She Was Smitten

The next afternoon, Song Ya was still lying in bed, staring blankly at the mottled ceiling. He didn't want to eat or move.

Allie had been picked up by Silencer that morning to continue filming the music video. He was alone in the guest room.

It had been over two months since he'd crossed over, and he'd spent most of that time in a breakneck state, intensely getting to know every aspect of his new surroundings, studying hard, racking his brains to make the most of his cheat, and constantly rushing around.

Now, he could finally catch his breath. After the first Apocalypse came, he'd feared it might be the only one. When the second came yesterday, he finally felt secure. If there was one, and then a second, there was no reason there couldn't be a third...

A manor, high society, a luxurious life, and everyone's attention—as long as he didn't mess things up...

Besides, Al wasn't here. He could finally get a good night's sleep.

"Beep, beep, beep..."

His pager went off. He looked at the number on the screen and grabbed the phone by the bed. "Please connect me to..." The cheap hotel phone couldn't make outside calls, and the front desk charged a fee to connect them.

"Hey, I've already met with Daniel."

Hayden's voice came through the receiver. Yesterday, Song Ya had told him he was ready with a second song, and after they'd roughly agreed on the relevant decisions, Hayden had flown straight to New York to meet Daniel. He was full of enthusiasm.

"You need to be prepared. Daniel is strongly opposed to having Mira sing this song. He has a big problem with her." Hayden spoke very quickly. "Daniel recommended another female singer signed to his label."

"Did he agree to my terms?" Song Ya asked.

"He's agreed in principle to let you produce the single, but he's against having Mira audition..." Hayden replied. "He hasn't completely ruled it out, though. APLUS, you need to understand that this isn't just about one single. If Mira sings your single, then SBK will have to put her album on track for release within a year. That means they'd need to create around ten songs just for her. According to SBK, Mira is rebellious and difficult to handle, and she keeps taking roles in movies, TV shows, commercials, and runway shows. You can forget about her cooperating with promotion after her album comes out."

"What about an EP? Five songs, enough for one vinyl record." Song Ya still wasn't ready to give up. "Her mother told me Mira had given up a lot of movie and commercial opportunities for her dream of making music..."

"Are you smitten with her or something!?" Hayden shouted into the phone. "After Mira's parents came to the USA, they quickly got jobs as a housekeeper and servant in a famous director's home. When Mira was nine, her parents used the director's connections to get her print-ad work. After that, they kept booking her for ads. They sent her into modeling when she was eleven. In the last couple of years, advertisers stopped favoring Mira, so they turned to Hollywood. She takes bit parts in B-movies and guest roles on TV shows. Daniel says she's supposed to start filming another movie in the second half of the year, where most of her scenes are just her walking around a beach in skimpy clothes. She's only fifteen! You can't believe a word from parents who treat their child like a cash cow! How could a kid who grew up in that kind of household possibly have a good personality!?"

"Uh..." Song Ya was stunned.

"It's hard to explain over the phone. You should come to New York and talk to Daniel in person," Hayden suggested.

"I can't go," Song Ya said honestly. "I'm afraid I'll be even less able to stand my ground when I meet Daniel. Remember when we had dinner together last time? He played a song and said a few things, and I was completely thrown off."

Hayden gave a bitter laugh. "Then you still have to come. Daniel hasn't closed the door, and I get the feeling there are things he doesn't want to tell me."

"The stuff you just told me came from Daniel, right? I don't think we can take everything he says at face value either. For example, SBK is such a big company. They signed Mira for two years and didn't prepare a single song for her? That doesn't sound very fair..."

"You really are smitten with her!"

"..."

After hanging up, Song Ya lay back down. Yesterday, he'd thought that since Mira was signed to SBK Records, there was no point considering other labels like Joe Music. Working with SBK was his only option. But based on today's response, if SBK wasn't willing to let Mira sing the song, what was the point of clinging to one tree? Put simply, without SBK, he couldn't get close to Mira; without Mira, there was no reason to choose SBK.

"If Michelle hadn't set a deadline for releasing the single, I'd just start a record company myself. Joe Music usually only has a couple of nobodies around anyway. We could easily hire musicians from outside to record; it wouldn't slow us down." An idea popped into his head, but he soon thought of another problem. Running a record label on the South Side meant getting entangled with gangs, while going to the north side would cost too much. Either way, he was stuck.

"No matter how much money you make, it's never enough..."

He sighed, then instantly found his motivation again. He got up, cleaned the junk scattered all over the room, and headed straight to the music-video shoot.

Today was the second day of filming, and the last day at this Thrift Shop. The remaining scenes would be shot in a studio. Allie, Connie, and the others were making the most of their last chance, performing with concentration. Old Joe had been right: every girl had a dream of becoming a star.

By this time, the crew had already begun dismantling the equipment.

"Darling."

After Allie finished her scene, she threw herself into Song Ya's arms. "Are you here to take me back?"

"Back? Where?" Song Ya asked with a mischievous grin.

Allie buried her face in his coat. "Of course, to the place we stayed yesterday."

"You little minx..." Song Ya held her close and gently flicked her on the forehead.

Mira's scene was next. The camera pointed at the curtain of a dressing room. She wore a skimpy camisole, swept the curtain aside with a flourish, appeared, and struck a pose. The cameraman immediately zoomed in, stopping the shot on her face. She smiled brightly at the camera like a professional. Her smile softened her somewhat boyish, stubborn features, and her girlish charm came through. Her reddish-brown hair had a hint of gold; her emerald-green eyes were pure as gems; her collarbones were beautifully shaped, and her cheeks still held a little baby fat. She was brimming with youthful energy.

"Uh... I just remembered, today won't work. I have to go to New York later on an important matter."

Song Ya said goodbye to Allie and found Silencer. "Could you take me to check out first, then to the airport?"

It was already late when he got off the plane, but as soon as Daniel heard he'd arrived in New York, he invited him to meet at a French restaurant. This time, it was definitely going to be a proper feast.

Hayden wasn't there; it was just the two of them. As Song Ya tackled his Provençal lamb chops, he said, "I'm grateful you taught me how to handle things. Without what you said, I couldn't have gotten BMI on board so quickly."

"I didn't say those things to teach you anything. I was trying to earn your trust and close a deal." Daniel had probably already eaten dinner by then. He spent most of the time sipping his red wine. "We've closed one deal, so we both need to look ahead."

"Right, you're absolutely right."

Song Ya agreed. If the Thrift Shop single really sold over a million copies, the deal could bring SBK over a million dollars in revenue. And with Warner Records eyeing the opportunity, Daniel's strategy of securing his own interests first had been a great success. "Let's look ahead, then. About the new song..."

"The music is yours, the lyrics are yours. If you want to be the producer, I have no problem with that." Daniel put down his wineglass. "But as for Milla Jovovich..."

"You don't have to worry about that with me. I'm your fan."

"Haha, thanks..." Daniel laughed. "All right, I'll be frank. I don't think Mira will become a successful singer. And besides... she isn't one of my people, if you know what I mean. I wasn't the one who signed her. Her manager—her mother—has a connection with another senior executive at SBK. That person is planning to compete for the position of general manager at SBK in the second half of the year."

"I see, I see. You're interested in it too..." Song Ya picked up the wineglass beside him and downed it, realizing he'd hit the key point.

Daniel nodded slightly. "I've got Vanilla Ice selling big, and the Wilson Sisters and Phillips, who have a Billboard number one and might even take the top spot on the year-end chart. I have a huge advantage. I don't want to..."

"Complicate things?" Song Ya wiped his mouth with his napkin. "So what would I have to do to..."

"Unless..."

"Unless? Uh... Let me think, let me think..." Song Ya considered it for a while. "I need to get Mira's mother to switch sides and support you..."

"Close. There's more..."

Song Ya thought back over the few times they'd met. "Don't worry, Old Joe, little Lowry, and Pablo—I'll take care of them too."

"APLUS, you're smart. Very smart..."