Chapter 11: CHAPTER TEN

Po never imagined he’d be bringing the country’s most popular idol to Uncle Choi’s suit shop. But after telling Thame that this documentary should capture what he truly wanted to say to his bandmates—regardless of whether it aligned with the company’s expectations or even made it to air— Thame had agreed. However, just as they were about to start filming, Uncle Choi called Po, asking him to watch over the shop because he had to run an errand. And so, the interview would take place at the modest suit shop.

Po introduced Thame to Uncle Choi, who only commented that Thame looked familiar before heading out.

“Couldn’t you have just talked to your friends directly?” Po asked as he handed Thame a bottle of water from the small fridge.

“I wouldn’t know what to say. Jun seemed so happy I’m leaving. Dylan was so angry he threw a hard drive at me. Nano hasn’t spoken to me since, and Pepper looked relieved, honestly. With everyone reacting that way, I couldn’t get any words out. I just figured if people think Mars broke up because I’m difficult or because I’m a jerk, at least no one will blame my friends for underperforming.”

Po nodded slightly, his expression understanding. Thame turned to look at him.

“Do you really understand?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“Is it like you imagined it would be?”

“Huh?”

“Yesterday, you said you wanted to understand.”

“Oh, that…” Po remembered their conversation on the rooftop.

“Why do you even want to understand?” Thame asked casually, leaning against the wall.

“Did someone leave you?”

“W-what?” Po stammered, startled.

“In the interview room, you went off at me.

You were probably speaking for my friends, right? You understood how they felt about being left behind.”

“Yeah,” Po admitted with a nod. “But my situation isn’t really the same as yours. Not at all.”

“Wanna tell me about it?”

“Do you want to hear it?”

“You listened to me plenty,” Thame said with a faint smile.

Po began sharing his story about Earn—how he’d spent three years out of work, taking care of Earn’s life; how he’d done work for Earn without getting any credit; and how Earn had broken up with him, dismissing him as just a part-time suit shop employee.

When Po reached that part, Thame raised an eyebrow and commented, “But I think the work you were doing sounded pretty good.”

Po blinked, surprised. “Really?”

“I mean it,” Thame said, nodding and smiling slightly. “It doesn’t surprise me anymore why you’re so invested in this documentary. The way you fix suits says a lot.”

Po tilted his head, confused. “What do you mean?”

“The details.”

Thame might have been referring to the precision Po had learned from Uncle Choi—how every stitch had to be flawless.

“Thank you,” Po said, humbled.

“No, I should be the one thanking you,” Thame replied earnestly. “You’re not just making this documentary for the company. It means so much to me.

I’m supposed to be the leader, but I couldn’t do what you’re doing. I’ve failed.”

“You haven’t failed,” Po said firmly. “You’re not a bad leader. You did everything you could for your band.”

Thame lowered his gaze, humbled by Po’s words.

“But there’s one thing I want to tell you,” Po continued.

“What’s that?”

“When you said no one’s around anymore, I’m not so sure that’s true. When I went to the Mars dorm, the place was clean, and the orange tree in the middle of the house—it’s not dead. It’s even bearing fruit.”

Thame looked up in surprise. “Really?”

That orange tree had been brought into the dorm by Nano when they first started living together. Thame remembered how Jun had complained about the burden of taking care of it, only for Dylan to retort that Jun never took care of anything anyway. Pepper had been startled when Dylan suggested he look after it, assuming Nano would be the one to do it. But Nano had simply nodded and handed Pepper a care guide for the tree. When asked why he wanted the tree in the house, Nano had said, “I want it to be the heart of our home. I want everyone to write their wishes on it—promises for Mars—and hope that they all come true.”

Dylan had written,

I want to write songs for Mars that top every chart.

Jun had written, If we top the charts, I’ll treat everyone to hot pot.

Pepper had written,

I hope we all love each other even more and stay together forever.

Nano had written, I’ll choreograph the most amazing dances for our songs.

And Thame had written, I’ll make everyone’s dreams come true.

—

Thame returned to the Mars dorm after hearing what Po had said. The house was as clean as Po had described, and the orange tree was alive, bearing fruit. The wishes were still tied to its branches, untouched.

If his friends no longer wanted to be Mars, shouldn’t the orange tree have been the first thing to be abandoned?

TO BE CONTINUED.