The atmosphere was contagious. There was laughter everywhere, joking around, running around. It was rubbing off on her. The way everyone else was so energetic gave her the same kind of energy that was missing in her system that day. She had to get up early, very early that she arrived for hair and make up with her eyes barely open and her muscles very weak. She wanted to be dragged into the waiting room by her manager but now seeing her animated co-hosts there in the set with their guests vitalized her to the point that she joined them in their gags while they waited for the staff's signal to start filming.  

This was what she liked about work. Work was work until you enjoyed it. Momo liked what she was doing, she loved doing what she did. Some days there would be times where she’d rather be doing something else like sleep to regain the hours she had lost from another schedule but eventually she be smiling again, going about everyone and livening up the ambience. She especially enjoyed her stint as a host for Weekly Idol and even though recordings were damn early, she adored being in the company of her fellow hosts especially the man named Kim Heechul who was busy teasing the member of this rookie girl group they had for that week’s episode.

“Momo-ah,” he called. She was standing beside him reading the script.

“Yes, oppa?” She turned her attention to the man. He had shorter hair now but even with his age he still had the same flashy style from his younger days in the industry. He had platinum blonde hair with orange streaks.

“Doesn’t she look like you?” He introduced the rookie. The girl bowed before her sunbae which Momo graciously returned.

 “Yeah,” she responded to Heechul. “She does. Are you from Japan?”

“Yes, sunbae-nim.”

“Oh,” Momo nodded, drawn by her fellow Japanese idol. Back then when she was a rookie, there weren’t much Japanese idols. “And what is your role in the group?”

“Main dancer, sunbae-nim. Just like you.” The girl smiled shyly.

“Cool!” Heechul exclaimed in between them. “We must have a showdown later! PD-nim, we need a dance showdown from these two!”

Momo could only laugh to herself as the ridiculous Heechul ordered the producer to give her and the girl a dancing face-off. “You’re ridiculous, oppa!” She smacked his arm.

“Yah!” Heechul screeched, rubbing the side of his arm slapped by his hoobae. “But it would be fun. It would be fun, right, Yuki-ssi?”

The girl, Yuki, nodded to agree. “I’ve always wanted to dance with you, sunbae-nim. You have been my role model since seeing you in SIXTEEN.”

It was touching to know that people were paying attention to her and her talents and it was even more heartwarming to know that she was affecting their lives and helping them achieve their dreams. Hearing her juniors tell her that she was their role model growing up was more than anything that Momo could ask for. She was like Yuki not so long ago, looking up to the likes of BoA and Rain. Now that she was the only being told that, it felt very sentimental. It was one of the reasons why she continued to do her job in the best way she could.

“Well,” Momo chuckled. “Okay, but go easy on me. I just might lose.”

“Oh,” Heechul wryly glared at her. “You are going to lose.” 

Momo stuck her tongue out in retaliation. The girl, and her members observing their conversation, laughed at the playful relationship between two of the most sought-after idols in all of K-pop.

“Alright! We will be filming now!” The producer announced.

***

Filming ended really smoothly and really quickly. The episode had produced a ton of laughter, making Momo hiccup in front of the cameras and causing Heechul to use it as leverage to throw jokes at her. The rookie guests were also a sport, going along with the jokes of the guys and so was Yuki who won the dance face-off with Momo, as voted by her members and the hosts, including the man who started the idea. The episode was the most fun she had ever done and she couldn’t wait to film the next episode.

She bowed to everyone on set and said her thank you’s to the hardworking staff of Weekly Idol. She was accompanied by her manager back into the waiting room to change and leave. As they were walking down the hall, she caught up with Heechul who was now in less flamboyant clothes walking in the opposite direction with his own manager and stylists.

“Oh, oppa, are you leaving?” She asked.

Heechul stopped and told his team to wait for him in the car. “Yeah, I am. Momo, I actually have something I want to ask you about.”

“Ah, really?” Momo mused. She wasn’t sure of what Heechul was going to ask her but judging by his face it seemed serious. “Well, okay, oppa. Why don’t we go talk in my waiting room?”

They both walked in. Momo asked her manager to wait for her inside to give them time to talk. Heechul slumped on the couch in front of the mirror as Momo remained on her feet.

“So, what did you want to ask me, oppa? You look serious. Am I in trouble?”

Heechul didn’t say anything right away. He stared blankly at the floor and then brought his eyes quickly and wide at Momo, making her yelp.

“Is it really true you’re having a comeback?” He asked in a rather loud tone, loud enough to make Momo jump in her shoes.

“What?” She gasped. “Seriously? Is that all you’re going to ask me?”

Heechul burst into laughter. “I got you, didn’t I? Man, I never fail to fool you.”

She shook her head and clicked her tongue. “Aish, you even made you staff wait for you. I even sent my manager out because I thought we’d be here talking about your marriage or your kids or something!”

“Aigoo,” he stood up and tapped her shoulder. “You worry too much. You’ve been strange lately too. You seem a little depressed. Is it the stress?”

“No,” she sighed. “It’s another kind of stress.”

“Comeback stress?”

“Yes, that. We’re still in the process of searching for samples. At least Chaeyoung is and they made me handle all the choreography but there still isn’t any song so I can’t make one. Comeback stress and another kind of stress which you wouldn’t want to know.”

Heechul chuckled, placing his arm around her shoulder. “Well, whatever that is, I’m sure I really don’t wanna know.”

“Yah!” She said, pushing his arm off.

“I’m sure if that’s about love then I really have nothing accurate to say. You already know I’m bad at that type of thing.”

Momo sniggered. “True. I was even the one to beg your wife not to divorce you.”

“Okay, okay.” He flapped his hand, walking to the door and reaching for the knob. “Enough. I just wanted to confirm if you’re having a comeback or not. You know how rumors spreads fast in this industry. I need to keep up with facts on my third favorite girl group.”

She crossed her legs, folded her arms, and raised an eyebrow, looking at him excruciatingly. “Third?”

“Yes. Girls’ Generation is the first, Red Velvet is the second. Gotta love your own, you know—”

Momo couldn’t hold back her laughter from listening to him.

“—And TWICE is the third.”

“Whatever, oppa!”

Heechul waved. “I’ll see you later, Momo.”

“Alright! Say hi to unnie and the kids for me!”

The waiting room was quiet again. She let out a breath. It always felt dull when people like Heechul had to leave. People like him were the source of the energy and once they weren’t around, Momo would feel as though they had taken her energy with them. She rubbed her temple a few times. Her manager entered and informed her that they had to leave. She stood up and grabbed her back to change into her casual clothes before coming down. Back to reality.

“Noona, are you going to the airport with the others? I can drive you there instead. Nayeon noona actually called me earlier to check if you’re coming since she said you weren’t answering your phone.” The guy asked before she opened the changing room door.

She turned to him. Suddenly, it became evident to her that Jungyeon had actually told her to come with them. It was only when her manager