accept what I’m telling you because it’s the truth. Thank you.”
Letty set the mic down on the table in front of her and the reporters raised their hands with questions. The director pointed to a woman on the second row and she stood and looked at Letty as she talked.
“Don’t you feel guilty cheating on your husband?” It sounded like Ben was translating through clenched teeth as he conveyed her message.
Letty picked up the microphone once again.
“There’s nothing to feel guilty about.” Letty tried to keep a calm smile on her face as she responded to the loaded question. “In the first place, the man in question and I were trying not to freeze to death. And in the second place, Ki Tae is not really my husband. It’s a television show. If an actress was dating someone while she played the role of a wife in a drama, would that be cheating?”
She had said a lot of things in one go and it took a while for Ben to give the translation. She wanted to turn and look, but she was afraid of drawing attention to him in any way.
Someone directed a question to Ki Tae next, and he answered in a serious tone.
“They just asked him how he felt about what you said,” Ben translated in her earpiece. “He is backing up the fact that it’s just a reality show. He doesn’t have time for a relationship in real life because he’s too busy making music for his fans.” Ben snorted. “Got to get that plug in.”
A female reporter in a black pantsuit asked the next question while looking at Letty. There was a long pause from Ben as the uncomfortable seconds ticked away in the tense auditorium.
“She asked if you have any feelings for the man in the video,” he finally said.
It was Letty’s turn to pause. The wise thing would be to deny everything. Clips of this press conference would turn up on all the fan websites again. This could be even worse than the airport scandal. She might be blackballed from the K-pop community, 4Ever membership revoked with her left alone in the cold, unwelcoming darkness of solitary fandom. It was better to stick to the specially tailored answers that the media savvy agency had given her.
So much better. Safer.
So not her.
“I like him,” Letty answered with conviction.
So much for those PR tips, she thought. Might as well go for broke and say it again. So she did.
In Korean.
“Joahyo.”
She knew how to say that much from all her years watching Korean dramas. If there was one phrase you picked up early from the sweet and sappy shows, it was how to say you liked someone.
Letty wished she could gauge Ben’s reaction, but it would be a little awkward to turn around now. So instead, she glanced beside her at her fake husband. Ki Tae stared back at her with rounded eyes. He covered the microphone in front of her with his hand and leaned over to whisper in her ear.
“Letty—”
She couldn’t understand a word of the frantic Korean that followed her name, but she recognized the concern in his voice. She patted his arm with her hand, but she wasn’t about to back down now. It wasn’t in her nature.
“It’s okay,” she told him with a smile.
He sat back in his seat and ruffled the short hair at the nape of his neck. Letty turned to face the waiting reporters and marked the feral gleam in the eye of a guy with a comb-over hairstyle in the front row. She could tell he smelled blood and would follow this story to the end.
“I am not in a romantic relationship with the man in the van,” Letty said. “But I would like to be. In fact, I’m tempted to say I’m in love with him, but I know we haven’t known each other long enough for that. The truth is, he’s very easy to love.”
Ben’s voice stumbled over the words as he translated a confession to himself.
The mischievous part of Letty kicked in and she decided to make him squirm for real.
“After all he’s handsome.” She waited for Ben to call himself handsome.
“Smart.” She waited again.
“Talented and handsome. Oh wait, I already said that last part.” Was Ben’s voice going up an octave as he translated? It sounded kind of pinched, so Letty decided to let him off the hook. “But he is currently just my friend. I also want to take this chance to thank another friend and co-worker, my reality show husband, Ki Tae. He has been nothing but kind and supportive through this whole misunderstanding. I’m so proud to call myself his fan.”
Letty glanced at the man beside her and smiled as she gave Ben a chance to help the reporters catch up. Good thing she never suffered from stage fright. The dozens of lights shining in her face made it all feel like an interrogation. But Letty had never been at a complete loss for words in her entire life, and she wasn’t about to start now.
“I’ll always love Ki Tae and his music,” she said. “He’s the dream that comforts us on our lonely nights, but never actually comes true. The man in the video is my reality. In fact, this man changed my dreams. Instead of a grandiose proposal with flowers and elaborate surprises, now I’d be perfectly happy with a simple, heartfelt confession at a food truck.”
Letty had to stop because her nerves had sucked ninety percent of the moisture out of her mouth and her lips were sticking to her teeth. She ran her tongue over them quickly and began again.
“I used to say I’d been in love many times, but I can’t say that anymore. The way I feel for him is totally different, which makes me think I don’t understand what true love is yet. I hope I get the chance to find out. With him.”
Letty saw the female reporter in the black pantsuit give a wistful sigh as she listened to the translation. It looked like there were a few romantics in the crowd. But most of them were too busy typing and texting. If this were a drama, Letty imagined this might be the part where Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony played in the background. It was definitely a dun-dun-dun-DUHN kind of moment.
The man with the greasy comb-over raised his hand and was the next to ask a question. Letty pushed the tiny speaker a little further in her ear.
“He ... aggggghhhhhhhh.” Ben muttered something under his breath before continuing. “He’s asking if you think your parents would be ashamed of ... Okay. That’s it. I can’t take this anymore.”
Letty turned to see him drop the translator mic on the floor and grab the cordless one on the stand that could be heard by reporters. Ben took a step forward so he was now standing beside her instead of behind her and said something into the microphone which made all of the cameras turn in unison to point at him.
“What did he say?” Letty leaned over Ki Tae and asked Chance.
“He just told them that he’s the man in the video,” he whispered back as Ben talked to the crowd.
Letty couldn’t understand a thing he was saying, but it must have been good because that journalist in the front row was leaning forward like a famished man at an all-you-can-eat buffet. She glanced over at Ki Tae, who stared at Ben with a shocked smile that he was trying to hide behind his hand. Then Ben said a word that pulled her attention back.
Sarang.
Had he just mentioned love? What a time for her translator to desert his post!
“What did he say? What did he say!” She leaned behind Ki Tae’s back to get Chance’s attention, but B4U's gregarious leader was frozen and open mouthed with his full attention on Ben.
Letty stared at Ben as he finished and set the mic down on the table in front of them. He turned to her with a chagrined smile while the cameras flashed behind his back.
“Are you going to fill me in on what you said?” Letty asked.
“I don’t think so.” He shook his head. “Too embarrassing.”
“You know I can just read it on the internet in a few hours.”
He sighed. “Let’s just say I told the crowd what a sweet, kind, amazing, beautiful woman you are.”
“And?”
“And any man would count his blessings if he could be with you.”
“And?” Letty wasn’t going to let this go.
Ben took her hand in front of everyone and pulled her up from her seat as the cameras flashed at them from the floor. “How about you just read the rest for yourself on the internet.”
Letty blew out a frustrated breath. This was all extremely romantic, but what kind of trouble would Ben be in with the agency?
“Why did you do that?” She pushed him away with the hand he wasn’t holding. “What if they fire you?”
Ben shrugged. “I guess I could always go home to Cleveland. Or I hear Pittsburgh is pretty nice.”
“Yes, it is. Especially the people.”
“One in particular.” Ben smiled as he brushed a stray curl behind her ear.
Letty glanced at all the cameras pointed in their direction. “I thought public confessions like this only happened in the television dramas.”
“I’m a little surprised myself. I admit, I have no idea what to do next. Any suggestions?”
“One.” Letty gave him a sassy grin as she grabbed a hold of his shirt lapels and pulled him down to her level. She planted one on him with her eyes open and a roar rose from the crowd.
Letty McDonnell had been in love many times in her life. But they were all grade school flirtations and one-sided relationships. Who would have thought her first real kiss would be in front of a roomful of cameras for all the world to see? Not that she cared. She might be inexperienced, but she was enthusiastic. She released him and leaned back to gauge his reaction. Had she hurt his pride? Was he the kind of guy who liked to make the first move?
Ben’s wide eyes stared back at her. Then he laughed and shook his head. “And you call me a player.”
He bent down and wrapped his arms so that they went all the way around her waist and stood to his full height so that her high heels dangled off the floor. Her body pressed into his hard chest as he covered her mouth with his own and gave her a proper kiss that surpassed the first one by leaps and bounds. The deafening noise of the reporters faded in Letty’s ears as his soft lips moved against hers.
He gently set her back on her feet and pulled back an inch. They looked at each other as the cameras flashed, and they laughed at the absurdity of it all. Ben winked at her and pulled Letty into an all-encompassing hug. Her mind spun like a merry-go-round with all the unanswered questions.
How would Ben’s company react?
How would the 4evers react?
How would her mother react?
Letty was pretty sure that last one wouldn’t be a problem. Her mom loved Ben. She’d stuff him with all the strawberry pierogies he wanted. If he wasn’t an ocean away, that is.
That was the biggest question. Would this be an electronic relationship of phone calls, text messages, and emails, with the occasional two week visit?
Worry tried to shove in beside her current bliss. But then Ben’s arms wrapped around her tighter, and she forgot all the questions. Letty felt his face press into the curve of her neck and happiness swirled through her brain until only one coherent thought remained.
“Zowie!” she whispered.
