February 27, 2001
9:45 AM
Yubin was alone in the room, sewing something for a doll she had bought, while a news program about pets played on the TV. Suddenly, someone knocked on the dorm room door. "Open up," a female voice said.
"Who is it?" Yubin asked fearfully, but the young woman kept knocking. "Just open the door," she said again. Yubin walked over hesitantly, grabbed the key, and opened the door; it was Park Hyemi. "Hyemi Noona, what are you doing here?" Yubin asked as Hyemi walked into the room. "Don't ask me anything, kid." Hyemi sat down at the table, and Yubin sat down too.
"So," Hyemi broke the silence, "I'm writing the sixth book in the 'Secret Sugar' series, titled 'Beauty For All,' as well as the seventh book, 'Money Makers,' and something about you and your group caught my attention." She picked up her notebook and a pen. "The first question is foundational for 'Beauty For All'—have you ever considered plastic surgery at any point in your life?" Hyemi asked as Yubin placed his hand on the table. "Well, I haven't had any plastic surgery myself, but I did hear my CEO talking about a procedure one of my groupmates had last year," Yubin answered honestly.
"Your colleague?" Hyemi asked, and Yubin nodded. "Yes, I saw him talking to someone about how important it is to have an appearance people consider beautiful; then I saw him holding a photo showing what Jumin's eyelids looked like before and after plastic surgery." Yubin spoke nervously while Hyemi took notes, growing increasingly concerned. "And what about thinness—does your CEO have you on a diet that puts your health at risk?" Hyemi asked.
"Sort of... a while back, he forced us onto a diet where we could only have coffee and energy drinks, and he said that if we didn't follow it, he'd break our legs until they turned to dust," Yubin replied; that answer left Hyemi shocked.
"Yubin, you understand that this isn't healthy, right?" Hyemi asked, and Yubin nodded. "Okay, now let's move on to the questions about 'Money Makers.' The first question is: how often do you see people talking about you—whether it's good or bad?" she asked.
1:00 PM
The interview went on for several hours before Hyemi rose from the table. "Thank you so much for having me." Hyemi closed the door behind her, and Yubin stared at the closed door until the alarm went off. "Time to take my meds!" Yubin headed to his bedroom to get his medication.
Meanwhile, Hyemi was in her car and called a man. "Yes, yes... his story really shocked me," she said, looking at her notes and checking who she had spoken to.
"What do you mean?" the guy on the other end of the line asked. "Don't you see? Their CEO is... That guy is one of Korea's biggest songwriters; he's written music for Uhm Junghwa, Turbo, Sung Jinwoo, Koyote... If he wants to ruin the career of anyone who badmouths him, he'll do it without a shred of mercy—do you have any idea, for fuck's sake?" Hyemi tried to hold back her anger and despair. "Calm down, let's take a breath; we can probably try to avoid making it obvious that *he's* the one abusing his power," the guy on the line stated