The K-Pop Scandal - Chapter Three

Gang Taeyang sensed that something was about to change his life. But he did not know what he wanted. He did not have aspirations like his classmates. He took each day as it came. The horizons were shifting and a change was coming. The moment his godmother gave him an offer he could not refuse, he sensed an opportunity to be something. The atmosphere had changed. Taeyang had been waiting for this moment all his life. He had read stories online where people whisked the main character away to another world where they became stronger and better. Today was his day.

He spent his free time admiring his brother Lee's many trophies. Taeyang wished that he could win even one trophy someday. His perfect older brother, being who he was, could do no wrong in his parent's eyes. Lee excelled in everything that he did. No matter how hard Tayang tried, he felt like he could never excel to his brother's greatness. So it made him wonder why Flo Glitz, an executive of her own music company, would be interested in scrawny old him?

His brother had moved out when Taeyang was in 12th grade, but his presence still lingered. Lee was taller, muscular and superior to Taeyang in every single way. Every day, his mother would say how much he missed Lee as she cooked breakfast. Life at home would have been better if Lee was still there. But he had his own life, and Taeyang had to deal with that.

The only thing at which Taeyang outclassed his brother was his vocals. Taeyang had won a few nationwide singing competitions in high school. Lee could bring any woman to his knees, unless he started butchering songs.

All the family photos had Taeyang cropped or folded out of the picture. He gave it his all in his studies. He could not have worked any harder than he did. His father had told him many times that Taeyang was a curse whilst his brother was a blessing. How many times could he apologise for not being the son they wanted? Flo Glitz and his parents were talking about him as if he wasn't in the room. For a moment, Taeyang felt that he did not exist.

Once he got in his godmother’s car, she bestowed him with an iPod and headphones. "Listen to this. You will be working with Dal Gong-Gi from VALENTINE COOKIE. You're gonna be rich and famous, kid!"

"Sure!" Taeyang liked their music and Gong-Gi had always been his favourite member for his purple aesthetics. Taeyang had been drawn to the colour purple because of its royal qualities. VALENTINE COOKIE's album covers were many shades of purple and he felt relaxed just by looking at them.

VALENTINE COOKIE's debut single Love Crunch blasted through Taeyang's headphones. Since he would be working with Gong-Gi, Taeyang thought it would be wise to listen to their entire discography. He was unsure whether the storm outside hindered or enhanced the music experience.

One thing he was sure of from the tensing of his fingers, was that he was in a different world. If the driver turned around and told him he had been transported to Mars, he would have believed him. He was at the age where he believed everything he read on the internet, but he was so used to spending all day studying for his exams. Any evening that was spent playing video games was a privilege.

As Taeyang's body rocked towards the window, his breath left vapour marks. He kept himself warm with his oversized pink sweater. Hugging his feline pillow, he admired the neon lights in the city's district. "Everything seems to be pretty at night."

It was as if there was nobody in the car, as if it was moving by itself. He would have struggled to hear them with how loud his music was, but he could see the driver and front passenger's tight lips. His manager, Flo, was too busy applying her makeup to care. She was not always like this though. She was a woman who cared about her appearance, so needed the utmost concentration.

Everything about the bustling nightlife interested him. Not even the rain was stopping them. Couples held umbrellas together. In a restaurant window, he could see people eating octopus legs with their beers. He bit his tongue, resisting the urge to gag. It was clear from the distance that one of the legs was moving. At least a dozen motorcycles whizzed by. He pressed his face against the window, watching what he saw as normal people having fun after a long day at work.

Taeyang never considered himself to be a normal person. People outside were having fun, but he had no idea what fun meant. His newly appointed manager, Flo Glitz, promised him fun, fame and glory. The fame and glory didn't bother him that much. He didn't even want to be a pop star in the first place. All the things he did at school were deemed as a failure. Baptised as a monkey in class, he wondered why he should care about his education when nobody else did.

Being the black sheep of the family was hard work. His brother was a doctor and his cousin wanted to become a lawyer. How could anyone expect him to have a normal education if he came from a strange household? There was a time when his parents wanted Taeyang to be a famous singer. Both of his parents had failed to debut as K-pop stars. When Taeyang failed at a few auditions, they decided that he should follow in his brother's footsteps.

Taeyang saw millions of paths, but the only one that seemed open for him was the road to failure. Years of never being picked on the sports team, cramming studies leading nowhere and snarky comments from relatives, it was a miracle that his family never murdered him. Life being the bane of his family's existence wasn't nice. At the same time, he couldn't see himself being a doctor or a lawyer.

His brother always got all the affection. Taeyang couldn't bring himself to eat at the dinner table. His dad often dragged him to the table by his collar. Meal times represented memories he would rather forget. His earliest memories included his mother force-feeding him stale cabbage and cheap tuna.

His dream was coming true, but it was too early to celebrate. As amazing as the opportunity was to be a part of a K-pop band, Taeyang could not feel the joy. He faked a smile to his chauffeur and Flo to appear excited, but a part of him was dying inside. There was an emptiness that had to be filled.

Drifting off to sleep, he dreamed of a better world where he was no longer a shadow. The world around him became infested with golden roses as his clothes transformed into a regal cloak with a gigantic crown.

"WAKE UP!"

Taeyang widened his eyes. Everything returned to normal. Feeling the rain splash on his face as Flo opened the car door. "Move over! Gong-Gi is going to sit next to you."

Taeyang obeyed. His mother warned him via texting that annoying Flo Glitz would lead to serious consequences. She had a reputation for making people work so hard their muscles burn. Many had tried to sue her, but none succeeded.

The first thing that came into Taeyang's head was: WOW! He's sexy! He may not have been as polished and was missing the latex and purple quiff from the album covers, but he had that diamond-in-the-rough vibe about him. He was a man of experience.

"Nice to meet you," Taeyang said, shaking his hand. It was the first time in a long time that he felt warmth travel across his body. His lips trembled as he repressed gushes of praise.

"Likewise."

Flo hopped into the car with them as the driver started the engine. Clapping her hands, she grinned. "We are all going to be so rich. Welcome to the band, guys. Your band is going to be Taegong. You're going to be an all-singing, all-dancing homoerotic K-pop duo that will smash chart records all over the world. From this moment onwards, you two are a couple."

"WAIT!" Gong-Gi shouted. "We've only just met."

"It's love at first sight," Flo chuckled. "Isn't it romantic? You two are so cute and hot together. All the fans are going to go wild."

"Are we in a relationship?" Taeyang asked. He never considered himself to be sexually attracted to men, but he appreciated beauty when he saw it. Gender had no role in that. He was still trying to discover his identity.

"Yes. You are going to be role models for the LGBTQ+ Community."

"We don't need a showmance for that," Taeyang said. Biting his lip, he knew he had stepped out of line, but he believed that love is love. He had heard many cases where celebrity romances were staged, and it never ended well.

"Denial is always the first step." What Flo Glitz had said reminded Taeyang of something he had seen in an anime once. "You two are gonna fall in love and be the most talked-about couple on the internet. You’re both going to be on the cover of every mainstream magazine."

Taeyang and Gong-Gi glared at Flo and then looked at each other. Was this woman serious? Taeyang wished he had taken a closer look at the contract before signing it. Now he wasn't sure if he would be able to see that contract again.

“I promise I will work hard!” Taeyang declared with his hand on his heart. If the adults wanted to preach about how he had to live up to their expectations, he needed to do it in his own sweet way. His hands clenched as he gazed at Gong-Gi. It was too early to tell if he was a demon or an angel, but Taeyang wanted to make things as easy for them as possible. “I will always display my true emotions. Both in front and behind the cameras.” His anxiety was through the roof, but nobody had to know that.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Gong-Gi said, laughing. “I can see it in your eyes. You should know this is just a silly publicity stunt. The sooner you realise that, the better.”

“If that’s the case, why did you walk away from your family for a silly stunt?” Taeyang was unsure if he would get a straight response. Through Gong-Gi’s unfathomable stuttering, he realised that Gong-Gi was just as scared as he was… at least he found something he had in common with the man. It was a start.

“Now that you’ve been fully acquainted,” Flo Glitz said, wrapping her arm around them both. “I need to get Taeyang alone so he can record his demo.”

“What?” Gong-Gi’s abrash tone startled Taeyang. “We’re not even in a studio, how is he gonna record a demo?”

Flo Glitz smirked. “I have my ways. It won’t take long. I’m just going to take him to one of the empty VIP Lounges. I can do all the demos on my phone.”

“Wait!” Taeyang cried out. “Isn’t Gong-Gi coming with us? Shouldn’t he be recording with me as well?”

“Oh, he’s going to be in another lounge,” Flo Glitz said. “He needs some time alone. Don’t worry, the bodyguards will make sure he won’t escape.”

Taeyang’s head pounded. He did not expect to be recording his first demo in the airport, but he had full faith in his godmother. No matter how hard it was to resist the temptation to scream at the top of his lungs, he restrained it. There was a voice within him about to bellow out. He needed to unleash it through song, but he had no idea what he was doing. By the looks of it, neither did his bandmate. For the time being, he had his full faith in Flo Glitz. She was the only one who could help him find his purpose in life.

Flo Glitz waltzed Taeyang into the VIP lounge. He watched as she took a cassette player out of her pocket and linked a wire to her phone. “Don’t think about it. You know these songs. You were listening to them in the car. When I say go, just sing your heart out!”

This was his moment.