MYOB
Characters:
Lee Soh Ra
Jung Ro In
Choi Shi Min
Park Ji Han
Chapter 1
With the heavy November rain falling from the grey skies, Soh Ra waited on the shed for her bus back to Seoul. It has been almost 10 months since the last time she was there in the city where she was born. Last January, she quit arts school and came here to her Grandparents' province, 10 hours of travel from Seoul, because she wants to experience something new for this year so she chose to live in the farm. When she told her sister about this, she was really flabbergasted at the idea and tried to stop her but she was really desperate to do what she wants to do, so she still came here. That's how she is.
And now she's going home earlier than she planned because of her best friends who asked her a full whole month; said it is an emergency. Usually when they have this, they only have to comfort one of them who just quarreled with her brother or if one is in financial crisis or when they're just bored. They had called her many times and she always turn them down when they ask her to come back because if it's really an emergency, then they could actually work that out without her. She had asked them what it is really about and they really wouldn't tell her until she meets them in Seoul. She thought then that maybe it is really an emergency and she hope it's not that serious, so she packed up her clothes and guitar immediately and told her grandparents that she'll be going back to Seoul on this day. They were shocked of course of the sudden decision but they still permitted her.
After a full 30 minutes of waiting, her bus finally came. She got inside and sat near the window. As she put on her earphones, she felt her phone vibrate and took it out from her pocket. A message from her sister appeared saying to call her when she'll arrive at her stop so that she could come to get her and they could go home together. She replied "Sure, and I'm really excited to see you and Yoo Rim and Dong Il-oppa," after hitting send, she placed it back to her pocket and watched the passing view outside as the bus drove on. Minutes after, she sent a group message to her friends that she's on her way and that they'll just meet tomorrow at her brother-in-law's tea shop. Their replies had the same joyful, excited feeling.
It was already 6 pm when she arrived and her sister's vibrant face was what welcomed her first thing when she took her first step on Seoul after a long time.
"So how's your farm life?" her sister asked her when they sat for dinner.
"It was really fun,"
"And different," her sister added.
"Just how I wanted it,"
"Did mom and dad called you when you're there?"
"Huh, they really did and I can't believe it; they're calling me almost every weekend! For almost 10 months, imagine that? It really annoyed me," she said and chewed a small piece of broccoli.
"They're just worried about you."
At this, she just nodded. "Oh yeah, I heard from my friend that your students performed on a music show a few months ago."
"Yes, they did and I am so proud of them."
"She said that it was really great. Who choreographed?"
"My friend, Han Ren. You remember her?"
She repeated the name inside her head a few times and light bulb! "I do. Really, she's a choreographer?"
"Other than being a fashion designer, Yes, she is. That young girl does a lot of things."
"I remember we're of the same age."
"No, you're one year older. If you had continued your studies then you could have already become a rookie film director by now."
"But I chose to live in the farm, and it was so fun."
Her sister smiled as she looked at her straight in the eye, "I know."
Soh Ra looked at herself in the mirror and adjusted her red cap over her jet black hair, "It might rain, you know," She said to her reflection.
"You ready?" Dong Il asked as he peeked at the door.
"Yeah," she took her guitar from the one corner of her room and slung it at her back.
"Isn't that heavy?"
"Not so. I got used to it."
"Wow, it's cozier than the last time I came," she said as she entered Dong Il's tea shop; his and her sister's business.
"Thanks, it still has your sister's touch. You and your friends are going to meet here?" he asked as he went to the counter.
"Yeah, I asked them to meet me at lunch. Where are your crew?"
"They'll arrive later. We actually came here a bit earlier than the opening time because I want to show you something. Your sister didn't tell you about a surprise?"
Her eyes widened, "No, she didn't!" she exclaimed.
"Just wait here," he said as he went into the door into the kitchen and then came out later. "Follow me."
Soh Ra's heartbeat quickened as she followed his oppa to a hallway.
"Remember the room connected to the back of the shop?"
"Yeah, the old man who owns the bookshop lives there. Why?"
"He vacated it. He migrated to London with his son two months ago and sold it to us. What we made of it is exclusively for you." He said as he opened the painted red (her favorite color) door they're facing, "A very belated birthday gift."
The door led them to, "a band room inside a studio?" she exclaimed as she saw a room walled with mirrors with shiny wooden floor and on the one corner was a raised platform where a complete drum set was placed. She walked inside and took in every detail even to the smell of wood and paint altogether. She turned to her oppa and smiled widely at him. "This is amazing! Is this really for me?"
"Yes, the drum set's mine before but I'm giving it to you and your friends. You like it?"
"More than like it, I love it! This is the best gift ever!"
"I'm very glad, so will be your sister when I'll tell her I've already shown this to you."
Soh Ra was left alone at the studio as Dong Il went out to manage the Tea Shop. She lied on the floor and looked at the red and white painted ceiling. Her sister really knows what she loves: the color red, music, her best friends/band mates, dancing, she even placed a film reel design on the edges of the walls as a design because she has always wanted to become a film director. She took her phone from her pocket and called her best friends to hurry.
On the other hand, one of them is on her way. Jung Ro In just got down from the bus with her long blue-black bangs flying; even those pony-tailed ones are also flying in one direction, "What's wrong with this wind?" She ran to the entrance of the Tea Shop and opened the door. The man behind the counter greeted her a good morning and she smiled as she recognized him. "Good morning, where's Soh Ra?"
"She's at the back room. I'll go and get her. You can wait for her here."
She nodded and sat near the window. After re-tying her hair in a ponytail, she took her phone and called the other two. Ji Han doesn't answer her call but Shi Min finally did after three tries. And well, she's currently…
"Lost?" Ro In said from the other line.
"Yeah, you know that I'm really bad in directions. And I actually forgot where the Tea Shop is." Shi Min said as she drove her bicycle to the deserted street. "Maybe I'll just ask around. I'll get there as soon as I can. Bye!"
She turned to one corner and actually found two vans, black and white parked in front of a house. Then people got out of the house and started getting into the van. She drove fast towards them as she shouted.
"Wait!" and the people, mostly are guys, stopped to look at her approaching them. She hit the break just as she reached the rear of the van. "Can I ask for directions, please? I'm literally lost."
They walked closer to her and so were the guys who were supposed to enter the black van at the front.
"Sure," one of them said.
"Thank you. Do you know the way to Bell Tower Tea Shop? Cause I've been going in circles around here for a while now."
"Actually we're also going that way." The same guy answered.
"Really?" she asked as she adjusted the guitar at her back. "Can I just follow you then? Are you leaving now?"
He just nodded and the others dispersed and started getting into the vans.
"Thank you," then she took out her phone.
"Ro In, I finally found some nice people and they're going to lead me there."
"Okay, I'll be waiting, Bye."
She fixed her pixie cut pale blond hair beneath her hood and took off as she followed the white van.
Meanwhile, inside the white van that Shi Min was following, the guys inside were talking about her.
"I think she's a fan. Just pretending to ask directions so that she could follow us," One of them said.
"I think not."
"I agree with Chen. When she asked us, she looked like she's really lost."
After a few minutes, Shi Min finally saw the shop just a short distance away. She crossed her bicycle to the sidewalk and went ahead of the vans. She parked it near the shop and just as the vans stopped in front, she walked back towards them. The people on the white van came out and she bowed in front of them.
"Thank you so much, I wouldn't have reached this place earlier if it weren't for you. I have been here before but I'm really forgetful so I often get lost."
"You're welcome," They said to her and she smiled in return.
"I'll go ahead," and bowed again before she left.
"Soh Ra! I missed you!" Shi Min shouted as she saw Soh Ra sitting beside Ro In who is busy sipping her tea.
"Me, too!" she looked as her friend sat beside her, "By the way, haven't you seen Ji Han? I've been asking Ro In about the matter of emergency but she won't tell me. Not until Ji Han comes."
"No, I haven't. How have you been? You look thinner."
Just then, the guys from the vans came in and seated themselves in the long table just beside theirs.
"They're the ones who helped me get here," she said as she signaled her thumb at them. The two turned to look but eventually turned their attention to the door as Ji Han emerged soaking wet. Her eyebrows were scrunched in annoyance as she wiped off her coat sleeves and her long dark wavy brown hair. Soh Ra was so surprised to see that her friend had shaved one side of her head and her hair just stayed on one side and at the backside. She wiped her green shoes in the "welcome" rag and shook her wet handkerchief.
Ji Han looked up in time to catch a towel on her face. She took it off her face and saw Soh Ra's smiling at her.
"Soh Ra!" she exclaimed as she bent down because she's much taller and hugged her friend.
"Oh, okay now. You should dry up!" Soh Ra said as they let go and strode towards their table.
She placed her guitar on the side of her chair and sat with the others who were already sipping from their milk teas.
"Ah wait, I have someone to say "hello" to."
"Who?" Shi Min asked.
She turned herself on her seat towards the long table beside them. "Hey! The noisy one over there!" she called to the one guy among those many seated.
Soh Ra and the others looked at their friend then to the guys then back to Ji Han. The guys on the other hand were just looking at Ji Han, curious of who she was pertaining to.
"Chanyeol-oppa, Hello," she said directly to the one guy who was indeed very noisy since they arrived. The one she called stood up and a wide smile was on his face.
"Ji Han! What are you doing here?"
"Why do you sound like you're saying only celebrities are allowed here?" she teased.
Chanyeol walked towards her and shuffled her hair. "Wah, it's been a long time."
"Of course, you've been so busy since you debuted that I only saw you on TV and it's actually tiring especially this year because there's not a day that you were not featured or on broadcast. My eyes actually hurt."
"Well, you can't blame us."
Their conversation drones on for a while until Chanyeol went back to his seat and Ji Han turned her attention back to her friends.
"Who was that?" Shi Min asked.
"That was my cousin."
"They're famous?"
"Very. Really, where have you been?"
"Sorry for not being so interested."
"Hey, before our conversation will lead to other things, firstly, what's this emergency?" Soh Ra asked.
Ji Han looked out at the window before turning back to her friends. "Okay, to make the long story short, my brother and I had a fight 2 months ago."
Soh Ra was so disappointed at what she heard, "What? That's it? You and your brother always fight, where's the emergency in that?"
"Let me finish, first. Okay, so we had a fight and in order to get back at me, he accessed my computer without me knowing, of course and he took a copy of our videos."
At this, Soh Ra leaned forward on the table and stared at Ji Han critically, "What did he do to it?"
"I'll tell you straight,"
"Please do,"
"He uploaded it on Youtube using his account and he won't delete it even if how much I beg of him."
Soh Ra gaped and took her awhile to process it, "Youtube? Did he say who we are?"
"Thank God, no. He said uploading those were enough for now but if I'll fight with him again, he surely will do it."
"Where is he? I'm going to talk to him."
"Please don't. You don't know him. He's evil. We might just provoke him and he might really reveal our names. Uh, he really gives me headaches."
"Me, too. All our cover videos, he uploaded all of them?"
Ji Han just nodded with her head down, unable to look at Soh Ra straight in the eyes.
"But really guys, it might not be a really big deal," Ro In said. She leaned back on her chair and fixed her hair in a tight, messy bun. "Unless it will go viral. That could be a problem; you know the media might want to uncover it. But there are a lot of cover videos in Youtube and there's a very low probability that ours will be most watched."
"She has a point," Shi Min said, "I know our song and dance cover videos are really amazing but that can't really be a guarantee that it'd be viral. Let's just be positive that not one person would watch it."
Soh Ra ran her hand over her head and sighed, "Yeah, let's do that. If that's the case then you could've just told me that on the phone."
"But we want you to come back," Ji Han said.
"We want to go back to the Arts Academy but we won't do that without you so you have to go back there with us." Ro In added.
"Yeah, have some conscience," Shi Min said innocently that made Soh Ra smile.
"You guys, but really I was planning to go back before the year ends. I've already enjoyed myself in the farm so I felt satisfied when I left. Actually, I really felt good to be back and to see you again."
"Uh," Shi Min whined, "I'm so touched," and hugged Soh Ra from the side.
"Soh Ra, you said you were going to show us something? What is it?" Ro In asked when they finished their teas after a few minutes.
"Oh Yeah. I'm so excited to show you this. Let's go, bring your instruments with you."
The three of them followed Soh Ra to the band room/ dance studio and was so glad when she said that it is for their own use only.
"This is really amazing!" Ji Han exclaimed as she went near the large box speakers and microphone stands with working microphones.
"Your sister must really love you so much to give you this," Ro In, with her drum sticks, hit the drums on the drum set in a slow succession of notes.
"I guess she really does. So, let's jam?" She took her acoustic guitar out of its case and connected it to the wire that in turn was connected to the speakers. The others did the same except for Ro In who's now busy playing the drums.
"Oh I forgot my bag at the table. I'll just go and get it." Ji Han said to them and then she left. When she was out, she still saw the EXO members still on their table talking and laughing. She went directly to her seat and was about to turn and head back to the band room, when she heard Chanyeol call her name. She turned around and saw almost all of them looking at her.
"What?"
"Where you heading?"
"Uh, to the band room, why?"
"Band room? They have one here?"
"Yeah,"
"You're going to play there?"
"Yeah, you want to come and see? It's actually fine with me but I don't know about the others. I'll go and ask them."
"Ji Han, we're all set, c'mon!" Shi Min said as soon as she entered the door.
She placed her bag on the floor near the wall, "Guys, would you like to have an audience?"
The other three looked confused at what she said and she just waited for them to figure it out.
"I don't really mind," Soh Ra and Shi Min said.
"I do," Ro In said, "but same rules apply, right? Majority wins, so I won't mind, too. Who do you mean, anyway?"
"It's just my cousin. Maybe he wants to see me play with you guys."
"Hmm," this was all Ro In replied with an understanding nod.
After Ji Han sent a text to her cousin, she unwrapped her guitar and went over to her position which is at the right of Soh Ra who is at the center. This position have always been her position whenever they perform in their high school programs and activities and even their gigs outside of school during summer (they call that their summer job). Soh Ra is the center, main vocalist, rapper and lead guitarist; Ji Han is the bass guitarist and rapper; Shi Min is also a lead guitarist but sometimes play the keyboard when the song calls for it and lastly Ro In is the drummer. Soh Ra might be the main vocalist but actually, all four of them sing some parts of the song.
"What song would we play first? Actually, I have so many songs in my head that I want to play."
"Shi Min, give me one of the songs that is in your head right now." Soh Ra said as she adjusted her cap over her head.
"But like I said, I have so many."
"Just pick one," Ro In looked at Shi Min waiting for her answer. Just then, the door opened and at first it was only Ji Han's cousin who entered which was what they expected, but then they got surprised when 11 other guys came in and bowed their head towards them. They then sat at the floor, leaning their backs on the wall.
Ro In looked to her right, "Ji Han, I thought it would only be one person, why are there 12 in front of us now?"
"I thought so, too. He didn't tell me he'd brought them along."
"Go, Ji Han!" her cousin shouted and the others just laughed at him.
"Very supportive," Soh Ra teased Ji Han.
"He's always like that," then she turned to Shi Min, "Now, Shi Min, what song?"
"Toumei datte sekai, is it alright with you?"
"That's Japanese,"
"I think it's alright, I love that song," Soh Ra said as she strummed her guitar.
Ro In closed her eyes and tried to remember that song, then after a while opened them, "I remember," and then played the first beats.
Shi Min turned her attention to their waiting audience, "Hi! I just heard from my friend that you're famous celebrities and we never had celebrities watch us perform before, so this is really new. Would you mind if we sing a Japanese song? Can you understand Japanese? Yes, no. Okay, you actually have no choice, so…" then she winked at Ro In and she started playing the song and the guitarists followed with their voices.
While they were playing the song, they can't help but remember the time they last played together. It was 10 months ago on a fund-raising event before Soh Ra left. In this moment, their feelings are mutual with each other; they're very glad to hear each other's music again. When the song ended, the four girls smiled at each other and their audience applauded. After a while, they heard them shout for more.
"Would you like to request a song?" Ji Han asked them.
One of them with the red cap, raised his hand, "Uh, none really."
Ji Han turned to her friends, "Guys, do you know any of their songs?"
"They're EXO, right? I know MAMA but don't really know how to play it," Ro In said.
"I guess we had played one before, the song Don't go. Remember that?" Soh Ra asked them.
"Oh yeah, I do," Shi Min affirmed and the other two nodded. Then they proceeded to playing it as how they had remembered and was thankful when they still remembered the full song.
"It's my first time to hear another version, it was really great," the one with the red cap said and the others somehow agreed with him.
"It's also my first time to watch an all-girl band perform. You were amazing, don't you consider becoming celebrities?"
"No, we don't want to. We have other interests," Soh Ra answered him.
"Yeah, and there's already so many of you in the industry, we don't want to add up to your population," Ji Han added.
Their audience left after receiving a call that they have to leave for their schedule. They said goodbye to the four and left the band room saying they will come back soon to hear them again.
"Want to play more?" Soh Ra asked.
"Of course,"
And they continued playing songs they knew, and it's a lot so after playing 8 more songs, and it was already 6 in the evening, they decided to go home and see each other at the academy tomorrow for enrollment. For them, this day of reunion is very unforgettable.
"Finally we're done," Shi Min drank from his coffee cup and slammed it back to the table when she was finished gulping it all down.
"Hey, easy with the coffee."
"Ji Han's right, you shouldn't be finishing your coffee in just one gulp. I think it has bad effects," Soh Ra said.
"So now, we're finally enrolled in our majors. I'm actually excited for our first day, again."
"Yeah, and I actually like it, you know that we'll be taking up different majors: Soh Ra on film-making, Ji Han on interior designing, Ro In in photography and I on Poetry and Literature. We have varied interests and yet we are friends. I think it's what defines our friendship, our differences."
"Shi Min, are you going to write a book about that?" Ro In teased.
"I would love to."
"And even we have different interests, there is one thing that binds us together," Soh Ra started, "it's music."
Ro In smiled, "Are you going to make a film out of that, too?"
Soh Ra snapped her fingers, "Good suggestion! I would love to do that."
"Then I guess I'll be making a photo documentation of our friendship and Ji Han will be…"
"I'll design a house for us," Ji Han interjected.
The four of them smiled at each other and while they were doing just that, Ro In was getting busy taking pictures of them in between laughs.
When they started attending their classes, they were welcomed with a busy week; they just got back from school but they were already bombarded with school works because they have a lot of catching up to do. It is a Saturday and the four of them have classes except for Shi Min. Soh Ra, Ji Han and Ro In decided to spend the morning in a café. They sat outside around a square table and relaxed themselves.
"Shi Min would be mad if she knew we came here without her. She likes this café,"
"No, she won't if we take out an ice cold coffee for her."
"If it's still cold when she'll receive it," Ro In was busy putting sugar on her coffee when something caught her eye. A commotion was happening not so far from them; a black and also a white van stopped by the building near the café. As soon as the passengers of the two vans came out, girls from all corners ran towards them and took pictures of them, screaming their names. But aside from that commotion, farther, she heard a woman screaming and a policeman whistling and shouting for the man to stop. The man stumbled on the crowd of fans and broke their melee but he still ran forward.
"Let's just come back here later with her. I just want to drink coffee right now. What's that noise?" Ji Han turned just in time that the man passed by her seat and swiftly, Ro In stood and dragged her iron chair towards the man. The man's feet hit the chair and he stumbled to the ground, clutching his feet, moaning in agony.
"Ro In!" Soh Ra shouted as she stood in surprise, "Why-" then she stopped when a policeman came and crouched near the man. He handcuffed him and dragged him up. Next, the woman came and took her bag from the man. She was so mad that she started hitting him hard on the head repeatedly.
Ro In took the woman's arm and stopped her from hitting him, "Madam, you got your bag back, right? There's actually no need for that." The woman calmed down and walked away.
The policeman pushed the thief into the police car and before he went inside, he bowed to Ro In, "Thank you so much, Miss Jung. Good day," and then he rode on.
"Amazing, I think every policeman in South Korea knows their Chief's daughter."
"Let's just go back to our table." Ro In dragged her chair back and sat. Just as that commotion ended, the other one in front of them still has not. The passengers were making their way into the building and it was a slow process because their fans were surrounding them. She turned her attention back to her coffee.
"EXO is really famous right now. Just look at how their fans crush them. I actually feel sad for my cousin; I think lately, he hasn't been able to go to the places he likes without being followed around. But then, I remembered, he likes attention. Maybe I shouldn't really feel that way for him."
"Maybe that's actually the price of being famous, the probable loss of privacy."
When the professor finally decided to adjourn the class, Shi Min took out her phone from her bag and texted her three friends. It was already 12 noon and she just wants to feed herself so she rode on her bike to the nearest café that she likes; there she saw them drinking coffee in the middle of the day.
"Coffee for lunch?" she suddenly blurted out when she stopped by their table.
"Only if you're buying," Ro In answered with a teasing grin.
"That was a rhetorical question," and gave her a "victory" face.
"Nothing left to do today?" Ji Han asked as Shi Min took her seat beside Ro In.
Shi Min then stood up again to order coffee inside the coffee shop, "None, why, you have suggestions on what we could do?"
"I was planning, well, Soh Ra, can we hang out at the studio?"
"Sure, it's for our own use anyway," she smiled.
"Great,"
"That's the nicest thing I heard this day aside from "class dismissed,"" Shi Min winked at them before entering the shop.
While their friend was not around, the three others smiled at each other as they found Shi Min not being angry at them for being at the coffee shop without her.
After they had eaten potato sausage at a nearby stall, they proceeded walking to the tea shop. When they arrived there, the tea shop was filled with young girls. They were so surprised by it because it happened not so often.
"They saw the EXO members came here a while ago and they all rushed in but just in time, I got them inside the studio before anyone sees them." Dong-Il said in to them in a very low voice over the counter.
"What?" Soh Ra asked in bewilderment.
"So they're still in the studio right now?" then Shi Min looked at the girls who were sitting uneasily on the chairs drinking milk teas, they all kept looking around.
Dong-Il nodded.
"Don't they have their guards with them?" Ji Han took out her phone from her pocket and started typing a message.
"Who are you texting?" Ro In asked.
"Chanyeol-oppa," she whispered back.
"It was just the 12 of them who came in," he turned to his staff that was going to say something to him. After he while, he turned back to them.
"What is it?" Soh Ra asked.
"Some of the customers were seen by my staff lurking by the back part of the café but she was about to ward them off saying the area was off limits to customers."
"Wow, they're really persistent."
"Are you being troubled?"
"I can still handle it, Soh Ra, if you want to go to the studio please go there unnoticed. You can go there maybe one by one."
"Okay, oppa,"
"I'll go first," Ji Han volunteered.
Ji Han took off pretending to go the bathroom but immediately took the other hallway towards the studio when no customer was looking. She opened the door to the studio and saw through the mirror some of them just sitting at one corner and the others were playing with the instruments.
"Hey," she greeted them as she closed the door.
"Ji Han! Are there still a lot of people outside?"
"You bet. Why came here without your guards, anyway?"
"We don't have guards."
"Personal Staff then,"
"We came here without telling them," said the one named Baekhyun.
"Why?"
"We just want to,"
"In pure daylight? You think you can get away with your fans?"
"We thought we could because the streets were deserted but then along the way we met this group of girls and they ran after us."
"And you outran them?"
"With our bicycles, then we decided to hide here."
"But they still saw you getting inside this shop."
Chanyeol and Baekhyun nodded.
"By the way, you came here alone?" Chanyeol asked.
Ji Han walked to other corner of the room and placed her bag on the floor, "No, I'm with my friends but they're still outside. The owner said that we should come in here one at a time so that we won't be noticed. They'll be here in a while," she then took the bass guitar from its stand and attached its wires to the amplifier.
"You're going to hang out here?" the one she recognized as Lay asked.
"Yup, we actually don't have classes anymore so we decided to come here."
"Can we watch?"
"Uh, sure, no problem,"
"Oh, gosh, I almost died," Soh Ra said as she came into the room and quickly closed the door. "Oh, hi!" she greeted their guests.
"Why? You got caught?" Ji Han asked with a teasing laugh at the end.
"Almost; I was about to turn the knob when a girl came out of the CR and she looked at me. Then she asked where does that door lead to? She was somehow cute but for at that certain moment she was very scary for me, her tone was like she was saying "tell me or I'll take your eyes out". Young people are so scary these days."
The EXO members who were silently listening were trying not to laugh but she didn't mind them, deep inside her, she was still shaking.
"Then what did you say?"
"I told her, as calm as I can that this leads to the staff room, and I thought she would leave but she just stood there near the CR's door and asked me, "Can I go in?". What was she thinking? Why would she still want to get in when I already said this is a staff room? Staff! Oh yeah, then I said No, you can't. This is strictly for staffs only. Staffs." Thank God, one of her friends called her and she left but before that, she smiled at me. I don't know if she wants to look cute but for me it looked scary."
"Now, now, calm down, okay?"
She then took two deep breaths, "Do you have water?"
"I got a bottle at my bag."
"Just the bottle?"
Ji Han rolled her eyes, "It has water in it. Where're Ro In and Shi Min?"
"They'll be here in a little while. Now where is it?" she then rummaged in Ji Han's bag.
A thudding noise came from the door. All of the people's eyes went to their direction as Ro In's face almost hit the wall if not her hands were able to block it. Shi Min came in immediately afterwards.
"Shi Min-ah!" Ro In shouted at her, "Do you really have to push me?"
"Sorry, I was so nervous. A girl just came out of the CR and I was afraid to be seen."
"Shi Min, does that girl have short fading blond hair and round face?" Soh Ra asked after wiping her lips.
"Yeah, why? How did you know?"
"She's really persistent. She looks scary, right?"
Shi Min's forehead creased, "I don't think so."
Soh Ra swallowed hard in embarrassment, "Okay, I'm the only one who thinks she's scary." She then took another gulp of water before closing it down and placed it back to Ji Han's bag.
"Uhm, Hello! Are you all okay?" Shi Min asked their guest. Some of them nodded and some said an audible yes.
"Thank you for allowing us to hide here. By the way, I'm Suho."
"We actually have no choice," at that, the three other girls sniggered at Shi Min, "but really, you're welcome. You can stay here as long as you want."
"Really?" then Suho stood up and shook Shi Min's hands with a bow and the others said a simultaneous thank you.
Ro In placed her bag on the same corner as the other girls and kneeled near it. Opening her bag, she listened to the small group chat that was coming from the corner where the EXO members were sitting. They were talking about the time when they were not yet trainees. She took out her drumsticks from her bag and stood up.
"Ro In, you okay?" Soh Ra asked from behind her.
"Yeah, why do you ask? Oh wait," she said as her phone started vibrating from her pocket. She fished it out and saw her younger brother's name on the screen. Without hesitation, she turned the call down.
Ro In sat behind the drum set and positioned the microphone just enough distance from her. Shi Min was getting busy with the keyboard and Soh Ra as well, slung the lead guitar to her neck and adjusted the wires on the amplifier.
On the other hand, the guys were just staring at them, anticipating.
When they were all ready, Soh Ra turned to her friends and questioned them with her eyes and they all nodded. "1, 2, 1, 2, 3…" she started singing Block B's song Action. The instruments started blending in and after her; the rounding of parts among them went on with Shi Min always singing the chorus part because her voice was closer to its tone. As they were playing the song, the EXO members were jamming along as they bob their head up and down and sometimes make beating sounds. When the song ended as they sang the last part in unison, there was applause and cheers from their them. They immediately followed it with their next song which is B.A.P's song Voicemail. Shi Min started it with the rhythm of the keyboard and Ji Han started rapping Bang Yong Guk's part with the deep variation of her voice. Soh Ra sang Zelo's parts, Shi Min on the choruses and Ro In on the bridge part.
For the next two songs that they agreed on, they left the band area; Ro In took out the beat box from one corner of the room, and the three others took their acoustic guitars from a secret compartment on the left wall of the room.
"We really came in now for a great show," Baekhyun said to the other members as the four girls formed a circle at the center of the room.
Soh Ra and Ji Han started strumming the first parts of the song Did you or did you not by Block B then Shi Min blended in afterwards with a different variation guided by Ro In's playing with the beatbox. After Shi Min hit the high notes on the bridge part, the audience cheered and was somehow awed of how wonderful her voice is.
"1,2,3, Jaman oneunde geumbang ggae, babeun meongneude sohwaneun andwae, yojeum nan irae neon eoddae. Naman ireongeoya, wollae geurongeoya, na honja kkomjjak motago irae, neo jeongmal ireolkkeoya," Soh Ra started their next song then followed the next part by Ro In and the song went on.
The audience applauded again and was giving them thumbs up.
"Can we make a request?" The one with dark circles said while raising his hand.
"Ah, if we know the song," Ji Han answered.
"Just any of our songs," He answered.
"Do they ever get tired listening to their songs?" Ro In whispered to Soh Ra who just laughed.
"Uh, other than Don't Go, we don't know how to play others."
"If it doesn't have to be played, just sung?"
Ji Han looked at her friends and she knew what they were thinking or rather, they know what each of them was thinking. They actually know a lot from their MAMA era but they're just shy or uncomfortable to sing it in front of the original singers. It would be embarrassing.
"I think they know some, I heard Ji Han sing Two Moons before," Chanyeol said and Ji Han said to herself, "traitor".
"But that doesn't mean they know, too," she said in her don't-even-try tone that he knows so well.
"Okay," Chanyeol eventually gave up.
An English rock song was playing on the speakers as the 4 girls just sat at the floor and rested. The EXO members were still there with them waiting for the crowd outside to clear out. Some were just talking among themselves and some actually were sleeping. Ro In was napping so was Soh Ra but they both woke up as the next song that played made them want to stand up and dance. It was the song "Mirrors" by JT.
"Ah, that song," Ro In said as she looked up and saw Ji Han and Shi Min looked at her and Soh Ra; they were already standing up and straightening their clothes. She stole a glance at the EXO members who were surprised at their sudden action. She looked at Soh Ra and her eyes said, "Don't mind them." she smiled as she stood up and jumped in front of the mirror. The others walked towards her side and they formed a horizontal line. The second part of the lyrics came and they danced the choreography that Soh Ra made. Ro In danced with her cap on and felt so cool about it. Whenever they danced, she or rather, they always wear their caps.
As they danced, the girls can't help but smile at each other in the mirror. Meanwhile, at the back, the audience that they didn't mind were so amazed by them. They kept saying "wow, amazing, cool" but they weren't hearing it. All they could hear were the music, the sound of their movements and their own heartbeats.
When the song ended, the 4 was surprised at the applause that they were hearing from the back; they actually forgot about them.
Just then there was a knock on the door and they all looked at each other. Soh Ra ran to it and signalled the EXO members to stand behind the door if opened.
"Ji Han, dim down the lights," She said and her friend obliged. After that, she then opened the door a bit and when she saw that it was her Dong-Il oppa.
"Are they still outside?" She asked him.
"No, they left just a while ago. They can leave now if they want."
"Okay, I'll tell them. Thank you."
"I have to go back to the counter," then he left and Soh Ra closed the door then Ji Han took back the dimness of the room.
Soh Ra then turned to the EXO members, "Oppa said your avid fans have left and that you can leave now without trouble."
They turned to each other and talked about their schedule.
"Yeah, I think we should leave now, we're actually supposed to get ready for a show this evening. Thank you so much, again."
"It was nothing." She stepped farther from the door.
"You all take care and drive fast," Ji Han said to them as they started getting out of the door, bowing at them and saying thank you before disappearing.
Chapter 2
For the school days that came thereafter, they got so busy that they weren't able to see each other to hang out. Only on weekends were they able to do so either on the studio or at somewhere else. This weekend, almost two weeks since they last hanged out, they chose to walk Ro In's dog and also Shi Min's along Han River. Night just came and Shi Min, Ro In and Ji Han were already at the park waiting for Soh Ra who is still on her way.
Soh Ra was driving her bicycle along the road near Han River, feeling the cold wind on her face when suddenly a dog on a leash ran across in front of her.
"Ah!" She shouted. Panicked, she immediately turned on one side and bumped hard on the light post. Because of the impact, she was lifted off her seat and also bumped her head hard on the post. Then she fell on the road with the bicycle and lost her consciousness.
"We should call the ambulance," a guy's voice said. The sound of the word ambulance rang in Soh Ra's ears and she quickly forced herself to wake up. Slowly, she opened her eyes and felt her aching head. Putting one hand on her head, she then pushed herself to sit up with the other hand.
"No, uh. Don't call the ambulance." She told them, whoever they are, she still can't recognize.
"How are you feeling? I'm really sorry about what happened."
Soh Ra looked at the guy who was squatting near her and she was surprised who he is, "I feel nothing pleasant at the moment. But please don't call the ambulance. I don't like to go to hospitals and experience hospital-like stuff."
One of them then crouched on her right and asked, "Can you stand?"
"Yeah, are we blocking the road?" she looked around.
He nodded and he stood up. He offered his hand to Soh Ra and she was about to ignore it when her head throbbed and realized she won't still be able to stand on her own. She placed her hand on top of his and clasped it hard as she tried to stand up. She got surprised when she felt his other hand gently supporting her waist.
"Thanks," she said as she finally was seated on the bench alongside the road. She dug her palm deeper on her forehead as her head throbbed.
"Place this on her forehead," the one who helped her stand said to the other one who apologized to her.
Soh Ra's head was so bent down so he had to bend down as well to see her face.
"Here," he said as he took her hand. Soh Ra straightened up and looked at him. She was tearing up. "I'm really sorry." He said as he held the ice pack on her forehead.
"Ach!" she exclaimed as she got startled with the sudden cold and pain on her forehead.
"Sorry," he said again.
Soh Ra took the ice pack from him and tapped it on her forehead several times. "Why do you keep on saying sorry? Were you the one who ran across the street?"
"No, but it was my dog who did."
"Oh, speaking of dogs. Can you hand me my bag please?" As soon as she took hold of her bag, she rummaged it for her phone and found it ringing.
"Where are you?" Ji Han' asked from the other line.
"I think I couldn't come, I'm really sorry. I'm actually on my way but I met an accident so…"
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah, my head just hurts a bit."
"Where are you right now?"
"No, don't bother-"
"Soh Ra!"
For a moment she got confused if the voice was on the line or it was not. And indeed it was not, across where she was sitting was her three friends walking the dogs. They were now making their way towards her and a confused look was on their face when they saw who was with her.
"Suho, Kai, why are you here?" Ji Han asked the two guys.
"We were the accident she met," Suho answered.
"No, it was one of their dogs but thank God their dog wasn't hurt," Soh Ra said as she placed her phone back to her bag.
"Whaa, they're so cute," Shi Min said when she bent down and played with Kai's dogs.
"Let me see," Ro In said as she held Soh Ra's hand a bit away from her forehead, "It swelled but the ice will hold it down."
Ro In's Labrador dog leaned towards Soh Ra and was licking her face. She actually felt burdened but is still grateful for the dog's affection. Ro In pulled her dog away from her and bent down to touch its head.
"Not now, Hitch, Soh Ra's hurt."
"Is he yours?" Kai asked Ro In as he touched Hitch's back.
"Yeah, by the way, what really happened?"
"Jjanggu escaped from my clasp and ran across the road."
"Jjanggu?"
"My dog,"
"Ah, cute name. What happened then? I'll take a guess; she avoided hitting the dog and got herself hurt."
Kai just nodded, feeling guilty.
"Don't worry so much about it; this isn't the first time this happened to her. The first time we met 11 years ago, the same thing happened."
"Suho-ssi!"
Suho and the others turned to the one who called him and saw Baekhyun with Chen, Chanyeol, Luhan, Lay and Sehun on their bicycles.
"Ah, well, how do you feel now?" Lay asked Soh Ra after they heard what happened. She is still busy tapping the ice pack to her forehead.
"I feel better, thanks."
After a long time playing with Kai's dogs, Shi Min finally stood up and went to Soh Ra. Just as she approached her, they all got surprised when Hitch barked and ran towards the nearby bush.
"Hitch!" Ro In shouted after her dog that jumped over the bush and a boy's scream was heard. She ran towards it and saw Hitch and her younger brother on the ground.
"Jung Ryu Won, what are you doing here?"
"EXO! It really is you!" he blurted out as he saw Lay, Chanyeol and Luhan come behind Ro In, "Noona- how did you know them?"
"First, stand up. Our laundrywoman will be shocked of your dirty clothes."
He then softly pushed Hitch off him and stood up. "This is not my fault. Hitch pushed me."
Her brother was met with excited hugs from her friends as soon as he neared them. They must have missed him a lot. He is now 12 years old and the last time they saw him was 3 years ago, before he left to study in London where their grandparents live. They're pure European so that makes Ro In and her brother half Korean and half European which really sets their beauty apart from the pure Koreans. By the way, Soh Ra also has Irish blood because her grandmother is a pure Irish woman. Ji Han and Shi Min are pure Koreans by blood but they somehow look different from the others. Their eyes are slightly bigger, their face is oval shaped and they have high-bridged noses. They're beautiful in their own right. So was the other two.
"Ryu Won, really, why are you here? Mom must be really worried about you not being home at this hour."
"Well, I just arrived yesterday but you were already asleep and when I woke up this morning, you were still asleep-"
"Wait, did you come here to expose my sleeping habits?" she heard the guys snigger at her remark.
"No, why would I do that?"
When she looked at her brother closely, she then realized what he was doing there. And she smiled.
"Okay, let's go."
"Where?"
"To the basketball court. You want to play with me, right? Admit it, you missed me," she teased and got so amused with her brother's blushing face.
"I'll admit it if you'll defeat me."
"Ah, you dare challenge me. There's actually no need to defeat you, you're blushing."
"I'm not!" he stood up and walked out to the alley then turned left.
"Hey, the court's in the other way!" Ro In called out to him and she laughed as he saw him turn around and walked towards the court.
"Want to see him lose?" she told her friends who were smiling at her.
"You're such a bully," Shi Min told her and she just laughed.
"Go, Ryu Won! Beat your sister!" Shi Min cheered on the side as she held on to her dog's leash.
"Shi Min-ah! Why are you cheering him on?" Ro In shouted after her brother scored a jump shot.
"Because he's cute; no offense meant."
"Haha! You should wear your glasses. You're eyesight actually is fooling you right now!"
"You're so mean! Fight, Ryu Won! Beat your ugly sister!"
"See? Your eyesight is really fooling you. You keep saying the wrong things." She said after scoring a three point shot. And then another after snatching the ball from her brother.
"They're so loud," Luhan said to Baekhyun. Chen and the other guys were also focused on watching the two play basketball one-on-one.
"The boy's clearly losing to her sister. She's too good in basketball," Lay commented as if he's a commentator but really, it was his personal observation.
"One minute left!" Soh Ra shouted after glancing at her watch. And after one minute, Ro In won with 22 to 16. Both of them were panting at the court.
"You lose; you should treat me an ice cream."
"What? We didn't agree on that!"
"Oh yeah. We only agreed that you would-"
"I missed you," her brother suddenly said in almost a whisper and it caught her by surprise. She smiled at him and it widened to a malicious grin.
"What did you say? I didn't hear it clearly."
Her brother looked away, clearly embarrassed and then ran to the car which was parked outside the court fence.
"Bye!" she called out to him when he went inside the car and the car eventually drove on.
"Why did he run away?" Ji Han asked her.
"He wants to pee."
"What?"
Kai walked towards Soh Ra who tries to stand comfortably.
"Where's my bicycle? I can't go home without it."
"You're going to ride it in your condition?"
"No, I'm just going to walk it home just like how my friends will walk their dogs home. How's the bump in my head?"
He looked at it closely, "It got smaller."
"Good because if my sister saw that, she won't allow me to ride my bike again for a couple of weeks. We should be heading home. Guys, we'll go ahead?" she asked her friends and they all affirmed. They said goodbye to the EXO members who were also heading back to their dorm.
Ji Han was walking down the hallway when she saw Shi Min go down the stairs on her right, carrying a lot of books. She stopped on her tracks and smiled at her.
"What's with all the books?" she asked when her friend reached the floor.
"I'm going to use it for my group's report next week,"
"Ooh," she then took two books from the file and walked with her on the hallway.
"Thanks, you don't have any class?"
"The last one for the day just ended. You need company? I'm actually bored."
"Uh, my group mates will be with me. But you can still come and join us."
"Hmm, I thought you'd be alone. Then, I think I'll go somewhere else."
"Sorry, ask Ro In or Soh Ra if they're already done."
"I'll do just that. Bye!"
"Bye!"
She walked out to the school yard and sat on the bench under a full bloom tree. Today's Friday and I'm bored. Her phone vibrated after a while and she expected it would be Ro In or Soh Ra but it was her cousin, Chanyeol. She opened the message and it was his selca picture. She laughed at it and replied to him.
"What's with the selca picture all of a sudden?"
Then after a very short while came his reply. "I thought it would make you smile."
"Well, it actually did. Good timing though, I'm so bored right now."
"Should I send some more?"
"No, one is already too much," And then added a smiley at the end.
Her cousin didn't reply after that and she guessed he might be busy; seeing from the Selca picture that he just came from a show.
Dialling her two other friend's numbers, she hoped they wouldn't be busy but they both are. Ro In said she'd be having dinner with her whole family and Soh Ra was asked by her sister to look after her daughter. And she wouldn't want to go home. It was already 5 in the afternoon and so she decided to stroll on the streets and let her feet guide her to wherever. Walked out of the school, her feet lead her to the park then to the shopping districts where expensive clothing lines arrayed the streets. She never got interested in fashion unlike Shi Min who's the only fashionable one among her friends but somehow, as she looked at the mannequins' clothes and the displays, she felt like it would really look good on her. But she eventually brushed the thought aside; she's already cool with her jeggings, rugged shoes, and loose sleeveless shirts under her printed collared coats.
With her hands on her pockets, she walked on the street; tucking in her coat because of the evening cold.
"Wa!"
Ji Han was so surprised that she almost stumbled backward because her cousin jumped so close right in front of her.
"Ah, my heart stopped," she said more to herself to him as she rubbed her right chest. She then looked up to her cousin who was grinning widely, proud of what he has done. He then put his arm around her neck and started shuffling her hair.
"Hey!" she protested as she pushed his arm away from her neck and when done, she punched him in the shoulder and he punched her back.
"Ow! What's wrong with you? Why are you so manic?" She fixed her hair and her coat's collar.
"Just felt like doing so."
"Huh, What are you doing here? Oh," she just said when she looked up and saw the EXO pop-up store in front of her. On the second floor were standing some of the members, watching them from above. "So this is your store."
"Want to come in?"
She looked at the door and saw the sign on the door. "But it's already closed."
"For costumers only and you are not a customer, you're my cousin. Let's go."
"Wow, I see a lot of stuffs with the name "EXO" on it. Don't you get dizzy? Seeing the same things in every corner?"
Chanyeol shrugged.
"I bet your fans do. What were you doing on the second floor?"
"We're having a break." He said as he went upstairs and ushered her to come up as well.
"Hi Ji Han!" they greeted when they saw her and she greeted them back as she bowed. Lay stood up and offered her his seat on the sofa.
"Uh, Lay, right? No need, I'll actually be leaving in a while," She said but that didn't happen of course. She eventually sat as they offered her coffee and went on talking and laughing with them about random things.
"You know, you're just like Chanyeol-ssi." Said Chen.
"Yeah, I heard that a lot especially from my dad. You know what, when we were still kids, Chanyeol-oppa-" she was cut off from what she was about to say when Chanyeol covered her mouth with his hand. The other EXO members were laughing while she was trying to pull his hand off and eventually he let her go. Just then her phone vibrated. She was catching her breath when she took it from her pocket and Ro In's name was on the screen.
"Just a minute," she then stood up and walked towards the stairs. "Ro In, what's up?"
"Where are you?" she sounded like she was also catching her breath.
"I'm at the EXO pop-up store. Why? What's the problem? You sound like you've been running for miles."
"Yeah, I've actually been running but not really for miles. Where's that?"
Ji Han then gave her friend directions.
"Okay, thanks. I'll tell you everything when I get there."
"Okay, take care."
After the call, Ji Han has become so anxious of what would her friend would tell her. Hope it's nothing serious. The others might have noticed her silence and asked her if she's okay.
"I'm fine, really."
"Who called you?" Chanyeol asked.
"My friend; said she'd be coming here. Is it okay?"
He nodded and after a short while, a knock on the door below sounded and Chanyeol and Ji Han came down to open it. They saw through the glass doors that it was Ro In.
"Now, tell me everything. By the way, you look cute with the dress," Ji Han said as they sat in one corner, slightly far from the EXO members so that they wouldn't hear.
"Okay, you called just this afternoon and I said I'll be having dinner with my family, right?"
Ji Han nodded.
"That really happened but after a while," Ro In stopped, noticing two someone lurking behind them and listening. It was Baekhyun and Chanyeol. She just let them there and went on. "After a while, this guy with his parents came towards our table and greeted my parents, my brother and me. I didn't mind them and I kept on eating. Then the three of them sat in front of us with that guy right across me. I was so confused on what was happening. I just watched when their food was served and they were eating with us. I thought that that would be all; dinner with my mother's friend and family. But then, guess what happened,"
"I have something on my head but I don't want to say it,"
"Why are you smiling?" Ro In asked her.
"I'm not!"
"You're finding this funny."
"I'm not, really. Just go on with your story."
"I went to the ladies' room and when I came back, my parents' and my brother were not there and so were this guy's parents. So basically, this guy was the only one left on the table. I asked him where they went and he said with that stupid grin on his face, that they left. Then he introduced himself while I was so busy looking for my phone in my bag. He was trying to make a conversation while I read my mother's message on my phone. She said "Have Fun! By the way, he's cute! You look good together." What the-!? I really wanted to scream and cry but that would really be embarrassing. When I looked up to him, he was smiling at me and then I thought, what's so cute about him, his smile makes me gag." Ro In had to stop because there was a chorus of laughter from Ji Han and from the other EXO members whom she just realized were all listening to her.
When the laughter died after a while, Ro In continued, "And then because I couldn't take the thought of being fooled and being set-up with that guy, I dashed to the door which was a bit far from where we were sitting, that's why I was catching my breath when I called you later. How could my mom do this to me?" she covered her face with her palm and bent her head double to the floor.
"Hey," Ji Han patted her friend's back then turned to the guys surrounding them and whispered, "I don't know what to say to her," but they just shrugged, silently stood up and went back to their seats. You're no help. She wants to tell them but held back; instead she turned to her distraught friend and caressed her back.
Ro In sat up and looked at her friend with tired eyes but tried to smile, "Thanks for listening, that's actually all I wanted."
"Thank God because I actually don't know what to say. You're situation's really ridiculous to think about."
Ro In laughed, "What is this place? Is this where they hang out?"
"Maybe, this is their store."
"Oh, by the way, Ji Han, I have to go home, now. My brother called me while I was on my way here and said that mom was uptight at home. She heard that I ditched that guy and she's asking where I am."
"Ji Han, we'll be leaving soon, how about you?" Chanyeol asked.
"We'll live first; we had to go home now anyway,"
Chanyeol, Chen and Sehun volunteered to send them off outside and wait for a taxi.
"You forgot your coat?" Ji Han asked Ro In when she saw her rubbing her arms.
"Yeah, I was so preoccupied with running away that I forgot to drag it off my seat."
"Here, use this," Chen said as he took off his woollen coat and handed it to her.
"Uh, thanks," she took it from him and put it over her shoulders, "I'll return this as soon as I can."
"Don't worry about it,"
"He basically says it's yours now so don't bother returning it to him. He has lots of these," Sehun said from behind her as he waved the sleeves part of the coat and she laughed.
"No, really, I'll return this. I'll have it dry cleaned."
"Taxi," Chanyeol called when indeed a taxi was about to pass by.
Ro In and Ji Han waved goodbye to the three and to the others who were watching from the second floor before riding the taxi and go home.
It was still a Wednesday but it was a national holiday so the four of them got together to hang out. They sat on the swings on the playground that they frequented when they were still in middle school. The playground is still a fun place for them to hang out because it holds a lot of their childhood memories. This is where Ro In and Ji Han first became friends with Shi Min and Soh Ra when they were still 9 years old.
Until she was 9 years old, Shi Min was living in New York with her parents because their business was based there so she when they came back to Seoul, she was like a stranger to her own country. She doesn't speak Korean well because she got used to speaking English all the time. On her first day of school, she felt so lonely and spent most of her time alone. Then one day she met Soh Ra who was the only student fluent in speaking English. Soh Ra was taught to speak in English by her parents so that whenever her grandma (on her mother's side of the family) called, who is a pure Irish woman, she would be able to communicate with her well, because of that, she is really close to her grandma. Soh Ra and Shi Min became friends eventually and one time, when they were playing on this playground, they met Ro In and Ji Han who were already friends. This is where what Ro In told Kai about the dog accident that happened when she and Soh Ra first met.
"So what happened when you got home last friday?" Ji Han asked as she kicked dust on the ground.
"My mom just laughed when she saw me. My dad also laughed when I told him about how much I don't like the guy. They were so having fun," said Ro In exasperatedly.
"Funny, but at least they were really not serious about setting you up with the guy."
"Yeah, thankfully,"
"Guys," said Soh Ra to the two as she hand them their drink and after a while took hers from Shi Min's grip.
"Thanks," Ji Han and Ro In simultaneously.
"Christmas is like three weeks away, what do you suggest we could do?" Shi Min asked.
Ro In swallowed a sip before answering, "Well, I want to do something that we haven't tried before,"
"Like what? Experience farm life?" Ji Han asked as she turned to Soh Ra teasingly.
"Yeah, but it's winter so probably, no farm." Shi Min added to the idea.
"Something like going on a trip to the province and-"
"Oh yeah, I remember!" Shi Min suddenly shouted.
"Remember what?"
Her eyes widened in excitement, "The orphanage that my mother's foundation supports is having a fund raising event in Gangwon-do. The children there will be like holding a small choir concert during the morning and at night, my mother thinks of hiring a band to perform for the guests. And we could be that band! We could go on a trip plus we could give help to the orphanage."
"That's an amazing idea! I've never reached that place!" Ji Han said excitedly.
"I passed by there when I went to my grandparents." Soh Ra said, "I love the idea really. We've done fund raising concerts before so this is nothing new but we could go on a trip, that is new, right, Ro In?"
Ro In smiled at her friends, "So new. I like it, when will we go?"
"Two weeks from now, a Saturday."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go to the studio and practice!" Ji Han said as she jumped down from swinging and ran to her bicycle and the others followed.
After playing 10 songs non-stop, the group was drained in the afternoon hour. They left the band area, lied on the floor and eventually fell asleep. After almost an hour, the first to wake up was Shi Min just in time that a knock on the door sounded.
She wiped her eyes, put on her glasses and walked to the door, not bothering to wake up the others. She was surprised to see three EXO members in front of the door.
"Shi Min-ah, Hi!" one of them said, she can't remember his name.
"Uhm, hi. What brings the three of you here?"
"Actually, there are 6 of us."
"Oh, come in." The three of them first came in and they noticed the three sleeping figures on the floor.
"Ah, did we disturb you?"
"Me? No, actually I just woke up. But if you'll wake them up then you'll surely disturb them. I'll just go to the bathroom."
When Shi Min was gone, the other members came in also noticed the sleeping girls on the floor, all in different position. They looked at them closely and Baekhyun and Sehun were attempting to take a picture but Luhan and Suho stopped them. Saying it's bad to do so. Kai crouched near Soh Ra and pushed her hair back from her forehead. The bump is gone but there was still a small scar left. He felt guilty once again. He almost stumbled back because of surprise when Soh Ra's phone rang with a G-dragon song. He stood up and walked to one corner. He looked at himself in the mirror and behind him was a reflection of Soh Ra sitting up and answered her phone. For the whole time, her head was down so she didn't notice them at all.
"Yes, Director. Yeah, we were finally done with the editing. We already finalized it last night… yes, our group will certainly have the biggest rating, HAHA. We will submit it first thing tomorrow morning… Don't worry you'll love it. Bye, thanks for reminding me. I'll call the others." And after that, she resumed to calling some of her classmates reminding them about the submission of their film entry tomorrow for the academic film festival.
Shi Min came back from the bathroom and went to one corner where her bag is. Ro In got up and was surprised to see what she saw on the mirror.
"Soh Ra, why are they here?" she asked.
"Who's here?" Ji Han asked, still lying down on the floor.
"Yeah, there's no one here other than us." Soh Ra said with her head still leaning down on her bent knee.
"Sit up and look at the mirror. See who's here," Ro In said as she bent her head down and wiped her eyes. She then stood up and fixed her clothes before going straight out of the door. The EXO members just looked at her as he did so, wondering if their timing was wrong. Ji Han did what Ro In said and saw the EXO members' reflections; they were busy drinking milk teas. She saw Chanyeol walk towards her and then shuffled her hair.
"Good morning," he greeted with a smile.
"Why are you here?" she asked straight.
"We have something to ask,"
"Oh, what is it?"
Shi Min walked towards Soh Ra who was busy wiping her eyes.
"Soh Ra, here," she threw the damp towel towards Soh Ra who just in time looked up and caught it.
"Thanks," she then started wiping her face and after that, looked up to the tall Chanyeol, "What are you going to ask?"
Chanyeol turned to the others and Ro In who just came through the door. She asked the same question as Ji Han.
"Come here," he just said to her and then all of them huddled around him. He took out his phone and opened her browser to a bookmark he saved. When he clicked it, the four girls caught their breath and can't understand their feelings as they watched themselves on Youtube and got so shocked to see over 1 million views plastered on the screen.
The guys looked at the four of them; all of them have suspicious, curious eyes. Then Suho broke the ice, "Are you them?"
"We really wouldn't think it's you if we had not seen you dance here before, but they really looked like you and moved like you," Kai said.
The four of them passed message with their eyes. They were still so shocked to see how many people had already watched their videos. Other people might be happy if their videos hit a million views mark in just a month but they are not. They dreaded this to happen. And these people other than the four of them had recognized the four of them. They wouldn't talk about it outside right? Should they-
"Why are you so silent?" Baekhyun asked.
"Yeah, we are those four in that video," Ji Han answered.
"I knew it,"
"You really looked cool with your caps on. It really gives off that mysterious aura. Did you mean it that way?" Suho asked.
"No, we just like to wear them and those videos aren't even meant to be out on Youtube," Ji Han dead panned.
"Huh?"
"We just made those videos for our own personal entertainment. And then I argued with my brother almost two months ago and to get back at me, he uploaded them all without my consent."
"Jo Min-hyung?" Chanyeol asked.
She nodded.
"Ah, is that so?" Baekhyun said, showing understanding. "You know, if the agents of different entertainment companies will see these, they will be looking for you, and make you their talents."
"Don't say that," said Shi Min.
"It's actually a good thing," said Suho a matter-of-factly.
"It's a good thing for people who desire to be like you, famous idols and all," Ro In interjected.
"And you don't want to?"
The four of them looked at each other and smiled, "No, we don't want to. We have other things that we are more passionate about. We are already happy on where our life is going now and dancing, singing, and playing in a band are just outlets for the talents we have. So being idols really are not an option for us if we want to live our life without doubts. If we do what we really love to do, then we are sure we're going the right way."
There was silence in the room. Then the guys smiled in silence.
"I'm unexpectedly learning from you," Suho said suddenly.
"Really? Well, I'm glad."
"But how are you going to fare with this?" Chanyeol asked as he scrolled down his phone.
"Why?"
"The comments say the same thing, "Who are they? They're really amazing! They're so professional, Are they a new idol group? From what entertainment company? Please tell me, I got to search them; I hope they're under YG, only the best girls come from them. SM has the most amazing girls; I bet they're from SM…. I'm really looking forward for them," And more."
"A lot of people are curious, a million or more, maybe even the media is curious," Lay said more to himself than to them.
"It's overwhelming, really," said Shi Min who's been uncomfortable since the beginning of the conversation.
"Yeah, Soh Ra, what do we do?" Ji Han asked.
Soh Ra who was in really deep thought, snapped herself back to reality, "I say we let them be, let's live as if the videos were still safe in your computer and no one had uploaded it."
"But what if the day would come that…" Kai hesitated.
"You were found," continued Sehun.
"Then that's the time we'll think about what to do next," Soh Ra answered with firmness that no one could doubt her every word. Her friends smiled at her.
"You guys," Ro In pertained to the 6 EXO members, "we're not really friends, we only met a month ago but we would like you to promise us that you won't tell anyone about it, not a single soul."
The guys looked at each other in silent agreement and smiled at them, "We promise we won't tell anyone," said Suho.
"Not a single soul," Sehun added.
That day ended with a promise made between them. It was hard for the ladies to trust those guys because they just met them but they have to in order to not worry more about it.
The day of the fund raising event came and the girls were very excited in the wonderful morning as they each made their way to Shi Min's house where they would meet and then drive to Gangwon-do.
"You all ready?" Ji Han said from the driver's seat.
"Yep, let's go to Gangwon-do!" Soh Ra shouted from the backseat beside Ro In.
"What time would we arrive there?"
"Probably 3 pm."
"So we have to make a stop somewhere for lunch?"
"Yeah, my mom told me of a place along the way where we could stop."
"Okay,"
"It's going to be a long trip," Ji Han said as she they neared the end of the city.
"Ji Han, your phone," Shi Min said to her and she took her phone from her coat pocket and handed it to her.
Shi Min browsed her friend's phone and played songs suited their kind of jam. The four of them sang along.
"Guys, I think we should rest our voices, we're still going to perform tonight," Ji Han said to her friends.
"Ok, mom. Is it alright if we sleep? Wouldn't it be unfair to you? If you want, I can switch with you after the stop," Soh Ra asked concernedly.
"It's okay. I got enough sleep last night."
"Don't worry, I'll stay awake with you. I don't sleep when I travel anyway." Shi Min said.
"I bet the other one there is already asleep, she had been silent for a while."
Shi Min looked behind Ji Han's seat and saw Ro In soundly asleep. It started raining now and she watched it fall outside.
Soh Ra woke up just in time that Ji Han made a turn to a large food store. This must be the stop. She turned to her side and shook Ro In's shoulder who is still asleep. Thank God the rain stopped. The car was parked and they tuck in their coats as they went out.
"Guys, what do you want to eat?" Ji Han asked.
"I want a large bowl of steaming beef soup," Soh Ra said.
"I want that, too." Shi Min and Ro In said.
"So I'll order four large bowls. We really are hungry and have the appetite of four men," Ji Han laughed.
The others took their seat as Ji Han ordered on the counter. As they looked around, they saw unexpected people in orange and gray coats walking around, eating and some were just seated on the table not far from them. The table were surrounded by fans taking pictures of them but they could still see them through the gaps.
"Why are they here?" Shi Min curiously asked.
"I don't know, maybe an out of town show," Answered Soh Ra.
"Lay looks so enjoyed eating steaming hot soup alone. Ah, I'm getting jealous, I want to eat mine right now. I'm so hungry," Ro In said as she rested her head on the table.
After a short while, Ji Han came to their table with the order. They dig in immediately.
"Ah, I'm so full," Soh Ra said as she leaned back on her chair. The three just finished eating but Ro In is still on it.
"Something's bugging me," Ji Han suddenly said.
Shi Min looked sideways to her. She seems to be the only one who heard, "What is it?"
"Those girls at the third table on the right were stealing glances at us since we came."
"Really?" Shi Min slowly and trying not to be obvious, looked sideways to them and just in time saw met one in the eye. The girl looked away and whispered something to the other.
"See? I wonder why? When I glance at them, I follow where they're looking and it's usually directed at Ro In."
At this, Soh Ra turned her head to Ro In.
"What?" Ro In looked up from her bowl to the sound of her name.
"Ro In must be really attractive to them; sometimes Ro In does look like a guy with cool long blue-black hair and with a cap on. Wait, the cap. You think-"
"What are you guys talking about?" Ro In asked, clearly confused.
Shi Min and Ji Han's eyes widened at the realization.
"Ro In, take off your hat, right now," Ji Han said to her immediately.
"Why?"
"No, she should keep it on," Shi Min said, "We should leave, don't look at them."
"Don't look at who? Guys, what's happening?"
"We'll tell you at the car. Let's go," Soh Ra said to her and they all stood up to leave.
Outside, without looking around, they passed on the benches and went straight to the car.
"Ji Han!"
They stopped on their tracks and turned to that familiar voice. On the benches, some of them were seated while the others were just standing near their van. They must be readying to leave. Chanyeol walked up to them and Kris, Tao and Kai followed.
"Hello," Tao greeted them.
"Why are you here?" Chanyeol asked them.
"We're going to Gangwon-do for a fund raising event of an orphanage there," Ji Han answered.
"Wow, we're going there, too! But why do you look so… What's the problem?"
Ji Han hesitated, "I think someone there inside knows about the four of us- you know."
"Hello everyone!" Baekhyun greeted as he ran towards them.
"Why do you think so?"
Ji Han then proceeded telling them about what happened while they ate, Ro In also listened carefully because she didn't know about it, "And I think they recognized us because Ro In was wearing a cap. It's possible."
"What? Because of me?" she exclaimed.
"That came to us eventually because in the videos we were wearing caps and you always wear that one."
"Oh, well I'm not the only one who has this one,"
There was a short silence.
"That scared me for a while, you know," Shi Min said.
"Yeah, me too. I actually hate that feeling like we're hiding," Soh Ra added.
"It's going to be okay," Kai said suddenly. The four of them looked at him and smiled.
"Yeah, there's a very slim chance that you'll be found. Your videos were well made- it hid your faces well even without blurring or pixilating it," Kris said and the other guys nodded.
"Wait, you know about it, too?"
"Yeah, all of us do. Luhan-ssi showed it to us. He was the one who first saw your videos."
Ji Han turned to her cousin, "And you told them it was us?"
"We all guessed it was you and then we came to your studio to confirm it."
"Oh, but just keep it between the 12 of you, please."
"No problem. Don't worry about it too much."
"Guys, we're leaving!" Suho called to them.
"We should go, too," Shi Min said as she looked at her phone, "Mom is expecting us to be there before 4."
"You all take care," Chanyeol said to them as they all bade goodbye to each other.
The two groups separated and went inside their vehicles.
Inside the car, everyone was quiet though the passengers were not sleeping. Only the sound of the engine and Paramore's songs could only be heard.
"Guys," Ro In suddenly called them, "I've been thinking. Are you going to tell me to stop wearing my caps in public?"
"That's... ridiculous. No, we're not going to tell you that. We, of all people know you can't live without it. So why would we do it?" Soh Ra answered with a smile.
Ro In smiled as well and she leaned her head on her friend's shoulder, "Thanks," then got up immediately. She watched as the sea went by her view and turned back her view inside when Shi Min spoke.
"But maybe we should not wear our caps when the four of us are together. To decrease the chances,"
"Yeah, I think we should do that," Soh Ra sustained.
Warmth was what welcomed them to the orphanage. It is not from the weather at 4 pm but from the people. Along the small road towards the main orphanage building was lined with stalls of different products. Mostly children and adolescents were the ones manning the stalls. Small children were so cute as they called costumers to their stalls. There were also a lot of people walking around. They were carrying their instruments except for Ro In who was just carrying her drumsticks. As they passed by, they really catch attention from other people but it was only for a while. When they got used to their presence, they were not stealing glances from them anymore.
"Ladies!"
The four of them turned and saw Shi Min's mom walking towards them.
"Mom," Shi Min kissed her mom's cheeks.
"How was the trip? I bet you're tired. Let's get inside and have some tea."
"Mom, we prefer coffee,"
"Okay, I forgot how much you like coffee. Come, come!"
They proceeded to the dining area of the orphanage and sat around a square table. After a short while, black coffee was served to them. They took small sips while they talked.
"By the way, I hate to break it to you ladies but you'll be performing in an hour. But I want you to rest and relax for now. Just prepare 3o minutes later and just do what you do. Can I leave you here?"
"Sure mom,"
"Your mom's so nice," Soh Ra said.
"All our moms are nice,"
"This place is…" Ji Han started as she looked around the room; pink and blue painted walls, beige table mantels and brown wooden floor, "cute and simple."
"It didn't pass to your interior design standards?"
"I don't mean that. It actually meets the purpose of the building. To house children,"
"Hmm, you want to lie down for a while? I can lead you to our room."
"That's the first thing I wanted to do since we came," Ro In said.
"Let's go."
While they were getting dressed, Ji Han's phone rang.
"Chanyeol-oppa,"
"Have you arrived?"
"Yeah, how about the whole lot of you?"
"We just arrived at the lodge. By the way, that is not why I called. Guess where I am right now?"
"Ah, to where you're standing right now,"
"Uh, you're no fun. I'm at the market."
"Well, that's not something new. It's not your first time."
"But I've never done this for a while. Suho-hyung and Luhan-hyung are with me. I'm like a tour guide now. It's Suho-hyung's first time in a market and it is Luhan-hyung's first time in a Korean market."
"Ooh,"
"Ji Han, we got to go" Soh Ra said to her as the three head out of the door.
"Are you busy?"
"Yeah, we'll be performing in 20 minutes. So, I have to go backstage."
"Oh, I wish I could watch you perform."
"Wish on, you're so busy. I got to go. Enjoy the market. Bye!"
"1,2,1,2,3. Go!" Soh Ra cued on the band and they started playing music for the crowd mostly composed of people of different ages but mostly young people. They felt good as they chose the right songs and the people were jamming along with them. It has been a while since they've played for a large crowd. After playing 10 songs straight, their performance finally ended and they said goodbye to the people who gave them loud cheers and a big round of applause.
"That was amazing," Shi Min said as she lay down to the bed.
"And tiring," Ro In added who lied down beside her.
"But it was worth it."
"Soh Ra's right, I've never felt this fulfilled before. Seeing the children smile makes my heart…"
"Flutter,"
She made a clicking sound with her mouth and winked, "That's the word."
The next day, the four of them woke up to the sound of the bells and children laughing.
"Guys, we're going to have breakfast with the children. Isn't that great?" Shi Min went to the bathroom and washed her face. When she came out, the others just got up and were rubbing their eyes.
"Can we eat with our sleeping clothes still on?" Soh Ra asked, looking down at her pyjamas and loose shirt.
"Of course, it's presentable enough. Come on! I'm so excited."
"I'm not really that fond with children," Ro In sleepily walked on the hallways with children still running around.
"You're only fond with your brother," Ji Han teasingly said.
"Well, it can't be helped. I only see him 2 or 3 times a year."
"Hmm, you're right."
What they saw at the dining hall surprised them. If in the hallways, the children were shouting and running about like crazy, in the dining hall, there was almost no sound at all besides the occasional contact of chopsticks on bowls and plates.
They went to the table where they sat yesterday. Food was already served and all they did was eat honeyed pancakes, drink hot coffee and stay silent like everybody else.
After they've eaten their breakfast, they went out to take a walk.
"By the way, we got so excited in coming here that we had not decided when we'll go home," Ji Han pointed out.
"Really?" they laughed at the idea.
"Mom said we can leave whenever we want to,"
"So when's that? Christmas is 5 days away so we have to get home before that."
"But our Christmas shopping day is 2 days before that," Shi Min said.
"You never forget about shopping,"
"Of course, I've always loved the idea of giving gifts."
"Speaking of that, I don't know what to give to the three of you this Christmas."
"Don't worry Ji Han, same here," Soh Ra said.
They just stayed silent as they sat on the bench, just watching the children play.
"What if we just hang out on that day?" Ro In suggested.
"Where? What would we do?"
"I want to play soccer early in the morning, and then you suggest what would follow."
"But that's so cold, I feel like I won't be able to move. That's a good idea though. We haven't tried that before. After that, we'll eat ice cream."
"That's even colder!"
"I think that's what we should do; living the seasons. Live like winter. Winter's so cold so we'll experience the cold to the max," Soh Ra imagined the four of them eating ice cream at the park while snowing.
"I love the idea. But right now, wanna go to the beach?"
The four of them drove to the sea in bicycles they borrowed from the orphanage. It was just a 15 minute ride and when they arrived there, they could just stare at it.
"Lovely," Soh Ra whispered.
They parked their bicycles on a nearby store and walked on the shore. They played chased by the waves and laughed at Ro In who was the only one chased and got her shoes wet. Sitting then on the sand they watched as the waves crash the shore.
On the other hand, the EXO members were on their way back to Seoul. They watched the view of the sea as it passed by. Just then they have to make a stop because their manager hyung left something very important at their lodge so he has to go back there and get it. Their vans parked in front of a convenience store and they stayed inside the van to wait for their manager.
"Oh look! It's- what are their names again?" Chen called out to the other EXO-M members. They watched as the four sat on the shore. "What are they doing here?"
"Didn't you see them yesterday at the stop?" Kris asked.
"No,"
"They said they have a performance here last night, at an orphanage." Xiumin filled up.
Chen just nodded as he turned his attention back to them who were currently talking to young boys.
Ro In was busy taking off her shoes when five young boys of probable ages 11-13 stood in front of them.
"Noonas, move aside," the one in the middle said. He was tucking a soccer ball at his side.
The four girls looked up to him with scrunched foreheads.
"What are you telling us to do? Is this beach your territory that you're actually asking us to leave?" Ji Han asked with much irritation in her voice.
"Yeah!" Ro In seconded.
The boy who spoke got taken aback and looked apologetic, "I don't mean that. I'm just asking you to move aside because this is where we'll play,"
"Yeah, we can't go any further because aunty will be mad," added the other one.
The four suddenly felt guilty and slowly stood up, patting their backside to shake off sand.
"Can we play, too?" Soh Ra asked them, "We're actually bored and got nothing left to do. Don't worry; we know how to play soccer,"
The other three turned to Soh Ra and found her idea a good one. They waited for their answer.
"It's okay, but it will be a lot different on the sand."
"I didn't consider that," Ro In realized.
"We still want to try it, right?" Soh Ra asked her friends and they all nodded.
"Okay, we'll play against you."
"That's great!"
The EXO members on the van continued watching what was happening on the shore. Their wonder perked when suddenly the four started taking off their coats and walked back near the water in their sweaters even when it's really cold. The five young boys were huddled in one corner while the four girls stretched their limbs.
"Are they going to play soccer?" Kai asked.
"I think so," Suho answered.
"In the sand?" D.O asked this time.
"Can we go out and watch?" Chanyeol asked the manager noona who were with them. She tried to tell them 'no' but they persuaded her more so when they saw the EXO-M members come out from their van and head out to the shore. Very soon they followed the others.
"EXO!"
The four suddenly turned to the young boy's group when they heard what one of them shouted. Then they saw all 12 of them walking towards them.
"What are you all doing here? Aren't you supposed to go back to Seoul?" Ji Han asked them.
"We were on our way but our manager-hyung had to go back to the lodge," Chanyeol explained.
"Hmm," Ji Han just said as she nodded.
"Okay, let's start! Yah!" Soh Ra said to the boys when they were about to go near the EXO members, maybe for some autograph, "Save that for later,"
The young boys found themselves suddenly afraid of her and backed off to their positions.
"You're so harsh," Ro In said to her.
"Guys, my left heel hurts a lot, can I pass?" Shi Min said and her friends approved.
"Okay, we'll play three on three. First team to score five goals will win," Ji Han instructed and thereafter, the game started.
The 12 audience watched as the game went on. They cheered on any team that makes a goal but mostly it's for the three people that they know and laughed whoever of them trip on the sand and fall. But they won't be able to finish the game because their manager finally arrived and called on them to go back to the van. They bade each other goodbye and the game continued on.
Chapter 3
Back At Seoul
When Ro In and the others arrived, the soccer field was expectedly deserted. No one in their right minds would play in this very cold winter morning. Well, except for the four of them.
"Okay guys, well play two-on-two," Ji Han said, "How will we decide the pairs?"
"I'll go with Soh Ra," Ro In said.
"So I'll go with Shi Min," Ji Han confirmed, she turned to her partner, "Okay, Shi Min let's win this!"
"You know I'm not really good with soccer, but I'll try my best."
"Did we decide on the price for the winner?" Soh Ra asked as she tied her shoelaces again.
"No, but I'll dare the pair that will not win to stay in the cold without coats for 15 minutes."
"What? I'll die!" Shi Min said.
"That's why we have to win."
"What if we'll lose? Why do you have to make that suggestion in the first place?"
"To make the game fun and there's something to look forward to after the game."
"Hey, the game has not started but yet I think your teamwork's shaking up a bit," Ro In teased their opposing pair.
"That's our way of warming up, by arguing," Ji Han answered with a laugh at the end.
"What?"
"Let's start! First team to reach ten goals will win."
And so they started. Three consecutive goals were made by Soh Ra at the first 15 minutes of the game.
"Ji Han, Shi Min!" Ro In called from the right goal, "I think you should argue more! You're not yet warmed up! Haha!"
"With that mouth of yours, you will surely be punished by God! You'll see, in the end, we will win!"
Ji Han scored a goal then another goal then one more.
"Soh Ra. Are you okay?" Ro In asked her only team mate.
"Yeah, I think it's just the cold. Don't worry."
Now it's down to a tie of 9 and the first team to make the goal will win. Even if it was really cold, the girls were sweating especially Ji Han and Soh Ra because they were the only ones running around; the other two were only goal keepers. And the first one to make the 10th goal for their team was Ji Han.
"Okay, now, time for the punishment."
"You're ruthless. Are you really going to make us do this?" Ro In said as she stopped unclasping her coat.
"Yeah, we agreed on it."
"Uh,"
"Oh gosh," Soh Ra said with a very shaky voice, "it's so cold," she finally took off her coat and only a long sleeved shirt and jeans was left to cover her body. "Start the time now," she sat at the bench and wrapped her arms around her body.
"Not until Ro In will take off hers."
"Ro In, come on," Soh Ra urged.
Ro In took off her coat and almost jumped to the intense coldness that touched her skin, "God! It's so cold!"
"Okay, your 15 minutes starts now."
"Where are you going?" Soh Ra asked Shi Min and Ji Han as they stood up and took their coats.
"We're going to buy hot coffee for you," Shi Min answered.
"Actually, we weren't supposed to do that, but Shi Min's so nice so yeah, we're giving you hot coffee after 15 minutes."
"You're bringing our coats?"
"Yeah, so you wouldn't get the chance to wear them while we're gone."
"Ji Han, I think the cold weather has an evil effect on you," Ro In said.
"Just be sure to come back here before the 15 minutes ends. We should be wearing our coats by then," Soh Ra said, her lips starting to get numb. "Hey, can't we just run around the field, to heat up?"
"I think I wouldn't be able to run, my whole body's starting to get numb." Ro In pressed her thighs and thank God she could still feel them.
"They've gone already?" Soh Ra asked when she noticed no trace of the other two.
"Yeah, that Ji Han. She's surely having fun. Hey, let's just hug each other."
"No, that would look weird. We'll look like two lesbians being lovey-dovey in the soccer field."
Ro In's face turned sour, "Ugh,"
"My fingers are numb,"
"Mine, too. Isn't it 15 minutes already?"
"I don't know,"
"What are you doing?"
The two of them looked up and saw a group of 5 guys standing over them.
"Oh, Hello everyone," Soh Ra greeted, only raising her palm.
"It's so cold out here," the tallest of them, Kris took off his coat and was about to place it over her, so was Lay who was also about to place his coat over Ro In.
"Oh no, don't do that but thank you,"
"Huh? But…"
"This is a dare because we lost in our soccer game."
"Soccer game? You were playing out here in this weather?"
The two were surprised at Kris' tone.
Ro In smiled, "We're very sorry, dad. But we just wanted to try it. Please forgive us; we will not do it again, promise," she said and they all laughed hard in the end.
"Silly," was all Kris can say and he just smiled at them.
"But really, what's taking them so long?"
"Speaking of… Hey! Is 15 minutes up already?" Soh Ra shouted at the top of her lungs which wasn't that loud.
Ji Han looked at her watch and shook her head, "No, 3 minutes more." She placed the hot coffee on the bench, "Okay guys, let's give them some air. Let the cold wind come."
The guys stepped away from the two and sat alongside them.
"By the way, what were you doing here outside?" Shi Min asked them.
"Taking a stroll," Tao answered.
"You weren't busy today?"
"Yes, but we have a show later this afternoon."
"Hmm,"
"I think I'm going to faint," Ro In said suddenly.
"Just a minute more… and… times up! Okay guys, enjoy your coffee!"
"Is that what you're just going to say? Not "Congratulations! You survived the cold!"?" Ro In complained as she quickly resorted to the comfort of her coat and took a sip of her hot coffee.
"Bye!" the girls said as the EXO members said that they should be on their way back to the dorm.
"Xiumin's so silent, isn't he? He seldom talks," Shi Min observed. She tucked her coat closer to her body and hugged herself.
"Yeah, I noticed, too." Soh Ra added. "So where should we go next?"
"We should go to Namsan Tower," Ji Han suggested.
"Why? And we've been there before like 3 times already."
"Ro In, you don't want to ride the cable car again, are you?"
"Of course, you all know I'm afraid of heights."
"Oh, she admitted it," Ji Han said more to herself than to the others.
"I heard that, let's just go somewhere else," Ro In finished her cup of coffee and threw the styro cup at the nearest trash bin.
The four of them walked the streets of Hongdae where there were also a lot of people up and about. They went inside the stores and looked at the stuffs that were displayed but they never bought anything- basically, they're just doing window shopping. As they walked on, there was a crowd formed at this one wide open space. They came closer to it and saw a small stage set-up. On the stage there was a green Christmas tree and cute little children lined up on the stage, wearing uniform white and green choir-like clothes. There was silence as the children started Christmas songs joyfully and with wide smiles on their faces. As they sang, they were moving their head sideways and the four actually found themselves doing the same, and they were also smiling. The children were just so cute. After the children sang three consecutive songs, their performance ended and another group of middle aged children came up the stage and sang.
"That was so cute!" Shi Min said as they got out of the crowd and continued their stroll.
"So much, I remember myself doing that when I was the same age as them,"
"Yeah, I actually saw Ro In's pictures while she was on stage, she was so cute," Soh Ra pinched Ro In's cheek.
"Ow," Ro In was left rubbing her reddened cheek.
"She was?" Ji Han asked.
"What's with that reaction?"
"I didn't mean anything bad."
"By the way, is it lunch yet? I'm hungry," Shi Min clutched Soh Ra's arm.
"It's already 11, should we eat now?"
"Let's eat Chinese hot pot!" Ro In shouted.
"Is there a restaurant somewhere here that serves that?"
"I know a place, don't worry. Let's go!"
"She really gets excited when it comes to food," Soh Ra said to other two because Ro In already walked ahead with skipping steps.
"Finally something to warm my insides," Ro In said as the ingredients was finally cooked enough and the four were serving their own plates.
"This is good,"
They ate and ate until the large size hot pot was finished.
"I'm so full," Ro In said as she lied back on her chair and felt her stomach.
"Of course you would, you ate like almost half of the serving."
"Sorry,"
"It was okay, though. Just the three of us wouldn't have finished it."
"Wait; is there a consequence if we weren't able to finish our food?" Shi Min asked.
"Yeah, we would have to pay for the left-overs. This restaurant has a 'no left-over policy'."
"Oh, good thing we have you then,"
"Shi Min, is that a compliment?"
"Yes," she answered innocently.
Ji Han's eyebrows met, "Is heavy-eater a compliment?"
Ro In turned her head swiftly to Ji Han and glared at her which made her friend immediately say sorry.
"I can't believe we're actually here. This is like the last place I would ever come to today," Soh Ra said.
"Me, too. It's so noisy, everybody's screaming," Ro In added.
"I hate the one sitting beside me; she kept on waving that banner and her elbow actually hit my face," Shi Min said, almost crying.
"What?" Soh Ra looked at who Shi Min was pertaining to. No one would like to sit beside that girl, she was acting crazy. She was screaming "EXO!" and she was shouting their names like a litany. She turned her attention to the stage and there they were in green polos inserted in black slacks and dancing with their suspenders. When the song ended and they exited the stage, Soh Ra turned her attention back to the girl and then she saw that girl's elbow hit Shi Min's face again and she didn't mind-she didn't even say sorry. Shi Min was not the type that picks a fight with a girl over this even if she's already hurt and she was not like that herself if the one at fault would only say sorry but this girl didn't and it was her friend who was hurt- her friend who couldn't hurt even a single ant.
She stood up and walked in front of the girl. The girl protested and told her to get out of her sight.
"Aren't you going to say sorry? You had hit my friend's face twice because you're being crazy right there flailing your arms like that."
"I didn't notice and I'm not being crazy!"
"Well, you basically are. Now, apologize!"
"I'm not! You can't make me. Now disappear from my sight! The next performance is starting."
Soh Ra's temper was rising and her fists were aching to hit this girl, "You-"
"Soh Ra!" Ji Han called as she pulled her away, "We should just go,"
Soh Ra whisked Ji Han's hands away from her arm as they finally got out of the room and is now standing in a narrow hallway.
"Ugh! That fat girl really makes me mad!" Soh Ra shouted as she leaned on the wall.
"Yeah, she was so rude. How could she talk back to you when she's just actually a high-schooler? I figured it from her uniform," Ro In added, crossing her arms in front of her.
"I'm sorry Soh Ra, you got into a fight because of me. If I just asserted myself to her, she could have-"
"No, Shi Min, it's not your fault. It's actually my fault; if I had not asked you guys to come here with me, that couldn't have happened. I'm sorry," Ji Han apologized.
"If we have someone to blame here, it's not you. It's that girl. Let's just get out of here."
"Ok, come with me to the waiting rooms, Chanyeol-oppa asked me to go there and get something. After that we'll go."
Soh Ra pulled her back from the wall and started walking after Ji Han along the narrow hallway; the two others followed.
"They're not here," Ji Han said as she closed the door of EXO's waiting room and stepped back to the hallway. "I think all of them are. Maybe it's already the part where all artists were to go on stage as the winner for the week will be announced."
"Oh, will that take long?" Soh Ra asked, she really wants to get out of this place, ASAP.
"They're here," Shi Min said as she spotted what looked like idols coming their way. The four flattened themselves to the wall so as not to block the way. They must have looked suspicious because some actually slowed down and looked at them. Shi Min and Ji Han watched as people pass by, trying to see if the EXO members are coming and after a short while, there they were.
"Hello! Why are you here?" Baekhyun asked them.
"Ji Han came to get something from her cousin," Shi Min answered. She saw Baekhyun look at Soh Ra who lost her good mood.
"What happened to her?"
"Uhm, long story,"
Baekhyun just nodded and looked at Soh Ra before entering their waiting room.
"What are you doing here waiting outside? You should've come in," Chanyeol said to them.
"Without permission?" Ji Han waited all the members entered the room before she followed Chanyeol inside.
"Aren't the others coming in?"
Ji Han hesitated, "They, uh, we actually have to leave early because we have something else to do. I'm just going to get that something you will give me, and then we'll leave."
Chanyeol's eyebrows scrunched together, "Did something happen?"
Just then, Suho opened the door and told the three other girls to come inside because the guards will definitely push them outside if they see them lurking there.
"It's okay, we'll be leaving in a while, anyway," Shi Min answered him.
"No, just come in," Suho asserted. The three followed him inside without saying anything. He let them sit at a vacant sofa at one corner of the room. The whole room was very busy with people.
Near one wall with mirrors, there stood Chanyeol and Ji Han.
"Well," she then proceeded to telling her cousin and probably Baekhyun and Sehun who were standing beside him, about what happened. Baekhyun and Sehun laughed at what she said.
"I can't believe it," Baekhyun just said and then he turned her attention to the other three, "Soh Ra, were you really going to hit someone?" he shouted and the other people who were inside the room who didn't know about it, now know.
"Yeah, if Ji Han had not only stopped me,"
"She was younger than us," Ji Han answered.
"But she doesn't know how to apologize," she let out a heavy sigh, "let's just drop this subject."
The whole room went into silence. Soh Ra stood up and bowed down to the others before leaving the room.
"Soh Ra," Kai called her but she was already out of the door.
Ro In and Shi Min also stood up and bowed down before following Soh Ra outside.
"Hurry outside," Ro In said to Ji Han, and then she turned to the others, "Nice performance by the way."
"Thanks," they answered.
"But can I just say this, because I'm really bothered."
"What is it?"
"I think that song doesn't fit the Christmas season. I think it's for the Valentines season, don't you think?"
All the people inside the waiting room were caught off guard and there was a vacuum silence.
"Uhm, maybe I'm the only one who thinks it," she finally said, "Sorry for bringing that up, good bye," she bowed again before closing the door.
"What's wrong with you?" Soh Ra asked when she saw Ro In walking towards them like in despair.
"Ahhh!"
Ro In then told Soh Ra and Shi Min about what she said at the waiting room.
"Hey, you can't just tell singers that their song doesn't fit the season,"
"I know, but I was just bothered about it. You know what I do when I'm bothered about something."
"Yeah, you let it out," Shi Min said flatly.
"I'm very sorry!"
"Tell that to them,"
"By the way, you okay?" Ro In asked Soh Ra.
Soh Ra smiled and moved closer to Shi Min. "Look how fast she recovers," and Shi Min giggled.
"What's that?"
"Nothing and yeah, I'm fine. You know I don't get pissed off for long."
"Guys!"
They all turned their heads to where Ji Han's voice came and saw that she was carrying a large box wrapped in a blue cloth.
"What's in the box?" Shi Min asked her when she got to where they were sitting.
Ji Han placed the box on the bench and placed her arms in akimbo. "It's food; they got it for us," she breathed hard, "It's really heavy." She then turned to Soh Ra, "Soh Ra-"
"Don't tell me you're sorry because I already told you it's not your fault. It's okay, now," she smiled at her and Ji Han smiled back as she hugged her friend from behind.
"Ji Han, you said 'they', you mean…" Ro In waited for her friend to confirm who she was thinking.
"Chanyeol-oppa and the others,"
"Wow, so nice of them, can I see what's inside?" Shi Min untied the cloth and while she was at it, Ro In felt her guilt rising. She remembered that she had said something awful to them.
"Look at Ro In, her guilt came back," Soh Ra said to Ji Han.
"Oh yeah, you know, Ro In, when you left, there was silence inside the room like everyone was thinking about what you just said. Then after a while, Baekhyun asked if their song really doesn't fit the season and no one answered. Maybe they're still having doubts right now,"
"Really?"
"Uh huh," Ji Han nodded and smiled at the three others.
"Or maybe they already got over it. Ro In, don't worry about it too much," Shi Min said to her friend.
"Maybe," Ji Han just added and sat beside the box, "What's inside it?"
"There are three layers: first layer: deokbokki, second layer: it's seasoned galbi, third layer: sushi and sashimi. This is an odd combination."
"Yeah, I bet it's from their fans. They just don't want it that's why they gave it away," Soh Ra said, "But thanks anyway, I'm actually hungry, and these are the foods I really want to eat right now."
"But these are not from their fans. Chanyeol-oppa said they ordered it for us," Ji Han said as she thought deep about it.
"The four of us? Why would they do that?"
"This is what I've been thinking; two days ago, Chanyeol-oppa called me and we talked about how we would spend our Christmas. He said that tonight, they will be having their Christmas celebration together because some of them will be going home tomorrow and then he said that I could actually come and I could bring my friends with me,"
"So?"
"I'm thinking that do they want us to celebrate with them?"
There was silence. Not one of them has any answer to this thought. It was already 8 pm but the park was already deserted and it looks like they were the only people there.
"It's so cold out here; can we go someplace warmer?" Soh Ra changed the subject, "Oh Yeah! Should we go to the studio? Oppa must still be there and I'll just ask him if we can stay there until later tonight."
"Good idea,"
"I'll just make a call,"
While the four of them were walking to the Tea Shop, Ji Han's phone rang. She passed the box to Ro In and fished the phone out of her pocket.
"Who is it?" Ro In asked her.
"It's Chanyeol-oppa,"
Soh Ra hurried her pace when they neared the Tea shop. The door was marked close but the lights were still open. She saw her oppa from the glass windows and knocked on the door.
"You can stay here not until 12 because you should be home by then and I'm just going to dim down the lights in here. Make sure the doors are locked when you'll leave. Here's the keys and take care,"
She took them from his grip, "Sure thing," and hugged his brother-in-law before he left.
Her friends went to the studio and Soh Ra made sure the door was locked before following them. Just when she was about to turn back and head to the studio, two vans stopped right in front of the tea shop. She watched as the door on both vans opened and the EXO members came out. They hesitated to go near the shop because it was closed. Chanyeol took his phone out and after dialling, placed it near his ear.
Soh Ra thought that after a while, Ji Han will come out of the studio and come right behind her and indeed, her friend came out after a while.
"Ji Han, why-?" Soh Ra asked her friend, "Are they going to hang out here?"
"Yeah, with us… what I guessed at the park was true; they do want us to celebrate with them. Is it okay with you?"
"How about the others? You already asked them?"
"Yeah, Shi Min was fine with it but Ro In said she has no face now to show them; she's still guilty, you know. How about you?"
"It's okay but I'm just wondering why. It bugs me to think that they'd want to celebrate with us. Can't they just do it with just them at their dorm or somewhere?"
Ji Han's eyebrow rose up in confusion, "Wait, are you really okay with this?"
She hesitated, "Yeah; just let them in, I bet they're freezing outside. I'll just go to the bathroom."
"Okay,"
Meanwhile, Shi Min started munching on a sushi while Ro In just lied flat on the floor with her face down.
"Shi Min, how am I going to face them? I just said what I was thinking. They'll understand if I'll apologize, right?"
"Of course they would, actually I think the same as you; if it's just the title of the song and the lyrics and the seasons, perfectly fits but if it's the title of the song and the lyrics and the season and the dance, something big is off with it."
"That's exactly what I'm thinking."
"We'll just keep that to ourselves and you should apologize and we'll forget about it. After that, you won't be bothered anymore."
Ro In turned herself around and faced the ceiling, "Yeah, we'll do that. Thanks, Shi Min."
After a while, the door opened and there emerged Ji Han and the 12 EXO members with smiles on their faces. They look so happy, Shi Min observed.
"Hello!" Chanyeol and the others greeted them and Shi Min and Ro In greeted them the same. Shi Min made way for them as they went to the center of the studio where the box was opened up. They sat with them but some like Lay, Chanyeol and Baekhyun went to the band area and tried on the instruments.
"Is it okay if we play them?" Lay asked.
"Well, you already are, it's okay, though," Shi Min answered as she took another sushi. "Oh, thank you for this box of food anyway, it's really delicious."
"Hey, EXO," Ro In started and all the people in the room looked at her. "I apologize for what I said to you earlier, you know at the waiting room."
"It was fine. There's actually no problem about it," Suho said to her.
"Really?"
They all nodded at her and she felt a thorn plucked out from her back, "I was really bothered about it, thank you for forgiving me."
"Guys, want some?" Shi Min offered the food to them and they all took their share.
"Where's Soh Ra?" Chen asked them.
"She's at the bathroom, sleeping." Ji Han said.
"Huh?"
"Just kidding. She's actually been there for a while. I'll go and check."
"Soh Ra?" Ji Han knocked on the door and waited for her friend to answer but none came. She knocked again and this time it's faster. "Are you still there? Please answer me! Soh Ra!" she tried the door and it opened but her friend wasn't there. She closed the door and stood still when she felt a cold presence behind her. Her heart started to beat faster, her hairs on her arms and the back of her neck rising and cold sweat started forming on her forehead. She closed her eyes as she turned around and then she saw it, a black shadow that had her short hair in a mess, covering her face. It extended its white twitching arms and started walking towards her.
"Ahhh!" she finally shouted, taking all her fright out of her heart. Then she heard a laugh, not a scary laugh but it was an I-just-saw-something-really-funny laugh. She stopped shouting and saw Soh Ra leaning on the wall, clutching her stomach, and laughing hard almost bending over.
"Oh my gosh! I can't take it anymore…" Soh Ra said catching her breath but still can't stop laughing.
"Ugh, it's just you!" Ji Han shouted as she tried to calm down her heart.
The door of the studio opened and the people inside checked out what was happening, "What happened?"
"Ji Han, we heard you shout, what-"
"Are you trying to kill me?" Ji Han asked Soh Ra who finally straightened herself up and fixed her hair.
"No, I was just trying to scare you."
"You're so evil!"
"No, I'm not! I'm just trying to have fun. C'mon I'm sorry but you should've seen your face, you guys should've seen her face; it could pass for a decoration in a horror house," she said to the people at the door.
"Well, you could pass for a ghost in a horror house. Please don't do that again, I almost hit you, you know."
They started walking inside the studio and the others went back to what they were doing. They both sat with the others on the floor.
"Thank God there's still an "almost" because the first time when I tried it with my sister, she actually kicked me in the stomach and I doubled over on the bathroom floor,"
There was a burst of laughter from the group.
"That really happened?" Kai asked her.
"Yeah,"
"Then why are you still doing it?" Chen followed.
She smiled for the simple answer that came to her head, "because it's fun."
"She likes to do fun things," Shi Min said.
"Of course, in the first place, why would I do things that I know would only bore me?"
"You have a point," D.O said.
Soh Ra smiled at him; this was the first time she heard him spoke. "How about you guys? What are the things you consider fun to do?" she asked them. Just then, the three previously playing in the band area are now sitting and eating with them.
"For me, it's performing on stage and seeing myself on television," Suho answered with much confidence.
"Same with me," Tao said, "also shopping for clothes,"
"If only Suho-hyung or Kris-hyung would buy for you," Sehun said to him and the others laughed.
"Hey, I also spend, you know," Tao defended but no one was listening.
"It's dancing for me," Kai said.
"Playing guitar is always fun," Chanyeol said.
"I agree," the girls answered in unison.
"Ro In, you also play the guitar?" Lay asked.
"Yeah, but I love playing the drums more,"
"Me, it's hanging out with friends, like what we're doing now," Chen said.
"Chen, we're starting to think that you're the most sentimental person in our group," Luhan said.
The others agreed in unison.
"What?" Chen just reacted.
Soh Ra thought about Chen's answer and now she thinks she knows the reason why they were here with them. These guys must be considering the four of them as their friends. Well, that is definitely unexpected.
"So you consider the four of us as friends?" Ro In asked.
Soh Ra might have seen it wrong because they somehow looked surprise of the question.
"Well," Chen started, "aren't we?"
There was silence as each group tried to consider the question.
She took a deep breath, "Ah, whatever," all eyes turned to her, "Just think that we're here to have fun and enjoy the time. Now, any suggestions for some fun things to do inside these four corners?"
As the night and their fun conversations went on, their talk lead to what do the four girls' parents do?
"Well, my parents are both surgeons," Ji Han said which garnered amazed expressions from the guys except for Chanyeol.
"They actually own one of the largest hospitals here in Seoul," Chanyeol added.
"My father wanted me to also become a doctor but I refused because I don't want to. My passion's lies in something else."
"Shi Min, what about you?"
"My mother's a fashion designer and businesswoman and also runs a lot of charitable foundations while my father's an archaeologist; he's actually in America right now, doing some digging," she laughed.
"Unlike the others, my parents aren't here in Korea; both of them are working abroad," Soh Ra started, "My mother's a professor in Julliard Music School,"
"Wow,"
"Yeah, while my father is working at Warner Brothers Pictures,"
"What does he do there?" Suho asked.
"He's the head of the production in animation,"
"Your parents are amazing," Luhan said and looked at Ro In who looked at him in return.
"Oh, it's my turn? Uh, okay, my mother is a housewife and my father's the Chief Commissioner of the Police,"
"Whoa, really? I saw him on television a lot of times and he looks scary," Chen said.
"Yeah, he does but he's really the opposite when he's at home,"
"Her family is really in line of public security service because her mother's used to be the Secretary of the National Defence, right Ro In?" Ji Han said.
Ro In nodded, "But she resigned after one term when she married my father because my father just wants her to stay at home and take care of their children. I'll just go to the bathroom," she said as she stood up and walked towards the door.
"Ah, I'm so full," Shi Min lied down on the floor and then sat up immediately.
Soh Ra got surprised at her friend's sudden action, "What's wrong?"
Shi Min looked at her friend, "Nothing, I just remembered that I shouldn't lie down when I'm full," then she heard a banging sound outside, "You heard that?"
"Yeah, I'll go and check," she then stood up and head for the door.
"I'll go with you," Kai said.
"It must have been a cat or something. I'm sure I locked the door so definitely no one could get in," Soh Ra said to Kai as they passed by the counter.
Kai went to the door first and then turned the knob to make sure it's locked, "Yeah, it's locked."
"Let's go back,"
"Soh Ra, what's that behind you?" Kai suddenly asked, fear in his voice.
Soh Ra just smirked, "Did you just try to scare me?"
Kai's face showed dismay, "Sorry for trying, let's go back inside," and started walking towards the counter.
"At least you tried," Soh Ra laughed.
"It was nothing," Soh Ra answered Shi Min when she asked about it.
"So guys, how would you spend your Christmas tomorrow?" Ji Han asked the EXO members. She already asked her cousin about this and he answered he was going home but how about the others?
The Korean members are all going home and celebrate with their family but the Chinese members are staying at their dorm.
"You'll celebrate there?" she asked Lay and the others.
"Yeah, I think," Lay answered.
"But I suggest we should go out and celebrate," Luhan said to them.
"Lay-hyung, Kris-hyung, Luhan-hyung and Tao, you want to go at my place and celebrate there?" Chen asked them suddenly.
The Chinese members looked at Chen with a 'touched' face, "We can?" Tao asked; there was a wide smile on his face.
"Of course, my family won't mind. They'll be glad to have you there."
"Ah, Chen-hyung!" Tao then hugged Chen like a little kid being given a toy car.
"Hey!" Chen just said.
"It's settled then! We'll celebrate with Chen's family!" Lay exclaimed.
"Yehet!" Luhan said.
"Yeah!" Kris followed.
"Waah, I'm so envious, they're going out of town for Christmas," Chanyeol said.
"The Chinese members are so far from their family, do you ever get sad?" Shi Min asked.
"Of course, but we have to endure it because we have to be here," Luhan answered.
"What a big sacrifice you're making. I bet you miss them this time especially it's Christmas,"
Luhan nodded and smiled, "Let's just not talk about it. It makes me feel sadder,"
"Sorry, so you're sad now because you said 'sadder'?"
"No, no. That's not what I meant. I'm actually glad and I thank the four of you for that,"
"The four of us? Why?"
"Because the four of you are very fun people to be with; it's not only me who thinks this, also the others. You are one of the few people other than our friends in the industry who we could feel comfortable hanging out with just like friends because…"
Shi Min thinks she knows what he means, "We are not your fans," and then she laughed. She looked at others and they were also nodding. She thought they weren't listening.
"I've never experienced it, but I guess it must be difficult to be real friends with a fan because I don't know if what they really want from us is friendship," Suho said.
"Simply speaking, you're thinking all of your fans want you to be their boyfriend," Soh Ra said a-matter–of- factly.
Jeering followed between the guys and Soh Ra laughed at her remark.
"We can't deny it; maybe not all, but most."
"It could be true though,"
"Yeah, because I remember back in our High School, I think it was the time of Super Junior, 2pm and Bigbang right?" Ji Han turned to her friends but they all shrugged. She forgot that she was the only one among the four of them who follow the KPOP music. "Our school is an All Girls High School and all of them would talk about idols all day even during classes and they all have one common question, what it would feel like if they were their idol's girlfriend."
"See?" Suho asked.
"I remember, the four of us were like outcasts because it seemed we were the only ones who aren't fans of KPOP idols." Shi Min said.
"Maybe that's why the four of you are really close friends right now because you have something in common," Xiumin said.
"Yeah, we were not actually friends with the others because when they would start talking to us about it, one-by-one, we would make excuses so that we could get away. They eventually stopped talking to us and that's when we started feeling like outcasts," Ro In explained.
"Your high-school life must be sad because of it," Tao said.
The four of them smiled, "No, it's actually far from sad, it's the opposite. In fact, we had a fun high school life," Soh Ra said and she stretched her legs in front of her.
"Why aren't you interested in KPOP though?" Baekhyun asked.
Shi Min looked at her friends, "It's not like we're not interested but we are not fans of it, it's not our Jam, you know…"
Baekhyun smiled, "Okay,"
"But eventually we have to explore it because when we decided to make our own choreography almost 3 years ago, we needed music, we needed songs. And then came that time when we got tired listening to foreign RNB rap and modern songs, so we gave KPOP music a go and we actually found some songs that we like. That's when we started making covers," Soh Ra said to them and they were nodding.
"But you're still not a fan of it?" Chanyeol asked.
The four simultaneously nodded, "You might think we're not being patriotic or we do not love our country's own but we won't be condemned for it, right?"
"Of course, not," Baekhyun laughed.
Almost three hours had passed that they just kept on talking and both sides think that they know much about each other already.
Soh Ra looked at her watch and figured that she needs to go home; with it, she'll be closing the shop and the others have to go home as well. The two groups dispersed from where they were sitting and walked out of the shop quietly. Two vans waited out of the shop and the EXO members headed to it after they bade goodbye.
"How will you get home?" Suho asked them before their van set off.
"I'll ride the bus,"
"Soh Ra and I will take the subway,"
"I'll ride a taxi,"
"Okay, thank you for having us,"
"No problem, bye! Merry Christmas!" Ji Han greeted followed by the others.
Chapter 4
The next day, the EXO members separated ways back to their homes except for Chen and the 4 Chinese members who'll be celebrating with him. They all had a fun Christmas celebration.
The holidays went by so fast and it is now the New Year 2014. The four friends decided to meet at Hangang Park with their bicycles at January 3 before they'll go back to school at January 6. They rode along the Han River and watched the day end with the sunset while telling stories about how their holidays had gone.
Monday, they went back to their classes and found it difficult to adjust from the long vacation. At the weekend, they met at the studio and Ji Han gave them news.
"Guys, you want to perform live as a band on a bar?" she asked them.
"Why? Did someone give you an offer?"
"Remember our senior in high school whose boyfriend has a band back then? We saw each other yesterday and we talked and then she asked if do we still perform as a band because you know we had performed before at school and I said yes, why? Then she said that she and her boyfriend had put up a music bar in Gangnam district and they are in need of a band who mostly sings English songs to suit the preferences of their regular customers which are typically foreigners."
Soh Ra nodded, "It's fine with me,"
"But we have classes,"
"Oh, she said we'll only perform on Saturday nights because she knows we're still students,"
"That's great. How about we give it a try?" Ro In suggested.
Their first Saturday night then came and it had worked well with them until the next three Saturdays. Their audience were mostly from the west, so they really do speak English. For a month of working there, the four concluded that the bar was famous with rich people and also, sometimes they would spot an idol or two or the whole idol group hanging out inside the bar and listening to them. One time they saw Bigbang's Seungri, Taeyang and G-dragon and this night, while on stage, they saw the whole CNBlue band in one corner.
"Good job again today, ladies!" the manager greeted them while they were at the backstage. They just finished performing for the night and they were so tired because of the prior activities at their school's open art exhibit.
"Thanks," Shi Min answered and the manager then left to fix something.
The four with their heavy guitars at their backs except for Ro In who only brings her drumsticks, went out of the backstage and head straight to the bar and sat there.
"Water?" the bartender who became close to them asked.
"Yes, please. My throat is so dry," Soh Ra answered.
The four of them drank heartily and thanked the bartender.
"Hello," Soh Ra turned to her side and recognized the vocalist of CNBlue sitting beside her.
"Uh, hello," she greeted back.
Her three friends looked at him and to the three other members who sat alongside him.
"We saw you on stage, you were all amazing,"
"Thanks,"
"Uh, by the way, I'm Yong Hwa from CNBlue,"
"Jung Shin, nice to meet you," he said as he gave a salute.
"Jong Hyun,"
"Min Hyuk, you look cool actually because you're all girls and it's not common."
"Thanks, again. Actually we know you're CNBlue but not really your names. It's also nice to meet you in person, I'm Soh Ra and this is…"
"Shi Min, Hello,"
"Ji Han,"
"Ro In, Barty, can I get another glass of water please? I'm still parched."
"How long have you been performing here? We've never seen you here before," Jung Shin asked.
"We only perform on Saturday nights and this is our fourth,"
"It figures, this is actually the first time we came here this year."
Soh Ra just gave an understanding nod and turned to Shi Min whose phone's alarm was ringing. Shi Min raised both her eyebrows twice and Soh Ra understood it immediately. They got to get going because it's already nearing 12 am. They're not high school students anymore but they still set themselves a curfew.
"Uh, we'll go ahead. Again, it's nice meeting you," Soh Ra said to the four guys and altogether they went out of the bar and to the street. The members of CNBlue watched them. They turned to each other and started talking about the band they just met.
At their school, the four met on the cafeteria and Shi Min talked to them about her mother not letting her perform on the bar again.
"Hmm, actually I also want to quit, too," Soh Ra said.
"Yeah," Ro In agreed.
"You, too?" Ji Han asked which got a nod from her friend. "Well, the feeling is mutual. I don't know if this is what you guys also think but for the past 6 years that we have been playing as a band, we only perform because we love to perform, right?" her friends nodded, "and I think this regular music bar thing on Saturday nights is not our thing,"
"That's right; so should we call the manager now?"
Then they called the manager without further ado and the major excuse that they made is that one of their members weren't allowed by their parents to perform in the bar, anymore and thank God the manager didn't argue with them much about the topic. After the call, they finally resigned.
"Well, that was easy," Ji Han said as she placed her phone back to her pocket. "By the way, Soh Ra, I heard your group's film project was nominated as the Best Film for Collegiate Level at the Seoul Film Festival."
"Yeah, I hope we'll win,"
"Wow, that's amazing!" Shi Min exclaimed.
"Well, how about you? You're still 22 but your book will be published this year," said Ro In.
Shi Min turned to her, "And while my book is being published, you're photos will be in an exhibit together with the other internationally famous photographers. And Ji Han already started working as an apprentice to Seoul's No. 1 Architectural firm. Really, guys we're so amazing. This year's so good to us, don't you think?"
Her friends smiled and snickered as they ate their lunch heartily.
At the studio that Saturday, the four felt free because they won't be performing at the bar anymore. Each was doing their own thing; Ro In was playing drums, Shi Min was reading a book, Ji Han was drawing on her sketchbook and Soh Ra was just lying down flat on her back on the wooden floor.
A knock came on the door and Ji Han turned to see who it is who entered the room. She was surprised to see that it was the EXO members.
"Hello, sorry to come here without notice," Suho said as they came in.
"Apology accepted, you actually surprised us," Ro In said as she kept on banging the drums.
"We just felt like coming," Baekhyun said then he, Chen, D.O and Suho walked closer to the busy Ro In.
All had noticed the guys' arrival except for Soh Ra who had her cap over her face and either Shi Min was so busy with reading the ending of the book that she just said 'hello' and went back to her reading.
Kai, Sehun, Lay and Tao walked over to where Soh Ra was lying down.
"Soh Ra?" Lay asked Ji Han as she pointed down on the sleeping figure.
"Yeah, don't wake her up now. She said she wasn't able to sleep last night because of her project,"
"No need to," Soh Ra suddenly said as she sat up and the cap fell down her lap. She took it then fixed her hair before putting the cap over her head. Just then her phone rang and she took it from her pocket then answered the call, "Yeah, oppa. They're already outside? Okay, Uh, yeah, I'm fine. I just woke up from a short nap. Yeah, they're here," she looked up and saw each face of the EXO members around her, "I'm ready for them, really. Let them come in here, Thanks."
"Hello, EXO!" she greeted as she stood up and dusted down her clothes.
"Did we wake you up?" Lay asked her.
Soh Ra laughed, "No, I was awake the whole time," she tapped his shoulder as she passed by him and walked to the door. She opened the door and let her two students (a girl and a boy) come into the studio. Not really her students but her sister's students.
Meanwhile, Shi Min felt tears fell down her cheeks. She took off her eyeglasses and she wiped the tears immediately as she read the last three pages of the ending chapter.
"Shi Min is crying," Luhan said to Ji Han as he, Xiumin and Kris sat beside her.
"That's how she is when the story struck her so much. I bet the ending is really depressing."
The three just nodded and looked at what she was doing. Luhan and Xiumin laughed together as they thought of something.
"I know what you're thinking," Kris said to the two.
"You do?" and they laughed again.
"What are they thinking?" Ji Han asked.
Kris smiled, "They're thinking that my drawings are so far from yours."
Ji Han laughed as well. She had seen from some of EXO's TV guestings that Kris shows his drawings to the public which are like a kindergartener's drawing and he's the so called EXO's Picasso.
"Now you're also laughing! Really, my drawings aren't that bad!"
"Yeah, yeah,"
"By the way, this looks like a house interior," Kris said as he slid his finger along the lines of her drawing.
"This IS a house interior. My latest design for submission,"
"You're an interior designer?" Luhan asked.
"Still a student,"
"If that's the design of my living room I'll probably stay in that area for the whole day," Luhan said.
"I take that as a compliment. Thanks,"
"Ahh! No!" All people inside also Soh Ra's guests who were currently warming up turned to Shi Min. She now closed the book and curled on the floor with the book in her chest.
"Is she okay?" Tao asked.
"Yeah, is she hurt or something?" Chanyeol followed up.
"No, she's perfectly fine. It will just take time before she recovers from the ending," Soh Ra said to them.
Ro In finally stopped playing the drums and turned her attention to the four guys who are in the platform with her, trying the instruments.
"Guys, sshh," she told them as Soh Ra played the music that the pair of students will dance to. They placed the instruments back to its proper place and just stood there as they watched Soh Ra talk to them.
The EXO members and the girls except for Soh Ra and Shi Min who is still curled on the floor just sat on the floor and watched the pair dance while Soh Ra stood and watched in one corner of the room.
"They're amazing," Kai said. The pair is doing contemporary interpretative dancing to Regina Spektor's song: 'Samson'. After they danced, there was a round of applause and the pair bowed to them.
"That was beautiful," Soh Ra as she walked towards them, "My sister told me to improve anything on the dance that I feel lacking but I see none,"
"Really?" the girl asked.
She hesitated, "Well, maybe we just need to smoothen down some few movements and the emotions, you need to control them. Let's start with that lift,"
"Is Soh Ra a part time choreographer?" Sehun asked.
"No, those two are her sister's students. Her sister must have asked her to help her with it that's why they're here."
"Oh,"
"They're so fun to watch, the guy seems to be shy around Soh Ra that's why he can't lift her," Baekhyun said then he snickered.
"It's so obvious, he has a crush on her," Chanyeol said.
Soh Ra was clearly hearing this and so was the boy. She sighed, if that's the case then, the boy won't be able to properly demonstrate the lift with her.
"Okay," she said to the girl, "just do the lift and I'll instruct something while you're on it,"
She turned to the audience and pointed at Chanyeol and Baekhyun, "you two, you're not helping," they just laughed and she turned her attention back to the pair who is currently doing the lift. "Okay, do it again… alright, then hold her there for five seconds, look into each other's eyes like you're really in love with each other. Now then slowly, bend your arms and then your knees. Then girl, fall like you used to with much emotion of pain from loving him that much, hold still… place your hands like this, okay? Hold that pose for three seconds and then you bend down scraping the air with your stretched arm towards her waist then to her back. Girl, only turn your head from the floor to his face when you already feel his hand on your back and he's starting to lift you up. While he's lifting you up, you should stretch your legs and point your toes; those are important and also never lose eye contact. You got it so far?" the two nodded, "Am I too fast?"
"No, it's just fine,"
She smiled, "Okay, again,"
"She seems to really know what to do," Kai said.
"That's how she teaches us her choreography," Ro In answered.
"She's a good teacher," D.O said.
"That's why we learn easily and in no time," Ji Han answered this time.
On the other corner of the room, Shi Min woke up because she really did fell asleep crying because of the sad ending of the book she just read. She sat up and looked at her surroundings then fixed her hair and herself.
"Finally got back to reality?" Ji Han asked. She looked up and saw the whole lot of them looking at her. She smiled at them and remembered that the EXO members really did come here.
"I was so carried away," she said as she walked towards them and sat beside Tao on the edge of the long line.
"You always get carried away," Ro In leaned forward to tell her that.
Shi Min leaned her head on the wall, "the ending is just so sad."
"Really?" Luhan took the book from her hand and looked at the cover. She looked at what he was doing and when he opened the book and the last page, she immediately took the book from him.
"Hey!"
"What?"
"Don't read the last bit! It kills the thrill of the story,"
"Okay," he laughed.
"We somehow look the same now," Tao said to her.
"Why?"
"We both have dark circles around our eyes," he answered as he circled his finger around her eye without really touching it.
"Oh I see," she said and laughed.
"Bye! I know you'll get in, just trust yourself and each other. Good luck!" Soh Ra shouted to the pair as they went out of the studio and closed the door. "Finally, I'm done," she lied down on the floor and closed her eyes- feeling the tiredness of her muscles.
Then there was the ruckus of the sound of the drums, the guitars and the keyboard when Ro In, Chen, Baekhyun, D.O and Suho went back to the platform and played the instruments. Soh Ra smiled as the guys jeered on each other; they're so fun to hear.
"Are You dreaming? What are you smiling about?" Sehun asked as he sat down near Soh Ra.
Soh Ra opened her eyes and saw Kai and Luhan sit beside Sehun and watching the noisy people on the raised platform.
"I wasn't dreaming," she sat up. "I'm laughing inside because no matter how tired I was, all of your laughter has kept me feeling light. I bet my friends are feeling the same, too," she paused. "Filming, projects at school make us feel tired and a day like this is the only remedy we need," The guys close to her smiled.
"It's the same with us," Kai said.
Their noise droned on until the night came and until they went home. It was another fun day well spent with friends.
A few days had passed and it is now a Friday. It was 2 in the afternoon when Kai, Sehun, Baekhyun and Chanyeol went inside the tea shop. They noticed that their four friends' bicycles were outside so they thought that maybe they are there.
"Good morning, sir, are they here?" Chanyeol asked Dong-Il who is standing over the counter.
"Yes, they just came. Go on," he urged them and they nodded as they thanked him then walked towards the studio.
"Is it really okay that we came? Maybe they're doing something important," Kai asked his friends.
"Don't worry, they won't mind," Chanyeol said.
"How can you be sure?" Kai asked again.
"We've been friends with them for like what 2… 3 months? And the last time we came, they were doing something important then, but they didn't mind."
Meanwhile, while the 4 EXO members were just walking into the shop, the girls were talking inside the studio.
"Guys, let's play marathon," Ro In suggested. "The one who tires first will treat us some food while we're biking along the Han River later tonight."
Soh Ra stood up from the floor, "That's a great idea,"
Ji Han took her phone from her bag, "I'll play all our cover music in random."
"We just limit it to… how many songs are there?" Shi Min asked.
"Uhm, 48. That will be like 4 hours playtime,"
"18 straight songs will be fine, right?"
The others agreed. And they now warmed up as Ji Han plugged her phone to the speakers.
"Ji Han, place a ten second interval between songs, okay?"
"Sure thing, that's what I'm about to do," after she did just that, she joined the others who were stretching their limbs.
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
"Who could that be?"
"Uh, come in! It's not locked!" Soh Ra shouted.
Then Chanyeol's head popped in through the gap.
"Chanyeol oppa!" Ji Han shouted, surprised.
"And friends!" Baekhyun then shouted with his arms stretched upward when the four of them came into the room.
The room was filled with laughter with that entrance.
"Why are you here?" Soh Ra asked.
"What's this?" Baekhyun asked, "Why do I feel like we're not welcome?"
"Hey, stop over reacting. I'm just asking. You didn't tell us you were coming,"
"We are free this afternoon but we have nothing better to do at the dorm so we came here instead."
"Did we disturb you?" Kai asked as he and Sehun walked towards them.
Soh Ra shook her head, "No,"
"What are you doing?"
"We're… warming up,"
Both their eyebrows arched.
"We're going to play marathon,"
"It's a game we usually play," Shi Min added.
"Let's start!" Ji Han said as she strode towards her phone.
"We're going to take most of the floor so it would be better if you'd all stay in one corner," Ro In said to the guys who were confused of what they're going to do.
"Why? Are you going to run around the room?" Chanyeol asked as they indeed sat in one corner near the platform; good boys.
Soh Ra turned to their direction, "No. Uh, just watch, if you want,"
Ro In was jumping as she stretched her neck, "C'mon guys let's do this! I got a hefty lunch so I won't tire that easily!"
The other three snickered.
"Hey, don't be so sure! Don't you remember? We ate lunch together and we ate the same thing so probably we're in the same condition," Ji Han said to her and she stopped jumping when she realized that they actually did.
"Okay guys! Ready?" Ji Han asked.
"Uh, huh,"
"Yes,"
"Play it!"
The four girls' spirits were burning with excitement as well as the other four sitting in one corner as they anticipated what those four standing will do.
Ji Han touched the play button and immediately stood up.
The first song that played was Block B's 'Action'.
"Nice start!" Ro In said as Soh Ra started singing the first part. The marathon went on and the four girls just enjoyed every moment of it. They had fun even if sometimes they would have to switch from just singing to dancing or both and then playing/singing in the band and then back to either mentioned cover acts as how they did the song on their videos. While they were at it, their audience were also enjoying so much even laughing when they see one or two of them get rattled when they change genre, particularly Shi Min.
At the middle of it, at the 12th song which was Turn Around by Flo Rida, Shi Min weren't able to hold on. The choreography on that song was very energetic that she had to stop and just sit on the floor, as she shouted that she's tired. The remaining three continued on the next songs that followed but Shi Min eventually joined them after she had rested for a while. After the 15th song, Ji Han didn't continue and for the next three songs that followed it was now down to Ro In and Soh Ra who were both sweating and panting a lot.
"Still can do it?" Soh Ra asked Ro In.
"Of course,"
And the next song played. It was One of A kind by GD that really made them catch their breath even more with the fast raps but still the audience were able to hear them sing them even between breaths.
There was an applause after it because the two were already down to the floor and breathing hard but still stood up for the second to the last song which should be played on the band; a Naruto Shippuden Soundtrack which is one of their favourites. They walked towards the platform where Ji Han and Shi Min were waiting to perform with them.
"Soh Ra, you'll be the one who'll be most tired after this," Ro In said.
"What do you mean?" Soh Ra asked as she hung the sling of her guitar over her shoulder.
"For this time, I'll definitely win," she answered followed by her victorious laugh which really emphasizes each "HA!"
"We'll see about that," she then turned to Ji Han and gave her the start signal. So they started. Most parts of the song were sung by Soh Ra but she didn't even show any sign of tiredness much to Ro In's disappointment. But she brushed the thought out of her mind as she just banged on the drums and enjoyed each beat of the fast rock song.
"Yeah, we're down to our last song!" Ji Han shouted. The remaining contenders went back to the floor and faced the mirror.
"Shi Min, I think they'll have a draw again," Ji Han said to her.
Shi Min smiled, "I think so, too,"
"Hello!" surprised, they all turned to the door when they heard this sudden greeting. And there they were more audience for them. Chen led the group of three guys who came with him: Tao, Lay and Luhan.
"Haha! I knew you were here," he said to his four friends who already came earlier. "Sorry to come without notice," he said to the hosts of the studio.
"It's okay, we got used to it," Soh Ra answered.
"What were they doing?" Lay asked as he sat down beside Sehun.
"They were playing marathon,"
"What is it?"
Chanyeol then went to explain what the four girls just did and Lay gave an understanding nod so was Tao and Luhan who were listening.
"You should've come earlier. They were so amazing to watch," Kai said to them that were agreed on by Baekhyun, Sehun and Chanyeol.
"Oh," Ji Han said as she looked at her phone, "Our next song will be dedicated to our audience,"
The eight guys just smiled and they bowed to them as they said, "Thank you" several times.
Soh Ra and Ro In looked at each other then asked Ji Han the title of the song.
Ji Han turned to the guys and with an emcee-like voice said, "Gentlemen, the last performance for the day by our very own Lee Soh Ra and Jung Ro In, What is Love by EXO."
Soh Ra and Ro In laughed at their friend-turned-emcee as they were applauded by the others. The two walked towards the mirror and positioned themselves; leaning their back against the mirror in different dramatic poses and then they started moving their head then their hands and arms at the intro part of the song. The audience clapped their hands even more at that start. The two then detached their backs from the mirror, walked slowly forward then danced to the slow rhythm of the song. When the last part of the song came up they went back to the mirror, stood in front of it but looked down sideways; their final dramatic effect.
"Whooo!"
"Daebak!"
"That was…" Kai wasn't able to finish his sentence. He was deeply overwhelmed by the two's performance. He had never seen two girls dance to it before but it definitely has a very great feel to it. He and Sehun danced 'What is Love' in their teasers and he actually think it was great but their version were greater, have more astonishing effect.
Sehun was also feeling the same but the most common feeling or thought that runs in the guys' heads is that they're falling in love and that every guy who would see that performance would fall in love with the two of them. They were actually surprised at the change of style in the two girl's dancing because the only dances that they saw them do before weren't slow at all, it was always fast, street style, and they moved hard like men but this time, it was the total opposite: it was slow, smooth, the strong movements were still there but it was amazing that they executed it gracefully.
Soh Ra and Ro In turned towards each other and clapped their hands.
"We won!"
"That actually don't matter. What matters now is the first one who got tired out," the three of them turned to look at Shi Min.
"Okay, I know. What time is it?"
"5:30 pm. The perfect time to hit the road with our bicycles, don't you think?"
"Let's go?"
"Let us rest for a while before we go," Ro In said as she lied relaxed on the floor, "I think I won't be able to drive properly if we leave now."
Soh Ra lied down beside her and also slept, "Yes, please."
"Ji Han! We have to go now," Chanyeol said as they started getting up.
"Suho-umma called us, said we should go back," Baekhyun added.
"Oh, okay. Take care on your way home,"
"Bye," Shi Min bade to them.
"Soh Ra, Ro In!" Chen called to them as he and the others poked their shoulders which made the two look up to them, "Bye!"
The two stretched their arms to bid them goodbye as they left the door.
That night, the four rode their bicycles except for Ro In who is on her skateboard to the Han River. They toured around Hangang Park and ate a lot of food sponsored by Shi Min from the food stalls. While they were eating, Soh Ra caught something in sight not a far distance from them. There were four girls and they were dancing, practicing perhaps. What she thought they were doing was eventually voiced out by Ro In.
"Guys, those four… they're dancing our choreography on 'Up',"
"Yeah, I can see," she answered.
"Maybe they're making a dance cover of it," Shi Min said.
"Well, they could certainly can. Look how precise their movements are with the original,"
"There's still a difference though, they're not us,"
"You mean, the original is still better,"
"We dance better,"
The four just laughed and continued eating. After that, they went back to their bicycles and rode along the Han River.
The four of them were walking along Garosu-gil shopping district and they noticed something similar on some of the boutiques and shops.
"The month of February is in the air," Soh Ra said as they seated themselves around a table outside a café. After a while, the cups of coffee they ordered were already served on the table.
"Hmm," Shi Min took a sip from her coffee, "what should we do on that day?"
"Nothing," Ro In answered.
"I'll have a date on that day," Soh Ra said suddenly that really surprised her friends and almost choked Ji Han.
"What, with whom?"
"With you guys, come on! We should do something on that day because it's also the 'Single Awareness Day',"
"How do you mean about mentioning the 'Single Awareness Day'? By meaning that we should be sad because we still don't have a boyfriend or that we should be happy because we're still single and we have each other?" Shi Min asked.
"I meant it by the second one,"
"I love that," Ji Han said, "I suggest we watch a horror movie and test our courage,"
Shi Min groaned, "No, no, we've done that a lot of times and I always failed on that test. I don't want to fail and have difficulty sleeping again,"
"Okay, suggestion rejected. We can't torture our baby anymore," Soh Ra said as she took Shi Min's head by the arm and leaned her head on top of hers.
"Thanks, Mom," Shi Min answered when Soh Ra let her go.
Meanwhile, Ro In was deeply thinking about what they could do even when she said that they should do nothing and something popped into her head, "Guys," she called them, "I know now what we should do," and she smiled at the idea she's now having.
On the morning of February 14…
"Yahoo! We did it!" raising her hands, Ro In shouted at the top of her lungs when she reached the top of the mountain they were hiking. She looked back and saw Shi Min struggling, "C'mon Shi, almost there!"
"Yeah! We are so amazing!" Ji Han shouted after her.
"Whoo! I am so out of breath," Soh Ra said, bending down with her hands on her knees.
"So am I," Shi Min knelt down on the ground and took deep breaths. "I can't believe we really did this," she stood up alongside her friends and watched the wonderful view in front of them. It was far from the grey skyscrapers in the city and the bustling sound of cars and people. This is nature and it was unlike anything they have seen before. "Wow, this is magnificent,"
After taking in the wonderful sight and Ro In had her fill of taking pictures, they sat down under a tree and eventually lied down on the soft grass. They watched the skies as the clouds move past them.
"Ro In, how did you know of this place?" Soh Ra asked, munching on a sandwich Shi Min prepared for them.
Ro In brought down her camera to her lap, "My whole family climbed this mountain about 6 years ago on this same day."
"Wow,"
"Nothing much has changed here, really. Actually, I think, it became even more beautiful."
"I could stay here all day and watch the sky and the trees," Shi Min said.
"Yeah, but we should start getting down long before the sun starts to set because it will be so much harder to trek down when it's dark,"
"Let's not talk about going home yet, first we should now bury the time capsule!" Ji Han shouted excitedly.
Ro In took out the steel capsule from her bag and handed the papers to her friends, "I'm so prepared, right?"
"What do we write here?" Soh Ra asked.
"Anything that you want to say to the future us," Ro In answered after looking up from her paper.
"The time capsule is set to be opened after 20 years, right? So we are probably are already working women by then," Shi Min supplied.
"So by burying this time capsule," Ro In said as they are now putting the time capsule on the hole they made under the tree and inside the time capsule are their letters to their future selves, "We are making a promise to stay alive until then,"
"Yep,"
"That's already a given,"
When the time capsule was now properly in place, they now covered it with dirt.
"Okay, it's done!" they stood around it and just stared at it silently- staring at the promise that they just made.
The four went down before the sun sets and arrived at the foot of the mountain just in time that it started getting dark. Before going back to the studio, they stopped by a grocery store and bought something to eat. On their way out, they saw two familiar vans parked outside. They were about to pass by it when the window on the front seat of the white van opened and revealed Chen's smiling face.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" he asked them when they came closer to the front part of the van.
Ji Han lifted their catch, "We're hungry so we bought something. Oh by the way Happy Valentine's Day!"
"Thank you,"
"Where are the others?" Shi Min asked.
"They're at the back, they must have not noticed you're here. I think they're asleep,"
"It's V-day, and you're sleeping? I bet your fans will be sad about that. They'll feel that their efforts for this day are not worth your attention," she added.
Chen shook his head, "Actually, that's why we're really tired right now. This afternoon, we had fan meets in three different places, maybe to receive the fans' gifts to us and there were a lot. Chocolates, mostly,"
"Of course, what do you expect?" Soh Ra laughed.
"I think we need to go, Bye!" Chen said to them.
"Bye, Chen!" they answered and he closed his window. They didn't wait for the van to take off before walking back to the studio.
The four went into the studio and then waited around the pot with steaming, boiling ramen. Shi Min was the one in charge of cooking it so the other three just lied on the floor.
"Shi Min, is it cooked yet? I'm hungry," Ro In asked.
Shi Min opened the pot and poured the seasoning inside, "Three minutes more," and went on stirring the contents.
After a while, it was Ji Han who asked the same question and this time it was affirmative. The three got up like little children about to be fed with a very delicious meal.
Ro In sighed deeply after sipping a spoonful of its soup, "Really, this is the best food to eat after a tiring hike,"
"Ah! So hot!" Soh Ra exclaimed.
"Hey, careful. Why get directly from the pot when you can first cool it down slightly in a bowl. Here," she handed a small bowl to Soh Ra who took it with much gratitude.
"Let's eat!" Ji Han started eating. The four ate together and finished the pot full of ramen in no time.
"Who's going to clean?" Ji Han asked afterwards.
"Maknae!" Ro In shouted as she pointed to Shi Min.
The maknae was flabbergasted, "No way. I'm the one who cooked the ramen so I should not be the one to clean,"
"The second youngest then,"
"But…" Ro In started to protest.
"You're the one who ate most of it anyway," Soh Ra said with a smirk.
Ro In, defeated, sighed in exasperation and started putting away the dishes into the container, "next time, I'm only going to eat a small portion so that I won't have to clean afterwards,"
The three laughed as they watched Ro In looking so miserable.
"Really?" Ji Han asked reacted with disbelief.
Ro In hesitated and laughed, "I'm actually not sure,"
The studio was filled with laughter when Chanyeol opened the door and he went inside. The laughter ended as the four girls turned to look at the visitor, clearly surprised that he's there.
"Should you be resting?" Ji Han asked him.
"Yeah, Chen said you were all tired," Shi Min added.
Chanyeol was shocked to hear that, "you met with Chen? but he was with us," he then sat with them on the floor.
Ji Han then told him about it, "really, why are you here?"
"I got bored inside the dorm so. Everyone went back to their rooms to rest but I'm not that tired so I came out,"
"And you came here?"
"This is the only place possible where I won't be bothered,"
"You mean by your fans?"
He nodded.
"So you got no choice? So we're like a last resort?"
"No. Actually this is the first place that came to my mind when I thought that I should go out," he looked at them and they look like they don't believe him. Whatever, he was just telling the truth. "What were you doing? Did you play here all day?
At this, the four smiled and suddenly the atmosphere became excited and lighter.
"We didn't stay here all day," Ji Han started.
"Yeah, we went hiking," Ro In added.
"On a mountain?" he asked them.
Ro In scoffed, "of course. Why? Could we actually hike on a flatland?"
They laughed at this sarcastic remark while Chanyeol looked embarrassed.
"Then we planted a time capsule and we are to open it after 20 years on the same date,"
"That sounds fun. I wish we could also do that. So you didn't have dates?"
"We did,"
Chanyeol got confused but when he looked at their smiling faces, he got what they meant.
"So you're not interested in dating? Well, except for Ji Han. She and that guy from our childhood days are just waiting for each other,"
Ji Han hit Chanyeol's back which made him squirm in pain but then laugh eventually.
"Yeah, we don't really want one at the moment," Soh Ra answered and the others affirmed with her.
Chanyeol smiled, "You know what, we actually thought you do have boyfriends,"
"Then sorry to find yourselves mistaken,"
Chanyeol spent a few good minutes talking and laughing with them afterwards and then had to leave for a radio show. The four played songs on the band area and forced Ji Han to sing a slow melodic song. Ji Han doesn't really sing these types of songs because she's not really fond of it; she only likes to rap and sing rock songs. In the end, she sang the chorus part of a drama soundtrack by 'The One'. After that, there was a loud and proud cheer by her friends. For the first time, they were finally able to hear it after seven years of being close friends.
At 10 in the evening, the four decided to go home. They were unlocking their bicycles when Ro In called her friends' attention.
"Guys, I have something to ask permission of," she said to them seriously.
The three looked up to her and stood up. Her serious tone seemed to have the same effect.
"What is it?" Soh Ra asked in the same tone.
"Are you going to say 'yes' to one of your suitors?" Shi Min asked.
"What?! That's not what I want to say and I don't have any suitors!" Ro In shouted.
"Hey, I know you're proud of having no suitors but you don't need to shout about it," Soh Ra said to her.
"Huh?" Ro In doesn't know what to say to this, she just snickered instead as she put her palm on her forehead, "guys, what I want to say is that I want to ask permission from you if you would allow me to include one of my captured pictures of you for my exhibit on monday,"
"A picture of us?" Ji Han clarified.
"No, just the three of you. You know I'm specializing on people, right? And I really see that picture as perfect for that event,"
"Which picture?"
"Just… just. Don't worry you all looked good in it. So, can I?"
"Okay," Soh Ra said and Shi Min seconded.
"I have no problem with it," Ji Han added.
"Really? Thank you so much guys! You're the best!"
Chapter 5
Hands on akimbo, Ro In gave a deep satisfied sigh as she stood near the door of the wide hall. Right in front of her is the complete set-up for her exhibit and on the other parts of the hall were the set-ups of other photographers- mostly foreigners. A very tall French photographer then came towards her.
"You're done?" he asked her.
"Yes, finally,"
"Would you like to join us for dinner? The other will be done in a while and we decided to eat together,"
She hesitated, "is it alright?"
"Of course, you're also a part of the group,"
"Okay, thanks,"
A few minutes after, together with her seniors and other famous foreign photographers, she enjoyed her dinner in an authentic Korean restaurant along Gangnam district. She was flattered by them because they're saying that even as the youngest in the group, she has the skills of a senior and a professional photographer and that she has a wonderful future ahead.
The next day, she woke up early to prepare for the first day of the exhibit. When she went down the stairs, her mother was shocked to see her in her usual jeans and shirt under a long overcoat.
"Ro In, you should wear a dress. You will be meeting people and it's a formal exhibit you're holding, right?"
"Mom, this is fine. I didn't wear a dress when I took those pictures anyway, so why wear one now?"
Her mother sighed, "Fine. We will be there this afternoon. I'm so proud of you," then she kissed her cheek, "Take care,"
"Bye, mom,"
After the guests were welcomed, they started looking around the hall, stopping to look at pictures that struck them. Ro In stood near her collection to entertain questions that the guests might have. She talked to a lot of the guests which are mostly professors, celebrities and fellow artists. She received a lot of praises from them not just on her photographs but also for her- a lot of them told her she was beautiful which really made her feel embarrassed and on her mind she secretly calls her friends' names, wanting them to come now but she knows that they're busy and they can only come tomorrow so she has to endure.
On that afternoon, her parents came. She was so surprised to see her father there because he was so busy that she expected that he wouldn't come. After a few moments, they left for their schedules.
There were only a few people now so Ro In took the chance and went to the bathroom. When she came back a few minutes later, a man in a suit was looking at one of her photos. She walked towards him and greeted him.
"Are you the artist behind this?" he gestured towards the photo of her friends (it was a black and white picture with the three standing in front of the mirror laughing at each other).
"Yes,"
"You know them?"
"Yes, they're my close friends,"
The man smiled and she found it disturbing, "how do you find the exhibit, sir?" she asked instead.
"It was great. I've been around here for a while, trying to get the chance to talk to you,"
She was definitely caught off-guard, "Talk to me, sir? What do you mean?"
The man took something from behind his coat and then offered her his calling card. She took it and read the name.
"I'm Jo Seo Kyung from Diamond Modelling Agency and I would like you and your friends to become our models,"
"I'm sorry but we are not interested," she said straightforwardly and handed him back the card but he didn't accept it.
"But you can be the perfect models,"
"No, I' don't seek that and so are my friends,"
Then there's that smile again, "I knew you would say that,"
Now she's getting irritated, "Then why try in the first place?"
"I know your secret, Ms Jung – you and your friends are the famous cover artists – MYOB. Am I right?"
She suddenly felt nervous the moment he said those words.
"Tell me, why don't you want to reveal yourselves? It has been months since the media are looking for you. And Entertainment companies wanting to find and get you. You're famous, but why hide?"
"It's actually not your business so back off. How did you know about us anyway?"
"It doesn't matter how I knew about it. What matters now is that everyone will know about it if you won't concede to what we want you to do. There's must be a very important reason why you don't want to be revealed, right?"
"What is that thing that you want us to do and why it should be us? What benefits will you get if we do concede?"
"It is very simple and very harmless. You just have to become models for our very important client next week, same day. And you ask why it should be you? Because I'm a talent agent and I see your potentials in a lot of ways even if it's only on videos but is can see that you could be amazing models and performers. Become more famous than the current idols we have of today. I am just concerned because I don't want you to waste those potentials. And what benefits would I get? I would feel glad, that's all. Actually, I could have just done this easily if I just reveal your identities directly to the media but there's no thrill to it, right? I'm really interested about you and your friends- how far can you go with those talents you have," he fixed his necktie and smiled at her, "keep my calling card, you're going to need it. I have to leave. It's nice meeting you, Ms Jung. And congratulations; I know this event will be a huge success," He bowed to her and then walked out of the hall.
Ro In just stood there unable to process everything. When it finally did, she just said to herself as she stared at the calling card, "How dare him blackmail us,"
She turned to the photo of her friends and stared at it for a long time before she heard a familiar voice calling her name. She turned around and saw that it was Chen and Suho. Hiding her anxiousness, she smiled at them as they walked towards her. She slid the calling card to her coat pocket and shook their hands as they congratulated her.
"Wow, this must be a major event. I saw the other photographers, they're foreigners. It must be so amazing to join them," Chen said.
"Really amazing. How did you know about this?"
"Chanyeol told us. He heard it from Ji Han,"
"Okay,"
The two looked at the photographs and noticed familiar faces.
"Is this…" Suho pointed at the photo of her friends.
"Yeah, that's them,"
"They look so happy here. Can I take this home?" Chen asked.
Ro In laughed, "Maybe after the exhibit or maybe after they'll agree of you bringing that home. You should go look around more; there are a lot of amazing photographs in every corner,"
"Can you come with us?" Suho asked.
Ro In accompanied the two as they went around the wide hall. She introduced them to some of the photographers that were there. When one of the photographers came to talk to her, Chen and Suho agreed to go ahead and continue touring around. After they had talked, she was so surprised to see Soh Ra staring and smiling at that one particular photo that seemed to get much attention. Her friends looked up from it and saw her waving at her to come over.
"What was that photo?" Soh Ra asked as soon as she neared her.
"You like it?"
"I love it. Congratulations!" they then hugged each other.
"Thanks, by the way," she started as they let go of each other, "Chen and Suho are here, I'll just go and find them,"
"Okay,"
As soon as Ro In left, Soh Ra went to look at that one photo that caught her attention. It was the photo of the exact view that they saw on top of the mountain that they climbed last valentine's day. The only difference is that this was almost night time which they didn't get to see because they had to get down early.
After a short while, someone came beside her and looked at the photograph.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" she asked without looking at the person. When not a reply came, she looked away from the photo and looked at the person. She saw that the person- a guy was looking at her. He has long dark brown hair that sticks to his neck and wears square, black-rimmed eyeglasses. He looks like he had something to say.
"Hey, are you okay?" she asked.
Then he seemed to wake up, "yeah, it's beautiful," he said as he looked back to the photo.
"Oh, you actually heard me. I thought I was talking to myself," she took a step back and continued looking around until she spotted Ro In and the others.
Chen and Suho embraced Soh Ra and Ro In before leaving and then bade them goodbye. Soh Ra waited for Ro In to until the exhibit closed for the day and they head out together. They stopped by at the usual coffee shop and talked. Ro In told Soh Ra about the agent and asked her what they should do.
"I never thought that those videos will be used against us," Soh Ra said.
"The way he said it sounded like he was doing us a favour,"
"That's what he wants us to think. To use those videos to make us model for their client is already against us. They know that we don't want to do it, that's why they're looking for ways to make us do it. I'm talking in circles, right?"
Ro In nodded, "We can't decide now on what to do, right? Shi Min and Ji Han aren't with us,"
"Yeah, we should wait for them. We still have a week to decide,"
They tried to push the thought out of their heads and then proceeded finishing their coffee before heading home.
The next day after the closing ceremony of the exhibit, Ro In and her friends went biking along the Han River. They stopped by and sat at a small food store. They talked about what happened yesterday. After that, they were so silent until Ji Han asked if how that agent had known about them.
"He didn't tell me. He said that it's not important,"
Ji Han took her phone from her bag.
"Who are you going to call?" Soh Ra asked.
"My brother. I'm going to ask if he had told anyone about us. I'm going to make him pay if he did,"
"Good idea,"
They became silent again and only Ji Han could be heard as she talked on the phone. When they were done talking, Ji Han put her phone down the table.
"He said he didn't tell anyone about it and he's being honest, I can tell,"
"Then how?" Shi Min asked.
Soh Ra leaned back on her chair, "that's not what we should focus on right now,"
"How serious would it be if we won't do it?" Shi Min looked at her friend's seriously.
"Really serious. He will reveal the MYOB to the media and the media will look for us and make our private lives miserable,"
"We should force Ji Han's brother to remove the videos now,"
"It will be too late. Even if her brother will remove them now, a lot of people are already talking about it- it had become a widespread topic. It will take a long time before it will die down so when that agent will reveal us, people will still remember and talk about it and seek the media for answers,"
"If those videos were removed a long time ago, would this still happen?"
"I don't know. But now that it has come to this, we should just face it,"
The four contemplated on the hanging question over their heads, 'should they or should they not?'
"I think nothing will be lost if we do it,"
"Yeah, it's too risky if we don't,"
Shi Min and Ji Han agreed on each other's statement. They're both saying they should do it but the other two still don't know.
"Soh Ra, what do you think?" Ro In asked.
"Okay, we'll do it but if that agent will still reveal us afterwards, I'm going to hunt him down,"
"I'll go with you," Ro In played the card on her fingers.
"We'll go together," Shi Min said and they smiled mischievously at each other.
"You guys sound and look like you're going to kill someone. But before that, does anyone of you knows about modelling?" Ji Han waited for an answer but in the end they just looked at each other's blank faces.
"No, I only know how to take pictures of models, not pose for one,"
"Me either. Ah! I hate this!" Soh Ra shouted as she kicked the ground.
"I think it comes out naturally; the expressions, the poses. You just have to think about the theme seriously and let your thoughts about it guide you," Shi Min said like an expert.
They looked at her like they just saw their only hope of not messing this up.
"Oh my, we now have our coach right here," Soh Ra said.
"We're saved," Ro In added and they all laughed under the dark night sky that loomed over them.
Friday morning, the four met in front of an estate's gate that the agent told them to go to.
"This is it, we're really going to do it," Ro In said without looking at her friends.
"Shi Min," Soh Ra called, "you said it comes out naturally, right?"
"Yes,"
"But I'm not a natural at this,"
"We'll see later. Maybe we do have a potential,"
"I hope. I don't want the photographers scolding me because I don't know how to do it properly,"
"Just do what they'll tell you to do. Most of the times they know what looks good or bad, beautiful or ugly," Ro In said.
Soh Ra turned towards her, "And you do?"
Ro In smiled, "It's called a photographer's instinct,"
Soh Ra just snickered as she shook her head, "okay, let's see that instinct later,"
They passed through the gate and asked the guard where to find the photo-shoot set and then just followed his directions. Then they found blue tents set up on the green field. They walked towards the tent marked: 'Wintergreen Spring Collection Photo-shoot: Bazaar Magazine March Issue'.
"Is this it?" Soh Ra aked as they stopped in front of the tent.
"Only way to find out," Ro In said then she pushed the cover aside and what they saw on one corner was a collection of clothes hung in one line and beside it were busy make-up artists and hairstylists doing their work on 5 good –looking guys who all turned to look at them when they entered.
"Did we come to the wrong place?" Shi Min asked.
"I don't know,"
Just then, a woman came towards them then greeted them, "Hello ladies! Are you the models from Diamond?"
"Yes, I'm Jung Ro In and these is Lee Soh Ra, Park Ji Han and Choi Shi Min,"
The woman shook their hands one by one, "I'm Ms Kang, the designer of Wintergreen Co. it's nice meeting you,"
"Ms Kang, I've heard about you from my mother," Shi Min said as Ms Kang held her hand.
"Your mother?" she took a good look at her, "Oh my, you're Ra El''s daughter! I can see the resemblance. Your mother and I were friends from fashion school there on Paris,"
"That's one of the things she told me,"
"What are the other things about me that she told you?"
"I can't really tell everything now but all she said were good things,"
Ms Kang smiled, "Good, because I won't let it go if she talked about the crazy things I did back then. C'mon let's get you ready. Oh! Did you already meet the models you'll be working with?"
They looked at each other and shook their heads. They didn't know about that. Ms Kang ushered them towards the corner where the vanity mirrors stood and sitting in front of those were the five guys they saw earlier- they were still there. The guys looked at them as they approached.
Soh Ra looked at each of them and actually recognized one who seemed to look like he also recognized her as well.
"Ladies, they are the members of an idol group- B1A4 and gents, they my models: Ji Han, Shi Min, Ro In and Soh Ra,"
The two groups greeted each other.
"Okay, now that we're properly introduced, ladies please over there and let the make-up and hair stylists do you,"
The four sat on the chairs and looked at themselves in front of the mirror. After a while, their make-over started. Among the four of them, Shi Min was the only one who seemed comfortable as the make-up was applied to their faces. In front of the mirror, they saw how their look has changed.
"Hey, uhm, do you really have to untie my hair?" Ro In asked the hairstylist.
"Yes,"
"Wow, this is a rare occasion. Front page on our newspaper: Ro In's hair-untied!" Soh Ra said.
"We're really excited. Ms Hairstylist, please don't hold back," Ji Han said, clearly happy of what's going to happen.
"I think I'm going to cry," Ro In thought out loud and they all laughed.
"That's one thing you should not do. Your make-up will be smudged and that means more work for noona,"
"Shi Min's right. Don't worry; they will no cut your hair or anything. They will just add some style to it,"
"Guys, I'm starting to look different. Make-up does make wonders," Ji Han suddenly said.
"Yeah," Soh Ra played with the bottle of liquid eyeliner as she made it twirl on her fingertips, "It can make you look like a clown,"
They burst out laughing including the B1A4 guys who were silently listening to them, except for Ji Han who seem to not understand.
"Nice one, Soh Ra!" Ro In cheered.
"So you mean I look like a clown right now?"
"No! That's not what I meant, silly!"
"Noona- my friends are saying that you make me look like a clown," Ji Han complained to the make-up artist attending her.
"No, that's not what I meant. You're actually doing a great job transforming my friend into a swan,"
Ro In held back her laugh which turned into loud grunts, "Soh Ra, you're saying Ji Han's an ugly duckling before?"
Soh Ra laughed but stopped herself, "That's funny, but that's not what I meant again, you know it right, Ji Han?"
Ji Han looked straight at the mirror, "Yeah, I know. Just you wait until this shoot is over,"
"Huh? You- you're clearly misunderstanding me! Shi Min, please explain it clearly to her,"
"Both of you should just stop talking," Shi Min just said.
"Sorry, mom," Soh Ra said and Ji Han said simultaneously and smiled at each other.
"It's so weird. Maknae is acting like a mom," Ro In said and her arm got smacked by Shi Min, "Ow! What was that for?"
"Stop moving. The hairstylist is having difficulty doing your hair,"
"Ah, sorry noona, I didn't mean to make your work today so difficult. Do you need to tie me down? Because I would willingly allow you if that will make you feel not so stressed. Shi Min, where's the rope?"
Her friends just laughed at her silliness so was the others around.
"I didn't bring one but if did, I'll gladly tie you to your chair,"
"There's actually no need for that," the hairstylist said hiding her laugh.
"Really? Then please be patient with me,"
"You're almost done, anyway,"
"Ro In, what did you eat for breakfast? I think that's the reason why you're being crazy right now,"
"Nothing. I was so nervous for today that I didn't eat anything,"
"That explains it,"
How they look right now after the make-up, the new hairstyle and the clothes is very surprising for them, well Shi Min's not very surprised because she had attended parties before with her mom so nothing much is new but she really like the clothes. The other three, especially never thought that they would look this well, beautiful.
"Ro In, you're the one who really looks different today. You know you should let your hair down more often and also curled. It makes you look more beautiful," Shi Min openly suggested to her friend.
"Nah, I don't want to look more beautiful. I want to always look more like my usual self,"
Captured; they smiled at their friend who just gave them words of wisdom.
"Soh Ra looked even cooler with her hair," Ji Han said.
"Yeah, they made it fall down sharply like tips of the grasses outside,"
"You all look gorgeous! And the clothes really suit you; I am so pleased with this!" Ms Kang exclaimed from behind them.
"You're clothes are amazing," Soh Ra said, "It doesn't show much skin,"
"Thank you. Now, let's go outside and get started."
The cover of the tent entrance was pushed away and they were led outside to the wide green fields. The sun was high up but the spring breeze still made the surroundings not so heated up. They walked over the grass with their heavily-strapped brown leather shoes. After a short while, the B1A4 members came out from the other tent.
"Hello," one of them greeted as they approached. This one smiles a lot, Shi Min thought to herself.
"Hello to you, as well," Ji Han greeted them back.
They are all now standing in one circle- a thing that is not usually done purposely.
"You're Ji Han, right?"
Ji Han nodded.
"And you're Choi Shi Min, Jung Ro In and then Lee Soh Ra,"
"You remember well," Ro In complimented.
"I think so, but it was CNU-hyung who remembered your names immediately,"
"Who's CNU?"
"Oh yeah! You still don't know our names, right? We forgot. I'm Sandeul,"
"Gongchan,"
"Jinyoung,"
"Baro,"
"CNU, nice to meet you," he said the last part as he turn towards Soh Ra who is standing beside him.
Soh Ra just smiled at him, "We saw each other before, right?"
He smiled back at her, "Yeah, at the exhibit. Glad you remember,"
"Hey, what are the two of you talking about?" Sandeul asked the two.
"Nothing," CNU answered.
The photographer then briefed them about the theme of the photo shoot and what he would want them to do. Among the four of them, the most excited was Ro In not because there'll be pictures of her but because she will certainly learn something from this that will contribute to her career as a photographer.
All sets of pictures included all of them then individually. They weren't asked to do sweet poses and cute smiling faces so it wasn't that hard for the four girls. Ro In and Soh Ra were most nervous of them doing that so it was really a relief to them. They just have to appear vibrant even without smiling; that's what the photographer told them and so they followed. So far, they feel like they're doing well.
"Okay, great, we are sailing smoothly," the photographer said to them, "prepare for the next set,"
They went back to their respective tents and changed their clothes. After changing, they went out of their tents and walked back to the set. The second set of pictures will also be done by groups: first were the B1A4 members then the four of them together.
The second set ended well and they went to the table set near the tents where their lunch was served.
"Wow, grass grew on the table," Ji Han said as she looked at the food which was dominated by green vegetables. The group laughed as they took their plates.
"Haha, this isn't just grass. This is a garden," Soh Ra added.
"Do gardens have cows, pigs and chickens?" Ro In asked, clearly looking for meat on the table.
"No, that's already a farm you're talking about," Shi Min answered. She took a plate and placed on it spoonfuls of garden salad with Caesar sauce and a sandwich.
"Don't you eat these?" Sandeul asked them.
"We do, but we don't just eat entirely vegetables in one meal,"
"Lee Soh Ra, there's meat on the sandwich," Sanduel, after swallowing, said to her.
"Really? Ro In, try the sandwich; that will keep you from going out and buy meat and then grill them right here,"
Ro In immediately took a bite on one, "Thank God, I was really planning to do what you just said. I can't live without meat on the table,"
"You guys, not to seem rude but are you really models?" Baro suddenly asked.
Ji Han choked on this. Shi Min immediately handed her a glass of water.
"Why do you ask?" Ji Han asked after recovering.
"It's obvious why he's asking. We eat a lot," Soh Ra said, "This one just said she can't live without meat."
Shi Min smiled, "Yeah, sometimes, we have the appetite of men,"
"Are they right?" Ji Han asked him again.
Baro nodded so was the others, "Most models would like to keep their figure by not eating a lot especially meat, but you don't seem to mind,"
"Hmm, honestly we're not models," Ro In said suddenly, "We're just regular students. We came here as models to help the agent of the Diamond Modelling Agency who is in a tight fit in his work."
"But you were amazing back there. You were like pro models," Jinyoung complimented.
"Really? We were actually nervous because we don't know what to do but I guess we do have a potential," at the last part, Shi Min turned to Soh Ra.
Soh Ra, understanding what she meant, smiled at her.
By the time, they finished eating, the sun was straight right up and the models decided to take a nap at the benches. Except for Soh Ra and Ro In who roamed around the area but not getting so far because they might get lost. They came by a small lake and they stood at the shore watching the blue water glitter in the sunlight.
"I wish I had my camera with me; this view is wonderful," Ro In formed a rectangle with her fingers and posed it over one eye. "thinking about it; I want to change my specialty from 'people' to 'natural landscapes'," she put her hand down.
"Why the need to change? Can't you just take pictures of anything?" Soh Ra asked.
"I can but I want to focus in just one aspect of the physical world. I've tried to focus on people but I found it to be so complex- we are just so hard to understand. Pictures can express emotions and actions of people but don't really express what's behind those actions because they are still. So I will change to another easier one or rather start from another one- nature like one right in front of us,"
"Hmm, so if you will take a picture of this scenery and when you look at it later in your home, what would be your understanding of it?"
Ro In stared at the still water, "That there is competition in that lake. Only the water above can shine under the spotlight of the sun but not the water below. The water below should make a movement so that they could be the water above but they won't be able to do it alone, they need help from their friends- the wind, the land at the bottom, the rain from the sky and maybe also the people rowing on their boats. The water below will be really grateful to anyone or anything that can stir the lake."
"But if the two exchange places it won't be soon before they'll exchange again, right?"
"Yes, in the positive sense, there's a give and take relationship in that lake and the external forces or the things that I referred as 'friends' are the ones that maintain the balance in that relationship."
Soh Ra smiled, "You're so deep today!"
"Yeah, what's wrong with me?"
"I think it's the garden lunch,"
"I think so, too. Haha! Now, how about you? If you're going to make a movie out of this lake, what would its plot be?"
Soh Ra scrunched her forehead, "Hmm, it will be a Horror, thriller, murder story."
"What?" Ro In was flabbergasted, "the view is so beautiful! Why are you thinking of a gruesome story for it?"
"Because it suits the disguise! Under the beauty of the glittering lake are decaying bodies of beautiful women stripped of their clothes. All murdered by one gorgeous man who is so obsessed in finding his one true love. He tried to love those women but still can't feel that they're the one so he murders them and throw them in this lake."
"Does he really have to murder them? Can't he just let them leave him?"
"No, he has this thinking that if he can't find his true love then all other men should not find theirs. So if that certain woman is one man's true love then he had to kill her so that man will never find his true love and die."
"That's crazy,"
"The hero is crazy."
"How will the story end?"
"I forgot to tell you that the setting will be during medieval times. Okay, so the first woman that he loved then killed then threw into the lake is actually an immortal witch- a very beautiful witch. For how many years because of trauma she will be unconscious under that lake and when she woke up she found herself at the bottom most part of the pile of dead bodies. She will realize the truth eventually and then plans to revenge for herself and also for all those dead women. She will come out of the water; change her appearance so that the man won't recognize her. She'll seduce him and then bring him to the lake."
"Then he'll be killed right there and decay with those women,"
"But before that, he will recognize that it was the witch and say that even after all those years, it was her that he really loved and he believes is his true love. He really didn't mean to kill her. He was told by his father to kill her because he said that she was the witch that killed his mother. He just discovered the truth a few days after he thought she's dead. He was overridden with guilt of losing his love."
"So the witch will spare him?"
"No way!"
Ro In laughed.
"He should not live. You see, the witch was slightly moved but she still can't see justice on why those other innocent women were killed. So she placed a spell on the dead bodies. She made them into zombies and they all came out of the water- imagine decaying bodies coming out of the center of the lake,"
"I won't. It's too gross,"
"Haha! They will come out slowly and come at the man and then I will just spare you the gruesome details and then proceed to the ending,"
Ro In breathed deeply, "Thank you,"
"The end will be the end of the life of the man because he'll be eaten alive by the zombies."
"Ahh! You still said it!" Ro In shouted and hit her arm several times.
Soh Ra laughed at her friend's reaction.
"So you believe in true love?"
Soh Ra surprised, turned her head towards her friend as they walk back to the set, "What's with that question?"
"Well, you were talking about it in your story. Just answer me,"
"I'm not really sure; haven't experienced it. Maybe I don't because it only exists in movies or in stories but thinking about it, my parents found each other and my sister found oppa- they all said it's true love that brought them together," she looked down at her feet thinking about it even more, "Maybe I do,"
"Lee Soh Ra!" a familiar voice called her. They both turned their head forward and saw CNU standing in front of them near the table where they had lunch.
"Are we going to start?" Ro In asked her.
"Maybe,"
They walked faster towards him and the three of them walked together back to the tent.
The third and last set of pictures will finally be taken. This time it will also be by threes then by pairs. First were Baro, Ji Han and Sandeul, second were Soh Ra, Jinyoung, Ro In, and last were CNU, Shi Min, and Gongchan. Then followed by pairs: first were Baro and Ji Han, second were Gongchan and Shi Min, third were Sandeul and Shi Min, fourth were Jinyoung and Ro In, and then last were CNU and Soh Ra.
When all the photos were finally taken, they all changed into their original clothes and the four washed their make-up. They don't want to go home with make-up on. Altogether, except for Soh Ra who is outside answering her sister's call, they checked the photos on the screen and were amazed with the results. Ms Kang was especially happy.
"Oh my, you all look good together even individually. I'm so grateful I found the right models for this collection. I so love the nine of you, you were really marvellous!"
"Sandeul what are you laughing over there?" Baro asked as he came towards him. He was looking at the screen of their manager's camera.
As they scanned on the pictures, the photographer kept on making comments mostly positive on every picture. And at the last photo set which was of CNU and Soh Ra, he couldn't say anything except for: they look so good together and even asked if they have something between each other? It was Jinyoung who answered, "Chemistry?" and they all looked at CNU maliciously who eventually went out of the tent.
"Yes, I'll come home right away. Noona, don't worry; I will not miss your birthday… Hahaha! Gift? I didn't get you one. So persistent, okay, I'll buy something before I'll go home. Okay, Happy Birthday! Bye!" Soh Ra hung up and turned back to the tent. Just in time, CNU came out of it. He looked surprised to see her there.
"Why are you here? Are they already done?" she asked him.
She saw him swallow hard before answering, "Yeah,"
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah,"
"Okay, I'll go back inside," she pushed away the cover and walked inside the tent. She strode towards where her bag was placed.
"Where are you going?" Ro In asked her.
"I'll go ahead, it's my sister's birthday today. I can't miss it,"
Ro In hugged her friend, "Oh, greet her for me,"
"Sure,"
"Is CNU outside?" Jinyoung asked her.
"Yeah and he doesn't look okay. Is he sick?"
Suddenly, she felt like there's a mischievousness hanging in the air.
"No, he's fine," he answered.
Is something going on? Soh Ra asked herself but pushed the question away as she hugged her friends, said goodbye to everyone and went ahead for sister's birthday.
Chapter 6
Ro In woke up early that Saturday, first day of March and her younger brother was already at the living room watching television. She sat there with him after she took a sandwich from the kitchen.
"What show are you watching?"
"A replay of Dancing 9's latest episode,"
"Why, weren't you able to see the live broadcast?"
"I did but I'd like to watch again their new segment; I'd like to judge something,"
Ro In raised her eyebrows at her brother, urging him to explain.
"You heard of a song and dance cover group called MYOB? Their videos are so viral on Youtube right now,"
She was so surprised on what her brother said that she dropped her sandwich on the floor and her mouth gaped open but immediately retained herself, "What did you say?"
While her brother kept on talking about MYOB's videos reaching a minimum of 2 million views for only 3 months, how popular they are on the entertainment news and how frequently the social media talks about it which is really frequent, she doesn't want to believe them. Her brother continues to fill her in that there is a new segment in the Dancing 9 show that just started 2 weeks ago which is called 'Who's the Real MYOB?' and this segment came to the fore because there are already a lot of girls who claim that they are the group MYOB. The segment features them and lets them perform live on stage- perform exactly what is on the video; then the people will judge between the two battling groups if who's the real MYOB then that winning group will be one of the 8 final contenders.
"What?"
"It's starting," her brother said as he turned his attention back to the television.
Ro In was flabbergasted on what she saw; right there on stage were four girls whose style of clothes imitates theirs and were all wearing caps. They were dancing to the song 'Shake the World' by G-dragon and their choreography were exactly the same as how she and her friends danced on their video. She doesn't know what she should feel but what she knows is that she doesn't like what she is seeing.
"Where are you going?" her brother asked as she suddenly stood up and started walking up the stairs.
"I'm going back to sleep," when she got back to her room, she immediately took her phone above her pillow and texted her friends that they should meet up at the studio. After that, she took off her clothes and went straight to the bathroom.
The four sat on the floor forming a circle. They have been silent for a while after Ro In had told her about what her brother told her and what she actually saw. They also watched that segment of different episodes and they are all dumbfounded of what they saw. In all episodes, all the groups will not reveal themselves in front of the camera-keep their faces hidden with their caps on until the final 5 contenders will be completed which will probably be a week from now. There will then be the finals of the four contenders to determine who among is the real MYOB. On that day, the winning group will reveal themselves to the crowd-their faces, their identity- who they really are and that will be the end of the show, probably hoping that they got the right one. Ji Han continued surfing on the internet as the other three stared on the floor or on the wall.
"How could this happen? What could they possibly get if they have a segment like that?" Shi Min asked more like to herself than to others. They are all confused about this.
"High TV ratings, probably, all shows seek for that," Ji Han answered, "I've never known about this because I don't watch Dancing 9,"
"Could the EXO members already know about this? They're updated in this kind of things,"
"Probably they didn't. They're so busy with their comeback,"
"Yeah, Soh Ra and I met Chen and Suho last week. If they have known, they would've already told us,"
"The worst is that entertainment companies are already taking part in this. Out of the four that had already performed, two are from entertainment companies: PC and Stellar entertainment companies, they're not really known but still," Ji Han said.
"They must be really so desperate to make their talents become famous that they even use this dirty trick,"
"It had created disputes actually because these two entertainment companies are known for talents that uses drugs and are also alcoholics, they have bad records in the industry. The entertainment companies who own the music that we covered in our videos like YG, TS, SM, and BS doesn't like that these bad record artists are making covers of their music without their permission. They feel like that they're music has been degraded,"
"Where have you read that?"
"It's an article here,"
"This is so unexpected,"
"We should've known this earlier,"
"And what could we have done if we did?"
"We could have revealed ourselves before this segment have been created,"
"Yeah, I think that could have changed things,"
"The segment's ridiculous really. I think its bait," Soh Ra said.
"For the real one to come out?,"
Soh Ra nodded, "They're appealing to our conscience. That show is making liars out of those girls,"
"I'm just wondering, if its bait then how would they know for certain that the one that performed is the real one?"
"It's really up to group how they would prove it,"
"I don't know about them, they're crazy,"
There was silence again as they're trying to figure out what they should do.
"Then should we take the bait?"
That question hung above them like the sky.
How could they do something that they're avoiding?
The four ended up lying down on the floor wanting to sleep but they can't because of the dilemma they're facing.
"Guys, you think we need advice?" Ji Han asked.
"From whom?"
"Friends,"
"EXO?"
"You have their number?"
"Only Chanyeol-oppa,"
Shi Min sighed, "Okay, hope they're not busy. They don't really need to come here, just through the phone is fine,"
Ji Han dialled her cousin's number and faced her friends after she made the call, "They're busy,"
"Guys, I think our minds got all fussed up and we can't really arrive at a decision, right now. We should just go home and talk about this on another day," Ro In said as she stood up.
The three others stood up and took their stuffs then decided to go home.
On that night, another two groups performed on Dancing 9 but they can't make themselves watch it.
Monday afternoon when they're classes ended, Ji Han called her friends together and met at the gate then they rode the bus to the tea shop.
"Have you all thought about it?" Ji Han asked them when they sat on the floor and leaned their backs to the mirrored wall.
The three nodded but still can't seem to say anything. Since they last met, all they could think about was how to solve the adversity they are facing.
"If we reveal ourselves on that show this weekend, how would that help to stop all this?" Ro In asked suddenly.
"Our mere presence on that show will definitely end it," Ji Han answered.
"Yeah, because there's no use continuing the show anymore because they finally reached the goal: to find the real MYOB, as their title suggests," Soh Ra added.
There was silence after that and Shi Min finally broke it, "We should do it,"
"Okay, it's really against our will but we have to. Unless we do it, that segment will all be lies. At least with our showing up, there will be some truth. It's their fault actually that they made such a segment but we can't really blame them; their station took the risk of using us as an entertainment because we became a trend,"
Ro In and Ji Han sighed deeply.
"What will happen to the past groups who performed if we're finally out?" Shi Min asked.
There was silence and then Soh Ra spoke, "They have to find other ways to continue showing their talents,"
"So how will we do it? How will we prove that we're the real one?" Ji Han asked.
"I got an idea," Ro In answered.
"Okay, this is what we'll do first," Ro In said as she laid on the floor the list of things they should do for her plan. The three others bent down their heads over it.
"You look like you really prepared for this," Soh Ra regarded.
"Maybe I did. Anyways, the first thing we should do is register online. Ji Han, you do it,"
"Yes, boss,"
Ro In continued with her plan and her friends just nodded as they found it really organized and well-planned. They agreed on everything that she had suggested and asked questions every now and then. At the end of Ro In's presentation, they gave her a standing ovation.
"Stop that. But really guys, isn't this too complex?"
"The plan's amazing, it will really work," Shi Min said.
For the whole week and the before the day that they finally perform, after they got the confirmation for their registration, they started working out the plan that Ro In contemplated for them. They will perform as one of the last two groups to contend for the final five but they plan to not reach the finals- they plan to perform only once and reveal themselves right there and then. Each one of them made their task diligently and there was no time for idle because everything should go right to make the plan work.
As the awaited Saturday came nearer, their nervousness increased but they try to overpower it with the determination to end all this. They dread what will happen if the people will finally know them and they can't stop thinking that their life will probably have a great change after it. But they can't turn back now because standing at the backstage of the Dancing 9 studio; their feet won't even take a step back- they should go forward.
"Ji Han, what's the update from your brother?" Ro In asked her.
"He already uploaded it an hour ago and put our names within the title of the video. He just checked it 15 minutes ago and there are already almost 200 views so probably there are already almost 200 people who know who we are and maybe searching for any information about us on the web. I don't' know."
Ro In nodded, "Whoa. Shi Min, our music's with them already?"
"Yeah, don't worry; I gave them two copies,"
"Man, I'm so nervous,"
Soh Ra patted Ro In's back, "We all are,"
Just then, the first group left the stage after their performance which the real MYOB know so well from the backstage.
"Okay guys, this is it," Soh Ra said to her friends as they huddled together, "After tonight, whatever happens, we will face it together,"
"Sure, that's a given," Ro In said and the four of them smiled at each other. They hugged each other so tight.
The stage then dimmed and they were ushered to the stage by the crew. They fixed their caps above their heads, angled so near their face so it will not be seen clearly, they breathed deeply and positioned themselves on the stage. When the presence of the second group on the stage was announced, the stage lit up but still casted shadows on their faces so they're not clearly visible. The music started and the four brushed all the nervousness away. They danced to the remix of some of their dance cover songs arranged by Shi Min such as Coup d'etat, one of a Kind, Like a G6 and Bass down Low. While they were performing, there was confusion with the show's crew, the judges and the audience because the video that supposed to play on the stage's screen that they should dance with wasn't showing. That's the mechanics of the segment and the four decided not to follow it. Even as that, their music wasn't stopped and they went on performing until the end where only the rhythm of the song 'Growl' played. Still with their caps on, they made the song their own with the mic attached to them; they sang and danced to it which made the whole crowd so surprised because MYOB never uploaded those videos they're performing right now. And the last part was where the crowd roared when their dance cover video of the song 'No Joke' was playing and the four took off their caps in the short introduction part of the song with Soh Ra saying the lines: "Now Ladies and Gentlemen, I'd like to make a little speech". They placed their caps back to their heads but in a way that they're faces were completely visible. With the mic still on, Ji Han with her deep voice started singing the first chorus as they danced. She was followed by Shi Min in the later parts of the chorus. Ro In sang the first rap part and Soh Ra sang the second one. There was a blast of applause and cheers when they ended on that song.
"Wow! You've really done it!" the host exclaimed as he walked closer to them. Standing there at the stage now after they've performed, the four doesn't know what to feel. The crowd's noise still has not died down as they heard some of the people shouting that the four of them are the real MYOB. "How do you feel?" he asked them.
Ji Han fixed her mic, "I feel awkward,"
The host laughed, "I was supposed to say that you should hide your faces again but there's really no use to it, right? You've really showed the world that you're who we're looking for. Well, are you the real one? Let's hear what the judges had to say first,"
"Uh wait, before that," Soh Ra said before she loses the chance, "We have something to say,"
The host looked at her and to the others then to the judges, "Okay,"
"Uhm, we would like to clarify some things about what we just did. We didn't follow the mechanics of this show, for that we apologize. We didn't gave a copy of the videos of the first and second parts because it's how we thought we can prove that we are the real one for we think that this segment really focuses on the proof that a presenter could show. The videos of what we performed just got uploaded almost 2 hours ago by the one who uploaded all our videos before. We meant it that way because if we just performed what was already existent for how many months, then it would seem like we are just copying them. And also, we exposed our faces which are against the golden rule,"
"Yes, why did you do that?" One of the judges spoke. The judges were three males who really look like veterans in the industry.
"To tell everyone frankly, the reason why we did that is to give justice to the segment."
"What do you mean?"
"'Who's the Real MYOB?' that's the title, right? Well, here we are and we believe that there's no need for us to hide our faces anymore now that we have presented ourselves on this stage. There's no need for us to go through all the drama just to reveal ourselves in the end when we can do it here and now."
The judges nodded after they had recovered from her straightforward answer and seemed to get their point. In their minds is the thought that there's no mistaking it, the four girls standing on the stage are the MYOB they are searching for.
When the timeslot for the show ended, the audience was ushered out of the studio much to their dismay. At the private lounge, the four were asked to wait by the judges because they still have something to talk about.
"Thankfully, they are going to talk to us because we do have a lot to ask them," Ji Han said while playing with the bottle of water in her hands.
"Yeah, but I also wonder what would they tell us,"
"Or ask us. Clearly one of the reasons why they created this segment is to know who we are," Soh Ra leaned her head back on the sofa and closed her eyes, "I wonder if we should answer to them,"
There was a knock on the door and the four alerted themselves. The three judges came in as well as two other women.
"Hello," one of the judges greeted them and they smiled and bowed their heads to him as well as to the others. They also shook hands before they sat in front of the four. And before any talk was started, those who just came in introduced themselves and so the four was asked to also do the same.
"I'm Lee Soh Ra,"
"Jung Ro In,"
"Choi Shi Min,"
"And Park Ji Han,"
The judges with the glasses smiled at them, "And you're the cover group MYOB,"
"Yes, but we never made that official," Ji Han answered.
"Wait," Ro In suddenly said as she looked closely at one of the judges who were sitting at the edge of the long sofa, "Sir, I think I recognize you from somewhere. Have we met before?"
That judge smiled at her, "I think we did, can't you remember?"
"Ah!" Ro In shouted as she finally remembered, "You're that agent from the modelling agency who blackmailed us!" she pointed at him, "I can't believe this,"
"You blackmailed them?" one of the women asked.
"Yes, I did. But that doesn't matter now, right? You're finally here!"
"Doesn't matter?" Ro In clarified and was about to go into a fit but Soh Ra stopped her.
The judge with the glasses breathed deeply before starting to talk business, "Well, we came here to talk to you about you. People are so curious about you that's why Channel M created the segment on Dancing 9. They see you or even us; we see you as young people who are immensely talented who could really dominate Korea's pop music as of today or even before. That is also why we agreed to become judges. As artists in this industry, we can't let ourselves just pass by such amazing artists like your group, so we wanted to find you and let you do what you want- to showcase your talents to the public. With such talent, videos aren't enough to show it, you need a stage and we gave you that. All those who performed before you are trivial; you're really the star of that show."
Soh Ra scoffed, "They were the bait, right? And you were hoping that we'll take it. Indeed we did. I'd like to think that we really made fools out of ourselves but we are actually thankful because we were able to put an end to the segment. And sir, how could you say they're trivial? We had watched them and their talents aren't worthy to be called that."
They were caught off guard and they weren't able to say anything so Soh Ra continued.
"And you don't even know the real story then now you're already saying that what we want is to showcase our talents to the public. The truth is we don't want to, not by this- not through this. We never made those videos for the public; we made those just for the four of us. There was an incident a few months ago that's why those videos are on Youtube but we never meant that to happen. The conclusion to this is that you've clearly misunderstood us."
"We… we apologize for calling them trivial and yes, they are like the bait but we don't want to call them that," one of the women said.
"Yeah, you only like to call them trivial," Ro In inserted.
"Young ladies, can you show us a little respect?" the other one of the judges said.
"We tried but how could we when even you, can't? We can't see any sign of respect when you let those young ladies like us perform on stage doing a cover of a cover video and they weren't even allowed to show their face to the crowd even after the show. Are you trying to spare them some dignity because all they are is falsity for they're claiming who they are not?"
"My friend's right. You might be wondering why we are having this burst of resentment because you don't understand what could that segment possibly make us feel. We felt really bad, honestly because we somehow feel responsible for what those young ladies are doing and what could other people think about them when they are judged to being not who they claim to be,"
"Well, we might be exaggerating but we do assume that all those who performed really must have wanted to be part of your industry and treating them as trivial is really a bad thing to do,"
There was silence in the room when the judges and the other two contemplated on what they just said.
The other woman who haven't spoken coughed, "Uhm, I am the Head Operations Manager of Channel M and in behalf of the station, I think it is right for us to apologize for putting you in this situation. We are deeply sorry."
Soh Ra and the others looked at her feeling sorry as well for making this kind-looking woman apologize to them.
"Yes, we apologize as well," the judge with the glasses said.
"We accept your apologies but we should also do the same, if we have acted sooner about it then it wouldn't have come to this. We just never thought before that it could get this big so we just disregarded any preventive measures. We also apologize," Shi Min said and the four bowed their heads towards them.
After that, their talk now went smoothly. Soh Ra and Ji Han who were most hot-headed, kept their cool. They went on talking about how their videos got into Youtube, why they don't want to be completely part of the immensely growing music industry, as well as what they are currently doing in their lives right now. The people they're conversing with seemed satisfied of what they are saying to them and seemed to understand their side.
"I understand and I am actually glad that young as you are, you already know what you really want to do," one of the judges said, "There are some even older than you who don't, and end up doing what they don't love."
"So, with that said, you don't really want to be part of the industry?" another one asked.
"Yes, not that we hate it but because if we focus on things other than what we're focusing on now, we probably won't make the most out of either one. We can't serve two masters at once," Soh Ra said with much firmness that forbids contradiction.
"I agree,"
"Mind if I ask? Uhm, what will happen now after we have exposed ourselves? The segment will finally end, right?" Ro In asked what she was really curious about since the beginning of their conversation.
The question went hanging for only a minute when the five people just signalled to each other. Then the HOM faced them ready to answer her.
"Well, yes, but before we had launched the segment, part of the original plan is that after we have found the real MYOB, they will have their own reality TV show,"
"What? TV Show? Isn't what we did already enough?" Ro In exclaimed.
"I think unfortunately, no. After your grand reveal tonight, people will definitely look forward for more,"
"Really, should we have told you in secret so that there won't be any reality show?"
"Well, we won't know that but it was already part of the original plan. If you've told us in secret, we would still ask you to present in the segment and officially claim that you're MYOB."
"We still have no escape," Soh Ra whispered to Ji Han.
"You bet," Ji Han adjusted herself in her seat, "What will happen if we won't concede to that reality show?"
"We can't say. Well, actually we're sorry but we won't allow you to back out on this one. You're already here so why not as well go all the way through? I understand that you're still students so we will just request you to leave for only one month for the filming and then after that is the broadcast, at that time, you can go back to the academy,"
"At this part of our studies, we're not really required to go to the academy because we're doing our final requirements which are a lot,"
"There will be a lot of free time during the filming because we won't have to travel, we'll just stay in one place, the production director will elaborate on that, anyways, there will be a lot of free time for you to do what you have to do for your studies,"
"But we can't meet with our classmates?"
"You can't. You will understand why when you'll meet the director for this show. So, are you in?"
Soh Ra looked at her friends and then back to the HOM, "We actually have no choice, right?"
The HOM bit her lip and then just smiled at them.
"I'm so stressed," Soh Ra whined as she leaned on Ji Han's shoulder. They just finished meeting the director of the reality show and they felt even heavier as he told them what will happen. Now, sitting at the bench in front of the Han River, all they could think of is what will happen tomorrow, the start of filming.
"I, as well," Shi Min leaned on Ji Han's other shoulder.
"Me, too," Ro In on the other hand leaned on Ji Han's back.
Ji Han was appalled, "Okay, wait. Why are all of you leaning on me? I'm stressed, too, you know? Where am I supposed to lean?"
"You can lean on any of our heads. On the left, right or at the back," Ro In answered.
"Maybe, but my neck's not that long,"
"Just stay still for a while," Shi Min requested as she yawned.
"Hey, don't sleep. Wait, my phone's ringing,"
Shi Min raised her head as Ji Han took her phone from her pocket.
"Chanyeol-oppa? ... We're near the Han River, why? … Nothing, we're just hanging out… Yeah, we're fine… Did you just say 'look fine'? Wait, where are you?"
"Yaaah!" Chanyeol shouted from behind them and Ro In and Soh Ra eventually woke up.
"Hey, what's wrong with you? We're sleeping here!" Ro In shouted at him.
Embarrassed, he sulked when he stood in front of them, "Sorry,"
"Haha, that's what you get from disturbing other people's sleep. You came alone?"
"No, the others are with me. I just texted them where I am exactly so they'll be here in a while, by the way, I saw the broadcast of Dancing 9 last Saturday," he said with a knowing smile on his face.
"Chanyeol, I have something to ask of you and the others," Soh Ra said to him and his smile faded as he heard how serious she sounded, "Please don't talk about that now. We're trying to forget about that for tonight because tomorrow… tomorrow… ahhhh!" she just shouted out as she can't make herself finish. She bent herself forward and leaned her forehead on her knees.
Confused, Chanyeol turned with a questioning eye to Ji Han who didn't answer and placed a hand on Soh Ra's back. He moved towards Shi Min and bent his knees down, "Shi Min, tell me,"
Shi Min bit her lip, "C'mon," she stood up and walked a short distance away from them. Chanyeol followed her. There she started telling him about everything as well as what will happen tomorrow and the days that will follow, also, what they feel about it. Chanyeol listened eagerly and considered what she was saying but he still can't help but be amused of what he just heard. His friends will have their own show!
"But I still want to congratulate you for being so brave, for facing what you don't want to do. You and your friends are really strong,"
"Thanks,"
"MYOB! Eurorong!"
The four immediately turned around when they heard Baekhyun's voice shouting at them from behind. And the others were singing 'eurorong, eurorong, eurororong dae' as they walked towards them. They're really enjoying themselves, the four thought.
They stopped when Chanyeol signalled for them to hush.
"Why?" Suho asked him.
"They don't want to talk about it. You all know that they don't really want to do it in public,"
"Yeah, but even like that, it was amazing," Suho said, "How much more if you've really wanted to?"
"We did convince ourselves," Ro In paused because suddenly Sehun just shuffled her bangs, "to want to perform at that time because we need to."
"But why didn't you tell us that you'll be performing?" Kai asked.
"Yeah, we could've visited and cheered you on," Lay said.
"We didn't want to disturb you. We know you were preparing for your comeback," Ji Han said.
"That's not an excuse," Baekhyun said, "We could leave practice for a while if it's for you,"
"Their studio isn't that far from ours, right?" Tao added.
It was a surprise for them but the four really felt a lump on their throats and they really felt like crying when they heard those words from them. They never thought that for these guys, their friendship is this deep.
"We really appreciate what you're saying right now,"
Shi Min turned to Soh Ra with wide eyes, "Soh Ra, you're saying it too lightly. What we mean is, we're really, really touched for you caring for us and for your willingness to cheer us up. You truly are our good friends,"
"That's…. what I was meaning to say," Soh Ra said and smiled, embarrassed. Kris patted her shoulders, meaning to say 'it's okay; that usually happens'.
The four chatted a lot more about EXO's comeback; their new songs and new dances. And eventually, their chat went to the four.
"If we're having a comeback, then you're probably having your debut," D.O said after hearing about their reality show.
"You're really amazing, you know. Even without debuting, you already have a reality show. Imagine that?" Baekhyun added with an incredulous expression but erased it immediately as he just smiled at them.
"How will your reality show go? Just like EXO Showtime?" Xiumin asked them.
The four looked at each other as they remembered what the director said.
"Uh, we can't really tell you because the director said that we should not tell anyone about how it will go,"
All of the anticipators' expressions were the same at once, dismayed and skeptical.
"What! Oh, c'mon! We're so excited for you that we can't wait for the broadcast. We're really good friends, right? Just tell us; promise we won't tell anyone," Chen exclaimed.
"Actually, the director didn't explain much, just an overview. He said that he'll elaborate more while filming,"
Luhan then eagerly leaned his ear closer to them, "Okay, tell us about it,"
Suddenly, Shi Min tapped Luhan's nose with her finger which really surprised him. He turned his head towards her as he watched look at her finger, "I think it's raining," she suddenly said then showed her finger to him, it was slightly wet.
"What?" he asked in deep wonder.
"This can't possibly be your sweat, right?" she asked innocently.
"No,"
"It is raining," Suho held, "Let's go," then they started running towards the small food shop not a short distance away as raindrops started falling from the dark clouds of the night.
It was a good timing that there weren't a lot of people in the food shop so they were all able to take a seat. They connected the four empty square tables and sat around it.
"Standbys aren't allowed here," Sehun pointed out.
Chanyeol and Suho then took their wallets from their pockets.
"Then we'll order," Chanyeol said as he stood up and went to the counter. Suho, Kris and Ji Han followed after him.
All the people left at the table laughed as Sehun, Kai and Tao simultaneously said 'Yes!'
"Nice one," Kai said as he clapped Sehun's palm.
"We are really hungry," Tao explained.
"Yeah, we've been practicing for the whole day and we don't have time to eat a lot," Sehun added.
"We understand, we understand," Chen repeated.
After a short while of waiting, Ji Han, Chanyeol, Suho and Kris went back to their table and the food was served.
"Now, tell us," Lay said to them as he chewed on a sliced piece of Makchang.
Soh Ra swallowed before speaking, "Okay, this is what he said,"
As the rain fell around them and only the large tent covers them from getting wet, the excitement of the EXO members heightened as Soh Ra told them what they wanted to hear. When she finished, all they talked and joked about was how the four might probably be doing their reality show. That maybe because they really don't like what they were doing, they might probably just be lousy on the set and get to the nerves of the director and the whole crew.
"Yeah, we might just do that but without really meaning it,"
Just then, a group of young girls came to their table and greeted EXO. They asked for their autographs and took pictures with them. They didn't seem to notice the four girls sitting with them because they were so busy smiling and looking good. The four just stayed silent as they continued eating except for Shi Min who was answering a call from her mom.
When the four girls were about to leave, that was the only time that they noticed that there were others sitting with their favourite idols.
"Is that? Are they?" one of them was pointing at them and can't continue what she was saying because she must be so shocked.
"She looked like she's seeing a ghost," Ro In to the others.
"Maybe there's really something behind you," Soh Ra told her as she looked behind Ro In and Ro In looked as well.
"What ghost?" Shi Min suddenly asked from beside her; she just finished talking to her mom, "please don't say things like that, you know I'm really afraid of ghosts,"
"Guys, will you stop that? She's not seeing ghosts," Ji Han reprimanded her friends who seemed to not realize what is really happening. And while they were at it, the guys can't help but laugh at them.
Soh Ra turned back around and the young girl was still pointing at them without really saying something. And she's starting to get annoyed, "Didn't your mother ever tell you it's not polite to point at other people?"
"Soh Ra, easy," Chanyeol warned but he was still smiling with the others.
Suho then leaned towards Baekhyun, "Kris has found his long lost sister," he said to him in a low voice and they both laughed.
"What is that?" Chen asked and Baekhyun told him what it was and the three of them laughed altogether. Then Baekhyun called Kris.
"Kris-hyung, meet your long lost sister from cold galaxy,"
Kris and the others who heard which are all of the guys in the table, laughed.
The young girl who was pointing her finger immediately put down her hand and apologized. But then the other one suddenly shouted.
"You're MYOB! Oh my gosh!"
Soh Ra who took a long time to process what she was saying, just gaped her mouth at her and then turned to Ji Han, "So this is what that was all about?"
"Yeah, and you were too slow to pick that up,"
"But why are you with EXO? Are you close with them?"
Ro In shook her head, "No, it's the opposite. They're close with us, that's why they're WITH US,"
The young girls just nodded as they excitedly hurried towards them and handed them their paper and pen.
"Can you sign these for us? We really love your videos and when you finally revealed yourselves, we loved you even more!"
"Really?" Soh Ra asked her seriously and the young girl was clearly flabbergasted but was still able to answer her with a yes.
"Soh Ra, stop that, here, sign this," Ji Han handed her a paper and pen.
"I can't. Just this moment, I have been ascertained that I don't feel like signing autographs. Is it enough that she signed?"
"Ah, yes. Thank you so much. We'll be looking forward and be rooting for you in the future! You're amazing!" she shouted as she and her friends finally walked away.
When Soh Ra turned her attention to the EXO members, she wondered why they were smiling at each other and at them.
"What?" she asked them.
"'What' what? We should be the one asking you, what was that all about?" Chen asked.
"Uh, I think you of most people should be the one to understand that situation the most,"
"Yeah, but, what did you say back then, you don't feel like signing autographs?"
Soh Ra thought for a while, "Well, I was just being honest. I don't want to sign autographs when people know me not as a Film Director. Because I have a dream that someday, people all over the world will know me as a famous Director who creates films of excellent regard and that will be the only time that I'll sign autographs,"
"But that will be like a few more years from now, right?" Ji Han asked her.
"Yeah, maybe,"
"Soh Ra, why don't we try to live in the present and just go with the flow?" Shi Min told her.
Soh Ra sighed heavily, "I understand what you mean,"
"If right now people know us as MYOB and not as individuals with different interests, then let's live with it. After this, the right time will come for us to be who we want to be. I do think we're really amazing people so we'll definitely be able to do that. Don't think too much about how this present popularity will affect our future choices, you'll get nothing good from that,"
After those words were brought out by Shi Min, there was silence in the night and only the sound of the rain could only be heard. Suddenly, Ro In shouted, "Maknae-yah!" then she locked Shi Min's neck under her arm and dug her fist into the top of her head, "You are getting so wise these days! Where do you get those words of wisdom, huh? Is it inside this head of yours?"
"Ow! Stop that!"
The silence eventually faded as the whole group burst into laughter and jeered at Shi Min talking like a wise old man but even like that, they got something really important from what she said that they could live by as time passes- soon making the future right now as the present.
Prologue
"MYOB: REAL T (TALENT)" REALITY SHOW
A brief compilation of their videos played and after that, their pictures were revealed. The pictures were from their photo shoot in the middle of their filming. Their concept then was a Cool Hip Hop Girl Group who makes their own sound in the industry. That will be the introduction part of all episodes.
In all of the episodes, the four's appearance was just like how they usually appear in public. Nothing was changed except that they were wearing light make-up.
The setting is at Mnet building but mainly it is one of their studios. For four weeks, the four stayed in that building; lodging at the adjacent hotel-like room made especially for them.
EPISODE I (First Saturday)
8 pm when the four entered the studio and was aghast at what they saw inside.
"What in the world is this?" Soh Ra exclaimed.
"What did they do to the mirrors?" Shi Min asked in turn.
"How are we going to practice when they are covered all over with oversized pictures of these people… wait, I recognize this one…" Ro In said as she strode towards where the mirrors were supposed to be, "this is G-dragon, right?" she asked her friends pointing at his picture.
"Yeah, that's him, and there's EXO," Ji Han pointed at EXO's picture on the lower part of the mirror.
"This could mean one thing…. All of them," Soh Ra gestured her hand towards the pictures, "are idols," she said seriously.
Ji Han laughed, "And here I am thinking that you're going to say something so insightful. You got me,"
"Hey, I was serious. What could they be thinking, pasting these pictures here?"
"Ahjussi," Shi Min faced the cameraman and so was the camera, of course. "What are we going to do with the pictures? Can we take them out?... No?"
The four then sitting at the floor were finally given the instructions.
They will be given pieces of papers with the names of the idol groups and they have to match them with the picture of the idol group pasted on the mirror. If they could get it right, the picture will be removed and they can now practice with the mirror.
"Okay, I know one," Ro In said seriously.
"Me, too," Soh Ra added. "The one at the bottom, that's EXO, right?"
"Yeah, okay we got one right."
The other two laughed as Ro In took the piece of paper with the word, 'EXO' and pasted it on Suho's forehead, "And this is their leader, Suho,"
A question was then posted for them: "Are you close with the members of EXO?"
"Yeah we're friends with them. Hi EXO!" Ro In answered briefly and then laughed afterwards. She went back to her friends after answering the question right in front of the camera.
"That's G-dragon, so that group must be Bigbang," Ro In said.
"Wow, guys," Soh Ra called as looked at one picture, "I've counted how many of them are and they're more in number than EXO. There are 13 members,"
"Super Juniors," Ji Han declared.
"In this task, Ji Han will bring us to success," Soh Ra patted her shoulder, "Ji, fighting! We will support you," the three of them then sat on the floor and leaned on the wall.
"Okay, I understand the situation. But you guys still need to help me when I'll start guessing."
"Sure thing,"
Ji Han then started mix-matching: she got five sure answers other than the first three: Block B, B.A.P, B1A4, CNBlue then 2ne1.
"Guys, help," Ji Han said to them, "We got seven more to guess correctly,"
Shi Min giggled, "You really used the word 'guess'; that just means that we don't really know them,"
A question was posted for them: "Don't you recognize the idols' faces when you make covers of their songs?"
Soh Ra answered the question, "Uh, in their videos that we watched, which are mostly dance versions, we don't really focus on the face but on their movements so we can't really remember their faces well,"
When they finished posting which was not so hard for them because they were just guessing, the four went to their rooms to rest and the coverage of them for the night ended there. The next day came and when they came back to the studio, the pictures were still there.
"We already answered some correctly, right? Why are they still not taking them out?" Ro In asked her friends who also didn't know the answer. Additional instructions were then given to them: from among those they answered correctly, they have to choose four groups that they could name each member correctly. If they'll succeed, all the pictures will be detached including those they answered correctly.
Shi Min smiled, "Guys, we must have made a lot of mistakes because they're giving us an alternative,"
Soh Ra crossed her arms, "Last night, we're talking about what's the aim of this game. I know now what it is,"
"What?"
"To show people how unfamiliar we are with our own country's instruments of pop culture,"
"They're clearly succeeding then," Ji Han said as she took pieces of paper from the table on one corner of the room.
"Well, we can't do anything about it, we honestly are not familiar with their names. I mean, it's a lot to remember, you know. I say 'cheers!' to the people who agree with me," Soh Ra raised her cup of coffee to the camera.
"Now, now, enough of that; I'll just name the EXO members first," Ji Han then started posting their names on their respective pictures. When she was done, Ro In stood beside her and laughed.
"Guys, if we could only get them correctly and their picture will be the only one that will be taken out, we have to practice while lying down," they all laughed when she laid her back flat on the floor and started dancing and rolling. She got up immediately when she realized how foolish she looked.
"That's why we have to get four more groups correctly so that we won't have to do that. You look really ridiculous back there," Ji Han said to Ro In.
Ro In patted her friend's shoulders, "I know. Now let's succeed,"
The four then decided to name CNBlue, B.A.P, and Bigbang. They were able to answer them correctly on first try except for B.A.P.
"The one with the high-pitched voice is Daehyun, right?" Soh Ra asked.
"Yeah, but I wonder who it is among these three. The three names we got left is Himchan, Youngjae, and Daehyun,"
After five more minutes, they were finally able to decide and got everything right. They cheered for themselves and got surprised when the screen on the wall lit up with the sound of Ji Han's low voice saying 'MYOB'. They walked towards the screen and waited when the screen posted a title of the song: 'Like a G6'. Eventually, they positioned themselves and started performing their dance cover for that song when the music played. This is a regular part of the show that when a title of the song will be shown on the screen, they have to perform it right there and then.
The next part was the interview. The four were seated at the couch placed in one corner of the room. They will be given a box and from there, they will pick the questions that they have to answer.
Question 1: If you're a genre of music, what could you be and why? Relate it to who you are.
Soh Ra: What question is that? That's like in a slambook.
Ji Han: Let's just answer it.
Shi Min: I'll be classical because I'm sometimes complex but most of the times relaxed.
Ro In: Yeah, that could be right. You also take roads as a very complex subject of discussion and then you always lose your way. But you're still relaxed even though most of the times you got no sense of direction.
Soh Ra: That…that is a very good interpretation.
Soh Ra and Ro In then clapped hands in front of Shi Min.
Shi Min: Yah! Stop bullying me! How about you then, what genre of music are you?
Ro In: Acoustic because I'm like a guitar. I have curves.
At that, the four burst into laughter and Ji Han kept hitting Ro In's shoulders.
Ro In: Okay, okay. Really, it's not acoustic but uh, I can't pick a genre but any song that needs the strong beat of the drums because just like in those songs, the drums give the beat to the song, in subjective terms, I give life to the group.
Ji Han: That's true. She's the funniest in the group and really cheers us up when we need it.
Soh Ra: My turn? Okay, I'm in for the rock genre of music simply because I'm intense.
That answered earned jeers from the other three.
Ro In: Intense! Yes, she could really be like that at times especially when she has mood swings and red days-
Soh Ra: Hey! That's not what I mean! Just don't speak for the moment, sometimes you're just talking nonsense.
Ro In: Heard that? Those words really hit me… intensely. It's proven true, she's intense. But hey, hey… those nonsense things that I'm saying are the ones that make you laugh and I bet on the heavens that you're really grateful for it.
Soh Ra: Sorry, Ro In.
Ro In: You should be thankful to God that I don't know how to hold grudges. So, enlighten us, why are you intense?
Soh Ra: It's because in whatever I do especially on the things that I love doing, I really put my heart into it. For me, being intense is having and showing passion on what I do.
Ji Han: I love that. Now, lastly, I'm going to be Rap/Hip-Hop because I like working fast.
Shi Min: Yeah, at school, she always submitted requirements before the deadline. She never waits for us to finish ours and then submit together.
Soh Ra: She doesn't believe in the saying 'friends who submit requirements together, stays together forever'
Ji Han: That's the first time I heard that saying.
Ro In: And then she gets plus points for submitting early. Ah! You really don't like working fast; you just want to submit early because of the plus points! In short, you're desperate for a high grade.
Ji Han, flabbergasted: Hey, hey, hey, how did we arrived in that topic?
Soh Ra: Weren't you listening?
Ji Han: Intense!
Soh Ra: Shut up.
Question 2: In the group, how do you divide the task when you make dance or song and dance covers?
Ji Han: For the dance covers, all of us together learn the dance through videos but if the song doesn't have its own choreography, it's Soh Ra who makes her own. She sometimes consults with us about it but because it's already amazing, we can't contribute much and then she teaches that to us.
Ro In: When we have to sing and dance, Shi Min is the one who records our voices and applies it to the audio. Then when we make the dance cover videos, the song will be in our own version. When we have to make changes to the song, Shi Min also is the one who arranges it for us.
Soh Ra: The filming then or the making of the video is tasked to Ro In and I. And then the camera, the effects, the angles, and every technicality, both of us take care of it because we are actually on that turf.
Question 3: How do you choose the songs that you make cover of? And are you fans of idol groups, particularly Block B, Bigbang or B.A.P? (Because mostly it's their songs that you make cover of in your videos.)
Shi Min: We're definitely not fans. It's just that most of those three groups' songs best fit to our liking. And how we choose our songs? It is simply by the lightbulb feeling that when we hear a certain song on the radio or on the television, there's a sudden spark of interest in some part of our brains.
Soh Ra: Well-versed.
Question 4: What does MYOB mean and how was that name formed?
Ji Han: MYOB means in English, 'Mind Your Own Business'. Back in our High School, this is already the name of our group during talent shows and other events such as fund-raising events where we perform as a band. We named ourselves MYOB back then because this is what we said to those who asked us why we don't like any idol groups and why we didn't know them. Also, they sometimes insist for us to know them. So for them to buzz away from us, we tell them to ''mind your own business' and then they won't disturb us anymore.
After that fourth question, the interview ended and the major task for the show was then given to them. In this task, they will be given a song and they have to make their own cover of that song. Every three days they will be given a title and it is up to them how they will manage their time and effort for the fixed succession of being given songs. The songs are not chosen by the show's crew. With MYOB's current popularity, most of those are personally requested by the artists themselves and the others are requested by the fans.
The first ever group that requested to have their song covered by them is BTS. Actually, their company is really interested in them and this is their first move in getting the group's attention.
The screen lit up suddenly and the four watched a dance version video that was playing on the screen.
"What group is that?" Soh Ra asked.
"They all look so young. I think that's BTS," Ji Han answered.
"Have we made a cover of any of their songs before?"
"No, we haven't. They're a rookie group so they must have debuted last 2012 and we weren't making much covers then,"
"They're amazing. Why didn't we notice them before?" Shi Min complimented as she watched how cool the group's movements are.
"If we have watched television often, maybe we could have,"
"But too much television kills the brain cells," Ro In just said. The four looked at her and just snickered. "We are Bulletproof. Is that the first song they're giving us?"
"Probably,"
"Okay, we only have a shorter time than the usual to make a cover of that song and then they're going to give us another one. Really, are they thinking that we're Superwomen of this universe? We could die of fatigue," Soh Ra complained in front of the camera but then just smirked, "But, even if we die even before this show ends, we will give justice to the name of this show. We will give you a Real Taste of our Talent, as what you say we do have. Stay tuned, this is MYOB: Real T,"
"Hey!" Ji Han called her, "What are you talking about? It's not the end of the episode yet,"
"Is it not?" and then she turned back to the camera, "I was just kidding. Ji Han doesn't want the episode to end, yet. She wants more exposure so please focus on her from now on,"
The next parts of the episode featured them planning and practicing for the said cover. They played the video on the screen repeatedly as Shi Min read the lyrics while listening to the song. She then divided the song among the four of them for they plan on making a song and dance cover. After a short while, Ji Han stopped the video from playing and just lied on the floor with the others as they listened to the song repeatedly played on loudspeakers. Eventually, they started singing along in their parts. Then with the audio turned off, they sang once again in acapella. When they finally got the song in their heads, they went back in front of the screen and started practicing the dance. Until the end of the episode, their practice was covered and at that night before they went to sleep, they could already perform the song and the dance at the same time without mistake.
On the scenes that followed, what were shown were from their practices from the two days that have passed since they were given the song which won't be broadcasted in full so only cuts were broadcasted. One of the cuts was a compilation of the four being interviewed individually.
Shi Min's interview:
She was at the couch and is busy with her laptop, "Oh hi! What I'm doing? Uh, I'm editing some parts of the song because we decided to add some more dance to our cover other than what is on the original. You want to hear it?" she then played a short bit of the additional parts she arranged, "It's still not finished, though."
Soh Ra's interview:
Still holding her bottle of water and sweat still dripping from her forehead, she faced the camera, "This is nothing new, really. We've done this more than a dozen times before so we are used to it. One thing that really helps us in this task is that, we learn easily and we actually like what we're doing except for the frequent broadcast camera visits, like this one. This really disturbs us but we got no choice. Anyways, most of the times you're just silent visitors so it's a bit okay, you're forgiven,"
Ji Han's Interview:
She was sitting on the floor with her laptop in front of her and pieces of sketched bond papers at her side, "I skipped practice for a while because I have a requirement at school that I have to finish and submit before the end of the week… I could say that we're ready to make another one. We're done with the first one, anyway; it just needs occasional rehearsals for the final touches."
Ro In's Interview:
"We were given a task that is set to be finished in a short time and now you're asking if how I am? Do you know where I just came from? I came from the comfort room to release the gross tenants of my intestines since day 1 of practice. My stomach was a ruckus," Her friends laughed so hard at her sudden outburst, "Because of the tight schedule of practice I can't even go to the comfort room and during the breaks and when the day is through, I am so tired so I just go to sleep and forget about it," she was serious that her friends couldn't tell if she's kidding or not, "But I'm okay now, thanks for asking. Bye!"
The next scene showed the four of them sitting on the floor resting from their practice.
"I think it would be better if they would just give us all the song titles right now so that we could manage our time and effort more wisely," Shi Min suggested.
"They could do that but that doesn't have any surprise effect. People usually prefer shows with lots of surprises and thrills," Soh Ra answered. Just then, the screen lit up.
"Is it time to reveal the next song?" Ro In walked back to the screen, "Oh yeah, it is,"
The second group who requested was Dynamic Duo with their song "Guilty"
"I think I've heard this song before," Shi Min wondered.
"Me too. But thankfully they're giving us this song right now because I would've really reacted if they gave us a song like the first one," Ro In said as she entered their room.
"Ro In must be thinking what we're thinking on how to do the song. I'll go help her get the instruments," Ji Han said and followed Ro In.
When the two came back, they started practicing their acoustic cover of the song with Ro In playing the beatbox and Shi Min with the guitar. Soh Ra is the one singing the first rap part, Ji Han on the second, Ro In on the rap on the bridge part and Shi Min on the chorus and adlibs.
EPISODE II (Second Saturday)
Sunday, and their day started with an interview but instead of questions, they will be shown pictures and they have to tell about it.
"What could those pictures be?"
"I don't know,"
"Maybe it's the before and after photos,"
"What's that?"
"You know, comparing idol's pictures before and after they debuted,"
"But we're not idols; we're not even debuting,"
"I'm just guessing,"
Picture 1
"That's the academy. I really miss it," Shi Min said.
"That's Seoul Arts Academy. It's where we're currently studying our majors. This will be our final year. Actually we're supposed to graduate last year but we stopped for one year because Soh Ra in her right mind went to experience farm life. Because we won't go back to the academy without her, we stopped school as well."
"Those words still make shake my conscience," Soh Ra said, "But even though they're saying that, they really enjoyed that year without school. By the way, what were you doing while I was at the farm?" she asked her friends.
"I taught for one semester at the orphanage that we went to and then I came back here," Shi Min answered.
"I didn't tell you this before but I headed the martial arts training of the new police,"
"You did? Weren't you scared? They were all men," Shi Min asked with a very worried voice.
"No, my father was always there when I trained them,"
"Ji Han, how about you?"
"I was always at my drawing room, designing the renovation for the hospital lobby and also for my uncle's beach house. It took me a long while to finish the designs because my uncle's so meticulous and demanding. Hi Uncle, if you're watching,"
Picture 2
"Oh, that's me and my team," Soh Ra said.
"I saw that on the news," Ji Han added.
"That first picture was taken from this year's Seoul Film Festival. There we won the Best Film for the Collegiate Category. The other one was during the International Collegiate Film Competition held at New York, USA just two weeks ago. Our film won first place but only my professor and my assistant director went to represent the whole team."
Picture 3
The four was so surprised to see the next group of pictures.
"Uhm, that was when we modelled for Wintergreen for their spring collection," Shi Min explained, "In that photo shoot, we worked with the idol group- B1A4. That photo shoot was really overwhelming for the four of us because before, we considered ourselves to be singers, dancers, musicians, writers, directors, designers, and photographers but never models. That was the first time that we did that and that was forced because we were blackmailed into doing it. We won't tell who because he actually has a reputation to uphold."
"Just now we were stunned to see the pictures because we thought those would only be placed in the magazine but it was also made into a large poster in front of the boutique along that crowded street where a lot of people could see it."
"Sometimes when we look at it, we can't really recognize our faces because until now, especially me, I can't really believe that we nailed that pictorial," Soh Ra added to Ro In's statement.
"But we're glad because we were able to discover another potential that we thought we don't have. The one who blackmailed us must be really proud right now."
Picture 4
"Who could've taken that picture?"
"Probably someone with a camera,"
"Ro In, was that supposed to be a joke?" Ji Han asked her.
"No, I'm just stating the obvious," Ro In answered as she raised an eyebrow.
"Ah! Why are you like that?" Ji Han then shook both her friend's shoulders.
"You should know because we're friends. Please stop, I'm getting dizzy!"
"Okay, uh sorry for the slight interruption. I think we have mentioned that we perform as a band. Yes and that picture was when we were performing at a music bar just this January. The owner of the bar was our senior in high school and she asked us to perform there only on Saturday nights when her customers are mostly western foreigners. And then we only performed English Songs because that was the reason why she asked us in the first place,"
Picture 5
"They just can't get the angle right," Ro In said when a picture of them and EXO together from the last time that they saw each other was on the screen.
"A lot of people especially EXO's fans might be wondering why we are close friends with the EXO members," Ji Han started, "that's probably because of me. I'm not really proud to say this but I'm Chanyeol's cousin,"
"Ouch, that must have hurt. Chanyeol-ssi, I hope you're watching. You're so unfortunate to have this person as your cousin," Ro In said to the camera.
"No, I'm just kidding. I'm proud. I'm sure he is also proud to have me as his cousin, haha! Okay, we're cousins and that's when this friendship started," Ji Han then went on telling about how the two groups got close but she didn't mention about their studio because that's their secret.
After the interview, they just sat at the couch and idled when suddenly the screen showed the title of the song that they'll perform for the episode: G-dragon's "Coup d'etat and One of a Kind". The four stood up and performed their song and dance cover of the two songs.
The next scenes focused on them bouncing from practicing the two songs already given to them and going back to their room to make their requirements for school. Sometimes Soh Ra would go online to discuss with her team the updates for the preparation for their final film project. Ro In and Shi Min also get updates in their lessons from their classmates; their professor also agreed to give them exams online. While Ji Han is busy with finishing her final design portfolio composed of at least 30 designs for 6 different categories which is her only requirement for her finals. She also consults with her professor online.
The last part of the episode is that after performing an acoustic version of Block B's song "Is it Just Me?" the next song was then revealed. It was Bigbang who requested their song "Fantastic Baby". Even before, they had already planned to make a cover for this video but they can't seem to reach the level of quirkiness so they didn't continue. Now they got no choice but to really do it.
"Fantastic Baby!" Ro In shouted suddenly as they were finally saying goodbye at the end of the episode, "Baby, Good Night," then she gave a wink and waved goodbye.
The next day, the four stood at the center of the studio and were practicing their "Fantastic Baby" cover.
"We decided to keep the song as it is," Soh Ra said to the camera, "because we want to try to perform dance genre songs without much choreography. And for once, we want to be eccentric. Thank you Bigbang for requesting this song, we'll try our best to be fantastic. And I'd just like to say that this might be the song that I'd be really challenged, haha,"
After getting the third song, Shi Min immediately arranged the music and made some changes to it. Then they proceeded to their practice which usually gets interrupted with tight fits of laughs because of Ro In's over the top craziness. For their parts, Ro In would sing Seung Ri's parts, Shi Min on Daesung's and Taeyang's, Ji Han on TOP's and Soh Ra on G-dragon's.
When their practice for that song ended and three days had passed already, another song was then given to them. This time, it's BAP who requested their two songs "1004 (Angel)" and "Save Me". They immediately familiarized the song in their heads and studied how to play it on the electric guitars and on the drums at the adjacent band room.
A question was then posted for them: "Where did you learn to play these instruments?"
"Uh, I learned playing the electric guitar when I was just 9 years old. It was my older cousin who taught me how," Soh Ra answered as she adjusted the knobs on her guitar.
"In my case, I really enrolled in a school during summer when I was 11 years old. But supposed to be it was the piano that I should learn how to play but I was more interested in electric guitars, so I ended up learning it,"
Shi Min then answered next, "My father taught me,"
"My father also taught me," Ro In added.
"If you're not fans of kpop idols then are you fans of rock bands?"
"Yes, definitely," Ro In answered.
"Before we're MYOB that makes covers of Hip/Hop or Pop songs, we're MYOB that originally is a rock band," Soh Ra added, "You want a sample?"
The four then decided for the song to play.
"Specifically we're fans of Japanese Rock Bands and artists like Flow, Nico Touches the Walls and YUI and many others. So here's one of our favourite anime: Naruto's soundtrack by Nico Touches the Walls," Soh Ra signalled to Ji Han and she started playing her guitar. As the main vocalist, she started singing as all the instruments blended in.
After that, the four proceeded back to learning the two songs requested from them.
"Both songs already have a rock sound to it so it won't be so difficult for us to make it into rock songs," Ro In said to the camera.
"Okay guys, let's try," Soh Ra said to her friends after more than two hours of learning the chords and beats of the song.
Their first try wasn't sounding well so they repeated playing the songs until they got it right and indeed before the night ended, they finally made the right sound out of their instruments. They connected the two songs- end of one to start of one so they were singing two songs straight.
The broadcast continued with their practices and occasional interviews. And eventually after three days another song was given them. It was a request from their fans and it is the song "Hot Times" by SM the Ballad. When the four heard the song, they felt goose bumps in every high pitch that the four male singers make.
"Whoa, can we reach those high notes? Especially me, I have a low singing voice," Ji Han asked.
"Uh, the fourth guy who sings at the first verse has a lower voice, try him," Soh Ra suggested and Ji Han followed. Indeed, she was able to reach his pitch. "The first guy in the first verse, I think I can reach his note. Ro In, you're voice fit well with the guy who raps and Shi Min, you got the highest pitch among us so you take the highest pitched one from them as well," the other two nodded as they agreed. "Let's try it?"
For the next hours before the day and the episode ends, the four filled the room with their high-pitched voices as they practiced the song.
EPISODE III (Third Saturday)
The broadcast started with them just sitting on the floor, singing to Linkin Park's music playing on the speakers. And then a question was posted for them: "How did the four of you got so fluent in English?"
"In my case, my childhood was wholly spent in America. I came back to stay here since when I entered Junior High. So the first language that I ever learned is really English." Shi Min answered first.
"Uh, my grandmother's an Irish woman so in order for me to communicate with her, since I was a child, my mother taught me how to speak in English," Soh Ra answered as well.
Ro In coughed, "The only reason why I wanted to be fluent in English is because I want to sing well and clearly the songs of my favourite American Rock Bands like Creed, Nickelback, The Calling, Linkin Park. So since High School, I took up additional English Language lessons and with the help of Shi Min and Soh Ra, I'm able to learn easily,"
"Thanks for the credit," Soh Ra teased.
"Well, actually I have the same reason as Ro In but the difference is that I want my English Raps to be clear and don't have an awkward sound to it. That's all,"
After that, the screen lit up and showed the title "What is Love" by EXO. The four stood up then positioned themselves leaning on the mirror and performed their song and dance cover for the song.
"It's Block B's song Nilili Mambo we're making a cover next," Shi Min said as she sat back on the floor with her friends who were busy munching on marshmallows.
"Really?" Soh Ra clarified.
Just then, there was a knock on the door and another cameraman together with a lady both came into the studio. The four figured then that they were there to interview them.
Anchor: It's been three weeks since you've started filming, how are you, right now?
Ro In: We feel like prisoners.
Anchor: Uh, what do you mean by that?
Ro In: If we should be called in any names in this show. I would suggest that people would call us "Prisoners of Music" because we are imprisoned here in these four walls with a crime of being so amazingly talented in music and of that crime we are so guilty, that's why we are not burdened of what we are doing here.
Shi Min: Where are those words coming from, all of a sudden?
Ro In: From my mouth.
Anchor: I honestly don't know what to say to that.
Ro In: You're not obliged to so it's okay.
Anchor: Okay, uhm, you might not know this because you're here inside this studio but your show is really popular outside these four walls even to the idol stars. What can you say to that?
Ji Han: It's nice to know that it's really popular because it would really be bad for the station if it's not; just kidding. But still we're happy because we were able to entertain the viewers with what we're doing here.
Anchor: There's actually an issue going on outside that the reason why not one girl group is requesting for their song to be covered by you is that they see you as a rival whom they don't want to tolerate. What's your answer to that?
Shi Min: Oh yeah, I just realized.
Ro In: Me, too. Uh, who made that issue?
Anchor: It was on the internet and on SNS.
Soh Ra: In my opinion, the issue is wrong in all forms of understanding because rivalry is shown in one challenging the other and clearly they're not challenging us now so probably they're not thinking of us rivals. With those words said, I'll be defensive, we don't want to be thought of as a rival in this industry because if we're really professional artists then we should not think of other artists as rivals, instead we should think of them as fellow instruments of art- of music. We all make music, why don't we just go along instead of jeopardizing the harmony?
Anchor: You have a point right there. On the other hand, the boy groups seem to give you a lot of favour. We have interviewed some of them and they all think highly of you.
Shi Min: Really? I guess it's because we could carry out a boy group's songs well and it didn't sounded wrong when we perform them. Also, we're really trying our best to give justice to the songs even though were females.
Anchor: Actually, one of them said that but this person didn't just say that you're giving justice to their song but also you're bringing the song to a whole new level.
Shi Min: Wow, I think that's the most wonderful compliment that we ever received since we came out. Thank you so much, whoever said that.
Anchor: Another thing I would like to tell you about is that you have a lot of fans even outside the country, rooting for you. What would you like to say to them?
Ji Han: Hi, even though we don't really know you but we are truly grateful for your support and for appreciating what we're sharing to you. Hope you'll continue supporting Popular Music here in Korea.
When the interview ended, the four proceeded to planning their cover of Block B's Nilili Mambo. They decided to change its choreography and Soh Ra said that they will mostly do it in free style movements just like on "Fantastic Baby". As Soh Ra and Ro In were making the choreography, Shi Min and Ji Han were focused on the camera. They were asked to pick questions from the jar and they should answer them. The said questions were sent by their fans.
"From Yoo Ran: 'Can you tell us the order of your birth?'… Sure we can, but not now; just joking. Uh, I'm the eldest, then Soh Ra, Ro In and Shi Min's the youngest. We are only apart by months because we're born on the same year,"
"From User 579025: 'Do you have someone you like among the EXO members?' If you ask me, I like all of them, they are our good friends and they do appreciate our friendship which is really what's important,"
"From User 834734: 'Who does a lot of aegyo in the group?' Ah, this question is always asked in all groups like all the time. If it's an aegyo that is done because she wants to appear cute, there's none. But Shi Min, our serious maknae, is sometimes so innocent that without knowing and meaning it, she's already acting cutely like a little girl, it really makes our hearts melt,"
"Shut up," Shi Min said as she hit Ji Han's arm.
"Next is from, Ga Seob, this question is funny, 'Do the four of you ever fight?' Yeah, we do especially over food but that happens so rarely and it's not even so serious."
After their last practice for the 2nd day on the song 'Nillili Mambo', the four were interviewed briefly before they retired to their rooms.
Ro In: The song is so fun to perform and it wasn't that difficult to adjust to the singers because we like their music and we already did a lot of their songs before.
Ji Han: We are tired but still satisfied. Good Night!
The episode ended with the clips from their practices.
EPISODE IV (Fourth Saturday)
The episode is all about their practices and also they're stage rehearsals for their showcase which will be aired live on the next episode. But there was one time at the studio that they got so surprised. Video clips of idol stars giving them messages and cheering for them was shown on the screen.
"What could it be this time?" Ji Han asked as she saw the screen lit up.
"This is BAP Yessir!"
"Hello! MYOB!" Youngjae from BAP greeted them and so were the others.
"Whoa," was all Soh Ra said as the BAP members gave them their message.
"…you are a really an amazing group and we have watched all your episodes since day 1. We love what you did with our songs and good luck on your showcase! We'll be there,"
"Ji Han, you're Bang-like voice is really cool, you're like his girl-version," Himchan added.
"Yah Yah, you're doing it well," Yong Guk suddenly sang the first part from their song 'Bad Man'.
"I'm Daehyun , in case you still didn't know and this one is Youngjae," he said as he referred to Youngjae standing beside him, "You got us exchanged during you're first episode, but it's okay." He then laughed as they waved goodbye.
"We are Bulletproof!" BTS shouted with the action on Soh Ra's choreography.
"We're BTS and even though we haven't seen the full footage yet, we are so glad that you are making an incredible cover of our song. Though you aren't official, we think that you're the only group that is worthy to perform as a hip hop girl group,"
"You're moves are unique and fresh, we've never seen anything like it. You just changed a small bit of the song and the choreography but we feel like you've changed a lot because of the way you perform it,"
"We're really looking forward to meeting you,"
"See you at your showcase!"
"Annyeong!"
"If there's a girl group that would want to replace us, we would let them if it would be you,"
"And you won't be called 'Dynamic Duo'; instead it will be 'MYOB', no need to change your name, just stay as you are. Live with that name because even now, it's famous just like a pro idol group! We're rooting for you! Your version of 'Guilty' is doing great and we love it!"
"Hot Times. Naega neoreul nun ddeul dae… Annyeong MYOB!" Jong Hyun of Shinee greeted them.
"The four of you sounded so wonderful when you sang that song. We knew that when we requested that song, you will make it your own and you really did." Kyuhyun added.
"We're looking forward to what you will be doing in the future. Hope we'll still see a lot from you. Fighting!"
"Very Good girls! You're all doing great making a cover of our songs. We watched all your videos on your Block B covers and also of other artists and it were so striking that all we could do was ask ourselves if how could you possibly do that?"
"And when we watched your show, the title explained everything. MYOB, you have Real Talent in Music. We're happy that you shared it with us even though you really didn't mean to. This must be fate, then."
"Kyung, where'd you learn that 'fate' thing?"
"Nowhere, just Mind Your Own Business," Kyung then laughed at his pun.
"We're also glad to hear that you like our music, we really appreciate it. We want to perform with you on your showcase but I think that won't be easy. We have a lot to compete with for that. So we'll just watch you, closely."
"Bye!"
"Hey, MYOB, it's G-Dragon," he greeted with a smirk.
"TOP, Annyeong," he said as he gave a salute and a wink.
"They looked so cool when they did that," Ro In commented as she chewed on a sour gecko.
"We watched your practice and you said you will try your best to be Fantastic. We saw a bit of Bigbang but most of it was your style. I can't really explain it but it was a Fantastic free style. Without really trying hard, you were…"
"Fantastic, no other word for it,"
"We kept saying it because it's the only word we could describe you."
"Fantastic also means Bizarre, Eccentric, Strange, Weird," Shi Min pointed out.
"So we're also those?"
"Possibly,"
"I'd like to be called those names, because it could imply that we stand out. Haha!"
"… we already have tickets for your showcase and our managers actually had it reserved beforehand because there were a lot of people who would want to go. See how popular you are?"
"You're the unofficial artist with popularity level with the official ones,"
"You making covers of our songs are our pleasure and we would love to see you making your own music. Congratulations!"
"MYOB! Yahaha," Chanyeol greeted as he moved forward to the camera.
"Just look at him," Ji Han said as she watched how childish her cousin was getting on the screen, "Ahh, you can't really tell that he raps and has a low voice with that attitude he got,"
"There's really no difference between what he show on screen and out of the screen,"
"That applies to all of them,"
"Since the first time we saw you perform, we know you're really meant for this," Suho started, "We understand why you're doing this and so we congratulate you for being so brave,"
"If you're worried of how you're doing in front of the camera, well, you're doing it naturally. You're being true,"
"Well, we won't know how to act, right? So practically, we'd be true," Soh Ra said.
"We might haven't said this to you before but we are really grateful for our friendship and for trusting us with your 'secret',"
"Yeah, also for making us happy when we're tired,"
"Why are they being like that?" Ro In asked.
After those videos were played on the screen, a compilation of their never seen before scenes was shown where they were just hanging out on the studio during their free times.
First was when the Soh Ra and Ji Han were rapping Chris Brown's "Look at Me Now" while Ro In and Shi Min were playing the beatbox and the guitar, respectively. This was one of the songs that they like to perform but they didn't take a video of it. This gained a lot of stunned comments on SNS especially from foreign fans.
Second was when they coordinated with the stage director on what they would be doing for their showcase. What songs would they be performing other than those requested songs, the sequence, the arrangements and other technicalities.
Third was when Ro In and Soh Ra were having a showdown on breakdancing. Afterwards, the four of them made fun of themselves as they practiced saying tongue twisters.
Fourth was when Ro In with a camera interviewed her friends.
Ro In: First question from a fan: "What are your physical aspects that you consider as an asset?" Soh Ra, you answer first.
Soh Ra: Uh, that's hard. I don't really pay attention to my body that much so I can't really tell.
Ro In: If you ask me, I will say it's your long eyelashes and nice double eyelids. In general it's your eyes.
Soh Ra: Really?
Ro In: Yeah. How about you Ji Han?
Ji Han: I think it's my long slender bodice.
Shi Min: You're the tallest in the group. Height is really something. Well, for me, I think it's my dimples.
Ro In: What about me? Like Soh Ra, I also don't pay attention to my looks.
Ji Han: It's your nose. Everyone should be jealous with your nose. It's perfect and it's natural.
Ro In: Ah, okay. There are still a lot of questions here…
Soh Ra: Do we have to answer all of them?
Ro In turned the camera to the staff that immediately covered their faces as they nodded.
Ji Han: But we're so tired.
The staff then just gave them the rest that they wanted and said they should answer one last question before they'll proceed to their rooms.
Q: What do you feel right now? After hearing the messages from the idol groups and artists?
The four sat on the floor and fell into a conversation about it.
"Did you hear the most common thing that they all said?"
"Yeah, all seven of them said that they'll be there."
"Their presence means pressure,"
"We are really pressured right now but we should not let that get to us because that would only distract us and we may not be able to give them our best shot when we'll finally perform."
"Hope that during then, the lights on the stage will be so bright that we won't be able to see clearly who's on the crowd,"
"But we're also grateful for the pressure. We will take that as a motivation as we practice hard. Thank you!"
"We'll do our best to give you a show of a Real Talent,"
"We'll see you there,"
"This is MYOB, just minding our own business. Good Night!"
Two days before the episode, a short exciting preview of the coming show was shown on broadcast. Fading clips of each of them were shown individually. Then, it showed the four of them in a filming set together with a lot of staff working on the background. Soh Ra was sitting in front of a large screen and is busy moving the mouse of the computer but what is on the screen wasn't shown. The next scene showed the four of them standing side by side, their backs on the camera on the edge of the stage facing the bright spotlights. The last part showed the words: "Are you ready to mind our serious business?" The preview and its background music stirred the minds of the people and formed a question on their heads: Is MYOB doing something other than what is shown?
EPISODE V (FIFTH SATURDAY)
THE NIGHT OF THE SHOWCASE
It seems that there should be a red carpet outside KST Stadium as idol stars started coming into the wide hall. Camera flashes and fans screaming who also came to watch the show welcomed them. The idol stars and other celebrities who came sat at the front row seats.
The stadium was immediately filled with people in just two hours and a few moments after, the show started with a video playing on the screen. It showed a compilation of their cover videos and then their great reveal performance at Dancing 9. What came last were short clips from their practices and the first few scenes on their preview with added individual fading scenes.
Subsequently, the stage lit up with the sound of the drums and electric guitars as MYOB sang Linkin Park's "Waiting for the End" and then followed it by "1004 Angel" and "Save Me".
"Good evening everybody!" Soh Ra shouted, "Wow you really came to mind our business, are you?"
That received a huge 'yes' from the crowd. Even some of those seated upfront answered.
"Idol stars and celebrities are even here," Ro In started, "And it makes us ask, who is MYOB that made these people come here and watch the show? They must be really amazing.' Ow!" she exclaimed as Ji Han hit her at the back of her head.
"Last night, during rehearsals, we were actually betting on how much of this wide hall will be occupied tonight and because of all of you people who are here filling up the whole space, the four of us lost to the staffs. It's your entire fault,"
"Why did we bet on it on the first place?"
"Anyway, that will be our own problem later on so don't worry we won't blame you anymore. Instead, we thank you so much for coming and for making this whole place come alive. The show just started and we can't guarantee you anything but boundless astonishment."
"Pray you'll still be able to sleep tonight after this for we will be hard to get over with,"
"Hey, don't make them expect too much. It will be another dilemma for us if they'll be able to get over us sooner than this show is over."
"Okay, we are just trying to be confident on this stage. Actually, we're really nervous especially before this. We don't know if you'll be entertained."
"But then, we realized that we don't have to mind. Just sit there and think what you want to think and we as well, will be here, just being awesome in our natural ways. Just sit tight for we'll be right back for more," they gave a salute as they bowed before the lights in the stage went out.
The sequence of the show afterwards is as follows:
SM the Ballad's Hot Times
Bruno Mars and Natasha Bedingfields' Again (Soh Ra and Shi Min's duet)
Justin Bieber's That Power (Dance)
Karmin's I Told You So and A Night Like This
Dynamic Duo's Guilty
BTS' We are Bulletproof
EXO's Mama and BAP's Power Remix
Block B's Nillili Mambo
Bigbang's Fantastic Baby
MYOB's Official Single Release: Hunter (We are out for the Kill)
A video was shown before they sang their official single. It was when the four were filming the drama version of their music video. At the set, Ji Han was busy with the design of the setting- supervising the staff on where to put the furniture and the other stuffs inside the room, Shi Min is briefing her friends on the story of the music video, Ro In became the director of photography and Soh Ra was the one editing the video after everything was filmed. When the computer screen that Soh Ra was working on was focused, the video transitioned into a movie trailer –like video. It was the shortened version of their music video and the background music was just the instrumental part of their song.
The whole crowd roared in excitement as they watched. This might be what they're waiting for their idol to do. They roared even more when they came out again and sang their hip hop single 'Hunter' which concluded the show.
TWO DAYS AFTER…
Host: And now we're back with MYOB! Ladies, it has been two days since your live showcase and this is your first time to appear after that. So what people want to know is what will happen next?
"Ah, aren't they asking if how are we doing? Just kidding but if they're asking, tell them that we're somehow fine. We were able to eat and drink well for two days," Ro In said, "But what will happen next, you ask? We don't know, no one can really be certain about the future,"
"Uh, okay, but what are your plans? Everyone wants to know what's behind the release of your single. Was that your debut- the official start of your career as a kpop artist?"
"Everyone must be expecting it to be that but that's not the reason why we made that song and released it. We're not planning to pursue this career." Ji Han announced.
"Before, we thought of living in the present and in the present, we are MYOB," Soh Ra started, "we thought of living with the popularity that's why we agreed to be on the show and even perform live. But then what about those things that we are really passionate about? Are those just going to become our regrets of the past? You might say that if we do continue this then we can still do the things that we love after. Yes, that can happen but if we live each day as the present, when will our future start? In the future, we see ourselves as someone who is continually in love in what we do, so when will that start? Our answer to that is now with the opportunities knocking on our doors. During the filming, I got a call from my father saying that a renowned Hollywood film director is willing to train me by making me his assistant director in his upcoming movies for the next two years. For a film directing enthusiast like me, that is truly a huge opportunity that I should not think twice about. My friends also got opportunities like this,"
"I'm in the same case, after the exhibit I joined with other foreign photographers, the senior photographer offered to train me and will take me with her on her tour where I will definitely learn so much,"
"My first novel is already set for publication mainly in English but it will also be translated in Korean. And I'm also in the middle of writing my second one. Writing is my life so I won't be able to give it up anytime or set another time frame for it,"
"After I graduate, I'll be training as well with a famous Architectural Firm here in Seoul."
The host smiled, "With what you are saying now, even if you're not known as MYOB, I bet you'll also become popular in your own fields. But it's still sad to think that we won't be seeing you a lot. But back to the question, what is the reason behind the release of your song? But before you answer that, tell us about your song. It has a very cool and action-packed concept. What does the song mean?"
"Um, the song's message is freedom from wrong choices and also from the chains of the current circumstances that hinders them. It shows that people can be whoever they want to be as long as they got the courage to break the chains that stop them and overcome barriers that block their way."
"Shi Min mainly wrote the lyrics of the song and we just put on our heads together for its arrangement. The concept of the music video was Soh Ra's idea because those are the concepts of movies that she would like to direct in the future."
"While filming the music video, I actually had a grasp of what it would feel like to film an action movie. It was really exciting," Soh Ra said.
"Your LTE raps are really amazing. I think all the four of you actually did an LTE rap,"
"Yeah, but I only did a very short one because I'm not really good at it. Ro In, Ji Han and Soh Ra are the ones that could really carry out very long and fast ones,"
"But she's the one who has the most wonderful singing voice in our group,"
"So about the release of the song, other than the staff suggested that we make our own song, we did that to make it as a reminder that we had really entered that field- that career even for a short time. And we know of how great the power of music is to relay an important message especially to young people who are greatly influenced with popular music. With our song, we would like them to be inspired of its message…"
WHAT HAPPENED THEN…?
For three straight weekends, MYOB performed their song on the three different music shows all getting the number 1 spot. They were about to reach their fourth weekend when they told the broadcasting companies that they won't appear anymore because of their hectic schedules on their finals. On those three weekends because of almost meeting the same artists, they became friends with them. With EXO performing their comeback stages, MYOB also had a lot of chances of meeting their good friends.
On their graduation, two weeks after, the four received special awards of excellence. That was broadcasted on the news and also their appointment as South Korea's Excellence in Youth Ambassadors. They were featured in People Magazine, South Korea which highlighted their continuing journey as young instruments of art.
One month after, Ro In took off with her senior photographer for their tour in Europe, Canada, and Russia. People at the Incheon airport were baffled when the EXO members came together with the other MYOB members to send her off. More so, when Kris arrived later and she was still able to wave at him goodbye before she entered their gate.
Three weeks after, Shi Min and Soh Ra went together to America; Shi Min for her book launching and Soh Ra for her training as an assistant director.
Only one left in Seoul, Ji Han misses her friends a lot and the EXO members, the one who most understands it because they also feel the same, always tags her along whenever they hang out during their free time which isn't much. A month after Shi Min and Soh Ra left, she took the professional Architectural Exam and passed belonging to the top five in all of Korea. She already started working with the most famous architectural firm in Seoul then.
The four Best Friends who call themselves MYOB are all afoot on their separate journeys. They are Hunters of their destinies and they are nothing but passionate on their work. The choices that they made together were what lead them to their paths. Even now that they aren't with each other, they could only wait for the day that they would see each other again and those days will be the greatest thing in their friendship next to the time when they first met- when their friendship came to life.
END
