Read Dawn of Apollo :: INTERVAL part 2

[After the impromptu musical break, Sunny plops down on the faux cinema seats next to Jungmo, and they both assume a relaxed, contemplative posture. Well...aren't they too relaxed? Whatever happened to the reading corner? When will we ever get to know what happens in Chapter 6??]

SUNNY: Ah, that never gets tiring!

JUNGMO: You have endless reserves of energy, Sunny.

...What do you think happened to our companions? You see, I'm trying to think of a judicious response.

SUNNY: Ah, I'm sure you will.

[Jungmo looks over at Sunny, who is picking at the dry skin in between his fingers, and gives the kind of self-deprecating smile reserved for when you've been had. Jungmo's lone position at the top was not merely earned - it has been meticulously plotted by everyone around him.]

JUNGMO: ...I'm surprised I can still be surprised by those three.

Tell me, do you suppose they just forgot both of our personalities, all at once?

SUNNY: Huh? What do you mean?

...Aw, because they wanted to defend you? I think they're just being doofs, no?...

To be honest, I doubt they really believe you'd be all broken up over Yunsu writing about your family...

[Jungmo looks like he wants to say that it's not Yunsu's story, then relents.]

SUNNY: ...But even if you were just a little hurt, that still wouldn't make it OK.

[Jungmo looks over at Sunny, whose voice is gradually diminishing into a soft mumble. Aw...]

SUNNY: You're our Leader...you protect us! And...maybe 'cause there's not loads of opportunities...they just wanted to show that they can protect you, too.

JUNGMO: And protect you as well, I think?

SUNNY: [Snort] Okay, but why though?

Honestly, there are times when I do think I was born into the wrong family.

I can say it! You wanna know how?? Because those people have nothing to do with me!!

[Now Sunny is jumping up and down on his nice vinyl seat, which he'll have to pay for at the end of the month. Are you seeing this, Sunny?? Don't be surprised by your payroll deductions!!]

SUNNY: You know what, I actually wish I were the fictional version of me. Who wouldn't love it if their real parents were [Sunny!! Spoilers!!!]?

But I'm pretty sure mine aren't. They're just who they are. And I've pretty much given up on that ever changing.

JUNGMO: ...You must have been strong for a long time. To be so resolutely yourself.

SUNNY: ...Well, same to you, Leader! You didn't let your past affect you either. You made the you of today.

JUNGMO: ...Maybe.

[Jungmo looks down and seems to be lost in thought.]

JUNGMO: ...But, even if I am made of my past, I could not hide it.

Eventually, if we are successful, our Muses shall come to know everything important about us. And what they do not know might well be deemed unimportant, and fall away.

[For the first time today, Sunny seems to slow down and consider what someone else is saying. And when that fleeting moment passes, he drops himself back into his seat, slack-jawed and with his head tilted back. Maybe he is trying to study Jungmo's expression, or maybe thinking...or maybe, just trying to catch dust motes drifting from the ceiling. We never can tell with Sunny.]

SUNNY: Think so?...

[At this point we're a little concerned about running out of content, so we are dispatching Manager Kim to go look for some. That is to say - to find what became of Manager Park.]

BEA: What, me?

[Yes, you.]

BEA: OK, you asked. But take care, he's a wily one! It might take us all of a minute and a half.

[Soon enough Ms. Kim finds Manager Park in the staff lounge, with the entire first aid cabinet spilled out in front of him. He is applying a bandage to his forehead.]

BEA: Uh, did you get attacked?

[Yunsu winces, and we're not sure if it's his ego or something corporeal.]

YUNSU: Mm...no one actually dared to hit me. Except this one guy who can't judge distances very well...

BEA: I see.

YUNSU: I'm glad you do. Now, tell Hyuntae to stop messing around.

Someone will have to explain to me, how a guy who doesn't know if it's day or night incites uprisings with a 100% success rate...

...How's it looking?

[Bea stands back.]

BEA: It's a face.

YUNSU: Very funny.

BEA: Sorry, I'll try again. It's your face.

YUNSU: Starting to think you don't know the meaning of "sorry"...

[As Yunsu collates the first aid supplies, gingerly picking everything up with the tips of his fingers and throwing it back into the kit, Bea simply stands there. After watching his back for a while, she ventures,]

BEA: Why didn't you just tell them who really wrote that story?

...I'm just wondering why you always need to take the blame for everything that goes sideways -

YUNSU: If I couldn't take the blame, do you think I could take someone else's credit?

...Huh? Did I ever give you a reason to think I'm a prick like that?

[The two of them stare at each other for a while, neither are budging. I'm not sure we really need to see this in an Apollo bonus, but it's weirdly fascinating.]

BEA: What's fascinating?

[Nothing...]

BEA: [To Yunsu] Manager Park. When are you going to get back out there and do your job? I can't be covering for you all the time.

[Bea turns on her heel to go. Yunsu turns around and suppresses something under his breath.]

YUNSU: I was going to do it even without your bitching. Move!

[Two more minutes and they're back in the studio. Sunny and Jungmo are still seated in the same positions as before, and they are talking about, of all things, the national taxation rate.]

SUNNY: Why do they call it a "value-added tax" if it's not adding any value? Am I getting an extra box of radishes with my chicken basket?

JUNGMO: Hmm...might there have been a high school civics course that covered this, Sunny?

SUNNY: ...So in the end, it all comes back to my GPA!!

[Yunsu clears his throat, and the two snap to attention.]

YUNSU: Uh...so!

[He glances at Bea, who takes the hint.]

BEA: I've got work to do. [To Sunny] Ciao, bello.

SUNNY: Uhhh...adieu to you too, lady!

...What's up, Mr. Park? Are you feeling OK?

YUNSU: Sigh. You can drop the "Mr. Park", Sunny. That's not what you use when I'm not around.

And, we all know, you guys don't really respect me.

SUNNY: What? I - no!

YUNSU: No. I really do get it.

[Sunny and Jungmo look at each other, and say nothing at all. Yunsu continues.]

YUNSU: All this, uh, storytelling business. This...project.

I guess all me and the team really wanted to do was to show the Muses what they'd been missing. The "real" you. Get them up to speed on who you are, as fast as we could.

But well, maybe being real is too real. Or maybe being real breeds its own misunderstandings, I don't really know.

If you were to ask me. I don't think there's anything shameful about it. But...I know all five of you too well. I have all the context I need to understand the stuff that sounds negative.

I have profiles on top of statistics on top of facts. And of course, I know...this. How you all act around me. How that's never changed, no matter how big you got or how we disagree.

Look, I was assigned to you before we got to see any results, and you never asked to change me out for a more experienced manager.

You're generous with my faults. Nobody knows that, and...I don't even think they'd believe it if I told them.

[Yunsu waves his hand vaguely in the air, in Sunny's general direction, and as we follow his gaze, we can see that Sunny actually has tears welling up in his eyes. Everyone in the studio is hushed, and a little stunned.]

YUNSU: Job description aside, I owe you. And, I'm sorry if it feels like I didn't pay you back properly.

...So. If you don't want this...we'll never do this again.

But for now, I need you to get everybody back in the studio.

Can you do that for me once, please...

[Yunsu's sentence trails off. His proud head, with proud chin so often jutting out, now hangs uncomfortably low. Seeing this, Jungmo walks up to him, and gently takes him by the shoulders.]

JUNGMO: ...Well then. Shall we go get them?

[Yunsu looks up at Jungmo's peaceful smile.]

YUNSU: Just like that?

JUNGMO: Mm hmm.

[We won't bore you with the details, but within the hour, Jungmo and a few of our most intrepid staff were able to locate the three runaway members of Apollo in the mini golf circuit in the basement, drinking the office beer and wearing the wall decor on their heads. A nearby group photo featuring Yunsu had been badly vandalized, with a tack driven between his eyes and some extra body parts excitedly markered in. Two certain individuals, who shall remain unnamed, were miming a conversation between their belly buttons. Somehow, Jungmo manages to coax them all back into the studio from this extraordinary burst of creative activity, and at this point we have to assume that he used meaty treats and a spoonful of peanut butter. And so, Chapter 6 is a-go once more.]