Chapter 9: Night Of The Full Moon
A few hours after our hurried lunch, we make our way back to the ground floor with Mina preening all through the elevator ride. She's wearing full make up now, which is surprising because she went to lunch with a bare face.
I glance at my reflection on the elevator doors and cringe a little at the mess I see. My black shirt is askew, my hair is sticking out everywhere, and I look sick. I quickly finger comb my bangs, tie my hair in a low ponytail, fish the lip balm in my pocket to swipe some moisture on my lips, then slap my cheeks just a little in the hopes of getting a bit more color on my face. I don't know why I'm feeling pressured to look pretty right now (probably because they've only seen me wearing makeup) but I do know that I'm freaking excited for what's about to happen.
We go straight to the pantry, which was closed off to make way for Real GOT7. "Oh they're still filming," Mina says, peeping through the glass doors. I stand beside her to take a look too and I can see the bright lights and the cameras. The boys are seated around the table, with Yugyeom in the middle, talking. We creep towards the director, careful not to make a scene.
"Annyeong haseyo, Gamdog-nim," [Hello, director-nim,] I say to the fellow in black who's silently watching the boys through a small TV monitor.
"Ah, Sarang-ssi, are we all set for the commentary filming?" The director asks, his eyes telling me to be mindful of my response.
"Ne, I have the clips all set in my laptop. May I know where we're going to set up?" Through my peripheral view, I can see heads turning and eyes landing on me, but I try not to move or look anywhere else while the director checks his silver wristwatch.
"Oh, we still have time, you can stay here if you want" he says, smiling. I nod and tell him we'll be standing in the corner.
Mina and I exchange delighted looks as we stand awkwardly by the side. We don't always get to see the boys from this distance so I can tell she's already dizzy being a foot away from JB, who seems to be in such high spirits today. The staff hands each of them apples and knives after Yugyeom explains the mechanics of the game. In my head, I'm already thinking of ways to explain the game to international fans when I edit the video. Maybe I should make cute graphics to go along with it?
The boys immediately start peeling apples, competing to create the longest peel. Jinyoung is expertly skinning the fruit in his hand and Mark and JB seem to be following what he's doing. Yugyeom and Youngjae are peeling bits and pieces. BamBam tries to skin his apple under the table.
Jackson decides to move away from the rest of them. Mina points to him and we both purse our lips so as not to laugh at his apple-peeling face. He looks like he's wrestling with a bear as he unsuccessfully slices through a huge chunk of the apple. Then he eats the fallen piece sneakily, and we giggle silently. He catches us laughing and gives us a wide, knowing smile before putting his finger against his lips.
"Omo, you're right, he so cute!" Mina whispers. I'm pretty sure the camera caught that moment, and I sure as hell won't edit that out.
"Sarang-ah," Says head writer Jenny, a tall girl with an oval face, wavy hair, and a mole on her right cheek. She's one of the few people I know well from the crew because she visits me at my work desk all the time. "Do you need a copy of the script?" I nod enthusiastically, excited to see what's in store for us in the next two episodes.
She hands me two sets of stapled papers and I start reading through it. "Yah, it's so nice seeing you hanging out here. You should come to shoots more often!" She says, messing with my fringe. She's just a few years older than me but she's very comfortable to work with.
"Aish, you know we're not used to being here. We don't even know what to do or how to help!"
"You could give the director suggestions for filming so you can edit better, or talk to the boys while they're waiting. I swear these guys need all the people they can talk to, they have so much energy." Jenny says, just before we hear their booming laughter from across the room. They seem to be having a lot of fun with the Post-It Game. She gives me a see-what-I-mean look and I just laugh in response. "I'll introduce you to them later on. Meanwhile just keep an eye out for GOT7's manager, you know he's going to play an important role in Episode 9 right?" She winks and I nod, knowing full well that she's referring to the Halloween special. She then excuses herself to talk to someone and I start going over the script again.
Suddenly, I feel a nudge coming from Mina. "Wae gu re?" [What's wrong?] I ask, still not taking my eyes off the script.
"They are looking at you," She whispers.
"I don't want to look back," I whisper back, my eyes still focused on the paper in my hand. Before she gets the chance to ask me why, gamdog-nim announces a short break, and instructs the staff to remove the table and arrange five chairs in a line.
The boys offer to help out by rearranging the chairs and I watch in awe at the way they act and communicate towards the staff. They're sweet and friendly yet polite in all the ways you'd expect from a co-worker. From where I stand, I get the feeling that the guys have grown up fondly around these people.
A pair of eyes suddenly catch my attention. I didn't realize I was staring mindlessly at BamBam's general direction. His chocolate brown eyes are smiling at me, and I bet he can see how surprised I am at his outright stare. He winks at me before turning to Yugyeom. I look away as fast as I can. "Did you see that? Was I dreaming?" Mina, who standing beside me, asks.
"Mina-yah, close your mouth. You look like a fish caught in a net," I answer giggling. From the corner of my eye I see GOT7's manager approaching Jenny. The head writer turns to me and waves. I immediately take Mina's hand and lead her towards Jenny, who asks us and three other crew members to proceed to the 6th floor. Apparently we need to start setting up at the recording booth before the fake drawing activity is done. I throw one last look at the boys and catch Mark following us with curious eyes as we leave the room.
On the way to the 6th floor we start explaining the plan to GOT7's manager. He seems hesitant at first but proceeds to disguise himself as a ghost the minute we reach the recording room. We spent a lot of time thinking of people who could play the ghost but we settled for their manager because we know they respect their hyung enough to not be mad after finding out about the prank. "I hope they don't hurt me. You have no idea how hard they hit each other," He tells us, laughing.
"Do they really hit each other?! I thought they just like playing around," Mina comments.
"Oh you should see them fight," He says ominously before crouching down under the table. Mina and I exchange surprised looks before moving to our stations.
Everyone is obviously on an all-time high by the time we wrapped up. Somehow, despite my rumbling stomach (because Mina and I completely forgot to eat dinner), my heart flutters like a butterfly in my chest. I can't keep my face from blushing slightly every time I catch Mark or BamBam or Jackson stealing glances at me. They seem to be telling me telepathically that I have a lot of explaining to do later.
My phone vibrates in my pocket as we head back to our editing stations with the footage from the shoot, but I decide not to check on it until we reach our desks. "Mina-yah, Sarang-ah," Jenny calls out to us while we're waiting for the elevators. "Come with me, I'll introduce you to the boys!"
"Eh?" I hear Mina say. I can already tell what she's about to say. "But Sarang already met them."
"I met them a while ago while we're filming!" I clarify, giving Mina a stealth I-Hate-You look. "Oh and we need to copy all the files as soon as possible so..."
"Aishhh, what are you talking about? It's 2AM on a Saturday!" Mina says, annoyed because she obviously wanted to meet JB.
"She's right, we're not supposed to be working today. Besides, we're going out to eat afterwards so whether you like it or not you're coming with me." Jenny takes both of our wrists and drags us back to the filming site.
"JB!" Jenny calls out. Mina instantly blushes at the sound of her bias' name. "I want you guys to meet the masterminds of Episode 9!" Upon hearing this, GOT7's leader gathers the rest of the members to face us.
"Everyone, I don't think you've met these girls before because they're always hiding downstairs but they are our video PDs too. They are in-charge of editing our videos after filming. Girls, say hello!"
"Annyeong haseyo, Kangjeon Love imnida," I bow.
"Aigoo, I thought your real name is Sarang!" Jenny says, laughing. Mina introduces herself after me and I can feel her trembling as she bows because she's right in front of JB now.
"Ah noona, we're you the one who suggested this hidden camera prank?" Jinyoung turns to me curiously to confirm.
"Ne, mianheyo!" I bow again, feeling shy as heck. "We suggested to do a prank video because we think our ahgases would enjoy it a lot. Sorry if it stressed you out," I add.
"It's okay we had fun today!" BamBam answers politely, a pretty smile plastered on his face.
"Aniyo, it wasn't fun for me," Jackson says bluntly in Korean and English. We all laugh. "I have a weak heart, I feel like I'm about to have a cardiac arrest when I saw the face on the screen! And hyung is already scary without the costume." Youngjae laughs and JB nods in agreement with Jackson. We laugh again when Jinyoung points out that manager-nim is eyeing us from a distance. Jenny then announces that the crew are treating the boys to Korean barbecue to make up for the cruel, but absolutely funny, prank.
On our way to the nearby restaurant they start asking us questions about how the prank idea began, and why. In my slightly stuttering Korean, I tell them how gamdog-nim and the writers asked all of us to come to the brainstorming while the members were on break. I raised the idea, thinking it's been a while since the last hidden camera episode, and they all agreed. Then they left it all up to me, Mina, and Jenny to come up with a good scare.
"Aishhh, next time can you give us a bit of a heads up? My throat is sore today, it's a good thing I didn't scream." Jinyoung pleads quietly, closing his eyes momentarily in annoyance.
"We were worried about that actually so we asked manager-nim to go easy on you," I answer.
"Did you ask hyung to go easy on me too? Or was he just really tired?" Yugyeom asks.
"He was already tired by the time you came in," It's Mina's turn to answer.
"Ah, I thought you were going easy on me because I've had the most hidden cameras here," He explains, making all of us laugh. I never thought this maknae would be so charming up close.
The crew and members are starting to throw more questions at us as we eat. Apparently, many people in the crew line envy us because we get to stay in the office and lead normal lives in as much as our schedules would allow. The members, however, are more concerned about the amount of footage we cut from the actual videos and the extent of our knowledge on GOT7's inner workings. I can't say much because I don't want to surprise them with details, while Mina seems too busy watching JB eat.
"Noona," BamBam speaks up, cocking his head to the side. "Why is everyone calling you Sarang-ssi?"
Some of the crew members explain that they only learned my name from the gamdog-nim so they really thought my name was Sarang. I immediately explain the whole nickname debacle with PD-nim Park Jinyoung. Everyone doubles over upon hearing my story.
"Yah, that's so funny!" says Jenny after calming down from her laughing fit. "But can we ask, why is your name Love? Did your ommeoni tell you all about it?"
"It's from a Bible passage," I explain, wiping the side of my lip with a napkin. I clear my throat and start reciting the English Bible passage my mother painted on our living room wall. Three things will last forever: Faith, Hope, and Love. But the greatest of these is Love.
"Instead of going on a honeymoon, the first thing they did as a couple was build a house and they called the house Faith. When my brother was born they named him Hope." All eyes are on me as I weave English into my Korean vocabulary to fully explain the story. Even Mina seems to be listening intently. "A year later, I was born and they named me Love. I'm the youngest in my family." Jenny then explains to everyone that though I look very young for my age, I'm already 25 years old and have finished college with a full athletic scholarship and a degree in visual arts.
There's a collective sound of awe around the table. I can't help but blush and stare at my plate for a moment. I look up to find Mark staring at me with a smile. My eyes move from him to Jackson to BamBam, and they all have this surprised and amazed look on their faces upon hearing what Jenny has to say about me.
"Ah, noona," says Youngjae, his curious puppy eyes making me smile slightly. "You speak English very well and you seem to have an accent, where are you from?" I answer him about my ancestry and quickly add that my Korean pronunciations may sound weird because of it.
"Some people think it's cute, though!" says a low, rough voice in perfect English. My eyes stray from Youngjae to Jackson who's busy turning the meat on the grill. "I have the same problem when I started hosting, I mispronounce a lot of Korean words and I stutter during broadcast but people laugh and they seem to like it." We all nod in agreement. I have seen Jackson host various variety shows, both in Korea and China. His apparent communication and people skills are just some of the reasons why I like him.
"Ah, but that's because of your charms," JB answers, to which we all agree. Jackson cutely hits him on the arm making all of us laugh.
Kako!
"Huh, what is that?" Mina says, looking around.
"Oh, it's my phone. Mian," I say, surprised that someone is chatting me at this hour. I check the message on my phone and my eyes grow wide as soon as I see the name of the sender.
Mark: Your name really does suit you... *smile emoji*