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“Yep, he’s been seen with May Sim, the actress from Hell Night,” Leïla, the community manager, confirms.

“And how would Grace have managed to get her hands on the clip?” Sophie inquires.

“Shit, that’s a good question,” Clarence mutters, disappointed that his theory doesn’t hold up.

“Could she have an accomplice inside the company?” I ask, without really believing it.

“See! Alma agrees with me!”

“No, no, not at all!”

“She’s tired and overworked, like all of us,” Sophie grumbles.

Simon sighs. “God, I’m longing for my bed.”

“And I want to be home with my cat,” responds Leïla.

“Well, I was planning to finish the last season of—”

“How about we get back to it, instead of whining or inventing implausible scenarios?”

My coworkers stare at me, looking deflated. I call the team on site in Los Angeles and put them on speakerphone. They confirm that all the preparations have been finalized and they are ready to start shooting the promotional spots. In thirty-six hours, they will have been shot, edited, and ready to go online—and this nightmare will be over.

Just before we hang up, my contact tells me that Vadim King is currently on a plane and will be joining their teams in a few hours.

I guess that’s something else he couldn’t tell me himself.

***

Lily is just as relieved as I am when the weekend finally begins. It was a tough week; I definitely didn’t have time to watch the clock at work, but she, on the other hand, counted down every single minute at King Productions.

Saturday morning, she barges into my room in K-Pop Demon Hunters pajamas, her head full of pink curlers, and a breakfast tray in her hand. I suspect she’s up to something.

“Time to get up, you little lazybones,” she says, slipping under the covers.

“I didn’t get to bed until three o’clock.”

“I need to talk to you.”

The Lily alarm goes off in my mind. I stretch my limbs and sit up in bed.

“Coffee, orange juice, and croissants? Are you trying to make up for something?”

“Nothing gets past you, does it?”

Her nervous little laugh doesn’t bode well.

“First, coffee.”

After tying my hair back, I bring the steaming cup of coffee to my lips. The aroma of Arabica beans fills the room. It’s divine.

“Alma, I don’t think I’m going to finish my internship. Everyone has been really nice, and I understand why you like working there, but it’s not my thing. Are you mad at me?”

My little sister is afraid of disappointing me, and my heart aches. I smile at her and give her curlers a little pat.

“You’re free to choose, Lily, but you know Mom and Dad aren’t going to let this go.”

“They don’t need to know.”