The Prince of K-Pop || Bang Chan FF

Chapter Seventy-Three

          There was no more warmth left in the condo. The month of September brought with it a chill Naty did not expect to feel from the ocean that surrounded South Korea. A photoshoot kept her busy most of Tuesday and her reward was a bone-dry cell phone. There were no messages, no memes, no mention of when her boyfriend would be home. Her inquiries to Chan's return were left unanswered.

          Sharing the trailer release for the new comeback was the closest connection she had to him all day.

          The woman cooked dinner for herself and for her boyfriend but she fell asleep long before he finally arrived. In the morning, the man was gone just as early as the day before with only a quickly scrawled note that apologized for his absence and a warning that her Wednesday would be the same. Normal instances would have had Naty feeling sad but her menstrual cycle transformed the hurt into anger.

          It was that emotion that drove each step into the studio of the Ppo Ppo Podcast. Leslie had already given Naty a peptalk on the car ride but that did little to alleviate the burning in her chest. Even Fred, who resolved to stay out of it, promised that Chris had bouts of an arctic demeanor when he was stressed and that he would thaw soon. Naty hoped the man would melt on his own and without the use of her flames. She did not like being iced out and she did not want it to last another second.

          But Naty could not think about her boyfriend.

          Her current focus was being a warm guest on the Ppo Ppo Podcast.

          Naty had to admit, she had never heard of the three women that made up the hosts but that didn't stop her from doing her research. The Ppo Ppo Podcast had been around since the start of the pandemic and had been growing tremendously each year. The hosts were three best friends—Do Yoo-jung, Ji So-Yoo, and Joo Haesook—born and raised in South Korea. The guests of the pod ranged from their non-famous friends to other podcasters to international celebrities. Their biggest claim to fame was ending the podcast introducing local talent that otherwise would not get the recognition they deserved.

          The podcast had reached out to Leslie almost immediately after the ChaeChaeChingu video in the hopes of having Naty as an interview guest. Naty read the email the women shared that had lots of positive things to say in regards to her and what a role model she was to girls around the world. It was an absolute 'Yes' for Naty but Leslie did not book the interview until they agreed on a long list of topics that were NOT for discussion.

          The women eventually caved.

          "You're here!"

          Excited giggles and tones filled the air as Naty introduced herself formally to the three women and they introduced themselves to her. Bowing, complimenting, dancing even filled the space between the four women that seemed to immediately connect. Naty felt her bad mood evaporating in the safety that was the female podcast.

          "I'm so happy you could just us. After we saw you on ChaeChaeChingu we literally fell in love!" Yoo-jung's husky voice seemed to serve as a foundation for the excitement in the room.

         "I'm so happy to be here! I'm really honored that you reached out to have me. I apologize for being so ignorant on what you guys are working on here but I have done my research and am blown away. You three are so cool and I feel really blessed to be with you," Naty looked to each woman and felt her same joy radiating back to her.

          "Don't apologize at all," So-Yoo spoke with such gentleness that it quieted the room with desire to capture every word, "We are still very new in our inception and are really just lucky to work with all the great people we work with now."