5 days before the debut showcase:

We finally had a break today after long hours of practice. I took my phone out when a twitter notification popped up. Someone sent me an article about us. I frowned when I saw the title - "Peppermint shows cute and y charms in their music video teaser. Are they the next AOA?". I scanned the article and it was full with comparisons between us and the other group. It really sounded bad. I'm happy they mentioned us and I'm happy for the compliments, but why did they have to compare us to other groups? We are us and they are them. They have their own style just like we have ours. I scrolled down to the comments:

1. [+250, -20] No.

2. [+245, -33] So desperate..

3. [+200, -21] Media play.

4. [+1875, -23] hahaha what the.. What was their company thinking?

5. [+163, -38] TS, please stop sabotaging the girls.. They haven't debuted yet.

6. [+142, -40] From all the groups they could have media played with, why AOA? lol

7. [+122, -74] Are they downgrading AOA? It's not that easy to beat them..

8. [+99, -32] I don't like them already.

9. [+84, -12] Well, if they know history they are already better than AOA.

10. [+50, -25] "Good luck I am your lucky lucky.." (AOA - Good Luck).

I scanned the screen and noticed another article - "TS entertainment media plays their new girl group as the next AOA.. Will this tactic succeed?". I frowned. Like it's not enough there are a lot of other girl groups already, we are getting hate before even doing anything. We didn't want this comparison to begin with.

"Unnie, what are you doing?" Yujin sat beside me, looking curiously at me.

"Nothing." I smiled and put my phone away.

"Can we talk? Me and the other girls need your help with something.."

"Sure. What is it?"

"Let's go meet everyone." she said and got up.

~

"What is it?" I asked when the girls gathered around me in the living room in our dorm.

"Unnie.." Yujin started talking.

"We need your help with something." Eun Hee continued.

"I'm fine, I don't need anything." Sumi stated.

"Then you can leave, no one is forcing you to stay here." Yujin said, glaring at her. Sumi shrugged but stayed seated.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Truth is.. We are scared." Sey said quietly, staring at the carpet.

"From what?" I asked confused.

"Performing." Yujin said.

"But you did fine when we were with B.A.P.." I said.

"It's not the same. We were only backup dancers and we didn't have to sing. Now all the focus is on us and we need to sing and dance." Eun Hee said.

"You have more experience since you already performed with Yongguk, so we want your advice." Sey said.

I looked at the girls and all of them looked at me, pleading. They looked lost.

"Well, first you need to relax." I said, smiling. They nodded. "The second thing, which is also important, is to have fun while performing."

"Come on.. We could have thought about it ourselves, we don't need you for that." Sumi scoffed. "How about some actual advice, miss perfect?"

"If you mess up don't get nervous and just continue as usual." I said.

"What else?" Sey asked.

"Do your best. Your nervousness will go down with time, so don't worry about it. I'm always here for you." I smiled.

~

"Oppa!" I hugged Yongguk when I found him in the company. After the conversation with the girls I went back to the company to look for Yongguk because I wanted to see him.

"What's up, babe?" he asked, smiling brightly.

"Did you finish working?"

"I'm taking a break."

"Then.. Do you have a couple of minutes for me?" I asked shyly.

"I always have time for you." he ruffled my hair playfully. "What's the matter?"

"I need some advice." I admitted, fixating my gaze on the ground.

"Alright. But it will cost you."

"What?" I asked confused.

"Consulting fees." he said and pointed at his lips.

"Forget it. I'm not giving in to blackmail." I turned around.

"Babe.." he whined, wrapping his arms around me. I chuckled. He is so cute. I turned around and kissed him. He smiled and kissed me back, deepening the kiss.

"And here we have two wild animals, also known as the royal couple. They belong to a rare species that can only be found in TS entertainment. Nobody knows how they got here, but they won't leave even if you try to kick them out. They spend most of their time making out in public and they will get mad and violent if you disturb them. The female is very clingy and rude to other species while the male is one of the nicest animals in nature. He is also very calm and won't cause a commotion, unlike the female. The male is popular among females and he gets courted a lot, but for some unknown reason he chose this specific female as his partner. It's still a mystery how the two of them got together and how they last for so long." I heard Himchan narrate like it's a National Geographic documentary. I pulled away from Yongguk and I saw the culprit standing next to me and Yongguk, smiling brightly. Jongup was standing beside him, laughing.

"Jonguppie.." I said cutely. "Have you heard about the male playboy?" Jongup shook his head.

"The male playboy, which is standing right next to you" I said and pointed at Himchan, "Is a wild beast that specializes in sleeping around. He can't commit to one female partner, so he just sleeps around with every female that accepts him. He lived like that for years, until one day he met a female that managed to dominate him and he is acting like a puppy around her. That's how he lost all of his strength and uniqueness. The male playboy is actually good looking, but he has a trash personality and he bullies innocent people. Today he bullied the wrong person, so the clingy female he told you about earlier is going to kill him. Right now you are witnessing his last breaths." I finished my little speech and glared at Himchan.

"I told you she is violent.." Himchan told Jongup.

"I'm only violent towards uneducated playboys.." I smiled innocently and walked towards Himcan in a threatening way.

"Jongup-ah, save me!" Himchan hid behind Jongup's back.

"Here, noona. You can kill him if you want to." Jongup smiled innocently and moved so I could get Himchan.

"Yah!" Himchan exclaimed, annoyed.

"Oppa, do you need your best friend?" I asked Yongguk.

"No, you can kill him." he answered and Himchan's face was getting red from anger.

"I'm telling your fans you are rude and beating people up." Himchan threatened.

"I don't have any fans, so be my guest." I stuck my tongue out and he frowned.

"Hyeri.." he mumbled while getting away from me. I followed him.

"Apologize." I demanded.

"W.. What.. For?" he stuttered.

"You made fun of Yongguk for dating me." I stated, glaring at him. Himchan walked backwards and hit the wall. I smirked. The blood drained from Himchan's face and his skin matched the color of the wall.

"Get lost." Himchan tried to sound as threatening as he could.

"Fine." I smiled innocently and walked back to Yongguk, entwining our hands together.

"Let's go, oppa." I told Yongguk cutely and dragged him away, leaving a very confused Himchan and a laughing Jongup behind.

When we were far enough from them we started laughing.

"Did you see his face?" I asked while trying to hold my laughter.

"Yes.. He looked like he saw a ghost." Yongguk laughed.

"Serves him right."

"You did well." he said, looking at me.

"Thanks." I blushed. "Thank you for helping me."

"It was fun." Yongguk admitted.

"I should thank Jongup as well, he contributed."

"Babe.."

"Hmm?"

"What did you want to talk about before Himchan came disturbing us?"

"Let's talk in the studio, I don't want any more interruptions."

~

"What the hell?!" Himchan exclaimed when he was left with Jongup in the hallway.

"You looked really funny, hyung. Your face was really pale." Jongup said.

"Why didn't you help me?" Himchan questioned.

"Hyeri noona is scary when she is mad. Do you think I have a death wish?" Jongup said with his angelic face, making it impossible for Himchan to get mad at him.

~

"Wer'e here." Yongguk said and sat down on the couch in the studio. I sat next to him and we were facing each other.

"Oppa.."

"What?"

"I'm scared." I admitted.

"What's wrong?" he asked, worried.

"The debut is getting closer and all the girls are counting on me. They are nervous because it's their first time performing and I can't tell them that I'm more nervous because they think I'm exprienced and they look up to me."

"Are you nervous?" Yongguk asked.

"Yes. It's really stressful because I feel I have responsibility for the group and they are pressuring me as well, even though they don't know that. I just don't want to disappoint them.."

"Babe.. Do you remember how nervous you were before we started performing?"

"Yes. It was terrible."

"And how did you get over it?"

"I had you to lean on. You gave me advices and I knew you will be there for me if I mess up or if I need something. You also made sure I'm comfortable and relaxed. And besides, my part was quite small because it was a featuring and not an actual duet. Now it's different."

"You still have me to lean on."

"Not on stage with me. On stage it's only me and the girls, and all of them count on me." I pouted.

"You'll do great, just believe in yourself." he smiled, reassuring me.

"I'm scared."

"You are talented and you worked hard. It's not the first time your'e performing on stage and you know how music shows works. Just use your experience, be yourself and have fun in the process." he put his hand on my shoulder.

"What if I mess up?"

"Everyone messes up from time to time, even me and the boys, although we are experienced by now. It happens, you can't really control it. You are just a rookie, so mistakes are understandable. Don't pressure yourself."

"I'll try."

"I have something for you." he got up and started to search something in one of the drawers near his desk. When he found it he showed it to me.

"A stress ball?" I asked confused.

"Yes." he smiled and threw the ball in my direction. I caught it and stared at it, still confused.

"It's a secret I didn't tell you when we promoted." he said and sat down next to me. "When I'm nervous I play with it until I calm down. You can see it has been used a lot, so you can guess how much pressure I had.." he joked.

"That's not funny.." I pouted after examining the ball. It was indeed used a lot. He must have been under a lot of pressure.

"I promise to buy you a new one, but you can use this for the time being."

"I like this one." I said and squeezed it in my hand. "It's yours, so I want to have it."

"Use it whenever your'e stressed or pressured, it will help you relieve the stress. And you always have me, okay?"

"Okay." I smiled and climbed onto his lap, facing him. It has been a while since we sat in that position. Yongguk wrapped his arms around my waist.

"Thank you, oppa." I said and pecked his lips.

"You are welcome." he smiled and planted a kiss on my forehead.

"What is this?" I frowned. I expected a kiss on the lips or something, not this.

"What?" he asked confused.

"Nothing." I said and smiled. I can't tell him I wanted more, it's embarrassing and he'll make fun of me.

"Alright." he smiled and stared at my face, examining them.

"Whay are you looking at me like that?" I asked when I started to feel uncomfortable from his looks. It made me feel self concious about my appearance, and I didn't like it.

"You are pretty." Yongguk said and tucked a few strands of hair behind my ear.

"Oppa.."

"What?"

"What do you like the most about me?"

"Your character. You are unpredictable and full of surprises and I never know what I'm going to get today. It makes me feel anxious and look forward to spending time with you."

"What is this? You make it sound like I'm a crazy person." I pouted.

"My crazy person." he smiled, showing his gums.

"Forget it." I moved away from his lap and sat on the couch, crossing my arms over my chest.

"What did I do wrong?" Yongguk asked, utterly confused.

"If you like my personality it means I'm ugly. And you indirectly said I'm crazy."

"If I said I like the way you look you would have said I'm superficial and that I lied when I said I don't care about the way you look.." he claimed.

"Well, do you?" I questioned.

"What?"

"Like the way I look."

"Of course I do. I told you I like it a million times already, including just a minute ago." Yongguk said and I started to blush. Damn it. Why do I always blush at the wrong timing? I'm supposed to be mad at him, but just a couple of words from him turns my face into a tomato.

"Come here, my pretty girlfriend." he smiled and opened his arms, waiting for me to come in. I snuggled closer to him and he wrapped his arms around me, leaning his head on my shoulder.

"You know, when I said you are unpredictable this is one of the things I meant. You were so cute and sweet and a moment later you were getting mad because of some ridiculous reason. It's fun." he said after a few moments of silence.

"Don't push your luck, ahjussi. Call me crazy one more time and you won't be able to have kids." I stated and Yongguk chuckled.

"I like the furious you. It's y." he planted a kiss on my collarbone.

"ert." I .

"Your ert." he smiled and kissed me.

Authors Note:

Just to make things clear - I don't have anything against AOA. I used them in the past and they seem to fit here as well.

Also, the company is at fault for media-playing and not the girls (Peppermint). You can see Hyeri doesn't like it as well.

Next chapter will show a little more of Hyeri's leadership skills and more of their group dynamics.

I might debut the girls before chapter 100 (a chapter or two earlier), I'm not sure yet.. It depends on my progress.

Thanks for reading, commenting, etc.!

M.