Struggle

Delay saw Song Ya eating a watermelon and couldn't help but burst into laughter, quickly covering his mouth.

"You white boy!"

Eric grabbed him by the collar again, "You were the one stirring the pot just now, weren't you!?"

"Hey! Hey!" Delay hurriedly explained, "I was afraid you'd get into trouble! If you had touched Robert just now, he would have called the police and lawyers immediately. You and APLUS would have been the ones to suffer! Trust me, Robert is a veteran. He used to use this trick on us all the time. You know how white rock kids have short tempers."

"Calm down, Eric." Song Ya also advised.

"You shouldn't have eaten that slice of watermelon just now..." Eric sat back down, fuming.

"Uh..." Song Ya awkwardly tossed the rind into the fruit bowl and wiped his hands, "I'm going to make a call first."

He dialed Michelle first, "Uh... Dr. Michelle, I wanted to ask, what should I do if a white person sends me a watermelon?"

Michelle agreed to help without a second thought. After they finished chatting, Song Ya put down the receiver, thought for a moment, and dialed Joe Music.

"Yo! My dear APLUS, I love you to death, I love you, I love you..."

Joe Music was extremely excited, spewing a bunch of mushy words the moment he picked up, "Hey! What's our ranking now?" he asked someone on the other end, "Haha! Number eleven on the Billboard singles chart! The specific sales figures aren't out yet, but I heard SBK ordered a million copies! The first week should have at least a few hundred thousand in sales, right? Have you heard? Saturday Night Live invited me and Little Lowry, that's Saturday Night Live..."

Song Ya patiently listened to Joe Music's bragging rap before telling him about his situation.

"No problem, I'll call my friends in New York, just wait!" Joe Music promised readily.

After waiting for about ten minutes, Joe Music called back, his tone much heavier this time, "APLUS, did you eliminate all the black girls during an audition?"

"Uh..." Song Ya felt a sinking feeling, "They didn't fit the style I was looking for..."

"Hey! You shouldn't have done that, even if just for show, APLUS, even if just to put on a show for others! I lived through the era of segregation; back then, white people at least knew to put a few black or Indian people in the government to keep up appearances. Now, my friends in New York have a lot of opinions about you. They don't think you're one of their own. You have to realize you're mixed-race, your skin is already on the lighter side, you should be even more careful..."

"I was stupid."

Song Ya could only admit his mistake, "I didn't think that much at the time..."

"I don't have much pull in New York, you know about the time we hit walls everywhere there... If this were in the South Side of Chicago, we could easily play that white boy to death. You can use the Joe Music recording studio whenever you want, we've been out running promotions anyway..." Joe Music was also helpless.

Song Ya thanked him, and Lisa knocked and entered, "Daniel wants to see you."

When he arrived at Daniel's office, Robert was also there, sitting on the sofa smoking a cigarette.

"Don't cause any extra trouble during this time, don't stir up drama, what did I tell you!"

Daniel was so angry he paced back and forth in the office, "There are only three of us in this room now, Robert, apologize! Apologize to APLUS."

"I didn't do anything." Robert feigned innocence.

"Don't! Give me! That kind of bullshit!" Daniel pointed at Robert and roared. He picked up the phone, "Get Delay up here, he saw everything, didn't he?"

"Fine, fine, fine, I was impulsive, but APLUS's little sidekick called me a white boy too." Robert was a bit flustered.

Daniel was about to go crazy, "That's not the same thing! Robert, don't play games with me, we both know very well that it's completely different!"

"Uh... actually, no need to apologize, even if you do, I might not accept it." Song Ya said calmly, "I've already called the Chicago Civil Rights Organization. They will contact the organization in New York to look into this matter. The protest faxes should be arriving soon."

"Wow, wow, wow, here comes the black people's routine! Never satisfied with taking advantage!" Robert clapped his hands at Song Ya in a fit of rage.

"My God!"

Daniel clutched his head in pain. After thinking for a while, he said, "Robert, apologize first, then pack your things and get out... get out to Manila... they are very short-handed there."

Robert panicked, "Hey! I'll be eaten alive by mosquitoes!"

"Apologize." Daniel looked at him coldly.

Robert buried his head and endured it for a while, "Fine, APLUS, I regret what happened just now..."

"Apologize!"

"..., I'm sorry APLUS, I solemnly apologize to you..."

"Go pack your things!"

Watching Robert leave the room with his head hanging low, Daniel walked up and patted Song Ya on the shoulder, "That's that... are you satisfied?" he said, "Don't cause any extra trouble, we agreed on that."

Song Ya nodded. He remembered what Joe Music had said earlier, "I want to move the rehearsals to Chicago. I'm isolated here. You know, Lisa often brings people into the recording studio without my consent, and she takes me to meet people I shouldn't meet. Plus there was Isco before, and now Robert, as well as those intrusive agents in New York."

He discussed this matter seriously with Daniel, and Daniel agreed, stating that SBK would cover all expenses, as well as the rent for Joe Music, "This money can't be saved, otherwise it's easy to have legal disputes later..."

After saying goodbye to Daniel, Song Ya returned to the recording studio, "How did it go?" Eric asked.

"Robert apologized and is being sent to Manila." Song Ya replied.

"Yeah!" Eric was very happy, "How's this result? This result is pretty good, right?" he asked Delay.

"It's pretty good." Delay smiled bitterly, "If it were us white guys, we wouldn't even have a chance."

The studio phone rang again. Song Ya picked it up, and Mira's sobbing came through, "That person is still in the hotel lobby, that person hasn't left..." she said incoherently, "That agent, he has photos in his hands."

"Calm down, Mira, calm down, tell me clearly what's going on!" Song Ya tried hard to persuade her, "Eric, call a taxi."

He rushed to the hotel with Eric and Delay, and at a glance, he saw the white old man who had tried to blackmail him with the photos in the lobby.

"You son of a bitch!" He gritted his teeth and cursed. This time, he was truly angry.

"Hey! Don't be impulsive..." The old man pointed at the hotel security guard who was looking over, "Let's go over there and talk, it won't take much of your time."

Song Ya left Eric and Delay at the entrance and followed him to a corner of the lobby.

"I've done my homework this time, and I've found you again, haha, BOY..." The old man wore a sleazy grin. "My girl should still have a chance."

"Mira is the candidate Daniel has already locked in. Aren't you afraid of offending him?" Song Ya tried his best to remain calm.

"Of course, Daniel won't change his choice, but what if Mira chooses to withdraw herself?"

The old man took out the photos again. "Mira is the lead actress in a multi-million dollar film Columbia Pictures is investing in for the second half of the year. I think Columbia would care quite a bit if their promising new star started dating a black boyfriend, wouldn't they? Whether to choose the record or the film, Mrs. Jovovich upstairs will have a hard time deciding... That movie called Return to the Blue Lagoon is a huge opportunity. The actress who starred in the original version was Brooke Shields! Mira has a chance right in front of her to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Brooke Shields! Guess who her mother will choose to abandon? Oh, I forgot to mention, they might be upstairs hugging each other and crying right now."

Song Ya laughed instead. "I admire your persistence, but I'm also quite surprised by your stupidity. Do you think I wouldn't have investigated all this before finding a girlfriend? What is there to cherish about a skimpy movie on a beach? If you were in my shoes, would you want to watch your girlfriend film that kind of movie? Besides, Brooke Shields was fully exposed in Pretty Baby at thirteen. What good would it do me for Mira to follow in her footsteps! Go ahead and make the photos public; I'd be happy if Mira's movie fell through! Even if Mira drops out, there's no spot for your girl! Besides, didn't Michael Jackson date Brooke Shields? He's black, isn't he? Which film company gave Brooke Shields a hard time because of that?"

The old man was stunned into silence. "That was Michael Jackson." He sneered at Song Ya. "You are APLUS."

"FXXXYOU! The Thrift Shop I wrote at fifteen hit number eleven on the Billboard Hot 100 in its first week!"

That one sentence withered the old man. Just like Robert, he lowered his head and considered it for a few minutes before looking up and saying, "One hundred thousand dollars for my negatives."

Song Ya pulled out his checkbook, scribbled a few lines, tore off a check, and threw it in the man's face. "Take five thousand and go buy yourself a coffin! Eric! Delay!"

He called the two men over. "Watch him and get all the negatives back!"