Epilogue
Hello, this is Newlight Entertainment.
We have some news about StarLune. Although we have negotiated, as of April, StarLune—Kay, Min, DeeDee, Sangjun, and X—will no longer be artists under Newlight Entertainment. Newlight strongly denies any bad faith actions or wrongdoings in the song credits of its artists.
To all the Starrys,
This is StarLune. You might have seen the announcement from Newlight Entertainment and we wish to give you more details about why we ended our contract ahead of time. Although we are disbanding, all the members of StarLune remain close friends and are eager to support each other in our future careers as we grow as artists and individuals. This was a choice we made as a team, as we have always made our decisions.
We stand by our comments regarding the deceptive songwriting credits and cannot stay with a company that doesn’t respect our artistic contributions. Jihoon and Daehyun are proud of their work and each other. We apologize with all our hearts for misleading Starrys and hope you will forgive us.
Jihoon will take a hiatus from performing to continue in his songwriting career and music production. He will be making a new home outside Seoul, creating the music he loves.
Daehyun will focus on music production and will also make music to bring joy and light to fans.
Sangjun and Xin are proud to announce the launch of StarRise Entertainment, where artists are treated with freedom and respect. Global auditions for artists of all genders will begin soon.
As the first signed artist with StarRise Entertainment, Kitae will be launching a solo career with a new album due in several months. Please give him your love!
For all your love and support over the years, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. You were always the stars lighting the path through our night sky.
Kitae, Jihoon, Daehyun, Sangjun, and Xin
“Are you coming?” Phoebe pokes her head in my hotel room. “We have time for a coffee by the water before the meeting.”
My role at Luxe has transformed since I started almost a year ago. My tours have been such a success that I’ve been put fully in charge of their development. We’re getting another lawyer—not Brittany—to do the luxury group travel contracts. This is my last one to negotiate, and Phoebe is here to introduce me to her Maltese contact. She moved back to Montreal in June, so I don’t see her as often as I’d like, although we text most days.
“Almost ready.” I pull on my usual disguise, a hat and sunglasses. The chances of being recognized here in Malta are slim, but I’ve had enough run-ins with the media and StarLune fans to be cautious.
Life has been, as Hana calls it, an absolute gong show but in a wonderful way. “Turns” charted in multiple countries, which gave a euphoric Jihoon the confidence he needed to commit to his songwriting path. Min of StarLune’s romantic gesture to his alleged and now disproven stalker caused a media frenzy that I don’t think I could have survived on my own. Jihoon brought me to Seoul, which offered much better security, and held my hand through the entire situation. Newlight was zero, possibly even negative, help, but the rest of StarLune supported us publicly and privately, as did idols from other groups. The furor grew when Jihoon explained the story on a livestream, right from the moment we met to the false statement, to an audience of over six million viewers.
“I should have said something to clear her name sooner, and that’s on me. I’m grateful to have Ari in my life and that her heart was big enough to forgive me,” he said, looking at the camera. “My hope is that you are all able to find the same joy we bring each other.”
There are people who don’t like it, but that stream reassured most of the fans who truly did want Jihoon to be happy and caused a backlash against Newlight. When Xin announced he was seeing someone, it was accepted almost immediately. They’re a cute couple.
In any case, gossip about StarLune’s relationships was instantly overshadowed by the announcement of StarLune disbanding. Some Starrys held vigils outside Newlight and accused me and Xin’s partner of breaking them up. The band fought back hard. My time in Seoul means that I know all Jihoon’s friends well now. It bothers him a bit to know that Kit and I will never be buddies, but he’s satisfied we respect each other.
In fact, it was Kit who turned the tide about StarLune’s disbandment when he laid it out in a message to their fans. He was honest and emotional as he described how proud they all felt to love and encourage each other as they sought new paths.
“Being part of StarLune was beautiful, but it’s time for a new era,” he said, staring into the camera earnestly. “No one can be the same as they were a decade ago. You aren’t and we aren’t either.”
Then, he took a long silent look at the comments, which made me laugh with how weird it was to watch Kit read the screen to himself as millions viewed him breathlessly. Jihoon, who was watching it with me, nudged me in the side. “Quit it,” he said.
“Sorry.”
Kit spoke again. “StarLune is over, and it’s no one’s fault. We’ve always known it would never last forever, and we’re grateful we could close the band on our own terms. We love you, and we love each other. Please let us grow to be the men you helped us become.”
Jihoon beamed with pride and posted the clip on his social media with a line of hearts, stars, and moons. Now that they were out of their contract, Jihoon and the others took great pleasure in checking in with former Starrys and encouraging those who were having bad days, a personal interest that helped fans adjust. Newlight’s CEO getting involved in a financial scandal didn’t hurt either, and their continued denials about forcing Jihoon and Daehyun into pretending about the songwriting credits—which included leaked emails threatening to cancel the group’s debut if the two members didn’t play along—was one of the final nails in the company’s coffin.
Now, months later, most of the controversy has died down, allowing the former members of StarLune to make waves in their new chosen paths and me to travel to Malta with my sister.
“Let’s go,” Phoebe says, and we step out into the Valletta streets. The bright sun reflects off the light stone of the city, and I pull my hat farther down, already sweating in the fall heat.
“You hear from Jihoon?” she asks as we go down a flight of steps.
“He called earlier,” I say. “They’re done with Kit’s new EP, and he took two of Jihoon’s songs.”
Jihoon had been in Seoul for the past week working with Sangjun and Xin’s new company. As well as signing Kit, StarRise has two rookie groups debuting in a few months, and Jihoon loves spending time with them. I went by the studio with him once and was struck at how gently he treated these kids who idolized him. StarRise is determined to give the trainees a supportive environment, and Jihoon is happy to drop in with advice when he can.
He’s also making a name for himself with his own songs and continues to collaborate with Daehyun, both thrilled to have the freedom to talk about their work with their fans. Daehyun’s last song was for a girl group who hit the U.S. charts for the first time. He called us at three in the morning when he found out, and we popped champagne right there for an impromptu transpacific celebration.
Phoebe points to a small alley. “We can take a shortcut here. You leave tomorrow, right?”
I nod. Jihoon is leaving Seoul to fly into Paris, where we’ll do some shopping (him), visit some museums (me), and climb the Eiffel Tower (both). We’ve also sent our hiking gear ahead to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, where we’ll start walking the Camino de Santiago. We only have a few days, but we can always come back to where we left off.
My phone buzzes with an alert: Jihoon and Ari Super Awesome Getaway. It’s the calendar invite Jihoon sent from my living room last year, but now it’s been updated to say: Jihoon and Ari Super Awesome Getaway. The first of many. I love you.
Jihoon has added a new selfie in the notes section. It reads, Always thinking of you, Ari.
I blow the selfie a kiss and step out of the alley to a view of the ocean, the city ringing the harbor like a partial corona. Phoebe grins at me. “Not bad, huh?”
I smile back at her. “It’s perfect.”
And right now, it is.