what's happening in oʻahu?
A Corrin Chang Exclusive
Welcome to Apple Hair!
Usually, in the CANON, I explore creating a fictional universe with the hopes that you’ll follow along with your own world. Every fourth week, I’m releasing an AU story or an exclusive with one of the members of Apple Hair. This time, we have an entry from Corrin Chang, the Chinese American member.
Want to read Apple Hair, the boy band fantasy novel, from the very beginning? You can start here! Apple Hair is a fictional, Asian American boy band from Hawaiʻi.
Welcome to the newsletter, and I’m excited to share this exclusive with you.
Every so often, Seiya will drive us to the Coffee or Tea? at McCully Shopping Center.
He’ll order his typical Assam milk tea, and the guys and I will decide between the myriad of options.
Did you know it can get quite crowded here on Fridays and weekends? (We had to find out the hard way.)
One night, it was just me and Seiya. I think David was down with a cold. Kaden and Van were trying to figure out exchanging their parts for the upcoming vocal evaluation.
Here on Oʻahu, everyone has been talking about the recent Taemin concert. It was just our luck that Seiya and I chose the worst night to grab boba. A bunch of fans were at the shopping center preparing for the concert—which was in two days!
They were taking pictures and exchanging photocards. If I hadn’t been so shocked, maybe I would’ve enjoyed it.
Seiya and I ordered and had to wait more than half an hour to get our drinks. Because it was so crowded, we ended up drinking in the car. I ordered a taro milk tea with extra boba. It tasted sweeter after waiting so long, but all I can remember is the fans shouting about Taemin.
It made me think about how sweet it will be when the guys and I finally debut!
Oh. Seiya and I also talked about the rebuilding efforts for Maui. The rebuilding efforts are still happening for the wildfire back in August of 2023. News about it always affects Seiya the most, since he’s from an outer island (though he’s from the Big Island, not Maui).
While talking about the fires and Taemin at the same time, it made me wonder if it’s even right to celebrate with a concert here in Oʻahu.
Seiya reminded me that through Taemin and other artists, we can find a lot of healing. As I sipped my milk tea slowly, I couldn’t help but think about the many stories of Maui residents losing their animals…
It made me think about my pets at home. I miss them dearly. “It makes me sad that we can’t save them all,” I told Seiya.
Seiya looked at me without judgment. He always knows how I’m thinking about the stray animals—like the plentiful cats—all over the island.
“One cat at a time,” Seiya told me.
It was just what I needed to hear that night. I took another sip of my boba. One cat at a time. Just like one house rebuilt at a time. Just like one practice session at a time. Maybe debut is out of reach to the outsider. But to me, it just needs another step forward.
Lots of love!
Corrin xx.
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