Retribution

The world was disgusting. 
     Mukashi had known that for years. 
     As he ran towards Miya on her podium and took her hand to lead her out of the venue, he was struck by the vile attitudes on display from every single person there.
     There were people clamoring for the show to continue; others looked crestfallen, as if the fact that Miya shed tears was some sort of unforgivable sin; a few looked smug about the situation; still more were outraged that she had dared to break character.
     He led her out of the venue. There were cameras recording him and Miya; he didn't care. He held her hand firmly as their path took them through the back rooms of the convention center. They sprinted together past groups of people who were held back by nothing but velvet rope and metal. The flashes of cellphone cameras occupied nearly every corner, and the sound of people's voices rose louder and louder until it was a deafening roar.
     The two of them burst out of the back doors and rushed towards her tour bus. He helped her into it and glared icily at the driver. 
     "Today's fan meet-up has been canceled due to strenuous circumstances." He said, barely managing to keep the smoke and fire inside him at bay. "Return us to Zygeist Media."
     The driver nodded.
     Mukashi took his seat as the bus drove through Seoul's streets. He looked at Miya, expecting to see her looking extremely distressed, then froze.
     She was smiling, even as tears rolled down her cheeks.
     Before he could comprehend what was happening, his phone rung. He yanked it out of his pocket and answered the call.
     "Is this Mr. Il-Sun?" Said a calm female voice.
     "Yes." He replied, trying to sound professional.
     "Director Sang-Ki has returned."
     Mukashi grit his teeth.
     "He's scheduled a meeting with you tomorrow at three thirty pm. Is there..." The woman's voice disappeared for a moment. His heart stopped.
     "Actually, he's just informed me that he would like to meet with you as soon as possible. Are you available today before six pm?"
     His grip on his phone tightened. He looked over at Miya; her expression hadn't changed.
     "I'll be able to reach his office within the next twenty minutes. An unexpected complication has cleared out Miya's schedule for the next few hours." 
     The woman on the phone acknowledged his words, then hung up.
~~~
     He stood next to Miya in front of her bedroom door. 
     "Mukashi... I'm sorry for breaking character." She said calmly as she turned to look up at her manager.
     Her moist eyes widened in surprise at the expression on his face.
     His gray eyes were narrowed, his mouth was bent in a slight frown, and his nostrils were flaring with each breath he took. His hair, which was normally very well-maintained, had several free-floating strands sticking out of it.
     "Mukashi, are you doing-"
     "Wait here until I return; Director Sang-Ki needs me." He interrupted. Miya jumped when he cut her off, but before she could say anything else, he walked away in the direction of the elevators. She watched him leave. 
     Normally, she might have been bothered more deeply by his behavior, but once he was out of sight she practically ran into her bedroom. She pulled out her notepad and began writing another letter to Gene. The words came out so easily; she wrote about how she honestly hadn't expected him to look the way he did; about how sweet it was of him to bring his sister; about how much she wished they could have talked for longer. 
     Once she'd filled that page, she flipped to another one and wrote down everything about her grandparents that she could remember. 
     How her grandpa had smiled; the smell of her grandmother's homemade yakgwa; how she'd left her grandmother's house in pursuit of her own life; about the struggles she'd had to make it on her own; her 'miraculous' acceptance into Zygeist Media's training program; and everything else she could possibly think of. 
     Her wrist hurt from the repeated movements after the first hour, but she couldn't stop. She was smiling and crying as she wrote her soul onto the pages of the notepad. She imagined how Gene would react to reading everything; would he tell her that everything was going to be alright despite her past? Would he tell her that if he was there, he would hug her? 
     Eventually, she wrote herself to the point of exhaustion. She didn't bother to shower or brush her teeth; instead, she simply put the pile of pages onto her bedside table, turned off the light to her bedroom, and fell asleep. 
      Her eyes were still moist.
~~~
     Mukashi sat across the large wooden desk of Director Sang-Ki. 
     Sang-Ki turned the laptop around for Mukashi to see its screen.
     It was a video recording Miya's conversation with the Americans and the aftermath.
     "What is this?" Sang-Ki asked firmly.
     Mukashi tried to freeze all the emotions in his mind.
     "It seems that my charge has suffered an emotional breakdown in view of the public." He said, trying to sound cold. "In the future, I will strive to monitor the emotions of my charge more diligently. This failure is mine and mine alone."
     Director Sang-Ki looked sincerely at Mukashi and sighed.
     "Il-Sun, you were originally the one who tried to contact me while I was still meeting with Fiefdom Entertainment. What did you want to tell me?"
     "Chi-Hun is the mole." Mukashi said immediately. "He was the only one to see me while I was carrying Miya's unconscious form to her room, and he was using his cellphone. I didn't register it immediately, but upon careful review of my memories, he seems the only possible suspect."
     Director Sang-Ki nodded.
     "Chi-Hun was already under review for not meeting company standards of diligence. If what you say is true, then his termination is inevitable." Sang-Ki said dismissively, as if discussing nothing of importance.
     Mukashi savored the silence. For a moment, the black cabinet stopped rattling; perhaps that was the end of the discussion.
     "How do you explain the end of the video, Il-Sun?"
     "What do you mean Director?"
     "How do you explain your actions?" Director Sang-Ki looked directly into Mukashi's eyes. The Director had very dark brown eyes, and they transfixed Mukashi in place. "You did not follow proper company protocol when you went to remove Miya from the scene. The video shows that you burst into the ballroom through the employee entrance, ran towards Miya, took her by the hand, and ran out of the venue as quickly as you could." Director Sang-Ki's voice contained the slightest hint of disappointment. "This is not a music video, Il-Sun; nor is it a film production. This is reality, and in reality we have rules that we must follow. You know this; in situations where your idol suffers a public outburst, you are required to calmly, slowly, and professionally remove the idol from the public eye for ten minutes. Then, if the idol is still unable to function normally, you cancel the event prematurely." 
     Director Sang-Ki looked away briefly.
     "In light of this egregious lapse in judgment, the standard course of action would be a reprimand and review. However, because this is your first such incident and you have done very well in the past with your other charges, I will be waiving your punishment just this once. Take care not to make another mistake like this again. I have already told you how much I respect your professionalism. This should not become a trend."
     Mukashi felt a wave of relief wash over him.
     "If something like this happens again, I will be forced to put you under review. During such time, you will essentially be unemployed until we reach a consensus about whether or not to terminate you." He looked at Mukashi sternly. "Do you understand?"
     "Yes, sir."
     "Furthermore, I recommend you take immediate action with your idol. It seems she may not be emotionally stable enough to continue working for us."
     "She is-" Mukashi interrupted, then stopped himself.
     Director Sang-Ki looked shocked at Mukashi's faux pas, but Mukashi simply breathed deeply and continued.
     "Yes, sir."
     The air was still.
     "You may leave now, Il-Sun."
     "Yes, sir."
     Mukashi was waved out of the director's office.
     As soon as he was outside the office, he pulled out his phone and looked at his notifications. 
     'Miyashi' had reached a record high; in light of that fact, he was extremely grateful that Director Sang-Ki had given him another chance. He also noticed a new trend regarding the Americans who had caused Miya to cry, and it was extremely negative; however, he didn't really care about that. The public could blame the Americans.
     He took a moment to compose himself, and the black cabinet stopped rattling briefly. His steps carried him towards the elevator as he made plans to talk to Miya and discover exactly why she'd broken character so dramatically.