Mr. Noh closes his leather folder—the well-known signal that this meeting is over. The other execs start to awkwardly rise from their seats, but then Mr. Noh opens his mouth to speak again and they all plunk back down. “In the meantime, Rachel, you—I mean, Girls Forever—has the LA concert. They’re leaving tomorrow…” They. Not we. “You will stay home and say that you’re sick. We’ll take care of the rest.” And with that, he rises from his chair at the head of the table and strides from the boardroom, the other execs following in his wake.

This is it.

No LA concert.

No Girls Forever.

My career as a K-pop star is over.

September 30th.

The day I was supposed to leave for LA with the girls.

Instead, it marks the day after I was cut from the group.

As the first rays of sun start to peek over the Han River, Umma, Appa, Leah, and I all sit around the living room, staring at the phone in my hands. Umma and I have told them everything, and it’s hard to say who is in deeper shock, them or me.

“Should I do it?” I say. “Should I post that I’m sick?”

Mr. Noh told me to pretend that I’m sick as an excuse for missing the LA concert. Of course, I know why they want to me lie. DB owes the concert promoters nine girls. If I’m not there, they’ll be in hot water unless they have a good reason. But can I really make a public statement that’s so far from the truth?

I look around at my assembled family, genuinely seeking their advice. We’ve been here all night, and I still don’t know what I should do. But the clock is ticking. The girls leave for LA this morning. I need to make a decision.

“I think it’s okay to say that you’re sick for now,” Appa says gently. “You need rest, Rachel. It’ll be the simplest excuse that won’t get you too much media attention. And you certainly are not well.” If I look half as dead as how I feel inside, I can only imagine they must be alarmed. Of course, typical Appa, worried about my well-being above all else.

“I don’t know, Appa,” Leah says doubtfully. “It might get Unni even more unwanted media attention. They might try to spin it in a way where Unni is too burnt out from RACHEL K. to make time for K-pop anymore.”

As someone inside the system herself, Leah clearly understands better than Appa how the world of K-pop works. I note how she subtly corrects him, sharing her insight while still being respectful, and am struck again by just how much she’s grown up.